Lessons taught

I've been teaching Kai and Boulder lots of things.

First, I taught them to share. Mommy always says this is to be done with as little screaming and grabbing as possible. Sometimes, I forget...I am only 3 after all.

One thing I am great at is reading books. I thought it only appropriate to teach this to Kai and Boulder. This is something Kai is *slowly* catching on to. He's much too busy. However, Boulder, got it right away. (I just got done reading my very first "chapter book" with mommy!!)


I've also been teaching my brother how to play hide and seek. Aka...getting in to trouble. Mommy recognizes this game whenever we're quiet for more than 15 seconds. That means we're hiding and doing something we probably shouldn't be doing so mommy better come find us as quickly as possible.
And every great brother needs a break from sharing every once in awhile. And what better way to teach my brothers the proper way to rest?

Kai Isaac 15 months

To mark Kai's 15 month "birthday" we took him to the Dr to see if we could get some more answers behind his allergies. Of the items we tested: wheat, corn, milk, soy, peanuts, egg whites...It turns out he's allergic to Egg Whites. The Dr. said that there's a small possibility that milk is in there too but probably not. I, however, beg to differ. I still think he's allergic to milk and will further test that one. But, it's nice to know that I can begin reintroducing some of the others :)

According to the measurements at the Dr, Kai is 30 inches...hasn't grown in the past 2 months?! putting him in the 20th% and is 21 lb 9 oz putting him in the 7th% for weight. Yes, this is the same kid that was born 9.8 lbs and 21 inches long.

Learning to feed himself with a spoon. Got to love those peas.
Giving us a glimpse of the future...talking on the phone.

His vocabulary hasn't grown too much either (not that we're concerned in the least!). Pretty much everything is some variation of "ba-ba" or "uh-oh"...he does have Mama down to a T as well as a new SCREECHing sound when he doesn't get to do or have something he wants. Kai loves to give open mouth kisses and gives great hugs. He still loves to laugh and up until this past week was sleeping from 8pm - 9:30am with a 2 hr afternoon nap. Kai loves, loves, loves his older brother. He thinks the best game is to grab something Kadyn is playing with and take off running, laughing, and squealing in the opposite direction. Though Kadyn doesn't think this is amusing, it does get his attention.

Ball-Ba
Brother-Bada
Kadyn--Bada
Drink-baba
Binkie-baba
Blankie--baba
Bye--Ba Ba
Boulder--Boda
Doggie--Baba
Nana-Nana
Papa--papa
Grammy--Dama
Pops-pa
Dada-dada
Grandpa-Dapa

The funny thing with the Baba's is that he looks you right in the eye as he's saying it and if you don't understand right away which he's talking about he gets closer to your face and tries to look you more squarely in the eye. I think of someone trying to ask a Spanish speaking person for a glass of water in English and each time they say "water" they get louder...like if you get louder you'll understand what they say.

I could just eat this little boy up. Kai Isaac, you're wonderful. And we daily "rejoice in your laughter."

Be still my heart

One sick boy + one cuddly dog + one loving daddy = nap time bliss

How do you know your son is sick?

Yes, he fell asleep half on, half off the chair. Vomit, 103 fever...not feeling well to say the least. :(

Genes...Jeans?

(Kadyn's silly face)
Kadynism...

Daddy: "Kadyn, you must have your mommy's genes."
Kadyn: "No, mommy has her own jeans, they wouldn't fit me. Mine are just right."

Of course, we knew the humor behind the dialog. However, it wasn't until after the conversation that I really stopped to think about what he said. Kadyn, in a way, was right...my genes won't fit him...his are just right. He is his own person, unique and wonderfully made. He may have our "genes" but he also has his own genes that "fit" perfectly.

According to the pediatrician, Kadyn is the most severely allergic kid in the clinic right now...and it's a big clinic. Allergies seem to be linked to your genes. Although his genes seem a bit too big for him, (anaphylaxis seems so severe for such a little boy), I have to remind myself that God created him. God's eyes saw Kadyn's unformed body. And all the days ordained for him were written in His book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). To God, Kadyn's genes have the perfect fit...nothing too big, nothing too small.

Now that Kadyn is 3 I would love to enroll him in a preschool. However, something is holding me back from sending him. Only in the past few days have I realized that it's because I'm scared to hand his life over to someone else...someone that I don't know, and don't trust. Questions flood my mind..."will he eat something he isn't supposed to have?" "Will the staff forget to read the labels on snack foods?" "Will the staff know how to properly administer an epipen?" "Will they know when to and not to give the epipen?" "Will another allergy present itself unknowingly?" (A few weeks ago he had another allergy scare...with walnuts...a nut we thought was on the "safe" list. He complained of his throat feeling funny, then threw up 3 times, then his face got puffy and his nose got so stuffy I couldn't even understand what he was trying to tell me when he spoke...scary.) It's frustrating as a parent knowing that these "genes" most probably came from me/us. However, as his jeans continue to get bigger, and he, older, I realize I need to keep things in perspective. God created him, God will protect him, God has a plan for him. That doesn't mean that I won't be prayerful the entire time, that doesn't mean that I won't ask 100 thousand questions of each preschool I interview to make sure I'm sending him to a safe one, but it does mean that it's time to let go. God is in control.

Kadyn, you are right, your genes are perfect little man. I thank God that he chose YOU for us and I can't wait to further watch as your "jeans" continue to grow.

It's a stretch

So, mommy said now that the holidays are over, there really hasn't been much to take pictures of. I informed her that there are important people out there that wanted to see our cute faces on the blog so she brought out the camera...
(I know this one is just like all the other bath pictures, but it's too cute! And yes, we are sure now that Kai will have adorable dimples too.)

Boulder even wanted in on the picture fun.


I made sure to wear my Green Bay Packers shirt for Grandpa and was *really* wanting to call him right away on the computer (skype) but it was 11pm there.

I had my 3 year old check up the other day. I'm in the 80% for weight, and 93% for height. I passed all my tests with flying colors and only briefly cried when I got 2 shots, though I didn't trust nice strangers for the rest of the night. According to me, my name is Taydin Dames Teeny. But, that was good enought for the Dr. :) He thought I spoke very well, had an excellent vocabulary and have mellowed out quite a bit...he just didn't see me trying to keep some of my special things away from my little brother.

Goodbye Trailblazer

Our old house sold today. I've written this post 100 times in my head by actually putting words on the screen is harder than I thought. A few weekends ago Ryan and I spent the entire day cleaning that place out. I have been unable to return since. I don't think I'm cut out to move a lot, or maybe it's the magic of it being the house we brought our babies home to. Whatever it was, that house will hold a special place in my heart forever. Don't get me wrong, I love, LOVE, our new house. And there are things that I am clearly glad to be done with ($500 winter heating bills and raking so many pine needles immediately comes to mind) But, some things I never want to forget about Trailblazer are...

~The scriptures we lined on the floors in our baby's room before the carpets were put down.

~Sitting in our new recliner (the only piece of furniture in the house at the time) in what became Kadyn's room with a bulging tummy, rocking and singing to him, explaining that daddy was working hard to make the home perfect to bring him home to.

~Having beginning stages of contractions while standing on a mini ladder, painting the hood above the stove.

~Continuing to have contraction in Home Depot while I was fighting for our refund on the wood floors that caused our remodel to be 5 weeks behind schedule. (I still think that because I was in labor it helped us get our refund!)

~Bathing my kids in the kitchen sink and the first time they each moved to the actual tub.

~Spending countless hours in the backyard on the huge, HUGE, deck...watching Kadyn learn to walk...all too quickly.

~Designing my kitchen.

~Our guestroom and all the wonderful people that filled it.

~How we filled our "dining room" with baby equipment (swing, jumperoo, bouncy chair, highchair) until we got a dining table.

~Preparing our guest room to become a nursery because our family was going to grow by another 21 inches.

~My beautiful mantle that Ryan made me so I could hang up stockings.

~Our HUGE Christmas trees to fill the entire front window.

~Our wonderful neighbors. It was so great living next door to such a wonderful family that embraced us so kindly...not to mention he was a pediatrician that I could bring all my kid-worries to.

~The amazing, amazing, amazing job Ryan did on remodeling. He put his heart into that place.

~Listening to baby coos, baby giggles, baby belly laughs.

To the next owner of Trailblazer,

May you hear the laughter in the walls and feel the love of God under your feet. Take care of our little house.

Here's to making new memories!