A LLOOONNGGG Weekend

Well, Eric and the kids and I have had a sort of long weekend. It actually started Thursday night with Kennon getting a fever in the middle of the night and waking up pretty unhappy and very stopped up with "OOOOO.....BOOGERS" ( as Maddox calls them). He still had a fever Friday AM so I opted to stay home ( I think I wrote that in my last entry) with him Friday and saw all my patients on Saturday, leaving Eric to care for both the kids for an extended amount of time on Saturday ( sorry Eric!!). Friday night we did have a little fun and met the Wentland family at the Quad City Hot Air Balloon festival. It was super neat although a little chilly. There were about 15 hot air balloons and Maddox really seemed to be mesmorized by them. The only balloons she has ever met are her Elmo birthday balloons that are still in our living room left from her celebration. I don't think she quite knew what I meant when I told her we were going to see hot air balloons. Kennon really watched the balloons too. He was awake and alert the whole time we were there, bundled up in a hat and a hoodie. I know he couldn't tell us but he was probably thinking 'wow those are big cool balloons but when do we get to go home to the warmth of the house and how bout a cup of hot chocolate too??' :) Both Friday and Saturday night Kennon had little sleep...which meant Eric and I were up a lot too taking turns on the couch. I decided Sunday AM that maybe Kennon had an ear infection so we went to see Dr. Anderson Sunday afternoon and he thought the right ear looked a little infected. So we started on some antibiotics yesterday afternoon and he is seeming to be better already, although didn't give us much more sleep last night getting up at 11AM and 3AM and then up for good at 7.30Am. UGGGHH! Every night Eric and I get in bed we think ' ok this is the night....this is the night he is going to sleep until like 4 or 5". We haven't seen a night like that in over a month I think!! Since Kennon has been a bit more needy lately, Maddox has not been getting her normal attention from us which hasn't faired well in her behavior. Eric and I are ready for a NEW healthy week. We LOVE Kindercare but it seems there are a lot of germs there. We are hoping we'll make it through the next few weeks without too much more sick trauma. Enjoy the balloon pictures. We had planned to go back later in the weekend for another launch or two but with the sickness and whiny behavior and seeing patients on Saturday we just didn't get it done. But, it will definintely be on the calendar for next year. Happy anniversary to Aunt Brooke and Uncle Tyler!!

Another Trip to the Zoo

Grammy Marti came in town Wednesday to get her fix of the kids. It was a beautiful day so we headed to the zoo. We hadn't been to the zoo since Kennon was about 2 months old...and boy what a difference. He wanted to be out of his carseat and really ENJOYED looking around at everything. I am convinced he was able to see the goats, ducks, fish and the giraffes. We of course saw the elephants and they are huge so you'd think he would be able to see them but they were sort of far away and he seemed to be mesmerized by the trees and grass while we were at their habitat. It was really fun to see his expression. I have been trying SO HARD to remember some of Maddox's 'first' expressions and it is so hard. I think that I am enjoying Kennon a little more than Maddox. Maybe it has to do with being so much more relaxed with the second kid and the fact that Kennon is such a great nurser. I was always battling Maddox on nursing, it seemed to consume me. Thank goodness we have plenty of pictures to remind us she was fun at this age too. I am home today with Kennon. He has a bit of a cold and was running just a little fever last night and early this AM. Luckily I can just see my patients tomorrow so he and I are hanging out. He is enjoying a little snooze in the swing right now. He has NOT been sleeping so well lately. Not sure if it is the cold or just the fact that he is JUST DIFFERENT than Maddox. She was going about 9 to 10 hours by this age and Kennon just doesn't want to give up that 2 or 3 AM feeding. (this week it has been like 1am due to his stuffy nose waking him up). Eric and I are SOOOO READY for at least a 6 or 7 hour stretch of sleep. We know it will come soon, c'mon KTK. We got out the bumbo for KTK this week. He LOVES to sit up and be part of the family. In fact he is not always liking the swing anymore as a 'holding spot'. He wants to be up with us in the action. So we have been putting him in the BUMBO so he can join in our family 'meetings' at the table. He is still a bit wobbly with his head but seems to enjoy being upright. He LOVES to sit up on your lap and look about the room. Maddox is doing better at Kindercare. She no longer cries when we pick her up and she is just gets a little whiny when we drop her off. She still has days where she doesn't eat or sleep much but then some days she does well. She is a singin' girl....they sing a lot of songs there and she is always singing them when she gets home. SO CUTE. I have to always ask the teachers the next day...'did you guys learn a song about a bumblebee ( or whatever) yesterday'. And generally they say YES, which explains Maddox's tra la la las for the evening. She is SOOO talkative, and really good with her words/sentences. It is super fun. Last night she was saying 'Where garbage truck go?". Eric took her out to meet the garbage truck when it came by our house Wednesday AM and she has been FIXATED on it coming back ever since. It is really funny. She used to be SO AFRAID of the garbage truck if we happened to be outside when it came by because it was so loud, now she can't get enough. I'll have to jot down some of her sentences over the next day or so and put them in the blog. We think she is a genius!! :) But, then who doesn't think their kids can do no wrong and are super smart......!! We are headed to the Quad City Hot Air Balloon Festival this afternoon, pending the weather, although Kennon might need to stay home with his cold but we'll see. Should be a good time. I'll post pictures later.

Our Little Hawkeyes

I had the kids dressed in Hawkeye gear on Friday and thought I better get a few pictures. Kindercare had a 'favorite football team' day so we had to participate. Eric and I were lucky enough to have Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean come over to watch the kids on Saturday so we could actually GO to the Hawkeye game. We were just about ready to leave in the 3rd quarter when the Hawks finally decided to show up and play. Luckily they came out on top. It was nice to get away for a bit. Maddox and Kennon were spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma while we were gone. When we came home Maddox was out on the front porch, one of her favorite past times, playing with Grandma Jean. We are lucky to have the Grandparents close enough to come spend the day with the kids and give us a MUCH NEEDED break. THANK YOU Grandpa Jim and Grandpa Jean.

Kennon want a cookie??

Had to put these on quickly tonight!! I thought they were so cute. Maddox is always wanting Kennon to eat whatever she is having!! Nice that she wants to share eh? Hopefully she'll keep wanting to share EVERYTHING with him as she gets older....we can only hope. Kennon is SO HAPPY and smiley now, if we could just get him to sleep. The little guy was up at 1.30AM last night instead of his normal 3 or 4AM UGH....! I am thinking he is just hungry so when we start cereal in a couple of weeks maybe he'll start to make it through the night, that is if he likes cereal. In the meantime we'll just keep enjoying him. Poor Eric broke his toe getting up with him in the middle of the night Sunday!! I really had him laughing tonight...actually laughing, even after I took the video this afternoon. It was so darn fun. He is so smiley and just LOVES to stare at your face especially if you happen to be talking or chewing. He is just analyzing, analyzing, analyzing.....really amazing. He follows Maddox around the room now too. I have an idea he is going to be mobile much earlier than Maddox. He definitely looks like a 'KIES' doesn't he....?!! I thought the kicking video was kind of funny. He gets totally fixated on the animals on the bouncy seat and just goes to town almost like he is mentally racing them in the jungle or something. I think he is going to be a runner with those skinny little legs. GO HAWKS!! Eric and I are headed to the game on Saturday thanks to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean being able to come over to watch the kids. Eric and I are looking forward to some adult time together! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and gifts. I had a great day. On to uploading.

An Elmo Birthday Party

So as most of you know we celebrated Maddox's 2nd birthday yesterday complete with an ELMO cupcake cake. We had so much fun and want to thank everyone for traveling over to celebrate with us. Maddox took a great nap in the AM so she was ready to go when she woke up and the house was filled with all her guests. It took her a bit to warm up but once she discovered the Elmo singing balloon, from Jen and Tim Foley, she was good to go. We had Subway sandwhiches, chips, fruit, veggies, Aunt Diane's beans and Grammy Marti's grape salad and corn Frito salad...YUM. Maddox didn't eat much for lunch, I suppose because she was saving up for Elmo cake. It was quite tasty. She even blew out her own candles. You can sort of see in one of the pictures she is BLOWING. She did a great job. She got lots of great gifts, most of them Elmo themed, and a lot of money to go towards a swing set for the backyard. Eric and I have been researching swing sets online most of the day and I think we've got one picked out which definitely appears to be the easy part. Putting it together is another story, but we are excited to have something fun for the kids to do in the backyard for years to come. I can't believe she is 2 already! She is growing up so fast and is SO talkative. This AM she and Eric got up before Kennon and I did. So when I brought Kennon down she QUICKLY said to me 'put him in the bouncy seat'. Just so matter of fact....like she wanted him there so she could look after him. She was up on the couch having her morning milk and the bouncy seat was down on the ground in front of the couch. Even though he is taking some of her 'Maddox Time' from mom and dad it is definintely evident she loves him and cares about him. Well lots of pictures, so I better get to uploading. Sorry the video is so shaky, I couldn't help but laugh at her a bit while I was filming. So cute. We love her dearly. Happy Birthday Maddox!