Alaska, Birthdays and more Birthdays

So our 6 weeks in Alaska ended on August 11th and we made our way back to toasty Arizona. We miss our family and friends in Alaska, and also the green and free air conditioning! We have been celebrating so many birthdays that I can barely keep up. I think every year will be this way since we have Kaelyn's July 18th, Kenley's July 29th, Ken's August 10th, and Kyson's August 15th! We had a few birthday parties in Alaska, then one here with family when we got home. I just wanted to write a blurb about each.

Kaelyn is now almost 7 weeks old and growing so fast already. She is still sleeping lots and is smiling more and more everyday. Yesterday my sister Renee was holding her and she smiled at her for 5 straight minutes. It was super cute. She is looking more like Kyson, especially going back looking at baby pictures of Kyson and Kenley. She definitely has the darkest hair of all of our kids and is fun to have a newborn again!

Kenley turned 2 and has still been our "sweet pea" and our "little diva." She is such a girlie girl. She will even take little bags and purses and hold them over her shoulder. She loves shoes, dolls, and has even gotten into my make-up (putting mascara all over her face :o). She is a natural nurturer to Kaelyn- gently patting her head, holding her hand, and making sure her blanket is covering her just right. She still adores Kyson and follows him everywhere, copying him, and they do a lot of chasing each other and laughing. She is potty training herself. We were waiting until we got back to AZ to start, but she had different plans. She has been taking her diaper off and points to the toilet, saying in a SUPER cute quiet voice "I got to go potty." She has been getting to know the toilet a little too much though, apparently thinking it was a storage place for other items, and found papers, toys, and a usb drive in the toilet one day. This pic was when we were singing happy birthday to her (she had just woken up from a nap and was SUPER grumpy) but she got happier after eating cake and opening her presents (dolls).

Kyson turned 4 and is getting more rambunctious lately. We don't know if part of it was adding a third child, or if he is just breaking out of his quieter shell, but he has been spending more time in time out lately than ever before. Makes for a FUN house, let me tell you! He has collected about 20,000 legos I think and loves building things. His bedroom is also a JOY to clean up :o). He has been helpful with Kaelyn and also adores her, saying " I love baby Kaelyn" and also pats her head. He is definitely ready to start pre-school up again with Miss Kathrine. She is in our ward and he loves going and loves learning. His latest saying is "mama, what'cha doing?"  He loves driving Kenley nut's (what brother doesn't right?) He is still our funny one and although more rambunctious is still a good boy. And he loves going grocery shopping with me.

We bought our first mini-van. It took A-LOT of convincing with Ken as he loved his Jeep, but it was too tight with 3 kids in the back seat. We test drove a super nice Honda Odyssey and fell in love. It's a 2007 Dark Blue, loaded, and low miles, for below book, so we couldn't pass up that deal and traded in the Jeep. As soon as we drove off the lot, I asked Ken if he missed his Jeep, and he said no, that he loves the van, so that's good.

Ken turned 28 and is still doing his web and graphic design. He just got his first, out-of-home office in a really nice part of Mesa. We spent 6 hours Friday buying furniture at Ikea for his suite and then setting it up that night. It will be super nice for him and hopefully he can get more done there.

I am slready back to work. Super part-time, but it's nice to see patients again. It's a perfect balance to work 10-15 hours/week and be at home the rest of the time. I am loving spending more time with my kids. They are already growing so fast, so just trying to soak up all the little moments. Life couldn't be better!