Happy 2nd Birthday Kennon

Kennon riding the Bob the Builder machine at the mall after his 2 year old pictures.  A fabulous reward for a great photo shoot.  Love that toothy smile.

So we celebrated Kennon's 2nd birthday on Saturday here at the house. We had a fabulous time and thanks to all our family for making the trip over to join in Kennon's special day.  He got lots of great presents but most of all was showered with lots of LOVE. He seemed to know he was in the limelight that entire weekend grinning from ear to ear, basking in all the attention, even just singing out at times his own rendition of Old MacDonald had a Farm.  So cute. He is a little talkin' fool and very quick on his feet.  He seems to have mastered way more physical skills at this age than Maddox had. He loves construction trucks and tractors as well as digging in the dirt, rocks and mulch. He loves to get his hands dirty but is getting extremely proficient at washing up in the bathroom before dinner ( thank you big sis Maddox and Kindercare!!)  His favorite foods are mostly fruits and veggies and if you give him a little Ranch dressing he'll dip till it's all gone.  He is a really good sleeper/napper and seems to be a good healthy kick lately.  We sure do love you BUDDY. You brighten our day. Happy Birthday 2nd birthday Kennon.

Kennon and Eric mowing the yard. Kennon LLLOOOVVEEESSS the riding mower and actually requested to sit on Eric's lap during the mowing of the ENTIRE yard. He is a tractor lover!! 

Cousin Hannah, Aunt Diane,  Grammy enjoying the sunshine Saturday during the party....finally no rain....it's about time!! Although I am noticing the very green grass and pretty pink flowers in our landscaping as I blog these pictures.  Can't have any of that without a little ( or a lot of ) rain :) 

Kennon with his new basketball  ( and hoop) from Aunt Brooke and Uncle Tyler and his  rock/mulch/corn kernel/dirt scoopin' belt from Aunt Diane 

How many adults does it take to fill the basketball stand with sand??

Are ya done yet Uncle Tyler??  I"m ready to shoot some hoops

Ah yes....!!! Finally!!  Making some points. 

Shootin' hoops as Papa Dick and Grammy look on. 

Tired of the hoopin'  ready for some 'rock climbing'

Despite a little sand in the bottom we still needed an adult to keep the hoop from tipping over.  Thanks for the assistance Aunt Lori.  

Grammy and her loves....Maddox Kennon and Carter....I couldn't stand to delete any of these.....despite really only one kid having a 'saveable' expression in each shot.

This is where I often find Kennon....sitting on the tractor in the garage. Maddox, Eric and I will head inside, have our shoes off and be moving on to the next scheduled event of the evening and I open the garage door and there sits Kennon just enjoying his stationary tractor.  

So thankful you were able to make it for the celebration Grammy!! We love you so much. 

Grandma Jean and Grandma Doris reading one of Kennon's new construction books from Great Grandma Reta.  I love this picture!! 

Aunt Diane getting Kennon's construction vest on.....all ready for cake!! 

Since the party Kennon has been manhandling these little construction toys from Grammy and Papa Dick.  I think he likes them because he can really manipulate them and run them all over the house.....doors, cabinets, floors....TV...yes!! I caught him running one up the flatscreen TV...oops!!

Our construction workers on duty for the evening. Kennon Maddox cousin Carter

mmmmmm CAKE!!! 

Cousin Hannah....where is your hat???  :) 

Aunt Diane and Maddox

Aunt Lori and Grandma Doris

After a good nights sleep....even baby Reid ( whom I did not get a picture of somehow...sorry Reid...!!).... Saturday night we all slept in Sunday morning, lazed around and then got showered up for some more  tractor fun.  We loaded up a picnic lunch and headed to Eric's new office to show off to Aunt Brooke, Uncle Tyler and cousin Carter.   The basement of the office is this HUGE open cement covered room.  Matt, one of Eric's partners, has a 2 year old son and has set up this great roller coaster thing that is just perfect for our age kids.  It is a little car you ride on that goes down this hill and shoots you out onto the cement floor. With the big open space you get going pretty fast and make it almost all the way down the entire floor. It is super fun and the kids had a blast!!! We then at a quick lunch after serveral rides and then headed to the John Deere Pavillion.  The kids were in heaven running from machine to machine!  Kennon and Carter especially. Despite the fatigue factor setting in by this time of the day all the kids really did well and all the activity made for fabulous naps both in bed at the Kies house and in the Knowles car on the way back north to Madison. We are SOOOOOO happy that our family, most specifically the Knowles', are located in the midwest.  It is so nice to see each other regularly. 

The John Deere Pavillion....OH BOY!!! 

Aunt Brooke Maddox and Carter in the blade of the bulldozer

Uncle Tyler, Maddox and Carter in the cab of the bean picker

Cheesy grin from Maddox

Is The Basement Done....YET??

This week at Kindercare it is 'Wild Animal Week'. They are talking all about wild animals and Friday they are having a healthy foods party to celebrate the special week.  Eric was the lucky one who got to get all this paint off of Maddox's face while I was working late last Friday....he said she looked like she had been in a coal mine all day after his first attempt!!

So this is sort of a 'tricky' post because the basement if 99.9% done but I"m not putting on any pictures. Most of you have either seen or will see the basement in it's finished state at Kennon's party!!  It is SUPER nice and we are just waiting on a couple of details.  We are SOOOO thankful to have it done and now just need to commission a little help from our friendly neighbor to get some of the furniture down there so we can start enjoying it a bit, or at least have a place to sit down. Never fear...for those of you who live far away ( JODY:) I'll post a few more pictures after we get it officially set up and some pics on the wall.  

The kids are doing well. Sleeping well, napping well and overall in good spirits.  Maddox finishes her last dose of antibiotics for her ear infection and then we will just wait and see what happens. We have spent numerous minutes/hours in the last several weeks 'chasing' scoops around the neighborhood. They are on every corner it seems in Bettendorf....so much building going on. Last Thursday on the way home from Kindercare I got to hear the below conversation between Maddox and Kennon

Me: Alright guys are we ready to go home?

Kennon: No, I wanna see scoops!

Maddox:  No, I wanna go home

Kennon: No Maddox I wanna see scoops!!

Maddox: No Kennon I wanna go home!!

Luckily they were both in their car seats so they couldn't be physical about their argument :) They were both very emphatic about what they wanted to do. We compromised and just went to see a couple of scoops instead of driving aimlessly around Bettendorf before going home. Phew...easy solution for that one!!

Kennon is a talking machine. He is very good at stringing together 4 to 5 words with fairly good annunciation. I took him to get his 2 year old pictures today and he did really well. He is sure growing up and is an OUTDOOR MAN!!  The kid would sleep outside if I let him.  Every night it is a WAR to get him to come in. He LOVES to mow the mulch with his mower ( the grass is just too thick this time of year )  and run back and forth up the berm in the backyard.  He is very fast ( seemingly faster than Maddox) and a bit more coordinated than her especially related to throwing balls. Maddox isn't quite as happy to be outside but if there are kids out she surely wants to join in. She got so excited the other night when the sort of 'older' girls asked her to play. SHE is VERY much into getting included with the older kids in the neighborhood.  We have been spending a lot of time outdoors with our new neighbor Priya who is 3.  Maddox is very quick to mother her.  In fact today was her last day at church school :(  They sent a report card home and advised they wouldn't be surprised if she grew up to be a teacher as she LOVES to act as the teacher and read books to all the kids. That along with picking out the smaller/younger kids in the classroom and mothering them here and there. She tries to do the same thing to KTK too but he isn't having that. 

The Wentland camp at the Multiple Sclerosis walk on Saturday

 One of my best friends/co workers was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few months back. While Eric went to work Saturday morning the kids and I joined her for the local MS walk. It was 3 miles long and the kids did very well. KTK hung in the stroller while Maddox was in and out walking along with Megan and her family and friends and some of my other co workers. We had such a nice time and were happy to support the MS Foundation in finding and CURE!!  Megan is a fabulous gal and we hope her symptoms continue to allow her to lead her normal active life as a physical therapist and mom of 3 young boys. We love you MEGAN!

KTK enjoying the bags game in the kid's area at the walk. 

Nash and Maddox


Nash is Megan's oldest. He just turned 5.  I think Nash and Maddox are adorable together :)  Anyhow the kid's area had little give aways...stickers, bracelets, rings, coupons for free ice cream cones...etc. Just as we were getting ready to leave Nash insisted on going to the kid's area to get Maddox a RING!!  As she trotted along behind him her little pink skirt started to slide down ( a hand me down from the sweet girls across the way...a little big yet).  Eric and I and Nash's Grandpa and Grandma were watching the scene all play out and Eric was witty enough to say 'keep your pants on Maddox...just because he's giving you a ring doesn't mean you have to let your pants down'. We all started cracking up!! 

Nash and Maddox and their rings!!

Eric going to town on the gutter project.  Grandpa Jim supervising. You can see from the 'little bag chairs' that Eric and Grandpa  Jim had some help from the little people. 

This project seemed rather 'easy' shall I say on paper....it was a bit more labor than we ( well I should say Eric) bargained for!!  We have HARD CLAY under our nice sod, no thanks to the developer of this and several subdivisions around her for stripping the nice top soil and selling it for a pretty penny grrrrrr. Thank goodness Grandpa Jim was available and willing to help....as well as provide lots of great suggestions for the project.

Lots of pipes and connections.

We love you Grandpa Jim!!

Maddox leading the way into the sanctuary for the Teddy Bear Tea Party worship

Mr. Piotter, the pre school director's husband who leads/plans all the music at the preschool. Maddox  is in the front row about 3 from the left. TO the left of the girl with the cow boy boots...I know terrible pics...darn iphone.

We were SOOO excited Grammy was feeling good enough to make the trip over for the Tea Party. We didn't tell Maddox she was coming so it was quite the surprise.  Papa Dick stayed home to chaperon Kennon which allowed Mom and I just a bit of alone time and more importantly made the day a little more special for Maddox.  Grammy looked great and Maddox and Kennon both took almost 3 hours naps that afternoon.  It is safe to say Grammy AND the kids were all worn out after the morning festivities. 

Grammy Maddox and her Teddy Bear

On the back side of her bear is her picture and her hand print. OSLP is very good at laminating and using body parts as time stamps for their projects!! I LOVE it and am so excited for KTK and MLK to go new year.  It really is a fabulous place. 

The finished project!!  White cap to the left is the clean out.  The pump in the middle is the sump pump discharge and the gutter to the right. All three are connected in the ground and empty into one the large long pipe. 

This little green guy pops up when the pipe fills with water to allow the water to drain out.  PERFECT!