we love to eat rocks

SERIOUSLY?!?

daddy TRYING to mow the lawn

I think it took Cody a little extra time and he commented on how crooked his lines were .... but doesn't this just make you smile :)



Untitled from Holli Finke on Vimeo.


Untitled from Holli Finke on Vimeo.

Redneck Swingset

I've always dreamed of my kids having one of these...

(wow...doesn't that look fun?!?)

One small problem.  The King Kong Castle Supersized Rainbow Play System isn't necessarily within our budget!

This, however, was what we could do for the kids...

 Although not quite the same, it was made with love. And I have a feeling the kids will like it...for now anyway :)

This is my favorite part....

going for a ride

She was doing this for several minutes before I finally got my camera going. Kaden seemed to be enjoying it until Kenley decided she wanted to get in with him...then he thought he'd had enough!!

 

Untitled from Holli Finke on Vimeo.

our summer schedule

This is the kids' schedule that we try to stick to.......doesn't always work that way!

5:30-7:00am:  The kids are waking up any time during this time frame

7:00am:  Breakfast  (oatmeal and fruit, 4oz. bottle) I hop in the shower before Cody leaves for work.

7:30am:  Cody leaves for work. I get the kids dressed (only if it happens not to be a jammie day :) )

7:30-9:00am:  Play-time

9:00am:  Morning naps. Kenley is fairly consistent with her morning nap and will typically sleep until 10/10:30. Kaden usually goes down a little later and doesn't sleep very long :(

10:00am:  Morning snack (4oz. bottle)

10:00-11:30am:  Play-time

11:30am:  Kids get in their highchairs while I work on getting lunch ready

11:45am:  Cody gets home for lunch
Lunch time (depending on my mood, they'll either get table food or baby food and 4oz. sippy cup)

12:35pm:  Cody leaves and goes back to work

12:35-1:00pm:  I clean up lunch

1:00pm:  Afternoon naps.  Again, Kenley goes down like clock-work, Kaden, it needs to be on "his terms."

1:00-2/3:00pm:  The kids will usually sleep anywhere from 1-2 hours.

3:00pm:  Afternoon snack (snack and 4oz bottle)

3:00-5:00pm:  Play time. Depending on their afternoon nap, sometimes one or both will go back down for another short, late afternoon nap

5:00pm:  Cody gets home from work
Kids get supper  (table food/baby food and 4oz. sippy cup)

5:00-7:00pm:  Play time, supper time for us, anything else that needs to get done that I wasn't able to get done during the day (now that Cody is home and I have an extra hand)

7/7:30pm:  Bath time, get ready for bed, 4oz. bottle

8:00pm:  Bed time.  Kenley typically goes down easily, Kaden is usually up for a while yet. He is still fighting sleep so terribly bad!


I am absolutely LOVING being at home with my kids this summer. It's awesome to watch them grow day to day and catch the times that they've discovered something new. These are precious days and I'm thankful I get to spend this time with them.

somebody likes ice cream

Tubes are in

Kaden's surgery was successful this morning. He wasn't able to have anything to eat past 1:30 this morning so I was a little worried about how "breakfast time" was going to go without being able to give him any food or a bottle. He was able to have clear liquids up until 5am so I took that opportunity to give him a few ounces. I picked him up out of his crib, fed him some juice, and put him back to bed and he never once even opened his eyes. We checked into the Surgical Center at 6:45 with a very happy baby. After visiting with admissions, nurses, the dr. and anesthesiologist, Kaden was really noticing he hadn't had breakfast and I think he was starting to get hungry. He started getting a little cranky, but I was able to get him to fall asleep on my lap. When they came to take him, I just passed my sleeping boy off to the nurse. The transition was so much easier on us than having him fight it and be terrified of whoever was taking him from us. I was very thankful for that. The time it took from when they took him until the time the Dr. came back to talk to us was only about 15 minutes. He said everything had gone well and they were working on waking him up. It wasn't long after that that we heard the screaming coming from down the hall. Kaden screamed for about 45 minutes before finally giving it up and falling asleep. He was so uncomfortable...screaming, throwing himself around, pulling at his hands and arms like he wanted to just rip them off!! This is where mom started to cry :(  I felt soo awful not being able to console him in any way. By the time we changed him and got him back in to his own pajamas he was awake, and taking things ok. He was bright eyed as we walked back out to the car. He stayed awake and played while we made a quick stop to Target. On the way home, he fell asleep in the car and slept for 3 hours. When he woke up, he was as happy as can be and I could honestly say he's had one of his best days he's had in over two weeks!!  Let's hope it stays this way :)

trip to the zoo

Finally, at 10 months, we made our first trip to the zoo. What an absolutely gorgeous day to spend outside! My sister and Khloe have been home this week and my mom only had a few daycare kids today, so we packed everyone up and headed to the zoo.

The kids had a good time. They were wide-eyed and took it all in. Kaden enjoyed it so much, he fell asleep :)   Kenley loved yelling at talking to the goats. She became quite good friends with them.

Ear, Nose & Throat

Last time Kaden was seen by his pediatrician, he was referred to the ENT due to chronic ear infections. He's kind of been in a bit of a pattern lately. The last 4 or 5 ear infections have gone like this:
ear infection....
antibiotic....
no ear infection...
1-2 weeks....
ear infection....
And repeat...

Aagh!! It's been getting a little annoying. For both us, and for Kaden :(

We met with the ENT who thought he would definitely benefit from having tubes placed.  Hopefully this will be the ticket.  Not only have we been dealing with icky ears, he's also been teething like nobody's business!!  He is one cranky kid and getting him to sleep (naps and bedtime) has been a job, not for the faint of heart :)

Great-Great Grandma

This week the kids got to meet their "great-great" grandma for the first time. I think this is simply amazing... five generations! Below is a picture of Kaden and Kenley with their grandmas (on Cody's mom's side). Although they will never know her, this is a pretty special picture for them to always have.

Kaden and Kenley, Grandma Deb, Great-Grandma Ahlschlager, and Great-Great Grandma VanDusen (age 91)

Flashback Friday

our first camping weekend

We really couldn't have picked a better weekend to make into our first camping experience with the kids. We recently got a new camper and have been busy cleaning it up and packing it full of everything we would need to camp with 10 month old twins. We decided to stay close and chose the Adrian campground, which is only about 25 miles from our house. We had so much fun and it was soo relaxing. Saturday afternoon we had great company as friends and family came to visit for dinner and a campfire.

The kids did great Kenley did great! Kaden has been a very cranky boy this past week and our camping weekend was no different :(   He continues to be terrified of men, so those who visited had to endure the terrified screams everytime they made eye contact with him. He has been whiney, often wanting to be held, and has been a nightmare to get to sleep, naps or bedtime.

Kenley loved every minute of it!!

**We can't wait to go again!!!

summer vacation is here!!

I was officially done with work for the summer last Thursday and we have thoroughly enjoyed our first few days at home.

My plan for this summer:
1.) NOTHING!
2.) spend crazy relaxing days with my two favorite munchkins
3.) camping (*in our new camper*)
4.) enjoying some time in the sun and pool
5.) NOTHING!

Untitled from Holli Finke on Vimeo.