"Yeah"

Mikey talks all the time now.  He is a little chatter-box.  We love it.  I don't know why I haven't posted a list of all the words he says,  I will have to remember to do that sometime.  The funnest thing is whenever we ask him a question, any question he always says, "yeah."

Doug had this conversation with him tonight while changing his diaper.
Doug: Mikey are you done pooping?
Mikey: Yeah
Doug: Are you going to poop some more?
Mikey: Yeah
Doug: Do you want me to change your diaper?
Mikey: Yeah
The diaper was changed and 5 minutes later he had pooped again.

Preschool Day 2

Today was James' second day of school.  He surprised me by being excited to go instead of screaming "No, not the one!" like I expected.  Also I no longer have any delusions about him being the most difficult kid in the class.  I know for sure that he is the most difficult kid in the class.  When I picked him up today, again he wasn't in the classroom, but walking the halls with his teacher.  When I asked how he did, they all looked at each other like "you tell her".  Finally his teacher said, "About the same."  Which means not good.  Finally she told me how he had a really hard time with things, and asked if I thought getting him his own aid would help.  So that is where we stand, James is having a hard time, it will get better, but it will take time.  And his teacher is going to ask that he has a one-on-one aid to help him be at school.

James Starts Preschool

Before I get to the point of this post I would just like to share my newest favorite thing.  Doug found out about this from some guys from work, and as it turns out we are the only ones I know that didn't already know about this, but just in case someone else doesn't know I decided to share.  So my new favorite thing is called Bountiful Baskets  Some ladies in Arizona started this.  You pay $15 and you get a ton of produce.  It is pretty fresh and you get 1/2 vegetables and 1/2 fruits.  This is great for our family because we eat so much more fruit and veggies now that Mikey loves them so much.

Bountiful Basket

Also I found James taking a nap like this the other day.  Yes he is actually asleep.

Taking a nap

Now on to the main event!  Yesterday James started Preschool!  I was so excited, James had no idea what "school" even was.  There are 10 other kids in James' class and about 1/2 the class are special needs kids.  After yesterday I believe that James is probably the most difficult kid in the class.

Going to School

1st day of school!

We dropped him off in the gym.  They had a basket for their baskets and name tags to pin on their shirts. James flipped out when they tried to take his backpack off.  And refused to let them put his name tag on. So I had to chase him down, pin his name tag on and take off his backpack.  Once he realized how cool the name tag was he was OK with taking his backpack off.  Then I had to pry Mikey away from the balls and carry him screaming out of the school.  It was fun to have some time with just me and Mikey.  We got to go to the library which we can't go with James.
Then I decided to pick James up on the bike.  I thought he would really enjoy it since he loves bike rides so much. The school is only a mile down the road from our house so it isn't really far, but the road is closed so we have to go on a detour around the block...3 miles.  I didn't think it would be so bad since we have gone to the park a few times.  But I was dying by the time we got there.
When we walked into the school I could see James in the vestibule with one of his teachers.  At first I thought I was late, but he was just having a really hard time in class and needed to have a break.  I guess he had a lot of meltdowns, he had a hard time following the rules and sharing.  We expected this but it was still hard.  To make it worse he didn't even care that we got to ride the bike home (which was awful).  He had a hard time the rest of the day.  I hope things go better tomorrow, but I think things are going to get worse before they get better.

When It Rains...

We seem to have gotten a lot of, well not really "bad" news, just not good news lately.  Two weekends ago we decided that since our place in Utah is just sitting empty for a few months and we really would like to buy a house we would go ahead and try and sell it and see what happens.  In order to do that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, (most of this we are just doing in anticipation to moving back in ourselves, but will really help it sale) tearing out a closet in the basement bedroom, painting almost every wall in the house, tearing out and replacing the carpet, and cleaning everything really well.  Last weekend the work went really well. We got the closet taken out, most of the painting done, and some carpet removed.  When Doug took the carpet out in the room he took the closet out of we noticed that water was getting in through the wall.  So that was disappointing to find.  Not a major thing to fix, but still has to be fixed.

Eating breakfast

Leaky Basement, you can't really see it very well 

Last Friday Mikey had his 15 month Check up.  Here are his stats:

Height: 30 1/2 inches (don't know the percentile, but it jumped from last time)

Weight: 19 lbs 13 oz (2nd percentile, he dropped from the 4th percentile 3 months ago)

Head: 17 1/2 inches

I thought that since Mikey had stopped nursing and was on solid food he would jump up in his weight a little.  No such luck.  I really had no clue how to help him gain weight.  This kid eats and eats and eats!  He is the best little eater and consumes more calories a day than James.  It is not just us that think he is a big eater either, everyone who meets Mikey comments on his eating abilities.  So the Doctor gave us some suggestions on how to add calories to his diet without adding food.

Cute Mikey

Then last weekend we went down to do some more work on our place.  As we were driving down I kept thinking of things I forgot: Noise machine (a must for me to sleep well), a few toiletries, shoes for both the boys, then the big one hit, PINK and PURPLE!  I debated turning around and just going home, but decided that it would be cheaper to buy a new blanket and hope the substitution would be ok (it was).  I also discovered that I forgot our pillows.  So after we got the kids to bed we got some more work done.  Friday night was awful.  I used James' backpack full of diapers and Doug used some towels for pillows.  The air mattress kept going flat, it was too quite, so I didn't sleep well.  And because I didn't sleep well Doug didn't sleep well.  Then about 5 am James woke up and got in bed with us.  Instead of going back to sleep like he normally does he decided to kick us.  So we got up and did some more work.  My dad came by and took James off our hands and Mikey took a long nap so we were able to get everything done and leave that night.
On the way home Doug kept commenting on how bumpy the road was.  Finally we decided to pull over and check the tires to ease our minds.  We found nothing wrong with the tires and were about to get back in the car and head out.  That is when I noticed the front driver side tire looked a little funny.  I put my hand on top and there was a huge bulge and it was completely bald in that spot.  So we unloaded the trunk, changed the tire and managed to get the old tire back into our already full trunk.  So now we are glad to be home for a while.

A Big Boy Now!

Mikey is now 15 months old!  He is also so little still.  His check up isn't for a few weeks so I don't know his stats yet, but he is small.  Mikey is also the best eater I know.  He is always eating and he eats anything!  It is amazing what he can eat with only 6 littler biters.  (4 on top 2 on bottom)  the other day I discovered a little chomper poking through on the top, so he will soon have another tooth, also on the top and this one will help him chew his food a little. 

The other day we decided it was time for Mikey to get a new car seat.  We were hoping that James would be ready for a booster seat, but I think James is pretty attached to his car seat.  He hated the idea of wearing the regular seat belt so we figured he will probably be in it for at least another year.  We set up the car seat as soon as we bought it and Mikey laughed and laughed the entire time.  He was so happy to be able to see us. 

1st ride in the new seat!

"Mom, let's go!"

On Saturday we decided to go let the boys play in the river.  Then we remembered about this lake our friends told us about at the sand dunes and decided to try that instead.  It was perfect!  We wish we had known about this place all summer, I would have taken the boys there at least once a week!  It never gets any deeper than my hips and most of it is about at my knees.  They boys loved being able to just play and I loved not having to worry that they were getting too deep.

Playing in the sand

Egin Lake

Colorado Week 3-Keyser Family Reunion

Saturday and Sunday: arrival days

Doug's family has a house up in the Winter Park area so we thought it would be perfect to do our family reunion there.  We all met there on Saturday and Sunday for the week.  The boys were so excited to see their Dad after two weeks.  Ok that is not entirely true.  James was really happy to see his Dad, Michael I guess was really mad at his Dad because when we got there Doug picked him up and he screamed and screamed.  After awhile Doug played with him and he was forgiven. 

Doug reading the boys a bedtime story.

Monday: Grand Lake

On Monday we drove to Grand Lake.  First we hiked the trail to Adam's Falls.  It was a short hike perfect for the little kids and my dad with his healing ankle.  

Me and Mikey at the falls

Family Picture by the waterfall, James just wanted to go.

Further up you can play in the river, the boys loved this part the best. 

After the waterfall we went to the lake for lunch and swimming.  The boys loved getting in the water but I thought it was freezing.  

Mikey playing in the water

James kept trying to go over the ropes that separate the swim beach from the rest of the lake.  I ended up getting pretty wet going after him once.  

Tuesday: Girls/Boys activities

Tuesday morning the girls all headed back to Grand Lake to do some shopping while the boys watched the kids.  We had lunch in this place that served crapes and cheese.  It was really good, but they didn't have half the stuff on their menu.  When we got back the boys headed off to go golfing while we watched the kids.  Doug says it was a lot of fun and a really nice course.

Wednesday: Rocky Mountain National Park

Wednesday we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park to Estes Park.  It was a really pretty drive and fun to see the mountains and everything.  

We had to stop a few times because they were doing road work. 

The view as we were going up.

At the top they have a gift shop.  Mikey found this Elk bank and dragged it around the store by it's antlers. 

We stopped for lunch on the way down.  Mikey and James loved playing in the river. 

Dad and James in the parking lot at Estes Park.

On the way back we drove the Old Fall River road which was really cool.  We saw a beaver and some elk, but not too much wildlife.  

Thursday: Putt Putt and Devil's Thumb

Thursday morning we took James and Mikey over to play Putt Putt and the YMCA.  James did not like it too much.  He kept wanting to go on the holes that had "dark in here" (tunnel) and he couldn't always do that because of the other people.  In the afternoon Doug, Brandon, Jordyn and Blake went and hiked Devil's Thumb.  I stayed home with the boys so James could have a quiet afternoon and hopefully calm down a little.  Doug says the hike was pretty hard, but awesome at the top.  On the way back they saw two moose.   

Friday: Pictures and Bike Riding

Friday morning we were doing family pictures.  We hiked up this trail to find a good spot.  We had warned the photographer, who is a family friend, beforehand that James would probably not cooperate and we would just have to get what we get.  The plan was to get everyone situated and ready to snap the picture and then jump in with James at the last second.  But James did awesome!  It helped that she brought a lot of noise makers to get the kids attention and her husband helped the most by being pretty silly and making everyone laugh.  I think if we lived in Colorado she would be our permanent family photographer. 

James hiking up to get the pictures.  He always loves to grab a stick, and loved carrying his  "blue back jack"

A mom and son were stopped here to have a snack so of course James had to join them.

Everyone standing around for the pictures. 

I got to carry Mikey down while Doug followed James. 

In the afternoon we went to the YMCA and rented a bike trailer for the boys.  Then we rode around some trails there.  It was pretty hard work, but fun.  Mikey hated it when we went of the roads and onto the bumpy trails, so we stopped and went and played putt putt a little.  Then we drove Doug up this rode he used to ride down as a kid and hooked up the trailer again.  Doug and James rode down the rode while me and Mikey followed in the car.  When we were loading up the trailer at the bottom I think we stopped in a mosquito nest because they were everywhere and we all came away from that with several bites.
That night we played some Minute to Win It games Doug and I brought and it was hilarious!  Too bad I didn't get any pictures or videos.
Overall it was a very fun week and we all wish we had more time to do more things.  They boys were pretty happy to get home though.

Colorado Week 2

The second week we were with Doug's family we spent mostly at some parks and swimming.  On Monday we met some of Doug's cousins and Aunts at a really cool park.  Of course I didn't get any pictures.  Tuesday we decided to go to the Museum of Natural History.  It was pretty cool, and I hadn't been there forever. 

James and Mikey riding the Llamas.

James looking at the lions. 

Mikey and James loves pushing the buttons that made things light up.

James liked the dinosaurs.

Their favorite part was the discovery zone.  There we so many fun things to do.  James at the wind table. 

Mikey and James playing with the magnet blocks.

The rest of the week we mostly went to parks and swimming.  Mikey finally started enjoying the pool and by the time it was time to leave he loved swimming!  He even likes baths now.

Mikey in his boat.

James on the turtle Grandma bought.

Mikey's favorite place was to sit on the step in the baby pool.

James loved this ring I bought him, but it had a hole in it so we had to take it back.  

Mikey and James love corn on the cob.  We discovered that they eat it better when they have handles to hold so of course I had to go buy some as soon as we got home.

Mikey eating corn on the cob.

Grandpa has named a few trees for the boys.  So we took a picnic to the park to see them.  They were at different parks and Mikey was too grumpy so we took him to see his then Grandpa and Scott to James to see his at a different park.  

Mikey's tree