First Road Trip-The four of us! (November)

I'm trying to get caught up on some posts that I'm way behind on....We took our very first road trip with the four of us to Decatur, TX in November. For Keith's 30th birthday present, we purchased him a spot in the roping clinic that he loved so much the last time he did it. We were a little nervous because Kason is not a fan of the car at night, but he was a rock star! We decided to drive at night after Lexi's gymnastics class and grabbing dinner. I fed Kason after dinner, and then we were on our way. He fell asleep within minutes (yay!), and it caught us all off guard. We stopped about halfway to make a potty break for Lexi, and Kason woke up. We all got a good laugh because he was perfectly content in the truck with Keith sitting on Keith's lap until he saw Lexi and I come out of Braum's. The second he spotted me, he lost it! Hahaha...he's going through a little separation anxiety from me to say the least (I secretly love it).

I fed Kason again, and we decided to keep trekking on. We stopped at a hotel around 11:00 that night, and we were only about an hour away from the clinic. The kids did pretty good about going right to sleep, and we woke them early the next morning to head towards the clinic. No early morning would be complete without donuts, so we found a spot and got our fix! Lexi insisted on not getting out of her Cinderella nightgown we had just purchased for her the day before, so she went in with Keith with that on. Good thing she has a good daddy who does not care what other people think.

When we pulled in, we were so excited! It was the cutest little cabin! The town wasn't too bad. It reminded me of the size of Tahlequah, and I familiarized myself with the nearest sonic and walmart! :) Inside the cabin, there was a bedroom with a big jacuzzi tub, a kitchen & living room area, and an upstairs loft. Way to go NRS! This is how you get the wives to go. You put big granite jacuzzi tubs inside cute little cabins! : ) Haha

We had a lot of fun just hanging around the cabin while Keith roped, and we would venture down to watch him for a couple of hours a day along with meeting up for lunch. Kason enjoyed pulling up on everything (he just started doing this), and crawling and getting stuck under tables as you can tell from the pictures. Lexi enjoyed chasing the cats in the barn, and playing with her new friend Luke whose Daddy was also there roping. While we hung out in the cabin, we would work on learning time with our puzzles, books, toys, and markers we had brought. In the evenings, we were on our own for dinner and tried a local Mexican restaurant as well as Cici's.

We made it all the way home with just a few pit stops along the way. The kids did great! Kason got a little antsy the last twenty minutes, but it was a successful trip! We really enjoyed our time, and didn't feel like it was long enough. That's how you know it was a good trip! We plan on making it a tradition, and next year convincing my parents to go so my dad can get a roping fix in. ; )

10 Months (Dec. 7)

Kason,

We are LOVING having a second baby to spoil during the holidays. You are finally going to get some toys that are for boys! :) You really haven't seemed to mind honestly, you're pretty easy going, and just love to roam around looking for something you can get your hands on. Your favorite thing this month? A big orange ball we have just floating around the house. You love to chase after it and say 'ba' (ball). So cute! You can also wave and say bye, mama, dada, and nana. 

You dance now too! One of my favorites!! You still love your big sister, and think she is hilarious no matter what she is doing. She loves to make you laugh too. You two are quite the pair when you get each other going. One of your favorite activities to do with her is crawl in and out of a play tunnel we have. I love watching the two of you play, and know your interactions will only get more entertaining.

You are so sweet, cuddly, and curious. I love to just watch you play. We took you on a road trip this past month to your daddy's roping clinic in Decatur, TX. We were a bit worried about you in the car, since you are NOT a fan at night, but you were a rock star! I was so proud of you! We had so much fun together, and plan to go again in the future. You just enjoy being with your family.

Can't wait for the holidays with you! Love, love, love you sweet little man!

XOXO,

Mommy, Daddy, & Lexi

Kason- 9 Months

Sweet Kason,

I know I say this a lot, but you are just the sweetest little addition to our family! We are so delighted with your presence, and enjoy every second with you. You are officially on the move this month. You've been scooting your way around for quite some time now, but your full-on crawl isn't quite there yet. We call it a frog crawl because you do something silly with your legs. :)
Your sister had a goofy crawl at first too. You guys are so much alike, yet so different. It is so much fun as a parent to get to experience two sweet, bubbly, funny personalities on a daily basis.

Your favorite things this month are the remote, iPad, (You just push random buttons if you get a hold of it, and one evening we heard an unfamiliar voice coming from it. When we turned to look, we noticed you were trying to buy audio novels....you little genius! hahaha) Little People toys (farm and lexi's castle), sensory books,  and baskets of toys to go through. You wave, are interested in the dogs, love lights, hate the dark car, and get angry when we take away something that you really want. Your angry/mad is adorable still. You love to kick the dryer and listen to the sound it makes when you do so. You still love to be lifted up in the air and brought back down. You are pulling up all the time. Lexi wasn't too interested in doing this for the longest time, so this is new territory for us.

Your stats: 18 pounds, 25%, 28 inches, 30%

You love your mama and whine when I walk out of the room, or when you see me and realize I'm not holding you (you do this often at gymnastics when daddy or nana have you and you get hungry). It is sad, but oh so sweet! Another adorable thing you do while someone is holding you is completely turn your head to look at someone's face. You have done this to Daddy, Nana, and PopPop. I'm not explaining it very well, but it is just the sweetest thing. It is almost as though you need them to make sure they're either paying attention to you, or they can see how cute you are! ;) You still love and think Lexi is the funniest thing you've ever seen! She adores you too! You're her "brudder!"

Still working on becoming a better eater...you do enjoy strawberries, blueberries, and puffs! Yay! You currently have your two bottom teeth, and working on the third tooth on the bottom coming in. I imagine your top teeth aren't far from coming either. We can't wait to see what the next month will bring sweet little man.

We love you to the moon and back!
XOXO,
Mommy, Daddy, & Lexi

Tiny Dancer, Little Gymnast

I figured it was time for a Lexi Update!

Lexi,

You are loving dance and gymnastics right now! When we first started dance, I was a bit skeptical because you were ALL over the place. You are one of the younger ones in your class, but you absolutely love being around your friends. Your best friend in your class is Abigail. You are so sweet to her, and try to hug and hold her hand, or help her with whatever your teachers are asking the class to do. It cracks me up every time. I still think you're pretty wild for dance class, but you aren't the only one, and you have fun so we will continue it until you show you don't have interest. You pretty much do everything at a fast pace....they ask you to hop across the room, you hop a few, then run the rest....they ask you to walk across the rope, you walk halfway, runt he rest...haha! Not too long ago, was visitor week and we honestly thought you would shut down and not do anything because you would get nervous from all the people in your classroom. You definitely surprised us, and participated in your cute little dance! We all loved it and cheered you on!

Pictures from visitor week:

Peek-a-Boo song

"I see you!"

You have loved gymnastics since your first class, and always ask to go. It is a buddy and me class, so you're not as wild in this class since I can kind of keep your attention. Your favorite things at gymnastics are the trampolines, balance beams, ladder, and playing catch with the balls. You've improved so much since your first day, and I love how we are able to work on your motor skills, vision therapy, crossing the midline, and social skills all in one place! I had never really thought about gymnastics in the educational perspective until we started this class, and it is so beneficial! You have become a better jumper too! I've loved watching you jump with both legs coming down at different times to both feet leaving the floor at the same time.

Kason usually hangs out with Nana or Daddy on the sidelines watching and cheering you on during class. You love having an audience! Your class changes every 6 weeks or so as enrollment changes so you don't have any one particular friend that you discuss more than another. You've loved all of your teachers, especially Miss Suzi! I don't have near as many pictures of gymnastics since most of the time we take video. You can climb the ropes in the ball pit so fast, especially when you do not want to get out! ;) Sometimes the bridge makes you nervous because part of it needs repaired so it looks scary to you and the rest of the kids, but you enjoy sliding down into the balls and hiding. You also have been brave and jumped off of the tall platform into the foam pit, and went into the pit from the rope swing. You love going upstairs and jumping or climbing the ladder. I love our gymnastics days, and we have so much fun together!

Can't wait to see what other activities we get to experience with you! So fun!!

We love you sweet girl!

Kason- 8 Months (October 7)

My sweet little man,

You're 8 months old!!! You are SO stinking sweet, fun, adorable, and cuddly! Your favorite things this month have been cups, cars/trucks, laugh and learn puppy, remotes, and phones. You love to be sang to and your favorite song is the "Itsy bitsy spider." You smile every time I sing it to you.

You also love our laugh and learn puppy. You really love any of those stuffed animals that sing/dance. It's pretty funny right now how excited you get over them when they are activated. You're itching to crawl. You get frustrated sometimes, and i'm 99% sure it is because you just want to MOVE. You can get where you want to pretty easily by scooting slowly, but still not in the position to crawl.

You think Lexi is the funniest thing! She can just look at you, smile, and say hi, and you crack up every time! You also love to just go through baskets of things, toys, cups, etc. I love this age because it is when you really start to explore everything around you...so fun!

You are still not the greatest eater when it comes to solids, but we are getting better....slowly. Your favorite things right now include the pouches of organic veggies/fruits and any kind of bread or bagel. I am still not too concerned. We will cross that bridge of figuring out what to do to get you to eat better when we have to. That won't be until you're at least a year though, so we have time.

We are so in love with you, and truly do not know what we would do without you. We're so excited to take you to the pumpkin patch and experience the holiday season with you and your sister.

We love you to the moon and back!

XOXO,
Mommy, Daddy, & Lexi

Kason-7 months (September 7)

Kason,

You get sweeter, cuter, and more fun with each passing day. That doesn't meant I have accepted the rate at which you are getting older, but I am instead embracing this rapid pace we are at, and enjoying every second with you and your sister. We went for your 6 month well-child check. Yes, we were a month late since we went late for your four month, but that's okay. Here are your stats:

Weight- 17 pounds (25%)
Height- 27 1/4 (50%)

You're healthy and growing, and your doctor is pleased. You're sitting well now and you love to play while sitting. Your favorite toys are cups, balls, and anything that lights up or plays music. You still love the remote so we bought you a toy one that you enjoy. You also love to try to sneakily get our phones.

You are not the best eater (for table foods). You act like we are torturing you to get you to even try some stuff. I discussed this with your pediatrician and he wasn't concerned. We will just continue to try until you decide you like to eat. With your sister, I know I would have been stressed to the max, but I know now that 'Under one is just for fun!'

You're the biggest cuddle bug when you're sleepy. Actually, you love to be held all the time. I know that day is coming when you want down to crawl and run all over the place, so I take advantage of it. We still rock the Ergo everywhere we go. I'm convinced it is your favorite place to be. You still adore your big sister. I'm pretty sure she is your biggest fan as well. You two crack each other up. She always looks for you too. When you're asleep, she asks me, "Where's Kason?" If she knows I'm going to put you down for your nap, she tells me, "No. Kason doesn't want to go to sleep." She's your biggest advocate. Ha!

You roll like such a champ. Still not crawling yet, but you definitely know how to get from point A to point B if you want to. You are SO stinking strong too! You're still a little talker. You say dadadadada, mamamama, and you sing. You like to sing yourself to sleep in the car. It is SO funny! We are just so thrilled and blessed with the blessing you are to our little family. We cannot imagine our lives without you, and look forward to the next month of your sweet life.

We love you to the moon and back!

xoxo

Mommy & Daddy