It's SUMMER here

95 degree weather? Bring it. I've got home-made popsicles now. All I do is pour OJ into my lime green BPA free plastic thingies and I've got a 'special treat' for a two year old to chomp on out on the deck. And yes, that's Euchre peering over from the side. He wants some too. Please bring back mild spring weather so I can go running and get rid of this baby phat.
g
Now that's a skill!

His sweet spot

First, picture of Skyping with Molly in Hong Kong.



Then, Brian found Keegan's sweet spot for a giggle. If we get him right in the rib cage he'll totally giggle. Proof:

Cute Bum

We were all raised in cloth diapers- but today's cloth dipes are SO SO SO functional, cute, and easy! Here is a picture of Keegan in one of his. We're not doing this full time, but still giving it a shot here and there!





I left Keegan overnight for the first time on Weds. Bri had to get up with a bottle which I think was rougher than he thought it would be. Happy to be back and happy to see this smiling face. Tomorrow is my first day back flying for the Air Force- hopefully I'll remember how to land that big thing!


cute

EGG HUNT

The big Egg Hunt day. Maggie and some buds put their baskets on their heads...



My two cuties prior to the hunt. Dad is stuck in Colorado Springs due to icing in the forecast so he couldn't fly back for Easter.


And here is the live video of the hunt. I think I posted a video a year ago of Maggie trying to get some eggs. This year they were filled with Caramels and stickers... not so bad.

Eat the Bunny

Driveway party. Maggie tried to climb into her 'pool' which is really not a pool.



Um, commercial for our family... station wagon, lawn chairs, driveway party. Yes, this is what a Sunday afternoon has become.




I found a bunny like blanket thing which I just randomly handed off to Keegan. JACKPOT. Seriously. He LOVES it and cooooos to it and actually holds it (wow, so so strong, eh?!) Sorry the video is so long but he was just so happy I had to keep recording. And I had to be annoying as usual, it's the only way I can get him to smile!

To Dallas and Back with Nana!

Well, first major battle. I guess second battle or maybe third as we made it through the LA tradeshow and the first weekend back with the AirForce. But this one was big.... for me... and Keegan... and Nana, our travel-along best supervisor ever!   Here is Keegan with Nancy as she makes him smile at the mirror.  She can make him smile at anything!  
Keegan at Starbucks just prior to our departure. Little did he know what he was getting into...
Me with Keegan in the ladies restroom!  Yes, Nana brought him right to the milk lady for food.  At the shwanky hotel the Gaylord we took over the ladies restroom and turned it into a chow hall!
Cool lake views and city lights from our top-floor hotel room at the Gaylord
The other hotel we stayed at which was actually a kids water park.  Little did I know, when I booked it due to proximity to the convention center! HA!   We kept joking that we brought the wrong kid, as Maggie (2) would have LOVED to have stayed there. 

Laughing about the Whole Thing

I finally got him on tape laughing. So last weekend we were at Pluto's, our favorite salad joint. Brian ate this huge salad and said to Keegan "I ate the WHOLE thing" to which Keegan started laughing. Now whenever we say that to him he'll laugh! Or if we just do really annoying high-pitched noises which is why I sound like a freako on the video!

Enjoy!

SUPERSTAR

Brian is gone all day/night in a pretend war or something. So I get lots of time with these monkeys who were SO well behaved today. Well, minus getting peed on by Maggie (who said to me "I didn't SEE you" afterward) and lots of dirty diapers from Keegan. Gotta love them, check out how much Maggie loves her little bro:

First Time on Skates

Maggie and Sadie eating Celery and pastries.
Dan and Jorie drove up from San Diego and met Keegan
I strapped on my old skates and gave Maggie a shot at it.  She had so much fun she would cry when we made her take her skates off!  It was a total work out for me and I felt like I had her life in my hands.  We have video at home of my brother cruising around our pond in Minnesota at 2 on his skates, so I figure we might as well teach Maggie early.  No, Keegan did not make it onto the rink.


Yummy sushi joint in the background!

Puzzles

Check out these super cool puzzles my Aunti Kiki sent to the kiddos. Maggie loves them, Keegan, not so sure what to do with them so he just holds them in his swing.

Happy Keegan

Check out cute Lisa who came out from DC to meet Keegan and rally with Maggie:




And here is Lisa holding Keegan for his first great smile shot:



Dad chillin on the flower couch with swaddled Keegan:

Disney

Nana, Papa, Mike and Brian took Maggie and Keegan to Disney while I worked! It takes a Village...

Back to Work!

I did my first official 'work' as a consultant down in Southern California right by Disneyland! Maggie came to work with me one day dressed up in her Disney princess outfit. She was the hit of the tradeshow!

We have SO many great pictures but one of us left the cord for the camera to download in the hotel... so this is the only shot I have, from my Iphone. More to follow!

Smiling in the Swing

So I sound like a crazy grandma on here trying to make him smile, but it worked. That's why the old ladies use such high-pitched voices all the time...

Fuzzy Visitor

This morning I scratched Keegan on his noggin with my fingernail. He gave me this pouting look and stuck out his lower lip:

So mid morning I go downstairs to check on Keegan, who is like his dad in that he's napping on the couch. Right out the glass door is this scraggly looking deer staring right at me! By the time I ran upstairs to get my camera he was on his way out. See proof:
Yes, we have gotten so much rain here that there are Deer-attracting puddles in our backyard. At least up in Tahoe it was snow!

Lots of Sugar cuz we're Snowed In!

Nana and Euchre ready to cruise down our snow zone!


Yes, it's a smile! And he's handing them out for free these days. Along with dirty diapers too.
Biggest bubble bath ever. Trying to stay occupied in the middle of the blizzard...
Papa taking Maggie for a wheel barrow ride

We're snowed in due to a Winter Storm up here in Tahoe! So, to keep the kids entertained, this morning we made pancakes with bits of brownie in them! Big hit...




Then yesterday for Valentines day the kiddos got Fun Dip valentines. Check out Maggie's giant green tongue!



Nana has been able to get lots of smiles out of Keegan. I'm just slow with the camera. Here was the closest I got to capturing it!

So Darn Sick!

Baby Kong (as Papa has nicknamed him) has been kicked around by the latest virus- RSV which then settled into his lungs and he now has bronchiolitis.  Long word for such a little guy!  We were sent home with a nebulizer and he sucks in some altered, vaporized cocktail that is supposed to bring him back to his normal self.  He's beat the fever and is just dealing now with a nasty sounding cough that peaks out at about 5am.

However, he's still showing us his smile and is growing a ton. He was 13 lbs 8oz when we brought him in at 6 weeks, and is now officially wearing the 6-9 month PJs due to his long chicken legs he inherited from Papa (not Daddy though!)

He's falling for an older woman

Keegan and Josie had a little hang out time this morning. Josie is 6 weeks older, but I'm ok with him falling for an older gal. Pretty cute kids!

He's Smiling!

I didn't really catch it with the camera, but yesterday (my birthday!) we got some great smiles out of Keegan. Here's the closest thing I have to proof!

Todeay I'm half as old as my Dad!

I consider myself lucky to have a birthday so close to a major holiday. Although Groundhog day always casts a shadow on my birthday (excuse the pun...) I consider Feb 3rd a great day to be born.

My dad called me today to wish me a happy birthday. He pointed out that I am exactly half his age. He's 70. So now you know how old I am.

How many times in your life can you say you're half as old as your dad?

Here's a picture my mom sent me today of my Dad and me on my wedding day. He's the best. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes to me on BIG OLE number 35!

A Final Goodbye To Gonny

My sweet, 99 year old grandma, "Gonny" was buried today in Minnesota. Although for the past decade she hasn't been quite the spunky lady I'll always remember her as, it's tough to have to really say goodbye.

Some of Gonny's best teachings:
"Service is the rent you pay for the space you occupy"
"This above all, to thine own self be true" (I think she got that one from someone else)

Age is a quality of mind.
If you have left your dreams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,
If your ambitions' fires are dead --
Then you are old.
But if from life you take the best,
And if in life you keep the jest,
If love you hold; No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly-- You are not old.

And in Gonny's case, it was pretty true! Gonny was my golfing bud, and although I could wack a 200 yard drive, she's always beat me because she'd pull out her 4 wood and hit perfectly straight shots right up the middle until it was putting time. Which of course she prevailed at, as a member of the lady's putting club!

Cheers to Gon Bon and her yummy smelling Windsor cocktails. We will have no Regrets.