Remembering my dad...

Today is a bitter-sweet day for me...it would have been my Dad's 56th birthday! It's been twenty years since I have celebrated a birthday with him...and twenty years later it still hurts. I would have had him over for dinner and cake and loved shopping for the perfect gift for him. The kids would have made him something with color scribbles all over that only a Grandpa would cherish. I would watch him get on the floor and play with the boys while they squealed in delight. He would have held Kyla the entire evening, never wanting to put her down. I would sit and talk to him (oh to hear his voice again) and give him the biggest hug ever...that is a moment in Heaven that I constantly think about...the chance to wrap my arms around my dad again!

Okay, enough tears...now for a trip down memory lane...

So do you think Kyla looks like me? Poor girl got my dumbo ears.

Relaxing on the couch...good times!


Performing! I loved preforming for my parents. I was three years old here and I would go into the bathroom and come up with a routine and come out and show off my "skills". Like the wiener stick and cool whip bowl for my props...gotta love the imagination at work:)


My dad was a carpenter and I loved being his helper.

My mom saved a scrapbook of some special things through elementary school. I came across this letter I wrote when I was 9 years old (2 years before he died) about my dad...excuse the grammar:)

My Dad!

My dad is 33. He is a carpenter. He has a beard and a mustache. He is great. He is making us our rooms. Lee has a room. Megan has a room. I have a room and my mom and dad have a room. My dad is a nice person. He helps one another. He loves me and Lee and Megan and Mom, and I love him too. He's my hunk!

My dad was great! I only have memories of him through a child's eyes, but they are memories I will treasure forever. He was so funny and could always make us laugh. Strict, but also very loving. He was a giving servant and was always the first person to help someone out. He loved working with wood and he was so talented! He loved God...and my parents taught and raised me to do the same...and for that I am eternally grateful! And you know what...even twenty years later...even at 31 years old...he would still be my hunk:)

Meet Chip...

It was one of those days...where you wanted to go back to bed and start all over again! Greg's been gone so I've been on single mom overload (excuses, excuses) and I've been feeling a little frazzled, tired and off my game. Then Monday happened.

I had been struggling with another rib out of place, so I was in A LOT of pain. I took Brayden and Kyla with me to go grocery shopping and as I was getting him out of the cart in the middle of Aldi's I lost my grasp on him and he fell smack down on the floor. Chipping his front tooth (I'm sure you can see the drama that unfolded from there). That is where his new nickname came in..."Chip". He reminds me of the little teacup in the movie "Beauty and the Beast". Ha! Poor kid. (He later in the day fell and cut his lip on that jagged snagel tooth...so we went to the dentist to get it filed down...to find that he has a cavity because that tooth was already cracked and it was a gathering place for all the sugar bugs). Sigh! Then two hours later I was getting ready to nurse Miss Kyla and I went to take my sweatshirt off (that sounds weird, but I don't know how else to say it...I did have a shirt underneath)...and during the time my hands were tied she decided to roll off the couch and smack head down on the floor. 2 for 2, mom, way to go!

Yep, that is my summer plant that is still outside. Judge away:)

The icing on the cake was the next day when sweet Jett wanted to go outside and help me shovel snow because I couldn't with my back pain. He comes in shortly screaming. I look at his head and there was a HUGE golf ball size knot on his forehead. I guess he stepped on the shovel and the handle came up and smacked him on the head. Awesome. 3 for 3!

So if you are looking for a nice head injury...come on over...I'm sure I can work something out for you! It seems to be my specialty these days:)

Kyla is 8 months old...

TODAY!

That's right...I posted on her actual milestone.

Shocker, I know!

She is still her happy, lovable self:) She has entered the "I see it...I want it" phase. The pictures below are the perfect example of my day...

She has two teeth (and got them in 4 days...ouch)!

She has started to eat table foods...and is putting it down.
She is a true Replogle:)
Warning before this next picture...whether you want to or not, you are going to smile. Oh my word, isn't she adorable. This is the happy face that I spend my entire day with:)

...and she is starting to army crawl.

My life will never be the same.

I need to put some presents under the tree, but I'm sure people don't want drool all over their wrapping paper.

Happy 8 months, Special K!

Ode to Shutterfly!

Who doesn't love a deal?

I certainly do...and I found a good one through Shutterfly.

All you have to do is write a blog about them and they give you 50 Holiday Cards free.

It's like I'm getting paid to ramble...

SO...

I am loving one of their cards because I like to send along a little update for people on what is going on with the family, but this year they have a card that does it for me. It's with their Story cards and it's called Top Ten Moments. What a fun idea!

OR...

I'm looking at the 5X7 folded greeting cards. It's nice to be able to put more than one picture on a card without it being too tiny and you squinting to see who you are looking at. This way you get to see a lot of the Replogles in a really BIG way:) Plus it flips open and you can put more pictures inside and write more than 10 words like the normal 4x8 greeting cards let you!

Way to go Shutterfly!

Thanks for keeping my wallet a little heavier this Holiday season:)

Visitors...

Over the last few weeks we have been blessed with a couple visitors to grace our presence. The first was Greg's great Uncle John and his wife Carol. We enjoyed a Saturday packed full of hanging out with them. You know what is the best thing about Uncle John and Carol visiting (besides their company of course)...the fact that they are my biggest cheerleaders and when they leave I have a huge self-esteem booster. They are always telling me what a great mom I am...How great I look (even with my extra 15lbs of baby weight that is refusing to shed)...How awesome my house is...How they can't believe how I can get everything done and do so much with three little ones...and how much they love my blog. Thanks Uncle John and Carol! My doors are always open for your visits and my self-esteem thanks you:)

Tradition. Every year my dad has all the boys over for a wood cutting day to help him store up firewood for the winter. This year...and I believe the first...every guy made it for some part of the day. Like Greg says, "nothing makes you feel like a man than holding a chainsaw in your hands." My sister and Aaron were even able to come up for about 24 hours to join in on the fun.

It's days like these that reminds you that family time is priceless!

Yesterday...

Kyla turned 7 months old!

A few names she hears from us...

Kyla Suelyn

Ky

Special K

Pumpkin

Sissy

Miss Kyla

Pumpkin Patch

Sweetie

Cutie

Girlie

Pretty Girl

What is she up to now?

That's right...sitting up!
Talking the cutest jibber-jabber ever.

Rolling all over the floor and spinning on her stomach

(I think crawling isn't too far away).

Napping awesome.

Sleeping at night - horrible.

16.6 lbs and 26 inches.

Eating from her high-chair

Getting teeth (hopefully, her gums are quite swollen, poor girl). The boys NEVER put anything in their mouth. However, this girl is keeping me on my toes because she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Brightens our day with her sweet smile, calm nature and lovable personality.

Jett is taking the role of big brother very seriously. He is so sweet with her and wants to be with her as much as possible. The other day he came up with this Kyla-Mobile (and it was nice for me too since she is on the go now). He would sit next to her and read her books, bring her toys and just talk with her. When he was ready to go to another room...he pushed Kyla right along with him(of course with mommy supervision:)! Brayden has even been warming up to her lately and acknowledging her. He usually asks once a day to hold her and I find him bringing her toys if she is playing or talking to her for a bit.

Everywhere I go, people always ask me, "Is she always this good?" Yes, yes she is!

Happy 7 Months, Our Little Blessing!

All Aboard...

Is anyone really surprise that for Halloween my boys were dressed up as Thomas?

I found the costumes at the Children's Resale that I help with and couldn't resist. I think they look pretty cute if I do say so myself:) Miss Kyla was a puppy dog. I'm not much of an animal lover, but she sure did steal my heart!

Greg had to work so I got the kids all around and we headed out into the neighborhood. Some of Jett's friends from school were out too so it was fun to be able to walk around with the moms and dads....sometimes I get tired of doing things alone.
Then we loaded up in the van and headed off to see the grandparents. Greg met us at the last stop and we had a fun evening hanging out with "the gang"...aka...Papa Denny's friends from High School.

Papa & Grandma Papa & Grandma Juday

Papa Denny & Grandma Susie

This year I got smart about the overflowing amount of candy. I use it as a discipline tool. We have been dealing with the boys hitting each other and it's honking me off...so each time they hit each other they get a time-out AND lose a piece of candy...that proudly finds its way to Mommy's stash!

Fall Break

We had such a fun fall break this year. It was so nice to have Jett home in the morning and a nice change to be able to go out and do something together. Usually I can't even go and do anything (fun) because I have to be back in time to pick him up.

So where did we go you ask?

Why of course...the train store!

Tradition sums up our trip...

We have a system.

First the horse ride (on the third floor). Then lunch at JoJo's pretzel (on the first floor). Then up to the train store (back to the third floor)...notice how we travel up and down the elevator...that is part of the fun! After the train store we ride the horses again.

Cutie Miss Kyla is having a little lunch while the boys ride with Grandma. Don't mind the mess on her face...it's not a feeding if not messy with Kyla!

THEN we of course get a gumball on the way out and put the pennies on the round and round thingy (yep, that's the best description that I can give you)!!!

Thanks for coming, Mom. You always make my life so much easier...and enjoyable. I love you!

Greg and I celebrated Fall Break by sharing Darcy's babysitter and going to the FHS football game together! It was so fun to actually eat at the tailgate party and talk with people without being interupted a million times and watch the game and know what was going on!


I could do this fall break thing more often...

Social-Fest 2010

The month of October was crazy at the Replogle household. It was full of a field-trip, a class party, snack day, another field-trip, family outings, and mom running around with her head cut off...
Social-Fest started with Jett having Grandparents day at his school. He was SUPER excited to show off his new establishment of learning to his grandparents that could make the fun day and then we had everyone over for lunch afterwards.

Next on the list we had a family outing to see my brother and get a tour of his new school and then lunch. The day started a bit dramatic when Bray got bit by a mosquito that made his forehead explode. Poor kid. It looks like I took a bat to his forehead...which I DID NOT for those of you who have CPS on your speed-dial. And YES, that is a stinkin' passy in my 31/2 year old kid's mouth.

I forgot my camera for Lee's school, but it was cool and so fun to spend a few hours with him:) Then Greg took us all on a tour of his airplane (my grandpa's sister came along too which made the trip extra special).


Yep, our traditional stair-step pictures...

Next on the list was Brayden's first field trip. We went to a farm and went through a corn maze, hayride, picked pumpkins, saw cows, went on a long sack slide, flung pumpkins into a pond and watched Brayden have a wonderful time:) It makes my heart smile to see him enjoy life!

Next up was Jarrett's field-trip. It was a whoa-momma one that lasted all day. We started out at the apple orchard picking apples. Then to the park for playtime and lunch. Then to the Pumpkin fashion farm for another hayride, a tour and yummy pumpkin ice cream. It was so fun to see him interact with his classmates and watch him talk and laugh with his friends. He later said his favorite part was riding on the bus...ahhh, to be 5 years old again:)

Next up was Brayden's snack day and class party, but I'm too lazy to add more pictures. Just picture around eleven, 3 year olds doing crafts, playing games, having snacks, doing a scavenger hunt and sitting in a basement while the tornado warning sirens are going off.

October's Social-Fest was a good one and it was fun being with the boys and all their activites. Now that the ratio of my children is 1 to 3...one on one time is less than I would like...so it was very special to be able to spend time with each of them and making so many wonderful memories!

Backfire!

On Saturday we loaded the kids up in the stroller and wagon and walked down to the Fire Station for an open house they were having.

We met Darin the the girls there and walked around together. They had all the engines and ambulances out for the kids to check out. They gave away stuffed bears to the kids and smoke detetors for the parents. It was a great idea to spark awareness...no pun intended:)



They got a tour of the station and got the chance to spray water from the hose.

...and then our great plan backfired!

They had a smoke house to teach the children what to do if there was a fire. They showed a video. Talked about what things can start a fire. How to call 911. How to have a meeting place outside during a fire. Showed them a fireman so they wouldn't be scared seeing one during a real fire. THEN they filled the house with smoke and they had to get on the ground and crawl to an exit. Jett was horrified! Terrified! Tramatized! The rest of the weekend he was a mess! The first night he was up until 2:00a.m. talking about how scared he was and didn't want our house to catch on fire. I mean, the kids heart was jumping out of his chest. The second day was the same. He even told us, "You putting me in that house was a bad idea!" That night he slept in Brayden's bed because they told him that smoke rises and he didn't want to sleep in the top bunk because the smoke would reach him. Smart kid! However I'm happy to say that last night he slept in his own bed and hasn't mentioned much about fire. Whew...I'm done with the fire drama for awhile!

Before I know it...

this blue eyed beauty will think being with mom is...uncool. Kissing her on the cheek in public...embarrassing. That my advice is...lame. Before I know it...she will be falling in love. Getting her heartbroken. Changing the world. So for now, I will hold her, enjoy every kiss, every giggle and every smile this big 6 month old baby girl gives me!!!!

Kyla is still the happiest baby ever.

Her beauty truly starts from her sweet heart!



Kyla is...

rolling all the way over.

clapping her hands.

laughing with gusto.

Kyla is...

trying to sit up all by herself.

(I seriously think her butt-cheeks were made uneven, poor girl, she is trying so hard:)

Kyla is...

sleeping SO. MUCH. BETTER.

Kyla is.. a messy eater! I asked Daddy for the first time to feed her. This is what I walked back into the kitchen to see. Do you think Daddy has a sneaky plan of making such a horrible mess that I never ask him to feed her again? However, she didn't mind:)

Kyla is...still enjoying playing with toys and all the new big ones:)

Happy 6 Months, Kyla.

We love you!!!!!!!