The Demon Choir

Most people only see the submissive, well-behaved, and quiet Kodi. And most only see the obnoxious, loud and resistant Kyson. When you put the two together at dinner, Kodi is the one egging things on and causing us to go deaf. It seems like it's a nightly ritual where both Kyson and Kodi do this loud scream song that is indescribable. One night after about 15 minutes of their song, Kris went and got ear plugs and I got the camera. Kris and I can't even hear each other speak, and we're sitting right next to each other. The other night, Kris and I were laughing so hard about our children's wonderful "singing" voices, and Kris made the comment that they sounded like a demon choir. I thought it was quite fitting.

It Begins!

Kodi is nearly 16 months and still can't walk. For months she's been able to walk anywhere and everywhere as long as she has a finger to hold on to. If you take that finger away, she plops to the ground and won't try. I don't know if it was a coincidence or some motivation but as of Friday night, she's trying.

Friday night we went to dinner at the Training Table. There was a cute little family that sat in the booth across the isle from us with a cute little boy who looked about Kodi's age. I asked them how old he was and he was exactly one month younger. After we all ate dinner, Kyson wanted to play with the little boy and the two of them ran up and down the isle (we were in a secluded section and there was no one else with us), and they pretended to push the walls together. Kodi just sat and watched the two of them. Because she can't walk, I wasn't about to let her down with two crazy boys who were having so much fun. That night when we returned home, she started trying.

Our Big Boy

Kyson will be 4 in 3 months and he's becoming such a big boy. We've been working on potty training since August of last year. We've tried taking away the diapers completely, we've tried taking him to the bathroom regularly, We've tried giving him stickers and rewards, we've tried giving him a cold bath if he peed his pants, we've tried so many things and he just didn't seem to care. Well'' I think he's finally getting it. He still doesn't go to the bathroom willingly all the time, but he has had one accident in a week. He's even staying dry through the night and during naps. I don't dare take him out of the pull-up while he sleeps though. I hope to have the guts soon.

Kyson is also now enter- taining himself when he wakes up. On the weekends Kyson usually wakes up around 7, but we like to sleep until 8. This weekend, rather than coming and waking us up, he goes downstairs and draws for an hour. Then when the sun comes up, Kyson comes into our bedroom and says, " The sun is coming!" That's our queue to get out of bed. It's nice that he's able to entertain himself for a short time and willing to let us sleep.

Kyson is also an amazing builder. he has a toy called Mag- formers and he builds some amazing things. He's built a building that looks like the Colosseum, he's made the letter X in 3D, he's made big tunnels and large houses. Even a substitute teacher at preschool noticed how talented he is at building. Maybe he'll grow up to be an architect, or maybe he'll only pretend to be one like George Castanza. He built a hut the other day and wanted us to get in, but I don't think we'd fit.

Kyson is definitely growing up. Now, when is it that they start listening and obeying?

From Angel to Hooligan

Kodi's temperament has been abnormal, to say the least. After her allergic reaction, he rash got worse and I ended up back at the InstaCare with her. Because her prescription was changed over the phone, without being seen, they now don't know if she is allergic to Amoxicilian, the new medication, or neither one and it was a virus. They took her off all antibiotics and said to watch her.

When Kodi is sick, she becomes extremely needy and cries about everything. For the past few weeks, she's been extremely difficult, but she's feeling better now, and the crazy behavior isn't changing. She's not being clingy, she's being a troublemaker. She's now the age when she's mobile and curious. That is a deadly combination. Just to give an example of how difficult she's become I'll tell you about a 1 minute time span. Kyson and Kodi had just finished a bath and I had already pulled Kodi out and dried her off. While I was trying to dry Kyson off, Kodi unrolled the toilet paper, tried to play in the toilet, tried to stick her arm in the diaper Genie, knocked over the diaper Genie, then stood up and peed on the floor.

What makes things even harder is that Kyson and Kodi are obviously best friends. He eggs on all of her bad behavior by thinking it's so funny. Anything he laughs at, she does more, and vice versa. I'm so glad they get along so well, but boy the two are exhausting together.

Allergic Reaction

Kodi has been fighting cold-like symptoms for about 2 weeks now, and I figured it was just a cold until the fever started. On Friday she had a fever of 99 degrees, so I didn't take her to be seen. By Saturday afternoon, however, she had a temperature of 101 degrees. I decided it would be best to take her in to the InstaCare to be seen. Immediately the doctor noticed how rapidly she was breathing, but her oxygen levels came back at 100%. Their thermometer said her temperature was only 99.8, but when the doctor touched her she said, "This doesn't feel like a 99 degree temperature. It feels much higher." I think their thermometer was off, or at least the reading was. In the end, he concluded that it was probably a sinus infection and put her on Amoxicillin. That night she woke up with a slight rash on her face. My sister came over and we looked a t a bunch of pictures to try and diagnose it ourselves, and it looked like a fever rash.

Within a day her fever disappeared, her temperament improved a lot, and her congestion lessened. She made huge improvements very quickly. That changed today. Kris noticed this afternoon that she had a rash on her stomach. he thought maybe it was a heat rash because her room got pretty hot this afternoon, but when I gave her a bath, I noticed it was all over her body. Once again, my sister came to the rescue and said she believed it was an allergic reaction and suggested I call the InstaCare. She was right. She's now been put on a different medication.

When I picked up the prescription from the pharmacy, the pharmacist said that a small percentage of people who have allergic reactions to Amoxicillin will also have a reaction to this medication and I should watch for any worsening symptoms. Hopefully all will be well and she'll

get past all of this quickly.

I Like my Kids

With Kyson and Kodi there is never a dull moment. Kyson is into playing with bugs and cars, and Kodi copies her big brother. They both love their dogs, and most of the time, the dogs are good sports with the kids. He reads to her and loves to sit in his chair by her. I thought I'd share a couple of cute pictures that I thought were pretty cute. Kodi has been sick lately and we're trying to keep the fluids in her. She doesn't always have a sippy-cup in her mouth.

Goals for 2011

Last year I wrote down my goals and checked in with them periodically throughout the year. Even though I didn't accomplish everything that I wanted to, it really helped to keep my goals in mind and check in with them. I've decided I'm going to start doing this and maybe one year, I'll accomplish every goal that I want to.

Personal Goals:
1) Floss at least once a week - preferably every day.
2) Do some kind of exercise every day, even if it's a 5-minute ab workout.

Family Goals:
1) Spend no more than $150 a week, except for emergency
2) Have family prayers every night
3) Potty train Kyson

Project Goals:
1) Clean and organize the garage.
2) Finish scanning all my grandmother's old picture books and put them into one book with captions and dates.

3) Go through and re-organize the file cabinets in the study

Home Improvement Goals:
1) Finish painting the upstairs - preferably the whole house.
2) Finish backyard
3) Replace the cracked window in our bathroom.

Some of this year's goals may look familiar from last year. I decided that projects I didn't finish I hope to finish this year, and some personal goals I didn't do very well. Maybe this year will be better.

New Year's Adventures

We've made it a yearly tradition to ring in the new year with our friends and neighbors. It's always so much fun to play games, eat junk food, do a puzzle, and enjoy each other's company. This year Kris was extremely tired and not feeling social and only came to part of the party. I'll admit that I was sad when the new year came and I had no one to kiss. Kyson really enjoyed blowing noise makers and playing with all the kids. It's a great way to bring in the new year and start 2011 off right.