My Baby is turning 3!!!

I can't believe that my baby is turning 3 tomorrow!!! I seems like just yesterday that we were at the hospital awaiting the arrival of Dawson. I remember how uncomfortable I was that last few weeks - I even thought his elbow broke a few of my ribs towards the end! He was a big boy - weighing in at 8 lbs 9 oz (did I mention that he was a week early???). And he outweighed Masen by a whole pound! He was due on Christmas day, but my doctor was kind enough to induce me a week early (I don't think she wanted to be working on Christmas).

For those of you who have kids, you know the anticipation that occurs during the last few days. The wonder of what, or who, this baby will look like and will I be able to do the whole sleep deprivation thing again...well - we did it just fine and looking back I can say that I don't really remember the whole sleep deprivation thing. So for those of you who are currently expecting - it flies by, so don't worry!

I'm so proud of Dawson (and Masen, of course)! I feel blessed to be their mother and to have the best man ever to be the father of my children. Crap, there I go getting sappy :(. I'm sure I'll shed a few tears tomorrow and evenmore as the years go on. Enjoy the pics below and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWS!!!


Here I am in the delivery room, just before getting induced. I sure look happy then, but that was b/c I hadn't had any contractions yet!




Proud parents!!! And yes, I'd like to say that I've lost the double chin since then :).

Check-out those chubby cheeks! We thought he looked like a little chipmunk.

Can't believe how big he is now (he is only 2 lbs shy of outweighing his brother - who is 3 years older than him). I think Dawson gets the award for the child whos looks have changed the most since birth!

Feeling old!!!

I don't know why, but today I'm really feeling old! I'm not asking for a pitty-party, but sometimes when I get to thinking about "old times," I just feel that life has gone so fast for me and sometimes I wish I could turn back time. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for the world, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder how I got to where I am today - SO FAST!!! Does anyone else feel this way, or is it just me? A lot of people tell me that I'm crazy for saying that I would go back to my high school, or college, years in a flash if I could...I guess I am just fortunate to have had many wonderful experiences during those eras of my life. I'm looking forward to the future too - who knows what my life will be like 10 years from now. I do know that I'm going to try harder to make an effort to enjoying "every second" that I can from now on. And I'm going to try harder to capture those wonderful memories and times in my life so that I can continue to reminisce about all of the amazing things that I have shared with those I love! Thanks to all of you for being a part of my life experiences. It's been a fun ride!!

Christmas Fever!!!

I don't know about everyone else, but I really have Christmas fever!!! I finished my shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving this year (I actually started shopping this summer). Am I on the ball, or what ?!? I love Christmas time! I especially love buying gifts for people, which is why I probably like this holiday the best :). Even though I was early on finishing my shopping, we were procrastinators when it came to getting the tree up this year. BUT - we finally got this done over the weekend. Of course, I had visioned this fun-filled "family" experience of decorating the tree...listening to our favorite Christmas songs while reminiscing about the special ornaments we have. Well, as you can see from the pics I took - it didn't really go as I had imagined. Dawson was very grumpy that day (I have no idea why) and we couldn't seem to make him happy :(. Both boys must have been blinded my the 3 strands of lights on the tree (one of which doesn't even work anymore) - hence the sunglasses. Anyways, we got the job done and I guess that's what matters!
We finished the night off by going to see Christmas lights...another disappointment. We drove all the way to Prairie Village to see "Candy Cane Lane," which was one of the most spectacular displays when I was growing up. It was nothing like it used to be - only a cult-a-sac of homes with lights (I remember being able to get out of your cars to see santa's workshop and other displays in the windows). We did find a neighborhood in Olathe that had a great display. The boys didn't really mind that it turned out to be a bust - as we were driving home and getting ready to get on the highway, Masen looked into the city and said "Wow Mommy! The whole city has lights!" Of course, he wasn't actually seeing Christmas lights, but street lamps and other lights on buildings...I guess that maybe we didn't even need to go see the actual Christmas lights to entertain him :).
We enjoyed spending the day together as a family and I only hope that the traditions that we are starting as a family continue as the boys grow-up. We are looking forward to making Christmas cookies this weekend with our Aunts, Grandma's and cousins! And then the festivities continue with our celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
Of course, we most look forward to celebrating the birth of Christ! Dawson is excited to share a birthday so close to Jesus' birthday :). Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

More pics of Thanksgiving...

We always do an annual birthday party for the kids at Thanksgiving too- all 6 of the cousin's birthdays are between the months of November- February, so this is the easiest way to celebrate all together. The kids decorated cupcakes this year and played some games too! Here are some pics of the birthday party night....

Dawson and Taylor decorating their cupcakes

I think Daws had a little too much sugar....

Dawson can't wait to eat his :)

Aunt Kristal and Uncle Zach help the kids decorate the cup cakes

Thanksgiving 2008

We made the trip to Grandma and PaPa's house for Thanksgiving - as we usually do every year. We always have a great time! It's so peaceful and relaxing - well, as peaceful as you can get when you have 4 kids under the age of 6 in the house :). Josh and his brother, Zach, enjoyed hunting. The kids enjoyed swimming in the hot tub, playing in the corn field, feeding Jake (the dog, bones - multiple times/day), and I enjoyed reading an ENTIRE book! Somedays we even managed to get out of our PJ's and into our sweats :). It's so fun to be able to get everyone together - but we missed Josh's oldest sister, Tiffany, and her family this year. I've included some pics of our trip. The first is of the boys at our bonfire. We've made it a tradition to roast hot dogs and marshmallows! It was pretty cold this year - but notice that they don't even have coats on in some of the pictures - it was 60 degrees one day, and then 35 the next. I guess that's Kansas for ya! We are so blessed to have our families and enjoy every moment we get to spend together!

Dawson and his cousin, Owen. They are only 3 weeks apart in age!

New Family Pics

So...we FINALLY got our First-Ever "professional" family photos taken a few weeks ago! We braved the cold - it was only 35 degrees that day. The photographer did a GREAT job - thanks Yolanda! The boys did pretty well, and only used their "cheezy" smiles about half of the time :). So glad that we got these done. I love outdoor pictures, especially in the Fall when the leaves are turning colors. I thank God for my beautiful family!!!

Fall Fun!

Masen, Dawson and Taylor had fun playing in the leaves this week! Notice our "not-so-big" pile of leaves :). That didn't matter though! Whether it was throwing the leaves in the air or rolling in them - they all had a lot of fun! It was so beautiful on Monday and Tuesday (in the 70's). Now it's only in the 30's :(. We have some really beautiful trees in our backyard and they turn a beautiful red and orange color in the Fall. I really think that Fall is my favorite time of year! Enjoy the pics below!

Dawson, Taylor and Masen enjoy taking a rest in the leaves together!

Halloween 2008

The boys had a lot of fun on Halloween this year. The festivites started the day before when we went trick-or-treating at Nini's work. On Halloween day, Masen had his first Kindergarten party. I was lucky to be able to help out with this party! Then we went to Nini and Pops and

G-G's houses. Of course, the boys had to carve pumpkins with Pops - this is a tradition! Halloween night we went to "Boo Bash," where the boys played a lot of fun games, danced and came home with about 2 lbs of candy! We finished off the night by trick-or-treating and Colton's house. Whew! It was a LONG day...we'll be eating candy for weeks.

Here are a few pics of the costumes this year. Dawson was Spiderman and Masen was a Ninji/Power Ranger.

Masen showing off his Ninji moves (with a golf club :).

Daws showing off his BIG muscles :).

Weekend getaway

Josh and I were fortunate to be able to go on a weekend getaway this past weekend. Grandma and Papa Kindler came and stayed with the boys. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast on Friday night in Valley Falls. On Saturday we went to the K-State football game (too bad the Cats lost) and stayed in Manhattan that night. Aggieville sure has changed since I lived in Manhattan - of course, that was almost 9 years ago.

Here are a few pics that we took while we were away. Hope everyone is having a great week. It's hard to believe that November is going to be here in only four more days!!!

Masen's first field trip and Parent/Teacher conferences and painting pumpkins at home....

Masen went on his first field trip as a "Kindergartener" yesterday. I was lucky enough to get to go too! We went to Deanna Rose and the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun, but started raining on us at the end. It's so fun to see Masen having a good time with his friends at school.

Josh and I attended our first parent/teacher conferences this afternoon. I still can't believe that my "baby" is so big! His teacher had nothing but good reports. He's actually very advanced for his age - of course, we already new this - and I'm not being bias :). It was really neat to hear that he is also very caring and kind to his friends. She told us that most of the time, Masen finishes his assignments before everyone else and instead of just sitting at his desk, he has been helping other students on their work. Makes me feel like a really proud parent! Now if he would just start acting this way to his brother at home....

Anways, it's been a great week, thus far, for the Kindler household!

Here are a few pics of us painting pumpkins this weekend....Enjoy!

Leaving a 2 year old unattended with markers...

So, last night as I was getting ready to give the boys baths - I found this....

This last one is my favorite - does that look like a remorseful boy, or what!?!

Dawson apparently was given markers (by his big brother, of course). He seriously, was only in his room for about 10 seconds and this is what happened! I couldn't help but laugh at what I saw! He told me that he had "tattoos" on his arms. This just goes to show you the destruction that can be done when leaving a 2 year old unattended for ANY amount of time! At least he didn't write on the carpet or walls - I may not have laughed as much had he done that. After scrubing and scrubing in the bathtub, the marker still didn't all come off, so I guess he'll be able to wear his "tattoos" a little longer :).

Hope everyone has a great week and this brightens your day a little!

A few pics from this week.

Dawson's clearly loving the whole "potty training" thing. I'll interpret for you, "I don't care what she gives me, I'm NOT GOING POOP ON THE POTTY and she can't make me!"
A little "preview" of the Halloween costumes. They had to show NiNi, of course.

What Goes on when Mommy is away...

I was going through our pictures today and ran across some videos that Josh took when he was home with the boys after Dawson was born. Josh was a teacher for several years, so he was able to stay home in the summers - I still had to work, unfortunately. Anyways, I hope you get a good laugh out of them as I did. It's amazing what goes on when Mommy is away....

This first one is a video of Masen "golfing" in our kitchen...hopefully Josh tried to help him improve his golf swing - you'll see what I mean when you watch this!

This next one is a video of Dawson sitting on Josh's lap - I hope he finally fed the poor child! It was probably a good thing that I didn't find these videos until almost 3 years later :).

I

Potty training frustrations

Potty training with Dawson is not going as hoped at our household! It seems as though we have one very stubborn son, who could care less if his brand new dinasaur "big boy" pants get ruined. Yes, I said ruined b/c - I don't enjoy the whole "cleaning poop out of underwear thing." The boy has been peeing on the potty for as long as I can remember- probably a good 4-5 months now, so why can't he just poop on the potty too?!? I guess it's more frustrating for me this time b/c Masen was so easy to potty training. He had it down at only 2 years and 7 months old and I don't remember him having any accidents. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I sure am sick of spending a fortune on diapers!!! And yes, we've tried everything to make it "worth it" to him - candy, quarters, everything! Hopefully he'll at least have it down before he goes to Kindergarten :).

Thumb sucking and humor from Masen....

Just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of Masen! He is REALLY trying hard to stop sucking his thumb- yes, he's 5, and in Kindergarten, and he still sucks his thumb. For those of you who have kiddos who use binks...BE GLAD! At least you can take away (or throw away) binks.

We have started a new "incentive" approach. Everyday Masen starts out with a jar of marbles (usually 6 - this number will decrease every day). He loses one every time we catch him sucking his thumb. And at the end of the day if he has any marbles left in his jar, he earns $0.50. So far this is working, hopefully it's not too early to be saying this (it is only day #2). He is trying to save up to buy a new Transformer.

Of course, we are also using the positive reinforcement and praise techniques too. Masen really thrives off of praise! In fact last week as I was driving him to his Awana club, I was boosting his Ego and telling him how proud we are of him - he's doing so well in school, in Awana, and at trying really hard to stop sucking his thumb. He then shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well, you should be Mommy. I'm proud of myself, so you sure should be proud of me."

This is our Masen! The corky, pleasing (yet still stubborn) Masen. How proud we are of him and Dawson! Everday I remind myself how blessed I am to have my two sons (and husband) and I can't wait to see what else life has in store for us.

Trip to Grandma and PaPa's farm

We went to Josh's parents house in Esbon, KS over Labor Day weekend. We love to go there - it's so quiet and relaxing. In fact we barely get out of our PJ's! The kiddos kept busy - swimming in the hot tub, riding PaPa's "train," feeding the donkeys, feeding the dog, Jake, playing baseball, eating lots and lots of ice cream and popsicles. What fun we had! Here's a few pics from the trip. Kristal, John, Owen, Zach and Taylor all were there too.

A Day in the Life of a Stay-at-Home Mom!

Thought I'd share a little insight to what a day is like for me - taking care of two (very active) boys, not to mention my niece who is eighteen months old too.

Woke up at 6:45 (the boys were up by 6:15, of course with Daddy before he left for work). Got Masen and Dawson dressed, fed them breakfast - second breakfast this morning as the cheerios that Daddy had given them were "too soggy" by then. Got dressed myself. Brushed the boy's teeth and hair (Masen's takes a lot of gel these days :). Put two car seats in the car, which isn't any easy task if you didn't know this....Out the door by 8:10 to take Masen to school. Dropped off snacks for Masen's Kindergarten class. Dawson and I watered the plants when we got home.

My niece Taylor arrived at 8:45. Changed two diapers then headed-off to Jazzercise for an hour of stress relief and exercise! Went back home and changed another diaper, took Dawson to the bathroom - he's somewhat potty trained these days. Got snacks ready. Played outside for a while on the "Whee" as Taylor calls it - AKA, swing. Refereed between Dawson and Taylor taking each other's snack - this is a daily thing anym0re. Loaded Dawson and Taylor in the car to pick Masen up by 11:20. Made and fed three kids lunch. At the same time - cleaned the microwave out, unloaded the dishwasher, and managed to make myself something to eat as well. Cleaned-up the kitchen after lunchtime, which included wiping down the table and chairs - mac-n-cheese today, which is MESSY, sweeping the kitchen floor, and washing a few dishes.

Put all three kiddos down for a nap around 1:00. Read books first, of course. Changed diapers again too - I'm still hoping that Dawson's done with diapers soon! And now I finally have an hour or so of peace and quiet time!

Oh, and in between all of this I also managed to wash three loads of laundry and even fold and put away one of them too!

Whew! Half-way done with today, then start the whole routine over again tomorrow. I love my life and am so blessed to get to spend everyday with my children! Even if it means cleaning-up constantly and mediating between kids. It's worth all of that and more!

Masen's first day of Kindergarten!!!

Well, it's officially here....Masen's first day of Kindergarten! We managed to get there without too many tears (Mommy's tears that is, not Masen's). Although the walk out of the school, once we dropped him off, was not as successful. Masen was so excited to go this morning - he was even up at 3 AM - a little too early :). He had a great day! He went to the computer lab, had storytime and painted a picture for Mommy and Daddy too. We know that he is going to have so much fun this year! We are so proud of him and Dawson and are truly blessed to be their parents!

Here are some pics from Masen's first day - he kept saying, "No more pictures, Mommy!" I guess he really is "growing-up."