Families are what make life rich. Love is what binds us together. Joy is being surrounded by both. ~Unknown
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Finally Arrived!
Kai's third tooth has finally arrived! He now has one tooth on top. I noticed it yesterday afternoon and think that it either broke through during the night before (he woke up screaming once) or sometime during the day. Either way, we're happy that he will soon have some help chewing his food from the top.
Kai "The Stairclimber" Jones
Kai realized that he could climb the stairs himself while he was at Grammy's house. He pretty much got tired of waiting for me one day and took off on his own. He's now quite good at it. Here's a little video.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Jones Family Reunion
This last week has been crazy, but one of those good kind of crazy's. The Jones Family Reunion was held June 13-June 15 at the home of Reid's parents in Elgin, Illinois. Between getting ready for our trip and enjoying ourselves while we were there, we were very busy. Here a few pictures from the week.
Wednesday June 11 : Getting ready to go meant cleaning the house. It's so much nicer to come home to a clean house! Kai helped by redecorating the dining room and stealing mommy's strawberry milkshake oreo.
Thursday June 12 : A hectic morning spent packing and last-minute cleaning. We managed to fit all of our stuff into only 2 suitcases and a diaper bag (for carry-on)! Unfortunately, that meant we had to check the camera and so we have no pictures of Kai making friends at the airport (including walking right up to flight attendants, etc.) while wearing his monkey backpack-leash, and enjoying his chocolate ice cream that mommy bought when the plane was delayed. Probably for the best as I'm sure I wasn't Kodak-ready with chocolate ice cream smeared in my hair!
Friday June 13 : Most of the day was spent meeting cousins and playing. A family outing was taken late in the day to Elgin Lanes for a game of bowling. However, Kai was so exhausted from getting in late the night before that Kai and I opted out. I hear it was a good time. After bowling we enjoyed the beginning of our international food fest. Kara made some delicious kalua pork!
Saturday June 14 : More playing with cousins and preparing for the family Olympics. Here is Kai during the opening ceremonies.
Kai watched the Olympics from the sidelines while enjoying his applesauce. He was still very tired, but well behaved. Later that night the boys all went to a baseball game, complete with skydivers, tumblers, and fireworks, while the girls had a night out at Olive Garden. Kai was a handful!! When he gets wired, he is wired! But we had so good help with all of his cousins and aunts and I even got some time to make tiramisu for dessert. It seemed to be a hit.
Sunday June 15 : The entire Jones family attended church together. It was fun to see two rows full of family! After church we took some family pictures. Poor Kai had been sleep deprived all weekend and so he chose that moment for his afternoon nap.
It was Sunday night when Kai decided that sleeping in his playpen was no longer an option. So, we went from being mildly tired to exhausted for the next two days. Kai took over our bed and forced Reid to the hard floor!
Sunday night was also the family "Academy Awards". We eached taped a video segment a couple of minutes long which was presented to the family, as well as a slide show of the weekend. I, unfortunately, missed out on the event as Kai had decided not to sleep in his playpen and so I was tending to him.
Monday June 16 : While the reunion was over, we were all still there. Kara's family went to Great America and so we spent a more quiet day with Reid's parents and Kristi's family. The day was topped off with a trip to Golden Corral for dinner. Kai had his own plate of macaroni and cheese and I got to indugle in sweet potato casserole! Yummmmmmm!
Tuesday June 17 : Departure day. The morning was spent visiting with family and packing up our belongings. Before heading out we autographed all of the family T-shirts. Luckily our flight was on time this time and we arrived home around 10:45pm.
Wednesday June 18 : Recovery. Reid went back to work and Kai took as many naps as he could.
Well, that's our week in a nutshell. As you can see, we're getting back to normal and are happy to be home. Most importantly, we're happy that we're all back in our own beds--especially Kai in his crib! I almost forgot that he knows how to sleep through the night and it was so nice to have him sleep from 8pm to 6:30am this morning. Thank goodness for little things! And thanks to our Heavenly Father for such a wonderful extended family.
Wednesday June 11 : Getting ready to go meant cleaning the house. It's so much nicer to come home to a clean house! Kai helped by redecorating the dining room and stealing mommy's strawberry milkshake oreo.
Thursday June 12 : A hectic morning spent packing and last-minute cleaning. We managed to fit all of our stuff into only 2 suitcases and a diaper bag (for carry-on)! Unfortunately, that meant we had to check the camera and so we have no pictures of Kai making friends at the airport (including walking right up to flight attendants, etc.) while wearing his monkey backpack-leash, and enjoying his chocolate ice cream that mommy bought when the plane was delayed. Probably for the best as I'm sure I wasn't Kodak-ready with chocolate ice cream smeared in my hair!
Friday June 13 : Most of the day was spent meeting cousins and playing. A family outing was taken late in the day to Elgin Lanes for a game of bowling. However, Kai was so exhausted from getting in late the night before that Kai and I opted out. I hear it was a good time. After bowling we enjoyed the beginning of our international food fest. Kara made some delicious kalua pork!
Saturday June 14 : More playing with cousins and preparing for the family Olympics. Here is Kai during the opening ceremonies.
Kai watched the Olympics from the sidelines while enjoying his applesauce. He was still very tired, but well behaved. Later that night the boys all went to a baseball game, complete with skydivers, tumblers, and fireworks, while the girls had a night out at Olive Garden. Kai was a handful!! When he gets wired, he is wired! But we had so good help with all of his cousins and aunts and I even got some time to make tiramisu for dessert. It seemed to be a hit.Sunday June 15 : The entire Jones family attended church together. It was fun to see two rows full of family! After church we took some family pictures. Poor Kai had been sleep deprived all weekend and so he chose that moment for his afternoon nap.
It was Sunday night when Kai decided that sleeping in his playpen was no longer an option. So, we went from being mildly tired to exhausted for the next two days. Kai took over our bed and forced Reid to the hard floor!
Sunday night was also the family "Academy Awards". We eached taped a video segment a couple of minutes long which was presented to the family, as well as a slide show of the weekend. I, unfortunately, missed out on the event as Kai had decided not to sleep in his playpen and so I was tending to him.
Monday June 16 : While the reunion was over, we were all still there. Kara's family went to Great America and so we spent a more quiet day with Reid's parents and Kristi's family. The day was topped off with a trip to Golden Corral for dinner. Kai had his own plate of macaroni and cheese and I got to indugle in sweet potato casserole! Yummmmmmm!
Tuesday June 17 : Departure day. The morning was spent visiting with family and packing up our belongings. Before heading out we autographed all of the family T-shirts. Luckily our flight was on time this time and we arrived home around 10:45pm.
Wednesday June 18 : Recovery. Reid went back to work and Kai took as many naps as he could.
Well, that's our week in a nutshell. As you can see, we're getting back to normal and are happy to be home. Most importantly, we're happy that we're all back in our own beds--especially Kai in his crib! I almost forgot that he knows how to sleep through the night and it was so nice to have him sleep from 8pm to 6:30am this morning. Thank goodness for little things! And thanks to our Heavenly Father for such a wonderful extended family.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Much Needed Vacation
I have to admit that I'm excited about getting out of town this week. Since we used almost all of Reid's vacation time with the move, Reid has been working hard without a day off pretty much since we arrived in Colorado. So the trip to Elgin, Illinois this week has been highly anticipated. Not only will it be good to see and be with family, but it'll also be nice to have Reid around a little more and he'll love the time with Kai. However, all of the cleaning and preparing isn't exactly my idea of a vacation, but I know it'll make coming home from the vacation so much better. So, until next week.....keep smiling. (If you don't know how, Kai will show you!)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Looking for Love
I wish I had had my camera with me at church yesterday. It was a good day, one of those Sundays where you come home smiling and completely oblivious to all of the stress it took you to get to church. I had to take Kai with me to my Sunday School class and he was an angel. He walked in circles around my chair while I taught the lesson. He did occasionally put on a show (walking into the middle of the room and starting to clap) but it was so sweet and the kids loved it.
But Relief Society was the real highlight for our little charmer. A sweet baby by the name of Nora was visiting her aunt yesterday. She is a dark-haired, 10 month old that caught Kai's eye. His first move was to offer her his car. They played with the car until it ran into the trash can and then they sat there staring at each other, then back at the car, then at each other, etc. Finally, Nora took the car into the hallway and began to play. Kai followed her out and watched as she played. Only once did he seem to get a little upset that she wasn't as good at sharing as he was. (Which I have to admit I was shocked that he was sharing his car so much! And so was Nora's aunt.) At one point Nora thought it'd be fun to run the car on Kai's head and so he pushed her away a bit. They finally left the car and Nora started to crawl. Kai, being the protective playmate that he is, followed her wherever she went. He walked right on her heels and at one point it seemed he was wanting to help her stand up. It was so sweet! These two little ones had several women enjoying their little antics.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Praire Dog Update and Pictures
For those of you who are curious as to the status of our prairie dog nightmare, the following is an email that I have sent to our homeowners' association. I've also included some pictures, and yes, that's a prairie dog skull you see.
*************************************************************************************
We are writing concerning the prairie dog colony that currently resides in the ******** community between ******** Road and ******* Way. As new homeowners (having purchased the property in November) we are surprised and alarmed by the number of prairie dogs living in the area surrounding our home. As spring has progressed the prairie dogs have become more aggressive and have moved further into our lot. Our back lot is currently a complete loss due to the prairie dogs. We will need to reseed and start from the beginning in landscaping the area, which we are wary of doing while there are still prairie dogs on the land. The prairie dogs are also moving further up the lot and have established burrows around the foundation of the home and are beginning to inhabit our front lot. We have had Claude ****** from ****** Animal Control out to our lot twice to examine the situation. Upon initial inspection Claude felt that we could try to exterminate the prairie dogs on our property alone. However, after a few weeks Claude noticed the movement and growth of the colony and informed us that, unless our neighbors joined us in the fight, we would be pouring money "down the prairie dog hole". Specifically, he indicated that our lot, the ******'s lot (to the the north) and the ******** Water lot (to the south), as well as the extensive land belonging to the ******* estate would need to be treated. There may also be other lots that will need to be treated, however, these lots are of immediate impact to ours. Claude informed us that in order to prevent future problems, it would be wise to exterminate the entire colony.
We have made contact with both the ******'s and ******** Water and they are more than willing to join us in trying to eradicate the prairie dogs. However, calls to the ******* estate have not been returned. As residents in good standing with the ************ Association we are requesting assistance/guidance from the Board of Directors regarding this issue. Any assistance in contacting the ******** estate, as well as any other residents who may need their lots treated, would be greatly appreciated.
Please let us know what other courses of action, if any, the Board would like to see us take, and what else we can do to assist. This is a matter of great importance to us, as the lot was the main selling point for us in purchasing this home.
Thank you for your time.
Claude called this a prairie dog "condo".
Another view of the "condo".
Yes, this skull is on our land.
*************************************************************************************
We are writing concerning the prairie dog colony that currently resides in the ******** community between ******** Road and ******* Way. As new homeowners (having purchased the property in November) we are surprised and alarmed by the number of prairie dogs living in the area surrounding our home. As spring has progressed the prairie dogs have become more aggressive and have moved further into our lot. Our back lot is currently a complete loss due to the prairie dogs. We will need to reseed and start from the beginning in landscaping the area, which we are wary of doing while there are still prairie dogs on the land. The prairie dogs are also moving further up the lot and have established burrows around the foundation of the home and are beginning to inhabit our front lot. We have had Claude ****** from ****** Animal Control out to our lot twice to examine the situation. Upon initial inspection Claude felt that we could try to exterminate the prairie dogs on our property alone. However, after a few weeks Claude noticed the movement and growth of the colony and informed us that, unless our neighbors joined us in the fight, we would be pouring money "down the prairie dog hole". Specifically, he indicated that our lot, the ******'s lot (to the the north) and the ******** Water lot (to the south), as well as the extensive land belonging to the ******* estate would need to be treated. There may also be other lots that will need to be treated, however, these lots are of immediate impact to ours. Claude informed us that in order to prevent future problems, it would be wise to exterminate the entire colony.
We have made contact with both the ******'s and ******** Water and they are more than willing to join us in trying to eradicate the prairie dogs. However, calls to the ******* estate have not been returned. As residents in good standing with the ************ Association we are requesting assistance/guidance from the Board of Directors regarding this issue. Any assistance in contacting the ******** estate, as well as any other residents who may need their lots treated, would be greatly appreciated.
Please let us know what other courses of action, if any, the Board would like to see us take, and what else we can do to assist. This is a matter of great importance to us, as the lot was the main selling point for us in purchasing this home.
Thank you for your time.
Claude called this a prairie dog "condo".
Another view of the "condo".
Yes, this skull is on our land.
View of our back patio and a prairie dog burrow about 10 feet away from our door.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Bath Time
Learning to talk has not seemed to be a priority for Kai. He knows that I know what he needs and so why bother asking for it. In fact, there are several words that I've heard him say randomly, but he'll never repeat them or actually use them....unless he's about to have a meltdown from frustration. Those words include milk, up, diaper, frog, ball, and kick. But during bathtime Kai has learned to say duck. Well, he won't say just "duck", he'll say "duck duck duck duck duck". We're just waiting for the goose!
When Grandma Hickman was out here for his birthday she taught Kai how to fake a cough. He loves to do it! Here's Reid getting him to show off his "cough".
When Grandma Hickman was out here for his birthday she taught Kai how to fake a cough. He loves to do it! Here's Reid getting him to show off his "cough".
The Funny Face
About a month ago Kai started making a new face when he got tired. It was a face that made us laugh.....and then grandma, grandpa, and uncle Joe. We have now dubbed it the funny face and he can do it on request. He loves the reaction!
A trip to the park
This weekend was beautiful! And it was the first beautiful weekend where we all felt fairly well. So, we headed to the park. Kai and I have been taking trips to the park for a month or so now, but this was our first outing as a family. We had a great time. Kai was a bit tired, but he enjoyed himself. He showed off on the swings and pushed his wagon down the hill. The grass has gotten so thick at the park that it was a bit of a struggle to push it, but he wasn't about to be detered. He also loved the "flowers" (aka dandelions to the rest of us). We have so many good pictures it's hard to choose!
And what day at the park would be complete without a family trip to Arby's. Kai loved the curly fries, popcorn chicken, roast beef, root beer, and best of all--dad's berry swirl shake!
And what day at the park would be complete without a family trip to Arby's. Kai loved the curly fries, popcorn chicken, roast beef, root beer, and best of all--dad's berry swirl shake!
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