Spooky!!

Jude loved the pumpkin when it was lit up. He would sing, "Happy Birthday" and then try to blow out the candles.

TiggerJames and Heath with Daryn. One house had their grill out and was grilling hot dogs for anyone who wanted one.

We went out Trick or Treating on Halloween with the Watson's and the Gleichowski's. It was so much fun. Jude was a different person running up to each house without any fear. He loved wearing his Tigger costume and loved the fact that he had tail, wouldn't you?

What's up?

Lanie, Jude, and Eiley at the park. This is what Jude does when you tell him to smile.
We got home from the store the other day and I had Jude go outside and play while I was taking care of the groceries. I went to check on him and this is the sight that I saw. Much to my surprise there was only minor drops of pee on his shoes.
Jude loves to color so I surprised him by turning one of his papers into a hat. He always wants me to draw a circle and then a backhoe.

Life at the Kinney's has been truly busy. Shay is still going strong but we are unable to post any pictures of him on the Internet. So...let's just say that he is the photographer.

We have been having loads of fun since the weather is not as sweltering. A neighbor gave us a basketball hoop that is now in our driveway. So, we always go outside to shoot hoops. He has an amazing arm. He can seriously throw far as well as accurately. (No joke! It is not even through mom-eyes.) Jude and Shay are really starting to play together more. I think because Shay is crawling. Jude makes Shay laugh a lot.

As for Daryn. He is doing well. Busy at church but really balancing that with family time really well. He cares for us and we are well aware of his efforts.

That is all for now!

Michigan

It has been a long time since I have updated. The Kinney's have been so busy with a new little guy in the house. Of course, a good busy.

We just returned from a trip up to Michigan and to South Bend, IN to see my family. My cousin Melodi got married. The wedding was beautiful and we had such a great time getting to know her husband Mica. Jude put the final stamp of approval on him when he wouldn't stop talking about him or Uncle Wade's Mule.

Sorry so pictures of the wedding or of Uncle Wade taking Heath and I up in his little air plane. But, a big thanks to Uncle Wade for stretching my faith once again by giving Heath the plane to fly for a minute. (Keep your day job Heath!)

Here is a picture of my Baka (Grandma), my cousin Tatiana, my sister and I. Tatiana helped me in the morning with boys as Daryn had not yet arrived in town. He was having fun at Celebration. You're awesome Tat!
G.G. and our kids. Shay was all about her. And so was Jude...Well, then again so were Lanie and Eiley...Well, then again, so were we all. We had so much fun with Gram. She made her famous oatmeal for us (witch is just oatmeal actually), and we had toast and peanut butter and honey the other days. She really bent over backwards for us. She keeps saying that she is getting older but has yet to prove it.
Sha-babaaay in the soft grass. Not a Florida luxury. We spent most of our time outside.
Jude on the tractor. Mica and Grant were gathering wood down the lane for a party that Grant was having at Mica and Melodi's house that night.
The lake house. Mom and Marty rented a lake house for the week. It was so fun. Several nice and hot days for swimming in the very clear Pleasant Lake. Here Heath is giving himself a clay spa treatment worth about $100 at a spa but free here. The picture is priceless though.

Jude is 2!!!!!

We had so much fun on Jude's birthday. We can't believe that our baby has turned 2 already. He hasn't been a baby for some time though don't you think. Jerry and Donna were so generous to give him a drum kit just his size. We haven't decided that they did it to bless him or torture us though. :) He spends most of the day asking to play the drums or ride the bike that his Meme and Pop Pop got for him. Pretty cool.






He was one happy boy!
Here is his cupcake pull apart cupcake cake.
My dad sent him a dump truck in the mail. He loves it but had so much fun playing in the popcorn.
Dump truck.

Good times

Meme and Pop Pop.
He loved his juice pop.
Bye bye Becky. We will miss you!
What is Mila doing?

I wanted to update on what we have been doing lately. Daryn's mom and her husband Steve came by for dinner the other week. We had a really nice time visiting. Jude had fun showing off all of his new tricks. (Jumping off of things pretty much.)

The weather is getting warmer, hence the popcicles.

Becky moved. :(

Mothers Day evening the mom's went for dessert and the guys took the kids to the fountatin at the church across the road from my mom and Marty's house.

Jude and his friend Ann

Jude and I went to Sunken Gardens with my friend Laura and her daughters (Ann and Emma). Jude and Ann are buds and had so much fun running the paths of Sunken Gardens and seeing the plants and wildlife. It was a really fun time.

Pre-birthday noodle fun

32!!! That is how old Daryn is as of Thursday! One of his favorite meals is a Vietnamese noodle soup that our friend Teresa makes. Soooooooo, I took it on for part of Daryn's birthday gift. It is an all day soup that requires much time in the beginning to make the broth and then cooking for several hours an then compiling it with the fixin's. Teresa and I had this big plan that she would come over to my house with her kids and she would teach me how to make it. Well, wouldn't you know it, her kids got sick and she was not able to come. But, she had other plans. Her husband Luan met Jude and I at the Asian market to purchase all of the things (so I would know what to buy in the future) and then Teresa walked me though the steps throughout the day. Thanks Luan for taking time out of your day to help me. AND thank you Teresa for being at my beck-and-phone-call all day. It turned out perfect and Daryn loved it!!!! At the end of the day Teresa was able to stop by and make sure that I was doing it right. She added her 2 cents and about 1/2 of a bottle of fish oil. :) We usually have Wednesday night dinner at my Mom and Marty's before their care group but this night I had it here at our house with Andrea, Becky, Lauren (who took the picture), and all of the kids. FUN!

Art Festival

Jude painting. He painted on the star fish and then pressed a piece of paper on it to transfer the image. Here is his wand that he made. I am happy to say that he liked tasting the glue and glitter. When he presented it to Daddy I had him dance around and wave it in the air. Daddy LOOOOVVVEDD that I am sure.
Here Jude is checking out his shadow again.

While Daryn was at church Saturday morning I took Jude out to the Mainsail Art Festival. We had a lot of fun doing a couple of art projects. After the art we walked over to the playground and to the beach there. He had the most fun running in the water. Needless to say getting his feet wet was unrealistic and ultimately futile.

Jude was so proud to show his dad his picture that he did AND his magic wand! (which turned out NOT to be magic. Big disappointment. :)

Proud Mama

The other day was one of those proud days that I, as a mother, have been waiting for. Lanie and Jude were digging in my mom's back yard and found a worm. Lanie, screamed out that they had

found one and then had Jude pick it up to come and show us. She herself didn't want to pick it up so every time Jude dropped it she would point out where it fell and he would pick it back up. Proud mommy? Yes! As he got closer to my mom and sister he dropped it and my they started their high-pitch girl noises. Well, Jude thought that this was hilarious so he picked it up and threw it at mom which landed on her leg. She screamed and flicked it off of her. Then she was trying to tell Jude to pick it up again to put it in the bushes. Thank goodness he doesn't have listening right away down because he picked it up again and threw it causing more screams and laughter. Proud mommy - indeed! Finally my mom picked it up and they brought the lizard to put him in the bushes. Really, hasn't he suffered enough already? The kids all followed and watched as the wormed acclimated to his new surroundings. Then Lani yelled, "A lizard is eating the worm." And thus, the circle of life.

Where was I during all of this? Trying to take pictures. This is all that I got though. The worm is in his right hand.

Dad's visit

My dad was here visiting from Michigan this past week. We had so much fun, as we always do, with him. The kids loved playing with Poppy at the pool. Jude had a blast in the water. He loves jumping in over, and over, and over, and over, and over.........again! But getting him out of the pool was another story. Several melt-downs there. We always have good quality time with him. Even when our time together is short we never part ways feeling that it was.

He loves music

Jude and I were enjoying a fun afternoon of singing and dancing.

Happy Easter!

Eiley, Jude, and Lanie after the hunt!
Here are Andrea, Daryn, and the kids before the hunt.

We had a wonderful day on Easter. It was so wonderful to celebrate our Savior's resurrection with our church family. After church we went to the Watson's house for fun with family and friends. We had lunch and an egg hunt. The kids had a lot of fun looking for the eggs that Andrea stuffed with Fruit Loops. Thanks for all of your hard work Ang!

We also celebrated Becky's birthday. She turned 22 on the 20th. Happy Birthday!!!

Strawberry fields for-one more week

We went strawberry picking for the second and last time this season. This time it was with my mom, Angela, and Jude. Jude had a great time.

Trip to Orlando

Here Daryn and I are with one half of one of our favorite couples on the planet. David Finch came to Orlando on a short business trip and graciously carved out time in his schedule for a visit. We had so much fun catching up on what has been going on in each others lives. He and his wife, one of my dearest friends Elise, are an amazing example of walking the Gospel out in ever area of their lives. The way they love each other, their children, and their friends (us in particular) is a direct result of their understanding of God's love for them. Whether it be with their marriage, their children, or difficult seasons that they walk through, they continually look at every situation with a view of glorifying God. I am so thankful to God for their example.

They love each other.

Jude has really taken to calling out loud for "DAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDYYYYYYYY!" Daddy loves it though.

Beehave

Green Mama Merch

Jude and Avery

We recently met up with a friend of ours from high school, Lauren. It has been fun hanging out with her and her daughter, Avery. We have been catching up since we last saw each other (more than 10 years ago) but quickly building new memories. She owns an on-line business called Green Mama that sells all things "green" for moms and kids. I am going to post the site when it is up (very soon hopefully!)
The last picture is a result of the Watson invasion for dinner yesterday. I can't remember if this was taken before or after Jude hit Eiley or if it was before or after Lanie and Eiley had a mid-run collision. But, if was definitely after Lanie got done showing Jude what would happen to him if he stood in the way when she was swinging a bat. She did that by hitting him in the mouth with it.

The last cold day?

We were out on a walk yesterday and Jude was taking time to jump in the puddles. He is all boy. His vocabulary is growing. When he learns a new word he practices A LOT. I mean ALL THE TIME. His latest is "Apple Juice." Right now he is in his crib saying, "Eiley." He loves her so much until we see her, then she is competition.

Just the guys

We went to the park yesterday. We often ride our bikes there and the weather has been so beautiful that we couldn't resist to load up with a few snacks and go. When Daddy is home Jude is all about him. I love it though. There are not many things in life that are more enjoyable to me than to watch Daryn with Jude. He is an amazing father and, of course, a wonderful husband.

The more common photos of Jude

There are often times that I send out pictures and people reply to me how great the pictures are. I always tell people that I am not going to send the bad photos. But here are a few that are the more common ones as of late. He is always on the go. Which is how it should be. Although, he has come to the understanding that if he holds still he can look at the picture of himself after.

The Band

Friends of ours were going to the hospital to have their third baby girl. (Congrats, Scott and Jenn; Annika is here!!!)

We kept their 2 with us while they were in the hospital. It was a fun day full of, "No, it's not time to go to the hospital yet." Suprisingly, there were no, "Jude, no hitting the girls." We are very thankful for that and see God building self-control in him.

Here is a picture from the day. They were all three taking turns with the musical instruments. Amazingly enough, all three were equally as talented.

I have a few ideas that some may like for making your dollar stretch as far as meals are concerned. One thing I like to do is buy a whole chicken and use it for a couple of meals. The obvious is chicken salad for lunch but I also cut up the extra chicken and make BBQ chicken pizza (BBQ sauce, montery jack cheese), chicken puffs (cresent rolls made into a square, cream cheese, and herbs of my choice), and then I will freeze the bones and boil them in water to make a stock for soup. There are tons of other ideas that I have but as I make them I will let you know.

Since Jude loves the drums, Daryn went on utube so they could both look at some really good drum solos. Jude couldn't just sit and watch he wanted to go get his drums and play along. This was the result.

Beautiful weather!

It has been warm the past several days so Daryn was able to take the day off and we went to the beach. This time of year is why people move to Florida. If you are thinking of moving here, you should visit in August and then make a decision.
We had a great time. We went to a beautiful beach that has a really great place for breakfast outside. Unfortunately, there were a ton of seagulls that frequent the same place (imagine that). Turned out to be a bonus though, because we brought our very own gull-chaser. We don't have any pictures of that but he was running up and down and all around the beach keeping them all away from Mommy. What a sweet boy.

Thanks again Watson's for taking such good care of Jude while we are doing the MAPP classes. You treat him like he is your own! It seems like you really have fun with him.