They put the "grand" in grandparents

We had such a fun day with Papa and Grandma a few Sundays back. The weather was gorgeous, the kids were in fabulous moods and we just really enjoyed our time together. They arrived after naps and we headed out to Lacamas Lake for a fun walk before dinner. Carter decided that he liked "hikes" without snow much better! It also helped that Papa carried him on his shoulders for the last 1/2 mile. It was so fun watching Carter and Grandma race up the trail and Carter was still talking about it days later. Both Carter and Kennedy love them dearly and Kyle and I are ever grateful for their generous spirits. It was nice to fix them dinner for a change, although Diane still made her famous apple pie (my absolute favorite dessert!) for us. It was a wonderful way to spend our Sunday.

Carter was all about racing up the trail. He loves his time outdoors and was enjoying touching the trees, learning about fallen logs and picking flowers with Grandma and Papa.

There is a wonderful walking trail along the southern side of the lake. It was nice to have 1/4 mile markers along the way and it was fun to show Ken and Diane some of the nice places near our home.

One of Carter's favorite things - I think he must have asked "one more time" about 100 times or so. Don't you just love grandparents? He certainly does!

Diggers, Dozers and Dumpers - oh my!

What three year old boy doesn't love a day to play in the dirt, drive bulldozers and play with all types of heavy machinery? Let's just say that Carter was in heaven during Dozer Day 2009. I do believe that the entire Portland/Metropolitan population was also enjoying this event, but despite the long lines it really was a blast. The weather was perfect and seeing the joy and desire light up Carter's face was the type of thing that I live for. It was wonderful!

We managed to find two short lines right off the bat. Carter chose to ride the *BIG* excavator first. He looks so serious in most of these shots, but I promise he was having fun!

There was a giant conveyor thingy (I think it usually moves rocks?) that shot out tons and tons of candy every ten minutes or so. Suffice it to say, it wasn't the healthiest of days. Carter loves candy!

Kennedy chilled in the backpack most of the time and, as usual, was a trooper. I think she enjoyed watching all of the chaos.

In addition to all the big equipment that kids get to drive with an "official" construction worker, there were loads of other diggers and things that they could climb and play with - it really was a fantastic event.

Mother's Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend we had celebrating Mother's Day and enjoying lots of family time. Kyle and I have been talking about hiking around Mount St. Helens for years now and we finally made that happen. The weather was perfect and the views amazing. Carter didn't love the "hiking" part and we decided that we'd have to go again sometime sans 3 year old. It really was beautiful and we'd even love to try to climb up the mountain.

Daddy and the kiddos. Kennedy did great in her first long ride in the backpack. I think it was a nice change of scenery for her.

The start of our "hike"...I use the term loosely because it was more like a little walk. Unfortunately there was still a great deal of snow covering the trails and little roads, so that made if tough for Carter to walk in.

Carter and I enjoying our picnic lunch. We dined on the tailgate of the truck, which Carter thought was the coolest. He got to have a juice box with his lunch and I think that was probably the highlight of his day!

This was the spot where we stopped for our picnic lunch. It was an old logging trail with a spectacular view. We walked around a bit here and enjoyed some more time outside.

We met a nice couple who were up camping and hiking for the weekend. They were kind enough to take a picture of the four of us.

Sunday began in the best way possible. Kyle let me sleep in until 7:00 (!!!) and then he and the kids delivered a latte in bed. How sweet is that? We headed out to Hillsboro to spend the afternoon with Grandma, Papa, Auntie Val & Mark and Great Papa. It was another nice day, so we were able to enjoy time outdoors. We had a great dinner, fabulous dessert and good company. It was a very special day and I felt extremely loved and spoiled.

The two most wonderful reasons to enjoy Mother's Day!

Kennedy's 1st Mother's Day - She was fantastic all day, which was the best gift I could ask for.

Auntie Val and our little monkey. Kennedy so badly wants to get down and move! I know she's just itching to start walking.

Papa schooling Carter in the proper techniques of baseball.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma!

swimming like a fish

Carter started swimming lessons on Tuesday at our neighborhood athletic club. We'd been playing it up something fierce, so he was thoroughly excited to finally get to go on his own. He had informed us that he had to be three before he could put his face in the water, so we waited until after his birthday to sign him up. It helps that the two neighbor boys are in lessons at the same time and Carter loves to do anything that they do! He was a little nervous on Tuesday but caught on quickly and really loved it. He goes twice a week and has already shown some improvement. It's been so fun watching him do this independently...kind of his first thing done completely on his own.

Before his 1st class - he was a little nervous, but SO excited!

We were playing with the neighbors before lessons on Thursday. I let Carter know it was time to go home and get ready for swimming lessons - he proceeded to strip down at Brock and John's house (I made him put his underwear and shoes back on for the walk across the street!).

The only action shot I could snap - we aren't allowed in the pool area until the last class, so this was through a window from far away.

so BIG!

Just had to post a pic of Kennedy's newest trick. Tonight as we were getting ready for bath, I was saying, "Kennedy is sooo big" and this is what she did in response. Such a cutie, my little monkey. Love her.

Check-ups

The kiddos had their respective appointments with the doctor last week. Carter had his three year exam and Kennedy her nine month-er. I foolishly thought it would be easiest to take them both at the same time - I think I'll refrain from that madness again. One would have been plenty. They were both quite well behaved, but Kennedy had ants in her pants and Carter was just his normal, active three year old self. Suffice it to say the teeny tiny exam room was a bit over crowded with the Phelan four. It was hard to stay on track and I'm not fully convinced that either got a thorough exam...oh well, I'll know for next time. The great news was that both are healthy and developing right on schedule. The pediatrician had no concerns which is always nice. Carter's check-up was a lot different this time around - more questions for him regarding his colors, name, birthday, age, etc. Basically the doc wanted to check his comprehension and language skills. Passed without incident, although I found myself crossing my fingers in hopes that he would "perform" well. He seemed to answer all the questions appropriately and there were no worries there. And Kennedy's doing great, too. I left feeling so thankful that for once it seemed like both kids were doing exactly the things that they should be doing.

Here are their latest stats:

Carter - 3 years old

Weight: 34lbs 8 oz (50-75% - kind of a broad range, but the chart is from 3-18 years, so it's pretty well smashed at the 3 year point. I'd guess he was pretty close to the 65%)
Height: 38 1/4 inches (50-75%)

Kennedy - 9 1/2 months

Weight: 17lbs 5 oz (25%)
Height: 27 3/4 inches (50%)
Head: 45cm (75% - love my kids and their big heads :)

They've both grown so much in the last few months, both physically and mentally. Carter is doing great with his letter and number recognition. He's counting well past tell, although he usually skips numbers in the teens. His speech is progressing so well. He'll be doing therapy only once a month now, but the progress that he's made in the last two months is remarkable. He loves "constructing", reading and helping Dad in the yard. He likes to help me cook and bake and will always choose to play outside if given the chance. We're working hard on keeping our hands to ourselves (he was in time out for hitting during Sunday school this week - super.) and remembering to use manners all the time. Tantrums are also on the rise recently so we're trying to nip them in the bud, as well. He can be so sweet, so loving and so funny at times. Just last week, I had asked him to get down from standing on a chair because I didn't want him to hurt himself. His reply, "trust me, I'm 3." He's really relishing in his new age and will tell everyone that he's three (or "free" now). Kennedy has started motoring around so much more over the past three weeks or so. She's still doing the army crawl, although just today she stayed on all fours and crawled a little. She's a pro at getting herself into a sit, has started waving bye bye and is now pulling herself up on things. She LOVES to feed herself and seems to be a good eater like Carter, although I question her taste as her favorite food at the moment seems to be bananas. Bleh. I'm still waiting to hear her say "mama." She's said Dada but I'm not sure she knew what she was actually saying. Who knows? She loves to cuddle, still finds her brother hilarious and enjoys taking in all the activity around her. She's vocal and knows what she wants but is also so sweet and loving. We're very blessed to have two high spirited and wonderful children.

Project: Complete

For the kids' birthdays, Nana and Pops purchased them a gigantic playground set (you know the one, it's from Costco and it's the size of a small house). We'd been talking about it since we moved in and when we came across them again this year it seemed like a good time to go ahead and do it. The actual set was purchased in March, but we didn't tell Carter about it until his birthday last week. He was so excited! As excited as Carter was, Kyle was equally as nervous about constructing the darn thing. The actual building didn't look terribly difficult (the directions were very detailed) but the challenge of leveling our yard seemed like a big hurdle. Living on a big hill definitely has its disadvantages and playground construction is a big one. We called around, got a bid to have the work done for us but then in the end Kyle decided to tackle the leveling himself. And he did an awesome job! He started with a shovel, digging out the perimeter and looking for any sprinkler system piping. He got that cut, capped and squared away. And then he rented a Bobcat machine thingy and had the whole area level in about an hour. We were SO thankful to have some wonderful help on "construction day" and could not have begun to finish so quickly without it. A big thank you to Tim, Kevin, Josh and Kyle's parents! Carter also was a super helper...naps were almost nonexistent and he was awake with the sun in anticipation of doing some building. It was a crack up to watch. We're lucky to say that the bulk of the project was completed on Saturday with a few hours left to finish on Sunday. Carter's been playing on his "park" non stop and really seems to love it. My husband is amazing and did such a great job - I'm so proud of his handy skills! Way to go everyone!

Here are some pics from start to finish:

This was taken as the day ended on Saturday - it was a long day, but they did a fabulous job!

Project complete! We've just got to get the bark chips in and we're all set. Happy playing kids!