Happy 3rd birthday, Lane!

So hard to believe that in three years, we have gone from this:

to this:

Three seems so grown up!  After all, in less than three years he will be heading off to kindergarten.  Of course, by then, I'll have another three-year-old in the house :)

At three years old, Lane-

-talks almost non-stop.  And I think that half of those sentences are "Thanks, Mom!".  He'll say that most often when I give him something, but now he's started saying it at random times!  At least he is polite!
-is all-boy.  I cannot wait for nicer weather - the boy needs to be running around outside!
-is a HUGE Curious George fan.  Seriously, everything in our house revolves around Curious George.  And if we cannot copy exactly what George did on TV this morning, there is a huge fit.
-tells the cutest stories: the other day, he was playing outside while I fed Katy inside.  When I went to get him, I couldn't find him.  I called for him until finally he came from the backyard.  I asked him what he was doing.  His reply: "Hmmm...me and Whisky.  Hide and seek.  I count, Whisky hide."
-is almost potty-trained!  He actually went #2 in the toilet yesterday!  And after he looked...he said..."oh!  Snakes!  Two snakes!" ;)
-loves to fix things.  He keeps stealing Curtis' tools to "work" on stuff.  Give the boy a hammer and a measuring tape and he'll be content all day.
-takes a nap about 40% of the time.  He is kinda in that weird phase where he still needs a nap, but it's hard to fall asleep.  He does do a really good job at having an hour of quiet time in his room when he doesn't nap.
-still has Kitty as his comfort object...she's getting a little worn and I had to stitch up her tail, but she's still Lane's best friend!
-steals food off of Curtis' plate any chance he gets - and laughs everytime.
-could spend hours in his sandbox.
-is 34 lbs and 39.5 inches tall.

I've been trying to make his birthday "special" for him, even though we celebrated on Sunday so he doesn't have any presents or cake today.  So, I've been making his snacks and meals fun (and letting him have too much candy!).  We've been eating "bugs" all day.  And he loves it!

Remodeling is taking over!

Well, so far it's just taking over my brain.  But only one more week until we close on the house...and then it will take over my life!  At least by having an almost-two-month closing period, we have been able to figure out exactly what we want to do.  About all I can think about is how to decorate and paint colors and all that fun stuff.  I'm pretty sure I've figured out all the colors in just about every room...there will be at least 14 different colors throughout the house.  Is that too much?  I don't know...but luckily paint is a fairly simple fix if we end up hating it :)

I can't wait to start on the kitchen!  If it turns out how I'm picturing it...it's going to be my favorite room in the house...or maybe my favorite room will be the master bathroom...I just can't wait for that!

Here's a few of the decorating blogs/websites that I have been slightly very addicted to in the past couple months...

Thrifty Decor Chick
320*Sycamore
UCreate
This Old House
Houzz
Decorating/Renovating board on thenest.com
At Home Alterations

And now I'm sucked in to all of these...probably for the entire naptime...AGAIN!

On the move!

Watch out around here!  First Lane got his new bike....

And now Katelyn has learned to walk behind her push toy...

I can't believe he's almost 3!

Lane was born at a horrible time of year (April 29).  It is always in the middle of planting. That makes it really tough to celebrate with family.  What made it even tougher this year is that Brooks will turn a year old on May 3!  So we're celebrating his birthday next Sunday.  I decided that we may as well celebrate Lane's birthday last night instead of trying to squeeze it in some other time!

He was excited about all of his presents: a wheelbarrow full of garden tools, books, tub crayons, and a Thomas laptop.  The little ones really like the Thomas laptop too - Brooks didn't want Lane to have it!

We gave Lane a bike (at least Curious George wears a helmet, so it was easy to convince him that a helmet is a must!).  He caught on pretty quickly - he just needs to grow about 1/2 an inch and he'll be moving fast!

I had planned on having a Curious George-themed party, but nowhere in Grand Island had the stuff!  We had to settle for Thomas the Tank Engine...and I had to quickly think up a new cake.  This is the result of not much planning and having to make it at 9:30 Saturday night...

Not quite what I had envisioned, but Lane loved it!  Especially the chickens on top of the tunnel :)

He thought the cake itself was "tasty. Thanks mom!" Glad I could make you happy, buddy!

Easter

Sunday was a busy one - we celebrated Easter all day!  Before church, the kids found their baskets.

Lane was super excited about the candy in his basket.  Katelyn threw the stuff out of her's, then crawled over to Lane to see what he had.  She had a mouthful of Cadbury Eggs before we knew what happened :)

I was happy that I convinced Lane to wear his suit again.  He did NOT want to, but I told him he couldn't have his Easter basket until he put his clothes on.  That worked!

It is really hard to get a picture of these two.  Katy is constantly on the move and Lane constantly has a goofy expression on his face.  This is the best I could do, even though neither of them are looking at the camera!

After church, we headed to Hastings where Curtis' Aunt Kathy lives.  Several relatives on the Keasling side were there.  Unfortunatly, I don't have any pictures from the gathering - just picture people sitting around tables eating the traditional Easter ham, potatoes, green beans and pie!  Lane enjoyed playing with his cousin Grace and Katy entertained herself by falling down the small steps over and over again.  Luckily, they were well padded and she knows how to fall gracefully.

Next, we went over to my parents' house for an egg hunt and supper.  It turned out to be a decent afternoon, so we didn't mind being outside for a little bit!

Lane really wasn't too excited about hunting eggs - he just wanted to go play in the sandbox.  But like a good little boy, he found every one of them and even acted happy each time he found one.  He had lots of help from his uncles Blake and Bret.  Next year he will have a little more competition - Katy and Brooks really wanted to help, but they're just not quite old enough yet!

Bret and Laura made up their own game with Easter eggs.  I was just excited to have a camera that could get a pic of an egg in mid-air :)

It was a super-long day - we left the house at 9 a.m. and didn't make it back until almost 9 p.m.  Both kids were troopers and weren't too crabby all day....but today they made up for it!  Thank goodness for early bedtimes ;)

Dyeing Eggs

Whew!  What a busy weekend!  It started Friday afternoon with dyeing 3 dozen eggs (we meant to only do 2 dozen...but a certain little boy had way too much fun!)

My mom was kind enough to let us make a mess at her house.  We both bought egg-dyeing kits, so we ended up with 9 different colors of eggs.

Lane was amazed at how the eggs turned color!  He kept saying "oooh..." the whole time he was dyeing them.

Casey, Brooks, and Katelyn also joined in the fun.  Casey drew pretty butterflies on the eggs and tested all the dye tablets to find the purple one.  Brooks and Katelyn ate a snack and watched the festivities.

Lane was a pro at lifting the eggs in and out of cups by the time we were done - only a few were cracked!  He had so much fun!

The "Things"

About 6 months ago, Mom bought all three kids a "thing" shirt when she went to Orlando with Casey and Blake.  We finally got around to taking a picture of them all!  Even though Katy's romper was a 6-month size, it still fit her.

It was tough to get them to sit still and smile long enough to take pictures!  I took 20 pics...and the one above was the only good one.

Brooks looks pretty sober...probably because Katy punched him in the mouth earlier.  She needs to learn to keep her hands to herself!

I love this picture because Brooks looks like he's thinking...really?  Lane gets to be Thing 1 and I'm Thing 2?

This week we're getting the 3 cousins together to dye Easter eggs...should be a fun experience!

Now I understand!

I never really understood when people would say, "I just can't take my eyes off my child for a second!"  I always thought to myself - really?  Lane is perfectly fine playing by himself.  He knows what he can and can't do.

Then came Katelyn.

She is all over the place.  And she can crawl fast too. 

But the worst is that she loves to climb.  I don't think Lane figured out how to climb things until he was well over 2 years old.  See the box to the right of the ottoman?  That's so that she can see out the window. But apparently that wasn't good enough...

It's much easier to look out when sitting on the ottoman!

Katy has also mastered climbing the stairs.  As soon as I set her down in the basement...off she goes to climb the stairs.  And Lane's slide.  And the flippy chair...

The other day a friend stopped by...while we were talking upstairs, the three older kids headed downstairs.  After about 20 seconds, I looked around and didn't see Katy.  I immediately headed towards the stairs...yep...there she was, her hands on the top step, trying to go down head first.  I'm just glad I caught her when I did!

I have the feeling I'm going to be in trouble when she starts walking...



My Five

Every week, the Omaha World-Herald runs a feature that spotlights a person's five favorite things.  I think it's really interesting to see what people consider their "must-haves" or what they hold near and dear to their heart.  So, I decided to share "my five" with you all!  I just came up with these while lying in Lane's bed with him trying to get him to nap...so maybe if I would've thought about it a little more, I may have come up with something more meaningful!  I already know that I should've included all of my scrapbooks in the list! :)  But then it would be "my six" and that's just not fair ;)

1. Engagement/wedding ring - Shouldn't this be every married girls' number one?  I still love to put it on in the mornings and remember how it felt to first get engaged, and then get married.  I picked both of the rings out myself and I still love each one!  It's funny how naked I feel when I don't wear it...which has happened more often lately now that it seems to give me a rash on my finger...so if you ever see me not wearing them, my finger is probably really itchy!

2. North Face sandals - I have had these sandals for at least 6 years now (I can't remember if I got them before or after we were married).  They seemed pretty expensive at the time, like $60, but I seriously wear them every day in the summer.  They are super comfortable and are easy to walk/run around in.  I once had a "friend" call them ugly....who cares when they are comfortable!  I keep meaning to buy a new pair every summer, but every summer I just don't find any that compare!

3. Nook Color - How did I ever live without this??  I use it for at least an hour a day.  For the longest time I thought e-readers were ridiculous...who wants to read on a screen?  But then Curtis brought up getting me one for Christmas.  I said no...until after Christmas when I started doing more research.  I looked at the Kindle, Nook Classic, and Nook Color.  I pretty much convinced myself I had to have one when I realized that I could borrow library books on the Nooks (and I had Christmas money!).  I decided on the Nook Classic until we went to Barnes and Noble.  Curtis started playing with the Nook Color and thought I should just get that one.  Ok!  I have about 75 books on it so far, and I've only paid for about 10.  The rest have been free!  I also love that I can surf the web, play games, and listen to Pandora radio on it.  I also bought a "rooted" sd card that essentially turns it into an Android tablet.  Now I understand all the fuss about Angry Birds ;)

4. Bags - I love bags and I love getting new bags!  I seriously don't understand how someone can carry the same purse or diaper bag for years :)  The five hanging here are the ones that I am "currently" using.  I finally limited myself to two diaper bags at once - a small one for quick errands and a larger one that is always packed.  I just switch out my big ones every once in a while.  And I'm pretty proud of myself - I haven't bought any diaper bags since Katelyn was born!

5.  Ice cream - I have a thing for ice cream :)  In high school, I ate it every afternoon for a snack unless I had volleyball or softball practice.  I craved it ALOT when I was pregnant with Lane (the runners at work got used to being sent to Maggie Moo's for a peanut butter, chocolate, and marshmallow shake!).  Of course, homemade ice cream with hot fudge, strawberries, and Club crackers is the best.  I've really cut down on my ice cream consumption, so I only have it in the house every once in awhile.  But to take this picture, I just had to have a big bowl of cookie dough ice cream for a snack!

Curious George-inspired crafts

Right now, Lane is obsessed with Curious George.  The show is on PBS at 8 am, so every morning after breakfast he sits and watches Curious George's latest adventure. 

A couple weeks ago, I bought him a DVD of Curious George episodes.  That is the only video he will watch now...and almost everything he sees in it he relates to real life.  He even "talks" like George.  When George does something...Lane thinks he can too.  So, this week, we did a couple of crafts at the request of Lane.

On Wednesday's episode, George made a bridge out of marshmallows, toothpicks, and playing cards to save some ducks from a small island.

We had to substitute pretzel sticks for the toothpicks.

We saved the ducks! :)

Then, yesterday Lane started playing with some boxes.  Suddenly, he said, "Holes!  Cut holes!  Robot!"  In one episode, George makes a robot costume for himself so that he can play with Hundley the dog.  We decided this was a project for Daddy and Lane, so when Curtis got home, they built a robot.

First, cut holes with a sharp knife.

Next, use special "robot" tape...yep, the only tape we have in this house is painting tape.

Also, make sure Katy doesn't eat the cardboard.  A hammer is ok.

Try it on and make adjustments...

Add decorations and a hat, and you've got yourself a robot just like Curious George!  Lane even wrote "XF17" on the front, just like George.

Katelyn - 9 months

At 9 months, Katy -

- weighs 19 lbs. 3 oz - right on the 50th percentile.
- FINALLY sleeps through the night.  Just in the past week, she has started (mostly) sleeping all night.  She will wake up and cry briefly, but at least I don't have to go in there!

- is crawling faster and faster all the time!  She will also come look for me if I'm not in the same room as she is.
- only likes Gerber Little Crunchies, yogurt, and Club crackers.  Sometimes she will eat a little baby food.  Sometimes.

- loves her dolly with the open/close eyes.  Now she touches eyes on everything to see if they open - something Curtis isn't too fond of when he's trying to nap on the couch.
- pretty much always takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.  Nice!

- loves to crawl on and explore different textures - like these carpet samples we have.  And up and down some boxes that Lane likes to play with.  She's going to be a climber!

- is such a funny girl and is always making me laugh with the faces she makes!