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Monday, October 8, 2012

Happy Birthday....again?

Kennon 15 1/2 months in Grammy and Papa Dick's rocking chair...he climbed up to get in!!..surprised right?? hah 

Family picture taken by my neighbor Kim at the balloon festival

I ordered a 'Maddox' hat for Maddox a couple of weekends ago!! 

Still just 2 teeth on the bottom but 4 good ones on the top and some more coming in on the top on the sides. BLUE EYES STILL!! 


Despite having a fever Maddox was still ready to dress up for Halloween 

kennon gathering the crayons...!! Maddox is getting her share too. 

Kennon PROUD he got as many as he did!! 




Making grape jello jigglers!! from Aunt Diane

Kennon managed to get himself up ONTO the kitchen table via the bench in a split second while I was busy in the laundry room.  'hmmmm I think this is how ya open it' 

'now I've seen them tilt it over this way and I think I'll get production'

'wait they were supposed to go in the bowl!!' 
So we celebrated Maddox's 3rd birthday one last time yesterday in Aurora with Grammy, Papa Dick, Great Grandma Berg AND Aunt Diane!!  We had a great day and Grammy even got to hang out with us despite being very tired.  It was SOOO nice to see Grammy and hear her read books to Maddox.  We are sending lots of love and hugs your way.  Hang in there Grammy! We know it is rough right now but it will get better.  Maddox was, once again, showered with gifts. Thank you for all the fabulous things.  She has a new wardrobe of clothes to wear to school and we made Halloween grape Jello Jigglers today compliments of Aunt Diane. Maddox LLLOOOOVVEEED them.  Kennon thought we were crazy for eating the weird rubbery purple stuff. Instead he just flung it across the kitchen from his high chair. If it isn't a cracker, cereal, or a fruit or veggie don't try to get it down Kennon's gullet.  He is my little vegetarian, CLIMBING boy and could care less about meat. Anyhow she also got markers from Aunt Diane that SMELL like different foods and a huge notepad to color to her little heart's content!!  How cool is that.  Kennon loves to color too as you can see from the pictures. He really just likes to gather up as many of the crayons/markers as possible ( IE keeping them from Maddox) and then occasionally he'll make a mark or two on the paper.  We are calling him our climbing boy as you can see from the pictures. He climbs up on stuff faster than I can say 'NO'!! Which by the way he has learned that word in the last like 24 hours and even shakes his head back and forth in just the right way. He is saying MOO BAA DOWN UP ( of course) HOTDOG ALL DONE MAMA DADA PLEASE MILK and he has a little mind of his own and squeals in disgust if he doesn't want to do something. Maddox has been a bit of a terror in the last few days waking up in a whiny/crying mode and staying that way until she goes back to bed. I"m convinced it is a little of the terrible 3's and a bit of being overtired. She is not sleeping well at night and is not napping well. Today she took a 2 hour nap and literally woke up as happy as a lark!!  She has been getting up in the AM at 5:30 whining/crying throwing a tantrum in the hallway and in the end waking up Kennon who normally sleeps till at least 8 if not later. We really relish the times when she is happy because when she isn't it takes everything to not brow beat her with a wet noodle!! ( and I'm saying that nicely) Kennon is LOVING his new class at Kindercare.  They are working through a HOME unit, hence the reason I threw on the picture of our house.  He has to bring in a picture of his house for their board. Eric, despite how busy our schedules have been, has really been working on the house outside the last several weeks doing little jobs that have been on our 'to do' list for several months...staining the deck, staining the swing set,  painting the front door and sidelights, sealing up windows and drafty joints etc.  The house looks great and is all ready for winter. You can't see them but we already have out milk jug ghosts our for Halloween. Maddox is going to be a witch and Kennon the monkey that Maddox wore last year...gotta recycle.  Maddox is literally LOVING Church School.  In fact I'm pretty convinced that she likes it better than Kindercare.  Probably due to the smaller class size and she is really liking one of her teachers Mrs. Doyle  ( who happens to be the one from Orion...good things are grown in Orion :)  She is really sweet and seems to just LOVE the kids.  Maddox literally ran down 50 feet into her arms today when we walked into the hallway.  She has never done that at Kindercare, at least to my knowledge.  I'm certain she gets excellent education and care at Kindercare, the class size is just so much bigger it is easier to get lost in the sea. There are only 12 kids in her class at Church School. Well I have a few more random pics from my iphone to upload and then off to bed.  Thanks to Grandma Jean for all the great 'go to freezer' food and to Grandpa Jim for stepping in last Thursday to come over and watch Maddox since she couldn't go to Kindercare with a fever. Eric and I both appreciate the convenient meals and NOT using our sacred vacation days. 
Aunt Diane trying to give Maddox a little push on the thick carpet


Grammy reading books to Maddox...one of their favorite things to do....both of them!! 

A dot-to-dot   1-10 from Grammy...how cool 





A big hug for Papa Dick as Great Grandma looks on- Great Grandma Berg will be 93 at the end of the month!! 



Another yummy cake....Maddox blew the candles out like a pro!! AND she and Aunt Diane decorated it with this cool icing tube!! 


 Good ol' 5363 ready for Fall!! The Oak tree is finally a growin' check out the shade it is starting to make!! 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Quad City Balloon Festival 2012

Kennon getting his first glimpse at the balloons...he looks thrilled doesn't he??

Maddox 'posing'...Nash and Nolan Wentland in the background checking out the balloons. 


So pretty


Nash checking out Kennon...

Nolan checking out Kennon...the Wentlands are a very touchy feely family :) 

Maddox decided to crash the Wentland's family picture....sorry Wentlands!! 

Nash, Maddox, Kennon, Nolan, and Jason Wentland


Maddie  Millage and Maddox 

Maddie almost always has a pretty skirt on....

The balloon glow on the 'night' setting on my camera



So we made our annual trip over to East Moline last night to join the Wentland family for the Quad City balloon festival. Unlike last year the weather was perfect for balloons. Our neighbors, the Millage family, joined us too. We even stayed long enough to catch the balloon glow because the weather was so comfortable.  The kids had a great time and so did Eric and I. It was nice to see everyone and let the kids run around like hooligans playing football with the dad's in between the balloon launch and balloon glow. Maddox and Kennon were tired pups when we got home. Thanks for joining us Wentlands and Millages.  I love a good tradition.  The other pictures are just random shots from my iPhone.  We are certainly enjoying the fabulous weather and have been spending a lot of time outside playing and getting little outdoor house projects done before it gets too cold.  Quick health update. I forgot to mention that I took Kennon for his ear tube check up a couple of weeks ago.  The Dr said his tubes look good thus far and are still in place but they will likely fall out on their own in the next few months. At that point, if he starts getting ear infections again they will likely put a second set of tubes in as well as takes his adenoids out while they are in there.  Dr. Dvorak was happy with how they looked and said we are just in the waiting game at this point in time.  BUT>>>>>the big news we don't have to use those darn ear plugs in the bathtub anymore.  Just have to keep his ears dry if he submerges his head for more than 4 seconds....I don't see that happening anytime soon so we'll keep the earplugs in the drawer for now.  I also took  Kennon for his 15 month check up a couple of weeks ago and he is doing well.  He is up to 22  or 23 pounds ( if I remember right) and received a good check up from Dr Anderson. I talked to him about Kennon's almost constant cold ( although knock on wood, he seems fine right now) and that I thought it was allergies and he said I could give him a daily dose of OTC allergy medicine like Zyrtec during allergy seasons. I haven't even had a chance to pick it up but we'll see how we fair the rest of the season. Dr. Anderson recommended continuing with the Lactaid milk until he was 2 years old but to go ahead and give him regular cheese and yogurt.  Unfortunately with the colder weather his eczema seems to be coming back a bit.... But, otherwise he is doing well. He is officially in the TODDLER room at Kindercare now and doing well. He actually took a 2.5 hour nap on Friday on a cot.  AMAZING!!  He is eating well and is very enthusiastic about using his utensils although not all that efficient :)  Keep trying Kennon!!  He is a happy boy but definitely has a temper...look out if he doesn't get his way. The neighbors can attest to that.... plenty o' screaming coming out of the Kies' windows . Maddox is doing well at Kindercare and at Our Savior Church school. She generally comes home all smiles from both schools and hasn't had any potty accidents.  The 3's classroom at Kindercare seems much more structured  compared to the 2's which is good for Maddox and I love the BIBLE stories she is learning at Our Savior.  We take her for her 3 year old check up in a few weeks. Well ta ta for now!!  Off to bed ( or well back to the Nebraska:Wisconsin football game) Way to go Hawkeyes ...!! Finally looked good out there. Sorry to Aaron Stegemann...better luck next year Gopher!!!
Maddox playing with her Cinderella doll from Aunt Brooke

Maddox sporting her new 'Maddox' backpack....from where else....but....Pottery Barn...my nemesis!!  

Eric 'helped' the kids make a Get Well sign for Grammy!! 

Maddox reading to Kennon.  

Getting in some outdoor time....beautiful 75 degree weather 


Maddox painting the rocks.  



My happy boy

Snack time after school....a bit chilly in the shade

Balloon glow....on my iPhone.  Much better shot....gotta love the iphone.