Grandpa and Grandma's visit

We were fortunate enough to have Grandpa and Grandma visit us for 5 days this past week!!! This was the first time they came to our house here in Ohio. They also hadn't seen Kendall since she was 3 weeks old. We had tons of things planned, so the 5 days were super busy and went by really fast.

Day 1:
Grandpa and Grandma arrived late in the afternoon. We had just enough time to re-introduce them to the kiddos, show them the house, prepare dinner, eat dinner, and go on a walk at a nearby park.

Day 2:
In the morning, we went to Magic Mountain, where the kiddos had a BLAST! They love that place! Seriously, they love it! When lunch time arrived, they didn't want to leave. But once we got to the North Market, they were all happy again. We love being able to get different types of food for everyone. Belgian, Indian, Chinese, Italian, American, etc. and of course, Jeni's ice cream, including Cayenne Pepper Chocolate Ice Cream (which I don't particularly enjoy, but hey, it's kind of interesting). Then we went to the Easton Mall and shopped around for a couple of hours. When it started raining, we decided to stay and eat at Bon Vie (which is totally spelled wrong - it should be Bonne Vie).

Day 3:
We went to another park nearby, where there are TONS of different trees, plants, flowers, and herbs. It's really neat, especially for Grandma, who absolutely loves to garden. The kids had fun running around, picking up acorns, and playing in the treehouse (which I had to climb, too, because I was nervous about the boys being all the way up there). That evening, we went to German Town and ate at Schmidt's. Mhmm mhmm mhmm!

Day 4:
The weather was beautiful, so we spent most of the day at the zoo, checking out the animals and letting Kendall tell us where to go. We especially likes the penguins, koalas, gorillas, bonobos, and "Dori" fish. Oh yeah, and the kids rode the caroussel. And yes, Logan's sunglasses are upside-down, because "You're not cool unless you're wearing your sunglasses upside-down." That night we ate at Golden Coral because all 3 kiddos eat so well when they can eat a little bit of everything.

Day 5:

We went to Pigeon Roost, and it was even better than I had imagined. We were there for nearly 5 hours, but we literally could have stayed there all day. The kiddos had so much fun, and so did the adults. They loved the slide, the goats, the chickens, the bunnies, the corn pool, the spooky tunnel, the giant gerbil thingy, and the corn maze. We didn't even get to everything that was there. Logan's favorite things were probably the corn pool and the giant slide. Taylor's were the spooky tunnel and the giant slide. And Kendall's were leading the way into the corn maze (where she kept making left turns) and the spooky tunnel. That night, we ordered food from Texas Roadhouse. It took a lot of boxes to feed all of us. When we picked it up, the girl said, "Are you feeding an army?"

It was fun seeing Grandpa and Grandma. We are so glad they came to visit. They really spoiled us and the kids are still asking about them. We're looking forward to seeing them again in May 2013. Until then, we will miss you, guys!



Kendall is 17 months

Kendall saying "Weeeeee"

Kendall is 17 months. In 1 month, she will be going to nursery - not that I'm excited or anything. Billy and I take turns taking her to Priesthood/Relief Society. But for some reason, she only falls asleep when she's with him. When she's with me, I end up having to take her out into the hall.

At 17 months, Kendall:
- enjoys taking toys that her brothers are playing with and running away with them
- always takes the shortest route, and if your face is in the way, too bad
- uses people's bodies to climb onto the couch
- throws food off her high chair, pillows at people, balls at her brothers,...
- hits people if she's unhappy with them
- pinches people for attention
- hits heads with people for attention
- says ball, car, hop, apple, more, yes, and a few other things (I am sooo happy that she uses the word yes more often than the word no)
- understands a lot, like when I tell her I'm going to change her diaper, or when I ask the boys if they need to use the bathroom, or when I ask her if she wants a snack/milk, etc.
- if she's in the mood for kisses, she kisses me on the lips, but if she's not in the mood for them, she leans forward to have her forehead kissed
- she only cries if she is really hurting, otherwise she just calls for help in her sweet little voice
- she is always the first to greet daddy at the door when she hears the door open
- she loves to help me clean up the toys at the end of the day
- she enjoys reading books and pointing at pictures
- she still gets a little frustrated with Legos but keeps trying
- she loves little babies and baby dolls
- she enjoys pushing car toys around
- she loves doing everything her brothers do (not always a good thing)
- when asked, she can point to her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, hands, feet, belly button, and tongue

Kendall is my little shadow; he follows me everywhere. She loves to help me with laundry, dishes, cleaning, and cooking. She definitely has a lot of personality, but most of all she is so so so sweet. She doesn't even mind when I put her down for bedtime 30 minutes early because I am exhausted. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "I could have 20 of her."

Random September pictures

Cooking

At the playground

Ready for winter/trying on winter clothes/putting away summer clothes

Playing with stickers

Snuggling/spinning in the chair

Morning mop (I mean hair)

Painting

Looking super cute on Sunday morning

At the dentist

At the petting zoo

Polar bear love

Checking out the polar bears

Iowa Girls Weekend

I have been a huge slacker when it comes to blogging. Why, would you ask? Because I have been a huge slacker when it comes to taking pictures. And why, would you ask? That is a great question...
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my dear Iowa friends living in Ohio and Indiana made the 3(-ish) hour drive to come see us and check out Columbus. Thank you so much to the Pitchers and Renchers for the awesome visit. We loved seeing you and hope to see you again soon. Love you, girls! Enjoy the pics.

The sweetest thing

Logan has always been a really sweet boy, but these last few days, he has been EXTRA sweet to me. Just yesterday, I was playing with him in the playroom. I was sitting on the carpet and he was sitting next to me. Out of the blues, he got up and sat on my lap and said, "Mommy, I love to snuggy with you." He didn't have to tell me twice.  We laid right there on the ground and I told him how much I love to snuggy with him, too. Then he said, "I love you soooo much!" and covered me with what seemed like a million kisses.
I love these moments. They don't happen every day, but that's okay, because they make these days really special. This experience will probably make my top 10 favorite moments. I love this little guy soooo much!

Where we came from...

We love 99% of our house. It is a huge step forward in where we came from. When Kendall was first born, we still lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, right across from Des Moines University. Right on the border of the "ghetto." With "white trash" living below us and across from us. With a common washer and dryer. With homeless people digging through the dumpster right outside of the apartments. With an air condioning box that really just cooled down the living room. With a heater that we had no control over (we opened our windows in the winter). With an open parking lot that left our cars covered in snow and ice. With a shoveling company that burried our cars in 4 feet of snow. I'm sure I could go on and on.
So anyway, our house is fantastic. We love having a yard, a deck, a walk-in closet, separate rooms for the boys and girl, a double-car garage, our own washer and dryer, a heater and air conditioner that we can control, and multiple bathrooms. We only down-side --- our neighborhood. When we found this house on the Internet, we asked our real estate agent to show it to us. She told us she'd show it to us, but that the house was not in a very good school district. We thought this wasn't a big deal because our kids won't go to school while we're out here, and with the market being what it is, resale is going to be hard anyway. We were in love with this house, and to a certain extent, we still are. However...

June 2011: We move into our house.
June 2011: We meet some of our neighbors.
June 2011: We get a security system (most of our neighbors do, too).
July 2011: My mom is here. She gets up at 4 AM to use the bathroom. She sees a cop car drive by. Weird!
September 2011: One of our neighbors gets arrested. There are 4 cop cars in front of her house. She comes home a few days later.
February 2012: I go out to get the mail. There a cop car across the street. The cop sees me and waves me over. He has questions about some other neighbors. He even has a picture of them. Scary!
July 2012: It's nearly midnight. I hear something that comes around our house every minute or so. The sound only lasts about 10 seconds. I go to the front of the house, but I don't see anything. I go to the back of the house, where there are only trees separating us from a field. That's when I see blue and red lights all around the field. Then I see a helicopter flying over the field and our neighborhood. WTF?!?
September 2012: We have new neighbors. They have only been there for 2 weeks, and already there is a cop knocking on their door.
September 2012: I see the girl who got arrested last year arguing with her boyfriend. That night, a cop comes knocking on their door.

Let's be honest here. Billy is going to be a well-paid doctor. Once we move from this house, we will never again have to deal with this type of stuff. But let us always remember where we came from...

Potty- trained!!!

This momma could not be happier! Logan and Taylor are potty-trained! It has been quite a journey, for us, I'm afraid.

We started in January. After 2 months of trying, I was frustrated, the boys were frustrated, and we all needed a break! The stickers and cheers were not working. The boys would sit on the potty, not do anything, and pee in their underwear within 5 minutes.
Just 2 days after their 3rd birthday, I decided to try again. It took 3 days. Candy and privacy turned out to be much better incentives. I also think that the boys were more ready this time around.

Pros: 1. We only use 1 diaper a day for each of them, at night time.
Cons: 1. I have to clean the bathroom floor multiple times a day. (We're still working on their aim.)
          2. We have to plan trips, making sure there will be bathrooms along the way.
          3. I have to carry clean underwear and pants around, just in case.
          4. My baby boys are now big boys :-(

Still, I feel like not only is this one of Logan and Taylor's biggest accomplishments, but one of mine, too! I couldn't be more proud of my big boys!

Kendall is 16 months

Big changes have happened in the Beeston household this month. First, Logan and Taylor are potty-trained. Second, Kendall is walking. Third, Logan and Taylor are not napping anymore. More on that later...

As I am uploading these pictures, I am realizing that Kendall is messy in both of them. That pretty much sums up what Kendall looks like 50% of the time. LOL

This month, Kendall:

- says, up, hot, out, hot, light, go, hop hop hop, and roars and barks and meows

- blows on food when it's hot

- stands by the pantry when she's hungry

- hits her brothers when they take her toys

- holds the phone to her ear and says, at

- kisses us when we ask

- pinches me then hugs me

- bites me then kisses me

- loves to go to the zoo

- enjoys playing in the water

- wants to eat everything her borthers eat

- loves to run around the house, being chased by Logan and Tayor

- enjoys snuggling up in the couch with Mommy and Dadd

Kendall sleeps great, she eats great, and she plays well by herself and with other kids. I could have 20 kids just like her. But I'm not going to. LOL