Our Okie/Arkie Friends

A couple weeks ago we had some friends here. My friend Rachel from college, her brother Nate (also from Grace), and their dad Bill.

This morning Kaden asked for "Boppa Bill" again. The kid has a memory, and LOVED Boppa Bill. (And Nate and Rach too!)


Nate could get Katelyn to grin and giggle like a pro. She wasn't scared of him at all, which is amazing because most people she doesn't know bring her straight to tears.

Rachel was a hit with both kids! I had so much fun watching them with her. If she left the room Kaden was lost without her. Completely lost. Although, for some reason he couldn't remember to call her Rachel. Instead it was "Lori" or "Terri". We're gonna work on that one for the next time!


Here is the new version of peanut butter pie that I made for them while they were here. I have to make peanut butter pie when I see Bill...it just seems like tradtion by now. This one was utterly amazing.

Mostly Rachel and I and the kids hung out, cooked, ate out, and tried to avoid the butchering process. (Rachel = successful, Bethany = unsuccessful). Luke got an antelope so I did wrap our packages of meat.
In the evenings, when the guys were home, we hung out with them and had some meaningful conversations that were super encouraging.

It was such a fun visit and flew by way too quickly.

Jumperoo

Today we got out the Jumperoo for Katelyn. Kaden used it some when he was a baby, but it just didn't seem to tickle his fancy. However, Katelyn loves it. She bounces, and bounces, and bounces...throwing in a laugh or few. It is so fun to watch. Kaden loves watching her bounce and so they laugh together.

Two kids is just so much fun!

When we got out the Jumperoo we also said goodbye to the swing! Really?! Is she really past the swing stage?! This is killing me! She's growing up soo fast! And I have purposely stopped almost everyday just to enjoy her babyhood...and it's STILL speeding by. Tomorrow I intend to start her on peas and later in the week carrots, green beans, pears, squash, peaches...etc... BUT it is all against my will.

I am still in denial. Surely she is still just the newborn we hoped would sleep through the night soon.

I am one of those moms. The ones that gets all sentimental, i guess.

Please...please don't tell my former self.

At 5 months and 1 week...

...my baby girl can sit.

Already.

Wasn't she just born?

Also, just a couple weeks ago I was telling my mom I was thinking she may not be sitting by Christmas because she's just to content with laying. Apparently she just doesn't have to practice, I just sat her down, and there she sat.

She loves to sit on rocking chairs and throw herself forward and backward to rock. Then I move her to the couch and it really confuses her.

Even though she can sit, she just doesn't care whether she's sitting, laying, rocking, or bouncing. She's good with whatever. I couldn't have gotten an easier, more laid back baby.

Sucker Parties Abound!

Well, the kiddos are sick, but that hasn't stopped Kaden from his potty training madness!

The kid stayed DRY on our trip to Rapid City yesterday, and I didn't even remind him once. Also, he has pooped in the potty with 100% success the last 5 days and not had one accident even with company here this weekend.

Do I declare him potty trained? Or wait 28 days so I know it's a habit? I am really proud of the little man.

When he poops in the potty he gets to have a "poop on the potty sucker party" and pick out a new matchbox car. He is eating the last sucker as I type, then he will move on to get the last car! So, I either need to go to Walmart and restock, or declare him trained and hope he'll have no accidents without the motivation.

I think I'll go to Walmart.

Kaden's "Needs"

Top 5 " Kaden needs to want..." (as Kaden puts it.)

1. to watch Dora
2. a chocolate chip, please
3. lunch
4. to go to church
5. to go to park

When asked "you NEED to?" He just gets closer to your face and repeats: "NEEDS TO WANT TO WATCH DORA!" or whatever it is he thinks he wants and needs.

Guest Bathroom "Improvements"

This week has been quite eventful. For the past month or so we've been working on tearing off wallpaper, patching walls, texturing, and painting. In the process, we've had to move our fridge at least 9 zillion times. (At least.) Turns out, the LAST time we moved our fridge back into place we forgot to check to make sure it was All Systems Go.

Apparently, it was not.

Guest bathroom before:


Thankfully, Luke was in the guest bathroom about 4 days later and noticed a dripping sound. Earlier in the week I had noticed that it smelled wet, but kept trying to find out why to no avail. He was able to trace the dripping sound up to our refrigerator-specifically-the pipe that connects to our ice maker.

Fantastic.

In the process of trying to find out the extend of the damage the sheetrock on the bathroom side of the wall collapsed. Had we touched the other side (our downstairs family room side) it also would have collapsed.

Right now we have fans blowing, and the toilet out...hoping to have it "workable" (if you don't mind a whole in the sheetrock behind you) for our company who is coming on Thursday.

These mishaps never occur at "convenient" times, do they? We are just thanking God that the damage wasn't worse, there is no mold, and we found it in time to fix it ourselves. Also, about 18 months ago I had torn off all the wallpaper in hopes of painting, and that project got put on hold indefinitely. I am so thankful I hadn't painted/redecorated only to find this mess!

Also. We have decided that we may never have gotten back to the project that is the guest bath (for various reasons, mainly that it was done as horribly as the dining room, and who wants to face that? AND out of sight, out of mind, right?) This will encourage us to tackle that project. Unfortunately, our dining room is on hold as well. I'd truly love to finish that before we switch our attention!

So, this post has a label called "home improvement"...in realization that it gets worse before it gets better....

Guest Bathroom after:

A Boy and His Boppa

A couple weeks ago Kaden and I were in the kitchen and I hear, "OH NOOO!!!" and I turned, expecting to find an overturned garbage can, broken window, or huge mess. Instead, I found my boy pointing to an empty part of the fridge, where a picture had been: "wheerrreee's Boppa?" I was impressed. Not even I could have told you the missing picture was THAT picture. So, he started marching around the house "Boppa! Where are you?" and eventually found himself back where he started, at the fridge, opening it. I told him. "Kaden, close the fridge. I don't think Boppa is in the fridge!" At that moment, the missing picture of Boppa fell out of the fridge. Kaden looked at me with accusing eyes (I HAD just lied to him, right?) and said "Boppa!!! THERE you are!" and as he tried to put it up on the fridge, commanded "Boppa. Stay on fridge."

And his world was once again all okay.

I was remembering this last night and wanted to get in on the blog, because, knowing me, it is the only chance I have of remembering again!