Valentine's Photo Shoot

The hubs and I recently took the kids to Melbourne, Fl while we were staying in Orlando for a few days.  We headed to a local park and had a wonderful friend/photographer take some pictures for Valentine's Day. This is the 2nd time she has taken our pictures, if you got our Christmas card the family picture was taken by her a few months ago. She and her family created this beautiful Kissing Booth and decorated it beautifully for her Valentine's Mini sessions.  She was gracious enough to fit us in during a day not scheduled for her mini sessions. 
The day wasn't the best of days and it was a bit windy and chilly, but she got some great shots of my boy by themselves and together.  Here are a few from the shoot.

Pictures Taken by: Nicole Cangiano
Website: http://nicolecangiano.com/

Our Elf on The Shelf

Kalen and Lucas finally got to meet Our Elf.  He has been patiently waiting for about two years to come visit.  I wanted to wait till at least Kalen would understand him and actually look for him each day.  He showed up a few days before Thanksgiving, because he knew we wouldn't be home. Clever little Elf.  He showed up during nap time and brought with him marshmallows and a box of rice krispies so we could make Rice Krispy treats.  Kalen was way more interested in the marshmallows at the time. 
After we made Rice Krispies we sat down and read the book that came with the Elf.  He still didn't exactly understand that the Elf would leave at night to go see Santa.  I think he kinda understands now.  We also watched the movie, The Elf on the Shelf, an Elf's story.  He loved the movie.
Our next task was to get our Elf a name.  This took a few days.  I thought for sure his name would be, Frank.  He calls a lot of things Frank right now.  Surprisingly that wasn't his name.  The hubs and I would point to the Elf at random times and ask who it was.  Kalen started responding with Santa. We think he was slightly confused because we keep telling him that he goes and sees Santa.  So one day when The hubs came home from work Kalen told us it was , Chris King.  We have no idea where he got this from and we thought it was funny he gave him a last name.  We think he was maybe trying to say Chris Kringle.  So we went with Chris although he still calls him Santa also. 
He loves Chris and freaks out when he finds him.  Lucas actually found him first one morning and was screaming at him. 
Since we can't touch him he has mostly come back to pretty high places.  I don't want to tempt the kids to play with him since he does look like a toy  (A slightly freaky looking toy).  The one day he was in arms length Kalen would run up to Lucas and tell him "No touch, Wiscus!"

Here are some pictures of where Chris/Santa has been so far

Waiting for the Boys to get up!!

Kalen found him, trying to get all the marshmallows without touching the Elf

Hanging upside down on the garland. This was the day Lucas spotted him

 

Chris hanging with the Snowman

Chris hanging out with some wedding pictures

Pretending to be an ornament

Sitting on top of the entertainment center

Monday morning he dyed our Milk green!!! Crazy little Elf.  I told him to keep his shenanigans to a minimum since he has to keep this gig for a while, he doesn't want to run out of them. 

Silly Chris.. dying our Milk Green!!!

When Kalen asked for Milk Monday morning I opened the fridge and he saw Chris attached to the Milk.  He first told me he was stuck.  Chris only used two tiny drops of Milk so our Milk isn't super green and you can't really notice till you get it out of the fridge.  Kalen was laughing and dancing.  He was so shocked Chris dyed our milk green.  When I went to pour the milk in the boys cups, he told me "Careful, No touch." Such a cutie.  He was also telling Lucas that the Elf was silly and so funny!! He has been back multiple times to the fridge to check on Chris. 







Thanksgiving Week

We sure had a busy couple of days!! We had a lot of fun though.  Our original plans for Thanksgiving were going to be just staying at our house and having a small dinner.  However the Hubs found out he also got off Wednesday so we decided to go to Orlando and spend the holiday with his family. 
We left after he got off work Tuesday and had plans to get up early Wednesday get breakfast with my "biggie" (sorority big sister) and then head to Islands of Adventure. 
Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the slowest Denny's on the planet, seriously I could not even imagine if they had more than 4 full tables.  After we were all full we headed over to Islands of Adventure, this was a pretty exciting trip because Kalen was actually Tall enough to ride the bigger kid coasters.  As soon as we got in we headed towards the Harry Potter part of the theme park and Kalen & I got in line for the Hippogriff Roller Coaster.  Our wait wasn't to bad and he did great in line.  Of course he collected a few leaves while we waited, and they made it all the way through the ride as well.  He has a new fascination with leaves that started at The Gator Game.  We got to the front of the line and climbed in to a cart.  The only thing that stinks about these rides is the fact there is one bar.  So the bar stops as soon as it hits my legs, leaving Kalen free to fly right out.  So I just turned and placed my leg over his and pulled him close.  I really had no idea how he would feel about the roller coaster, being that he has no control of his body which was moving around.  I had a pretty tight grip on him the whole time so he didn't move much.  I yelled "weeeee" the whole time so he would understand that roller coasters are not "scary" they are "fun." I put those in quotes cause I know riding a roller coaster is not fun for everyone.  He yelled "weeee" the whole time too, but I'm still not quite sure how he feels about them.


Waiting in line

Heading to the top!!

 After the ride we headed over to the Butterbeer cart and got a few and camped out in front of Honey Dukes, which is the candy shop in HP world.  We always get butterbeers and I fill up a candy bag full of Lemon drops and other yummy treats.  So while we were slurping down our drinks Kalen was watching the Chocolate Frog open and close in the window and he thought the Froggie was hilarious so we got him one of his own. 



Nom Nom Nom

Daddy getting some Chocolate Frog!!



He was making him Ribbit

We rode a few rides in Dr. Suess land and then headed home.  The nice thing about passes is we can go for a few hours and leave!!


Riding the Caro-Seuss-el

Thursday of course was Thanksgiving and the boys were going full blast at 9am.  They never left the porch all day!! They had so much fun playing with their aunts, uncles, and cousins. I really have no idea how they made it.  They did get a tad cranky around 6, but nothing a bowl of icecream wouldn't fix! haha I only got a few pictures of them because they were pretty much blurs all day. Daddy also sent Kalen and his cousin Blase on a flight while they were in Cozy coupes.

Flying!!!

Here is a video of what was happening!

 

Anytime the cars would touch the ground they both would start yelling "Fly!!!"

After dinner Mike's parents set up a few "Minute to Win It" Games and we got into couples and hashed it out.  We ended up tieing with Mike's Sister and her husband, but neither of us wanted to compete again so we ended in a tie.  The Games were so much fun and Kalen and his cousin Blase got in on a couple of games and I have a video of them shaking ping pong balls out of a tissue box!! They were too cute.

 

 

 

We ended up heading home after we did a little black Friday shopping so we could still have a little weekend!!

 



Kalen at the Swamp

My mom who came up for the weekend also gave up her ticket to the Gator game.  So the hubs and I decided we would bring Kalen.  The weather was suppose to be in the high 60s and it was the last home game of the season.  We figured the weather would be perfect for him because every other game this season was hot, seriously I left every game a hot sweaty mess!! I went in with not so big expectations.  I was sure we would be leaving early and really had no idea what he would do being confined to a seat for a few hours.  He did great and he loved every minute of the day.  He had been to a game previously but he was only about 6 months old and slept through most of it.  So this was a whole new experience for him. 
For the past couple of days I have been asking him if he wanted to go see the Gators play.  He always said yes and would add "Alligators play, football play."  Last night (Friday) when we put him to bed I said we would go see the gators play tomorrow (Saturday).  When he woke up this morning he told me "Mommy Alligators play, Football." While my mom got him changed from the night I went to go finish getting ready.  In the time I left his room and went into mine, he freaked out.  He thought I had left him. :(  We left the house around 9:15, made a stop at Dunkin Donuts to get some coffees and donuts and then headed to Gainesville.  We got in around 10:30 parked and started walking to the stadium. 



Excited little mister!! Going to see the Gators Play

Getting carried by daddy

On our way he found some piles of leaves and had to pick one out, not a problem until he dropped it and we had to double back to get to it.  The leaf made it all the way home along with one we picked up on the way back to the car.  Our first stop before the game was the Albert and Alberta statue outside the Alumni center.  He was so cute getting his picture taken!

Kalen with the Statue (yes that is the leaf in his hand)





We headed over to the Booster tailgate which was inside the O Dome.  Kalen filled up on lots of junk food, a souvenir cup of popcorn, chips, cookies, and lemonade.  He was in heaven.  While we were waiting, the volleyball players started practicing, so we went and watched them for awhile.  We figured we would try and stay here as long as possible since he wasn't getting bored.  Once we left we met some friends outside the stadium and chatted for a little bit. We had to wait on my hubs friend to get there with his ticket, since Kalen was using my moms.  Mike left to go get his ticket and Kalen and I headed in.
He was in complete awe when we walked in.  He pointed out every alligator he saw. Needless to say he said alligator a lot.  (He also pointed out all the Alligator cars on the way in, which is any car with a Gator sticker on it).  We got to our seats and he sat right next to me and was just looking around taking everything in.  We watched all the seniors come out and he clapped for them, it was pretty cute.  Then he got to experience some cheers, yes we do these at home during the games but its much more exciting at the game.  He loved when each side of the stadium yelled the teams colors.  The Student section yells Orange then our side yells Blue.  He ended up yelling Blue long after the cheer was over.  He also yelled 'Go Gators' a lot.  We said the Pledge and sang the National Anthem and even got a Flyover, Kalen loves planes so his eyes lit up when they flew over, the Jets got lots of "Wows".  It was then time for the players to run out of the tunnel.  On the Jumbo tron you start watching Gators in their swamps swimming around, which led to "Mommy, alligators".  Then all the players came running out.  "Wow, mommy look". I walked him down to the wall so he could see the players warm up and say their prayers in the end zone.  He was just completely amazed.  It was so neat to see what I've been watching for 20ish years through his eyes.  Everything was about the coolest thing he had ever seen. Just seeing the field was so neat, the flags, the band, he just loved everything.  He watched and cheered through most of the first quarter and then he pulled out his leap pad (I packed it along with a phone for movies, I wanted to be prepared if he became disinterested in the game). He played on it for a little while and then we got him some cotton candy.  The cotton candy kept his interest for quite awhile, all the way through halftime.

 Luckily we had some extra seats in our row, so Michael got to sit with us.  At the beginning of the second quarter Albert started making his way toward our section so I took him down to the wall and he got to meet Albert!! He loved him!

Albert
 

Kalen with Albert

He came back and sat in his seat and began playing with our tickets and I had tickets from previous games so he was making it rain tickets while staying in his seat area.  We decided to change his scenery and we headed over to the student section where Mike's friend was.  At the end of the game the Players gather near the student section and sometimes jump on the wall with the students. We thought Kalen would like to see that.
On our way over we stopped to get a picture with a giant Gator head.

Kalen looks so small (the remaining cotton candy is in his hand)

Kalen got a lot more room over here so he was moving up and down the row in front of us.

Sitting.. for a moment

We moved a few rows down at the end of the game hoping to see a few players up close.  After the players sang the fight song they started walking down by the students and giving everyone high fives.  A student moved out of the way and let Kalen get on the wall and he leaned over and got to High five Jon Bostic (who got a pick 6 in the game)  I tried to get a picture when he was walking over but if I let go of Kalen he would have fell right onto Bostic because he was leaning so far over.  I thought it was pretty neat, he just knew he high fived a Gator.  He then saw Alberta so we waited for her to walk down.  A cop actually asked if we were waiting for her and then went down and got her.  He was excited.


Kalen and Alberta

This little mister had a blast.  I never thought we would make it through the whole game.  They end up being 3-3 1/2 hours long, I mean keeping a toddler engaged in anything that long is hard let alone when he only has a seat cushion of space during the span of time.  He never once cried, had a meltdown, or asked to go.  He was the happiest kid all day,  and we were gone for over 9 hours.  I was beyond shocked.  I also never expected him to sit and watch the whole game, which was why mommy came prepared with a phone, leap pad and some snacks.  He only played with the leap pad for about 10 mins.  He imagination did come out big time, the tickets he was playing with became monsters at one point. When we moved over to the student section his sippy cup became a rocket that was blasting off , flying around, crashing, and landing.  He ended up watching a decent amount of the game too, with lots of cheering.

We left the game and Kalen gave a few Go Gator cheers on the way out.  We got to the car and he did not even last 5 mins, he passsed out!

Passed out with socks on his hands

He slept for about an hour and as soon as we got home he blasted off. I seriously have no idea where the energy came from.  Maybe he stored up the sugar from the cotton candy and released it when we got home.  But from the time we got home till bed time he was going full speed. 

I leave you with his jammies...

His "alligators jersey"

Whether or not he remembers his "first" game I know I will.  I seriously had a blast with him today and I know Michael did too.  Can't wait to take him to more games.

My Two and a half year old got harassed

Today was going to be a normal run errands kind of day.  Lucas had a 15 month Dr visit and then we would go to the craft store.  Our day was moving along nicely, we finished Lucas' checkup and then headed to our first craft store.  They were out of what I needed so I thought I would try the Joann's down the street.  As I am getting out of the car and open Kalen's door to get him out a man starts yelling at me across the parking lot.  I ignore him and finish getting the kids out of the car.  I walk over to the cart return and put the boys in a cart.  The man is still yelling at me.  He is yelling as loud as he can that 'The Gators suck'.  I have never been a sports fan that says or does Rude things to other teams fans.  I am sure there has been the occasional brag or taunting, but it has only been done to people I know and its never Rude.  So I continue to ignore this Rude man.

As I continue to walk into the store I hear "Hey lady with the Gator tag and blue car, the Gators Suck." He repeats this phrase a few times and I have yet to acknowledge him or glance in his direction.

We finally make it inside, and I am shocked that this man continued to yell at me through the parking lot.  I have two kids with me and the guy can see that. So I have no idea why he felt the need to keep yelling at me. 

As I am pushing the cart the man has gotten out of his car and followed me into the Joann's.  This man has clearly lost his mind. He pushes my shoulder and continues to yell "The Gators Suck" at me.  I am just pushing my cart along and trying to get away from him.  He then tells me to look at his shirt, and starts saying "Roll Tide, Roll Tide, Baby." Of course this man is an Alabama fan, this is not the first time I have encountered a Rude Alabama fan.  I know every team has fans that are rude and generally do not fit the overall Fandom of that team, but I have encountered quite a few rude Alabama fans. 

Since I have been ignoring him he decided to yell at Kalen, "Your Mommy picked a crappy team to root for, you're gonna grow up liking a Sucky team, the Gators Suck." Luckily Kalen was more interested in pushing our cart than paying any attention to this man.  I was so pissed he started talking to Kalen.

Usually when I encounter a rude person I always walk away thinking I should have said something. And later I think of ten different things I could have said.  So I was actually shocked I said something.  I got Kalen's attention and said loudly enough so the man could hear, "That's what White Trash looks like." The man clearly heard me and turned around to give me a dirty look.

Was this my best Mommy moment, No.  Do I regret saying what I said, No.  I am sure there was a better thing to say to him. But I doubt he would have listened or done anything different.  I am sure this wasn't his first time harassing a fan of a different team.  My Mom said I should have just yelled "Rape" over and over again in the store.  This probably would have been pretty funny and really got the mans attention.  But who knows what other choice words he would have yelled at me or my kids.

I can just hope that I raise Kalen to be a good sport about his team, have pride in the team he likes but, never be rude to another teams fans, or be Rude period to anyone.  That he would have an understanding that everyone likes different teams, I mean it would be pretty boring if everyone liked the same team. 

This man could have just said, "Roll Tide" in the parking lot and left it alone.  He didn't need to repeatedly yell Sucks with my kids around.  He definitely did not need to even talk to my kids.  He clearly lacked any common sense if he thought it was at all appropriate to yell like that to someone, let alone a woman with two young kids with her. 

JELL-O Cookies

I saw these Jell-O Cookies on pinterest and decided to make them to take with us on the Fourth of July.  Here is the original site that I followed. I put Lucas in for his nap and Kalen and I had Mommy son time making and playing with our Jell-O cookies.  Since we were making these cookies to take and share Kalen got a separate batch to play with before we baked them.  He really enjoyed making the cookies with Mommy.  I will post the recipe at the bottom after pictures.  I am sure these will become a favorite to make in our house since there are so many flavors to try out.
The cookies turned out great, I didn't really know what to expect.  They were definitely different, but good.  It's crazy because the cookies taste fruity from the Jello and I think you just expect a suagr cookie taste. I used Berry Blue, Lemon, Cherry, and Cherry Lemonade Jell-O.

Mixing the Flour and Baking Powder

Dumping the sugar in

Kneading playing with the dough

So Proud

Testing his creation

Lucas approves

Our Red, White, and Blue Jell-O cookies (Cherry, Lemon, and Berry Blue Jell-0 flavors)

Ingredients

*3.5 Cups of Flour

*1 tsp Baking Powder

*1.5 cups salted butter-softened

*1 cup sugar

*1 egg

*1 tsp Vanilla

* 4 pkgs of Jell-O (you pick your flavors)

Directions

1. Beat butter in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
2. Divide dough into 4 sections. Sprinkle 2 Tb of jello onto each section. Knead together with dough. You can add food coloring to make the colors bolder.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in the extra jello from the packets. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of bowl.
4. Bake 8 to 10 min at 350 on lined baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets 2 min. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

This makes about 2 dozen cookies.  I had more because my cookie balls were not the same size.



Easter 2012

Well this post is a little late! But better late than never.  We had a great Easter full of dying eggs, egg hunts, yummy food, and family.  We had already went on an Easter Egg Hunt a week before.  So Easter weekend we just hung out and had nice family time.  We dyed Easter Eggs early Saturday morning and Kalen had a blast doing this.  By the end he hands and arms were a nice shade of Blue.  He felt it was best to place the egg in the "color bath" and then remove it multiple times with his hands. 

Sunday morning we woke up to a visit from The Easter Bunny, we had lots of fun stuff in our baskets.  The boys dived into their baskets and then wandered the living room to find Easter Eggs!!  Reggie quickly decided this is his favorite Holiday.  He was getting treats all day.  As soon as one of the kids opened an egg out popped a few treats for him.  Later that day we had a nice Easter lunch/Dinner and headed on home.  We had a great weekend!!


Kalen's on the left, Lucas' on the Right



Wow!! Look at this!!



More Cars!!!! YES!!!



Kalen found the first Easter Egg



Reggie found one too!!



Lucas Finally got one



Lucas' 1st Easter!!