Big boy bed

I got stuck on our trip home – still a few posts left, but I need to move on. Something very exciting has happened at our house. Joe finally figured out how to get out of his crib (with a big thud and a bitten tongue) When we came in, he was standing by his crib with a confused look on his face. We moved him to a big boy bed! We thought it would be a horrible transition, but he did great – only out of bed once. He got a stern talking to and didn’t try to get out again (that we know of) The first night, I peeked in and didn’t see him on the bed. I found him like this:

.

We spent this weekend at our former neighbors’ new house. They have a pool and a huge backyard now. Joe missed their kids, too. Here are some shots of us playing.

Joe and Daddy

The twins relaxing in the shade - it was HOT today!

Neighbors Nick and Ryan in the background.

Joe really enjoyed floating in the inner tube and wearing the goggles.

The quote of the day was when Megan said “I want to hold the other baby. This one is crying.” I know how you feel, Megan!

Take five – Birthday party!

Joe turned two on the 16th and we had a little party for him. He can now answer the question, “How old are you?” with a hearty, “Two…ah, ah, ah!” (like the Count from Sesame Street)

Joe had a baseball cake – my first real attempt at a shaped cake. He decided to lick is gingerly when we set it in front of him. I thought that was only a tradition for a kid’s first birthday, but it was darn cute. My mom is the cake expert in the family. She used to make Mickey Mouse and Barbie cakes, but lately has made bugs, lawnmowers and cell phones. I can only hope to be that versatile some day!

Luke and Catherine (Anna and Doug’s two oldest) are enjoying lunch and Play-Doh.

There were lots of kids and friends of ours that we don’t get to see that often being so far away from home. Here’s Carrie, me, Emily, Anna and baby John Paul.

The boys goofing off - Scott, Bob, Greg, Chris, and Doug (holding Luke)

Joe opening gifts with Grammie

Patrick is enjoying a beer with his godmother, Aunt Katie. Katie’s boyfriend Michael (in the background) is a firefighter and gave Joe the cutest little ride-on fire truck. Joe liked is so much he couldn’t even wait to get it out of the box.

Take four

We spent a lot of the time these last two weeks outside. It’s tough to get all three outside for any good amount of time when I’m alone. Little boys need to be outside and running around. Joe begs to go outside. He LOVED going to “hit… bee-ball!” He was very proud of himself that he could hit the waffle ball my dad hung on a string from a tree. As you can see from the picture, Joe hit the string more often than the ball. Either way, he really had fun.

Patrick and Papa

Trying on Papa’s hat

Are they fighting over the same toy?? So it begins…..

Grandma and Papa had fun feeding the babies. We thought Papa was pretty brave to feed Patrick by himself on his lap.

Take three (and more!)

Shannon and I took the kids to get their portraits. Our goal was to get one good shot of all five of them for Grandma for Mother’s Day. After all of that effort, we ended up with only one good one. Well… sort of good one. No one is smiling, but at least everyone, well, just see for yourself with the following shots that didn’t make the cut:

.

Joe kept wanting to back up away from the group, Kolbe must have had a little leftover candy on his lips, Libby just couldn't stand hearing Luke cry and Patrick was too pooped to look up at the camera anymore.

Hey, Libby! You're flashing the camera your shorts! Again, Joe with the backing up, and the twins could only look up for a short time. Kolbe is the only one doing a good job.

The final pick!

.

These are my favorite individual shots of my kids:

Joseph

Patrick

Luke

Take two

Grandpa and Grandma D. took all of us out to eat spaghetti. It’s always an adventure when you have five kids to feed and clean up after, most especially when there are more kids than adults! Joe LOVES this spaghetti joint. He ate an entire adult order.

“Yum! I can’t get enough!”

“Where’s the Alka Seltzer?”

Visit to KC, take one

Being gone for two weeks, we have many pictures, events and stories. Instead of doing one big post, I will try to do several little ones, until we’re caught up.

We visited Kansas City these last weeks for two big events – Joe’s birthday and the baptism of Scott’s cousin Matt’s baby. Matt and Jen asked us to be godparents to little Gabrielle. She’s such a little sweetie! We were certainly honored to be asked. They’re not just family to us, but good friends also. We’re very lucky to have them.

Four generations of Kempers – Great Ganddad Carrol, Grammie Kathy, dad Scott, and kids Patrick, Luke and Joseph.

"I'm stuck!"

Joe got stuck in his basketball goal. At first he thought it was funny and he drug the goal around the room. Then he started to get irritated when he couldn’t get himself out.

.

Luke is our mover and shaker. He rolls and spins on his stomach, wiggles and scoots. He’s never in the same position when I put him down to sleep. We had him strapped in his bouncy seat this morning, and we came around the corner to see this:

Not five minutes later, after putting him in his infant seat so we could get breakfast together, this is what we found:

That would never happen with Patrick. He is more laid back and will hardly wiggle out of his infant seat if he isn’t strapped in.

.

We had doctor visits yesterday Luke is 17 lbs and 27 inches tall, Patrick is 16 lbs and 26 inches tall. Poor guys had to get shots, too.

Joe went over to his friends Elijah and Evelyn’s house so Mommy could actually make the Dr. visit. He was so upset when I left, but he didn’t want to leave when I returned. He had been playing hard in the sand and in the Little Tykes cars they had. I told him to say goodbye to everyone as I carried him off crying. “Bye bye, Bye bye,” he waved. Then, “Bye bye, cars, bye bye!” Guess those were his favorite toys. He has one of those cars – the Flintstone type – powered by little feet. He has a hard time getting out of it on his own. Yesterday, he slid himself out the bottom. It was a pretty snug fit!

"Quit trying to lick my arm, Patrick!"

"Tickle, tickle, Luke!"

Naughty naughty

Patrick and Luke are doing just great. They are very content babies as long as they are being held (or fed – kind of like how Joe is) They love their oatmeal and bananas and can snarf down a huge bowl in a matter of minutes. When they are really hungry, I will give one a bite then the next one and before I can get back to the first one, he is already fussing. Guess I’m not fast enough with the spoon!

.

Today, Joe whacked Patrick in the head. As soon as I said his name sternly, Joe walked himself over to the corner and gave himself a time out. He did it again a few minutes later when he knocked over a pile of laundry I had just folded. It wasn’t an offense punishable by time out, but he must have thought it was! I had a hard time not smiling.

Luke during tummy time. He looks so serious!

Patrick after the whacking - "I'm fine, mom!"