Grandma Trip

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Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Before we head off to California I thought we would post these photos. These are from the local kite festival. The weather was pretty windy so there were a lot of people flying kites. They also had trick kites out and Kellen enjoyed the big octopus. Thank goodness for warmer weather!

These are from what we sent to our moms on Mother's Day. I knew it would be difficult to have him hold it and smile so these are results. It is easy to figure out that I didn't send them the last two.... :)

Spring Fever...Finally!

I took an unintended hiatus for no apparent reason and don't have a good excuse for coming back, but we are back! Some of these are old but I also stopped taking pictures so this is what we have.

Kellen is now 17 months...one month away from nursery yay! He loves to anything that big kids/adults do like: eating bananas whole, sitting in big chairs (even though without help he will fall right through), and coloring. Even though most kids do this I think he gloats when he gets to do big kid stuff!

Kellen is still sleeping like a champ (as seen below) but not walking yet. We are meeting with a physical therapist once a month just to get some tips on helping him. She says there is nothing preventing him from walking just his personality....we will see what that means in years to come. He is improving and getting more curious about walking so I'm sure he will soon, that way he won't get trampled in nursery!

This spring break we worked on a project for our front room. It was Brad's idea to take a dresser and turn it into an entertainment and with my Pinterest skills we came up with a game plan. We had a few set backs...one where the nice old lady talked me into getting way too much paint (anyone need red for a project) but other than that it went great! ( You can stop reading if you get bored about how we did it but if not read more!)

(Before)

 (After)

We used this stuff called Citristrip to take off the old finish. It was AMAZING! Little gooey and messy but way worth not having to sand everything, highly recommend it! We then primed and painted which almost gave Brad a heart attack. It was very pink looking at first and he was quite worried he got more than he bargained for. But after a few coats it became more red. I then did an antique glaze to darken it up and bring out the details in the dresser. I have a love/hate relationship with that glaze...I watched some videos on how to do it but in the end I purchased a different kind of glaze then the videos used (first problem). It took me many tries to get a system down to get the glaze looking like I wanted it. In the end I glazed and then wiped the top off 3 times but got it to where I liked it, then did the rest. Finally we did a minwax paste on it for the finish which I heard good things about. It does show the little imperfections but when it comes to projects I am a perfectionist so the problem is with me! In the end we love it and it really completes the room. Now it is your job to come visit us so you can see it yourself!

Just A Quick Thought...

So growing up we always listened to Les Miserables on road trips and Sunday afternoons. I have never seen the broadway but fond of the story and music for many years. Just recently I saw the movie Les Miserables and while I know there has been mixed reviews about if it is as good or compare to the broadway, I still enjoyed it! It was my first time seeing the whole story and seeing them sing it live really resonated with me!

The part of the movie I enjoyed the most and could probably see over and over again is the Finale song at the end when the characters all come together and while I have heard the words many times certain people in my life have changed that meaning......

To love another person is to see the face of God

It is hard to explain in words what music writes on the heart, so I won't. But I least wanted to share with those who felt the same way and encourage those who haven't to first see the movie and second fall in love with the music (I know pushy pushy....but it's worth it!)

Who would have trouble loving a man and a boy like this! I presume that this Les Miserables kick won't be leaving anytime soon!

Family, family, family....

We took family pictures back in November but I didn't want to post any as some of them were Christmas presents for family. But we thought we would share some with you! These were taken by Dee Kuster and she did an amazing job. She was so easy to work with and loved trying new things. She really captured our family and we couldn't be happier with the results. Check out her facebook page Digitals By Dee! 

 

You know this is just Kellen being the chill baby he is! :) For as cold as it was that day he did a good job. A couple of the pictures he just lost it and when we would calm him down and try again he would just cry! The pacifier sort of helped but I am glad that we decided to get rid of it 3 weeks later, happy to not have to carry that thing around anymore!

As you can tell he needed a hair cut at this point. We tried one time and it didn't work out too well and I just tried again and it got better. So eventually he will come out looking okay! We had a nice Christmas! Brad worked during the day but we opened presents at night and Kellen didn't notice either way. My camera is causing me problems so I have some on my i-touch but nothing too amazing! But we truly feel blessed to be surrounded by friends we love and look forward to seeing our family soon! 

P.S in other very exciting news Brad got into VCU for the nurse anesthesia program! The even better news is that he was admitted to the Roanoke satellite program so we don't have to move!( it had limited spots) He starts August 2013 and we are excited for this next adventure!

12 Months All in Wrapped Up in One

Okay,  I am now officially freaked out! I know people are always saying how they forget how small their children used to be but I never thought it would happen to me! I mean holy cow! He is clearly twice the size of his stuffed animal. What a year it has been! I feel incredibly blessed to have Kellen in our lives and I am constantly learning with him daily. During church today we talked about raising children and what the blessings were and I got to enjoy it while Kellen was fast asleep in my arms! (not something I get to do often) I have so much more to learn and I am grateful that Kellen and Brad are willing to go with me in this journey!

Now just a few things that Kellen has been enjoying:

Loves to listen to music and moves his little booty along with the beat

Loves, loves, loves his Baby Signing Time videos and has learned one-more!

Starting to crawl, scoot, and slide wherever he can go

Loves to say uh-oh and just learned wow (will only say it if you say it in a quite loud voice)

Says mama, but only when he needs/wants something

He loves to be with dad and play hide and seek around the house

Obviously there is more but I don't want to bore you plus he just learned how to get into the DVDs and that is what he is doing right now! Thank you Kellen and Brad, for dealing with me, and more importantly thank you all for the support and help you have been to us over this last year!