Kayleigh pictures

Kayleigh has an older brother - obviously, since she makes car noises when rolling Matchbox cars around on the floor, and because she carries the pop-gun around saying "boom!"

A walking machine! Catch me if you can, Mama!

Someone LOVES mini chocolate chip cookies! Yummy, yummy! (And Daddy liked having them all over his shirt!)

Kayleigh loves to play boo behind doors. She closes the door, opens it up again and says, "bah!" (her version of boo!). Then she giggles hysterically! Such a funny girl!

Riding buddies

We've started bike riding again, taking the kids with us. They do pretty well in the bike bullet - except when Logan gets sick of Kayleigh's head on his shoulder and shoves it into the side. Other than that, they do really well. In fact, today both kids ended up falling asleep.

The kids weigh about 50 lbs collectively, plus the 10 - 15 lbs of bike bullet. Makes it a little more difficult to start up and slow down. Shane pulled them last week, but I did it this today. The last 5 - 10 minutes were killer. But I still kept my average mph at 12.9...not great, but hey, there's coastal wind!

Julesburg, CO

May 15 - May 19 we went up to Julesburg, Colorado to visit Shane's dad and his wife, Fran. Julesburg is on the Colorado border with Nebraska - aka, the middle of nowhere. Seriously, more "nowhere" than Magnolia. While we were up there, we looked at our GPS, and the gridded streets of Julesburg just stopped. It was as if the Garmin was saying, "See, BAM, cornfields". Anyway, it is beautiful out there, rolling hills and big sky. Here is the train sign for Julesburg

The flight from Houston to Denver is about 2.5 hours. After being on the plane for a while, Logan was ready to get off. Daddy told him he couldn't get up until the people in front of him moved. So he looked at them and said (loudly), "People, MOVE!" Oh well, at least he can get away with saying what everyone is thinking!

We had gotten into Denver on Saturday night, then drove up to Julesburg, about 3 hours away. So it was past 11pm when we got in. The next day, it rained and was overcast, so it was sort of a sleepy day. Logan was getting a little cabin fever, so we walked out to the old train depot. On our way back, it started to rain again, so the boys put up their hoods.

Kayleigh really seems to enjoy all her grandfathers. She seemed to really take to Grandpa - but that could be because he'd carry her, when everyone else tried to get her to walk!

The main office for Cabela's (like a Bass Pro Shop) is about 45 minutes away from Granny and Grandpa's house. Logan liked driving the ATVs. I have a feeling I'll soon have TWO boys lobbying for a four wheeler!

An albino catfish! The fish had pink eyes. As Logan and I walked away from the tank, I asked him what color the fish's eyes were. He replied, "Pink. Mama's eyes?" "Mama's eyes are blue." "Logan's eyes?" "Your eyes are blue, too. So are Daddy and Kayleigh's." Then, pointing to Grandpa, "That one?" "I don't know what color Grandpa's eyes are." But when Logan doesn't really know someone, they are "that one" or "this one".

Logan picked up a rifle at the Bargain Cave and was "shooting" everyone. He'd walk up to total strangers and say "BOOM!" We do not own a gun, so I have no idea where he got this! But boy! did he have fun! So we bought him a pop gun to take home.

After the store, we walked out to the boat testing pond. We saw ducks, ducklings, geese, and goslings. Logan reminded me of Uncle Doug - running after all the birds trying to get them to fly. He wore himself out! Kayleigh enjoyed getting a ride on Grandpa's shoulders, and even tried to eat the button on his hat!

The kids were sleeping in unfamiliar beds, and they did okay. Kayleigh woke up one night just before we were heading to bed. Here she cuddles up with Daddy - a great pillow.

Tuesday, we went fishing on a little lake near the house. Before getting to the lake, there was a caboose just off the road. Logan, Daddy, Granny, and Grandpa climbed all over it. Logan knew what it was, because of he knows the little red caboose always came "wast!"

We fished for trout with corn. Logan did great - he caught 6 fish, 3 of which he successfully reeled all the way in! Way to go Loges! He had a great time, and helped Daddy put the corn on the hook, jumped up and down in excitement, told the fish in no uncertain terms to "take a bite. take a bite."

Granny and Grandpa have a much different schedule than the kids - the kids wake up between 5 and 6am, whereas the grandparents slept in past 10am. So by the time we got to the pier, it was naptime for babies. Kayleigh finally went to sleep in the wagon. Logan was pretty tired too (he gets hyper when tired), and even came up to Daddy saying, "Logan night-night? Daddy, Logan night-night?"

The men fishing. It was a really windy day!

After fishing, we went to a horse farm. Here we all are in front of the stallion.

Wednesday morning, we helped Kayleigh walk some more. Here she walks between Daddy and Logan. Logan would throw his arms out, she'd fall into them, they'd hug, and then it was "tackle Kayleigh" time. Both of them would giggle, giggle, and we'd do it all again! What fun kids!

We had a good visit with Granny and Grandpa. It was nice to enjoy the cool Colorado weather before heading back to hot and humid Houston.

Welcome, Abby Mich!

We have a new girl cousin! Abigail Michelle Flachman was born this morning at 7:59am, sizing up at 8lbs and 20.5 inches. We can't wait to meet you, Abby Mich!

Logan's ABC song

Logan's version of the ABC song, "A, B, C, D - NAPTIME!"

Gram and Bapa come for a visit

On Monday, May 10, I flew up to Cincinnati to be part of a study on the knee surgery I had in 1996 (who knew I was a guinea pig?). Got a bunch of x-rays and an MRI done, and also got told that I'll need another knee surgery in ~5 years to replace the meniscus that was taken out in 1998 (the second surgery), and then will eventually need a knee replacement. My kids are SO not playing sports (yeah, right).

But anyway, while I was gone, Gram and Bapa came to help Daddy out with Logan and Kayleigh. Not that I didn't think Daddy could handle it - Gram and Bapa wanted to come down during strawberry season, and it's really hard on Daddy to have to switch from staying up until 8am to getting up at 5am. Anyway, after Shane got over it that I did trust him and was just trying to look after his health, he was okay with Gram and Bapa coming down.


On Tuesday, Gram and Bapa hustled the kids out the door to Froberg's strawberry fields. Kayleigh loves strawberries - as evidenced by her outfit and face. Good thing that strawberry juice doesn't stain!

Then it was off to McDonald's for some yummy lunch and playing in the play area. Kayleigh loved that too! Think Bapa had a good time, too!

Logan, Mr Personality, likes to make friends. This is his new 5 year old friend at the McDonald's.

I love this picture, because it's such a Logan pose. "Doing?" "Where Bapa do (go)?" Pretty much any question or if he doesn't know the answer, he gives you this look. Love it!

I got a text from Gram while I was in Cincy saying that she and Bapa were "heading home with 2 tired, happy kids".

But then after naps, Gram and Bapa wanted to wear them out even more - and took them in the pool. Kayleigh loves to swim between people, and she had a great time going between Bapa and Gram. Logan was looking for the swimming "Nemo", racer penguins, and shark.

Logan latched onto Gram while I was gone. He was virtually her shadow, and Shane said that it was no longer, "Daddy! Come!" but "Gram! Come!" (Yes, he thinks people should respond like dogs - he calls Bug and Zoe the same way he calls us!)

These guys know how to have fun!

I had a good time on my trip - it was nice in someways to feel like my old self again. I wouldn't want to go back, but it was fun to remember what it was like. And it was nice that Gram and Bapa were able to come down and help out. The kids had fun - and the day they left, Logan went to bed without complaint at 7:30 and slept until 6:40! Amazing! Usually he's up at 5:15, but I think he was still recuperating!

She WALKS!

That's right my friends, "Zippy" is now ambulatory. Of course, this is not her preferred method of transit yet. On Sunday (May 9) she was taking about 3 steps, but by Wednesday (May 12) she was taking over 6 steps.

Today, she stood up with just a little help from my knee and walked over to the coffee table and cruised around it. It's so funny, because after she's walked a little way, she gets a big "I'm so proud of myself" grin on her face. It was nice of her to show off while Gram and Bapa were down.

I love to watch her toddle back and forth - it's almost more of a shuffle than a walk. She teeters back and forth between her feet, and sometimes it seems that she's not making any forward progress. So funny! Watch out Bubba - Sissy's going to be catching up to you soon!

Bath babies

So, not only do they take showers together, they take baths. And they LOVE to SPLASH! At least they have a great time together.

Taking a shower

After playing in the pool (water temperature of ~84F), the kids were a little cold and chlorine-y. So we took a shower to warm up. The kids had fun splashing around by themselves for a while.

What a bunch of water babies!

Smiley kids

Yum! Milk! So happy!

Morning, Mama! Watch "Caillou"?

How to push a mouse button

This is how you push a mouse button if you're a 2 year old - use Daddy's finger! Works like a charm!

Outings

This week, we made a couple of outings - first to Froberg's Farm for strawberries and then for Mother's Day pictures and McDonald's.

On Wednesday, the kids and I went to Froberg's for some yummy strawberries. The strawberries were not quite as prevalent as usual, but we ended up picking 2 buckets full. Kayleigh enjoyed picking the strawberries off the plants and eating them. Yum! The abundance of strawberries in her tummy is probably the reason for the insane diaper rash now.

Logan had fun for a while, until he stepped in mud. Then he went nuts! So maybe he's a bit OCD - dirty shoes and dirty feet make him fall apart. On the way back from the field, he wanted "Up, please, Mommy! UP, PLEASE!" Of course, I was carrying Kayleigh and two buckets of strawberries, so "up" just wasn't possible. So he had a breakdown halfway back - he was hot and tired, but he wouldn't drink the juice box I had for him. Once we got in the car, he had his juice box, cooled down, ate some yummy blue raspberry licorice, he was happy - until he fell asleep on the way home.

Then today, we went to JC Penney and got Mother's Day pictures taken. Yeah, that was fun. After 45 minutes of trying to pose both kids, we got 7 pictures. They were all pretty cute, but wow! what a trial! But both kids loved it when the photographer got out a ball to play with them. That made them both smile.

Instead of going to the gym, we decided to go to McDonald's, get a Happy Meal and play! What a good time! Logan climbed around like a monkey and hardly ate anything. He made friends with a few kids that were there, especially a little girl who was about 3 or 4. They would follow each other up the slide, and he went over and sat on the bench behind her while she would take a few bites. Stalker much? Heehee. At least he likes other kids!

Kayleigh had fun climbing around and through things as well. McDonald's was nice because there was something that she could actually play around - unlike Chick-Fil-A, where there is really nothing for her age. She had a great time trying to follow Logan around - although she actually ate some of the chicken nuggets and fries. I think she ate more lunch than Logan.

It's good to get out of the house, and most of the time, we have a great time!