My Grandpa Dudley

 My Grandpa Dudley passed away on Thursday, May 16th, peacefully in his sleep.

He was 95 years old (I'm pretty sure).  

Here are some things I will always remember about Grandpa:

He loved to golf, and told me he was going to stop when he couldn't score less than his age.

He loved playing cards in the afternoon.

He would sit and watch my sister and I swim laps whenever we came to Hawaii to visit them.

I sure loved his smile, especially when he met Colin for the first time in 2010.

He loved a good meal.

Here are some pictures of Grandpa from when we visited last year in June.

He told me that "maggie" was a funny name for a girl.  :)

I sure hope he is peaceful and happy in Heaven.  

We miss you and love you dearly, Grandpa!

Maggie's 2nd birthday week

Maggie had a pretty good birthday week...
Although she and Colin both had a runny nose and cough all week, with low-grade temps.  Yuck!

We had lots of fun playing in the bounce house that our neighbors let us borrow.
Pretty much the first words out of both of their mouths each morning was "can we turn the bounce house on?!"

It was pretty hot outside this week, more like summer temps, so we had the bounce house in the playroom.

My silly kiddos

Hey there Colin!

Maggie and I got our hair cut on Monday evening.  It was Maggie's first hair cut and the aim was to get rid of her "mullet" that she was growing.  My hairdresser Rachel just shaped it up a bit and kept it long in the back to keep the curls.  Love it!  

On Wednesday, Maggie's actual birthday, we started off the day with traditional birthday morning donuts.  Maggie just sat there so cute when we were singing for her.

My big 2 year old!

Blowing out the candle, she did awesome!

I attempted to get a family photo before leaving for work and daycare, but this was as good as I could get.

Our plan was to celebrate Maggie's birthday that evening at Chuck E Cheese with just a few people that could make it (mainly Brian's family that live up in north KC).  Meemaw drove in for the party, but she had to make a detour and spend the evening at our house with a sick Colin.  He was so sad that he couldn't go to Chuck E Cheese, but ended up vomiting at daycare following his nap.  We are pretty sure it's cause he had a tummy ache from all the phlegm in his stomach, but nonetheless, was unable to attend the party and my mom was so gracious to stay at home with him.

Singing for Maggie at Chuck E Cheese.
And yes, that is a Little Debbie snack cake.  Don't judge, I picked it up 5 minutes before we got there while running into Target.

Maggie had her 2 year well-child check up on Thursday with our new doctor.

We are starting over with a new primary care doctor since we moved to our new house.  

We loved him, and Maggie even threw a fit for him in the exam room.  Wonderful!

She weighed in at 22 lbs (the 5th percentile) and was at the 30th percentile for height.

The doctor called her "a dainty flower", which I disagree with most of the time, she's one tough cookie!

On Saturday, we had Maggie's party.

Maggie's 2nd birthday was an M&M theme.

I had a lot of fun with it and Maggie just loved it, too.

My mom made a bean bag toss game, Tiffany and Chad made a "pin the M on the M&M" game, and we had various balloons and decor with M&Ms on them.

The morning of the party, Meemaw got sick.  She had to stay confined to her room due to "stomach"  issues.  I felt so badly for her, as she put in a ton of work and had to miss the fun part of the party.  Luckily I called my sister and she drove up early and helped clean, prep, decorate, etc for the party.  Whew!

Colin posing in the bean bag toss game

Maggie's birthday cake, which didn't turn out like I had envisioned in my head, but she loved it just the same.

The other cake that was baked, because my mom thought there wouldn't be enough

(one cake was enough, but who can complain about having extra birthday cake?!)

Uncle Chris and (almost) Aunt Caitlin directed the bean bag toss game, it was a hit!

The kids all loved the balloons

Maggie bounced her way through the afternoon

My sweet heart!

Andy, me, and Deidra

Maggie got some great gifts for her birthday, like new books, puzzles, dresses, shoes, a sleeping bag, some cool toys, tea sets, finger paints, etc.  

I just love this picture of Maggie looking at Colin so sweetly.
She adores her big brother!

Blow those candles out sister!

Later Meemaw felt okay enough to come down and watch Maggie open her gifts from her.

She loved her singing card

Blowing Meemaw 'thank you' kisses

The next day we headed off to another birthday party in Overland Park, at Chuck E Cheese!

Brian was helping his parents build a deck in their backyard, so it was just me and the kids. 

They were great, had a fabulous time, and came home with balloons, toys, and a fun Chuck E Cheese cup.

Colin on the monster truck

Maggie on her favorite ride, the carousel

The kids LOVED the race car simulator ride.

The rest of Sunday we spent laying low, pretty quiet.

I can't believe my little girl is 2 now.

Thanks for being such a wonderful daughter, Maggie Mae!

Maggie Mae turns 2!

Oh my sweet little Maggie Mae.

You make me smile.

You keep us on our toes and are forever reminding us of how spunky our little girl is.

I can't believe you are turning 2 today.

You came into this world with a rocky start, but you haven't missed a beat since.

Things I want to remember about you right now:

*How you remind us each morning that you slept in your big girl bed

*How you can't wait to see Colin every morning to tell him 'Good Morning, Bubby'

*That if we don't allow for you to wake up on your own time in the morning, there will definitely be at least 20 minutes of crying before you are in a better mood

*You yell 'stinky sock' every night before running upstairs at bedtime- since the last one upstairs smells like a stinky sock!

*You are so tender and caring

*You think your Daddy does the best horsey rides and the best raspberries on your tummy

*You believe a kiss will make any boo-boo better

*You are very picky about if I am allowed to do your hair (somedays, it just ain't gonna happen!)

*You eat so much! and just have to eat your banana every morning

*You will do anything your brother is doing, even if you know you will get in trouble for it

*You think the lawn mower is 'scary'

*You just love to be on my hip, ALL THE TIME

*You are speaking so much, and you and Colin have little conversations that leave you both cracking up in laughter

*We have to sing 'rock a baby' at night before bed

*You think the world of your brother

*You would wear your purple glitter snow boots every day if we let you

*You are not afraid to be bossy

*Your fabulous sense of humor - telling us you see bears in the backyard - 'just kidding!'

*How you want to watch Shrek every time we watch a movie.
*You have to do certain things 'by myself', like climbing into the car or putting on your shoes
*You love holding hands with Colin while taking your 'church money' up to the offering basket every week
*You expect a slice of cheese from the deli and a cookie from the bakery with every trip to the grocery store

*You love getting your toenails painted and have to have bubbles in the bathtub
*You think counting goes something like "three, five (5), three, fize, three, FIZE"
*Everything lately is "reedy, reedy" (Really, Really)
*How excited you get about doing things all by yourself  "I did it!"
*How much you love to sing and dance, especially with your bubby

Here are some of my favorite pictures of little Miss Maggie Mae!

 A few minutes old

One week old at Children's Mercy

 8 months old

 One year old

15 months old

17 months old

 18 months old

 21 months old

 Just a few weeks ago

We love you so much!
Keep smiling and laughing, little girl!

Mother's Day weekend

 Mother's day weekend 2013 was a great one.

The kids were super sweet to me (even though they both had a low-grade fever and a runny nose), which is perfect timing for Maggie's 2nd birthday this week.

I woke up on Mother's Day to a sweet little voice telling me, I love you Mommy, Happy Mother's Day.

Got up, did a little workout, and Brian had breakfast made when I was finished.

We headed to the grocery store, as a family, which almost never happens!

The kids got me some new planters and some pretty flowers for the front yard.  

We did some digging in the dirt and got the flowers all planted and ready for the sun.

Our neighbor is letting us borrow their bounce house for Maggie's party, and they pulled it out mid-morning to set it up.  The kids had a blast!  I swear they would just jump for hours if we let them.

After nap we headed off to On The Border for a quick bite to eat.

The kids didn't eat much of anything, probably cause they didn't feel too great, but Brian and I had a nice meal.  We stopped and got some ice cream on the way home and played in the backyard for a bit before bed.

It was a very relaxing, beautiful day on Mother's Day.  I am so blessed to be a Mommy to these 2 kiddos (with a fabulous husband), to have a wonderful mother and mother-in-law of my own, as well as various Grandmothers and Godmothers in our lives that have truly showed me the meaning of unconditional love and dedication to family and God.

The best picture we could get of the kids when we were out to dinner

Not sure what Maggie is doing here, but I thought it was cute of Colin and I

Royals baseball fun!

 Sorry for the delay on this post, but in the past week, I have finished up 2 papers, done 2 presentations, and taken 2 final exams.  Sooo happy to be done with school for the semester.  That was a tough one.

We went to the Royals game on Sunday of last week.  It was the first one for everyone in our family, and we ended up with a WIN! (in the 10th inning!)

We had a great time, it was a bit windy, but overall was a good day for watching some baseball!

Mags and I taking a break from the game

 The boys from Texas were in town and we all got to see the game

 Colin and Joe trying to get Francoeur to throw them the ball

 They even got to see Slugger, which was so much fun!

Maggie got a high 5 and Colin got a hug!

The kids skipped their nap to go the game, but on the way home...

 Poor little Maggie, she couldn't make it the ride home without falling asleep

We had a pretty uneventful week, going to the pool a couple of times to get in more practice for the summer.
Colin is doing awesome, going underwater for around 10 seconds at a time.  

Colin also got some hand-me-down toys from our next door neighbors.

They are some play tools that Colin just LOVES.  We were planning on getting him a work bench for his birthday this year, so this is perfect.

 Colin doing some work with the drill

There's something to be said about empty cardboard boxes and 2 kids' imaginations...

This was their "house" they were working on and enjoyed sitting in while watching a movie one night.

Oh, and tonight, I had the following conversation with Colin...

Me: okay buddy, it's time for bed

Colin: okay, but Mom, what's that thing tomorrow

Me: What thing, honey?

Colin: That thing tomorrow for you...

Me: Mother's Day?

Colin: Yeah, Mother's Day...Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!

So sweet, love that kid.

Ordinary days

 It's busy season around our house...

Me in my final couple of weeks of school...

Wedding season around the corner for Brian's brother Chris and Caitlin...

Baseball season...

Birthdays...

etc.

Yesterday we had Caitlin's bridal shower for her upcoming wedding.

It was a lot of fun and always a good time when all the ladies in the Teson/Kemper families get together.

Suzanne and I

They still aren't in KC yet, but are looking for the right house.  Houses in their neighborhood in Texas are selling in just days, so they don't want to end up homeless if they don't have anywhere to go in KC.

Good luck househunting!

 Caitlin and GG Rita

 Her beautiful (and delicious) bridal shower cake

 All the Teson gals

 Tiff and Mom were up north for the shower too.

We all had such a great time.

Then, on Saturday morning, Brian and Colin headed off to go see a movie, The Croods.

Colin just loves movies now, and we knew he would have no problem sitting through a movie in the theatre.  I went to the grocery store and stocked up on some treats for them to bring in, and Brian sprung for some popcorn and a blue Icee drink.

They had a great time.

I got this picture texted to me while they were waiting for their popcorn...

 My silly boys

Meanwhile, the girls were having fun at the house, doing some cool science type projects that Tiff learned about at one of her retreats for work.  Colin probably would've enjoyed them a lot too, but Maggie was ooo-ing and ahhhh-ing about them.

 They first put some whole milk on a plate with some drops of food coloring on it.

Then took a Q-tip and dipped it in some liquid dish soap...

 Ta da!  The soap repelled the food coloring and it looked really cool.

Big mess followed...I'm sure you can use your imagination there...

Then Tiff poured some baking soda on a plate, and mixed some vinegar with food coloring.

 Maggie stirred up the vinegar for us, sticking her tongue out cause it stunk!

The vinegar bubbled up on the baking soda and was a lot of fun to spoon on top.

That kept her busy for 45 minutes.

Good use of a rainy day!

We are heading to the Royals game tomorrow!  

It will be a little chilly at first, but we'll warm up nicely if they pull off a win!