Kian's First Day of Preschool!!!!

Today was Kian's first day of Preschool :) He is attending a different school than he did last year and he's attending one extra day a week (Monday, Wednesday, Fridays from 12:30 - 3:15). I am SO excited about all the things he is going to learn and all the new friends he's going to make.

I created a new layout to celebrate the beginning of school - which also includes a photo I took of him before we left this afternoon :) Here a few more photos....let me preface that some of these poses were done by Kian himself...he is such a goof!

Our Encounter with a Dolphin!

Today we went to Discovery Kingdom (an amusement park and zoo in one). We checked into something we had never really looked into before - which was the dolphin experience. Usually the park has many more people attending and the "experience" is sold out. This time we were quick enough to get there in time :)

Each group (family) was set up with a trainer and a dolphin - ours was named Bella :) We were able to feed her, touch her and have her to a trick...then we got some super cool photos! Here are the few that we bought :)





I really hope that Kian remembers this for the rest of his life! It was such a unique experience! Kian was even wanting to tell the dolphin to do the tricks the trainer was teaching either me or Jamie to do lol He was pretty excited about that!

Grieving with Friends :(

Our house has been filled with a looming sadness since Thursday morning. Jamie received a call from our very good friends with bad news - they had lost their baby girl after 30 weeks of pregnancy. These friends are the closest thing we have to family in the immediate area - they are Kian's "aunt" and "uncle - so it feels like we have lost a part of our extended family.

I post this in honor of Julia Anne who was loved from the moment we knew she was there and will always be remembered in our hearts. And to offer up prayers and thoughts to our dear friends as they encounter an unimaginable greif.

We Officially have a BIG BOY in our house!!!

Goodbye pull-ups....HELLO BIG BOY who has been keeping his bed dry for the last week!!! The first night he kept his underware dry Jamie and I took him to pick out something special to celebrate!!! He picked out Cranky to go with his Thomas the Train collection as well as Gordon the train.



Our BIG Boy is also gearing up to head off to his new preschool! Kian and I are going on Friday to meet his new teacher and see his classroom, where he will put his things and what not. I am SO excited for him and bit nostolgic at the same time...i'm getting kinda sad that I will be losing my sidekick during the day. I know I will enjoy the time he's in school to do things that are easier done when I am on my own...but at the same time I know I will miss him! What the heck am I going to do next year when he's in school every day! Guess just do a whole lot of missing!

MMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMM

There's nothing like a 49 cent from McDonald's on a hot day LOL!

Star Wars, Irish Minnie and Trains, Trains, Trains!

This morning we all got up and got ready to go to soccer practice. We arrived to find that nothing was on the field and one of the co-coaches came up to the car to say it was cancelled (Coach Geno had a flat tire on the freeway YIKES!). Jamie suggested that we grab some breakfast and head to the theater to see the new animated Star Wars film. Kian has done NOTHING but talk about Star Wars since he has seen previews, commericals, you name it! So we all went...thanks to a free ticket and a Costco tickets we pretty much got in free! The movie was really good - Kian told us about 5 times it was a REALLY, REALLY good movie lol

Before we went to the movie, I spotted a machine I have seen all summer long. One fo those crane machines (that my cousin Melissa is a PRO at). This machine had an item I was coveting....a Minnie Mouse...but not just any Minnie Mouse - an Irish themed Minnie Mouse. It cost $2 just for a try. Something within me told me that Jamie could do this. He studied a video that was shown in the back of the machine and went for it. He lined up the grip and both Kian and I watched as it was slowly lowered and the grips slowly grabbed Minnie....we held our breath as it closed around her and grabbed her...he got it!!! Now it just needed to hang on to Minnie all the way to the bin....I secretly cheered inside as the crane made it all the way and I think we ALL let out a HUGE YELL when she dropped in the bin!!!! WOOT WOOT!!! Immediately afterwards we took a few photos of us with our $2 Irish Minnie - who I love like the 12 year old at heart that I am ;)




After we got home from the movies and some errand running, we had lunch then I headed out on my own. When I got home I found the living room empty. I figured the guys would be playing a video game...nope...they were upstairs playing with Kian's new train table (we found it on clearance last weekend for only $20!) I couldn't resist taking some photos of the guys having fun together. Kian has enjoyed the table all week and I'm sure it was a lot more fun to play with it with Daddy!

Kian Caught the Reading Bug and Meet another Cian!

Today was the last day of the library reading program. Kian would get a prize for every 5 books he would read. The first 20 or so books we read and he shared with a "listener" at the library he got a sticker for every 5. The last time we turned in his books he got a temporary tattoo! He loves those things and I think it was a good ending to our summer reading stuff. That doesn't mean that we won't make a weekly trip to the library. Kian loves getting new books and I love finding new ones too to be honest :)

While we were at the library something strange happened. Kian and I were looking through the books in the children's area. There were other people throughout the library and a lot of children since story time was about to start soon. All of a sudden I heard a woman's voice call "Kian....." Then I heard her say it again. I wasn't sure if I was hearing her right so I waited for her to say the name again and finally I turned to her and asked "What is his name?" since the little boy was standing right behind me. She said "Cian" (Cian is the Gaelic spelling of Kian). I repeated again, "Kian?" She said yes, "Cian," I said, "That's my son's name!" She went on to ask me about the spelling and we had a short conversation. Turns out she is the little boy's grandma and she is a teacher has had ANOTHER Keean (spelled that way) in her class! So our Kian is not alone in his name in our city!

Kian was taken aback by having another "Kian" wandering around. Hearing Cian's grandma say his name made him look at her with a puzzled expression. Guess that's what happens when you are not used to anyone having your name ;)

Photos by "Uncle" Martin

Jamie's cousin Martin (Kian's Godfather who he called "Uncle" even though he's not realy) visited us a few weeks ago. He took some great pictures of Kian with his camera - here is a montage of what he sent to us :)

Kian is Missing Our Toby :(

Toby has been gone for about a month and a half but not one day goes by without thoughts of him.

Today has been kind of hard on Kian. We went to the store to buy some food for our cat, Allie. He talked about getting food for Toby and I told him that Toby didn't need food because he was in heaven. Then questions followed about Allie going to heaven and such.

A few hours later was Tae Kwon Do. They learn punches and kicks and after class the teacher talks to them about how we don't "practice" on other people or animals only at class. She talks about specific things in their lives so it really hits home. One questions the teacher asked today was if anyone had a dog - Kian half way raised his hand about four times. When we got home we talked about Toby again from his prompting - talked about how much we miss him.

Every night before bed we ask Kian if he wants to say his prayers. Most times he does. I always ask him what he's thankful for today. He always names off our family on down through grandparents and even "Uncle" Martin (who forgot his shoes lol - Martin left our shoes but he was known as this in Kian's prayers for a week!) or recent visitors. Then I ask him if he wants to ask Jesus for anything. He asked that Toby would come back home :( I believe he was talking about a book we have been reading called Dog Heaven. The books talks about how dogs go to heaven, have endless treats and spend time with angel children. And sometimes the dog wants to make sure their family is doing ok so it will come back and watch us and make sure everything is ok and then go back up to heaven.

We returned Dog Heaven back to the library last week. I think that it's a book we need to buy. Toby was such a big part of all our lives and even though we are almost two months out from his passing, we still miss him terribly.

Growing Pains

I guess it's time for Kian to do some more sprouting! This week Kian has had what seems to be either two lunches and/or dinners in one sitting! He will finish his food and keep asking for other things to eat!

This weekend we were going to head to the Stride Rite outlet for some new tennis shoes for him, but we are holding off now until this spurt seems to be over so we don't have to go back again lol

With every growth spurt some the cranks. I don't mind the sleeping more. I don't mind feeding him more of trying to find more healthful things for him to consume. But I do mind the cranks. There is no reasoning with a child with a case of the cranks. And really, the only cure for it seems to be an early bed time. Although, the symptoms will return the following day, most likely. I am hoping that if the cranks return tomorrow, that "resting" in his room will help - not only him but my sanity lol

Summer is coming to an end....

Summer seems to be winding down and it seems like it just got started!

Next week is our last week for the summer reading program at the library. It is also the last week of the Free Family Film Festival at the Regal in town. Those are two big activities that we participated in throughout the summer. The week after next we go to a meet-and-greet at Kian's new preschool. NFL preseason is staring up.

Needless to say, my focus has turned to getting long pants (thank GOD for whoever thought of adujustable waist pants or they would fall off Kian's small little waist!) and new tennis shoes. So odd since the weather is still hot and really summer can't be ending!

Ok, I admit it, I'm in denial.

Brush your teeth, Round and round....

Kian went to the dentist to for a check up and cleaning on Monday. Cavity free! He also had some x-rays done and we were told that in the next 6 months he will probably lose his bottom two front teeth! Dr. Josh let me know that was ok - he is just outside the norm on that and not to freak out when it happens lol I seriously didn't think the Tooth Fairy would be visiting us before his 5th birthday! I guess we will find out ;)

Visit from Granna

Jamie's mom arrived for a 5 day visit. She brought a TON of hot wheels cars and a storage case for them for Kian. They ended up playing with them for almost the entire time she was here!

We also went to the San Jose Children's Museum for the first time and took a trip to Discovery Kingdom for rides and zoo fun. Kian sure wore out quickly - he even napped in the car for probably the 3rd and 4th times in his entire life!

Jamie and I were also able to get out and get some time on our own which was very nice :)

Killing two birds with one stone - or should I say mouse....

This morning we came downstairs to "trophies" of Allie's victory last night. At first I thought it was playdoh but upon further inspection I could make out a tail and what seemed to be a nose.

At least she took care of the mouse that got in our house when the pipes were being re-routed. And now I don't have to worry about her eating this morning either - i am guessing her belly is pretty full right now lol

Miss Allie Update

Allie has seemed to have an epiphany of sorts because it's like she beccame a different cat seemingly overnight. I'm not sure if was because the anitibiotics she was on are now done or if it's because we have a mouse in our house again and she's been on the hunt....but whatever it is she is doing SO much better. I have not had to syringe feed her at all since Tuesday because she is eating on her own. I do have to put her in front of her bowl from time to time, but she is eating normally now :) She also purred last night for the first time in weeks while I pet her...it seems our kitty has returned! :)

With Allie getting well, I have had some new found energy and started getting creative again. I have gone a little crazy making signatures for myself and friends of mine. I also revamped the look of my blog :)

Good News on Allie

Allie seems to have been acting a little bit more like normal today. She is also eating more on her own then she has since she first got sick. She is also looking A LOT less yellow. I am encouraged but I am keeping a close eye on her.

Soccer Slideshow

As promised, here are photos of Kian's second soccer practice. Decked out in all his gear (the outfit is a Target special but super cute lol). We did finally get him cleats because his normal shoes just were not working with the shin guards - took us almost all day to hunt down a toddler sized pair small enough for him! Jamie has taken him out practicing in his cleats and he should be ready to go on Saturday morning again :) Enjoy the photos!

It's pretty bad when....

you have to find a game guide online to help your 4 year old son get through a part in Jimmy Nutron and the Attack of the Twonkies. A kids game that an adult has problems with the controls...wow.... At least he likes the game but sheesh, this game maker needs some serious help....either that or butt whooping from this momma!

The Great Purge

Our storage unit will be empty by the end of the month - it almost is now. We have removed all the stuff we have hauled around with us the last few years. Almost all our moves have been fast so we haven't had time to go through and purge. And the times we have, we have just not been real with what is worth keeping.

Most of the things in our storage unit were Kian's baby items - clothes, toys, bottles of every sort...you name it. We hung onto it just incase we did add to our family but now that we know it is complete it's time to say goodbye to all that stuff. As I have gone through tiny pants, socks, stained bips and burp clothes it brought back memories of my little man using them or being in them. It's time for a new baby to enjoy them and for the memories to keep in my mind and heart. I did keep a few things like the outfit we brough Kian home in, a favorite toy or two of his when he was a baby. Other than that we bid farewell to the rest and are happy to rid ourselves of it!

Big Brothers and Big Sisters will be very happy to receive our pile o' stuff. And it feels good to give it all away to help aid those in need. It's a win-win for everyone.

Happy Kian Update

This blog is supposed to be mainly about Kian so I decided to pop in a post on him detailing what's been happening with him over the last month or so.

Kian started Tae Kwon Do last month. He has really enjoyed it so far and has doing really well to taking instruction and listening. It's been helpful to him in many ways and I feel like it's building his confidence. I'm sure he likes the stickers and candy that the teachers shower on the kids afterwards too ;)

Kian also is a budding soccer champ! A few of my cousins on my dad's side of the family were/are very good at soccer and I keep telling Jamie that I must have had a recessive gene for that which was carried down to Kian. (Jamie says he almost has my cousin Dan's hair nailed down now that we are spiking it and it's pretty long right now lol!) Since Kian was very small he has done well kicking and now dribbling the ball. A few weeks ago was his first soccer class. They are working on the very, very basics - mainly following instructions and using your feet no hands and such. Kian is so stinkin' cute! He will be even cuter now that he has the shin guards, socks and little soccer jersey and pants to match ;) Don't worry, I will have pictures later.

We also started the reading program at the library and started attending story time, which Kian really has enjoyed so far. He loves picking out new books...although he does judge a book by it's cover and mom has to steer him toward ones she thinks he will like best ;) We just read one called Dog Heaven (was a suggestion from one of my friends on a message board) - what an amazing book about what dogs do in heaven and how God and angels love on them...and that they get to come and visit us when they want....kinda got me choked up a bit reading it to him.

I also recently discovered that the Regal cinema in the town over offers free movies on Wednesday mornings so Kian and I went to that. It was a good way to start the day and get out of the house - especially since it's too hot to really do much outside :P

We have had a pretty eventful summer so far (good and bad), but I think we will really enjoy the rest as we see Kian grow and progress.

Allie Update

I spoke with the vet today and he said that Allie hopefully will be able to pull through all the issues with eating food. She is eating on her own but it's not as much as she should be so I am syringe feeding her until she is more back to herself. She is very sleepy, has low energy and hides out most of the time. I am hoping my nursing will help her come back to being herself.

Allie is sick now :(

Since Toby started getting sick Allie (our cat) has been kinda aloof. She hasn't been using her box or eating a whole lot. Honestly, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to her when I was taking care of Toby - and since Allie was very close to Toby I figured she was just sad he was so sick.

Well, things got worse on Saturday when we hadn't seen her at all...not even for a pet, a drink...nothing....and it just continued like that through the weekednd. So I called the vet yesterday - the soonest appt we could get was for today.

The assistant that helped us today was the one that helped us with Toby the whole time we were going with him. She was so sweet and I told her how much it meant to us that she was there when Toby went to heaven (she even cried with us :( ) Anyway, she took Allie's temp and said - "Her skin is yellow." I thought was being an overprotective furmommy - but it turns out that Allie is jaundice.

The vet told me that it's possible that Allie might have a fatty liver because she is overweight. He said that it is possible she stopped eating because she was depressed and that caused her body to take that fat that is stored and transfers it to the liver somehow. I am not doing very good explaining it well because I barely understand it and really it was the last thing I thought I would hear a little over the week after we said goodbye to Toby.

She was hydrated under the skin, given some antibiotic and we were sent home with some meds and special food for her. Getting food in her is really important right now to get the liver back to working. They also did some blood work of which we will have results on tomorrow. I am praying and hoping for good news.

Settling into a New Normal

Exactly one week ago today we said goodbye to our Toby. We have given his things to friends who have dogs and kept a few things that were just too hard to part with...like his bone (which he LOVED), his color and leash, and his dog bowl with his name on it.

Kian has had a few moments of tears off and on this week and when asked why he was upset he would say he misses Toby. It seems to be at the times that would normally do things for him that we miss him the most. The latest for myself was when Kian didn't finish his carrots with lunch and I wanted to put the rest in Toby's dish for him...he loved carrots.

It really is surreal that he is gone. It all happened so fast and he was a healthy, older dog in general. We miss him loads but are so glad that he is at rest and no longer suffering.

It has been a hard week on all of us in general. All last week our downstairs had holes in it with lots of noise from the plummer re-routing our pipes. Kian and I camped out upstairs to stay out of the way (and really, everything was moved around so there was nothign really do down there anyway). He stayed entertained well until the last day...thank GOD it was the last day! So now, our house is back in order and you really can't even tell anything was done besides the fact that some of the areas need paint. We plan to do some new colors when our budget allows.

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th of July with some friends who had a BBQ. We went to see Kung Fu Panda and then afterwards watched the fireworks from on top of the parking structure downtown. Kian wasn't as into as I thought he would be but we were pretty far off fromt he show...enough to see it well but I think that next year we are going to go to the festival in town. Kian did have a good time and did fairly well despite staying up several hours past his bedtime.

Today we are taking it easy. Jamie and Kian are playing Lego Star Wars together on the 360 and I am just dinking around on my computer. It's so good to have our family all together this weekend and to focus on positive, relaxing things.

Update...

First of all thank you all for your kind words and thoughts for our family. Our house feels empty without Toby in it - but I am so glad he's at peace now. And even though it might sound silly, I believe his spirit is with us still. He always had to be somewhere near us somehow. That is one of the reasons why we wanted to get his ashes with us. Toby would have wanted that.

Each day things seem to get a little bit better...but man does it feel like a punch in the gut (as my dear friend Shawna says) when the times of the day roll around that I used to do things for Toby. The house does have an odd quiet about it too.

Yesterday we went to the amusement park that we have seasons passes to just to get out of the house and do something fun as a family. It was a good distraction is so many ways. I have been Toby's nurse over the last few weeks that I know Kian has had to feel slightly ignored. It was a great family time for us all.

Kian seems to be taking things better than I expected. He really misses him though. Yesterday we dropped off a lot of stuff we had for Toby at some good friends of ours. They have two BIG dogs and we figured they might be able to use the stuff. Kian loves those dogs...they are still puppies so they love to run and have almost as much energy as he does! Kian kept asking to go back and see them after we left....luckily we will get to do that this weekend and quite a bit after that since they live right down the road from us. Then, after we got back from the amusement park and we opened the door Kian called for Toby....we had to remind him he was in heaven. Toby was ALWAYS waiting for us right at the door...wanting to sniff us before we even walked in lol Sometimes we had to tell him to get back because we couldn't get inside lol!

Right now we are all trying to focus on the wonderful times we had with Toby. Toby was born the month that me and Jamie met and the first decision that Jamie and I ever made together was naming him. He has been with us this whole time - he was and still is apart of our family.

Remembering Toby

Goodbye Faithful Friend....

Dear Friends and Family,

Please excuse the mass email, but I wanted to get the word out to you all quickly.

Today we said goodbye to our 7 1/2 year old black lab, Toby. He became sick three weeks ago and became progressively worse. This afternoon Jamie and I loved on Toby as he went to sleep for the last time. (Kian stayed with a neighbor.)

We are devastated at the loss of our faithful friend and companion. He was an unbelievably obedient and gentle dog. His presence is missed beyond any words I can say. We are thankful for the wonderful times and moments he has been with us, but it is hard to imagine life without him.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts - and we ask that you continue to send them our way as we all grieve the loss of our friend.

Love from all of us,
Sarah

Prayers for Toby

I just spoke with the specialist that Toby saw on Tuesday. He said to give the meds through the weekend to see if he's improved. If he is not improved a lot by Monday then Toby will need to go to sleep forever. If you can send prayers, mojo, thoughts, what-have-you our way we would deeply appreciate it.

Thursday Update

Leak Issue

We finally got the second plummer out here to give us a quote for the class action suit. He has done a lot of the units that our condo is in. He is only going to need to make 12X12 holes because he knows where all the pipes are in these places. We decided to go with him and the class action people said they will have a check for us by Tuesday. The plummers are coming tomorrow to start their 4-5 days of work on our place. At least the ball is rolling and this will all be over soon.

Toby Update

The thyroid meds have seemed to help his bowel issue. He is drinking more often and seem less drooly. Other than that the rest is the same...he's still pretty weak and doesn't really have much interest in eating. He ate well the day that we got back from the vets but today and yesterday he has no interst really. My hope is waivering...

A Glimmer of Hope

We went to the specialist today and found out that Toby has one of three conditions...two are not good at all but the third and best of all is a thyroid condition. The doctor did some xrays on Toby to make sure that he didn't have pnumonia and that his esophogus is working. Everything looked normal. And from blood work done last week we know that his organs are all functioning normally.

The vet gave us thyroid meds and a diet of making meatballs out of the prescription dog food and kinda giving them to Toby so the he's getting food in him. I have made them and have been hand feeding them to him slowly...as he's not had food in a while but he is seriously hungry...just can't get the food to get in there because of the weakness in his mouth.

I gave him a thyroid pill before we got on the road after our visit. The vet said to call him at the end of the week and let him know how Toby is doing.

We are ALL hoping for the best.

Not good news X 2

We met with Toby's vet today. Apparently the fill in doctor I talked to on Monday did not have the right information on what is wrong with him and our regular vet explained why and what the next step would be. He referred us to a specialist that will do further testing (if we wish) on Toby. But right now the prognonsis doesn't sound like it will be good nor an easy fix. Since this weekend one of Toby's eyes has been drooping and now he's not eating. One of the vet assistants mentioned that he may have had a stroke :(

We have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow at noon. Honestly, we are not hopeful. I will update when I can on this.

The Leek

Apparently when the builders constructed the condos we live in they were in a hurry and botched a job with the plumbing – it is not accessible for easy repair. Well, on Thursday our neighbor came over and said she had water in her kitchen….the opposite wall to our place is in our laundry room. Luckily we didn't have any water, but we are not going through a bunch of junk to try to get this repaired as quickly as possible.

There is a class action law suit to get the repairs done to each of our place. We have to have our hot water lines all rerouted :P At least the class action people will pay for that and our insurance will cover the rest….but man let's just say this is not good timing at all.

The good thing for our neighbors is that they were replacing their kitchen things anyway…but man….this is not going to be pretty or fun :(

Toby Update 2.5

Well, toby needs more testing done and we have an appointment to do that on Monday afternoon. His liver enzymes are up which means it is enlarged or has a mass...so he needs x-rays to tell us about that. They are also going to do more blood tests because the doctor thinks that he might have a thyroid issue. If it is just the thyroid then it will be an easy fix apparently with meds. The blood work also showed he has an infection and digestive issues, which he already has meds for. So he has a myriad of things going on - although I am not sure if any of them are related. Our normal doctor was not in and the one that was filling in for him was just giving me information - I feel better talking to our doctor seeing that he knows Toby.

More of an update after we know more on Monday - hopefully.

Short Toby Update

Toby has been put on more meds and a special diet again. He also is having blood work done to see how his kidney and liver are functioning. We will have the results back from that tomorrow.

Toby...

A few weeks ago Toby, our 7 1/2 year old black lab, had some kind of stomach issue that required a trip to the vet. The issue was mainly resolved but his hind legs have really started to bother him. He's now to the point where he is having a really hard time getting around....plus he is still having some digestive issues (to spare the details). Jamie has noticed that the leg he is having issues with seems to the one that he had the tumor removed from two summers ago.

Tomorrow we are taking him to the vet again. We have no idea what the outcome will be from the visit but I am honestly preparing for the worst.

Any prayers and thoughts you can spare for Toby would be appreciated.

Tae Kwon Do, Soccer, Beckham, and Father's Day

This summer we decided to bump Kian down to going to preschool one day a week. The rec department has some really great programs so we signed Kian up for Tae Kwon Do and Soccer!

Yesterday was his first Tae Kwon Do class. It was so cute to watch all the kids doing kicks and practicing standing at attention :) Kian had a hard time calming down - he was SO excited to be there! Hopefully he will start to focus more.

We are going to see David Beckham!!!

In case you aren't sure who I am talking about, David Beckham is a soccer star who joined the LA Galaxy team after leaving England. Ever since he arrived here, Jamie has wanted to see him play. Well, EA had a deal on tickets for tonight's game! So we got three of them as Jamie's Father's Day gift! This will be Kian's first professional game - and really we haven't watched much soccer so it should be interesting and fun!

Our Crazy Last Few Weeks – Good but Crazy

First weekend in May – Kian’s Birthday Party

Second weekend in May - Discovery Kingdom (Trip 1) and Mother’s Day

Our friends Steve and Lisa accompanied us on our first trip to Discovery Kingdom and the following day was Mother’s Day. (I posted already about this if you want to revisit for most details).

Third Weekend in May – The Scottish Games and Discovery Kingdom (Trip 2)

Saturday morning we got up, headed to Costco to stimulate the economy by reloading our freezer and then we headed to the annual Scottish Games held in our city. We got to see knights jousting, dogs herding sheep, ate fish and chips (ok, I did lol), listened to lots of Celtic music, and had some ale. They also had a kids area that had two big, castle themed, jumpy houses. Kian had a BLAST! It was flippin’ hot that day, but having a cold ale and letting Kian run from jumpy house to jumpy house. It was a great day :)

Short video of Kian dancing to some Celtic music while he ate his lunch;


This trip to Discovery Kingdom we went with our friends Greg and Rachael. We all had a blast – well I know that the three of us did anyway ;) Kian got to feed a giraffe and we got to see a really cool tiger show. We spent most of the day at the park – looking at animals, taking photos and feeding the giraffes. Kian also go to “pet” some stingrays and had an enormous walrus named Jocko follow him around the underwater viewing window. There is a video attached of that – so neat (oh, and Jocko was “happy” just be forewarned lol) Oh, and one important thing we learned was that Sunday is THE BEST day to go to the park – no one was there!

Fourth Weekend in May – Maggie’s Graduation Party in Los Angeles area

We kicked off this weekend early – well extra special stuff happened on Wednesday. My friend Shawna was in town and came to visit us! This was extra special because about two years ago I reconnected with her via the wonders of MySpace. This is someone I went to Kindergarten with – can you believe I knew her when we were both around Kian’s age?!?! We hung out a lot at the end of elementary school and then went different ways. When we found each other on MySpace we found we really connected and became friends :) This is the first time we have seen each other in God only knows how long. It was a short visit but a great one. Kian even said a little prayer thanking God for Shawna and Christine (her friend that came along) that was not prompted by me at all.

On Friday we packed up the family (Toby included) and headed south for my cousin Maggie’s college graduation. It was a luau complete with some awesome BBQ and Wisconsin summer sausage (can I get a WOOT?) It was a 5 hour trek one way but it went by fast and was so worth it :) Thanks to the person that invented the portable DVD player and the Game Boy.

Kian and I apparently kicked my grandparents out of having a place to stay so they couldn’t come for the celebration - ok not really lol Although, my Grandpa will tell you that! The week before the party, my Grandpa underwent open heart surgery and had a triple bypass! Thankfully his only symptom of the blockage was fatigue, but he still recovering and having a pace maker installed. We were sad that they couldn’t make it to the party, but we are happy that we still have our grandpa. Kian has prayed for him nightly (mostly without prompting) for his heart’s boo-boos to heal. He is still on the mend so any prayers or thoughts you can send his way are greatly appreciated!

My Aunt Lori volunteered her babysitting services (in exchange for some movie popcorn – oddly enough my Mom accepts the same payment…hmmm…sounds like a deal to me!) so that Jamie and I could see a late showing of the new Indiana Jones movie (which was ok, but I was glad we saw it in the theater.

We enjoyed spending time with family and helping out where we could. I think Toby enjoyed himself more than any of us, in fact, he was spoiled so much by my Aunt Lori that I think he was a little depressed to be home lol! We were so glad that we lived close enough to make it down.

Phew! So that brings us up to the present. Jamie is back to normal hours at work now, which is very nice, and we are just taking it easy this weekend. The only new thing to report is that Kian is a Spongebob Squarepants fanatic now lol

The Bug Was Not Gone :(

....because I got it the day before Kian's birthday :( I was in bed all day and wasn't able to even make cupcakes as I had planned. I did manage to get his gifts wrapped and Jamie brought them all upstairs so I could see him open them. He had a great time playing with all of them from what Jamie told me and from what I heard of the new toys "talking" and buzzing downstairs. I felt SO bad that I was so sick on my little man's big day :(

Here is a slideshow of Kian ripping through all his gifts in record speed!

Friday I rested and felt ok. Saturday we went to Discovery Kingdom with our friends Steve and Lisa. Since this was Kian's big birthday thing - we let him ride an elephant (daddy rode too of course). Since Lisa has a "bun in the oven" (hehe) she wasn't able to ride any rides - not even Thomas the Train! So she had to hang back with me and Kian. We went to several shows - which we all liked and hung out at Thomas Town for a while (well we were stranded thanks to a broken lock on the stroller that Jamie saved the day by fixing when he arrived). Next year she will be able to ride though and I will gladly hang back with little baby "D."

Here is a slide show of our time at Discovery Kingdom. Since my stomach was still recovering, Daddy rode everything with Kian.

Well, Sunday, Mother's Day, I was down again. Just felt like crud. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband that let me hang out in bed when I needed to. i did manage to get energy enough to go shopping at Kohl's and use a coupon I got along with our economic stimulation check to buy me some new pants. The ones I own have been falling off of my body! I didn't realize how much weight I really lost until recently! Anyway, the check came at a good time so I wouldn't be walking around with the possibility of my pants falling down walking across the street. lol

Jamie also did me a big favor and defrosted my deep freeze WOOT! This weekend we are going to restock - thanks again to the US governement lol

As of now I am on the mend. Kian and I have mainly hung out at the house and just took things easy. The house has been a complete wreck so I have been slowly working on areas without burning myself out energy wise.

We are gearing up for another big weekend. Saturday we are going to go to the Scottish Games Festival in town. Sunday we are going to go back to Discovery Kingdom with some other friends of ours. May has been a busy month for us so far and hopefully the illness is behind us now :)

Kian's 4th Birthday Party!

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends! Saturday our house quickly filled up with people who love Kian and came to celebrate him coming into his 4th year! Kian LOVED having so many friends over and was itching to dig into the Lightening McQueen cake I made him as well as his presents hehehe We grilled hotdogs, had my mom's famous baked beans and some carrots (which is one of Kian's faves). The of course there was cake an ice cream :)

Kian got LOTS of wonderful gifts! He has spent all morning playing with all of them! He even received a gift card which he has almost spent all of already on a remote control Lightening McQueen ;) The biggest gift he got was a GameBoy Mini from Jamie and me. In fact, it's a good thing that he opened gifts toward the end because he spent the rest of the time zoned into the games he got lol

Here are some photos of the festivities!





Kian showing he's 4


Yummy CAKE!






Kian got a Cars game for his GameBoy!


Rachael, the pro, showing Kian how to work his new GameBoy :)






Kian, smiling because he was told to but really wants to be playing his game lol!


This is what Kian looked like for the rest of the night LOL!