Pictures Galore

N loved having Grandma get down on the floor and play with him. (I think Grandma loved it just as much!)
N got to ride the horse at the park and seemed to enjoy it.
The swing was the big winner at the park. He just laughed and smiled the entire time as he went back and forth. Thanksgiving dinner turned out well. B did a wonderful job getting the turkey ready and into the oven. Grandpa made sure to get in his playtime with N also. What a lucky little guy to have so much attention!Just a cute one that I couldn't resist putting in. N sure was tuckered out after so much football on Friday. He just couldn't take it any longer.
Christmas came early for N. Grandma and Grandpa let him open one of his presents from them early so they could see him play with it.
He absolutely loves playing with his new favorite toy. (Really, he hardly plays with anything else now.) He loves to make it sing to him and move across the floor. He also loves all the clicking noises the animals make when you move their limbs.

Holiday Recap

It's hard to believe that the long awaited Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone so quickly. B and I started our holiday week/weekend with an official Anniversary Celebration Day on Tuesday. (2 days early) We dropped the munchkin off for the day, and we were off! We saw Stranger Than Fiction (you seen it? thoughts?) with Will Ferrill. After that, we went down and wandered around the Old Market downtown. We then went to "the best Italian restaurant in O". (Not quite as impressive after living on The Hill in St. Louis)

Wednesday was day 1 with my parents. N had a great time playing with both his grandma and grandpa. B and Dad went for a run together, and seemed to really bond over the topic of running. We all went to a nearby park/lake in the afternoon. Maggie did some swimming, and N did some playground playing. He absolutely loved the swing!

Thursday was Turkey Day (and anniversary day) of course. It was a take it easy kind of day since everyone seemed to have some type of ailment or another.The meal was good though and enjoyed by everyone. Even N had baby food turkey, sweet potato, and applesauce.

Friday I made a huge mistake. I agreed to go shopping with Mom. If Mom has a specific thing she is shopping for it fine, but NEVER, and I mean NEVER, go aimless shopping with Mom! We were gone for hours!!!! We also began to put up the Christmas decorations. A 9 ft. tree is huge!!! (but beautiful)

Saturday was the sad day. Mom and Dad had to leave and head back home. It was hard to say good bye just as your getting use to having them around. I loved getting to see them and N interact with eachother. How cute! It's a long time before we see them again in March, but I'm already counting down!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a good Thanksgiving at the K house. We've really enjoyed having my parents around for a visit. We took the day easy. Dad has a sore back, Mom has a migraine, N has a cold, and Maggie's hip is really bothering her. With all the medicine today required, it felt like a doctor's office or hospital around here.

There's a lot to be thankful for this year. B and I celebrate 4 years of marriage today. N becomes more and more of a blessing each and every day. We are so blessed to have the wonderful families we've been given. We love our new home here in O. Myself being a full-time mom and B's job at K of K, have both been a blessing also. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the picture. I hope that you feel just as blessed by God as we do.

It feels like I've been on a blogger vacation. I guess I have in a way. It gets boring to type several times a week and have no one comment on anything. Other than Mom's comment last week, it's been 3 weeks! Anyways, less frequent blogging will hopefully lead to more comments. We'll see.

N's still working on his tooth. It sure is taking its time. No crawling yet; hopefully by Christmas. Other than that the only news is how he's graciously blessed me with 3 dirty diapers before 9:30 this morning! How many can one child have in a day?

I am super excited about this week! Mom and Dad are coming for Thanksgiving! I think I've told everyone I know how excited I am to have them coming. If only they could come sooner and stay longer! We invited B's parents, but they seem to want to do their own thing. Guess it'll just be the 5 of us. What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Pearly Whites! (or White, for now)

It seems that N's sudden interest in oral hygeine came none to soon. He was smiling at me after his nap, and I noticed a white spot on his lower gums. It seems that N is cutting his first tooth! (I check a couple days ago, and nothing was there.) Lucky for B and I, his mood doesn't seem to be effected by the possible pain. I tried to get a picture of the white spot, but someone's tongue kept getting in the way. Needless to say, it's a very exciting and proud day for this Mom and Dad.
N was all dressed up and ready to cheer on his favorite teams on Saturday. I suppose we need to get him his own football.
All smiles this morning, but no luck spotting the tooth. I can't wait to see what his smile will look like with the tooth!
Sit me up and surround me with toys, and I'm a happy guy for a long time! Every toy is best when it fits in my mouth!

A cute picture of Camryn Grace (my neice) that Mom and Dad took of her at the Old Mill in North Little Rock on Sunday. She's adorable!

Pigskins and Bibles

It was a good weekend for the K house in regards to football. How is that football seems to take center stage each time I blog about the weekend? What has happened to me in the time I've known B? (I must really love this guy!) Anyways we had a two-win-weekend (meaning both Arkansas and Nebraska won)! I just checked the polls and Arkansas is ranked 5, 6, and 7 in 3 different polls. Not to shabby! Nebraska also made it back in the top 25 in the 3 polls. Yea for them.

In other news, B and I had some youth over tonight for the first time. We were each assigned 8 youth to mentor for a small group. We ended up with 5 of my girls and 4 of B's boys showing. I think that everyone had a good time. The boys of course gravitated directly towards the PS2, and you couldn't get a word into the 15 conversations the girls were holding at the same time. It was a lot of fun for both of us to have them over. It should become a regular Sunday night affair if things go well. It's a bit of a change for me to go from 2nd grade teacher mindset to high school mentor mindset. I'm sure things will get easier in time though.

Slow Down!

I think that it might have been a tough morning for B. His running partner, Maggie, might not be going on 5 mile runs with him 5 times a week anymore. She's been going really slow on the stairs at the house for a while now. Early this week, she was refusing to come up them and crying at the bottom. We knew something wasn't quite right. We ended up taking her to the vet this morning to have her hips x-rayed. It looks like she has the very, very beginning of hip dysplasia. It could be 6-8 years before it goes into full-blown hip dysplasia. In the mean time, she gets to take it a bit easier on the running, go swimming more for exercise, and take some meds to help with the pain on bad days. The vet said that we just have to kind of follow her cues. Some days she might be able to go for a 2 mile run, play fetch, go for a swim, and bound up the stairs without thinking twice. Other days, we might need to take her food and water to her on whatever floor she has decided to settle on. We'll just have to take one day at a time.

Happy Birthday Shaun!!!!

Dental Hygiene

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in N. It's currently 75 and going to get a few degrees warmer. The sun is shining, and from where I sit, I can't see a cloud in the sky! (just don't ask me what the forcast is for Thursday on out - i don't want to talk about it)

Below are some pictures of N from this morning. Yesterday N and I went to go talk to B as he was getting ready for work. N wanted to grab everything on the bathroom counter ( i.e. the soap, the cup, my glasses). I decided he could play with my toothbrush. He loved it!!!!! When we went to Walmart last night, I strategically steered us down the toothpaste/brush aisle. I found a baby toothbrush and asked B if we could get it for N. He looked at me like I was nuts, but he gave in anyways. So, here are a couple of pictures of N having a great time with his toothbrush. No toothpaste, no teeth, but it's never to early.


I have spent the rest of my day, and the week so far, cleaning the house. I feel good about what I've gotten done, but it's so slow going with N constantly interrupting. It might take from now until Mom and Dad come in less than 2 weeks to get it all done. Good thing I got an early start on it!

Wrapping Paper and Moving Trucks

Another weekend has come and gone. We had a great weekend, spending lots of time together and getting a lot accomplished.

Friday we went and checked out a couple of malls in O that we hadn't been to yet. We both agreed that the 2 we usually go to and are closest to us are the best. (Lucky us!) I didn't get any more Christmas shopping done on Friday (other than a stocking stuffer for N). I'm stumped on what to get the people that I still need to shop for. I was able to get both B and Tori partially shopped for on Thursday though. Is it too early to get a tree and put it up????

Saturday, of course, completely revolved around football again. B's parents gave us their tickets for the Nebraska/Mizzou game. I had sort of been dreading going to a game in November. I've been in November before and it can be completely miserable cold. Luckily though it was in the 60s and sunny. The crowd was really into the game which made being there a lot of fun. We had a man sitting behind us that talked on his cell phone the entire time and kept commenting (at least 8 times) about how small the stadium appeared compared to Mile Hile in Denver. Shut up and watch the game!!!! Nebraska was able to win the game and we left happy! We also got to watch Arkansas beat South Carolina when we got home. It's so good to see Arkansas doing so well. Can't wait for next weekend when they get to trample Tennesee on ESPN2 and College Game Day is broadcasting for Fayetteville.

We both taught Sunday School and went to church on Sunday morning. After that, it was a day spent getting caught up around the house. We finished making applesauce, got the laundry done, grilled (it was another gorgeous day), and picked up around the house. I got to talk to my parents which is always great. (Thanks for calling!)

The most (possibly) exciting part of the weekend was the other phone call I got on Sunday night. I have been friends with Corrie since the summer before 5th grade, and we've stayed close no matter the number of miles between us. One of the best times for me was getting to live in St. Louis at the same time she did for 10 months while B and Eric were in seminary at the same time. We never thought we would end up in the same state or town again after high school. Anyways, back to the call. She called and asked me what the housing market was like in O. HUH?!?!?! Eric got a telephone call from a church in the area that is considering him as they look to call a new pastor. This was just first contact, and we have no idea where this will lead. Obviously I would love to have it lead into the call commitee at this church extending him an official call. It would be a far better answer than I could have ever dreamed to my prayer for a close friend here in O. Somehow I have to contain my excitement and pray that God's will be revealed to the church, call commitee, and the Hs. Please pray for all parties involved in this. (Also pray that I would not get to set on the idea of having the Hs here before anything really even happens.)

Alright, that's enough of a novel for now. I've got a house that needs cleaning, and N's not offering to get it done.

Lost

I'm lost. Today is my day of freedom! B left for work this morning with N in the backseat. I'm suppose to be making the most of the day that N heads to Mother's Day Out, but instead I'm lost. I usually have a million specific tasks that I want to cram in on my Thursdays. Wednesday is usually spent planning my Thursday. For some reason though, it didn't happen that way this week. So here I sit with only 5 hours and 10 minutes before needing to pick him up at 3. I'm sure there are errands to be run, but it's cold out (32 actually, but feels like 26) and i'm not in a money spending mood. (Strange feeling!) Other than a brief phone chat with Matt (thanks for calling brother), I've spent most of my time at the computer. Hmmm, what to do with myself. I guess I should just get in the car and see where I end up.

Happy Halloween!

SATUR and SUN days

The weekend seemed to fly by quite fast this time around. We did our best to make the most of it and the gorgeous weather we had. (70s) Saturday was our annual day to make homemade applesauce. We got lucky and got to peel, core, and slice most of the apples while N was sleeping. We still have the other half of the apples sitting on the counter waiting to be peeled, cored, sliced, and cooked. The first batch turned out well and the other should be the same. B always loves to eat the peels of the apples as we go.
N was more than happy for it to be football Saturday again! He loves to cheer on the Huskers and Razorbacks. He decided to support his highly ranked Razorbacks with a smile and his outfit this weekend! (Too bad we don't have ESPNU.) We did get to see the Husker game, but unfortunately it didn't turn out as well as the Razorback game. Ann and Don came over to wach the game with us. We'll have to evaluate the situation and decide if they are bad luck to have over during future Husker games. :)

Meet Jack Owen Latern! B, N, and I went to a pumpkin carving party at the Woodwards last night. Neither B nor I had ever carved a pumpkin before. Since B cleaned it out, and I got to do the carving, it was great! I don't know how I would have felt about the experience if the roles had been reversed! He's a happy guy (especially since he was a $2 leftover at Walmart yesterday) and more than thrilled to fulfill his pumpkin duty on Halloween.

click click

I had been a while since N and I sat down for a good photo session. (Okay a couple of weeks at least!) Did you notice our gorgeous maple in our front yard? I love it!!!! N's finally starting to feel better after fighting his cold off. We've had 2 nights of solid sleep which is always a good sign. While he was sick, he seemed to keep me pretty busy. I kept wanting to blog, but it just didn't happen. Now that things are back to normal, hopefully my blogging will also go back to normal! N gets to go to Mother's Day Out tomorrow, and I have big plans for my day! I hope to get a ton of errands run. I would love to be able to go and find B's Christmas present (I'm already done shopping for N!). Well, I'd better get some bills paid before heading up to church for Upper Room tonight. (Say a prayer that B is finding the time this afternoon to prep his sermon!!!)

brrrrr!

it was a cold weekend in N last weekend. the long awaited NU v. Texas game was this weekend. we had it won with 2 minutes to go and fumbled the ball. (thanks Nunn, you've always been my least favorite Husker.) the loss made for quite a tense day in the k house. it did encourage a couple of friends to give b a call, which is always nice to hear from old friends. the cold wasn't limited to the football game. it's hard to tell from these small pictures (click on them to see they larger), but it actually snowed here this weekend. this was our second time to see flakes in the past couple of weeks. it didn't last more than a few minutes each time, but it was snow none the less. i'm sure we'll get some snow to stick before i know it. can't believe it's that time of year already!

Candy Corn Cookies

I found these cute candy-corn shaped cookies in a recent Parent's magazine. I thought they were really cute and must be easy since you are suppose to use store-bought cookie dough. They didn't tell you how it's next to impossible to get the food coloring and cocoa to mix in evenly in each different layer. They also didn't bother to mention that it's impossible to find i simple triangle shape cookie cutter, and even more impossible to free hand a good candycorn shaped triangle. My presentation isn't exactly as nice as they did, but I was just glad to have them done. Cute idea, not quite as easy to pull off. Maybe I'll give it a try again next year. Until they keep your eyes open for a triangle cookie cutter!

do you hear what I hear?

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain hitting the window. No big surprise since they had been predicting rain for today. Then during breakfast, as B and I were sitting eating out chocolate chip pancakes, I heard a different sound. This was a sound that reminded me of winter in Arkansas. I looked and and saw freezing rain! Luckily it was short-lived and the ground is still too warm.

N is still battling his cold. Thanks to a humidifier and Vicks Baby Rub we are sleeping through the night again. He generously decided that he wanted to share this cold with both B and I. Lucky us!

picture perfect

water and colds

It was another busy weekend out of town for us. This time it was a junior high retreat to an indoor water park in Kansas City. (www.greatwolflodge.com) We took a charter bus with 35 youth, 4 younger kids, and 6 adults. The 6 girls which were assign to check in with me were great. When told they need to meet me somewhere, they would ask if they could be there early! (and usually were) B had a great time on all of the water slides and such. He's such a kid sometimes! :) N even got to play with some of the fountains that shot out of the ground. We didn't have any Little Swimmer diapers since he was too small this summer. He probably would have loved to sit in the water and just splash if he had had some.

We're back home now and getting caught back up on things. It's amazing how behind you can feel even after being gone for one night! I was able to get a lot done yesterday evening since N took a late nap.

N is pretty miserable right now. He has come down with quite a cold. We got up with him about 15 times throughout the night last night. Normally B and I would be very frustrated with him for getting us up some much, but it completely different when he's sick. I started to cry as he screamed this morning while I was trying to clean his nose. He couldn't understand that I was just trying to help. Poor guy.

Blogger isn't cooperating for pictures right now; guess I'll have to come back and add them later.

Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin

Welcome to the Vala's Pumpkin Patch!
Today was pumpkin patch day for the Ks. B, N, and I bundled up this afternoon and headed out to Vala's. It was really impressive since I had only been to the Little Rock one before. With tons of activities and things to do other than pick a pumpkin, it was like a fall amusement park. (No wonder it was so expensive to get in.) N was too small to do any of the activities, but just wait for next year.One thing that was just right for N was the bunnies. The fence around the bunny yard was just the right size for N to be able to take a peek at the bunnies. (There were two bunnies cuddled up on the front porch of the bunny house.) B had some fun with some of the face cut out boards! Leave to him to get caught like this: By the time we went on the hayride and got to the pumpkin patch, N was pretty sleepy. We took about 30 pictures. He only smiled for one of them. Usually he's all smiles for the camera, but it was like pulling teeth to even get him too look at it today.
We picked out a N size pumpkin for him to bring home. He didn't really show too much interest in it. He probably would have rather brought home the weed by his left hand that he was much more interested in.I think we would all three agree that we had a fun, family-centered afternoon. I'm sure that it will become a yearly tradition to go out there and have a good time together.

big guy on campus

Today was a big day in the K household. N headed out bright and early with Daddy to hang out a work until it was time for Mother's Day Out to start at 9. It was very strange for me to send both my guys out the door this morning. I think even Maggie seemed to notice he was missing throughout the day. I missed N way more than I realized I would. I know I'll get use to it and really appreciate my free day, but I'm just so use to him being with me all the time. He did well and played hard. B went over there this morning for some reason, and N was being taught how to beat on the xylphone. (Just what I want him to have an interest in!) He also slept well which I didn't know how he would do there. He's a great sleeper for me at home, but he usually won't nap long other places. While he was busy playing, I was busy getting as much done as possible. I was able to get all the ironing done without stopping to insert a pacifier every couple of minute! The whole house got vaccumed without anyone screaming their head off! Productivity! Here he is bundled up and ready to head out the door:

BTW, we were also able to turn on the heat this morning! It was only 58 in the house when we crawled out of bed, brrrrrr! I also have the guy scheduled to come set up our fireplace next Monday so we can put it to good use.

90-75-50

It's time for those oh-so-important magic numbers again. N went for his 6 month check up today; yes, he's already 6 months! His weight was 20 lbs. 2 oz. which puts him in the 90th percentile for weight. He was in the 75th percentile for height at 27 inches. Head circumference was 44 cm and the 50th percentile. Some people live by these numbers, and others despise them. I'm just glad to report that he is healthy and doing great. The doctor said his development is more in line with a 9 month old because of the things he's able to do. He also gets to start having stage 2 foods which include meats and desserts! We're growing up to fast, but we're loving every minute of it!

a what warning???

a FREEZE warning!!!!!! yes, you read correctly - i did say FREEZE warning. i need to be eating lunch so i can get to my mega list of things to accomplish today. i decided to check the weather real quick before getting off the computer. i knew it was a bad idea - i knew i shouldn't have done it. when we landed in austin, tx less than a week ago, it was 95 outside. it is currently, at just past noon, 46 here! and a FREEZE warning for tonight to top it all off! there should not be FREEZE warnings in the beginning of October! what is up with this place i live????? n's pretty upset about it all too. he's crying in his crib rather than napping because he's so bothered by the idea of a FREEZE warning. i'd better go console the poor guy. wish me warm!

birthday pics from yesterday

to the batmobile

So the experience of having 1.5 million bats fly out from under the bridge you're standing on is an interesting one. It is both amazing and scary at the same time. I prefered to watch the swarms of them in the distance as they flew away from us rather than watch them come out from right under us. Apparently rabies is an issue in Austin, hmmm.

The Older Woman

Back to the Future

It was only 5 nights, but it seems as if we've been gone for weeks. B, N, and I flew back in today from the national youth workers conference in austin, tx. I think the best part about the trip was just the ability to get away for a few days. I think that we are all very glad to be back in town. N squealed with delight when we walked into his bedroom, B's got tons on work to be back working on, and I'm thrilled to not be living out of a suitcase! I think that poor Maggie is most happy to have us back. She had a bit of a panic/stress attack when we left. She actually managed to get out of her crate and have messy accidents all over our new carpet!

While in Austin we were able to visit the capitol building, go outlet mall shopping (my personal favorite), and see the huge (1.5 million) bat colony come out for the night. Thanks to the conference we were able to see The David Crowder Band, Shane and Shane, Jars of Clay, and Jeremy Camp. We missed others like Building 429, Kutless, and many others. We also were able to go to some great sectional discussions.

We were also thrilled to have the Lytles drive up from Houston to spend some time with us. It's great to see familiar faces when so much has changed recently for us. Bri has grown a ton since seeing her early this year.

I have pictures to put up later. All of the camera batteries happen to be dead right now.

where've i been?

I guess that I haven't had too much to say over the past week or so. I've managed to keep myself fairly busy and have also limited my daytime computering. (I was wasting too much time searching for nothing.) I get myself (and N) out of the house a couple of times thoughout the week now which is nice.

Other than a slight cold that B is battling, he is doing well. He is keep extremely busy as his staff continues to get smaller and smaller. His weekends don't seem to be much time off, just not working in his office. He and Student Edge have had 3 sucessful Upper Room services. They have averaged anywhere from 75 to 100 kids at each one. The National Youth Workers Conference is this week and should allow for some nice time out of the office.

N is one noisy boy! Sometimes it's hard to discriminate between the happy squeals and the unhappy ones. He's continuing to try new foods all the time. This week will include peas, peaches, and carrots! How fun! He's 19.5 lbs. now and doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. People keep telling me it'll slow once he can crawl around. I think my arms and back will appreciate that a lot!

Here are a couple of recent pics: