Kevin Minnis

“Josie, you’re such a fruit cake.” Those are the words coming out of Jayden’s mouth as we were eating supper one night. A lot has happened since my last blog entry. Sorry, life got busy so I didn’t have time to get this updated. As you can see from the picture to the left, Jayden turned three in August.

Karrie, my sister, made a surprise visit to my Parent’s home and it happened to fall on the same weekend that we had Jayden’s B-Day party so she was able to make it too.

Jayden wasn’t the only one to have fun during his birthday weekend. Josie likes wearing his hat and does a pretty good job modeling it.

They also both had fun with shaving cream in the bath tub. If you’re ever looking for something fun for the kids during bath time, shaving cream is another option.

And of course after a long day’s work, you just gotta take a rest from it all. Jayden feel asleep on his pillow in the living room during the middle of the day.

We made the trek north to my Parent’s home the first week of September and had a great time. My Aunt and Uncle, Iris and Gary Baxter had their 40th Wedding Anniversary party so we went and helped them celebrate.

It was a great weekend to go up as the weather was perfect. Jayden and Josie got to go outside and checkout the farm. Jayden helped Grandpa feed the calves and Josie got to play on the trampoline and other toys.

We also got to play with Great Grandpa’s four wheeler.

And Jayden got to ride on Uncle Kelly’s forklift with Brianna and Madison.

More recently, Jayden has started riding his bike. It’s getting different going on walks now as he’d rather ride his bike over riding in the wagon with Josie. The next thing we need to work on with him is using his brakes. Instead of pushing back on the peddles, he puts his feet down only and his toes touch the ground. He’s also trying to use the potty more. We’re gaining ground which is good. Josie has been trying to say more words, “Belbo” for Elmo, baby, and “Daday” for Jayden, “Belba” for belly button and bubbles. She’s cruising like none other and would climb up on anything if she were allowed. She got another tooth on her left side so she now has 6. We’re hoping she’ll get some more on her right side. We’ve also concluded that she’s a Daddy’s Girl. The minute I get home from work she’s at my feet if she isn’t eating.

More pictures of can be found under Jayden’s Birthday and at our trip up north links.

Okay, so the title may be a little misleading. There have been a lot of “little” things happening the past month or so.

Jayden now asks for a Dewski whenever Kim goes into Quicktrip or Kum & Go to get her fountain Dew. I’d say that’s a pretty good accomplishment. He’s almost there with using the peddles on his trike and bike. If only he were there with potty training. We’re hoping that a switch will flip and he’ll want to finally use his “big-boy scibbies”. He talks about everyone else using the potty, but still no go. He still has the occasional melt down, but, knock on wood, they don’t seem as frequent as before. He’s also looking forward to his birthday and now asks for things for it.

Josie has started to walk on her own. She does mostly walking now instead of crawling. It’s fun to watch her make her tiny steps. She’s kind of wobbly at times, but is doing a pretty good job so far. She’s also good at getting into trouble. It won’t be uncommon to turn your back for a second and find her standing on top of the kid’s picnic table. She is learning a lot fast. She’s also good at being a Daddy’s girl.

House painting is done for the most part. I painted the back last week so the “normal” areas to paint are done. I’ll probably try and get the garage door and the concrete part of the foundation done sometime before it snows. I also have to make a cover for the sandbox. I’m tired of looking at the blue tarp that covers it now.

What a busy month. This month has started out with Josie learning to crawl. She loves try and get into the entertainment center now and gets mad when we tell her she can’t. She’s also started to pull herself to stand next to furniture and even climbed her first step today. She loves watching Jayden and I’m sure is learning a great deal from him. It’s been exciting to see her advancing.

Jayden’s been learning his ABCs and numbers, as well as, preparing for the next American Idol. One day last week he was standing on the stairs and singing away. Then he said I sing like American Idol. haha. Speaking of which, American Idol and Ford have done an excellent job marketing. Everytime Jayden sees a Ford symbol he now associates it with American Idol. Sad isnt’ it.

Yesterday we had fun watching the kids with their Easter stuff. The night before we told Jayden that the Easter bunny was coming and we needed to make sure things were picked up. In no time, he was running around cleaning up his toys and putting away shoes to make sure the place was clean for the Easter bunny. Talk about motivation!

Kim’s been doing the best she can to not get too bored during this last spell of cold weather. I think she has everything ready for the garage sale that will be the first Friday of May (and maybe Saturday). So be sure to mark your calendars and come out and buy some good stuff. haha.

Work for me has been very busy. But, that keeps the time flying by. I keep thinking someday I’ll get caught up, but I don’t know about it now.

Check out Jayen and Josie’s Easter Videos: , Video 1, Video 2, Video 3

So here it is….2007. We had a great Christmas and New Years. Glad it’s over so that we can get Jayden and Josie back on to their schedules. Kevin took the week off after Christmas and we got to spend time together. It was a much needed break. Jayden and Josie received lots of fun things for Christmas. They haven’t worn anything out yet. We are working on organizing the play room. With two kids they sure accumulate a lot of stuff. The next step is to paint!

Speaking of painting and remodeling….after tonight, we can officially say we are DONE WITH THE WINDOWS!! We have been working on them since September, yes, September. What a pain! But after all the hard work that Kevin and others put into it, I can say they look rather nice. Next project please!

Jayden is getting bigger and turning into a little man. He’s so fun and talks all the time. (Don’t know where he gets that from) He’s our “little parrot”. He’s been a regular two year old out and about at stores lately. He tells us “I’m just looking.” Annoying, but cute. So then we have to drag him on and he still tells us, “I’m just looking.” Last night, while Kevin was working on Josie’s window, Jayden informed us that he needed his “own toolbox.” He’s Daddy’s little shadow and has to help with everything! We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Josie, Josie, Josie. Let’s just say, we love her to death. She’s growing like a weed. She still HATES her car seat. She LOVES to watch her brother and try and get her hands on him. She is sitting up. She loves to smile, especially at her Daddy. She loves bath time. She’s almost off her pacifier (thank God). And she’s still a lot of maintenance.

Jayden and Josie both had new years resolutions. Jayden’s is to get off the sippy cup, which he doesn’t have very often anyway. And also to hopefully potty train by summer. What a chore! Josie’s resolution is to get rid of the pacifier (it’s a love/hate relationship). And to crawl/walk before she’s one. At this rate, we hope she’s crawling.

Kevin and I have lots of resolutions, but we’ll see how many of them get taken care of. We’d both like to start working out again. We sure miss the exercise. And some days I feel like I’m paying for it. Have to work off these two kids!! We’d like to get more done on the house. Take a couple weekend getaways. And just be a healthy and fun family.

We also have been giving the church we had been going to another chance. It’s hard to go back and face what you don’t want to face, but we somewhat like it there and don’t want to have to change. We have put the past behind us, but we have to get over the hump and feel comfortable again. This seems like it’s taking awhile. Thankfully we have some friends that have been there with us. It’s amazing how some things can affect a person, but in the end, we think things will be okay. We won’t get back what we lost, but hopefully we can start anew.

Sorry to all of my viewers for not updating for more than a month. It’s been a busy time of year, between getting Christmas presents purchased and a project at work, I haven’t had a lot of time to get this updated.

Last weekend we had Christmas on the Wagner side. We all had a good time and watched the normal movie, “Christmas Vacation”. We all got some good presents and more presents.
Yesterday Kim and the kids hung out with Emily and Mady. The kids exchanged gifts and apparently Jayden wanted to keep opening gifts…even though there weren’t anymore. So, I think Jayden is getting the hang of Christmas or at least the gift part. haha.

Josie has been growing a bit…not as fast as Jayden did at her age, but still growing. She had her 6 month checkup yesterday and was a whole 12 pounds. She’s starting to sit up on her own now. She’ll sit for about a minute then fall over.

Don’t forget to good and if you need help tracking Santa be sure to visit the Santa Tracking Site.

Merry Christmas!