Baby boy...

If you just read the title and thought we were expecting again....Hell no...

My baby boy is not a baby anymore!  He started preschool last week!  I did great about not crying but it helped me tremendously that he walked right on in to class and got right to work on the puzzle he was assigned to.  He has to be to preschool by 8am and that is when he is usually used to rolling out of bed.  Having to rev up our schedule a little bit has been a challenge for all of us.  Some day...some day, I might feel like a mother that is actually on top of things.  For some reason, I feel like I used to be organized but maybe I wasn't????

Kamryn has been a joy lately....she is cutting two more teeth.  She never cuts one at a time, it is always two at a time.  Bless her little heart but holy crap she is feisty!  I say this everyday, but we are in for a treat down the road by golly!  I still love her to pieces and wanna squeeze her everytime I see her :) 

I can hardly make it throught 2pm anymore as I am thoroughly wiped out!  I've been working early mornings, up by 4:15am and that doesn't help matters.  The kids definitely test every ounce of my patience but they still melt my heart.  I just hope and pray everyday that we are raising two respectable/respectful children...kids who will be able to make smart decisions and learn from their mistakes.  It is a crazy world we live in.  Anyways, I will try not to stress too much about that now.  I will let the journey continue and enjoy the ride :)

Graham's first preschool gathering.  They attended school for 1 hour on Aug. 9, 2012.

My babies are growing at a rapid pace...much like anyone elses but it is still so hard to believe, amazing to observe, and fun to be apart of........most of the time.  It is absolutely insane how much life comes full circle once you have kids.  Funny how things that your parents did when you were young, made no sense what-so-ever, or were hard to accept.  Suddenly, years later, I understand the oh so frustrating response of "I am your mom, that's why!"  I have found myself using that line as of this week.  Graham is into asking a million questions, which by the way, reminds me SOOOOOOOOOO much of my brother at his age.  He is definitely inquisitive which I think is a great thing but I can only answer his questions in so many ways.  Kamryn is watching Graham's every move and likes to be just like him.  If she is anything less than a Tom Boy, I will be so shocked....can't say I would be surprised if she stays a Tom Boy because I was/am the same way.  She loves, loves, LOVES, to test the waters!  NOTHING phases her.  When Graham used to do something such as play with an outlet or the electronics and I would yell NO in a stern voice...he would crumble and cry.  Kamryn....when she does those things and I yell NO...she turns her head and laughs and then does it again.  These two little munchkins are so different yet so similar...bizarre.

Graham will turn 3 on August 8th and then attend his first preschool session...a one hour rehearsal so to speak...on August 9th.  Last week was enrollment and guess what?!?!?  I FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT!  Great mom right here folks!!  Anyone want to compete for the awesome mom of the year award??  Bring it on!  Geezz....seriously.  I had the 9th firmly planted in my head as the day I was going to take care of all that stuff, which we can no problem, but the "official enrollment day" was July 25th.  I will get my act together and be prepared to have a preschooler in the house!!!  I will.  I will!  Prior to attending preschool, Graham is supposed to be potty trained.  We have been working on it and I have not forced the issue all along.  I figure he will do it when he wants to anways.  He has done really well!  We are on day 2 of consitant training!!!  Other than the pull-up we used over night, he used 1 all day yesterday, and has used 1 today!  whew whoo!!!!!!!  Little miss Kamryn Louise has taken to going potty in her potty chair every night before taking a bath!  It's a start!  We sing a potty song, start the bath water, and whoala!

Kamryn is walking/running all over the place.  As of yesterday, she is officially 13 months old!  While "hi" is her favorite word, she says momma, dadda, azzi, bye bye, NO, and her newest word: APPLE!  She has said banana a couple times but not real consistant with it.  Her current hobbies are:  playing in Azzi's food and water, turning off the tv or changing the channel, unraveling toilet paper, and splashing her hands in the toilet bowl water!  Great stuff right there!  She has totally bypassed the baby food stage.  I can honestly say there is not one type of "baby" food that she liked.  She would eat carrots and sweet potatoes but not much.  She is pretty much eating whatever we do.  Her obsession is the yogurt melts and little munchies...they pretty much resemble cheese curls.  Recently, she has discovered her love for Cookie Crisp cereal with the milk!  I am impressed with her ability to use her utensils!  She does a great job using her fork and spoon but she still uses  her fingers.  She is definitely the messiest eater of her and Graham (was that proper English?  probably not...).

Well I better go wake up the kids from their naps...actually I will only wake Graham.  We have got to get him to bed earlier at night!  I have already let him sleep longer than I had planned.  So long for now...and the journey continues...

Brief birthday update

My baby girl is now one year old!  She turned one June 28th!  Kamryn decided to start walking the week prior to her birthday and now she is constantly on the go...as if she wasn't already.  We had a small party with my family on her birthday (Thursday) and then a bigger party on Saturday.  She wasn't too sure of the presents as far as unwrapping them.  She looked at them like it was ridiculous to stuff tissue paper in a bag and would run off.  The morning of her big party she got sick.  She is also cutting 4 new teeth at one time right now AND had her 1 year shots on her birthday....happy birthday, right!?!?  Poor girl!  She would knaw on cardboard right now if I'd let her.  Sunday, Graham went to the park for a picnic with Gabe's parents and they brought him home b/c he wasn't feeling well.  We ended up having to take him to the ER.  Long story short, he was overheated...had heat exhaustion.  My best friend Ann, also Kamryn's Godmother, came with me to the hospital.  We had some pretty interesting moments but for the sake of Graham's pride, I will put them in his baby book instead of world wide :)  It is getting late and this isn't the most entertaining post.  I feel like anymore I am just slapping down some details while I have a few minutes but hey, I guess that is better than nothing.  Time is going by so fast...so cliche' I know, but holy smokes...I am trying to treasure every single moment of the baby/toddler days...there are a few moments I could do without, but then I guess I wouldn't truly appreciate the sweet moments as much :)   I am so blessed...and the journey continues...

Busy busy right now.  Basketball camps last week and our team camp this week.  I am getting more personal training clients and basketball students. Next week I am going to begin teaching more CrossFit classes.  Lots of great things going on for me.  I have put myself in an awful routine of going to be late and having to be up early...I am working on trying to break this habit.  Here is a post that I put on Facebook at 6am this morning....

So I had a late night...up early b/c Kamryn decided she was hungry. She woke me up while I was dreaming of a CrossFit WOD: 6 min time limit (which was erased after we got started) partner WOD of jump into the pool belly flop style and clap your hands together under water upon landing- measure the highest splash!, 1 rep- then your partner has to pull you out of the water with a rope...after they pull you out, they jump in - forgot to mention that there are 3 big ass Orca's (whales) in the water. We had to pick a whale- put a red towel up on the deck of the pool for their distraction I guess and we had to polish the Orca with tar! The tar did not disperse in the pool either...miracle, I know. The first one to completely polish their Orca and pull that partner out of the water with the rope, wins. This was an incredibly large and deep pool :)

You can see why I need to break this awful routine I am in!

My kids are doing well.  Kamryn is taking one step but doesn't want to take anymore than that.  On three different occasions she has literally jogged in place then taken a couple steps...crazy!  As far as language, we are working on several things.  I feel llike Graham was a lot further along by now but I have to remember she is 11 months old.  She says "Hi!", "Dada", "Azzi", and she has said mama before but rarely does.  Today she has said it several times!!  I think she is holding out just to spite me!  Kamryn is turning into a feisty little soul!  She knows what she wants let me tell ya!  If she wants something and doesn't get it, she will clinch her fists, turn 10 shades of red, and grunt as loud as she can.  Nice huh?!!  She loves to roll her mini basketball back and forth!  Although I believe she does a few things just to spite me, she is still a little girl after her mama's heart!  One thing that she doesn't act too interested in right now, is books.  If they are short and have big pictures...she likes them, otherwise, she has better things to do!

Graham is still his curious little self.  Very inquisitive...his wheels are constantly turning!  He loves making Kamryn laugh!  Quite often, I think Graham wants Kamryn to grow up really fast or he forgets her age b/c he plays with her like she is another little boy.  Gotta keep my eye on him!

Gabe is playing "Handy Manny" and is building a storage shed in our backyard.  We decided to save some money and have a DIY project.  With any luck, the shed will be finished by Christmas.  He is doing a great job!  He has done the whole thing by himself.  He has had a friend come over and help him for an hour or so to heave crap on the roof....I have helped hold a couple wall segments up while he nailed them in, other than that....it's been his baby. 

Well enough for now....I better get this house whipped into shape and I have workouts to plan for.  Have a good day....and our journey continues!

Graham and Kamryn...brief stories

I have to post this little conversation/moment with Graham today.  Like I mentioned in the Prescott Update earlier, Graham is getting excited about potty training.  Tonight before his bath I asked him if he needed to go potty?  He said he did.........
Me:  Go ahead and get your diaper off and go potty and I will be right back...
Graham:  "I DID IT!!!!"  (flush)

With pee on the seat (and I am sure it's probably on the floor) he was pretty proud of himself and very excited.

Graham:  I gotta go poop.
Me:  Ok well lets put the lid down and you can go.

He sits down and attempts to go but nothing is happening....

Me:  Keep tryin' bud, you can do it!
Graham:  Oh no!!!!!!  My poop and pee are not working!  They are all out!

All I could do was laugh :)

We had a great night!  After Kamryn went to bed, we put together the United States puzzle.  He likes to play dumb and quiz me now like I always do to him.  For instance he said, "hmmm where is Missouri?" and he looked around and pointed at a piece that was white side up.  I said, "possibly, I don't know" (b/c I really had no idea!).  Sure as heck, it was Missouri!  Then he would say, "let's see, Kansas goes here"  and he would put it where North Dakota goes then he got a big smile on his face and asked, "is that right?!?!"

I started talking to him about the state capitols so he is interested in those now.  Give us some time...he will get them figured out!

I am anxious to see what Kamryn does.  Right now she is not that into books....when I tell her no in a stern voice, she just looks at me and either smiles or laughs.  Graham used to get startled and cry!  Her temper is starting to show up as is Graham's.  I am sad to say they get that trait from their mama....I am working on it, I promise!  It's only when I get competitive....generally.

Until next time...the journey continues!

Prescott Update

Time is flying by too fast!  I know that is so cliche' but it's the truth.  Kamryn is days away from being 11 months old.  Last week she took her first steps and they were not walking steps. I thought at first that it was a fluke but she has done this 3 or 4 times since then.  She runs in place and then kind jogs a couple steps, then she is done :)  I can't catch it on video either which is sad.  She is saying "hi" and "thank you."  She says mama and daddy also.  Whenever I hand her a bottle or snack...she says "ank ew"......that is close enough for me!  When we talk to people on the phone she grabs the phone and holds it to her ear and says "HI-eye-eeeeeee"  It is a long pronounced hi and I love it :)  In the mornings, I walk into the kids' room and she is standing in her crib and ready to greet me with a high pitched, "HI-eye-eeeeee!" 

Graham loves Kamryn to pieces!  He is a good big brother...has his moments but for the most part is good with her.  Graham is so excited for preschool next school year.  We keep telling him that the only way he gets to go to school is if he is potty trained.  He has been doing a great job from about 5pm on as far as going potty in the "big boy potty(BBP).  During the day he is too busy for that idea.  He has started his mornings a few times lately, by going to the "BBP."  Last weekend while Gabe was at work, Saturday night I took the kids to church.  As we walked in to the church, I pointed out the window to the preschool room and Graham said, "I get to go to preschool now because I just went potty on the big boy potty!!"  He is not quite understanding that we mean he needs to go in the BBP at all times :)

Gabe is loving the NCRA!  He has a great crew to work with and his schedule is really pretty good.  Fortunately, he works nights for two weeks and then switches over to days for two weeks as opposed to switching between the two during the week.  Recently, we decided it was be helpful to have a shed in our backyard.  After lots of research we decided that instead of buying a shed pre fabricated that we would build one ourselves.  Let me rephrase that...GABE would build it :)  He has it all framed right now and it is looking great!  It will be so nice to get alot of stuff out of our garage!  Aside from that project, he is also busy mowing yards.  I miss helping with our yard jobs but it is hard right now with the kids so little.


As for me, I made a minor career change.  For 7 years now I have been employed by the Hess Fitness Center at our hospital.  I loved the job and the people but it was time for me to give something up.  I was getting tired of working here, there, and everywhere.  I'm working at the YMCA now and have been for over 2 years.  I really enjoy it.  At the end of April, I went to Leavenworth Kansas for a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certificate Course.  Great experience!  I had the honor of working with Lindsey Smith, a CF Games competitor.  She helped me figure out how to kip my pull-ups!  I strung 4 reps together!  Since then, I have worked on them but it hasn't felt as easy.  I got to teach five classes last Friday and loved it!  It will take time for me to settle in to my style with the sport of fitness.  It's good stuff!   Has definintely changed my life for the better.  I have 6 kids that I work with one-on-one for basketball so that keeps me busy also.  I feel so blessed to stay home with the kids quite often but still get to work at jobs I love and enjoy!
Let the journey continue...

Benny the Barger

Life has been insanely busy but I guess anymore that is the name of the game.  Kamryn is officially 10 months old already.  She is walking along side of things....stands freely once she lets go of something...she is saying "hi" along with mama and dada.  We have finally reached the stage of getting her to eat baby food.  Now, she likes to do the "motor lips" once you put the food in her mouth and food flies everywhere.  Graham laughs hysterically and eggs her on.  Once Graham laughs, then Kamryn starts laughing.  It is frustrating to have food spit in your face but at the same time, adorable hearing the kids laugh together.

Graham is beginning to understand the "big boy potty."  He is starting to grasp what the urge to go feels like.  Last night he went twice by himself while Gabe was  here.  Today, he went all by himself while it was just me here.  I asked him if he had to go potty and he said no....then he said yes and before he ran into the bathroom he told me, "you can't be Benny the Barger!"  I told him that I was not barging in, I would just be trying to help him!  He ran into the bathroom and shut the door so I thought, 'fine!'  I got Kamryn rounded up and finished the minimal things I needed to do to get her in bed.  I walked over and stood by the bathroom door and her Graham go potty!!!  I opened the door, quietly and slowly, and he flushed the toilet.  He had taken his step stool out of the cupboard and pulled it over in front of the toilet, took off his pull-up pants, and went pee standing up!  It felt like we won the Kansas Lottery!  Hot damn that was exciting!

There is a brief update on the kiddos!  Gabe is on his first series of day shift this week and that seems to be going well!!  I went to Leavenworth this past weekend for the CrossFit Level 1 Training and loved it!  Now I am waiting to hear if I passed my test or not.  It's been a rollercoaster of events the last couple years but things are starting to come together at the Prescott Palace.  I truly feel like God has led me to this opportunity with CrossFit.  I hope I can find my coaching style and go with it...and help to better and change people's lives!  It's great stuff....I am so blessed!  The journey continues...