awww... the love

Rhett has recently started giving everybody hugs. He's such a love! As such, McKenna loves asking for 'big hugs' from her little brother. How long do you think that will last?



P.S. Yes, Rhett bonks his head on the table at the end of the video, but rest assured... he's fine.

our new home

Two weeks before Christmas, after what seemed like an eternity, we finally moved into our new home. We've slowly been getting settled in the midst of holiday chaos and want to share some pictures as I know the house will never look this way again. :)

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a spot that i love

This makes Daddy so proud, and will surely make all Wildcats proud too.

draw a dog

Gosh I have a lot of updates to make... maybe this weekend. For now, here's a funny McKenna story.

Duke and McKenna were drawing together last night. She asked him to draw a girl... holding balloons. He did. "Draw a dog with her," she asked. So he did. "Not a turtle, Daddy. A dog!"

mckenna's first haircut

It took me a long time to bring myself to cut McKenna's hair. She was bald for so long that it just seemed wrong to cut what little hair she has. But the poor kid spent so much time brushing her hair out of her eyes that I decided to cut her bangs. I was glad I did! It looks cute. I've since tried to trim the back of her hair too... with less success. I won't post pictures of that hack job.

Before:


















During:


















After:

rhett's first steps

Rhett took his first steps on October 7. When McKenna started to walk, it seems like we spent months holding her hands as she became stable on her feet. Not Rhett! Within a week he had walking figured out and hasn't stopped since.

look who's one

On September 25, Rhett turned one. Here are some pictures of our celebration at Chucky Cheese.

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first haircut

Rhett had his first haircut tonight. It's a little short in the front, but let me tell you... it's not easy cutting a squirming baby's hair. It definitely looks better than it did.

Before:



















During:



















After:

scary ride

Sometimes strapping the kids in the car just becomes automatic. Today, Duke already had Rhett strapped in before he realized that he had accidently put him in McKenna's seat - facing forward. We had a very short distance to go and figured it wasn't worth taking him out again. After all, he'll be facing forward starting next week, so he better get used to it, right? As you can see, he wasn't sure about the new view.

fun pictures

Just a few pictures from the past several weeks.

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the house has walls

The concrete work seemed to take forever! Especially since we had several delays due to rain. But once they started framing, things started to move fast. It's amazing to see how much changes from day-to-day. This week and next week they'll start working on the electrical, HVAC, and sheetrock. According to our builder, we should be in by Thanksgiving. We're so excited!!!

discovering the pantry

Rhett: "Wait a second... why hasn't anyone told me about all THIS food?!?"

patience is a virtue

Tonight, McKenna dumped all of her blocks on the floor and decided to build a tower. Every time she got several blocks stacked, "Tornado Rhett" came along and knocked them down. He would then grab the blocks and throw them across the room. She would go collect them and start building her tower again. I watched this happen over and over again, waiting for her to crack. After about the tenth demolition, he picked up a block and threw it across the room to which she responded "Good throw, Rhett!" :) What a trooper.

dance party

There is something so stinkin' cute about kids dancing! I love Rhett's move... "put your hands in the air like you don't care."

getting ready for a new daycare

McKenna and Rhett start their new daycare closer to home at the end of September. Duke and I are very excited. McKenna is the oldest at her current daycare and is ready to be at a preschool with kids her age. We're hoping that Rhett is ready for the new daycare too. He has to be one and walking, so we started drills recently to get him ready! :) As you can see, he's doing pretty well. I chuckle because they probably have those stipulations so that the kids are a little more independent. Boy, are they going to be surprised when they find out that this little stinker still doesn't hold his own bottle!! We're working on that too.

what color is that?

This is one of those stories that probably isn't funny unless it's your kid. And it's not for those with weak stomachs, so be careful before you read on.

Duke and I have been working with McKenna to teach her colors. We spend a lot of time when we read asking her, "What color is that?" She recently started to turn that question on us and asks us what color EVERYTHING is. That's good, right? She's showing an interest in learning. Well, today she was helping me change Rhett's diaper. He had a little (O.K. a lot) more than a wet diaper and as we uncovered the contents she asked me, "What color is that?" Quizzing her, I asked "What color do YOU think it is?", to which she responded "GREEN!" It was green... she was right. Unfortunate for Rhett, but she was right.

we have a hole

The builder started construction on our new house... well, he dug the hole. I never thought having a hole could be so exciting! :)

Here it is:



















Here it is with foundation walls:

momma's got a big ol' butt, oh yea

We were at the playground today and I decided to relive a little of my childhood by getting on one of those spring animals. My fun was spoiled when McKenna ran over and told me, "Get off, Mommy. Your butt's too big for that!" (Sigh)

man vs. boy

How do you explain the difference between a man vs. a boy to a 2-year old? McKenna calls every male a 'boy'. It doesn't matter if they are 3 or 83. Sometimes it's a little embarassing. This evening she was watching our neighbor (who is 70+) through the window and asked, "What is that boy doing?" We tried to explain to her that he's a man. "Huh?" We continued by explaining to her that adults are men and that kids are boys. She sat there for a moment before she finally said, "But, I'm not a boy." OK, she's clearly one up on us. We'll tackle that one another day.

minnesota vacation

Here are just a few pictures from our trip to Minnesota earlier this month (gosh... is that all it was... it seems like AGES ago with all that has happened since we've been back).

Make a Smilebox slideshow

reorganizing the drawers

McKenna: "I think I'll arrange the silverware like this!"

mmm... or not

Rhett is over nine months old and still isn't showing signs of his first tooth. At his nine-month check up, the doctor said that we could start giving him solid foods for him to 'gum'. Here's how it went:

an old favorite

We're in the car one day when McKenna informs us that she has a booger. "I need a Kleenex," she states. Give her credit for asking for a Kleenex vs. wiping it on the side of the car seat. She wipes her nose when all of a sudden she exclaims "Uh oh... I lost it!"

"You lost it?" Duke asked.

"Uh huh. Did you find it?" she asked. "Where is my booger?!?" She is clearly worried at this point. She examines the Kleenex, her hands... she looks all around her lap and on the car seat... she tries to see if it's on the floor. "I can't find my booger!!"

After looking for a while, she shrugs, "Oh well, I'll look for it later."

The booger was never found.

at least it was only stickers

Duke figured out how to email me pictures that he takes with his phone. It's fun for me to get updates about how they are spending the day while I'm at work. Today, Duke was getting everyone packed up to meet me for lunch. After Rhett was already in his car seat, Duke stepped away for a moment only to find this when he returned...

surviving 100 degrees

It's HOT!! If you live in Kansas City, I don't have to tell you that. Last night we decided to go to the pool to cool off. We had so much fun! Rhett loved his first dip in the pool and we couldn't hardly tear McKenna away once it was time to leave. I'm so glad that they aren't afraid of the water.

a blizzard in summer

With summer upon us, evening runs to DQ are becoming more frequent. Tonight we went to get a couple of Blizzards and promised McKenna some when we got home. The whole way home she talked about the ice cream, making sure we still had it. She was clearly concerned when she finally suggested that "I'll hold it." Nice try, kid!

i wanna shake it

If you are familiar with the show Imagination Movers, then you know the song Shakable You... need I say no more?

This was at 8:30 Saturday night. Do you like how the kids are calming down before bedtime? It didn't matter, they crashed! Trust me!

where's my tidy girl?

I would have taken a picture of what happened tonight, but I didn't want to encourage McKenna to EVER do it again. As we were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, McKenna disappeared into the living room to play (nothing unusual). A short while later, Duke looked around the corner to check on her.

"Oh, no," he gasped.

It wasn't said with fear in his voice, just shear despair. I couldn't imagine what he had found. With just weeks left in this house, I imagined some type of property destruction that would cost us an arm and a leg. All I could do to ease my imagine was to look for myself. I looked around the corner and found McKenna next to one of our potted plants emptying the potting soil onto the floor. There she knelt, smearing the dirt into the carpet like finger paints on a canvas.

Duke took her into the kitchen as I started to clean up the mess. Several of her toys were in the midst of the pile of dirt, so I tossed them and as much of the soil that I could pick up by hand into an Easter basket that lay nearby. In the meantime, Rhett made his way to where I was to see what was going on. With my back turned, he emptied the basket, dirty toys, and potting soil onto a different part of the carpet.

"Oh, Rhett," I sighed.

With that, McKenna came running back into the living room only to reprimanded Rhett. "Don't make a mess, Rhett!"

Oh, McKenna. What happended to my tidy girl?

fun in the sun

Today, we broke out the pool for the summer. This was Rhett's first time in the water. He loved it, just like McKenna does. Hopefully, we'll be spending a lot of time at the pool this year.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

ain't nothin' but a little static

um... who made a mess?

For any of you who have been out to eat with a two-year old, you know what becomes of the booth and the floor during the course of the meal. This morning we went out to Hometown Buffet for breakfast. While I was away from the table to refill my plate, McKenna looked down at the booth seat and then told Duke, "Mommy is making a BIG mess!!"

quazi moto

Ah... the start of mobility. Rhett recently figured out how to crawl... sort of. It's the quazi moto version of crawling, but he sure gets around.

helping out

McKenna is such a big help around the house. We often find her helping out without even being asked. One of her favorite ways to help is by sneaking baby wipes and using them to dust:



The other night Rhett was in his high chair while we were getting dinner ready. His food was already out on the table so that we could feed him once we sat down. McKenna took it upon herself feed him:



Last night I came home to find McKenna and Daddy shucking corn:

squirt fun

This was the best $3 we ever spent.

balloon fun

Rhett: "Where does this balloon keep coming from?"

all giggles

A friend of mine, Sylvia, summed up a child's laughter in a way that I will never forget. She said, "A child's laughter is so contagious because it is pure delight. There is no sarcasm or irony or pretense . . . just a moment of unmitigated happiness."

feed me!

Rhett: "Will someone please tell my parents to feed me!"

funny walk

McKenna's new stall tactic at bedtime is to impress us with her "funny walks". She knows that they are good for a laugh and will delay bedtime long enough for us to take a picture.

checking on daddy

Ahhh... the moment that every parent knows will happen and dreads. We all went out to eat over the weekend. Shortly after we were done eating, Duke excused himself from the table (if you know what I mean). Not long after that, McKenna crawled out of the booth and informed me that she'd be right back.

"Oh really?" I asked. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to go check on Daddy," she said. I explained to her that "Daddy is somewhere where you can't check on him right now."

"IS HE ON THE POTTY?"

Amidst several snickers, I replied, "Yes, honey. He's on the potty."

It was bound to happen someday, right?

memorial day weekend

Make a Smilebox slideshow

bust a move

Duke's best friend, Erik, got married a couple of weeks ago. As you can imagine, the kids had a blast at the reception. The best part, hands down, was Hobbs dancing!! He was the life of the party.

I always forget that I can't turn the video image when I film these sideways, but I can assure you that turning your head to watch this video is worth the while.

i want to go to a baseball game

Brandt's baseball team won their league and are playing in their regional tournament tonight. (Yeah!!) For the past several days, Duke and I have been telling McKenna that we are going to go see Brandt coach. This morning we told her that Brandt's game is tonight. She is sooooo excited!! The whole way to Jessie's house (daycare) she told me that she doesn't want to go to Jessie's house... she wants to go to Brandt's baseball game. I told her that she gets to do BOTH. She doesn't have to choose! She gets to go to Jessie's house and play all day AND go to Brandt's baseball game. That made her happy. The rest of the way she talked about going to the baseball game and about how much fun it's going to be. And that she's going to dance. I'm not sure where that one came from, but whatever. :)

crazy spring

WOW! What a crazy spring! I can't believe so much time has passed since I've posted on the blog. I guess I'm long overdue for an update...

In early March, Duke and I decided that it's time we move into a bigger house. Somehow, the addition of two kids has shrunk our house. I still can't figure out why. It's not like they have a lot of toys or anything. HA! In moving, we also decided to get away from the city a little bit. We really want to raise the kids in a smaller community and want them go to school in a smaller school district so that they don't get lost in the masses. We began to check out some of the towns on the outskirts of Kansas City. It wasn't long before we discovered Basehor, Kansas - and a fabulous house. So, we began working furiously to get our house ready to put on the market. A few days before listing day, our realtor told us that we were close enough to go ahead and make an offer on the house that we had found... only to find out that someone had put a contract on it the day before. What luck!! This house had been on the market for 7 months and someone decided that they wanted it the day before we were ready to make our move. No big deal, right? We were just getting ready to list our house and figured that we would have plenty of time to look for a different house. In this market, we assumed that it would take several months until we sold the house and closed on it. WRONG!! We got two offers within 6 days and accepted the second one. So there we were, facing a moving date (July 31) with nowhere to move to!!!

A couple of weeks ago, we found a great house in the Piper area. It's not in the part of town that we want to live in, but the builder said that he would build the same house for us in Basehor. So now we're in the process of trying to identify a subdivision and a lot. There are a couple of options that are being priced out and we hope to have something decided in the next couple of weeks so that we can move forward with building. The way we figure it, we will be displaced for about three or four months. During that time, we plan to store most of our belongings and move into a "cozy" two-bedroom apartment. It'll be crowded, but we have something very exciting to look forward to!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.

splish splashing around

Rhett turned 7 months old today and took his first bath in a "big boy" bath. He LOVED it! At first he just splashed around as he explored the water. It wasn't long before McKenna decided that she wanted a bath too. The two giggled together and had a good old time until he became a little too much to handle in the slippery water.



(By the way, Brandt, for the record... McKenna is 2 years, 1 month, and 6 days old in this video.)

what a big boy!

Rhett is at such a fun age now! He's getting real close to being able to sit on his own which will make it so much easier for him to play with all of us. I'm sure he can't wait.

mckenna and rhett

it couldn't have been posed better

how the kids spend nap time

McKenna's video hardly seems fair to post because she is SUCH a good sleeper. She wasn't on this particular day. Believe it or not, she ended sleeping in her bed WITH all of her books!!

How Rhett spends his nap time:



How McKenna spends her nap time:

mckenna turns two!

I can't believe it, but McKenna turned two last Thursday. It doesn't seem possible. But then I look at her and there is no denying that she's a big girl now. Both of our families were in town for the weekend to celebrate. I promise to post pictures soon. In the meantime, here is a link to Hobbs' blog so that you can view the pictures Sara took.

Hobbs' Blog

miss tidy

We have one of those shoe trees in our coat closet with the little cubby holes for shoes. My shoes are small enough that I can usually put one pair in one cubby hole, whereas Duke needs one cubby hole per shoe. So the other morning, I was getting ready for work and reached into the coat closet to get my shoes. Although it was dark in the foyer, I knew approximately where they were on the shoe tree. As I reached into one of the cubby holes, I felt nothing. Hmmmm. I reached into another, and another, and still nothing. Finally, I turned on the light only to find that McKenna had thrown all of my shoes on the floor to make room for hers. How cute! The funnier thing is that she had one shoe per cubby hole, just like Duke, despite the fact that all of her tiny little shoes would fit in one. Is she my daughter or what?!?

strike a pose

Gosh... of all the adorable pictures that I have of Rhett, these are the ones that I decided to create a montage of. It seems kind of mean, but they're just so funny!

what happened?

McKenna's latest thing is to innocently ask, "What happened?" whenever she is the cause of what happened. One day, she pelted me in the eye with a balloon while she was playing. As my eye started to tear, she came over and asked (VERY concerned), "What happened?" The other night, she "accidently" smeared chili all over Duke's sleeve during dinner and then pointed at his shirt and asked "Daddy, what happened?" Can you see it? Someday she'll wreck the car and come to us and ask... "What happened?"

reading to rhett

McKenna and Rhett were playing in her room this morning while Duke and I were getting ready. When we went to check on them we found her reading a book to him. How sweet... and nondestructive! :) Maybe she'll teach him to enjoy books as much as she does. He seems into it.

future hoopster

Ahhhh... Duke's dreams of having McKenna wear purple for the K-State women's basketball team may become a reality after all. If she's already putting up these kinds of points, just think of what she'll be able to do in another 16 years.

sweet siblings

There is no greater joy than watching your kids interact with each other. When I watch McKenna and Rhett together, it fills my heart with a love I can't even begin to describe. They are both so young, but it's clear that there is already a very special bond between them. McKenna is very protective of Rhett, and Rhett just lights up when McKenna plays with him. They share moments together that are so sweet; I hope I never forget them!!

don't mess with my bunny

You would thing that Duke would have learned by now - don't mess with McKenna's bunny!!

good job

I guess McKenna hears the praise we give her for a job well done. Last night, we were getting ready to sit down for dinner when I noticed that her chair was covered with scraps of food from the previous meal. I grabbed a sponge and began to wipe it off as McKenna stood by me "supervising". When I got done she said approvingly, "Good job!"

rhett turns four months old

Four months... it's weird how it feels like Rhett has been a part of our lives forever and yet time has gone by so fast that it doesn't seem possible that he's already four months old. This is such a fun age. His little personality is really starting to show. He is very mild tempered and loves to smile, laugh, and coo.

This is the age when he can embark on some new firsts. From a developmental perspective, he has discovered his hands and is beginning to explore what he can do with them. They usually end up in his mouth. His neck is strong enough that he can hold his head steady when he's in an upright position, so we've introduced him to the "Jump-a-roo". He doesn't quite know what to do in it, but he enjoys it nonetheless. From a nutritional perspective, he has started to eat his first solid food, rice cereal. I've never tried it (I should since I'll feed it to my child) but it looks nasty!

Stats:
Weight - 12 lbs. 8 oz. (20th percentile)
Height - 23 1/2 in. (15th percentile)
Head circumfrence - 41 1/2 cm

are you done?

At one time, when McKenna was done eating she would want to get up from the table to go play. "I want out!" (of her high chair) she would demand. Duke and I would insist that she needed to sit at the table with us until we were done eating too. "I want out," she would scream. It wasn't a pretty sight. But we felt strongly that this was something we should enforce so that dinner time would be a pleasant experience for all of us AND so that we wouldn't have this kind of a scene at a restaurant.

So here is how the lesson worked. When Duke and I were done eating we would ask each other "Mommy, are you done? - Yes - Daddy, are you done? - Yes - Okay, McKenna, Mommy and Daddy are both done... you can go play now." Well it worked! After several weeks of working with her, McKenna began to sit at the table with us and just enjoy our company. Until the other night...

McKenna was done eating and sat patiently for a few moments and then asked "Are you done?...Mommy, are you done?...Daddy, are you done?" This went on until...well...until we were done.

santa claus is coming to town

Poor McBre... she hasn't figured out that Santa Claus won't be back for a while.

holiday pictures

We just wanted to post some pictures from the holidays. It takes a while for all of them to load. We hope you'll be patient. Enjoy!

i'll help... really?

We had soup and sandwiches for dinner last night. McKenna tore through everything on her plate and within reach so fast that it made Duke and me wonder if she had been fed at daycare. So, she was done eating and was waiting patiently (sort of) for us to finish so that she could get out of her high chair. After a while, as I'm eating my soup, she said "I'll help!" and reached for my spoon. I told her that "Mommy doesn't need help eating her soup," but she insisted. I agreed; although, Duke and I wondered where this was going. Sure enough, she picked up my spoon and began feeding me soup. How sweet! After about three bites, she turned the spoon on herself and finished off my bowl. What a ploy!

holiday reflection

Ah... the holidays are over. I'm glad that the chaos has come to an end and that the house is back in order. But, with mixed emotions I'm sad for the fun times that are over and that our families have returned home. The holidays left us with wonderful memories, just a few of which I thought I would share with you:

We spent a day at Crown Center - Christmas time is so pretty there. There are so many fun stores for kids, not the least of which is the Crayola Store. McKenna quickly found a pod of easels for kids to color on and anxiously waited her turn. Once it was her turn, Duke and I didn't think we would be able to tear her away. Trying to be concious of the other kids who wanted to color, we tried to call McKenna's attention to all the other cool things in the store.. "Let's go look at the {insert cool thing of your choice here}, McKenna," we pleaded. "YOU go!" she replied. Hmmm... I wonder where she got that sass!!

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Christmas Eve found us at church for a candlelight service. Knowing that we might have to excuse ourselves from the sanctuary to keep McKenna entertained, we sat in the back row. Although she wasn't being noisy, McKenna was ALL OVER THE PLACE. Sitting in Duke's lap, sitting in my lap, walking in front of us, sitting in Grampy's lap, crawling over the back of the pew, walking behind us. "I walk, I walk," she would beg, so Duke would take her outside to walk. After some time, he decided to take the kids home. We could still hear her calling "I walk, I walk" as he came back into the sanctuary to collect her coat. The second she saw him with her coat, her tune quickly changed. "I sit, I sit," she exclaimed. It was too late.

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One night, we all went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. I don't know what they put in those kids' meals, but McKenna and Hobbs ate enough to feed a horse!! When we got home, Hobbs made his way to our dog, Schatzie's food bowl and began snacking on her food. "Hobbs," Brandt exclaimed, "you should be full!" Yes, Brandt... because THAT is what's wrong with that picture.