Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer visit withGa and Grandpa Garry



Ga invited Connor over for a few days this summer and Connor stayed in Odessa with Grandpa and Grandma from Wednesday to Saturday. They were really busy having lots of fun. They went to Burr Oaks, swimming, McDonald's, made rice krispy treats, did some gardening, and went to visit Renie and Buddy. Drew, Amanda, Abby and Allison came over one day to visit and Amanda and Ryan came over a few nights to play with Connor. Connor had a great time visiting.













Abby brought some goggles for Connor and Connor loved being able to see underwater.





Friday, June 24, 2011

Paige's ear infections and playing in the sink


Paige had a fever on Wednesday, so we took her to the doctor and found out that she's got infections in both ears. They have really been bothering her and she's been pretty whiny, especially at nights. She usually does best if you carry her around outside or give her a bath. She's had a bath for the last couple nights, so in an effort to save a little water and just because it was cute, we decided to let her play in the sink last night.

She thought it was pretty fun, and since it was a nice small space we were able to make it quite a bit deeper for her.


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Seven year anniversary!

Our seven year wedding anniversary fell on the same day as Kim's wedding. It was neat to be at a wedding on our anniversary and it really made us appreciate how much we've done in the last seven years, how much we've grown, and how far we've come. We are more in love than ever and are looking forwards to many more happy years to come.

Kim and Jeremy's wedding in Elgin!


On June 18th, 2011 we went to the Elgin Country Club for Kim (Shawn's cousin) and Jeremy's big day. The wedding was out on the golf course and we were lucky to have great weather for it. The sun was mostly behind clouds and it wasn't too hot for those in their suits. We all watched the wedding party and bride arrive, then Daddy had to take Paige away from the area to prevent her from chattering and squealing throughout the ceremony.

The wedding was beautiful and was successful! Kim and Jeremy got married and then we got ready to go inside for the party. We got a few nice pictures of the family before going in.





Inside, we had yummy drinks from the full bar and the kids had fun running around the area. Paige made a lot of friends, stomping around the dance floor and talking to anyone who dared make eye contact with her. Mommy got a couple quick pictures with her guys.



Dinner and dancing progressed and Connor managed to meet up with his buddy Niko. Along with Paige, they were the only kids at the wedding. Connor was happy to take a quick pic with his new friend.


We rooted for Laura during the bouquet toss and Alex during the garter toss.


No luck for the Vernons... :(


After the cake was cut, we ate dessert and although Paige thought she wanted more food, she was apparently over stuffed. She barfed all over her pretty dress. We tried to wash her off in the bathroom sinks, and although she looked cleaned off, she still smelled a bit yucky and we gave in and changed her in to her backup outfit. It didn't much matter though, after a little longer she fell asleep.


Connor was as confused and confusing as he was at Lindsey's wedding. He seemed like he wanted to go dance, but once out on the dance floor he got pouty and wanted only to be held. Eventually he got tired and fell asleep on some chairs.

While the kids were passed out and the Grandparents had them under control, we took some silly pics in the photo booth.



We didn't get a picture with both Jeremy and Kim, but Andrea and I got a quick picture of Kim before the night was done.


It was a beautiful wedding and we loved seeing all the family together!

Pre-Wedding fun

On Friday, we went over to Great Grandpa and Grandma's house for a quick visit and lunch. We went to Uno's for lunch and had some delicious food that we've been missing since the Uno's near our house closed.



Connor and Paige had fun playing with the Greats, and we got this nice picture of them together.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel so Daddy could work, Paige could nap and Connor could swim for a little while. Later that afternoon, we went over to Sharon's house for a BBQ.

Sharon had a tent set up and a great space to play. Connor played soccer, baseball (with a tennis racket), and tag with Grandma Alice. He also made friends with Niko, the ringbearer and the nephew of Jeremy (the groom).





Paige had fun visiting with everyone. She wanted to run and play too, but there was a bit of a hill and she had trouble running around much. She was happy to be held quite a bit.




We didn't stay too long since the kids don't sleep in much, and since we had a big day the next day. On Saturday, we got up around the time we usually do and then went to Burnt Toast for breakfast. Connor got a huge Mickey pancake and ate an unbelievable portion for such a little guy.

We got a few pictures since they were in such good moods.



After breakfast we went to the mall to get Connor some different shoes. We'd intended for him to wear some sandals with the strap that goes between the toes, but Connor had been unable to deal with that strap. He freaked out and shrieked the entire time he wore them. We wandered the mall for a couple hours but struck out on finding any shoes that would work.

After the mall, we went back to the hotel so Daddy and Connor could swim while the girls napped. A couple hours before the wedding was due to start, we started getting dressed and Daddy had a horrible realization. Without paying much attention, I'd grabbed a white shirt from the closet and a couple ties. I hadn't realized that the shirt was a full 2 sizes too large. It was a shirt I'd purchased when I'd weighed about 25 pounds more than I do now and it was absolutely enormous on me. From our visit to the mall, we remembered there was a Men's Warehouse right inside the entrance and we drove there for an emergency stop. Thankfully they had a few shirts there and were willing to iron them on short notice. Once the shirt was on Daddy, we drove to the wedding and made it with just a few minutes to spare!

Chicago - The long drive

After work on Thursday, we made the epic journey from KC to Elgin. We'd considered doing the drive in pieces, with part on Thursday and the rest on Friday. Once we really thought about it, we decided to try and do it all in one go. It would be nice to get there and unpack once rather than unpack on Thursday, then re-pack on Friday for the last part of the drive and then unpack when we got to Elgin.

It was a about 8 hours of travel including the stops. That's not much fun for adults, and it is really asking a lot of two young kids. Considering everything, they did an awesome job. There were some times it was hard to keep them occupied, but these days with DVD's, iPads, iPhones, as well as traditional things like books and toys, it's a lot easier.

Paige faced backwards, right in front of Connor and they actually interacted quite a bit throughout the drive.

Connor was in the very back and was able to see out quite well. He seemed to like his new spot. We freed up his regular spot so Mommy or Daddy could sit next to Paige and interact with both kids.


A quick video showing our layout.



Paige slept some, but not nearly as much as she should have. These seats don't offer the best sleeping positions.


When we got to the hotel, we were all pooped. We set Paige up in her pack and play and Connor crashed on the chair in his sleeping bag. They both fared well in their temporary beds throughout the weekend.

Knights, Castles and Dragons! Oh my!



Connor's last week's theme was Medieval times and they did all kinds of activities with kings, castles, princesses, dragons, etc. He came home with a suit of armor he'd made as well as a little castle and a dragon.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Paige eating with a spoon!



Paige gets very impatient when she's eating lately. She doesn't like to wait for Mommy and Daddy to feed Connor and gets fussy if she's not getting food constantly. Last night we decided to do some "hand over hand" with Paige to see if she'd like to try the spoon. She did remarkably well and this morning I decided to let her try it by herself. The video below is the first time she ever had a spoon and food by herself. I started filming the moment I pushed the bowl of applesauce up to her.

Liberty park with the kids



While Mommy was out for a long run yesterday we went to a different park to have some play time while it was beautiful out. Paige and Connor both had a bunch of fun and Connor can't wait to go back.

Paige had a great time on the little slide.




Connor liked the big slide.