Riley, Kinley and Hudson

~Happy Valentine's Day!~

2012-02-16T19:30:00.001-08:00

Kinley was so excited for Valentine's Day this year. She couldn't wait to take her Bubble Guppies Valentine's to Miss Melanie's for her party! :) When Kinley was signing her name she kept putting an "i" at the end of her name. I had no idea why she all of the sudden thought her name ended in "i". I asked her why she was doing that and she didn't really say....but then I figured it out.... She was writing an exclamation point! She must have seen me write Happy Valentine's Day! on some cards she made so she thought her name needed an exclamation too. :) That girl doesn't miss a beat!

We got Kinley the Leap Frog Trace and Learn...she loves to write her letters and shapes. Hopefully this helps keep her busy while she's home with Dad so much this time of year. :)

Valentine cuties...

Kinley and I made a cake quick for Daddy (and us) on Valentine's night. Don't mind her crazy hair.....her requested hair do for her school party was a braid...it had seen better days by the time she got home. :)

~4 Months~

2012-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

Hudson Matthew you are 4 months old!

What you have been up to these days.....

You are in size 3 diapers and wearing size 6 months clothes and as of today...some 9 month clothes. You are so long and so chubby! You are eating 6 oz. about every four hours or so. You were doing better with sleeping a few weeks ago, but lately we'll put you down around 9:30 and you'll be up at 3:00 for a bottle. We'll be stopping this one very shortly. :) We get to start cereal and baby food this week....so curious to see how you like it.

You're doing great at daycare and so far not being too high maintenance for Melanie....at least that's what she says anyway.... :) I was worried about you sometimes. You can be a particular little guy. But we love you to pieces....

You got your first ear infection on January 19th...poor little guy. You had a cough, but other than that you were in good spirits and eating and sleeping just fine. Actually you slept through the night three nights in a row while you had your ear infection! Daddy took you to the Dr. just to have them check you out and make sure you didn't have anything other than a cough and you ended up having a bad ear infection in your left ear and the other was a day behind. I'm really hoping we don't have more of those in the future. :(

You have really found your hands and are doing very well playing with your toys....which is nice...you would get pretty bored sometimes before and didn't sit too long without fussing for someone to hold you. Now that you can play you seem to keep yourself occupied a little longer. You love to put your hands together in front of you and think you are so tricky. It's adorable to watch you....once you get them together you just look and look at them....then eat them. :)

Your stats:

Length: 24 1/2 in. (25%)

Weight: 16 lbs. 4 oz. (70%)

Head Circ.: 16 1/4 in. (40%)

Cute baby blue eyes.....

Happy Birthday Riley!

2012-01-22T16:48:00.001-08:00

Riley turns 9 on Thursday! I can't believe he's almost in the double digits...he's getting so old... Riley is obsessed with Big Mac's lately, so what a great idea for a cake! I think he wished it was a real Big Mac....

Riley is a great big brother and great student. He got straight A's this last quarter....hopefully he can keep up the good work all semester! Go Riley!

Happy Birthday!!

K-I-N-L-E-Y

2012-01-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

Kinley is doing so well with writing her name! Her "K"s were giving her trouble but this past week she finally got them down and she was sooooo excited. The letters are often out of order....but they are at least all there. :) She loves preschool at Miss Melanie's! We are so proud of her!

3 Month Pictures

2012-01-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hudson did so well for his 3 month pictures yesterday. I thought they turned out pretty good. We went right around feeding time so I was nervous....he did great for a while. Then it was like he flipped a switch and was done. He went from smiling to screaming in less than a second. Luckily we were pretty much done when he decided he was done and ready to eat. :)

3 Months!

2011-12-29T13:18:00.001-08:00

Hudson you are three months old already! And such a little chubby cutie pie! You have grown so much over the last month. You are so busy and LOVE to watch Riley and Kinley. You love to be held and want to be held facing out so you can see what's going on. :) You kick and squirm with excitement and want to get down and play with Riley and Kinley sooo bad. You also like to sit on our knee so you can kick and squirm around. You are blowing raspberries and have discovered your tongue. It's so cute because you'll just sit there and lick your lips over and over.

You have started to take a paci a little better at times....but you still don't want much to do with it. You would rather have your fist and fingers if you can get them. You are getting better everyday with getting them in your mouth. I'm hoping you catch on to the paci before you get too good at finding them. :)

You still have adorable blue eyes....I'm wondering if they will ever change to green like mine.

You are officially out of all three month clothes and now in size three diapers. I can't believe you only wore size two for one month! You are growing so fast. You have chubby little legs just like your sister. :) It seems like you will be a size ahead on clothes just like your sister.

You are eating about 5 oz. every three to four hours. We still try to make it to bed around 10 or 11...usually closer to 11. You slept through the night on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. You were so busy keeping up with everyone those days you didn't sleep much during the evening like you normally like to. It was so nice to get a couple full nights of sleep!! Since then we've been trying to keep you up in the evenings so that you'll sleep better at night. Last night you woke up at 4, but the night before you made it from 11 to 5. I'm thinking once you get to daycare you will sleep much better at night.....you will be up all day because you don't want to miss anything! :)

I have to go back to work in a week and I'm going to miss your seeing your cute little face all day long. I know you will be having fun though...and be loving all of the action.

Watching his sissy. Hudson would not look at me for anything...he just kept watching Kinley.

Wanting to get his toes so bad....look at that concentration!

Hudson tried his Exersaucer for the first time last night and loved it of course! It's right up his alley since he can sit up and be in all of the action. He was kicking all over the place.

You are growing so fast baby boy!!!!

Go Cowboys!

2011-12-28T19:02:00.001-08:00

Part of Grandma Nafziger's Christmas present from the kids was pictures in their Dallas Cowboy gear. They turned out so cute! We took these the same day as our Christmas card pictures and I knew there was no way we would get them all looking at the camera, but they all did so good!! I was so happy with them and so was Grandma! :)For some reason they turned out blurry when I did our header so I wanted to do a separate post to see them better....

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Kinley was at such a fun age and it was so fun for her to really understand Santa and she loved singing all the Christmas songs. Her favorite song was Last Christmas and sang the entire chorus all the time. Riley and Kinley loved to find Alfie the
Elf each morning and would race to see who could find him first. Christmas through the eyes of a child....gotta love it! :)

Christmas Eve we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger's as usual. We watched football, ate too much, and opened presents. So much fun!

Santa's little helper :)

Sitting in her princess chair from Uncle Blake

Hudson tried so hard to stay awake while we were opening presents. He fell asleep bouncing on Grandpa's knee. Such a cutie....

Stockings filled by Santa...

Playing McD's

Writing their letter to Santa....they wanted to get in their last minute requests.... :)

Christmas morning... Santa brought Riley a bean bag chair and football. Kinley got a camera and markers and Hudson got the Elephun ball popper.

So excited for Club Penguin video game....

Waiting patiently for me to open her Barbie car. Kinley loves cars and trucks and anything that she can roll around with. She loves to put her Little People fairies in Riley's old Ninja Turtles van and drive all over the house. At least now the fairies can ride in a pink car. :)

Happy little boy....

Nice try...

2011-12-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

Hudson is still not taking a paci but LOVES it when he finds his fingers. I hope we don't have a thumb sucker on our hands. I tried to take some pictures of the little guy today and these are the only two decent ones I got.

Most of them looked like this...

I guess we'll try again another day... :)

Santa!

2011-12-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

We went to see Santa on Saturday morning at Bass Pro Shop. Kinley sat on Santa's lap because Riley was there to "protect" her. She was all worried about him standing by her to protect her from Santa...and she came up with that all on her own. I don't think Riley was real thrilled about seeing Santa, but he did it for his brother and sister. :) And still managed to tell him he wanted Club Penguin stuff for Christmas. Kinley said she wanted markers. That's all she talks about wanting for Christmas. Some of her markers are dried out from so much use and one time quite a while ago I mentioned that maybe Santa could bring her some new markers for Christmas....and of course....she hasn't forgotten that. I guess Hudson just wants a nap. :)

I was so happy to get a picture of all three of them with Santa. I thought for sure it would just be Riley and Hudson.

Riley was so excited to get to hold Hudson standing up in this picture. We told him he could hold him standing up as soon as he has more head control. Riley can hardly wait...he's always asking to hold him and pinching his chubby cheeks.

~Christmas Parade~

2011-12-05T14:19:00.001-08:00

We took the kids to the Minier Christmas Parade this weekend. It was great weather for a parade. Kinley loved getting all the candy with her friend Audrey. Kinley did not like the Grinch, but was very excited to see Santa (from a distance) and Frosty. We went to see Santa after the parade...but I don't have a picture.....Kinley would not even stand by him for a picture. She was terrified of him. He was nice enough to still give her a candy bar though...so she was happy. :)

Sharing their candy...

Silly girls...

Hudson slept in the van through the parade...so here's a picture of the little guy just for fun...

2 Months Old!

2011-11-30T07:29:00.000-08:00

Hudson Matthew you turned 2 months old on Monday. How are you already this old?? Time is flying by and you are such a joy to have around. We all love you to pieces!

What you have been up to:

You are still eating around 3 to 4 oz. every two to three hours. You eat a lot more in the evening than you do during the day. But the Dr. said this is good....he said you are eating more in the evening to start stocking up to make it through the night. He said most babies don't do this so soon but to be happy you are. Hopefully this leads to you sleeping through the night soon! You are still going to bed around 10 or 11 and then getting up around 3 and 6.

I just moved you to size 2 diapers yesterday. You have chubby little thighs just like your sister. You are in 3 month clothes and some 3-6 months. You are growing so fast, there are already some 3 month sleepers that you are getting too long for.

The last week you have become so much more alert and are starting to hit the toys hanging from your play gym. I don't think you actually know what you are doing but you know how to do it. It's so cute watching you concentrate on hitting your toys sometimes you go crazy and hit them really fast and other times you try to move your hand as slow as possible.

You are holding your head up so well. The Dr. was very impressed and said you were holding your head up like a 4 month old. You love to be held up on the shoulder so you can look around. You have started to follow people around the room with your eyes. You love watching Kinley and Riley running around. :)

You had three shots and an oral vaccine at your two month check up and you did not like the shots at all!!! My poor little baby! You cried and screamed like I have never heard you scream before. You were so sad. The whole way out of the Dr.'s office you still had your super sad pouty lip out and were whining the whole way out the door. Daddy and I could not believe how loud you were screaming and felt so bad for you.

Your 2 month stats:

Length: 22 1/4 25%

Weight: 12 lbs. 12 oz. 70%

Head Circ.: 15 1/8 25%

~Little Turkeys~

2011-11-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

Just for fun I did a little comparison of Kinley and Hudson in their little turkey shirts. Since they were both born in September it's fun to compare them as Hudson gets older. So far I don't think they look too much alike besides the same cute little pointy chin. Kinley's head is a lot more round and Hudson's seems more narrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

All Smiles...

2011-11-22T11:57:00.001-08:00

Hudson has started to smile and actually mean it here the last couple of days. I got lucky and snapped this picture today. Look at those chubby cheeks! :)

What a chubber.....look at those chins and big buddha belly... :)

~Brothers~

2011-11-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

I Love Quincy!

2011-11-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

We made a trip to Quincy this weekend to visit the grandparents and to pick up Matt's new toy....a riding lawn mower. Kinley loves going to Quincy...when we were getting close she was practically bouncing out of her seat going "I love Quincy!! I can't wait!!" Great Grandma Ginny finally got to meet Hudson. He must have loved being there too because he was awake almost the whole time we were there.

Mommy's Little Monster(s)

2011-11-08T19:15:00.001-08:00

Kinley isn't usually a big fan of getting her picture taken....until I start taking pictures of her brother. :)

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T19:19:00.001-07:00

Sunday afternoon we took the kids around to Grandma and Grandpa Nafzigers and each of the Great Grandparents to show off their costumes and get some candy. Riley was a zombie ninja, Kinley was Cinderella and Hudson was a candy corn.

We took Kinley trick or treating on Monday night and I think she thought the day would never come.... She asked every night to go trick or treating and we had to explain that people wouldn't have their candy yet and they didn't have their porch lights on. :) She loved every minute of it and loved coming back to Grandma and Grandpa's to hand out candy to other trick or treaters. Hudson visited a few houses with us, and then we took him back to Grandma and Grandpa's while we headed out to get a little more candy. :) It was such a nice night out and a wonderful Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Halloween shirts... :)

1 Month...

2011-10-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little buddy turned 1 month old last Wednesday. Time is already flying by!

He has officially outgrown newborn size diapers and is in size one. He is also about ready to outgrow his newborn outfits. I've put a couple 0-3 month things on him already. He eats around 3 to 4 oz. every 2 to 3 hours. He loves to eat just like his sister! We go to bed around 10:30 or 11:00 and he sleeps until about 2:00...and then he's ready to eat again. :) He gets up again around 5:00 or 6:00. So he's a pretty good little sleeper. He has started to be a lot more alert lately and is starting to be awake for a few hours at a time. He likes watching his crazy big brother and sister. :) They still love having him around and are loving on him constantly.

Big blue eyes....

Chubby chubby cheeks...

~3 Year Pictures~

2011-10-27T11:14:00.001-07:00

Update...

2011-10-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Just an update from our house....we haven't been doing much besides feeding the baby and changing diapers....but we've managed to find some time for crafts, tumbling and feeding baby dolls.

Kinley got her first leotard for tumbling and she thought she was big stuff! She had to do some twirls for me too. :)

Kinley LOVES to do crafts....so I found some Halloween crafts in the basement....she was in heaven.

Kinley officially is at the age where she wants everything she sees on TV. Every commercial we hear "I want that." Well one day there was a commercial for Baby Alive and of course she wanted it. Lucky for her Mom had a Baby Alive from many years go in the basement...and I even still had some food for her. Kinley loved to feed her her food and her bottle.

I picked up new footy pajamas for Kinley the other day....she wanted me to take a picture of her and brother because they both had their footy jammies on. Too cute. :) I will have to update this picture once I get Riley some footy jams too. I hadn't gotten any for him yet this year wondering if he might think they were too babyish. Well when I asked him if he needed them this year he looked at me and said "Uh...yeah." Like why did I even have to ask....so I'll be making a trip to Target soon. :) Silly me.

Hudson is doing great and is a growing boy....he gained a pound in a week at his last Dr.'s appointment. He's an eater, just like his big sis. He's been awake and alert a lot more lately.

Chubby cheeks...

Lookin' Around...

2011-10-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hudson has started to open his eyes a little more the past couple of days. In the third picture you can start to see his dimple on his right cheek. Such a cutie!

We're Home!!

2011-10-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

We brought little Hudson home last Wednesday Oct 5th. We are so happy to have him home! He's adjusted great so far. He usually sleeps from about 10:30 to 2:30 or 3:00 and last night he slept until almost 5:00 this morning! He's definitely spoiling us with great nights...I hope he keeps it up!

Big Brother and Big Sister :)

Getting ready to leave the hospital...

In his bouncy seat all cuddled up....

Big sis loves having him home. She loves to hold him and feed him his bottle. She is adjusting so well to having a new baby in the house.

Riley LOVES his new little brother....he said he couldn't wait for him to be a little bigger so he could hug him and squeeze him. :) So cute. He can't get enough of him.

Day 7 & 8

2011-10-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hudson has been doing great and making progress everyday! We were supposed to be able to bring him home today, but he failed his car seat test. There was one 20 second interval during the test where they think he might have dropped his stats a little lower than they would like. He was wiggling around a lot at several different points so they think that it may not have been reading correctly, but they wanted to play it safe. And we're OK with that. :) I want to make sure he is completely ready to come home and so glad they are taking their time with him.

He no longer has his IV and is only hooked up to a few leads on his belly tracking his stats...it's been so nice only having a few wires attached to him. Now that he's mostly wire free Matt and I have been able to take his temp, change his diapers, and feed him. He loves to cuddle....and I'm so ready to cuddle with him here at home.

I hope he passes his test tonight....we are all ready to bring him home!!

Day 6...no more canula!!

2011-10-02T18:39:00.001-07:00

Hudson continues to make great progress! They moved his canula down from a 2 to a 1 this morning....and by 3:00 this afternoon the whole thing was off his face! :) So happy for the little guy. He kept pulling the line right out of his nose....and now he looks so much more comfortable.

Hudson is still loving to eat! He was eating 16 ml early this morning and by tonight he was eating 32 ml bottles. He has lost just a little weight since birth, but I have a feeling if he keeps eating this way it's not going to take long for him to start gaining again. :)

The Dr. was very impressed with how he is doing and said if he continues to behave we can bring him home soon. Yippeee!!!

Hudson had a lot of visitors today and I think he loved all the attention. He was awake and had his eyes open to meet all of them. Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger brought Kinley and Great Gram up to see him. Then later in the afternoon Holly and Tim brought Gee Pa and Gee Gee up to visit. Gee Pa and Gee Gee were very happy to see him up close, they had thought they would only be seeing him through a window. While they were there Hudson decided he couldn't wait any longer to eat so they even got to see him chow down. They were pretty impressed. :)

Matt and I both came home tonight for the first night since he was born. Very hard to leave the little guy, but I definitely need some sleep if we're going to be able to bring the little man home soon! The last several nights we've been a little short on sleep....but so glad he's doing better and now we can rest!

Day 5...No more mask!!

2011-10-01T20:07:00.001-07:00

No more mask! Our little guy is moving right along. He is now on a nasal canula instead of his CPAP mask. The nasal canula provides a little less pressure so we're seeing how his lungs are holding up. They switched him over around 4:00 today and he's been doing great. The canula has three levels, 1,2 and 3. When they moved him from the CPAP they moved him straight to level 2 and if he behaves he can move down to one and then zero!

Now that the mask is off we even get to hold him! He has also started nippling and no longer has the little feeding tube in his mouth....he did not like it and kept ripping it out....so good thing he's doing great with the bottle. He's up to eating 11 ml every three hours....and will start 16 ml at 11:00 tonight. He's ready for more....when I finished giving him his bottle at 8:30 he was still moving his head all around looking for more. :) I think he's going to be an eater just like his sister!!!

Hudson Matthew

2011-10-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

Hudson Matthew was born on Wednesday September 28 at 8:00 pm. He decided to come three weeks early just like his big sister. :) My water broke at 2:15 and he was here shortly after. Both of my kids have spoiled me with very easy labors.....I owe them. :)

His lungs were a little under developed since he was born so early which is very common with premature white little boys. His chest was retracting when he was breathing and he was breathing a little faster than the Dr's would like. After he was born he had a small dome type thing over his head that oxygen and a little humidity was pumped into. His oxygen levels ranged from 21% to 30% over the night and room air is 21% oxygen. So he wasn't needing a lot more, but just enough to help ease his breathing a little. He was under the hood until around midnight on the 29th and then the Dr's decided to move him over to Children's in Peoria. The Dr's at St. Joseph's thought they would pump some medicine into his lungs right when we got over here as that is what they do to most babies with the same condition. However, since Hudson's case wasn't very serious they still kept him under the hood for at least an hour or so after we arrived here at Children's. So Matt and I were relieved that they were taking their time with him and weren't rushing to start any new treatments....it helped us realize his condition was pretty mild.

Around 3:30 am they decided to put a CPAP mask on him instead of the dome. The CPAP would provide him a little more pressure to help keep the air sacs in his lungs open and ease his breathing. They set his oxy level at 32% and set the pressure at a 6. He seemed so much more relaxed and started doing better very quickly. We were so happy to see his little tummy start to slow down so he could get a some rest.

By around noon he was down to room air (21%) oxygen and on the lowest pressure setting on the CPAP machine. Great news!! :)

He still has the CPAP mask on today, but they plan on moving him to a nasal canula, which provides even less pressure, either today or tomorrow. Very excited to see how he does when they move him down....another step closer to bringing our little guy home! They got him dressed and swaddled today too.....so nice to see him all cozy. He's just been sleeping away. :)

Matt and I have only gotten to hold him once in the nursery at St. Joe's....so were definitely ready to hold and cuddle with him.

Just resting. His mask looks intimidating....but it was just what he needed! :)

~3 Years Old~

2011-09-18T17:44:00.001-07:00

What a cute little Cinderella! :) Kinley turned 3 years old today. Where has the time gone!? We celebrated with friends and family yesterday. We had a house full of princesses and it was so much fun! Kinley loves to dress up. At the party she wore her costume all day long....and still wore it most of the day today...until her shoes started to wear blisters.....then we had a very unhappy Cinderella.

Cinderella ready to greet her guests.....

The Cinderella cake that started it all..... When we were in Meijer one day she saw this cake and told Daddy she wanted a princess cake for her birthday. This is Mommy's attempt to recreate what she saw....she didn't know the difference! :)

Kinley got to celebrate at school on Friday. She took Pumkin cookies for her treat. She was worried about her buddy Cole blowing out her candles since he blew out the candles for another little girl's birthday on Wednesday. :) But everything went fine and she got to blow them out....so she survived.

Daddy held up her princess blanket from Miss Melanie so she could have her picture with it. :)

Penguin Song

2011-09-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Kinley comes home everyday singing a new song from Miss Melanie's. Tonight was the Penguin Song that she sang over and over in the bath tub.

~Soccer~

2011-09-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Riley played a great game this past Saturday....his best yet. He almost scored...but instead had an assist!! He did a great job! The first couple games this season his team seemed a little timid....this week they really seemed to turn things around. Riley was going for the ball a lot more and being more aggressive. It was a hot one, but he did great. Next game he'll be ready to score a goal! :)

Tumbling

2011-08-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kinley started tumbling class in Minier on Monday and she LOVED it!! She is getting so big. They warmed up by jumping up and down the mat and then did some things on the balance beam and practiced somersaults. She also got to jump on the trampoline. Her cousin is in the same class so it's nice to get them together once a week. The first thing she asked when I picked her up from school last night was if she could go to gymnastics. :)

First Day of School

2011-08-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Riley started school this past Monday. We can't believe he's in 3rd Grade!!! Where has the time gone?? They even get their own lockers this year! He wasn't too excited to go back this year....we think he knows it's starting to get a little harder each year.... :) We know he will do great though!

Steinkamp Gathering

2011-08-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the whole Steinkamp clan was able to get together. Unfortunatley Kinley got a stomach bug the night before so she and I couldn't make it....but I'm glad everyone else was able to get together. The kids are all getting so big!!

Cousins...

Riley, Edee and Jack

Ben, Riley and Jack

Little Man Jude...

Cutie pie Iggy

Ozarks 2011!!

2011-08-16T19:06:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in the Ozarks this year! Kinley was a fish just like I thought she would be and Riley loved doing all the usual things and visiting all the usual restaurants. :) There was plenty of eating, tubing, fishing and floating....just the way we like it!

Just hangin' out waiting on Grandpa to get the boat ready... Kinley was so patient and waited so well while we got ready to leave on the boat each morning. One morning she tapped me on the leg and told me "Mama...I being good little boater." So cute. She's still been asking to go on a boat ride and when we're going on "bacation" and to the "yozarks." So glad she loves the lake just like the rest of us!

Watching Riley try to ski...

Much to his dismay Riley tried skiing for the first time this year. :) He made several good attempts but didn't get up this year. He was not a fan, but gave it a good shot. Can't wait for the day he gets up and is so proud of himself! Maybe he'll be ready next year.

Snack time...

Cutie pies....

Their favorite thing to do.....

Just floating... After we are all done with the water activities for the morning we always go to the same cove to just float and visit until we decide what restaurant we're headed to for lunch. So relaxing! :)

Riley and Guy wrestling on the tube....Riley loved it. :)

Riley put up a good fight....but Guy finally got him. :)

Playin' on the beach at Captain Ron's. Kinley's first trip to the beach. :) She loved playing in the sand and building sand castles.

Kinley touching the fish she caught....ewww.....

Riley's best catch of the week!

The fisherman...

Daddy and Kinley riding the tram...

A quick attempt to get some pics of the kids....

Riley's 4th annual go kart picture....he's going to be tall enough to ride one of these days! It's going to be here before we know it. I should get the first one and compare it to now...he's getting so tall!

~First Dentist Appointment~

2011-07-20T11:54:00.001-07:00

Kinley had her first dentist appointment this morning. She did great! She looks like such a big girl sitting in the chair....where did the time go??? :( She was very excited to pick out a pink toothbrush when she was done.

Nafziger Weekend 2011

2011-07-19T18:01:00.001-07:00

We had another great Nafziger weekend at the lake this year! We headed down Thursday afternoon and got to the lake around 5:00, we headed to Larry's at the Lake with Grandpa and Uncle Blake for dinner. Kinley and Riley love feeding the fish.

Friday we managed to find time for one of Riley's favorite things....tubing! Riley had a long list of things he wanted to do while we were there. We had to keep reminding him this wasn't our annual week long trip and that we were just there for a weekend. I think we are all looking forward to our annual week down there! :)

Of course Kinley had to tube too and wanted Grandma to ride with her. :)

I love this picture of the kids. They were playing together so nicely when I took this. :)

Just floating...

I really wish I would have taken more pictures of all of the fam....but it was so hot I was too lazy to get out of the water to get my camera all the time. I snapped a few here and then then I had to get back in the water! :)

Cousins...

Little Fish....

2011-07-13T18:01:00.001-07:00

"Daddy,

can
I

jump

off the

diving board?"

Kinley LOVES to go off the diving board....and asks when she can go off the diving board even when we are not swimming. She's such a little fish. I'm so glad she loves the water....but she's almost too fearless! :)

Last night she walked to the end of the diving board and did a "twist"....and preceded to tell us that she can do a "twist" because that is what Riley does. She jumped way too close to the diving board when she did this so she had us all worried. We had to explain to her she can't do a "twist" until she is 8 years old, and "twists" are not for 2 year olds. She said, "Mama, kids can do twists"......uggg....so sassy. But so far she hasn't done it again....we'll see. :)

I can't wait to take her to the lake!! I hope she likes it as much as the pool!

Riley showing all of his moves......

Grandma Steinkamp and Aunt Amy came to visit this week....it was so nice to have them around! The kids loved having someone else to show off for. :)

2011-07-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!! Sunday night we met the Hitt family in Hopedale to let the girls ride the rides and they had SO much fun! They rode the carousel, train, motorcycles and went down the BIG slide. The look on their faces coming down the huge slide was priceless....they were laughing when they got to the bottom though and wanted to go again so it must not have scared them too bad. :) I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures of them together. :(

Monday morning we went to the parade and the kids got LOTS of candy. We spent the afternoon by the pool we were HOT after the parade! Then we went to watch the fireworks in the evening. Such a fun 4th of July and such great weather!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty relaxing Father's Day around here. Matt wanted to grill out and hang out by the pool. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger's for lunch and came back and all took naps. Then we headed out to the pool before dinner. It was a great day for a Great Daddy!! We love you Daddy! :)

It's a Boy!!!

2011-06-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kinley and Riley will have a new baby brother in October!! They are so excited!! (And so are we!)

When we were in San Antonio we went to a 3D Sonogram place so we could find out what the baby is! We wanted both of the kids to be there with us when we found out so it was really the best time for us to go. We're so glad we took them. Riley was super excited and jumping around the room. :) He wanted him to come out now. Kinley all of the sudden decided she wanted a sister when we found out it was a boy....but she soon warmed up to the idea of a brother. She had never really had an opinion before, but I think when she saw Riley so excited she decided she wanted to be difficult. Brotherly and sisterly love. :) Now all she can talk about is feeding him a bottle and giving him his paci.

The lady that did our sonogram was so nice! We got to see him on a huge projector screen across the wall. We only had a 2D since I was only 18 weeks along...and were just trying to confirm gender....but she turned on the 3D and took a couple of good pictures for us! :) It was easy for Riley to see what was going on and see his heartbeat and all his parts. It was great to see his reaction...he was pretty into it.

I can't wait for him to be here and have all of the kids together. He will be such a great addition to our family!!

I took pics of both of the kids in their Big Brother and Big Sister shirts a while back....but I must have accidentally deleted them....so here is a couple of Kinley for now. I will try to snap another and post it soon!

~San Antonio~

2011-06-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

We headed to San Antonio over Memorial Day weekend to visit Becky and Terry. It was so nice to see them and get the kids together, we all had a ball! It was HOT, but we managed. We went to Sea World during the evening and visited The Schlitterbahn Waterpark one day to keep cool.

Kinley loved her first plane ride. This was Riley's first commercial flight and he was a little worrried when the plane was flying so high. He got used to it by the second flight though. They both were troopers on the plane rides....and we left at 6:15 am on Thursday morning to get down there. It was a very long day!!

Cousins

Fun on the Slip n Slide.....if you were outside you needed to be in the water.....the kids had a blast!!

Matt wanted to visit a restaurant he saw on Man vs. Food.....Big Lou's Pizza. They serve 42" pizzas. We got the 20" and it was delicious!!! The had the best sauce and crust.....we wanted to make it back for more but didn't get there again.

We visited the Alamo....it wasn't open to walk through...we went too late. Kind of a bummer. But it was still neat to see.

We went to Sea World and saw the Shamu Show, Matt and Riley went on a water ride and the kids played in the waterpark there before we headed home.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

We headed over to the Peoria Zoo today. It was so nice to get outside and enjoy the nice weather!! Kinley had a great time and loved seeing all of the animals. We asked her what her favorite animal was and she said the fishy...she had seen giraffes, rhinos, zebras and many other things and her favorite was a tiny fish in an aquarium....go figure. :) After the zoo we headed to Texas Roadhouse. Yum!! What a great Mother's Day!! :)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T18:09:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter!! The kids enjoyed coloring eggs and waiting for the Easter Bunny. Riley got a new whiffle ball bat and video game magazine. Kinley got a little golf set and some finger paints. What a great weekend!

Kinley left her paci's for the Easter Bunny. It's been a long couple of nap times and nights....although the naps seem worse than the nights. She still would really like her paci back and often reminds us we forgot her paci. I think she's hoping it comes back sometime soon. I do have to admit....it was sad taking it away from her. I know she's two....but I'll definitely miss those cuddles with paci and blankie. :( She's getting too big.

Since Kinley was leaving something for the Easter Bunny Riley wanted to leave something too. He left some toys that he doesn't play with anymore for the Easter Bunny to take to other kids. Such a sweet boy! :) And he did include a note with a P.S.....by the way I would really like a Wii game or a membership to Pop Tropica on the computer. :)

Kinley wanted me to take a picture of her and her eggs. :)

Egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's....

Playing catch up....

2011-04-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

A little bit of what we've been up to the last couple months....

Kinley got to see Mater and Lightning McQueen at Grandpa's work. Now every time we go by State Farm she wants to see Mater and Lightning. :)

Daddy turned another year older.....

Kinley made a chef hat at school....

Riley had another great basketball season...

A little cuddle time with Mommy and Daddy...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Writing her Valentine's for school....

and playing in the snow.

Happy Birthday Riley!!

2011-01-27T06:25:00.001-08:00

Riley turned 8 years old yesterday!! He picked Steak 'n Shake for his birthday dinner then we headed to The Incredible Pizza to play laser tag, ride go carts and play arcade games. Riley was finally tall enough to drive the go carts by himself and he was so excited! I raced with him and he beat me! :) He liked that part too. :)

What Riley is up to these days.... Riley is a lover of video games on the Wii and his DS, Legos, Bionicles, and reading about any and all kinds of animals. Bionicles have kind of been on the back burner lately....he's been loving the Lego sets since Christmas and asked for more for his birthday. He's doing great in school and is the star reader in his class. He was at the highest level of reading in his class this past semester was the only one at that level. He flies through chapter books and really enjoys reading them. He loves to spend time with his sister and they usually play together very well. The definitely each have their moments of trying to annoy each other....but he's a great big brother!!

Pledge of Allegiance...well sort of....

2011-01-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

Wrapping up Christmas

2011-01-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas with the Steinkamp side. It was fun to get the kids together and see everybody. We decided to get a hotel at the last minute and I'm so glad we did. The kids had a great time swimming Sunday morning before we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's. It was nice to do something a little different during these cold winter days. :)

Kinley and Edee in their new hats from Grandma and Grandpa.

Jude was quite the little drummer boy. He loved carrying his drum around beating away. He is such a cute little man. :)

Uncle Nick and Matt ventured out and took the boys down to the river. They wanted to try out their new binoculars. Not sure if they saw anything cool....but they were pretty excited about throwing rocks in the river and breaking the ice.

Riley had to leave on Monday after being with us since Christmas Day. Kinley was not ready for him to leave at all...there were plenty of tears when he left. They played together really well over the break. Matt walked in to check on them one night and this is what he found. Kinley looked up at Matt and said, "we're friends." Too cute.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger. Kinley loved opening presents and helping everyone else with theirs. She was a big helper putting all of the paper in the trash too! This morning we came downstairs and Santa hadn't missed our house! Kinley got a play kitchen and Riley got a Wii game. Tonight we headed across the street to Great Grandma Chambers house for soup. So far we had a great Christmas!!

Ornaments

2010-12-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late with this post, but I wanted to still get the kids ornaments for 2010 documented. :) Riley chose an ornament from the movie Despicable Me and Kinley chose a cute dancing Snoopy. It is so fun getting to see the kids pick out their ornaments each year. My parents did this for my brother and I, we have an ornament for every year since we were born. I now still get myself an ornament each year (Matt joins in on the fun some years too)! I love looking back at all my old ornaments....I hope the kids do too someday. :)

Friday Night

2010-12-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

We had a nice, relaxing Friday night. We made S'mores and watched Christmas shows. I love this time of year! :)

Snow & Santa :-)

2010-12-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

Kinley had her first official chance to play in the snow this weekend and she loved it! Daddy and Kinley built a snowman on the back deck and she didn't want to stop. She looked so cute all bundled up in her snow suit. I didn't know how long she would stay out there considering she couldn't really move much. It didn't seem to bother her though. :) Saturday afternoon we went to the Minier Christmas Parade to get some candy and see Santa. Kinley liked seeing Santa and running after all the candy. It was such a pretty parade..it was snowing the whole time and it was a fairly warm day. So nice to have snow for the Christmas parade! :)

Mickey's Rockin' Road Show!

2010-11-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

We took Kinley to Mickey's Rockin' Road Show at the Peoria Civic Center this weekend. We met Audrey, Joe, and Lindsey there. Kinley and Audrey loved it. They were dancin' in the isle! :) Kinley kept asking "where did Goofy go." Apparently Goofy is now one of her favorites. We went to Texas Roadhouse after the show. Yum! We had to wait an hour for a table. The girls were so good during the show and all during dinner. What a fun night! :)

No More Diapers!

2010-11-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Kinley has been through potty training boot camp this past week! :) We did the Three Day Potty Training method recommended by a friend Sunday through Tuesday and she did great! Sunday was pretty brutal....learning bladder control wasn't so fun! By Monday night she was telling me when she had to go and her underwear were barely wet by the time we made it to the potty. She still is just a little wet once she tells us, but I'm just happy she's getting it! :) We threw away all the diapers because now she's a big girl! Our last diaper was last Sunday morning. :) That makes me so happy financially......but so sad my baby is already out of diapers. She was just born yesterday!!

Throwing away her diapers!

Showing off her Wonder Pets undies.

Because she did so good on the potty on Monday she got her favorite food with dinner, black olives. She's definitely her mother and fathers' daughter. :)

Part II: Trick or Treating

2010-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Trick or treating was so much fun! Riley was Pikachu from Pokemon. Kinley loved getting to dress up with Riley. She really got into trick or treating this year, last year she couldn't even walk yet. :) Kinley liked handing out candy at Grandma and Grandpa's house too. She liked seeing all of the costumes and putting the candy in their baskets. I think Matt and I had as much fun as the kids! :)

Showing off their moves....

Happy Halloween Part I

2010-10-31T09:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!

Kinley had a party at daycare on Friday afternoon. She loved getting all dressed up in her pirate costume with all of the kids. They had a small parade down the sidewalk, played with balloons, and bobbed for apples! They all had such a good time!

On Saturday we headed to Rader's Farm to have some fun and pick out pumpkins. The kids enjoyed jumping on the bounce pillow, riding the ladybug train, drinking cider and getting pumpkins! Riley liked climbing on the hay fort and Kinley loved playing in the corn box with all of the shovels and buckets. It was pretty cold when we first got there. By the time we left it wasn't too bad. We couldn't miss our annual trip to the pumpkin patch! :) Here is a link to our trip to Tanner's last year. The kids have grown so much!!

Then we came home to rest and finish off the evening with Tarantula Pizza and Bone Breadsticks with sauce. The kids really liked it!

To be continued.....

Fishhook Fall Festival

2010-10-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Steinkamp hosted the Fishhook Fall Festival at their Farm on Saturday. The weather turned out to be beautiful and the kids loved roaming around the Farm all day long with their cousins!! We got there around 1:00 and by 6:00 Kinley was standing at the van door ready to go home....she was pooped! Riley wasn't ready to go home...I think he could have stayed all night long! It was a long and fun day for the kiddos! :) We had a great time!! Can't wait until next year! :)

Wildlife Prairie Park

2010-09-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Wildlife Prairie Park this past weekend. It was a great fall day to be out and about! We saw buffalo, wolves, dear, a skunk and elk. We tried to get some good pictures of the kids, but as usual, Kinley wasn't having it.....too many fun things to do. Nap time was calling after lunch so we had to head out. We hope to make it back for one of the Wildlife Scary Park weekends! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Kinley Jo!!

2010-09-19T14:28:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Kinley's 2nd Birthday on Saturday with family and friends. She loved her Minnie Mouse party theme and Minnie dress. She wasn't so sure about her Minnie balloon at first, but after a few minutes she was giving her hugs, high fives, and knuckles. :) I can't believe she is two already, it seems like only yesterday we were celebrating her 1st birthday. Please stop growing little miss! :)

What Kinley's been up to lately..... Kinley's favorite things are still her paci and blankie. We will work on taking the paci away here shortly now that she's two. She only uses it at bedtime and is even going without for naps at daycare. She loves to use the potty and will sometimes tell you when she has to go. We'll be hitting it hard now and hopefully we'll have her trained by the holidays!

She loves to sing songs and count.... She can count very well to 11....then we kind of forget twelve. We're working on colors and shapes, we have a few of those down, but they definitely need more work.

She is still a big talker....her newest thing this week is whenever you ask her to do something she says "Okaaaaaay"....like a total teenager with annoying parents. :)

This past Thursday Kinley and I went to Walmart to pick up groceries for the party. We walked down the isle with Halloween costumes and I was asking her what she wanted to be for Halloween. I told her maybe we could find a cute kitty costume. And she looked up at me with one eye closed and said "No, me pirate...arrrrrr" And has been stuck on being a pirate ever since. I think she got it from one of her Dora DVD's where she's a pirate...but she hadn't watched that video in forever. She doesn't even know what Halloween is, but she knows she wants to be a pirate.... :)

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-09T19:01:00.001-07:00

We had a great Labor Day Weekend! Saturday night we had a cookout with hot dogs and smores from the fire. It was all delicious, as Kinley would say. :) Riley and Matt were going to spend the night out in the tent, but Matt had a cold this weekend and we were afraid Riley was getting it too. So the warm house sounded better. :)

On Sunday we went to the Cornbelters game and it was so much fun. We had great seats right behind the Cornbelters dugout so Kinley got to roam a little and LOVED it. She was clapping and dancing the whole time. Riley got a baseball from one of the players so he thought that was pretty cool too. The kids did the bouncy houses and got their face painted. Kinley was excited to bounce, but once she got in there she only bounced on her bottom a little bit and was ready to get out. Matt asked her why she was done already and she said "I too little." We have no idea where she heard that or why she thought that. We took her to the one that was for little kids only. :)

Monday we went to the Labor Day Parade in Bloomington.....OMG...it was soooo long and there was soooo much candy!!! We ended up leaving about an hour and a half into it and I think it ended up being around 2 hours long. Yikes! :) Of course, I took the camera, but forgot my memory card.....uggg.

Last Week....

2010-09-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a post a week later....but anyway.... Last week Kinley and I helped Audrey celebrate her 2nd Birthday! She was such a cute Birthday Girl and I can't believe they are already this old! Kinley wasn't on her best behavior, especially when Audrey was opening her gifts. Everything was "mine, mine" and me draging her away from Audrey. Ugg....the terrible twos are upon us.

Once we were home from the party it was Dad's turn to entertain the kids... :)

Kinley got a Super Student Award at daycare. She went both #1 and #2 on the potty all in the same day. She was very excited to show off her award. Thanks Miss Melanie! :) The last several days at daycare she has been going every afternoon after nap and even a time or two in the morning. She is definitely catching on!

It's Potty Time!!

2010-08-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

We didn't have too much going on this weekend so we figured what better time to start potty training! :) I can't believe she's old enough for this already!

Last Friday night we made a stop at Walmart for a training potty and some Wonder Pets/Dora underwear! Kinley was really excited for the potty and undies. She went both number one and number two on the potty during the weekend. She even told me she had to go once and we ran in there and she was right! :) Of course she wants to jump right off for her M & M's when she's finished....we'll have to work on that. But anyway....I was happy to see she at least was willing to try and understood most of what I was saying. I can't believe my baby is possibly almost out of diapers!! :(

Oh...and we had to pick up a Barbie bike too.... :)

Ozarks 2010!!

2010-08-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

We headed down a couple weeks ago for our annual week long trip to the Lake. It was nice to get away for a week. We had a great time....besides the unbearable heat. We just made sure to always be near the water. :)

The first day we surprised Kinley with her own new pair of flip flops.....she was crazy about them. :) Kinley stole her cousin Brynlee's flip flops while we were down for the Nafziger weekend so I figured it would be the perfect thing to keep her entertained this week. :) This girl loves shoes.....

We got a new tube that we finally got to try out and it was awesome! Riley and Matt both loved it and Kinley and I also had a couple good rides. Riley was turning into quite the little daredevil by the end of the week. He's even thinking he would like to try skiing....once he saw me and Matt do it. Hopefully we can try to get him up next year!

Chillin' in her bikini....and glasses of course.... :)

Matt bought a new fishing pole and had his best fishing day ever! We just had to take a picture. Matt says they were much bigger in person. :)

Happy to be on vacation!!

Eating at Pier 31

Kinley LOVED her glasses and needed to have them on all the time. I was glad she wanted to have them on out in the sun....but they probably weren't really necessary in the condo. Oh well, she was happy and entertained. :) As soon as she would get her "fip fops" on she would be asking for her "gasses." She had to have the whole outfit on to walk around the condo. :)

Tubing with Uncle Blake

There was a lot of floating...

...and sleeping.....with her shades on of course...

....it was so hot all week. If you were outside long at all you definitely had to be in the water. Temperatures were 100 and over and with the heat index it was often times almost unbearable.

Go Cowboys!! Of course we had to watch the Cowboys play the Bengals on Sunday for the preseason Hall of Fame game. We are so ready for fall and football!!! The kids didn't have to wait long to wear their new Cowboy shirts and cheer on the 'boys!

Kinley loved her first tube ride. Riley was showing off and standing up while we were riding...Kinley kept pointing to him and saying "sit." We kept asking her if she was ready to quit and she always said "no"....we evetually just had to stop.....Riley wanted to go faster. :)

Riley tubing with Dad

Kinley was excited to get back home to her toys. She even found a new pair of glasses, thanks Mr. Potato head. :)

Riley and Kinley showing off their new Crocs we got at the outlet mall.

Daddy's Back!!

2010-08-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Matt got home from Dallas late Friday night. Kinley (and Mommy!) were definitely glad to have him home. He brought back the kids Cowboys t shirts and Silly Bandz!! :) Saturday night we went out to eat and took Kinley to the Miller Park spray park. She had so much fun! We didn't take the camera so we definitely have to go back for some pictures! She has no fear so it's so fun to see her run through the water and get soaked. I hope she stays so comfortable with the water. Sunday we headed up to the park for Corn Daze for some free sweet corn. It was delicious and such a beautiful day for it!

"Nafziger Weekend" at the Lake...

2010-07-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

The whole Nafziger clan got together this weekend at the Lake! We had great weather and a lot of fun!

Watersliding at Bear Bottom Resort...

Riley showing Kinley his "keepers"

Two tired boaters...

What a handsome young man.... :)

Playin' bags at Larry's at the Lake

Kinley LOVES to wear any glasses she can get her little hands on....

Happy 90th Grandma Ginny!

2010-07-25T20:08:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th!!

2010-07-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Matt, Kinley and I headed down to the Lake for the 4th. We had a great time, a little more sun would have been nice, but I won't complain. Kinley liked being away from home and showing off for Grandma and Grandpa all weekend! :) Whenever Dad and Matt went fishing Kinley liked to yell "one minute" from the balcony down to the dock. I think she wanted them to come back a little sooner than they planned on. :)

Enjoying her muffins in the morning. :)

Kinley loved to rearrange.....

...and rearrange.....

her little table and chair.

There....that looks good

Look at those curls.... :)

Cleaning for Grandma

Feeding the fish with Grandpa

Hula Hooping at Gators

Baseball

2010-06-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

Riley is almost finished with baseball season! He has shown much improvement throughout the season! :)

Happy Father's Day!!

2010-06-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

We had the Steinkamp clan at our house for Father's Day. Becky and Terry were in town so we wanted to get all of the cousins together....and the adults wanted to hang out too... :) We had a great time and a perfect weather for a Father's Day pool party!!

Typical Day...

2010-06-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

A typical day with Kinley Jo these days usually involves a whole lotta this..... ;)

Fun Run

2010-06-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Kinley ran her first race this past Friday night! The Bloomington Lake Run Club holds races for different age groups every Friday night during the summer. Kinley and Audrey got to run together this week. We got there a little early and Kinley did plenty of running around before the race....so she wasn't real thrilled with the actual race....she was hot and wanted a drink. I think next time we definitely won't show up very early at all so she's ready to go and not too tired out.... :)

Cutie Patootie...

2010-06-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

The Big 3-0!

2010-06-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yep....that's right....the big 3-0. My birthday is next week so Matt and I decided this was a good excuse (not that we need one) to have a party!! We were worried about the weather all day long, but after a little rain and a couple funnel clouds the temperture and humidity dropped and it turned out to be a beautiful evening! :)

Summer Break...

2010-06-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Riley is finally out of school and is enjoying his summer break. Kinley is loving having him around.

Riley couldn't wait to get in the pool. Matt and I have already done many laps around the pool chasing Kinley, if Riley is in Kinley has to be in too. She loves swimming so far, I think she definitely takes after her brother.

Kinley LOVES powdered donuts. She sees them on the counter and screams for donuts....

Playin at the park....

Riley's shadow.....

Kissing the Blarney Stone...

Our week...

2010-05-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Great Gram!! On Monday we celebrated Great Gram's 77th Birthday. This is the best picture I could get of the two of them....uggg.

She smiles!! Lately I can never get Kinley to look in the direction of the camera let alone get a smile. So I just had to post this. How cute she looks with a smile. :)

Happy Retirement Jayne!! Thursday we celebrated at Fiesta for Jayne's retirement from teaching.

Playing under the coffe table....this was fun for about a minute....untile she discovered she was stuck...

Happy Memorial Day!! We went to the Memorial Day parade in Downton Bloomington with Joe, Lindsey & Audrey and Sarah & Reagan.

What a Weekend!

2010-05-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

So....Saturday we headed to the Quad Cities for Maddux's 4th Birthday party. Well....it just so happens that Matt's favorite show on TV is based in a town 20 minutes from Elisha and Dustin's. Matt loves the show American Pickers....and we went to their antique shop...Antique Archaeology. It was very cool. We were surprised that a lot of the things we saw them pick on the show were still for sale in their shop! We met and talked with Danielle and got our picture taken with her. She was really nice and said she had no idea until a couple weeks ago that the show was so popular...kinda crazy! There were lots of people driving by and taking pictures...but not many were brave enough to get out. :) Riley didn't want to get out of the car....I think he was nervous because his Dad was. :) He survived and thought it was pretty cool. Maddux had a monster truck themed party, we all had a great time!

Then....on Sunday Kinley and I ventured south of Springfield to see brand new baby Luke and Jina at their baby shower. Luke was such a cutie! Kinley did great in the car for being on her second road trip in two days! :)

We had a great weekend, but are looking forward to a Memorial Day weekend at home! :)

20 Months!

2010-05-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Kinley is 20 months today! I can't believe it, we'll be planning her 2nd Birthday Party before you know it! :(

Kinley is quite the little talker these days. You can often find her at the window saying bunny, birdie, sunny, rainy. She also loves to say "okay" and "yeah," I guess she has officially turned into a teenager and can no longer say "yes." The last couple weeks she started the "why" for everything you say, so far that one hasn't made much of an apperance this week....which is nice. :) She has also started to put together two or more words. She has her own version of "whatcha doin" and a few others....I'm drawing a blank. Whenever I'm in the kitchen she's usually not far behind saying "peece" (please)...for more food of course. She hasn't slowed down on the eating...at all! She is a great little eater and eats everything. I seriously can't think of anything that I've fed her that she's left on the plate! I really hope she keeps this up! No picky eaters please! :)

Kinley also LOVES music and to dance. Most mornings involve at least several songs from her Little People CD on the way to daycare. Her eyes light up as soon as she hears it and is then singing along to every song with a big smile on her face. Such a cutie!

Kinley's favorite things are still her pacifier and blankie. She usually just has her paci at naps and during bedtime, but her molars have been bothering her quite a bit so she's definitely had it a little more here lately. Poor thing! I can't wait until this teething thing is over!

Here are some pictures from the last month or so.

All dressed up for Mother's Day

watching TV in her wagon

Snackin' on strawberries

Windy Easter Day...

March

2010-04-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Finally....here are some pictures from March. Enjoy!

We took Kinley to her first MVC Tourney in St. Louis. It was a nice to getaway for a couple days during tax season. Kinley and Matt both were happy to be out of the house! :) We had a great time.

Kinley loves to "jump" and was showing off for Grandma and Grandpa when we got to the hotel. She has yet to get her feet off the ground....

Sitting with Grandpa at Union Station

Daddy turned another year older....Happy Birthday Daddy!

The whole family liked his new I Pod Touch! :)

Riley being goofy in his robe from Grandma Steinkamp

Kinley loves typing on her "laptop" like Mommy and Daddy

Reading with Grandma

Happy Easter!! Kinley loved her coloring book and crayons the Easter Bunny brought her. Riley is in the background reading his video game book from the Easter Bunny. Kinley wasn't really into hunting the eggs, she just wanted what was inside, especially once she knew it was food. Riley helped her hunt and saved some eggs for her, he's such a good big brother. We all had a great easter!!

We enjoyed getting outside once the weather warmed up! The kiddos both LOVE being outside.

Daddy stayed home with the kids during Riley's Spring Break. They had a great, but tiring (for Daddy at least!) week! They went to the Miller Park Zoo, and Grandma and Grandpa Steinkamp's house and farm in Quincy. They had such great weather all week!

Kinley loves Uncle Blake's phone, and sitting on the couch like a big girl....

February...

2010-03-04T05:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some random pics from February.... Enjoy!

Riley played his last basketball game of the season last weekend. He did great and showed much improvement throughout the season! He made a basket and some great passes! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've finally been able to put dresses on Kinley now that she's walking. It's so fun! She's quite the little fashionista!

Kinley LOVES to play video games with Daddy and Riley. As soon as you hand her the remote she says "Oh Maaan"....that's what Daddy and Riley say a lot playing Mario....it's crazy what they pick up on! :)

Kinley on the phone with Mommy

2010-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well it didn't take Kinley long to miss her Mommy this tax season...here she is kissing the phone when talking to Mommy. Listen to her answer the question "Are you having fun with your Daddy?"

Riley's Birthday Party

2010-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Riley celebrated his 7th Birthday with his friends at Adventure Dive and Travel in Springfield. There was plenty of swimming, pizza, cookie and fun had by all!

Pinewood Derby

2010-01-19T05:43:00.001-08:00

Riley had his first Pinewood Derby for Cub Scouts this past weekend. He won the award for Most Original Design. He was pretty excited. His car didn't do as well in the races as they had hoped. They wrecked with another car during one of the races and ended up with a bent wheel. Riley had fun though!

Chrismas...

2009-12-31T07:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas here in the Steinkamp household. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger's on Christmas Eve night and then had our own little Christmas on Christmas morning. Riley and Kinley both loved all their presents. Riley got a Club Penguin Membership from Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger....he was so excited to be official!! :) Kinley got a Step 2 slide from Santa, it's still a little big for her but she loves walking around it and up the slide part. I think it will get lots of use before we know it! She's taking more and more steps on her own every day! This weekend we will be going to Quincy for Christmas with the Steinkamp side. We're looking forward to it!

Kinley's First Steps!!!!

2009-12-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last night we caught Kinley's first steps on video. It was very exciting. Riley was so excited he got a nose bleed (yes, that's him on his back on the floor)....We are very proud of little Kinley!!!!

Finally...a new post...

2009-12-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

Since we haven't posted in a while, here are a few random pictures from the last month or so. Enjoy!

Kinley is still our good little eater. She ALWAYS eats everything on her plate....seriously.....

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Steinkamp in Quincy. Grandma and the kiddos....

Cousins...

Playing Disney's Club Penguin with his cousins & Uncle John. Club Penguin is Riley's newest "thing"....it's an interactive website for kids where he can play games and interact with other kids. Matt has a penguin too, so he and Riley get on and play nearly every night that Riley's in Springfield so that's been neat!

Riley and his new ornament for this year, a "Club Penguin" penguin. This cute little innocent penguin had a website on the back that lead to his latest obsession. :)

It's a take down.... Kinley decided she would rather wrestle her brother than decorate the tree. :)

Riley's shadow.... :)

We didn't use this picture for our Christmas cards, but I still think it's cute!

Christmas card picture

Happy Veterans Day!

2009-11-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

Riley marched in the Springfield Veterans Day Parade with his Cub Scout Troop. He was so excited and loved every minute of it. Of course, he wanted Kinley to march along with him so she got to join in the fun too! What a nice big brother. :) Thanks to all our Veterans!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Riley and Kinley enjoyed trick or treating Friday at their Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger's and some of their Great Grandparents as well. They had a great time!

Kinley and her best friend Audrey

Story time...

2009-10-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

Tanners

2009-10-22T18:32:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we headed over to Tanner's Orchard to enjoy the beautiful day. Although it turned out to be a little breezy...it was still a great fall day to be outdoors! A few of my co-workers and their familes joined us and Elisha and her family made it over too. Riley and Kinley both loved it. Riley liked jumping on the hay bails and the corn maze. Kinley loved watching all of the kids, walking on the hay bails, and sitting in the little wooden train. I can't wait until Kinley can enjoy it even more next year!

Tanner's 2008. How they both have grown! :(

Popcorn for Sale!

2009-10-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Riley is in his first year of Cub Scouts....so you know what that means....we will soon have popcorn coming out our ears! :) At first he wasn't thrilled with knocking on the neighbors doors and having to give his sales pitch....but he has already become quite the salesman! Can't wait for that caramel corn! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Kinley!!

2009-09-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Kinley celebrated her first birthday this past Friday! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone?? I can't believe my baby is already a year old! Friday evening her Grandma and Grandpa Nafziger and Great Grandma Chambers came over to watch her open presents. She was so excited......Riley helped her open presents and every one she had this look like "are these for me?!".....and flapped her arms in the air with excitement. She loved to dance to the little Fisher Price boom box Grandma and Grandpa got her....and loved the three CD's too. :)

Sunday was Kinley's official party with all of her friends and family. She was such a cute little ladybug! :)

All suited up for the game, one of her favorite gifts from her Uncle Blake... :)

Party Girl...

2009-08-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Kinley had so much fun celebrating Logan and Audrey's 1st birthdays this past weekend! With only a short nap in between parties she was such a good little party girl. I think the highlight of her day was sharing Audrey's cake! This girl knows how to eat!! :) It will be fun to see what she does with her own cake here in about a month. I can't believe it! :)

Kinley also learned how to go from crawling to sitting this weekend and how to play peek-a-boo! :) She was quite the busy girl the past few days!

Here Audrey, let me show you.....

Fun at the Lake...

2009-08-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great vacation at the lake last week.... Definitely did not want to come back to work. :) The weather was great and Riley and Kinley both loved the water and boating. Kinley wasn't real crazy about her life jacket the first couple times in the boat...but once the boat started moving she was fine....and usually asleep soon after. :) She loved to be on the raft floating in the lake and was quite the fish in the swimming pool. The last day she splashed while I held her for over 30 minutes...she drenched us both. I sat her on the top stair of the pool so only her legs were in and she would push off and "jump" to me and would laugh and laugh. It was too cute. :) Riley decided to tube all by himself this year and thought he was pretty big stuff. He also got in a lot of fishing and wanted to catch a "whopper"....thinking it was a type of fish....not just a big fish. :) The Hainlines and Kindreds joined us again this year....so it was great to have everyone back together again. Riley especially enjoyed being around the big boys and always wanted to sit at the "kids" (who are in high school) table whenever we went out to eat. Warning....lots of pictures to follow..... :)

No...she is not a Cardinal fan.....mean Uncle Blake did this to her...

Riley wasn't real impressed with Dad's version of the Blue's Clues theme song.....Kinley sure loved it! :)

2nd annual go kart picture.....one of these days....

Can Jack come over??

2009-08-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

We have heard this question a million times this summer.... :) Riley finally got his wish.....his cousin Jack came and spent the night a few weeks ago. Riley loved having Jack around and was so happy to have someone to play with. We took in a little putt putt, bumper boats and batting cages while he was here....so much fun!

Circus comes to town...

2009-08-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

The Circus came to Minier on Thursday July 29th. It was right across the street from our house...so cool! I took the day off work to finish packing for the Ozarks and to watch the Circus being built. It was so neat. Riley, Kinley and I walked over and watched all of the animals and trailers roll into town around 11:00 in the morning....and by around 1:00 the big top was up!! Riley loved the funny clown, Alex, and Kinley really watched and loved to clap when everyone else was clapping....so cute!

9 months pics...

2009-07-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some of Kinley's 9 month pictures...

New Toy...

2009-07-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Riley and Kinley got a "new" (the neighbors asked if we would take their old one out of their yard) swing set this weekend! A little power washing and it looks like new!! Riley was so excited and keeps asking if he can go to the "playground". :) ....or swingset. Kinley loves her swing.....especially chewing on the straps. She was NOT happy when she had to get out. So much fun!

The 4th...

2009-07-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Better late than never... :) Riley and Kinley had a great 4th of July weekend. Although the weather could have been a little better we still managed to make the most of it! We had a few other couples and their kiddos over on the 3rd for a little cookout/swim party. The kids had a great time together. The morning of the 4th we headed to Hopedale for the parade. The rain managed to hold off for the majority of the parade and started to let loose as soon as we got to the car. Kinley did not like the sirens at the beginning of the parade and screamed, but was fine once they all went by. She loved watching Riley running around grabbing candy. On Sunday we headed to Hopedale to let Riley ride the rides....he loved all of them and kept wanting to go on the "fast ones."

Best friends...

Their first fight :)

Kinley's Buddy Logan

Mommy those sirens are scary!!...

All better...

9 months....

2009-07-04T14:03:00.001-07:00

Now that she's nearly nine and a half months....thought I would share Kinley's nine month stats! :)

Height: 27 inches (30%)

Weight: 19.3 (55%)

Head Circ.: 173/4 (80%)

She is such a chubby, happy little thing! She got her first tooth on the day she turned 9 months...and two more followed very quickly. She has two on the bottom and one of the top middle ones poking through. She has mastered the army crawl and likes to get into anything she's not supposed to...some of her favorites are shoes and shoe laces, crumbs off the floor, and electrical cords....we will be baby proofing very quickly around here. One of her newest tricks is to throw mini tempertantrums....as soon as she's getting near something she's not supposed to have and I start walking her way....her little arms and legs start kicking in all directions and the screaming/screeching begins! When can I start giving time outs??!! :) Her favs are still puffs, meal time, paci, blankie and brother. Tempertantrums aside, we just love her to pieces and can't get enough of her!! I can't believe she's already over nine months old!

Two Teef!!