A Whole Lot of Pottying Going On

With summer, comes more time off for mom and that means...time to potty train! Sage has been experimenting with pottying for awhile, but we really it hit hard about a week ago. The first few days there were many accidents and Jared and I were perplexed. We really had no idea what we were doing! After a week of patience, washing many pairs of underwear, lots of M&Ms, and a brand new train set, we think we might have figured it out. Now, the accidents are few and far between. And, as of last night, Sage has even pooped on the potty!!! Such a big boy! (Kai is just experimenting - we'll try again with him at Christmas break...)

Celebrating Mommy's Birthday

Here are some fun pics from my birthday celebration - complete with cake (made by Jared) and ice cream!

Close Encounters of the Trash Can

The other night, Jared and I took the boys to dinner with some friends. Sage and Kai behaved really well during dinner. But, they soon reached their limit on sitting still at the table so I took them outside. Sage and Kai decided to race up and down the sidewalk while I cheered for them. Kai had just finished running and I was giving him a celebratory hug. We looked over at Sage who had drawn the attention of all our friends. He was so excited with all the attention and cheering, he closed his eyes. But he kept on running...and...BAM! Hello, trash can!

Sage ran full speed into the side of a trash can earning a collective "Oooohhhhh!" from the crowd of onlookers. I set Kai down and ran to Sage on the sidewalk who was crying, but relatively unscathed. He walked away with a bruised thumb and a swollen lip and perhaps a lesson in life (always watch where you're going).

Of course, everyone was initially sympathetic to Sage, but when we replayed the scene in our minds, we couldn't help but giggle. Poor buddy!

Our Little Sports Boy

Kai has recently developed a love for all things sports related especially if it involves a ball! He loves to play catch and has quite the arm. As long as he has someone to retrieve the ball, Kai will spend all day batting balls off the tee. He can even throw the ball up with one hand, swing the bat with the other and actually hit the ball! He is quite coordinated for someone who isn't even two yet. Oh, and he throws with his left hand - future pitcher?! Definitely a slugger!

Fun at the Lake - round 1

The boys and I joined my parents and my niece, Ella, at the lake for the weekend. The boys had a blast! At first, they were a bit timid in the water, but by the end of the weekend, they were little fish. Sage loved being thrown off the dock into the water, but "not too hard." They both loved riding the wave runner with PaPa. And, the fireworks - the boys were ecstatic! Ella and Papa put on a small fireworks display that had Sage and Kai cheering, dancing, and laughing joyfully!

Can't wait to go back in August when Jared and the rest of the Clines go too!

A New Niece!

She's finally here...Ms. Parker Renee Kelly. Justin and Cora's little love arrived on Wednesday, June 29th. The boys were so excited to meet their new cousin and Jared and I were thrilled to meet our new niece.

Yay for Summer!

Summer has arrived complete with the ever changing, dramatic weather in Saint Louis. A week of near 100 degrees followed by a week of barely 80 degrees! Either way, we are making the best of it. Sage and Kai are loving our summer adventures...

to the gardens


Sage LOVES to pretend! Here he is making us lunch. Yum!


to the pools






to the parks


to the fountains



and to the zoo

Here's Kai brushing a goat - Kai LOVES animals!


Something more fun than the train? Nah, but a close second...

The Lip

Although Kai still has a couple months before he is actually two, he is fully committed to acting like a two-year old. He has perfected the fake cry and the pouty face. His pouty face includes sticking his bottom lip out as far as he can - further than one would think possible. Then, he makes sure you're looking.

Julie (his babysitter) said the other day she was ignoring Kai's pouty face, so he touched his finger to his bottom lip as if he was checking to make sure it was really all the way out there. Ha!

Another time, Kai was throwing a fake tantrum at the playground, so Julie moved away from him. Kai promptly quit "crying," picked himself up off the ground, moved in front of Julie, and then...he laid on the ground and started "crying" again! Hilarious! Julie said she couldn't help but laugh.

Tough Boy

Sage fell and scraped his knee. I asked him if he needed a band-aid and he said, "No, I a tough boy." I agreed and left his boo-boo to heal. Every time someone asked him what happened to his knee, he said, "I a tough boy." So, today, I noticed a new scrape on his other knee and I asked him what happened. He said, "I have TWO tough boys." Ha!

Sage is not only a tough boy, he also has a pretty good throwing arm. On Wednesday, I came home from a long day of work and class ready to relax and catch up on some tv only to find out it was broke. Apparently, Sage threw a little, plastic ball at the tv and cracked the LCD! Oops!

May Days

We have been so busy that the month of May flew by so fast! I'm just now realizing that it's June (my favorite month) and it's already the third day! What happened to May?

We watched Noah's opening day t/ball game.
I finished the first half of my Educational Specialist degree and started the second half the following week.
Jared graduated with his Masters!
We went to Kirksville to watch Ella Bella dance.
We celebrated the impending arrival of Baby Girl Kelly.
Summer arrived with fun on Memorial Day!