September 2011

Happy Fourth Birthday to the bestest, baby, big girl we know; Kyla!! Mommy, Daddy and Easton love you tons and tons - to the moon and back.

We started Kyla's birthday off by going to Party City to pick out two helium balloons. After that, we met Daddy at home for a quick bite to eat before taking the birthday girl to Build-A-Bear. Kyla's been asking to go there for over a year, so we finally decide to indulge her. She picked out a koala bear, dressed her in a Rapunzel costume and well, named her Rapunzel.

We came home for Easton's nap and some major present unwrapping. Kyla got so many cool things - a few new board games, some beads for making jewelry, some art and craft supplies, a Barbie Hug-n-Heal puppy, more Tangled stickers for her sticker book, a Rapunzel backpack and lunch tote and a Leapster Explorer with two games. Lucky, little girl!

Once Easton woke up, we went to Famous Dave's for Kyla's birthday dinner. She loves seeing Wilbur the pig, so it was an easy choice for her. Naturally, Kyla gets the Kraft mac-n-cheese every time. Why else would she go to a BBQ joint? Certainly not for the actual BBQ menu options. Gotta love her!

Daddy had to get to softball after dinner, so the rest of us came home and enjoyed some yummy red velvet cake with pink frosting and copious amounts of sprinkles. Mommy can be a good baker when she wants to be.

The day after her birthday, Kyla started pre-kindergarten. Her teacher this year is Miss Pam and her assistant is Miss Penny. There are eleven children in the class, which is one more than last year. Her best friend, Grace, is with her, as well as another good friend, Cooper. Having familiar faces and good friends made the transition a smooth one for both Kyla and Mom.

It's only been a few weeks, but Kyla seems to really be enjoying school. She loves her teachers and has been making some new friends. Our little girl is growing up way too quickly.

On the ninth, Kyla's class celebrated her birthday. Mom made ice cream cone cupcakes for everyone. They seemed to be a big hit. Some lost interest after the frosting was licked off, but the kids, and Kyla, were happy to have a special treat for the first week of school.

Regular Grandma, as she is now referred to, came to visit us on the tenth for a few days. (She used to be called Granny, but now Kyla refers to her as Regular Grandma because there is Great Grandma, Blind Grammy and Great Grammy). Kyla had a blast with Regular Grandma. She had her all to herself for the most part, as Easton was a bit leery of getting too close for too long. One day, he'll want to hog Grandma too.

The day before Regular Grandma left, she treated us all to a trip to the aquarium. Kyla's favorite was the sea turtle. Some smaller fish were considered cute, but most everything else was scary. Easton rode in the stroller or clung to Dad. Most things seemed to scare him too.

Kyla had her birthday party on the 17th. Her party was at Westridge Rec Center and was hosted by one of her favorite teachers at the rec center, Miss Sharon. It was a Tangled birthday party with eleven kids. It was a wild and crazy two hours, but the kids had a blast!! It was a drop off party as well, so the kids were all pretty impressed with themselves for not having their mom or dad's around.

Easton enjoyed the party just as much. He tried to do everything the big kids did and followed them around as much as he was allowed. He also thought it was a lot of fun to scream, which caused the rest of the kids to scream also. We think he was awfully proud of himself for causing disturbances throughout the party.

The day of Kyla's party was also her first day of practice with Real Soccer. She is on a team called Sugar & Spice with seven other little girls. They are all pretty cute in their matching gear. The first two weeks were practice only, but next month the girls will play against other teams. We are hoping Kyla enjoys herself and learns the importance of being on a team and having good sportsmanship.

Kyla went for her four year old doctor visit this month. Though she is not breaking any records, she is staying on her curve. She is just shy of 40", weighs a whopping 31 pounds and has a BMI of 14. Dr. Tiegs was very impressed with Kyla. Kyla was able to answer all of the doctor's questions without any help from Mom. Dr. Tiegs feels Kyla is doing fantastic and mentioned we have to send her to Kindergarten in the fall. "She's just too smart not to go," is what the doctor said.

Easton is doing well also. When he feels inclined, he can say "hi" and "go." Sometimes he just prefers waving and pushing to using words. :D He'll probably be one of those kids that wakes up one day with a vocabulary of 100 or more words.

He enjoys playing in the backyard or at a park. He makes his own fun while he's outside. If he's in the backyard, he throws rocks into the yard and piles dirt from the planters on his lap. If he's at the park, he plays for a while and then buries himself under mulch. Some days, he even gets help from his dear friend, Lilly. Together, the two of them have a blast piling on the mulch.

Once the colder weather sets in, we plan on enrolling Easton into a tumbling class. It will be interesting to see how he does and what he likes to do. Kyla's favorite was the trampoline. Knowing him, his fave will be throwing or rolling balls. You know, nothing that has anything to do with tumbling.

Scott's softball team is not doing so well for fall ball. The way it stands, they won't even finish in the top half. Thank heavens they like to play for the fun of it.

This month was a fun and busy one, and October looks to be the same.

For everyone reading this, take care and God Bless!

August 2011

Sad to think this month started off with planning for Kyla's fourth birthday. How is it that our little, baby girl will be turning four in a month? We say it often, and it's sort of a cliche, but where does the time go?

Kyla started dance lessons this month. She is taking a class at Dual Star Dance Academy with her bestest friend, Grace. They are in a creative movement two class for four and five year olds with Miss Kristen. They meet once a week for an hour to work on tap and ballet. Kyla is in LOVE with the classes. In fact, she loves them so much she's asked us to cancel her swim lessons. Since one is a life saving skill and the other a luxury, we've told her she will have to do both or none. Her response, "Both it is then." All these lessons are improving her math skills as she is getting very good at realizing two is more than none.

Kyla's friend, Cooper, from pre-school, celebrated his fourth birthday this month. He had a party at Pump-It-Up, but Kyla had to miss it for a vacation to Minnesota. She went over to his house for a play date though and brought his present with her. She was very sad she had to miss the party, but time with family was priceless.

We made the oh-so-fun drive to Minnesota with dual mounted DVD players this summer. The kids watched movies the entire time. Neither child really slept in the car, so many movies were watched. We purchased a new movie for the road trip, Rio, and it was a BIG hit. It may very well be Kyla's new favorite, replacing Tangled for the time being.

We drove straight to Great Grandma and Grandpa's house. We left at nine our time and got to their place at 12a;30 in the AM. There was some massive flooding in Iowa causing us to detour for a LONG chunk of time. There was also a nice, little longer detour as soon as we crossed into Minnesota. Needless to say, we were all pooped by the time we got there. Grandma was a trooper and waited up for us.

Aunt Sharon was visiting for the weekend, and Kyla found a new best friend away from home. If Kyla needed a partner in crime or someone fun to play with, Aunt Sharon was the go-to person. For everything else, she had Great Grandma and Grandpa.

While on the farm, Kyla checked on the chickens and brought in some eggs, scared the kittens out of the barn, test drove all the tractors and the Mustang, picked acorns, played cards with Grandma and spoke incessantly. Great Grandpa found her a peacock feather, so that was very cool. And...Great Grandma gave her the stuffed chicks to keep. Tack on the summer sausage that came home with her, and she was a very spoiled little girl.

Easton cried if Mom left the room. You would have thought the world was ending. He did stop long enough to pose with Great Grandma and Grandpa so as to give the appearance he was not clinging to Mom and following her every move.

Easton had his own idea of fun on the farm. He loved to walk up and down the steps, walk up and down the cellar door, run the full length of the sidewalk, eat copious amounts of gravel and throw rocks and twigs around the yard. Easton makes even the mundane look fun!

After a few days on the farm, we drove four hours to join "regular" Grandma and Grandpa at the cabin on Little Webb Lake. Aunt Sarah was there for the first few days, so that was nice. Aunt Michelle and Uncle Tim drove up at the end of the week to visit us too bringing Buster Bauer along.

A lot of time was spent throwing balls out of the ball pit, fishing, eating, playing in the water and laughing. Kyla was the Queen of Fishing. She was able to try out her Barbie fishing pole from Aunt Michelle and it did the trick. She caught the most fish. Okay, it's quite possible Grandpa caught the most, but he was out on the water a lot more than Kyla.

We went to Longville, MN, one day for some good, old fashioned turtle races. Afterall, they are the turtle racing capital. We got there a little late, so the kids were numbers 331 and 332 (out of almost four hundred). We had some time to kill before our turn, so we played a few games, posed for some pictures and whined about how long it was taking.

Easton's turtle gave it his all, but wasn't even close to crossing the line first. Kyla's thought about moving forward, but then turned back around and hung out near the starting line. Thankfully, there were two winners for every round. One for the turtle who crossed the finish line first and one for the slowpoke turtle who remained closest to the starting point. Kyla's turtle and one other were pretty much tied for the slowpoke winner. Since the judge wasn't paying good attention after that many rounds, he didn't know who the slowpoke winner? He couldn't call it a tie, so he gave it to Kyla because she was crying over the fact that her turtle wasn't the fastest. She was not quick to catch on that there were two winners because she kept crying even after she won her ribbon and prize (a free ice cream). Eventually though, it did sink in, and she felt a little bit better.

We all had a blast on vacation. We can't wait to go back and see everyone again. Especially Great Grandpa John since he's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In fact, we are thinking of going back in October for a visit while Kyla is on her fall break.

So much will be happening next month, so please check back in with us. Kyla has a birthday, a birthday party, starts pre-school, starts club soccer and more.

For anyone interested, Scott's softball team pretty much finished in last place. I use the word "pretty" as it seems to soften the blow a bit. Scott had to miss the last game/tournament for vacation, so I am sure that is the main reason they lost. However, that in no way accounts for all of the loses he and his team had prior to vacation. Hmmm...maybe it's not just Scott? Fall ball isn't looking too good either. There's always next year. But then again, how many years in a row can you say that? Sorry, Scott. I am just "giving ya grief".

Scott and I do have something to report this month. We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on the sixth. Coincidence or not? We went out to one of our favorite restaurants, Venice. After dinner, we bummed around some and grabbed a few drinks before going to see "Horrible Bosses." Nothing out of the ordinary for us, but it was nice to get out and enjoy each other's company sans kids.

July 2011

We started the month off by visiting the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo near Colorado Springs. It was an awfully hot day to visit a zoo, but the kids had lots of fun. The zoo is known for their giraffe exhibit. You can walk right up to several and pet/feed them. Kyla thought that was a lot of fun. She was also impressed by the size of their tongue. Not quite the same as yours and mine.

We were there during feeding time, so that was pretty cool. We were able to see a wolf come and get his large chunk of meat. A large brown bear was also feasting on meat and bones while wading in a pool. Some animals were hiding or not out because of the heat, but it was fun seeing what we could see - giraffe, monkeys, an elephant, a wolf, bears, penguins, frogs, snakes, lizards, hippos, peacocks, etcetera.

We did not go and see any fireworks this year. Kyla was getting tired and just wanted to do some of Dad's in the street. She had a lot of fun picking out which ones to light. She even did a sparkler with Mom. Only one though, as she was concerned for her "fire" safety. Of course, Easton went to bed at his normal time, so he missed them all. Maybe next year he

will stay up to see some fireworks?

We are fortunate enough to have a good view of several cities from our roof and upstairs bedroom windows. After we were done lighting our own fireworks, we went and watched the endings to a few shows from Kyla's window. She didn't want the fun to end.

Uncle Shawn and his girlfriend, Kristen, drove west for a vacation right after the Fourth. Thankfully they made a pit stop in Denver and we were able to spend two days with them. Kyla was in seventh heaven. Uncle Shawn helped her with her scooter, her bike and wagon rides. Not to mention the countless horsey rides on his legs. He even put our new bike trailer together! He really should visit more often.

After Uncle Shawn left, Kyla helped her friend, Ace, celebrate his fourth birthday. The kids did water balloon tosses and took turns swinging at a pinata. Apparently, it's not a good party if there's not a pinata to break open. Words to the wise.

Easton went for his 18 month check-up this month. He's a chart topper! That's for sure. He is 32 1/2" tall, which puts him around the 50th percentile. He weighs a very heavy 20 pounds and 2 ounces. He's at least on the chart with a whopping 1%. His head circumference is 45 1/2" putting him around the 5th percentile for that. As you can see, he is leading the curve.

The doctor was happy with him though. He is staying on his curve, as tiny as it is. She would like to hear him say more than Mama and Dada, but wouldn't we all??

Kyla and Daddy did Kinder Baseball for four weeks. She's getting very good at batting. Her throwing and catching need a little work yet, but she'll show them next time how much she's improved. She claims she will practice every weekend, unless it's too hot!

Kyla attended a second VBS with a few of her friends at their pre-school. The theme was a Big Jungle Adventure. She could not have had more fun. She loved the music, the kids and most of all, her leader, Amanda. She cannot wait to go back next year. It was also "extra fun" because Grace was there and in her group.

Speaking of Grace, she celebrated her fourth birthday on the 22nd. We met up with her for some frozen yogurt at Red Mango. Her birthday party was the following weekend at My Gym. Her theme was pirates and Disney princesses. Gotta love a girl who knows how to make the best of both those worlds. :D Kyla and Easton had mega fun at the party. In fact, Kyla asks to go back at least once a day. Easton had so much fun, we may have to take him back for open play and let him have at it once again.

Not much new to report with the adults of the family. Maybe August will prove to be more noteworthy. Maybe?

June 2011

June was a super fun month for us. Kyla enjoyed play dates a lot because she was dropped off at her friends' houses or they were dropped off at our place. She felt awfully grown up without Easton or Mom around for a couple of hours. Her favorite play date was on National Donut Day. Nothing beats a play date and FREE donuts.

Kyla also attended several classes at the recreation center. Each class had a different theme, so that was fun. She learned a bit more about butterflies, raccoons, Father's Day and the Fourth of July. She was under the impression a raccoon would make a great pet. Hopefully that idea won't stick with her.

Swim lessons are still going well. Kyla is working on some new skills that will allow her to float on her back all by herself. She has a ways to go yet, but she is getting better and more comfortable in the water. It's a special little group as every one's name in the class, including the instructor's, start with 'K.'

Another exciting happening for Kyla was attending her first week of vacation bible school at church. She had so much fun, she didn't want to leave on the last day. She learned some new songs and stellar dance moves, played games, listened to Bible stories, made some excellent art projects and so much more. The theme was the "Shake it Up" cafe. On the very last day, the kids all met upstairs in the sanctuary to put on a little show. There were over 300 kids in there singing and dancing, You would have thought Kyla was born on the stage. She sang and danced her little heart out. Thankfully, Kyla was able to do a repeat performance for Dad at the 11 o'clock service that Sunday.

Dad took the Friday before the Fourth off, so we went to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was a rather warm day, so many of the animals were hard to spot. They were hiding in what little areas of shade they could find. We were able to see a decent amount though. The fox and bear were eating when we walked by, so that was kind of cool. The bear was eating in the water, which Kyla found amusing. This zoo has a large giraffe population. They are so tame you can walk right up to pet or feed them. Kyla enjoyed that a lot.

Easton is doing well. He talks up a storm. A lot of what he says is in his own language of gibberish, but he is starting to say some words. We swear he can say "thank you and Kyla," but only if he is in the mood.

He figured out how to climb down steps, so he enjoys any chance he has to get past the gate and go up and down the stairs. He's still quite the terror. He gets into anything and everything. He loves to pick something up or out and just throw it on the floor. He'll dump an entire bin of toys out and just laugh. Easton especially loves it when someone goes into the pantry or fridge. There are just so many things he can pull out and place on the floor (or anywhere around the house).

Easton's favorite past time is pulling books off of bookshelves. In the amount of time it takes to throw his diaper away, he's pulled nearly every book down onto the floor. When he's finished in his room, he makes his way over to Kyla's. Of course, he makes no attempt to put the books away, so Mom and Dad keep busy.

Father's Day was a bit more special this year. Scott was able to spend some quality time with the kids while I was home for Jodi's wedding. He took the kids to Chuck E Cheese one afternoon and to a car show. He also got to grill out a lot since I wasn't around, so that was a Father's Day present in and of itself. Kyla made Daddy a key chain at one of her classes and at home we made another special gift. The afternoon was spent hunting down a new PS3 as ours broke over the weekend, but we did treat Dad to dinner.

I was able to enjoy a few days sans kids while home for the wedding. It was a beautiful day. Jodi looked amazing! It was nice to see some old friends and catch up a bit too.

Scott and I were able to get away for an afternoon to see "Rock of Ages." It was a great show with even greater songs. We could watch it a hundred times and never get bored with it. We were able to wrap the evening up with a great dinner and awesome ice cream.

We attempted family pictures one Saturday morning. Easton wanted nothing to do with them. If he wasn't crying, he was wiggling his way out of our arms to escape the camera. Naturally, he sensed Dad's enthusiasm for pictures and acted on that too. If Scott wasn't an adult, he'd probably have done the same.

We had a one hour photo shoot and there were maybe two halfway decent pictures of all of us. Out of 122, that should give you an idea of just how well it went. Needless to say, we won't be repeating this until Easee can be bribed to sit still and smile. :-)

May 2011

It was a bittersweet month for us. Kyla wrapped up her last day of pre-school on the 17th. As much as she had been asking to be "done" with school, she was pretty bummed the following week to realize she won't be seeing her teachers or friends on a regular basis anymore. We are trying to arrange play dates for everyone in the class a few times a month, so hopefully that will help fill the void.

On the bright side, Kyla knows she goes back to school on her birthday. It will only be for an hour that day, but she sees it as another reason to celebrate. She made some new friends over the school year, so she is anxious to spend time with them over the summer. Of course, nothing is better than playing with her bestest bud, Grace! Even if they fight like cats and dogs at times.

Since school is out for the summer, Kyla is signed up for lots of fun activities. She will be going to the rec center for several classes, attending two vacation bible schools, hanging out with friends and going on a few family vacations. Uncle Shawn is due to visit in July, so she is looking forward to his visit as well.

Kyla is clearly growing up, as many of her play dates lately allow her to be dropped off at the friends' house. When did our little girl get to be so big??

When it wasn't too cold, rainy or windy, we were able to get Kyla out on her bike. She has trouble riding it because she wants to pedal backward rather than forward. Going backward puts the brakes on, so she hasn't really mastered going anywhere yet. Practice makes perfect, so we are going to work on it as often as we can.

Kyla has also been working on her t-ball skills. She has a real bat and ball, along with a stand, so we expect her to be ready for the minor leagues by fall. Hee hee!!

We've spent a lot of time in the yard planting flowers and tending to things. Kyla really enjoys planting flowers and watching them grow. She loves to go out in the evenings and help Mom or Dad water everything. The sunflowers are coming in splendidly. We hope we can say the same for the sweet peas we planted at the end of the month.

Easton is doing well. He learned how to climb down steps this month, clap (on Monday the 16th) and go down slides on his tummy. He has words for "thank you, dog and Kyla." "Thank you" is really the only one a stranger could possibly make out, but he is making progress on his vocabulary.

He still totally LOVES doing anything and everything Kyla does. He sticks to her like white on rice, for the most part. Sometimes Kyla prefers to play with stuff on her own, but she does a pretty good job of including Easton.

He also really likes to watch movies. Some days, he pays more attention to the screen than Kyla. For the time being, Gnomeo & Juliette and Tangled are his favorites. Dancing is another awesome activity for the Little Man. His idea of dancing is running in circles or flapping his arms, and he thinks he's the coolest! It's equally fun to run and plop down on our fat sak. He could do that for hours.

We had a lot of cooler temps this month, along with a decent amount of rain for out here. We are hoping June warms up and allows us to get outside to play before it heats up too much.

Unfortunately, Scott's softball team is not doing too well this year. Fortunately, it comes down to how well they play in the tournament. We will cross our fingers his team shines that night and walks away with a first place finish. That would be, "Wait for it...legendary!"

Mother's Day was a great day! It was actually quite warm - 85 degrees. Scott and the kids took me to the White Fence Farm. They are well known for their chicken dinners. They've been on the Food Network a few times. It was an awfully busy day to try it for the first time, but the food was delicious. The corn fritters alone were worth the two hour wait. We were able to kill some time by feeding the cow and lamb, playing in the park, watching the ducks and browsing the general stores. And of course, taking pictures. It just wouldn't be a holiday without photos to commemorate the day.

April 2011

What a fun month for us all. Easton walks everywhere now. He tries to run, but his little legs aren't quite ready for that yet. He usually just topples over onto the floor. He keeps trying though, so kudos to him and his tenacity.

Easton's top two teeth poked through this month. He's none the wiser, but happy to (hopefully) have a break from teething for a wee bit. His four teeth are strong. You do not want to put your hand in his mouth unless it is an emergency. He might just take a finger or two off. Maybe it's because his gums are so strong from going a little longer than most without teeth?

He is also starting to say a few new sounds. No new words as of yet, but he's gotta be close. It often sounds as if he can say "bye-bye," but it may also just be wishful thinking on our part.

Kyla is doing great with her swim lessons. She earned her first ribbon this month and moved up a level!! She spends all week telling us she does not want to go, but has a great time once she is there. Silly girl. She is starting to become comfortable with having water dumped on her and putting her whole head under water. We can't wait to see what she will learn over the next few weeks.

Easter was on the 24th, and we started celebrating around the first of the month. Once the decorations were up, we focused our time and energy on related art projects including magnets, picture frames and door hangers. When that wasn't enough, we headed over the to rec center for a few Easter related classes.

Of course, you can't overdo Easter, so there was also the second annual (for our family) Easter Fun Day at church. Heidi, Grace and Lilly joined us again this year for a great time. There were balloon animals, an egg hunt, cotton candy, pictures with the Easter Bunny, tattoos, nail painting, egg dying and games. It was a fun packed hour and a half for sure.

We can't forget to mention visiting the Easter Bunny at the mall for pictures or at US Toy store. Kyla couldn't get enough of him this year. She even followed him around Whole Foods for a chance to say "hi" and remind him what she wanted for her basket.

There was also an egg hunt with her play group friends, Ace and Grace, as well as a local hunt at the park down the street from our house. Kyla was not lacking candy this year.

And we'd be re missed if we forgot to mention Grammy, Granny, Gramps and Aunt Karen all sent special Easter gifts and packages. A big "THANK YOU" goes out to everyone mentioned for the presents.

The Easter Bunny was awfully good to the kids this year. He left them candy and toys. Plus, Mom and Dad got them something special too. Easton received a Gas & Go Lawnmower and Kyla got a bike with training wheels. What a great way to wrap up a month filled with tons of Easter activities. At the end of the day though, we all had to sit back and remember the true meaning of the season - God died and rose again for us and for our salvation.

Right after Easter, Kyla came down with her first stomach flu. She threw up on and off for over three hours. Not to be alone in her misery, she gave her germs to Mom. I can't remember the last time I had a stomach flu, but I quickly learned it hits adults worse than kids. Scott had to take a day off work so I could rest and recoup. Thankfully, neither he nor Easton got sick.

Not that Easton can say much yet, but he was more than happy he did not get the flu as he caught croup for the first time at the beginning of the month. The steroid medicine helped him tremendously, and he only needed one dose of it. The cold symptoms lasted over two weeks, but his "bark" was only around for a day.

Now that we are all on the mend, we are looking forward to staying healthy and warm weather. This month has been rather cold, and we are all anxious to spend some time outdoors. We have bubbles to blow, bikes to ride and Daddy's softball games to keep us busy for months to come.

March 2011

Easton's first tooth came in (FINALLY) on March, 2nd. He had no clue what all the fuss was about though. "Tooth" be told, he is just happy to not be in as much pain. It became obvious to us as Easton was teething that boys just have a lower threshold for pain. Kyla made no fuss whatsoever when her teeth came in, yet Easton complained for many weeks. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the years.

On March 3rd, Kyla had her first swimming lesson at SafeSplash Swim School in Lone Tree. She was excited to put on her bathing suit and get into the pool, and was less than thrilled about having to wearing a swim cap and goggles. Thankfully, she allowed us to put everything on her with minimal complaining. Once she was in the water though, she didn't mind at all.

The first few lessons, it was just Kyla and the teacher (which she loved). She got to wear little flippers on her feet, blow bubbles with her mouth, do monkey crawls along the edge of the pool and float on her back (with the help of the teacher). She thought everything was fun!! Hopefully she will continue to enjoy the lessons and become more comfortable in the water. Mommy and Daddy are anxious for the day when Kyla puts her face and whole head into the water. That is a big deal for the little ones and for us too.

On March 6th, Easton took his first steps. It was a huge deal, and Mommy and Daddy were super excited! Since then, he has mainly been taking just a few steps here and there. It's almost as if his brain has yet to relay a message letting his legs know this is another form of movement. This past weekend (the 26 & 27) however, he took around ten or more steps on several occasions. He can't be far off from becoming a walker. As we like to say, "Go Easee, Go!"

Kyla had a friend's (Shanelle Luber) birthday party to attend around the middle of the month. It was at one of the local recreation centers, and she loved it. The staff created an obstacle course for the kids, and she had a blast. Of course, there was also pizza, cake and ice cream. Can't go wrong with any of those food options.

St. Paddy's day was extra fun this year because it was also the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament. Kyla filled her bracket in by picking which mascot she liked the best. For a day and a half, she was in the lead. Maybe her logic will pay out next year since there is no number one seed left to play. If only VCU and St. John's could have switched places this year.

There was a super moon on the 19th, so that was cool to check out. It was definitely bigger that night. Our little camera was not able to take any good pictures of the moon, but we are hoping a friend got a few to share with us. Kyla thought for sure she was going to see the man on the moon, but it wasn't quite big enough that night for her to spot him.

Kyla had her spring break from pre-school this month, so we enrolled her into a class called Tumble into Spring at the rec center. She took the class with two good friends, Shanelle and Grace, so that helped to make it extra fun. Each day they made art projects, played in the room where gymnastic classes are held and watched a movie during lunch time. She also met up with some more of her friends from pre-school at the park one afternoon. All in all, she had a great break.

Both Kyla and Easton enjoy playing with toys, making messes and watching a good TV show or movie. As good as Kyla is at making messes, Easton still has her beat. He can make any area look like a tornado swept threw in no time at all. We don't call him our little mess maker for nothing. Hee Hee!!

Easton still enjoys following his big sister around the house and trying to do whatever she's doing. He just loves her to pieces. It will be fun to watch their relationship grow as they get older.

Kyla is becoming quite the big girl. She likes to dress herself (minus socks and shoes) most days. She really enjoys being able to say she dressed herself and did everything on her own without any help from Mom or Dad. She has also started brushing her teeth with real toothpaste. She thinks it's fun to spit the toothpaste out into the sink. On rare instances, she does swallow a wee bit of the toothpaste, but thankfully she has not gotten an upset tummy from the fluoride. And last but not least, Kyla has started doing chores around the house. We are still working on making her a chore chart, but she helps with putting clothes into her clothes basket, throwing away trash, helping Mom or Dad empty the trash bins around the house, putting dishes into the dishwasher or sink, picking up toys, putting groceries away and helping in the yard to pick up dog poop. If we can get good about making beds, we will add that to her list. For three and a half, she is quite the helper.

Nothing new to report on the adults in the house. Softball will start in just over a month, so that will be fun. Kyla is eagerly awaiting the day she can become the bat girl for Daddy's team. Maybe next year will be her year?

Until next time, we wish all of you a safe and happy month.

P.S. One of these months, we will get motivated enough to add pictures for all of you.