New Year's Resolution

Potty training!!!!

That seems like a great resolution for Sean (really for mommy and daddy). We are trying it! I'm pretty nervous because I don't know what to do. I didn't have any brothers and Kaelin kind of potty trained herself. Today we bought big boy underwear and he picked out a Diego potty chair. The seat makes me laugh because it's Diego white water rafting with sea turtles! Maybe I'm just reading way too much into that but I thought it was funny. Anyway, if anyone out there can give me advice please do. Even if you have never made a comment please do now. Well, off we go! Wish us luck!

Christmas videos

Videos for the family. Anyone can watch them, but I don't think they are as enjoyable to everyone. Sorry for how dark they are, apparently we live in a cave. Also, ignore my commentary.




Rob's family has a tradition of placing baby Jesus in the Nativity on Christmas Eve. It's usually done by the youngest of the family, but since Savanna is the youngest, and probably will be for quite a while, we might change that part of the tradition.


We also have tradition of opening one present from under the tree on Christmas Eve. Kaelin is up first.





Sean was a surprise. I really thought he would tear into the paper. On Christmas day he wanted all his gifts to be started for him with scissors.





Savanna just loved the wrapping paper.

Christmas!!!

This is a before picture.


Savanna playing with her new Christmas gifts. And, yes, she is using her head to knock over that penguin.





Sean loved his new shaving kit and his very own giraffe. He always sings this song, "long neck, like a giraffe!"



Savanna loved her wrapping paper and some touch and feel books the most. Kaelin asked for a Barbie doll house and was super excited that she also got a box to put everything in.

On Christmas Eve the kids pretended to be Mary and Joseph. Kaelin was a caring mother, who wanted to be referred to as "Mary" all night; and Sean, well, he hid from the camera.

After picture.
Luckily Rob was really good at throwing away paper as we went so it wasn't even worse.

Holiday Activities

I love this picture because both kids look like they are trying to get away from Kaelin and she has such a devious grin about it. That is not what the picture was intended to look like, but it makes for a great pic anyway.

Kaelin had a holiday party at school that we were able to go to. This picture is in Kaelin's classroom and Sean absolutely loves playing in Kaelin's classroom.



Here are the holiday snacks that Miss Amy provided for the kids. Kaelin adores Miss Amy and we are very grateful to have her teaching Kaelin because she cares very much about the kids that she teaches.




Kaelin and her classmates are gathered with one of the parents and listening intently. Kaelin loves school and we hope it will always stay that way




Cold weather in Memphis, means that Trout are to be found nearby.... They are only stocked in the winter here due to being a fish which cannot survive as well in warm waters. So me and Kaelin went fishing to catch some beautiful Rainbow Trout at nearby Yale Park Pond.




Kaelin was very excited to catch as many fish as we did. Kaelin and I always have so much fun fishing together. Sean enjoys fishing as well, but tends to try and get in the water. So with the cold weather and Sean's desire to be with the fish in their natural habitat, we left him home with mommy.



Daddy and Kaelin--- Fishing buddies. I'm so glad that my children enjoy fishing. Kaelin and I caught seven fish. Kaelin caught five on her fishing pole, and I caught two on mine. Looks like she taught dad a thing or two about fishing.

Holiday Fun with crafts!

During the Christmas break, Kaelin and Tina made some snowflakes, borrowed from another blog, and Kaelin begged to do it everyday until Tina finally helped her.


Kaelin's here is a snowflake that is supposed to be our house with a chimney.



This is Tina's product at the beginning of the drying stage.


Intermission: The snowflakes are drying, so Kaelin decided that she would be Wall-E. Doesn't she bear close resemblance with the super TP roll eyes?



Kaelin's finished product.


Tina's Finished Product.

Savanna laughing

Daddy's Tribute to Kaelin

Kaelin is very persistent when she wants to learn something. She kept working on tying a bow until she finally did it by herself and she was so proud of her accomplishment, and so are we.



Kaelin also really wanted to learn how to snap her fingers. She practiced everywhere (at home, in the car, at church, even when she was upset and crying) and she finally got it. Here's a short video of her showing off how persistence pays off. We are so proud of Kaelin and all that she is learning at school, and all of the help she gives at home with her brother and sister. She is truly a blessing that Heavenly Father has sent to us and we love having her in our family.

Music is one of our favorite pasttimes.

Hope you enjoy some our favorites in our new playlist while browsing the blog. Dominic the Donkey is one of Tina's favorite non-religious Christmas songs, has anyone else heard it before? Sean's favorite song is included in the playlist, it is "Peanut Butter Jelly Time." The song "Cailin" was the song that gave us Kaelin's name, of course we tweaked it so as not to be complete copycats. As for me (Rob), anything Collective Soul is my favorite, but I do have a fondness for every band in this list. What's your favorite Christmas song, religious or non-religious, we'd love to hear? We'd also love to learn what band is your favorite band?

Lovin' Savanna

Here are a few pictures of Savanna being loved.


Chilling with Daddy on the computer. She's so cuddly with her daddy. She's already got him wrapped around her finger

Kaelin does a fantastic job with Savanna, in the morning, while I'm getting breakfast ready and getting Sean dressed.

Just some fun!

Sean decorating the window, if you look close he's wearing "lumber jack" boots.




Kaelin went on a picture rampage, and this is one of my favorites. She wanted Sean to hold Shrek while she took his picture, he didn't care to, so she improvised and just held the ogre in her own shot.



Savanna's response to rice cereal. According to her pediatrician she can't "taste" yet, so this is just confusion about the texture. I don't know how much I believe that, but whatever.
I think the video shows her true feelings.



Kaelin got her and Sean "set-up" for this picture and held him there until I could come over to take the picture. Sean did pretty good for being forced into it.






Sean was doing all of "This Little Piggy" and then as soon as I get the camera he abbreviates it. He's still cute though.

More from Ohio

Here are a whole lot of pictures from the science museum we went to with the Fishers. I don't remember what COSI stands for so just make something up.









There was really neat "tree" outside the building. It had rotating, holographic cubes all over and the tree spun around as well. The sunlight shines off of the reflective surface and makes all of these rainbows. If you look close you can see Dan and Tiffany's head








They had a water room that the kids loved. They even had a table with baby chairs so the itty-bitty ones could play too. Savanna liked it, but her arms were too short to reach the toys. She just splashed around for a while.







Sean liked making waterfalls, to which he would yell, "I LOVE WATERFALLS!"







Rob had to take a picture of this sign. It's all about eye safety. He's convinced that an optometrist helped design this childrens' area because there were signs everywhere about eyes, eye facts, eye safety. They even had an optometrist's office.







Kaelin was running all over, this was one of the few pictures we have of her before she ran off somewhere else. This was a house that you could see the electrical wiring throughout the walls.







Savanna got to touch some different textures. She looks so enthralled, don't you think. It made music when the chains touched each other.






She also pretended to enjoy playing with some multi-colored cubes.







This slide was pretty cool; you would roll a ball down the purple slide in the middle, and race down to see who won. Apparently, Sean wasn't too quick, since you can't even see the ball anymore.



Kaelin loved when they brought out some insects, spiders, and amphibians to show and teach about.






If you look carefully, there's a full skeleton, made from wire, hanging from the ceiling.







I couldn't get away without posting something related to optometry. This was just a huge optical illusion. You stare at the spinning spiral for a while and then when you look down the hall, it appears that the walls are undulating, or wiggling, like jello or something.








This is the "Rat Basketball" court. Yup, rat basktball. The ball was made out of the rollerball from the bottom of a computer mouse, with some holes drilled in it. Whenever they scored, they received a Cheerio.





The kids waiting to watch "Rat Basketball"








Sean loved this thing. You start by tossing a ball into a big launcher(like a potato launcher). It then shoots the ball into a big funnel at the top of the wall. The ball makes it way down through tunnels, funnels, tubes and wheels. Sean stayed there for at least an hour. For some reason, the old men that were there thought it would be funny to stop Sean's ball right before it got to the finish. NOT FUNNY!!
This is the full view of it. Down on the white, the pieces were magnetic and you could change the pieces around.







While Sean was playing with the ball wall, Kaelin spent her whole time with a giant erector set. I was pretty surprised that this is what caught her attention.





I don't know if she ever completed the bridge or not; I think she just liked connecting the pieces.




My favorite part was her "helpers" name. Look close and you might be able to see...Sunny D. Rob still can't decide if he is Florida or California style.






I don't know what this is called, but if you have a science museum, evidently you HAVE to have one of these.






This was a chair and coffee table made out of gears and sprockets. Rob said it was actually pretty comfortable.





Kaelin in a real submarine and yes, it was a Yellow Submarine, but we don't all live in it.







I like to think this is King Triton.






Sean had fun shooting a water cannon, but who wouldn't.







This fountain looked really cool. It took forever to get this picture because kids kept sticking their fingers in the water globes. What do they think this is a Children's Museum?






Over all, I really liked this COSI, which Rob now tells me is Center of Science and Industry, even though Dan Fisher thinks it's Columbus Ohio Science & Industry. Maybe, he's just proud of where he lives. JK Dan, we love you!