Masen's big day

We had quite the (few days) of celebration for Masen's birthday. He woke up at 5:30 AM on the big day to open his biggest gift of all - A Transformer Bike! He can't wait to ride it to the park when the weather gets warmer. Josh and I took him out to lunch (to Chapala, his favorite place of all) and to play cosmic mini-golf and to the arcade. Oh, and we also made a stop by Toys R Us to buy 2 new transformers with his b-day money. Whew! What a day. On Saturday we "partied" at Chuck E Cheese with friends and family. We had a great time! Here are some pics captured from the big day....

Masen at Chapala. The waiters sang to him and brought us fried ice cream :).

We love Chuck E Cheese!!!

Masen "the musician" turns 6!!!

Masen is turning 6 tomorrow! Can't believe he has already been on this earth for 6 years...boy has it flown by! I still remember the day we found out we were pregnant - on Josh's birthday. How exciting it was! Of course we were a little anxious to be parents for the first time, but we were so happy that God had blessed us with this gift. I couldn't imagine our lives without him, he has made us so proud. What a talented and smart boy he is!

I'm including a little clip that I found when he was 3. This proves just how talented he is when it comes to music and how young he was when he became interested in singing. He even has been telling us lately that he's going to be a Music Teacher when he grows-up. Of course, Josh and I are really hoping that he'll become a rock star and support his parents in our old age instead :). What ever he decides to be - he will succeed!

We love you Masen! Happy 6th Birthday!!!

P.S. More pictures to come - I just have to scan them first.....

Christmas is down, one birthday down and one to go....

What a busy month it's been for us!!! Can't believe it's already January. I swear that it was just July and we are enjoying our vacation at the Ozarks. Christmas and New Years came and went so fast. We were blessed this year (spoiled some too by the partents/grandparents). I can't believe that we spend so much time shopping and wrapping and then it's all done and over in a flash. Josh went back to work today and it's back to our "normal routine." Masen goes back to school tomorrow. It think we are all ready to get back to normal, although it was fun to have Daddy home for 2 weeks!!! Of course, I didn't get anything done that I had planned on getting done, but we had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time with family - which is the best part about the holidays! Next is Masen's 6th birthday. I can't believe he is turing 6!!! Of course, I'll post some baby pics closer to his b-day (it's the 15th). We're planning our fun day of taking him out to lunch and maybe going cosmic mini-golfing too (just Masen, mommy and daddy). Then we'll be celebrating with family and friends at Chuck E. Cheese. Here's a few pics taken over Christmas and Dawson's b-day. Hoping everyone has a blessed 2009!!!

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!