Father's Day

This was the first Father's Day that we have gotten to spend with Mike in a couple of years because of school and the Army!  We didn't do a whole lot.  The kids and I made him a big candy jar, filled to the brim with all of his favorites, to take with him while he's away.  They also each gave him a "gift card" good for a daddy date to get ice cream (for Logan) and hangout time at the putt putt course (for Brody).  We went to church, hung out and then went to dinner.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

Daddy of two this year, daddy of three next!

Swimming Lessons

We put Logan in a two week round of swimming lessons at our community pool this year.  We were excited when we moved here and learned they offered them at half the cost of most places!  We signed up for group lessons but no one else signed up, so she ended up with a set of private lessons.

Day 1: Didn't want to get into the water without her puddle jumper and said she'd never put her head under water.

She was very excited and her teacher was able to convince her to get in without the life preserver and even was able to get her to bob in and out of the water 10 times by day 2!

By day 8 Logan was bobbin in and out of the water 15-20 times, had learned how to float on her belly, was gliding forward under water, kicking from one side to the other on a kickboard and had started to work on floating on her back!  She went from level 0-level 3.

Brody did really well with just watching.  I know it was hard for him because all he really wanted to do was be in the pool learning like Logan.  He was happy to sit with his feet in the water and watch, though.

Pouting on the last day because I wouldn't let him get in the water:

Here's Logan getting ready to glide to her teacher:

And kicking across the pool with her kick board:

She had such a great time and is ready for Mimi and Granddaddy's pool, now!!

Kids' Room & Bathroom

We found a nice little 3 bed, 2 1/2 bath townhouse about 15 minutes from Mike's store, which has made for a much easier commute and has allowed for more family time since he's not driving an hour and a half a day.  The reason we chose to rent here (because we found a few other houses either cheaper or bigger for the price) was because of the great amenities offered.  We have two nice pools, a few playgrounds, a gym (that has childcare and great classes) and it's located on a golf course so Mike can play golf for free after 3 every day.  We've taken full advantage of the pools and the playgrounds and Mike played his first nine holes last weekend.  I'm pretty sure we'll enjoy our year here.  

Moving to a new place in the midst of my first trimester was NOT FUN.  I've been so sick and so exhausted that the idea of "setting up house" has almost made me nauseous in and of itself.  But, I keep reminding myself that it's better than moving with a brand new baby, which is what we would have been doing if we had renewed the lease on our apartment.  It's very slowly coming along.  I got the kids' room and bathroom done and unpacked first so that they'd have a place to play and call their own. The transition was a little tough for them and I wanted to make it as easy as I could by providing them their space quickly.  The rest of the house is.....coming along.  Slowly.  But I figured if I waited to get the whole place done, it'd be months before I'd post pictures.  So, I'll post as I finish.

We decided to keep Logan and Brody in the same room.  They're already used to it and love being together, so it was a natural decision to make.  It also means we don't have to sleep train either of them to tune out a screaming baby in the middle of the night and puts the baby in the smaller room right next to our room.  We took out some of the baby stuff from their room, creating more of a big kid room.  It's themed "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" because we found a cute PB Kids matching boy/girl set for their beds.

Looking in from the door:

From the opposite side of the room:

More from the door (the quote is from the book), we finally caved and bought a full bookshelf for them, but may need one more with all of the books they've collected!

Looking from the beds:

Logan and Brody enjoying storytime, together:

The kids' bathroom didn't get much change.  It's still jungle themed.  But it's much bigger!

I did add "wash your hands" and "brush your teeth" to their animal prints for something a little different.

2 Year Shots

Finally got Brody out to take some two year pictures today.  He picked his own outfit...I do realize the shirt is a little small, but I'm trying to let go of the control when it comes to these pictures and allow their little personalities to shine through.  Logan picked her four year outfit, Brody picked his two year outfit.  :)  He also wanted "choo-choo haircut hair" which is what he calls his little faux hawk.  

We have a nice wooded area right behind our new home that makes for a nice backdrop, so we didn't even have to travel!  I can't wait to see what it looks like in the fall!

And he had to throw on his sunglasses for a few:

Big sister wanted to jump in, too!

When he stands like this I can picture him as a teenager.  It's so bittersweet to watch them grow up!

As we were walking back into the house he grabbed his football and demanded he have a couple of pictures with it.  Definitely fits his personality.

Two

I've been wanting to get this post up for a while!  I had grand plans of taking Brody out and doing a 2 year photo shoot with him but then found out we were pregnant, started to get sick and then we moved and it just hasn't happened.  So, I wanted to get down his two year stuff and then I'll get him out for some photos in the near future!

Brody is TWO!  I can't believe that it's been two years.  They have flown.  It seems like a day ago we were in the hospital with him and here he is walking, talking and letting us know how things go.

Brody is very, very active.  He will not sit still unless he's tired!  He likes to run, jump, play hide and seek, duck duck goose and tag.  He loves to be outside playing with his (daddy's) golf clubs, his baseball stuff, throwing a football or running (avoiding) the sprinklers.  He is all. boy.

His favorite food is hummus.  He'll eat anything with it!  Mostly he snacks on pita chips and hummus but if I ever need or want him to eat something he refuses I just let him dip it and he's happy.  He also enjoys zucchini, kilbasa, broccoli, mac and cheese, and peanut butter/honey bagels!

His favorite books are: Puff Puff Chugga Chugga, Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site and a variety of other transportation books.  He loves cars, trains, planes and boats so if you have a book that's got one of those, I guarantee we'll read it until it's worn down.

His favorite TV show is Super Why.  Though, we can't get him to sit through a single episode of anything because he just doesn't want to sit still.  I can't complain, I'd rather have him running off energy than being a couch potato, but it's been rough being sick and not having ANY means of getting him to sit and be still!  He also loves Veggie Tales, Henry Hugglemonster, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Chuggington.

His favorite dessert is cake pops but he honestly doesn't have much of a sweet tooth.  He'll gladly eat things that are sweet when offered to him, but he rarely finishes them.

His favorite toys are his train set and his trucks.  He could sit for hours on his own just playing with those.

His favorite activity is playing with Logan.  He follows her around and is over joyed when she asks if he wants to join her in her games.  He'll do anything with her!

Brody's language exploded at about 20 months and he began to talk in small sentences.  Now, he can communicate just about anything he wants.  He speaks really clearly for a two year old and sometimes surprises us with the sentences he's able to come up with.  Some of my favorite Brody-isms:

"Trains ride on the tracks, planes ride high in the sky!"

"Oh my."

"Where'd wogan (Logan) go?" (about 20,000x a day)

"Wogan HEET (hit) me!"  (Normally this is said after he patronizes her and wants her in trouble...it starts young!)

"Wanna nuggle (snuggle) me?  I wanna nuggle you!"  (usually said when he doesn't want to go to bed)

"I no listen to THIS music, turn on more uh-uh (veggie tales--if you're familiar, it's the sound the tuba makes at the beginning of their theme song) songs!"  

Brody can count to 20 (thank you hide and seek).  He can say the alphabet and can actually say some of the sounds thanks to his doting big sister.  He likes to come sit with us during her reading lessons and "sound out the letters" which really is more him saying any letter sound he can remember.  It drives her bonkers but it's sweet to me that he wants to be a part of it.

He loves to make animal noises, we are working on which animals make which sounds.  If it were up to him all animals would say 'oink oink' and humans would make all of the other sounds.  

Brody is 23lbs (40%) and is 34 inches (60%).  Long and lean like his daddy.

We are so thankful that God has blessed us with such a wonderful little boy.  We are thrilled that we get to be his family and can't wait to see him continue to grow!  Our prayer is that God would soften his heart and reveal himself to him one day and that we can watch him do amazing work for the Kingdom.

Kayle, Party of 5!

I guess this little announcement is a little overdue, though, many of you who follow this blog already know, we're expecting our third little blessing!  We found out on Brody's 2nd birthday that he was going to be a big brother and overjoyed that God has chosen to bless our family with another little one. Our due date is November 26--just two days before Thanksgiving!  

This pregnancy has been a tough one.  Between running after 2 little ones at the end of Mike's semester during my first trimester and being sick as a dog this go around I've been MIA quite a bit.  I feel a teeny bit better now (I'm not feeling ill 24 hours a day, more like 18, ha!), so I'm able to do a bit more.  But I'm thankful for every nauseated moment because I know that God is forming this little one and is allowing me to carry him/her.

 Here we are on the beach at 13 weeks: 

How far along?  15 weeks
Maternity clothes, yet?  Yes!  This little one had me popping out at about 10 weeks and I haven't been able to wear normal pants, since.

Sleep?  Some nights are better than others.  I'm still battling pretty bad morning (all day) sickness and it tends to wake me.

Best moment of the week?  Brody came with me to my appointment this week and hasn't stopped saying, "Baby say: boom boom boom boom."  He thinks that the baby's heartbeat was the baby talking to him.

Any movement?  Some, but it's very subtle and not happening frequently, yet.

Cravings?  None.  Anything I can keep down is what I want to eat.  I do have a strong aversion to chocolate chip cookies....which is the worst thing in the world.

Gender?  No idea, yet!  Mike and Logan think girl, Brody and I say boy.  We'll find out on the 21st!

Labor signs?  Nope.

What I miss?  Energy.  I'm in my second trimester and feel more tired than I did in my first.

What I am looking forward to:  Being done with this pregnancy!  But really, just looking forward to feeling better.

15 Weeks: