The KAMB Family

My Review of Western Chief Rain Boots - Toddlers'/Kids'

2011-03-05T08:31:00.001-08:00

Kids will be hoping for a rainy day so they can stomp through mud puddles in their Western Chief waterproof rubber rain boots.

Essential in Wet Weather

By abbyoly from Olympia, WA on 3/5/2011

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Stylish, Fun, Waterproof

Best Uses: Wet rain

Describe Yourself: Casual dresser

We live south of Seattle so we get a lot of wet weather. My son has always lived in Western Chief rain boots. As soon as he outgrows one pair, we need to buy another pair. I love the style and durability of these boots. He can put them on himself. I've never had a problem with them breaking or cracking and he wears them constantly. Also, we love the fact that when you buy them at REI if you're ever unhappy with the quality, REI will make it right.

(legalese)

Where to start???

2009-12-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

Well, we're approaching 4 years for one and 4 months for another and its been quite a ride. Beckett's doing much better as he gets used to the idea of keeping Maysen around. He's listening more, yelling less and is pretty fun most of the time. He's still madly in love with his baby sister and to see her smile whenever he comes into the room, she must feel about the same.

Maysen's doing all the things she's supposed to be doing. Rolling over, blowing bubbles and babbling like crazy! She smiles at just about everybody and is truly just a joyful, happy baby. Sleep could be better, but we're getting there. Just when we thought we'd go nuts, she slept all night long so we now she can, its just a matter of when!

Daily life is just that - life. School starts up again after the first of the year, I'm considering taking fewer credits though simply to be able to keep up. I'll still be able to walk at graduation, I'll just have to take a class in the summer or fall to catch up. Not a bad trade though after all the years I've been in college! Work is still incredible! I cannot say enough good things about it. I'm hoping in the spring to focus more on work and move into full time by summer. Its such a wonderful company I can't wait!

Abby's still driving to Puyallup every day and we're antsy to move closer but just can't sell our house. Hopefully we'll develop a 2 year plan or so to be somewhere a little bigger and more permanent. I know it seems like forever now, but looking back 2 years is nothing and I know in my head it will just fly by, I just need to get my heart to agree!

With Christmas and New Years just around the corner its a logical time to reflect on where we are and where we're going. Everyday I'm amazed at the family and life I've been blessed with. My kids are beautiful and happy and healthy and Abby and I grow stronger as partners and parents each day. I am looking forward to next year and all the adventures that await but am savoring each day as it comes.

Happy Holidays to everyone and best wishes for a Happy New Year - I know ours will be a great one!

Candyce Lund Bollinger

2009-12-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

We were going a little crazy with Beckett. In fact, we wondered if he was normal. In the last 6-months or so, he's changed from our sweet, little boy to a nutty, loud, tantrum throwing kid. We've often blamed it on day care. How does he even know what a gun is anyway? So, we enlisted the help of Olympia's premier parent educator. Most parents in Oly know who Candyce is. Katie has attended several of Candyce's classes since Beckett was about 6-months old. She's taken the last year or so off, but is headed back in January. However, Candyce also has a private practice and that was where we headed today.

Well, it turns out Beckett is perfectly normal. If 3 is 'oppositional', then 4 is 'intense'. Tell me about it. Everything is all or nothing with him right now. She gave us a few coping techniques. #1 is to write down 3-5 rules and post them. Things that we're not willing to compromise on. Those things that are our absolutes. For us, #1 is probably going to be 'no name calling'. It could be a bit difficult to change a few of the things that we've done, but it is important. We tried a few things tonight and actually had a very enjoyable evening. Now, we just need to go for consistency. Of course, there is an end in sight. Apparently 5 is the magic age. The age where they want to please you. My goodness, I can't wait for that.

Sweet Cat looking for new home

2009-12-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Tagalong has been in our lives as long as Katie and I have been together. He was my first Christmas gift from Katie. Therefore, he holds a very special place in our lives. He was a wonderful, cuddly cat...until we had kids. Then it turned out he didn't like the little members of our family so well. He went to live with Grandma. He's done quite well there, however it seems that grandma may not have as much time to spend with him as she would like. Therefore, he's a tad bit neglected. So, we're on the hunt for a new home for Tagalong. We'd love to be able to have visitation rights. He gets along with other cats and dogs, apparently just not small children. If you're interested, please send us a note. We'd love to be able to find him a very happy family.

Abby's Medical Update

2009-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I am quite stubborn. This I've learned in the last few days. About 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with pretty bad stomach pains. They kind of felt like really bad gas or hunger pains. So, I tried Tums, gas pills and eating right before bed. They seemed to continue to come back. However, by the time I woke up in the morning they were gone. So, it couldn't be all that bad, right? Well, Friday night I woke up with more pain and ended up vomiting this time. I felt a bit better and was able to go back to sleep. However, this time when I woke up in the morning the pain wasn't gone. I finally listened to Katie and went to the walk in clinic. I got there and the Dr. suspected a gallbladder problem and sent me to the ER. So, I spent my Saturday morning in the ER. They sent me to have an ultrasound and the news wasn't so good. The Dr. came back to talk to me and I had gallstones. Many women have them, but they don't normally bother you. I had one that moved into my common bile duct and it was starting to back up and bother my liver. It was a good thing I went in when I did, before my liver got worse. This meant that I needed surgery to remove my gallbladder and they wanted to get me in Saturday night. Not the news I wanted. I had only been back at work for a week after being out for 14 weeks. I was out of time off at work and we had stretched ourselves as much as possible. The Dr. wasn't sure if my surgery could be done with a laparoscope or if it had to be open. If it could be done with a scope, recovery would be much shorter.

I actually ended up going into surgery on Sunday morning. The Dr. wanted to be fresh rather than doing it late Saturday night. I agreed that was preferable to me too. I came out of recovery on Saturday morning about 11:30. Surgery went well and they were able to do it with a scope. They did a dye flush and got the stone out of my duct. Now it's just a matter of recovering. I should be out of work for about a week. Still not ideal, but better then the several weeks it would have taken with an open surgery.

I'm home now, after spending a couple of days in the hospital. Glad to be here. Can't lift more than 10-15 pounds, which unfortunately includes the baby. I can hold her, just can't lift her. I also can't breastfeed right now because they gave me morphine and even though I'm trying not to take it much, it's helpful at night.

In the meantime, at least I'm home and resting. Katie's done an amazing job at being single mom and both my mom and her mom have been helping out.

Thanks to everyone who has offered to help out, trust me - I won't be turning down any of it. It's hard to admit you need help, but when you do finally admit it things get better. I am incredibly lucky to have Katie in my life and without her pushing me to go to the Dr. and get better, I would have gotten even worse.

Life as 4

2009-11-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

I've put off this post for a while, thinking I'd come up with the perfect blog about how wonderful things have been the last 10 1/2 weeks... And they have been wonderful, more wonderful and amazing than I ever could have hoped - they've also been busy and frustrating and exhausting and draining and loud and and and..... I guess I could keep going, anybody who has kids can attest to that. I had no idea what was awaiting us as we entered into life as a family of 4. We had an idea, but not alot to go on. Its been more than we'd ever thought! Beckett has adjusted - sort of. He absolutely ADORES his baby sister and would do anything in the world for her. The two of them together is the best sight in the entire world. He's been a little angry at Abby and me though. He's testing boundries and pushing buttons and doing all the things that a 3 year old does - again... We sort of had this phase outgrown just as Maysen was born. Then he jumped right back into the thick of it. Its really just an attitude though. He's got an opinion and will absolutely tell you what it is - whether you want to hear it or not. He's got a ton of friends in school and just loves going in and being the 'big brother'. Its really very sweet - and if we weren't so completely exhausted it wouldn't be half as bad as it is. It does seem to be getting better though, he's close to 4 and he always seems to improve right around his birthday - his half years are rough, so we'll see where we are at 4 1/2!

In other things, Abby went back to work this week. Its nice since I'm off for Thanksgiving break so I can be home with Maysen. She'll start at daycare next Monday but only for 2 weeks until Winter Break. And the daycare LOVES her and is thrilled everytime she comes in. She's the youngest one in the Lamb Room and gets held and rocked most of the day. She finally decided to take a bottle on Saturday - 2 days before Abby went back to work. Nothing like waiting til the last minute. I've decided this is just who she is though - the same reason she was born on 9/10 and not 9/9 but did it between the hours of 6am and 2 pm. Very accomodating (sort of)!

I got a job over the summer at our new Olympia Trader Joes. Its been one of the best things I've ever done. I just LOVE going into work. After school I'll talk to them about going full time and possibly into management. They're are an amazing company to work for and I've never been so respected and cared about as an employee - me and my family! Its perfect for us! School is a bit of a task this quarter, but I only have 2 more left and am graduating in June. Hardly worth leaving now! My class is fascinating and I really like my professors, just alot of work that I really don't have the extra time for. I am learning some great things though - like how to read ancient Greek! I'm really pretty proud of myself and wish I could go to Europe with the class in the Spring. But really I'd like to take Abby with me, so we'll just have to plan a 'real' vacation sometime soon - maybe our 10 year anniversary... We celebrated 5 last August and its been quite the journey. I didn't have a clue that this is where I'd be in life, but I can honestly say that I am happy and content and look forward to every day watching my kids grow and change and become their own little people. So far I'm pretty proud of both of them and the family that Abby and I have created. We're a pretty cool little bunch!

(late) Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have a friend that blogs regularly and she does a Wordless Wednesday. I realize today is Monday, but these are from last Wednesday.

Maysen Adelaide Cole

2009-10-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Sunday and it seems like as good a time as any to turn over a new leaf. Attempt to blog (again). Maysen Adelaide joined our family on September 10, 2009. She was 6 lb 14 oz, 19 1/4 inches long and absolutely perfect and adorable. She was born peacefully at home in the water. My second water baby and first home birth. I can't say enough about how wonderful her birth was. It was quiet and empowering. Beckett loves his baby sister. However, he is doing an awful lot to try to get attention from us. I can't tell you how many timeouts he's gotten in the last 5 1/2 weeks. Of course, even negative attention is attention, so I'm sure that is what he's going for. The rest of the family (dogs & cat) are feeling neglected I'm sure. I think the last time Lucky went for a walk or had a ball thrown for him was September 10, 2009. I'm sure that eventually we'll all get more into a routine. As Katie says, this (at least for now) is the new normal. Katie is working at Trader Joe's here in Olympia. She feels pretty special to have been hired there. They had over 2000 applications and hired 40 people. Those are pretty long odds. It's a great job and she loves working there. I love the crew member discount. :-)

Spaghetti night in San Diego

2009-04-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sand Diego

2009-04-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

We made it safely into San Diego yesterday. Jet Blue was amazing! The flight was very light. The pilot did his announcements from the cabin, not the flight deck. We had a choice of snacks. And the Direct TV at every seat was a life saver. We didn't get out a single toy for Beckett. He had apple juice, animal crackers and Nickelodeon. He was so well behaved. The landing was a bit rough on Beckett, but once we got off, he was OK. He got overheated and got a little sick. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of landings either, so I don't really blame him. The car rental shuttle was a bit stuffed full. Apparently Hertz is still doing well. I much prefer car rental counters in the airport. I understand about space though. Hertz did upgrade our car and give us satellite radio for free though. Happy Birthday Katie.

When we got into the car, Beckett continued to say "we're going to San Diego" We tried to explain we were in San Diego, but he wouldn't have any of it. He just kept insisting. Finally we asked him what it meant. He said "sand" and "Diego" as in Diego from Nick and a beach. Ah Ha! So, we stopped at our hotel, had lunch and then went in search of a beach. As we were driving, Beckett fell asleep in the backseat. So, we did some exploring while he napped. We ended up going the wrong way and had to turn around once we hit the military reservation. oops. It was then that we stopped at the local Sprint store and had GPS navigation service added to Katie's phone. Ah, much better. Gina the GPS would now guide us.

While exploring earlier in the day, we found Fiesta Island. Beautiful little place with a beach, just like Beckett wanted. Across the way, there was a huge playground. So, once he woke up, we headed back there. He had a great time running wild, climbing and playing on the swings. There was a beach right there, but the swings were a lot more exciting. The weather was beautiful and sunny, but it did get a bit breezy in the afternoon at the water.

We had a bit of a hiccup trying to find pizza for dinner, but we found In & Out Burger instead and that was fine by us. Beckett ate almost an entire cheeseburger with everything.

Back to the room for a movie. We were able to plug our portable DVD player into the TV. We watched "Bedtime Stories." Then by 8:30, the lights were off and the whole family was almost asleep.

The hotel is clean and comfortable. Pretty basic, but I didn't expect too terribly much from a HoJo for $80 a night. It'll do fine. Free breakfast in the morning and a shuttle if we needed it. The walls are a little thin. We heard the neighbor's TV last night. Good shower though.

We're off to SeaWorld today. I'm very excited for Beckett to see the animals. There's also a Sesame Street movie, a Sesame Street play area, 3 Sesame Street rides and fireworks tonight. Should be lots of fun. Hopefully, we'll be able to reach our friends and see them tomorrow.

All in all a wonderful stat to a relaxing family vacation. We'll post pictures as soon as I can find the mini USB. Assuming we packed it.

Bedtime Battles

2009-01-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

Beckett has slept through the night since he was 4-months old. It was amazing and wonderful for a sleep deprived set of parents like us. Over the last 2 years and 4 months, we've had our ups and downs (sitting in his room until he fell asleep, waking up to find him asleep in our bed, and even night terrors) but nothing could prepare us for what started a couple of weeks ago. We have been at our wits end at bedtime. We have a pretty good bedtime routine - bath, PJ's, brush teeth, read books (or watch 1 show) and then bedtime. However, when we put him down for bed now, there is inevitably a tantrum that occurs. At first, several weeks ago, he only asked for extra things - a glass of water, rub my back, etc. Then, it was getting up every 5 minutes. Now, it's screaming. We've tried a number of tactics - take away privileges (i.e. the door being open, the music in his room, etc.), not engaging him when he has a fit, putting a baby gate in his door, closing his door, allowing him to fall asleep on his floor on the hall. And every night, it's the same thing - screaming and tantrums. It really can wear on a person after awhile. I'm also quite sure that it's affecting Katie and me. We went to visit Candyce's class today. She's a local parenting and child development expert. We just wanted to listen to other parents of 3-year olds and make sure we weren't alone. Thank Goodness, we're not! Normal or not - night after night it gets really draining and I hope that it passes soon. However, from talking to other parents, it sounds like that's just part of having a three-year old. Yea for us!

A New Year

2009-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted anything for a while and I have a few minutes so I thought I'd say a few things... We had a great Christmas and actually rung in the new year for the first time in several years. Its was really a great holiday. Grandma Darlene came out from Iowa after a few cancelled flights and got to hang out with Beckett for Christmas Day. He had a great time with all his grandmas (and Papa)! We had close to 2 feet of snow over a couple week period around Christmas. It was pretty at first but the fun wore off pretty quickly after being stuck at home for more than a day or two. It was during my break and I was hoping to get a bunch of things done around the house while Beckett was still in daycare, but that didn't happen. Oh well, it was fun to be home and play around with the family for a few days. We've also had a sinus infection/cold bug going around the house, probably since school started in September! We've all been on antibiotics and Beckett is now on his second round with an ear infection added in... The runny noses and coughs and crankiness have well worn out their welcome, not to mention we're dealing with a really close to 3-year old who's tantrums can beat anyone's anyday!

So I know it doesn't sound like it, but things have actually been really, really good. Lots more to say, but it will wait for another day. Take care, I'll talk more soon!

Merry Christmas to All!

2008-12-21T21:56:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Snow, snow and more snow...

2008-12-21T16:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated this in a while. Its been a busy couple weeks, I finished out my first quarter at Evergreen. Not as great as I would have liked but its done and over and I'm really excited about next quarter. I'll have a class every day but only for a couple hours so it shouldn't be too overwhelming. Plus its math and I can't wait!!!

This week was supposed to be my week at home to rest up and get caught up before the holiday while Beckett was still in daycare but it hasn't turned out that way. Starting Wednesday I think we've had over a foot of snow! And its still snowing now! The Evergreen campus has been too dicey to get to so Beckett's been home with me. Our street is just covered with ice and snow. We ventured out yesterday to go to mom and dear's but on the way home another storm came in and we just barely made it home. There were spinouts and accidents all along the freeway! It was fun when if first started but we're all ready to be thawed out now! Not sure how we're getting to moms for Christmas but hopefully it will all work out. I'll see if I can post some photos on here of the house and the snow. Its really something for our little part of the world!

Finishing up a roast for dinner, Beckett's got a touch of a fever so he's pretty low key lately. Lots and lots of movies. He's not too keen on playing in the snow. It doesn't help that its only about 20 degrees and thats cold for us! Off to finish up dinner and get it on the table.

Beckett's First Video Blog

2008-12-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

My Work

2008-11-26T15:11:00.001-08:00

Well, there is one thing I usually don't do and that's blog about where I work. I work at a VERY large credit union in Washington. OK, the largest credit union in Washington. I've been here for 12 years now and absolutely love my job. I love my job because I work someplace that actually cares about our members. We aren't in the money business to make money, but to do what's right. That's a pretty powerful statement in this day and age. With so many people worried about their jobs, their investments and their financial instutions I'm proud to work somewhere that I don't have those worries. So, that's it for now - I'll step down from my soapbox...
www.becustrength.org

Funny Stories...

2008-11-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

So Beckett is developing quite the rational thought processes...

The other day we came home to a room full of white cotton stuffing that the dog had pulled out of his toy. Beckett walked into the room and said "Uh Oh Mama, what happened to Tag Tag?" (For those of you who don't know, Tag is our fluffy white cat!) And for the briefest of moments I too wondered how a cat could explode!

The second story revolved around rest time at Beckett's daycare. Beckett, Jude and Luca have been trouble since the beginning of classes and have since been separated for rest time. Beckett (who our teacher said is the most social child she's ever had!) now rests on his mat and yells names across the room for whoever will answer. So here are all these little 2 and 3 year olds resting quiet and Beckett yelling out the roster until somebody responds! Crazy!!!

More two week cycles...

2008-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Still no baby for us. Its getting really frustrating, especially when a few people we know are having babies - and we really are happy for them, just wish it could be us too. The question now is how much farther do we go? We're already hundreds of dollars into this so if we quit now it seems like a huge waste of money - and it did take 5 tries or something with Beckett, so really only trying 3 isn't horrible. Its something we both really want, so I'm sure we'll keep plugging along, but when do you wonder if its more? Like is somebody trying to tell us something??? Also the timing thing isn't so great now - we tried to make it so the baby would be born next summer when I'm on break from school, but now we're approaching the end of August for a due date I think, which means I won't be home as much. Oh well, just a sort of sad day... I'm sure it will happen when its supposed to and everything will work out just as its planned, I'm just not a good waiter! Onward we go!

Changes...

2008-11-05T09:40:00.001-08:00

I guess its a good day for America. I just hope that we continue on our road to change and that our new president elect follows through on his claims to shake up the presidency. For the first time since Clinton, the president I voted for actually won - something kind of exciting! All of a sudden I'm proud to be an American and feel a responsibility to change our world for the better.

In other news, and in my opinion on a much sadder note, California is passing Prop 8 defining marriage to be between a man and a woman. I was hoping that California would lead the nation in allowing some basic civil rights to a whole new group of Americans. I guess we'll wait a bit longer. If it took almost half a century to get a black president into office after the Civil Rights movement, I guess I can hope that before I die we'll see a gay or lesbian in office too! At least we were acknowledged in Pres. Obama's speech last night - more than I can say for his opponents.

And on another note - sometimes things don't change right away. I'm off to finish laundry, clean the kitchen, and finish homework. Things I do regardless of who is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!

I'm proud of you America -- now please keep things moving!

Halloween

2008-10-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here typing this while Beckett's napping. Poor guy threw up this morning at Mama Abby's office. Thank God the ladies that work there are so good to him! I brought him home and we watched Lightning McQueen and has some ginger ale and applesauce and he's been sleeping for a couple hours now. Hopefully he'll feel better later to go out a little bit and trick or treat. He's been so excited to be "the black spiderman" I'd hate for him to miss it completely.

An update on our baby situation for any who are interested... Abby's fibroid is in a pretty good location - outside the uterus and on the top I think. So no worries about it being in the way to concieve. We're once again living in 2-week cycles, so I'll post something again in a couple weeks when we know more.

Our conversations have been focused around toys and Santa Claus lately. Our latest project is trying to explain Santa to Beckett... We've been circling pictures in the toy catalogs and will try to get a letter out at some point. Any suggestions on how to make this work is greatly appreciated!

Catching up

2008-10-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend but got all the projects we needed to completed. Abby and I put up door trim on Saturday, Dear came down and helped with the baseboards (I was scared of inside and outside corners!) and Mom helped watch Beckett. We also finished the floor transitions and the house just looks amazing! Its nice not to feel like we're living in a construction zone! Our friend Gavyn finished our shower so now all that's left is to paint it, and I think in the interest of time it will end up the same lime green color it is now - major changes will have to wait for this quarter to finish! On that note I finished my 3 papers and got them sent off to my professor! Yeah me! Now just some (5 chapters) bullet points, a few NYT articles and another book (with 2 more papers) and hopefully I'll be caught up by Monday! W0w - to see it like that it doesn't feel like I'm making the progress I feel like I am!

Abby and I are heading to another doctor appointment this evening to get her fibroid checked out. They're doing a procedure to see if its inside or outside her uterine lining to make sure thats not whats causing her to not get pregnant. I guess if the fertilized egg were to attach to the fibroid it wouldn't thrive, therefore she couldn't get pregnant... Hopefully its something simple, otherwise I'm afraid it would be my turn to get pregnant and I'm not sure I'm up for that on top of everything else I've got going on!

So anyway - thats alot of information but I thought I'd catch everybody up on our lives as of late... Got next quarter all figured out and might even study abroad next year! Don't know how all of it will work out yet, but it always seems to so we'll just wait and see!

A nice relaxing weekend?

2008-10-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

I just got back from dropping Beckett of with Grandma - he's hanging out with them this weekend so Abby and I can get some stuff around the house finished. So here's our list - we're finally getting the trim done that we took off when we painted and redid the floors, we have to finish the transitions from the hardwood to vinyl in the kitchen and entry and recut the floor, and our friend is coming over to finish drywall in the master bath then I get to paint it. Oh and also I have about a half a book to read, 3 papers to write, and 5 chapters to do bullet points on! How do you think we'll do??? Here's to another pot of coffee!

Baby Dust

2008-10-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Babies, babies everywhere. It seems that when you're not looking, suddenly everyone is having babies. Everyone except us that is. We were back at the dr again on Saturday morning. For another ultrasound. He checks for cysts before he'll give clomid. So, no cysts and back to clomid I go. However, he didn't like the looks of my fibroid. He wanted to know if it was inside or outside the endometrial lining. Basically, from the way I understand it - if it's inside the lining and the fertilized egg attempts to attach there, it just won't happen. So, it's back to the dr again on Wednesday. This time for a sonohistiogram. Something about a balloon catheter and checking the shape & size of my uterus. This will be attempt #3. I know there's so many women out there that have a lot more attempts than we've had, but it still doesn't make the waiting and the time any easier. The picture below is of our friends Casey and Nathan's baby girl, Lauren. Beckett got to meet her and hold her on the day she was born (9/1/08) and the look on his face was so wonderful. He absolutely loves that little baby girl. However, he's quite sensitive and when she starts to cry, he gets pretty upset about things. This process is hard for me too, because I had honestly thought that perhaps Beckett would be an only child. I know that everyone says you can't explain it, but you just love #2 just as much as #1. I sure hope so, because my Beckett is the absolute light in my eyes. He is my favorite person in the world and I can't imagine my life without him. I don't even remember life before him.

I forgot...

2008-10-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

The best part of my story from yesterday and the reason I titled it what I did... We were sitting at dinner the other night and Beckett was refusing to eat our fettucini alfredo (he wanted noodles with red sauce, not white...) and I said that I wasn't ready for a three year old yet. He looked right at me and said "Mama, I'm not three - I'm two!!!" and proceeded to get up from the table. We convinced him to sit back down and at least eat the "chicken" out of his bowl (it was really scallops and he loved them) and got him saying "I'll be three in January." It was really very cute in the end... Apparently even a 2-year old knows the trouble with 3-year olds and refuses to be one before their time!

"I'm not three!"

2008-10-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

So I'm into my third week of school at Evergreen. Its ALOT of work - reading and writing - but I really do learn something every day in class. Evergreen's set up a bit different and they have what they call programs, not classes. The program I'm in is supposed to go all year, but I think I'm going to transfer into something else next quarter. Something more into math and teaching... I found one that I like that is actually a night class twice a week so we'll see how that works out.

Anyway - onto other news, Beckett has turned all into a 3-year old. Yes, I know we have a couple months yet, but his little attitude sure isn't waiting! Everthing we do now is "I do it myself" or "Beckett do it!" From filling the bathtub with water or getting food out of the fridge... Its alot to deal with on a daily basis! He's been in daycare since the first part of September and every morning is still a struggle to leave him. He screams and has learned "mama I need you" which breaks my heart every time I hear it. He has a great time in class and hates it when we have to leave but starting our day that way every day is a little wearing... Even now as I sit here on the couch getting ready for bed time, all I hear is whining and "no" and "I want..." Oh well, this too shall pass, right???

Everything else is going well I think. Abby is suffering through a cold that the rest of us had last week. God love daycare! The animals are good - Tag started Prozac which I think is a little funny since I've been on it for a few months now. Maybe we should try it for Beckett??? It really is quite the happy pill!

Anyway - I think thats it for now... Hopefully we'll update more sooner rather than later... TTFN.

A rainy Saturday

2008-10-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Not much happening today. Beckett woke up with a slight fever and we've laid pretty low. Had Eagan's for lunch and now we're at home. Katie's doing homework and I'm trying not to be too bored. We were supposed to go to Wild Waves tonight, but between the fever and the rain - I don't think that would earn me any mother of the year awards. So, it's home for us. I don't know what it is about rainy Saturdays, they can be fantastic or they can make me go a bit stir crazy. Arts Walk was wet last night. Beckett and I went while Katie stayed home and (guess what?) did homework. We had a couple of friends displaying their artwork. We bought a Christmas gift for Grandma. I think she'll love it! Shhh... I can't say what it is in case she reads this... Well, off to figure out the evening.

I'm not very good at this...

2008-09-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

So apparently once every couple weeks is as much as I can commit to updating this... Its been a busy few weeks though! We took the long Labor Day weekend and went camping out near the water north of Poulsbo. A very nice campground. We left Beckett with grandma Jane and Papa and took the dogs - we couldn't handle both! Everybody had a great time - although the dogs aren't quite as fond of being outside as one would think. Spike was thoroughly irritated that we were sleeping on the ground and just sat and shivered the first night... It was really very sad and pathetic.

We came home Sunday and got sort of unpacked only to get a phone call that our dear friends who were expecting a baby on the 10th or so started getting regular contractions. It was very exciting and little miss Lauren was born early Monday morning. We went and visited at the hospital and everybody was perfect and healthy! She decided to come early however so her parents were unable to make the trip to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa from Australia so Beckett and I made the trip Tuesday afternoon. Everybody is at home and getting settled into life with a newborn and we're just overjoyed to be able to watch her change and grow. Even since we first saw her only a few short days ago she's changed.

Tonight we have Beckett's daycare orientation for the Evergreen Child Care Center that he will start at on Monday. He will go for a few weeks before I start at Evergreen on the 29th. We're very excited and I think it will be good for us all to start doing our own things for a change. It will certainly be different though to not be with Beckett every day all day!

I suppose thats up to date for now. Abby's home next week and we're going to try to get some of the projects that we've started this summer finished before school starts back up again. It will be nice to just be home and be together...

2008-08-12T17:13:00.001-07:00

A quiet couple days so far this week but that is good, we needed to wind down a bit. We gave our best friends (and Beckett's Godparents) a baby shower this weekend and that took a bit of doing to get together. They're having a little girl and its really hard to find baby girl things that aren't all pink and ruffley - since nobody in this family is pink or ruffley! I think we did good though, they got alot of great things. My mom made a diaper cake for them that turned out great. Its like a tiered cake but the tiers are made of diapers... A great gift since its extremely useful but wrapping a box of diapers is just not exciting! We're all about cars at our house lately... Both the movie and the vehicles. Beckett doesn't play with anything if it doesn't have wheels. We also set up his new twin size bed and he's absolutely loving it! He sleeps much, much better now which is nicer for everybody! We also bought another stroller today - its our 4th or 5th one I think. Beckett is just so tall and big for his age that he outgrows even the nicest and most expensive ones. I've done my research on this one though and it should get us through... Plus it has a ton of add on accessories that we can use if we need the stroller for baby #2 someday... Tomorrow we're heading to the dog park with Spike and Lucky again. It's supposed to be in the mid 90's by the end of the week so we'll probably go in the morning and try to stay cool in the afternoon... All is going really well - I'm fighting some sort of sinus issue but I'll get to the doctor and that should be easy enough to fix. Til next time...

blogging

2008-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was just getting ready to blog and realized that Katie has done the updates for the week. So, yea me! I don't need to update everyone.

A few updates

2008-08-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

We've gotten re-acquainted with a couple friends that we've lost touch with over the past years... its been a wonderful couple weeks and a fantastic summer all around. We went to the McChord airshow a couple weeks ago topping off an incredible toddler week... this last weekend started with Sand Sculpting practice that went way better than anybody expected and I think we're all looking forward to a great day this year and it ended last night with a friend at our house watching the movie Saw. We spent Sunday at Woofstock in Tacoma with Lucky (spike stayed home) and went to the Ft. Stilacoom dog park - a great, great park. Beckett loved it just as much as the dogs! then we went for a bbq, had burgers and grilled corn on the cob and other than an itchy sunburn it was really the perfect day! we got the living room together as I finished painting last week, now we're ready to tackle Beckett's room and assemble the "real" bed we got him. This is turning out to be an absolutely perfect summer for our family and we're really getting into the grooves of being in Oly in the summertime!

Our Singing Boy

2008-07-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Beckett has learned to climb on the rock in our backyard. We often spend our evenings in the backyard since the lawnguy has started to come to our house. We LOVE LOVE LOVE the lawn guy. Our lives are now pre-lawnguy and post-lawnguy. And Beckett has come to love the backyard as much as us. He expresses his joy through singing.

Our week

2008-07-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo on Sunday. The zoo is one of my absolute favorite places to go with my family. It's actually my idea of a perfect day. Beckett loves the animals and I could watch them for a very long time. Sunday was a bit hot and I really do hate the heat. I love the sun, but hate the heat. If it gets much above 75 degrees, I tend to get cranky. Work's been fairly busy this week. I've had a lot going on and done a lot of driving. Then, last night we went to Lakefair here in Oly. In the 2 years we've lived here, we've never gone. But it's awful hard to beat fair food if you ask me. onion burgers, cotton candy, snow cones, roasted corn. HMM!!! Of course, about 4:30 this morning it caught up with Beckett. I woke up to "mama! Mama!" I went into his room and he said, "change diaper". Not a pretty sight. Then he thought he didn't want to go back to bed. His sheets were damp, so I let him come into bed with us. Not something we do very often at all. We don't do co-sleeping. He's slept in his own bed since he was quite young. Trust me, at the beginning I tried even. I thought, hmm.. maybe if he'd sleep here I could get some rest. No such luck. He would never fall asleep. Well, last night - he fell asleep, but then for about 3 hours Katie & I kept getting 2-year old knees & feet kicking us in the ribs and the back. Back to his own bed tonight.

Beckett's Red Foot

2008-06-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Katie graduated from community college on Friday night. The whole family went out to dinner afterwards and after dinner, Beckett was running to meet Grandma. Well, since he's not so light on his feet, he fell. He started crying and we thought it had been a long night so we took him home and put him to bed. The next morning, he woke up and wouldn't get out of bed. He said that his foot hurt. I tried to get him to stand on it, but he wouldn't. So, luckily his pediatrician has Saturday hours and we had an appointment at 10:30 Saturday morning. We took him in and he needed an X-Ray at the hospital across the street. He wasn't too keen on the X-Ray, it killed me to have to practically hold him down while they took the X-Ray. We had to go back to his dr's office to get the results and as soon as we walked in, the nurse asked what his favorite color was. Which could only mean one thing - he needed a little cast. He said his favorite color was red. So, that's what he got. A little red cast. So tiny. He'll tell you what happened. He can't say the 'k' sound, so it sounds something like this...
"Bettett walk, walk walk. Bettett trash. Owie foot" Basically that's what happened. He'll also tell you "Dr Open. Yellow hands". Yes, the dr had to open the cast packaging and he was wearing gloves.

He's doing very well with it. He started walking around on it and has gotten rather good at scooting around and getting onto and off of the couch and chairs. My sweet boy is very resilient and you may not ever even know he had a broken 5th metacarpal.

California Supreme Court Rules For Marriage Equality!

2008-05-15T12:47:00.001-07:00

California Supreme Court Rules For Marriage Equality!

Posted using ShareThis

Holy Crap! It's about time!! Could Washington be next? The expanded domestic partnership rights are a great start, but hmmm... Cali is looking awful good right now.

2008-05-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

Beckett attended his first real birthday party today. 6 little girls ages 5-6 can really wear out a very cute & sweet 2 year old boy.

tomorrow

2008-04-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl has been gone for a week. I've missed her a lot. I'm so glad she gets home tomorrow. I know though that she needed time off and I'm glad we were able to work it out for her. It's been a longish week, but oh so worth it - for both of us. I have developed an entirely new respect for what she does day in and day out. I have fallen more in love with my son in the last week than I think I have in 2-years. Even when I'm with him and she's here it's not the same as it just being the two of us. He's a pretty amazing kid and pretty much the best person I could ever hope to have the privilege to raise. I'm so grateful to whatever higher power brought him into our lives and trusted me with this perfect human being.

As far as Katie is concerned, I miss everything about her. The way she sounds, the way she smells, the way I can reach over at any time and just know that she is there. It's a big lonely house without her in it. She makes our entire house and my entire life worth living well.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

2008-04-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I had the honor of going to the Seeds of Compassion event at Qwest Field and seeing the Dalai Lama speak. It was supposed to be something we did for Katie's birthday, but her trip to Mexico turned out to be the same week. I went with a friend instead and that was fine.

The true pleasure was getting to see him speak. It was very surreal. Kind of like watching any sort of famous person speak. He was a very funny, little man and he looked kind of like a little doll. Only in the fact that he was just someone I would like to hug. he also had a very infectious laugh. I think Barbara Walters said that once. Well, it's true.

My favorite thing he said was that we should give our children affection and that would create good people. And now, as I watch my beautiful son wipe everything down with a kleenex (he's dusting) - I know what he was talking about. Our children need love, peace, joy and affection. They gave us unwoven bracelets in the beginning and at the end told us to weave our intentions into them. I wove my intention to raise a kind, compassionate, caring, respectful little boy and to bring a strong, healthy, happy man into this world that will someday make an impact on the world quite similar to the one he's already made on our lives.

marriage

2008-01-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

is not easy. Worth it though.

Christmas

2007-12-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in my living room, watching my crazy son play with some CDs. Don't worry, they're his - so he can really do what he wants with them (within reason). I've had a very difficult time getting into this season. I had a friend tell me I was the toffee in the box of assorted chocolates. Not exactly sure what she meant, but I think it has to do with being the last thing left in the box and the one that no one really wants to touch. Looks sweet on the outside, but really quite hard and it gets stuck in your teeth. I'm doing better now though. Getting into the spirit of things. All of my shopping is done and I think it'll be a lot of fun to see Beckett open his presents. We'll also do Christmas Eve service at the church here that we like. We're Christmas & Easter sort of people at church. It seems that every Sunday morning we have better things to do. Like sleep in and read the paper. I hope my family is well this year. Some of them may read this more than they'll actually talk to me. It does bother me to some extent, but it kept my Christmas shopping rather short this year. I haven't talked to my nephew in several months and his birthday is coming up shortly after Christmas. He may read this, so I'll have to be careful how I put this, but his mom turned a bit loony this year. I'm sure he feels completely abandoned, but I wish he'd realize that the rest of his family is still here for him. He's also at that age where I'm sure there are a lot cooler things to do than hang out with your 31-year old aunt, but his cousin would sure love to see him. He always was a very cool kid and I miss him. It's too bad his mother went nuts - I haven't talked to her in goodness knows how long. Then, I have 2 other sisters - 1 I haven't seen or talked to in over 2-years. I've e-mailed, but never gotten a response. I don't know what her deal is. Holding a grudge against me not talking to her I'm sure. Then there's the last one - haven't seen or talked to her in about six months. I love how when it's convenient for everyone else is when they want to see me, but God forbid I don't have time for them.

Then there's my true family. The family you choose. I can't tell you how alone I would feel without them. My beautiful wife, our son, our best friends, my mom, her parents. Christmas is a time to enjoy life and be happy. It truly is one of my favorite holidays. I'm starting to get out of my funk and just in time to give presents!! I love giving gifts. And I think we found some really good ones this year.

Merry Christmas All!!!

fall

2007-09-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

watching the Seahawks. Fall is on it's way. The cool, crisp days - football, stew, sweaters and here in Seattle - rain. One of my favorite seasons.

I've been on vacation this past week and I feel like I've actually made a contribution to the household. We've been cleaning the backyard, hanging shelves & pictures, replacing sockets and a think there's a few other things too, but I can't think of them right now.

I also found out that I got a promotion at work. This is great news for me, I'm incredibly excited about it. and Katie gets to be the "boss' wife' again. A role she loves. For today, I will enjoy the rest of my vacation with my family & friends and be ready to work hard tomorrow.

My celebrity 'look alikes'

2007-09-03T04:55:00.000-07:00

laughable

2007-09-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

for the record, I don't think I look like Britney Spears and then to put Emma Watson in the same category... quite humorous

3 year anniversary

2007-08-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on 8/21/2007
I have been married for 3 years today. I may not have everything that I always dreamed of materially, but I do have everything I've ever wanted. My life couldn't be in a better place. Well, it could in one way - but that's not important right now. What is important is that I'm sitting in my living room with the one person in the world that I love more than anything in the world. And the other person I love so very very much is safely asleep in his crib in the other room. The dogs are at my feet and the cats are sleeping on the couch. I am a blessed person. I want to put my thank you out to the universe. And my i love you out to my girl.

Beckett & The Apples

2007-08-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Beckett & Jack

2007-08-10T17:38:00.001-07:00

Beckett & Jack
Originally uploaded by kabfamily

I love that we're raising a caring, kind little boy. Even at 18 months, his personality and his true nature are starting to develop and come out. I think that we have animals helps this process. He understands that he isn't the only creature in the world. We haven't specifically tried to raise him this way, but it seems to have just happened. I don't know if it's just in the way we live our life and he has learned that's how you treat people and animals. I'm so proud of my beautiful son.

and they say gays shouldn't raise children

2007-07-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

We were walking into IHOP for breakfast this morning and we just had to laugh. Beckett was walking through the parking lot in his pink polo shirt carrying Abby's eyeglass case which strongly resembles a little purse. It was hilarious. Of course, if my son truly wants to carry a purse it's OK, it simply caught me off guard and I had to laugh.

Pride Protesters

2007-06-26T13:07:00.001-07:00

DSC00185
Originally uploaded by poorboy1978

I was searching through Flickr for photos tagged with SeattlePride and came across a couple of these. My family didn't attend the parade last year. Look at what happens when we come off the hill. We start to march in the middle of downtown Seattle and suddenly people think it's OK to protest. I don't ever recall this happening on Cap HIll. Were they afraid of the hill?

growing up so fast...

2007-06-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

Almost standing!
Originally uploaded by kabfamily

some days I can't believe how quickly time flies. This photo was taken on Beckett's birthday in January. Less than 6-months ago. It's hard for me to fathom how fast he's grown and how much. Our sweet little baby is quickly turning into a little man.

moving

2007-06-23T17:33:00.003-07:00

Moving sucks! But I'm trying, really I am. So - goodbye computer - hello boxes.

Olympia Pride 2007

2007-06-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

We decided that this year we wouldn't deal with Seattle Pride. Too much traffic, too many people and then that rare occasion when we run into people that we may not particularly ever want to see again anyway. So, Olympia Pride was our thing this year. My work didn't have a booth this year so we just got to enjoy it. A woman named Janice Langbehn spoke about her partner. Janice and her children had so much courage. Her partner died of a massive aneurysm exactly 4-months prior to her speaking at Pride. I can't imagine the hurt and pain she must be feeling. Her story hammers home that domestic partnerships, civil unions, marriages - whatever you want to call it - are way more than filing taxes jointly or marking that 'married' box on legal documents. Please check out her story or online at the Olympian.com

My thoughts and prayers are with the Langbehn-Pond family. This story serves to remind me that I need to get my life insurance and wills in place. When a very healthy, vibrant mother dies on her way to enjoy a vacation with her family, it shows that it can happen to anyone.

updates

2007-06-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Blogging is something that I can't seem to get my arms around. I read people's blogs and they are often so good at it, I feel inadequate. So, here I am - trying again. We'll see how it goes this time. To update everyone on the last 9 months of our lives. We have now lived in Olympia for a year and we finally decided to buy a house. We searched and searched, thank goodness our real estate agent had the patience of Job. We put an offer in on a gorgeous house in Chehalis and it just didn't feel right. As the fates would have it, it didn't pass inspection, so we continued to look and we lowered our wants list quite a bit. We decided square footage wasn't as important as being somewhere that our family is comfortable and respected. So, we finally found a house in West Olympia. Not far from where we're living now. It's a great neighborhood and a great house. I can see us raising Beckett there for some time to come. In other news, Beckett turned 1. He walks now. Katie is 3 quarters away from graduating from South Puget Sound Community College and she'll be applying to The Everegreen State College for Spring 2008. It seems so far way, but the way this last year has flown by, I know it'll be here before we know it. As for me, I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I'm considering accounting (something I can do from home), teaching or just going to Evergreen and taking programs that interest me. They do have a Masters in Public Administration that is very interesting to me. However, I still am not sure exactly what I'll do with it. But of course, I'm not doing much with the degree I have now. I'm posting a picture of Beckett from the fountain here in Olympia. It was a beautiful day and the sun just lit his face so perfectly.

No Explanation Needed

2006-09-29T15:57:00.000-07:00


Marriage is love.

Has it been that long?

2006-07-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I look on the blog and apparently the last time I wrote was back in June. So, either it's quite difficult to have a baby at home or I'm just lazy. You decide. My sisters turned 42 last week. If anything makes you realize your own age more than your own birthday, it's your siblings. So, that reminds me that my 30th birthday is coming up at the end of this month. I will be 48 when Beckett graduates from High School. Really not all that bad in the grand scheme of things. My own parents were even a bit older than that. It just makes me wonder if Beckett being a toddler (someday soon) will make me feel younger or older. Having to chase after a 2-year old can be quite tiring and if I think that I'm tired now, just wait!

The 4th of July didn't bother Beckett a bit, but it bugged the heck out of the dog. Spike (www.dogster.com/?138056) was terrified and slept with us for 2 nights. I don't understand the point of drinking and setting off explosives. To me, it's just not fun. We've decided that we need to start taking Beckett to the real fireworks shows as a young'un, then he'll just think the ones you set off on your own are stupid.

My last bit for the day - Beckett has taken to screaming at night. Not crying, not fussing - SCREAMING! At the top of his lungs, in that ear piercing way. I don't know if it's some of his colic left over or what, but he won't let you comfort him. In fact, I don't think he even knows he's being held when he's screaming. The only thing that will quiet him down is food. I know, not a good habit to start, but I don't know what else to do. Any advice would not be unsolicited.

Have a great day... I know our family will.

The Zoo

2006-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Beckett made his first trip to the zoo last week. He slept through most of it, but woke up somewhere near the otters. Which is interesting because Otters are my favorite animal at the zoo. We went to Pt Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. They have a great new Kids Zone with activities and a petting zoo. I put Beckett's feet in the water at the fountain. I'm not sure he knew what to do with that. Yes, I know he's too young to even remember it later on, so truly the zoo visit was for us. But as a family, we all had a good time. A few days ago he also rolled over for the first time. He hasn't done it since though. My theory is that he's done it once, so why do it again. "All right, I know I can do that now - next!" But wait - there's more. It's been an even bigger week. His first little tooth began to break through his bottom gum. He can't be our little toothless joe anymore. He'll need to be a one-toothed joe. Of course, we didn't discover the little bugger of a tooth until late last night after he'd been nothing but a cranky pants all day. He just wouldn't nap all day. Luckily, he's still sleeping through the night though. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Our Family

2006-06-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Blogging for LGBT Families

2006-06-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today, is Blogging for LGBT Families day. Basically, the short story is that a short bit ago I discovered a great website: http://www.mombian.com/ . They declared today, June 1, 2006 as Blogging for LGBT Families day. Today falls exactly in the middle of Mother's day and Father's day. It is a day to educate others as to exactly who we are when we are both.

Sometimes, in this great, big straight world I feel alone. Yes, I am part of a bigger population of mothers and parents, but in our lives, we do not have a lot of LGBT parents. This is something I’m trying to change, but it isn’t easy. Luckily Beckett was born very close to the Pride Season. Therefore, if we hang out long enough at almost any pride event, we’re bound and determined to run into someone that we might get along with. In the meantime, we’ll continue to surround ourselves with allies. Even then, the answers to the questions don’t come easily.
Q - who’s baby is it? A – ours
Q – who is the father? A- no one
Q – doesn’t he need to see men to understand how to be one A- do you need to see assholes to understand how to be one?

P.S. I’ve never gotten up the nerve to actually answer the third question that way. It’s just what the little voice in my head answers.

Beckett has some amazing role models in his life. Strong moms, resilient grandmas, handy and loving grandpas, fashionable uncles – he’s luckier than a lot of babies with both a mother and a father. Eventually, Katie will legally adopt him and then hopefully we’ll have more of the legal recognition that is vitally important. Until then, we’re just a family that happens to have two moms and we will fight tooth and nail to be recognized as such with or without two names on a birth certificate.

Our First Post

2006-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Not much to say to begin with. This is the first post about the Boys in Our Life. My lovely wife and are outnumbered 5 to 2 in our household. Between the 2 male dogs, 2 male cats and our beautiful baby boy, we hardly stand a chance. Beckett is almost 4 months old. Beckett is the baby not the dog or the cat. About a month ago we moved to Olympia and couldn't ask for more. We absolutely love it here.