The rest of November

November continued to be mostly hot and sunny:)  I know it just can't keep this up forever.  Have I ever told you that Karson just loves to play dress-up?  In his big sisters clothes??  And go run errands dressed that way???  Well here's the proof!  He just cracks me up:)

A few weeks before we got Harper, I went to sit down on the couch to eat lunch and read a book and this is what I found...a DEAD bird!  I was so shocked!  I can't believe Jack brought it inside.  Unfortunately my lunch had to wait while I disposed of the poor little bird.

Lake Travis Elementary is big on good character.  They even have a cute little song with motions to help the kids remember all the qualities.  For the first quarter Kassidy showed all the qualities that a kid with good character should have...WOO HOO!!!!! 

This came home in November about Karson trick-or-treating.  He actually kinda looks like Luigi, right?

 Like I said, we had some hot days still in November.  Over Thanksgiving break the kids and I had a picnic lunch outside a few days in a row.  It was so nice to be able to get outside, enjoy the sunshine, but not sweat either.  Jack did end up grabbing one of my pizza rolls right after this pic...so sneaky!

 We also enjoyed some time one of the parks close to our house.  We grabbed a few neighbor kids and spent the next few hours playing on the equipment, riding bikes and scooters, and climbing big rocks!

 Here's Kassidy with Amelia...both in 5th grade.  Amelia's little brother is Rafael, one of Kaleb's friends who came to his party.

The boys have really enjoyed going to the Build and Grow workshops at the Home Depot these past few months.  Thanks to Kim Conner for introducing these to us years ago:)  (It's definitely more fun with Jaden!)  This week they made banks with separate slots for saving, giving, and spending.  Some other projects were a firetruck, xmas lawn stakes, and a birdhouse.

One day when Kassidy was at a friends house the boys and I decided to watch the new movie Big Hero 6.  It's really cute with lots of action.  The boys can repeat lots of funny sayings from the movie.  Check out my little elves...

Karson and Kaleb with Beymax...the star of the movie.

 I just had to take this picture to document that the kids are actually capable of playing a game together without fighting!  Wow...I didn't think it could be done;)

We have lots of little restaurants around Austin that aren't your typical chain-type of restaurant.  This one, The Boathouse Grill, is just a few minutes down the road.  It looks like a very small house from the front, has a small indoor seating area, then has this larger eating area in the garage area with small stones underfoot and boat parts/skiis for decoration.  Then past the garage is another seating area that's outside, fenced, with a playground.  The kids had a great time playing while waiting for our food!

The kids had to take 3 pics so they could change positions in each one.  The 2nd one is my favorite!

Just a cute pic of the doggies...this one really shows their personalities.  Harper wants to play and Jack is saying not again?!

 This Thanksgiving was very different.  Usually Kelly and I host it at our house and Steph and John and the girls come, sometimes Krish, sometimes other family from out of town.  We have ham and turkey and tons of food.  This year it was just the 5 of us.  It was a relaxing day for sure and fun-filled.  After a delicious lunch of ham and green beans we went for 2 small hikes.  The first was to the Pennybacker Bridge.  We pass this bridge every Sunday on our way to church and always see people way up high on the rocks...so off we went to check it out!  These two places were packed with people just like us wanting to get some fresh air and great scenery.

Our hike uphill

View from almost the top

Kaleb's pose while climbing

The second stop was at Mt. Bonnell.  Lots of history here, including it being the highest point in Austin.  Obviously a good reason they used this during the war.  You can look left and right and get gorgeous views of Lake Austin (the Colorado River).  If you turn the other way you can see the skyline of downtown.

 November just flew by...anxiously awaiting December and Christmas so we can see some family!

Our new baby girl:):):)

You didn't actually think I meant another baby human, did you?!  Introducing Harper:)  She's a 5 month old Jack Russell Terrier.  We adopted her from a lady near Ft. Worth who couldn't take care of her anymore.  This was our ideal age so we didn't have to deal with potty training but still got a puppy.  When we met to pick her up and I saw her for the first time I was just so happy and thinking how adorable she was!!!  I immediately picked her up and was just about licked to death!  

She sat on my lap the entire ride...yes already spoiled;)  I must admit...I've never, EVER been licked so much in my life!  This girl loves to lick, and lick, and lick!

Selfie! 

Keith and I went to get Harper during the school day, and the kids had NO idea what we were doing...they didn't even know a new puppy was in our future.  When they got home from school they were shocked and super excited that Daddy was holding a new puppy!!!  She licked them all even more than she did to me:)

If you look at her from the top (her back) you'd sweat it was Jack just smaller.

 Harper loves being pet!

 Such a pretty girl:) 

 Harper wasn't too sure about the doggy door at first, but she warmed up soon enough! 

Both dogs relaxing in the warm sun.  We weren't sure there for awhile if this was going to be possible!  Jack wasn't too fond of a new puppy hanging around and trying to play with him.  They were kept apart for a few days and Jack finally warmed up to her.  Now it's like we've always had them both:)

She LOVES to play fetch and tug of war and boy is she FAST!!!  Once in awhile she will "go crazy" and run lightning fast around the house or outside.  It's really funny to watch her spring off the deck or couch!

 Jack and Harper posing (only b/c I have a treat!)

I couldn't be happier with our newest addition!  She has really brightened my world, especially being so far from friends and family.  I'm glad she's fitting in and getting all the attention she deserves:)

Kaleb can't possibly be 9 already, can he?

Wow!  Where did the time go?  I sweat just last year Kaleb was still toddling around, talking non-stop, and having to get tube feedings.  9 years sure has gone fast!  Here's our birthday boy with his favorite...chocolate chip pancakes:)

 Right after school Kaleb got a surprise delivery...balloons!!!  Thanks Aunt Beth:)
 

Present time

 

 

Of course his favorite gift (of all time he says) was a Wii U.  Now he can play the newest version of Mario Kart!  He also got Mario 3D World, Lego, and Nintendo Land.  Thank you to Mama and Grandma and Grandpa for helping us buy this gift:)  Daddy had to go right upstairs and race Kaleb in Mario Kart.  It's 4 races...it was looking pretty close...who's won???

Kaleb!!!

We headed to dinner for Kaleb's favorite...pizza! 

  Big sis treated the birthday boy to some gelato...vanilla as always;)

Home to have brownies

This kid LOVES frosting:)

Now everyone gets to try out the new games.

That Sunday we had Kaleb's party at the Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary.  It's not your typical zoo (if you've seen my post from this past summer you know what I'm talking about) but it has lots of neat animals to see, many animals you can pet, and a train ride through the hills.  Here's the gang waiting for the train ride.  He has cut a great group of friends here already!

 What is with this boy and frosting?!

 L side-Reagan (his speech class), Caleb (met at library) and Kaleb                  
 R side-Alton (his class), Karson, Rafael (neighbor), and Lance (class)

 Bop It Tetris was a BIG hit!

 Volcano kit

Before bed the boys tried out Mario Kart Connect 4...Karson needs to get a bit older to be fair.

Kaleb had a FANTASTIC birthday this year!  We've been really fortunate to have made so many friends already and feel at home here.  The kids are adjusting so nicely to all the changes.  The whole move really couldn't have gone any better:)

Thank you to everyone for helping to make his 9th birthday so special!  Kaleb really loved hearing from everyone who doesn't live close by, too.  He's always saying how his misses his Buddy Ryan and Jaden.  

Kaleb had a rough time with his asthma in November.  After a year or so of no inhalers every day and rarely a rescue inhaler we thought he was over it...well guess not!  After an ER trip we are back on an inhaler every day and keeping tabs on his breathing with a peak flow meter.  (It's this really cool little thing you hold onto, breathe into, and it basically tells you if he's in a normal range or not.  Depending on what it reads we can adjust his inhalers accordingly to better fight off a true asthma attack.)  Since then he's been doing fine!

His height is up to 48 inches (he was thrilled with this because he's now tall enough for more roller coasters!) and his weight is up to a whopping 44 1/2 lbs.  Ya, ya, I know...that's not much.  Well, it is growth so we'll take it;)  He definitely is climbing a very steep hill!  He continues to eat pretty well, sticking with his favorites most of the time.  These have not changed much in the past 8 years...waffles, pancakes, yogurt, cheese, bananas, mandarin oranges, macaroni, cooked carrots, cheese pizza, cheese quesadillas, grilled cheese, applesauce, ritz bits and spaghetti.  He has, however, added new things like lasagna and spaghetti pie (picking out the meat of course), baked beans, chicken and black beans pureed into his quesadillas, and a few small bites of pork or chicken.  He is just always going to be a picky eater and that's ok with us...as long as he eats enough to grow.  To help with that he drinks lots of water and 2 cups of 2% milk every day, too.

Kaleb qualified for the gifted and talented program at school this year:)  He LOVES going to this class!!!  They teach different topics than his regular class and do special projects.  They did some work on coding the other day which he is very interested in.  He's been doing some more with coding on Khan Academy (online) too.  I can't wait to see what else he learns this year!

Kaleb is still my sweet little cuddle bug:)  He loves his mommy and isn't afraid to shower her with hugs and kisses!  He gets along great with everyone and still has yet to meet a stranger.  It always amazes me how he meets friends wherever we go!  And yes, he is still obsessed with babies!!!  He will get a huge smile on his face when he sees a baby and have to go over to him/her and say hi, rub his/her head, play peek-a-boo, ask the parents all about the baby.  It's the cutest:)  Keith and I joke that he'll grow up to be some kind of scientist/engineer or do something with babies.

For those of you who really know Kaleb this will not come as a surprise...he tends to be lazy.  Yup!  Ever since he was 20 months old, when he just stood up and walked across the room, he has chosen to get things done quick, take the easier path, do whatever requires less work.  Why worry about your outfit matching, just grab whatever shirt/pants is on top;)  We are definitely working on this with him a lot!  I know it will come as he matures, but why wait until then?  

Kaleb continues to grow and mature each day.  He's becoming a good role model for Karson:)  He's even becoming a responsible student!  He is very into the Wii U, games on his tablet, Pokemon, cars, some Legos, riding his scooter and 360 outside, and getting puppy love from Harper.  Boy does she go crazy licking him!!!

I could probably go on and on about our Kaleb, but I'm sure you'd appreciate it if I stopped already.  In short, he is such a sweet boy, very happy, and so smart.  We couldn't be prouder of him and we love him so very much!