New Blog

My blog is full! I have reached my limit for photo upload, so I had to start a new blog. I didn't want to delete any postings, as I use this blog as an electronic scrapbook for our boys. Please visit our new site at: www.kaleandliam.blogspot.com

Liam's First Haircut

Neither Kris nor I particularly like long hair on boys. Liam's hair was getting pretty long, not to mention he has some CRAZY hair that sticks up all over. So keeping it short is the way to go. 

I took both boys to get a haircut on Thursday at the children's salon near our house. They have chairs that are cars, trucks, or airplanes and they show movies while cutting hair. Liam had to be woken up from his nap to go to his haircut appointment. He was still rather groggy.

This is what I mean about the crazy hair...

Now he looks like such a big boy!

He did pretty good on his first haircut, very little crying. I did have to hold his hands down for part of it because he kept trying to get the scissors out of the stylist's hands. 

Kale's Sense of Style

Kale has started to insist that he dress and pick out his own clothing. His sense of style is rather interesting. On this day, he wore gym shorts with Halloween socks, a long sleeve yellow Curious George Shirt with a neon green fleece (on backwards) over the top, and of course his plaid hat. He changes clothes about 10 times a day. I am never sure if his clothes are clean or dirty and usually just end up doing even more laundry. 

Kris saw a video of a little boy riding a vacuum so he decided to try it with Kale. Kale wasn't too keen on it...

I love watching my boys interact. Liam is really starting to mimic EVERYTHING Kale does. On this particular day, Kale was coloring with markers. Liam grabbed one of the markers (with the lid on) and started moving it back and forth over the coloring page. He knows what he is supposed to do just from watching Kale.

Liam also thinks he knows how to put puzzles together. 

Family Pictures

We took family pictures on Sunday. We weren't really sure how they would turn out because neither one of the boys were interested in napping that day. Every other day, they nap like clockwork, but not on picture day! Coincidentally, once we got home, Liam started running fever...

Love this pictures of my guys!

My sweet boy...

Love the big tree and old barn in the background. 

His eyes look amazing here!

This captures Kale's personality perfectly!

Not sure what the boys are looking at...

These are just a few of the pictures our wonderful photographer took. We are so happy with the way these photos turned out. 

Uh-oh!

I swear Liam is saying uh-oh. What do you think?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Basketball

This video will probably be boring to most people. But as I took this, I couldn't help but notice just how grown up Liam is looking. He is definitely not a baby anymore. Kale has managed to teach him to play basketball and he loves it! Kris is definitely outnumbered with all of the basketball players around here. (basketball is the one sport Kris hates. )

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bacon Ranch Chicken

Bacon Ranch Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

2 tbsp real bacon bits

1 tsp minced garlic

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c sour cream

Cooked egg noodles

Directions:

1. Combine bacon, garlic, ranch dressing mix, soup, and sour cream; mix well.
2. Pour over chicken in the slow cooker.
3. Cook on high 3-4 hours (or low for 6 hours).
4. Shred the chicken and put back in the pot and then add the egg noodles; mix together. 

Big Boys!

Kale is really getting to be such a big boy. He has started showering by himself. The other day, I was in my room and all of the sudden, he started stripping. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Kale shower." He went and opened the curtain and jumped in the shower. His soap is in a pump container that he can work. He preceded to "lather up" his body and hair. This kid knows what he is doing! He's practically ready to move out on his own! 

I had to document Liam's hair as I think he is getting ready to get his first haircut this weekend. He has CRAZY hair when he wakes up from a nap. It stands up all over his head. He looks a little like Albert Einstein. I was brushing it today and noticed that the back of his hair is so long, it touches his shoulders when brushed straight down. Much different from Kale who didn't need a haircut until really recently. 

11 months

Liam turned 11 months on Tuesday. Hard to believe his age will soon be reported in years instead of months. One of the girls in my mom's group said she was surprised how "together" I was with 2 little ones so close in age. I explained to her how easy going Liam is. He is a super baby and much more low maintenance than Kale ever was (or is). Don't get me wrong, he loves to be held, but overall, he is such a sweet and happy boy. 

At 11 months, Liam LOVES Kale. He follows him everywhere and wants to play with the toys that Kale is playing with. This is often a problem, as Kale isn't always keen to share. If Kris and Kale go somewhere without Liam, Liam knows and hangs his head and cries and cries. It's so sad. He doesn't want to be with momma; he wants to be with the "boys." He is quite the climber these days. He made it halfway up the stairs this week (in an effort to follow Kale), before I noticed what he was up to. He also managed to crawl into the bathroom and up into our big chair all by himself. 

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy made it's way toward us on Sunday night. Schools and colleges and many places of work were closed on both Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of high winds and major power loss. We got lucky  and kept power the whole time. The storm actually wasn't too bad here. It rained nonstop for 2 days and was generally kind of icky. Some places in Richmond did flood, overall we were very, very lucky.

We had to be creative to keep the boys busy since we couldn't get out and about. 2 days stuck in a house is too long with 2 little ones! Kale loved emptying out his piggy bank and then putting the money back in the slot. Kept him busy for hours!

We had lots of fun snacks!  

We played puzzles, read books, colored, and played with play dough. 

Kale decorated himself (and the entire house) with stickers.

Kale's school had a trunk or treat on Sunday. We got the boys all dressed and headed out, only to find out they had cancelled the event due to the impending hurricane. Many Halloween events were cancelled or postponed due to Sandy. 

Happy Halloween!

Cookie Monster and Elmo were all smiles for trick or treating tonight!

I think Kale must already be checking Liam's mouth for candy.

Kale did a fabulous job trick or treating this year. He was so excited about getting all of the candy. He would very politely say trick or treat and thank you after each house. Liam sat in the wagon and babbled to himself. Some people noticed him and included candy for him, as well!

When we got home, Kale dumped all of the candy on the floor and started opening everything!

Liam thought he needed to get in on the action. 

Kale wasn't too excited to find out he had to share his candy with mom and Liam.