Merry Christmas

This year, due to the weather, Christmas was very bitter-sweet. We were unable to make it back home to NE to spend any time with my family, but plan to get there next weekend to celebrate both X-mas and the New Year. On the 23rd, JP woke me up early and wished me a Merry Christmas. I was confused. He left for work and I headed down the stairs. On the table was a huge gift box from Nordstroms!!! I opened it and found a note, along with an awesome new outfit!! He had the entire day planned!! He surprised me by taking me to the Trans Siberian Orchestra downtown, giving me a new Tiffany necklace with the boys' initials engraved on it, and an awesome dinner on the Plaza! To end the night, he took me to the Intercontinental Hotel on the Plaza!!! It was amazing. No kids for a night was such a breath of fresh air :) I did miss them though :). We spent the actual holiday at his parents house. It was a nice relaxing day. Jack had a great time opening gifts and Gray had a great time stealing them from him. I will post pictures after we celebrate the holiday with my family.

Lil' Kickers Soccer & Jack's Birthday

We celebrated Jack's third birthday with a very small party at our house. I went all-out for his 1st and 2nd birthdays and decided that this year we would keep it simple. Next year, I'm sure we'll be inviting all sorts of friends, as he will be in preschool meeting new kids in just a couple of weeks! I made the mistake (or not :)) of getting some AWESOME cupcakes from a small little cupcake boutique here in Overland Park called "Small Cakes". My family and I devoured them. Unfortunately, Jack didn't like the one he picked and only ate 1/2. There were none left to choose from after he realized he didn't like his double chocolate fudge :)!! Poor guy!! I think he forgot about it after opening his gifts, though. He is incredibily into "Thomas the Tank Engine". We got him a train table with all sorts of Track and accessories. He has been collecting the actual Thomas characters for quite some time now. It will be so nice to actually have someplace to store everything!!! Thank God for the huge drawer in the train table.

Cousins Tristin & Wyatt came down with my parents to celebrate Jack's birthday

Jack began Micro-Soccer a few weeks ago. He is very much enjoying it!!! It allows him to interact with lots of new kids and most importantly, run off some energy!! In his class, they are really just letting the kids get a feel for being on the soccer field. They play games and get to watch the big kids play actual games. It is a great experience for him and we will continue to keep moving him up in classes as he progresses. He is REALLY fast!! :)

Halloween 2009

Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Jack's first Halloween in his super-cute puppy costume. It is hard to believe that this was his third! Not to mention that Baby Gray was in my tummy last year at this time! This year was a great Halloween. The weekend prior, we went back to Crete to celebrate with my family. They threw a party in their barn with lots of kids, food and drink. We spent the actual holiday at my inlaws, helping to hand-out candy and taking Jack around to a few houses in their neighborhood. He seemed to really "get into" his costume this year. We heard lots of "ahoy mateys" and "shiver me timbers". Infact, we are still hearing them today :)

On a side note, Gray is cutting his first two teeth. He has been very similar to his brother during his teething process. He's all stuffed up, running a low fever, and is not the happiest camper. I know the Dr's say that teething does not cause such symptoms, but I think they're WRONG!!! Every time Jack has cut teeth he has felt under-the-weather, including his most recent molars that came in about a month ago.

The Lion and the Pirate

Ahoy Mateys!

hmmm. . .not too sure

Yuck MOM!!

All the kids at my parents barn party

Kansas City Pumpkin Patch

We went to the KC pumpkin patch this weekend with JP's family. The place was awesome!! Sooo many things to do there. I haven't seen one quite this big. It takes almost two hours just to get thru the corn maze. We chose a chilly day to go, so we didn't get thru all of the activities, but were able to do many. Jack's favorite part was the petting zoo. Gray spent most of his time being bundled up in mom's arms. Temps were in the 40's. BURRRRRR!

Lots of things

The boys and I took a trip home a little over a week ago. We had a great time with with family and friends. I got to spend some time with Crystal and meet Brayden for the first time. He is a doll! We also spent lots of time with my parents. Jack's favorite part about going home is spending time with his friend Camden and his cousins Tristin and Wyatt!

With Cousins Tristin and Wyatt

Jack and Camden
Baby Brayden Kent Sept. 09Gray Likes to stand now. He is beginning to let go and just "plop" on his butt. His big brother walked at 10 months. I am guessing he may be about the same. I am enjoying my time with him now. Once they start walking, they just want to explore rather than hang out in mommy's arms :(

Potty Trained!

Jack has been working very hard to grasp potty training, and --I THINK-- he's finally got it!!! It's been 6 days since he's worn a diaper and he is actively going on the potty himself--even in the midst of his all important choo choo train play time! This is a very important step towards him beginning pre-school. He has been talking about starting school for a few months now, and now that he is potty trained, we can get him enrolled just after he turns three in November. Being a mommy has been the most incredible experience of my life, however, potty training has by far been my least favorite part. I am so glad that he has caught on. One down, one to go!!!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Unfortunately, for the boys, I LOVE to take pictures!! Sooooo they get their pics taken A LOT! Here are a few shots from this afternoon. Some of which Jack was not so happy to participate in :). Especially the one where he is getting chewed on. . .

JP's Triathlon & Grayson crawling

JP completed his first full triathlon this morning! He did a great job, finishing well under his goal time. We are all VERY proud of him!!!


Also, Grayson has been crawling on and off for a few weeks now. Thought I'd put a couple shots on of him doing it. Soooo cute!

NEW ROOMS!

When we found out we were pregnant with Grayson, we initially planned to let the boys share a room. Over the past six months, we came to the conclusion that it would be best to separate them. Grayson still does not sleep thru the night. If he is anything like his brother, he won't for quite some time. To make it special for Jack (since he is the one who had to move rooms) we let him paint his bed. I forgot to take a before picture, but it was all one color; just the plain oak color you see on the outer edges. I think it turned out great! And so does he :). There are a couple of other quick shots of the finished room. . . along with one side of Gray's room.

Johnson County Fair

The Johnson County Fair was two weekends ago. JP's business was asked to participate in the parade. We had a great time riding and waving in Grandma and Grandpa's TT while JP and grandma handed out candy to the crowd!

NEW!!

I am new to the blog world. More to come. . . Just figuring out how to post/create our page for now!!!