Updated pics

Just a few pics from Kevin's first day of toddler class and our visit to the pumpkin patch. Enjoy!


Ooh, look what I found - grass!!!



Bye bye Miss Melissa. We'll miss you! See ya later infant class, hello big boy class.


I'm here, let the fun begin!



Mmmm....what do we have here?




What's this round thing my cereal is in?



Hey guys, move it - I need to wash my hands, too!




Washing hands after snack time




Silly on the way to the pumpkin patch





Sweet little giraffe



It's very itchy - hurry up!

Hand foot and mouth....BLAH!

My poor baby has hand foot and mouth disease! Bless his little coughing, sore throat, sores on his body heart. He started feeling yucky last Friday and being the wonderful mother that I am just now decided to take him to the doctor....and only because he has his birthday party on Saturday. How sad is that? But in all honesty, I'm not the mother who takes her child to the doctor after 1 cough. I need to see a fever or something before I even call.

Sure enough, she said his throat was very red with sores all in his mouth. He has a few on his hands and feet and back but nothing too bad. So for those of you Spring Valley readers, your child may have been exposed to this on Sunday. I am so sorry! She did say he would only be contagious if he had fever and he was not running fever Sunday morning or night so all may be okay. There is a 3-6 day period of being expopsed to seeing symptoms. So watch your kiddos this weekend!

We are ready for his party on Saturday and hopefully he is feeling better. I plan on staying home with him this afternoon and tomorrow morning so he can get some rest.

We sure miss you, George!

4 years ago today my father in law George went home to be with Jesus. I remember this day like it was yesterday and all the events that took place. I’ll never forget the drive to the hospital early that morning and Ben almost hitting every car in front of us. I’ll never forget our good friends Chad and Ashley who stayed late with us at the hospital the night before…..and Chad beating us to the hospital the morning George died! That’s how you know you have good friends. I’ll never forget the doctors walking in and out of the waiting room with constant updates – none of which were good. I remember somebody asking if we needed a Chaplin to visit us and with much pride we told them our pastor was already there along with other staff members from our church. I remember the last update from one of the many doctors telling us George wouldn’t be with us much longer and we should make our way to his room. I remember several nurses and doctors in his room when we arrived. I remember them trying to tell us his condition and what to expect before we walked in.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced next.

Seconds after walking into his room he had another heart attack and at the request of the family – they did not resuscitate him. We all walked into the room, held each other and cried. It was such a surreal moment that I had to step back from it all and catch my breath. Was this really happening? My heart broke for my at the time 16 year old sister in law who just lost her dad. My very young mother in law who just lost the love of her life. And my husband who through it all had to be a rock and the strong one for his family. As we stood in the room as a grieving family, someone pointed out the smile George had on his face. We each looked at his lifeless body and sure enough….with his head tilted to the side, he was smiling. And why not? He just saw the face of his Savior. He was no longer in any pain and was walking on streets of gold. That puts a smile on my face, too!

4 years have come and gone and life does go on. We miss him and think about him daily. He now has 2 grandsons who were named after him…..Kevin and our new nephew Jacob Kevin. He would have been so proud of that! He also would have loved the fact that Kevin inherited his big ole’ fat feet. Thanks a million, George.

Pictures coming - I promise

Our schedules have been crazy and Ben is working evening and deep nights now, so it's just me at home with Kevin at night....good luck getting any computer time while he's awake! I do have lots of pictures from our family retreat and some cute pictures of Kevin in his Halloween costume taken at the pumpkin patch.

Kevin started his first day of toddlers on Monday and had a great day! He was so ready to move up and it definitely showed. He loved playing outside with his new friends. His teacher was quick to point out that he has NO fear. He was the first to the top of the stairs to go the big kid slide. No surprise there.

His birthday is just 2 short weeks away. Our baby is growing up so fast!

Almost in toddlers

I had a meeting today with Kevin's new toddler teacher. She is very sweet and of course pregnant and due mid-December but that's okay.... We know her replacement also and she too is very sweet. Kevin is so ready to be in his big boy class. His teacher said they took him down to play with his new friends yesterday and he didn't want to leave them. He was walking around and playing with all of them. Of course because he's new and smaller than the other kids he is often referred to as "baby" by his new friends. It's really cute. She did warn us that his vocabulary is about to take off - but we sure are ready! Now that he's walking and forming this new little personality all he needs now is the ability to tell us what he wants.

We are looking forward to our church's family retreat this weekend. Will be posting lots of pictures soon.

Look who’s walking!

Yes indeed, our little man is walking. He’s so proud of himself (as are we) and tries to walk everywhere. He’s learning how to turn corners now and after trying to chase after Jersey last night, he’s getting pretty good at it. A few weeks ago he was only taking about 2 steps before falling. Now he’s walking like a pro – even with shoes on!!!

We’re getting birthday invitations together this week and planning Kevin’s party. YAY!!! It’s going to be a Blue’s Clues party. How cute is that?

Video of our walking boy will be posted soon.

Movin' on up!

We have been informed that Kevin will be promoted to the toddler class at school on October 20th. Today they started "cot sleeping" and he did great. He's pretty much down to 2 bottles a day - one in the morning and of course his famous night night bottle that he couldn't live without. He's conquered the sippy cup and is eating table food only (we said good-bye to baby food about a month ago).

He continues to make us laugh every day! Our favorite show is Blue's Clues. He loves playing peak-a-boo with anything he can get over his head. He still "woofs" at any dog he sees and loves playing with Meghan and Jersey.

Enjoy the pics!

Is my hair messed up?



Mashed potatoes are also a great moisturizer!



Picnic at daddy's work



















Please don't drop me!










Sweet and innocent - yeah right!