As Kenn Would Say, "Time of his Life"

Caleb had some fun with mom, making cut-out sugar cookies for Easter.
Lots of mess makes it fun, right? :)

More pictures to come from Easter weekend. I mean, the cookies aren't even frosted yet. And we might have a movie night. And then the Easter Bunny is coming.

Although I don't think we'll get a picture of the Easter Bunny.

Why My Husband Loves Me (this week)

Yes, I made these cinnamon rolls from scratch.

Yes, they tasted as yummy as they look (although why some of them grew from the middle I don't know, but oh well).

I tell you what, a KitchenAid mixer is a wonderful tool to have. Without it, I couldn't have created the goodness you see here. I think after I made these on Sunday, Kenn was really and truly grateful that he finally got me the mixer I've been wanting for 6 years.

You're welcome, dear, and thank you.

Caleb's Trip to the Dentist

How many kids actually smile this big knowing they're about the see the dentist? I don't think it's a lot. And for this reason, I love the pediatric dentist we go to. Their office is, to say the least, pimped out. The waiting room is FULL of toys and books (thus the picture of Caleb in the fire engine), they have a room with video games and a train table, there are movie screens above every chair, and the gloves and who knows what else are all flavored. And they were great with him. He was totally willing to open his mouth and get his teeth cleaned, and he even sat totally still for the x-rays. It wasn't his 1st time there (we took him to
be examined a few months ago when he hit a tooth on the coffee table) but it was his first cleaning, and I was so proud of him. He did great.

And speaking of doing great, he is doing AWESOME with the potty training. He's had 2 tiny almost accidents in the past couple weeks. Now we just need to figure out how to get him to stay dry during the night. This part is a little more nerve-wracking.

Oh, and Beckett's 1st tooth broke through yesterday! Hooray! Only 19 more to go... :P

Cedar Park Heritage Festival

Hey look! We did something local and fun! The Heritage Festival has only been going on a couple years, and we wouldn't have ever known about it except Candace told us, but it's mostly free and they had pony rides and a petting zoo, and a fire truck, and other things kids like. So we took the kiddies, and met up with Candace and Garrett there, and they had a good time. We were sorely tempted to pay about $20 for turkey legs and hot dogs and funnel cakes and all that, but in the end decided to save our money and focus on what was free. Taking Caleb's picture in a fire truck? Free. Seeing his face and Garrett's light up while riding a pony? Free. Knowing we helped make a memory for our kids? Priceless. :)

Playing Blog Catch-up, Part 3

So, March 2009--Pretty calm start, all in all. Our friends Christa and Matt came to Austin so Matt could interview at UT for their MBS program. We had them over for dinner and it was fun to catch up with them and show them all the reasons they should move to Austin. We then had a Mexican feast with Candace and Nate and their kids, with chicken taco soup and homemade tamales (you rock, Candace!). And I planned Candace's shower for the 14th, and had fruit and veggies and cake and drink, and then Kenn called from taking Beckett to the doctor for this thing on his butt, and told me that we had to take him to Dell Children's Hospital to get it taken care of, right then. I still feel bad about ditching out (they stayed and finished the shower, thank goodness) but it was definitely necessary.


Caleb spent the rest of the day with the Hayden's, and we spent 7 hours at the hospital. Beckett was examined and then we waited for his turn in surgery. The actual procedure was only about 10 minutes long (he had an anal abscess) but they gave him the gas anesthetic. He did great, and we got to bring him home about 45 minutes after his surgery. So we've just been letting him soak in the tub twice a day and keeping his bum clean, and keeping the wound open (it heals from the inside out) and all in all he's handled it very well.

























And as if that wasn't enough, Beckett had his 6-month check up on March 18th, and we found out he lost a pound since his last visit, and so he was definitely ready to start solid foods. He loves rice cereal, he's diggin' the Cheerios, and he's not had every veggie baby food and has yet to make a face. We're pretty sure he'll get that pound back pretty soon.

Playing Blog Catch-up, Part 2

Then, we started potty-training Caleb. The first day was awful, but he actually figured it out pretty quickly. He was actually doing great, until...

February 2009-- Well, you saw we painted the house, but we also got sick. FLU sick. So, potty training got put on hold, because Caleb and mommy were both having fevers and sweating and coughing and aches. Sadly, this happened the same time Kenn went to Las Vegas for 3 days for work. LUCKILY, this happened the same time that Kenn's mom, Rita, was coming to visit! I'm sure it was a miserable trip for her, but I have
never been so grateful for anyone. She took care of me, and the boys, and the house, and she was wonderful. You're my hero, Rita! She also discovered a bridge on a trail near our house that we had never known about, and we've been here almost 3 years. We're bums, it's ok, you can say it. But the good news as that we all got to go up to Copperas Cove and visit Uncle Dee and Aunt Kathy before Kenn left, and Caleb got to ride a tractor. As Kenn would say, "time of his life."

Also, in February, Amy had big plans to throw a surprise baby shower for her friend Candace, whose due date was March 5th (I think). BUT, Candace ended up being induced on the day of the shower, so it got rescheduled. Carlie Marie Hayden was born on February 11th, and she is so tiny! And so cute! We've loved getting to hold her, especially since Kenn and I haven't ever really held babies that small. It's kind of a new experience for us.





And then, surprise of the year--- Amy's parents showed up in Texas! (This is Amy writing, so...) I had just finished a shower and heard the phone ring, but I missed it, so once I got out I checke caller-id and saw it was my mom's cell phone, and RIGHT THEN the doorbell rang. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought "I bet mom and pops are here, and that's them at the door," which is a crazy thought because they live in Michigan, and hadn't said anything about coming to visit. So I went to get the door, my hair not at all combed, and sure enough IT WAS MY MOM!!! Can you believe that? They decided to surprise us, and they did a heckuva job. Winter has been very cold for them this year, and they needed a break from it, and we conveniently live in a nice warm climate. We had a great time with them. They went with us to Kenn's indoor soccer game, we took the kids to the Austin Zoo (where Caleb had a good time feeding goats and riding the train), and they came for dinner when we fed the missionaries, and we even all went to the park together. It was a wonderful visit, and I can't wait for them to come down again. And, they wanted to see Beckett. That was a motivating factor as well. :)

Playing Blog Catch-up, Part 1

Wow. It has been a while. Hi everybody! We're still alive, I promise, we just completely abandoned our blog for some reason (much like we did the back yard). What have we been doing, you may ask? Well, let us tell you!

Christmas 2008-- We drove to Utah with our friends the Marshes, and luckily we're still friends. :) Caleb had been sick before the trip, and their little boy Alex was sick ON the trip, so Alex was screaming and Caleb threw up in the van and blew out his diaper twice (and all this was just on the way there.) We made it, though, and we really enjoyed being with Kenn's family for the holidays. We got to see friends, and we blessed Beckett the same time his cousin Tyson was blessed, and we had a great time. And luckily, the trip back was a lot less eventful, and now we know that we don't handle driving straight through somewhere very well. Lesson learned. :)

January 2009-- For some reason, once we got back, we got on this CRAZY cleaning out the house kick. We started throwing things away, re-organizing, and we finally caved in and bought Kenn's dream tv, a big ol' flat-screen that's mounted on the wall with all the cables and cords tucked behind and running through to the laundry room. It looks fabulous, but then we had to get another toy storage thing. And then we had to get rid of the coffee table and entertainment center and buy an ottoman. And some little shelves. We're nuts, but we've been really enjoying it ever since.