Sick Days

Connor came down with chills and a fever last Wednesday so we visited the doctor. He had all the symptoms of flu but turns out it was just a virus of some kind. He started feeling a little better by Friday night but then Saturday morning Kaitlynn and I woke up with fever. Thank goodness we all got sick (a) while Jeff was in town and (b) on the weekend.

One of his ideas for keeping the kids occupied during our sick days: building a fort. He is a pretty good fort-builder if I do say so myself.



There's nothing like enjoying snacks and a movie in the fort to make you forget all about being sick and not being able to play outside.



The little kids and I hung out in our PJs all weekend. I didn't realize how scary I looked until I saw this picture. Yikes.



I'm so thankful that Jeff has been such a caring nurse for us and I'm praying we're feeling better tomorrow morning when he returns to work. You know the kids are sick when they both asked to go to bed before 7 pm. I'm heading that direction myself.

Potty Pics

Ever since she witnessed cousin Preslee's successes using the potty during their recent visit, Kaitlynn has been very interested in the potty and frequently likes to sit there.



With or without her clothes and diaper on, she will sit there and play or look at books.



I've also noticed 2 separate occasions where she actually went to sit on the potty and went #2 (in her diaper, but while she was sitting down on the potty).



By no means are we potty training yet, but I definitely encourage her to sit there when she wants and I still make her sit there right before her baths. She actually went #1 there before a bath last week, but it was an accident (yes, I see the irony in using that word) and not something she meant to do.



I've heard that girls are easier to potty-train than boys but I also know that every child is different.



While on the potty, her favorite reading material is her Daddy's Us Weekly magazine. ;-)



And I couldn't resist posting the following pictures showing Kaitlynn in all her glory.



She is loud and proud with that belly! Gotta love it!

Cousin Karlie

Last weekend I set aside some of the pictures from our visit with my cousin Robin and her daughters Karlie and Preslee because I wanted to search for some old pictures to complete my "story." I finally found the pictures I was looking for, so here goes.

From a very young age, my niece Karlie (Robin's daughter) has LOVED ice skating. Back when Karlie was the only kid between us, Robin and I visited each other often and we usually tried to visit the Galleria to give Karlie a chance to ice skate. One of us usually had to join her (rock-paper-scissors) when she was really young. I'd guess that she was 3 or 4 when she first tried it, and then she would BEG us to let her go everytime she was in town.

This was the earliest photo I could find of us ice skating:



Even when Robin and I couldn't take her, she'd find another willing partner. Here's a picture of her ice skating with her Dad (Paul) and with Collin and Kevin right around the time Connor was born. Aren't they all so sweet??



Needless to say, when we visited the Galleria last weekend, ice skating was at the top of Karlie's to-do list. This time, she was able to skate by herself.




As I sat outside the rink watching with Preslee and Kaitlynn...



...I reflected back on all the years of taking Karlie ice skating and how much she has grown. The years just go by SO fast! I can't believe that little 2-lb preemie is now 10 and can change my toddler's diapers.



We love you, Karlie!

Special Visitors

We had some special visitors this past weekend. My cousin Robin came from East Texas with her 2 girls, Karlie (10) and Preslee (2). It was so much fun to have them here and hang out. Robin and I are only a year apart and were always the best of friends growing up, and after she had her daughter Karlie we were closer than ever. But since then, we have a tough time getting together with our busy lives and kids. So it was an extra special treat that she took the time with her girls to make the drive down here to Houston. Unfortunately Robin and Preslee were a bit under the weather so we didn't do as much as we planned, but we still really enjoyed our time together.

Probably the most popular activity of the weekend was playtime in the "playhouse." And yes, that's what we call it. Don't come over here and call it a doghouse or kennel because that might offend our kids, ha!





We also made a trip to the Galleria for some playtime and shopping. I think the biggest hit was our stop at Dylan's Candy Bar.




It was so fun to see Preslee and Kaitlynn play together. Preslee is about a year older than Kaitlynn but they are very close to the same size. And Preslee is potty-training so Kaitlynn developed more of an interest in the potty after seeing Preslee go potty like a big girl.




Jeff was in heaven with all the love and hugs from these 2 little girls.



One of our last stops before Robin and the girls headed home was to stop at another mall for some playtime and lunch. Karlie ended up buying a cute little makeup kit and the kids gathered around to watch her use the makeup. We had to laugh when Connor said, "When are they going to have makeup kits for boys?"

Kimono for Kaitlynn

Kaitlynn received a long-distance "hug" the other day -- in the form of this little hand-crafted beauty (the knitted kimono, not the toy syringe!):



Oh, how blessed she is to have such a sweet and talented friend like Noni.



I promised Tanna (Noni) that Kaitlynn would rock the Koko Kimono, and I'd say she definitely does rock it by the look of this face and this pose:



Yep, Kaitlynn loves her kimono and knows how to flaunt it. She receives nothing but lovely compliments when she steps out in this cold weather wearing her warm and colorful treasure.



Thank you, Noni, for sharing your talent and long-distance hugs with us!

Spiky Hair

I try to make an attempt most mornings to comb Connor's hair. Connor began calling this "handsome hair" a while back and it stuck. Lately, though, Connor started asking me to stop doing handsome hair and instead make his hair spiky. I'm not sure where this came from, but everytime I would try to spike his hair it would always fall flat within minutes. So when it was time to take him for a haircut recently, Connor declared right away that he wanted a "spiky haircut".

We went to our favorite kids' haircut place and told the stylist what Connor wanted. She cut his hair and towards the end Connor was staring in the mirror at himself. He had a bit of a panicked look on his face, and he said to me in a quiet voice, "But Mom, it's not spiky." She reassured him that she hadn't started the spikes yet, but they were coming!



So here he is, Connor with his spiky hair. Do you think it's spiky enough?? The product that was put in his hair was designed to hold spikes and it made his hair feel so stiff and hard (more on that in a minute).



While Connor had his hair spiked, Kaitlynn decided she would tidy up the place a bit.




And then I had to strap her into a nearby chair so I could capture the spiking in action.



And let me just say, this is the only time you'll see Kaitlynn in a haircut chair because she will NOT be getting that sweet hair of hers cut until she is old enough to overrule my say-so. (Which is probably sooner than I'm ready for. Ha!)



When it was all over, both kids were given suckers to enjoy. It was Kaitlynn's first experience with a sucker. I may have to get a bag of these to keep her still at home, ha!



Back to the spiky hair.... Connor's hair was so stiff and hard with his spikes that it started to bother him during rest time. When I came upstairs after rest time, Connor's hair had undergone a complete transformation:



He told me that the hard spikes were bothering him so he got his hair wet and combed it all down. I promised him that the next time we spiked his hair, we would use less of the "spiky sauce" so that his hair wouldn't get so hard. So here was the end result when he got ready for school this morning:



Who knew that a 4-year-old boy could be so particular about his hair?? :-)

PJs and TV

It's been cold and dreary here this week. Jeff's working in New York so we've been spending a lot of time in our PJs and a lot of time watching TV. There's nothing wrong with that, right?







(Oh, and don't mind that last photo. Kaitlynn is going through an unzipping phase, ha!)

We've noticed in the past month or so that Kaitlynn is FINALLY showing an interest in TV for longer periods of time. It used to be that we would turn on a show for her and she would watch for just a couple minutes before losing interest. Now she will sometimes watch entire shows. Is it sad to admit that this makes me happy? ;-)

And for those that may remember a certain Barney-lovin' boy in our house....



Well, it appears that we have a Barney-lovin' girl as well. That is by far her favorite show these days. When she sees Barney, she squeals with delight and sometimes even shouts out, "Yay!!"

Senior Recognition

It's really starting to hit us lately that Collin will be graduating soon. Sometimes it just doesn't seem right, but he turns 18 next month and then graduation is in May. Crazy! This week they had Senior Recognition night for all of the swimmers on his high school swim team.

All of the seniors are introduced with their parents. Here's Collin with his dear ole' Dad.



As the seniors are introduced, a speaker reads a few things about each senior from an information sheet they previously filled out.



I thought I'd type out the form and Collin's responses so here goes.

Athletic/Scholastic Honors & Achievements: "Being a total hoss at Call of Duty [XBox 360 video game]. That's all I have to say about that."
What has been your most memorable experience as a member of the Falcon Swimming & Diving Team at Jersey Village: "Are the moments I don't remember, and when my boy Tim ate a 5 stack at Whataburger."
Athletic/Academic Scholarship: "I have no athletic scholarships b/c I have a life outside of swimming, but if there is a scholarship for looks I would get that."
College: "PU. Procrastination University. Just kidding. Texas Tech."
Major: "Designer of building architect or an accountant."
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years: "I see myself ruling the world w/Hunter [friend]. Also, I'm going to own a house on a private island and lay in a hammock."

This is definitely a kid that doesn't take life very seriously right now! Here's hoping he can figure out what he wants to do with his life...SOON! :-)