Go Upward!

During basketball cheerleading this past winter, we learned that Upward had flag football cheerleading. Of course, Kassidy wanted to give that a try this time:) Go Green and Gold!

The girls really love to use their megaphones!
Here is Hunter the Eagle, Kassidy's class mascot. It was her turn to bring it home for the weekend. He loved watching her cheer!

The girls have a Bible verse to memorize each week and then get rewarded with stickers for their megaphone after each game.

During half time they get to go on the field and do a few cheers. This pic cracks me up because even though their arms are supposed to be straight they're all bent! At least they're all uniform!

We have really enjoyed our experiences with Upward this far. They teach the kids the discipline and skill of the sport, great character traits, and how to live your life for God. Kassidy has grown so much with her coach's guidance. And, of course, has made some great new friends:)

18 months and counting...

CHEESE!!!

It is just amazing how much Karson has learned to do in the last 3 months! The biggest by far is learning to walk:) He rarely sits down during the day and he's getting faster and faster at walking. But all that walking is keeping him thin. He needs smaller diapers and clothes then his chubby days. He is now 22 lbs and 32 inches. He has really dropped in the percentiles, down to 40th in height and around 8th for weight. I really think it's because he is so active...and he doesn't eat well when he's teething, poor baby! His hair has lightened quite a bit to a light brown/blondish color and is still curly. He is still a pretty easy going baby most of the time and can entertain himself quite nicely:) He can stand his ground much easier now, too, with big brother since he's more stable on his feet.

I could not begin to list all the things he's doing now...oh who am I kidding...sure I can:)

He is starting to sit and play with toys...actually sit there and figure out how it 'works'. But that's only when he's not busy walking around all day long:)

He loves talking to all his girlfriends:)

He loves his big brother B-ub (Kaleb). And notice his teeth?

He loves to say 'Cheese' when you show him the camera.

He loves to 'hide' and then say Boo!

He likes to color

He loves to say Cheese! Did I mention that one already?!

He loves to play with this baby...she says mama while crawling and then 'falls' and cries. He will pat or pick the baby up and give it kisses:) And of course all the while saying 'baby' and 'uh oh' when she falls.

He tries so hard to run then falls and gets boo boos, like this one on his eyebrow.

He LOVES 'nanas' and will eat them whole by himself now. And he will not hesitate to say NO if you try to take it away:)

He loves picking up leaves and sticks and watching them 'go' in the rain puddles. Yes, I know, get some clothes on that kid! But hey, we do live in the South:)

He loves his big sis 'Dididy' (Kassidy)
I want one million dollars! No wait, one trillion dollars:)

He loves to say Cheese:) And loves to have his puppy when he goes nite nite.

He loves to use spoons and forks and can actually use them correctly... sometimes

He LOVES Elmo, and will say over and over again E-mo, E-mo, E-mo, E-mo!!!

-If he sees anything besides a toy on the ground he will pick it up and bring it to me and say ere mamama (here mama) or ere mom (here mom)

-If you ask him to go get something he will:)

-He is FINALLY on a sippy cup...yea! And we're slowly getting used to water and juice, not just milk (he is VERY stubborn!)

-If you say go nite nite he will walk up the stairs, go to his room, and pull his puppy out of his crib saying puppy

-When you put him into his crib he'll say ni-ni, uv-u (nite nite, love u!)

-When you go into his room in the morning (if he's already up) he'll be waiting there and say Boo!

-When the garage door opens at night he'll get up, walk real fast to the door, and say daddy? (asking if daddy's home) and get SO excited when Keith walks in

-If you're eating something and he wants it he'll put his hand out and say pee-mommy (please mommy) until you give it to him

-He will walk to the fridge and say yello (Jello) or milk until you give him some

-He says da-doo (thank you) and L-come (you're welcome) at the right time

-Every time we pick up Kaleb from school he says B-ub (Kaleb) the whole way there, and will say R-ca (Erica) on the way to Miss Mery's house (his sitter who has a daughter Erica)

-He says up-beers (upstairs), bye bye, hi, ello (hello), uh oh, mommy, daddy, oh no, up (for up and down), go, Jack (our dog), baby, book, ball, yes, no, appo (apple), nana (banana), ba (bath), pretty much anything you say he will try to say

-He's starting to use 2 word phrases a lot recently

-He can point to his head, nose, eyes, and toes, will grab your nose (or his) and say honk honk!

-He also tries to sing nursery rhymes like Itsy Bitsy Spider or This Little Piggy, etc and then say Yea and clap his hands :)

-Lately he wants you to hold his hand so he can go up the stairs standing up, and he can go down the stairs on his tummy

-He loves to watch The Wiggles, Elmo, and Baby Einstein videos

-He can climb onto the couch, ottoman, and chairs (but really doesn't get 'into' things)

-He can REALLY throw a fit! He will throw himself on the floor, slam his head back (ouch!) and cry and cry until his fit is over...or you give in and give him what he wants:) If you ask him if he wants this or that he'll just say NO, even if he really does want it, just because he's mad

-He is miserable when he's teething...which makes me miserable! He has 7 teeth so far-the 4 middle teeth on top and 3 of 4 middle teeth on bottom. He's working on cutting all 4 of his molars...not fun!

-He goes to bed by 8pm, wakes around 7:30 or 8, and naps around 1-4.

Well, there you have it! My short (haha) list of what Karson is up to recently. He really is such a happy little guy and I really enjoy watching him learn:) Since school has started for his brother and sister I get a few hours 3 days/week with just him...JUST HIM!!!!! It's incredible how much I can do with him without 2 other bodies hovering around him non stop. And I really think he likes the one-on-one attention, too!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Stay tuned for pics from Kassidy's first football cheerleading game.

Labor Day Weekend fun

On Saturday we had a picnic lunch at the park with our friend Jaden and his mom Kim. The kids had a great time playing!

The model posing for the camera:)

Too much excitement

On Sunday we went to the Simpsonville Labor Day Festival. They had a fire truck, military vehicle, police car, race car, construction vehicles, cement truck, etc that you could see and explore. The kids had a blast getting in everything and honking the horn a few times, too! There was even a female race car driver there signing autographs. She drives this car below.

I didn't post all the pics of the kids in the cars/trucks. Just picked a few.

Probably the most exciting part for me was seeing this helicopter land and take off...literally right in front of us! It's amazing how much precision the pilot has...there were light poles, train track crossing thingies, buildings, cars/trucks, and of course us people in the way. I was also amazed with how long the rotor blades are (I hope that's what they're called).

We got to loook inside and talk to the pilot. Kaleb is VERY into planes and helicopters right now. He's picked out lots of movies about them from the library. He was talking to the pilot here and telling him all about the tail rotor, main rotor, etc. Maybe a future pilot on our hands?!

Do you recognize these famous kids??? They were shown on the news this night when they talked about the festival:)

This was definitely their favorite part of the festival...the Fun Slide! And yes, it was FUN!!! I was too nervous to let Kaleb ride by himself (I could just picture him flying off the slide on the last bump) so I rode with him a few times. Once I figured out he was big enough he more than willingly went by himself. Kassidy and Kaleb both laughed so hard when they zoomed down the slide:)

Kassidy-on your L

Mommy and Kaleb-far R It wouldn't be a festival without a petting zoo, right? They had such cute animals! There were 2 llamas, a fuzzy chicken, a duck, some goats and sheep, a small (or baby?) cow, a large rabbit, and a baby pig. Of course we had to feed the animals, too:)

He really couldn't have been any closer to falling in! Those wires are not very strong.

See the baby pig?

Kassidy was busy over the weekend making this family tree for school. Daddy outlined the tree for her and I cut out some of the leaves and helped her spell, but she did all the rest by herself! She even picked out all the pics and cut them out. I think it really turned out great:) Her newest little cousin was honored with a special place on the tree, too!

Daddy's birthday was Wed, but the kids wanted to celebrate when we were all off work and home on Monday. They picked out his gifts all by themselves!

A new movie and Wii game

This pic is from his actual bday on Wed. We handmade some Oreo dessert! (Ya, right...boxed)

And then they treated Daddy to bowling:) We have not gone bowling as a family in about 2 years...long story short, Kaleb was always afraid of the loud noise and would just cry, cry, cry. Well, we've been talking about it for weeks and he was very excited to go. And...he did great:) We all had SO much fun!!! We will definitely have to go again soon.

Kassidy's run and throw approach

Kaleb's stand and drop approach...we could bowl 2 people in the time it took his ball to make it to the pins...seriously!

Kaleb did get a strike once and yelled Home Run! Haha!

Cake for daddy complete with bowling pins and ball (sorry you cannot see it)

Our friends Amanda and Jason and their kids Jarrett, Colton, and Sierra joined us.

Apparently cake is a cure for teething!

Silly Sierra

Our friends

Look closely...KAL on the L is for Kaleb and his score so far is 66. KAR on the R is for me and so far I have 65. What's wrong with that score??? Oh ya...a 4 yr old is beating me! Luckily I got a strike and spare on the 10th frame to beat him:)

Don't mess with me!

All the kiddos

We had such a super fun time together as a family:) I love you guys!!!