Janson, Meagan and More

NPDDOND

2012-02-03T23:10:00.000-06:00

Non Pervasive Developmental Disorder Otherwise Not Defined

If you haven't stepped in the autism pool, the above line probably doesn't make sense. To be honest, having stepped into the autism pool myself, the above line still doesn't make much sense. BUT here we are none the less.

If you remember, Cash couldn't hear very well until he was two years old. Here's the story about the discovery. Part of the journey. And the happiness when the problem was finally corrected. So, at this point in his life he's only been able to hear correctly for almost a year and a half. Can you imagine the social and verbal developmental delays you would have to compensate for if you'd only been able to hear for a third of your life? Well, in my book, our Cash has done an excellent job of compensating for what he didn't have. His motor skills are off the charts. He is the best problem solving kid I've ever met. He is wickedly smart. But despite all of his compensating his social and verbal skills haven't come up to par.

Just after Cash turned two and we got the hearing situation figured out, we started on speech therapy. Cash had a speech therapist come to the house to work with him every week. Three months later we added to the schedule by enrolling Cash in preschool; always the goal being, to give Cash every tool he needs to gain those social and verbal skills. And it worked! Our boy talked more than he ever had before.

When he turned three, we could see the gap between him and the other three year old's and as his mother, my heart ached. We had him tested and he qualified for a fabulous early childhood intervention school due to his speech. He started his new school three days after his third birthday. Since then, Cash's development continued to improve, slowly but surely. However, we opted for additional testing.

After three months of autism testing, they came back to us with: Non Pervasive Developmental Disorder Otherwise Not Defined. What in the world? Basically it means this; Cash's level of social and verbal skills put him in the autism spectrum. They aren't saying he's autistic, but they are saying he is in the spectrum. Could the social and language delay be because he couldn't hear for so long? Certainly. Could it be a behavior difference he'll have to compensate for the rest of his life? Maybe. Is it terrifying? Absolutely.

Cash is still our perfect, loving, singing, running, counting little man. He is ahead of all of his class mates in some things and in others, just not even close. We are hoping that through continued hard work, Cash will close that gap sooner than later. He is such a wonderful little boy. There aren't enough words to describe our love for him.

Hearing the diagnosis for the first time was emotionally hard on me as his mom. Autism can be a scary word. For me, it was. But I have a fabulous friend, with an autistic son, who gives me great perspective. She explained, that even if he isn't autistic having this diagnosis is Heaven sent because it is my 'golden ticket' to get Cash whatever classes or therapies he needs. There is no arguing with a mother who has a child who has been diagnosed in the autism spectrum. We always win. I like that. I like having the ability to give Cash whatever therapies/teachers/classes he needs to help him be the best Cash he can be.

Now, let me just elaborate on that 'wicked smart' description I gave earlier. Cash knows all his letters and all the sounds they make. Cash picks out words he recognizes and says them, often. Cash counts to 20, easy. Cash remembers and sings all songs he hears if he's heard them at least three times. No exaggeration. Of all the kids in Cash's preschool class; he is the only one who, every day, picks out his own name on the smart board to check himself in. That's my little man.

A few weeks ago, I had my first conversation with my little boy. It was very simple. But it was our very first conversation. At bedtime, I had to run out to get bananas for the next day (because we go through them by the bunch at this house) while Janson started bedtime routines. I got home in time to finish tucking Cash in. He saw me come into the room and he sat up in his bed, grabbed my hand and said, "Come on mama". He then proceeded to try to lead me out of his room so we could play. I gently put him back in bed and said, "Oh honey, it's bed time, time to sleep." He gave me a pouty face and quietly said, "no" as he pulled his blanket up to his chin. While I kissed him goodnight, the poor guy had to wipe his face from my tears.

Lately he's turned into a little parrot. If we say it, he repeats it. It's awesome. Just a few months ago he would give me maybe five words a day. Now he's easily up to 50. Yay Cash!

Cash's main form of communication is physical touch. If he needs something, he'll take your hand and guide you where he needs you. If he's sad, upset, or even done something wrong, the only way you can calm him is through physical touch. He is so sensitive to the emotions in the room. If he's hurt Chloe and she cries, he instantly knows he's done something wrong and he wants to make it better. If I am getting anxious, he looks at me with his big blue eyes and begs my heart to slow.

So, why am I putting such a sensitive subject on our public blog? I want to be open about our little man. I want those who work with him to be able to feel that they can talk to us about Cash. I want people to feel comfortable asking us questions on how best to communicate with Cash. I don't want people to be scared of Cash or the reaction his crazy over protective mother may have. (Please note: I am not denying my crazy or the fact that I am over protective, I'm just trying to be a little less emotional and a little more logical.) And I want to celebrate all his successes, big and small on our blog. I want his cheering section to be bigger than our living room. I want the prayers that go to Heavenly Father for him to come from more than just Texas. I want people to understand when I cry for my son who works so hard and is still misunderstood. And most importantly, I want everyone to see the magical little man who is our son.

Breathing Treatments

2012-01-29T22:08:00.002-06:00

Yup, that about sums up our week. Bleh.

Chloe's Birthday

2012-01-29T22:07:00.000-06:00

Chloe's birthday fell on a Thursday this year. Because Chloe wasn't feeling well, we decided to wait on eating cake, but hey, even the sick kids love presents :)

On Thursday, a birthday box came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa! When I saw it was a stroller and a baby, I just had to wait for Janson to get home before she could open it. That's why the kids are in jammies. Poor Jans only gets about 15-20 minutes with them by the time he gets home before they have to go to bed.

I don't know why but I just love this pic.

Chloe LOVED the stroller. What two year old little girl wouldn't? It's PERFECT! Pink, with a baby and even a compartment on the bottom to transport an 'arap!' (giraffe) and a 'duck!'. :)

You'd think the next logical step would be for Chloe to want a ride in the stroller. Well logic doesn't often win in our house. Of course Chloe wanted to push brother in the stroller. Yup, that happened.

Because the family gifts have to travel across a few states to get here, Chloe got to live her birthday for a few days. Fun! Later in the week she got another package from Grandma and Grandpa with foam puzzles, a book, color wonder coloring books and markers, and an 'arap!' pillow pet from Auntie Holly. Those foam puzzles are HEAVEN sent. They kept BOTH kiddos very happy through the entire Sacrament Meeting today. Wa-hoo!!!

Thank you everyone for loving our little girl! She's the perfect wonderful girl to round out our little family. Love you Chloe!!!

Chloe's TWO!!!!

2012-01-18T22:46:00.000-06:00

It feels like yesterday she was only this big....

(3 months old)

Has it already been a whole year since you were here?

(one year)

Oh sweet Chloe. It's been quite a ride. Chloe is such a wonderful little girl.Chloe has the most infectious laugh and the sweetest little smile. As with most girls she's equal parts dramatic and cute. Bless her.

She loves to boss her brother, who apparently doesn't mind all that much. She also loves to boss her parents who tend to mind a bit more.

Chloe loves to run, just like a bird. She puts her hands behind her with her arms out, anticipating the take off that inevitably will ensue if she can just run fast enough :)

Chloe loves to sing and dance. Chloe loves musical instruments.

Chloe LOVES her big brother. She loves to make him laugh. She especially loves when Cash gets in trouble for being too rough with her because then he has to give her a hug and a kiss. It doesn't matter what toy has been roughly taken, or what damage done. The minute Chloe hears "Cash, go apologize and give her a hug and kiss" she picks herself up and with a huge grin puts out her arms for her big brother hugs.

Chloe is still a good napper, but only if she has her "duck!" and her "arap" (giraffe). They are so worn, and so loved. These two little animals even have to give mom and/or dad kisses before bed. It's very important to Chloe. When you ask Chloe what a duck says, she puts her hand out to 'talk' like a duck and says "quack!". If you ask Chloe what a giraffe says, she simply sticks her tongue out as far as it goes. Awesome!

Chloe is such a little talker. We love it! We don't understand much of her conversation, but her vocabulary is growing by the day. Some of her favorites: Cash (of course), hot, arap (giraffe), duck, dog, cat, water (this counts as water, milk and juice), apple, nana (banana), turtle, lion, shoe, fish, blue, bah-looooooon (balloon) and star. There are SO many more, but these are her/our favorites.

Chloe is such a little helper. If she finds anything she decides is garbage, she is quick to take it to the kitchen and throw it away. She's also very good about double checking to make sure no one throws anything away that shouldn't be. Fun.

Chloe is a good little eater. However, I think the little girl is already trying to be a vegetarian :) Her favorite foods are lettuce (no kidding), cucumber, carrots, apples and peaches. However, every Saturday she eats scrambled eggs with her daddy for breakfast. She loves it! Chloe is also really good about folding her arms and helping the family say the prayer over the food.

Chloe loves getting dressed in the morning. Chloe has already learned that no outfit is complete without the shoes and the hair bows. She likes to pick out her shoes. Once the shoes are on, she goes to the drawer where I keep her bows and starts happily pulling stuff out until I do her hair. Sweet little diva.

One last story to round it all out. Two days ago Chloe was helping mom put away the laundry. Chloe came across mom's bra. Chloe stuck out her chest and put the bra on her chest, where it quickly fell to the floor. She tried again, same result. She looked at it again quizzically, then stuck it on her head and walked out of the room. Love her!

Happy birthday beautiful girl! We love you to pieces!

A Budding Photographer

2012-01-11T15:41:00.001-06:00

Apparently Cash didn't have trouble finding the camera on Aunt Denise's iPhone, nor did he have trouble enjoying taking pictures with his Aunt Denise.

Good times!

Morning Cuddle Time

2012-01-11T15:37:00.002-06:00

The morning Janson and I weren't at home Cash found a great substitute for his morning cuddle time. Aunt Denise was thrilled.

Hand-Me-Downs

2012-01-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

Hey Aunt Holly, apparently Janson needs a new hat. The Christmas present you gave him last year has now been taken over by our son. Yes, that's right. Cash with his huge pumpkin-headedness wears Janson's hat easily, happily and daily.

Love him!

Santa on the Firetruck

2012-01-11T15:15:00.001-06:00

I love Texas. They have so many great traditions here. One of their Christmas traditions is the firemen bringing Santa around the neighborhoods on a firetruck, tossing candy to all the kids standing out in their pajamas waving at the Jolly Ol' Man himself.

It's wonderful. Before we had children Janson and I had fun watching the whole event unfold. We took Cash out on our front porch for the first time when he was just two months old to enjoy it.

During Aunt Denise's trip Janson and I took a haitus for an evening. While out, I received a text from a friend telling me Santa was on his way to our house. Quickly, I sent Denise a text so she could keep the tradition alive.

Denise had just put Cash to bed, so she ran upstairs and pulled a fully asleep Cash out of bed. They ran down the stairs just in time to see the lights of a large vehicle rolling by. Not Santa. Denise decided she must've missed him (sad) so she put Cash back to bed. On her way down stairs she looked outside and saw the firetruck on it's way. Dang it! Denise, being amazing, ran back up the stairs, to a Cash who was now pretty excited to see her again. They ran outside, saw Santa and grabbed candy. Denise, being the amazing camera woman she is, set Cash down to take a picture. Cash took this opportunity to run as fast as he could down the street. Awesome.

This is our picture of Cash enjoying Santa on the firetruck this year.

Aunt Denise you have outdone yourself this time.

Clean Babies

2012-01-11T15:06:00.000-06:00

When people told me children enjoyed bath time I had no idea the pure euphoria the simple act of splashing in warm water could bring. I thought Cash had a good time in the bath playing and splashing on his own; add a Chloe and it's a recipe for inexplicable joy.

Are you wondering how Cash got such a huge mouth?

Apparently with mine and Janson's mouth's combined, it creates a super huge mouth! :)

I've just given up. I just layer the room with towels and let the kids have fun.

I figure life is just too short to not let them enjoy themselves.

Thank you Aunt Denise for my alfalfa sprouted Chloe :)

Happy splashing babies!

Cash's School Christmas Party

2012-01-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

We were so lucky to have Aunt Denise here for Cash's Christmas Party. I don't know how I would've done it with Chloe with me if I didn't have that extra set of hands. Not to mention, the fact that Denise has supernatural children powers.

Here's Cash behind his speech therapist.

This picture was a MIRACLE I have no idea how Denise got it because I didn't realize they had a second of being mutually happy next to Santa. Good job D!

At Cash's School Christmas party we decorated cookies, pinned the nose/eyes/buttons on the snow man, played musical chairs and read books. It was lovely. What a great day!

Aunt Denise Was Here!!!!

2012-01-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

In case you were wondering how Cash feels about Aunt Denise visiting, I think this series of pictures will clear it up.

And as for Chloe. It appears they love each other just as much.

Peas in a Pod

2011-12-12T21:33:00.000-06:00

While I made dinner the kids decided to enjoy some light reading. Together.

Life. Is. Grand!

Too Hot for Hasselhoff

2011-12-12T21:26:00.000-06:00

Apparently keeping the house at 72 (now that it's 40 degrees outside here) is too hot for Cash. OR when he dresses like this, we call him The Hoff :)

Chloe's Hair

2011-12-12T21:13:00.000-06:00

Sweet Chloe is going to have a love/hate relationship with her hair as she grows older. She has two cowlicks on the back of her head. They are right next to each other and they swirl in opposite directions. Apparently this is a sign of great intelligence, which of course I think is true :)

These cowlicks are GREAT because instead of flat, lifeless hair like her mom, she will always have TONS of volume. She also has great hair for pig tails:

Yes I made those bows. Awesome, right?!?

Here's the best shot I've ever been able to get of the cowlicks, I know it's blurry, but you get the idea.

These cowlicks are also the culprits of pretty heinous bed head. Bless her heart.

I'm sure along the way we'll find lots of great do's that will only benefit from her intelligence. :)

All the Family Pics

2011-12-04T22:15:00.002-06:00

I just love Becky. She is so talented. Thank you, thank you, thank you for capturing such wonderful moments with my family. Muwah!

I broke these into three posts. This is the one with the whole fam bam. Next will be the Princess followed by our Goliath :)

I love this one of us. It was SO windy. Fun.

Look at Jans muscling the 40 pound three year old. Way to go babe!

I'm disappointed with myself in this pic because everyone looks amazing and me, well, not so much. Shoot!

I just love him!

This one was such a fluke, and Becky totally caught it. We were on our way back to the car and it's definitely one of my favorites from the whole thing. You're awesome Becky!

Our Little Princess

2011-12-04T22:07:00.001-06:00

I thought Chloe would be more of a ham. Instead she was a bit more pensive. It's okay. I still love them!

Look at my little porcelain doll.

On the verge of being upset.

Pick me up mama!

She was NOT happy with this pose, but bless her heart, I just had to have it.

Love this one! Total fluke! Thanks Beckster!

Fish face with Daddy!

Such a happy Daddy's girl.

She's as dramatic as she is cute. She's as happy as she is dramatic. We just love her!

Happy Boy

2011-12-04T22:01:00.001-06:00

Becky is magic. That's all I can say. Look at all these AMAZING shots of my happy, happy boy. It's hard to pick a favorite but I do have one. Do you?

Janson is buckling over the weight of Cash, and Cash is just happy to be with Dad.

Put this kid on a swing and he's in HEAVEN!

This is it. This one is my favorite. Love. This. Kid!

Daddy is always fun!

Beautiful boy

Doesn't he have a fabulous smile?

He's magic. Love him!

Bows, Bows, Bows!!!!!

2011-11-15T18:19:00.000-06:00

This last weekend I went to a scrapbook retreat with a bunch of AMAZING women. It's was GREAT! I did enough crafting there to fill an entire year of creativity. One of the projects I took on with a beautiful friend of mine, Jessica, was learning how to make bows for Chloe. I will let the work speak for itself...

We fell in love with the bows so much we worried we wouldn't love the next one as much. We decided because of the work they took they were like children to us and deserved names. The one Chloe is wearing (above) is Sophia.

I also had to make some bows for Chloe's new 'do' - the pigtails :)

A close up

I made another set of small pink bows for Chloe's pig tails as well as another fabulous large pink and brown bow that we named "Chloe". I was too excited to wait for my model to be patient enough to wear them for pictures more pictures so they'll make their debut in a future post. Also in future posts will be more of the crafts I made this past weekend which include: holiday wreaths, modge podge letters (that are AMAZING), a great American-a flag, and Christmas tags/ornaments. Fun, fun, fun!!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-11-15T18:12:00.002-06:00

Pigtails!

2011-11-06T21:58:00.001-06:00

This weekend Chloe did a little growing up...

Is it me or does my baby look so big with her little teeny pigtails? I can't believe she's already 21 months old. I'm glad she's finally getting a little hair. She loves to have me put it in a top knot, and today she really enjoyed all the attention she got from Daddy in her new little pigtails. Looks like I'm going to have to start buying smaller bows in pairs :)

Sick, sick, sicker

2011-11-06T21:55:00.000-06:00

Monday a friend of mine had her children stay home from school because they had a stomach bug. They ended up staying several days because of this nasty bug. Thursday, Cash's teacher had to leave school because she was sick with the same thing. Very early Friday morning I wasn't very surprised to be up with a poor puking Cash.

As soon as Dr. Newell's office opened I called. They said what I suspected, there's a nasty stomach virus going around that lasts 24-48 hours. Prepare myself with lots of juice, applesauce, bananas and toast. It has been a loooong weekend. Cash was very generous and shared his sickness with me. Thank you buddy. So, this has been what our weekend has looked like:

Lots of pajamas and lots of being cooped up in the house. Janson even got to feel some of our pain but thankfully, Chloe has come through the weekend unscathed. I hope it lasts.

After this weekend our house has a designated puking bucket (joy), we know how to get puke out of everything, and we've determined that a puking 3 year old is just one of the saddest things out there. Poor little buddy. I'm glad he's finally feeling better. I know he's excited to go back to school tomorrow.

Chloe's new smile

2011-11-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

Chloe has decided that instead of smiling and posing for the camera, she's going to give me a wierd-o "monster" smile and not look at the camera at all. Aw well, at least she's cute in all her zebra print :)

Family Pictures Teaser

2011-11-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

It's that time again, we went to Becky to have our pictures taken. And, as always, I LOVE them! This is just the first round. Of course, our new header pic is from her as well. Vote for your favs!

It's Almost the Holidays!

2011-11-01T12:36:00.000-05:00

I LOVE the fall. I love the leaves changing, the brisk weather, coats, sweaters, soup, warm bread, and sleeping under warm blankets in a cool room. BUT we live in Texas, so those days are few and far between. When they do come along; even if they are sandwiched between two 85 degree days, we take full advantage. Last week we had one 55 degree day. I was thrilled!

It was SUPER fun to enjoy all the fall/winter clothes Chloe hasn't quite grown out of from last year. AND she finally has enough hair to give her a couple options. As always, Chloe saw the camera and enjoyed cheesing it up for me. Happy November 1st everyone. I hope wherever you are I hope fall is in the air.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

This year Chloe dressed up as a cat, Cash dressed up as a dog. Thankfully the costumes weren't indicative of the old adage, "fighting like cats and dogs". :)

Chloe's new favorite place to play is now the counter tops. (Seriously kid, I'm growing ulcers here!)

Here she is enjoying an orange skittle, happy little candy face. :)

And our spotted little puppy, drinking some milk before bed :)

I had to get a shot of his cute little tail :)

The whole fam bam. Please don't judge Chloe's moon face here, she was ready to head out to get candy (and get attention - let's be honest).

My favorite picture of the night, walking back to the car after an evening of trick or treating. Dang it, so cute!

Goodbye Highchair

2011-10-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

It's the end of an era. Chloe is officially DONE with the highchair. She's been wanting to sit at the table like a big girl for a while now, and I've finally succumb.

Sadly, our little wood table broke. It was a sad day. Apparently mom knows what she's talking about when she says over and over to not climb on the table, but sometimes we just have to learn the hard way. So we ran out to IKEA, got a new table and decided the old chairs would work just fine. While there we got some super cheap 'big kid' plates, cups and utensils. It was like it was Christmas at our house when dinner finally rolled around. We had REALLY good drinkers at the table, not so much eaters, but they were super happy to drink ridiculous amounts of water out of their new cups. AND no spills! Wow, check us out!

Cash's New School

2011-10-23T11:01:00.000-05:00

For over a month now we've been having Cash tested for his lack of speech. After much testing it was decided our little man is plenty smart (he tested as a 5 year old in cognitive development) and he has the ability to speak (he has at least 250-300 words in his vocabulary) but he just chooses not to speak. We don't know why. So we decided to put him in a more specialized preschool, that is more intensive and focused on his speech.

This school is a big adjustment for such a young guy. Instead of only going twice a week like his old school, Cash goes Monday - Friday from 7:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. He started Tuesday (October 18th). I met his teacher, took a tour of the school, and I cried. The second day, I had to do a drop off, where they take him out of his car seat and walk him into the school. Cash wasn't very happy about this, but seemed okay with it pretty quickly. I cried. The third day he was a pro, and enjoyed everything. I still cried.

I must say, I miss my little man at home in the mornings. But from all of his daily notes home I know he's enjoying it. Plus he's already talking more at home. I know he's in the right place, and I know I get to have lots of one on one time with my Chloe-Bear but that doesn't make me miss my Cash any less.

However, another positive point is napping. Because Cash has to wake up so early, he is a GREAT napper again. Here's a shot right after he got home from school his first day. Poor guy was so tired.

There are 700 kids in Cash's new school between the morning and afternoon sessions. However, there are only 15 in his class. This little tag is how everyone knows who he is and where he belongs. Cash is part of Mrs. Guzowsky's Puppy class. There are pictures of the puppy that represents his class all over the school so all the members of his class can follow them to get to where they need to go.

Here's a shot of my little man on Wednesday morning (day two) just before leaving to drop him off.

Soon enough a bus will be coming by the house to pick Cash up every morning. GULP! Which will KILL me, but I know Cash will have a GREAT time on the bus. Until then I want to thank all the wonderful friends who have come to sit at my house so that Chloe could continue to sleep. And a special thank you to all my wonderful friends who have helped me SO much while I've been an emotional mommy mess. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Shenanigans

2011-10-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

Because of Janson's work schedule, he doesn't get much time with the kids during the work week, so he enjoys making up for it over the weekend. Yesterday (Saturday) I decided our house was in desperate need of being cleaned. So, I decided to tackle the house, and Janson's job was to play with the kids. It's a good thing I clean with a camera in my pocket because I caught some great activities!

Daddy taking Chloe 'shopping' around the house:

The first ever, sword fighting tutorial. With vacuum extension pieces, of course.

By the time the house was sparkling, it was time for lunch and the kids were so worn out from all the playing, they took great naps. It was a good day.

Daddy's Girl

2011-10-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

Chloe was a sick little cookie last week. Bless her. While being sick and for a few days after, she was very clingy to me. This broke Janson's heart because she's ALWAYS been a daddy's girl. Well it didn't take her long to find her way back.

Now she's enjoying being daddy's back up dancer. And even sneaking in kisses whenever possible.

And while playing on the stairs Chloe just wasn't close enough being tickled. She had to get all cuddled up with her favorite guy.

I love my little family.

Strut Your Stuff

2011-10-23T10:36:00.000-05:00

Lately Cash thinks it's especially fun to dance around without a shirt. I also think it's GREAT!

It's only polite to warn you that you may need sunglasses to see the pics in this post. My kids are quite pale and without a shirt and with the white hair Cash is particularly shiny :)

Love this silly little boy!

First Father Son Duet

2011-10-23T10:32:00.001-05:00

In a continuation of Cash turning THREE I have to post about the presents that continue to arrive.

In addition to the monster truck, Aunt Denise and Uncle Tyler also sent a Lightning McQueen guitar (which Janson contends is actually a ukulele) and a Lightning McQueen keyboard. Both are a HUGE hit. Now, we only need some drums and we've got our traveling family band. This is NOT an invitation for ANYone to send us drums by the way. It's not that I am opposed to the kids having a drum set, we simply don't have the space in our little house right now.

Cash LOVES his new guitar! Even Chloe got to touch and see how awesome it was.

This new gift led to one of my favorite moments of the week: father, son duet time. It's GREAT! When Janson comes home Cash gets out his guitar, gets dad his and they settle in on the couch for some music making magic. LOVE!

I'll have to get shots of Chloe playing keyboards, to document the little musical threesome. Good times. Thank you Aunt Denise!

Two More Reasons This Mama Loves Costco

2011-10-17T12:54:00.001-05:00

These babies are Heaven sent, for my sensitive skinned little ones. For every runny nose, sticky face/fingers and messy face we use these.

However, these (above) are expensive. The cheapest I've found them is at Target for $5.

So you can understand why I FLIPPED when I found the these TUBS at Costco priced at $12 for the pair, just in time for the cold and flu season!

So run, don't walk ladies, because there were only five left in my Costco. And if you haven't discovered these yet, you can thank me later.

PINE NUTS!!!!

2011-10-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

I know my little sister loves me because she sent me these:

For all of you who didn't grow up in Nevada, these are pine nuts. If you've bought them at a store, you have NO IDEA. If you've never had them, you have NO IDEA. These things, are the very essence of fall as far as I'm concerned. They are little pieces of Heaven. And oh man, little pieces of Heaven, take a LOT of work.

When I was a kid, we'd go up into the mountains (which didn't take long because we lived in a valley), and go pine nut hunting. True story. Pine cones get heavy when they are full of pine nuts and they fall off the trees. We'd gather the full pine cones, get our hands/clothes/face/hair all sappy while extracting the many nuts and then we'd come home. Once home we'd clean off our sappy selves. (Ha! Sappy selves, I'm clever.) We'd boil the nuts (to get any extra sap off), salt them, bake them and then ENJOY them. They are AWESOME! Honestly, unless you go pine nut hunting yourself or get them from a Native American selling them on a reservation you're just not getting the real thing. Thankfully my sister knows me TOO well, and sent me some for me to cook myself.

BIG, HUGE, MUWAH coming to you Beezer-D! Thank you for spoiling me ROTTEN! I can now officially enjoy the fall, even if it was 89 degrees in Texas today.

Cash Turns Three!!!

2011-10-16T21:24:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it! My little boy is THREE!!! How did he get here so fast? Cash is such a magical little boy. He has a smile that melts my heart and a laugh that makes anything all better. He is SUPER ticklish and if nothing else the kid is musical. It's insane, really, it is.

I planned for Cash's birthday to be pretty laid back but full of all the things he loves. Lots of time with Daddy, a trip to the pumpkin patch, gift opening, his favorite dinner (fried chicken) and of course, cupcakes.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Friday morning I woke up to a VERY happy birthday boy and a VERY sick little girl. Chloe had the flu. Poor little dear. So we spent the morning comforting, cleaning puke, and trying to entertain Cash as best as I could. Janson's half day ended up, not being so much of a half day, as a whole day, dang it. AND Chloe insisted I hold her all day long, so the pumpkin patch, fried chicken dinner and cupcakes didn't really happen. Poor Cash.

The one thing we did get to do, was go to Dr. Newell and get Cash his well check. (Thank you Sarah for hanging out on the couch while Chloe slept.) Our Big Man Cash is aptly named. He weighs 38.5 pounds, and is 41 inches tall. That's right my 3 year old is three and a half feet tall, almost 40 pounds and fits very comfortably in 4T clothes. Good golly. Apparently he likes being in the 100th percentile for everything and has decided to stay there. :)

With a sick little Chloe, we decided we'd just drag Cash's birthday out as long as necessary to get all the fun stuff in. :) We've been giving Cash gifts a little at a time so he can enjoy each one as they come. Because Cash is SO loved, there are a TON of new toys. I tried to get pictures of most of them but be prepared because apparently there are more on their way so there will be more birthday blog posts for Cash.

This is Cash's new lego truck. Not only does he get to stack legos on it's flat bed, but he gets to use the remote control to send it around the house. Ridiculous amounts of fun! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Apparently his hands pushing the truck are just as fun as the remote :)

And of course we need to see how the wheels work.

We got Cash his own laptop. He LOVES it! And Chloe is SUPER jealous. Good thing her birthday isn't too far away :)

Cash also got a super hero cape for his birthday. He wasn't sure how awesome it was, until he saw how much faster it made his Daddy run when he wore it. Now it is a necessity when going super fast!

It didn't take Cash long to get excited about seeing more of these little blue packages. He loved opening them once he realized they were all toys just for him. In this shot he's opening one of the many Lightning McQueen's he got from Grandma and Grandpa. He's currently sleeping with one of them. Needless to say, he LOVES all of them!

Oooohh, Cash's new favorite game. UNO Moo! Right now, we don't really play by the rules, but dumping the pieces and picking them all up as fast as we can is still super fun. Thanks Auntie Holly.

And last but certainly not least, Cash's new BIG TRUCK! Thanks Aunt Denise and Uncle Tyler.

This truck also comes with a remote and Cash thought it was SO awesome that it had to be tested outside, to see if those big ol' tires really did go off road. They do.

Thank you everyone for spoiling my son. Thank you Jord and Aims for his awesome track suit, which I'm sure will be in many pictures on the blog soon since the kid lives in it!

Happy Birthday Big Man we love you!

Like Father Like Daughter

2011-10-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

It isn't just Dad and Cash anymore. Chloe has joined the lounging ranks and she couldn't be happier.

Silly Boy

2011-10-16T20:56:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I was cleaning out Chloe's closet and I found the hat I loved to put her in. I brought it downstairs to see if it would still fit. Alas, no. But Cash was not to be left out. He wanted to see if the hat fit him. Apparently, Cash thought it fit just fine because he left it on all morning. I love my silly boy!

Hypothyroidism

2011-10-09T22:57:00.001-05:00

Chloe is almost 21 months old. So, for almost two years my body has been trying to 'bounce back'. Going to the gym helped. Portion control helped. Patience was extremely helpful. However, there were some parts of my body that no matter what I did, I couldn't get them to 'bounce back'. My emotions, my hormones, and my anxiety were all out. of. control!

I went to doctors. I took lots of herbal remedies. I even took different medications. Everything seemed to work for a little while and then no more. It was an awful cycle. I was beginning to lose hope that I would 'bounce back'. Janson suggested I go to Dr. Newell's office, one last time to see if there was any more they could do to help me. They drew my blood and this time, they focused on my thyroid.

Twenty-four hours later, they called me and told me I had hypothyroidism. Yup. My thyroid has decided it doesn't want to work very well for me right now. I started on a small dose of medication and a whole bunch of supplements to help with the rest of the problems that have occurred since my thyroid pooped out: anemia, my adrenals being taxed, severe anxiety, insomnia, etc.

I had been on the medicine for a couple weeks when I was sitting on the couch next to Janson. We were discussing how great the past few days had gone when he looked over at me and said, 'welcome back, I missed you'. We then started talking about how amazing it felt to feel like ourselves again.

My poor Janson had been trying to help me through all of this and I can't imagine how exhausting it must have been for him. My sister was on the phone with me daily, for almost two years, talking me out of my 'crazy'. Denise, there are no words for how much that means to me. Heavenly Father truly showed me His love with all the angels he sent to be with me. Now that I look back on the last two years, I am amazed at all of our wonderful blessings.

I am happy to say that for almost three months I have felt like my old self, and I am happy to say, I feel like I have finally 'bounced back'.

The big three two!

2011-10-09T22:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Janson and I have been married for almost nine years. I can't believe I have two kids, and it was almost three years ago that whole part of our life started. I can't believe how many years it's been since I was at BYU with my roommates. But holy cow, 32, really?!?! Aw, well, at least I've been having fun :)

This year, for my birthday, I've been spoiled. There's no other way to put it, it has been a huge spoil-fest and I've loved every minute! Last weekend a group of my closest friends packed up their fifth wheel camper (hereto referred to as the campie) and we headed out of town for three whole days! It. Was. Awesome!

We went to Canton, Texas. For those of you not from Texas, you may not be able to understand. So let me just say this, once a month for a weekend this little town of 5000 people accommodates 200,000 shoppers for their Canton Trade Days. It's INSANE! And while the shopping was So. Much. Fun. I must say the most fun was had in the campie.

Inga, after our first night in the campie. Isn't that hair amazing! I would die to just have 1/4 the texture she has. It's GREAT!

Beautiful Heather. The campie we stayed in is hers. She has a laugh that rivals my BYU roommate, Sarah's. Seriously, when these girls laugh it's like infectious sunshine.

Getting ready :)

Heather and Jessica E. decided to trade in the hats they brought to combat the sun for good ol' fashioned cowgirl hats. Yehaw! Don't they look great?!?!?

Here's the whole gang: Heather, Jessica E., myself, Jessica C. and Inga.

We missed you Barbie and Lisa. *sniff*

Jessica C. and I in an awesome rocking chair after a long day of shopping.

In a later post I will have to talk about all the awesome stuff I found/purchased in Canton. Let's just say I came back with something for everyone. There are 550 acres of shopping in Canton, we didn't even get to an entire acre. I can't wait to go back!

After a FABULOUS weekend of girl time, I had only a few days until my actual birthday. Even though I didn't take any pictures I want to share a couple little parts of the day. I heard from my entire family, friends I haven't talked to in months, and enjoyed opening all the mail. Seriously, is there anything better than receiving packages in the mail? Fun! But the best part was that Janson took the entire day off of work to be with me. I know, spoiled, right?!? Janson even endured a little shopping so I could enjoy some of the birthday gift cards I'd received.

Um, yeah, thanks Amy for the DSW gift card that got me THESE!:

I know! HOT right?!?!?

And thank you Janson for boots that can be worn tall:

Or cuffed to be worn short:

Yup, I was drooling too, it's okay. They are as comfortable as they look. And if you know me, you know I have a weakness for boots so Janson definitely scored BIG points!

As awesome as a day was with my husband all day and with two new pair of shoes it couldn't have been near as great without my two fabulous kiddos! I got to go out to breakfast with Janson and Chloe (Cash was in preschool). Even though Janson and I had plans to leave the kids with a sitter and go out to dinner we just couldn't. We were too happy hanging out at home playing with the kids. So, we ordered in. It was perfect!

Thank you EVERYONE for my fabulous birthday. You all sure know how to make a girl feel loved.

It's a Girl Thing

2011-09-22T09:40:00.000-05:00

Chloe LOVES talking on the 'phone'. A phone can be anything, a remote, a lego piece, or even just her hand. Lately she is laughing at the hilarity of the person on the other side of the remote. It's great. I'm sorry, I know the video is sideways, but her darling voice is worth it. Enjoy.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

2011-09-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

After 106 days of triple digit heat you can understand why we get SUPER EXCITED about the first day with a high of 75! Yay! We celebrated with leggings, long sleeves, socks and even a hoody for Cash. What?!?!? Yes, tomorrow it is going to be mid 80s and then the next day 96 degrees. BUT we're going to celebrate fall while we can.

Cash is a little anti-paparazzi right now, hence the lame pic. :(

However, Chloe is always willing to strike a pose. Love it!

Crazy Hair Days

2011-09-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

As you can see the mullet is gone (thanks Amy!) but the rooster tail...well, I think that's here to stay.

Shhhhh....

2011-09-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

...genius at work.

A New Year of Preschool!

2011-08-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. Time the weather to cool off (please, oh please), time to strap on your new backpack and head to school. This year Cash has a sa-weet car backpack that he LOVES. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

This is the face we get when we ask him to smile. Awesome, right?

Happy boy, ready to go.

Remember last year, when he started preschool? It's the same this year, Cash only goes on Tues/Thu for two hours each day so it's perfect for us. He does have a new teacher this year; Mrs. Barbie, which I was a little worried about but just because he loves Mrs. Inga SO much. BUT it was nothing to worry about because like Mrs. Inga, Cash knows and loves Mrs. Barbie outside of preschool so he did GREAT! Having other people love your kids makes it much easier to leave them for a couple hours.

Thanks Mrs. Barbie! And here's to a WONDERFUL new year!

1980 Called...

2011-08-29T21:25:00.002-05:00

...it wants it's phone back.

Church Clothes

2011-08-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

Church clothes are so fun! Especially here in Texas where the 'bigger is better' rule reigns supreme. Here's what Chloe wore to church yesterday:

Dang if that pettiskirt isn't amazing!

Here's my silly laughing girl:

And big man Cash, reading up on tractors on our way out the door:

Equally happy and silly, getting his jumping and giggling out before we leave:

Last Post From the Utah Trip

2011-08-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

I've had a couple people ask me why Cash and Janson weren't in Utah with us. Janson had to work, boo! And since Janson couldn't come with me I didn't want to fly alone with two children. Chloe still flies for free so she was the easy choice. Why didn't I just go sans children? Because Denise wouldn't have allowed me to attend the graduation. You think I'm kidding. I'm not. See the picture below for evidence:

This is Aunt Denise. She's a fabulous sister, a great friend, and an amazing aunt. She will be the. most. amazing. mother one day. I love you sis!

Chloe's First Haircut

2011-08-29T21:16:00.000-05:00

While in Utah I thought we should take advantage of having our awesome Aunt Amy. April of last year, Aunt Amy gave Cash his first haircut, so even though Chloe's hair was OUT OF CONTROL we decided we should wait for Aunt Amy's expertise. Poor Aunt Amy took a good couple days examining Chloe's hair before she decided the best way to start.

Exhibit A - the rooster tail. Poor sweet Chloe has two cowlicks right next to each other on the back of her head that swirl in opposite directions. They cause the rooster tail. Chloe has THE BEST natural fo-hawk I've ever seen.

Exhibit B - the mullet. Enough said.

Aunt Amy said she could trim up the sides, take care of the mullet and make her bangs even. Yay! BUT as for the 'rooster tail', it's just something that's going to have to grow out. Once it gets longer hopefully it will lay down. As always, Aunt Amy has a very positive outlook, "she'll have tons of volume on the top of her head, she'll love it!". Here's hoping :)

The first cut:

And because I'm LAME I didn't get an 'after' shot. I don't know why. BUT it's next on my list :) Thanks Aunt Amy, it looks fab! And thanks Aunt Denise for holding the little squirmer so I could take pics. I know you all thought that was my uber tan arm holding Chloe, so I just wanted to clear up any confusion :)

COUSINS!!!!!

2011-08-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Because our trip to Utah was so fast we didn't get to see as much of the Kemp family as we would have liked. Jaden and Brooke's family were enjoying a much needed vacation at Bear Lake until super late Friday night so we didn't get to see them until Saturday evening, after all the baking bru-ha-ha :) The cousins took to playing instantly and they were a blur or laughing, playing and running together.

Here are four of the five munchkins:

The biggest and oldest cousin, Brandon, loving on Chloe:

All five! Can you believe we got them to sit on the couch

together long enough to get this pic? They were troopers!

Thanks again Brooke for being willing to put your kids to bed late after: coming home from vacation late the night before (and all that entails), going to a family reunion, and going through the whole day sans Jaden. You're a rock star!

Baking Bru-Ha-Ha

2011-08-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

Still blogging about the Utah trip for Denise's graduation...
On Saturday, plans got a little crazy. Denise found out she had to move out of her apartment that day (instead of Sunday), my parents realized it would be better for them to leave on Saturday (instead of Sunday) and my sweet, sweet, sister-in-law Amy was in charge of baked goods for a wedding!

So, the morning found Denise, Tyler, my mom and my dad going down to Provo to help Denise move. Which meant Chloe and I were free to help Amy with her 130 cupcakes and WEDDING CAKE!!! Oh my goodness Amy is a ROCK STAR for signing up for this project; because I would be stressed beyond function, but Amy's an awesome cook/baker so it was no surprise that everything turned out beautifully.

Here's a link to Amy's blog so you can read her commentary (enjoy!).

Here's a pic of my sweet mother-in-law's kitchen

just before we left to deliver the goodies:

All the beautiful cupcakes packed in the back of the car.

The beautiful, fluffy white cake!

Kudos Aims!

Chloe and Hendrix

2011-08-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

Chloe and Hendrix were little pals from the minute we landed. It was so cute to watch. They played, chased, followed, and laughed. At Denise's graduation dinner Hendrix scooted back on a chair and asked to hold Chloe. I didn't think Chloe would last two seconds on this little guy's lap, but she LOVED every second of it. She sat there for a good five minutes. Here are some shots of this little cousin love fest.

Denise's BYU Graduation

2011-08-20T23:13:00.000-05:00

Three cities, two restaurants, multiple wardrobe changes, an hour procession, and a ringing bell; it could only be a BYU graduation! Chloe and I made a trip to Utah last week to celebrate my baby sister graduating from BYU, my alma mater. There are TONS of pics, and lots of happy smiley faces.

The happy grad, isn't she beautiful?

The happy grad with her sweetie, Tyler. Aren't they cute?

My baby sister and I.

My daddy, and his two BYU graduates.

All you men out there are jealous of his rockin' 'stash aren't you?

The fam. We missed you Holly, Matt, Kali, Grandma and Grandpa.

The three BYU graduates of our family!

Isn't my mom beautiful?

In case you were wondering where Tyler was while we were snapping all

those shots, here he is, being bossed around by our little princess.

(Does Tyler have the biggest calves of all time or what? Awesome.)

I LOVE this pic! Chloe is already leaning her head on Tyler,

Denise is clearly stoked that's she's finally done, my dad isn't

smiling (no surprise, he's a pretty stoic guy), and my mom

and I are so super proud of Denise!

After the graduation we hit an awesome pizza place to fuel us for the rest of our fun filled day.

Chloe's enjoying a cucumber. This little one LOVES her veggies.

True to tradition, here's Grandpa, giving Chloe her first taste of Pepsi.

After pizza we headed back to Draper for naps, well, at least Chloe napped. My in-laws were SUPER generous and opened their house to all of us over the long weekend. Thanks again Mom and Dad! We had a GREAT time. More on that later...

We headed out to Olive Garden for Denise's graduation dinner. Yum!

The cake. Of course it's a Costco cake, is there anything else?

Again, following tradition, Grandpa let Chloe taste her first lemon...

And apparently she likes it.

Can I take a quick tangent to discuss Chloe's a) lack of bow and b) ridiculous mo-hawk?

Grandpa took the bow off the minute he could reach it, he isn't a fan :( As for the mo-hawk Aunt Amy took care of it later in the trip.

Okay, moving on....

Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands

and eat the lemon on her own. Silly girl.

Chloe and Grandpa playing.

Chloe catching and cuddling with that rascally puppet :)

Grandpa and Chloe discussing the important things in life.

Ah, the bow is back, and so is the Pepsi. Way to go Tyler :)

The happy couple. Dang this pic is cute!

Check out the cute flower Amy made Denise. It's awesome!

Alright that's it. Congrats Denise! This post was for you! I mean it should be obvious, there were 20 pics in this post and Chloe was in more than half of them. We love you! MUWAH!

Dear Aunt Amy

2011-08-09T19:56:00.001-05:00

Can you fix this? I know you are fabulously talented at making people's hair look great, so I hope I'm not a lost cause.

Can't wait to see you soon!

Love,
Chloe

Hello?

2011-08-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

Chloe loves 'talking' on the phone. Sometimes these conversations can get pretty hilarious. Mostly, she talks to Daddy, but sometimes it's Mommy. Love it!

Family's that Drink Milk Together

2011-08-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

Stay together

This is our typical morning. Chloe cuddled with her milk. Cash cuddled with his. And both of them as close together as they can get. This is the best way to start the day :)

I needed this, maybe you do too

2011-08-07T22:01:00.000-05:00

I just read this on my friend's blog. It spoke to my soul. Maybe you need to read it too:

“I see women who are doing their absolute best in every way – but they keep track only of their mistakes. They make lists of things they haven’t done instead of the phenomenal amount of things they’ve accomplished. No matter what mountain of achievement they’ve just climbed, they stumble over molehills, saying things like, “But it’s not enough,” or, “I didn’t do it well enough.” The good news of the gospel is that who we are is okay. Our best is good enough. The Savior came for us –just as we are.

…perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief.”

~Chieko Okazaki

Two Peas in a Pod

2011-07-31T21:20:00.001-05:00

Apparently Janson prefers Little Critter. Cash has been learning toward Curious George lately. Either way, we love our little reader.

18 Month Old Chloe

2011-07-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

As Chloe grows she just gets more and more fun. It's ridiculous. We took her to Dr. Newell for her wellness check and got lots of great news. She's growing perfectly, yay! She was measured, weighed, poked and prodded and we came out with this: she is 33 inches tall (75th percentile), 24 pounds (50th percentile) and her head is 45.5 cm around (25th percentile). This all means she's skinny and tall with her Aunt Holly's teeny little head.

Chloe's newest favorite place to play is in the bookcase at the top of the stairs. Here she is giggling with delight because I 'found her'.

And here she is sporting a huge smile and posing for me, because that's her latest trick. If you pull out a camera she'll be surprised on the first shot, but after that she'll giggle and smile and do all sorts of tricks for you. What a ham!

Chloe is babbling incessantly.
She is such a little mama, always with a 'baby' in her hands.
Whenever Cash has to go to time out, she follows me in and tells him why he's there and all sorts of other 'telling off' things.
Chloe loves to get kisses and hugs from her big brother, even if she does have to get pushed down for them to come.
Chloe is trying her parents patience at meal time by happily putting food in her mouth, chewing it up, and spitting it out. Blerg.
Chloe is super happy to be learning to feed herself with a spoon, she loves being like her big brother.
Chloe also loves books.
Chloe couldn't live without her yellow giraffe and her pink blanket from Grandma.
Chloe has just started to enjoy talking on the phone. Apparently we girls learn early. So be forewarned, if you call me, you may have to talk to Chloe too.
Chloe is our little princess, she likes her tutus and her skirts. If I pick something out she doesn't want to wear she will definitely let me know.
Chloe is a FLIRT! It's giving her dad ulcers.

We love you Chlo-bear! You are mama's favorite little Wubus!

Yowch

2011-07-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

About a week ago Janson was playing with the kids in the living room. The kids love it when Dad runs around like he's going to catch them, and then he jumps over them instead of grabbing them. So fun for them. Apparently it's not so fun for Dad when he lands on a triangle shaped wood toy.

The poor guy hobbled around for a couple days. Lots of ice, and lots of wrapping later he feels all better. Apparently legos aren't the most painful toy to step on.

Yawn

2011-07-31T21:00:00.001-05:00

House Guest

2011-07-31T20:59:00.000-05:00

Earlier this summer we had a house guest for about a week. He is only about 7 pounds so I figured it wouldn't be too big of a deal.

Pierre is the Lloyd's toy poodle. Having Pierre here let me see just how much Cash misses his dog. Cash was constantly running around throwing things for Pierre to chase and catch, he loved petting him (being super soft), and he especially loved cuddling with him on the couch (Pierre was a good sport). Chloe's interest would peak as necessary to play with Cash and his new best friend as the week went on.

When the Lloyd's came home we were sad to see Pierre go, but I'm sure we'll see him soon.

Trouble!

2011-07-31T20:46:00.000-05:00

This is Chloe. Chloe is darling. Chloe is drama. Chloe is tr-ou-ble! This little monkey is constantly climbing on the couch and changing the thermostat. Stinker! I had to grab the camera to document her sass. Here she is telling me off for not letting her climb to the top of the couch and turn the house temperature up to 90 degrees. Look at her little finger pointed, telling me how it is. Buckle up dad, it's going to be one heck of a ride.

Summer Shoes

2011-07-31T20:36:00.000-05:00

It's so stinkin' hot here in Texas. We're on our 29th day of triple digit heat and August isn't even here yet! There are very few ways to get through the heat, one thing that always makes me feel better are super cute shoes. As if they aren't cute enough for you, they were a screaming deal, only $10.88 at DSW, sa-weet! These aren't "sittin' shoes", contrary to popular belief, but they are my summer shoes.

Improvise

2011-07-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you can't find the guitar pick. (Or maybe Dad hid it so Cash wouldn't 'accidentally' drop it into the guitar again.) And you just have to improvise with what you have. It's all a creative process.

Two Left Feet

2011-07-08T10:12:00.002-05:00

Love him!

We're so Glad When Daddy Comes Home

2011-07-08T10:11:00.002-05:00

Sometimes a little more excited than Daddy can handle, but it doesn't take him long to get on board.

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-08T10:09:00.000-05:00

It was a good day. There were ward parties, flag ceremonies, BBQs and naps had by all. In the above picture Cash is trying to put his book up my shirt (that glamorous life, I tell you). And below, their faces depict their excitement. Aw well. Happy Fourth everyone!

Really?!?!?

2011-07-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

While Cash was getting his molars and canines the poor guy got a low grade fever and diarrhea. Very common. Chloe has been the same. This time it's her canines.

However, with little girls, getting a UTI due to three days of diarrhea is also very common. So, not only does she have a fever, four canines coming in, and an upset tummy but now we get to add UTI to her poor little bodies list.

Really?!?! It just doesn't seem fair.

Daddy Daughter Love

2011-07-03T10:50:00.002-05:00

Sweetest. Picture. Ever!

One of Those People

2011-06-21T23:17:00.004-05:00

I am surrounded by amazingly fabulous creative people. I am not one of them. I'm not like my fab sis in law who does stuff like this on her blog. Nope. I'm not like my other fab sis in law who makes sa-weet stuff like this on her blog. Nada. I'm not even like these two awesome chicks who have bazillions of people following them. Not even close. I'm not as great as these outstanding women.

But what I lack in super hero-type-creative skills I make up in ridiculousness. Yup, I'm one of those people. I'm one of those people who gets asked the weirdest questions by complete strangers. I'm one of those people who gets their temple recommend questioned at the temple because in the system the number doesn't exist. True story. I am one of those people who know and have used just about every beauty product out there. No exaggeration here - just ask my bathroom cabinets. And to top it all off, I am on of those coupon people. You'll hear about it.

We'll start with the top of the list, I was in Target last week. Chloe needed yogurt, it was supposed to be a very quick trip. It took 45 minutes. Before I begin I would like to note that I did NOT wear a red top and khaki pants thus to confuse those around me. I don't need to. I honestly think I have a neon sign blinking above my head that says, "If you have any questions, concerns, or problems; ask me, I can help". And that's okay, I'm happy to help. Sometimes it's pretty fun. Who else gets asked eight random questions by complete strangers?

On my way to the yogurt, first sweet stranger question: "Where did you get those jeans?" "They're Sevens. I LOVE them. I got them at Nordstrom RACK."

To answer the question that just popped in your head when you saw the picture...of course that's me in those jeans. I always wear my jeans without a top.

Still on my way to the yogurt, second stranger question: "My niece is turning a year, how big is she?" Yowza! How do you answer this question when you've never met or seen the child? How do you say, I have NO idea without being rude? I tried this, "well, my daughter is 17 months and wears 12-18 month size clothes. She may be that size." If you are the stranger asking this question, please don't follow it up by, "hmmm...maybe, I don't think she's that fat". If you do that, mom's tend to get mad. But I understand, you're just trying to make an educated guess with a child you've never met. And you're probably a bit intimidated by my ridiculously beautiful baby girl. It's okay.

I'm at the yogurt, trying to find the one that goes with the coupons I've got. Here comes the hat trick: "Where are the eggs? Isn't this where they were last week?" Just to reiterate, I'm wearing the jeans pictured above, (of course they look that good on me) not khaki ones and a red top. "I'm not sure, I don't usually buy eggs here. They could have been. Maybe try on the other end of the refrigerated section." Later I saw this lady talking to someone who was wearing the red shirt and khaki pants. I hope they had better information.

On my way to a cashier, my fourth stranger asking questions (I think it's awesome that she was the fourth and she asked me four questions in a row): "Oh! Do you like those sippy cups? How long have you had them? Do you like them better than the straws? What age did your kids start using them?" (Yes these questions came that fast and without pause. Yes Cash was drinking water from a sippy cup. Yes the woman was pregnant - 'nuf said.)

"Yes I do like these sippy cups, they're cheap, last forever and are easy to clean. I've used them for almost two years now, but have replaced the inside rubber piece every few months. My kids started with these sippy cups and then moved to the straw cups, they use them interchangably now. And finally, with my son he started using them at six months and my daughter started using them at a year." Whew, that was a long answer, but she is just excited to be a mommy. You've got to admire the passion.

Attempting to get in line at the cashier, fifth question (we get this one daily): "Where did you get that bow? How do you get her to keep it on?"

"I got the bow at Heaven Sent, a baby boutique here in Lewisville. And she keeps it on because we're in public, and that's the rule."

Putting my measly yogurt purchase on the belt, we're going to try to beat a record with the sixth question of the trip: "Are those eyelash extensions?" Also a regular question. The answer is boring, but awesome. Nope, not eyelash extensions (I tried them for the cruise and HATED them by the way), just good 'ol MAC fluid line (in black), with a MAC brush and great MAC mascara. Voila, you can have your own "eyelash extensions" too. Yes, I know the brush is a 'brow' brush but it is the perfect way to get a great cat eye.

This one, (a little less of a stranger since it was the cashier), was while I was trying to keep Cash from pushing all the buttons on the credit card machine, number seven: "You know who you look like...?" I get this one all the time. This time it was this lovely lady:

Though I don't think I look quite that age, I'll take it as a compliment. She's a regular on the, "you know who you look like?" game of my life.

And finally while headed back to the car in the parking lot, the eighth sweet stranger question: "Are they twins?" I have had this question before, and I didn't have to answer it then either. They just look at both of them and say, "oh never mind, he's way bigger than she is". This question was resolved the exact same way the last time it was asked (at Costco).

Did you make it all the way through? Are you exhausted? Do you think I'm exaggerating? Nope, sorry. Has this ever happened before? Um, YES, (please refer to the blinking neon light I described earlier). I get stopped at least 90% of the time I'm out running errands. If I'm with my kids, it's got to be at least 98% of the time. Part of it is because it's Texas, where most everyone is super friendly. But mostly, I figure it's just because I'm one of those people. Are you one of those people too?

Hiatus

2011-06-20T16:50:00.000-05:00

So I took a blogging hiatus for a bit. I'll explain it later. But I'm coming back with a bang (this is my third blog post today), so keep on reading :) I have plans to change some things on the blog. My sweet sis in law Aims, introduced me to a couple blogs she frequents. These are two of my favs, they've inspired me.

So, the blog has been mostly about my kids and all they do, which is great. BUT I think I'm going to have a little creative outlet of my own here, for a bit as well. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, I've got some ideas brewing and hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed the brewing process. Coming soon :)

We're in This Together

2011-06-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

At our house, our ultimate form of punishment is the time out chair. Cash is well accustomed. Sometimes when he does something wrong I'll just give him a look, he hangs his head and goes to the chair.

Chloe has just started to be introduced. She is becoming our little monkey, and there are some things that just aren't meant to be climbed on, that lead to danger. So, here comes the chair. This morning after putting Chloe in time out for the first time I teared up when I saw this...

They were gabbing to each other like they do sometimes. And I couldn't help but interpret it as, "it's okay sis, I've been here too. We'll do this together".

I thought it was a one time thing. I mean, what kid wants to be in time out when he doesn't have to be? Nope, a couple hours later, here we are again...

Father's Day

2011-06-20T16:39:00.001-05:00

So I stole this line from my roomie Elke's blog:

"Happy Fathers' Day to my own dad, the man who set the precedent, to Janson, the man who lives up to it, and to Judd, who taught Janson everything he knows about people and being happy. I am so grateful for all three."

Obviously I changed the names to make it relevant, but I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you Elke.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, I have the BEST husband. However, I haven't followed that statement enough with, my kids have the BEST dad. And they do. Whether it's discovering firetrucks...

Learning how all those wires behind the TV bring us Lighting...

Chilling on the couch...

Or cuddling before bed,

He was born to be a dad. He is so patient, so kind, so thoughtful and so willing to be and do whatever is necessary for our children that it brings me to tears. When we were first married I thought I loved him more than I ever could. With each year of marriage I thought I couldn't love him more. I had no idea what seeing him as a dad would do to my heart. There are no words. I love you babe!

This is what it's like at the weekend at our house (when it's cool enough to actually go outside), Janson playing guitar, and the kids loving every minute of it. We have a great life.

Finally, (and this is also stolen from Elke's blog) I just want to acknowledge the fact that without Janson I wouldn't be able to fulfill my role in the home the way I do. I am so grateful for that. He makes me a better person, friend, wife and mommy. Happy Father's Day!

He Counts!

2011-05-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I brought home some new books for Cash and Chloe. We're big Eric Carle fans here, so when I saw a number book by Eric Carle I thought it would be right up Cash's ally. I didn't expect him to get so attached so quickly, but hey, this is a good thing.

The day I brought it home, we went through the book probably 20 times that afternoon. The next morning Cash picked up his new favorite book and proceeded to count to ten. WHAT?!?!?!?

He's a lot clearer now, he notices numbers everywhere (labels, the grocery store, speed limit signs, his books, the clock, calendars, etc.) and is very excited to show me all the numbers in our world. It's interesting to me what he notices about the numbers. He'll get to the page with the number 6 and he'll say "six", then turn the book upside down and say, "nine". He does the same thing with the number 9. When we get to 10, he says, "ten", and then he'll point to the 1 and say "one". Now the zero has three different answers, depending on the day, it's either an "oval", a letter "O", or a "ball". Each of which, are kind of true. What a fun little man.

Enjoy.

Chloe Bear

2011-05-15T11:00:00.001-05:00

I can't believe how fast these kids grow and develop. I never feel like I'm completely updated on the blog because they're constantly learning and doing new things and I just can't record it all fast enough. Love it!

I think Chloe is making up for lost time, as far as food is concerned. Because Chloe wasn't able to eat much if any solid food until she was a year old she is LOVING her new freedom. If she ever gets the chance to taste something new she literally throws herself at that chance. See the picture below for my case and point.

I bought these peppers for a dinner I was going to make and while I was making dinner she sat in the kitchen and ate half of the pepper right there at my feet. That's dedication, and good taste if I do say so myself :)

Chloe is determined to eat anything that Cash gets to eat. Sometimes she feels a bit left out and so she will 'steal' whatever he's eating (even if she has the exact same thing in a different container). See the picture below for another case and point. These are Cash's crackers in a plastic bag. She doesn't get plastic bags because she doesn't stop with the crackers, apparently the plastic bags are equally tasty. Hmmmm...I wonder, if feeding Chloe goat's milk has given her goat-like tendencies...hmmm....

Chloe is such a little mama and she always needs her babies. Her two favorite babies are her giraffe and her purple puppy. If you're ever at our house and you can't figure out why Chloe won't sleep, just make sure she has these two babies along with her blanket and you should be golden.

And finally, Chloe is still our mover and shaker. She loves to dance. It's great. We got a drum for Cash while on our cruise. Apparently Chloe likes it too. No judging the mom who hasn't had a chance to shower/change/clean because I was just too excited to spend the morning with my kids after being without them for five days.

Big Boy Bed

2011-05-14T23:04:00.000-05:00

When Cash was only a few weeks old I was not looking forward to moving him from the bassinet next to our bed into his own crib. It seemed like such a harsh transition. It seemed like such a large space to move such a new infant. But Cash had outgrown the bassinet, and so I had no choice. Thankfully, Cash loved his crib from the first moment he was laid in it. He's always been my good sleeper. What a blessing.

All of Cash's friends, and even his near age cousins have been moved to a big kid bed for months now. Cash continued to love his crib. He had yet to crawl out. However, the kid constantly crawled into his crib. When Cash wanted some alone or quiet time, he would simply gather his blanket and current favorite book and head up to his room. If I came into his room what he considered to be "too early" from a nap, I would be greeted with a strong squawk and have to come back later. I didn't know if I would EVER have to transition Cash from a crib to a big boy bed.

Two days before we left for our cruise Cash decided he was ready for his big boy bed. I laid him down for his nap, he crawled out of his crib, opened his door and came back down stairs. WHAT?!?!?!? I couldn't believe it. During that 'nap' I put him back to bed 25 times. Exhausting! Also, during that 'nap' he completely destroyed his room, took off his diaper and had a bit too much 'fun'. Needless to say, a serious transition had been initiated.

Captain Destructo and his pillage.

The climber.

Running away from the mess.

Switching Cash to a big boy bed was pretty easy since he has a crib that transitions to a day bed, and even a full sized bed later on. The next step was getting ALL of the furniture out of Cash's room so even if he climbed out of bed there would be nothing in there for him to hurt himself on or with. Cash's room is very sparse now; the bookcase, changing table, and chair are all gone. After two weeks of 'transition' time, Cash is finally back to being our good sleeper. He got there just in time, he was beginning to be a grumpy bear without sleep. Bless his heart, he does SO much better with good sleep.

As for the diaper removal problem, it's been a quite inexpensive and easy process. We call it his 'utility belt', and it works like a charm :)

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of Cash's newly decorated room before he went to bed tonight. I'll have to post one later. My little man is growing up. Sniff.

While the Cats Are Away

2011-05-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

Over a year ago I decided I wanted to 'surprise' Janson with a cruise to (finally) celebrate obtaining his D.C., and his R.N. (F.N.P. on it's way). Of course, the first person I discussed my plans with was Denise. Before I could even get the details out she insisted that we plan it when she could come be with the kids. Of course, she did, she's Denise. Since Denise hadn't been here in a few months she was worried the kids wouldn't remember her. Apparently it didn't take Chloe long, because this is the pic I took about 5 minutes after Denise got to the house.

It's probably important to mention that Chloe isn't a cuddler. Seriously, it's rare. And if she does cuddle, it's ONLY with me. Chloe is very persnickety. It's one of the very many reasons we love her. :) Apparently Denise falls into the category of love enough to cuddle with for a long period of time. What a sweetie.

This post, should probably be written by Denise, but since she's 'home' again I'll do my best...

The kiddos had lots of fun with their Aunt. They went to the mall and played in the play land. Denise told me, that keeping her eyes on two of them at the same time was a bit intense :)

Um, Denise, where is the bow? Seriously now. I bet people wouldn't even recognize her if I didn't tell them this was Chloe :) :) :)

Because the weather was pretty awesome, they played outside, a lot.

Again, no bow. But I can assure you that this is Chloe :)

No trip is complete without a bit of a complication. This time Cash complied with a split lip from too much fun in the tub. Poor little man :( Good thing Aunt Denise kept her wits about her, kept him calm, stopped the bleeding and got the whole situation under control. Of course she did, she's Denise.

Easter Sunday, Denise and the kids went to the Lloyds. Chloe had a little too much fun and got her dinner all over herself. I'm pretty sure Chloe did this on purpose so she could score a bath in the sink by Inga. Who doesn't love being spoiled by Inga?

Her clothes were beyond going back to, so Chloe got put in the smallest clothes available; which happened to be Max's old clothes - ha! Now you've got a picture of Chloe with no bow and in boys clothes. Looks a bit like Cash, doesn't she? :)

Isn't this the most precious picture? Lillian and Cash playing - so sweet.

And finally, the day we got home from the cruise. Yes, Cash has a purple binkie in his mouth. He had just had a play date come over and they were enjoying running around like crazy yahoos. A few laps in, the kiddos collided and re-split poor Cash's lip. It actually ended up splitting all the way up at his frenulum. Poor little man. Denise said he ended up cuddling with her like this until he fell asleep on her, and she put him down for his nap. But I think it's appropriate to end with a picture showing how comfortable Cash is with Denise. Look at the love here.

Sweet Denise we can't thank you enough for loving our babies while we were away. We are so blessed with a great family. Love you!

A few of our favorite things

2011-05-11T17:28:00.000-05:00

We bought this shirt for Chloe while we were in Cozumel. Apparently, on Chloe it's more of a dress :) She loves it! Also, while I was out a bit ago, my friend showed me these hard plastic cups, with hard plastic straws that can't be removed along with a screw top lid. Chloe LOVES drinking from a 'big girl cup' and from a straw. Needless to say, it's a bit of a hit :)

Cash, has two of his favorite things in this picture, his blanket and apples. The third thing, is a newly acquired favorite: his spider man couch/fold out. Thanks again Chad and Barbie - it's obviously a hit :)

Daddy's So Funny

2011-05-11T17:26:00.000-05:00

While I was getting ready for church this Sunday, Janson was doing his regular routine of keeping the kids entertained. Apparently, it worked:

Cruise Tease

2011-05-11T17:23:00.000-05:00

I know a cruise post is certainly overdue. However, sweet Amy took all the pics while we were cruising because her camera is simply outstanding. Bless her heart, she has to figure out how to get 98 pictures to me without it involving her sending them to me individually over email :) So, here's the only picture I took with our camera. And low and behold it involves Janson with one of the sa-weet towel animals we found in our room after dinner.

More to come soon!

Lego Land

2011-05-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Janson only works a half day on Fridays and we enjoy those Friday afternoons to the fullest! Last Friday we went to the newly opened Lego Land at Grapevine Mills (about 15 minutes from our house). The prices were a bit steep but we were swayed when we heard how few families were there. Done. It was great! BUT I think I'll wait until our kids are a bit older to go again.

Even though our kids were some of the youngest there, there were still plenty for them to do. Chloe certainly enjoyed her 'lego pit'. :)

For future reference if you ever see a very pale little girl with a huge flower on her head that looks lost, she's probably mine, please return to: The Kemp Family care of Meagan Kemp... :)

Here's Cash, enjoying the lego slide.

And his duplo lego pit.

What? It wasn't me, I promise! Ha!

They had a section called 'mini land' which is comprised of highlights from Dallas. Here's Chloe and Janson in front of the Dallas sky line.

The sky line again, without the fabulously handsome a fore mentioned model.

The American Airlines center.

Here I am with Cash trying to keep him from climbing into the display. I had a feeling playing Godzilla in this instance is frowned upon. Cash thought I was just being a kill joy.

So, to make up for it, we found him a lego motor cycle - see, we're cool parents :)

And finally, a ride just for Janson and Cash. Here they are 'patiently' waiting for their turn. Oh, and yes, this picture does Cash justice, he IS that big. Geeze he grows too fast.

Getting ready to start the ride.

Just in case you were wondering if Janson only does his 'creepy' faces for the cruise photos, nope, this is an every day occurrence. He enjoys pulling out his creepy faces even when I don't have the camera.

They also have race tracks, where the kids can built their own lego cars and then race them against each other. I can't wait for Cash and Chloe to be old enough to do that. So fun!

All in all it was a great experience. The kids had a great time.

Dat Boy

2011-05-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

I'm behind on blogging, I know. I need to post about the cruise, what happens when the cat's away and even about Lego Land. But before I get started on all that, there's one thing that has to go down in Cash's history...

Cash has a friend, her name is Sophia. Cash and Sophia are in the same preschool class, they had nursery together for a while, and he's looking forward to when they'll be in the same nursery again :) Sophia is a great talker, she talks all the time and knows all the names of the kids in her class. However, when referring to Cash she doesn't use his name she simply says, "Dat Boy". If there ever was a boy who didn't need a name and could simply go by "Dat Boy" it is Cash. When she asks her mom if Cash is going to be somewhere she asks for "Dat Boy", when she sees him in class she goes up to him and says, "Boy!". I love it!

This is cutie-patootie Sophia. She's wonderful. Her mother would like for me to note that she insisted on putting on her own shoes to help her Daddy in the yard, hence the wrong feet situation. Love her!

Chloe Update

2011-04-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to catch up on the blogging tonight while the kids are in bed. So, keep reading, there are four posts from tonight :)

This post is all about our little girl. Chloe is doing SO WELL. Chloe's reflux got a lot better after working with one of our dear friends, Dr. Adams. I'm going to do a whole write up on what he did with links to his new office in Arizona as soon as their website is up and running. Dr. Adams finally got Chloe's puking down to a minimum and with his help and encouragement we weened her off of her meds, and got her onto regular whole cow milk. I know it doesn't sound like much but for our house it's a DREAM. Chloe is so happy and we are thrilled to have such a healthy little girl.

I love these little cotton onesie pajamas, they just make me happy :)

Chloe is a great little walker, and has already learned the tone in Daddy's voice when she needs to take whatever she has in her fat little fists and run away as fast as possible. Dad doesn't think this is as funny as I do :)

One of Chloe's favorite things are 'babies' or her stuffed animals. Chloe got this Noah's Ark from her Grandma for Christmas and she LOVES it. She isn't quite a pro with the zipper yet and if I'm not fast enough to get it undone for her in the morning she has a stiff reprimand waiting for me. Right now I think the elephants are her favorite. She also loves her little play kitchen, and gives Cash the once over when he tries to 'help' with the meal preparation.

However, Chloe adores her brother in many ways, outside of her play kitchen domain. She loves following him around and trying to be/do/play with whatever he is. She laughs at all his silliness, even when Cash doesn't think he's being silly. One Cash trick she's trying to perfect is what we call 'stuffing the face'. Cash has a HUGE mouth and at every chance tries to fit as much food in his mouth at once as possible. Chloe's mouth is much smaller, but she still tries very hard. Here she is stuffed...

And here's the pic of all the apple she was hiding inside. But Chloe has no hope if Dad really wants her to laugh.

Chloe is super ticklish, loves to babble, loves playing with sidewalk chalk in the back yard and thinks bubbles are manna from Heaven. We love our princess and are so glad she's ours.

Like Father, (part two)

2011-04-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

...like son

Music Man

2011-04-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

Cash has always loved music. Just recently his cousins were over and Lillian taught him about a whole new world of music...MP3s! Wow. I didn't think Cash would allow the headphones but it only took one small listen for him to be hooked.

He would run around laughing and would eventually need help getting the ear phones back in. Sweet little mama Lillian was always right there and ready to help.

One part of Cash's music affair that has only grown with age is his love of the guitar, especially if Dad is playing. Cash just wasn't dancing close enough on the ground, he had to get a better spot on the chair.

I love that despite all the problems he's had with his ears he's always loved music. Maybe he could only feel the vibration of the guitar and now the music is what's mesmerizing. Who knows. All I know is he's hearing now and we couldn't feel more blessed.

Crazy Hair Days

2011-04-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

The weather has been nice here in Texas for the past couple of weeks and has allowed us to go on LOTS of walks outside. Because of Cash's sensitive blue eyes he always wears a hat (at his insistence) while outside. When we finally get back home and I peel off the hat, this is what I find...

Oh, and did I mention that Cash is a marathon walker? Yup, that's right. No walk is worth taking unless it takes at least 30 minutes, though 45 is preferred.

Poor Chloe is jealous that she still only has fuzz, but hopefully when she's two she'll have some crazy hair days too :)

Remission

2011-04-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

The last month or so in the Kemp family has been full of scary words like leukemia and chemo therapy. However, we've also had our share of reassuring words such as remission and home. Grandpa Judd was diagnosed with leukemia and discharged from the hospital with the words remission ringing in our ears in less than a month. It's amazing how fast it all has been.

When Dad was first diagnosed and they started chemo therapy we were told that due to his age and health he had a 70% chance to go into remission quite quickly; however, those same factors also told his doctors that he would have a high likelihood of recurrence. Because of this, Dad was able to spend a couple weeks at home but has to have another two rounds of chemo therapy despite his remission status. He's already had his first of these two chemo rounds, and is back at work as if nothing ever happened. He is such a trooper.

When the family found out he would be able to come home they rallied and made it a very special homecoming for Dad full of balloons, flowers and of course excited grandchildren. Thanks Brooke and Amy - you two are the best! And thanks Brooke for letting me pilfer your great pics :)

Dad we love you and we are so excited to enjoy some much needed time away with you on a big CRUISE boat in just a few short weeks! MUWAH!

Talking Cash

2011-03-17T21:13:00.003-05:00

It's time for a few updates. I'll start with Cash. Just to give you a brief background Cash has had problems with his ears, which has then caused him to be delayed in speech. You can read all about it in detail here and here. Because of this delay we started having a speech therapist come to the house in November of 2010 (just after he turned two). Then, since he wasn't improving much, Cash started preschool in January. His preschool teacher is Inga, who I gushed about here.

A few weeks into preschool Cash started using more words: apple, sister, heart and oval. Cash also started copying the sounds I was making. It was great. I was so proud of him. Then one day while coming in from the garage he went to the back of the camry (because all things revolve around cars in Cash's world) and named all the letters on the back of the car..."T...O...Y..." and so on. I thought it was a fluke. The next day he spelled out camry, then a few days later, he did the entire license plate. What?!?!? I brought him inside and using his magnetic doodle pad I drew letters and asked him what they were, he told me every stinkin' one! Then I went back drew the letters again and asked what they said, he had answers for all of those too!

Now, Cash still doesn't say much. He babbles a lot, he tells me what the cow, duck, cat, lion and train all say. He reads his books, a lot. But for me the alphabet thing takes the cake. Apparently Cash is going to be reading before he starts telling me what he'd prefer for his snack. Love him!

Here's a couple videos of him displaying his new skill. The only way to make the background quiet was to have Chloe in bed while we talked, so yes, he's in pajamas. And of course, he's playing with yet another shape toy, life would not be complete without shapes, cars and the alphabet.

My camera ran out of memory while trying to catch our little man talking, so here's a second video with the remainder of our little 'chat' :)

Is Chloe walking yet?

2011-03-02T09:09:00.000-06:00

I've been getting this question a lot. Here's the answer...

Adoption

2011-03-01T21:48:00.000-06:00

A month or so ago, Cash had to go to a pediatric urgent care because he was fighting tonsillitis. Yech. For this rushed visit I wanted someone to watch Chloe so I could give Cash all of my attention. I called one of my standbys, Inga. Of course, without hesitation she graciously accepted, and then proceeded to call the pediatric urgent care to see what our wait would be. After coming home from the urgent care, Inga came by with Gabi (her oldest) because the kids had a question for us. Gabi looked up at me with her big, beautiful brown eyes and asked, "We wanted to know if it would be okay with you if we started calling you Aunt Meagan and Janson Uncle Janson"? Seriously?!?!? Sweetest thing ever!

We love being adopted by the Lloyds. The part I love best is the back story Inga told me. Apparently the children were discussing this 'adoption' while playing with Chloe and after deciding it was a good idea, Max (the youngest) exclaimed, "that means Cash and Chloe will be our cousins!". I don't know if there have ever been four other children who love my kids more. It's the sweetest.

This is a picture of five of the munchkins two days before the urgent care visit. We were all sad Lachland (second oldest) wasn't there. We were playing at the park, it got a little chilly, so we went inside to warm up before heading home. And yes, there are two pictures because there were five kids, and it takes two pictures to get a good shot of all five of them. :)

From left to right, Gabi, Lillian, Chloe, Max and Cash.

I'm sure there will be many more shenanigans to post as these six kiddos grow. Stay tuned :)

Table for Two...

2011-02-27T22:20:00.000-06:00

...well almost. I've finally gotten to the point where my kids can eat at the same time with only one parent helping. It's glorious! Cash sits at his table, which he really enjoys and Chloe views her world appropriately, from on high in her chair :)

When we first started our new meal time set up, Cash had a hard time staying in his seat to finish his food. He would much rather grab a few pieces of food, run and play for a minute and then come back to grab more. Well, that's not really how meal time works, so we had to learn how to sit and eat without being in the restraints of a high chair.

During his first meal at his big boy table, Cash would get up and I would put him back and then I'd continue to feed Chloe. After doing this about four times Cash sat and ate for a minute, then he looked at me and said "muwah!". I asked, "Oh, Cash, do you want to give mommy a kiss"? (At the time this was HUGE because Cash didn't give or initiate kisses, even though Mom and Dad always wanted them.) Cash stood up in his chair, I bent down to his level, and he gave me a huge slobbery kiss. Yay! As I was having enjoying my blissful moment, Cash looked at me with a big grin and backed his little behind out of the kitchen to go play with his toys. The little stinker already knows he can manipulate mommy with love.

Bare Baby Bum

2011-02-27T22:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, seriously, does it get cuter?

Hasselhoff

2011-02-27T17:43:00.000-06:00

Cash loves zippers. We can thank this love for one of our favorite looks. We call it: The Hasselhoff.

And then, when it's just too warm, or Cash is just too proud we have The Extreme Hasselhoff:

Leukemia

2011-02-27T17:38:00.001-06:00

I haven't been blogging very well lately. I'm sorry for that. But hopefully this post will explain why my focus hasn't been here as much as it has been other places.

February 10th started out to be a great day. February 10th was the day I booked mine and Janson's first cruise. We have been wanting to go for a long time and we were just waiting for the rates to get into the right range. On February 10th, they hit that range. We invited Janson's brothers, their wives and Janson's parents to come on this cruise with us because wow, what would be more fun? So, after booking the cruise for Janson and myself I made the calls to Janson's brothers' wives (I left messages) and then I called my mother-in-law and father-in-law. My in-laws were in Hawaii enjoying a vacation with their best friends and neighbors for several years; Rich and Gloria. My mother-in-law (Judy) answered, and said they were on their way to breakfast but would call back as soon as they ate and get the info to book their room on the cruise as well. Five minutes later she called me to tell me that my father-in-law (Judd) had collapsed and they were taking him to the E.R.

Honestly, I was not worried. Judd is so healthy, he is so active, I knew he'd be fine. I figured it was just something small and they'd get back onto their vacation and forget all about this little hiccup. The EKG came back normal, yay. Blood work followed and it lead to more blood work, more specialists, more questions and finally a very scary word: leukemia. Are you kidding me?!? This is the worst joke ever. I honestly didn't believe it. Janson couldn't wrap his head around it. Dad; however, has been in great spirits from the beginning, joking, laughing and downplaying the whole thing.

Dad spent a couple nights in the hospital in Hawaii receiving four blood transfusions and getting stable enough to fly. While in Hawaii they made the necessary calls and had an appointment for the Huntsman Cancer Institute the day after flying back to Utah. Once at Huntsmans, they checked him in for a month, re-did all the blood work and testing, performed a bone marrow biopsy and we waited for the results. It didn't take long. The next day we were told he has acute myeloid leukema. He started chemo that day, 24 hours a day for 7 days. He completed that first round on Tuesdsay (2/22) and again has been in very good spirits, every time we talk to him he's been so upbeat and positive about the whole thing. This Tuesday (3/1) he will have his second bone marrow biopsy to see how his first round of chemo performed. Here's the good news: Dad has a 70% chance of being in remission at this point considering his age, health and the tests performed. We are all very hopeful.

It has been SO HARD being here in Texas while our family needs us in Utah. However, I'm pretty sure my kids think my phone is a permanent attachment to my head because we have been on the phone with at least one of our family members every day of the week. My sisters-in-law have been AMAZING taking care of Mom and visiting Dad. We were able to send Dad a little package for his room and hopefully we'll be able to visit soon.

Even though it's been hard being here in Texas we can't help but count our many blessings. First, Mom and Dad were with their good friends Rich and Gloria when all of this happened. I cannot think of two people I would have had be there instead of them. They are amazing and so close to mom and dad. Plus, Rich is a doctor, which is always comforting. They have been so amazing though all this. Thank you so much Rich and Gloria! Second, Janson's office manager is married to a leukemia survivor. He's been in remission for five years and he had the exact same leukemia that Dad is fighting now. They have been a great source of strength for us. And finally, third, our Heavenly Father. We have been blessed with so much peace and love. We are so grateful for our Heavenly Father and the love he has for us and our family.

A website has been set up for family and friends who would like to hear updates on Judd and his recovery. The link is: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/juddkemp You have to log in to view Judd's site. If you need the password, please e-mail me at meagankemp@yahoo.com.

I stole these pics from my sister-in-law, Brooke's, blog - so thanks Brooke :) We love you Dad!

Chloe's One Year Pics - By Becky

2011-02-07T08:45:00.000-06:00

Chloe's one year pics turned out SO GREAT! I love. them. all! Which means there are a TON here on the blog - so enjoy. Becky you're amazing!

Poor little Chloe is getting all four top teeth while we were at this shoot, so anything we could give her to chew on made her so happy. We started with a rattle:

She decided she'd suck on her bottom lip for relief a bit later :) YES the flower is bigger than her head, isn't it ridiculous and beautiful?!?!?

I love this shot of her looking up - muwah!

Here's Chloe in her stinkin' cute birthday outfit :)

Happy Birthday girl:

I love the color in this one. You can see that Chloe's hair actually has a red tint to it. I'm so excited for it to get long :)

This is one of Janson's favorites:

Outfit number two. Isn't it fun? Look at my little standing girl :)

Janson's favorite pic:

Sometimes the stick end of the sucker is just as good at my house :)

Chloe is laying on the quilt her Great Aunt Denise made for her room. It's SO beautiful, I wanted it to be part of this photo shoot and then I want to put these pics in Chloe's room.

She was so upset here because we took her sucker away to stand her up - sad :(

But at least she's proud of those two little chompers :)

Check out those CHEEKS! Wow!

Patty cake makes everyone happy

Loves from Mama

Finally the pic that is going to be hung in the bathroom - stinkin' cute!! This pic was Becky's idea, and it was Jessica's idea that it belonged in the bathroom - LOVE!

Which picture/pictures is/are your favorite/favorites? If you're like me, you just can't pick one :) Thanks again Becky, I. Love. Them!

Super Cold Morning

2011-02-04T12:18:00.000-06:00

Tuesday was the start of the ice days here in Dallas. On Wednesday morning the entire metroplex had to deal with rolling blackouts to conserve energy. Our black out started at 6 a.m., and it was 12 degrees outside. We checked on our babies and made sure they had extra blankets because we knew the house wouldn't take too long to cool down. The kids woke up at 8 a.m., and five minutes later the power came back on - hallelujah! However, the house was still pretty cool so we bundled up the kids to feed them a warm breakfast. Here's Chloe enjoying her oatmeal.

I'm sure I could think of some great story for this darling face (below) but I'll let you make up your own. It was short lived, that's for sure because this little one has been super happy lately.

Dancing Queen

2011-02-03T12:31:00.001-06:00

The last three days have been a little 'off schedule' as we've all been cooped up at home because of the ice storm ripping through Dallas. It's crazy cold and all this ice has kept Janson from going into work since Tuesday. We are having fun staying warm at home and especially enjoying all this extra time with daddy.

Chloe has turned into our little dancer. We LOVE it! One of the ways we've been having fun while being cooped up is with Kemp Family Dance Parties. In this video you get to see Chloe dance, take a few steps and even 'crawl dance' it's GREAT. Yes Denise, Chloe is yet again being pictured in pajamas. It's so cold here though (yesterdays high was 14 degrees) that these footie pajamas are a sure way to keep her warm all day long. Cash is still in his coat from our attempt at an outside excursion. He wasn't willing to let the coat go just yet. I just love him.

Redecorating

2011-01-28T10:14:00.001-06:00

This is a long one, with lots of pictures. Buckle up. :)

We've lived in Texas for six and a half years. For six of those years we've lived in our current house. Our original plan was to buy a house, as an investment, sell the house and move out of Texas as soon as Janson was done with school. Therefore, we lived in our house as if we were moving out in six months. We didn't really get any new furniture or decorations. We didn't upgrade anything. The only rooms we painted were the dining room (because it was painted gray and black and was absolutely 'vomiticious' [Who can name that movie?]) and the kitchen (because we had extra paint from the dining room).

After living in the house for five years I decided it was time to start treating the house like it was ours. Then we got preggers with our beautiful little Chloe and redecorating went on hold. However, while on hold my decorating plans changed many, many times and finally settled.

Our living room is actually quite a large room. So large, that it intimidated me when we first moved in. SO we used the couch to cut the room in half and I felt much cozier. Our t.v. was given to us by my very generous Aunt Joan when I was still in college. We aren't big t.v. people so we didn't really care but after being on this Earth for a couple decades the poor thing finally died. And thank Heaven for that, because that's what finally gave Janson motivation to get some redecorating done as well.

Alright no judging at our 'before' pic. Everything was messier than usual because I decided to hurry and snap a pic right before we started moving all the furniture and bringing things in.

And an after shot. This is the wall where our 'entertainment center' used to be:

Here's the new t.v., in it's new location. The chair between the bookcases is my 'reading nook' and I LOVE it!

The 'mostly before shot' of our kitchen. I say 'mostly before' because I forgot to take a shot before I took everything off the top of my cabinets. Because my kitchen does not come with a pantry, my pantry ended up being on top of my cabinets. Talk about an eye sore. I hated it. But it was functional, and it worked.

Since we no longer needed our 'entertainment center' in the living room. We put it in the garage and made it our pantry - perfect! Here's our 'after' shot of the kitchen:

This is the door leading into the laundry room and garage with it's new decor.

A few close ups:

This is a super close up shot of my favorite new decoration - our family proclamation. I LOVE IT!!! My sister-in-law Brooke made it for me for my birthday. It goes without saying tears were flowing when I opened it. It still gives me chills looking at it and reading it on a daily basis. No exaggeration. This is what it's all about people.

Here are some close up shots of the new decor above our hutch:

Above the kitchen cabinets next to the hutch, sharing a wall with the laundry room.

The kitchen cabinets leading into the dining room:

The final shot of decor above the kitchen cabinets - these line the far wall.

And the final new decoration shot. We have a small landing in our stair well where the stairs curve. On that landing is a huge wall that I've never really known what to do with it. After having decorating plans on hold, this is what I thought of. I must say, I LOVE my little art wall - it's awesome! And Cash and Chloe love it too because every time they go up or down the stairs they enjoy finding themselves, mom and dad. It's great.

The squares are 15"X15" and they are painted the same maroon as the dining room, and our new accent wall.

Thank you so much Mom and Dad for all your help, expertise and patience in helping us in this endeavor. I love all the new changes. It's amazing how small, relatively inexpensive things can really make a house feel like your own. I would also like to note that this type of project really can unleash a beast. My list of updates and renovations grows by the day: new light fixtures, new cabinets, new counter tops, painting in several rooms, etc. There's so much I want to do. Finally, instead of feeling like a holding pattern, our house feels like our home.

Like Father,

2011-01-23T12:41:00.000-06:00

Like Son

A Preview

2011-01-22T23:26:00.000-06:00

to Chloe's One Year pics. Are you excited? I know I am :)

Chloe is One!

2011-01-21T22:26:00.000-06:00

I can't believe my little girl is one! She was born on the 19th weighing 7 lbs., 3 oz., at 7:11 a.m. and was given her first nickname, "Lucky", by her Grandpa Koscinski.

Here she is weighing six pounds at 3 weeks old:

She came in the world all girl drama and has only gotten better with it since. She's still our microwave; hot or cold, not much in between. BUT the happiness greatly outweighs the sadness, because Chloe is one happy little girl.

We went to see Dr. Newell earlier this week and found out that Chloe weighs 21 pounds (60th percentile), she is 29 inches long (60th percentile) and she still has a teeny little head, coming in at the 25th percentile. She has teeny hands and feet, wearing only a size 3 1/2 shoe and only 3-6 month old socks. But she makes up for the teeny feet and hands with her super cute big bum, which requires a size four diaper :) This super cute big bum wears 12-18 months, and her tops can range in size from 6 months to 12 months depending on how long they are because Chloe also rocks a super cute big belly :)

Here are a few more things about our beautiful little girl:

Chloe is the most ticklish baby I've ever met. Everything on her little body is ticklish and it's FANTASTIC!
She is a fabulous crawler and now pulls herself up on EVERYTHING and cruises to her delight.
Chloe loves to clap, especially if big brother starts it or if it involves music.
Chloe is a great dancer, she sways and bounces when she hears any music at all - it's great!
She loves to munch on the occasional crayon - that is, until, mean Mom comes and takes them away.
Her latest nick name from a very loving family is "Cindy-Lou-Hoo" because the back of her hair sticks straight up. I've tried to get a picture but it has to be at an angle or you can't see it, and she always looks at me when I whip out the camera. I'll keep trying though.
Chloe still takes two naps a day and I LOVE IT!
She loves her bath time, especially when her and big brother get in synchronized splashing.
Chloe is a little love, her favorite toys are stuffed animals and she gives all of them hugs and big slobbery kisses. When there is one she's particularly fond of, she'll grab it, sit down, hug it and kick her legs in delight. I love this!
Her favorite foods include: apple sauce, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, and animal crackers.
She loves hand games/songs: patti-cake and head, shoulders, knees and toes are two particular favorites right now.
Chloe just recently started giving high-fives - yay!
Her nicknames include (but are not limited to): Chlo-Bear, Stinker, Woobus, Chubbles, Chlo-Bo, Sweets, Whiney-Ma-Google, and Big Bumble.
She is our little gabber, she makes all kinds of noises. She says, "da-da" when she's happy and "ma-ma" when something is seriously wrong. I think this is a bit backwards, but what can I do? :)
Chloe is starting to like being tossed in the air very gently as long as she doesn't go very high AT ALL, but she loves watching Cash get tossed as high as Daddy can muscle him.
Chloe has THE BEST laugh. She laughs with her whole body and we do all we can to keep her laughing as much as possible. Chloe laughs the longest/loudest/hardest/most consistently because of her Daddy. Daddy is the best at: silly faces, silly dances and funny noises. When Daddy jumps over her, that's the absolute BEST!

Happy Birthday Chlo-Bear we love you!