Our World...

Whoosh! And with a quick whip of the wind, October was here and gone.

October brings the What Women Want Expo – a good occasion for a girl’s weekend. Comedy night and browsing with girlfriends. Good times!

FINALLY! We have a fixed home! And as Kylor puts it, mom can ‘chill-ax’.

We had our third annual pictures with our dear friend Cindy Cieluch. We took many photos at a beautiful location. We eagerly anticipate seeing the outcome – Cindy is so incredibly talented. It’s amazing how Cindy can get Damon to relax and take pictures – thank goodness for her!

And they are off – a hunting they will go – Dad and Damon started their annual hunting trips and were able to score a 5-point bull elk quite early in the season.

Halloween rocked our world with loads of cuteness! Kylor was a pumpkin and Kason was a white tiger cub. They were overflowing in cuteness! We didn’t do the whole trick-or-treat skeptical this year – Kylor still doesn’t care about that. A visit to Auntie Sharon’s, Grandpa Don’s, Grandma Julie’s and Papa Jule’s and the evening was as good as gone. Kylor loved reminding ALL of the trick-or-treaters that rang the door bell that, ‘you have to say trick-or-treat to get candy!’

Boo!

To Feel This Way!

We got to go to the pool! Even after 3-weeks of swimming lessons in June, Kylor had absolutely NO interest in swimming in the pool. We couldn't coax or bribe him for anything in the World. Instead, Ky sat on the second step of the pool and splashed with his hands. Kason, on the other hand, LOVED the water - he was a little water bug! The only thing that enabled us to get him out of the water was nap-time...and he was exhausted!

Labor Day weekend we were involved in a VERY unfortunate accident. In the wee hours of September 5th (3:00 am), our home was hit by a drunk, teenage driver. Fortunately, nobody was killed! The accident took out a tree and put a 3X3 hole in the front corner of our home as well as totaled the car owned by the parents' of the young driver. Quite the terrifying thing to wake up to out of a deep sleep. Upon incident, the teenager took off on foot, but was later brought back to the scene by some good samaritans. We spent the month of September in an Insurance disaster (as the other party declined the claim). We are hoping to get things squared away in October and be on the road to healing our home (and our emotions).

On the 6th, Damon and I celebrated 7-years of wedding bliss together! I look back and can't believe it's been 7-years - it sure has flown by! We've been so blessed in our years together - we have a nice home and two beautiful boys. We couldn't be happier! Here's to the next 50-years together!!!

Mid-September we had our very-first-ever trip to the Emergency Room...with our 3-year old. It was a Saturday afternoon, we all went our separate ways to take an afternoon nap. Mom and Kason in Mom's room, Dad on the couch and Kylor in his own room. Kylor, however, decided that he just wasn't tired so instead he used his designated nap-time to jump (or as he puts it- FALL) on his bed. We woke up to a loud 'boom!' (took us back to September 5th - waking up to a 'boom!' will NEVER be the same again). Kylor fell, hit his head on his headboard and the headboard hit the wall upon impact! An Emergency Room visit and 3-hours of our Saturday afternoon later, we walked away with 7-staples in the back of Ky's head. Lesson learned: NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!!!

After the house incident and the staples, we were gladly ready for the black cloud hovering over us to move on!

More Kylor news...after 3-years with his ear tubes, we had them removed in August, spent the month of September healing and got the 'green light' to be tube free from here on out! Kylor couldn't be happier to take a bath without the hassle of ear plugs. Kylor, my little man, is just that - a little man. One afternoon he was telling me a story. I couldn't even recall what the story was about because (I'll be honest), I just wasn't paying much attention (he's a talker...and I get 'bad-mom-of-the-year' award for not listening to every single little thing that mutters out of his mouth). I ended up giving him a generic response to his story by saying, 'Oh.' Kylor looked at me, put his hand on his hip and proceeded to let me know that, 'O is a letter! At least say okay!' Well - okay, then! I get the giggles over watching Ky bop around the house singing Sugarland's version of 'stuck like glue. you and me baby, we're stuck like glue'. He bounces his little head in his own cute little way as he walks around signing the chorus over and over and over again.

Kason...Mr. Kason...Smiley John...Kas-a-roo...turned 10-months old!(sniff, sniff) What a little pumpkin he is. He was a whopping 22 lbs and 30 inches - such a big difference considering Kylor was a preemie. Not sure if Kason will be a crawler or not - her prefers to 'scoot' on his butt or inch around like a centipede. The poor guy worked on his two, top, front teeth for a good 6-weeks before they finally cut thru the gums. I felt so sorry for him. They were visible, but just wouldn't break the surface. We went through a lot of Tylenol and Motrin with teething tables or Ora-Gel.

We held a 'second annual' garage sale in late September. It's so muchwork...but once again, we did really, really well - so it totally ended up being worth it. Now we just need to schedule a time for the Salvation Army to come and take away the rest of our JUNK!

Smile!!!

I Just Can't Describe It!

Darius Rucker (aka: ‘just a little guy’), Luke Bryan (aka: ‘kinda a big deal’), Lifehouse (aka: Lights On!), Leanne Rimes (aka: ‘high maintenance Fiji’) and Clay Walker (aka: ‘Clay Walk-on-over-here)…that’s who the wind blew in the beginning of August! Montana State Fair had a wonderful line-up this year. I enjoyed a week of night shows and fattening-fair-food with great friends.

We had a brief, but nice visit with Damon’s Grandma and Grandpa Heck. It’d been a couple of years since we’d seen them and we sure enjoyed our visit. We hope that our next visits aren’t so few and far between. We sure do miss them!

After 3-years, Kylor got his ear tubes taken out. We went in for our annual routine check-up and left without tubes. A few weeks to heal and then we cross our fingers that he can enjoy a bath without ear plugs and that we don’t have any future problems – sure hope he’s grown out of that phase. I can’t believe how grown-up my Ky has become. I fully expected a complete meltdown when Doc decided to remove the tubes, but instead, he sat on my lap and responded with nothing more than a tiny ‘jerk’ as they were removed. I was so proud!

Baby Kason turned 9-months old in August! Where-oh-where have the past nine months gone? In a few short months he will ‘graduate’ from the ‘baby’stage. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. We sure do enjoy him though. He’s our smiley, passive guy – always grinning from ear to ear.

Kylor and Kason – my sunshine boys!

Sunshine After Rain

We got watered-out in July. Kylor had 3-weeks of 'mommy and me' swimming lessons. For someone who has a strong dislike for being in the water, I'm quite proud of my performance...showing Ky my LOVE for the water. The instructor was great and Kylor really did a fantastic job learning and making friends.

We spent our 4th of July holiday feeding the ducks and fish - looks like this will be an annual family tradition.

July brings our annual vacation to Seeley Lake. While the weather was so/so, we had a wonderful time relaxing and visiting with family and friends. My sister, Brittney, joined us again this year. Her boys are getting so darn big - it saddens me to think of how much we miss of our nephews lives. We look forward to the day that they move closer to home. Kylor must have had his water-fix under control from lessons as he didn't go any further than ankles deep in the water all week long. Kason, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure about the Lake. A couple of times he enjoyed being out in the water, other times, he was uneasy. Kason was a 'rockstar' at the lake - entertaining anyone who would pay him any attention with his smiles and giggles.

We've entered into a trying stage with Kylor. He wants to be so grown-up, but on the flip-side, he doesn't even act his own age at times. He's still my little charmer, though. He can sure turn it on when he tells me over and over how much he loves me and that I'm his 'favorite mommy'.

Kason had a couple 'firsts' this month. His first 'big-boy' bath and he graduated from his Bumbo chair into a full-size high-chair. Now that he is sitting up on his own, it was time for the moves. He absolutely loves his bath - he wants to be a little fish and flop around all over the place. Scary for mom, fun for Kason. I can't believe the different level of comfort I have the 'second time around'. I'm already feeding Kason table food as I see fit: pizza, potatoes, hamburger, etc. I wouldn't have dreamed of feeding Kylor foods like that at 8-months old. Kason sure does enjoy his food! I was hoping that Kason would honor me in making one of his first recognizable sounds 'mamamama'...rather we get 'bababababa' and'dadadadada' again. Oh well! It's adorable to watch him carry on with his babble.

Watch out August...here I come!

Time To Turn It Up!

June started out with a bang! And the 4th Annual Richard Heck Memorial Golf Tournament! The tournament grows more and more every year - this year we reached our maximum team limit with 36 teams! We had great weather and the golfers were a kick! Rick was such a well loved and respected man -thus the success of the tournament. We miss him more and more as time passes.

Damon has been busy with golf and softball this summer. While it's good for him to get out and enjoy time with his friends, we sure do miss him at home too.


Mid-June, we ventured to Fort Peck for Damon's family reunion. We would have taken some warmer weather, but we managed a good time - sweatshirts and all! Kylor had a blast playing with his cousin, Lilli. And Kason loved just hanging out. Kylor 'camped' in a retro camper with Grandma Julie and to this day, he talks about his camping experience. He certainlyloved it! Ky caught his first fish at the Fort Peck Lake. He is his mama's boy as the sight of the little, tiny large mouth bass on the end of his line freaked him out - he screamed and ran! What's most impressive is that he caught the thing without trying...with no bait at all. He was just 'practicing' casting. The luck!



Kylor loves to sing...he sings us Christmas carols every day. Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Rudolph. I'm continuously teaching him new songs hoping that he'll cling on to something new, but he always falls back on the holiday favorites.

Kason rolls and rolls and rolls...anywhere and everywhere he wants to go. He doesn't sit still for very long at all. I don't know how ready I am for him to be mobile (crawling and walking). And on the other hand, I wonder where my little baby has gone.

I keep plugging along. In June I had a nice visit with a life-long friend,Janea, before she journeyed to Italy - what an experience! On the flipside, I had to say 'see you later' to one of my closest friends, Kylee, as she starts a new journey in her life...with her fiance in New Jersey.

A quick blink, and I'll post for July!

My Heart and Soul

Give me a G – A – R – Y…Gary Allen! That’s right! I got to see Gary from
second row seats the first of May! I loved the concert. I love him. I
could see him five more times and I still wouldn’t be tired of Gary. I had
a wonderful night out with the girls – dinner prior followed by fun and
girlfriends at the concert.

May also brings…March of Dimes March for Babies. We always put together a
team of walkers to ‘March’ in honor of Kylor Gene – our little Preemie –
who is no longer so little.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day – a day of celebration. As I celebrated
motherhood, we also celebrated my niece’s (Caprianna) birthday. Damon took
Julie and I to dinner to celebrate. Days such as Mother’s Day make me feel
incredibly loved and blessed.

Damon is super-busy with golf league and softball. He’s such an active
guy. On top of it, Spring / Summer begins Damon’s busy time at work. I’m
busy…working. Thank goodness for family and friends, otherwise, I don’t
know how we’d juggle our schedules and our boys. Seems if they are not at
day-care, they are with Aunt Sharon, Grandma Julie or whomever else we can
convince to help out. Poor little pumpkins…sure haven’t been getting much
time at home lately. Hopefully my schedule will chill out sooner than
later so we can have more quality time together.

Mid-May, Kason was baptized at First Congregational United Church of
Christ. We had a beautiful and blessed day filled with family friends and
Godparents: Uncle Tanner and Auntie Kristie.

Kylor cleans – he loves to clean. He can spend an entire afternoon
organizing’ and ‘cleaning’. Pretty good for 3-years old. I sure hope he
feels the same way about cleaning when he is a teenager! He’s becoming so
independent.

And Kason…our little Smiley John. We couldn’t ask for a happier,
good-natured baby. He babbles and babbles more every day. Although, I
know he’s not aware of what he’s ‘saying’, but he sure does a great job at
mimicking the word ‘hi’. Kylor was a great baby, but Kason is so wonderful,
it makes it seem as though Ky was 'high maintence'. Kason loves to eat...loves to eat.
He's been eating cereal and oatmeal since he was 4-months old, but more recently,
we started vegetables...peas, green beans, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes...he
loves them all...so much that he gets angry after his last bite. Sure hope his love
for veges continues!

My three boys – the highlights of my life!