Change of Weather

The older I get the more I enjoy the fall season. Christmas is 3 months away but I am already feeling the Christmas spirit. I'm excited to be in comfy hoodie sweatshirts and to wait for that next little kick or roll from my developing baby. I also have my first sonogram to look forward to at the end of this month. We are dying to see what sex we will be blessed with for this birth. I also will graduate with a bachelor of science with a concentration in business healthcare administration the end of October. As you can see there are all sorts of milestones to look forward to this fall. But until then we will enjoy daily walks, which will now be refreshing, and I can fix my Mom's homemade baked potato soup with bread bowls, MY FAVORITE! Hot chocolate indulgences will now feel right at any time of the day, and so will baking some of my favorite goodies. Yes, fall is knocking at my front door.


I look at Sam and can't believe how much he has grown and how quickly time passes. Recently he has been fighting the aches and pains of new teeth coming in, and believe me, he has made up for only having 2 teeth up until he was one. We now have 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. He can finally take bites of food instead of gumming it to death. Sam can also say a few words: Blue, Dog, Bird, Hot, Gus, More, but mostly he likes to make a 'Gung Gung' sound and point at what he wants. I suppose he will talk when he is good and ready. We have also started making attempts at sitting on the potty; which I realize is early but I'm determined to have him potty trained by the time baby number two comes along. He looks so cute sitting on the big boy potty! We sit in between diaper changes and I figured it couldn't hurt. If he happens to go, we will try and make a big ordeal out of it so that maybe he'll understand what he is doing.


The holidays will be so much fun this year. The pumpkin patch he'll enjoy walking around on his own and being active in the festivities. At Christmas time Sam's expressions will be priceless, and I don't want to forget the arrival of our next bundle of joy after the new year! The time really will fly away.

Familiar Places

As I mentioned in my last posting we went to see our good friends Meeghan and Raymond Giles get married; along the way we stopped to do some of our favorite things in our old area. I thought that I would share some pictures. We love to go to the horse races at Arlington Park and we were able to stay for 6 out of 10 races before it was time for Sam to nap.







This is Sam pooped out from seeing the horses.

And sadly this is the only picture that came out decent of Meeghan and I. I'm sure there were other opportunities to get all of us in one picture but I guess I'll continue to wait for one of those.

On another free day we went and walked down town Libertyville and went into my favorite store Someone's In The Kitchen. Here is a few of what Libertyville looks like.





Finally, because of the sizzling heat I bought Samuel a little pool to put on our back patio. As you can tell there isn't much water in it, but he didn't need a lot of water to have fun. The fun lasted all of 15 minutes before the +100 degree heat was just too much.





I also swung by my old work on base to say hi to all of my friends working for the government. Sadly, not everyone was there, so here is a shout out to Corrine and Ryan whom I didn't get to hug that day. I miss you guys!

Burnt Out

Sorry folks for the lack of posts. To tell you the truth I just haven't wanted to get on the computer much these past weeks. August has been a very busy month; to include us going out of town to our good friends wedding, my birthday, our anniversary, doctor's appointment, my cousin Sarah's wedding coming up next weekend, my Mom's birthday, not to mention throwing in school, etc. Whew.

The weather in Kansas has been hotter than hell staying in the +100 degrees for at least 2 weeks, and even with a pool it is much too hot to keep Sam out very long. Other good news, Sam has finally broken through some more teeth. He has one on the top right and is working on about 3 others. Yeah for Sam. He has discovered the "La La La" sound and is now actively running, and the boy can move!

That is about all that is going on right now. Now, for those of you who read my blog and never leave any comments.....what is up with that? How can I even want to make posts on a daily basis if I don't even know if anyone is reading it??? Just a thought to ponder on.

Good and the Bad

Some of my most favorite times watching my son is in the bathtub. Squirty toys fly through the air shooting their streams of water followed by a quick dive underneath for much needed refills. Samuel shows his excitement through giggles as the water hits his chest. Gliding along the side of the tub are his turtles, each with their own visual uniqueness that Sam is eager to point out. Most of all he loves to splash! He starts out with little splashes; looking at me as if asking what he's doing is alright, then moves on to the mother load of splashes. Water gets in his face, he rubs his eyes, then turns to me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
Not only do these splashes send water in all directions, but starts various tidal waves that can make the unprepared mommy nervous if she isn't in her "water" gear. Sometimes he wants to scoot his toosh around the tub chasing his bath toys, but he is stopped in his tracks as I put his booty back on his non-slip froggies and Lilly pads. I often wonder what he is thinking playing in the tub and remember the adventures I used to have. I always want to make time to play with Sam during the day when he gets older, even if it is only 30 minutes. Who knows how long he'll want me to play with him? After all, house work can always wait...Sam will grow up all to quickly.

When he isn't being my sweet little hunk of love, Sam is starting to develop quite the little temper. If things aren't going Sam's way you get the look of death, which I'm sure is the same look I give him if he is doing something naughty. However with this look from him, comes a big smile from me, which I try and hide. I'm sorry but when your boy is so darn cute it is tougher than nails to stand your ground in a strict manner. Somehow Joel and I still manage to lay down the law when needed...and yes, at this point Samuel definitely knows what he's doing is naughty!

Summertime Fun

On a beautiful day in June Sam and I went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead with Grandma K. and Auntie Jess. The animals were stirring around in all pens eager to be fed the 25 cent corn meal. Duckies waddled around, goats ate at our clothes, the bald eagle flew from one end of his cage to another trying to avoid his talon clipping, cows chomping happily on their straw, bob cats lounging on their trees, bunnies nibbling on their grass, and the baby bison taking it easy in the shade. All of these we saw, and each Samuel enjoyed; however the baby goats were his very favorite. He offered his fingers freely to the baby goats, where they were happy to lick and nibble on them. Yucky! Good thing mommy brought the wet wipes to wipe away the grimes left on his hand.
A GOAT NIBBLING ON SAM'S SHIRT

I wanted to get down and get some good pictures of Sam enjoying the goats, but the goats weren't happy that I wasn't feeding them. Soon I had a goat eating at the back end of my shorts, and one eating at my shirt in the front where a nasty slimy green blob was left on my shirt. Mmmmmhmmmm. That is when I lost my cute feelings for the goats...we left the pen at that point. Horse rides were also available but the youngsters had to be 3 years of age and to be able to ride by themselves, I was bummed.






For lunch Samuel had 3/4 of a turkey sandwich and some of a soft pretzel with chocolate milk. He thought it was awesome! If there is one thing I don't have to worry about, it's Samuel eating enough. It is amazing that the boy only weighs 22 pounds.

I finally have finished my past semester at DeVry, where I now get to enjoy 2 weeks of homework freedom. With my extra time while Sam is napping, I will start again on the Christmas stockings; and just when I think I'm making headway I realized that this new baby will also need one! Good thing the baby will miss Christmas this year. It is challenging enough to finish Sam's and Joel's on time. Another thing that will keep me busy is house searching and house discussing with Joel. We are in a nice town home, but to have our own house is what we long for and maybe even at the end of this 6 month lease. We will see. Along with my final semester at DeVry coming up I am doing a self paced medical transcription course so that I may do medical transcription from home. Once school is finished I want something to keep my mind current in the medical field, and this will allow me to do so, while making some extra bucks for dreams of ours.

This weekend is going to be full of activities. We may go to a Royals game this Friday, or we may go to a rehearsal dinner of Joel's cousin who is getting married this weekend. Saturday in the morning is my Grandma and Grandpa Ledom's 50th wedding anniversary, and then at 3 in the afternoon we are headed to a wedding. Whew, I don't think we'll have a chance to catch our breath this weekend. This is all for now, until I can think of something else to write about. Enjoy the beautiful, perfect for the pool, summer weather!

Room 4 Two

I love Samuel so much it's just so weird to think how my love will be matched with a second child -yes- Joel and I have been blessed with another child. We were trying to have another one before we even moved back to Kansas but it just wasn't happening and I was finding myself getting discouraged. I knew however that God would give us another miracle when the time was right; and I guess May was the right time. We found out the beginning part of May that we would be having another baby; but were trying to keep it to ourselves until I could make my first appointment. When I found out the doctor couldn't get me in until July 2 I knew this big secret couldn't be kept for that long. Joel caved and let me spill the beans.

For a while I always thought that it would be nice to have another boy right away so Sam would have another brother to play with, but I have recently been more in tuned to how many males are in our home. Even the pets are male in which I have decided I would love the second child to be a girl, and if not then hopefully my sex of choice will come around later.

This time around my hormones have been playing horrible tricks on me. I have been in a clouded funk for almost 3 weeks now. I haven't wanted to get out of my pajamas, do any house wife duties, leave the house, or keep up with my school work; all I've wanted to do is sit and lounge around with Sam. Now that I feel my spirits lifting I have so much catching up to do. I have started cleaning room by room and knocking off homework assignments that I have let go for the past week and I plan on getting some fresh air moving through my lungs.

It is so hard to think about anyone other than Sam being my baby and someone else to love just as much as he. Some how I know that it will all come together for me, because although they will both be my babies they each are their own person. Joel thinks that with every child you have they get uglier, which I hope isn't the case, but Samuel sure has set a high standard! This baby will be due the mid part of January and all I can think about is how huge I'll be at Christmas. Someone told me today that my situation is perfect because the holiday food will taste so much better being pregnant than if I were not. Here's hoping to good tasting food and expanding our family one baby at a time.

My Baby - The Toddler

One year has come around so fast I can hardly believe that my baby turned one on May 18th! We had a birthday party for Sam on the 19th where great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins showed up. My Mother and I baked a 2-layer cake, cupcakes, and all while stringing balloons and setting up chairs for everyone to sit on. Samuel was such a good boy with all the commotions going on around him; being passed from person to person until someone put him down on the floor so he could walk across the room. Yes that's right folks, my baby is walking! He has attempted running but that ends all to quickly with a thud on the floor. Surrounded by his stacks of presents, he was most interested and excited about the tissue paper and bows, as expected.

I was excited for him to make a complete slob of himself with his cake but he was anxious about the whole freedom of diving in without repercussions. Instead of being a messy boy he preferred to take his thumb (like little Jack Horner who sat in the corner, stuck his thumb in the pie and pulled out a plum and said what a good boy am I.) and graze it across the icing, quickly sucking it off and doing it again and again. The cameras loved him! Eventually he stuck his thumb in far enough to pull out some of the cake, mmmmhmmmm! Nobody volunteered to have a piece of his cake after he was through; turns out the cup cakes and ice cream were more popular to the crowd who didn't want to share Sam's slobber.




Samuel is still stuck with two teeth and who knows when he'll get more; however he gets along just fine eating pieces of chicken, cheese, Cheerios, Trixs, beans, etc and he loves carrying around a sippy cup of milk. We are enjoying our beginning of Summer at the baseball fields, swimming pool, or taking strolls around the block. I look at him now as my baby, but once another baby rolls around I know I'll look at him as such a big boy, and that makes me so sad. You love one person so much it is just strange to think of how your love will be for future children, and if Samuel will be a big helper or a big pain in my rump? Either way you have love it all and love your children through and through! If I don't soak it in now I know the time will come all too quickly to where I have to say good-bye.

So here is to your babies and loving them through and through!

Pool Day

I have waited one year to be able to share pool days with my son, where his head will be filled with wonderful fun memories to recall, and finally that year has rolled around. This is a picture of our first pool date.

Unlike what I had expected our first dip in the pool to be (screaming and crying) Samuel just had to warm up to the water...and before I knew it he was off! In order to get a feel for the water, we stood on the first stair in the pool and allowed his piggies to warm up in water. To ease some of his anxiety we splish splashed his foot through the water. Then we made our way down to the second stair, where the water came up to his belly; Sam gasped and caught his breath due to the rather chilly water at the beginning of the pool season. No worries, Sam quickly started playing with his pail and shovel vigorously stirring the water. From that point on I quickly moved him into his covered floaty 'boat' and we were off. His fast kicking legs help propel us through the water going around and around in circles. Our pool date was a success!

Yesterday Samuel, my Mom, Grandma & Grandpa Fay, and I took a day out on the town; where Grandpa spotted the cutest little bench, and thought Samuel couldn't do without it. Now that he has his personal bench there will be many hours of sitting on it, wandering into Dr. Seuss' imaginative worlds..

So faithful blog readers, we are anxious for our summer days in the sun, where we will enjoy days by the pool and bike rides on the trails. I can't believe I have my summer days back!

Next Saturday will be Samuel's 1st birthday party where hopefully I'll capture great moments of the day. Stay tuned!

At Long Last

The hectic and unstructured Kellen household is finally coming into a routine, which Joel and I are both happy about. Who knew that almost 5 years of having a set routine to my day, would make me want to have that structure again... even when I don't have to?! All the boxes have been dug through and thrown away, and every item has once again found itself a home. With the project of moving out of the way I can now devote more time for blogging, scrap booking, reading, biking, swimming, and homework again. It feels great, I'm not going to lie. My past Mexican Train Dominoe games have carried over to my cousin Sarah and her hubby Travis, my family, and Joel's family. Once again I have my Domino fix! ;-) We still search for a lovely couple to play Euchre with us, and miss our dear friends Meeghan and Raymond very much!

The weather has been near perfect here in Overland Park, and Wal-Mart finally has their beautiful Petunia hanging baskets out. I bought 4! They are so full and pretty, and add more character to our patio then anyone else's.



Easter came and went in a flash. We spent the morning with Joel's family, and the afternoon with my family. We attempted to have Samuel participate in the long anticipated Easter egg hunt, but he passed it off as boring, while he threw his lone egg as far as he could. Oh well! The Easter bunny left some goodies for both of my men. Samuel got Fox and the Hound Dog DVD and some huge legos to enjoy.

Joel is enjoying his new grill, Nerf shot gun (I swear...), and some PB eggs.

Samuel is daring to stand by himself for seconds at a time, and has even taken 3 falling steps towards me! He will be off one day, and that is when my exercise program really starts. Yesterday we had our first big bump on our head, the picture doesn't do it justice, but he hardly cried just as a tough guy should.

He is extremely proud about giving hi-fives, drinking from a straw, and walking alone with his walker. I can hardly believe that my once helpless baby is turning 1 year old next month. May 18th passed and has come around again so fast I feel I have barely had enough time to breath. Hopefully his 1st birthday party will be a hit, just like his first year of life. I think I might be getting another baby itch here soon...we'll see I guess.

Joel found a job at Lansing Trade Group and is excited about where the company is going. His title is a merchandising trade assistant, where he does all the accounting work for the traders in cotton. Hopefully our future is promising, and we can continue basking in the goodness of life.

As some have pointed out to me my beloved Jayhawks didn't make it to the final 4, but just remember (you people who should not be named) next year a butt kicking is in order. BRING ON THE BRACKETS!

Here is our new place with the newest member of the family - GUS -(4 mo. yorkipoo

I Promise

OK folks, I promise that more pictures are to come today or tomorrow. We finally aren't so busy and school for me has slowed down. My routine of my day will now consist of better blogging.

Happy days are ahead!