March and April...busy busy busy!

We have had a couple of very busy months! We were blessed to have nearly all of our family visit us at least one time if not 2 or 3 times. Dathan and Kacy have been spoiled to say the least!

We have done so many fun things in the past 2 months I have had a hard time picking my favorite pictures.

Dathan 2 1/2 & Kacy 8 months
Kacy's 8 month bunny pic. She is such a happy baby and so easy going. She loves her jumper and playing on the floor. She sits up really good now and is definitely interested in trying to reach for toys that are out of reach. She is a ways from crawling and I am not trying to press the issue. I am not looking forward to having two on the move. She still just has the two bottom teeth, but the top two appear to be getting closer to breaking through. She tolerates baby food, but I think she really just wants to eat what we are eating. She can pick up cherrios and get them to her mouth and drinks from a sippy cup. She says "da da da" and makes the funniest growling noise when she wants your attention. Maybe she will have hair by the time she is two???

First ride in the bike trailer together.

Yummy toes!

Dathan and Silas watching Nemo.

Mady, Dathan, and Kacy at the zoo playground.

We went to church the Sat. night instead of Easter morning, so we loaded up and headed to the mountains for a hike. We got to our spot and found it to be very cold and snowing just up the hill from us. We ended up driving to lower ground (warmer) taking a short walk and having a picnic.

Dathan and Mady taking a bubble bath in our jet tub. I think they could have played for hours.

Kacy graduated to the duck tub and loves it. She likes to splash and play with toys.

7 months

Kacy turned 7 months old a couple of days ago and cut her 1st tooth a few days before that. She has not been herself this week (a little cranky) and sleeping poorly. I don't know whether to hope it is her teeth or that she is just not feeling well. I don't really want to go through this with all of her teeth, but at the same time don't want her to be ill. She is sitting up for longer periods of time, but still topples over. She is fascinated by Moose and tries to reach out to him.

The past 2 weeks have gone by so fast. Here is a rundown of what we have been doing:

• 
  
  My parents came to take care of both kids while Chad and I went to Sedona, AZ. Chad had to go to a conference, so I tagged along. I hardly knew what to do with myself some days when I had hours to myself! Chad and I enjoyed eating out, swimming, hiking, exploring, etc. in the evenings. It was a wonderful short week away!


• 
  
  Unfortunately while we were away Dathan had the flu and gave it to my Dad. My poor Mom had her hands full!


• 
  
  Dathan went home with my parents to Colorado for the week. His first trip without us!


• 
  
  Kacy and I went to Carlsbad for a couple of nights to visit friends. It was so very very very much fun for me!

7 month bunny picture

First tooth. Bottom right.

Kacy playing with Grayer in Carlsbad.

Just for fun

We are 3 weeks into potty training Dathan and it is going so great. Praise God! I never dreamed that potty training Dathan would go so smoothly, so I know prayers have been answered.

Kacy is able to sit up unsupported for a little while now. She usually crashes over when she reaches for a toy. She loves to play with toys and put everything in her mouth. I love to see how excited she gets when Chad speaks to her when he gets home from work. It's priceless!

It's hard to see in this picture, but Dathan put his shorts on by himself. He has the waist around one of his legs and one of the leg holes around his waist. He likes to try and get himself dressed these days.

Look at my chubby arms and legs! We think she is just adorable!

Growing Up!

6 Months

Kacy is growing so fast! I took her to the Dr. last week for a check up and she weighed 17.5 lbs and was 25 inches long.
Dathan sitting on his little toilet. We began full on potty training last week and he is doing great! He keeps wanting to throw away his diapers, but I tell him we still need them for nap time and bedtime.

Family Weekend Fun

We spent this past weekend with Chad's family. We had fun hanging out with family, celebrating birthdays, playing games and letting the cousins play.

We went to the zoo and had fun seeing all of the animals. Dathan got to see a live giraffe for the first time and was not so sure of it up close. I think it was much bigger and taller than he had imagined.

Here's a picture of Dathan jumping off the couch onto a bunch of pillows. He loved this playtime called "Pillow Monkey".

"What time is it?"

It's hard to see in this picture, but Dathan has the orange tow truck hooked up to pull his green 4-wheeler.
Dathan helping mom vacuum.
Dathan was showing Kacy his "Doggy" and being really sweet to her.

It was so nice outside the other day I gave Dathan a bucket of water and soap to wash his cars. He had fun washing the car and his trike.

"What time is it?" is just one of the many questions Chad and I are asked daily by Dathan. He asks me probably 3 times a day, "What time is it mommy?", and when I respond with the time he is completely satisfied.

I thought it would be fun to list some of the things he says, likes, and can do at this time:

• Counts to 10
• Loves to sing "Jesus loves me", except we substitute "me" for "Dathan"... Our version goes "Jesus loves Dathan this I know..." Chad started this with him quite a few months back and Dathan just loves it!
• Can pedal his trike
• Sleeps with "Doggy", "Puppy", "Humpty" dumpty pillow, "Blankey", a water cup, a special blanket...
• Knows majority of colors, but has trouble with red
• Favorite book Clifford "The Missing Beach Ball"
• Can put together a 12 piece interlocking puzzle by himself
• Likes to color, paint, cut, play with playdoh
• LOVES water and anything to do with it. Nearly impossible to keep him out of Moose's water.
  

Kacy 5 months old

Check out my chunky legs!

Dathan is usually the one playing in this, but when we get a chance Kacy enjoys it too. Dathan liked it as a baby, but now that we have set it up for Kacy we can't seem to keep him out of it.

Kacy is not too big of a fan of rice cereal or fruit, but she LOVES sweet potatoes. She gets very excited when she sees the bowl and spoon coming her way.

It's hard to believe that 5 months have already passed since her birth. We are enjoying every moment with her... well maybe we could do without the once or twice a night that she wakes up to eat, but overall she is such a delight. She began rolling over from her back to tummy on the day she turned 5 months. She loves to hold onto and put everything in her mouth.

Snow, Trains, Fun and more!

We got back this past weekend from 2 weeks of fun in Colorado. We spent most of the time at my parents house with lots of time for eating out and shopping. Some of the highlights of the trip were seeing some of my good friends from high school, college and after. Our last weekend we drove to see some friends in Grand Junction before heading back to Alamogordo. We had a great time with our friends, but our drive home was something else!!! Thankfully my parents had offered to keep Kacy while we went to Grand Junction and then brought her to our house in Alamo. for us on their way to AZ. It was a long 13.5 hour drive with 1 child I can't imagine with the two.

We loaded Dathan in his PJ's at 5:30am. Good thing we got an early start not knowing it would take us 13.5 hours.

We were so lucky to see the Durango-Silverton steam engine running alongside the road. We stopped and opened the door so Dathan could get a good look. It the highlight of his trip.

We knew there might be a little snow, but I had trusted that there would be snow plows out taking care of the road. We saw a whopping 1 snow plow during our 3 hours of driving less than 30 mph going over 3 passes. Chad did an amazing job driving, but I couldn't help but be stressed and "white knuckling" it all the way. It didn't help to see signs saying "chains required" when we did not have them. Praise God we made it home safely!
Here's Dathan after 12.5 hours in the car. On top of snow delays we got stuck in a traffic jam south of Albuquerque for 45 min. It was an inconvenience to us but most likely life changing for the poor individuals in the accident. I was not annoyed to be stopped in traffic, just thankful that God put us a few short minutes/seconds behind the car that had the accident and not with it. Back to Dathan....in this picture he has been snacking on raisins and craisins when he tells me "raisin in nose". Sure enough our first experience with our child sticking something up his nose is after we have spent all day in the car and still have an hour to get home. After trying and trying we finally got him to blow it out into a tissue. What a relief!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! We have enjoyed a quiet Christmas in Colorado this year. My parents spent Christmas in Kansas with my cousins and Great Grandma. That left Chad and I with Dathan and Kacy in their house for the week.

Mady and Dathan opening Santa presents.

Unfortunately we have only had a dusting of snow since we have been here, but luckily there is this pile of snow (basically a pile of ice) left out in front of my parent's house for Dathan to play on. He would climb to the top and then slide down on his bottom. I can't wait to take him sledding this winter.

Mady and Kacy at church Christmas eve. Mady had a speaking part in the children's service and did a fantastic job! She is such a good cousin and takes wonderful care of our two little ones!

Aunt Stacy

4 months and Holiday fun

Kacy is 4 months old today! She is our little Cabbage Patch doll with her chubby cheeks and extra "fluff" around her belly and thighs.

Dathan eating candy that he got at the Light Parade in Ruidoso. He LOVES candy!!!

We gave Kacy her first bites of yummy rice cereal a couple of days ago. She seemed to like it. Dathan wanted to try it too, but after one bite he was no longer interested.

Whenever Kacy is playing on the floor Dathan is right next to her. Today he grabbed her hand and said "walk" as he was trying to pull her up by one arm to stand up. Dathan has begun saying "that" when he wants to know what something is. I know the "why" questions are soon to follow. His vocabulary and things that he says constantly amaze Chad and I. There does not seem to be much that Dathan cannot say these days or express through words. He loves to dance around the house, play chase, tackle Moose, play with trucks & trains, watch the movie "Cars", and compete for attention with Kacy=) He has his moments of showing his 2 year old age, but for the most part he is so much fun.