Where has Kim "The Blogger" Been?

Hey...I'm back. YAY! Mister Husband got me a SWEET laptop for an early Christmas present. Thank you Mister Husband...I love you.

So, I have WAY too many pictures to catch up on. Those will be coming soon.

What are our kids doing now:

Hayes:

Hayes is all over the place. WAY too much energy. Hahaha. He is so much fun though. He has the cutest little personality and we love to play with him. He has the most amazing imagination. He tells us he loves us all the time and loves to cuddle now, which we love. He also loves his sister and when he wakes up in the morning, she is the first thing that he wants to see. They play together really well most of the time. He can count to 15 and can count to 8 in Spanish (gets caught up on quatro though, he really likes that one). He loves music and loves to dance. Chris's dad was just in town and he played the banjo and the guitar and Hayes loved it. He danced and every part of his body was moving to the beat. Even if he stood still, his finger or toes would be tapping. This boy is going to play some kind of instrument. He loves to march, so we see the marching band in our future.

He is quite the climber though, which has not changed over the years. He managed to climb his bunk beds without the ladder. So guess what, mommy and daddy took his bunk beds apart. We may be switching his room with the playroom to give him more room though because its really tight in his current room with two beds and a dresser. We had to take his chair and his shelf out. We will see though, not sure how he will respond to that. He is really into little treasures. He counter surfs by standing on any of the riding toys and helps himself to whatever he wants when we are not looking. He will find little things, like scissors or food and go hide under the table and eat it or hide there VERY quietly because he knows he has something that he shouldn't. We did a little experiment to see how he would react to food with milk in it and he did not break out like he usually does. We thought we were getting lucky, but then about two days later when the food passed through him, he got the worst diaper rash I have every seen and was screaming and pulling at his diaper. Miserable. Poor thing. So needless to say, we are avoiding that all together again. :(

He still has a temper though...woo-wee. He pretty much does what he wants, when he wants and that is just Hayes. He has started to respond to discipline finally... sometimes. He does get feisty though when we get on to him and sometimes will just scream in defense or growl at me like a lion because he thinks it will scare me away. HAHA...not gonna work on me buddy. He is definitely more scared of daddy than me. He gets all pouty sometimes when he gets in trouble and will make a sad face or hang his head in shame. Time Out seems to be the only thing that he responds to or occasionally a spanking works. Most of the time spanking just make him mad. He has been hitting some, so we are trying to nip that in the bud.

Hayes loves school. We cannot go there or drive by without his seeing it and saying, "my school". If he can't stay, he cries. That makes me feel good taking him there. He is going two days a week. The thing that I really like is that the room mom and other moms along with the teachers really try to make it to where Hayes can participate in all holiday parties. They make dairy free cupcakes and cookies and that makes him feel so special. The room mom's daughter is in the same boat with milk, but not as bad as Hayes. I am very appreciative as a mother that people are sensitive to his needs. He was getting in trouble at school a few times because the other kids were encroaching on his territory and he would push them down over and over. He and another little boy name Jackson are pretty chummy. He has been put in time out and had a report card sent home about his behavior because he wouldn't stay in the line to wash his hands and gets pretty upset when its time to come in from the playground. His teachers Mrs. Andrea and Mrs. Jackie said that he has gotten WAY better lately though. I think it was just coming back from the summer and getting re-adjusted to school and a stricter schedule.

Kate:
Miss Katherine has just turned ONE. We cannot believe it. Her birthday fell on Thanksgiving day this year, so we celebrated her birthday and had her party on November 20, 2011. Pictures to come in a separate post. She is quite the little DIVA, that is what we call her. So that was the theme of her party. She has really picked up on walking and is all over the place running after her brother and playing with all the toys she can find. She loves Hayes and tries to copy everything that he does, including dancing. She put everything in her mouth, so we really have to watch her. The grossest thing that I found her gagging on was a disgusting beetle. That almost put me over the edge. I have found stickers, bark, leaves, grass, and all kinds of other random objects in her mouth, but a beetle....I was not expecting that one. She eats very well, but only big people food. She will not do ANY baby food at all. She loves fruit pasta, veggie sticks, cheerios, and pancakes. She hates baby yogurt, but she loves mommy's smoothies. She wont eat sandwich bread either or avocado.

She is mostly sleeping through the night now, finally. It only took 11 months. She still wakes up pretty early some mornings, but we just feed her and put her back down. She can say ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, hi, bye-bye (and she waves her hand toward her self, so cute). She also clicks her tongue and makes kisses at us. The way to know she is awake in the car on the way home from dropping off Hayes at school if I can't see her in the mirror, I just click my tongue and she will do it back.

What a good girl she is. She LOVES her daddy and if he is home, that is who she wants all the time. It is really cute. She also loves her grandparents and when he is here she makes them hold her. I like seeing my dad with her. There is something about her that he really connects with. She loves him very much too.

Chris & I:
We have been really busy too. Chris has been working really hard. He is very ambitious to learn as much as he can. He has done some traveling, one major trip to China over Labor Day week. He is still playing tennis year-round, which he really enjoys. I have expanded my business to monogramming and have been super busy. I did a show at Hayes' school called Creekside Holiday Showcase and sold almost $1000 worth of business. I couldn't believe it. I partnered up with my friend (My Muse) Rebecca DaSilva and we did really well. She makes a lot of hand made clothing and I buy a lot from her for Kate. Well, i used to buy a lot until she talked me into getting my own machine, so now I can make a lot myself. I am soooo busy this holiday season though, I can barely find the time. I work during the kids naps every day and at night. I am thinking about changing my business name now that I don't just make tutus for girls, but offer boys and girls items like burp cloths, bibs, monogrammed and applique tshrits. I am having a lot of fun.

Chris and I are still leading our small group. We have the most amazing group right now. I am just so blessed at where we are and could not be happier. I have the most amazing husband. He does everything in his power to make sure that I am happy and I could not be more appreciative for all of the help he give me around the house and with the kids. I can honestly say that not that many women's husband do what he does. I know that I am truly blessed and I thank God EVERY day for giving me such an amazing husband and father. Words really cannot express how thankful I am for the life he has given me.

So that is where we are. I hope to blog more often now that I can do it downstairs while I am home with the kids. Thank you baby for my laptop. I LOVE YOU.