Chloe and Cousin Madison

Aunt Brenda and I took Chloe and our cousin, Madison, to a movie on Wednesday. We saw Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. They had a very fun time at the movie and playing in the mall after it was over. Here are some pics.

Peanut Butter Fun!

According to Kyle, this is how a Peanut Butter Sandwich should be eaten...smashed, smeared on hands and face, and then put in mouth! I'll have to remember that the next time!

Kyle, you make us smile all the time!

Our Summer So Far!

I haven't written as much this month as I usually do....it's amazing how much busier the summer is than the rest of the year.

I have been changing door knobs, cabinet knobs, hinges, doorstops, faucets.....we are getting the 20 year old gold hardware out of the house and replacing it with antique bronze. I have been having a fun time replacing them all....except for the first doorknob I replaced last year.....if you haven't heard my nightmare story and need a good laugh, then I'd be happy to entertain you!

EVERETT has been doing stuff with the pool and yard! I feel like that pool and yard take up so much time, but he seems to enjoy doing it. He knew what he'd be getting into when we bought the house.....we both knew I wouldn't be taking care of those things! I planted flowers the first year we were here, but I have not spent my time doing that since having the kiddos! Everett is still playing soccer....outdoor and indoor!                       

KYLE is just as active as ever! Kyle jumped out of the pack-n-play last weekend. I knew the time was coming when we'd have to put it up, but I was hoping he'd hold out on jumping out of it until summer was over. He has been a little pickier with his eating! The good thing is....he LOVES fruit! He will eat any kind of fruit I put on his tray. He says "yum-yum" when I put something on his tray that he likes! :) It is very cute! He has 16 TEETH! He loves the pool! He kicks and moves his arms like he wants to swim! He will go under and not swallow any water! We got him his own little pool to play in, and he has a great time in it! He has started asserting himself much more. He doesn't let Chloe get away with anything. If she takes something away from him, he pulls her hair or takes it right back. Also, we have started time-outs with him, and to our surprise, he sits there until we tell him to get up.

                                            

CHLOE has been attending a summer camp for 2 days per week all during June. She has learned about dinosaurs the first 2 weeks and outer space these last 2 weeks! Chloe swims very well now. She swims across the pool and back to the steps. I am the one that has to tell her she is tired and needs to get out. She would swim laps all day if I let her!  She is also very busy with her Princess barbies.  She loves to show her barbies to anyone who comes over.

HOMER has lost 2 pounds!! That's quite a bit when he only weighed 12 pounds. He was very overweight. He should be about 9 pounds. We'll keep feeding him his diet food and keeping him away from Kyle's food! A few months ago, he could not fit through the wrought iron fence. He now slips through it easily.

We have spent quite a bit of time at our new shopping center!! We have all kinds of stores that are less than 5 minutes away now!! Chloe and Kyle love the Barnes-n-Noble storytime and train area. We have eaten Snuffer's hamburgers and cheese fries quite a bit....maybe a little too much! We can't wait until the Blue Goose opens!!  It's so nice to finally have shopping, restaurants and a movie theater.  When we moved here 5 years ago, we had a Target, and that was about it!

Everett and I tried one of those hourly drop off playcares. Last weekend, we took the kids to go play, and we were able to go have a 2 hour dinner!

One more thing....We are wanting to get rid of our piano, so if you know anyone that wants a FREE piano, then let them know. They will just need to come over and move it out!

That's all for now....I'll write more next month when I get a chance!

Here's some video of us in June!

JUNE 2008 VIDEO

Dance Recital

Kyle and grandpa!

Chloe and grandma!

Chloe dancing in the middle

Chloe is the second little dancer

Chloe in the middle

Chloe FINALLY got the Sleeping Beauty....she has waited for weeks!

It was so cute! We are so proud of Chloe! Kyle was proud of his big sister, too, and he clapped when she danced! :)

The video I have posted is of the dress rehearsal on Friday night. We were allowed to take pictures and video during the rehearsal. She actually did very well! She knew the ballet dance much better than the tap dance, but I think she did great on both of them.

The pictures we took were from the actual recital. We were able to take photos without flash, so that is probably why the pics do not look as good as they could be.

She is wearing make-up.....it felt strange putting make-up on her! I did not put everything they said...we just put some mascara, blush and pink lip gloss.....that's plenty for a 3 year old!

Chloe has been so excited about this recital. We told her that she would not be getting any flowers. There were flowers out everywhere for people to buy for the dancers. We told Chloe that she would be getting the last barbie of her Princess Barbie collection if she tried her best on her dances. If you don't know already, Chloe has been collecting the Princess barbies for awhile now. She has all 6 Disney Princess barbies and all 6 Disney Princess baby barbies. She would get them for different occasions and even bought 4 of them herself with her own birthday money! She only had 1 left to get. It was Sleeping Beauty, and she finally got her today!

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor came to watch Chloe dance today. We all went to get ice cream at Culver's after it was over! YUMMY!

Chloe did have a fun day dancing at her recital, but she will be taking a break for awhile. She had a choice on whether she wanted to keep on with dance or gymnastics, and she has chosen gymnastics. We are so happy she had the opportunity to dance, and if she wants to do it again in a few years, then we would love to put her back in. She just doesn't seem as excited to go to dance as she does to gymnastics. So for now, this is all the dancing you will see from Chloe....ENJOY IT!

HOMER

I have been meaning to post something about the 5th member of our family.....our wonderful dog, Homer! We got Homer in April of 2006 when Chloe was 14 months old, and he has been such a sweet dog! He is great with the kids. He plays with them all the time!

We have him on a diet right now since he seems to find every little piece of food that anyone drops....especially Kyle's food!

1st Gymnastics Meet

Chloe participated in her first gymnastics meet today.  This event was so much bigger than I had ever thought it would be.  

What I was thinking....oh, we'll go in there,  she'll do a couple of things, she'll get a ribbon, and then we'll be home by 2 for her to take a nap!  What else could 3 and 4 year olds be expected to do?  Yeah, right!  I guess we'll know the next time!

Many parents had flowers ready to give their little gymnasts!  Oops!  Didn't do that one!  Oh, well.  We just hoped Chloe wouldn't notice that we didn't have flowers for her!

It was supposed to start at 1:00.  We pulled up, and the line was out the door...parents, kids, siblings, relatives, ect......We finally get to the front of the check-in line about 15 minutes later.  She was  given a name tag, and I was given an ID bracelet so they'd know who she belonged to.   

Then, all the parents and relatives were taken to the gym to wait for the kids to come through. The gym was packed with people!  I told Everett just to go ahead and take Kyle home.  We both knew this was going to be much longer than we thought, and there was no way Kyle would be able to be that patient when he saw all of that fun stuff to play on!

It all started about 1:30, and it did turn out to be fun to watch!  The kids were judged on their vault, bars, beam and floor.  They would get to practice once, and then they would do it in front of the judges.  The judges would score them and then their group would go to the next event.  By 3:00, I could tell Chloe was so tired.  I just wanted to get her and take her home, but I knew she only had one more event left.  

At the end, they were all given a medal and ribbons depending on what scores they got.  No blue ribbons, but she did get 3 red ones!  Yeah, Chloe!  Chloe was very excited about her medal! About those flowers.....I saw 2 different sets of parents trying to give their kids flowers when the kids came over to them at the end....the kids could have cared less about the flowers....they were much more interested in showing their parents the medal they had just received!

Everett and Kyle picked us up, and we all went to go get ice cream!  Ice Cream is much better and cheaper than flowers anyway! :) (uh, Everett....that last statement pertains to Chloe....not me!  I still like the flowers. :)!)

We were home by 4:00.  Chloe got in bed with her medal and took a little nap.

Swimming Lessons

Chloe in swim lessons in October 2005 (7 months old)

Chloe in swim lessons in September 2006 (18 month old)

Chloe in swim lessons in June 2007 (2 yrs, 4 months old)

Chloe with her friends Taylor and Julia in May 2008

Chloe started swim lessons when she was only 6 months old. She has come a LONG way since then. She still has so much to learn, but with practice, we know she will continue to improve!

Chloe and her friends, Taylor and Julia, just finished a swim camp. It was everyday for 2 weeks. We had an 'End of Swim Camp' pary at our house last night. The kids had fun swimming and eating pizza! Congrats to all 3 of them for making it to the next level.

Dallas Nature and Science Museum

Chloe and Taylor digging for dinosaur bones

Chloe feeding the hungry bird

Chloe and Taylor feeding the turtles

Today, we packed everything up and headed for the Dallas Nature and Science Museum. Tiffany, Taylor and Colin met us there. Tiffany's sister came along, too....we really appreciated it! It is always nice to have an extra set of eyes!

This little field trip was very fun and different. There was a Dinosaur exhibit where the kids were able to get in a sand pit and dig for dinosaur bones. They were also able to play with bubbles, learn about weather disasters, put puzzles together, and so much more!

We ended our outing with feeding the birds and turtles.

I love having a day out like this, but it does get so exhausting. I get such a workout chasing and lifting Kyle around. At the time when Kyle gets old enough where I do not have to chase him around OR when we gets so big that I cannot lift him anymore....that will be the time when I start a real workout program. As for right now, Kyle is keeping me in great shape! Thanks, Little Buddy!

Weekend Swimming

We spent alot of time in the pool this past weekend. The weather was beautiful!

Kyle is doing better with going under the water. Kyle loves the water, and we will be practicing with him alot more this summer!

Chloe is almost swimming across the shallow end of the pool. She has finished week 1 of her 2 week swim camp. This weekend was also the first time she went off a diving board. We thought we would not get to that until the end of the summer, but she surprised us when she wanted to jump off of it this soon!

We went to Rachel and Tony's house on Sunday to eat and swim. The kids had so much fun in the water! Lorenzo loves the water...he is in lessons, too!

Here is some video of the kids in Rachel and Tony's pool!

2008 Trip to the ZOO

Everett took off work yesterday, and we all went to the zoo! We thought it would be cloudy, but it turned out to be very hot and humid! Yuck for my curly hair that was flat-ironed straight!

Chloe had been telling me all week that she wanted to see the alligators! I am not sure why she had her mind on those this year, but we searched them out, and they ended up being the last stop! By that time, she was so tired, she didn't even really care about looking at them.

We did have fun looking at the monkeys, gorillas, zebras, giraffes, elephants, tigers, bears, kangaroos, and they also had a penguin exhibit. We fed the parakeets, too!

Kyle had more fun this year than last year. He was only 3 months old last May when we went, so he just rode in the stroller and slept most of the way. This year, we brought the wagon for both of them to ride in.

Kyle is 15 months old!

Above are some favorite pictures from the past couple of months! 

 Kyle tuned 15 months old last Friday. He had his 15 month check-up today, and he is doing great!

 Current stats:

26.6 pounds  (80%)

32 1/2 inches long  (85%)

Things he says:

He says 'nigh-nigh' when he goes to sleep.

mama

daddy

na-na for no-no

mi or mik for milk

He doesn't really say bye-bye anymore.  He just waves his hand when someone says bye.

Things he does:

He gives real kisses now. For the past few months, he was just opening his mouth and laying it on us. Now, he puckers up and makes a big kiss sound. It is very cute!

He does not like bibs! He finds a way to always take them off! I have tried so many different kinds of bibs, and I finally gave up on buying them and just take his shirt off now! It is so much easier. He spills and we just wipe him up afterwards! You have probably noticed in some of our pictures that he does not have his shirt on when he eats, and that is the reason why!

He runs very fast!  We love to watch him run, but he makes us nervous, because it always looks like he is going to trip and fall!

He gets upset when Chloe is in time-out.  The other day when she was put in time-out, he got tears in his eyes, and his lips were quivering.  I thought he was going to cry, too, but he didn't. He goes over to her and sits by her or tries to sit in her lap when she is in time-out.  That will have to change, because she then thinks it is fun and starts playing with him!

He LOVES baths!

Favorite foods:

Greens beans

Peanut butter crackers

Cheerios

Mac-n-Cheese

Pretzels

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Blueberry Waffles

Hotdogs

Sleep Schedule:

Naps: 9:30-11:00, 1:30-3:00

Bedtime: 7:30 pm-7:00 am

Here is some video from the past couple of months.  Most of it is just him eating new things and running around the house.

Chloe's First Dentist Visit

Chloe went to the dentist today,  She did a great job!  She did everything they asked of her.  She loved getting her teeth cleaned.  There were NO cavities...yeah!  She also got to pick out a new toothbrush and a prize out of the prize box.  She chose a new princess crown as her prize.

Today's Recital Practice

Well, 4 weeks to go until the big recital! Here is some video of Chloe's recent ballet/tap class. How do you think they are doing? Recitals at this age are all about the costume anyway, right? :)

They are doing better each week.  The next dance video I will be posting will be of her recital on JUNE 7TH, so you will get to see how far they have come since today!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lorenzo!!

Lorenzo turned ONE yesterday.  He had a great time at his birthday party as did everyone else!

He's not a baby anymore...especially with his new big boy haircut!

Happy Birthday, Lorenzo!!

My NEW hair.....or really my OLD hair!!

I went and had my highlights taken out of my hair!  My hair seems so dark now!!  I have not seen it this way in many, many years.  I am really loving it, though!!

It is going to be sooo much easier now!  I won't have to schedule 2-3 hour appointments every couple of months, and it won't matter when my hair starts to grow out, because it will grow in the same color!  I will also have alot more money now, so maybe I'll just go spend the money I would have spent on my hair on a new Coach purse instead!! :)

Dancing Around the House

The past few months, Chloe and Kyle have really gotten into dancing around everyday.  Chloe has always been one to dance anytime she hears a song.  Kyle started to imitate her dance moves, but now he has some moves that he can call his own.  

Here's some video of them dancing!  

Big Helper Chloe!

Chloe is so great with Kyle.  She is always wanting to help me do things with him, so today I let her feed him.  It made it easier on me!!  I should have been catching up on things instead of videoing the whole thing, but it was just so cute that I couldn't help myself!!  He sure enjoyed it, too!

New Braunfels Trip!

Our trip to New Braunfels this past weekend was a blast! It was so nice to just have a couple of days away and recharge!! We went there with our friends Tiffany and Ryan. It was the first weekend away for us since Kyle was born.

We shopped, visited a winery, and ate ALOT of food! The best part was being able to sleep in and not be on a schedule!

It was a good first trip away since it wasn't too far from home. My mom and dad kept the kids at our house, and it went very well.

We'll get away again....hopefully it won't take a year and a half the next time!

The Inevitable Bump on the Head

Well, we were praying we would get through the clumsy first months of walking with both kiddos without either getting a major bump on the head......but, Kyle showed us this morning what so many others tell us about with their kids! He fell right smack into the corner of the coffee table leg! He has had so many close calls, but this one was the real thing! He wasn't even running this time like he is so many other times. He was just walking and then tripped! I felt terrible! We called the doc, and did what he said by putting ice on it, checking for signs of a concussion every couple hours, and keeping him up awhile. He had not had a nap yet and was wanting to go to sleep so bad, but everytime we put that ice on his head, he woke right up!

Chloe was able to get through those first months without any big falls. She was always so careful! Guess that is one difference I am learning about with having one of each!

Chloe and Kyle have been different on so many levels. Chloe was turning pages and looking at books on her own when she was 9 months old! Kyle will look at books with me, but he could care less about looking at them on his own! He is much more interested in turning the wheels on cars, trucks, trains, ect... Teething is another thing that they have been so opposite. Chloe did not have pain or fevers with her teeth cutting.....all of a sudden she would have one. So, this whole fever everytime Kyle cuts a new tooth is all new...well, I guess it's not anymore! He has had over a 100 degree fever off and on since Friday afternoon. I did not know what it was, so I took him to the doctor on Saturday morning. The doctor said that it might be a virus of some kind and to just watch him the next couple of days. Last night, I saw a huge tooth poking through! I am pretty sure that is what was making him so miserable this weekend (that is, until this morning's knock on the head)! Poor thing...he is getting his first molar. He gets his teeth all out of order! With eating...Chloe was so neat. She would take a bite at a time and not drop hardly any. Kyle just starts throwing everything off his tray right when I put it on there (that's why our dog is overweight right now and is on a diet). With sleeping...Chloe was consistently sleeping through the night at 2 months old. Kyle was 9 months old before he was consistently sleeping through the night. I breastfed him until 9 months, so I know he probably just wanted me each night.

It is so fun to watch how unique they both are. It is also fun to see how Kyle just naturally goes towards cars and trucks even with all of Chloe's dolls and barbies out everywhere for him to play with. We have enjoyed every minute of watching them both grow!

Now...we just hope that we are able to potty-train him in one week like we did with Chloe. With them being so different, I doubt that will happen!

Well, off I go to do some furniture moving so that this hopefully won't happen again.