Busy, busy, busy!

I should probably start off by apologizing for it being FOREVER since I last blogged! I never imagined just how busy teaching dance again was going to make my life. But I'm sure most of you aren't real hurt by me not blogging because I post almost everything going on in our family on Facebook! Ha ha!

Not really anything new... same old same old... Tyson and Kaitlynn continue to grow like wild flowers and get cuter and smarter every day!

Tyson just amazes me! He already knows most of his letters and numbers! He has a set of foam letters and he loves taking them out of their bag and telling me what they are and if he doesn't know he asks and then surprises me by knowing the next time. He talks ALL the time and he is such a sweetheart!

Kaitlynn talks more and more every day. She is such a little ball of fire, always happy and always busy doing who knows what! Still not walking yet though! Little stinker! She walks holding on to things, like push toys, but has yet to let go and do it herself. She will though, it's all on HER timing! ;)

Andy and I are doing great! Staying busy between the kids, me teaching dance and now it being hunting season... we try to watch recorded tv shows together and usually fall asleep during them and then moan and groan when we have to get off the couch and venture to our bed! Ha ha! But it's good for us to be able to do the things we love!

We're trying with all our might to get to Kingman, AZ for Thanksgiving this year! The only thing that seems to be hindering the positivity of it is the weather and mulah! :-S Hopefully it will all work out though! It will be SO nice to see my family on a major holiday!
Till next time...
Loves!
Cass

Tyson is 2!!!

Last Friday we ventured up to Helena, Montana for Andy's Grandpa Jim's funeral service at the VA Cemetery. It was hot and stressful, a 2 hour drive for us and we brought the babes. During the service we struggled to keep our two babes quiet and then afterward Tyson decided he liked how his "boops" (boots) sounded on the concrete so he was walking all over tombstones! EEK! lol But Andy decided to take some pics and let Tyson be... as Andy was taking pics of the urn that he and his dad built for his Grandpa's ashes Tyson walked up to the stand and rubbed it and said "grampa". The coolest part was Andy captured it with our camera! It's so cool to see what kids do when you just let them be...I get a lump in my throat at just the thought of my precious baby boy growing up so fast! Yesterday was his 2nd birthday! We went to the grocery store in the morning to get muffins for breakfast (his favorite) and while we were there he saw balloons and immediately pointed that direction and said "elmo boon!" He knew exactly what he wanted, so we strolled that direction and he picked out his elmo balloon and then he saw a display of stuffed animals and he found just what he wanted, a stuffed "kitty". He picked out the color he wanted and everything. Then we went home and colored and had lunch with Dadda and Grama Joan, McDonald's and a cupcake! He got presents from her and more balloons! Unfortunately Andy and I had commitments last night so we couldn't be home for dinner, (that's why we made the "day" extra special) but Cara, our sitter, took them to the park after dinner and bathed them and got them all ready for bed for us! We were much impressed and extremely grateful! So when I got home I was able to spend a lil time cuddling and loving on him and then put him to bed.
This morning I was making coffee for Andy in the kitchen and Tyson comes walking in with his bear in arm and said, "Mama, fedcine". (Fedcine = medicine, aka "Tylenol"). I said "what do you want honey?" he proceeded, "Mama, I want fedcine." Then he turned to his bear and asked "you want fedcine?" OH! My heart melted! It was the first time he's actually said a total and complete sentence! I was SO proud! Of course he didn't get "fedcine" but it was just so darn cute! He knew exactly what he wanted! His little personality shines more and more every day and it is so cute and so much fun to watch him grow and change!

WHOA! Where does time go!?

I cannot believe it's nearing the end of August already and fall is just around the corner! Andy and I just celebrated our birthdays. Andy turned 27 and I turned 25. I am still in shock! Ha ha! The biggest shocker is that our babies birthday's are in just a few weeks... Kait will be 1 on Sept 5th and Tyson 2 on Sept 21! Gosh this year has FLOWN! I start teaching dance Sept 14, it was supposed to only be 2 nights a week, however my classes filled up and needed to be separated so now I am teaching 4 nights a week! It will be good for me though. :) Other than that, not too much excitement... I suppose that's a good thing too, ha ha! Here are some updated pics of the babes! Tyson is talking up a storm, it's SO cute, he calls Kaitlynn "Keekee". It is so much fun watching them grow and interact with one another, they play and laugh and fight... and I love every minute of it! I am so blessed to be able to stay home with them! Kaitlynn just cut 4 teeth and she's eating like a big girl now, she's no longer nursing (bitter sweetness), and she's SO close to walking!

Til next time! Hopefully sooner than later! ;)

OMG!!!

My sister sent this to me this morning and I had to laugh! How funny and goofy me and my siblings were/are... no denying we'd still probably all 3 climb in a photo booth and pose just like this if given the chance! lol I LOVE and MISS them soooo much! :)

Rugrats

The cutest thing happened today at the Molenda house! Kaitlynn has been pushing up to all fours for a while now and has learned to crawl backwards and sit up all by herself, but has yet to conquer the task of crawling forward... until today! She was up on hands and knees on the edge of our carpet where it meets the kitchen tile and she was rocking back and forth. Tyson saw this and stopped and watched for a minute, not paying attention to me watching both of them standing in the kitchen. He then walked around Kaitlynn, got right in front of her and then got down on all fours and crawled into the kitchen. Kaitlynn remained perfectly still (while still up on all fours) and watched very carefully as Tyson crawled away from her into the kitchen. Then she began rocking again and there it went... one knee went forward, then one hand, then the other knee forward and the other hand. She crawled forward!!! Tyson taught his baby sister how to crawl simply by demonstration! I was amazed and proud! It's SO cool watching these two interact and feed off each other and learn from one another. I have the BEST job in the entire world! :)

-Cass

Memorial Day Weekend

Our Memorial Day Weekend was packed full of adventures! Saturday we headed North to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort! We had a Blast! We were given a gift certificate from a friend to stay one night for free in this beautiful resort. We swam outside in the sunshine in the warm pool, and then even ended up swimming some in the rain. Not to worry though, it didn't last long and the kids were covered ;) Then we ventured back to Butte for an amazing dinner at the Montana Club, it was DELICIOUS!!! Then we headed back to our room in Fairmont where we "attempted" to sleep. LOL! That was interesting trying to get Tyson and Kaitlynn to sleep in the same room. Andy and I had to keep the room dark and quiet, and we felt like kids because for some reason we had the giggles like crazy! lol One of those things where the harder you try to be quiet the harder it is to actually STAY quiet. But it was fun nonetheless.

The next morning we woke to rain and fog, and it was gorgeous! Right outside of our window was the "wildlife zoo", which consisted of goats, lama, sheep and ducks... WOO HOO! Ha ha. ;) Then just to the left of that was the golf course, it was SO green and pretty! Unfortunately too wet to go outside and enjoy it so we headed back to Butte to do a little shopping and get Starbucks (of course). About half way to Butte (which is 12 miles from Fairmont) Tyson begins to get cranky and say "bankey, bankey" so I frantically start searching our truck and bags for his "blankey" and it was nowhere to be found! It was then we realized we had LEFT IT!!! So we called the resort and luckily they retrieved it and saved it for us while we shopped and headed back that direction for the blanket. Once retrieved all was well and babies slept the whole time back home to Dillon.

Monday we went to the "Kid's Pond" in Dillon where we took Roxi (our dog) and met up with some friends and their kids and dogs to enjoy the warmth and sunshine. Then we headed back to our place for a BBQ and pool and just good fellowship. We had LOTS of laughs and ended the night with a small fire in our portable fire pit on our deck and roasted mallows and made s'mores.

All in all a very fun and perfect weekend. :)

Naptime?

As a parent of two wee lil ones nap time is a HUGE blessing in disguise. There is nothing better than putting babies to sleep after chasing, feeding, playing, entertaining and teaching... we need a break too right? So why can't our 1 year old understand this?

Today I had just laid Kaitlynn down for a short lived nap, nonetheless a short break for this tired mama. Tyson was happy with his toys in the living room and his sippy cup with juice so I thought I'd be productive and write out a schedule for our babysitter for this weekend as Andy and I venture off for a one night getaway... (first time since we've had kids I might add).

Not 5 minutes after I lay her down and hear silence through the monitor it's rudely interrupted by our 1 year old (Tyson). I hear the door slam against the wall as he pushes it open and he walks in her room shouting "Kay Kee, Kay Kee".

Needless to say I sprint from the kitchen to her bedroom to see her squirming in her blankets trying to stay asleep and Tyson standing next to her crib pointing at her continuing to shout "Kay Kee, Kay Kee". So I scooped him up and bolted out of her room and close the door behind us, only to hear her say... "WAAAAAA!" ...*Sigh* ...nap time's over :(

Church with babies

Andy and I try to attend church on a regular basis, however, it is extremely difficult with a 19 month old who is afraid of his own shadow at times let alone new faces and a high maintenance princess of an 8 month old that doesn't have a problem at all making it loud and clear when she is not happy. Now, knowing this we try anyway...

It was Sunday May 3rd when we last attended. We decided to go to the 10:30 service thinking it would be best. Both kids were fed, Tyson was getting better at meeting new people, Kait's nap time was nearing so it was most likely she would sleep during the sermon. All seemed like it was a "go!" Ha ha ha... yea right! We ended up arriving a little late, so we walked in when they were already singing worship, it took us a bit of weaseling through people, saying: "excuse me, pardon me, excuse me..." I know that I bumped into people a few times with a backpack on my back full of things to keep the kids busy or clean and Tyson on my hip while Andy followed with Kait in her car seat. We finally found an almost empty row!

All seemed like it was gonna be fine, Kait was playing in her car seat with toys, Tyson was in Andy's arms as we stood and sang worship. It wasn't until we sat down as they passed out communion that it seemed difficult for our 19 month old (Tyson) to sit still. Soon he was wanting down, squirming from Andy to me whining "uh uh uh..." so we put him down in the row. He played for a few than began to talk (mostly to himself) and play as the pastor was praying over the communion. Andy and I tried so hard to keep him quiet and still, occupying him with paper and pencils. Then as we ate the cracker Tyson wanted a taste so Andy gave him a bite of his. Tyson wasn't impressed, he gave a look of disgust and swallowed as fast as he could. Then when we drank the grape juice Tyson wanted some so I gave him my little cup that I was unaware had a few drops still in it so he proceeded to put it upside down and the seat. Then once they came around and collected the cups everything was fine again. Until we prayed over the tithe, Tyson couldn't take it anymore, he was done sitting still.

He was talking out loud during prayer and throwing a fit when we wouldn't let him run up to the front. Finally Andy grabbed him sat him on his lap and gave him his cell phone to play with. Then Tyson put it to his ear and very loudly says "ELLO!" and begins talking very loudly as if someone were on the phone with him and laughing! Then I decided he needed to go to the nursery, so I picked him up and took him out of the congregation and walked him to the nursery. As I got there I realized they were FULL! I mean FULL! There were tons of kids! I knew Tyson might be overwhelmed with me leaving him so I decided to sit with him for a minute until he got comfortable. Just then another mom came in with her son, she dropped him off and as she was signing him in the woman in charge said "Oh take a pager!" When I looked I realized she was taking the last one! There were no more pagers! Which meant I couldn't leave Tyson with them not having a way to get a hold of me! So we played for a few, then I got brave and decided I'd take Tyson and try to sit in the congregation again with Andy and Kaitlynn and listen to the last of the sermon. That didn't last very long, so we headed back to the nursery. When we got back it was just in time for snack, goldfish crackers. Tyson thought he wanted some, but when I gave him a few he pushed them away and he also decided he did not want me to put him down amongst the crowd of kids in that little room. So I sat in a rocking chair holding Tyson and placed the crackers on the file cabinet next to me. Pretty soon I feel someone tug on my pants. Apparently there was a gap in the back of my khaki's that one of the kids thought was a perfect hiding place for the goldfish crackers I set down. Needless to say, he was placing the crackers in the back of my pants as I was holding Tyson and playing with some toys.

FINALLY when the sermon was over I ventured back into the congregation to find Andy, while I felt a couple of the crackers that I missed slide down my pant leg, I just kept walking praying that no one would notice crackers exiting from the bottom of my pants. When we walked in Andy was buckling Kait back in her car seat... obviously his experience wasn't all that great either. He said she fussed and talked almost the whole time too. So there we were this happy little family of four walking from church to our truck, without the slightest clue of what the sermon was about...

Hey at least God knows we tried right? ;)