Playing a little catch up...

Well, since we have been "vacationing" for the last month or so (and when I say vacationing, I mean visiting family), a good blog is probably long overdo. We started out in Georgia, where the kids had a great time visiting with their cousins and playing in the country, which basically means that they spent a lot of time doing white trash, redneck things that they don't normally get to do. Bryce road a 4-wheeler, shot his BB gun, and checked out a dead opossum that Adam had to shoot because it had rabies. Kaelyn was a little leery of all the bugs at first, and I was so proud to let everyone know that she was a city girl like her mama, but it didn't take long before she was off-roding in the back of a truck and helping Bryce catch tadpoles. Poor thing came home with at least 30 bug bites. Addison mostly hung out with Grandma, not for lack of trying though. She just stared out the window watching them play, and I'm sure that next year I'll be chasing three kids around the pasture. She did take her first series of steps in Georgia, and by the time we got home from California, she was walking from room to room.

We had a birthday party for Kaelyn in Georgia, and somehow, she ended up topless in the pool (and when I say pool, I mean giant pink blow up thing from last year that Adam had to patch up), while Addison danced on the table. I really hope this isn't a preview of things to come.

Adam and I had the chance to sneak away for a long weekend in Florida, which was fun.

And we had a family trip to stone mountain, the largest exposed granite surface in the world (Adam would be SO proud that I put that boring fact in for all of you).

Kaelyn had a great time playing with her cousin on the mountain...

...until she fell out of a tree.

Good thing daddy manned up and licked all the dirt off her sucker.

Not sure who's bright idea it was to walk down the mountain with 4 kids, but it really wasn't a great one. This is how it ended up. If you're wondering where Bryce is, he's about 20 yards behind and whining, because he too had taken a fall.

This is me, having a REALLY great time.

Addison really did have fun.... I guess because she got to ride in the backpack.

After we got home from Georgia, we had about 4 days of rest, and then headed out to California. We went to Disneyland...every kid's dream, right?

Well, Kaelyn had a meltdown... shocking, I know.


Don't worry, she was happy again when we got on another ride... she is just so much like her mom!

I ended up taking the girls home for a nap, and Bryce hung out with papa from sun up to sun down. When I took Kaelyn back, I forgot my camera, so I really don't have too many pictures to share from Disneyland.


Kaelyn had another princess party, which she thoroughly enjoyed! She loves dress up and all things girly, and she especially loves being the center of attention, so she couldn't have been any happier.

It was a great time, as evidenced by the fact that Addison's clothes came up missing and we found a princess shoe in the planter.

In true princess form, Kaelyn has mastered the head tilt.



She has also become quite a picture taker, and she us usually pretty good at hiding it because I don't realize until my battery is dead and 50-100 pictures that I didn't take end up on my camera. Sure, you get several odd things, like this door.

But apparently, she uses her cuteness to get people (mostly adults) to pose silly positions while she takes their picture.
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She has also mastered the self-portrait. I mean, seriously, could she be any more like me? It's amazing!

We had a family day at the beach. It was a fun idea until we got there and remembered all the work that went into going to the beach.

Adam was actually happy to get a little work-out in, as he said it made him look more pumped up... notice him flexing his stomach muscles (let me pause for a second while I giggle to myself). I saw a really cute picture of a family on the beach with their last name spelled out in the sand. It looked amazing, and absolutely nothing like this, but after the waves washed my writing away a gazillion times, and the kids refused to cooperate, here is our attempt. Don't forget to look for the stomach muscles... Seriously, it's a really good thing that I'm typing rather than talking as I find it hard to contain my laughter.

We spent all day there and the kids really did have an excellent time.




It's good to be home!

Little Boys...

When Bryce was little, he was just so dang cute, and polite, and clean. Now he's all about everything gross... like bugs, dead bugs in particular, and mud, and poop... think of the grossest thing you can, and I'm sure he's touched it, played with, or made a potion with it.

Dog poop thrown over the fence at the neighbor... check!

Dead beetle guts smashed down the slide to see what they look like... check!

Smashed dead bee guts (which my very observant son will tell you look just beetle guts)... check!

DEAD BIRD that he picked up and took home while on a walk with my uncle... check!

So, about an hour or two into our drive home from Georgia, he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a baggie with two frogs in it. One of Bryce's favorite things to do on the farm is catch tadpoles, put them in Grandpa's fish tank, raise them until they turn into frogs, and release them. Well... Grandpa said that he better take real good care of these two, and take them home to Texas. Thanks Grandpa! So, we took the frogs out of the baggie and put them into a cooler. When we got home, Bryce did a really good job of making a pretty cool habitat in a pickle jar. He catches flies and crickets and feeds them. Despite his efforts though, he will be releasing them tonight, before he goes to California. Nice try.

It's Official...

Addison is no longer allowed to take a nap without pants on! She has figured out how to remove her diaper, and apparently picked up a new hobby... throwing and smearing poop. I went to grab my camera to share the graphic details with you fine folks, but then I remembered that I can no longer take pictures. Why, you ask? Because last week after I uploaded some pictures I made the mistake of not putting my sim card right away. Kaelyn took it down and lost it. Addison found it (where, I couldn't tell you) and put it in her mouth and cracked it. They make a fine team, don't they?

QUICK - SOMEBODY CALL SUPER NANNY... Addison is completely out of control!

So, we all know Addison's story... born 3 months early, and a fighter from the start. She exceeded all of our expectations, and became our superstar. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not truly thankful for my little miracle. Now, putting that all aside, when will she stop fighting? She's 17 months old now, and about half the size of her peers, yet she is the one who is ALWAYS making everyone cry. I had her her in the stroller with Jake the other day. He's a couple months younger and a good 15 pounds heavier. He kept yelling out and I couldn't figure out why, until I caught Addison pulling his hair just to hear him scream. Sitting back, foot resting on the cup holder, thumb in mouth, and pulling hair. Today, as I took down the towel rack to paint the bathroom, she decided to pick up the hardware, crawl over to him, and hit him on the head with it. Not just once either. Repeated hits on the head while I ran to stop it. Are you freaking kidding me? It's not so much what she does, but the look on her face while she does it. She's flat out mean....the biggest little bully you have EVER seen. I have to admit, there are times when I love her fighting spirit. I know it won't be long before she's fighting all Kaelyn's battles. I just wish that she could be nice every now and then. Because she's really not nice, at all. Ever.

Kaelyn's Eye Surgery

So far, everything appears to be a success! Besides the redness that could last a couple weeks, we haven't seen her eyes crossing or wandering out at all, and she's even keeping her fingers out of them. The sugery actually isn't phasing her one bit, and she kind of seems oblivious to the fact that she even had it, except for she's getting presents and lots of extra attention. She was quite a little character yesterday. After they gave her the goofy juice, she put on quite a show singing to the staff, and all of the 8o year old patients that were lined up in the beds next to us. Gotta love her!

So... why are all my blogs about Kaelyn?

She squeezed her fingers through the child locks today and painted her toes.

Isn't that nice?

So, finally, after 8 years, I have converted adam into a diet soda drinker. This does not go over well in my OCD-filled house...

Kaelyn: Daddy, quit drinking mama's drink.

Adam takes a big drink

Adam: I like mama's drink.

Kaelyn: You no like mama's drink. You like beer. Go drink some beer.