It's Been Awhile...

Where do I even begin? The last 2 months have been crazy busy! I'm not even sure I can sum it up so I'll just skip to our trip to OK in November. We had a wonderful time with my family and did so many fun things with the kids while we were there. My mom took the time to make a gingerbread house for Nicky to decorate, we went to Rhema for Christmas lights, we went up to Dry Gulch for the Christmas Train (which was awesome), Catelyn got to meet Aunt Michelle, Uncle Jon, & Aunt Jessica, Nicky got to take a ride in Uncle Jon's police car, I got to see my longtime friend, Jordan and meet her kids, and we spent a lot of time with our good friends, the Sees. We even had family pictures taken at Woodward Park. Here are some of the highlights...

Rhema Lights

Pa & Catelyn decorating the Christmas tree

Nicky's Gingerbread House

Riding the carousel at the Christmas Train

With Uncle Jon & his police car

Baking Christmas cookies with Nannie

The whole family at Woodward Park

We are glad to be home but miss it there in OK. We are looking forward to Christmas and taking a few days to just be with family. Nicky has asked Santa for a scooter, a motorcycle, and a bear hat like Papa Bear wears on the Berenstain Bears. If anyone has any thoughts on where in the world I can get a bear hat like that, please let me know. I'm on the lookout but that's a tough one! Catelyn has cut her front two bottom teeth. She's doing wonderful and is growing so fast. She's a climber and an explorer. We did get her some toys for Christmas but I have a feeling she'll enjoy whatever Nicky gets more :).

Nap Time

We've had a problem lately of getting Nicky to take his naps. The other day after I had put the kids down for a nap, I looked in my monitor to see him and Catelyn in her crib playing while they were supposed to be sleeping. He had gone into her room, woken her up, and climbed in her crib to play. Super cute but not ideal. So today we put the kids down for a nap and Grant and I laid down for a nap too. After about 40 minutes we heard Nicky singing so Grant got up to find him singing to Catelyn in her crib. He put Nicky back down and went downstairs with Catelyn while I continued to nap. When Nicky got up from his nap (he actually did finally go to sleep), this is what we saw...

Yes, if you can see closely enough, that is green marker all over his legs. Grant cleaned off his arms before I could get the camera and yes, he even colored on the sheets. What a stinker! I'll have to keep a much closer eye on him during nap time or finally conclude that he's grown out of his naptime (but I'm not ready to do that yet :) ).

Grant's Jet Flight

On Friday, Grant and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary (Yeah!!!). As part of my gift to him, I scheduled a jet flight that his parents had gotten him several years ago but that he had never done. So on Saturday, we packed up the family and went up to March Air Reserve Base and met Captain Doug Gilliss for Grant's flight. He was such a nice man and allowed us to take lots of pictures on his plane. I bribed Nicky with a cookie to climb into the pilot's seat for pictures and as soon as we got him in there, he yelled out, "What's that smell? That smells aweful!" I was so embarrassed but once I climbed in there myself, I realized it truly did smell aweful. Not sure what that was all about, but I couldn't help but laugh at his honesty. So, Grant went on his flight and had a great time. He got to hit 4 Gs and got to spin the plane a couple of times by himself. Here are some pics...

Big Bear, CA

Last weekend we packed up the kids and headed up to Big Bear for the day. Grant and I got to eat at our favorite greasy spoons and we took a day hike as a family. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun together! And if you're wondering...yes, we did see a bear. Unfortunately, it was dead on the side of the road :).

Nicky & Catelyn

Long Overdue Update...

Wow, I had no idea its been so long since I posted. So let's see... Nicky had his final gym class at the end of August. He's been doing it since he was 1 and it's time to move on to something a little more challenging. He'll start a sports class at the end of this month and he can't wait to get started. Here's a couple of pics from his last class.





Also at the end of August, we took a trip up to Mission Viejo to visit Grant's Auntie Ann & Uncle Gene. They so kindly took us to a beautiful beach up their way and we had a great time with them and an exciting first trip to the beach with Nicky & Catelyn. The waves were really rough so Nicky didn't get in much but it was still a ton of fun!




We've taken a couple of trips to Seaworld since my last update. Always a lot of fun and Nicky learns so much when he goes. His new favorite are the sharks. He says it's because, "they're so cute".




Catelyn is growing like crazy and has been able to get up on her hands and knees for a week or two now. She's doing the rock too so she'll be crawling soon.


We are staying busy and looking forward to fall. It'll still be hot around here for awhile but at least we'll be baking pies, cookies, and all the yummy fall treats!

Little Helpers

1st Solids

Last week I decided to try and give Catelyn some solids. She kept eyeballing my banana at breakfast so I mashed some up and fed it to her. She did really good and I'm sure she swallowed a bite or two :). She still isn't sure what to think of it and while I've done it a couple of times since, I haven't really pushed it. Here are some pics...

Visitors - Friends & Family

I've been quiet for awhile due to having company for most of the last month. It's been great to see both good friends and family. Our good friends, Aaron & Libby, came to visit weekend before last and we had a great time just hanging out. They were so kind and took Nicky to Toys R Us and bought him a new Cars bike for his birthday (Thanks Aaron & Libby!). The kids have so much fun with them and Nicky is always asking when they are coming back.

Aaron walking Catelyn around the kitchen. She's working so hard on walking already :).

Libby, Aaron, Catelyn & Nicky.

Last week, Pat's family came in for a visit. Aunt Peggy stayed with us and Nicky loved having someone to play with all the time :). We all had a wonderful time catching up and just being together.

From Left: Uncle Joe, Aunt Karen, Aunt Peggy, Aunt Donna & Uncle Everett, Pat, Ron, Warren & Jennifer (We were at home when this was taken due to kiddo nap time).

Sometimes I like to look back at the pictures of when Nicky was a baby to see if he and Catelyn look alike. Sometimes I think they look almost identical and other times I think they barely look related. Here's a pic of each of them at the same age...

Whatcha think?

Milestones

Last week I layed Catelyn down on the floor to run and answer the phone and when I came back, she had reached out and grabbed her favorite toy - a catepillar that Nicky had picked out for her awhile back. I couldn't believe that she's already reaching out for her toys. She's a pro at it now and is working at scooting around the room. She'll be 4 months old tomorrow - boy, does it go by fast! Here's a pic from the day she reached out for the caterpillar and a pic of the kiddos playing together.

Fabric Basket

Last week I finished up another short project - a fabric basket. For my first time, it turned out pretty good. Ron thought it made a cute hat for Catelyn...I think it's pretty cute too :).

Summer Days

With it being so hot lately, we've been bumming around the house a lot. Catelyn, who is a pro at rolling over now, loves to practice her standing & sitting up...

Nicky is busy playing with Play-doh, coloring, & strumming his guitar...

At least the evenings are nice enough to venture outside :).

Favorite Quilts

I finally got around to taking pictures of all of the quilts I made in the last 2 years. I still have a few that aren't quite finished (of course they are my big ones), but here are some pics of my favorites...

This one is called Baby Crackers and was made from scraps that were my Mom's. She used to make a lot of my clothes so this quilt has tons of memories with it.

I still have a lot to learn but I love creating something that's both useful and beautiful. I hope in the near future I can do some more but until I have more time to dedicate to it, I'll be sticking with smaller projects :).

Weekend Craft

So last week I got a strong itch to make something. I used to scratch the itch with quilts but I knew I didn't have enough time to devote to a quilt at this time in life so I settled for a smaller project...bags. I found a pattern online for little patchwork drawstring bags and I made one for Catelyn and one for Nicky. They turned out super-cute and I think I'm hooked on bag making...

Sea World

With everyone off work on July 3rd, we drove down to SeaWorld and had a great time. It was a beautiful day and we did a bunch of things we hadn't done before. Nicky got to do all of the rides in the Sesame Street Bay of Play, we did the Tower Ride, and the Gondola Ride. Oh, and Nicky had his 1st Shamu ice cream bar. He loved it and ate the whole thing! Here are a few of the highlights...

Catelyn was a gem and slept most of the time with of course the exception of eating. Mimi & G were there too and made the day much more enjoyable. Nicky didn't want to go home but could hardly stay awake since he missed naptime. We'll be back soon I'm sure...that's the beauty of season passes :).

Pool Time

Last week we finally broke out the kiddie pool. It's been cool this summer so we haven't really needed it but the heat got to us last week and Grant pulled it out and set it up. Nicky had a great time playing in the water and Catelyn enjoyed watching :).

Hanging with Gramps

On most mornings, Nicky likes to follow G around asking him a million questions and eating G's breakfast after I've offered a million times to make him whatever he wants for breakfast. I suppose it's just better when it's someone elses :). The two of them usually end up in G's room reading their Bibles together. What better way to spend the morning together?