Christmas Photos

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas this year and were so blessed to spend it with both our moms as well as Kevin's grandma (Oma). The kids were totally spoiled with presents, the highlights were a "Ragdoll" kitten for Katie (we totally surprised her with this as she has been asking for a cat for 2 years and we told her she couldn't get one till we moved to the new house. She was SO shocked and thrilled), an Itouch for both Katie and Kobe (now they won't be constantly fighting over playing on my IPhone so it's a gift for me too, lol!), a roller coaster for the boys, a walk-in play kitchen, a whole Thomas the Train set and tons of other toys. I got Kevin a Tag Heuer Aquaracer watch and he got me a Coach purse and matching wallet - we don't usually get expensive stuff for ourselves so this was a big treat for both of us. My mom got me a super nice stand mixer that will make all the baking I do SO much easier! We both got our moms charm bracelets from Nellie & Lizzy with all their grandkids names and birthstones plus a few other small gifts. All in all, I'd say it was a great Christmas for everyone. The best part though was just spending time together and enjoying the day. We made a delicious turkey dinner with tons of sides and homemade apple pie for dessert. I don't think we got out of our pj's for 24 hours! :) LOL, the best kind of day!

Here are all the pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127819&id=1108986907&l=cfdd66b59d

Kaleb Update

So we got the results of all Kaleb's tests and found out he has IgA Deficiency, which means his body doesn't produce an anti-body called Immunoglobulin A. This is a separate issue than Celiac although people who are IgA deficient are 15x's more likely to have Celiac Disease than people who don't. Unfortunately people who are IgA deficient are unable to be tested for Celiac through a blood test because that is the anti-body they look for in the blood test. So now the only way to get a positive diagnosis for Celiac is to do an endoscopy and biopsy of his small intestine. What worries me is that people with IgA deficiency are at a much higher risk of infection due to their lack of antibodies and I am concerned that the biopsy could lead to an infection. Additionally they would need to put him under general anesthesia to do the procedure, which carries it's own set of risks. Since Kaleb has so many signs of Celiac (and we have recently discovered a family history of the disease) AND he has IgA Deficiency which puts him in a high risk category for Celiac, we decided to just go ahead and put him on gluten free diet for the next 6 months and see how he responds. If he starts gaining weight and showing significant improvement, then that is enough proof for us and we can just skip the endoscopy and the risks it carries. Happily, we started him on a gluten free diet several days ago and has already gained 4 ounces!! We have been monitoring his weight very closely over the last 6 weeks and even on a high calorie diet he previously had not gained an ounce and never weighed more than 24.4 oz. and as of this morning is now 24.8 oz! So we are seeing results already and I'm hoping that this continues as we keep him off gluten.

Separately, I have been researching IgA defiency and realized it is a much more serious condition than I realized. IgA is an antibody that protects against infections of the mucous membranes; lining the mouth, airways, and digestive tract. People with this disorder can suffer with a lifetime of infections and ironically one of the things used to treat this disorder is human breast milk. Human milk is very high in IgA and when consumed by someone with IgA deficiency, increases their own IgA levels. Most children don't get diagnosed with having IgA deficiency until after they are weaned and then start getting lots of illnesses and infections. We just stumbled upon Kaleb having this while I am still nursing him only because we were testing for something else. I have unknowingly been keeping him healthy through my milk. If I had weaned him earlier, we most likely would have had a very sick child and still not known what was wrong with him because we probably would have chalked up his lack of growth to his illnesses. This is all so scary and overwhelming but I also am SO glad I haven't weaned him yet. The thing is, what am I supposed to do? Nurse him forever? The good news is people can outgrow IgA deficiency so there is a chance that if I keep nursing him, he will eventually start producing his own IgA and will never have to deal with the recurring illnesses and infections that most people with this disorder suffer with. I'm making an appt. with an Immunologist next week to go in and talk about his long term care.

The other issue we have been incredibly lucky with is vaccinations. Kaleb has not had any vaccines yet because Kobe had an adverse reaction to his second set of vaccines and I started researching vaccinations and decided not to vaccinate him till he was 2 in order to let the blood-brain barrier fully form. Anyhow, since he has an immune deficiency there is a very high chance he would have had an adverse reaction to vaccinations and could have even contracted the disease itself from live-virus vaccines like MMR and Chickenpox. So my decision to not vaccinate him has also saved him from some very nasty potential illnesses. Whew. I can't tell you how glad I am that I decided to nurse him and not vaccinate yet. I feel like we just dodged 2 bullets! I didn't know at the time but those decisions are what has kept him as healthy as he has been. We could have been dealing with a very sick child all this time had I made different decisions.

So I am going to the Immunologist to talk about long term care for his IgA deficiency and also am taking him to an endocrinologist (per the recommendation of the gastroenterologist) to get him tested for a possible HGH (human growth hormone) deficiency so we can rule that out or deal with it, as the case may be. Some people have multiple issues, i.e. Celiac AND HGH deficiency so it's important we test everything so we can treat and/or rule out what the issues are.

This is all very new territory for me, all my children have been exceptionally healthy and rarely even go to the doctor so all these specialists and testing is a bit overwhelming and stressful. I'm just so, so grateful that we are catching it early, while I am still nursing and am able to keep him healthy and from suffering from the recurring illness and infection most people with this disorder deal with. I also feel positive about the results we are already seeing with the gluten free diet and am glad we are catching it early enough that it will not have a long-term impact on his growth. In addition to the weight gain, I am also seeing positive changes in his temperament and behavior so I'm very confident that we are doing the right thing with this gluten-free diet.

So I think that is everything....for now we are just taking it one day at a time and praying that the future brings positive growth and healing. I think given the conditions he has, we have been very lucky and he is doing extremely well.

Growth stress & Christmas spirit

So I never really posted an official update as to how Kaleb's appointment with the specialist went. Here goes...We took him in and met with the pediatric gastroenterologist last week. The doctor was very friendly and knowledgeable and took all my my concerns very seriously. He agreed that no weight gain in 13 months is cause for concern and that going from the 99th percentile to the 15th percentile in 1 year is not normal. It felt good to have my concerns validated and not be told "oh he looks fine" - Yeah, the only reason he looks fine is because he was SO big to begin with! Ugh. Anyway, he took a stool sample from Kaleb and then sent us over to the hospital to get an x-ray done on his hand to check for his bone age and to get blood taken to run a whole battery of tests to check for celiac, check his thryroid, check for pituitary disorders, etc. We go back in on Thurs. the 24th to get the results of everything. This has got to be the longest wait of my life! I thought waiting to find out if you were pregnant after TTC was bad. This is so much worse! I want to know what's wrong with my baby so I can start helping him. I'm just hope they were able to find something through all the testing. My worst fear is that all the tests come back and they still don't know why he isn't growing. For a full month now we have had Kaleb on a high calorie diet...whole milk, butter, half & half, heavy cream is added to everything he eats. I make him high cal smoothies (made w/ whole milk, half & half, heavy cream, a banana, ice cream and protein powder) TWICE a day and he has those along with his high cal meals. I know he's taking in a TON more calories than he used to because he's going #2 a lot more but as of this morning, after 4 full weeks of this, he has LOST 2 more ounces. I seriously am fighting back tears. Something is definitely wrong here. I found this website that talks about normal monthly growth in children: http://www.hawaii.edu/medicine/pediatrics/pedtext/s01c02.html and according to this if Kaleb had continued growing at just a "normal" rate (keep in mind that he had been growing at an above normal rate and was in the 99th percentile), he should have gained 7 lbs. and be 31 pounds by now.

This is just so stressful and the worst part is not knowing what is causing it. I really, really hope the doctor can give us some answers on Thurs. Even if he does have Celiac, it will be good news because then I will know what to do to FIX it. I will throw myself into researching it and fill up a cart at Whole Foods with gluten free foods and be on my way to helping him get better and start growing again. Sigh. Patience has never been so hard! Let's hope that his appt on Christmas Eve brings us some definitive answers - that would be the best present I could get.

Well aside from that whole issue, we have been having a wonderful time getting into the Christmas spirit and have the whole house decorated with lights. My mom, Kevin's mom and Kevin's grandma are all going to be here for Christmas which will be wonderful! The kids are getting totally spoiled this year and Kevin and I have been trying to wrap some presents every night so by Christmas Eve I think they will all be wrapped and we can actually enjoy spending Christmas Eve with our family instead of having to wrap presents into the wee hours of the morning like we usually do. :) We are going to have a big Christmas dinner w/ all the trimmings and my only wish is that the rest of our family and friends could be here to join us. I'm so looking forward to it!

On Jan. 2nd we will be moving into the new house and I am very excited about that as well! We took Katie last week to register for her new school and we took a tour of the school. It seems really nice and even though Katie was very sad on her last day of school here, I think she is looking forward to it. She is currently enjoying her winter break and is completely engrossed in the Harry Potter book series. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see her finally finding a real passion for reading. She's always been a good reader but I've never seen her LOVE it the way I do, until now. I think she's going to spend her whole vacation with her nose in a book....and is there any better way to spend a vacation?! I think not! :)

I've got all the kids signed up for swimming lessons at the rec center by our new house as well as tumbling lessons and Katie will also be doing a volleyball camp on Sunday afternoons. I have a hunch she is going to be really good at volleyball. It's one of the first sports you can play in school so I want to give her a chance to learn now so she can play on her middle school team if she wants to. I can't believe middle school is only 1 1/2 years away. That blows my mind.

Well I've got 2 boys in the tub who need to get dried off and dressed so I better go...

Christmas Card Pics

Stuff

All the Christmas shopping is done, we just need to wrap everything and we'll be ready for Christmas! My mom is coming down on the 22nd and staying for 3 weeks - I can't wait! Then after Christmas we will be packing everything up because we move to the new house on Jan. 2nd! It's going to be kind of crazy but I'm so excited to get into the new house. It's just going to be SO much more convenient to everything and I'm looking forward to getting the kids into their own rooms. In this house, the kids bedrooms are upstairs and ours is downstairs so they never want to sleep in their own rooms. In the new house, all the bedrooms are on the same level and close together so it will so much easier to get them to sleep (and stay) in their own bedrooms. Once we move I will be busy setting up activities for the kids and trying to meet some new friends in the area since we will be there for at least 18 months (that's how long the lease is). I haven't made a big effort to meet other moms because I always think "we're not going to be here very long, what's the point?" but I think I need to stop thinking like that and get out there and join some moms groups so that the boys can have some friends to play with during the day. I was considering putting Kobe in pre-k next semester but he really doesn't want to go so I think we'll just wait till next fall and start him when he's 4. That's when they are "supposed" to start anyway right? Katie is a little bummed about changing schools and I feel bad for doing it to her. She has made a bunch of friends here and really likes her teacher. I'm really hoping she makes some new friends quickly and the transition isn't too hard.

So the big issue lately has been Kaleb's growth (or lack thereof) I took him to a new pediatrician and she just wants to "watch" him and have me bring him back in 3 weeks to be weighed again. I'm sitting here telling her my child hasn't gained weight in a year and she just totally dismisses my concerns and wants to keep watching him. If there is a medical reason for him not growing, I want to know NOW. I don't want to keep feeding him something that may be poison to his body so she can "watch" him. She also proceeded to give out some horrible advice and actually told me "at this age he should be forward facing in the car" - WHAT???!! Why the hell would you tell a parent that? Why would you tell them to put their child in a less safe situation when at 24 pounds and less than 2 years old he could and should still be RF? Then later in the conversation she proceeded to tell me I should stop nursing him! Yeah, that's a great idea, lets take a great source of optimal nutrition away from a child who is having growth issues. JEEZ LADY! To say I was disappointed in her would be a major understatement. I remembered quickly why I hate taking my kids to the doctor. So I think I'm going to search for a new pediatrician because how could I ever trust this lady when she gives out such horrible, dangerous and incorrect (unsolicited) advice?! I decided to just go straight to a specialist to get Kaleb tested for Celiac Disease and called a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and made an appt for him for next Monday. Hopefully they will be a little more knowledgeable and actually listen to me and take my concerns seriously.

A bit of good news, I think it's safe to say Kaleb is completely potty trained! Next to Katie, he was my easiest. He's even been napping in undies the last couple days and last night slept in his undies! I can't believe how quickly and easily he got it. We'll see if he has any regressions in the near future but I kind of doubt it. He just gets it and already tells me when he needs to pee, holds himself and makes it to the potty and pees. Usually getting them to "hold it" is the hardest part, but not for him. I'm so proud of him and happy to finally - after 4 kids - be DONE with diapers! :)

Well the boys disappeared down stairs a while ago and are being a little "too" quiet so I better get down there and check on them. They get into so much mischief together!

Kaleb Update

Well after 2 weeks of trying to stuff every high calorie food I can think of into Kaleb's mouth, he has lost 2 ounces. :( I seriously want to cry. I've made him high calorie smoothies to drink with every meal, cooking his food in butter, adding heavy cream, cheese, etc. to his foods and sitting him down to eat a lot more often than I used to. I know he's getting a ton more calories because he's pooping a lot more than he used to but none of it seems to be sticking to him. I've been researching it a lot and I suspect he may have Celiac Disease. He has a lot of the symptoms and his growth started slowing right around the time he started eating foods with gluten. When he was a baby and only breastfeeding and eating baby food (fruits, veggies and rice cereal) he was off the charts for height and weight. Then when we started introducing wheat, he basically stopped growing. I didn't catch it at the time because I assumed he was just slimming down because he was starting to walk/run. I weighed him on the scale at the doctor's office (my doctor - it wasn't a visit for him) and he was 24 pounds. That puts him in the 16th percentile and is exactly what he weighed when he was 9 months old. That means he hasn't gained a pound in 12 months. I'm taking him to the pediatrician tomorrow and having him tested for Celiac. At this point I'm almost hoping for a positive result because then I at least know how to "fix" what's wrong. I'll post again after seeing the doctor.

"Our Deer"

There is a mommy and two baby deer that have been coming by our house for a while now. I usually throw them some carrots and/or apples. Today I was out of both so I tossed out some grapes that were going bad and they gobbled them up. I also dumped out the rest of my spring mix salad for them. It's been an unusually harsh winter so far, extremely cold and lots of snow so I hope that my snacks might provide them with extra nutrition to help them through the winter. The only problem is that we are moving in a few weeks. I'm so worried about my little deer. I seriously wish we could take them with us. I've even contemplated going over and talking to a neighbor and asking them to make sure and feed them occasionally. It's ridiculous, I know. They are wild animals and need to fend for themselves, blah, blah, blah... but they are so sweet and cute! Anyhow, here's a couple pics of "our deer". They brought some friends over yesterday (usually it's just the mommy and 2 babies) and I grabbed a couple pics. I'm going to miss these guys so much when we move!

Sick of being sick.

Ever since Katie started school this year, we have had one illness after another come through our house. When I used to homeschool, we NEVER got sick. This sucks so much, it's bad enough being sick but when you have 3 kids also sick that need you to take care of them when you can barely get out of bed, it's the worst.

We got a tummy bug while we were down in San Antonio. Katie got it first so she either picked it up at school or possibly on the plane since she was sitting in a different isle than us. Of course after she got, the rest of us came down with it one by one. Once we finally recovered from that, the boys started coming down with a fever and a sore throat. Fortunately that was only 24 hours and they were better. Then the 1st day we were back home, I started getting a sore throat and fever which rapidly progressed to a high fever, chills, body aches, vomiting, and an extremely sore throat. Now Katie has it too. Ugh. Will this ever end???

Kids Measurements 11/27/09

Katie:
Height: 4ft. 7 1/2 in (81st percentile)
Weight: 74 lbs (67th percentile)

Kobe:
Height: 42 in. (95th percentile)
Weight: 40 lbs (90th percentile)

Kaleb:
Height: 34 3/4 in (88th percentile)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (16th percentile)

(Weights taken after bath time w/no clothes and heights were taken on tile floor with no socks or shoes)

I noticed that ever since Kaleb started running around, he actually lost weight and I've been concerned that he doesn't seem to be gaining so I decided to measure him and check his growth percentiles. I was alarmed to see he is in the 40th percentile for weight because in his first year he was above the 99th percentile (as were all my kids for at least the first 3 years then they slowed a bit) Anyway, that's a BIG drop from the 99th percentile to the 40th. He seems to be growing ok for height but his weight has me a little concerned. He doesn't eat well at all, he just picks at his food and when I do manage to get him to take a bite, half the time he spits it out. The only foods he really likes are fruits which have almost no calories. He is still nursing and I'm wondering if that is part of the reason his growth has slowed and he doesn't want to eat that much. If he'd always been on the thinner, smaller side, I wouldn't be so worried, but he hasn't. He was a big, chunky baby and always at the top of the charts. It's the sudden change in his growth that has me concerned. I'm really going to try and make an effort to get some high calorie foods into him. This is so strange to me because all my kids have been huge and great eaters. So operation "fatten up Kaleb" is officially in effect. :)

Random Update

I spent the afternoon yesterday looking back through all my old blogs and had such a great time remembering so many things I would have forgotten had it not been for this blog. I haven't been blogging very much lately and I think mostly it's because of Facebook. I post little updates on there frequently so I don't feel the need to post big updates on here, but that sucks because then I don't have this great chronicle of our lives anymore. So I'm really going to try and start blogging more often, if anything just for myself so I have a journal to look back on and remember these times.

So the big thing in our house right now is POTTY TRAINING! Kaleb has been using the little potty inconsistently for months now but I decided about a week ago it was time to start getting serious about it so I bought a whole bunch of undies and decided we were going to be diaper free (at least during the day at home) The first couple days were a little messy but I'm happy to report that he is doing REALLY well now. He is actually telling me before he needs to go and doing all his pee and poop on the potty! He hasn't had an accident all day today and only had 2 pee accidents all day yesterday. It helps a lot that he has Kobe to watch and imitate and Katie to help cheer him on. I've done the least amount of "work" with him to teach him to go on the potty than I did will the other kids. It's nice when the older ones help out with the younger ones!

So on to a totally different subject...I've been wanting to get a big bean bag for a while now and was about to buy one online but decided that I should check on craigslist to see if anyone was selling one. I found a lady selling two in the exact size (6ft) and color (red) that I wanted for like 1/7th of the price brand new so I gave her a call to see if she would sell me just one and she told me she really wanted them both gone so she would just give me both of them for the price of one if I would come get them. They got new living room furniture that didn't fit with the bean bags there. So we drove down to pick them up and they were literally in perfect, brand new condition! They were so huge we could only fit one in the back of the Sequoia so we had to leave one and Kevin is going to pick it up on his way home from work today. We're going to put one upstairs and one down, so it will actually work out to have 2. They are just so expensive new I could never justify buying 2. The kids absolutely LOVE the thing and now me and Kevin have the sofa to ourselves when we watch movies, which is nice because 5 people on the couch can get a little crowded. I took some pictures of the kids on it but I can't find the cord to connect my camera to the computer. As soon as I find it, I'll post some pics. I've also got video of Katie doing back handsprings onto it from the sofa, lol.

So we leave in 5 days for San Antonio and I can't wait! I'm so excited to spend time with family, enjoy Thanksgiving and just relax. I have a meeting with an agency in San Antonio while I am there so hopefully I will get an agent down there and start getting work in the Austin/San Antonio market.

Well I need to make the boys some lunch, do dishes, laundry, pick up, etc. A mom's work is never done ;)

Kaleb James

When each of my kids was 18 months old I wrote down a list of everything they were doing, saying, liked, etc. I guess it's a testament to how insanely busy our lives our that Kaleb is now 20 months old and I still haven't gotten around to doing this! Well better late than never, so here goes...

Kaleb at 20 months

Kaleb is by far my most "challenging" child, he has been since the day he was born but along with the challenges come an adorable little personality that has me alternating between laughing hysterically, wanting to pull my hair out and an inability to stop kissing that sweet little face. Kaleb is stubborn, demanding, mischievous and short tempered. But he is also insanely cute, silly, incredibly smart and can be super sweet - especially after he's done something mean. LOL We call him the "Sour Patch Kid" after those commercials with the little Sour Patch Kid cutting off a girl's hair and then giving her a hug and she can't resist him and say "Aw, it's ok" That's so Kaleb! He'll smack you in the head with a toy and then immediately start stroking your face and saying "Soddy" (sorry) It's so hard to stay mad at him! Poor Kobe though, Kaleb must make him cry at least several times a day either hitting him with a toy, pulling his hair or biting him. Kobe is such a sweet brother though and NEVER hits him back. Kevin and I always say it's a good thing Kobe is the big brother. We are trying to work with Kaleb and teach him not to hit/bite/push/pull, etc and I can honestly say he is getting a LOT better now that he is getting older and starting to understand.

Kaleb is very talkative and says a LOT of words, I'll try to list most of them:

Mommy, Daddy, Bobee (Kobe), Daydee (Katie), Mamaaaa (grandma), Nana (this weekend he started saying Morgan "Morgee" and Adam)
When you ask him who he is and point at him he says "Me"
If you say "who wants to ____?" He'll say "ME!" or "Not Me!"
No
Yep and Ya (for yes)
Eee-Ungee (this means "Pee Monkey" - a game on my Iphone he loves)
Murney (milk - not sure why he says it like this but the past few days he's actually been saying "Milk" so I'm sad to see "murney" go, it was so cute!) He does the sign for milk when he says this too
Wardee (water)
cuppy
mote (for remote)
Hi
Bye
Bootie (for his snow boots)
cheese (when he smiles for a picture)
ball
birdie
kitty
doggie
turtie (turtle)
buggy (bug)
ungee (monkey)
pig
bear
Hummer (for any car he sees)
Airpane (airplane)
train
baby
hair
eye
ear
hand
feet
teeth
be button (belly button)
fingie (finger)
leg
arm
eat
pear
stuck
owie
potty
pee pee
"poop" and "pooped"
book
blankie
"dot it"(got it) - he says this when he wipes his nose, or gets something that was hard to reach. It's so cute!
bite
hat
shirt
hot
cold (and shivers when he says it)
shoe
Happy Birday (birthday)
banana
mato (tomato)
dirty
punkin (pumpkin)
want it
snow
blue
lellow (yellow)
"go?" while holding his hands up (like where did it go?)
up (when he wants you to pick him up)
nuu know (I don't know)
soddy (sorry)
yogurt
stroller
bath
all clean
spoon
booberry (for blueberry and strawberry)
grapes
pop (for lolli pop)
guy
all done
broke
uh oh
again
snow and snowing
whoah
gummy (for his gummy vitamins)
pweese (please)
tan ew (thank you)
scared
more (and signs it as well)


I know there are a ton more I just can't think of right now. He talks a LOT. He also understands literally everything. He repeats everything you ask him to and will do whatever you ask him (go get the diapers from the playroom, take these toys and put them in the toy box, etc.)

His nicknames:

Tayub
Monkey
Monkey Moo
Jamie (Katie calls him this because his middle name is James)
Kayub James

We are also working on the potty and he completely understands the whole thing but has a habit of telling us AFTER he poops. The other day he pooped in his diaper, took it off and I walked in on him taking the poop out of his diaper and putting it in the potty. Haha. He pees on the potty pretty consistently and will always make himself pee if you put him on the potty and ask him to so it's pretty easy to keep him dry all day. It's just the poop that is a bit of a challenge. BUT the last couple days he has told me "poop" and then I check his diaper and he is clean and then a few minutes later he comes back and is dirty so I SHOULD have put him on the potty then! While we were driving in Albuquerque last weekend he kept saying "POOP" and kicking his legs and crying in his car seat so we pulled over and I held him on the side of the road and he actually pooped! So we are definitely making progress. :)

When you ask him to show you his muscles, he puts his arms up and shakes like he's straining, it's adorable. He can also identify ALL his body parts, animals and objects in his books and says all the animal sounds. He loves to look at books and would seriously sit in my lap all day looking at books if he could. I'm trying to wean him right now and whenever he asks for milk and I tell him no, he goes "Ughhhhh", it's so funny!

He is the smallest of my kids at this age and I'm sure it's because the boy barely eats! He spits out almost everything you give him. It's such a challenge to get calories into him! He loves fruit (especially blueberries, strawberries, pears and grapes) but he hates meat and bread. I think I need to start getting Pediasure for him. He's lost almost all his baby fat and is pretty lean now. All Kobe's clothes from when he was Kaleb's age are still too big for him. He's still in 18-24 month clothes and is around 26 pounds and I'm not sure how tall because I can't find a measuring tape. Once I find it, I'll measure him and update this post though.

One of my favorite things right now is the sound of him running down the hall barefoot. He still has fat little baby feet and the sound of his feet on the hardwood floor as he runs always makes me smile. He also loves to be tickled and laughs hysterically when you tickle him. He loves to be thrown up in the air and will say "again" over and over to get you to do it more. He's always the "caboose" always running behind Katie and Kobe and loves to be with them and play with them. I don't think there is a sweeter sight in the whole world than watching your children play together.

He is definitely our last child so I'm really trying to cherish the last of his babyness because I know it will be gone so fast and I'll never get to experience this again. Gosh, just typing that makes me sad. But I am also looking forward to him growing up and having the freedom that comes with having all older kids so we can take trips and relax on the beach and do all the things that are so hard to do with a baby in tow.

Albuquerque

We just got back from a fun but quick trip to Albuquerque, NM. I had a workshop there with a casting director who casts all the network shows (I'll get more into that later in this post) We called our friends, the Parkers, and asked if they wanted to meet us up there and they were up for it so we made a weekend trip out of it. We rented a house online that looked great in the pictures. We arrived really late Thurs night and brought the food in and just crashed. We got up the next morning to find mouse POOP all over the counter, kitchen table and IN the box of food we had left on the counter. They had chewed off the corner to the bag of hamburger buns and munched on a few of them and had gotten into our big bag of veggie straws. SO GROSS. So after throwing out a bunch of our food and cloroxing the counter tops and table, we settled in to wait for the Parkers to arrive. They got there later that afternoon and we just hung out at the house and had fun talking and letting the kids play. That night when we all went upstairs to go to bed, I hear Marie calling "Christine, come in here!" I go to their bedroom to see what is going on and she pulls back the cover and there is mouse poop all over the sheets! We start looking closer and it's even on the pillows and the night stand. UGH! So at 10:00 at night we start stripping the beds to wash all the sheets. Of course both Marie and I are totally freaked out and can't sleep because we are worried about mice crawling around in the bed.

The next day we had a yummy breakfast of bacon and eggs courtesy of the guys and then headed out to go hiking in the Sandia Mountains. The weather was actually pretty good, not too cold, and we had a really nice hike. Kobe actually hiked 90% of the way and didn't even want to ride in the backpack so that was really nice. After the hike we went back to the house and had lunch and dropped the dogs off and then headed down to Old Town Albuquerque where we walked around, looked at shops and then had a great Mexican dinner with the best Sopapillas! Oh how I wish there were more good Mexican food places in Colorado! We got back to the house and stayed up drinking, eating brownies and playing Pictionary - so much fun. :)

Sunday morning we had breakfast and started packing and getting ready to leave. Kevin drove me to my workshop while the kids stayed at the house with Adam & Marie and then he went back to the house and finished packing. The Parkers left to drive home and Kevin took the kids to the zoo while I was at my workshop.

So on to the workshop. I can say that I learned a lot at the workshop, but not necessarily what I was hoping to learn. I was really thinking that there might be a chance to get some good roles down in Albuquerque since there are 3 major network shows being filmed down there. Unfortunately, according to Shari (who casts all 3 shows), the only roles they are giving to local actors are featured extras and 5 and unders (5 lines and under). Pretty much all the big roles are cast out of LA. The style of acting they want for these tiny roles is basically "do less", don't overthink it, etc. Which I totally get but that is NOT the kind of acting I want to do. Everything I love about acting is creating a rich, deep character and really spending a lot of time understanding the story, developing my character and understanding my character's arc. I don't want to hang out on set all day as an extra or a one-liner. I'd rather be home with my kids. I'm not in this to get "face time" or say I "hey, that's me on that show!" I love the artistic process of it and if that gets me seen by lots of people, great, if not, I don't really care. I want to create meaningful characters and be a part of a great story. So I think that leaves me with having to do these uber crappy indies that are filmed in Denver while we are here and it really puts the pressure on us to have to move to LA in order for me to find any decent work. Don't get me wrong, I might do a couple of these tiny roles just to build my resume and help get me a good agent in LA but it is definitely NOT what I want to be doing long term. So while the information I got from the workshop wasn't what I was hoping for, it's still good that I now have a clearer picture of what kind of work is really out there for me here.

Anyway, all in all, it was a really great weekend. I really enjoyed seeing our best friends again and just wish it wasn't such a far drive so we could do it more often. :) More pics here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=843039

Balance

That seems to be the area of my life I need to focus on. There are so many things I have going on, it's hard to give them all the attention they need to flourish and be successful. I have been putting a lot of focus on my acting lately and while it's been great to jump back into that with both feet, I'm realizing I need to slow down a bit and maybe not take every project that comes my way because it leaves me tired and frustrated in dealing with the other very important things in my life. I rotate between working on Hip Monkey stuff, trying to be the mom/cook/housekeeper/teacher to my kids, find acting auditions, go on auditions and film the roles I have booked. Some weeks are pure madness. Especially with the kids all having their own activities that they need to be taken and picked up from.

Speaking of that, Katie got a role in her school play. She is the "White Knight" in King Arthur's Court. Apparently they had almost no boys audition so the girls are having to play both genders. She doesn't seem to mind and is really excited about her part. She has some pretty funny lines. I'm excited for her to be in theater, I had so much fun doing plays when I was younger. It is such a great foundation for so many positive traits. It builds confidence, teaches you to become comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, boosts memorization skills and creativity and gets you to think on your feet.

So, hm, what else is new? Me and the boys flew down to San Antonio with my mom last weekend and had a great time. I hadn't been "home" in almost 7 months so it was great just to be back and especially to see all my family. It was my grandma's 81st birthday so a lot of my aunts,uncles & cousins had flown in for the weekend as well and it was great to see all of them. On Sunday we took the kids to Sea World (of course I forgot my camera) and had a great time.

Over the weekend Kevin and Katie flew to Amarillo so Kevin could run in the Palo Duro Canyon Trail Run. It is a 31 mile run, all on trails (no pavement) and Kevin did awesome. Despite getting a slow start, he started at the very back of the pack and there were hundreds of runners on a single file trail, he ended up finishing at around 6 hours. Pretty impressive for his first race ever!

Now that we are all home, I've been busy making list of things to do and trying to be productive. I've been kind of lazy the past month or so and haven't been paying attention to what I'm eating and barely working out so of course the scale has been creeping up and those pants that were falling off are now fitting. Not good. So starting today I'm cracking the whip on myself and tracking all my calories and instituting a MUST RUN policy 6 days a week. I know it will only take a couple weeks of that to burn off the extra weight but I have to be careful to ruin all my hard work once I get to my goal weight again by completely slacking off.

Well I think that's about it for now, there are some new things on the horizon, like a possible move in January to be closer to Kevin's work and Katie's cheer (the drive is just getting to be too much) but I'll post more about that as it gets closer. We move so much it's ridiculous but hey, it keeps life interesting. :)

It's been a while..

So the reason I have been MIA is because we were gone for 2 glorious weeks vacationing in Puerto Vallarta. It was so wonderful and refreshing to swim, lay out in the sun, relax at the beach, drink lots of delicious frozen fruity drinks and eat authentic, delicious Mexican food (not much of that in Denver!) Every time we go down there I think to myself that I could easily just leave everything behind and just move there permanently. Like Jimmy Buffet's Margarittaville. You can see all our pics from the trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115940&id=1108986907&l=fb56ceb4fc

Now we are back and things are in full swing. Katie started 4th grade on Monday and so far is loving it. She has made several friends (and thinks all the "drama" that goes on is ridiculous), likes her teacher and seems to be handling all the material easily. I was a little worried because we had kind of slacked off in the schooling department last year but she is right on track, so that's a relief. I'm kind of bummed that this school doesn't have a pull-out GT program (meaning one day a week you go to a different classroom to work on GT stuff) because that was by far both me and Kevin's favorite part of school. It was a fun break to get away from the structure of the classroom and work on creative, interesting projects. I wish she could have that same experience but it's not going to happen here. Maybe once we move to California...

Now that Katie is in school during the day, it's just me and the boys home all day. It's been quite an adjustment. I didn't realize how much time she spent playing with them and entertaining them. She'd make up all these games and keep them entertained for hours. Now that she's gone, they don't know what to do and are bored all the time. I guess I'm going to have to start thinking of things to keep them busy. I'd like to put Kobe in a preschool program but he cries if I even bring it up. He is super attached to me and the idea of going somewhere by himself just terrifies him. I'm hoping he grows out of this soon because I think he'd really enjoy it if he could just get over his fear. Kaleb is getting so big, well not physically big - I don't think he's grown at all in the last 6 months. He is definitely the smallest of all my kids at this age. But he is maturing a lot, he is talking a TON and runs around everywhere. He is quickly losing his "baby-ness" which makes me sad because he is our last but also happy because I'm really looking forward to the freedom that having all older kids brings. We are currently working on weaning and potty training. The potty training is definitely going better than the weaning. That boy just LOVES nursing. He's likes to pull his diaper off all the time so I've just been letting him run naked and more often than not he will run to the little potty and pee on it (I keep it in the living room) He pooped on the floor yesterday so we obviously still have some work to do. If he's wearing a diaper he does tell me as or right after he goes poop. So I just need to get him to tell me before he goes. Little by little, we'll get there.

I've been going on a couple auditions and will be doing a lot of filming this month. Sometimes I get frustrated working on this low budget stuff and just really want to skip over all these and get to the point where I am at least auditioning for network TV shows and studio films. I know I've got to put in the crap work to get to the good stuff though. My goal for the end of the year is to get enough footage to put a decent demo reel together - WHOA! As I was typing this, Kaleb just pooped on the potty all by himself!! - Ok, anyway as I was saying, I want to get a good demo reel, new headshots and then start trying to work on getting work down in New Mexico. They are filming several network shows down there (Breaking Bad, Crash and In Plain Sight) and if I got work on one of those shows I would become SAG Eligible - which is another goal on my to-do list. Once I've got a good reel and am SAG- E then I think I'll start submitting to agents out in LA. If I can get signed onto a good agency out there then I think we'll move out there.

Well I think that's about it for now, I'll try to post more often now that we are back home.

Acting Update

So things have been going pretty well with my acting lately.  I'm not sure what was going on the last time I posted an update but I have recently switched agencies and am now with Maximum Talent and absolutely love my new agent.  I've been booking pretty much every film I audition for which has been great but also starting to pose the danger of me overbooking myself.  So far I have booked leading or large supporting roles in the following films:

Big Cities & Small Towns (Lisa)

Down Angel (Kylie)

Kung Fu Sushi Chefs (Logan)

Spectrauma (Veronica)

and there are two other films I auditioned for recently that I'm still waiting to hear back on!  Pretty crazy huh?  The good thing is that by the end of the year I will have enough footage from these films to put together a kick butt demo reel.  I'm really excited about the Kung Fu Sushi Chefs one because I am having to learn Kung Fu for the film since I have several fight scenes.  I spent several hours last Sat. learning stances, blocks, punches and kicks.  I was sore for DAYS afterward!  It's going to be so cool once I've learned all these cool moves and can do them on film.  

I'm also really enjoying the new place I've been going to for acting workshops, I'm really being challenged and pushed and can feel myself becoming a better actor.  I'm so excited to be pursuing my lifelong passion again and can't wait to see where it leads me.   I'm working on putting together a website, it will be ChristineMiller.com and hopefully will have that up in the next month or so.  Busy, busy, busy - and this isn't the half of what I've got going on, the business and the kids are whole other update.   It's crazy but I love it!  

Oh and I finally hit my goal weight this morning!!  I pulled all my size 2 stuff out of the box in the garage and it all fits again!!!!  I couldn't believe how many clothes I had, it's like I got a whole new wardrobe.  I went bathing suit shopping today because my old one was too big now and ended up getting 2 different suits because I liked them both so much I couldn't decide!  Do you know how long it's been since I liked ANY bathing suit on me?  It was amazing to go into the dressing room and actually like the way a bathing suit looked.  I LOVE having my body back.  It was a LOT of work but so worth it.  I'm not done yet either, I still want to get more definition in my arms, abs and legs.  We are going to Puerto Vallarta for 2 weeks (leaving on Sat) so I'm going to enjoy relaxing for a while (I will probably still go for morning runs on the beach though) and then finish up the P90X program when I get back.

Katie's Cheer Showoff

Katie has been having a great time cheering at Cheer Central and is now officially on the Senior 1 team. They had a little "showoff" performance to show the families what they have been learning, here is Katie's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgoQUSDhkTE

She is a flyer (which basically means she is the girl that goes up in the air during stunts) which she is very excited about and I'm impressed with how much she has learned in such a short time. I'm excited to see how she progresses over the next year at this gym. It's very intense and they are really serious which I guess is why they always win. This is the happiest I've ever seen her in any kind of sport so that makes all the driving her to and from practice worth it. I can't believe how good some of the more advanced teams are, it's incredible to watch and it's exciting to think Katie will there someday! Here is a video of one of the more advanced teams last season: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPxOygngTHQ Pretty crazy huh?!

My babies

My favorite song

This has been "my" song for a long time and I was listening to it again today and realized I've never really shared it with anyone before. I'm sure most of you have heard it. I love John Mayer and just love this song so much. It really reflects how I view life (and always have). I hated school, especially being told what to do and have always "colored outside the lines". :)

No Such Thing
John Mayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2rcqXFrY8s

"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat
Take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding
Up my sleeve

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
That something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
just a lie you've got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above

I am invincible (x3)
As long as I'm alive

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above

I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for

Stuff

So we sold our Hummer today. It was kind of sad because we really liked it and have had some great memories of it, but it was getting up there on the mileage and now was the right time to sell it. Another year and it would have depreciated a LOT more. So, we got a good price for it and I'm happy. I've known it was "sold" for about a week now, we were just waiting to get the money, so I've been looking around quite extensively and found a really good deal on a Sequoia on Craigslist so while Katie was in cheer practice tonight we drove up and took a look at it. It was really nice and we were able to negotiate a really good price on it so we went ahead and signed a sales agreement on it. Tomorrow we are going to go back to the bank that gave us the check for the Hummer and see if they will change it over to a cashiers check so we can just use it to pay for the Sequoia and not have to deposit it, wait for it to clear, write a new check and all that. If they will do it then we will be getting the Sequoia in the morning - I'll post pics once we have it. I'm excited as it's actually roomier than the Hummer and the middle seats recline so the kids will be much more comfortable should we take a long road trip.

Anyway aside from that not much else is new. Katie is doing really well in cheer and is officially a flyer for her team. She really enjoys it and I'm happy that she's happy. She starts school next month, where did the summer go?! We have to take at least one trip this summer, I feel like we haven't done anything yet this summer.

Kobe seems to have outgrown the difficult phase he was going through for a while and is back to being my "easy one", thank goodness! He's getting so grown up though and sometimes the way he says things just shocks me because he sounds SO much older than 3 when he talks. He is so smart and I really should be working with him more because he learns so quickly and really enjoys learning new things. He is honestly ready to start learning to read but I've just been too busy to work with him. That's terrible, I know. I need to find a way to somehow create more hours in the day.

Kaleb is doing good as well, just growing up so fast and turning into a full fledged toddler. He is talking SO much and loves to point things out and say the name of everything he sees. If you aren't looking at what he is pointing to, he will grab your face and turn your head to see it. It's funny except when you are trying to talk to someone or focus on something and he keeps grabbing your face and forcing you to turn your head away. lol We have also started lightly working on the potty with him. He can make himself pee if you ask him to so that makes it easier. I put him in undies for a couple hours each day and just keep taking him to the potty every 30 min. or so and telling him to pee and that keeps his undies dry. Yesterday he told me "poop" when he farted so I put him on the potty and sure enough, he pooped! We were all cheering him on and he had the hugest smile on his face. For now we are just making it fun and working on it a little each day. Once he turns 18 months, I'll get a little more serious about it. That's pretty much the way I have done it with all my kids and it has worked 3 times so far and they have all been 100% potty trained by age 2 . Honestly Kaleb is looking like he is going to be the easiest to train, he just seems to "get" things faster and earlier than the others. Thank goodness because he has been the hardest in every other category!

I've been so lazy the past couple days, I haven't gone running in four days (which is a REALLY long time for me) and feel gross. I PROMISED myself I will wake up and go for a run first thing tomorrow. I literally crave it. I feel like crap if I go too long without running. I love the feel of the breeze in my face, the sun on my shoulders, the smell of pine, sweat trickling down my neck, the burning in my legs running up the hill and pounding of my heart when I run. I actually miss it when I go too long without doing it.

Well on that note, I better get to bed so I can get enough sleep to feel good in the morning. :)

I AM

I'm avoiding the treadmill (it's raining outside and I really need to run tonight but am sooooo not in the mood to run like a hamster - I like running outside SO much better) so I thought I'd waste some time filling out this insanely long questionnaire - thanks Marie ;)

"I AM"

I am: getting Invisalign braces!!! I'm so excited, I get my 1st set of trays next week. Perfect, straight teeth are only 22 months away. :)

I think: I should get off the computer and go for a run, clean my house and make dinner. But where's the fun in that?

I know: I will have a successful acting career. I have come to this realization lately and I don't mean it in a conceited way. I have simply decided that this is what I want to do for a career and I WILL NOT give up.

I want: above all else, to have Kyle back. If we're talking about things that can actually happen though then my answer would be to get my SAG card, move to L.A., sign with the Kazarian Spencer agency & start doing big budget films and working with great directors and actors. To have a trailer on set with my name on the door. To show up in my pj's and no makeup and have wardrobe dress me and hair and makeup make me pretty before I start filming!

I have: SO much to be thankful for.

I wish: my house would magically clean itself every night and the laundry and dishes would do themselves.

I hate: getting breakouts when I am almost 30 years old. I mean, really?

I miss: my son, every single day.

I fear: losing another child. More than anything.

I feel: Frustrated with myself for putting off going for a run and now Kevin is on the treadmill hogging it probably for the next couple hours. We need two treadmills!

I hear: the TV. Katie is watching some program on the nature channel about real life "monsters"

I smell: The dark chocolate I keep eating - darn my sweet hubby for buying me my weakness when he was at the store!

I crave: Hmmm. Nothing. I pretty much let myself eat whatever I want, just in moderation. Well, except for maybe that aforementioned dark chocolate. I told myself I'd eat just one piece and now the whole bar is almost gone. Dammit. Now I REALLY need to go for a run just to work it off. I WAS craving Pad Thai earlier today but we went to Pei Wei for lunch so I satisfied that craving. :) I crave Pad Thai often. It's pretty much the yummiest thing on the planet.

I search: For auditions. There is so little filming going on in Colorado it's frustrating. Stupid Colorado and it's crappy non existent film tax incentives. It's one of only 2 states in the whole country with no tax incentives for film makers.

I wonder: if the new skin care products I bought today will be as great as they are hyped up to be...

I understand: what it feels like to lose a child. I have lived everyone's worst nightmare. I know what is like have a piece of your heart ripped out of your chest and how you can never be the same person again afterwards.

I regret: not having Kyle in a 5-point harness car seat.

I ache: in my heart, always, even if I try very hard not to show it most of the time.

I care: about too many people and issues to list!

I always: Kiss my kids when they are sleeping and whisper "I love you" in their ear.

I am not: giving up on my dreams. Ever.

I believe: My dreams will come true - most of them already have. :)

I dance: Not nearly enough. I used to LOVE to go dancing back before I had kids and had SO much fun. I used to be pretty good. I should go dancing again.

I sing: in the car all the time. Sometimes in the shower. Katie thinks I have a "beautiful voice" and always asks me to sing - she is so sweet because I am most definitely not a singer!

I cry: not too often in real life anymore, it's like opening a flood gate when I get started so I tend to try and keep things in and much as possible. Once in a while I'll put on a video of Kyle and let it all come out but it takes me a whole day afterward to recover so I don't let it happen too often anymore. Back when I first lost him though, I cried like that everyday because I didn't know how to lock up the pain. It was horrible, all I remember from that whole first year after he died is crying all the time. I cry easily when I'm acting though and it's a totally separate thing since I'm in character. I don't use "personal substitution" in my acting, when I cry in character it's because of the feelings the character is experiencing in that situation - never from my own personal feelings.

I worry: about balancing all the important things in my life, my marriage, my kids, the Foundation, my business, my acting career, staying in touch w/ friends and family, staying in shape, etc. Giving them all the attention they need without taking away from the others is always a balancing act.

I don't always: wash my makeup off before going to bed. Which is probably why my skin has been breaking out lately. I REALLY have to work on this!

I fight: with Katie more than I'd like, especially when it comes to doing school work.

I write: sadly most of my "writing" these days is emails, facebook updates and the occasional blog. I'd love to start doing more creative writing and writing scripts.

I listen: to my Ipod when I run. I can not run without music. Kevin can do it, I can't. Even when there is a pause between songs I lose my mojo almost stop running. I just need the beat to help me keep going.

I never: want to stop trying to change, grow and be a better, more interesting and educated person. There is SO much I want to see, learn and do!

I need: to sometimes remember to slow down and enjoy the ride of life and not be too worried about the destination.

I am happy about: so many things. I have healthy, beautiful, sweet, talented children; a wonderful family who support and love me; great friends; an amazing business and non-profit that I am so proud of; and I am finally acting again, pursuing my passion and working on my craft.

So who are YOU and what do YOU do?

Update

I've been lazy lately and just using Facebook to post updates but I don't want to neglect this blog because it's such a cool way for me to look back on our lives.

So last week Kevin's "Opa" (grandfather) died. He had been sick for a while so in some ways it was a blessing that he wasn't in pain anymore but still very sad that he is really "gone". I know it's going to be very hard for his Oma now. It's so weird to me that it's not "Oma & Opa" anymore. Opa will be very missed. Because of his death and the funeral, all of Kevin's family came into town so we got to visit with alot of them, some we hadn't seen in several years. Kevin's sisters and their kids all came and stayed with us and I really enjoyed having a full house and the sounds of kids running, laughing and playing. His older sister had to leave over the weekend but his younger sister stayed till Tues and aside from a nasty stomach bug we all took turns getting, it was a lot of fun. The best day was when we went to Heritage Square in Golden and got to go on the Alpine Slide. It's a half mile slide you have to take a ski lift to get up to and you ride down on a sled. It was SO much fun!! The kids had a great time and I think we'll definitely be going back again soon.

Here are some pics: http://kcmillerfamily.shutterfly.com/2405

Everyone has gone back home now and things have settled down back to normal, but a couple new things are going on. We are trying to sell the Hummer and have someone coming to look at it today. If we sell it we are either going to get a Volvo XC90 or maybe another Toyota Sequoia.

I've been getting increasingly frustrated with the place I've been taking acting classes as the class just keeps getting larger (I think there was 20 last week) and the instructors just don't really seem to care that much about the students and just give us whatever crappy scenes they have lying around. One week me and another girl were given a scene that was for two MEN. I mean, seriously?! They don't give us scenes to challege our particular strengths and/or weaknesses, they don't spend hardly any time working 1 on 1 with us. The last couple weeks I have gone and spent 3-4 hours sitting in a chair, only getting to go up and do one scene, only to be told "Great Job, A+" and then I go sit back down. Um, thanks but I really want to be learning, being challenged and getting better. That just isn't happening. So last night I went and tried a class at a different school. What a TREMENDOUS difference! First of all, he caps the classes at 10 students and there were TWO coaches there working with the class at the same time so the ratio of students to teachers was 5:2 instead of 20:1. They were also very organized and structured and worked with us on some memorization techniques I'd never used before. The scenes were not only hand picked for each student but actually WRITTEN for each student. Holy cow! They have all these different "set" areas (kitchen, living room, dining table, bedroom, etc.) so you can do your scene in the real environment (as opposed to some folding chairs in the middle of an overcrowded room). All the things I've been so hungry for the past few weeks and not getting at the other class were ALL there. After class I stayed and talked with both the coaches for an hour and a half! They were so cool and passionate about what they do and really seem to care about helping their students reach their full potential. I'm switching over immediately. I just wish I had known about this place sooner!

I also filmed some scenes yesterday for Christian mini-series that will be used in Churches to help segway into discussions about "taboo" subjects. It was pretty cool. I'll post a link to it once it's online. I've also got two other films coming up later this month I'll be shooting and am waiting to hear back on a couple of auditions.

Ummm, what else? The kids are doing great, enjoying the sun and heat of summer. We've set up a little pool on the patio and they love to play in the water and spray each other with the hose. I signed Kobe up for league soccer in the fall! I'm so excited because we never got to do sports with Kyle and also because Kobe is showing a lot of natural athletic talent. He can run and kick a soccer ball extremely well and can even shoot it with amazing accuracy. He is also crazy fast. I am excited to see how he does on a team. Katie's cheerleading picks back up soon (they had a couple weeks off) so we're going to be very busy again soon. Kaleb is talking more and more every day and is quickly turning more into a toddler than a baby. It makes me sad but happy at the same time. On one hand I will REALLY miss all the sweet, cute baby stuff but on the other hand I'm ready for things to be easier and have all older children.

Well I think that's about it for now!

So Cool!

We took the boys out for a walk today, Kobe was riding his bike and Kaleb was in the stroller. We came to the Fire Station and Kobe wanted to ride his bike around in the parking lot so we were standing there and one of the Fire Fighters came out and asked if the boys would like to see the trucks. We said sure and went in to the garage. Rob, one of the Fire Fighters and a super nice guy, showed us all the different trucks and let the kids climb up in them and see everything. He asked Kobe if he wanted to spray the hose, which of course Kobe was thrilled to do so he pulled the truck out of the garage and let Kobe spray the hose all over the trees. Kobe was so excited and then to top things off, he asked us if we wanted to go for a ride in the truck. I thought Kobe was going to explode he was so excited! Kobe now says he wants to be a Fire Fighter when he grows up. Anyway, he took us for a ride around the neighborhood and then when we got back he let Kobe put all the gear on and took pictures of him and us and emailed them to me since I didn't have my camera. Seriously, what a nice guy!