Home Sweet Home

We just returned from a 2 1/2 week visit back to Michigan to visit my mom and dad (Nana and Papa to Kelty)! Oh, what a fabulous trip! Al was on a training TDY for the entire month of August so I made plans to visit my parents. I braved an 8 1/2 hour flight ... alone with my toddler ... and despite the in-flight entertainment system being BROKEN, we managed really well! I have to admit that I was a little proud of myself for pulling it off!

This was my first extended trip back "home" during the summer since, well ... I think our wedding 12 years ago! It was as beautiful and comforting as I remember it growing up and it was truly a beautiful thing watching Kelty enjoy "home" the way I enjoyed it when I was little ...

We spent most of our time outside and Kelty used this time to release a lot of energy!

We went dinosaur hunting in the woods with Papa on the Mule ...

Our exploration led us to the lake where Kelty played in the water ...

Kelty spent HOURS driving the John Deere around the property ... this awesome little vehicle has been through most of the grandkids! Kelty collected branches, acorns and moss ...

We played in the ball pit ...

Raced the John Deere and the electric scooter ...

Hopped on Papa's BMW motorcycle ...

Drove the golf cart ...

Fed the bunnies with Nana ...

Drove the tractor ...

Went hunting for acorns with Nana ...

Took adventures on the Mule ...

Went to the Circus ...

Made Nana and Papa very happy ...

Fed the birds ...

Played with bubbles ...

We laughed ...

Visited Kelty's cousins ...

Cut the grass ...

Played in the bounce house ...

Played in the woods ...

Had fun with Nana and Papa ...

Made some very special memories ...

Oh! And finally Al made it up to visit ...

and as we always do when we visit home ... we shot guns! Don't mess with Momma!

In hindsight, I should have blogged along the way so I could share all the beautiful details behind the photos ... but, I didn't. Another lesson learned for next time!

Thank you Mom and Dad for an absolutely beautiful visit, it couldn't have been any better. Thank you for giving us the gift of very loving home and the ability to share that gift with our children ... there is nothing more precious.

What Parents REALLY Do During Naptime ...

Play with PhotoBooth!

Papa

Nana

Me!

NO Diaper ... Ok, If You Say So!

Until this morning, I hadn't started potty training Kelty yet. He has been showing interest for a while but I didn't want to make any dedicated efforts until we were done traveling and were back in a routine. Kelty apparently had his own agenda ...

This morning we were watching cartoons; I was sipping my coffee and Kelty was on the couch next to me ... he gets up, says "pee" and walks into the bathroom ... I follow him and watch as he pulls of his diaper and pee's in the the potty. Whoop! That happens occasionally so I wasn't too shocked ... the shocking part came next! I said, "Let me get you a diaper" and he throws out his hand and says "No, Die" (no, diaper). Oh, ok! I explained that if he wasn't wearing a diaper then he had to go to the big boy potty when he had to pee ... he agreed.

So we went back to our cartoon and about 10 minutes later he gets up, walks to the potty, pulls down his pants ... and pee's! Whoa! Ok, now I'm taking him seriously.

We go back to the cartoon ... I decided to set the timer so we can go back to the potty in 10-15 minutes and then I promplty raced to the computer to look up printable "potty reward charts" ... I was SO not prepared to start potty training! As I'm on the computer I see Kelty get up and head to the bathroom ... I get up to follow and he puts out his hands and says, "No, me!". The little dude wanted to do it by himself! What! He went pee, emptied the potty, flushed (and said "bye pee"), washed his hands and left the bathroom. Ummm ... so I'm totally floored. Kelty went pee in the potty all day long with no prompting, no timer, no encouragement and had no accidents ... he just got up and went. We celebrated each of his achievements with cheering and clapping and "knuckles".

I put him in a diaper to run to the grocery store ... no way in heck I was going to risk that on Day 1! He did go in his diaper while we were out but once we got home and his real undies went back on ... he was back to business!

I'm not sure if this is a fluke but I'm going to run with it ... there is no way potty training is going to be this easy with him, right!? Wish us luck because I guess we just started potty training!

Riding The Open Road

I'm not sure why this moment with Kelty seemed like such a momentous moment, but it did. Today Kelty rode his bike about 3/4 of a mile, on a quiet dirt path, up and down little hills to visit the deer. He was quite the sight to behold ... chugging along on his Radio Flyer Tricycle, sporting his helmet and sunglasses ... on a mission he was ... and he wouldn't let mommy help when his little legs got tired. I think he was out to show me he could do this on his own ....

The beginning of our little bicycle journey. I toted Kelty down to the path in the "Kelty Carrier" and carried his bike ... I was feeling a little out of shape! Yikes! When we reached the path we strapped on his helmet and hit the road ...

He rode his bike about a 1/2 mile to visit the deer ....

I thought this was so cute ... when he got off his bike to visit the deer he took of his sunglasses and rested them on his bike handles ...

Continuing our journey ....

When he got tired, he refused to let me push him or the bike. He insisted on pushing the bike along the path until he was ready to go again ...

That's my 2 1/2 year old little boy .... who doesn't seem so little anymore.

Felt Tot Wallet!

Kelty has been holding interest in wallets, purses man bags, ID's, and $ for a while now. In fact, every time we drive to the base Kelty must present his IKEA Card ID Card to the guard and promptly salute. It was painfully apparent ... it was time for Kelty to have his own wallet.

So ... I set out to create my own tot wallet, because that's what I do! I couldn't get the vision of a little "peek-a-boo" monster out of my head so the little Money Monster made his debut. The wallet is a really simple design and I think I'll tweak it a bit here and there if I make more, but for a "1st try" I'm pretty happy with it ... and most importantly, so is Kelty!

Open at your own risk!

This seriously makes me laugh. It's as if this little googly-eyed monster is saying,
"Ahh, take it all ... take all you want!"

There is one long pocket for the "bills" and two pockets for cards/ID's. I considered a coin pocket but opted not to include it as I don't feel comfortable with Kelty and coins.

Who could be afraid of a cute face like this? Poor little monster can't even see straight.

If you want a tutorial just let me know .... it's even easier than the Felt Travel Mat! Promise!

I'm linking this to ...


Brown Paper Packages (Friday Favorites)
Someday Crafts ( Whatever Goes Wednesday)
Keeping It Simple (Motivate Me Monday)
Sumo's Sweet Stuff (Market Yourself Monday)
Lucky Star Lane (Lucky Linky Tuesday)

Fun With The Cousins!

I'm almost embarrassed to blog ... the inconsistency is driving me nuts. *sigh* We've been so busy here this summer and to be honest most of my computer time has been spent managing my Etsy shop, ChichiKids. I guess I found my Etsy niche because it's been doing very well!

Hey! Did you know Kelty's cousins are still here! Yup! Whoop! We've been having a great time and Kelty absolutely LOVES playing with his 6-year-old cousin Madalyn and 8-year-old cousin John Charles. It's been quite the busy household! We've also had a few unexpected surprises like Al's Appendectomy which kept Al in the hospital for 3 days ... thank goodness my sis was still here to take care of Kelty!

So, without further ado ... here are some photo's (in no particular order) of our activities this last month!

They danced, danced, and danced some more. These kids can totally rock it out!

They just hung out. Seriously, Kelty and Madalyn look like they could be brother and sister!

They climbed the walls ... don't even ask ...

They sat quietly ... ha, right! :o)

They ate ice cream ...

They were hosed down outside after a particularly messy finger paint session ...

They were finger paint warriors ...

Kelty tried to figure out the hose ... and yes, I did!

They got MESSY ....

They dressed up Kelty ... Al REALLY loved this one. Ha!

They watched TV ...

They played with the new water table ...

Kelty tried on Madalyn's bows!

They made cake ... and ate it ...

They formed a rock band ...

We went bowling! ...

Madalyn modeled a few of my appliques! ...

Halloween sneak peak! My Halloween applique designs are so STINKIN' cute!

Oh, umm ... we went to Disneyland Paris! I can't believe I never blogged about this! Oops! My cast member perks work here too so our admission was free! Whoop!

So where does this leave us? Jess and the kids have been trying to wrap up their vacation but haven't had any luck "hopping out" yet ... it's been CRAZY busy at the PAX terminal. I'm trying to "hop out" this week with them so I can spend August in the states with my parents in Michigan!

So does this mean I'm caught up on my blogging? :o)

And The OSCAR Goes To ....

.... Kelty, in his rendition of "I played dead and scared the crap out of my mommy".

The Scene: Mommy and Kelty are playing upstairs. The dogs are outside barking insistently at the folks visiting the neighbors house.

Mom: Kelty, I'll be right back. I need to let the dogs inside.

(Mommy runs down three flights of stairs to shush the dogs and bring them inside)

(Mommy runs back upstairs and finds Kelty laying sprawled on the floor next to the bed, blankie slightly out of reach from his grasp, pacifier dangling from his mouth that is gaping open, tongue hanging from his mouth ... eyes loosely closed ... body completely and utterly motionless)

Mom: KELTY! (frozen in the doorway)

Kelty: (no movement)

Mom: OH MY GOD! KELTY! (running over to Kelty)

Kelty: (no movement)

Mom: KELTY, KELTY!! (hovering over Kelty)

Kelty: AGHH! (opening his eyes, throwing his arms out ... laugh laugh)

Mom: Kelty! Don't you ever do that again!! Don't scare mommy like that! (nauseous from fear).

I kid you not, my 2 1/2 year old played dead and it was so believable I almost vomited. I thought he must have climbed on our bed and jumped off and broke his neck! I can't even describe the fear I felt for those moments! I swear, he's going to give me a heart attack with these pranks!

I do believe we could be raising a future Oscar winning actor. Lord help us!

And just in case you were having a hard time visualizing ... here is a photo reenactment for your viewing pleasure ...