Summer '14 Happenings

June, July and August have made their short appearances and moved on. Although I feel that I've spent a lot of time on the couch since March, we have also been pretty busy. My recovery from surgery has been successful. I am feeling stronger, yet less flexible and still a little sore. Each week is an improvement from the last. I should be able to start PT soon (more than just in the pool) so that should help. June: I turned 26, Lane played in Hoopfest again. 

July: We went up to Curt and Laurel's lake house for 4th of July weekend in Lake Roosevelt; which was fun being with family out in the sun after being cooped up in the house for a few months. 

August: There's a salmon ladder at one of the dams in Wenatchee that I still hadn't visited in the 5 years we've lived here, and Erin used to work there so we took a little tour of it one day. We got Kobe a little pool and red-necked it out in our front yard a few times, went to the Cashmere pool a few times, went to watch Daddy and our friends play softball throughout the season. I wasn't able to be on the team this year because of my back, but I was the "Team Mom" and Kobe was the mascot for our team, the Kobras. It was fun while it lasted! So, we got our sun in a little bit this summer.

Kobe got sick for a few days and just wanted to snuggle naked.

My baby brother, Devin got married a couple weeks ago so Kobe and I took a week off of our lives to go down there. It was nice because my parents are living down there now so we got to see everyone in one trip, minus Trevor--whom is still living in N.Cali and wasn't able to get down there. **Hopefully we can get the whole family together over Thanksgiving +Britt and Mike's new baby boy!!** It was a fun trip. Great family time, wedding celebration, beach time, and of course plenty of yummy eating. 

Kobe did great flying once I gave him his cars to line up over and over. He's obsessed...like literally, I think. OCD. He will line up his cars, straighten them out, rearrange, and repeat. If you interrupt him, he gets upset. It's cute though and I love watching his concentration face. I know it's mostly a boy's nature, but he's a little on the particular side.

 

 Cute cousins playing with cars together. Last time they were together they just stole from each other and did their own things. This time they copied each other, giggled, played, and stole from each other...but also shared more, haha. 

 We had a nice lunch at an expensive restaurant on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills after the wedding ceremony. 

The boys had their reception in a facility at their apartment complex. Matt made some delicious lasagna, and it was a nice evening celebrating with family and some of their friends. The kiddos found the most entertainment in the push carts that we used to transport things into the room. Who needs toys?

 Beautiful cake!

 I love Reagan so much! She has the biggest smile on her face and is just the cutest thing! 

 Congratulations Devin and Matt!

 Kobe can play with cars and trucks all day. Luckily at Oma & Epop's house, he has all of the cars and trucks his uncles used to play with, and a big yard to do it in!

 

 The toddlers wouldn't cooperate for a picture, but this picture makes me happy because where my parents are living now is Mimi and Poppi's old house, where I grew up visiting. We have many pictures and memories on these steps! 

 These babies love their Epop! They get jealous if he is playing with the other one more. 

 

 This kid has quite the personality already. He makes silly faces and is always doing things to make people (and himself) laugh.

 He had his first trip to Chuck-E-Cheese. He liked the pizza and his juice from his new cup, and he liked getting on 25cent rides (until we popped the tokens in and they started moving), and he liked running around place, trying to join in on the games other kids were playing. 

 

 We had a bonfire one night with some of my Mom's side of the family. This is in my top 5 favorite things to do. It was so fun and relaxing, and of course at the beach.We roasted dogs and s'mores. 

 

Wiener mobile!

 And the rest are just random pictures from my phone. We are starting to introduce Kobers to the potty. I haven't committed to fully training him yet, but we also just got it and now he knows the correlation between the word and the object.

 

 One morning we got him out of his bed and he had somehow, while sleeping, got his arm out of his pjs, pulled his legs out and put them back in, twisted. 

 This is one of their favorite things to to at Gran's house now...ride on Popo's walker. Gran loves pushing them around!

Figured out the doggy door. 

He wanted to play on the field so bad.

I don't know how he learned to do this, but he figured out how to pick blueberries and eat them. Just so cute.

 

 One of his hour-long blocks of lining up his toys

My little climber who is all too helpful with the household chores now

Softball

Concentrating on those cars

Being so helpful again

Being silly with Mommy

Kobe loves chicken nuggets-- and I guess dipping them in sand at the beach!

Kobe just chillin' next to Epop

Some of my good friends: Jacqueline, Laurel and Ranzy

More softball. Go Kobras!

Loves/Activities:

Cars

Books

The garbage truck

Juice

Throwing things

Balls

Going outside

Rearranging furniture

Dancing

Dogs

Climbing

Being chased (if you're crawling and he's running)

Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Thomas the Train, Chuggington

Snuggling

Sharing his snacks

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Food:

We have a picky and small eater on our hands. He eats best when he's running around and coming up to you for bites. These are what he likes:

Chicken nuggets

Pasta

Sausage

Pizza

Fruit

Cheese

Crackers

Cereal

Yogurt

PBJ sandwiches

Chips

Potatoes

French fries

Ketchup 

Ice cream

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So Kobe keeps adding words to his vocabulary but uses about ten of them on a regular basis

Words:

*words he uses every day

*Car

*Kah kah = Motorcycle/ truck/ cracker

*Bah = ball

*Ba ba

*No

*Dada

*Mama

*Bye Bye

*Uh-oh

*Shss = shoes

*Ch-ch = choo choo (with a crinkled nose)

*Jss = juice

*Mmmm

*Lah-lo or Ah-ler = water

Pez = please

Baby

Hi

Pee yew

Nanana-Banana

Ella, Nana, Papa, Oma, Pop (Epop), Kah-co (Paco)

nuk nuk = knock knock

Muh = more

Go

Bem bem = bum bum

Peppy = puppy

Teh-tu = thank you

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Like I said, this kid definitely has developed a personality. He doesn't usually smile for pictures but when he's not serious, curious and observing like his mom, he is a goofball like his dad and loves to giggle and make others laugh. I think he's pretty smart so far. He figures things out pretty quickly. He is VERY cautious and a bit of a scaredy-cat. He loves seeing water but he screams if you put him in it. He likes splashing at his own pace and distance. He loves dogs but if they initiate the confrontation he freaks out. He loves anything with wheels, but as soon as he realizes it has a working motor and is not a car where he's safely in his car seat, he holds onto you for dear life. He has started throwing some major tantrums; which I'm not a fan of. He does the whole shebang: throws his body back, slaps his head, smacks his head against things, hits, throws things, kicks, bites, screams. He just learned this week that it's wrong to throw cars at his mom (still learning), and is learning not to hit. But among all the tantrums, I love his silliness and cherish every second he snuggles. That's about it for now!

Recovery Months

Lane turned 30 last year and I failed to do something exciting like I wanted to because it was right after I had Kobe and I was having back issues, so I was a little preoccupied. I was determined to make up for it this year but then I decided to have surgery for his birthday instead. I'm such a good wife. So 31 was pretty low key for Lane. I got him a small gun safe and printed off a picture of a Glock and instructions on how to get his license/carrying permit. It was basically my stamp of approval for him to buy a gun. He didn't waste any time and ended up buying a pistol and a shotgun! ~ I would have been a little upset about the two guns, however, the cost of the two ended up being what I had found for just one. Fair enough. ~ He also got a new golf caddy, bag, and shoes, so he's all set for all the golf tournaments this summer! And he played three days in a row when I went to California. 

Erin and Russell sold their home in Vegas and moved up here, so now we have the whole Larson gang here! It's fun having all the little cousins together to play, plus their beautiful new addition, Ada! We love that little bug. Rex has become every one's little buddy. He's adjusting to being the "older" kid, being around Tate and Kobe, but those boys love him. He's become my buddy too because for some reason he wanted to play with my right off the bat. I love it because I haven't been able to pick up Kobe and so he hasn't wanted to come sit on my lap or play with me as much. Rex made up for it a little bit.

Kobe copies everything Rex does, like these yoga moves. Rex copies everything Tobie or Faith do. It's pretty stinkin' cute.

Kobe got to play with Heather's niece and nephew for a day. He sure likes being around other kids (mostly just observing).

I had my first checkup after surgery and they said everything was healing well and looking good. It's been a rough recovery for me. The surgeon told me that the first three or so weeks after this surgery would be hard and that I would wish I didn't get the surgery. He was absolutely right. It was painful beyond measure, but mostly depressing. I had such a hard time emotionally because I couldn't pick up Kobe, he would get frustrated with me because I wouldn't pick him up or get on the floor and play with him, I constantly had to have someone around to help; which I'm completely grateful for those who did. I just felt like I lost every ounce of independence, and I was tired of being medicated, and coming off of medications was difficult and I felt like crap pretty consistently. As you could imagine (if you weren't around to witness it firsthand), I was always in a bad mood. I knew it was short term and that in the long run this would be best, but I had a hard time focusing on that positive aspect. So I am now expressing my gratitude for the service that has been given to me by wonderful friends and family. Lane has been amazing. He never showed any signs of being impatient or frustrated with me when he had every reason to. He did everything for me to make me as comfortable as possible. 

My dear friend, Laurel also has been incredible. Very last minute, she arranged her schedule to fly with me and Kobe to California so that I could attend my sister's sealing. I even had a bad cold when we left and she sat right next to me on the plane, consuming my germs and spent her time down there being sick as well. She sacrificed time and money and has shown an immense amount of patience towards me and I am eternally grateful for her friendship. Because of her, my family was able to see my little mister, and I was able to go through the temple with my sister and be a part of her beautiful family's sealing ceremony. They were sealed on May 31st, the date Lane and I got married. Although Lane wasn't with me, it was the perfect way to remember our special day 6 years ago. It brought back so many wonderful memories and reminders of going through the temple with my sweet husband. 

What better way to recover from a surgery than to be at the beach?! I would love to just lay on the beach and nap every day of my life. 

It was so much fun watching these kiddos interact. Reagan has become such a beautiful, sweet little girl. Her smile is just so heartwarming. I wish that I lived closer to be a part of her growing up, and that Kobe could have his other cousins close. Yes, I said cousins. Britt's preggers again! YAYYY!!! She's due in November. I can't wait to find out what she's having!

Mimi wasn't able to make it out to the temple but we were able to meet her and Uncle Gary for lunch the next day. It's always fun catching up with her and seeing how happy she gets to see her great-grandbabies!

Reagan showing Kobe the ropes on eating dog food.

Everything was a competition with Reagan and Kobe. They are so funny to watch!

Family time

Now that Kobe is a year old, I guess I've stopped doing my monthly updates on him. So here's my update:

He just keeps getting cuter and I'm continually thinking that's not possible.

Words:

Dada

Mama

Ba/ba-ba = baba (bottle)

Bah = ball

Kah = car (his current favorite as he points to cars)

Kah-kah = cracker

Uh-oh

NO (his favorite)

Hi

Go

Hey

Muh/Nuh = more

Heh = here (when handing you something)

Pa = pop (popping bubbles)

Mmmm (when he finds something tasteful in his mouth)

Nana/nanana = banana (or Nana sometimes)

and a bunch of jibberish that cracks us up because his facial expressions show that he thinks we understand what he's saying

Loves/Activities:

Cars

Books

The garbage truck

Juice

Throwing things

Balls

Going outside

Rearranging furniture

Dancing

Dogs

Monkeys

Climbing

Being chased (if you're crawling and he's running)

Paw Patrol & Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Snuggling with Daddy

Anything with Daddy

Sharing his snacks

Nana (Vicki) retired from working at Lincoln Elementary School after about 17? years, so we stopped and surprised her with some goodies the other day. The kids thought it was fun to be showcased in the office lobby.

Kobe loves his chair that we got him in December. He climbs in it all day and sometimes sits in it for 15 minutes straight if his shows are on and he has his cup of cereal. 

Like I said, he loves his dad. Whenever Lane hints at leaving or even just going out of the room, Kobe (whom is already following him around) starts grabbing at Lane's shorts for him to pick him up and starts crying. As soon as Lane leaves the room, especially outside, Kobe starts bawling! It's officially the end of the world. I find it pretty humorous.  

Kobe always has a car in each hand (when he's not eating his snacks or carrying a sippy). He will remind you over and over of what he is holding. 

He sometimes loves on me :)

He loves playing with his basketball hoop and bin of balls. 

Kobe and Rex are buddies.

We have a picky eater on our hands. He spits a lot of food out of his mouth. I can't figure out what he is picky with though because he will spit something out of his mouth one day, and then if his cousin is eating it the next he will eat a lot of it. Sometimes he doesn't like something when he's sitting in his chair, but then if he sees us eating it when he's walking around and he takes a bite he'll like it. He's a weirdo. We still give him mostly baby food because he's so random. 

Foods he likes:

Bananas

Mac-n-cheese

Applesauce

Meatballs

PBJ sandwiches

Pizza

Yogurt

French fries

Anything chocolate

Mashed Potatoes

Ice cream

He got his second set of hives, but these ones were worse than the first time. We never figured out what they were from before and especially couldn't figure it out this time. The doctor just said that sometimes they just break out in hives. She didn't think it was a food allergy because it didn't happen right away. The hives went away though so that's that. 

My friend, Heather and I have been talking about going to Seattle to shop and eat for about a year now and we finally did it! There's not much in good ol' Wenatchee so it may not seem exciting to others to just have Panda Express and Jamba Juice but I crave it and it was delicious! It was such a fun day of driving, eating and shopping with my gal pal and little mister. We talked about how cool (or not cool) we were in high school and had some funny conversations getting stuck in traffic. 

Lane hurt his knee recently playing ball and golf and Hoopfest is this coming weekend, so hopefully he can have fun and not injure himself more! Here's to June flying by!