Breakfast, MOSI and Pogo

Kelty and I met Katey & Evangeline, Michelle & Catherine, Sara & Tyler at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) on Tuesday for our playgroup. Before heading over to MOSI, Kelty and I had a fun little morning ... breakfast was quite cute in particular. Kelty had decided he was done eating and every time I put the spoon up to his mouth he would dip his chin down to the left and make a noise ... it was hilarious! I tried to capture it on video but Kelty was distracted by the camera. I did get a little on video ... at the end I knocked over the entire container of applesauce! Way to go mom!

Now onto our trip .... it was our first time at MOSI and we really enjoyed it! Our first stop was the Dinosaur exhibit; I think all the kids were wide-eyed during this portion of the trip ... the dinosaurs were animatronic. Kelty's favorite bathtub toy is his dinosaur and even though I know he didn't associate the two I was anxious to see his reaction.

Kelty and I with Michelle and Catherine

After the dinosaur exhibit we walked over to the kid zone where they had a little play area for the infants ... after we got over our "germ" anxiety we let the kids play before heading over to the IMAX movie.

All the little stinkers!

Starting to creep through the tunnel.

Pushing himself on the wavy mat

After the play area we took an elevator ride up the to the IMAX theatre ... we all fit in nicely! The IMAX movie featured the Grand Canyon and the deteriorating state of the CO River. The film featured a group of researchers and a guide rafting down and documenting the CO River. It reminded me of the 1 week rafting trip I took to the Canyonlands in UTA with my Advanced Science class in high school! I'd love to do something like that again when Kelty is old enough! Kelty was tired by the time we hit the IMAX movie and instead of watching the film he fell asleep cuddled against my chest; it was so precious. This is something he never does and I just loved having him snuggled up against me ... I could have stayed there forever!

Riding in the elevator on our way to the IMAX Theatre

After the IMAX movie and lunch Kelty and I along with Katey and Evangeline decided to stay and check out the rest of the museum. The kids stayed very content!

Strollers on Mars! Maybe we'll have an astronaut in the family after all!

I took Pogo to the vet for his Senior Wellnes Exam and vaccinations last week. Pogo has been having some problem with his front and hind legs ... we decided to get Pogo an extensive and expensice wellness check ... $588! No typos there folks ... it was $588! I got a phone call from his vet Tuesday with the results of his x-rays and lab work. Just as Al and I had thought ... poor little Pogo is having issues. Pogo has a degenerative joint disease in both his front left and back right knees, luxating patela in his left knee, fluid on his right knee, and arthritis in his right ankle. These issues were not the vets biggest concerns ... the biggest concern is the possibility of a degenerative cervical spine disease and a herniated disc. Our next visit will be with a neurologist and orthopedic specialist and the Florida Vetrinary Clinic. Right now Pogo is on medication to ease his discomfort. Please send your prayers for Pogo ... he's a special little guy in our life! So is little Piper!

Napping in the boppy

Getting lap time with daddy and Kelty!

Boinnnnng!

Al had to work all-day Saturday which left us with a one-day weekend. Boo.

Our commander and his wife had a social Saturday evening and I decided to take Kelty even though Al was flying. It was a nice time and another nice opportunity to socialize with folks we don't see often and even the ones we do. Of course Kelty and I migrated to the baby circle. Here is a cute photo of some of the kids courtesy of Michelle (thanks girl!).

Catherine (Dec 07), Hana (Nov 07), Bear (Apr 08), Kelty (Dec 07), Evangeline (Oct 07)

We spent most of Sunday taking photos of the house for the sales brochure. We're going to try to sell it by owner for a few months before listing it with a realtor ... the 6% commission is really going to eat up too much ... we're already going to be listing it for less than we purchased it for. We'll see how it goes. The rental market isn't much better ... we won't be able to rent it for anywhere near our monthly payment.

French Doors Opening from the Master Bedroom to the Pool Deck
(Can you find Pogo and Piper?)

Master Bedroom to the Pool Deck

Backyard

Pool Deck

Remodeled Kitchen

(I'm going to re-take this one)

Living Room and New Hardwood Floor ... ooh, so shiny!

Onto better topics ...

Kelty has a new little game he likes to play .... flick the doorstop. I caught a quick bit on video ... he's so darn cute. Who needs toys when you have doors, doorstops, curtains and all those other things they shouldn't be getting into!

Flick ... Boing ... Flick ... Boing!!

A Little Bit of This and That

This week really flew by and we had a great week ... of course finding out we will be moving to Germany really set a good tone for the week! Thursday we joined some of the other squadron mommies for our weekly playgroup. We had a great time and I love seeing Kelty interact with the other babies. It's also a great opportunity to learn new tricks and tips from other mom's ... I really look forward to our playgroups every week. Here are a few cute pics from the playgroup (thank's for sharing Michelle!)

What a cute bunch of kiddies!

Oh boy, let's share .. or not! Kelty loves Catherines toy and was trying to take it from her! Poor Catherine!

Yumm ... a ball! Kelty pretty much played with this the rest of the time!

Kelty in a Jump-A-Roo for the 1st time during the playgroup ... he seriously bounced for 20 minutes non-stop!

We finally bought Kelty his big boy carseat ... I have mixed emotions about this. 1) I love the convenience of his baby carseat, especially for quick trips. 2) He's leaving behind his 1st carseat ... he's growing so fast! He looks pretty happy trying out his new ride though! Now ... let me tell you about the deal we ended up with on this seat! Some of you may know that Al and I are thrifty shoppers ... we love coupons, open-box buys and we shamelessly ask for military discounts just about everywhere we go. So ... this little beauty retails for $309.00 ... it's one of the most expensive carseats out there! Britax is phasing out this fabric so Babies-R-Us had it on clearance for $299 (ohh, $10 off) ... then we had a 20% coupon, whoohoo! ... we were happy with that .. but .. for some crazy reason the cashier applied an additional "clearance 20% off" ... we paid $191 for a $309 car seat!!! That's right people!!! I felt like I won the lotto!!! Whoopwhoop! Here is a snapshot of Kelty in the seat after we took it out of the box and I was adjusting it to fit him properly.

Happy in his new seat!

When we arrived home after picking up the carseat we had another surprise waiting for us. Nana and Papa had sent Kelty a new toy ... it is seriously the cutest baby toy I have ever seen ... so cute that I display it in his room when he's not playing with it. It's a European toy which is quite fitting! The wheels are wooden and the rest is fabric. It converts from a train/pull-toy to a stackable toy when you take the wheels off. How clever!

Proudly displayed between his Itsy Bitsy Spider and his Elephant

Oooh, check this out!

Here are a few extra photos from last night and this morning. Kelty just looked to cute to pass up these photo ops!

All clean and wrapped up after his bath!

Pushing himself up and away from the nightstand ... this was just after trying to pull the drawer open.

I'm Spilling the Beans ...

We are moving to Ramstein, Germany!

We're meeting with a realtor on Thursday; we'll see how that goes. We already know we're going to be on the losing side when we sell the house ... anyone want to buy a home in Tampa?

Ok ... my sister Jessica will go nuts if I don't post a video of Kelty today. Here are a few cute video's I took over the last 2-days.

Kelty figured out his sippy cup the other day when we were out to lunch with our friend Michelle and her daughter Catherine (Catherine was born 2-weeks to the day after Kelty). Now Kelty looks for his sippy cup first thing after I put him in his high-chair. It's quite cute!

Kelty is also becoming quite mobile ... he's our little explorer! Though he doesn't crawl yet; he manages to scoot everywhere! Every morning after breakfast has settled I sit and play with him in his nursery. After a short while he starts to explore. Yesterday he traveled from his nursery, through the living room, into our bedroom on the other side of the house and into our bathroom! Thank goodness I had just cleaned the floors! Today he traveled from his nursery, through the living room and into the kitchen. I've decided to let him explore but I'm always with him (usually with the camera in one hand). It's quite the site to see him stop and explore everything along the way! Here is a short video of him in the kitchen.

And to wrap it up ... a few photos ...

Kissing the baby in the mirror!

We're Moving To .....

After weeks of anticipation the assignments have dropped! We were fortunate to recieve an assignment but now the reality of it is sinking in ... we need to prep and sell the house, we're going to be saying good-bye to some very special people, I need to find a new AF Reserve unit to hire me, I'm leaving behind my Disney job (I'm staying Seasonal and will come back to perform at least once a year!!!).

On the flip side we are thrilled about this assignment! No deployments, plenty of adventure, and a great flying opportunity for Al!

Now ... don't think we're going to spill the beans that easy! Here are 3 clues ...

1. Population: 98,044
2. We've vacationed within a few hours of this location.
3. Coat of Arms:

Leave your guesses in the comments! I'll post another set of clues later today. :o)

Splish Splash!

It was our turn to get a standing baby butt bathtub photo ... it was Jayne that started this trend with baby Hana and each of our new mommy friends have followed suit! These pictures are too stinkin' cute! We tried to get Kelty to stand at the tub but he thought it was "bouncy bouncy" time so we settled for a sitting photo. Here is our attempt until he's ready to stand and bare the rear!

Kelty and his line-up of bathtub pals!

Here is a cute little video of Kelty splashing in his tub. He loves bathtime and usually plays with his rubber toys or his big blue "rinse" cup. The video is short but at least it's something.

Where's the Beef?

Just a quick entry before we head to bed. Kelty tried meat for the 1st time this evening ... we figured if he wasn't a fan of banana's he probably wouldn't be a fan of this either. Unfortunately this little bite of meat was enough to spoil his appetite for the rest of the evening.

Zzzzzzzzzz

We arrived back in Tampa around 9pm last night from my drill weekend ... these weekends are always exhausting for all of us. Kelty had rough time adjusting to the crib in the hotel room and was getting up nearly every hour for the first few hours each night ... it was rough. Al stayed with Kelty while I was at work ... they both survived (but I think Al was keeping tally on the number of poopy diapers he had to change). :o)

Kelty has taken 2 loooooong naps today ... very unusual for him but apparently he is recovering from the weekend as well! I snapped a quick photo of him sleeping ... he prefers belly sleeping now. What a cute little stinker!

Catching up on his sleep!

Blah! Blah!

It seems that Kelty did not inherit moms sweet tooth! He really has not been a fan of the fruits ... banana's, peaches, prunes (I'm not a fan of the prunes either). He has done well with applesauce. For lunch today I decided to make the banana puree for him ... simple enough ... mash the heck out of a banana and a little water ... yum! When I gave Kelty his first bite, you would have thought I just poisoned my child! Though I didn't get the best reaction on video I captured a decent 2nd try. He really fought eating the rest of his lunch after his 1st bite of banana; it was cereal from then on! Here is a little video of his banana adventure ...

We ran a few errands this morning and Kelty rode in the shopping cart like a big boy! He LOVED it! He was so content sitting and taking everything in; I had more than one person comment on how content (and cute) he was. I absolutely LOVE this shopping cart cover! I bought it on Etsy from another stay-at-home mom. This cover is well padded, has pockets, a little pillow and toy loops. Oh! It also has its own straps so we don't have to use the straps already on the shopping cart. I have found this especially nice since Kelty loves chewing on the strap. Kelty really is quite cozy and I love seeing him in it. Here is pic I took in the store this morning ... I was so excited for him to ride in the cart!

We leave this evening for Miami ... I have my drill weekend. The three of us are going together but Al will be with Kelty while I'm at work. I'm sure Kelty will be happy for the change of pace ... wish us well!

Skinny Little Stinker!

Kelty had his 6 months appointment today (yes, even though he is 7 months now). The appointment went well; he had 3 shots and an oral vaccine. He didn't care for the oral vaccine ... he grimaced and twitched ... it was actually pretty funny. He didn't cry when they pricked him for his little blood sample, he was rather curious actually and just watched while the nurse pricked his toe and squeezed out a little sample. His height and weight gain has slowed down but the doc didn't seem too concerned but did encourage us to feed him solids 3 times per day instead of 2 and really encourage Kelty to nurse from both sides each time he nurses. He weighed in at 15 lbs 13 oz and measured 27.5 inches long. Our baby scale at home must be off because we weighed him at over 17 lbs last week. Kelty now falls in the 64th percentile for height but only 8th percentile for weight. I guess he has mom's chunky thighs but daddy's slender build.

We've decided it's time to take the bumper out of Kelty's crib ... he just a little too mobile now. Here is a pic of Kelty pulling down his bumper to look at me after his nap today.

Bye-bye bumper!

Sitting up and playing ... what a big boy!

Kelty in his doorway jumper ... he's still trying to figure this one out but has fun trying!

This is a little game Kelty and I play ... I call it "Run and a Jump Jump!". I set up a little obstacle course for Mr. Calimari and make him jump around ... Kelty LOVES it! I took this video while we were still at Altus ... it's about 2 1/2 weeks old but it was worth posting!

Happy 4th of July and Kelty's 7 Month Bday!

Happy 4th of July family and friends! This week flew by and I'm not quite sure where it went! We wrapped up the week with a luncheon at Al's squadron ... the spouses brought in taco's ... how could we not participate in something that involved taco's right? Kelty was able to play (flirt) with his friend Catherine. They both sat on the table and stared at each other while Michelle and I talked about Catherine's 6 month appointment. Kelty has his 6th month appointment on the 8th (yes, I know ... he'll actually be over 7 months by then). It worked out perfectly that Adam (Michelle's husband) was getting back from his deployment that afternoon; Al, Kelty and I joined Michelle and Catherine on the flight line to welcome him back (I was able to take photos of the happy reunion!).

Friday was a productive day for Al and I. We are preparing our house to go on the market within the next few weeks and decided to work on the curb appeal. While Kelty took a very rare 2 hour nap we did some planting, weeding and mulching. Amazing! That evening we had a 4th of July BBQ over at our neighbor's house with their family followed by a rather large fireworks show! Our neighbors Lisa and AD really put on a great show and the crowd grows each year. It's rather comical really. Everyone sits out in the street/yard with their beverages and "ooh's and aah's" over the fireworks. We brought Kelty out for the fireworks but he was not a big fan.

Oh! Kelty is in his big boy high chair now! Thanks Mimi and Papa! Here are a few pics of the week!

Kelty in his highchair for the 1st time! Such a big boy!

Kelty in his new hat! Thanks Nana! Kelty kept going cross-eyed tryiung to look at the brim of the hat ... it was quite comical!

Kelty watching the fireworks with Daddy!