Happy 3rd Birthday Kennon!!

Maddox and Priya taken several weeks ago…..  In this picture Maddox's doll is named Melody and I believe Priya's is named Summer…although don't quote me as they change almost weekly.  These two dolls are the same brand and have special 'powers'  Maddox's sucks the bottle and Priya's sucks the pacifier and makes these adorable baby noises and her eyes open and close. The girls OFTEN play house or doctor and run between our garage and Priya's front porch as their 'house'  Too cute!!  Priya did get a sandbox last week however so the SAND has taken precedence over the dolls.  We are so happy to have Priya, Elisha and Carl next door. They are great neighbors. 

So most of you know I decided to try my hand at birthday cake baking and decorating.   I have always really wanted to do it and figured since I was staying home with the kids now, maybe I"d have the time. Ha ha ha….! Thankfully Aunt Diane outfitted me with all her old cake baking/decorating tools which were a HUGE HELP!!   I think Rocket ( as his name is…the Rocket from The Little Einstein's show on Disney Junior) turned out well. I actually cheated a tad and had HyVee do the base but I was able to construct Rocket out of an oval cake pan and 2 round bowls with a few toothpicks plus the rocket boosters are Swiss Cake rolls ( who doesn't like a Swiss cake roll covered in butter cream frosting!! YUMMY!!! )  I think Kennon really like it as did the other kids.  Maddox is asking for a Frozen cake….I"m already brain storming how I"m going to work that one out….slightly more challenging I believe.   

So we ended up bringing together friends and family for Kennon's party. We had a couple of neighbors with kids our kids' ages as well as a co-worker of mine and of course the usual FABULOUS family plus Aunt Rosie!  It was a great combination and I think the kids had a grand time.  We went on a Mission i.e. Treasure Hunt for party supplies. The Little Einsteins characters go on Missions each episode so that's what we did. I made a treasure map for the kids and had them make glitter covered batons. The Little Einsteins use a baton to direct Rocket. So we hopped in our imaginary Rocket, raised our batons high, put our paper towel/TP holders to our eyes to look out for crazy animals…and we went a trekin' for party supplies. I can still see the kids following me around the house with their batons held high looking through their telescope. We….and I….had a great time. We found party hats, sunglasses ( I was hoping to have part of the mission outdoors but the rain changed that plan ) party noise makers and then the 'prize' at the end was a helium filled balloon. So fun!! 

Maddie, Maddox, Priya, Brecken, Kennon ( Carter is behind Kennon), Parker and Reid. 

Kennon trying to blow out his candles…..  I love CJK's face in the background… trying to help his little cousin Kennon blow out his candles so cute. We finally realized that we had the cake a TAD far from him…!! oops!!

Now that's better……

Sunday was a cool morning. We had planned to go to the pool but the weather just didn't cooperate.  But the cool weather left for a great morning of bike ridding, swing set playing,  dizzy bat game challenges :), baseball, bubbles, soccer and any and all other sports that involve a ball!!  It was a nice time. Then we thought we'd keep the Rocket theme going so we packed a picnic lunch, grabbed some Subway sandwiches and headed to Rocket ship park for a nice lunch finished off with Swiss Rolls…!!! They kids were extremely excited to have a treat that came out of wrapper…or well maybe I was :)  We had  a great birthday weekend but of course…we had to do the one thing that is always a MUST when we get together..…GET THE ULTIMATE SHOT OF ALL FOUR COUSINS TOGETHER…!!  I absolutely love these shots but can't claim any of them. All Aunt Brooke :)  I seriously want to print them all in panoramic and then get up them up on the wall…what do you think Jody..doable??

This is Eric and I's favorite!!  So cute!

The week before Kennon's party we had visitors from the far north…!! The Stegemann's, Jody, Charlie and Hannah came down to thaw out and see some green here in Iowa. Minnesota has been pretty cold and rainy all spring so they were happy to see our green, grassy, yard…minus the gnats:)  We had a fun time together visiting the Museum and the Zoo and having lots of outdoor park and bike ridding fun.  Hannah and Charlie are very quiet and extremely well behaved and I do think some of that rubbed off on my two, as both Maddox and Kennon have been little angels this week.  I didn't manage to get any pictures of the kids but Jody sure did. If you are interested in a fabulous shot of Maddox check out her blog.  She is really talented with the camera.  Thanks for visiting us Stegemann's.

http://jodystegemann.wordpress.com


Side note…why is it that the diggers can work ALL morning yards/miles from the house and then the minute I get the kids down for a nap they are literally on the backside of the berm…!! UGH. Luckily both seem to have become accustomed to the loud noise.

This bad boy arrived on Tuesday.  I have the Knowles family to 'thank' for the 'Yo Ho Let's Go' wake up call I got on Wednesday morning the day after he arrived. And 'He' is named Bucky. Bucky is Jake's ship. I honestly thought Maddox and Kennon were just calling him Bucky till I realized it was saying 'Bucky' in the song. Ha ha ha.  As Aunt Brooke put it… I wasn't up for a pirate adventure Wednesday morning at 6am.  But Kennon is loving Bucky and he has given the kids lots of entertainment since it arrived. Kennon got lots of great gifts Saturday.  Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim got him a big boy bike….that is….. a bike with training wheels. He is struggling a bit, or maybe a fair amount, to pedal and gets frustrated quickly as he can't go 'fast'.  He is a speedster on his old red balance bike and with the struggle to pedal he can't get going fast enough. But I'd say by the end of the summer he'll be doing just dandy. Thanks to all who joined us to celebrate such a fun loving little boy's special day.  

A few Kennon tidbits….. 

1.  What do you want to be when you grow up? A construction worker last week…but I asked him again yesterday and actually BOTH kids said fireman…'to help people during emergencies'

2.  What is your favorite color?  GREEN

3.  Who is your best friend?  …….  'uh, ALL my friends!' 

4. What is your favorite food?  Chicken Nuggets and Mac n Cheese and watermelon

5.  What is your favorite thing to play outside? Ride bikes and playing soccer in the garage with Maddox

6.  What is your favorite thing to play inside? Music….?? not sure where that came from.  He likes to play Hide N Seek with Eric!!  

7. What is your favorite movie?  Toy Story 1

Kennon is extremely loving and compassionate and is a mama's boy.  He 'knows' he can sneak downstairs after bedtime and I"ll let him sit up to watch TV with me when it is way past his bedtime  ( yes….terrible habit…although he hasn't done it lately) He has terrible seasonal allergies which we are managing with some medications but otherwise he has had a very healthy year. Kennon is all boy and is extremely coordinated and lightning fast on his feet and does well with most all ball sports. He loves Church School, diggers, cranes, ridding bikes, ice cream, popsicles, parks, swimming, and watching movies with his big sis Maddox.  We are so blessed that God gave us to you Kennon.