First week of Fall :)

This week has seemed super long, but the days are still going by fast. I'm not sure how that works, but I think it is because it has been a waiting game to see if it rains and we are able to go back to Missouri this weekend. Maybe part of it is the weather too. I have been waiting all week for it to cool off and I think the fall weather is finally here {for real this time}!

Kale had his 15 month checkup everything looks great. He weighed 26 pounds, 12 ounces {75th percentile} was 31 1/2 inches long {75th percentile} and I don't know his head measurement, but he is still in the 90th percentile. Dr. Batterman thought he looked great and it was an easy visit until the nurse came back in for his four shots :(. He did not do as well as he has done in the past, but as soon as the nurse left the room he was okay. He just wouldn't let me put him back down on the table. I think the only good thing about shots are how well Kale sleeps after getting them.

He slept in until almost 8:30 Tuesday morning. Then we headed to Mason City for a playdate with Bennett. The kids did great playing together and did a good job of wearing themselves out. We left a little after 11:30 so we could get home for lunch, but Kale fell asleep on the way home and didn't wake up until 1:30 so he had a late lunch anyway! I didn't take many pictures of the kids, but after we took a break inside they were riding in the wagon together and I tried to get a couple of them. They weren't too interested in posing for me though so this is the best I got. Kale & Bennett (she is about a month older than Kale)

We spent almost all morning outside

Yesterday morning we took cinnamon rolls to Jason's work and while I was finishing getting ready I must have said the words 'go' & 'daddy' in the same sentence. When I came back out to the kitchen this is what I found. Kale sitting by the door trying to get his shoes on. He thought he had one and was working on the second!

I'm ready Since we moved Kale to a new room I am slowly getting the last of his clothes & 'stuff' moved. I found these bibs I bought earlier this summer and tried them on to see if they would fit him this winter. I thought he looked cute so I took a couple of pictures. I think they may be a little long

Jason had an extra pair of binoculars so one of them is now Kale's. He tries to copy Jason with almost everything and is getting better with the binoculars. almost got 'em

Ready to go hunting {or looking anyway} with dad

MU vs San Diego State University

Harvest has started over here, but it isn't so crazy that Jason is having to go in for work on the weekends yet so we had another fun day of running this past Saturday. Mason City's Prairie Harvest Days was this weekend and the parade was Saturday morning. Jason & the CPS guys drove in the parade and Kale & I watched and gathered tons of candy. There weren't any other little kids in the area we were standing, but everyone threw at least a handful of candy at us so Kale ended up with a lot of candy!

He really liked picking up the twizzlers. I don't think because they were his favorite, but because they were the biggest. He would pick up a couple of pieces and then take them back to the stroller and throw them in it. Luckily, there were some other people around to help pick up the candy, but I guess Kale looked like he needed it because they all handed it over for him to add to his stash. We didn't go to the park for the fun & games after the parade this year we headed home for a quick lunch so we could head to Columbia!

We met the Belts & Yoders for an awesome "tailgate" at BWW before heading to campus for the game. It was another 6 o'clock game so we only stayed until halftime before heading home. For most of the second half I was glad we didn't stay because it sounded like the Tigers were stinking it up, but they came back for an exciting win! It was another late night, we drove part of the way in the rain, and we got to see the replay on ESPN so I'm still glad we left at halftime :)

Waiting for the parade to start

BIG surprise- I didn't get any pictures after he got out of the stroller

Kale & Cooper hanging out at BWW waiting for our food

walking to the stadium

a quick picture with mom

watching something on the megatron {it must have been pretty cool}

With harvest picking up we probably won't make it to any more games this year so we wanted to squeeze them in before it was too late. I am a little bummed, but I don't think we are going to make it to Homecoming on Oct 23rd, since it is only 9 days before my due date. I guess we shouldn't travel 3 1/2 hours that close to d-day :) I guess we are lucky {& thankful} the Tigers played at home early in the season!

MIZZOU vs McNeese State

Last weekend we headed back to Missouri Friday night so Jason could get some food plot work done Saturday morning before heading to Mizzou's home opener against McNeese State. We got a pizza for supper and stopped in Shelbina to eat it and there was a houseful of people! We were pretty excited to see not only Grandma & Grandpa Pollard, but Uncle Justin, Aunt Megan, Allison, Rhett, Aunt Beth & Uncle Tony. The South Shelby football game got delayed & then postponed because of the lightning so they were all at Ed & Lola's house. We ate & the kids played. I think it was after 11 when we left and Kale was asleep before we knew it.

The next morning we were outside watching Jason piddle around the farm and before we knew it we were late for our tailgate in Columbia! We made it to the game on time and stayed for the first half. It wasn't a real exciting game, but we had a good time. Kale did great sitting on the hill and had fun running at the tailgate at halftime before we headed home. The game started at 6 so even though we left at halftime it was still after midnight when we got home.

A late night for sure and we were all tired the next morning when we had nursery duty at church! I was hoping for an easy day downstairs {last time we only had one little girl & Kale}, but that didn't happen. We had 7 or 8 kids and they were full of spunk! Thank goodness the rest of our Sunday was a lazy day :)

Pollard Family at MU home opener 2010

Kale ready for the game!

he was pretty serious about the game at this point

and still serious

And completely asleep before we got off campus :)

A few Random pictures

We have been keeping pretty busy at our house the last few weeks and been running on the weekends! Kale is 15 months old today and just keeps growing! :) He still eats just about anything, still loves RFD-TV, has a love for Southern Gospel music {I actually have a show saved on the dvr for him} which cracks Jason & I up because he will clap & get up dance to it. He actually loves any kind of music, he will usually drop what he is doing to clap, dance along, or just watch what they are doing.

He eats about anything, but isn't real neat about it!

Kale had his first combine ride about 2 weeks ago when they harvested Jason's plot in Mason City. He loved it and I think he would have stayed in the field all day long if I would have let him! He got to walk through the corn stalks and loved kicking at everything, stirring up all kinds of dust too. Everytime they unloaded corn into the weigh wagon or onto the grain trucks he was in awe and didn't move as he watched everything.

Of course I had my camera, but it was in the car {and I'm not much into walking more than I have to right now} so I didn't get any pictures of Kale on the combine, but we took one of Jason working before we pulled out of the field to go home.

Kale is constantly finding random things to wear and falls in love with them for a few days before moving on to another "trend". One day when we were outside he found these safety glasses and brought them to me. I didn't think he would wear them, but put them on him anyway. He wore them the rest of the day and Jason got a good laugh when he got home. The next day they were still inside and he found them so began wearing them again and when I was going through some clothes I was trying out some stocking hats to see if they would fit him for this fall/winter. When I put this hat on him he ran away and left it on. Since he still had it on when I put him in his high chair for lunch I had to get a picture to show Jason what a nerd his son is :).

I think he is ready to go cut wood!

A big move happened this month too. Kale moved into his new bed in his new room. We decided his old room will just stay the baby room for this next one. The first night he woke up a couple of times during the night and the first couple of days were different for naps, but he is doing great being in a big bed and I can't believe how grown up he is. It is really nice that he can get in bed all by himself and I don't have to lift him in & out of the crib too! Our house is still a mess since this room was our office, and the closet was pretty much a catch-all for lots of "things" that I just don't know what to do with and still don't so they are just being shuffled around for now. I am hoping I hit the nesting phase soon so I can get it all cleaned out & rearranged!

Kale sleeping in his big kid bed- the sad thing is he has truly taken over my sheep blanket and it stays in his room now

Sheep Fest

Labor Day weekend is always busy with Sheep Fest activities and this year was no exception! Kale & I headed back Friday so we could help get sheep ready Friday night for the show on Saturday. Jason made it back that evening after his meeting and even got to help get sheep ready :). Saturday we spent all day in Bethel watching Leadline & Mutton Busting and of course the sheep show. Sunday we headed back to Sheep Fest to look around and for the sale and Monday we got to hang out in Shelbina before heading home for a little bit of downtime before the long weekend ended. We were all worn out for sure- Kale slept the entire way home which was awesome and not common for him anymore! I hardly took any pictures...I am telling myself that just shows how much fun we had {or how busy we were during the weekend}! The weather was great and we got to see a lot of our family while we were back and Jason even got some food plot stuff done- yay!

The first event of the weekend...PeeWee Leadline and the only pictures I took the whole weekend {with my camera anyway}!

Kale watching four of our favorite kiddos...

Allison with Alex

Andi with Heartbreaker TJ with Betty

Rhett with Alex

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ed & Great Grandma Cile!

Part of our trip back to Missouri this past weekend was a birthday celebration for Jason's dad & grandma. We had a great meal at his grandma's house and got to hang out with some of the Pollard family. As always we had a good time!

After dinner we took some pictures before cutting into the cake...

The cake almost ended up all over the table :) a picture of the two birthday kids

Grandma Cile with 3 of her children...Kathy left before the cake so she missed out on pictures

Ed with his three children...all smiling {a little at least}

Grandpa Ed, Jason, Kale, & Great Grandma Cile

Last week

Since State Fair we have been hanging out at home and even made a trip back to Missouri last weekend!

carrying a halter around...I think this is his all time favorite toy

what a ham Kale has taken over Jason's {not so clean} work hat checking out the 4-wheeler showing Uncle Justin how to drive

we even got to go visit "Aunt" Kayla and see her new furniture :)

State Fair 2010

This year we had a great time at the Missouri State Fair! We missed the market lamb show & wether dam show this year, but thank goodness that also meant we missed the hottest days of the fair! We got to Sedalia in time for the second half of the 4-H breeding stock show on Saturday and stayed through the Open Southdown Show on Wednesday! We spent the time getting sheep ready, taking naps {the boys anyway} at the camper, showing, and we even got to walk around the fairgrounds a little. One of the highlights was getting to see all our "sheep family" and camping with family. Kale also loved being outside almost all day everyday.

Hanging out at the camper coloring while waiting for our picture chillin' in the camper

show day

flock picture- thank goodness Mom & Kyle made it back for the show Pollard Family

Belt Family

"Eckler" grandkids

Finally home and unloading the truck

playing in the water

Family Vacation 2010

We took our first family vacation (but hopefully not our last) this past week to Chicago! We had a great time and I thought I took quite a few pictures, but realized when we got home I didn't have as many as I thought. I think we were too busy having fun :)

We drove up to Chicago on Wednesday {after a quick stop to buy a Garmin} and made our first stop at Shedd Aquarium. We parked at Soldier Field and made the {not so} short walk in the rain to the Aquarium. It was really cool with floor to ceiling aquariums and there is even a "downstairs" where the ceiling is glass and there are glass parts on the floor so you could see you are completely surrounded by water. After seeing {almost} all the exhibits we headed outside, where it had stopped raining, and walked along Lake Michigan before heading back to the parking garage. As we were leaving for our hotel we saw where there were police lined up and preparing to block a road. We wondered what was going on and heard later on the news President Obama was back in Chicago for his birthday and some other business....{maybe to support Blagojevich in his trial- haha :)} After we found our hotel, finally got parked {I thought we were just going to drive home after all the fun we had with this}, and settled into our room we decided to go find something to eat. We walked a few blocks to a little cafe and had a quick meal before heading back to our hotel for the night. When we got back to the hotel I stopped at the front desk and began looking through the brochures of different sites in the area when I noticed Jason was staring at the people in the little computer room {though it's not so uncommon for him to stare at people :)}. After I talked to the lady at the front desk about the zoo Jason was still staring at them. I thought it was because they were being loud, but he was staring because it was Mike Ditka....oh my bad. His restaurant was actually attached to our hotel and he must have needed the internet so he was in the lobby. CrAzY! I told Jason I would take his picture, but he didn't think I should {but it was okay for him to stare for 10 min :)}

Kale & Jason checking out some of the fish at the aquarium

Checking out all the boats on Lake Michigan

After a looong {but short} night of a little boy rooting around in bed with Jason & I we got up for the day. After a quick breakfast in bed we headed to the bus stop to catch the 151 to the Zoo. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the zoo and we all had a good time and took a few pictures :) After waiting forever on the bus we finally made it back to the hotel, just in time for both boys to take a nap! I think we succeeded in wearing Kale out at the zoo because we had to wake him up to go to supper. We walked to a neat pizza place just down the street. It was great and I would definitely recommend it! After pizza we headed to the John Hancock Observatory. It was pretty neat, but we didn't spend a ton of time up there because it was late and Kale was ready for bed. Before going to sleep we watched some tv and ate cookies in bed. He went right to sleep in his pack 'n play so Jason & I got to watch tv, I packed and we even got to sleep in the next morning until 8! Yay!!

Time for a family picture....as soon as Jason gets off the phone :)

One with just Dad & Kale

and finally all 3 of us

waiting for our pizza

Jason said his favorite part of the trip was eating here...and the 2nd best was the John Hancock Building

Obama's motorcade...yep, he was in the neighborhood again

Pollard Family in the John Hancock Building with Navy Pier in the background

Kale with Mrs. O'Leary's cow...the one that kicked over the lantern and started the Chicago Fire

Another view of the city

Jason & Kale washing the windows :)

As close as we got to Navy Pier

the best way to end the day....cookies in bed :)

Friday morning we finished packing and loaded the car. We decided to skip Navy Pier and just head home. We made it out of downtown {even though our Garmin was confused (turning in circles while we drove) and we lost satellite} and onto I-55 headed home! We made a couple more stops before we made it back to Greenview though. We stopped off at Bass Pro Shop in Bolingbrook to look around and eat lunch. They had a really good restaurant right in the store. Kale loved being able to look at the fish while {trying} to eat. Our final stop was along an exit ramp for a diaper change, but Kale sure had a good time dancing in the front seat while we gave him a break from the car seat. Kale did great with being cooped up in the stroller or carseat for so much of the the time, but was worn out when we got home. He went straight to bed for a nap, woke up for supper, had a bath and went back to bed for the night.

A happy baby after a good night's sleep!

breakfast in bed

Pollard Family Vacation 2010 - our last day

playing around

helping dad load everything

Kale fell asleep right before the exit for Bass Pro and was still asleep after a diaper change and being strapped in his stroller. He woke up to see the fish inside though and didn't go back to sleep until we got home!

hanging out at Bass Pro

taking a break from the drive

cool dude dancing

We have {thankfully} had a lazy Saturday- Jason went golfing all day and Kale & I stayed home & did laundry {sounds like a fair trade off right?!?} This next weekend we are headed to Missouri State Fair so we have most of the week to rest up and repack! I'm just wondering if we can wear the same clothes for the next 5 days so I can go ahead and pack and not have to do laundry before we leave for Sedalia :)