The Bells

2012-01-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Andrew's favorite thing to say right now is a very enthusiastic "I did it!". Anything he can do himself, or try to do himself, and feel like he has achieved something great, is the best thing in his life right now. He is 2, sometimes a terrible 2, and life for him is a whole bunch of figuring out. He is as stubborn and picky as ever. He wants things done his way, a certain and specific way, and sometimes trying to do that can be really frustrating for him (and mom and dad and sister). His favorite things to do right now is to tackle with daddy, pretend to be a puppy, eat graham crackers, play with cars and trucks and be goofy. I love this challenging but fun age. He has made Kinnie seem so easy. Kinnie never really went through that "terrible two" age and we are all trying to be so patient with him as he tries to figure a lot of new things out. He is still so sweet and caring and sensitive too.

As a Child of God

2012-01-21T06:51:00.001-07:00

This is Kinnie lately. Dressed up as Rapunzel's mom for the entire day. Last week she was Ariel, all day, everyday. She even asked to go to bed so she could wear her nightgown and climb into her cozy bed just like Ariel does after she spends the day with Prince Eric. She had Andrew be Eric and started to get a little bossy. Andrew was a good sport about it and Kinnie had to learn that she can't always make Andrew be Eric. She is beyond excited that she is getting a new baby sister and lets me know just about everyday how excited she is for the baby to come. She loves pretending, she loves her friends, and she thinks it is pretty cool that she is in the CTR 4 class in Primary and gets to sit on the second row of chairs instead of the front row. She loves learning the songs and singing them at home. She wanted to share this one with her Grandmas and Grandpas. She will eventually learn the other verses and sign language to follow but for now this is what she has learned.

I am Impatient

2012-01-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a long pregnancy. Being impatient is what is making it so long. It isn't the "morning" sickness that gets me, or the heartburn, or the sciatic nerve that has started to be bothersome (at least I think that's what it is), it is the huge waiting period of 9 months. The moment I found out that we were pregnant I suddenly felt like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas to come. It happens every time. Although I guess I can't totally compare it to Christmas because along with the excited and happy feelings there are a lot of other feelings such as worry, fear, and even solitude. Pregnancy brings on a whole bunch or emotions wrapped up in its own unique package. Having a miscarriage before Kinnie helped me to not take the whole process for granted but it sure has made me more anxious about it all. I won't feel completely reassured until the day she is here. Lately I have been feeling complete gratitude towards my Heavenly Father. Sometimes when I feel the baby kick I am overwhelmed that Landon and I have been entrusted to raise these children. And I ask myself "can it be"? Do we really get another one to have and raise and care for and teach? I can't wait to meet her and look forward to the day she comes. And until that day comes, I hope I can remember how amazing and wonderful, and important of a process it is. It would be impossible for me to not worry about the baby's growth and development but for now I will take her kicks and strong movements as a reassurance that everything is fine and trust in Heavenly Father and his plan for us. Now if I could just be a little bit more patient, May 9th is so far away.

Ironing

2012-01-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ironing is probably one of my least favorite things on the "to do" list. It is right up there with grocery shopping. Saturday is the only day that Landon doesn't need an ironed shirt (woe is me...). Sometimes I can get all of his shirts done in a day so that I don't have to do it during the week but usually I just do one or two at a time. Now you know that I dislike it, so now I need to tell you how excited I am because Landon just did the biggest favor for me and ironed 6 shirts! That means that I don't have to iron a shirt for a whole week! And I guess I shouldn't really call it a favor since I didn't ask him to do it. It is going to be a great week!

Christmas Picture Post

2012-01-05T08:03:00.001-07:00

Sitting on Santa's Lap

2011-12-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Santa Claus made an appearance at our ward Christmas party. All of the kids had to stand in a line and sing "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in order for the curtains to open on the stage. Kinnie was nervous. All day she talked about not knowing if she should sit on Santa's lap. I love how she is looking at the older kids and how Andrew doesn't really know what they are doing.

We got in line and as we got closer she got more and more excited to sit on his lap. And if Kinnie is excited, Andrew is excited. I am glad they both did it. It was kind of funny though because she was nervous about what she would tell Santa and guess what? Santa didn't say anything! I actually thought maybe he just forget to say something to her because they were taking pictures and stuff. So I took her in front of a nice boy in our ward to see if she could tell Santa what she wanted and same thing...he just plopped her on his lap for the picture and didn't say anything! I was really bugged and Kinnie was sort of confused. I just told her he probably didn't ask her what she wanted because he already knew from the letter we sent him.

Sledding

2011-12-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Kinnie is loving the snow this year. She always wants to go play in it. On Friday I took some cookie sheet lids out to sled on and it sort of worked, but the kids loved it. On Saturday Landon took the kids out to buy them a sled. We knew it would probably get some pretty good use. Here is our first time using the new sled. We have an awesome hill right across the street from us!

Kinnie's Dance Recital

2011-12-13T09:48:00.001-07:00

Kinnie and her good friend Addy

At the end of every dance class, Kinnie's teacher has each girl stand in a hoola-hoop and say "I'm wonderful!" and then they curtsy. I love how special it makes each girl feel. Her teacher had each girl do it at the end of the recital so they could show their parents.

Kinnie and her good friend Hallie

Kinnie with her teacher Chalise

Another update

2011-12-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to play in the first REAL snowstorm here. Kinnie played in it for about an hour and a half, until we had to make her come inside. Andrew lasted a good half hour, I was surprised. He came in looking kind of miserable and in a daze.

I frosted, they decorated. Kinnie told me where she wanted everything and I put the frosting on. They are very proud of their gingerbread house.

Kinnie is counting down the days until we can go to Salt Lake. She never forgets to take a link off of our chain...only 9 more days. She is so incredibly excited for Christmas. I love this age so much! She keeps adding things to her list though and it is throwing me off. At least I haven't done too much shopping yet and can still decide what she REALLY wants, and still keep it simple. She is so excited for this baby and gives me hugs all of the time and rests her head on my tummy. She lets me know everyday how excited she is for the baby to come. It is going to be a long wait!

Andrew is loving life. He is hilarious lately and the best part is that he thinks he is so funny and cracks himself up. The other night when he was crawling off the top bunk to get into his, he was telling Kinnie goodnight, just like every night. But he said "No night night Ninnie (Kinnie)" over and over and was laughing so hard. Yesterday as I was upstairs I heard him singing a song downstairs that went like this "Caillou, Barney, Boos Poos (Blue's Clues)" over and over. He loves to "chrackle" (tackle) Landon and run around. He is still so sensitive and has the saddest face when he cries. I love to watch him brush his tears away.

Landon just started finals yesterday. He is also REALLY excited to have a break and to go home for Christmas. I don't even know how he does it. How he studies for so many tests I will never know. I remember in college feeling like 3 or 4 finals was soooo much and felt so sorry for myself. The good thing is, is that he is really enjoying dentistry.

I am counting down the days until Thursday. I am so excited to find out if baby is a boy or a girl but I am most excited to know how baby is doing. Landon has two tests that afternoon so it will be weird to be all alone for that appointment. These first 18 weeks have gone by so slowly so I hope after Christmas that things pick up.

Small Update

2011-11-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

It snowed...a few weeks ago. Kinnie was really excited about it as you can see. It hasn't snowed since and I am fine with that, as long as it doesn't wait to snow the day we want to get out of this place and head home for Christmas. We are a tad nervous about driving home in a few weeks. That darn Wyoming stretch might be brutal, we are hoping for the best! I tend to ignore the thoughts that come into my head about it being really bad and Landon is all about being prepared. I am glad he is thinking ahead about it...emergency kit for the car, lots of blankets, a shovel!

Kinnie loves to talk on the phone with her Grandmas. She is quite the chatter box and conversationalist. She is so expressive with her hands when she talks so I love to watch her talk and use one hand while she holds onto the phone with the other.

Kinnie overcame a really big challenge in her life (maybe I will write about that later) so we had a celebration. It was a pretty big deal and as you can see from her face she is really proud and happy. Grandma Bell sent her some party hats and party blowers and fun things and Grandma Bruschke sent her a card and the necklace she is wearing.

Andrew the supportive brother. He is always right be Kinnie's side.

Thumbs up!

Silly kids!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

I made my first Thanksgiving feast and didn't even take pictures to prove it! I had nightmares the night before of how awful it was going to be. I think I called my dad a handful of times to ask him questions I really was a bit terrified. I had never done a turkey before and what about the timing of everything!? When do I start boiling the potatoes...when do I start the rolls so they can rise...how do I cook a turkey?? I really kind of had to get my game face on and just focus on the next task. I made sure I made the pies the day before and baked the sweet potatoes so they would be ready to mash. It was scary but guess what, it turned out great (the turkey was a little dry but it was fine). It was a lot of work but I knew it would be and I am so glad I did it. It was fun to share it with some of our friends out here. And I can't really claim that I made everything. I was happy for their help in bringing some of the dishes. Kinnie had a ton of fun with her friends and I got to stare at a week and a half old baby all afternoon! I was dying to hold him but I was just getting over being sick. We missed our families like crazy! We thought a teeny tiny, little bit about driving home but we will be doing that in a few weeks for Christmas!

Halloween...

2011-11-02T11:15:00.000-06:00

I will be honest. I am really glad it is over. I realized this year that I love the simplicity of Halloween that I was raised with. Growing up, Halloween was basically a Halloween party and parade at school and then trick-or-treating on Halloween night. This year with trick-or-treating at Landon's school, a friend party, trunk-or-treating at the church, and then actual Halloween night, I was ready to be done with Halloween. I just felt like it wasn't as exciting for the kids to dress up Halloween night because they had already worn their costumes a few times.

With that said, we had a good time. It was fun for the kids to have a special day to go to Landon's school. We are so lucky to have friends that put on an awesome party and did all of the dirty work of putting it together. We were happy to support the ward and go trunk-or-treating and be with our ward family. And Halloween was great. Kinnie and Andrew had a good time and it was fun to see the excitement as they went from door to door yelling "trick-or-treat". Andrew was so polite and made sure he said "thank you" to everyone.

Some of the cute kids at our friend's Halloween party

Kinnie blindfolded, ready to play "stick the mouth on the skeleton".

Hey we at least tried to dress up. And Landon did have a fake mustache but had taken it off to eat.

The only picture I took at the trunk-or-treat. One of the dads dressed up like Cookie Monster and passed out Chips-A-Hoy for the treat. Our kids were loving it and I should have gotten a picture, it was pretty funny.

Our nice neighbor Sharon always brings over some homemade crafts stuffed with treats on the holidays. This is what they got this year.

Ready to go out trick-or-treating

Trick or Treat at Daddy's School

2011-10-28T14:21:00.000-06:00

A lot of little munchkins showed up for the annual trick-or-treating at the school. It was fun to see all of the kids in their cute little costumes waddling around. There were some cute, creative, and fun costumes. We took a little stroll around the school and the kids got a good portion of candy. All of the little ladies that work there thought all of the kids were just so cute. Isn't it fun when people you don't know adore your children?

Fire fighter Andrew and Kinnie Rapunzel

Andrew, Kinnie and Addy

Hallie, Kinnie, and Andrew

Some more of the gang

I promise Landon was happy walking us around. Sometimes I don't have the best timing taking pictures. And I should learn to take more then one.

FHE Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-25T13:52:00.000-06:00

Landon and Kinnie planning out their pumpkin. Kinnie chose to do a happy face.

Kinnie and Andrew did not want to stick their hands in for the dirty work. At least they touched the slimy seeds to see what they felt like. Andrew kept plugging his nose and saying "inky" (stinky). Kinnie just enjoyed the whole activity and loved every second of it.

Landon's and Kinnie's is the cute happy one. When I asked Andrew if he wanted to do a scary one or a silly one he chose scary. That is my lame attempt at a scary face.

Primary Program

2011-10-24T13:05:00.000-06:00

Kinnie had her first Primary program yesterday. She was pretty excited about it and she said she was "curious." I don't think she quite knew what it would be like to be up on the stand with a congregation full of people. She did a great job and said her part all by herself, she was so brave! The Sunbeams even had a verse of "I Love to See the Temple" to sing all by themselves and she did great.

I only wished I could have sat and watched her the whole time. I had a good experience though playing the piano for the program, and it is fun to be in Primary with Kinnie (even though she sometimes forgets I am the one playing the piano). I was REALLY nervous to play for the program. I don't play in front of people very often. When I got my calling as Primary Pianist I was even nervous to play in Primary! It is kind of ridiculous, I hate how nervous and anxious I get about things. I couldn't go to sleep the night before and a had a nightmare that I messed up every song and everyone kept giving me looks of disgust. I was so glad when I woke up! I ran through a few songs before we left for church which was helpful. When we got to church 10 minutes early there were already so many families and friends there to watch. Then the 2nd counselor in the bishopric asked me to play prelude music. I really didn't want to but I told him I could and then realized I would be playing the hymns too! It actually ended up being a huge blessing that I was asked to do that (and that I said I would) because it really helped me feel comfortable up there in front of everyone. I could feel my heart beating my whole body at first! Everything turned out great though and I was thankful my nightmare didn't come true! The children did such an amazing job and the Spirit was felt so strongly throughout the meeting. It was so neat to be able to feel the difference of the Spirit during the actual meeting compared to the practices. There were so many people in the congregation who were visiting and I am sure they were touched by the sweet spirit that was present.

Two Thumbs Up!

2011-10-17T09:12:00.000-06:00

The day after my parents left Landon's Fall break started. We didn't have any big plans. We knew we wanted to paint our stairway since it looked really bad from when we had pulled the carpet up. And we thought we would just hang around and maybe hit the zoo and do things around Omaha. Wednesday afternoon I got a LivingSocials offer in my email for a one-night stay at a indoor water park hotel in Des Moines that included dinner, breakfast, and wristbands for the water park. It took us about 10 minutes to decide that it sounded fun and we bought the deal.

We had so much fun! We checked in, got our goody bag filled with pirate eye patches, snacks, treats, pirate tattoos, and got our suits on and went to the water park right outside our door. They had two 2-story slides where the kids could sit on your lap. Kinnie and Andrew loved going down the big slides with Landon and I and Kinnie got really brave and did some of the other slides by herself. She even learned how to jump off the top step of the pool into the water without anyone catching her. That was a big step for her! After swimming for awhile we ate our pizza in the room and went to the arcade room. Landon and I let the kids drive the cars while we played the games :) But hey, we did it so we could get tickets and buy the kids those cheap toys. I think we had a little too much fun there. We did some more swimming that night. We went to the hotel grill for breakfast and swam some more! It was a quick trip but a perfect 2 hour drive and enough fun for all of us. We would definitely do it again!

My Parents Visit!

2011-10-12T08:25:00.000-06:00

I have decided it is a perfect time of year for visitors. I am so glad my parents were able to come out for their first time and experience some of Omaha. We stayed pretty busy and did some fun things. My kids were in Grandma and Grandpa heaven and enjoyed every second being with them. Kinnie was so excited when the day finally arrived for their visit. It was a long day for her due to a flight cancellation (and a long day at the airport for my parents). But they finally lucked out and got a flight in only arriving a few hours later then planned.

Some of the things we did:

The Zoo

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

Landon and I had heard how awesome Vala's was but had never been. It was such a cool place. I can't even describe how big this place was and how many different things there were to do. We didn't even get to do everything because there is so much going on.

Waiting for the pig races to start

Andrew could have spent a couple of hours on the tractors

And Kinnie could have gone on a few more pony rides

The train ride

Kinnie probably could have jumped all day on these things. I should have gotten a picture of the whole bubble because they were huge.

Andrew sat down on the sand gaining up the courage to go and jump with Kinnie

The Missouri Riverfront

We had a lot of fun being with my parents. I think we wore them out but I know they had a lot of fun. We also visited the Mormon Trail Center and showed them the Winter Quarters Temple. We made a visit to Landon's school and showed them around and went down to the Botanical Gardens. It is nice to know that they can picture where we live now and were able to see the things that we see. Andrew cried when we dropped them off at the airport and I told him to say goodbye. He cried and kept saying "Wanna get out Mommy!" I think he thought we were getting on the airplane with them. Thanks Mom and Dad for visiting and for such a great time!

Bell Updates

2011-09-14T20:46:00.001-06:00

I saw this fun idea on a friends blog. Kinnie helped me paint the rocks black. I painted uppercase letters on one side and lowercase letters on the other. We haven't used them too much yet...

Labor day weekend Landon and I ripped our carpet up upstairs. We were shocked when this beautiful hardwood floor was revealed...just kidding. We knew it was under there and the carpet was so old the padding had started to leave little black sticky spots all over. So while Landon pulled up all of the tack boards I scraped and scrubbed. We camped down in the living room for a few nights and after the maintenance man came and buffed and waxed the floor, we were able to get back to our normal lives. We are really happy with the results. And although it isn't as cozy we were glad we did it. We actually found a receipt for the carpet that was stuck under it and it was put in in January 1988! We were in Kindergarten...

Sometimes the kids play out front while I am doing dishes or making dinner. I looked out to see this and it reminded me of two old people sitting out watching the birds or whatever. They have so much fun together and I love it. Now if only the fighting and pushing each others buttons would stop!

I don't think there will be much more of this. We wore pants and jackets to the zoo today and I think it is supposed to be around 60 tomorrow. Bring on the fall weather, I LOVE it!

And Kinnie has started up preschool again. This time there are 3 boys and 3 girls. She loves it and really looks forward to it each week!

FOUR!

2011-09-08T21:24:00.000-06:00

Turning 4 was a pretty big deal around here. Kinnie woke up that day feeling like a 4 year old and thought that her hair seemed longer and that she could do so much more as a 4 year old. For me, it was a huge reflection of her arrival on this earth and the sweet, fun, happy, silly, determined little girl she is. I told her about how peaceful the hospital room was when she was born and all of the people that came in the middle of the night to meet her. I will never forget how calm the room was and the mellow atmosphere that surrounded us. And now she is 4, and it has all happened in the blink of an eye. I think she is going to enjoy being 4 and I am excited for this next year!

We invited her friends over for a last minute cupcake and ice cream get together. Kinnie loves her friends SO MUCH!

Hide-n-seek

Duck Duck Goose. Or "Good Pirate, Bad Pirate" or "Good Barbie, Bad Barbie." These kids make me laugh.

Opening some of her presents. I was not very good at taking pictures for some reason...I didn't even get a picture of her blowing out her candles! Just video camera, good enough right?

Now that is the look of a proud and happy 4 year old!

This Past Week

2011-08-28T21:16:00.001-06:00

I started running with a friend every morning at 6:30. It has actually felt really good even though I am not a huge runner. It feels good to get up and get going and exercise. We don't run far yet but we are working our way up slowly, and it just feels good.

I left Landon and the kids 3 nights this week! That is very rare. I went to a baby shower one night, played volleyball the next, and went to see a movie the next night after that. I think it was good for all of us even though I felt a little guilty about it all.

The movie I saw was "The Help." It was really good and covered all of the important parts of the book. I was only about 75 pages from finishing the book so at first I was a little disappointed with how the characters looked or certain things that were left out. But 10 minutes into the movie I got over it and really enjoyed it. My opinion, the book is ALWAYS better!

Landon taught Kinnie how to tie shoes. I told Landon that if I were the one doing the teaching it would have never happened. Kinnie just seems to understand how he explains things.

We are on day 3 of keeping Andrew's binkies just for nap and bedtime. A big part of me (and all of Landon) wants to just go cold turkey but I can't do it. So we are working towards this goal of having it just for sleeping and hopefully soon it will just be gone!

I haven't taken any recent pictures so I wanted to include this one. This little squirt is going to be 4 years old on the 7th! I can't believe our baby girl is growing up so fast...

Salt Lake Pictures

2011-08-16T13:20:00.001-06:00

Enjoying a Salt Lake Bees baseball game with Grandpa Bell and Aunt Lindie. Thanks for inviting us!

Family Reunion at Bear Lake our first weekend in Utah

We forced our kids on the wave runners and of course they loved it (even though you can't tell from their expressions).

Playing with silly Grandpa

The theme for the Saturday dinner was "I LOVE NY." So here are two of Landon's younger sisters dressed up as Miss New York and a homeless person. Pretty good huh?

Kinnie dressed up like a ballerina just like her Aunt Mallory. Mallory was in charge of the theme and did an amazing job! She lived back east this past year and knew exactly how to make New York happen in Bear Lake.

Kinnie and Andrew had a lot of fun playing with cousin Owen

This is what the playroom at my parent's house looked like while we were there. It was pointless to clean it up.

Uncle Brent came up to visit us a lot. We thought his motorcycle was pretty cool.

Lots of construction and cool tractors were redoing my parents' street.

Sugarhouse Park

Playing in the river

Hogle Zoo on a VERY rainy day. We felt very adventurous, right mom?

BBQ at George Washington Park

Andrew was pretending to be a monkey with Grandpa's gloves on.

August is an exciting month for us. Landon's birthday is on the 8th, mine is on the 10th and our anniversary is on the 11th. Landon's mom watched the kids while we went golfing and spent the night up in Park City. It was a ton of fun and soooo relaxing. I didn't even get THAT frustrated golfing.

Going to the library with Grandma Bell. A very special and fun tradition that Grandma Bell started when we used to live really close to them.

My sister moved to Boise a few weeks before we got there and they drove down to visit. We had a family dinner together and it was fun to ALL be together.

We went on a hike up to Secret Lake. It was so beautiful and Landon and I were so happy we made the decision to go! They had only opened the road up to the trail heads 9 days before we went because of the snow! I have decided I REALLY really love the mountains. Some people don't know what they are missing out on!

Yes, that would be snow.

Kinnie had a lot of fun with her cousins while we all stayed at my parents' house. Her oldest cousin Whitney had the kids put on a little play. Here they are in action :)

Murray Pool

The newest Bruschke member. Little Libby! I am going to miss holding that doll.

We visited Aunt Mallory at work. I didn't get a picture of her though because she was busy with lots of customers wanting yummy ice cream.

Chuck-O-Rama with Great Grandma and Grandpa Ellertson. Kinnie was singing them a song she learned in Primary. She got a lot of requests for singing on the trip.

Kinnie loves her new cousin Lewis! He is a VERY CUTE baby. I will miss his big brown eyes and warming smile.

This is how they slept the whole trip, side by side.

Liberty Park

Family Reunion in Park City. I should have gotten more pictures with everyone there. A lot of Landon's cousins were there and their kids. The beach at Jordanelle had about 8 shade tents set up for all of us. I think there were about 75 of us at the lake?

Kinnie loved dressing up in my old ballet costumes.

At Grandma Bell's for the last time :(

Some other things we did:

Landon went on a golfing trip with a couple of his buddies. They went down to St. George and Mesquite and had a lot of fun. We missed him.
I went to "17 Miracles" with Landon's mom and two of his sisters. It was an AMAZING and powerful movie! I am so glad I saw it in the movie theater.
Landon and I went miniature golfing and to the driving range. Landon played a lot of golf! I am so glad he was able to play as much as he did!

I thought it was appropriate that right as we headed up Parley's Canyon to go home that we were next t to a truck that said Omaha. I had to take a picture...

We had such an amazing time with family and friends. It was sad to leave and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier to say goodbye! It was nice to get home after such a long time away, but nothing beats being with family. Until next time, whenever that may be!

How We Celebrated

2011-07-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

Balloons

Andrew's first train ride at the zoo (awake). Look at their nervous faces...

It's a real steam engine and we sat in the car right behind the engine. It was really loud but we got the full effect! We hear the train whistle from our house so to be right next to it was really loud. And I didn't realize how loud it would be when they let the steam out.

Opened presents

Kinnie was the helpful big sister. It was fun to see her so excited for him throughout his whole special day.

Daddy and his little golfer.

The new train set!

Looking at the candles...

Pushing the cake away because the candles are scaring him...

Crying because of the candles. I guess the 4th really did have a bad impact on him.

Distracting himself while Kinnie blew out the candles for him.

At least he still ate it.

Tornado Sirens

2011-07-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

This is what it looks like when tornado clouds move in and the sirens go off. Just so you know... This is what it looked like a few weeks ago when the sirens went off (5 minutes after I got the kids in bed). So we set up some beds in the storage room. There wasn't a tornado near us but it definitely looked threatening. It happened during the College World Series and they had to evacuate the stadium as a precaution. I really hope one never touches down while we are here! As cool and ominous as the clouds look, I wouldn't mind if we didn't have to experience one.

TWO

2011-07-07T06:42:00.000-06:00

I can't believe our baby boy is 2! He has filled our family with joy and happiness. He is our sweet, playful, happy, sensitive, and strong-willed little boy.

You are your sister's best friend and playmate. Whatever Kinnie is doing, you need to be doing too. You stand by her side and are finally able to keep up with just about everything that she does. You think she is the funniest thing around and laugh the hardest at the silly things she does. You love to dress up with her and play with baby dolls.
You have started saying so many things. Each day you say something new. You are always sure to say "ank you mommy" when I help you with something. The other night as you were going to sleep I went to check on you because there was lots of loud thunder. I walked in your room and you sat up quickly and said "wha dat mommy?" I told you it was thunder outside and you said "I see mommy!" and wanted to look out. You repeat everything in the form of a question and your new favorite phrase is "I do it."
You love to pretend to be a doggy still. And you just recently started to pretend to cry like a baby. It cracks me up because I feel like you should still be my little baby.
You love tractors, trucks, buses, planes, diggers, garbage trucks, and trains.
You have started going potty on the toilet. I don't like this because I don't know if I am quite ready to potty train you! I am sure it is happening because you are determined to be just like Kinnie. You are so proud of yourself when you go and I can tell you feel like a big boy.
You have a little move you do where you march but you go up on your tippy toes and then put your heal down and you do it really fast. I call you my little tap dancer because I bet if you were wearing tap shoes it would sound pretty good!
You loving saying bye to people. Sometimes the person you are saying bye to doesn't realize you are trying to tell them bye, and you get really sad.
You insist on having your binky and you love your belly button. You still call you binky your "be" and are very very attached to it. You seem to find comfort in your belly button. Whenever you are tired or watching a movie or relaxed in your car seat you have a finger on your belly button.
Your favorite toys right now: your bike that you ride around the house really fast, your fire truck and all of your cars, the farm tractor and train set.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Friends, Food, Fun!

2011-07-05T09:38:00.002-06:00

We had a lot of fun at a BBQ at our friends house. The kids played while the adults ate the good food and talked. I LOVE the 4th of July. The weather was perfect, it wasn't too hot or humid.

Eating the grub

Kinnie tried out the sparklers. She was very cautious if you can tell.

Waiting for Landon to start our fireworks.

This is what Andrew did to hide from them. I did not put my arm there. He grabbed it and covered his eyes for the rest of the time. Some neighbors were doing bigger fireworks and we went to watch. We could also see a firework show just across the river. Andrew decided to just close his eyes for about 30 minutes. He was not asleep...just keeping his eyes closed. Sad but cute!

Overall we had a wonderful 4th of July! I am so grateful for the freedom that we have and for those who have fought and sacrificed their lives for this freedom.

Some Latelys

2011-06-28T07:14:00.000-06:00

Having fun at a splash park

Getting warmed up to the idea of getting splashed. It took them awhile.

They got cold playing in the wading pool. My little burritos

Kinnie's friend Jack came over to play in the pool. Kinnie keeps telling me "Thanks for letting Jack come over two times." She loves her friends. She includes it in her nightly prayers as well.

Pretending to be asleep

Lucy made Kinnie yet another baby doll outfit. Now she has an outfit for each of her baby dolls (and now Andrew won't have to feel left out). I think Lucy is even working on making a dress for Kinnie!

Happy Girl

2011-06-17T06:55:00.000-06:00

When Kinnie, Andrew and I returned from running some errands yesterday morning I was cleaning some things off the front patio area and our dear neighbor Lucy was out watering her flowers. She said hello through the fence and was wondering if she could ask a favor of me. So we went over to see what she needed. She never asks for anything so I was surprised but happy to help her and happy that she felt comfortable enough to ask me. We followed her inside and she reached down on the steps and held up a little doll outfit; a dress, a diaper, and a sun hat. She said "Kinnie, could you try this outfit on your doll and let me know if it fits, if it does you can keep it, if not let me know and I will fix it so it does." Some favor Lucy....for us! Kinnie was a little shocked and got a kind of quiet. She had a huge grin on her face and at least said thank you. We went home and got the doll and it fit perfectly. We hurried back over to Lucy's and showed her how perfect it was. She is a very talented lady. I know she has made a whole wardrobe of doll clothes for her granddaughter and I felt so lucky that she shared her talent with us. Kinnie had a lot more fun with her baby doll yesterday then she usually does and was one happy girl!

Update

2011-06-13T14:12:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard, the Missouri river is flooding. We live really close to it and you can see it from our front yard. Actually, usually you can't but since it has flooded you can. Luckily we are on higher ground and won't be affected by it but we go to church in Council Bluffs which is just east of the river. If the levees don't hold our church building could be in anywhere from 0-8 ft of water. Most of our ward family live in the same area surrounding the church. The water is supposed to peak soon so it is kind of a waiting game right now but I know all of the families that live over there have been busy packing up their things to get ready for it. I feel so bad for all of these people and families along the river that have had or maybe will have flooding. Their attitudes seem so amazing. Keep them in your prayers!

I am so grateful I was able to make it to my Grandma Betty's funeral. I didn't realize how much I would miss her until I saw her for the last time. I am also grateful that my dad and uncle went against my Grandma's request for just a graveside funeral and actually held a service. It was really neat. I am so excited for when we get to go and do her temple work, I am sure she will be anxiously awaiting.

Petting my mom and dad's cat Sophie

Monkey Bars

This was pretty much the coolest playground I have been too. We went with my sister and nephew Brock. My sister knows all of the cool places around. It had a huge castle with stairs inside and all sorts of things to climb on.

Having fun on the Nemo slide at a swimming pool by my sister's house

Andrew didn't really feel like getting wet

We went to Landon's little sister's school play. It was really really cute and Aunt Lindie did an awesome job!

The reunion with Landon was so fun! We spotted him down the hall at the airport and the kids ran to him so fast! 10 days is a long time! Andrew kept patting Landon's cheeks saying "daddy, daddy, daddy!" It was so cute.

Andrew's golden hair that I cut off

Not quite a buzz but it's pretty short

Enjoying the pleasant weather. It got really hot but cooled down this past weekend

Landon introduced games on the i touch to Kinnie and she is a little obsessed. She is getting pretty good at some of the games.

Grandma Betty

2011-05-20T22:00:00.002-06:00

Dear Grandma,
I wished I could have said goodbye. I knew when I last saw you that it would maybe be the last time, but I wasn't hoping it would be. I hope you knew how much I loved you. You were a wonderful grandma and I will remember all of the time we spent together. I loved when you took me to Tanner Park and let me play for hours. I loved walking down that trail with you and exploring with you. I think part of my love for nature came from you. I loved playing games with you like Candy Land and Memory. I loved opening presents Christmas morning and then getting ready to go to your house for lunch to eat ham, potato salad, chips, fruit, and rolls. I loved your Thanksgiving jello that you made every year. Your house was always spotless and clean and even though it smelled like smoke it was always in perfect order. I always thought about writing you a letter when I was little to tell you to stop smoking. The smell will always remind me of you though, and that's not so bad. I loved when you took me to ZCMI every year on my birthday to shop for a new outfit. You thought it was funny when I would pick out blues and greens instead of pinks and purples, but you let me choose what I wanted. You would take me to that nice restaurant up on the top floor afterwards and I would order a hot dog and chocolate milk, you thought that was pretty funny too. Even in your old age you pressed on and worked hard, you were so stubborn. I was grateful we got to live next to you for a few years. I loved that you called Kinnie "Rosebud" from the moment you first held her. She loved you too. She loved going over to visit with you and getting the cookie or pudding you always had for her at the end of the visit. If you weren't edging the lawn you were inside cleaning under and behind the fridge or finding some sort of cleaning to do. I am sorry you had to deal with poor health in the end and had to be so unhappy. I am glad you are relieved of your pain. I love you Grandma!
Love,
Coles

One Whole Year!

2011-05-18T13:12:00.000-06:00

Some things about this past year:

I have become really good at ironing. Saturday is the only day Landon doesn't need a shirt ironed, so you can see why I have improved greatly in this area.
I thought the more we saw family the easier it would get to be away from them. It makes it harder.
I have really tried hard to come out of my comfort zone. And for one as shy as me, it hasn't been easy. I am still working on this one...I think I will always be working on this one.
The gospel is true wherever you go. Some things are different out here but the important part of the church, what we believe, is all the same.
We go to church in Council Bluffs, Iowa and go to the Winter Quarters temple. There is a lot of church history out here!
I am constantly getting used to the wildlife out here. Turkeys, snakes, skunks, raccoons, deer, beautifully colored birds, squirrels everywhere, fireflies, rabbits. I know that is kind of weird, but I really didn't think Omaha would have wildlife. I grew up next to the mountains so I expected it there but I have seen way more out here and just roaming around the neighborhood.
I wouldn't trade where we live in Omaha for anything. We feel so blessed to be where we are. It has made living away from family and friends a little easier and we are getting to know a lot of people. I am grateful for the friends we have made out here!
I can't believe that we have another year to go by and then Landon will be a senior and we will be looking for a job and place to live while he finishes up that last year. This past year seemed to go slowly but now that it has passed it was rather quick (if that makes sense).
Kinnie and Andrew have both grown up so much. When we moved out here Andrew was only 10 months old and still in a rear facing car seat! Kinnie has made friends, and done preschool, a dance recital and even given her first talk in Primary. Andrew runs everywhere, keeps up with Kinnie, and has discovered the wonderful world of trucks, planes, buses, cars, motorcylces, cranes, and tractors.
I no longer have to Map quest everything.
Have I mentioned we love the zoo? We do.
I always look forward to the next time we get to see family! I can't wait until mid-July!

Kinnie and her friend Jack

Grandpa and Grandma come to visit!

2011-05-13T22:09:00.000-06:00

She was so excited on the way to the airport!

The glorious reunion. Kinnie ran fast and hard when she saw Grandma and Grandpa Bell off in the distance. It makes me so happy when I replay it in my mind.

Tight hug for Grandpa.

We did a lot of this...

We had a lot of fun on a busy day at the zoo. The weather was perfect.

We went to the school and Landon showed us around. This was neat because now his parents can actually picture where Landon spends his days.

Kinnie's all time favorite thing to do with Grandpa. She could do it all day long and go as high as they could get her. Andrew doesn't like to go quite as high.

The Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri river.

It was so nice to have them here. We had a lot of fun showing them some of the things we do here in Omaha and just being with them. Kinnie was on cloud 9 having them nearly all to herself. She went to bed late and woke up early and enjoyed every single second she had with them. Andrew wouldn't let anyone besides Grandma get him in and out of the car. He showed them just how stubborn and independent he is. We have all been a little sad since they have left...I think we are going through withdrawals. I thought it would get easier over time to be away from family, but the more we see our families the more we yearn to be with them. I guess I can only speak for myself but we miss our time with them. It is all so worth it in the end and we love the friends and memories we are making out here. Thank you Justin and Liane for making the trip out here and spending time with us!

Half Way There

2011-05-13T21:29:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Landon received his white coat at the White Coat Ceremony. It is a pretty big deal. He will now be working in the dental clinic at the school and working on his own patients. How much closer to being a dentist could he get? Two more years actually...but he is half way there! He still has classes but now he gets to do stuff on real people. I tend to not make a big deal out of things but I got a little emotional as the white coat was put on him. He has worked hard to get to this point and it was a neat ceremony that symbolized this transition into this next phase. What is life going to be like when he isn't a student anymore? I almost can't imagine it but it really is getting closer. Not that life will all of a sudden be so much easier, because it won't, but it will be different and sometimes change is good. It was also really neat that his parents could fly out for the weekend and be there for the event. They deserve their very own post!

Easter Fun

2011-04-24T22:50:00.000-06:00

Dying Easter eggs

He really liked to stir and stir and stir the eggs.

This was the Easter Egg hunt at the complex where we live. The playground had hundreds of eggs all over the grass. The eggs were gone in about 5 seconds. A LOT of kids live here, I couldn't believe it. This is before the "hunt." If it was after, Kinnie would have been making a grumpy face. She was a little freaked out when the lady in charge said "Ready, go!" She only got 2 eggs because she was so intimidated by all of the kids and commotion.

Ready for church

She LOVED it!

2011-04-22T22:08:00.002-06:00

Well, Kinnie had her dance recital. And guess what? She loved every minute of it. I really didn't know what to expect from her. And honestly, I would have been happy if she would have gotten up on that stage and just stood there, but she actually danced and smiled and had fun. I almost can't describe my feelings. It is just so amazing to see your child accomplish something so new. Earlier in the day when I was talking to her about the recital and seeing if she had any questions she said "I'm just curious about the clapping." She just didn't quite know what to expect from it all. She didn't dance perfectly, she got a little distracted, but she was so excited and tried her very best. Click here to see one of her dances. That night when we got home she was pretending to teach Andrew how to dance and she wanted to play "stage." We watched it on the video camera and I said "Kinnie I am so proud of you it just brings tears to my eyes. I am proud that you followed your teacher and smiled and danced." She said "Ya I was smiling a lot and my cheeks felt like there were going to like, like, like fall off." She DID smile a lot last night!

Kinnie and her good friend Hallie.

Before the program started the older class had to practice something and you could see their feet moving around under the curtains. She kept going over to the stage and would ask me what they were doing and when it would be her turn to go up on the stage.

Kinnie with her dance teacher. She LOVES her teacher!

Dance

2011-04-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

Kinnie has had a lot of fun being in a dance class this year. It has been perfect. Low-key, once a week, a sweet/nice/fun teacher, a little tap, a little ballet and a pixie stick at the end of every class. Her recital is this Thursday and then it is over until the fall. My prediction for the recital is that she will freeze, and probably rub her arm under her nose (something she does when she is nervous), and hopefully she doesn't cry! Who knows, maybe she will surprise me and be totally fine. She gets super emberrased though and sometimes gets upset and cries if Landon and I cheer when she does something worth cheering for. I do know one thing though, she is going to look stinking cute up there on stage whether she is smiling and dancing or just standing there.

Serum Sickness

2011-04-15T18:52:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered what an allergic reaction to amoxicillin looks like? It might look a little bit like this...

Andrew had a fever Tuesday night and these red bumps on his legs Wednesday morning. The doctor said it was a reaction to the amoxicillin he had been on for almost a week. By the time we had our doctor's appointment it had spread up onto his tummy and arms and by that evening it looked like this.

You should have seen it the next day, it was even worse! Bulls-eye welts all over his body! If you are really curious as to what that looks like, look up serum sickness. The doctor I had to see on Thursday because my doctor wasn't in told me it was either serum sickness or erythema multiforme. He figured it was the latter and told me I could probably stop giving him benadryl and didn't really give me too much information. He said it could be a reaction to a lot of things. Andrew's regular doctor was surprised I had stopped giving him benadryl. She said it was for sure a reaction to the medication and he had a serum sickness reaction. The pictures on the Internet look exactly like his rash. I love his doctor! She is genuine and she cares!

And by today it had covered his head. Poor guy! His joints, hands, and feet were swollen and at one point his eyes were almost swollen shut. He was itchy and so so miserable.

His doctor prescribed him some oral steroids and they seem to be helping. I am sure the doctor's office was so sick of me calling and asking questions but I was so surprised that the red bumps on his legs turned into what it did. I hope he just keeps getting better and better. It is so sad to see him like this!

Andrew

2011-03-29T09:41:00.005-06:00

Andrew has hit one of those points in his life where it seemed like he changed overnight. Life is just going along and then BOOM, all of a sudden he has changed. He is just growing up is what it is, and it takes me by surprise when I have these moments of realization. He is way closer to being a 2 year old then he is a 1 year old, so when he does something that makes him seem so big I have to remind myself that he is in-fact almost 2.

So here is Andrew lately...

He refused to sit in his booster seat a few months ago. He has to sit in a big chair like everyone else.
He has to go up and down the stairs all by himself. Unless he really wants to hurry down the stairs on his tummy he insists on going down like a big boy.
He has to take a nap on Kinnie's bed and not his crib. (Do you catch a pattern going on? He is stubborn! And very independent.
He still loves his binky or his "b"
He has started saying "ya" and "okay." For example, ME "Close your eyes Andrew, go to sleep." ANDREW "Okay." Or ME "Andrew did you go to the store with Daddy?" ANDREW "Ya!"
He loves his sunglasses, putting Kinnie's headbands or crowns on his head, playing with his cars and trains, and riding his bike around the house
He loves to pretend to be a doggy. He gets down on all fours, pants like a dog and crawls over to you so you can pet him.
He loves seeing trucks and tractors while driving in the car. But loud trucks and noises scare him.
He is often singing. Who know what sometimes, but lately he tries to sing the ABC's or Itsy Bitsy Spider or I Love You.
He is still my cuddly little buddy.
He loves when Landon gets home from school and stands at the door saying "Daddy Daddy Daddy!"
He loves Kinnie. He loves to play with her and be with her and tease her and do everything she does.

Tomorrow

2011-03-15T21:24:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow I am not going to do anything around the house unless it is for my kids. We are need of a day where I don't get this done or that done or where I say "in just a minute" or "we can do that later." Lately I just feel like I always need to be accomplishing something or that I need to be productive around the house and I put my kids second to all of these "things" that are just so "pressing". It is making me go crazy, so tomorrow I am not going to do anything for me. It is going to be all about Kinnie and Andrew. It won't be easy. There is always something to do right? Laundry, cleaning the house...honestly I feel like I sometimes just find random stuff to do and it can totally wait. I was short with the kids today and not exactly the nicest. Seriously if you don't believe me ask Kinnie, she will tell you. As she was going to bed she said "maybe you and me can be nicer tomorrow." I feel bad that she has to say that about her mommy. I also feel bad that she says that she needs to be nicer. Oh to be like a child. I hope I can make up for today and I am pretty sure tomorrow will be a better day.

For Now

2011-03-13T22:38:00.006-06:00

If you asked me a year ago if I loved to cook I would have probably told you that I did not really enjoy cooking and although I still don't LOVE it, I am beginning to like it more and more everyday. I have been trying so many new recipes and having success for the most part, which gives me courage to try to new things. I love having a recipe and instructions but maybe someday I will be more like my Dad and just know how to whip something up!

Landon's sister is having a baby in about 10 days. My sister-in-law is having baby in about 4 weeks. It seems sad and unfair that we won't be able to meet these babies brand new! I am grateful for Skype which will hopefully help us "meet" them a little bit, but Skype just doesn't quite cut it and allows me to hold that little bundle of goodness in my arms.

Favorite thing that Andrew has learned to say: "Ninnie, way ah ooo?" Translation: "Kinnie, where are you?" He is getting to that repeating stage and I am loving his little voice. 2 years old in July!? Our baby boy is growing up!

Landon has been studying all weekend. I can't even believe or comprehend all of these words he has to memorize. For example "Benign lymphoepithelial lesion" or "papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum." He has a huge list of crazy words that he has to know. The really crazy part about it though is he knows what these words mean! What? My mind just explodes trying to read the word!

Spring is in the air! People are coming out of hibernation! It is about time and I think it actually may be here to stay. I love when the grass starts growing again and turning green. Hooray for SPRING!

Spring 08

A Quick Trip

2011-03-07T13:09:00.004-07:00

We had planned on going to Salt Lake for spring break but a nasty bug hit us a few days before and left us feeling like this...

The weather wasn't very promising either so we had decided we better just stay home.
By Sunday night Landon had heard enough of me saying how sad it was that we couldn't go and it was too bad we had gotten sick and it was too bad the weather wasn't very good. But...guess what? Here we are driving into Park City! We left at 6:15 am and arrived that evening.

I think she was a little delirious from the 13 hour drive.

A little dazed and confused.

The main reason we went...to be with, play with, spend time with, have fun with family. Here is Kinnie and cousin Owen listening to story time at the library with Grandma Bell.

Working on their crafts afterwards...

Kinnie acting like a 5 year old trying to figure out Tetrus on Gameboy.

Andrew getting a little loopy and running from Grandpa pretending to be a dog.

Kinnie and "the girlies."

Andrew enjoying his ice cream.

It sure was great to see family. Kinnie had so much fun with everyone. It was a quick trip but we enjoyed every second of it and are so grateful that we were able to make it home. It is so hard to live away from the ones you love and we love these times that we get to spend with them. Thanks mom and dad for letting us take over your house and invading your rooms with toys and sippy cups and books! Until next time!

Hooray!

2011-02-18T07:24:00.002-07:00

Hooray for warm weather! Hooray for having the car! Hooray for the zoo!

(Notice that no jackets were worn in the making of these pictures)!

The penguins were the biggest hit for Kinnie. She just saw "Happy Feet" last weekend and so she was very excited to see the penguins. Andrew loved it all, including "people watching".

"Balentime's" Day

2011-02-18T07:13:00.002-07:00

Valentine's Day was a little more exciting this year then it usually is. Landon and I don't usually do too much. Sometimes we buy each other little gifts, sometimes we just do cards. Now that Kinnie is getting older she understand the holidays a little better and it was fun to show her all about Valentine's Day . She was so excited for "Balentime's" Day for some reason. I explained it to her a few days before and she was so excited about the whole thing. She made some Valentine's cards and helped me make cookies and then we took them around to some friends. I think she is going to be a big fan of Valentine's Day.

Conversations with Kinnie

2011-02-08T11:45:00.006-07:00

Kinnie likes to know who, what, when, where and why. She has been asking some pretty serious questions lately. I guess it comes with the age.

After singing "I am a Child of God" for a bedtime song Kinnie asked "But what means God?" So I told her that God is another name for Heavenly Father. So she asked "Where does Heavenly Father live?" I told her that Heavenly Father lives in heaven (keeping it simple). She asks "How do we get to heaven?" While I am saying "ummmm...." I thought I heard her say airplane so I asked her if she said airplane, kind of smiling at how she was trying to figure things out. She said "No, angel, maybe an angel takes us there." And I said "Ya...maybe." I think sometimes she knows more then me!

Kinnie had overheard a friend and I talking about that show Hoarders...I think that is what it is called. My friend was telling me how this one lady had 75+ cats and as the people started cleaning out her home they found a ton of dead cats. Kinnie was right there listening and I am pretty sure that is what sparked this next conversation: We were sitting in the living room later that evening on the floor and she pointed to the tv and vcr and tv stand and said "Will these things die?" I said "No, well sometimes things die like when the computer runs out of batteries we say it dies and then we plug it in and it works again." So I told her that things that are living die, people, dogs, cats, even flowers kind of die. So she named a few more things "monkeys, gorillas." Then she said "It's like when the computer dies and we plug it in we are like Heavenly Father."

Sometimes I can't believe she isn't this little toddler anymore.

(photo by Laura Bruschke at Busath)

She is growing up too fast! I love her to pieces and am so grateful to have her in our family!

Crafty-ish

2011-02-02T15:38:00.003-07:00

I have come to the realization that I am not super crafty. I don't know a lot about what materials you need to buy or what product is best for making this or making that. I really wanted to make Kinnie a tutu since she wears the same old thing to dance every week. I knew it had to be simple since I don't own a sewing machine so I figured out how to make her a "no-sew" tutu from the internet. It was actually pretty easy and will be a whole lot easier if I ever do it again.

Andrew needed to try it on too.

And, luckily, I have a lot of crafty friends who know what they are doing. Here is our latest result from a craft night. My very first Valentine decorations. Can you believe it?

2011-01-25T11:28:00.003-07:00

Kinnie crawls through some boxes put together for a tunnel. We are bored, stuck in our little home, and trying to find new and fun things to do.

Andrew watches Elmo with his mouth open. He is loving Elmo.

Kinnie sings the song she is learning in Primary. She sings it ALL of the time. I am guessing she doesn't sing like this in Primary due to her shyness.

Little Helper

2011-01-13T20:56:00.003-07:00

Andrew has become such a big helper these days. He always throws his fruit snack wrappers in the garbage or his diapers. If he has a snack in a plastic bowl he will go put it in the sink when he is done, actually we are still working on the sink part. Sometimes he puts it in the garbage. I didn't realize this until we were down to just a few plastic bowls instead of 6 or 7. After we read stories at night we go into the bathroom to brush teeth and so Kinnie can go potty. Every night Andrew gets Kinnie's seat, and puts it on the toilet. When she is done he takes the seat off, flushes the toilet, waves goodbye to the water, and closes the lid.

He loves to play with Kinnie's pots and pans. He likes to stir and stir, and put the lid on. and take it off and then feed Kinnie's baby doll. He refuses to sit in his booster chair at the kitchen table so now he sits on a big chair like the rest of us. He LOVES his big sister and pretty much does everything she does. Including putting on lip gloss, I guess he thought his nose was a good place for it.

Here is a picture of his first haircut. Can you tell? Probably not...but I do have a baggie of his little locks that I buzzed off of the back and sides. His hair is slowly but surely coming in. Last Sunday was his first week of nursery at our church, he did great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he continues to enjoy it!

Today

2011-01-10T13:12:00.002-07:00

This is what we have been doing this afternoon...

A big change from last year when Kinnie would only last 5 minutes playing in the snow. She LOVES it!

Home for Christmas

2011-01-04T13:36:00.008-07:00

It was so nice being back in Salt Lake for Christmas! We loved being with family and friends.

Kinnie did awesome on the plane, Andrew did pretty good too. We were mostly worried about our cautious Kinnie, but she couldn't have done any better. The only hard thing of the day for her were the automatic flushing toilets at the airport. She is terrified!

I didn't take nearly enough pictures, I always do that.

We made sure to go to Hires and Cafe Rio.

I think I could have used at least one more week there.

Andrew got his first ear infection our last week there. It left us with a grumpy, clingy, and sick little boy. We didn't get to do a lot of the things we wanted to do but we were grateful it was taken care of before the plane ride back.

Kinnie loved her new baby doll from Santa. Andrew could have cared less about his presents. He enjoyed playing with Kinnie's play set of pots and pans and her dress-up shoes...not surprised.

On the plane to Salt Lake

Jumping on the beds with Owen

Playing play dough with Aunt Mallory

Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Bruschke's

Trying to be patient

Giving Owen a Christmas hug before going upstairs to open presents at Grandma and Grandpa Bell's house.

I Just Can't Wait!

2010-12-12T20:30:00.004-07:00

We can't wait to see these munchkins...

And this guy...

and Uncle Layton...

and these guys...

and Aunt Lindie...

and Aunt Haylie...

and Aunt Mallory...

and Aunt Melissa...

and Grandma Bell...

and Grandpa Bell...

and Grandma and Grandpa Bruschke...

and many many more! I have never felt so consumed by any one thought. I have realized just how much I have missed home in the last couple of weeks. As our departure date has slowly become closer I have started to feel so anxious to just be there. It is almost too hard to wait!

Worth the Try

2010-12-04T21:04:00.006-07:00

Kinnie was so excited to sit on Santa's lap today and tell him that she wanted a baby doll that opens and closes her eyes, a baby crib and binky. She had to wait all the way until after Andrew's nap. She was very patient but so excited. I was excited that she was excited! After Andrew's nap we got all bundled up and walked down the street to the gardens. I checked in at the desk, my understanding was that it was free but if you wanted pictures and crafts you had to pay $3 per child. I asked if I could just take my own pictures but they didn't allow that. Well I couldn't let Kinnie down now that were there so I might as well pay the money, get the pictures, do the crafts. I got a bit flustered with the situation and ended up paying $6. I didn't even think that I would just do one picture with both kids and Andrew wouldn't be doing any crafts so I really only needed to pay $3. We followed the sign to see Santa Claus, I am expecting a little line but we are the only ones. Andrew appears to be oblivious and Kinnie is terrified. I thought maybe I could still talk her into it and she just needed to see him for a minute, get used to him, wave to him and say hello. Who am I kidding? This is Kinnie, why did I ever think that because she was excited to see Santa she would really sit on his lap and talk to him when the time actually came? She pulled out her nervous moves, rubbing under her nose and putting her finger in her mouth. Honestly, I thought it was a little intimidating how Santa was all set up...or wasn't set up. There weren't any cute decorations, no candy canes, no cute little ladies dressed as elves, not even a big Santa chair. Just a nice old man sitting in a chair across from Santa holding a digital camera. We moved onto the crafts in hopes that I could still talk her into it. She loved the crafts and I loved the cute talkative boy that was telling us that you could go sit on Santa's lap and tell him what you want. I was hoping that would help. After making her paper sack reindeer we walked back towards Santa just to make sure. Nope, not going to do it. I don't think I ever really thought she would do it I just hoped that she would. We spent some time looking at the model trains and fish pond and I tried to take some pictures. We started getting all bundled up for the walk home and who should walk by us? Santa. He said hello and reached out his hand so Kinnie could touch it. He talked to me and said we should try again tomorrow. I was so happy we had that encounter. I figured if anything $6 is my contribution to having a free membership to the gardens, a paper reindeer, and Kinnie being able to touch Santa's white glove.

Nervous fingers in her mouth

A forced, nervous smile

A little more relaxed after the craft

Getting silly

Distracted by the trains

Monkey Boy

2010-11-14T20:19:00.003-07:00

I believe it is time for an Andrew update. He is a monkey and he is growing up way too fast. I can't believe he will be going into nursery in a month! When I had Kinnie I finally realized what it meant to have time move so quickly. With Andrew, I feel like time has started going even faster. He is growing up so fast, I guess it has a lot to do with having an older sibling and wanting to keep up with her as much as he can so he does everything in his power to be just like her.

He loves to lay on Kinnie's bed with her every night while I tell a story or sing a song. Tonight while I told a story he was acting way into it and saying a jaw dropping "ah" when i would finish a part of the story.
He loves to go to the pantry and bring out chips or cereal or crackers, anything he can reach. Sometimes he will get himself a bowl and put some of the food in it (and sometimes he dumps the whole bag out on the floor...stinker).
He has become so independent/stubborn. He wants to do everything by himself. I can't open a ziploc bag for him until he either gets it or has had a good few minutes to work on it. He gets so mad when I break things into pieces for him or try to help feed him.
He calls a horse a "go." His favorites are "baby, mama, dada, and here go." When he hands us something or needs help with something he says "here go" over and over and over until we take it or help him.
He is constantly doing what Kinnie does, it is so cute and I love to hear them laughing and playing. There is of course a lot of crying and not sharing and Andrew has started hitting.
When he gets really frustrated and wants us to know he is mad he runs off turns around and looks at us and hits his face a few times over. Kind of sad, but kind of cute.
He has to sit on the potty every night after the bath. He sometimes even acts like he is really trying to go and then he will laugh.

He is such an independent, happy, playful, stubborn, sweet, and lovable little boy.

It Snowed!

2010-11-13T09:51:00.002-07:00

The first snowfall began last night around 6 o'clock. Kinnie was so so so excited! She wanted to go out and play in it so bad.

In the morning we got all bundled up to go out and play. Kinnie couldn't wait and Andrew had no idea what we were about to do.

We made a snowman. Kinnie gathered the rocks and sticks. Andrew didn't last very long. His hat (my hat) kept falling in his eyes and was making him sad. He also didn't like falling in the snow.

And of course here are some turkeys that randomly show up every once in awhile. I think we counted 16 at one point.

So Stupid

2010-11-11T19:04:00.003-07:00

I can still here the words ringing in my ears. "Mom, you so stupid." I couldn't believe it, my 3 year old called me stupid yesterday. I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly, I looked at her and firmly asked "What did you say?" She said it, it was clear. My first thought was how did she know that word and how did she know when to say it?

I was driving her nuts because I was trying to get ready for the morning and she was needing stuff...someone to play with, someone to pay attention to her, etc. She has been so demanding lately. I didn't want to act too upset, mostly because within that first few seconds of hearing it and processing those things in my mind, she had probably heard it from me. It is a sad realization that I am most likely the culprit. I can't think of specifics, probably in the car, Landon and I both get frustrated on the road.

I really hope I don't ever have to hear her say that again because it hit me hard. She is growing up and trying to figure things out. Life is just hard for her right now. She is grumpy and sad and lately going to time out is a daily occurrence . Maybe it is the time change and the realization that winter is here and the anticipation of flying to Salt Lake for Christmas, who knows, but I hope I can get my sweet Kinnie girl back soon!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:48:00.003-06:00

It was fun this year with Andrew being more aware of the holiday. He is so scrumptious in his costume and I was glad he had a lot of opportunities to wear it. Despite being sick with runny noses and coughs they had a good time trick-or-treating. Kinnie had fun this year and Andrew caught on very quickly. Good times, but I am glad it is over. Looking forward to Thanksgiving (and my kids not being sick).

Recently, The Latest, What we have been up to :)

2010-10-22T07:51:00.003-06:00

GO UTES!!

Proof of our FIRST OFFICIAL VISITOR!

Landon's fall break and Matt's fall break were at the same time. Matt works for the airlines and flew out for 24 hours. It was short and sweet and next time he needs to bring the wife and stay a little longer!

Kinnie and Andrew love Matt! Kinnie was always saying "Hey Matt..." or "Matt watch this." And if Matt held out his arms to Andrew, Andrew would just walk right over to him.

Last night was Healthy Trick-or-Treating at the Children's Museum. It was our first time there, it will be the first of many! It is such a cool place! Here is our cute little ghost and our cute little witch.

I ain't afraid of no ghost!

The Latest

2010-10-04T20:49:00.006-06:00

I was on the phone a few days ago when the guy who was helping me asked, "are you from across the pond?" It threw me off and I know if I wasn't new to Omaha and not nervous on the phone, I would have realized what he was really asking. I quickly muttered the street I live on and said, "Sorry, I am confused." He told me that it sounded like I had a bit of an accent. Of course! The pond, meaning the ocean. He had a slight accent and was trying to make some sort of connection with me, the customer. Perhaps I have been watching to many Jane Austen movies lately and their accents have rubbed off on me.

The weather has turned completely fall, and it is wonderful! I really don't think there is going to be any turning back to warmer weather. I just feel the crispness in the air and cool of the breeze and cross my fingers that we get to enjoy the fall weather for a long time. Have I mentioned that I am dreading winter?!

It is mid-term week and Landon is BUSY. I can't imagine what finals week will be like but we are ALL excited for this week to be over! On Saturday, when it is all over he is heading to the Iowa vs Utah game. Now that is a way to celebrate the end of mid-terms and the start of fall break. Wahoo!

- Kinnie's imagination is running wild these days. She wakes up in the night and says she doesn't want a dragon to come to our house. Everyday she says she doesn't want the garbage truck to come. She hears every little sound and is learning that when she sometimes hears footsteps it is our back neighbors and NOT a dragon or a witch. She wants to be a spider for Halloween, but a green one because apparently green ones are nice? If I tell her "no" to something she wants to do, sometimes she says "Mommy, you are making mice(me) naughty."
- When one wound heals, Andrew is bound to get another. His latest and greatest is climbing on to the kitchen chairs and sometimes the table. Whenever I give him a snack to eat he takes it to the table, climbs up on a big chair and sits down. He wants to do stairs by himself, and most everything, and gets mad when I break things into little bites for him. He feels like a very big boy these days.
Kinnie is having fun with friends. She is still shy but is slowly learning what friends are all about. Kinnie had a lot of fun at her friend Addisyn's house the other night playing in her room and putting these cute tutus on that Addisyn's mom had made.

Some Updates

2010-09-20T13:57:00.002-06:00

Another "first" day of preschool. This was her first time going to preschool outside of our house. She had a great time and so far is loving preschool!

Some things about Andrew lately...

He is constantly humming. He hums himself to sleep, he hums in his sleep, and hums throughout the day. We love it. Last week at church we had to take him out into the hall, not because he was crying but because he was humming.
He gets super excited to see people walk by our house, or to see a dog outside, or to see toys in a store. He squeals and points with such excitement.
When he hands us something he says "here go." This is funny to me because it sounds perfect but he doesn't really say anything else.
He is really good at signing more when he really wants something and please when he is in the mood. We are trying to teach him how to pray but he signs please instead.
He LOVES Kinnie and has such a fun time with her. He is starting to tease her a little bit and is starting to sense things that get on her nerves. But mostly he has fun with her and does what she does.

Kinnie is at that stage where naps can be missed but sometimes she is just too exhausted. This was at dinner. She had a few bites of dinner and laid down on the floor and next thing we knew she was OUT.

Kinnie has been singing "I Love to See the Temple" a lot lately. When the words say "For the temple is a House of God, a place of love and beauty," she says "For the temple is a House of God, a place of Sleeping Beauty." She smiles when she says that part though, she knows she is being funny.

Andrew painted for the first time. He always sees Kinnie painting and really really wanted to the other day. I figured I used to do it with eight 18 month olds, I could handle him. He had fun. This is him putting his hand over his mouth while he laughs. Kinnie showed him how to do that.

Preschool

2010-09-13T20:46:00.002-06:00

Kinnie started preschool on her birthday. No shoes or backpack for the picture because it was at our house the first week. It is a great set up for us and I think Kinnie will really enjoy it. Kinnie has just two other classmates and each week we switch whose house it is at. So last week I taught and then this week and next week she will go to her friends' houses. It is such a great little group and it is fun to be teaching a little bit again. I am so grateful that Kinnie is making new friends and excited for her first little preschool year.

Cute little group! I love this age!

2010-09-13T20:32:00.002-06:00

The toy violin finally arrived. I think Kinnie didn't really know how to react. We were waiting for that big gasp or squeal of excitement when she opened it but it was almost like she was speechless. She has had a lot of fun with it. The violin plays music when she bows or touches the strings but she wanted the batteries out so she could "play" what she wanted to play. I kind of wonder if we should have just bought her a real violin. You can get toddler violins pretty cheap, but I guess this will be a good starter violin if she really does continue to show interest in it. She kept saying how glad she was to have a violin. We are glad she likes it!

KINNIE turns 3!

2010-09-08T23:38:00.007-06:00

Labor day, the day before her actual birthday. We took Kinnie to the zoo to ride the carousel, pet the goats and ride the steam-engine train.

Andrew had to show Kinnie not to be scared. He loved it, and she eventually did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KINNIE!
Here are the balloons she wanted all over the floor. She walked down the stairs and said "holy cow!"

She was dying to open presents. We let her open one present in the morning. A new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Bruschke and a little pig. She wore her new outfit to her first day of preschool! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

We had pizza for dinner, her favorite.

And opened presents.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Bell for the cool glow bracelets, new water color paints....

and Mary Poppins! She has watched it a few times already and as I speak (type).

Happy Birthday to you!

Cake and ice cream.

That night she sat on the couch and watched Mary Poppins with her new dress-up shoes on (or glass slippers as she calls them), all while playing with her new tool box. I love that girl! More on her first day of preschool later and the package that finally arrived! I can't wait for her to open it!

Almost 3

2010-09-02T09:51:00.009-06:00

I really can't believe that it was almost 3 years ago that Kinnie came into this world. It was such a surreal experience to finally meet her and I will never forget it. This past week I have been watching videos of her. It is so much fun to watch her as a baby again and to see the cute and funny things she did. It has been such a unique time for me to reflect on her life. I am realizing that turning 3 is a pretty big step and that she is far from being that little baby she once was. I really feel so blessed to have a healthy, happy, and sweet little girl.

When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said a hammer, tiny little books to read to my baby, a little sweep (broom), and her very own piano. She says she needs three presents because she is turning 3. She said she needed a candle to blow out and balloons all over the floor. I told her she could have 3 candles because she was turning 3 and she was excited.

She likes to pretend to play the violin. She uses wooden spoons or some drumsticks to pretend. She does this a lot. I ordered her a toy violin a couple of days ago, I don't think it will get here by her birthday and I wish I would have thought of it earlier, but we are so excited for her to open it!

She will be starting preschool on her birthday, have her 3 year old check-up, and start dance class next week. She really is getting old.

She is making friends and just learning and experiencing so many new things.

I am excited to see what this next year does for her.

2010 Offutt Air Show

2010-08-30T07:28:00.002-06:00

What we learned at the air show....

Bring camping chairs or at least a blanket to sit on...perhaps it isn't worth it to go until we are stroller-less because that is a lot of cargo to haul around.
Remember sun-screen, water bottles, cash or be prepared to get some sun, be thirsty or stand in a very long ATM line. Don't worry, the kids were set but Landon and I, not so much.
The shuttle ride to and from the air show was better then the actual air show for Kinnie.
When we fly home for Christmas we need to be prepared for Kinnie who may be terrified to get on the airplane. She was nervous to walk through the airplanes on display because she thought they were going to go into the sky.
All of the really cool airplanes fly in the afternoon. We dealt with smaller crowds and didn't have to wait for a shuttle for an hour but we missed the Thunderbirds and the other fast airplanes.
It was free, it was entertaining, I think we would do it again.

Is Summer really almost over?

2010-08-27T11:25:00.003-06:00

We had fun playing in the fountains with some friends down by the river. Andrew loved just walking around, hanging out, occasionally getting splashed by the water, eating crackers and climbing the stairs.

It took Kinnie a good half hour to warm up to the idea getting wet but once I forced, or showed her how fun it was to get wet, she was set and had lots of fun.

This one is so funny. You can see the water just starting to squirt out and she knows it's coming!

Couldn't miss out on this photo opportunity. One of Kinnie's friends little sister had the same swimsuit.

There won't be too much more of this going on which makes me kind of sad. I love the fall and I always look forward to it but I am really dreading winter and all that it has, or doesn't have, to offer. According to everyone that lives in, has lived in, or knows someone that lives in, or has lived in Omaha, winters are not to look forward to. We better make the most of this glorious weather!

Utah Highlights

2010-08-17T16:39:00.000-06:00

Driving out of Parley's....ahhhhh, home!

A party at my Uncle's house for his son and family who are moving to Singapore...now that would be hard! Kinnie and her great-grandma Betty, they missed each other.

Enjoying some swimming at Murray Pool

Andrew pulls out his GQ modeling poses

FUN IN BEAR LAKE

Owen and Kinnie relaxing. They played really hard!

Hours and hours and hours of playing on the beach

Just hangin' out

Hangin' out some more

Aunt Lindie asking Andrew where his nose is, he almost got it that time.

The day we got to Bear Lake Andrew decided he was a walker. The only time he would crawl would be to get to something to help him stand up so he could keep walking.

Grandpa Bell making things fun. Kinnie was hesitant to sit on the banana but "Gampa" Bell made it all okay.

Fun at Thanksgiving Point Farm. Feeding the silly goats with Grandma Bruschke

Riding a real horse for the first time! She was in love

Moo

Liberty Park. Andrew DID NOT want to sit on a carousel horse!

I braided Kinnie's hair for the first time

Swimming at Landon's cousins house

The Bruschke cousins

Having fun at Grandma and Grandpa Bell's house.
Aunt Lindie is a lot of fun to be with!

Enjoying a bbq at George Washington Park up Parleys.
Kinnie, Andrew and Owen

Are we going to make it until Christmas to see everyone again? I hope we are just so busy that the time goes by really quickly and maybe before we know it December 18 will be here. I am getting ready for the fall weather. When we drove to Omaha back in May it was so beautiful and green. This time as we drove back it was more yellow and brown and the corn had grown a lot. I am excited for the cooler weather and the fall festivities.

Home Again

2010-08-15T18:35:00.004-06:00

WoW, gone for a whole month! We just got back a few hours ago from a one month vacation in Salt Lake. It was great. We had such a great time with friends and family and will miss everyone so much. The trip was fun, it was memorable, it was long, we are happy to be home. I sort of forgot we had a life back here in Omaha, I almost even forgot we had a dishwasher. I am excited to get back into a routine again. This was on our way to Salt Lake one month ago, it wasn't any different on the way home except for the fact that these little squirts are now a whole month older! They both grew up a whole bunch while away and I will post some more pictures of the highlights of our trip soon. Is it bedtime yet?...

Starring Kinnie

2010-07-29T23:15:00.006-06:00

We are having A LOT of fun being back in Salt Lake. We have been here for two weeks and have two more weeks left. I will post some of the highlights when we get back to Omaha. Today we made a somewhat random trip down to Liberty Park so Kinnie could ride the old school rides that I used to ride when I was little. While we were there KSL 5 News was doing a story and filming the kids riding on the rides so Kinnie made the news this evening. It was fun to see her on tv. Click here if you want to see the news clip.

Andrew turns ONE!

2010-07-08T08:38:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated Andrew turning one! One whole year has gone by with this sweet, happy, playful boy in our family.

It seems like he was a newborn baby just yesterday. Now he is one. I am sort of in denial that he is actually a one year old.

He really does seem older, it is weird how that works sometimes but I think he even felt like a big boy yesterday and knew it was a special day.

Thank you for the birthday packages! His grandparents sent some fun books and cute shirts!

Andrew got a new doggy to snuggle.

His new drums and muscial toys were a success. We put it in front of him and he knew right what to do with it.

He loved when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He didn't know what to do with the candle but Kinnie helped him out. It was fun to see Kinnie be so excited for him. She is a great big sister.

Looking at the frosting...

Licking the frosting...

And rubbing it all over his tummy...

He never really "dove" into his cupcake but oh well. It was a mellow but fun day yesterday. We kind of just celebrated a little here and there. We are so happy to have our "bud" in our family and love him soooooo much! Here is to another great year!

Recently...

2010-07-01T20:58:00.005-06:00

Andrew

Is loving life!
He loves airplanes, trains, doggies, birds, and any animal at the zoo that is moving or just really big.
Loves to swing, especially when his dad does really silly things and makes him laugh from the gut.
He loves lasagna, pizza, enchiladas, waffles, pears, grapes, and of course popsicles.
His steps are up to 7 or 8. He is getting so brave and will just start walking without encouragement. He does better when he thinks it isn't a game.
Loves Kinnie and has so much fun with her. They love to play and be silly.
Is starting to throw tantrums. It is sort of cute at this point because it makes him seem so old and he is pretty good at it.
Is finally falling asleep on his own! I gave up one day on letting him cry it out. I missed my boy and it just wasn't working or progressing. But Landon talked me in to not giving up and I decided to try harder. I am so glad I didn't give up! He still wakes up in the night but we will work on that soon.

Kinnie

She will say "I like my new house (pointing around with her hands), but I don't like being far away." Of course it sounds like this though "I wike my new haus, but, mice don't wike being fa away."
Or sometimes she will say "I'm trying to be happy but I'm really sad" So I ask why and she says "Cause I can't go to Magga Bell's house anymore."
One night when giving her a bath she said "I'm so happy!" And I asked her why and she said "Cause I talked to Grandma Bruschke on the computer!"

Do you see the theme here? She has a lot of fun here but she is missing everyone back home. It is sad to hear her say these things but we expected it to be hard for her for the first little while. I am glad we get to go visit everyone soon. It might be even harder to come back to Omaha for her but I think she will get used to the idea and cherish the visits back to Salt Lake even that much more.

Mostly Pictures...

2010-06-24T20:12:00.003-06:00

Andrew is obsessed with Otter Pops. I gave him one a couple of weeks ago when he was getting some new teeth. Now whenever he sees one he cries for it.

He is a standing up boy these days. He thinks walking is a big funny game so when Landon and I try to have him walk to each other he laughs his head off, takes a couple of steps and falls forward. He walks best when he doesn't think about it and is totally on his own.

There have been some crazy storms lately so we brought the fun inside.

The storm. This is at 9:00 am. Notice the parking lot light is on. The weather is crazy here. I guess it is just new. I would probably be surprised by the weather anywhere besides Utah.

Kinnie and a box. She likes to play with a few empty boxes we have, building castles or trains or just sitting in them and watching movies.

We are still getting used to the idea of living here. We are settled but it is still an adjustment. Landon is enjoying school and learning so many new things. I pretty much go grocery shopping but I am trying to be more social. I take Kinnie and Andrew on the swings by our house a lot and we play in the wading pool a lot. We will be more adjusted in a few weeks just in time to go back to Salt Lake at the end of July. I can't wait though!

A lot of firsts

2010-06-12T10:26:00.006-06:00

Kinnie is sporting underwear for the first time. She went potty for me Monday morning, I told her she could start wearing underwear. She has been in underwear all week and is doing great! I knew she had it in her, she was probably ready a long time ago but I guess I wasn't.

Andrew cried himself to sleep for the first time last night. He slept a whole 8 hours, woke up, came into our bed...baby steps right!?...and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Yes, he is 11 months old, and yes it worked wonderfully (I think I will knock on wood right now). I did the whole "Ferber" method...let him cry for 5 min, and went in to reassure him, then 10 min. and then another 10 min and he was good. This is a huge first for him and me. I was not able to do it with Kinnie and obviously I had to really gear up for it with him almost being one. I just knew it was time when I was spending sooooo much time trying to get him to sleep and getting so frustrated.

Andrew has his first top teeth. Notice I said teeth. He has three new top teeth within this last week and I am sure a fourth will probably be coming in anytime. He has been one fussy boy but I think we are through the hard part.

Kinnie and Andrew

2010-06-04T13:08:00.005-06:00

Here is how Kinnie is most of the time. Singing songs, chomping on her gum, and having fun with Andrew.

First Warning!

2010-06-01T19:37:00.002-06:00

First tornado warning. The rain this evening was more like a waterfall. Little streams were forming on the grass. We were invited to dinner by some neighbors, as we walked over the sky was turning black and there was a lot of lightning. We had just heard on the news about a tornado warning. I was freaking out. Two minutes after we got to the neighbors was when the rain started. It was so amazing to watch. It was great and ominous. We sat and watched it out the front window while listening to the radio broadcast. I couldn't believe how dark it was and how everything seemed to be tinted turquoise. I am glad we were with people who have lived here and knew how to "handle" the situation and calm my tornado fears. I thought for sure my reoccurring tornado nightmares were going to come true. All is well though, it rained really hard and then by the time we had to go home to get the kids in bed it had let up. There is still a lot of lightning and thunder going on. So one down, I wonder how many more of these we will experience!

This and That

2010-05-31T20:40:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite parts about our new place is the storage space. Here is Kinnie and Andrew's walk-in closet. I love how organized it looks but I know it won't stay that way, I am the worst at keeping things organized! Andrew likes to sneak in there while I am getting there jammies on. It is so big it could almost be his very own room!

We ventured down to the Riverfront Sunday evening. It was cold and breezy but it was fun to get out and see some more of this place called Omaha. It is so different being in a new place and learning about what there is to do, and where to go grocery shopping, and where to get a red box, etc.

On the pedestrian bridge. It was pretty neat. We didn't make it to the other side because we spent so much time on the bridge looking at boats and playing on the benches. It was also cold and windy but I am wondering where the bridge leads and what is on the other side of the river.

Today we went down to the river again to walk around. This was a beautiful pond with a fountain and ducks and boats.

$10 Pool. I think it will get a lot of use out of these two. A lot of families have wading pools here but we can't spend everyday using other people's pools so we got our own. Andrew liked crawling in and out of it. He is getting to be such a big boy!

Landon starts school tomorrow. It will be weird having him gone and I kind of wonder what I will do without him here all day. I am happy though for him to get back into it and for us to get into some sort of a schedule.

Omaha, Somewhere in the middle of America

2010-05-25T06:59:00.004-06:00

We are grateful to my parents for letting us stay with them for a few days while we packed up and cleaned our house. My mom was great and took a few days off of work to help out with the kids and packing. I got to a point where I just kind of stared at boxes and things I needed to pack and couldn't get anywhere. My mom took charge and started packing boxes for me which really helped me.

The yellow Penske moving truck. Andrew could have spent a lot of time in that truck!

We are also grateful to Landon's parents who helped us make the trek. I don't know what we would have done without them. His mom was a trooper and sat in the back seat with Kinnie and Andrew in our small car, in between their car seats, to keep them entertained when they needed it. His dad was a great truck companion. Kinnie constantly wanted to be out on the swings next to our house constantly with Magga Bell. When I was pushing Kinnie yesterday she said "Push me Magga!"

This is the view we have from our house. It really is beautiful. The Missouri river runs under the freeway bridge but you can't actually see the water from our house. It is neat to know that it is there though. I am excited to see what fall looks like.

The Omaha zoo is about a 2 minute drive from our house. I was very impressed with the zoo. We went at 9:30 in the morning and the parking lot was already busy. When we were inside the zoo though we were by ourselves a lot...it must be a really big zoo.

The baby gorilla was a hit for Kinnie. She was so fascinated by this cute little guy, I was too. I love the gorillas and how human-like they are and how the big ones just kind of sit there and look at you like you should be minding your own business.

The polar bear kept swimming right up to the glass and that was a little too close for Kinnie. This is her "get me out of here" look. The polar bear would swim on its back to the window and then scratch its back on the rocks by the glass and then push off with his paws on the glass. It was cool.

They have an awesome aquarium. They had this huge penguin exhibit with maybe 75-100 penguins in it. We kind of felt like we were the ones on display how the majority of them just sat and stared at us. It was cool to see them dive into the water and swim so fast.

This was in the tunnel at the aquarium, amazing. It was pretty mesmerizing walking through it and Kinnie was pretty fascinated.

We are slowly learning what Omaha has to offer. It still kind of feels like we are on vacation but everything is going well. We are feeling homesick but we know that feeling will go away eventually with time.

Some Things I Have Learned

2010-05-23T22:15:00.002-06:00

Nebraska is a beautiful state. I am pretty sure that right as we drove through the Wyoming/Nebraska border the scenery changed from dull to amazing. When we arrived in Nebraska it was green and sunny and cloudy and rainy all at the same time. Even though it was a straight, boring road, I loved the scenery of the farms, fields, rivers, trees and ponds.

Andrew hates his car seat now. He arches his back and cries when we get in the car. Poor guy. He did so amazing the first day, not so much the second day.

Kinnie did great other then being a little more grumpy. Her world has been turned around so I can't blame her. I am more grumpy then usual too. She watched a few movies in the car and enjoyed having "Magga Bell" in the car to keep her company. Andrew enjoyed having Grandma Bell with us too.

I hate saying goodbyes and I don't like change.

We love our new home. It is slowly coming together and boxes are slowly being unpacked. It has its quirks but there isn't anything that can't be fixed. Leaky washer, leaky ceiling, just little things that need to be taken care of.

There is no point in straightening my hair. It is so humid here and it would be completely pointless to try and make it straight, maybe in the winter I can give it a try.

Squirrels are everywhere here. Supposedly skunks and turkeys roam about freely as well. I have yet to see any of those but some of our friends see them and they live in the same place so I am sure we will encounter them at some point.

I will get some pictures up soon. As soon as I find the cord to download pictures.

2010-05-04T22:34:00.001-06:00

Andrew was having fun with this spout (when the weather was warm)...

just like Kinnie used to.

He Did It!

2010-04-26T15:13:00.002-06:00

Landon ran his first half-marathon on Saturday down at Thanksgiving Point! I was so excited to go and watch him cross the finish line and actually see him accomplish what he has been training for for the last couple of months.

Here is Kinnie ready to cheer him on down the finishing stretch.

Here he comes! #210. It was so motivating to see all of the participants finishing the 13.1 mile race, especially him. It really made me want to train for one. It was neat to think of all of the different kinds of people doing it. Some were young, some were old, some ran it really fast, others really slow, but they all were accomplishing something whether it was easy for them or hard for them.

Landon and his sister Sara. She had done her first one back in the fall and asked Landon if he wanted to do this one with her. It was neat that they were able to do it together.

Some Updates

2010-04-12T14:18:00.004-06:00

Kinnie...

She loves to paint, with her paintbrush or with her hands.
She will say "I wuv you" and I will respond "I love you too" and she will say "Wuv you too mommy."
She is talking non-stop. Everyone thinks she is so quiet because she is so shy but she is always talking at home. Lately she says "okay" in a teenager sort of tone. For example, she wanted some brownies right before bed and I told her she could have a really big piece the next day and she said "okay" all put out. A few weeks ago she would ask me something and I would answer and she would say "oh, cause why?" Luckily that didn't last too long.
She says she can't say her prayers yet because she doesn't have enough teeth. For some reason she has always had this excuse that when she has more teeth she will be able to do this or that. So Landon and I say the prayer.
She really likes to get dressed all by herself. She is pretty good at it but occasionally needs help with her shirt sleeves. She gets really mad if I try to help. Sometimes when she is frustrated with getting dressed, or I am busy doing something around the house and she is just kind of bored she says "Mice can't do everysing aw by mysewf."

Andrew...

He is officially moving! Notice I did not say crawling. It is the variation of crawling called the army crawl. It is kind of nice though because he is just barely figuring it out. So I don't have to worry too much about him getting into things yet. I am sure he will master it all too soon.
He still prefers standing holding onto something. He really loves to stand and who knows, he may walk before he ever really masters crawling.
He is a tender little guy. A couple of weeks ago Landon was just playing with him and he said "boo" louder then usual. Andrew jumped, got the saddest little face and cried for a few minutes. He would start to get calm and Landon would say "sorry buddy" and he would start crying again.
He has always loved playing with my hair when he is tired. A few months ago he started rubbing my left eyelashes. He was sitting next to one of Kinnie's dolls that has eyelashes the other day and kept playing with them. It cracked me up.

Landon has been training for a half marathon that is coming up this next weekend. I can't believe how much he has been running to get ready for it. To go from running just a few miles a couple of months ago to now 13 miles amazes me! He has been so diligent in his training. I don't know that when his sister asked him to do it with her that he really thought he would do it, but he did it and it is finally (almost) here.

Sometimes in the evening I look at our house and I wonder if I will ever get it put back together again. Sometimes it looks worse then it actually is and sometimes it takes longer to clean up then I thought it would but I always feel good going to bed with a tidy house. I finally am nearing the end of a painting I started, oh, about 10 months ago of an alphabet chart for Kinnie and Andrew's room. It sat untouched for about 6 months but I finally pulled it out and I am determined to finish it within the next week. Someone once told me when I first had Andrew that when he got to be about 3 months I would have the hang of things, I think it took me a little longer.

Fun in a Tent

2010-04-05T22:09:00.005-06:00

My mom stopped by on her way home yesterday to say hello. Kinnie wanted to show her how we make a tent so we made it. Kinnie wanted Andrew to come in so she could show "magga" how she "reads" to Andrew. Andrew was getting a kick out of it which made us all laugh!

Now She Knows

2010-03-17T15:33:00.007-06:00

We finally told Kinnie about the big move. Every time I thought about telling her I would get sick to my stomach. It breaks my heart because she loves her grandparents soooooo much and literally everyday asks if she can go to magga Bo's or magga Brushy's house. We didn't want to make a huge deal about it since it is so early for her little mind to comprehend completely but we at least wanted to let her know about it. I broke the news to her last week while Andrew was asleep. I explained it simply and held back the tears. She listened really intently while I talked about it. If you ask her about it she talks about how we will put all of our things, TV, couch, bed, etc., into a big truck and how we will drive really fast and really far to Omaha. She came up with the fast part...and of course she remembers me telling her how there is a really cool zoo there. Who knows what she understands but I am glad she is focusing on the truck part and the zoo part.

Andrew is desperately wanting to be mobile. He is constantly lunging forward for things and reaching and grabbing and getting really frustrated! He is starting to pull up on things a little but for the most part he is just sitting. I have a feeling he is going to be into everything though when he starts to move and Landon and I will be shocked. We never had to baby proof with Kinnie, we didn't need a gate for the stairs, or cupboard locks, we never had to move fragile objects out of her reach. Even though she crawled early on she just wasn't super curious. But Andrew seems like a curious little monkey who might be really good at finding things and moving things and getting into things. He continues to love his sister so much. He laughs if he hears her coming into the room and laughs so hard when she is silly for him. I am completely in love with him more and more everyday!