No Blood. . .

Thank Goodness!

Today Kade went with his Daddy to Costco and fell asleep for like 5 minutes on the way home so I guess he thought he'd gotten in nap in for the day. I tried to get him to go to sleep a few times - I kept going in and holding him, loving on him, rubbing his back. . . mostly because I wanted to sleep! The next thing I hear is clanking coming from his room and I think to myself - he's in his crib with pup, silk, and blankets. . . what could be clanking? Definitely nothing that I could have imagined. . . .Kade had taken the picture frame off a little dresser that's close to his bed and broken the glass and was using a very large chunk of glass to make noises on his crib. There was glass in his bed, glass on the floor, but no cuts or blood. Hallelujah! So I grabbed him out of his bed and put him on the floor and then turned off his white-noise machine. He looked up at me and said, "Oh, I'm done?" saying so I don't have to try and take a nap anymore?

An Argument With Kade

I forgot to blog about an argument I had with Kade a few weeks ago that we serious enough to reduce him to tears. He really wanted to do something and I really didn't want him to. . . he wanted to wipe me after I had pooped. Yes, that's why he was crying. I was going to the bathroom (with my usual audience) and Kade decided he wanted some toilet paper and then he thought it would be a good idea to wipe me himself. Gross, yes but he's two and doesn't really get it. It went something like this. "You do poops?" I told him yes that's what I was doing. "Toilet paper? I wipe you?" I said, "No, mommy do the wipes." "No, Kade do it!" We argued back and forth for a good amount of time and he finally broke down in tears and was pretty mad at me. I finally had a idea and said, "Just throw your toilet paper in the potty and then you can help me flush." That appeased him for the moment and he stopped crying.

We had a few conversations like this since - I guess it's time we get out the little potty for him!

A couple days later Scott and I were laying on our bed and Kirra called for Daddy to come wipe her (yes, she's lazy when she thinks she can get away with it) and Scott yelled back that he thought Mommy should come. Kade looked at both of us and said, "I do it, I wipe Kirra" and ran to the bathroom! What a big helper!

Worried

Today Kirra came from school in a grumpy mood and after about 1/2 hour I had enough. I finally just said, "What's wrong with you?" and she got this scared little look on her face and said, "I'm worried about something." I calmly asked what that could be and she said, "I have a rock stuck in my nose and I can't get it out and I'm a little bit worried about it." I just said as matter of fact as I could, "Why did you put a rock in your nose." Kirra answered with an "I don't know."

So after she finished her snack we went to the couch with a flashlight and I looked up her nose and sure enough there was a little round pebble. I grabbed a Q-tip, positioned the flashlight just so (with the expert help of Kade) and used the Q-tip to roll the rock right on out of her nose. Kirra was beyond traumatized with the simple procedure. She cried in my arms for awhile and we talked about not doing that again. She said, "Well the other day I put a bead in my nose at school and it just fell out, but the rock got stuck." Hopefully her experiments with things in her nose are over!

Third Game's a Charm

Today was Kirra's third soccer game. . . .and she finally got it! The first goal she scored almost made me cry I was so proud. She just took the ball right to the net. This video is of her second goal - she had a great time today! She wasn't afraid to get in the pack and steal the ball or try and run down the field with it. She was proud of herself too and was quick to correct someone when they said she did a great job making two goals, "I made three"!

Kade to the Dentist

Today was Kade's first trip to the Dentist. As you can see from the pictures he was happy about his loot! He did pretty well, though he didn't want to lay back in that moving chair. He really enjoyed squirting water into the trash can with that thing they rinse your mouth out with, pushing the button to make the tooth cleaner work, and pushing the buttons on the chair (while he was on the ground of course). He was brave for the dentist to look in his mouth, though those gloved fingers were fishing around a little too long and we ended up with some tears. There is a huge dog the roams the office and I was so glad Kade didn't see the dog before we started because once he did all I heard was, "Hold you! Hold you!"

Back Off Boys My Baby is Only 5!

This is a conversation I had with Kirra tonight -

"So Zach S. in my class. . . I like him, I don't really play with him, but sometimes I do. Well he was in line in back of me and he said, Do you want to be my girlfriend? That's funny, huh? Then he leaned over to Joshua in my class and said, "Kirra's beautiful."

Kirra had this huge grin on her face and then she told me that she wasn't going to tell Daddy, "well maybe - nope I don't think I will tell him."

She did tell her Daddy. . .

Fast forward to Saturday in the car - "So you know Zach S.? I think I love him. Yup, I love him."

Heaven help us - she is only FIVE!

I Wash My Hair

When I heard running water I knew I was in trouble. . . .I found Kade at the bathroom sink "washing" his hair with hand soap. Lovely. He is always at the bathroom sink doing something, whether it's washing his hands or trying to brush his teeth. The stool we have there is not a good thing. I told him to hurry up and get his clothes off so we could give him a bath. The next thing I know he's running and telling Kirra, "I get bath!" He was thrilled! Doesn't make it much of a deterrent if you like what you get when you put hand soap in your hair. So no toys, fast bath, and I wasn't careful about not getting water in his eyes, though I still think he liked it!

A True Surprise

I was solicited to help in planning and decorating for a surprise party for my friends, Jill and Yvette. Their husbands pulled off a great surprise, bought the decorations, planned the return for the surprise, etc. All I had to do was offer some ideas via email, pick up balloons, and then decorate the house. I think this picture captured Jill's absolute and total shock and Josh's beaming at the fact "we did it!"

A Trip to Urgent Care

Last night Kade fell and hit his head on the tile shelf in our bathtub when he was getting ready to get out of the tub and cut his face just above his left eye. It was concerning enough to me to take him to the Pediatric Urgent Care. We were running late last night as we had dinner with the Steel's so by the time I decided to get him in the car we were racing against the clock. Urgent Care closes at 10:00 p.m. and I did NOT want to end up in the emergency room. I don't think I did a very good job of obeying the speed limits, but Kade and I walked into urgent care at 9:58 - whew! Once we were finally seen by the Dr. we found out that it was sealing pretty well on it's own so it was kind of a wasted trip. . .though worth my peace of mind! When we got home Kade was bouncing off the walls - or the bed anyway. He and Scott wrestled and had some fun together at midnight!
It probably seems silly that I went. . . though when it was fresh and first bleeding it seemed a lot deeper and I didn't want to chance a huge scar that could have been prevented.

Striker #5 Action Shots

Kirra had another soccer game today. . .and she is really enjoying it! I love watching - it's adorable.
It's hard to remember that hands are not a part of soccer!

Should Be My Best Friend

My crock pot should be my best friend. . . if I was more prepared! I made crock pot enchiladas tonight and it was wonderful to have dinner taken care of hours in advance. It made the dinner hour so much more pleasant. I get the same happy feeling every time I use it, I just need to be better about planning ahead!

Popsicles for Breakfast

Kirra stayed home from school today with a fever. I had to pick her up early on Monday after I got a phone call from the school nurse that Kirra was feeling sick to her stomach, achy, and had a fever of 100.3 degrees. We are lucky to have good neighbors and they were willing to come sit at our house with a sleeping Kade while I ran to get Kirra.

Kirra asked for a popsicle at 8:30 a.m. this morning and hey, why not? Her and Kade were thrilled and they sat out in the back and enjoyed the morning air . . . in-between running to the front yard to watch the best show Tuesdays have to offer - the garbage trucks! This is the second time Kirra has stayed home from school for a mild fever and just not quite feeling well and the kids end up having a great day together. I'm sure Kade would take a feverish Kirra any day that his Sis could stay home with him.

Um. . . .Mr. Potato Head lost his glasses to some crazy little boy.

Here's a paragraph I got from Kirra's teacher after her return to school on Wednesday - I was right about her not wanting to miss anything at school:

Hi Amber! Hope you are well. I'm glad Kirra is feeling better. She did not tell me she was sick the other day, I had to ask her if she was okay and I think she was worried about missing school. I was shocked when the nurse said she had a fever. She is quite a trooper! If I had not asked, she would have kept on going. Let her know its okay to be human...LOL!

Strikers Opening Day

Today was the season opener for AYSO Albuquerque Soccer! Kirra was hesitant to go. . . not knowing if she would like it and for sure she didn't like those socks pulled up so high! There are five little girls on her team and they play three on the field at a time. Kirra didn't make the deadline to play last year, so this year I had the choice of putting her on U5 or U6 and I am so glad she is playing down on U5. She is the only one on her team in Kindergarten, but the skill level is much more even for her right now. The girls practice on Saturdays for 35 minutes before their game and then have a 20 minute game. The coach kept giving the girls team name ideas and they were pretty much mute - then we he had them start voting on a name they all raised their hand for almost every name. It ended up that the name "Strikers" won.
Do you notice anyone in this picture that's not a girl, besides the coach? Yes, Kade was ready to practice and play soccer!

I hope the coach doesn't mind Kade playing with them during practice, because he loved it! And he actually was as good or better than a few of the girls. Kade was devastated when the game started and he had to sit with his mom on the sidelines and watch his Daddy and Sis run up and down the field. He has two long years before he's old enough to play.
The Strikers and Kade.
Here Sis, I'll show you how to dribble to the goal!
Three of the little girls lined up to start a quarter. Scott is a referee - a well trained one at that. He had to go to a ref class that ended up lasting 3 1/2 hours! He said the only thing he felt like he was doing on the field was turning the girls towards the right goal. The little girl on the right made a few goals and liked the crowd's reactions so she started pushing the other girls (her own team included) to score!

When we got home Kirra asked, "Can we go do that soccer thing again?" I guess that means she liked it. . . success!

Ahh. . .She's Home

Kirra was hot, tired and grumpy when she got home from school today (the bus, according to Kirra, "is too bumpy when they go fast and when it turns they fall clear over to the side) - but a toy catalog in the mail saved the day! She stripped off her clothes and her and Kade spent some time together browsing the toys. Kade gets so excited the moment he sees the bus at the bus stop and wants Kirra's attention so badly. Today she was not in the mood for all his love and affection, but it seems a toy catalog is the trick to getting along for today!

Butterflies. . . Without Kirra

Today we took our first real outing without Kirra. We've been shopping and such, but we haven't gone somewhere like the Botanical Garden without her. There were lots of mom's and kids, but it was strange because there were a lot less kids than we have had in the past - so many of them are in school.

We went into the butterfly pavilion - it was amazing to see all the butterflies fluttering around. Kade was kind of scared of them and really just wanted to go back out and watch the model trains go around the track. The trains and the cow at Heritage Farm was probably his favorite part of the day. We picked up Kellie and Eliza and took them with us today. It's so much more fun to go with someone! Kade and Eliza got along great and spent a good part of the field trip in my single stroller squished together, sharing fruit snacks and having a good time.

Adoption

We have some wonderful friends who are in the process of expanding their little family and are looking for a baby to love and give a good home to! We have been witnesses to this amazing process a few times and I can honestly say that I am humbled by the strength of everyone involved. Their profile is in front of birth-parents, but the best way to be picked is through connections with other people. If you know of any birth mom's out there that are looking for a wonderful place to have their baby grow up. . . http://www.micandnicole.blogspot.com/

Glamour Boy

Kade came into my bedroom and said, "This my dress!" After Kade's bath he escaped to Kirra's room while I was helping Kirra get out of the tub and this is how I found him!
What Mom? Don't you read in the buff?

I'm Spoiled!

Today my friend, Kellie, had a birthday bruncheon for me at her house. The food was divine and the company was great! The best tasting lunch I've had all year. It was fun to be with women and eat - those are the activities I like the best - chatting and eating. Kade enjoyed playing with the other little kids, especially Eliza. Kellie tried out some new recipes on us and I hope she does it more often!

Thanks Kellie! Your friendship means more to me than you will ever know! You are awesome!

We Survived. . .

Our first morning of school without Nana's help - she's been here since school started! Kirra doesn't have to get on the bus until 8:40 a.m. so we aren't too pressed for time - and Kade helped by sleeping until 7:37 a.m. this morning. Everything went very smooth. . . let's see how the rest of the week goes. I told Kirra today was Monday and it was her music day at school (she loves Ms. Pinkston and music class) and she quickly reminded me, "Today isn't Monday Mommy, we stayed home yesterday." It's weird that she is finally conscious of the days of the week.

They Should All Be 4 Day Weekends

Ah, we had Scott home with us for four days in a row! It was awesome!

It was his Friday off week at work and he actually took the day off. Then we had Saturday, Sunday (well, not quite sure how much this one counts since he is always at church for many hours) and then Monday.

Our Labor Day was a great 'almost end of summer day.' Scott started with a competitive game of flag football at the park - the kids and I went to watch and they played with their friends on the toys at the park. When we got home Scott and the kids headed out to their 'hole' in the front yard to continue fixing a broken sprinkler line. After lunch and naps, we dropped the kids off to the Castle's and went shopping for a new suit for Scott. With his new calling as 2nd counselor in the Bishopric he needs at least one more suit if not two. We weren't very successful, but it was fun to be together without the kids. Kirra & Kade had a great time with the Castle's, picking up peaches, apples, riding bikes, and playing in the water. We are so grateful for surrogate grandparents in Albuquerque! When we arrived to pick up the kids Paula had tons of fresh fruit and veggies to share from her garden and we even came home with a fresh cantaloupe (much to Scott's disliking) - it tasted heavenly. We had made plans to meet the Vigoren's at the park for a picnic and we had a great time visiting while the kids played in the sand, on the toys, and throwing balls to each other. The weather was incredible and it was a wonderful end to a relaxing day!

Here's Kade laying in front of the garage door. . .why? Scott and Kirra left for the flag football game before I was ready and Kade was NOT happy about being left in the dust. He layed by the door and cried, hit it with his broom. and kept telling me it was stuck. It was a long 20 minutes before I was ready to go!
The sprinklers were fixed and it was time to get wet!
Kade wasn't about to run through the sprinklers himself, but he was all about Daddy getting wet too!
It wasn't an extremely hot day and there was a little breeze so my wet kiddos were feeling quite chilly!