LIFE (Feel Free to Just Peruse the Pics!!)

Doug reminded me the other day that our blog is like our own little family history and that I've seriously neglected it lately. Life keeps going and this year has gone by in a flash! So much has happened since I last wrote, I'm just going to cover the highlights. So here goes. . .

• I had 2 surgeries on my foot over spring and summer and was in a wheelchair for about 3 months - NOT fun!

my pretty pink cast!

At the time, I thought my foot would NEVER heal, but I'm happy to report that all is back to normal now:) It took about 6 months total, which was like an ETERNITY for me, but definitely taught me to be grateful for two healthy legs!

• trip to Utah over fourth of July weekend

Keegan took this one!
Me & the kids with my grandparents

We took a short trip to UTAH over the fourth of July weekend. Doug went HIKING with some friends from Albuquerque and me and the kids VISITED with my grandparents. I also got to see one of my DEAREST friends from Orlando, Tiare, who just had an ADORABLE little baby boy. While I was there I also arranged a mini-reunion of ORLANDO kids that now live in Utah. My friend CHERI hosted and six of us with our families came. It was really nice to CATCH UP with all of them!

• Happy birthday to Keegan!

We didn't officially have a party for Keegan's birthday this year, but invited over some of his closest FRIENDS for cake and ice cream. He's so BLESSED to have great friends here in Albuquerque and I feel LUCKY to know and LOVE all of them and their families. THANKS to all who made his birthday SPECIAL!

Things about Keegan at 7 years old:
*He's an AMAZING brother. He wanted a baby for so long and since Kaia was born, his life is complete. He loves that little girl like CRAZY and it melts my heart to see him with her.
*He STILL loves CARS! Maybe it's something he'll never OUTGROW, but since he was a baby, he's been fascinated with ANY & ALL cars. He knows cars way better than I do. It's funny because he'll know what kind of car all my friends drive, even when I don't!
*He loves to BUILD things. Again, he's so much better than I am at building AIRPLANES or cars or houses or BOATS with his Legos, K'Nex and Tinker Toys. I'm amazed at some of the things he builds without any instructions or guide.
*He's still such a GOOD boy. He's really HELPFUL around the house and ESPECIALLY with Kaia. He still loves to CUDDLE, which I'm grateful for! He loves MUSIC - we hear him singing QUIETLY in his room almost every night. I just LOVE him a TON and am so thankful he's my little boy!!

• Rocky Point with the Doug's family (minus Doug) in late July
• 

Bridgy and Kaia
Keegan and Tristan
cousin pyramid
sweet girls in the morning

• Dave's family stays with us a beautiful double-rainbow during the storm
• 
  playing in the rain
  

Kaia and Bella seeking shelter from the storm
playing peek-a-boo :)

Doug's younger brother, DAVE, had a podiatry rotation in Albuquerque for the month of AUGUST. Since his FAMILY isn't going to get to see much of him this YEAR, they came and stayed with us. It was really nice for the kids to have their sweet cousins around to PLAY with. KAIA and GAINES were so cute together! At first, Kaia just kind of MAULED him - she would climb up on his back and use him as her own personal little TRAIN :) But after a while, Gainers got USED to her and they started to have lots of FUN. They played PEEK-A-BOO, followed each other around the house, and ROCKED out on the drums! Since almost all of Keegan's toys are CARS, Bella developed quite a fondness for them! She and Keegan set up TRACKS and raced cars; they also liked setting up all our throw PILLOWS and jumping over them. It was SAD for all of us when the month ended. Kaia even woke up the next morning and was looking around the house for something - I think she missed her little CUZ :)

• Keegan starts the 2nd grade!

I can't believe he's already 2nd grader

• Labor Day in Spar

We ALWAYS have so much fun in SPAR! It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL there and we love being able to SPEND TIME with our good friends the Drakes and the Rices. The kids FISHED and HIKED and just enjoyed being in NATURE! I shot a GUN for the first time in my life - it was actually pretty FUN:) Lots of THANKS to the Rices for sharing this AMAZING place with us!

• Papa visits

Dad came for a week in September to meet little Kaia and spend some time with Keegan. The kids LOVED having him here as always! He even had time to read a couple of books while he was here. I told him how great The Book Thief is and Doug talked him into reading Manhunt, which is also really good. We're so grateful to him for coming out and always LOOK FORWARD to his visits. (I forgot to take pics until the last day of his visit and it was past Kaia's bedtime, so she wasn't very cooperative - dangit! But I love this one of the 3 of them. Dad's expression is PRICELESS!)

• Kaia turns 9 months

I love this picture of her with sweet potatoes on her face and her cute little teeth showing!

Weight: 17 lbs, 12 oz - 25%
Height: 27.75 inches - 50%
Head: 45 cm - 75%

At 9 months, Kaia could say mamma and dadda. She was standing up on her own, except when Doug tried to make her; then she would go all rubbery-legs and just sit down! She LOVED to jump, jump, jump and still lit up whenever Keegan came into the room. Doug taught her how to give HUGS and WRESTLE. Her hugs are short and sweet, but since it's pretty much the only time she sits STILL and cuddles, we all LOVE it (especially Daddy). Her version of wrestling is just growling and digging her face into Doug's shoulder, which is HILARIOUS! We're teaching her some SIGN language, so when she's all done with her meal, she'll WAVE her hands and say, "ah dah." It's pretty much one of the CUTEST things I've ever seen! She also loves to play PEEK-A-BOO and already has a BESTIE: the little girls she sees every day in the mirror! (see video above) She started WALKING at about 9 1/2 months and hasn't looked back. (see above video, again!) It's so funny to see her walk because she's just this TINY little thing. She really does bring so much JOY into our lives and we LOVE her guts!

• Happy birthday to Doug!

Doug's bday this year fell on a SATURDAY, which happened to be super BUSY for us. So we had dinner and CAKE with our friends, the Foutzes, on Friday night. Doug got a new TENNIS RACKET, some BALLS and lots of CHOCOLATE! Saturday, we took him out to LUNCH for his official BIRTHDAY and that night, he went to the UNM football GAME with a good friend, Seth. Happy 36th, old man!!! We sure do love you :)

• Balloon fiesta

We decided to go to the BALLOON FIESTA this year since we haven't been in a while. Keegan has always wanted to see the GLOWDEO, so we went that night. Unfortunately, there was too much WIND, so it was canceled. We were a little disappointed, but ate some YUMMY, highly fattening FOOD, watched the FIREWORKS and went home. We found out the next day that we could go again for FREE, so Keegan and I went and FINALLY got to see the balloons LIT UP in the dark. We all had a really good time :)