Traveling

Dear Kiddos,
I love you. We went to Aunt Chelsea's wedding in Sandpoint, Idaho this weekend. It was a very long weekend. Traveling with you three as young as you are is so hard, too hard for Mommy. The stress of the clock and the to do list was too much. I did not like the parent I became this weekend; naggy, grumpy, constantly expecting more of you than you're capable of, and speaking to you with stress and frustration in my voice. For that... I'm sorry.
It started Friday morning. Daddy had a very important errand to run before we could leave and I had to pick up Kaylee's dress at the post office. I ordered the dress from China and did not expect it to arrive, I'm so happy that it did. It was one of the few, brief moments where something went right! I got up at six and began finishing up the packing (which I had worked on all day Thursday), loading the car, getting food for the trip, and doing all the little things that I couldn't do when Daddy was at work. We left the house at 8:30. The errands took us far longer than we had hoped largely because when we were finally ready to get on the freeway I remembered that I had forgot Aunt Chelsea's wedding present in the garage and we had to go back for it. So...at 10:00 we left the Tri-Cities. You were fairly good in the car. You dropped some of your toys a few times and that caused us to pull over several times- one of the very few moments of good parenting this weekend. Daddy and I just don't think it's fair to make you cry over a dropped toy when we expect you to sit in the car for four hours. Then someone pooped, then Kaylee was hungry, then someone else pooped, another dropped toy, a stop at the Tux shop in Spokane to pick up Daddy's outfit, a stop at David's Bridal to pick up a matching headband for Kaylee's dress, someone dropped a toy, someone pooped, until finally we arrived at Sandpoint at 3:45. This was perfect because the dress rehearsal was at 4:00. We couldn't have planned it better.
 Until we got lost. We drove around until 4:30 before we finally found the wedding site. We got out of the car and the boys ran around like they just discovered the use of their legs. FREEDOM! We snuck out of the rehearsal a few minutes early because we wanted to check into the hotel and get cleaned up before dinner which caused us to be a few minutes late to the rehearsal dinner. This wasn't a big deal because it was a serve yourself appetizer bar to begin with.
The restaurant was very beautiful. The food was very good. There was a magician! You loved the magician. At one point he made a ball appear from behind Hunter's ear, and then proceeded to take the ball and turn it into 4 balls! Hunter had this look of absolute confusion on his face. A true...How'd he do that (Arrested Development). There were moments of simplicity and joy at the dinner. There were moments of panic and frustration at the dinner. The room we were in had doors that opened out to the restaurants patio. The patio led out to the busy street. I was constantly on edge as the boys were running in and out of the restaurant with their cousins playing and having a good time. We got told so many times to relax. That there was plenty of family around to help take care of the kids. However, that is when I relax the least. It is in that situation that I feel it is the easiest to get complacent. Unless there is a specific person assigned to watching you guys than I feel it is really easy for everyone to think that someone else is watching you, which would result in nobody watching you at all. So, I was on edge. Then Kaylee threw up (the first of a BUNCH of times over the course of the weekend.). I cleaned her up and then walked her over to Grandma Marge to hold her leaving Daddy and the boys to clean up the mess. Daddy was cleaning up the mess. When I looked up Daddy was across the room talking to his Dad and the boys were not in sight. Pure Panic Mode! The only thing I could think of was the busy street and the open door. Daddy and I began looking all over the restaurant, out by the street, on the patio. I was seconds away from telling the manager to shut doors and call the cops when out walks Grandma Karen from the bathroom with both boys. I felt absolute relief. Daddy then began telling everyone that if they decided to take our children somewhere they needed to let one of us know first.
When we got to the hotel for the evening Daddy and I were exhausted. Kaylee was exhausted. The boys were not... They wanted to jump on the bed, explore the room, check out the coffee pot, make phone calls. Finally, everyone was asleep by ten.
Day two. We woke up, got dressed, had continental breakfast, and then began the search for something fun to do until the wedding. After driving around forever we finally found the airplane museum. All of you loved it although I thought it was a little advanced for you. The lady at the Sandpoint information center said it was the perfect place for kids after I told her I had three kids under three. You did like it, but it was far from the perfect place for kids.
The best part of the trip: we were getting back into the van when we were done at the museum. Daddy saw a green, spiked pine cone on the ground. Mommy was bent over taking care of Kaylee and the boys were getting into their seats. Daddy put the pine cone by Mommy's face and said, "Hey boys, look at this neat bug I found." I turned around to see this big fat, green, spiky bug. I screamed and fell backwards. Daddy began laughing, but when he tried to show you what had scared Mommy you got scared. Daddy threw the pine cone on the ground and tried to buckle Hunter into his car seat. Hunter thought he was putting the "bug" in his car seat and just freaked out! Daddy had to pick the pine cone up and show Hunter that it wasn't in his seat. Hunter yells, " Put that bug in the dirt Daddy!" We laughed all the way to the next stop!
Then we went to the infamous cupcake store. We had been really excited to take you there as it had gotten rave reviews from everyone we'd talked to. We literally skipped into the store with excitement. It was a let down. There were only five types of cupcakes to choose from and there was not homemade ice cream like we'd been expecting. The cupcakes tasted like Betty Crockers box and Pillsbury cream cheese frosting. Nothing to write home about. Kaylee enjoyed the trip to the cupcake store very much. The boys were less impressed- Hunter didn't even eat his cupcake.
Another priceless moment of the trip: Daddy parked next to a big puddle alongside the curb. When we were leaving the cupcake store Connor was concerned about the "big mess." He kept pointing at it and trying to find a way into the van without going through it. Hunter was getting ready to step into it and in the highest pitch voice I've ever hear, in pure panic Connor screams, "NOOO! Don't touch it!" It just made me laugh so hard.
So... back to the hotel for naps and then to get ready for the wedding. This part of the trip was close to the worst moment. Connor didn't take a nap. Kaylee only took a short nap, Hunter got woken up (which we all know how that goes!), Daddy had a meltdown trying to get ready, Mommy's hair did not work, Hunter had a meltdown when asked to take a bath... and then, finally, we left.
The wedding was beautiful. Chelsea was beautiful. Rick looked very handsome. Wonderful ceremony. Picture perfect.
I told the boys to leave their toys in the car. I was worried that they would fight over the toys, or other kids would be sad that they didn't have the toys. Then a Woody toy showed up. The little girl who brought the Woody toy shared very nicely. The problem was that it was the coolest Woody doll in the world. It talked. It had a real pull string, removable hat, the works. Of course, the boys fought over the Woody doll. Josie had a very cute Jessie doll. Very cute. The boys fought over the Jessie doll. It appears that I was the only mean Mommy that wouldn't let you two bring a toy. Or a cool toy at that. Connor had a meltdown right before the wedding started so he wasn't able to be a flower boy. He was upset because they took the Jessie doll away from him and gave him the flower basket. He wanted the doll. Hunter did a very good job as flower boy. He was oh so cute. When he ran out of flowers, he threw the basket. Perfect. Just as the ceremony started I see Daddy quickly hold Kaylee away from him and I see her lose what looks to be an entire 8 ounce bottle. I grab her and begin rushing her to the car to clean her up, but she kept throwing up. She threw up all the way to the car. Just as I was beginning to think maybe she had heat stress or something I laid her down on the car seat and she opened her mouth. She was choking on one of Daddy's rose petals from his boutonniere. Done. That was the closest I was to calling it quits and just going home right then and there. I was so scared as I pulled the petal out from the back of her throat, and I was so awe struck that even after the ordeal she was still smiling and laughing. I tried to save the dress, but she had thrown up all the way down it and was soaking wet. So I cleaned her off, changed her outfit, and headed back to the ceremony to find that it was half over. Then Connor and Hunter began running out of yogos and I spent the rest of the ceremony trying to keep them quiet.
On the way to the reception Mommy and Daddy were feeling like we were dragging you through the mud so we took you to Walmart to pick out your very own Woody doll. The cool Woody doll cost $37 (times two!), a bullet we gladly would've bitten at this point, but Hunter picked a $25 Buzz Lightyear and Connor picked a $7 Buzz/Woody miniatures. Now that you were all happy and some guilt had been lifted, we set off to brave the reception.
The reception was beautifully decorated, great food again, great music, the speeches you three let us listen to were very good, overall A+. You three were on your best behavior. However, we had to leave several times to take you to the bathroom and change diapers. Kaylee continued to throw up. Mommy and Daddy had their heads on swivels as we were trying to keep track of you, while also allowing you to have free roam of the reception hall. Around 9pm Hunter and Connor decided to lay down on the dance floor and go to bed, so we loaded you up and took you back to the hotel. Mommy snuggled you all in bed and watched Runaway Bride, and Daddy went back to the reception to dance with Aunt Chelsea.
We had been contemplating it all day, but when Daddy came back from the reception at 11pm it was official. We were going home. We were spent and could not do another moment. We needed to wake up in our own home and do an entire 24 hours where we knew our kids were safe and happy and we were not nagging them. We needed that so bad before the work week started. We loaded sleeping kids into the car, and drove home. It was 4am when we got home. It was a peaceful drive. Nobody dropped a toy, nobody pooped, nobody got hungry. When we got home Hunter, Connor, and Mommy crawled into bed (on the boys request, otherwise I would've let Daddy lay down since he did all the driving), and Daddy fed Kaylee and put her back to sleep.
This morning we woke up in our own beds and have been snuggling and laughing all morning. It is going to be the peaceful day we needed after a busy weekend. I wish we could've enjoyed the wedding and reception more and I'm sorry that we drug you through the mud. Lesson learned, next time we have to make such a big trip...we'll let you stay home. I love you guys so much! Thanks for being troopers and for forgiving Mommy and Daddy of their shortcomings so easily.
Kisses!
Mommy

The boys at the rehearsal dinner enjoying cake, the only thing they ate that night!

Kaylee at the rehearsal dinner

The kids were so excited about the bed. They crawled in and pretended to go to sleep.

Pretending to sleep didn't last long and then they played peek- a- boo.

Kaylee ended up sleeping with Daddy in a bed. Look at that happy face. Sorry it's hard to see- the flash upset her so early in the morning.

The boys were not so happy to be awake and grumpily watched cartoons.

Connor shaking hands with an astronaut at the Space Museum.

Hunter was fascinated with the little planes.

Kaylee being a goof ball. She doesn't care where she is.

The boys with their souvenir airplanes. Thrilled!

A pine cone and a pine cone bug!

Hunter yelling at Daddy to put that bug in the dirt!

Initial excitement over the cupcake...He decided to go at it without hands.

Connor chose a more traditional method of enjoying his cupcake.

Boys eating the cupcakes...

Hunter- not impressed with his cupcake, played with the airplane instead.

Kaylee has a cupcake mouth.... She's one happy girl.

Daddy getting Connor ready for the wedding.

Mommy and Kaylee before the wedding.

Hunter before the wedding and the Woody doll that made me want to tear my hair out.

Hunter Boy

Dear Hunter,
You are the sweetest kid in the world. You give me all the hugs, kisses, and snuggling I can handle. I love it. You are really into imaginary play right now. You fly your Buzz Lightyear all over the house pretending that he's in a "wocket ship." You quote him all the time. Your little voice is so cute saying, "Buzz Lightyear, SPACE COMMAND!"
You've had to have some time outs lately because you aren't using a nice voice. Particularly with Kaylee. You've always thought that you were in charge and now you think so more than ever. At least once a day I hear, "KAYLEE, STOP THAT SCREAMING KAYLEE!" We have to talk about how Kaylee is a baby and doesn't have any words to use so that is why she cries. Granted she's a tad bit dramatic, but still. Then you have to apologize to Kaylee and go do a two minute time out. You're so stinkin' cute when you apologize it makes me want to cancel the time out- but I don't. You like to give Kaylee kisses on the head. You also like Kaylee to be quiet. You are less than amused when she's being loud while you're trying to watch Buzz.
You have been antagonizing Connor lately. One night at dinner Connor was refusing to eat and so we told him he couldn't have his treat after dinner. You watched him cry and pout while you ate every bite of your dinner. The second you were done with your dinner you asked for your treat. Daddy was so impressed that you ate your whole dinner that he obliged and you ate it very slowly in front of Connor saying, "MMMM. TREAT! Yummy!" I've never seen Connor so mad at you! We had to intervene once we figured out your game. You randomly run by Connor and steal a toy he's playing with. Every time you do it you have to apologize and go to time out, but you keep doing it and I think it is for the reaction that Connor gives you- which is even more dramatic than your sister.
We went to get haircuts last week. Connor got a really cute haircut but you would have nothing to do with it. You were so scared that you were flopping all over the place, tears rolling down your cheeks, sobbing...The hairdresser was worried that she was going to mess it up or hurt you so she told us that she wasn't going to cut your hair until I brought Daddy with us to hold you down. You're going to try again tomorrow. We have to find a way to get it cut because we're going to Aunt Chelsea's wedding on Saturday.
I love you Honey! You are so funny, so cute, and so snuggly.
Mommy

When you aren't antagonizing your brother...you're very good at loving on him.

Hunter the fisherman!!!

I love it when you put your face in your hands like that. You've done it for as long as I can remember.

Connor Bug

Dear Connor Bug,

I love you so much. Lately you've been doing some really cute things. You've been taking good care of Kaylee. You try to feed her, you bring her toys, you roll her over if she needs help, you  yell at me to hurry when "Key sad." You try your hardest to make us laugh all the time, and most of the time you succeed. You are growing out of snuggling. It is making me so sad. Every night when I lay down with you I ask if you want to snuggle and you say no. Although, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning you come crawl into my bed and snuggle up with me. I'm hoping it's just a phase and I still have a few years of snuggling left in you.

One day at the park Grammy was wearing her sunglasses. You were staring at her so hard. You were right in her face, and mumbling under your breath. Finally, you took off her sunglasses and then said, "Oh! There's Grandma!"

Tonight you told Grandpa Steve that kissing him was "yucky" because of his beard. You then gave him a kiss on his cheek.

You have so much attitude lately. You test us everyday. Today we were at the art show in the park and you were looking at stuffed animals. I told you that you could have one pick and you wanted two. You kept showing me and saying two picks. I finally told you that you could pick one or you could have none. What did you do? You threw both of the animals on the ground under the vendors table. Oh, I was so mad. You got sent to the stroller for a time out. You have strong opinions and you do everything in your power to make sure that they are voiced. You stomp your feet in anger. You flop. You pout. You cry. You are a typical two year old. But even through the trying moments it is hard not to laugh because you are so dang cute! You never stay in a mood for long. We only have a few episodes a day and they are short lived. You are a really good boy. We get a lot of compliments on your behavior when we go places. I'm thankful for that. I can't imagine going through the terrible two's if you were not a good boy!

Your new sayings are "OH NO!" and "That's cute." You tell me that the dresses I wear are cute, that I'm cute, which clothes in the stores are cute, Kaylee is cute...it's all cute. Probably because you've been hearing me tell you for two years how cute you are. I wanted you to get your hair cut the other day which is always a big ordeal. I told you we were going to go get our hair cut, it would look cute, and then you could get ice cream. It worked like a charm. You endured the scary haircut so that you could look cute! You showed everyone how cute your hair was when your haircut was over.

We've taken you to the water park twice this year. You love it so much. You want to go down the big slide with us constantly. We take you over and over again. Each time you love it more. You watched Uncle Wade go down the drop off slide and then you said, "OK...my turn!" We had to convince you that you were too little for the drop off slide. You swim until you're so cold that you're shaking and we have to make you go warm up. Then as soon as you eat a cookie or two and warm up you're begging us to take you back into the water! It's a lot of fun taking you to the water!

I love you so much buddy!
Mommy

Connor and Daddy just getting off of the slide...look how cold you look!

Feeding the hungry lion!

Looking/Acting more like Uncle Stu all the time!

Daddy's Birthday

Dear Connor and Hunter,
I'm making up for lost time with this letter. Your Dad's birthday was weeks ago, but I haven't gotten a chance to tell you about it. We planned a surprise party for him. However, I'm not good at holding back good news so I let the cat out of the bag the night before the party. I wanted you to be excited for Daddy's birthday so we bought Buzz party decorations, Buzz party blowers, and I made Toy Story Alien cupcakes. You were very excited by the time Dad got home. You sang Happy Birthday and you ate until your belly couldn't stick out another inch. The best part was how excited you were to help Daddy open his presents. You did a great job helping and got excited about every one. The most exciting gift for you was the fishing pole that Daddy got from his mom and dad. You wanted to play with that so bad, so when everyone left...Daddy let you play with it. We got some great pictures! The fishing pole was heavy for you so it looked like you were reeling in a huge fish. Plus, you wanted to wear sunglasses so you could look like Uncle Wade. You're pretty convinced that sunglasses go on top of your head thanks to your Uncle Wade. They are cute no matter how you wear them so I don't mind, however I was  able to get you to wear the glasses for the pictures. Overall, it was a very successful birthday.
I love you!
Mommy

Sweet Potatoes Uncle Wade...NOW!

Dear Kaylee,
You couldn't be any more like your mother if you tried. Daddy always says that if I'm in a bad mood I need to be fed. You are very much the same. However, you also get into a bad mood when the food runs out. Every time you have the last bite of food or the last suck of a bottle you cry your little heart out. It isn't an angry cry. It's a cry that lets us know your heart is truly breaking. Besides when you're hungry or when you've finished a meal you are always in a good mood. You are never grumpy. You laugh and giggle your way through the day. You've just found your voice and now you squeal with delight. You've been able to sit up on your own for almost an entire week. You are very proud of yourself. You also moved to a big car seat today. You loved sitting up tall. You're very strong and you are so wiggly. Everyone who holds you only makes it a few minutes before they pass you off because their arms need a break! Grandma sneaks you licks of frosting, ice cream, and anything she thinks you have to have. You love every second of it. Your brothers think you are hilarious and you think they are hilarious, so once a day at least I hear you three laughing hysterically at each other. You're trying to be a thumb sucker. You still have no teeth, but your getting more hair by the day. You HATE Green Beans...more on that later. You're starting to like Elmo. You love to swim. You love when we pretend to throw you in the air or drop you-we never take our hands off you though. You love having your diaper changed. You love changing your outift. You love everything about your day, except for being hungry or running out of food!
I love you so much. You are such a bright light in the day.

A little blurry because Kaylee moves so fast... but Uncle Wade is feeding her sweet potatoes. Yummy!

Uncle Wade set the spoon down so Kaylee decided she would help herself.

She'd prefer if she could just have a continuous drip!

Kaylee's reaction when Uncle Wade isn't fast enough...

Kaylee's reaction when she finds out there are no more sweet potatoes.

Banana Girl

Hey sweetie pie,
You've been making us laugh so much the last few days. You couldn't take it anymore... you wanted solid food so bad you were grabbing at our plates and giving us sad eyes. So... we made you some bananas. Daddy and I make our own baby food so it was pretty easy to feed you on the spot when you gave us those eyes. We blended you up a banana and you went to town. You couldn't have opened your mouth any wider. Between each bite you laughed, smiled, and cooed. You loved it so much. When you had eaten about a third of a cup your Daddy and I sat there for a minute deciding if we'd given you enough. We decided we had and that we would give you a bottle to top you off. You heard our conversation and at the word bottle just started crying your little heart out. We ended up making you more bananas. Today was your second full day of bananas. You've had a few little hives break out around your mouth, but they go away in an hour or less so I'd say it's a pretty good success. In a few more days we're going to let you try sweet potatoes!
You talk to your brothers all the time and you make them laugh so hard! I love the sound of all three of you giggling in the back of the car. I'm going to take the video camera the next time we're all in the car and try to catch it.
You had your first photo shoot today. We went to Walmart. They did a really good job! You were loving the attention and smiled up a storm. I couldn't find a single picture that I didn't like and ended up spending more than I had budgeted. It was totally worth it though. Mommy will just have to take it out of her allowance at the end of the month.
I love you so much. Thank you for bringing so much joy into my day.
Love,
Mommy

Bite...

Smiles....

Bite...

Smiles...

Some fun pictures to share...

silly girl

Hi sweetie!
You are getting cuter by the day. I didn't think it was possible, but you are full of surprises. You're sick right now. We're on Pneumonia watch. You have a really bad cough, and you're wheezing really bad when you breath. We have to take you back to the doctor on Friday if you're not better. We have to take you sooner if you get worse. Today I thought you were slightly better, but it's still to early to tell.
You found your feet. It's so cute. You constantly grab them and pull them toward you. You are always smiling. Even when you're sick you are the happiest baby I know. You love to talk and you'll coo at me for hours. You watch your brothers like a hawk. It kills you that you aren't two yet, but we keep telling you it will happen soon enough.

You stare at our food and drool, so we've started giving you rice cereal. You seem to like it ok, but you get a little annoyed that you can't eat it as fast as you can eat a bottle.

Dr. Steele put you on a baby diet. We have to limit you to 30 ounces or less a day. Most days you get 30-33 because I'm a sucker, but you always make sure you get at least 30! Even today when you're so sick you ended the day with 27 ounces- which is incredible. I thought you'd only get about 20 ounces down since at 2:00 in the afternoon you'd had a total of 7. Shows what I know.

You've also found your tongue. You stick it out all the time. It's so cute. I always tell you to put your tongue back in your mouth and then you laugh.
You roll over all the time. Then you get mad because you're on your tummy and you don't want to be on your tummy. You have specific toys in mind that you want to play with and you fuss and squirm until I find the exact right toy.
You're the cutest little girl in the whole world. I love you!
Mommy

Granpa and Grandma Youngs bought this outfit for Kaylee. She's not thrilled, but I loved it. They also bought the boys camouflage outfits, so it's fun to have pictures of all the kids in camouflage.

I have a similar picture of Hunter...cute.

Put that tongue in your mouth!

Does it get any cuter than this?