Nursery.

So today was the first day we put Kai in the nursery at church. I know, I know, he is 8 months old and he probably could have been going in there for quite some time now, but guess what, I didn't want him to. He was always good during the service and he loved the music and lights...PLUS did you know it was (and still is I guess) flu season. I did not want to deal with a sick (flu sick) child! Not to mention I hadn't checked out the nursery until a couple weeks ago (okay maybe about 2 months ago) and I actually really like how it's set up. They don't have all the babies put in one big giant room together, which I really can appreciate as it can cut down on the chances on getting sick (this may not be true, but let me think this...). So today Kai was tossed into the 9-12 month room (which is really the 8-11 month room, but whatever). It was only him and this other little kid who was at least 11 months because he was walking. Apparently Kai seemed to do okay, though I'm sure that even if he did horrible they would tell me he did fine. When I went to pick him up (trust me, towards the end of service I started getting really anxious) he looked so stinking sleepy! Poor kid missed his nap time and was up for almost 5 hours! He passed out as I was putting him in his carseat and didn't wake up as I took him out and brought him in the house. If you knew how he was, you would know how tired this meant he was! Needless to say I fed him and put him right down. My little boy is slowly growing up...SLOW DOWN!

I love this kid.

Let It SNOW...

Sooooo I've been a posting slacker, but my mom was here and Kai has been sick and on and on and on. So I'm hoping today's post will put me back onto the "posting train", but we'll see. On Saturday it was a freaking blizzard here and I'm almost positive it has been raining since the snow stopped. I'm ready for some flipping sun people. However, I did take this precious picture when it was snowing. Brian was holding Kai up to the window to watch the snow fall. It was too cute not to share :)

Confessions of a Basketball Widow.

As you know Brian coaches college hoops. He loves it. I love it. Kai will learn to love it. You know you got something good going when your wife loves your job just as much as you do, so Brian, you got it good! Well with this job comes many nights alone - just me and the little guy. It's still really hard when he leaves for a long time and I definitely don't "enjoy" him being gone, but I have learned to look forward to SOME things while he's away :-)

1. I get the WHOLE bed to myself. Even though, to be honest, I rarely take advantage of this and typically stay on just my side curled up in a ball with a pillow placed vertically to "replace" Brian, it's still nice to know that if I want to SPRAWL I can do so.

2. I get a whole carton of OJ to myself. This may not mean a whole lot to others but to me there is just something about getting up in the morning and chugging right from the jug. Instant refresh. No one worry, I do not do this normally, just when Brian is gone. So when you all come visit you will not have my germs all over the OJ. Don't judge me. Please still visit.

3. Since I have the whole bed to myself, when/if Kai wakes up in the middle of the night I can just scoot across the bed INSTEAD of walking all the way around. Not that it's a long walk, but on more than one occasion I have slammed my leg into the side of our footboard, leaving a huge bruise. Jumping over Brian is always an option, but I can't say that he'd appreciate it. Though, he is a heavy sleeper so I doubt he'd even notice.

So I thought I had a lot more things I enjoyed when Brian was gone but I guess those are really the only 3. One thing that I know I miss a whole lot when he's gone is him getting up with Kai at 7 so I can sleep that extra 30 minutes AND the fact that he makes me coffee every morning. I can honestly say this last week has really made me miss the coffee :-)

Go Brian Go...and then hurry home.

Tonight is one of Brian's biggest games of his coaching career. If they win they get to go to Springfield, MA for the Elite 8, then hopefully the Final Four and then hopefully for the Championship game where they will win. That is how we hope it plays out anyway. So a big fat GOOD LUCK to him. They play at 7p and you can listen or watch the stats of his game on the UCM website. Yes, selfishly I want them to win so I can go to ME to see the fam, but I also want him to win so he can come home and not go to Indiana tomorrow for the rest of the week for some JUCO event. Hello Brian, I need you here with me! Kai is totally thrown off when Brian is gone! Not to mention he is either teething or has a cold. I have a cold so I assume that he has the same cold, but I'm hoping that he's just teething. Crazy stuff right here.

It is true though, anytime Brian is gone Kai just isn't the same. Poor little tyke. It amazes me how much they can pick up and notice when things aren't "right". On a super cute side note, last night was the first time Kai took a bath in the "big boy tub" without me or Brian in there with him. You see, we have those lame tubs that have the sliding doors which makes it really uncomfortable to give him a bath because the metal jabs you in the armpit when you're leaning over. Plus, the tub was super slippery because we hadn't bought a mat yet for him to sit on and he would keep slipping over, clearly not safe. Finally I found a mat that I thought was cute enough - it's a little green froggy and really soft on the bum. I just couldn't give him a bath in the little tub any more - he was making a freaking mess. Seriously, the floor and counter would be soaked EVERY night from all the splashing and throwing the washcloth. Not that I mind the mess, but this has turned out to be much easier. Phew. Anyway, the big boy tub worked out great! He LOVED it! splash splash splash. So stinking cute. I just sat next to the tub and let him play, randomly pouring water on him to keep him warm. Oh the cuteness. I really think this kid would stay in the bath all day if I let him, which makes me even more excited for the Mommy and Me classes!

Movie Monday

So Brian and I have had the pleasure of using Netflix and when we were first married we used it quite a bit. I loved it because when I knew Brian would be gone for a longer length of time I would queue up some girlie movies and watch them at night. Well since we've had our little tyke watching movies just isn't high on our priority list, not to mention that Brian rarely is home long enough to watch one! Lately the movies have come and really just hung out on our DVD player (I honestly almost just typed VCR, how embarrassing!) until I've sent them back just because I knew we probably wouldn't end up watching it. Finally we reduced our subscription to only one movie at a time and the only reason we kept it is because Brian kept saying, "we'll use it more once the season is over blah blah blah". All this being said I've decided that every Sunday I will watch whatever movie has blessed us with it's presence and then blog about it. Why not right?! So here it goes...

G.I Joe
Yeah, definitely not a fan. The acting was horrible and really, the story line was kind of lame. But what do I know, I'm a girl and was never really into the whole G.I Joe thing...was it a comic book or something? I don't really like the X Men movies either and Brian is always telling me it's because I was never into comic books. What I really want to say to him is, "Yeah well guess what, I don't make you sit around and watch movies about Barbies" but I realize that they don't really make any movies about Barbies...and he likes the girlie movies for the most part. So in my professional movie watching opinion, I wouldn't waste your time with G.I Joe, unless of course you like really bad acting and bad story lines, which, in that case, this movie might be your favorite.

Kristen Schneider.

So apparently I was supposed to inform people that I started a blog...which in hindsight actually makes sense, but I never really thought to say, "Hey I have a blog now so how about you read it" so I never really did. My most sincere apologies to Kristen Schneider who is, and I quote, "bitter" about not being informed about the blog. I do regret my actions and to make up for it I am dedicating this post to you. I really miss you lots and cannot wait for the alumni meet this year! I still think you should have Robbie send you out to CO for your birthday...but don't go until May because that is when I'll be there :-) Love you!


Sorry but this was the only picture of the 2 of us that I had scanned onto my computer. Not the best but we are surrounded by 2 very fine men ;-)

Car Only...

So I'm not really sure what is going on but all hell just broke loose. Kai is now refusing to sleep at all costs...unless we are in the car. Problem (well, one of them) is that he wakes up when I have to get him out of the carseat and guess what, I can't just drive around for 11 hours at night so he can sleep. I think he might be getting his top 2 teeth, and he's been blocked up (whole other story in itself...) but last night I put him down around 7 just like every other night and he cried and cried. Finally, after going in there a couple times to sooth him, I got him up, let him play for a little bit and then put him back down. Guess what? Yep, the crying continued. Awesome. I let him cry for a little bit longer and then went in and held him but he could just not calm down. Then I decided to give him a bath because he loves the bath and I though, "Hey that will probably calm him down!" but it took about 15 minutes of being in the tub and me making a complete fool of myself to get him to laugh and forget whatever pain he may have been feeling. Yes, yes he took a 45 minute bath AND this was ontop of the bath that he had already had BEFORE I put him to bed. Not once did he let go of his "plug" though, which is what makes me think that his gums are hurting him. By the time he fell asleep it was 10 and I was exhausted. Thankfully he slept until 6, but on a typical day he will wake up and eat then sleep for another 2-3 hours...well this morning it was only an hour and I thought I was going to DIE. Finally it was nap time and he ALWAYS take a good nap in the morning. And I mean ALWAYS...well today it was an hour. So then I decided, fine if you are going to NOT sleep then we are going to go on an adventure and we hit up Kansas City in style. Thankfully he slept in the car...no surprise there.

On our way home from KC he fell asleep again, but only for about 30 minutes (his typical naps are at least 1.5 hours and his total "nappage" today was about 1.5 compared to 4.5). We went to my friend Melissa's house for dinner and listen to Brian's game on the radio...BY THE WAY they won so they play for a spot in the Elite 8 tomorrow at 7p. He didn't/wouldn't sleep there either and though he wasn't too fussy, he was fussy enough that I knew he was tired (call it my motherly intution ha!) Well for those of you have been to Warrensburg it is NOT a very big town and probably takes about 3 minutes for me to get from Melissa's house to mine. Well as the story would go, Kai was OUT before we finished backing out of her driveway. We got home, I swaddled him and put him in his crib and BAM let the crying begin. Awesome. It's going to be another LONG night. Ugh.
This is Kai when we got home...the whole 3 minute drive really must have put him over the edge. He has a little head so the hat is big and it turns all around and sometimes covers his eyes, but yes, he is out COLD. Poor booger.

One of those days...

Ever have one of those days where your mind just WON'T shut off. Drives me nuts. And it seems like no matter how much I do the house is always too messy, there is always laundry to be done, dishes to be cleaned, diapers to be changed, bathrooms to be wiped down, things to be dusted and the list goes on and on. To top it all off, on days like these, Kai never really wants to nap. Poor little booger. Somehow though, it is also on days like these where I will just be wanting to rip my hair out and that little guy throws me one of the most sweetest, sincere smiles and all is right. Kids make things so confusing and so simple at the same time. Wouldn't trade this job for anything...even when I do run into my room and scream into my pillow to get out any frustration. Don't judge, I know you all moments like that :-)

And the Hubs is Gone...Sad Day

Brian left for Wichita Falls (TX) today for his Regional basketball tournament...which WE should have been hosting, but that is a whole separate story. I'm really hoping they can win the Regionals for MANY different reasons. One: we would get to go to Boston and I would be able to see my family. Two: I wouldn't have to deal with canceling my plane tickets that have already been purchased. Three: we would actually get to see Brian for awhile because IF they lose this weekend then he is going to Indiana for a JUCO tourney to do some recruiting ALL next week...thus, he would miss my birthday. More importantly, that would mean we wouldn't see him for about 2 weeks straight. The only thing that would make that somewhat bearable is the fact that my Mom is coming in on the 18th!! Honestly, we've had a lot of visitors and like I've said before, I LOVE VISITORS, but having your Mom come is just different in so many ways. Soooo in short, the Mules need to win this weekend so that we can see Brian next week and my Mom 2 weekends in a row :-)

On a different note: Kai is just changing so much and it's absolutely incredible. He is really starting to learn how to use his hands, starting to really babble all day long (and night) and he really watches what people are doing. He has started to do this new thing too where he shakes his head "no", but I know he's not doing it to say "no"...it's really odd. Side note: he is also having trouble with his bowels and I have whipped up a nice batch of prunes to try and help him along. Hopefully they work! And yes, I have started making Kai's baby food and am surprisingly enjoying it. It makes me feel accomplished during the day when I whip up a batch of this or that. Not that people who don't make their baby food aren't, it's just a personal thing. Keeps me busy. Plus, Kai likes to "help", usually by grabbing at anything and everything. I just love that boy!

My Son...The Bully?

The Bully...

The Victim..

How it started...

Later that day...

You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Well, maybe not an "old" dog...

So for awhile now Brian has been wishing and hoping that Malachi would do this "balancing act" that Blake would do with Isaiah when he was a baby. Brian started trying to get Kai to do it when he was about 3 or 4 months and has not stopped trying since. Well, finally Kai did it. Brian was so pumped!! Of course I had to get the camera so I made a mad dash to the bedroom to capture the moment. I'm sure there will be plenty more "practicing" in the future, but Brian is currently content that his son achieved this milestone (sigh).

Pip Pip Cheerio.

So yesterday we were just feeding Kai (I know, nothing abnormal there) when suddenly I got a brilliant idea: let's see what he'll do with Cheerios! For the last few weeks he's been LOVING the Baby Mum Mum rice husk things so I figured I'd give Cheerios ago. I mean, seriously, who doesn't like Cheerios. Well...I may have found the first kid that does not like them. I am not giving up though, I'm sure he's just a little too young for them, but it was fun to watch him figure out how to pick them up and then his facial expressions afterward. Allow me to share...