Another first

Kyran had another first on Friday night.  Andy was gone for the week at a conference in Minnesota, so I loaded up the boys and went out to dinner with friends and their new baby twins.  We were having a great time just catching up and visiting, and Kyran was just walking around the table, and then he found the bar stool Ben was sitting on.  He thought it would be fun to climb in and out of the bar stool because he could stand up underneath it (I know, exciting stuff, huh!).  So, I'm watching him, visiting with our friends, keeping an eye on Ben, and trying to finish up dinner when I hear Kyran crying.  Now, let me just say that I have learned to not become too excited when Kyran cries.  1, he cries a lot.  2, his cries are usually pretty loud.  3, he is a huge climber, so he falls often and almost always cries when he falls down. And 4, did I mention that he cries a lot!

Ben and Reece enjoying some wings and corn dogs before the accident

So, I go over and pick him up.  He had caught his foot on the bar stool and had fallen down.  I'm hugging him, patting his back, and telling him he'll be ok, when I notice that I have blood on my hand.  I turn his head and see that his ear is covered in blood and it's running down his face.  Oh boy...this is a first!  We've had lots of scraped knees, bruises, a couple busted lips, and even a few stubbed toes.  But, we've never had a deep cut.  I looked at his ear and sure enough, it was busted open.  Poor baby...I knew that it had to have hurt like heck.  I could lift his ear up a bit and see that it was a pretty deep cut, so I figured a trip to urgent care wouldn't hurt.  Thank goodness for good friends (remember, my husband is about 10 hours away at this point).  So, my friend and I loaded up Kyran in the car.  She sat in the back to keep pressure on his ear.  Her husband and brother (who unexpectedly showed up at the very same restaurant...a blessing in disguise) took Ben and the twins back to their house.  I'm not sure Ben even knew what happened; he was just excited to get to go play with Reece for a while.

Kyran's ear before it was cleaned up.  This was after several napkins and a few wet ones.  Poor buddy.

Off to urgent care we go.  Of course, my absolute favorite doctor was working (my mother-in-law works for urgent care, so we know several of the docs) and he took such great care of Kyran.  After cleaning it up, he saw that it wasn't that deep and that stitches or glue would only hurt more and Kyran would most likely mess with the stitches anyway.  So, after a good cleaning and some antibiotic cream, we were on our way to go pick up Ben.

All cleaned up and ready for bed.  It definitely bruised quite a bit, but it looks so much better now!

It was a wild and crazy evening, and I absolutely hated to see Kyran get hurt.  I was very happy though that our night didn't end with stitches.  A little headache for Kyran, I'm sure, but nothing that some Tylenol couldn't take care of.  It's been four days and his ear is looking great.  It's healing nicely and hopefully there won't be much of a scar.  As for the climbing, this unfortunately did not slow him down.  He is definitely my little monkey!

Field trip fun

Last Wednesday, Ben went on his first field trip.  We headed to the corn maze and pumpkin patch with his preschool, and he had so much fun!  We are so lucky to have a local pumpkin patch that offers so many kid attractions.  They had a straw tunnel, tricycle races, water table, straw mountain, corn box, playground, a gem mine, plus the huge corn maze and pumpkin patch.  It was a little muddy from all the rain, but that didn't stop us from having a good time!

 One of the 100+ times Ben went through the straw tunnel...I even ventured through once myself.  It was pretty fun!

 Getting his dig on in the sandbox

Taking a lap around the tricycle track

Ma and Pa Kettle

Milestones

The boys had their 5 year and 18 month check up a week or so ago, and they are right on schedule!  It was timed perfectly to also serve as an ear recheck for both of them.  The week before their appointments, both boys came down with high fevers...off to the doctor to find out they both had double ear infections.  Fast forward to their check ups and both boys were infection clear!  So, here's the stats:

Ben:
Weight - 47 lbs (83%)
Height - 42.4" (35%)

Kyran:
Weight - 26 lb 12.8 oz (83%)
Height - 35.04" (95%)

Poor Ben needs to hit a growth spurt soon.  I'm afraid he may have inherited some of his height from Andy's side of the family, but maybe my side's genes will kick in and give him a boost.  Of course, no matter how tall or short he is, he's as perfect as can be!  Kyran seems to be right on track, so we'll see if he continues to grow at this rate.  He is definitely taller than Ben was at this age, but not by much, so it remains to be seen if he'll keep going or slow down a bit. 

Both boys are absolutely perfect in every possible way, and the doctor had no concerns.  She did say that Kyran is most likely going to need tubes for his ear infections.  She did not think there has been any damage done, but he just has such a tendency to get them that she anticipates another rough fall and winter.  So, let the consultations begin!  Thankfully, my sister has been through this more than a couple times with her girls, so we have a great resource right in the family.

Family Reunion 2014

I will give a disclaimer at the very beginning...this is an extremely long post with lots and lots of pictures.  There are just too many good ones to not share!

My mom's side of the family all got together at Mom and Dad's and my aunt and uncle's a few weekends ago to have our annual family reunion.  As always, it was such a great time getting together and seeing my cousins, their kiddos, and my aunts and uncles.  We weren't all able to make it, but with families growing every year, that's to be expected.  The highlight of the weekend was Jace!  Jace is my cousin's son and he has been battling cancer all summer and received fantastic news at the end of his treatment...clear scans!  The entire family had been praying for Jace and his family since we found out, so having him celebrate the family reunion with us was such a blessing and a glorious answer to many prayers!  It was so nice to see him out and about and having fun with the kids!  It was just a fantastic weekend all the way around!

Brace yourselves for a barrage of pictures...there are tons, but with so many cute subjects, it's just too easy to keep clicking away!

 The cousins waiting with bated breath for the bouncy house to be inflated!

 Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!

Woohoo...it's up!

 Sweet Lucy!

 The oldest and the youngest...just as handsome and cute as can be!

 Proof that the kiddos did take a break from jumping long enough to eat

 And....we're back to bouncing!  Now there are even more kiddos to play with!

 Jace taking a turn driving the Mule.  Between the Mule and bounce house, the kids were thoroughly entertained all weekend!

 Even the BIG kids got in on the action...this big kid is 30, but he'll always be a kid at heart!

 We were so lucky to have great weather the entire weekend...perfect for a campfire.

 Whitney is awesome, as always...she's the queen of the "minute to win it" games, even serving as the demo person!

 We ended the weekend with an impromptu kickball game...not sure who had more fun, the kids or the dads?

 Just one more picture of sweet Lucy!

Kyran wasn't able to join us at the beginning, because he was home with a fever.  He made his appearance on Sunday...just in time to get in on the game, too!  Not sure he understood the rules of kickball, but he tried!



Labor Day Weekend

This post is a bit overdue, but really, what post do I ever get on here on time, lol???!!!  We were able to get away over the Labor Day weekend and head down to Mammoth Cave.  We had never been before, so we were all excited to go.  We were lucky to get to travel with my sister and her family, Andy's sister and family, and our great friends and their family.  It was quite a caravan of trucks and campers, but it was such a fun time!

The caves were awesome!  I was a little concerned that Kyran would not cooperate on a two hour tour (which, by the way, had no exit strategy) but, he did fantastic!  We took our Moby wrap and he just hung out, literally, in it the entire time.  Ben was a real trooper and did a great job, even on the 200+ steps! 

When we weren't touring the caves, we had a blast at the pools and water slide at the campground.  However, I think the highlight of the trip was our cabin.  We didn't take a camper, and instead rented the "Bear Den".  This lovely little cabin had 10 bunk beds in it and a loft!  You can imagine that Ben and Kyran were in heaven with the endless supply of ladders to climb and mattresses to jump on!  I think Ben slept in a different bunk each night.

While I think the term vacation is a bit deceiving (when you travel with kids, there is really no such thing as rest) we still had a wonderful time.  It was fun to explore someplace new, spend time with our friends and family, and make memories with the boys!

Playing Catch-up!

Well, we're officially back to school...soooooooooo, that means I'm behind in my blogging (I know, I know, not a huge surprise)!

We had a big milestone in our family last week.  Ben started preschool!  Wow, I still have a hard time saying it because it means he's growing up way too fast.  He loves it, of course, which makes me so happy, but secretly I wish he'd come home and just tell me how much he missed me!  In all seriousness though, I am thrilled that he enjoys school.  It makes life so much easier when they want to go!  He's been on green each day, so we're off to a good start...hopefully he'll keep it up!

I know this one is a bit blurry, but I love this look...can you just see him saying "Ok, Mom!  I've got it!"



Ben and I also went to Mom and Dad's a couple weekends ago to attend the Annual St. Ann's Fish Fry.  This was the 50th anniversary for the fish fry, so it was quite a big deal!  I've worked several in my 34 years of life, everything from refilling drinks to carrying fish, and I love it.  It's always a good night seeing people that I haven't seen in a year.  Lots of smiles and laughter!  This year was extra special because Ben got to "work" at it.  He started out in quality control in the back room (which just meant he ate a lot fish...he said one batch was just a little too hot, ha ha)!  Then, he graduated to helping Grandma Debbie fill up the veggie trays.  He was a good little trooper and worked clear to the end!

We also celebrated Andy's birthday on the 14th!  We started the night with preschool "Back to School" night, so that was lots of fun with Ben.  Then, I got a sitter and took Andy to his favorite Chinese restaurant...just a nice quiet dinner for the two of us.  No pictures of the birthday boy (funny, he's not as cooperative as the little guys are when it comes to photos)!

Well, that was just a quick little recap of August.  I can't believe we're heading into the Labor Day weekend.  Where has the month gone???  Hopefully we can all find some time this weekend to relax and enjoy the last few days of summer...I think fall is right around the corner, and personally, I'm ok with that!  Bring on the bonfires, the cool nights, the pumpkins and the changing leaves...I'm ready for my favorite season. 

Enjoy the weekend!



Happy Birthday!

I can't believe my little guy is 5 years old! It seems like yesterday we were in the NICU holding him, feeding him, and worrying like crazy about how we were ever going to handle this thing called parenthood!  Five years is such a short time, but it's time that we have enjoyed watching this guy grow and develop.  He keeps us on our toes!

Here's a glimpse of our Benners - he LOVES legos and builds them completely on his own. He averages one a night, it seems! He is a pretty good eater...loves peanut butter and jelly, fruit, and yogurt.  He's found a new favorite drink in unsweetened ice tea.  He considers himself already in the workforce...he's a farmer, don't ya know! He loves camping, riding his bike, swimming, and visiting his grandparents.  He will start preschool in 4 days (I'm gonna lose it), and is definitely ready for school!

We love you Ben! You are so special to us and we thank God for blessing us with you. You truly are a gift and one that we cherish each and every day. No matter if your 5 or 50, you'll always be our little guy!