A New Park Every Week!!

So the kids and I ventured out this AM ( before the Colorado heat hits later today) to a new park that we hadn't gone to. It was absolutely beautiful this morning,  75 degrees, dry and blue skies breeze but very nice. The park is in the same area as one that we frequent, I'm not sure why I hadn't detected it but boy it was SO PERFECT for little hands and feet.  Both Maddox and Kennon loved it.  It has that nice rubber flooring that doesn't get your feet black and is easy to crawl/walk on. Kennon even got in on some slide action and was able to climb up the steps to the slide since they were little guy size.  They had this totally cool climbing wall that Maddox did repeatedly.  I watched Kennon eye her up and down as she did that.  I'm quite certain he will be attempting to do it next time we visit. Anyhow while I was there I thought I should try to take the kids to a new park each week.( weather and schedule permitting) There are tons of parks around the Quad Cities....some really fabulous ones with water fountain sprayers and others with rocket ships! So this week is Week 1. We'll see where next week takes us.  All of these pictures are from my iPhone ( I forgot the actual camera). I got some fabulous footage of Kennon walking but it doesn't seem to be recognizing it on the MAC. Grrrrr....technical difficulties. I"ll keep trying. UPDATE I got it to work!! ( human error.....ooops) The other pictures are just random ones from my phone.  Enjoy!! 

Do you think he is doing any of my paperwork by chance??

'I like this button right here'

Maddox shopping at Hyvee just like Mom....only Mom never gets the free cookie :) 

Kennon literally fell asleep in his chair after dinner this night, he has never done that before and it wasn't even a school night.  A testament to the fact that he does NOT sleep well at night. 

One of my favorite poses from Kennon's 1 year pictures we had taken last weekend.  Tie and suit shirt just like Dad. 

'These steps are a piece of cake for me' 

Oh,  what a nice hug Maddox.

Wait Maddox...it is supposed to be a HUG not a HEADLOCK :) 

Static electricity from the slide.  Someone needs to invent a non static material. All the playground slides do this. 

 It's fun to walk on this nice rubber stuff. 

Maddox climbing on the rock wall 

Kennon is walking!!

Maddie and Maddox SHARING the one paintbrush that we have- need to make a Hobby Lobby run!! 

Maddox and Grammy at the petting zoo.

Maddox on Doughboy-only this time she did not RIDE him. For some reason was too afraid and got down before the ride even started which is strange since she rode completely by herself the last time we were there-fatigue factor.

We are weaning Kennon off of his bottles. He just gets 1 in the AM and 1 in the PM otherwise he does well with sippy cups and water bottles. 

Maddox would NOT ride the carousel in addition to not riding the horse so Kennon capitalized on her ticket. His first ride!! 

I have a feeling Kennon will be able to crawl up this by the end of the summer. He tries to do everything Maddox does. 

We have had a great weekend!!  I am really trying to par down the amount of writing I do and focus more on the pictures and the highlights but I tend to be a wordy person ( as most of you know :)  so it is really hard.   So of course by the title, you know that Kennon is walking. Unfortunately I haven't gotten a chance to get any video as of yet but I will. He is still pretty wobbly and prefers to crawl of course but he managed to string together about 6 steps on Saturday night at church.  So he is walking about 3 months before Maddox did!!  He is going to be an active boy. We also discovered ( thanks to Peg Mineck:)   that he is getting another tooth, up on top....which maybe explains the completely ERRATIC AND UNDESIRABLE sleeping pattern he has had of late.  It is on the top left and just barely pushing out.  Hoping once that is out he will be a happier kid.  But, I should say he has been generally happy, although a definite Mama's boy still!! He loves to crash toys together to make noises as well as giggle hysterically at Maddox through the mesh on her bed rails. I think he is going to be a happy kid once we get his sleeping figured out.  Let's see what else.  Maddox is learning how to SPIT her toothpaste out ( much like her buddy Hannah up the road...funny Jody and I didn't talk about this milestone with our girls but it just seems we are always on similar paths of development and discovery).  So we started using the REAL toothpaste. She had decided she likes Eric's flavor more than mine for some reason. But, either way I don't care, it leaves her with nice minty fresh breath ( a step up from the fruit flavored fluoride free stuff that does nothing for her pacifier dragon breath:)    She still has a bit of coordination to work on getting her spit into the bowl and not her hair but we are making steps.  Grammy came last week for a visit so we headed to the zoo and played outside in the HEAT with the bubbles and the water table. I got a few pics although it was pretty hot and Maddox gets tired so quickly in the AM as we are still trying to transition her to one nap in the afternoon.  She is actually down at Maddie's house this morning which is a great way to keep her awake and  happy. Maddie will be 3 in August so there are close in age and play abilities. Maddie came to our house last Monday morning, I got a few pictures of them painting!!   We hired a sitter Saturday morning to stay with Maddox so Eric and I ( and Kennon) could go test drive some mini vans. With the big Colorado trip coming up and our basement project on hold to make way for The Planning Center's exciting move and massive RENOVATION project we decided we'd go ahead and purchase a mini van. ( Not sure how that all equates but it does make sense to Eric and I in case you are wondering how that all works out to equal the need to purchase a van:)  But with any car purchase it is a fairly large undertaking and even more so now because a van is more money and has more bells and whistles and we have the kids to consider as compared to before we were basically just buying the vehicle for Eric and I. So we are still in the process and will be for a few weeks I fear but that's ok. The end result will be that we have a cool new ride that will last us for years!!  Eric and I were already talking about the great road trips we are going to take with the kids.  Maddoxism for the week-  I'd say probably 50% of the conversation around our house is about the subject of poop or pee!!  Eric and I both try to keep tabs on the kids voiding habits and details when the other is gone.  I went to the Y on Saturday afternoon and left Eric with the kids. When I came home I asked Maddox if she had gone poop ( she is having a tendency to hold her poo poo when she is busy playing, a typical 2 year old thing to do....too much holding stops the system up though....not good) She replied 'Yes', which didn't quite suit the detail I was desiring.  So I asked her if it was a 'Big poop or a small poop' and she replied 'It was a HHHUUUGGGGEEE poop'  with the emphasis on the HUGE and she even curled up her lips when she said the word HUGE.  LOL!  Then today we were having lunch.  I said after lunch we are going to go upstairs and take a nap.  She replied very quickly with her tired looking eyes 'I'm going to take a REALLY GOOD nap'!!   How can one almost 3 year old be so happy to sleep....as I now hear Kennon waking up after just 30 minutes of sleep grrrr....!!  Really Kennon can't you take any lessons from your sister??  Oh well,  I guess I'd be bored if they were exactly the same right?? One of my favorite pastimes right now is putting Maddox and Kennon in front of the numerous bookshelves we have around here ( thanks for all the great books grandparents, aunts and uncles) Maddox practically knows all her books by heart, but Kennon doesn't.  She LOVES to read to him in her own little Maddox version.  They will sit and read books together for what seems like a long time, although it is probably 15 to 20 minutes or so..... it is music to my ears.  Kennon repeatedly turns the pages while Maddox talks aloud to him. Priceless. One more funny note just to let you know how we roll around the Kies house on Mondays and Wednesday when I am home.     We were having a great morning this morning.  The kids ( mostly Maddox) had managed to pull EVERY book off of the bookshelf in the living room and drop them right in front of the love seat. But they were playing nicely laughing and reading.   I listened to them converse while I cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast. The next thing I heard was 'Mom, Kennon has poop!!'   ( sorry another poop story...I told you it is a common topic of discussion).  At that exact moment I witnessed Maddox pulling open the back edge of Kennon's diaper to inspect and feel his poop!!  I threw down the kitchen towel and ran over to rush her to the bathroom to wash her hands before she touched herself or any books OR KENNON.  I got Maddox's hands cleaned up and then proceeded to wash mine when she left the bathroom and I heard 'Oh no buddy...MMMOOOMMM' come out of Maddox's mouth.  I came out of the bathroom to find Kennon sitting on the carpet with my coffee cup with I'd say probably a quarter of the contents on himself and the rest of the coffee on the carpet. I had to laugh at that point!!  Luckily I use a lot of cream and milk so #1 the coffee wasn't hot and #2 it was really light in color so it blended right into the carpet which made for easy clean up (shhhh don't tell Dad)!!  Kennon is very quick and knows just what to get into when you aren't looking.  I learned my lesson :)  There is always something fairly significant to clean up on Mondays and Wednesday around here now that Kennon is mobile.  But I just think, the more mess the more fun right??

Kennon's new trick!!

Standing all on my own!! 

Look at me, I"m a big boy.

Big sis, getting' in on the camera action...showing HER moves off

Happy boy, with a full belly and food in my hair....time for a bath!

Like me new hair do??

So I realized when I published the last post that I actually forgot to upload the video of Maddox reading the book Little Blue Truck. Silly me.  Today I managed to get a couple pics and some video of Kennon doing his new trick.  He is my little balancing boy!!  He has, just in the last few days, gotten extremely interested in standing without holding onto anything and he thinks it is absolutely fantastic.  He has actually figured out that keeping his feet further apart allows him to stand longer and more steadily.  Tonight he was hilarious.  He decided that he would stand up and then reach down to pick up part of Maddox's blanket and shake it. I tried sitting right in front of him doing his new trick, reaching out to him, trying to encourage him to take a step. He raised up on his toes like he wanted to go forward but then fell back down.  So for now we'll just be happy to see him stand up.  I don't think Maddox really ever did that.  She PULLED herself up at the couch or the chair and then walked from there.  Kennon is starting from ground zero, just standing right up.  He is really good at getting his feet under him from a seated position.  You can tell by the look on his face he is concentrating really hard to stay upright!!  Today we took Kennon to the mall to get his 1 year photos.  It is always fun to see which one of us is more tired when we leave the studio. We managed to get a few good ones. Keep an eye on your mailbox for some copies.  Eric spent the majority of his Father's Day weekend volunteering at the Quad City Triathlon. He even spent the night at West Lake on Friday night as he had to be getting things organized for the start of the 7AM race at 4AM Saturday!!  Way to go Eric. The race went off without a hitch.  It is definitely tough work behind the scenes of a triathlon. Actually it has made both Eric and I more aware of the hours of work and dedication that occur before the first participant hits the water. Maybe by this time next year I'll be back into triathlon shape....maybe.... Back to relaxin' and finishing up the US Open.

Neighborhood Block Party

Afternoon snacks on our new picnic table from Grammy

'What are you having?'

Brotherly sisterly love

This kid climbs anything he can get a knee up onto, just like his cousin Carter!! 

So  this past Sunday was our annual neighborhood block party.  It is super fun and we are lucky to have some great moms who do all of the planning and organizing.  Thanks Kim!! There is usually a jump house, sprinklers,  games for the kids and tons of food!!  This year they brought in a snow cone truck.  We shut down one street in our neighborhood so it is basically a free for all and all the kids run barefooted without a lot of chaperoning.  It is great.  I managed to get a few good pictures of Kennon and Charlie.  Remember Charlie is our neighbor up the road that is moving away. He and Maddox share the same birthday, September 16th, but he isn't even 1 yet....big boy eh?  He isn't crawling yet either so he's easier to photograph.  He is incredibly photogenic which works out well because his mom is a fabulous photographer and keeps up a great blog for her family as well.  I wasn't able to get both boys to look at the camera and smile at the same time bummer!!  Maddox is playing water balloon toss with Maddie. Maddie is just about a month older than Maddox and in our Wednesday playgroup. I love her curly hair.  She turns 5 before Maddox so they will always be a grade apart in school, bummer.  Maddox and Maddie did pretty well in the balloon toss but then again they didn't really play by the rules and remained about 1 foot from each other the whole time rather than spreading apart like the older kids.  The night ended with me manning the jump house and allowing Maddox to get bopped in the head        ( oops) which caused a big crying fit. She was SUPER tired by then so that didn't help. I had to strap her into the stroller so we could head home black footed and with a dusty teared face.  It was a good time had by all.  Grammy brought us a really nice Little Tikes picnic table a couple of weeks ago.  Maddox absolutely loves sitting at it to eat her snacks and meals and Kennon is starting to follow suit.  I had Maddox's hair CHOPPED today.  I'm not totally thrilled with it. It looks great from the front but not so much from the back. Luckily it will grow fast. I'll post some pictures of her new do soon. Tomorrow is Beach Party Day in Maddox's classroom. Not sure what that entails but she is sure liking the special summer activities at school.  Last Thursday was bring your favorite book to school. Maddox decided to bring Little Blue Truck from her cousin Carter.  She knows the entire thing by heart and quite often prances around the house reciting it from memory without even looking at the book.  I managed to get a bit of video of her doing this. Unfortunately as soon as she saw me with the camera she got stage fright and quit saying it.  So I've just started trying to transition Maddox to a ONE nap day. She is my sleeper and has really still been taking 2 naps.  So today was our first day. We kept ourselves busy this AM ( post office, park, haircut etc). She was pretty unhappy through lunch and then literally fell asleep on her bed unsolicited while I was putting Kennon down. She ( and kennon slept for  3 hours). When she woke up I said to her 'Oh boy you had a great nap. I think we are going to start only taking one nap per day.'  She immediately replied 'I'm not so sure 'bout that' . LOL. She sure is my sleeper.  POTTY UPDATE ......we've had no accidents in weeks night or day.... !! And that's all I have to say about that.  Way to go big girl.  

Charlie looks like he is thinking "Dude don't tell them what we did ok?' 

ooops, forgot to rotate that one. Sorry Charlie.