Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Yesterday was Andy's birthday, and the boys were quite excited about it.  We made him his requested dinner: terriyaki chicken with sticky rice and succotash (well, okay he didn't request the succotash but we needed a veggie and it seemed to fit!).  We spent the evening as a family eating dinner, having cake, opening presents, and playing.  It was a great day!

Conner and I made a homemade triple layer lemon cake.  Conner insisted on decorating it with marshmallows :)  I think he did a good job!

"Scott, it's not time to blow out the candles yet!"

"Okay, now it's time!"

Daddy and his boys

First Day of School

Today was the first day of Conner's last year of preschool (sniff, sniff). He had a lot of fun, met some new friends, and acted like he didn't even care that I left him (again, sniff, sniff). I truly am glad, though, that he loves his school so much and feels so comfortable there. I love the place too! Here are some pictures of the big boy :)

I really don't think his teachers would believe the crazy personality this kid has outside of school!

Scott was hoping he could go to school, too.  Next year, honey!

Do you see the change in attitude?  He's a little more reserved in the school setting!

Hanging up his coat and bag.  He's so independent!

News

So, we're back!  With something Scott would like to share....

If that was too subtle, maybe something a little more obvious would help.  Like this...

Taken July 11, 2011

Or this...

August 30, 2011

Yes, that's right.  If you haven't figured it out yet, Baby Kelley #3 will be joining us in March!  The official due date is March 11, 2012.  I'll have a scheduled C-section, so baby will probably be here about a week before the due date. 

Some fun facts about the pregnancy so far:

• Today I am 12 weeks, 2 days pregnant
• Yesterday the heart rate was 164, and today it was 167
• I felt pretty good during the first trimester, but there was definitely a couple weeks where I did not feel well at all.  I think for a short time, it was worse than the other two.  But, I remember my first trimester with Scott was worse than it was with Conner.  So, I think it must just get worse with each pregnancy.

This evening, we told the boys our news.  Scott wasn't too interested, but Conner was very surprised and excited.  He first wanted to know if he'd come with us when it's time for baby to come out.  Then, when we showed him the sonogram pictures, he said he thinks it's a girl because he saw "hair" around the head.  He was also concerned that he would hurt the baby if he touched my belly, and that the baby would hurt me when it starts kicking.  So cute :)

I'll leave you with a picture of Conner (just in case you've forgotten what he looks like!)

Doctor Time!

Conner had his 4 year check up today and he checked out pretty well!  He passed his hearing test with flying colors (phew!), and answered all of the doctor's questions completely.  I think she was pretty impressed with how smart he is in the way he thinks things out.  For example, she asked him how many wheels his bike has and he said, "Hmm, let's see here.  There's (pointing) one, two, three, four.  My bike has four wheels!"  He also enjoyed looking at her dinosaur books, and explained to her how the spinosaurus is his favorite, because its bigger than a T-Rex.  He got one shot, took it pretty well I think(although he said he wasn't brave because he cried), and was treated to a McDonald's frozen strawberry lemonade afterward.  This little man is one great kid.  He has a very funny personality, even if he doesn't show it to everyone because he's a little shy.  I love all his expressions and reasoning skills and I'm having so much fun watching him grow!  Here are his stats:
Weight: 38.5 lbs (75th percentile)
Height: 40 3/4 " (50th percentile)

It's wild out there!

We had a great day, complete with a jungle safari birthday party and lots of fun with friends.  The day started out like this:

I was about to get pretty angry that they were making a HUGE mess as I  was trying to clean up the house for company.  Then I realized, they were quiet - I mean silent - for about 30 minutes just reading books while sitting in the toy chest.  I got a lot done in that time.  I decided not to complain about the mess :)

Then came the safari party.  The kids decorated their gear and went on an animal hunt.

I knew I should have taken a picture of the cake yesterday after I decorated it, but I didn't, and of course forgot today.  It was a tiger cake, though, and you'll just have to trust that it was pretty cute :)

Then they played with water balloons, and had a generally good time.  I think the party was a success and I know everyone is sleeping soundly now!

Happy Birthday, Conner!

Conner is 4 years old today!  We had a really great day.  Here's a rundown:  He had a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast (I was quite surprised he didn't request pancakes or waffles, but I didn't complain!  A bagel is much easier!).  After that we ran some errands and had lunch at a pizza buffet (can you say heaven for my little boy?!) and frozen yogurt.  Then we came home to get some things done.  Nana came over and delivered presents (a dino book and a remote controlled monster truck - which was "just what he told her he wanted!").  Finally, MamMam and Paw joined us for dinner (spaghetti and meatballs per my little man's request) and cupcakes.  Here are some pictures of parts of our day...

A dinosaur book!

A trampoline was the big gift from Mommy and Daddy.  He's a jumping machine :)

"How big of a bite can you take?"

Scott said, "Mmmmmm."

Conner also got new toy story underpants for his birthday. 
The boys had some fun with them after some cupcakes in their blood :)

Conner said he had a great day.  My baby is 4, but I'm having so much fun watching him grow and see his personality develop that I'm not even sad he's growing up!

Photo Catch Up

Wow, I really feel like I've been neglecting the blog lately.  Sorry!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from the past...way too long...

I'll also share a conversation Conner had with Andy tonight that was pretty funny.  Conner tasted some salmon straight from the grill and said, "Yum, that's good.  Makes me want to jump in my pool!"

As for Scott, he has been into saying knock knock jokes lately. Well, actually just one: 
Scott: Knock, knock.
Whoever will listen:  Who's there?
Scott: One shoe.
Whoever: One shoe who?
Scott:  I tell me, I tell me!  (supposed to be, "If you ask me, I'll tell you!")

Now for the pictures:

Just loungin...

Proud big cousin!

Um....some help please? 

I know his eyes are closed, but I just had to share this big smile.  What you also can't really see in the picture is that his face is FILTHY!  It was taken while he was literally playing in dirt :)

Yeah, I'm cool....

Notice Scott and Andy's face...like father like son?

Jammin...
This is Conner's "guitar playing face"

An Average 2 Year Old

Today was Scott's 2 year check-up.  I'm happy to report that he is very healthy, thriving, and energetic.  Not mention, average in size all the way around.  He's 28 lbs. (50th percentile), 34 3/4 inches tall (just above 50th percentile), and his head is 19 1/2 inches around (75th percentile).

He's putting together up to 5 words in sentences, can recognize green consistently and other colors sometimes.  He also counts up to 3 always, and has gotten up to 10 before.  He can recognize the letters S and O, and loves "dessert time!"  This kid will definitely keep me on my toes, but he's also pretty well-behaved compared to a lot of other kids his age (judging from the story time we go to anyway!).  His favorite song to "sing" is "Wheels on the Bus" and he's always the first to hear an airplane, train, or firetruck (and can usually tell you exactly what it is he hears before you even realize you've heard it!).

Even though he's "ordinary" in a lot of ways, ordinary kids are pretty "extraordinary" to us :)

Party Day!

Yesterday was Scott's birthday, but today was just as important as we had close family and friends over for a party!  We did a train theme for Scott this year since that's one of his main interests nowadays.  Yesterday during Scott's marathon nap, Conner and I made a train cake (by the way, thank goodness for the marathon nap because I needed that time to get this cake done!)  I baked cake mix in mini loaf pans, then cut up two of them to make the different cars.  We then assembled and decorated the train with candy and icing.  I got the idea here: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/choo-choo-train-cake-685795/

Aaaaannnnndd....that will have to do for now.  We've just realized that ALL of the pictures we took today are not on the memory card. Ahh, technology.  Hopefully we can find a way to locate some pictures or the ones we took will magically reappear.  Until that happens, however, just picture a cute little blond newly-two year old in an engineer outfit, complete with overalls, a red bandanna, hat, and whistle.  Imagine him opening lots of really exciting presents, and saying, "Here, Mommy" every time he rips off a little piece of paper.  Then picture lots of crazy kids running around having a fabulous time, playing on the playground, exploring the pond, and eating cake.  Adults were enjoying each others company and good food.  There, it's almost like I just showed you fabulous pictures, right?  Well, maybe not quite.......oh well.

Happy Birthday Scott!

My baby is 2!?! Time flies, and I love watching this kid grow every day. I think Conner was just as excited as Scott (actually probably more excited) that today was his birthday. We started the day with Scott's birthday breakfast request: peabutter honey sandwich. Conner wanted a bagel, but Scott was quite specific that he wanted his peabutter honey (which is really just peanut butter) on a sandwich.
Next, the boys played a little Memory.  Scott wanted to play, and Conner was so patient in teaching him how to play.  Will he follow in his mother's footsteps and be a teacher one day?  I think he'd be a good one!

Then we did some shopping for the birthday party tomorrow (sorry about the picture quality, it was taken by my phone):

Luckily I only had a few things to get, because otherwise this never would have worked. 
The boys enjoyed it, though, and it's the first time the training carts were available when we were there so I went with it.

Next, we went to the library for a circus story time, and had lunch at Nana and Pop's house with Aunt Jenn and Liam.

For dinner we had pizza with Nana and Pop (Conner requested that Scott have pizza for his birthday dinner).  I don't think Scott minded :)

Then came the presents.  Conner found it extremely hard to keep his hands off the presents.  Again, Scott didn't mind the help.

The two biggest hits:

The Weebles treehouse from Mommy and Daddy

And the big firetruck from Nana and Pop

I think Scott had a very good birthday (and he made it a good day for me by sleeping till 6:40 and taking a 2.5 hour nap!!).  Stay tuned tomorrow for the birthday party!

The Zoo

After going back and forth few times, and changing our minds literally on the way there, we decided today would be a zoo day.  Despite the rain, we had a great day with our friends Leyna, Cora, Reagan, and Reed.  There were a lot of puddles, a few animals, and a lot of running around corralling six crazy kids :)  But everyone had fun, and we're looking forward to going again!

This was a BIG iguana.  Conner was intrigued.

Conner said this was his favorite - the giant turtle.
We didn't get any pictures, but I'm pretty sure Scott's favorite was the zebra.  When we got home and the boys were asked what they saw a couple times, Conner remained quiet and Scott shouted, "Zebras!"

It's hard to see in the picture, but Scott was pretty much soaking wet up to his knees.  He loves puddles!

Scott: Wook!  Elfant!

Scott just posed like this.  No prompting.  What a ham :)

Storytime & Silly Boys

For the first time this morning I took just Scott to a storytime.  It was for 2 year olds, and he fit in just perfectly (shhh don't tell I snuck him in a week and a half early!).  He had a lot of fun, and I did too.  It was nice to be able to just focus on him and watch him interact with other kids his age.

Here he is making music - serious stuff.
 (sorry about the quality...it was the best I could get with my phone at that angle!)

This morning after breakfast I went to change Scott's diaper, and came back to find this:

He just pulled a chair up and washed the dishes.  What a helper :)

Some other funny things Conner has been doing lately:

• EVERYTHING has a rhyme.  For example one of his favorites: "Yeah, man, dib a dan." 
• For some reason, he incorporates peanut butter into a lot of things.  For example:  "Yummy yummy in my peanut butter tummy."
• He also has quite the imagination lately.  Today I checked on them downstairs at Nana and Pop's house.  Conner informed me they were watching "Fireman Sam" (there is no tv in the basement, therefore making this impossible).  I asked him where and he told me the tv was on the shelf.  They each sat in a chair and talked and "watched tv" for at least 10 minutes.  When I told them it was time to go, Conner told Scott they had to turn off the tv (I was informed I was not allowed to turn off the tv...my remote doesn't work).  They both proceeded to walk over to the shelf, pick up picture frames, and "click" them at another picture frame which was their "tv".   They are playing so well like this together lately and I just love it.  Thank goodness for brothers and good imaginations.  I love these guys!

Swim Lessons!

Today Conner had his first swim lesson.  He has always been a little wary of the water, which is why we wanted to do the lessons in the first place.  Today was exactly as I expected.  He sat wonderfully with the group, then got a little nervous and there were some tears, but then pulled it together and ended the lesson perfectly.  Seeing him in that class made me so grateful for what a good student he is :)  He did exactly what the teacher asked, right down to putting his hand in the exact place she asked him to. I'll take that and being a little apprehensive of some things any day over being fearless!  It makes for a much less nervous mommy :)

Enjoy the few pictures I could get before I had to sit by the pool within arms reach for the rest of the lesson!