Let the summer begin

It was only a matter of time before we finally had some pool pictures to post! Several weeks ago we opened the pool in hopes to enjoy it a few extra weeks this year. We make that decision not knowing that it was going to rain and top 70 degrees for the 1st few weeks of it's opening.

After several days in a row of 80+ degree heat, the water was warm enough to enjoy. Don't get me wrong, it was cold, but not too cold that you couldn't get used to it! We all enjoyed the pool today. Jake lasted 30 minutes in his swim ring and Kate lasted over 6 hours, only breaking to eat and pee! She flipped, cannonballed, and swam the day away. We enjoyed the company of the Nodine's and the Sherman's for a little pool time and a cookout! What a great way to start the summer!!!

And how happy does it make you when this is what you daughter asks for for lunch:


















Also, here are a few pictures of Jake's newest past time...the spice cabinet!

Having fun:
























Worried that he may have broken something:

Our proud little graduate

On Friday, May 27th, Kate graduated from preschool. I promise you that our expectations are that Kate and Jake's academic careers go well beyond preschool so don't take this post as my pride related to her graduation. The source of my pride is the level of confidence she possessed when she took the stage with her 21 classmates. If you rewind just 2 years ago, Kate was deathly shy and would have possibly folded under the pressure of 50+ people watching her on stage. Friday night; however, she took the stage and microphone with such confidence that it made me tear up thinking of the possibilities that lie ahead for her in her academic/professional career.

After singing in a group for 5 songs, each graduate took the microphone individually and stated their name, signed their name, and then stated what they wanted to do when they grow up. Here is what Kate said:

"My name is Kate Mardis" and then she signed Kate.
"When I grow up, I want to be a doctor."

As I was putting her to bed this evening we talked about all the different possibilities of what she could do when she grows up. 1st it was a veternarian, then a doctor, then a teacher, and last, a mommy. Wow! Only time will tell what she will actually end up doing. Our job is to try and expose her to as much as we can so she can make the right decision when time comes!

We love you Kate and are so very proud of your 1st steps toward college graduation! The confidence you possess today will take you far in life. Just keep your head up and know that you can accomplish anything you set your sights on!

Sunny Saturday at the zoo

To get our minds off things like lice and teeth, we jumped at the chance to enjoy a sunny Saturday at the zoo. Ryan, the kids, and I headed over to the zoo to meet Kate's friend Adie and her family. Sure it was the 2nd time in 2 weeks but who is counting with a yearly pass! And...we went the next weekend too! With the rainest April on the books, we all have spring fever to get out and enjoy the sun!

Kate is now officially tall enough to ride the carosel by herself. At every stage it never ceases to amaze me how much older Kate seems to look. When I look at her now, I see such an independent little girl, working each day to uncover what more she can do by herself. I know every parent is biased but she just seems to get prettier each day. As you can see in the pictures, her independence starts with getting dressed each day! Nothing makes me day more happy than to see what she walks out of her room dressed in each morning. And as her teacher has said before, "today, I think she may be wearing every color of the rainbow".

Jake is also wanting to be more independent, but in the frustrating way that a 14 month old only knows how! He is the most sweet, lovable thing you have every laid hands on, but only if you can catch him! He is still struggling with walking but is cruising along anything and everything. Our goal is to be walking by 15 months...hopefully one of the next updates with be of video of his 1st steps.

Here are some pictures from the zoo! I love the one of Kate and Ryan munching on their favorite sweet...cotton candy! They are 2 peas in a pod.

Getting through the stressors of life

Hello world, it's me Whitney. For anyone still checking in...THANK YOU! I am coming up for a quick breath from this thing called life and thought I would share a few pictures through the blog while I am up for air. I anticipated the beginning of May to be very hectic; however, I did not expect to completely drown in life! I guess that is just how it goes sometimes.

Since I accepted my new position with Luitpold on February 21st, I have been working hard at getting a team in place to launch a new product the 2nd week of May. With a product launch comes hectic times; however, we had a few personal issues at home that added a little more to our daily routine.

The 1st week of May, Kate's teacher came running out to Ryan's truck after dropping her off for school and stated the words that every parents cringes to hear, "Kate has lice". For those of you that have ever had to deal with lice, I am sorry...to say that it is aweful is an understatement. The treatment part is easy, it is what comes the next 7 days that makes life tough. Here are just a few of the chores we did every night for 7 days: 1) Comb through every strand of hair for nits, 2) bag up every single belonging she has come into contact in the past several days, 3) wash and dry one of the two sets of sheets we have for her bed, 4) vacuum her bed and the couch coushins, 5) there was more but I have seemed to already put it out of mind!!! Ryan and I alternated a few days off and Kate even joined me for a few work meetings. Fun for her but quite stressful for us during our busy times at work.

10 days into it we thought we were in the clear only for the darn lice to return the night I got home from Austin, TX. After a long week I arrived home at 1:30 a.m. and found Ryan washing all our sheets and vacuuming the couch once again. Yep...groundhogs day! We lived 3 weeks with every piece of Kate's clothing on our living room couch. Finally, this weekend, I was finally comfortable enough to put her belongings back in her room. Let's only hope that is behind us. One day I will actually get to putting her quilt back on and reloading all her toys. I have learned that you can only do so much at once!

I guess with all the lice stuff, Jake was feeling a little left out so he decided to cut 4 teeth at once. The Monday after the lice returned for Kate, Jake's teacher called reporting that he had a temperature of 102. I was 4+ hours away from home so Ryan, once again, was at the rescue. Since we had just both missed a few days of work with Kate, we desparately reached out to our family and my mom graciously offered to help out. Several others offered (all, thank you) but it worked out for my mom and she enjoyed the 1:1 time with Jake. The question I had for her after the 1st day, "which is harder, a classroom of 6th graders or 1 fussy 14 month old". She never answered so am guessing the latter. Needless to say, things have been a little busier that usual but as they say, "this too shall pass".

To relieve the stress, we have been busy playing outside every chance we can and that it is not pouring down rain. Here are a few pictures of the good, "stress free" times - Jake enjoying the swing, Kate showing off her new trick of winking, Jake climbing on anything and everything he can, and last but not least, playing with new hairdo's (braid in the front with a pony tail).