A Visit from the Jewell's

Last Saturday, one of my roommates from college brought her family up from Greenville, Indiana for a visit. We all met at my friend Schlaura's house. With all of our kids there we had a full house! Schlaura has one little girl, Annika, and Joni has tripletts, Ashlyn, Brooklyn, and Carson (plus another boy, Matthew, who wasn't able to make the trip). I had Krue and Kiefer, so that makes 6 kids (under 3 years) running around. We had so much fun swimming in Schlaura's pool, playing in her big backyard, chasing kids, and catching up. I told Joni that she must be a good friend because hanging out with her still felt like she was my roommate, even though I haven't seen her for a couple of years! We'll have to do it again soon.

Pictures: Annika and Krue, Ashlyn, Brooklyn, and Carson, Joni and her tripletts, playing in the pool, Kiefer and Ashlyn

Girls Night Out

My beautiful sister, Amy turned 21 on February 2nd. Lee, Ali, Dan, and I were going to go down to Indy to help her celebrate. To our surprise, little Kiefer decided to make an entrance into this world a week before her birthday...and all plans to go down were called off.

Ali and I decided to have a "post birthday" celebration and went down to Indy last Wednesday evening. We had so much fun!! It felt like we were back in college again... getting ready with the girls, dancing all night, and topping the night off with Pizza Express, yum!

Happy 21st, Amy! Thanks for showing us a great time. Love you.

Zoo Playdate

Last Wednesday Krue, Kiefer and I went to the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo for a playdate with some friends (My sister-in-law Brandi and her daughter, Ella, my neighbor Melanie and her daughter, Lauren, and my friend Myah and her daughters, Sophie and Halle). We had so much fun seeing the giraffes, monkeys, sealions, and other animals.




For Krue, the best part of the day was getting to ride a pony for the first time. As we took off on the pony he shouted out, "Awesome!" At first I held onto his back for extra support...but he pushed my hand away. He was pretty comfortable on ol' "Cookie" the pony. He said, "Thank you, Cookie" when he got off and gave her a big hug. What a sweetie.

To finish off our fun morning, the kids took a train ride with Brandi and Melanie (Myah and I stayed back to watch Kiefer and Halle) and then we all had a picnic outside. Both Krue and Kiefer slept well that afternoon.

Krue's Neighborhood Friends - "The Boys"

We don't know how our house as been lucky enough to be chosen as the neighborhood hangout...but it has been (and we love it!) The neighborhood kids seem to have taken a liking to Krue (and Lee) and come over almost every night to play. Krue just has a blast with these kids...he calls them "the boys" (even though one of them is a girl). When they come over he says, "Well hi boys!" and when they leave he yells out, "See ya, boys!" It is so cute seeing these 7 and 8 year old kids knock on our door to ask if Krue can play. Tonight there were nine kids playing out in our driveway with Krue. We love it that Krue is getting social interaction and learning cool, new, fun stuff from "the boys". They are great kids for Krue to look up to...and Lee and I have fun with them, too!

Triathlon Training Success

In order to tone up after having my second baby, I decided to train for a triathlon. I have been training for about two months now and my triathlon date is August 19th in Indy. I am really excited because I did a trial run last evening...and completed it without rest! All of my training is paying off, and it is actually really fun once you get into it. I am looking forward to the real thing in August.

Mommy's Eyes

When I first found out I was pregnant with Kiefer, I had hoped he would look a little like me (because we all know Krue is the spitting image of Lee). Well, so far it doesn't look like he resembles me all that much (the Elkins side of the family, yes...Erin, not so much). He does, however, have my eye color. You can really see it in this picture. At least Kiefer got his mommy's eyes. :)

Krue's Glasses

As I was putting on Krue's glasses this morning he said, "Glasses good. I like glasses." It was too cute! I guess his glasses are really helping him out :)

Fun at Baba and Papa Joe's House

Yesterday the boys and I traveled down to Bluffton (like we have been doing every Tuesday) to visit Baba and Papa Joe (my mom and dad). Krue had so much fun in the pool with Papa Joe. They even had a cool swim suit just for him.

We all had a fun time out on the back porch, swingin' and singin'.

Brotherly Love

Krue and Kiefer have definately taken a liking to each other. Krue is always saying, "Kiefer, watch this!" when he does something, and gives him lots of hugs and kisses...Kiefer just grins whenever Krue comes around. Here is a cute picture portraying their "brotherly love".

Big Boy Kiefer

Kiefer is almost 6 months old (4 months adjusted) and weighs 16 lbs.! Pretty good for starting off at 3 lbs. He is rolling over from tummy to back, babbling up a storm, and smiling at everyone. He loves socializing and jumping in his jumper swing. He is sleeping through the night (8pm-7am) and taking 3 naps a day. Check out the pictures of him on the doggy chair. The first one is of him when we first brought him home and the second one is close to his age now.

A Few of Krue's Favorite Things...

At the age of 2 years, Krue has very specific things he considers his "favorites". These things are: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", and Basketball.

I am not kidding, Krue asks for these things 3 or 4 times a day. When he wakes up..."Mom, eat peanut butter and jelly?" Then, "Mom, read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book?" Then, "Mom, go outside and play basketball?"....ALL DAY LONG!

What a riot!

Family Fun!

Yesterday was so HOT! Lee and I decided to take advantage of our neighborhood pool, and what a great idea it was. We loaded up the boys and headed down for some fun in the sun. Kiefer loved the water and stayed in for about 15 minutes with mom until he got sleepy. We stuck him in the shade, with just a diaper on, and he took a good snooze while the rest of us played in the water. Krue is really getting comfortable in the water. He is mastering his doggy paddle (with water wings) and enjoys being thrown back and forth by mom and dad. We ordered some food, poolside, and had a nice family lunch. During the boy's naps, Lee and I relaxed for a bit and then worked outside on the yard. When the boys woke up we went for ice cream. This was a great day! Unfortunately we forgot the camera :(

Joining my fellow blogger friends...

It seems to be a trend among my "mom friends" to have a blog. I have enjoyed staying updated with their families by reading these blogs and have decided to try it for myself. This way I won't bother everyone with monthly updates about my family via email. Now you can check in on us whenever you feel like it...whether it be weekly, monthly, or every couple of months. I will try to post something every week, so feel free to check in. (This is also a nice way for me to journal about the boys while they grow up.) Enjoy!