Update

I have yet to do an actual--how and what we are doing in Omaha--update. We are doing quite well.

Tandon and I both are loving the climate in Omaha--low 80's during the day and down into the 60's at night. We are able to eat dinner on our back patio in the evenings. It's fabulous!!

Speaking of eating dinner, we are so blessed to be able to eat dinner with our Daddy EVERY night. There would be 2-3 days in a row each week in AR that Tandon would leave for work before the kids got up and not return until well after they had gone down for the night. Kellen has just recently stopped asking, "Is Daddy coming home today?" He comes home EVERY day!!

The hardest thing right now is lack of a church family. We have been to numerous churches and have not found a good fit yet. Church hunting is even harder when you throw kids in the mix. It complicates both the act of church hunting as well as adding to the list of church-must-haves. I am hopeful that Tandon and I can agree on a church within the next 3-4 weeks, so we can start making friends and building community. We actually went to two churches last Sunday to expedite the process, an early service at one and a late service at another. Haha! But I must point out, every time we've attended church, it has been as a whole family. No more carting both kids to church and sitting by myself. We go as a family unit!

The first three weeks with the Master's Craft, Tandon worked in Kansas City. The kids and I went with him the third week and visited my best friend from HS and her family while Tandon was working. Shanna, I'm SO glad we live close to one another again!! It's your turn to visit. :)

The big kids in KC.

The girls watching a movie.

We have a farm stand just a few blocks from our house that sells tons of locally grown fruit and veggies. They also have animals for the kids to look at. My animal lover, Anna, got pecked by a chicken last time we were there. It was kinda funny, especially since she's so tough. She jumped back and gave that chicken a go-to-h*ll look. I love her sassy little personality!

First taste of Nebraska sweet corn.

Yum! I like how these two pictures vividly show the difference in our two children.

Different, in deed. A couple of weeks ago, I let the kids paint with water on the patio. At one point I walked by and saw Annie standing in the paint trey with her shoes on. As a went back into the kitchen, I was thinking to myself how opposite her brain works compared to Kellen's. It would never even cross his mind that he could stand in the water. My rule keeping son would simply paint with the water, because that is what it is for. A few minutes later, I walked back by the patio door and found her like this. By the end of the painting experience, she needed complete change of clothes. Silly girl!

In our free time, Tandon and I have been organizing and unpacking in our TINY house and working on painting over the rainbow of color that the previous owners left on the walls. I'll post some before and after pics soon.

We took the kids to their first movie in the theater--Winnie the Pooh. Tandon was a trooper--thanks babe--he held Anna the whole time and fed her snacks so she would stay quiet. I think Kellen enjoyed the movie, but has been afraid there is a Backson in his closet ever since. Any great advice on monster fear??

So, over all we are doing well. Spending a lot of quality family time together and trying to get settled. Missing our friends in AR, but hopeful that we will find community here soon.

And just some extra cuteness!

The Big 30. . .or something like that ;)

We celebrated my birthday last week. I turned 30 again. :0)

We ate at Brewburgers. Check out their website with the episode from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I had the Cheesy Sacramento. Yum!! Come visit us and we'll take you there!

The kids helped make a Paula Dean chocolate cake.



Happy Birthday to me! (Sorry Tandon, you didn't make it into a single picture. Maybe next year--when I turn 30.)

18 Months

Anna is 18 months old today. . . how did that happen??



A few random tidbits about Annie...

~Her vocabulary is slowly developing to include: Daddy, Ka (Kellen), (she will say mama, but only when prompted. So far she does not call me by name.) puppy, up, quack, down, shoe, hi, bye-bye, trash, baby, hat, hot, ball

~Anna still uses sign language for 'more', 'finished', and 'eat'.

~Baby Girl refuses to eat any fruits or vegetables, except corn and apple sauce. When forced to eat something she doesn't like, she will hide it in her cheek until she thinks no one is looking and spit in into her bib.

~We are still working on the finger sucking, but haven't made much progress because of the stress of the move. Maybe this month.



~I have started training her to play alone for small amounts of time in her room. The little toot will stand in the doorway and peek her head out to see if anyone is looking before making an escape. She is certainly not the rule keeper that her brother is!

~If we are ever missing something, the first place we look is the kitchen trash can. I have found shoes, socks, and numerous toys that Baby Girl has helpfully thrown away. :)



~She is walking/running everywhere and climbing up and down stairs like a pro. However, she has a grass phobia and refuses to sit, walk, or stand in the green stuff.

~Anytime we see or hear a dog she gets super excited. Anna will stand at the living room window and point and squeal at the dogs in the neighbor's yard. When we visit friends who have dogs, Annie will squat down in the dog's faces and talk to them while trying to pet them. She is going to be an animal lover like her mama.

~Babies are her toy of choice right now. Her favorite thing to do is take their clothes and hats off.

~What joy she brings to our home with her silly faces and independent personality. We love you Anna!!



My two little hams. Kellen could not be left out of the picture taking fun. Any great advice on how to get rid of the cheese smile?? :)

The North Pole

Anyone who knows Kellen, understands why I was apprehensive about going to the North Pole. He is VERY cautious during new situations and does not like speed. I had visions of he and I sitting on a bench somewhere in fear while the rest of the family had a joyous time. He surprised us all!! Not only did he not cry about the rides, but he wanted to do them over and over. Everyone kept asking who he was and what happened to Kellen. I was SO proud of him!

This was K's typical face on rides. Yet, he would exit the ride excited and anxious to ride the next attraction. Haha!

Miah, true to form, was fearless on all the rides.

Anna rode the boats with her brother. She loved it. By the end of the ride, Kellen had a death grip on her to try to keep her from falling over. I hope and pray he always feels that protective of his little sister.

Kellen rode on the "big kid" rides and loved them. Who is that kid???

Lunch break

The Farris Wheel

My favorite photo of the day. :o)

Cousins

No amusement park is complete without a funnel cake. Yum!

The Train

That strange boy, who called himself Kellen ;), kept asking to see Santa. I thought for sure he would chicken out when he actually got close to Santa. Nope, he sat on his lap and asked him to bring a mater (from cars) for Christmas. Strange! Again I ask, who is that kid??

Santa's Sleigh

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful time! And good job Kellen--everyone is extremely proud of your bravery!

Colorado

My parents graciously opened their home to us during the space of time between unloading all our worldly possessions in the garage in Omaha (June 30th) and actually having possession of the house (July 8th). And, can I just say, I love my family! We had a blast! Here are a few of the highlights...

Cousins--Kellen and Miah. They actually played really well together! There were virtually no tears or arguments until the last evening together. I was proud of them. Every time we talk to Miah on the phone now she says, "Want to come to my house, Kellen?" So sweet! (Don't you love the cheese smile from Kellen in every picture. Hoping this phase passes quickly!)



Kellen climbed the "bigger than biggest mountain" at Garden of the Gods.




Both kids rode on Grandpa's motor cycle. However, Grandpa had a nasty stomach bug--which eventually got passed to Kellen and Tandon ): --so instead of riding with Grandpa, Daddy's took over. And just for the record, I rode to the grocery store on the bike with Tandon. Not really my idea of fun--the things we will do for love. :0)



They shot bb guns one afternoon. For some reason, these pictures in my parent's backyard make me want to move to Colorado. Anyone up for helping us move next June?? ;)

The slip-n-slide. Although, there wasn't very much slipping or sliding. It was a little chilly, and the kids were apprehensive about the whole thing.

Some extra sweetness!

Look for a whole post about our trip to the North Pole. My parents made it into the pictures that day, I promise. :)