All Mine

Sometimes I think back to my life before I had my kids. I laugh because I used to think I was busy and had a lot to do. Ha!!! I had all the time in the world...and then some! I remember thinking that I knew so much. That I understood life pretty well. Ha again! What did I know?! I remember thinking I knew how much my mother loved me. I only had the slightest idea. You can't fully understand the love of a mother for her children until you are one yourself. I thought I knew what laughter and happiness in its fullest felt like. Completely Wrong. There is no greater happiness, no joy more pure than that experienced through being a parent.

My kids may keep me ridiculously busy. I may spend a large majority of the day cleaning up after them, playing referee, feeding, clothing, bathing, teaching, playing, etc with them. And at the end of the night when they go to bed and then I start My chores, I may be ridiculously worn out. I may not get pedicures as often as I like. I may not have time to leisurely read novels. But when my children smile, I smile. And when they laugh, I laugh. And the love and the happiness and fulfillment that I feel from them is unlike anything I ever imagined.

And let me tell you, there are a lot of smiles and a lot of laughter in our home. So naturally, I am feeling pretty darn amazing most of the time!!

See what I mean about the smiles and laughter....your explanation here is as good as mine.

Kellen boy, getting comfortable on his new wheels. Good form for a beginner.

When Brooke comes to my house now, all she wants to do is go in our backyard and swing. I think she is using me....

Apparently scooter riding is a serious thing for Makenna

I am so used to seeing rough and tough Kellen cruisin on this, it is strange to watch my cute, girly little niece ride around with a flower in her hair. She loves it though and has figured it out. It startles her a bit every time, but she loves it and looks so cute!

A little Auntie Lovin'

Brookie looking so darn big!

I seem to find Kellen like this fairly frequently these days after his nap. I don't know what he is doing with the chair. My sister suggested he may be trying to make a crib for himself? Could be. All I know is it makes him happy and make me laugh. Silly guy.

It has come fast, but Conner is at Bumbo age. He does great sitting in this and looks so silly and grown up in it!

He he :)

He is so big! And such a handsome devil if I may say so myself!

No lack of love in this home!

Kellen is a potty stud! He and the John have definitely developed a very honest, natural and friendly relationship. Kellen is now telling us when he has to use the potty and it has been Days since an accident (knock on wood). He is napping in undies and is dry about 75% of the time in the morning. He is doing great! And he looks so cute on the potty. The cuteness in this doesn't last forever, so I like to capture it while it's still there :)

Zoned out, staring at his crib mobile. Babies are funny!

The pic above is of Conner just a few days old in his swing. The one bellow was just taken the other day. Holy Cow, this kid has grown. Maybe I am just used to having giants now, because when I look at and hold Conner he doesn't feel that big to me. And then I see a pic like this and think dang, I've got a big boy! All the more to love and cuddle!

Not Quite So Little Anymore

What started out as this....

Is suddenly This!

It's incredible to think that it has happened so fast, but our little guy is 2 years old! Happy Birthday Kellen boy! We started off our morning by going and getting a smoothie and some oatmeal from Jamba Juice!

We then went to the bookstore. Kellen just wanted to hang out in the stroller and he was so happy to have me sit Conner with him. He helped hold him and take care of him the whole time we were in the store.

Next I took him over to party city to get some balloons to celebrate with!

That night we had a party for him at Chuck E Cheese with family and a few close friends.

Kellen was Soooo happy to have it Finally be his birthday! You could tell he was really appreciate the attention and love he was getting all day.

Playing some games with Daddy

Right when we were getting ready so sing Chuck E Cheese (the big mouse) came out and started coming over to sing to him with us. Kellen enjoys Chuck E Cheese, but can do without the mouse. He only likes to observe him from a distance. I got worried that this giant mouse was about to ruin the whole thing, but Kellen worked through it and got distracted by the singing.

Blowing out his candles! He did great. I was a bit worried that he was going to try and grab the candles (due to his recent candle obsession) so I tried holding him back a bit, but he did great!

He did a pretty good job opening his presents. About as good as a distracted 2 year old will do.

His present from Mom and Dad was a Scooter for him. He needs something to help him keep up better with his big Sis.

It really is just amazing to think that 2 years has gone by. In some ways Kellen has felt like he was 2 for awhile now. Having Conner here and comparing him to someone so small has made him feel much bigger and more grown up. Plus, having him in the toddler bed and fully potty trained has made him feel much older to. But for some reason it still feels weird to have him officially be 2 years old! He's growing up so fast. And though turning 2 has brought with it some very 2 year old behaviors, Kellen continues to be our sweet, loving, kind hearted little boy. He is a goofy, light hearted little guy that loves to please others. He's got his wild, crazy side. He can certainly run around like a maniac and keep up with his crazy sis without a problem. But he is also such a gentle kid with such a soft disposition. He has been a great big brother and he is an adorable cousin to little Brooke.
Kellen recently had his doc apt and he continue to grow like a weed! His 2 year old stats are 36 inches tall (90%) and 30lbs 40z. (75%). He has certainly gotten tall and thin! I think we have all been surprised how much he has lost his baby fat and become this lean little thing! Our best prediction is that he should be about 6' or 6' 1" at full height. Dad is just adamant that he hits the 6' mark, though I tell him he will still love him if he is 5' 11" :) Kellen is a smart little guy. He knows his colors and some of his shapes and can count to 3. He is a total chatter box. We have been having conversations with him for months now. He loves his Elmo backpack and loads it with his toys and brings it all over the place. He loves to pretend to cook food (our mini Emeril or Gordon Ramsey) and loves cars, blocks and spiderman and batman. He is such a good boy. Our family is very blessed to have him in our lives. He certainly makes our home a happier place.

We love you Kellen! Happy Birthday!

Too Cute to Not Post

My little babe. My little Cokers. He has fallen in love with this blankie and loves to cuddle up to it with his binky. With this blanket be the one? It's still a bit early to say, but it is in the running.

Really, this face kills me. With him it's just harder for me to be tough on him at times. This smile explains a lot of the reason why.

New hair and new undies. Stylin'! (as Makenna would say)

And also, I don't know when it happened for sure, but Kellen has Totally thinned and stretched out. He is just tall and lean now. It surprises me how thin he is considering what a big boy he has been and continues to be. He's gonna be a hottie....tall, dark and handsome.

As soon as Kellen noticed the rain he was out the door and running. He was so happy and having so much fun. And seeing that it was still 80 degrees out, there was no problem running in it with only his undies on.

Conner is proving to be a waterbaby so far.

Makenna was feeling a little under the weather. Because she was sick she needed to stay away from Conner. But she still wanted to cuddle with him on the couch. I just thought they were soooo cute together!

She loves to look pathetic, and she does a good job. Actually, she was feeling pretty lousy and had a high fever, but was not cranky at all and was still being a total sweetheart. I love my baby girl!

Maybe....Maybe Not?

People have asked me before if Conner and Makenna look alike. So here, you tell me what you think....

Potty Pride!

So, it's been a little over a weeks since we started Kellen's potty training. And I am proud to report that it has been quite a success! He is doing so well!

Kellen is potty training very differently from Makenna. With her, as very typical of Makenna, you could not tell her to go sit on the potty and try to go. She had to go on her own accord...of her own deciding. It was frustrating for awhile, and we had A LOT of accidents because of it. But once she got it, we were golden.
Kellen is very different. He needs to be reminded every 40 minutes or so to go. As long as you tell him to go potty every so often, then he does fine. But if you leave it up to him to tell you when he needs to go, you will most likely have wet undies. He has signaled on his own a few times. But mostly he is relying on us for reminders right now. I know eventually he will take on that responsibility himself. And I think this is the more "classic" potty training technique. I am just happy to have not had a diaper on him for 8 days now, and very few accidents. He either has no accidents these days or he has just 1, maybe 2 on a bad day. So good job Kellen boy! It is going to be exciting having him in a toddler be and potty trained by his 2nd birthday.
We love you Kellen! Way to go stud muffin!

He looks so cute! Little boy undies are awesome! Love it!

Dear Makenna,

Today was a rough day. You know how to push my buttons and you surely pushed a lot of them today. Throwing fits in the morning. Fits that put your 2 year old brothers temper tantrums to shame. Teasing your brother. Teasing the dog. Not listening more than listening to what I asked of you. Coming out of bed 4 times tonight and not falling asleep until almost 10 o'clock.

It's funny because it is these days that I most often remember....

"KC, grab her!" "She's blue! She's blue!" "Call 911!"

Knee's hitting the floor- "Are you serious?!"

"Please! Come Quick! My Daughter is dying! She's dying!"

Watching mouth to mouth. No movement. Her lips not blue, but more a dark shade of purple. The whites of her eyes blue.

"Save her! Please, save her!"

Her hand twitching.

More movement.

A breath.

Her trembling body in my arms. Her arms flailing....eyes searching. Hearing "MAMA!" through her screaming! The most beautiful sound ever heard.

"She's okay. She's going to be okay."

I have never been more grateful to have my buttons pushed and be driven crazy.

With all my heart.