Happy Birthday Kellen!!

3 years old!!!

While we were camping this weekend, we celebrated Kellen's 3rd birthday. It was John Deere themed and he loved it. The only disappointment was the cake - as you will see why:

Yes - it is slightly mutilated

Blowing out the candles on his "Broken Cake"

I was packing up the car and the kids to head out to Rend Lake Friday night. As I was buckling Keagan into the car (Kellen was supposed to be getting into the car as well) Kellen decided to check on his cake. It was sitting on the shelf in the garage as it was the last thing I was going to load. Kellen wanted to see it and pulled on the edge of the box and there it went - in slow motion - upside down onto the garage floor. Luckily, the top of the box did not come off. It was still edible. Poor thing. I felt so bad for him. He just kept asking "what happened mommy?" Oh well.

Nana and Pa got him a crop sprayer. It was all he wanted if you asked him.

A drum from Jamaica that Morgan and Luke brought back.

AND MANY MORE

Thank you all for the gifts and helping us celebrate another milestone. Kellen LOVES all his new toys.

7 Months

Another month gone by - Keagan is growing like a weed and learning new skills all the time. He's such a big boy and LOVES his big brother. Most times at the dinner table Keagan won't eat if Kellen decides to put on a show. He just laughs and laughs. That's the ONLY time you won't eat.

You can push up really well on your arms and are scooting yourself backwards. You are now rolling over both ways so I'm sure you will be mobile soon.

You no longer need the bath seat to help you sit up. You LOVE splashing and making the water go everywhere - even in your face.

You still love the jumper. It is definitely a life-saver when you're cranky.

Oh Keagan - I'm looking forward to the days ahead. I think you will be a handful always. That's okay though. You are very vocal and "talk" all day long. You can babble mama and dada and all other sorts of sounds. You love your toes and anything else you can get your mouth on. Your naps are still off and on. Mostly you take 2-3 naps a day and they vary in length. You sleep well at night from 7:30/8 to about 6:30 most mornings. I am thankful for that. I love you!!

paddleboat

I forgot that I had these pictures from last week. We went over to Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Roger's house to check out their new paddleboat for the pond - or should I say river. Kellen thinks any body of water is a river. I haven't been on a paddleboat for a long time so it was actually quite a workout!

Keagan hangin' out with the cousins while we enjoyed the boat.

Oh - and we can't forget Suzy - their adorable GIANT St. Bernard!! I thought she was going to jump in the boat with us! She loves the pond. Kellen was fascinated with her and talked about her for a long time. I explained to him that there are some movies (Beethoven) that have these dogs in them so of course when we got home guess what was on tv?? He loved it.

mmmm

I think that is what Keagan thinks when he gets ANYTHING into his mouth. Between teething and being orally fixated this kid has something in his mouth all the time. Here are some of the latest:

I think I'll try the paci upside down

OH, I think I like that!


Yep, that'll do.

toes....I just love my toes.....

This time with a little green beans on them!

Oh yeah! More please!!!

Outdoor fun

While we were in Pleasant Plains last week with Grandad and our family, I tried to keep things upbeat and "normal" for the boys. I really didn't feel like playing or being excited about anything - it felt wrong to be happy while Grandad's life was slipping away. BUT every time I felt like feeling sorry for him or myself I would remember that Grandad would NOT want that. SO we did hang out at the pool and played at Nana and Pa's like ususal and Kellen took MANY rides in the tractors and trucks. One of Grandad's favorite things was to watch his grandchildren swim. He built it for all of us. Do you know how many kids learned to swim there?? Probably hundreds!! He would have gotten a kick out of this picture:

"AAaaah, nothing better than sippin on a cool bottle in the pool"

"come on Oscar - come slide with me!!"

Keagan trying out the baby swing at Nana and Pa's.

Life will go on.

A rare piece of gold

Grandad Dudley lost his battle with cancer on Friday August 7, 2009. Today was his funeral. We lost a great man.

At his visitation last night I couldn't believe how many people had been impacted by Grandad's life. Actually, I could believe it. He was a man of integrity, honesty, faith, and love. During the visitation someone was talking about Grandad and had told me that he had always been treated by Grandad as a "rare piece of gold." And he wasn't even family! I thought that statement described Grandad perfectly. I will treasure that forever. As if that's not enough, there were estimates from the funeral directors that there were possibly 800 people at his visitation!!!

I can't even put into words what Grandad and his legacy has meant to our family. Most of my sadness comes from knowing that people (and his great-grandkids) won't have the pleasure of knowing him. Kellen remembers him but I'm sure as time passes, sadly, he will forget.

We had a beautiful celebration of his life today at his church. I will never forget it. All his children and grandchildren sang the song "I'll fly away" which was one of his only requests. And it is so true. He has flown away into the arms of Jesus.

MAN!! I'm gonna miss him!!

Urban campfire

Karsten received a fire pit for Christmas this year and we have only used it a handful of times. I think we would use it more often if we just thought about it and made the effort. Karsten had a much needed entire weekend off so we put it to good use. Friday night we cooked hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire - mmm it felt like fall.

Roasting marshmallows while Kellen was sneaking chocolate bars

Kellen and Keagan sharing an inside joke

Cousins

Last weekend, Kellen had the opportunity to go to Georgia with Nana and Papa Slater and all his cousins. They stopped here in E'ville for a short overnighter and then headed South. He had such a great time and Aunt Kendra got to meet Keagan for the first time!

I didn't manage to take any pictures so these are courtesy of Nana and Slater!! Thanks

Keagan and Kendra

Saddlebags

My 6 month old has saddlebags!!! The other night we were getting ready for baths, and I just had to take a picture. I know he will kill me 18 years from now for putting this picture on the internet for the whole world to see, but I HAD to!!