Kenna's Entrepreneurial Spirit

Kids are tucked into their beds, and Kenna, who has recently gotten a "big girl bed," as opposed to the toddler bed, just needed one more reason to come out of her room.  She surprised us with this one~
Carrying a necklace, she says, "Mom, this necklace is too small...I want to sell it to Mary Jo Kramer."

Big Brother I adore

Drake adores Wyatt more than you may guess.  He usually chooses the same "favorite" things as Wyatt, prefers to agree with him & sometimes will not answer a question directed at him before asking Wyatt what he thinks.  However, Wyatt going to kindergarten this year has helped Drake grow into himself a bit and develop his own opinions & leadership skills.  However, once Wyatt is home, it is soon back to the way of little brother adoring big brother.  This dynamic between them cannot be better illustrated than by a recent conversation regarding sampling almond butter for the first time.

W-I like it.

D – I like it.

W – Actually, I don’t like it.

D – I don’t like it.

W - (sideways glance & glimmer in his eye) I do like it.

D – I like it.

W – I don’t like it.

D – I don’t like it.

W – Drake, you are just trying to be like me!

All Dogs go to Heaven

The kids love the movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven.  Kenna periodically proclaims to whoever is listening, "All dogs go to heaven and people go to Jesus."
She has also created a pet-name for me.  "Mommy-so-me-me."  She uses this name about as often as mommy or mama.  Usually, she says it with great emotion and gives me a super bear hug.  So sweet.

Halloween 2010!

This year, I had to let them completely pick their own costumes.  After two years of matchy-matchy, it was time.  Here is what they came up with;
Wyatt~Ironman
Drake~"a guy with a sword & a shield"  Wyatt named this "N Boy," which is what they went with at every occasion.
Kenna~Fairy Princess

It was a beautiful night for trick or treating, complete with a fun neighborhood party to end the night.

Wyatt the Chef

Nonnie has a great kids cookbook that all the kids love to look through, and will do so time and time again.  She told them they could each be the chef for one of our bi-weekly family dinners.  Wyatt went first.  He choose (to no surprise) chicken fingers & roasted potatoes.  They did each step by hand, and as you can see, Wyatt was very proud of his work.

Figuring out the world

Wyatt & Drake are tackling the bigger questions of life lately....

Wyatt:  Kenna & Alex have fallen in love. (next door neighbor)
Drake:  How does that happen??!!
Silence

Another Day~
Wyatt:  Nobody can count to infinity…NOBODY, not even God!
Drake:  Jesus can!! Jesus can!!
Wyatt:  You're right.  Jesus can.

The Walk (aka RUN) to School

Our third day walking Wyatt to school, and though I bring the stroller, they all run, really fast, most of the way.  They know each "stopping point" where they have to stop, wait for me to catch up, then take off again down the sidewalk.  Kenna tries her hardest to keep up with them, but is in the dust.  The boys were so sweet, as she came running up and they had been stopped a while, Wyatt said, "Kenna, you just beat all those guys behind you!!"  So, the rest of the walk, the boys kept saying that to her.  They are imagining "guys" so Kenna can "win" somebody.

First Day....AWESOME!

Wyatt was thrilled to go to kindergarten this morning.  It was a tough good-bye for Jon and I, but Wyatt did not know that.  Mrs. Iles turned to the lingering parents and whispered, "If you are going to cry, it is time to leave!"  And we did.  He's such a big boy now!  We kept very busy during Wyatt's first day of kindergarten.  Drake, Kenna & I went to the Science Ctr, library, out to lunch with Nonnie, grocery store, then it was almost time to pick him up.  He ran out of the classroom saying, "It was AWESOME!"  I was so relieved to hear that, but I had a feeling he would love it.

Drake's hilarious quote of the day, nothing to do with kindergarten, was to do with toothbrushes.  We bought new ones at the store.  Right when we got home, he ran upstairs to brush his teeth & put it in its proper place.  He brought me his old one, "Mom, I want to sell this at the garage sale."  So precious.  Just a little entrepreneur.

Kindergarten

Tomorrow is the big day for Wyatt.  Off to Kindergarten. Tonight at bedtime, we all gave him "advice" for his first day.
Mom ~ Be a good friend to everyone.  Use good manners.
Drake ~ Be nice to all the friends.
Kenna ~ I love you.

Wyatt asked if I remembered that Mrs. Iles gave me a red puff ball at open house last night to hold onto if I missed him.  I told him I remember.  He said he will miss us too.
I have thought this whole summer that this transition would not be too difficult because Wyatt has been so eager & excited, but it is really hard...as the last couple days he has talked more about missing us.  Hopefully, I am getting all my tears out now, because I do not want him to see me sad tomorrow, as I know that will worry him.  I know he will love it, and in a week or so, we will all be adjusted to him being gone 7 hours each day.  But wow, what a milestone, a transition, huge emotional roller coaster.  Of course, we all know when we have a child, that someday they will go off to kindergarten, so why does this sadness feel so sudden, so suffocating, and uncontrollable?  I know I will take comfort in Wyatt's positive, eager attitude once he wakes up tomorrow, ready for this big day he has been planning for so long.  My little guy, off to school, what a slice of life, and a moment I'll always remember.

Their Own Houses

The kids talk about, all the time, their own houses when they grow up; what color they will be, what pets they will have, that there will be lots of candy there, etc.  Pets are a huge focus at our house and they have planned many times, how pets will fit into their lives in the years to come.  Here is a recent conversation between the kids;

Wyatt ~ I will have my own house and have baby Harleys (aka yellow labs).

Drake ~ I will have baby kitties, and I will have a box thing that I can put them in and bring them to Wyatt's house and spend the night.

Kenna ~ ME TOO!!!!

Drumming at the Fair with Greenbrier

After a great Sheltered Reality concert at the Iowa State Fair, Wyatt had not had enough drumming.  When we stepped into Diamond Jacks, to cool off for a minute, Wyatt ended up on stage with Greenbrier, and their drummer, Derald "Animal" Bell, politely let Wyatt guest drum for a song, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself."  The crowd went wild and asked for an encore!  It was a great time for all.  Wyatt was so excited to get a Greenbrier tee-shirt, CD & drumsticks, all autograped!  Check out the link to see his performance on youtube.
Wyatt drumming with Greenbrier

Trip to Illinois & Wisconsin

We spent time in Chicago visiting lots of family & friends; Aunt Nancy & Uncle Jay, Costellos, Chans & Knights.  From there, we went on a Ledinsky family trip to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.  The kids had a blast on the beach, bumper boats, skiing, tubing & a trip to the racetrack was a favorite.  As we were leaving the racetrack, Wyatt saw one of the drivers sitting in the stands with his family.  He stopped me and asked if he could give the driver some money because he did such a good job. I started to say we needed to get going, but Wyatt persisted.  I think he thought this was necessary because of our experiences watching live, local music, he is always sure to fill the tip jar a few times.   He was so persistent, and his heart was really in it, so I dug out a couple dollars & Wyatt raced up the stands to give it to the driver.  He, of course, refused to take Wyatt's money, but as I told the driver it was really important to Wyatt, he took it.  Wyatt was so proud to get his picture taken with this great race car driver.

Wyatt's 6th Birthday

Wyatt had a fabulous 6th birthday party in our backyard; complete with sack races, recycled artwork, build-your-own sundaes & the annual water balloon fight.  Lisa Anderson stepped in as our talented face painter.  A wonderful time was had by all! On his actual birthday, mom & dad surprised him with 4 tickets to Adventureland Amusement Park.  He was ecstatic.  Jon, cousin Jack, Wyatt & Drake had a great time, complete with many rides on the upside-down roller coaster.

Baby Isaac ~ Born 7/19/10

Wyatt, Drake & Kenna were very excited to welcome a new cousin to the mix, Isaac, son of Joe & Leslie.  They cannot keep their hands off him!  Wyatt and Drake actually felt a little bad for Kenna that she still doesn't have a "girl cousin" but we still have hope in Jon & Jess's other siblings' future children!  Kenna does not seem to mind, she just loves having a baby around!

3-4-5........Go!

1, 2, 3

There are about 2 weeks per year (b/w 7/12-7/28) that the kids' ages are consecutive; between Wyatt & Kenna's birthdays.  The past couple years, I have taken a picture of them during this time.  Here are their pics at; 1, 2, 3 ('08);  2, 3, 4 ('09); and 3, 4, 5 ('10).

2, 3, 4

3, 4, 5

Kenna's 3rd Birthday

Kenna celebrated her birthday with a small party at home with a few friends & was elated with princess cupcakes & gifts associated with Care Bears.  We also celebrated with Nana & Papa  and again on our trip to the Kramers in Arkansas.

Grandma Marjorie

Grandma Marjorie passed away on July 4th, 2010.  Though we knew this was coming, as she has had an aggressive cancer since last year, it still took a toll.  This was the first time the kids had dealt with death of a loved one, and they kept it interesting with laughs, heart-felt emotion, and sincere questions.  We came home from vacation a day early for the funeral & visitation.  As I ran around the house, once we arrived home after 9 days, trying to get the essentials taken care of before I ran off to Grandma's house to work on funeral preparations, Wyatt chased me around with a pad of paper and pen.
"Mom!  I want to write to Grandma Marjorie!" 
I sat down, and wrote frantically, as the words spilled out of him.  I wish I could say it was my idea to write this, but it was all his.  After he was done, I asked Kenna & Drake if they had something to say.  The rest is history, as they say.  I brought these 3 letters to my Grandma's house that night, just for the reason to share with the people there (Aunt Linda, Marla & Jackie).  I was planning to either glue them on one of the picture boards we were creating or place them in her casket the next day.  Everyone was insistent that I bring them the next day and have the Minister read them at the funeral.  However, the next day, it was decided by many, that it would be better if I read them myself.  I thought I would be able to do it, and went to the pulpit.  I could not form any words, therefore, Marla took over.  She did a great job; reading these thoughts from the little tots.

Grandma Marjorie,

I hope you have a good time.  I wish you were still alive, but you had to die.  Sometime God will give you a new body and you will have good times.  It's going to be fun with God.  You will have a good time; great days.  Everything will be fine.  You'll have a rockin' out roll.  You'll have so much fun, you might want to stay there forever; and you will.  You'll love it.  I've read a book of it.  It will be so much fun.  It's going to be rock and roll.  Everyone who knows you, loves you.  It's so wonderful to have you with God.

Love, Wyatt.

Grandma Marjorie,

I love you.  I hope you feel better.  Goodbye.  And I really miss you.

Love, Drake

Grandma Marjorie,

I love you.  I like to play at your house.  I love you in the morning.

Love, Kenna

This picture is great for this post, as we loved to ride our bike(s) to Grandma's house this spring & summer.  The kids brought her so much joy over the past months; we will miss her!

VBS @ Westminster

We just finished a week of Vacation Bible School at Westminster Presbyterian.  The kids had a great time, and in Wyatt's words, "Mom, I want to sign up for 100 days of Bible School!" Jess was a teacher in Drake's classroom.  They were a great group of kids, and she really enjoyed it.  Jess got to see first-hand, instead of having to believe his preschool teachers, that Drake really is a great student in preschool.  He seems to put away most of his crazy, dangerous stunts, wild behavior we see at home and be a model student. 
For the song performance, Drake & Kenna were asked to move to the front row, by the music director, because they were so animated with the choreography and knew the words to all the songs.  Click on our family videos to see their adorable performance.  Drake really broke out as our family singer.  What a sweetie!

GG & Grandpa's 25th Anniversary

We celebrated Marla & Mike's 25th Wedding Anniversary with our family by taking a small bus to Summerset Winery to listen to music & relax.  The kids loved riding the bus, and were quick to tell Jon that they would really like to buy a bus.  As you can see from the pic, Kenna couldn't quite make it all the way home and dozed off, while Riley got his money's worth of soda.
We also spent time at GG & Grandpa's house doing their usual favorites; moped rides, tractor rides, drumming with Uncle Jake, and spending time with Bri, Jake's girlfriend.  Luckily, she was able to join us for the party.  The kids were glued to her side!

First Race for Four

Wyatt has been begging us to run a "real race."  We didn't realize he had his own bucket list, and really needs to check this off right now.  Jon has never run a 5k or a race whatsoever.  We talked him into it (not too hard, he runs all the time) just so the kids could sign up for the kiddie race.  They each had very different reactions after their individual age group's race.
Kenna:  She ran about 10 feet towards the finish line, then backtracked, found mom, and insisted mom run the race with her.
Drake: Came in second place in the 4's.  After said, "I really don't like running, because it's just running and nothing else."
Wyatt:  He practiced, was nervous and talked about the race for many days preceding.  He was in first place for most of the race, then got feet tangled with someone and tripped.  However, most importantly, he got immediately up and finished the race.  Right after, he asked, "Can I run a race tomorrow?"

Nonnie's Cabin (and Sheriff)

On our way back from Kansas City, we stopped in Keosauqua, Iowa, at Nonnie's cabin.  The kids absolutely love life here.  They spend their time riding golf carts around the neighborhood, tractor rides, fishing, and swinging on the tire swing.   We found a great beach at a nearby lake.  The kids totally surprised us with their desire and patience for fishing.  They are "hooked!"

When we returned home after 4 days, the kids were elated to see their pets, Harley & Peanut.  Their love & time spent with their pets grows every day now, and they really worry about them when we are gone, excitedly hug & kiss them constantly, and even tell them both how much they love them everyday.

Jiggle Jam in Kansas City

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Kansas City at Jiggle Jam with the Kramer family.  This was our second year going, and we had an absolutely fabulous time.  Jiggle Jam is basically, kiddie lollapalooza.  An extra special bonus, is we got to meet little, sweet Mary Jo Kramer for the first time (born 4/2).  Between Wyatt, Drake, Kenna & Jess, little MJ was only put down when she slept.  Kenna would run down the hall at the hotel to follow the other kids to go swimming, then run all the way back because she forgot to kiss MJ & tell her goodbye. 

One workshop at Jiggle Jam was called "Garage Band."  The idea was that kids could go in and jam with the adults running the workshop and try out different insturments.  Wyatt was shy at first, and Drake actually was the first to drum to a couple songs.  After a while, Wyatt got up the courage to go play drums with the adults.  Then, he was hooked!  We couldn't get him out of there, and the people running it kept asking him back.  They even gave our whole family free tickets to the second day of JJam because they wanted Wyatt to come back and drum.  Jiggle Jam posted a video of Wyatt on their Facebook page, and he got quite a bit of buzz.  You can see a video here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHwzeHMbWCQ
More family videos (including Wyatt's drumming) is on our youtube site.  Click on the link on the right side of this page.

Last Days of Preschool

Wyatt officially graduated from Westminster Preschool.  He had his end of the year picnic at Ashby Park.  Kenna & Drake had ice-cream parties to celebrate.  A few tears were shed, mostly from mom, but Wyatt is so elated to be considered a "kindergartner" now.

If you click to the right of this page, and go to our videos, you can see a clip of Kenna singing her favorite song, Tutti Tot.  Here are two pics to compare how the kids looked their first day of school to their last day.

Nana & Papa Visit

The kids had not seen Nana & Papa Ledinsky since February, so they were super excited for their visit.  We spent one day at Ledges State Park and had a picnic.  The kids loved the water and climbing all over the place.  The next day, Nana & Papa got to see Wyatt's soccer game & Drake's hockey practice.  We ended the day with a Justin Roberts concert.

Hike at Walnut Woods

Summer is here!  We took a family hike at Walnut Woods.  Its a good thing no one in our family is too afraid of bugs, frogs or the like.  The kids are obsessed with these things, and we have several jars of random organisms at all times.

More Pink

Oh, Kenna Rae.  Thats all we can say when things like this come out of her cute little mouth...

Jess:  It is such a beautiful day today! (said on a perfect, blue sky day)
Kenna:  (in a very deliberate, grouchy voice)  It-Is-NOT-beautiful.........because-it-is-NOT-PINK!!

Hockey Player

Drake is playing hockey for the months of April & May.  This past winter, we put ice skates on him and he literally "took off" right away.  He begged every day this winter to go skating, and therefore, has loved hockey.  He has also enjoyed having Jon helping out and being out on the ice as well.  Drake is so stinkin' cute skating around with all that equipment on! Its a hard workout for the little guy!

Retro Easter

Every year, Jess's mom & stepdad plan an extravagent Easter celebration.  Each year brings a new challenge for the siblings. Recent endeavors include; Top Chef, Supermarket Sweep, Survivor, Amazing Race...you get the idea.  This year, we were all to dress from the year we were born.  The day was filled with 60's/70's/80's food, drinks, games, music, and trivia.   A great time was had by all, and though Connie & Phil would not pick a winner, we all think Jon's costume takes the cake.

Before & After

Kenna loves pink...now that is an understatement.  She doesn't go 10 minutes, anymore, without pink being in her conversation.  She picked out a ball at Target and told everyone, "This is my ball named Pink."  Don't be fooled, its not a pink ball; its a ball named Pink.

She is now riding a big girl bike, and after assessing her brothers' green & orange bikes they no longer use, she was quick to tell us she needs a pink bike.  Always the re-user & recycler, I couldn't see buying a new bike, so instead, bought a can of spraypaint & thanks to a very handy husband.........whaa laa!!

Girls Shopping Trip!

Kenna, Marla & I took Grandma Marjorie shopping today.  She was so estatic to buy a new pair of shoes & watch at JC Penneys.  Kenna had a lot of work to do...applying Grandma's chapstick and pushing her wheelchair.  We are so happy that Grandma feels good enough to do some shopping with us!

Grandma Judy & Waterslides

We spent Saturday & Sunday at Wasserbahn Waterpark in Little Amana.  We met Grandma Judy there and many cousins and other family members.  The kids had a blast, and the older cousins were a great relief for us moms & dads, as the kids loved letting them "take care of them."  There was lots of fun in the water, miniature golf & running at the hotel playground.

Just Like Daddy

Drake is taking an interest in "dressing up" for all occasions. With his shorts & tee-shirts, he routinely goes upstairs, puts on knee-high dress socks and his shiny, black dress shoes. He will do this multiple times a day, even going all-out and wearing a tie to play outside sometimes. He is so obsessed with being just like daddy. He has told us, he wants to wear his button-down shirt with a tie & go to "daddy's office."  Jon has promised Drake that next time Papa (Jim) comes to visit, they will dress up and go to a "business lunch."  As many of us know, that is right up Papa's alley!

Omaha Zoo

The kids had a day off preschool today, so the Anderson & Ledinsky moms & kids took a day trip to the Omaha Zoo.  It is an unbelievable zoo, with so many more animals than our kids are used to seeing.  The gorillas & the elephants were big hits.

Easter!

Whew!  Easter was a fantastic whirlwind!  We had egg hunts in Windsor Heights, GG & Grandpa's & our backyard.  I cannot believe we managed a nice Easter breakfast with Nonnie & Sheriff, an egg hunt, family pics, and still made it to church by 9:30am.  That is quite a feat for this household.  We ended Easter with a celebration at GG & Grandpa's.  Though the kids love the Easter festivities...perhaps the most fun of the day were the moped rides.