"Yeah"

I've bemoaned the fact that for months David will say "no" even when he means "yes." Wednesday this week he added "yeah" to his vocabulary. I realize that's not the same as "yes," but he's using it to mean "yes." "David, would you like some more cheese?" And his adorable reply is, "yeah."

Kassy communicates perfectly-she tells us what she needs and we guess until we get it right. She "sings" when she's content, but when the singing starts, it won't be long until she's ready for something to change. I try to sing her songs back to her and she smiles, but it's like she's saying that I'm still getting some of the "words" wrong. Guess I'll keep going to choir practice!

Farm Kids, Rummages, and Road Graders

Yesterday afternoon the four of us went back to my folk's to help plant corn, haul manure, disk, and finish the mowing I started on Thursday. Allen had to pull Dad and the corn planter out with the payloader and then Dad had to pull Allen and the payloader out. Sounds fair to me :). They decided it was too wet to haul manure so Allen and David went to disk. David eventually fell asleep (all that fresh air, ya know!) and Allen called me to come get him. Then we went home to pick up lunch for Dad and took it too him on the 4-wheeler (David insists it's a 2-wheeler, not sure why). Dad needed more seed, so we went to get it for him. After that delivery David rode with Allen for awhile. Allen's tractor ran out of fuel so he had to walk home to get the payloader to haul a fuel tank to the field. David ate almost 3 hotdogs and slept through the thunderstorm!! We were busy!

Today the girls rummaged in Huron and since it was too wet to plant, the guys fed cows and fixed the grapple fork on the payloader. David played in the shop, slopped in mud puddles, and put bolts in the top of a distributor cap. He also had fun playing with a toy road grader that my cousins and I played with under the locust trees a long time ago.

"I Chased the Bull"

Yesterday the kids and I went to visit my grandma for the two-year anniversary of my grandpa's passing. My mom joined us and when it was time to go she took David home with her. When they got home, my dad was sorting bulls. He needed som help moving them from one pen to another. David had been asleep in his chair in the back seat and when he woke up, Mom was using the car to 'direct' the bull. He giggled and laughed as Mom and Dad headed off the bull. As I understand it, Mom gave David the play-by-play of what they were doing nd when the dust settled, David's new phrase was "I chased the bull." He is still talking about it today! I'm so glad he gets to live a little of 'the farm life.'

While we were at Grandma's, Kassy sat by herslef on the floor. I can't believe how fast she's growing! The Ear, Nose, and Throat doc we saw yesterday says she needs to go to Sioux Falls for the barium/x-ray test. Hopefully that will help clue us in to why she's so congested.

Firsts

David's first haircut was yesterday and Kassy ate 2 tablespoons of rice cereal for the first time tonight.

Chatting

This morning my mom went with the kids and me to Chat. I really enjoy visiting with the other moms and it was extra special to have my mom go with me this morning. She got to spend some extra time loving on Kassy and watching David and Anthony play. David and Kassy fell asleep on the way home, so Mom and I enjoyed a quiet lunch together. Kassy woke up, and Mom "volunteered" to keep an eye on her so I could take a nap. I have no idea when David woke up, but I had a glorious 2 1/2 hour nap. THANK YOU MOM!!! Later we stopped by Allen's folks' for a quick chat.

Tired Twosome

Mom and the kids and I went to Bristol today to visit my brother's family. David and Jonah are still figuring out how to play together, but they are both smart boys and they'll get it figured out someday. I helped them make a "fort" with a card table and a few blankets, and it actually held together pretty well through all of the in's and out's. The two little ones got some special time with Grandma and Aunt Sabrina and of course, Aunt Jen. Even though there's a lot going on and conversations are interrupted, put on hold, and sometimes not even finished,it's nice just to be together. Both kids (and me too!) got naps in on the ride home.


We taught our last 4-year-old Wednesday School class tonight and managed to help the kids get lots of play-doh on the floor. My mom stayed home with David and Kassy went to Bible Study with Allen's folks. We're looking forward to having Wednesday evenings free this summer, even though I know that will only last for a couple of weeks.

A Rainy Sunshine Day

Allen and I are guides tomorrow at the Big Sioux Water Festival. For the past 5 years I've been the guide coordinator, so technically I'm a newbie. It will be a new perspective! Grandma Pickard kept David while Kassy and I went to the training session this morning. She had her hands full as Conrad and Johanna were also there. It was fun to watch the boys playing together.My mom came over this afternoon in time to go with us to Sioux Falls for supper with the Stoops family at the Royal Fork. Nate met Kassy for the first time and gave her supper too. We enjoy watching Nate and Grandma and Grandpa fuss over and play with the kids. Who could ever have too much love? David blessed my heart on the way home tonight. Allen and Mom were in the front seats of the Expedition and the kids and I sat in the back, Kassy in the middle. I reached across her to tickle David and he grabbed my hand and held onto it. He kept holding on as he made himself more comfortable in his car seat and after he finished rubbing his eyes, he reached for my hand and held it as he fell asleep. My heart is so blessed!!!! Thank you God for my precious children!!!

Birthmother's Day

Yesterday was Birthmother's Day! We are so thankful for Sylvia and Latrice, for allowing us to love their babies and be Dad and Mom. These two ladies love their babies so much! We are so glad to share "our" kids with their birthfamilies--we are parents because of the love that these two ladies had for their babies. Allen and I love David and Kassy even more than we thought possible. Thank you, Sylvia and Latrice, for being a part of our family and adopting us too!!


Sylvia and David


Latrice and Kassy

We celebrated Mother's Day with Allen's mom and dad last night at Perkins in Watertown then went to my folk's. Kids both slept all the way and Allen was able to carry David in without waking him up. He slept on the floor in my brother's room and I worried that he would wake up and not know where he was. He only slept until 6:30 this morning, but woke up happy and was headed to the living room (where the toys are!) when I caught up with him. Kassy was Grandma's girl, which gave us the opportunity to keep on sleeping. Breaks like that are wonderful!

After church and dinner at Godfather's (my favorite!), Allen and David went to help my dad haul cornstalk bales home from the field. David loves going anywhere and everywhere in the tractor.


David drives anything with a steering wheel!

Grandma Laabs, Matthew, Sabrina, Jonah, and Caleb joined us this afternoon for a fun afternoon of laughing and entertaining chaos. I'm so glad that our kids will grow up knowing each other!

Sioux Falls, Here We Come!

Kids and I went to Sioux Falls with my folks yesterday. Mom drove her car with the kids and Dad and I rode together to Brookings. We lunched with Allen and then we rode went to Sioux Falls. David hardly ever leaves both of his shoes on and it's a sure bet that at least the right shoe and sock will come off. Well, he made it to Sioux Falls with both shoes and socks on but that's where it ended. Both shoes and socks came off and....lo and behold, there was sock lint stuck to his toes. I guess he must not have eaten as well at lunch as I thought he did, or else the lint appeared more appetizing to him than me, because he ate it!

Later, Dad got out to look at a trailer, so I let David out of his car seat so he could move around ("drive"). It was a beautiful day, so the sunroof was open. David crawled up on the armrest and stuck his head out the roof-which he thought was pretty cool. We did too, until he showed his hand to Grandma and said, "peanutbutter". He somehow managed to get some grease from the sunroof mechanism, similar in color to peanutbutter, on his fingers. That got us moving, 'cause who wants "peanutbutter" smeared all over the inside of the car?!?!? Kassy, I learned, loves playing "peek-a-boo" and is tickelish all over! Her little giggles make me laugh, which makes her laugh some more. Everywhere we go people oohh and awww over her and tell me she is so beautiful-and she is! It's fun to watch her personality develop. She really watches David and I'm just waiting to see which of his stunts she tries to get away with first!

Lunchtime Funnies

Today was our last day of "Bible" a.k.a. photography study. I'm really glad that the other ladies enjoyed our time as much as I did. We're planning to meet a couple of days each month this summer. They have some ambitious ideas that I'm glad to be excited about.

David and Kassy were in the nursery this morning while we photographed some of the mares and foals at the SDSU Horse unit. After picking up the kids, we drove through the carwash. David was pretty observant, especially as I drove through the dryer. I asked him what he thought of the carwash and instead of his usual answer to any question "no," he responded "loud". He's learning so much!

Our next stop was Lion's park, which is quickly becoming a favorite place to play. Kassy napped in her carseat while I pushed David in the swing. He loved going high, with his feet going over my head. I'd give him a push, and when he got to the other end of the swing, his butt would leave the seat, and he'd laugh. He's a little daredevil!

Then we met Allen at HyVee for lunch. I guess the morning had been a little too active for David, because not long after Allen brought him something to eat, he fell asleep.
Too cute!
Allen carried him out to the jeep and he slept for two more hours. Kassy helped me write the rest of the thank yous for shower gifts, so all that's left is addressing the envelopes and that job will be done!

Stay at Home Sunday

We're happy to report that David did pretty well in his big boy bed last night. Allen got up once to help him go back to sleep and I got up once to refill his sippy cup. A refill means that he needed clean sheets and pajamas. Kassy did okay (the crib is now in our bedroom) but she spent a lot of the night in our bed. Not sure what the problem is...perhaps she's cold...

Anyway, we went to church, had lunch with Allen's family and came home. We all four had two hour naps, which we all needed. David and I were out of milk (who wants to start Monday morning without milk?!?!?!) so made a trip back to town. Very convient to stop by some friends' house and catch up on the previous week. Was a very nice, relaxing Sunday.

It's Been a Busy Week!

Wednesday Allen helped my dad get the heifers ready for breeding and managed to stick himself in the leg with the syringe. Not to worry though, his leg is still attached!

Thursday: Mom and the kids and I met Grandma at the Chinese resturant in Huron. David didn't want to try the tapioca pudding (which I know he likes) so I pretended that the spoon was an airplane and his mouth was the hanger. He was, of course, finished before the rest of us, so I got a toy airplane out of the bag for him to play with. He can make good airplane noises. Somehow we managed to keep the airplane out of the tapioca. Kassy smiled a lot at our waitress and managed to get herself a couple of fortune cookies, not that she got to eat them.

Friday: We all (Allen included!) went to Sioux Falls and rummaged with David's birthmom, Sylvia. She taught him how to dunk his potato oles in cheese sauce and got a big suprise when he dunked one and fed it to her. Totally cute!!! Also stopped by to see Sylvia's folks for a few minutes. We enjoy visiting with David's birthfamily!

Saturday: Rearrange David's bedroom to make room for his new big boy bed! Tricia and Taylor came to help watch David and Kassy, do floorplan layout, and of course, shove furniture. Then went to Sioux Falls again to visit with Sylvia's mom (her dad was at the drag races) and go to a Bethany Christian Services family event at Pizza Ranch in Brandon. David was not interested in eating, only playing. He needed a longer nap!!!