For Uncle N8...

Keegan and Reese got a kitchen for Christmas and are IN LOVE with it!!!! I bought them an apron and chefs hat to add to the theme:) We just wanted Uncle N8 to know that we are raising his Godson in a manner that he would approve of. I am PRAYING that at least one man in my house knows how to cook (although Kurt does make some mean waffles!!!!!!!! We cant wait to visit you guys (and of course you too Neal and Rebecca!!!)...maybe Keegan can get a personal cooking lesson so he can move on to things more complicated than hot dogs and corn on the cob!!!! It will be just like old times..Ange and Kurt watching TV while Annie and Nate are in the kitchen!!!! Hmmmm....maybe not the exact same since we have added 4 kids to the equation...we may need earplugs while we cook this time!!!! Lots of love from AZ to TX!!!!

VIDEO SOON TO FOLLOW...having technical difficulties:)

the next Tom Cruise...

Well...maybe in the early Top Gun/Risky Business days:) I swear, based on this blog my children do not own pants. I can honestly say that most of the day they have them on...just for some reason their cuteness comes alive when they are in the buff. At least Reese isnt in the video...she actually was naked. She SCREAMS "diaper off", "no shirt" ALL DAY!!!! Daddy is a little concerned yet entertained. Will this be the case 16 years from now??? I think not!!!! Keegan has always LOVED to dance...but yesterday he just broke out all sorts of new moves. If it wasnt evident in his skin tone, this boy is 100% WHITE!!!! Poor kid will never be able to tan or express any sort of rythym all b.c of his parents genetics:)
The first video shows Keegans freestyle moves while the second highlights his twirling capabilities:) He calls it "the hula hoop" all thanks to his familiarity with the Wii Fit:

Sweet Dreams....

We all survived Keegans first night in a regular bed. He never got out of his bed, went to sleep like a champ and even called for us to let us know he was awake this morning. Can you beleive it...he didnt even get out of his bed without our permission!!!! So I am not ignorant and I know that he will test the limits eventually...but, for me, getting off to a good start means EVERYTHING!!!! I snuck in his room this morning to take a picture...isnt it sooooo cute????
Our only issue is that Reese is equally excited about the new bed...and Keegan does not have any interest in sharing. I am hoping that Reese will lose interest, Keegan will chill out a bit, and that we dont end up with Reese climbing out of her crib. I am not ready for her to be on the loose...she is way too wild!!!!

soooooooooooooo BIG!!!!

Here is a pic of Keegan tonight before bed...his first night in his big boy bed. No more crib...which means he is not contained. We have had his toddler bed for months but keep deciding to wait a little longer and enjoy the peace we have since the kids are pretty easy to get to bed. We decided Keegan could not go to preschool and still be in a crib...and now was as good a time as any.

He was soooooo excited to help Kurt take the crib down and pu the new bed together. I made (and by "made" I mean I tied knots in fleece since I cant even sew a button!!!!) him a new Buzz Lightyear blanket to sleep with and promised him a matching pillow if he stayed in bed and slept well. Wish us luck.

My little guy isnt so little anymore.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Love

Annie

A little perspective!!!!!

The holidays are now over and Keegan's bday party has come and gone. I now have a little (and I do mean a little!!!!) time to reflect on everything. First...look at home much my pride and joy has changed over the last few years!!!!!




If you look at our blog regularly it may appear that we really do lead a spectacular life. And for the most part it really is amazing. But raising 2 children has been the biggest challenge Kurt and I have ever faced. From the day we found out I was pregnant we have given every ounce of ourselves to being parents and trying to raise a well rounded child who truly loves and appreciates life. What an exhausting task that is. Kurt has completed some ridiculously difficult military training and been to war...and I have had 3 years of constant practice at this parenting gig...yet there are times we have no idea what to do with our children. It is easy to feel like you are failing, but after talking to a few other parents you realize that this job really is just plain difficult. Add in being in the military, uprooting your lives often and starting all over again, and not having family close by to help out and I am pretty sure you have the recipe for insanity.

I just wanted to post this so that all my fellow moms out there know that it really is normal to feel crazy. Dont let all of your friends who seem to have it all together and seem to live the perfect life fool you. We are all struggling in some way or another!!!!

So...we love our children more than life itself...yet at the same time cant handle the reality of our lives. Sounds like a recipe for CRAZY to me!!!! It really is amazing how some days just never seem to end...yet in the blink of an eye our baby is 3 years old.

This year I am promising to take better care of myself so that I am more prepared to nuture and care for the ones I love. I also promise to not compare myself to anyone else and not even mention the word perfection. I hope to enjoy the kids laughter and smiles more and worry about the laundry pile less. I promise to focus more on the amazing love I have with my husband that got us in this mess to begin with:) I hope that 3 years from now I have found a way to master my life...but since that probably wont happen I hope I at least have shown everyone around me how much I love them. The adorable little face in the picture above is the most amazing reason of all to embrace the chaos of every day!!!!

THREE!!!!

Keegan is officially 3 now....and he is very proud. Yesterday we celebrated as a family with lunch at the bowling alley with uncle Tam (followed by a not so fun grocery shopping trip) then presents in the evening. Nana and Joe-Pa got him a scooter. He has been wanting one but once he had it didnt know how to make it work. No worries though...his baby sister showed him. HILARIOUS!!! All of his gifts from us were Toy Story (his obsession right now) related and he was in heaven!!!!

Yesterday was his PARRRTAAAAYYYY!!! Once again, Toy Story themed. He had all of his best buds over (as did we!!!!) for pizza and cake and ice cream. We gave him his last bday gift from us also...a little tikes bouncy house. He and Reese LOVE it!!!!! It was beautiful outside and the kids played forever. Then they came in , made a disaster of the toy room and we had cake a dn presents. Keegan has some great buds...and he got some REALLY cool things. Games, Transformers stuff, Cars stuff, Star Wars things, dragons, and even a Buzz Lightyear sweatshirt with his name embroidered on it. Oh...and even some new underpants for my potty trained big guy!!!!!

So...here are some pics...it was a great time and Kurt and I are still in shock that we have a 3 year old.

The cake:)

Keegan loved the icing on the bottom of the characters

My big 3 year old!!!!

The birthday sign

Some of the balloons. And the etch a sketch. Kurt wrote "Happy Birthday" on it. The guests were very impressed with this Etch a Sketch skills.

Austin and the claw machine.

Emily took good care of Buzz Lightyear.

PRESENTS!!!!

Andrew helping Keegan open his cool new Transformer toy.

This was the ONLY good pic of the adults. It was hilarious looking through the pics and seeing that in EVERY pic one person looked completely goofy. I have a great shot of Renee eating pizza and a picture of Uncle Crush holding a recorder in a phalic manner:) Maybe I can make some money off of those pics. So, for this post you only get Shelly, Felicia and I.

Grace and Reese playing with the Transformer. Can you see how red Reeses hair looks???

Kirra

All the kids ready for CAKE!!!!

Jody and Emily.

Emma...Keegans fellow January bday friend. She will be three next week.

Avery...the DIVA

Talon. No idea what he is doing. Looks like he is trying to avoid the paparazzi:)

Lil Cash!!!!

Keegan and the ladies:)

we love our poisonus nuts!!!!!

Kurt, Lisa and I went to the Fiesta Bowl. We were soooooo lucky to have a childhood friend on the coaching staff and got the best tickets ever!!!!! We were on the 50 yd line 2 rows up!!!! My favorite part of the whole game was seeing my handsome hubby on the field representing the AF as an OSU grad!!!! I am pretty sure everyone in the stands knew who his wife was:) So,,,,we had a blast even though they lost in the end. But true Buckeye fans always love their team!!!!

Thanks for the AWESOME tickets Bubba!!!!!

Enjoy,,,,,,

This is my favorite series of pics. No idea why I wasnt really paying attention to the game like I should have been...but these are priceless. The Bucks had just scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter and taken the lead...at least for a little while:(

My favorite guy on the jumbotron!!!!!!

Kurt and Dutch walking off the field

Our Buckeyes,,,,at least the rear end of them!!!!!

Lisa!!!!!

This pic to me represents the difference b/w Kurt and Lisa's personalities!!!! Mom D...do you agree????
The three of us:)





siblings:)

BRUTUS!!!!!


During a dull moment Shot showing Lisa pics of his adorable kiddos....what a great dad!!!!!
SISTERS!!!!
The random guy behind us who was obsessed with Lisas hair...and, well....LISA!!!!!
The Best Damn Band in the Land!!!!!
You know you are close to the field when you can see the chest bump this close!!!!!

Birthday Week....

So in our family birthdays are kinda like Hanukkah....we celebrate all week:)

Aunt Lisa was here to help us kick off Keegans bday week. He had a bday donut with candles and everything. He has gotten a little surprise every day...and Will get his presents on Friday. His party with all his buds is Saturday...so stay tuned for pics that will clearly demonstrate that I have a hard time understanding the word moderation!!!!!

We also had a little family dinner while Aunt Lisa was here...complete with Keegans favorite...chocolate cupcakes!!!! We forgot party hats...so we raided the dress up closet. Kinda funny!!!!!

The BDAY donut!!!!

The stare-down!!!!


:)

Keegans "birthday hat".

Keegan letting everyone know how old he IS. According to our lil man he is already three and is not waiting until Friday:)

Reese's hat..she is ready for the candles!!!!!

Aunt Lisa got Keegan a claw...he LOVES it!!!! He became obsessed with these when Uncle Vince had back surgery and let Keegan borrow his real one to pick up blocks. Can you imagine how slow everything goes when he has to use this thing!!!!!

Reese post-cupcake!!! this child is a walking disaster!!!!!

Keegans art easel from Aunt Lisa...and Reese doing who knows what!!!!!

We forgot the batteries for his new game...so he used it for seating.

His Buzz Lightyear card.

How cute is this!!!!

Blowing out the candles on the cupcake tree:) He has mastered it this year...no help from mom and dad needed anymore!!!!

:)

:)