A Must See!

Check out this giveaway! She has so many cute things for kids, girls and boys! I will be getting Kylie's birthday dress from her in September. I think I could go broke in her store!



HERE is her blog where you can find the giveaway.

She also has an online store HERE.

SHREK!

Today we went to see Shrek at the movie theater. I knew Blake would do good because he is mesmerized by the big green ogre. Honestly, Aaron and I were also excited to see it since we have since Shrek 1, 2, & 3 like 50,000 times.

Blake is always intrigued when we walk into a new place, especially a movie theater with games and fun stuff on the walls. I took a few pictures and a video on my phone since I forgot to grab the memory stick out of the computer.

Everything was going good, until we walked into our theater where Shrek was showing. It was (almost) pitch black and he was scared to death! He cried until we sat down and showed him the popcorn bag. And by the way, he ate probably 3/4 of the bag! He also drank a cup of milk, and two cups of apple juice.

He did so good during the entire movie. The arms between the chairs lifted up and there was a cushioned space between us, which was just perfect for the little guy. He laughed during the movie at the funny parts, out loud! It was hilarious! He even clapped and screamed YEEEAAHHH during the movie, especially loud at the end when Shrek and Fiona kiss. It was so cute.

It was actually a good movie too. I am sure we will get it on DVD and watch it many more times.

Shrek Movie from Kaelin Thacker on Vimeo.

Giggles

I love the sound of a giggling baby...especially when it is my cute little baby :)

Show Us Your Life - Show us Your Hometown

Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life Friday is how is your hometown. I've never talked about our little town so I thought I would participate.

I really like my small town. I have lived here my entire life, with the exception of my four years away at college. There is not much to do here, but our neighboring cities make up for it.



The big place to go in our town is the local pizza place and I will admit, it's pretty good.


We live 20 minutes from Louisville, Kentucky, which is really nice since Aaron and I both work in downtown Louisville.


Here is a picture of the ribbon cutting for the new town sign. The guy in the middle was the mayor at the time, and also my dad :)


This is a picture of the Charlestown State Park. I have only been there one or twice, but it looks really nice!



This is the gazebo at the town square.


Most of my family lives here, so that may be the reason I have and will always call it home.

Crazy Week

I am so happy this week is finally over. It has been a very busy and stressful one. Here is a brief recap of my week:

Monday: Interview for a new position at work...I think it went really well. I already got a call from HR to move on to the next step.

Tuesday: I had an all day meeting at our corporate office, where I presented a presentation 5 times in one day to different groups. I was exhausting! I also had class that night until 9pm so it was a long day.

Wednesday: My great-uncle passed away so after work, we headed up to the funeral home for a bit. I also worked from home because Blake had a doctor's appointment for a hearing check in the morning.

Thursday: Funeral for my uncle then I worked from home the remaining of the day. Had class from 6-9pm.

Friday: Long day at work, then went to dinner with my sister and her family and my grandparents.

SO TIRED! It never ends! This class is killing me and I can't wait until it is over. I have had 4 classes and there are 9 left....Thank the Lord!

Here are a couple of pictures of Blake when we ate at Qdoba after his appointment. He was so cute! And I loved that it was just a Mommy/Blake lunch.

Kylie - 8 Months Old

I drafted this and I forgot to post it!

On Sunday, Kylie was 8 months old! Here are some updates for her:

-You weigh around 22 lbs. (We got this from getting on the scale, then adding you)
-You love to eat! There has been nothing you don't like yet. You have started eating puffs and LOVE them! (So does Blake)
-You are sitting up like a pro now!
-You are trying to scoot on your belly when reaching for things. I think you will be crawling within the next couple of weeks.
-You are so ticklish! I love to tickle you to hear your little giggle.
-Everyone says you look like Mommy and Blake.
-You sleep all night long (Mommy and Daddy love this!) You go to bed around 8pm and get up around 7am.
-You love to swing outside with Blake and you love to go for walks around the neighborhood.

You are getting so big! And more beautiful each day. Mommy and Daddy love you!

Blake's Day

I took a vacation day yesterday so that I could spend the day with Blake and take him to the doctor and to the dentist. It was awesome to have that mommy/son time. I really miss those days! I took a few pictures of us (him) playing with his new Mr. Potato Head he got for his birthday. He loves it!

I love this picture of him. I told him to smile and I got this smirk.

We also looked at this face all morning -

To follow-up on the post I wrote about his birthday, here are the statistics from his doctor's appointment:

Weight: 30 lbs 60%
Height: 34 3/4 inch 75%

His appointment went really well and Dr. Pringle says he very healthy!

The dentist appointment didn't go very well at all. Actually, it was awful. I knew he would cry, but didn't know he would scream for his life and sob! It was not a very good experience anyway, and needless to say, we will NEVER go back to that dentist. EVER! I hope it wasn't too traumatic that he remembers next year when he goes.

Happy Mother's Day

These past two weeks have been two very busy weeks. From Blake's birthday party and Derby last weekend, my last day of class last Monday, my brother's graduation yesterday, and Mother's day and a funeral today, I have physically and emotionally drained.

Yesterday my youngest brother graduated from the University of Louisville. I am so proud of him! Here are some pictures I took before and during the ceremony.

Dad, Brad & Mom


Dad, Brad, Me, Jonathan & Mom (Kristin was running late)


Brad after walking across the stage


Brad will have the summer off then start law school in the fall. He was accepted to law school at UofL so he will stay close to home!


Today was a tough day. I was so happy it was Mother's day, but today we would bury a dear friend of ours. We started the day at the picture place to get the kids pictures taken. However we left with no pictures. Blake cried the entire time so we left with NO pictures!! It was awful! I was planning on giving those pictures as Mother's day presents, so I was out of luck. Kylie did great, but nothing would make Blake happy. I think he was just hungry and wanted to play at the Lego table in the lobby. Oh well....we shall try again next weekend.

After the attempt at pictures, we ate at Tony Roma's with Aaron's family. It was yummy! It was my first trip there and I loved it.

After lunch, we made our way to the funeral home. Our dear friend Denise was diagnosed with cancer only two short months ago, and her battle ended on Wednesday night. She was my mom's first friend growing up and was a part of our lives since we were born. She came to every shower, wedding, graduation party, and many sporting events through the years. She was a loyal friend who's laugh was contagious and would do anything for anyone. Heaven got a new angel on Wednesday. She will be missed.

After the funeral and family dinner, we went and celebrated Mother's day with my mom and family. We shared mom's favorite cake, Italian Creme Cake, and opened presents. Of course she didn't open many from us since we didn't get pictures this morning! Oh well, hopefully we will have some this weekend!

I got what I asked for......an external hard drive! Yes I'm a dork, but I needed to be able to store all of the pictures I take! My USB wasn't big enough.

I am blessed to have so many wonderful women in my family. My mom is my best friend and is such a wonderful mom. I owe so much to her (and my dad) for raising me to be the wife and mom I am today. She is an amazing Nana to Blake and Kylie, too. Thank you mom for everything you do!

I am also very lucky to have a wonderful mother-in-law. My MIL would do anything for anyone. She is a wonderful mother to Aaron and I, and an awesome Grammy to Blake and Kylie. Thank you Paula for everything you do!

Happy Mother's Day to all you momma's out there!

Blake Update

I have thought about how to write this post a hundred times. I debated on even writing about it, but I know that we are doing the right thing.

When it comes to my kids, all I want for them is health and happiness. For the most part, both kids have been very healthy during their short lives, with the exception of Kylie ears/tube surgery.

Since Blake was born 17 days after my sister's little girl, we have always compared the two. I would rely on Kristin to tell me when she did something with Katie, so I would know when to start it with Blake. From feeding him solids to walking and talking, they were one right after the other.

Except for talking. Blake started saying words around one, which was pretty normal. That was last May, then Kylie was born in September when he was 16 months old. He stopped saying a lot of words that he said after September. Most say it is because of the big 'change' in his life and I agree.

Today, he says a total of 25 or so words. Most of which only Aaron and I know what he is saying. He can babble with the best of them, but we can't make out a thing he says.

I know he is a boy and boys are usually late bloomers in the talking category, but I have always wondered if it was just him....if something was wrong.

Aaron and I started the process of working with First Steps to start Blake on speech therapy. He was evaluated and qualified based on his current speech levels. I was sad but happy at the same time. Sad because there is a speech delay, but happy because there is something we can do about it.

Two weeks ago he had his first appointment and it went as expected. Blake is pretty shy when new people come around, so it takes awhile for him to get use to someone. The visit consisted of him running around and flirting with the therapist. Towards the end of the visit, he was pretty comfortable with her.

He has had three total visits and it may just be me, but I think he is doing great. He babbles a lot more and now, I can make out a word or two. It's amazing what a difference it has made so far. I can't wait for what is to come.

We will also be getting Blake's hearing checked to rule that out. That will be in the next couple of weeks or so. I have heard many stories of kids having speech issues and it is because they have fluid in their ears. After they got tubes, they talked the next week. With that being said, I want to be sure to cover everything.

I am so glad to have that off my chest and that I know it is working. I am sure he will be talking me head off six months from now!

Show Us Your Life - Your Kids Names

Show Us Your Life this week on Kelly's Korner is your kid's names. I love baby names! My list has changed throughout the years, but I have always had my favorites. I think it says so much about the parents, and trust me, I know how hard it is! Knowing that what you name your child can possibly dictate their entire life...ok so maybe not that much, but I think so! My dad was almost named Melvin (instead of Michael)...that could have changed his whole life!

Aaron and I really didn't talk about baby names much when we were dating. I had my favorites, but I didn't want to scare him off by talking about babies! Eight months after we started dating, Aaron (and I) decided to get a dog. We were not really thinking about it, but when someone comes to your house with 6 week old pit bull pups, it's hard to resist, trust me. They are SO cute when they are puppies! Anyway, when we both decided that we were going to keep him, we had to think of names. Immediately, Aaron said 'What about Jackson?' I have always loved that name since I was a little girl. I got it from watching the movie Steel Magnolias. The reason Aaron wanted to name him Jackson, was because his best friend had recently passed away and they called him Jackson. So, I couldn't say no...especially because of the reason.

Aaron and I had only been dating for 8 months and I didn't want to tell him I wanted to name our first son Jackson (even though I knew I would marry him and have children with him!). So our dog's name is Jackson. You can read about him here.

So the story behind our children's name.... I knew I wanted to somehow use family names. It means a lot to both of us to honor our parents and grandparents.

When we found out we were having a boy, Aaron and I didn't have any trouble coming up with a name. We used his dad's middle name as his first name and my maternal grandfather's first name as his middle name. His middle name is also very prominent in Aaron's family...from Cousins and Great-Grandfather. So it was the perfect name:

BLAKE THOMAS

As we were deciding on names, we also came up with another boys name if we had another boy. We loved the name Andrew and my father's name is Michael.

ANDREW MICHAEL

When we found out baby #2 was a girl, we were stumped! There was only one name that we had agreed on when we were pregnant with Blake, but we really hadn't talked about it. We really thought we were having another boy. We decided that we still liked that name so we just needed to come up with a middle name. I wanted to use my middle name, Elaine, because it was also my mother's middle name and my great aunt's, but Kylie Elaine had too many L's sounds for me. So we decided to use my paternal grandma's middle name:

KYLIE ROSE

I think it has a really good ring to it! If we do decide to have another baby and it is a girl, we are stuck because we don't have one. However, as of right now, two kiddos are enough for us!

Bucket List

There are a few blogs I follow who talk about their bucket list, so I wanted to create one. I have worked on mine now for a few weeks and I plan on still adding to it. So here it is!! I plan on marking some of them off in the near future!

1. Go to New York
2. Take the kids to Disney World
3. Give Christmas to a needy family (as many times as I can)
4. Vacation in Hawaii
5. Build our dream home with Aaron
6. Go to the Kentucky Derby (not to the infield but in the stands, dressed up with a big hat!)
7. Take a photography class
8. Complete my MBA (9 hrs down, 27 to go!)
9. Run a 5K (This is big for me!)
10. Go horseback riding
11. Take dancing lessons with Aaron (this one is probably just a dream for me)
12. Go to Mardi Gras
13. See Mount Rushmore
14. Sponser a child overseas
15. Help build a Habitat for Humanity home (I have done this twice and it was amazing!)
16. Play blackjack with my family at one table in Vegas (we did this on our last cruise and it was awesome!)
17. Swim with the dolphins
18. Go to a Bengals game with Aaron
19. Grow a vegetable garden (successfully!)
20. Trace my ancestry on my side of the family and Aaron’s side to pass on to our children (I am addicted to the new show 'Who do you think you are?'
21. Go on a European cruise
22. Go water skiing
23. Ride a gondola in Venice
24. Take a hot air balloon ride
25. Coach a sports team, preferably one of my kid’s teams

I can't wait to start marking these off one by one!

Swinging Outside

The weather was beautiful yesterday, so after work and dinner last night, I took the kids out to finally play on the newly installed playset. Aaron was mowing, weeding, planting...doing a little bit of everything so I wanted to get out of the house. Kylie loved swinging! I didn't know how she would do since she has never done it before, but she loved it! Blake was so excited! He ran to the swings and couldn't wait to get on. That child would live outside if we let him. He really wasn't interested in the rest of the playset, only the swing. And of course he had a meltdown when it was time to go in and get baths.




Tonight we also had another first. Kylie was in the big tub! We used the set we had for Blake that was awesome. I recommend it to anyone with little ones. Much easier, and much safer!

Blake was reading to her in this picture. How cute!!

I Won!

I am so excited! I never win anything, but I finally won something! It's not a million dollars, but it will be very useful for my kids.

If you are not a follower you must become a follower of The Jackson Five Family Blog. She has giveaways all of the time!

I won a Munchie Mug!


It's a spill-resistant snack cup and I am so excited about it. When Blake eats a snack, he spills it everywhere so this will be very helpful.

I can't wait to get it!

Derby 2010

Since I am from the Louisville area, it is hard to ignore this time of year. This past Saturday was the running of the 136th Kentucky Derby. I have never been to the actual Derby, but I have been to Churchill Downs Derby week. Aaron and I are thinking about going to the Derby next year, so we will see (it is on my bucket list, which I will be writing about soon).

I went to the track last Thursday with my coworkers and we had an awesome time. At the end of the day I only lost $1, so I think I did pretty good! I actually wore a big hat! The weather was amazing too.



Aaron and I bet on some horses for the Derby and I actually won!! I never win big, but I won $80!! Super Saver was the winner and I chose him only because I liked his name. His jockey has won 3 out of the last 4 Derby's so he was kind of favored (8:1).

Class

Tonight was my last class for this semester!! Wooo hooo!! I have 7 days off before I start again...booooooo! I just completed my Cost Accounting class, which was not fun at all. I am glad that one is out of the way! I start my Marketing Management class next Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it. It is only a six week class, but it is two nights a week :( I won't get to see the kids except for the mornings on those days.

9 hours down, 27 to go!!!

Happy Birthday Blake!

I cannot believe my baby boy is 2 years old! I look at him and see a little boy now and not a baby. These past two years have flown by and I have mixed emotions about what is to come. Tee Ball, school, sleepovers, girlfriends....oh my! I cannot wait for him to play sports (like his daddy and mommy did growing up) like tee ball, basketball, and soccer. I think he will be athletic....or at least I hope.


Here is a picture of Blake at about a week old.

Here is a picture of Blake at his first birthday party.

Here is a recent picture of Blake. Look how much he has changed!

Here are a few updates for Blake:
-You LOVE being outside. Even if it's raining, you want to go out and play.
-You love your little sister. You call her Tai-la right now and you love to give her kisses and talk to her.
-You love to eat and will just about eat anything. You would eat all day if we let you.
-The only movie you really like right now is Shrek (1, 2, & 3). You will sit through the entire movie! I can't wait to take you to the theater to see Shrek 4, which is coming out in a couple of week.
-You love to run everywhere. There is no walking with you....and you are very fast!
-You love music....whenever you hear it on TV or the radio, you will start smiling and dancing!
-You know how to throw a fit! One way to stop you is to just cry with you :)
-You adore your cousins Austin and Katie. You follow Austin around like a big brother and you and Katie fight like cats and dogs (or brother and sister!)


Favorites
Toy: Legos, anything Shrek
Food: Anything! You love nutri-grain bars and fruit
Drink: You can't like without your milk! And apple juice
Movie: Shrek (of course!)

You can see more of your favorites here.


This past weekend we had Blake's birthday party. His birthday is actually May 8th, but Uncle Brad is graduating form college that day so we needed to move it. I am sure you can guess what the theme of his party was....SHREK! I'm not sure if Blake was excited about the humongous Shrek balloon and cake or it is scared him. The plan was to have it at our house and get a bouncy house and have the playset up for the kids to play on, but of course, it rained...big time rained....like 6 inches. Oh well, we moved it to my parent's house and had it inside and had a great time. Blake got so many cool things! He actually got 3 lawnmowers!! He also got a Tee ball set, a couple of dump trucks, a basketball goal, a couple of Shrek toys, a few puzzles, and of course his playset! Grammy and Grandpa went in with us and got him his playset that I cannot wait for him to play on. He has gotten to swing on it for 20 minutes or so, but then we had to go in to go to bed and he was not happy...the terrible two's kicked in! Like I said before, he loves playing outside, so he was not happy when he had to come in. I am sure it will be like this the entire summer. It has rained since the playset was completed so he hasn't been able to get back out there and play on it.




I will post again after he has his 2 year appointment at the doctor. He will also be going to the dentist for the first time that day too! Mommy has taken off work so it will just be us that day. I can't wait!

Happy Birthday baby boy! Mommy and Daddy love you!