Happy New Year! We had a busy and fun end of 2022! We are in such a busy but fun season of life. The big kids are at such fun ages, and Brody is in full-blown toddler mode, but he is so cute and hilarious. Every day is fun, exciting, energetic, loud, and exhausting! Here is a wrap up of our last couple of months in 2022.
November
IU Games
Now that life is semi-back to normal, we have been fully taking advantage of living in a college town. We’ve been attending lots of IU basketball games – both women’s and men’s games. The women’s team is awesome this year, and I am good friends with one of the coach’s wives, so we’ve been enjoying the games and the behind the scenes of Assembly Hall (my dream!)
Random Snow Day
One random Saturday in early November, we woke up to SNOW. The kids had fun playing in the snow and sledding for most of the day! They were sad when the snow started melting a couple days later, so I was quick to remind them that plenty more snow (typically more than desired) will come in the coming months.
Polar Express in French Lick
I’ve wanted to take my kids to do the Polar Express for so long, but before this year, I didn’t feel comfortable with it because of Covid. But this year, we were so excited to finally get to do it! We had such a fun time with Ryan’s family in French Lick! We all wore different Christmas pajamas, and Ryan wore a full Grinch costume. People thought he was part of the show and kept coming up to him to get their picture taken with him!
Birthday Date Night
For my birthday this year, I told Ryan all I wanted was a date night with him. And he delivered! He got us SECOND ROW tickets to see Aladdin the Broadway show!! Saying it was AMAZING is an understatement. It was truly an incredible show – especially to see up close. We spent the evening at the Bottleworks Hotel in downtown Indy and enjoyed our night out on the town!
Thanksgiving
Ryan worked this year on Thanksgiving, but we were grateful to still have family nearby to spend it with. We started out at Ryan’s cousin Nicole’s house. She lives on a farm, so the kids were THRILLED to run around chasing goats and catching chickens!
After Thanksgiving lunch with Ryan’s family, we went to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We had two wonderful Thanksgiving meals and loved time with family!
Kick-off to Christmas Time
The evening after Thanksgiving, we went to downtown Indy to see the lights around Monument Circle light up. It was very crowded, but luckily, my brother-in-law works in a building right next to Monument Circle, so he took us up to his office and we could see the lights from there! Once the crowds cleared out, we went back down to get a closer look and take pictures. It was a fun night!
Here is our 1 Second Everyday for the month of November…
December
Children’s Museum
We went to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum for my nephew’s 4th birthday with a group of cousins. The kids had a blast!
Chicago Weekend
For my sister-in-law’s birthday, we all went to Chicago for the weekend. We loved exploring the city. One of the highlights was taking Kinsie to the American Girl Place. She was so happy to have some special girl time!
Later, we went to a really cool event called “Harry Potter- Magic at Play.” It was basically an interactive Harry Potter journey. It was a lot of fun! The kids loved experiencing the journey of becoming a Hogwarts student – doing spells, playing Quidditch, and more!
Christmas Season
Christmas time is our favorite. We love all of the magic leading up to Christmas!
We didn’t get around to making our cookies until after Christmas, but we still enjoyed making them! The kids also enjoyed making an Encanto gingerbread house.
Rocket the Elf
Our buddy Rocket came back for year 2 of scout elf fun! The kids got extra attached to him this year, so he surprised them with an extra day after Christmas, and they could touch and hug him. They LOVED it! They were still really bummed when his time was up, so he promised them that he would make appearances throughout the year for other holidays.
Here is a quick video showing Rocket’s adventures this year!
Christmas Eve
Somehow we got Ryan home for Christmas Eve AND Christmas day this year! Our hearts were full! On Christmas Eve, we went to Ryan’s aunt’s house for dinner and gifts.
Christmas Morning
We had another magical Christmas morning. The kids loved all their gifts! After we did our own gifts, we drove to my parents’ house to have Christmas with my family.
Christmas Day
We enjoyed dinner and gifts with my family. But the rest of the time, the kids had a blast playing with all their new toys and playing sports competitions on Nintendo Switch. It was a wonderful day!
New Year’s Eve
After Christmas, we spent most of the next week chilling at home. It was actually really nice! The kids stayed busy with all their new toys and gifts. I think Braxton built about 5 Lego sets that he got for Christmas! For Christmas Eve, we just stayed in as a family. We made a kid-friendly charcuterie board for dinner. The kids had the best time helping make and arrange the food!
After dinner, we had a glow-in-the-dark dance party like we did last year. We put a black light in the workout room and included glowing balloons, glow sticks and music. And Rocket came back for a night of fun too!
After the dance party, Brody went to bed, but the big kids stayed up. We played Apples to Apples and Nintendo Switch until it was time for the countdown. By the time midnight came around, Ryan and I were tired, but they were WIRED. It was a fun night!
Here is our December 1 Second Everyday…
And here is our 1 Second Everyday video for the year of 2022. They added some new features to the app, and I love the way this video turned out! Enjoy!
And that’s a wrap for 2022! This year seemed to fly by…maybe because life went back to normal. It was nice to be able go out and about again. We are excited to see what 2023 brings!
Hi there! I’m back! We have been SO busy the last 3 months! So many fun and exciting updates! Here we go…
August
The kids all started school in August. Kinsie and Braxton started earlier than Brody, so Brody and I had lots of quality outside time.
This is the first time since they were little that Kinsie and Brax went to the same school! Kinsie started 3rd grade, and Braxton started 1st grade. They were excited to be in the same school and get to ride the bus together. Brax was a little nervous about starting at a new school, but he quickly got acclimated and soon all the other students and teachers loved him!
Brody loves when his “Bubby and Sissy” get off the bus! He loves to tell them all about his day.
Then later in the month, Brody started preschool for the first time! He is in the 2’s class 2 days a week at the Christian preschool that Braxton went to the last few years. I was a little nervous about this one, since Brody is a Covid baby and has spent his entire life in my protection. Drop off was rough the first couple weeks but he has done wonderful! He loves his teacher and the fun activities he gets to do at school! Kinsie and Brax’s school starts later this year, so they get to come with me to drop Brody off on his preschool days, which they love to do!
Later in August, we went to the Indiana State Fair with my parents and my sister’s family. We hadn’t gone since before Covid, so the kids were so excited!
Even the dads got to come along for the fun!
The kids loved all the rides!
These cousins had the best time together!
Here is my 1 Second Everyday video for August!
September
September mainly consisted of baseball, a special wedding and birthday celebrations. Braxton played Fall Baseball and continued to improve on his skills. He is super pumped about baseball right now and enjoys practicing whenever he can. He had a great season!
In early September, Ryan’s brother, Nate got married! Nate has been with Kendyl for almost a decade, and we absolutely adore her. She has already felt like part of the family for so long, but we were excited to make it official! Kinsie, Brax and Brody all got to be in the wedding along with their cousin Griffin.
How stinkin’ cute are they!?
It was such a beautiful evening. The kids had a blast dancing the night away, and we loved watching our sweet Nate marry the love of his life!
The kids also got to get a few more swimming days in before the pool closed for the winter.
I got to go with Braxton’s class on their field trip to the Pedan Farm Festival. I loved getting to spend the day with him and his 1st grade buddies!
Brody upgraded to a big boy bed in September! He LOVES his car bed!
We loved celebrating our big NINE year old this month! She had a wonderful wonderful full of donuts, cards, pizza, ice cream and a visit from family!
The next weekend, we had her birthday party with family. First we did a girls cousin date at Brightly Art Studio in Brownsburg, where the girls made puppy houses.
Afterwards, we went back to my parents’ house for swimming, dinner and cake. She loved her puppy-themed party and getting to spend the evening with all the people she loves most!
And here is the 1 Second Everyday video for September.
October
And now for October. Whew it was busy! It seemed to fly by because we always had something going on.
We started the month with IU’s Homecoming parade with some friends.
Right after the parade, we went to Hoosier Hysteria, the official kickoff to basketball season! This was my kids’ first time in Assembly Hall – somewhere I’ve always loved!
Then we took a 5 day fall break trip to Disney! My sister’s family was already planning on going, so we tagged along.
The first day, we took it easy in the morning, then in the afternoon we went to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. It was awesome!! This is a ticketed event, so they limit the capacity so it wasn’t as crowded.
We had a blast! The kids dressed up in costumes, and we rode lots of rides, watched an amazing Halloween parade and fireworks show, ate lots of yummy treats, and ended our evening with a fantastic Hocus Pocus show. We stayed in the park until about 12:30am, didn’t get in bed until closer to 2am but it was an awesome night and my favorite part of the trip!
The next day was a break day. We all slept in, then we went to Art of Animation for Brody to see the Cars again (since he was obsessed when we went in April!) then we rode the skyliner.
Later, we went to Disney Springs for a little while, then we had dinner reservations at Storybook Dining at Wilderness Lodge. Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and the Evil Queen were there. The dinner was great and the characters were a lot of fun!
The next day we went to Animal Kingdom.
It was very crowded…much more than it was when we went in April, but thanks to Genie+, we still got to do everything we wanted to do. We even rode Avatar Flight of Passage (our favorite) 3 times! It was a great day!
For our last day, we went to Epcot. I was so excited since we haven’t been in years. We loved it all. We got to ride the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and it was AMAZING! That was definitely the highlight of our day. We also loved exploring the countries and trying some food and drinks from around the world. It was a great way to end our great trip!
When we got back to Indiana, the leaves were in full fall mode – my favorite! Our town in particular is BEAUTIFUL in the fall, and I just can’t get enough of it.
We always spend a day walking around campus and enjoying the beauty. This time we even brought the pup!
This month I got to go on a field trip with Kinsie’s class! We also went to a farm, but a different one then what Brax’s class went to. It was pretty cold, but we still had a great time!
The kids’ school had a “Spooktacular Night” fall festival. The kids loved dressing up and seeing their friends and teachers!
The kids loved doing our traditional Halloween cookie decorating! Brody even got to participate this year. He took it very seriously and he loved it!
Our yard has been the BEST place to play in the leaves! The kids and Evie have loved running around and jumping in the leaves. It’s been the best way to wear Evie out!
We even got to have Griffin over to enjoy playing in the leaves too!
This has been a big month for Braxton! He lost not one, but TWO teeth!
We loved getting to spend an evening at the pumpkin patch this month. It was a beautiful night!
The kids loved the hayride, the corn maze and the tractor ride!
And of course we had to make time for our favorite Halloween activity – pumpkin carving!
Kinsie and Brax did theirs completely on their own this year! Kinsie made Zero (the dog from the Nightmare Before Christmas), Braxton made Stitch, and Brody made Lightning McQueen (with mom’s help of course!)
And Ryan and I continued our intense pumpkin carvings as well – despite the fact that we had a toddler and a crazy stir crazy puppy running around the house! Ryan made Vecna (from Stranger Things) and I made a sugar skull for Dia de los Muertos.
To finish our month, we went trick-or-treating with some of the kids’ friends from school! Kinsie was an artist, Braxton was a baseball player and Brody was Lightning McQueen. They had the best time!
And finally, here is our October 1 Second Everyday video!
You will more than likely hear from me again in a few more months…probably after Christmas. With life as busy and crazy as it has been, it is much more manageable to post every few months. Thanks for understanding!
We love March. It marks the beginning of spring and warmer weather. This month had some beautiful weather, and some freezing weather…typical of Indiana! But we had a lot of indoor and outdoor fun this month!
New Trampoline
We bought a trampoline! This was something we’ve had our eye on for a while. We knew the kids would love it…and we were right! We’ve had it less than a month and it has already been a huge hit!
Even Brody is having fun on the trampoline. He can’t really jump yet, but he loves bouncing around when Kinsie and Brax jump around him. The kids already have lots of plans with this trampoline as the weather gets consistently warmer.
Kinsie’s Art Display
Kinsie’s artwork was chosen by her art teacher to represent her school In the Youth Art Month exhibition at the art museum on IU’s campus. Only a few students’ artwork from each school were chosen for this exhibition, so it was an honor. We were so proud of her, but not surprised! She is a wonderful little artist and it is great to see her thrive in an area that she loves so much. On the first day of the exhibition, we took a trip to campus to go see her artwork.
She received a certificate and a gift bag from the museum. She was so happy!
Kinsie’s little brothers were proud of her and loved seeing her art too!
It was a beautiful day outside, so we took the opportunity to spend the morning on campus. We had a picnic lunch and walked around campus. The museum is right next to the Showalter Fountain, and IU’s marching band happened to be practicing there at the time. We enjoyed sitting and listening to them practice by the fountain, and Brody danced around to the music! The fountain was empty, so the kids got in and ran around in it. It was a beautiful and fun morning!
School Dress-up Days
The kids had a few dress-up days this month for Read Across America week. Kinsie got to dress as her favorite book character, so she dressed as a Hufflepuff character (her Halloween costume).
Brax had a few fun dress-up days too…including Wacky Wednesday!
And Crazy Hair Day! His blue hair was a hit!
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patty’s Day is mainly a fun excuse to take cute pics of my kids!
Since the kids were on Spring Break, Ryan’s parents, and his sister Megan and her son Griffin came for the day to visit. They wanted to see Kinsie’s artwork, but also just hang out with us for the day. It was another beautiful day, and we took advantage of it again by walking and exploring campus.
Grandma Bev and Papa Tim were in their happy place with all 4 of their grandbabies!
Cincinnati Zoo
We love the Cincinnati Zoo…mainly because of the hippo, Fiona. Recently, the zoo got another adult hippo in the exhibit – Tucker. Ever since then, the kids have been asking to go again to see Tucker. So when the kids were on Spring Break, we did. My parents came along for the fun too. The weather was great and it wasn’t too crowded like it was last time we went.
The kids loved feeding the giraffes and seeing them up close.
We had lunch with a view of the savanna.
We spent a lot of time with Fiona, Tucker and Bibi at the hippo cove. Like usual, they did not disappoint! They were SO active…swimming back and forth, doing flips, and playing with each other. Kinsie was in her happy place…she could have stayed there all day!
We’ve been visiting Fiona since she was less than a year old, and Kinsie was only 4! Look how much they’ve both grown!
We loved seeing and interacting with all the animals!
The perfect way to end our day…ice cream!
Children’s Museum
Grandma Bev watched the kids overnight, and then she and Megan took them to the Children’s Museum. The new Dinosphere opened back up, so Brax was pumped! The kids had a great time…even Brody got to join!
Fun at Yaya’s
Another day, the kids had a play date at my parents’ house. They played outside ALL day!
Cousin Fun
We had a few random cousin play dates this month. Have I mentioned how nice it is being just an hour away from all the people we love, instead of 10 hours? Cousin Griffin came over to play a few times. They always have a fun time together!
My sister came down to visit one day with her kids, and she brought along a few more of the kids’ cousins for a play date. It was pretty chaotic with 8 kids – but it was a lot of fun!
My kids were back in school, but some of the cousins came along to pick them up from school. They loved it! It was another beautiful day, so the kids spent most of the day outside. We had Mexican food for dinner and had a great day!
Day Adventures with Bro
Now that Covid isn’t completely taking over our lives, we’ve been venturing out a little more. When Ryan has days off, we try to have day dates, and Brody tags along!
We love walking around campus, and Brody LOVES seeing all of the campus buses!
Brody and I love going to the park…especially when we have the place to ourselves!
I’ve even felt a little more comfortable taking Brody with me on errands now…as long as we go places when it isn’t crowded, which usually it isn’t in the morning. He loves looking through the toy aisles and playing with all the trucks…and getting cake pops!
Brody loved going on a breakfast date with us! He ate like a king!
Outside Fun at Home
We’re still going strong on our 1,000 Hours Outside goal. Here are a few pictures of our time outside this month.
Inside Fun at Home
And of course the kids always find fun things to do when we’re inside too. Kinsie created a food truck, and created a menu of fun little snacks. The boys loved it!
The kids are always playing in the workout room, They love climbing on the gymnastics bar!
Braxton is always reading to Brody. It is so sweet!
We are still doing puzzles! Even Kinsie has been helping a little more. We’ve moved up to 500 piece puzzles!
This boy…he is always climbing. Always getting into something. He is 100% toddler. Pray for me.
Puppysitting Lola
We watched my sister’s dog while they were on vacation. She’s an old pup (13 years), so she was very low maintenance. But the kids – especially Brody – loved having her for the week! The weather wasn’t great for the last few weeks of March, so we didn’t get outside or go on as many walks as we wanted to…but Lola enjoyed just being wherever we were. Brody loved following her around and letting her kiss him!
Play Ball!
Softball and baseball season have officially started! Kinsie and Brax both had their first practice during the last week of March. Kinsie is back with her team from last year, and Brax is starting his first season of baseball. He is so excited!
And that was our March! We are excited for April…we have Easter coming up, as well as lots of other fun things planned…like another vacation at the end of the month!
And as always, here is our 1 Second Everyday for the month of March.
February is usually one of my least favorite months. We usually have the worst snow storms in February, and even though it is a shorter month, it always just seems like it takes forever to get to March. But this time, it was better…probably because we went on our first real vacation since October 2019! But before I get to that, I’ll discuss the rest of our month.
Spending Time Outside (Before the Snow)
The first day of February was amazing – it was in the 60’s and sunny. Brody and I spent most of the day outside. And when we did go inside to eat lunch, he didn’t want to take off his hat and boots! The funniest part is that is was warm enough that he didn’t even need a hat or boots – but that’s what he wanted!
Once the kids got home from school, we went to the walking trail. Kinsie and Brax brought their bikes and Brody rode in his little car. It was a perfect day to ride on the trail and let Brax practice his new no-training wheels bike skills! There was a huge snow and ice storm coming the next day – so we savored the amazing day. (Also, don’t judge Brody’s crazy hair – he was getting a haircut in a few days!)
Snow Days
As I said, the very next day we were due for ice and then snow. Kinsie’s school went ahead and called in for e-Learning days for the next few days since the ice was supposed to start that afternoon. Kinsie had a class meeting on her iPad, and she brought a friend to class! When she was doing her school work, Brody wanted to do some too!
We didn’t get much snow the first day, just some ice. But the next day, it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. It snowed heavily for the entire day. Luckily Ryan was off for a few days, so he got to enjoy being snowed in with us. Once Kinsie was done with her schoolwork, we all bundled up and went outside. The kids loved sledding, catching snowflakes, and playing “arctic animals.” However, it was REALLY cold and windy so we didn’t spend as much time outside as we could have liked.
The next few days were much more bearable. The snow stayed but it was a tad warmer, no wind, and the sun was out…so we ventured outside for several hours each day. We enjoyed LOTS of snow activities including sledding, making a snowman, snow painting, snow volcanoes, following animal tracks and more!
And of course we had to make snow ice cream!
Even when the kids went back to school, Brody and I still tried to venture outside whenever we could. He’s always in a better mood outside!
One day after school, Brax had a sledding playdate with his best friend from school. They had a wonderful time together!
Haircut for Bro
This handsome boy was LONG overdue for a haircut…he hadn’t gotten one since September! But between the Omicron surge, the holidays, and the fact that Brody HATES haircuts, it just wasn’t a priority. But since we were going on vacation soon, I knew we had to get it done. He definitely didn’t enjoy it, but it’s Ryan’s cousin who cuts his hair and she was patient with him and loves him so she didn’t mind – and he looked SO handsome when he was done!
Gym Ninjas
Kinsie is still loving gymnastics, and recently I signed Brax up for a class called Gym Ninjas at the same place and time. He’s had one class so far and he LOVED it! One of his best friends from school is in his class too so he was so happy!
Valentine’s Day
We got to squeeze in some fun Valentine’s Day activities before we went on vacation. We always love making cookies, and we even got to enjoy making some with the kids’ cousin Griffin!
And here are the cookies we made at home!
Brax’s class needed an extra parent volunteer for their Valentine’s party, so his teacher asked me to step in. I love getting to volunteer for his class! I love seeing him in the school environment and with his friends.
And here’s just a picture of my cute boys in their matching Valentine’s shirts!
A tradition we started a few years ago includes a heart for each kid every day starting February 1 until Valentine’s Day with a reason why we love them.
Another tradition includes a scavenger hunt around the house that leads to their Valentines gifts!
We love our sweet valentines!!
VACATION
We finally went on a real vacation for the first time in over 2 years! We didn’t feel comfortable traveling with our unvaccinated, unmasked infant for a while, but also…life kept us very busy the last 2 years. We finished residency, moved to a new state, started a new job, had a baby, and built a house all during a global pandemic…so vacation wasn’t exactly at the top of our priority list for a while. But now that we’ve settled into our new lives, and 2/3 kids are fully vaccinated, and cases are dropping significantly, we were ready for a vacation. My parents were going to our condo in Siesta Key for 3 weeks, and they invited us to join at the tail end of the trip. I was so excited to get my babies on the beach!
Brody’s First Flight
I really haven’t taken Brody many places in his life, so this trip was a whole new world for him – starting with the airport. He was so nervous with all the people and new things to see. He clung on me like a koala bear all through the airport, including through security. Once we were on the plane, he got more comfortable and acted like his crazy self.
Our flights were later in the evening, and we had to stop in Atlanta for a connecting flight. Brody was a wild man on the flights! He just didn’t want to sit still. Ryan and I took turns throughout the first flight passing him back and forth. Kinsie and Brax were absolute traveling champs, making it much easier on us. The second flight was better because it wasn’t a full flight, so we found an empty row and Brody was able to have his own seat and more room to wiggle. I was hoping he would sleep on this flight since it was well past 10pm at this point…but nope. There was too much to do and see! Overall, he was a great traveler!
The Beach
We were all SO excited to get to the beach the next morning. It had been at least 3 years since we’d been to the beach, so Kinsie and Brax didn’t remember much about it either and were so excited. Brody wasn’t sure what to think about the sand between his toes at first, but he quickly learned to love it and was a happy little beach baby! He especially loved the ocean…but we had to watch him like a hawk because he kept wanting to run straight into the ocean!
Around lunchtime, my sister’s family flew in also and met us at the condo. The kids were so excited to have their cousins to play with on the beach! They spent the next few days digging holes, building castles, boogie-boarding, and finding sea shells.
The pure joy on this sweet boy’s face while he experienced so many new things made my heart so happy!
Enjoying the sunset with my girl
Big Cat Habitat
After a couple days on the beach, our family needed a little bit of a break (we all had sunburns!), and my dad had told us about a cat sanctuary nearby, so we decided to check it out. It was called the Big Cat Habitat, and it was really neat! Kinsie and Brax both got to feed a bear and a liger (a lion mixed with a tiger).
There was also a fun petting zoo area.
Eventually, Brody conked out in the stroller with his hand in the goldfish bag!
Kinsie and Brax showed off their stickers proving that they fed the animals. It was a fun day!
Other Florida Fun
Our time in Siesta Key also included sitting on the dock waving to the boats passing by, shopping at the village and sharing snacks and smoothies with cousins, swimming at the pool, and lots and lots of crazy cousin fun!
DISNEY
I’ve been dying to take Brody to Disney World since he LOVES Mickey Mouse and all his friends. When we decided to go to Florida, we really wanted to make it happen. We planned on driving to Orlando and spending the last 2 nights of our vacation there, including 1 day at a Disney Park.
Fun at the Resort
It was my sister’s idea to stay at a Disney resort, and I am so glad we did. Not only are the resorts amazing, but you get extra perks at the Disney parks when you stay there. We left Siesta Key Saturday morning and headed to Orlando. We got there around lunch time, and got to spend a few hours by the pool. The kids loved the slides and splash pad area!
After swimming, we went to Disney Springs for a little while, but it was insanely crowded. We went to the big Disney Store and walked around a little, but it was honestly hard to maneuver around so many people and trying to stay distanced. As we walked around, Brody took a little stroller catnap…which made him wired later on at bedtime! But eventually we all went to sleep and prepared for our big Disney day!
A Magical Day at Hollywood Studios
We chose to spend our 1 Disney park day at Hollywood Studios because it has some of the most sought after rides that are often hard to get into unless you get lightning lane passes for them, and you can often only get lightning lane passes for them by staying at a Disney resort. It was also great because it was so close to our resort, so we were able to take the skyliner to the park!
Here’s our whole crew with our neon tie-dye shirts (that I helped make with my Cricut!)
The best part about the entire day for me was Brody’s reactions to Mickey and Minnie. He loved them SO much, just like I knew he would! He could have stayed there with them all day if we let him. All the other kids enjoyed seeing the characters too, but mostly everyone loved watching Brody’s interactions with them!
We also met Olaf, Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Doc McStuffins. Character interactions certainly aren’t what they used to be before Covid, but they were still magical…especially through the eyes of a toddler!
We also had some fun dining reservations throughout our day…including lunch at the Sci-Fi drive-in theater…
And drinks and snacks at Oga’s Cantina. The girls particularly enjoyed the limes that came with the drinks!
Papa and Yaya were in the happy place with all their babies!
We had a blast on all the rides. This was Brax’s first time riding Slinky Dog Dash and he LOVED it! Thanks to lightning lane passes and child swap, Kinsie and Brax were both able to ride it 3 times…and Brody loved watching us all ride the “Doggy!” We also loved Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania, Aliens Swirling Saucers, and Rise of the Resistance (Ryan’s fave!)
The sweetest cousin crew!
For dinner, we had reservations at Hollywood & Vine, which is a character meal. We were excited for Brody to get to see more characters! Before dinner, he dozed off for a nap, but we woke him up in time to see the characters.
It was truly a wonderful day. It was crowded, but very manageable. Having Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes were SO helpful and let us ride almost everything. My sister did an amazing job planning and booking everything, and now I’m learning everything I can from her so I can do it when we return to Disney in April!
Heading Home
The next morning, we were able to sleep in and have a nice breakfast. The kids enjoyed Mickey waffles with a view! Afterwards, we packed up and headed back to Sarasota for our afternoon flight home.
My parents were on our flight this time, which was nice to help with the kids. It was also a direct flight which was very helpful too. We were all exhausted so it was nice to finally relax on the plane. The kids watched shows on our iPads and Brody actually slept most of the flight! It was a quiet, relaxing way to end our wonderful vacation.
Bookends of Nice Weather
We started February with beautiful weather, and ended it with more beautiful weather. When we got back from Florida, it was freezing, raining, or freezing rain for about a week. So when it finally was warm enough to be outside again, the kids were ready!
It was a great month, and I don’t usually say that about February! We may have to plan more February Florida trips in the future because it definitely helped break up the dreadful winter months. Now we are ready for SPRING!
October seemed to FLY by. I felt like we were always busy whether it was with school or extra curricular activities, fall traditions, or taking care of a sick toddler. In fact, I can’t believe that we are now in November, and that 2021 is almost over. Life is crazy. Anyway, here is a recap of our busy October.
Fall Break in the Smoky Mountains
Our fall break trip was…an adventure to say the least. My kids only had a long weekend off for fall break, but we hadn’t been anywhere in so long that we decided to do a weekend in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with Ryan’s parents, his sister Megan and her son Griffin. The first day we got there, we just did a few things while we waited for our condo to be ready. We went to Bass Pro Shop and the kids loved seeing the fish and riding on the elevator. Then we got ice cream at a little ice cream shop. Brody doesn’t get out much so he loved running around and exploring new places, and luckily the places we went weren’t too crowded with unmasked people.
The next morning we got up to get ready for our first day of hiking. However…Brody woke up with a 103 degree fever. He didn’t really have any other symptoms other than being tired and feeling crummy from his fever. We did a rapid Covid test just to make sure it wasn’t Covid, mainly since we were staying in a condo with the rest of Ryan’s family, and it was negative. Grandma Bev decided to be the sacrificial lamb that day and stay at the condo with Brody while the rest of us still went out to do stuff. Of course it was hard to enjoy myself while part of my heart was sick back at the condo, but I did my best to enjoy the day with Ryan and the big kids.
We first explored some old cabins, and the kids mainly loved just climbing rocks and seeing wild turkey. They loved getting time with their cousin Griffin.
Then we went on a hike to a waterfall. Unfortunately, it rained on us pretty much the entire hike! We tried to still enjoy it, but it definitely made the hike slippery and my clumsy kids slipped into the mud several times. The waterfall was really neat and the kids liked finding snails and lizards along the way.
The next day, Brody still didn’t feel well. Ryan decided to stay with him that day (he wouldn’t let me stay since I’m with him all the time). We went to Cade’s Cove, and we had to drive on back winding roads, which made Brax car sick. Luckily I always keep a grocery bag in my glove compartment because Kinsie used to get car sick randomly on our long drives from Arkansas. I also have a lot of personal experience with car sickness, so I was able to help Brax feel better pretty quickly. At Cade’s Cove, you drive along a path and there are places to stop along the way to see different sights, such as old churches and schoolhouses. However, it was SO crowded, so we sat in the car for a LONG time waiting to get anywhere. We took a few opportunities where we were stopped in the car line to get out and take pictures with the pretty scenery. We also saw a bear crossing the street from our car window (this was the highlight for Brax!), and the kids loved playing the old piano in the church and walking across a swinging bridge. It’s the little things they enjoy the most!
Later that evening we went putt-putting. Brody was still feeling pretty bad, so Bev held him and kept him occupied while Ryan and I played putt-putt with the kids, They enjoyed their first time playing!
On the second day when Ryan stayed at the condo with Brody, he started to notice a rash on his hands and feet and he knew immediately that it was Hand Foot Mouth Disease. Then we realized that Brax had it earlier in the week and we didn’t even know it at the time. He had a fever a few days before and he stayed home from school for a day because of it, then suddenly he was fine. He did end up getting a small sore on his mouth and I wondered if he had HFM but he didn’t have sores or rashes anywhere else, so I didn’t think that could be it…but once Brody showed his symptoms, we knew that’s what it had to have been. Brax is a little older so his case was super mild, but Brody wasn’t so lucky. He was so miserable and had a hard time eating or drinking anything because it hurt the sores in his mouth. I felt so bad that on Brody’s first real trip anywhere, he was sick the whole time and didn’t really get to do anything. There isn’t much you can do for HFM…just alternate Tylenol and Motrin to help their fever and pain. Other than that we did popsicles, warm baths, and just snuggled with him. We moved some seats around for the drive home so I could sit next to Brody for the 6 hour drive. It was a tough trip because he was tired and uncomfortable, but I tried to keep him busy and happy. Once we got home on Sunday evening, he started to perk up a little and he slowly got better throughout the rest of that week. He still had pretty bad sores for a little over a week, but luckily they didn’t seem to bother him anymore after a while.
It definitely was not how I envisioned our fall break trip going, and I was bummed that my Brody felt so bad the entire time, but we still had some fun and made some memories. Hopefully his next trip will go better!
IU Football Season
We have really enjoyed going to IU Football games this year! Even though our team isn’t as good as we thought, it’s been a fun environment and I’ve had some nice kid breaks here and there (thanks to aunts and grandmas for watching my kids while we go to games!) One weekend, some friends of ours from high school came to town for the day. We loved spending the day with them – going to lunch, walking around campus, and going to the game with them.
My parents still came to the game also and were just a few rows lower than us. It ended up raining the whole game – and luckily my mom is always prepared and had ponchos ready for us!
Missing our Koda Bear
It was a hard first full month without our sweet pup. The first few weeks were especially hard – little things that were a part of our regular everyday routine were so different now without him. But we have found ways to honor his memory and keep him a part of our family always.
Kinsie painted this picture at school. Art has always been therapy for her!
I ordered these special pillows for the big kids. They LOVE them and sleep with them every night. I didn’t think Brody would really be interested in one, but he is also obsessed! He carries it around and hugs it constantly. So I ended up ordering one for him too!
One week after we lost Koda, there was a beautiful rainbow over our house. Our sweet neighbor took this picture and sent it to me saying “I think Koda is thinking about you all!” I think this was a love note from our pup!
Kids Activities
Kinsie Gymnastics
Kinsie is loving gymnastics! She is improving so much and is having a great time. She finished her first term and just started her second term. She even got her first “gold medal” and t-shirt!
Fun in Kindergarten
Brax has had lots of fun activities going on in Kindergarten lately, some of which I’ve even been able to join!
The classes all get together once a month for Chapel – where they sing songs and learn a Bible story. This month was the first time since before Covid that they started letting parents come join for Chapel. Even though it was only 30 minutes, Brax was so happy I came. He needed some one-on-one mama time, and I needed it too!
The class also got to go on a hayride this month.
And clean out a pumpkin to learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin…
And they had a Pumpkin Party! I volunteered to help at this party, and I loved every moment of it! Not only did I love getting to spend some time with my boy, but I also loved getting to know his sweet class!
Going Places with Brody
Once Brody started feeling better after having HFM (and I knew he wasn’t contagious anymore), I tried to make up for some of the fun he didn’t get to have by taking him to the park. He loved it so much!
Since he loved the park so much, and we had a few beautiful fall weeks, I took any nice day to take him either on a walk on the trail or to another park. He loves going on walks with me – and he seems to love the changing leaves like me too!
We tried another park on another day and he loved it even more than the first! He found a slide that he can climb up and slide down on his own…he probably did it 50 times! This park also has a fun musical section that he loves too!
Since he loved getting out of the house so much, I tried to do something with him almost every day while the kids were at school. When it was cold and rainy, I decided to take him to the nearby mall. It was early, so I knew it wouldn’t be crowded – and our county has a mask mandate for indoor public places, so even if we saw people, most of them would be masked. Ryan joined us and we just let him walk around and explore. We took him into Target for a little while too and let him play with some of the toys (I used to do this with Brax regularly in Arkansas – pre-Covid). He loved sitting in the cart and pushing all the buttons on toys! I brought him with me to Kohl’s another day and let him do the same thing. It was nice to get out of the house with him and give him something to entertain him! I know most people probably complain about the county mask mandate, but I am SO grateful for it so I can start feeling comfortable taking him places.
Other Fun with Brody
This boy is a trip. He keeps me busy and entertained ALL day – and leaves me completely exhausted at the end of each day! He has a mind of his own and just does what he wants. When he wants to take a bath, he literally climbs right in on his own. When he wants a snack, he gets into the pantry and helps himself. He recently decided he’s a big boy and doesn’t want to use a high chair anymore, so we switched him to a booster seat and he’s so happy eating at the table like the big kids!
Fun at Home
As always, we are home a lot and always find stuff to do. The big kids have really been into Chess lately, so they play that with the actual board, or on the iPad. Whenever it’s nice out, we are outside. Brody wants to be outside ALL the time – even when it’s raining. He knows how to open doors now so we often have to lock the door or else he’ll try to go outside! Luckily our alarm system beeps if any door is opened, so if he’s trying to make an escape, we’ll hear it! He loves his swing, finding caterpillars, and playing with all the outdoor toys. Our kids also find fun in random items – like boxes and giving each other piggyback rides!
Pumpkin Patch
We love going to the pumpkin patch! It’s one of our favorite fall traditions. We chose a beautiful Sunday morning to go this year, and we all had a great time.
The big kids loved the tractor ride (Brody was scared of it!)
When Brax put his face in the opening for this picture, Brody ran over to him to hug his face!
All the kids loved the animals!
They enjoyed picking out their pumpkins! Brody just ran around tripping over pumpkin vines and trying to pick up every pumpkin. Then he loved taking a ride in the wagon!
It was such a great family morning, and we brought some good pumpkins home with us!
Kolly’s Birthday Party
One weekend, my niece Kolly had her 5th birthday party. It was a Snow White theme, and she even came for a visit! The girls all loved hearing her talk and sing, and they even got their faces painted. Brax and Brody didn’t really understand what was going on, but they had fun with their cousins anyway! We spent the rest of the day at my sister’s house and the kids all had a great time together.
Painting and Carving Pumpkins
We had pumpkins of all sizes – some we painted, some we carved. No matter what we did, the kids loved every minute of it.
Brody loved his first real painting experience. He was so proud of his painted pumpkin!
Between busy weekends and Ryan’s work schedule, we didn’t get to carve our pumpkins until the day before Halloween…but we still got it done! Kinsie did her Harry Potter pumpkin almost completely on her own…I only had to help her with a few smaller areas. We were very impressed! Brax did a lot of his Jurassic Park pumpkin on his own, but still needed a little help!
Everyone working hard…especially Brody 🙂
Our final products – from left to right- Venom (Ryan), Jurassic Park (Brax), Harry Potter (Kinsie), and the Hogwarts castle (me)
Brody LOVED seeing the pumpkins all lit up!
Halloween Treats
One weekend, we made our annual Halloween cookies, and we also made some Rice Krispie Frankensteins! Ryan even joined in on the fun and made a creepy eyeball and a Scream ghost. I started the Harry Potter cookie tradition a few years back, and now the kids always do some too, so now the majority of our cookies are decorated to look like Harry Potter!
Halloween Day
Our neighborhood doesn’t have a lot of kids, or even a lot of houses, so we decided to spend Halloween day with my sister’s family and trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. The kids played all day, we helped them carve their pumpkins, and we had chili and hot dogs for dinner. Brody had so much fun with his cousins, and even sat at the cousin table!
The kids were PUMPED when it was time to put on their costumes. My dream finally came true and my kids were all Harry Potter characters! Kinsie was a Hufflepuff student, Brax was Harry Potter, and Brody was Hedwig the owl. Brody hates wearing hats, so I had to get creative with his costume!
We loved getting to spend the day with my family!
Brody loved his first real trick-or-treating experience. I had to take him up to the houses and show him what to do, but once he got the hang of it, he was ALL about it! It was such a fun evening!
We had a great month of fall fun. We made lots of new memories and had lots of fun with family. I honestly can’t believe this year is coming to a close. I am SO excited that my big kids will be fully vaccinated by the end of 2021…and Brody will be shortly after that! We have learned to live with this pandemic while still being safe, but goodness…I’m ready for some full-on normalcy!
August was a month of lots of new beginnings. Kinsie and Brax both started school, and Ryan started his new job. Covid is still raging, but at least we have somewhat of a routine now and school to keep us busy. The kids have spent WAY too much time together and have way too much energy for me to keep up with, so having schoolwork now has helped keep their mind somewhat stimulated.
Here is a summary of our August…
Kinsie Starts 1st Grade Virtually
Starting the school year online was definitely not our first choice. We had a talk with Kinsie about school earlier in the summer, and we all agreed that being in school, even if that meant wearing a mask and social distancing, was the best choice for her. She thrives in school, and she couldn’t wait to start at a new school and meet her teacher and new friends. However, about a week before school was supposed to start, the district decided to start the first few weeks online. She was really bummed, but she made the most of it. Her school day included several live meetings with her class, which was a great way for her to still get to know her teacher and classmates. Her teacher has done an amazing job connecting with the students and creating class community, even virtually. Luckily, after the last board meeting, the district has decided to move to “phase yellow,” which means elementary students can start attending school in-person next week, and middle and high school students move to a hybrid schedule. Kinsie is SO excited! I’m so proud of her for how she has handled all the crazy changes this year.
Ryan Starts His Job
We were all excited for Ryan to officially start his first real job! And it only took about 10 years to get there! So far he loves the hospital that he is working at, and all of his co-workers. He is still getting used to being “in charge” but he is doing great and we are all loving his hours.
After Kinsie’s first day of school and Ryan’s first day of work, we had to celebrate with a trip to Jiffy Treet for ice cream!
Braxton Starts Pre-K
Another new adventure was Brax starting pre-K at his new school. Luckily, he has been able to go in person. He has to wear his mask sometimes throughout the day, like walking into and out of the building, and he does such a great job with it. He was a little nervous to start at a new school, but so far he has loved it and loves his new teacher and classmates.
Outdoor Adventures
Even with the kids starting school, we still have to get the kids outside to play as often as possible. They have SO much energy, and they fight more with each other and drive us crazy if they aren’t active enough throughout the day. Luckily, we have a pretty big yard for them to explore and play.
Kinsie’s current obsession is American Ninja Warrior, so Ryan has tried to give the kids some “ninja-type” activities in our own yard. We even gave her an early birthday present and got her a slackline obstacle kit. The kids could spend hours on it!
Love these crazy kids!
We still make our way over to my parents’ pool for swimming days every so often too!
One morning, we went to the park that Kinsie calls the “American Ninja Warrior” park. This is a newer park so it gets crowded often. We went early, and had a good chunk of time without crowds, but it didn’t last too long. When there were too many people around, we had the kids put on their masks. Even so, they always enjoy any park time they get.
One day, Ryan’s mom and aunt Renata came to visit. The kids wanted to take them to our other favorite park, and to show them the waterfall. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park, bike riding, and looking for fish in the creek.
Weekends at the Lake
We are taking full advantage of our summer time at the lake. We have gone pretty much every weekend, even if just for the day. Ryan’s parents recently got some paddle boards, so we have all been enjoying trying them out.
In August, we also celebrating our sweet Grandma Bev’s birthday. Even though she fell in the lake while trying to help dock the boat, her heart was so full the whole day with all of her kids and grandbabies!
And of course the kids always enjoy their time with their cousin, Griffin…even if its running around in random sun hats!
Building Our Home
We are in the homestretch of preparing to build our forever home. Just a couple more weeks and we will be breaking ground. We are all so excited, and we love going to visit the lot whenever we can. I will be taking lots of pictures of the building process so I will be sure to share the progress.
Brody turned 3 months
Our precious little Brody is growing so fast right in front of our eyes! He is getting so big and so much fun. We are all so obsessed with him. The kids literally fight over who gets to sit closer to him. He is so happy and BUSY…like his brother and sister. He is still pretty go with the flow because as a third kid, he really has no choice…but lately he has less chill days and more busy days and always wants to be on-the-go!
Here are some updates of our little Bro at 3 months –
He talks and squeals a lot – definitely discovering his voice.
He loves to suck on his hands.
He is much more interactive and LOVES when people talk to him.
When laying down on his back, he scoots backwards like a worm.
Most nights, he sleeps a 6-7 hour stretch. Some nights he wants to make sure I don’t forget about him and wakes up after just a couple of hours for a midnight snack.
He loves looking around and observing everything around him.
He often smiles with his tongue out, just like Kinsie did as a baby.
He naps best with loud music to drown out the noise of his siblings.
He is doing great with tummy time.
He is in constant motion. In fact, when I put him down on his playmat and walk away to do something, I’ll come back not even a minute later and he has scooted himself off the mat!
On the day he turned 3 months, he tried a new trick and can roll from his belly to his back. The kids love cheering him on when he does this!
These kids are ALWAYS loving on their baby brother. I feel like I say “Give him some space” a hundred times a day!
More sweet faces of our favorite little guy…
We love every single day with this boy. He brings us so much joy. I love seeing the kids in their roles of his big brother and sister. Even if they beat each other senseless often, they are so sweet and loving with Brody. We’ll see how long until he joins in on their wrestling matches!
Growing month by month…
Lots of new and exciting changes in August, and now we are looking forward to September. Our Kinsie Kay will be 7 this month!! We love fall and we have so many fun traditions we usually do in this season. However, it is 2020…the year of the pandemic. Things may look different than they usually do, but we still have each other and so much to be grateful for. We’ve been through so much this year already, and our kids have become absolute champs with all the change. We’re ready for our first Indiana fall, even if we mainly enjoy it just from our front porch!
Here is our August 1 Second Everyday video. Enjoy!
Luckily, February was a little better than our January. It was still slow, but not as slow as last month. We had a little more to do to keep us busy this month, so that helped. However, it was somewhat of a rough month with Ryan’s work schedule. Probably half of his shifts for the entire month were mid shifts, so either 12pm-9pm, 1pm-10pm, or 3pm-12am. With all of these shifts, he barely got to see the kids, especially Kinsie. As soon as Kinsie would get home from school, he would have to leave for work, and he wouldn’t get home until after they were in bed. Kinsie struggled this month because of this, so we really had to work hard at keeping her spirits up and taking full advantage of whenever Ryan was home. Luckily, we had some nice days so we got to spend more time outside, and we had a family visit at the end of the month, which helped a lot too. Here is how our month went down…
A Day at the Park
We pass by this bridge almost every day. And every time we pass it, Kinsie tells me she wants to go walk on it. On a nice Saturday that Ryan had off, we finally took that opportunity. We took scooters, cars, and snacks and made a morning of it. This was such a nice little park…once you walk across the bridge, there are some trails and a great view of the river. It was a great family park adventure!
Daddy Daughter Dance
The night before this event, I just happened to come across it on Facebook. I knew our town had a daddy daughter dance last year, but Ryan was working. As soon as I saw it this year and saw that Ryan happened to be off, I mentioned it to him, and he didn’t even hesitate to say that he would love to take Kinsie. This little girl was SO excited to get to go on a date with her daddy, especially in the midst of a couple of tough months of him working. She loved getting dressed up, getting her hair curled, and dancing the night away with her dad! These two truly have a special daddy daughter bond that completely melts me.
Outside Fun
We were definitely able to get outside more this month than last, and we took every opportunity we could get. Even if we only got to play outside for a half hour before ballet, or take a quick stroll on the path behind our house, we enjoyed the fresh air whenever we could.
Valentine’s Day Activities
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I have never been a fan of Valentine’s Day…until I had kids. And since the last couple of months have been a bit tougher than we expected, it was a perfect time to show the kids a little extra love that they really needed.
Kinsie loves hand-making her valentines. She loves picking out a craft kit at Hobby Lobby and personalizing them for all her friends and family. We went to the store and picked out her valentines at the end of January, and of course she was working on them that day!
When we lived in Indiana, Ryan’s Aunt Renata always made valentine cookies with the kids when she would watch them while I worked. When we moved, I have tried to continue that tradition. I may not make them as well as her, but it’s the thought and effort that counts! The kids LOVE making cookies…especially covering them with every kind of sprinkles we own. They probably enjoy making them more than actually eating them!
The morning of Valentine’s Day, I had a short scavenger hunt that led to the kids’ gifts. They loved going around the house finding the next clue and were so happy to find their gifts at the end!
I got this idea from Pinterest and knew right away I wanted to do it. Each day, I would add a heart with a reason why we love them on their bedroom door. I started on February 1, and the last heart was added Valentines morning. Kinsie especially loved this, and definitely appreciated the extra love.
Ryan had to work that evening, but I still had some great valentine dates. We made heart-shaped pancakes and had a great breakfast dinner!
Special School Days
Kinsie’s class has been learning all about the human body lately. They traced each other’s bodies, and each day they would learn about a different body system, and would add it to their traced body. At the end of the unit, Kinsie’s teacher asked a special doctor to come in and speak to the class about how to stay healthy. The kids LOVED having daddy be a guest speaker in the class!
Kinsie’s class got to go on a field trip to the Clinton Library to celebrate Dr. Suess’s birthday. Ryan happened to have the day off, so we both went with her and had a special Kinsie morning!
Family Visit
We had been looking forward to this visit for months now. It seemed to take forever to come, but when it did, it was worth the wait. Both of our parents came to visit, and they brought along a surprise visitor. Kinsie was in shock when she saw that her cousin Kerigan tagged along. They were inseparable the whole weekend!
We enjoyed shopping at Bass Pro Shops and the outlet mall…
And taking the family to the bridge and park to ride bikes around the trails. (Papa and Yaya also surprised Kinsie with a new bike and she is in LOVE with it!)
The kids loved running around, riding bikes, climbing trees, and getting an ice cream treat after the park!
My amazing parents and in-laws spent almost an entire day helping us around the house. They cleaned up all the leaves in the front and backyard (and if you saw our yard, you’d understand just how big of a job this was), cleaned out our gutters, fixed our flower beds, replaced our air vents, and more. This was such a huge help to us, especially since Ryan hasn’t exactly had time to do all that yard work. While the adults worked, the kids enjoyed running around “helping” as well!
Boy, are we ready for March…and just spring in general. This winter was rougher than we expected, and we are ready to move on from it. March has always been one of my favorite months…especially when I was teaching. It was the end of the first round of ISTEP testing, March Madness, warmer weather, and spring break. Even now that I’m not teaching, it still brings hope after a few rough months. This month will hopefully bring more nice weather, and we will get to go on a trip with our families to Arizona, so we are really excited about that!
Enjoy our February 1 Second Everyday video. Cheers to March!
I cannot believe my daughter has been with us for half a decade. She is no longer a toddler, but a little girl. She is stubborn and passionate, but she can also be very shy and nurturing. She has developed her own opinion and attitude that she loves to test out in all situations. She takes her role of big sister very seriously, and fiercely protects her brother. Ironically, she is also the one to push his buttons and beat him up more often than necessary! She has more energy than she knows what to do with (thanks a lot, Grandma Bev!), and wears us all out. If any of you have ever read the children’s book Olivia, THAT is Kinsie. We always joke with her with the famous quote from that book…”You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway!” She has gotten much taller this year, and has legs for days! I’m sure she’ll be passing me up in no time!
This year has been harder on her than we expected with living away from the home and family she’s ever known, but from that she has learned a lot of life lessons that I think have helped her mature. She definitely struggles with residency and everything that goes with it. She doesn’t like her daddy being away as much as he is, and she hates that she isn’t with all our family in Indiana. This breaks my heart when she gets sad about it, so we are working with her on finding ways to focus on the positive aspects of our situation. Keeping busy is crucial for her busy little mind, so lots of activities help keep her from getting sad. She does have lots of friends here between church, school, and the other residents’ kids, which helps her as well. She still loves Facetime sessions, and seeing pictures and videos of our family, and she enjoys counting down how many sleeps until the next time she gets to see them. She really has handled the changes very well for a little girl, and we have all bonded over the changes. Overall she is such a happy, bouncy, energetic, smart little girl who just loves life!
Here are some current stats about our Kinsie Kay:
Favorite color: still pink!
Favorite TV shows: Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Fancy Nancy and Vampirina
Favorite movie: The Greatest Showman
She is very well-rounded. She loves unicorns, princesses, mermaids, and dressing up in tutus, but she also loves dinosaurs, bugs, wrestling and getting dirty.
She LOVES drawing, arts, and crafts. She enjoys art on all kinds of media- paper, sidewalk chalk, the iPad, you name it. Every day she comes home from school with about 8 more pictures that she drew for us. This does not surprise me at all considering Ryan and I have always both loved art. Give her some paper and crayons, she’ll stay busy for hours. Throw in some scissors and tape, she’ll come up with all kinds of crazy creations!
She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She used to also want to be a doctor, but now that she sees how often her daddy works, she doesn’t want to be a doctor anymore. Funny, but a little sad! Maybe once residency is over and Ryan’s hours decrease, she’ll want to be a doctor again!
She loves the outdoors. She loves fishing, hiking, running, climbing, swimming, finding critters, and more.
She absolutely loves animals. Visiting different zoos is one of her favorite hobbies. Her favorite animals are still hippos and dolphins. She recently got to meet Fiona the baby hippo from the Cincinnati Zoo and they became instant best friends!
Lately we’ve been teaching her a few sight words every day, and she loves helping me read her books before bed. She has actually done better with this beginning stage of reading than I expected, and she is surprising her teacher with her new skills. She’s become a pro at writing her letters, and knows how to spell certain words on her own. Her newest obsession is taking the words she knows and creating sentences.
She still loves reading books, and works hard at memorizing some of them so she can recite them to Brax. Soon she’ll be actually reading some on her own!
She has always loved water, but lately she has become quite the little fish. She has become much more comfortable in the water and has been practicing swimming underwater. I think she’ll be a pro by the end of next summer!
She has a great imagination. She has always been so great at playing independently and coming up with very unique ways of playing.
She is currently playing T-ball and taking ballet classes. She still loves soccer, but agreed to take a break in order to try T-ball. So far she loves it!
She has never stayed too much of a mama’s girl, or a daddy’s girl…she’s both! She loves helping me around the house with chores and cooking, and she loves when I teach her new things. She loves using her daddy as her own personal jungle gym, and doing science experiments and sports with him.
She and I are very different in many ways, but can also be very similar. She thrives on social interaction, which is very different than me. She can be very hard on herself, which is just like me. Every day I learn something new about her and raising her stretches my limits and tests my patience every day, but I am working very hard to raise her into a God-fearing, respectful young lady. Even though she is stubborn (just like her dad), we are trying to teach her to use her drive and passion in positive ways. Pray for us!
Here is a video I made to capture our little girl’s silly and spunky personality. Enjoy!
Happy 5th birthday, my beautiful firstborn. You will always be so special to me!
Where did November go? I feel like it flew by! We have been having beautiful weather here in Arkansas, so it doesn’t even feel like it’s getting close to winter yet (sorry to rub it in your faces Indiana friends!) This month we enjoyed a visit from some family, lots of Thanksgiving festivities, and preparing for Christmas! Enjoy our November recap!
Grandparent’s Day
As SOON as I knew when Kinsie’s school had Grandparents Day, I let both sets of our parents know and hoped that at least one of them could plan a trip to make it. I really didn’t want Kinsie to be the only one in her class who didn’t have a grandparent there. It worked out for Ryan’s mom and aunt to make a trip to see us for a few days. Aunt Renata is practically a grandma to the kids, so she willingly stepped in. We always love having visitors at our home, and Kinsie loved having them visit her school.
Decorating for Christmas
Decorating for Christmas always makes us so happy! The kids LOVE all the decorations, lights, and ornaments. Before you judge me too harshly for decorating before Thanksgiving, hear me out on our reasoning. 1) We would be headed to Indiana for Thanksgiving and wouldn’t have been able to decorate until December, 2) Our days with Ryan available are few and far between, and putting up the Christmas tree is a family tradition. We had to take advantage of one of his few days off, 3) We will be spending Christmas in Indiana, and I wanted us all to enjoy our decorations and tree for a worthy amount of time. It made us happy and we always make it a priority to remember the reason for the season, so why not, right?
We did at least wait to put our outside lights up until after Thanksgiving. Kinsie loved going up in the attic with Daddy. Brax wanted to as well, but that obviously wasn’t happening! We’ve had beautiful weather lately, so the kids enjoyed playing outside and eating popsicles while we put the decorations up.
My Birthday
We drove to Indiana the evening before my birthday, and I was so glad I got to spend my birthday with all the people I love. We left later in the afternoon, so we were still driving when midnight struck. Of course my sweet mom set her alarm for midnight so she could wish me a happy birthday! I got to spend that evening with my whole family eating chilli and ice cream cake. Birthdays can’t get much better than that! And of course, I had to get a picture with my birthday buddy, my niece Kerigan (her birthday is the day after mine).
My sister’s birthday present to me was a “sister date” at Board and Brush. We got in touch with our artistic sides and had a great time!
Kerigan’s Birthday
Like I said, my niece Kerigan’s birthday is the day after mine, so we’ve always been birthday buddies. Everyone else takes advantage of double birthday cakes! On the night of her birthday, we all went to Kid’s Planet. The kids all loved it!
A couple days later was Kerigan’s party. She had a princess party, which is right up Kinsie’s alley right now too. Rapunzel (Kinsie and Kerigan’s favorite Disney princess) made a surprise visit and read them a story, danced with them, and spent most of the afternoon talking to all the kids. They loved it! Even though Brax isn’t into princesses, he had fun running amok too!
Thanksgiving
Before we left Arkansas, Kinsie had a Thanksgiving feast at school. Luckily, we were all able to attend. The kids came out, sang a song, said a prayer, and then joined their families for lunch. Kinsie was a rockstar during the song and followed directions so well. My FAVORITE part, however, was as soon as Kinsie’s class came out, Brax ran up to her and pointed to her and said “Kinsie!!” He was SO excited to see her, even though he had seen her earlier that morning at home. Then once she was done with her presentation and she came to eat with us, they hugged like they hadn’t seen either other in days. They have such a special relationship!
We spent actual Thanksgiving day with family in Indiana. We started our morning visiting Ryan’s grandma, then we went to Megan’s house for Thanksgiving lunch with Ryan’s dad’s side of the family, then we went to Ryan’s aunt Rita’s house to celebrate with Ryan’s mom’s side, then finally ended up back at my parents to celebrate with my family. It was a LONG day, but we felt so blessed to have so many places to be and so many people to celebrate with.
Cousin Time
Anytime we visit, the kids’ main request is lots and lots of cousin time! They are all so close and all have a blast together. It doesn’t matter whether they are wrestling on the floor, jumping rope in the garage, coloring, or pushing each other in a laundry basket…they always have fun as long as they’re together!
Visiting Grandma Graves
Ryan’s grandma has recently been placed on hospice care. While this is extremely difficult for the family, she is very at peace about it and ready to join Jesus in her heavenly home. We were SO lucky to get to visit her several times while we were in town. I say we are so lucky, because Ryan originally didn’t think he’d be able to even make this trip home. However, the week of Thanksgiving happened to be in between two of his rotations, and he was able to schedule all his shifts earlier in the month so that he was able to have a week off. He managed to do this before Grandma Graves declined. It was such a blessing that he had the time off so he could visit with his grandma before she goes home. We loved our visits with her. She loved talking with us, sharing her funny stories, and watching the kids play. She is a gem of a woman…as faithful as they come. She has had several articles published, but my favorite one included this nugget of wisdom, “I’ve never had any money but still I’m richer than the richest because I’ve been blessed with many children and grandchildren.” She is such an amazing woman and she will always inspire me.
That just about sums up our month. We ended our month with sickness…lots and lots of it. Kinsie started with a bad cold, then Brax got a stomach bug, then I got the stomach bug, then I got the cold, then Brax got the cold, then Kinsie got the stomach bug. Fun times. Not to mention, my mom and my nieces and nephew all got sick too. It has been a very long and exhausting week, and we are so ready to all be completely healthy and back to normal. December will hopefully be filled with lots of Christmas activities and family time. The kids are already anxious for Santa sightings, Christmas lights, and more cousin time!
And just like that…my little boy is 18 months old. He entered our lives a year and a half ago and changed them forever in the best way. He completely lights up all of our lives and he, and his sister of course, are the best little gifts God ever gave us.
Our little guy has grown up SO much since he turned a year old. He is walking, talking, dancing, even sassing. I love watching him change every day and watching him learn more about the world around him. Kinsie is still totally in love with her little brother and loves teaching him everything she knows. He has such a fun and spunky little personality that is so contagious.
Here are some stats about our Brax Man at 18 months old…
He is 26 lbs, 13 oz. (63rd percentile) and 32 inches tall (34th percentile).
He is obsessed with reading. Maybe even more than Kinsie if that’s possible. He will bring us book after book after book, then plop his little booty down right in our lap to listen to the book. He especially loves Sesame Street books.
He is getting very verbal and is learning new words every day. Some of his first words included ball, book, Batman, and dog. He shortens most words to just one syllable…like “Mickey” becomes “Mick,” and apple becomes “app.” Some of my favorites of his words are banana (nana), and shoes (shh).
He still loves playing with balls. He will spot a ball in any room, on any page of a book, or on any show.
When we name a body part, he can point to it on his body. His belly is his favorite!
He can name several animal sounds. His favorite animal sounds are elephants, cows, monkeys and pigs.
He absolutely loves Mickey Mouse. On TV, in person, in books, in stuffed animals…he loves any form of Mickey!
He is great at making messes, but loves to help clean up his messes.
He watches EVERYTHING Kinsie does and wants to do it too.
His favorite animals are elephants and monkeys. He also LOVES dogs.
His favorite foods are bananas, applesauce, and pretty much anything with ketchup.
He loves to snack throughout the day.
He is a major mama’s boy, but still adores his daddy.
He is very determined about what he wants and doesn’t want, and will make sure we know it.
This kid is so awesome. I can’t wait to keep watching him grow and learn! I can’t believe he’ll be two in 6 months!
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