Plane Pull

Once a year, teams of 20 participate in a "Plane Pull" to raise money for charity. Richard's work had a team, so we planned to go just to see them, hang out, play in the kids area. However, they were short a couple people so Richard was recruited to actually participate and pull. Here they are getting ready for their turn.

The team in front of the FedEx plane

Here they are pulling...

Brookston really enjoyed the kids area

Kaisley even got into a few things

I thought these were super cute...here's Brookston in the plane

Here he is as the pilot

Bean bag toss to knock over the planes

This was super cute...an airplane on a line, they had control the line to try to get the plane to land on the little board with the runway...Brookston did GREAT, both times a perfect landing!

Love the Pumpkin Patch

Headed to the pumpkin patch...

Do you like how Kaisley is the one walking (she LOVES her new little handle) and Brookston is the one riding in the stroller?

First we head to the big jumper, since NO ONE else was there...

Brookston absolutely loved it, even though it was a little deflated until later!

Kaisley took a while to warm up to it, but eventually loved it too

Kaisley going round and round

Brookston had a blast on the big tube slide

Kaisley eventually went too...holy cow it was FAST...look at that thing!

The horse zip line was so cute!!! They both really loved this...

But paranoid mama wasn't letting the kids go FLYING down it like some of the others!

The kiddos on the outside of the maze

Riding the tractor

Pumping water to watch the ducks float down

Brookston waiting for his picture to be taken! :)

Kaisley found the pumpkin she wanted

Brookston found his pumpkin too!

Kaisley ready for her picture to be taken...

Brookston wanted no part of this picture, at all!

My little LSU Tigers

Our two little LSU Tigers cheering on some football...

We love Lake Bruin

We spent a wonderful 4 day weekend up at Lake Bruin this last weekend. It was GORGEOUS! The first day was before a cool front came in, so the kids got to do a little swimming. Then, as the cool front came in, it was just so nice to be outside. We loved our long weekend and are so grateful that "Yaya" and "Papa" (some friend's parents) invited us to visit!

Brookston really enjoyed the jet ski, for the first time ever!

I was quite impressed that he ASKED to go on. Because when Richard first cranked it up, he didn't even want to go down to the dock to watch him ride! But shortly after that he said he wanted to ride too and then that's all he talked about!

Kaisley really enjoyed fishing. I mean REALLY enjoyed it! I'm pretty sure if she saw a fishing pole, she needed to have one in her hand!

And she caught her first fish! This picture was actually her first time, which was why she was on Daddy's lap still. But that quickly changed as she realized it was a blast!

Here the kids were just splashing their feet in the water. But Brookston actually asked to go swimming on the second day. Which was again quite shocking since he told us on the way there he didn't want to swim in the "black water" since he couldn't see! (I guess he was actually remembering from last time!) He was actually quite fearful when he was telling us passionately that he did NOT want to swim. But, eventually he asked to swim and had fun. I just didn't have my camera outside since I really didn't think he'd do anything but sit...like he is here!

Brookston and Molly checking out the water

Daddy and the kiddos

Our family

Daddy with the kids out on the paddle boat. It started with just Brookston, but Kaisley quickly realized that they were having a good time out there and she had to join them!

Baby Boy Belly

I've had a few people ask me recently where my belly pictures were. Oh don't you worry, I'm still obsessively taking them! Of course! I have a link on the left hand side of the blog that says "belly pictures". It's under the pictures of the kids and the tickers with their ages. But, for easy access right now, if you're interested...click HERE.

I've really noticed a difference this time as far as being just low! I feel like my belly is really sagging! :) Guess that's what happens when the muscles are all gone! ;)

Last weekend at the pool

We joined our neighborhood pool this summer and what a great decision! We've had a blast and we're so sad that this is the last weekend! We've tried to make the most of these last two weekends by scheduling times and barbques up there with some of the neighbors we regularly see while swimming. So, it's been a fun way to spend these last weekends, seriously going up every chance we get!

In all of the times we've gone up there though, I can't believe I've never brought our camera!! So, today I tried to take a few pictures to have proof of their happy pool faces!

He's so happy in the water!

Kaisley's new "cheese" face!!
In the last couple visits Kaisley's really been having fun! Most of the summer she enjoyed hanging out along the side, listening to the music and dancing, and teasing us that she was going to jump in on the side (although she never did).

Kaisley and her friend, Bennett!

Brookston and Daddy

Kaisley giving Daddy kisses

Daddy with both kiddos

Playing in the big pool!

This is a little random, but now that we're selling our boat, the kids have been obsessed with "driving" it, playing in it, and just wanted to sit in it! Snapped a few cute ones of them, so I had to share a sibling moment! :)

New Windows, new paint!

I realize for a post like this to really show anything to anyone else, I probably should have taken before and after pictures...and I did think about it. But, it never happened. I guess I didn't think I'd be so excited about it that I'd want to blog about it...but I am!

We got new windows installed today and wow...I can't even tell you how fresh it looks! We went from a dingy rustic color with cross beams to all white and all window!

Plus, a couple weeks ago we went from dark green shutters and doors, to RED! And all of the trim was beige and it's now WHITE! It looks SO different...it's fresh and updated!!! I never thought I'd really be so excited about paint and windows...guess that's what being a 30 year old home owner is all about!

Hmmm, sorry, I needed to move those still beige plant potters out of the picture...but, they are HEAVY! Guess we still need to paint those white to really be complete!

Just another view of the fresh windows! And white trim!!!

So I had to find SOMETHING...please excuse the fact that it's night time and it's Christmas lights. But, see the dark green color and the dark metal windows with cross beams! Big difference right?

1st Dental Visit

Brookston had his first dental visit today! I'd say it was pretty successful and a great kid environment. He went to a pediatric place that is very kid friendly. Normally parents do not go back, but because it was his first time, they said I could come see and stay if I'd like. Out of curiosity I did and also a little selfishly, Kaisley was having more fun in the dental room/play area, then in the waiting room! :)

Anyway, when you first walk in there's a tooth brushing station. They want the kids to brush on their own (even though I always help out before or after his turn), but they want to assess what level they are on and how they are doing, then give the child tips and things to work on. He got a new tooth brush, kids toothpaste and a blue timer that shows how long he "should" brush! :)

Then, on to the dental area. There are probably 8 or so chairs all in an open area with tons of activities all around for the kids too. Brookston's favorite was the basketball hoop and waterfall. They start off letting the kids play, so not to torture them by going in the chair first thing when seeing all of the fun stuff. So, he got to play around...Kaisley following and enjoying as well. The lady said they give them at least 5 minutes, but it was more like 20..which got a little old for mama, but at least it's entertaining!

I mentioned ahead of time that I was starting to worry about the yellowing of Brookston's teeth, even though he rarely drinks juice and has limited candy and so on. But, more recently, I realized we were still using toddler training toothpaste, and maybe it was time to switch to kids toothpaste! The dental hygienist had the dentist talk to me for a minute before hand and said yes, start using kids toothpaste and that it was probably just normal build up on his teeth. He said the cleaning today would take care of it.

Boy was he right...Brookston's teeth are now SPARKLING white after seriously a 2 1/2 minute cleaning by his super speedy dental hygienist! It was quick!!!! Followed by flossing and some stuff run across his teeth. Brookston was not a fan of the cleaning. You could tell he was uncomfortable and he was boarderline crying, but he sat there, mouth open, and when he was done you could tell he was proud! About half way through I thought it may be the noise (he's quite sensitive to loud things), so I suggested to him to cover his ears, so he did and I think it helped. One bad thing about being there watching though was Kaisley saw Brookston crying and she did not like that one bit! She was worried for him!

Then, he got to play again while he waited for his turn for the dentist to see him. When the dentist came by, he counted Brookston's teeth (20), looked around and said he looked great! He commented that he has WODNERFUL spacing between his teeth and that he will most likely never have spacing issues...let's hope! :) Although apparently it's somewhat genetic for teeth to fall out late and mama had to have a baby tooth pulled at 17 years old...so, he thought he should probably mark that in his chart...nice! :)

I didn't take any pictures, but they did take a picture of Brookston and made this little card for his first visit!

Kaisley's 18 month pictures

Kaisley wasn't quite in the mood to be photographed today. I guess it helped keep our costs down! LOL! It wasn't that she was in a bad mood, she just had NO desire to stay on the back drops or look towards the camera. She was either having fun, being cute and smiling when she was on the opposite side of the studio. Or, she was right by the back drop with the props, but looking down or with her back towards the camera.

The photographer certainly worked HARD to get some shots and she did get some "cute" ones. But, I just kept thinking they really weren't HER! The photographer tried to sell me saying, well, this is just her at 18 months, but it's not. Looking at the smiles and expressions in those pictures, it just didn't say, "My Happy Kaisley".

Here she is...18 months:

This is the one that I felt like was mostly her smile and expression, so this was our package.

This is an example of how it seemed, cute, but just not her happy, beautiful, usual smile.

Sort of close to "her"....a little of her mischievous side! :)

And of course now she's running around me, smiling with those priceless faces that make me smile back with love, and she's just being so cute! I wish we could have captured THAT!

Why?

"Why"...my 17 month old's newest word! Seriously? She's barely 1 1/2...she just started talking like 2 months ago!! Thank you big brother for teaching your baby sister this lovely word and the exact way to say it to make it a typical toddler question.

I know she probably doesn't completely get it yet. But, she certain times it well. Kaisley, let's go get in the car...why? Kaisley, leave the sink drain alone...why? Kaisley, it's time to go to bed...why? I think she's learing very quick how to be a "big girl!" I'm just shocked that this question has already started!!!!

Brookston's 1st week of school

Brookston started his new school this week! Yes, they started on August 2nd! Early huh? Only a week earlier than the public schools, but a MONTH earlier than his old school (Mother's Day Out) would have started! Mama was excited about that since I could tell he was getting a bit bored of our daily grind!

Anyway, we were planning to go back to the same MDO program as last year (3 days a week for 4 hours), as we had no complaints and really loved it! Certainly helped that it was RIGHT across the street from our neighborhood so I could leave at 8:55am and have him there by 9! But, we got a phone call from the school we had been on the waiting list for since Brookston was just 18 months old! The call was only like 10 days before school started, so we had little time to think, react, or plan. It's 5 days a week, for a half day (8:30am til 12:30pm), but will go to 5 days a week, full day next year. So, we were a little hesitant. But this was what we've wanted all along, so we went for it!

Brookston LOVES "new"! New school, new teachers, new friends...he was excited! He walked right into his classroom on the first day and barely looked back to wave! Apparently the only thing that upset him was when it was lunch time on the first day, he wasn't done with his painting for Daddy! But otherwise, he's been having a blast!

School is a bit further (takes about 13 minutes and it's interstate, so I'm always worried about traffic or an accident making me super late), the hours for half day are 8:30am til 12:30pm, so it's a bit more difficult to plan the rest of the day to have any entertainment for Kaisley...but so far, it seems like we've made a great decision.

The teachers are great (and I know Brookston loves them as he gave them hugs when he left today), he's having fun, he's already come home with some new facts (like yellow and blue make green, which he learned when he was finger painting with yellow and blue), he's done some fun projects (like gluing shapes together to make a schoolhouse), and did I mention that THEY provide breakfast and lunch! Yes! That's right, mama doesn't have to pack anything! :) Plus, I'm already developing what I hope is only an involved parent/teacher relationship, not an annoying parent/teacher relationship! I like getting a few details from his day...last year I felt like I stayed too quiet and never knew a thing about Brookston's day!

Okay, last funny fact. Nap time for those kids that stay all day is from 12:30 til 2:30, they start winding down at 12:15. Pick up for half day kids is at 12:30. So, the last 15 minutes for half day kids is quiet time, reading books or coloring. Well, Monday through Wednesday Brookston's only complaint was that he wanted to sleep on the little blue bed (a cot), just like the other kids! So, we brought his blanket and baby (his lovie) with him on Thursday and he was happily laying (wide awake) in a cot! He was excited to lay on the little blue bed. Guess who wasn't laying down today, Friday! LOL! Guess the excitement was over once he tried it and realized it's not that special! :)