Pitter Patter

This morning, I was lying in bed talking to Kassy when I hear the sound of little feet and the squeak of a door opening. I watched as the cutest little blonde headed boy peeked out of the doorway and then scampered into our bedroom saying, "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommy!" It's official. David is quite adept at getting out of his crib by himself without getting hurt. Time to move to a big boy bed!

The kids and I went to "Bible Study" this morning and I got to visit about photography some more. We even went to McCrory Gardens and took pictures. Then we met my mom in DeSmet and went to Bristol to see my brother and his family. Jonah and David played pretty well together in their yard. Caleb has sure grown-but then, that's one of the things that babies do really well. We left Bristol later than intended and decided to leave mom's car in DeSmet and just go to her house. We'll figure out how to retrieve it later.

Boys and Vacuums

Anthony came over to our house this afternoon after our quick tractor trip to Sioux Falls. I took the easy way out and got the boys the mac and cheese meal from Burger King. After lunch the boys were playing in the basement. Because they were having a good time, I decided to do something fun too--vacuum the floor (whatever, it NEEDED to be done, fun or not!). Usually, the loud, noisy vacuum scares David, so I warned Anthony that he might be afraid. He wasn't-and neither was Anthony. By the way, no coersion was necessary in obtaining the following photograph.


Kassy had no fear at all, even though the boys were "vacuuming" in her vicinity. I love being at home with her! It has been so much easier for me to figure out what she wants than it was with David. Oh, eventually we figured things out, but with Kassy, I am much quicker at understanding what she needs. David, of course, is an excellent helper now, and lets me know "Kassy's crying" or that he needs to pat her back so that she can burp. Where David just wants to be free to roam, Kassy wants to be free to lay and take it all in. God has truly blessed us with two amazing kids and wonderful birthfamilies that have shared with us the most precious gifts!


This past Saturday, Mom told me that David had crawled out of their crib. I didn't worry about it too much, because the mattress on that crib doesn't go as low as ours at home. I guess I should have worried-'cause David got out of the crib this afternoon! He was mad that I wanted him to take a nap and when I saw the shadow moving under the door, I knew he was on the loose! He was tired enough though, that he fell asleep on our bed. My little boy is growing up so fast!

Suprise Parties and Pineapple

Happy "suprise" Birthday to Tricia!

Anthony and David had fun playing at your party!

Quick Trips and Toilets

Today began with a fun morning of chat at Tricia's. Then we headed to Luverne, MN to pick up a 4-wheeler (looks more like a 4-tracker to me) for Allen. David had a short nap on the trip from Brookings to Luverne while Kassy, bless her heart, slept the entire trip.


Allen arrived home shortly after we did, so he and David took a cruise around the countryside. Kassy and I moved into the house and she was content to play on the jungle mat for a bit. Our pastor was coming for supper, so the guys came in to help get supper ready. Allen and I were both distracted working on our supper projects that we forgot to pay attention to David and his wherebouts. The quiet...then the sound of water...the open bathroom door...Allen saying, "David, your mom is going to be so grossed out!"...remembering that David broke the toilet lock yesterday...If you haven't guessed by now, Allen found David in the toilet. Yes, IN the toilet-sitting in the bowl playing in the water. I'm so glad that Allen was home to handle that one!!!! We didn't get a picture of that but I can clearly see it in my mind. Needless to say, David's bath came early tonight. At least I had cleaned the toilet earlier in the week....it could have been much worse, right?

Anyway, we had a good supper (homemade pizza!) with fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Grandma and Grandpa Pickard stopped by for a few minutes and shared some cookies, cars, and kisses with the kids.

Grandma and Kassy and Grandpa and David

Visit and Peanutbutter

What a beautiful day! David went outside to play on the deck right after breakfast this morning. He somehow managed to come up with a cup of two-day-old diet coke and insisted on drinking it. I managed to squirril it away from him and convince him that water in the cup would be just as good. He drank a bit of the water but had more fun taking the lid off with his teeth and playing with the straw.



Today we had our 2nd (and final!) post-placement visit for Kassy. She already belongs to us in our hearts and in June we will be able to make her permanently ours! The adoption agency in Tennessee has already sent our lawyer their part of the paperwork so now we can set a court date. When our South Dakota agency is finished with their part we can go to court. Yeah!!!

I laid David down for a nap when our social worker was here today and he screamed for at least 15 minutes and cried for another 5 before falling asleep. Usually he just fusses a bit and takes a nap. Kinda throws our routine out of whack when Daddy comes home in the middle of the day. I feel terrible that naptime went so horribly! Anyway, he had a good two hour nap and woke up ready for a snack. I had crackers and peanutbutter handy (he loves peanutbutter!). I spread a cracker for him and he ate it right away, so I gave him another one. This time he licked and chewed all of the peanutbutter off the cracker then said, "more peanutbutter" with the cutest little smeary face. Of course I re-spread his cracker and got another one ready. I'm trying to introduce him to other foods and cheese has been one that has repeatedly been refused. As I got the slice of cheese ready for him to try, I noticed him raking his fingers across his tongue to get the cracker out! Needless to say, he ate the cheese! Another yeah!!!!

Photo Day

This morning at church I spent some time talking photography with a couple of friends and they inspired me to experiment a little more with my camera. The kids and I went to Lion's park in Brookings so David could get a little more "exercise" (and therefore take a good nap!) and I could take a few more photos. Here are a few of my experiments!

Kassy kept passers-by and other children occupied--all she had to do was lay on her blanket in the grass and smile!



David, of course, takes a little more active approach!

Here is one my friend took of Kassy and me this morning. I don't like to have my picture taken, but I do like this one. Don't expect to see me again soon!

Allen's sister Kerry joined us for supper this evening. It was a great time for us to have her undivided attention-and the kids both loved hanging out with her! (I'm not suprised!)

Swinging Good Time

The kids and I along with Tricia and Anthony made a quick trip to Sioux Falls today to deliver our tractor to the implement dealer for repair. I wasn't too worried about driving the pickup and trailer but I was a little concerned about unloading the tractor. No problem though! My wonderful husband has confidence enough for both of us!

After unloading the tractor, we made a quick stop at the mall and an even quicker stop at Toys R Us. The last stop was due to David's recently accumulated knowledge--how to unbuckle himself from his new car seat!!! We were on the outskirts of Sioux Falls on I29 and I happened to glance over my shoulder to see David climbing out of his car seat. I immediately began to slow down and pull over, which alerted Tricia that something was wrong. She quickly lifted David back into his seat and belted him in again. I'm so glad she was there! We stopped at Toys R Us hoping that they would have some kind of miracle device that would prevent David from being able to unbuckle the belt himself. Nobody knew what I was talking about, so I guess I'll keep hunting.

Whew! Shopping done, so Tricia ordered McDonald's for the boys and Qdoba for us and we went to a park (directions provided by Jane the GPS). We had a very quick lunch--who can eat with slides and swings so close?!?!?!


Anthony's flying high!


Higher, Mommy!


The boys had a lot of fun! I'm so glad that my kids will grow up playing with the Wilkins' kids!

David fell asleep on the ride home and we discovered another not-so-positive trait of the new car seat. The seat is meant to recline but the back seat of the pickup has no reclining angle so the car seat can't lean back. Poor David kept slumping forward and Tricia would push him back into his seat so he wouldn't be choked by the seatbelt. He'd fall forward again and Tricia would push him back into the seat. Note to self: that car seat is not a good one for trips in the pickup!

David was awake by the time we got home, so I sent him out onto the deck to play. Eventually, I could see that he was getting tired, so we read a few books, folded clothes, unfolded clothes, and had fun climbing into the laundry basket--David's the climber, not me. I tell him that I love him about a million times a day, and today as I was sitting on the floor folding the recently unfolded clothes, he threw himself into my lap and said, "love you!" I thought I heard him mumble something like that to Allen and me on Sunday, but today I know that I heard him correctly. My heart is thrilled! What a beautiful boy!

You may notice that Kassy is not mentioned--other than Tricia and Anthony feeding her in the pickup on the way to Toys R Us, she slept the entire time! My little kat-napper had a 6 hour nap! Of course her diaper was wet when we got home but she was just glad to get out of the car seat. She is turning out to be a pretty good traveler.

Wonderful Sunday

What a wonderful Sunday! Church (Kassy's first Sunday in the nursery--YIKES!) and David went to Uncle Bobby and Aunt Sis' 2-year-old Sunday School class. He enjoys the time spent with them. We had lunch with some great friends afterward. Our tired boy fell asleep on the ride home-he was that tired!

We enjoyed spending the afternoon and evening with Grandma and Grandpa Stoops. Grandma and Grandpa played in the sandbox, swung on the swings, slid on the slide and blew bubbles 'till the bubbles were gone. David poured a lot of bubble solution on the ground-but that's why I invested in a gallon of miracle bubbles! His vocabulary is constantly growing and we all enjoyed listening to him repeat whatever he heard us say.


Watch me, Grandma!
David was so dirty that you know he had a good time playing--Grandma "looked" like she had fun too. He cried when Grandma and Grandpa left to go home. Kassy decided to take a real nap (not a Kassy Kat Nap) and slept most of the afternoon.


Bubble blowing (and bubble spilling) is fun!

Just prior to bathtime I was working on laundry and David was digging in a box in his room. I heard him call out, "fire! fire!" I was excited not because I thought he meant a real fire but because I thought he found Kassy's missing paci-"fire." I came to see what he had in his hands only to be disappointed at the unopened package of pacifiers he held. I said, "darn it!" and with perfect pronunciation, David repeated, "Darn it!" How do you not laugh at that?!?! Allen and I both laughed, and of course that means David repeats it several more times. David ended the day with more bubbles (in his bath) and went to bed at 8:30. Kassy still has energy and is currently enjoying the comfort of Daddy's arms.

Picture Day

Today the Pickard clan traveled to Sioux Falls for family pictures. Indoor pictures at the photographer's then on to Sertoma Park for outdoor photos. Our photographer knew a couple of pretty cool spots at the park, and I'm excited to see what the photos will look like. We made a couple of other stops and headed for home.

Allen changed oil in his Jeep this afternoon while Grandma gave David and Kassy aride on the Kabota tractor. David loves to "drive." I'm sure Grandma had her hands full keeping the tractor pointed in a safe direction with David's steering attempts.


Kassy was so tired from sitting on the tractor and helping Daddy change oil and rotate tires that she fell asleep early-of course it was only a "Kassy Kat Nap," but it did the trick!

Happy Birthday 'Bena!'

Happy Birthday to my sister (in-law) Sabrina! David has been singing "Happy Birthday Bena" today.

David spent time playing in his friend Anthony's sandbox and endured his first dentis appointment. He still likes to put sand into his diaper-even though he was wearing a onesie! How does it get there? I even found a rock in there, a little bigger than a pea! The dental appointment went well-all his teeth are coming in on schedule and they are clean-which is a pat on the back for his daddy and me. He loves to chew on toothbrushes but doesn't like it when we put toothpaste on and do "brushy baby."



My mom came over and stayed with the kids this afternoon so I could get my hair done :) She enjoys one-on-one time with the kids and took Kassy home with her tonight. Grandpa and Grandma will give her a bath, put her to bed, wake up once or twice to feed her and mommy and daddy will sleep all night long (as long as David does)! Thanks Mom and Dad!


Happy Girls!

Yesterday's Blessings

Yesterday we had lunch with most of the Pickard clan at Pizza Hut. This is Jo's favorite place to eat, and it's pretty easy to accommodate her wishes. David was pretty tired when we arrived but woke up pretty quickly when he spied Great Grandma Me and her "buggy" (a.k.a walker with wheels and a seat). He trucked right on over to her to get a ride. She knew that was what he wanted and I helped him climb on. After dinner David and Grandma Sylvia took a walk outside around the building. When he came back in, he had two dandelions in his little fist. Grandma told him to take them to Mommy, and that is exactly what he did! My heart was so blessed! Grandma said he had told her that the dandelions were "pretty." I was busy trying to figure out how to press them in my Bible and not get juice all over the pages when he decided to tear them apart and destroy them. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, and that's the first time I received flowers from my little boy. How precious!

Last evening, Allen's dad came over to help fix the whirlybird on our roof and install a screen door. Allen was up on the roof when the wind blew the ladder over. Fortunately, Jim was on the ground to stand it back up. Of course, David is very interested in things that he can climb on and had to go see where Daddy was. Good thing Grandpa was still on the ground to catch David, just in case!

A Pribyl Weekend

Friday afternoon saw the four of us loading up the Expedition for an expedition to visit my brother and his family. Allen and my brother put together a really fun play system for Jonah and Caleb that had a really cool slide and tunnel. Jonah's a busy boy, so I'm sure he'll be able to burn some energy running and sliding in the yard. David and Jonah were perched on chairs at the kitchen window watching their daddies work. The little boys got to test it out when the big boys were finished with construction and had a great time. It was fun to watch Jonah play, see how much Caleb had grown and visit with Matthew and Sabrina.

Lessons about Kassy and Puke

This morning began with a quick trip to Sioux Falls to pick up Allen's sister, Kerry, from the airport. Her flight was early, but so were we and we were back to Brookings before 9:00 a.m. Welcome home Jo!

This afternoon was Kassy's 4-month check-up. As we were sitting in the waiting room, I was holding her on my lap and she would put her lips together and blow. She wasn't watching me, but when I made a similar sound, she started watching my lips. Each time I'd pbbbb she'd do the same pbbbb. I managed to contain most of my spit but she had no problem sharing her baby juice. Other folks in the waiting room enjoyed watching us, so the midafternoon shower was worth it.

Allen came with us to this appointment-it's always nice to have him along. He loves to give the doctor a hard time. She, being a doctor, has caught on to this, and is pretty good at giving him a hard time too. But back to Kassy-she weighs 13 pounds and is 22.75 inches long! Our little girl is growing. She has such cute baby fat rolls for thighs and when she's just eaten her tummy protrudes a bit. A truly beautiful baby!

The worst part about these visits is that sometimes vaccinations (orally or shots) are necessary. A little history: We learned a few weeks ago when Kassy was on amoxicillin that she doesn't swallow anything she doesn't want to and, if by chance, something should happen to get swallowed that she didn't want to swallow, she can puke without any warning. That is precisley what she did the first two times we gave her the medicine via a dropper-the same way we do "football baby" with David for his medicine. Pink puke is not pretty nor does it clean up easily-very slimy. To get around this little problem, we fixed a 1-ounce bottle of formula and added the amoxicillin , which she drank without question. I shared this little bit of useful information with the nurse as she was carefully cajoling Kassy to swallow the rotavirus vaccination today. The nurse would squeeze the little tube and Kassy would use her tongue and push the liquid back out. The main goal is to get the baby to swallow at least half of the amount in the tube. I finished sharing the pink puke story just about the time that Kassy decided that the nurse didn't understand-she didn't want it in her mouth, let alone her stomach, and up-chucked. The nurse had to start all over again and there was quite a bit of clean-up involved. Yucky! At least Kassy wasn't dressed yet!

The good thing about a shot is that two nurses come in and poke the needle in at the same time so that Kassy only gets poked once. The bad news is then she cries. I hate that part, but today she was a tough little girl and didn't even cry for a minute after she got the shots.

Kassy was pretty fussy this evening, so I gave her a dose of Tylenol to help eas discomfort from the shots. She swallowed it but wasn't happy about it. She also is on a trial basis for some acid reflux medicine (to be administered by dropper) and I chose this unfortunate time to push my luck. She doesn't even gag before she pukes! It's like she opens a faucet and it all comes out! Allen was in the shower with David, so he cleaned Kassy off. Guess we get clean sheets tonight. We'll also have to get creative about giving her the reflux medicine.

David had a fun day playing with the Wilkins kids and visiting with Aunt Jo. He sang the alphabet song, happy birthday, and even through in an "e-i-e-i-o" every so often. He played outside with Daddy and after supper he and Gampa played on the swingset and slide in Gampa's yard. Kassy entertained Aunt Jo with her pbbbb and managed to shower spit all over Jo's foot. The kid's got quite a range!

"Apple Juice-ah" and a Racehorse

The kids and I went to my folk's today. Kassy slept the whole 1.75 hour trip and David and I talked. He's quite the conversationalist! I'd point out a herd of cows and he'd say, "cows eatin." How observant!

Mom and Dad have a rocking horse that my dad made and mom painted to look like an appaloosa. David can get on the horse just fine but his legs are still to short to get much rocking done. I told him that the horse was an appaloosa and he repeated to me "apple juice-ah." I love it when he says new words for the first time. We've been working on animal sounds, and he can "neigh" pretty well. He climbed onto the horse and said, "vroom!" paused and quickly said "neigh!" I guess the appaloosa is officially a race horse!

Kassy had some tummy time at Grandma and Grandpa's and she can roll over pretty well now. Sometimes she forgets to tuck her arm and has some trouble (she lets us know!) but she rolled 4 or 5 times before she got tired of that. (I wasn't tired of watching her though.) Tomorrow afternoon she has her 4 month check-up. These are my favorite appointments 'cause it's good information to know (height, weight, etc.) and nobody's sick!

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Sioux Falls to pick up Allen's sister Kerry at the airport. She's home for a couple of weeks to renew her visa then she'll go back to Russia. It's fun to have her home and I know she'll enjoy seeing how much her nieces and nephews have grown.

Aahhhh Easter Weekend

Today we went to church at BWC and headed for Kurt and Christine's for dinner. Yummy! They had an egg hunt for the kids. Allen carried David's basket and collected his empty easter eggs. Whenever David stumbled upon an egg, he would immediately break it open and look inside for the candy. It was pretty cute to see Allen walking around with a little green basket too ;).

After the egg hunt Allen and David were playing in the sandbox. Christine's nephew, Wyatt (4 yrs) was also there. Allen relayed their conversation to me:

Wyatt: Sit down.
David: Why?
Wyatt: Because.
Wyatt: Don't take that out!
David: Why?
Wyatt: Because.
Wyatt: Don't do that!
David: Why?
Wyatt: Because.

I had no idea that at 17 months David would be asking, "why?" to almost everything he was asked to do. On the other hand, he does catch on quick (even Grandpa and Grandma Stoops noticed) that David does say "thanks" or "thank you."

We had pizza for supper, and as I was cutting it into slices Allen was helping David into his chair. Allen was telling David that we were having pizza for supper and that I was cutting it and David's reply was "hurry up!" Sure glad that boy likes pizza-in our family it's a staple!

Saturday was a nice day! We all went into town for a quick shopping trip and came home. I worked at getting a dessert ready for Sunday dinner at Allen's brother's house and Allen and David played all over the house and yard. When the boys came back in the house, I thought it might be a good time to try dying hard boiled eggs with David. I set out the cups for the dye, deciding to keep it simple and do only two colors. I filled one of the containers with one cup of water, added three tablespoons of vinegar, set it on the island and proceeded to do the same with another cup. While my back was turned, my water-loving little boy David climbed up onto the barstool and tried to "drink" the water in the egg-dye cup. Needless to say, he did not like the taste and the entire cup went over his face down his shirtless body, onto his pants and still left a lot of clean-up on the floor. at least there wasn't any dye in the cup! I managed to fill two cups and add the dye tablet but when I showed David how to put an egg in the cup he thought that meant anything could go in the cup, so he added a partially eaten granola bar, soda cracker, and a crayon. At this point we were both wet so it was a good time for Daddy to come help too--he got in on cleaning up vinegar-water and I finished dying the eggs while wet David went to play.

Later in the afternoon we took a quick trip to Sioux Falls for a "date." Grandma and Grandpa Stoops took care of both kids while Allen and I went to see "The Blind Side." When we got back to Stoops' to pick the kids up, Grandpa was outside cleaning up bubble-blowing stuff. David was still holding a bubble pipe and was repeating, "bubbles, bubbles!" We loaded up and headed home, and around 8:00 p.m. David fell asleep. Allen managed to carry him in the house and put him in his crib, bubble-soap clothes and all. David slept until 5:30 a.m. before he wanted a "dink" and then went back to sleep until 8:30. Another Easter blessing!

That brings us to today...

Had a very nice visit with Tricia at her house this morning. David had a great time playing in the sandbox again and somehow managed to scrape his elbow. He is all boy! I attempted to go to the gym today but discovered that I forgot my shoes at home. I hate it when that happens! So I got groceries and picked up the kids and came home. David, of course, fell asleep before we got to the bypass and I managed to carry him in the house without him waking up. He had a 1.5 hour nap-not long enough because he woke up crying. If he sleeps long enough (during the night or at naptime) he wakes up happy and will play in his crib and talk to himself.

It was fun to have friends over for steak (and hot dog) supper and for David to get to be playground host with kids at his house. He picked up a few more scrapes and a bloody nose in the process-nothing so bad that he had to stop playing-he was too busy having fun! So glad that the weather is warming up and we can get outside. Don't have to wear coats anymore and as of today I can officially wear flip flops. Yeah!!

Allen and company will be a guest lecturing for an SDSU agronomy class next week on Tuesday. He'll be participating in disucssions about starting your own business. I'm so proud of him! Way to go honey!

Playing Catchup

Wednesday, March 31, 2010: Kassy and I went to Sioux Falls with Grandma Pickard. She was interviewing some nursing students and I was looking for some lotion that would help Kassy's dry skin on her head and forehead. Success at Bath and Body Works--a product called "Lay It On Thick" seems to be working. David played with the Wilkins kids. Tricia texted me that "The good news is that David doesn't eat sand. The bad news is that he likes to stick it down the front of his diaper." She wasn't kidding either. When Allen got home with David, he took David's pants off on the rug by the back door (thank goodness!) and over one cup of sand from the Wilkins' sandbox ended up on the rug! Allen took him into the nursery to change his diaper and immediately called for me to come look-sand was plastered to his skin and his diaper was full of it. We laughted and I got the vacuum to see if that would help. It didn't. Allen and David then took a quick shower before we left for church activities. At least they both smelled nice :). David also came home with a new phrase: "my goodness!" This from Tricia as she changed his diaper earlier in the day and dumped the first load of sand and gave him a short bath in the sink. Guess she knew better than to try the vacuum!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010: I went to the women's Bible Study at church with Kassy and David played in the nursery and on the playground at church. It's wonderful to have such nice weather!

Monday, March 29, 2010: The kids and I stayed home and Allen went to work. I coached 4-H archery in the evening.

Sunday, March 28, 2010: David had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's with Grandma and Grandpa Stoops, his birthfather Nate and his friend. I can imagine how busy David was, but Grandma said he took a break from playing and even ate some pizza. There were a couple of birthday parties going on, and someone must have been singing "Happy Birthday" because all week long now David has been "singing" "Happy Birthday toe yer" (his pronunciation). Sometimes he even sings "to me" at the end. He is so much fun! Allen and I were at the SDAA tournament for round two. Again, I did better than I deserved and shot 296 with 37x and earned first place in my division (American Female Bowhunter Free Style). My folks arrived with Kassy while I was shooting and Kassy totally entertained the other women I was shooting with. She laid on the table and smiled and cooed. Several other people commented that they didn't even know she was there (which was a good thing)! Allen's folks joined us for the awards ceremony and then we Grandma and Grandpa Stoops and David at Valentino's for supper. WHEW! What a weekend!

Saturday, March 27, 2010: David spent part of the morning and afternoon with Grandma Smith. He had a wonderful time playing with Dilly (Smith's dog-we hear her name frequently), playing with Grandma's toys and spending time outside with her. It is so great that his birthfamily is interested in his life! This little boy has so many people who love him. Kassy spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa Pickard. They got lots of cuddle time and smiles and she didn't have to share with David :). Allen helped at the SDAA state tournament and I shot better than I deserve--out of 300 points and 60 "x"es possible, I shot 297 with 31x. Not too bad for only practicing 5 times this year. One more round to go on Sunday. We drove home and picked up Kassy get back on the road and meet my folks and my mom's cousin, Dale at Godfather's Pizza (my favorite!!!!) in Huron. Mom and Dad took Kassy home with them so we wouldn't have to get up so early on Sunday to go back to Sioux Falls.