Monday, August 24, 2009
Look Mommy, It's a Mustache!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Eating Better, Losing Weight
Josh and I started the South Beach diet three weeks ago. The first two weeks, we could eat NO carbs or sugar. After two weeks, we added back in whole wheats and fruits in moderation. So far, I'm down about 11 pounds and Josh is down 8 or so (though probably more by now because our weigh in is tomorrow morning.) The plan is to stick with the low carb, low sugar, low fat diet until we get to our target weight and then add back in a few more carbs in moderation. It's a drastic change for us, but we're doing well. I hope to start walking on a regular basis, too, to help speed up the weight loss and to get healthier. We're starting a recipe blog to share some of our South Beach (and other) recipes as well as some of our hide-the-vegetable creations that we make for Jasper. I'm just setting it up, but will let you know when it's up and running. The address is www.kellemskitchen.blogspot.com
So Proud of My Husband!
Josh just got back his grade from his most recent class for his master's degree. Another A! So far he's got a 4.0. His professor actually e-mailed his final project to the director of the Health Sciences department and to the director of the distance learning program. Josh got an e-mail from the department director saying good job. The professor also said his final was one of the best he'd seen. I know Josh is smart and hardworking, but it's nice to see others recognize it!
Tour de LaPorte
Today was the Tour de LaPorte (a walk/run and bicycle race) sponsored by the LaPorte Hospital Foundation to raise money for Cancer care. My mom, her friend Carol Kunkle, Judy, Heidi and I walked as a team (Jasper was along for the stroller ride, too!) We walked the 3.3 mile walk in just over 57 minutes. I thought that was pretty good for pushing a stroller, Jasper walking for a few minutes, and stopping a couple of times to get Jasper snacks! It was a nice cool morning for the walk! After the walk, Josh helped coordinate a Mini Tour de LaPorte which was a race for 4-8 year olds. It was very cute and the kids seemed to love it. Maybe in a couple of years, Jasper will be out there. Jasper dressed for the occasion in his 'Lil Fish Club t-shirt (that's the school program that Josh runs.) After we got home, Josh, Jasper and I all took a nap! It was a nice day, but I just wish there was one more day to the weekend.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Could He Get Any Cuter?
Just when I thought he was as cute as he could possibly be...
This kid is just so sweet and funny and silly and smart!! (Can you tell I'm his mommy?)
Sweet: He says, "I love you more, Daddy!"
Funny: He took a pork rind out of the bag, took a bite and handed it to me and said, "Here, I crunched it up for you Mommy"
Silly: He's been pretending to be a baby and makes this shrill little whining sound and asks for a "baba"
Smart: We were at my parents house over the weekend and Grandma Lena called. My dad answered the phone and all we could hear him say was "Hi Mom." Immediately, Jasper said, "It's Grandma Lena!"
This kid is just so sweet and funny and silly and smart!! (Can you tell I'm his mommy?)
Sweet: He says, "I love you more, Daddy!"
Funny: He took a pork rind out of the bag, took a bite and handed it to me and said, "Here, I crunched it up for you Mommy"
Silly: He's been pretending to be a baby and makes this shrill little whining sound and asks for a "baba"
Smart: We were at my parents house over the weekend and Grandma Lena called. My dad answered the phone and all we could hear him say was "Hi Mom." Immediately, Jasper said, "It's Grandma Lena!"
Potty Training Take 2
Jasper was potty trained for about a month this winter until he decided he wanted to wear diapers and, in his words, "be a baby again." We didn't fight him and just took a several month break. Two weeks ago, we started up again with the same technique as last time. We 'threw away' all his pull ups and had a big boy breakfast picnic, and I followed him around for a couple of days and took him to the potty everytime he went. By the third day, he went potty all by himself! 
He's been getting treats, a prize from the potty treasure chest or a balloon as a reward, though now he doesn't expect a reward. We're still working on that #2, though! He's had all sorts of issues since he went back to pullups after the first go around. He's now getting 1-2 prunes a day, plus prune juice mixed with his other juice and a small dose of Miralax daily. We had success in the potty tonight and he seemed excited about it, so hopefully that is a good sign. We've been telling him for months that whenever he's ready to pee and poo in the big potty and keep his undies dry all the time, he can have a 'Big Boy Bouncy Party.' (He loves going to Bremen Bounce, which has several of the big blow up jumping things.) He has remembered that and even talked about it occassionally in the 'off season.' After he went tonight, I told him that after one more time in the potty, I thought we'd be ready to plan our party. He said, "I don't have to poop more, I just went, Mom!"
He's been getting treats, a prize from the potty treasure chest or a balloon as a reward, though now he doesn't expect a reward. We're still working on that #2, though! He's had all sorts of issues since he went back to pullups after the first go around. He's now getting 1-2 prunes a day, plus prune juice mixed with his other juice and a small dose of Miralax daily. We had success in the potty tonight and he seemed excited about it, so hopefully that is a good sign. We've been telling him for months that whenever he's ready to pee and poo in the big potty and keep his undies dry all the time, he can have a 'Big Boy Bouncy Party.' (He loves going to Bremen Bounce, which has several of the big blow up jumping things.) He has remembered that and even talked about it occassionally in the 'off season.' After he went tonight, I told him that after one more time in the potty, I thought we'd be ready to plan our party. He said, "I don't have to poop more, I just went, Mom!"
Monday, August 17, 2009
Jasper the Detective
I was able to bring home a box from work that looked a lot like a briefcase, so last 
week, Jasper and I filled it with detective tools. Jasper chose his Thomas the Train laptop, his 'doctor tools', colored pencils, his toy phone and the cardboard magnifying glass that I cut out to fill his briefcase. 
What he really wanted was his View Master, but we couldn't find it, so that became our first case - The Case of the Missing View Master. He put on one of my blazers and his cowboy hat over his pull up and away he went searching for clues. He soon shed his detective get up, but kept using his magnifying glass and found clues at the top of the stairs and on the door to the playroom (I think the 'clues' were 
just marks of crayon!) He did locate the view master and we called 'headquarters' with the play phone and then returned there (under the desk in the living room) to turn in our briefcase. It was fun pretending with Jasper. He has such a great imagination!
week, Jasper and I filled it with detective tools. Jasper chose his Thomas the Train laptop, his 'doctor tools', colored pencils, his toy phone and the cardboard magnifying glass that I cut out to fill his briefcase. 
What he really wanted was his View Master, but we couldn't find it, so that became our first case - The Case of the Missing View Master. He put on one of my blazers and his cowboy hat over his pull up and away he went searching for clues. He soon shed his detective get up, but kept using his magnifying glass and found clues at the top of the stairs and on the door to the playroom (I think the 'clues' were 
just marks of crayon!) He did locate the view master and we called 'headquarters' with the play phone and then returned there (under the desk in the living room) to turn in our briefcase. It was fun pretending with Jasper. He has such a great imagination!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Jasper Writes a Letter
Monday, when I picked Jasper up from daycare, the first thing Jasper did when he saw me was run up and say, “Mommy! Daddy put this shirt and this shorts and this shoes on me.”
When we got home, Jasper wanted to color, so I told him to go get a coloring book. He came back with the construction paper, so he just drew. Josh and I were cooking, and we could hear him saying “I love Mommy, I love Daddy, I love Papa, I love Colin, etc.” He was writing with his crayons like he was writing a letter. Then he’d say, “Mommy this is for you” and he’d bring the paper over to me and pretend to read it. One time he said “I love Mommy very much.”
When it was dinner time he wanted to eat with Diego and Diego's dinosaur, so the little figures sat on the table next to him and Jasper talked to them and offered them bites.
When we got home, Jasper wanted to color, so I told him to go get a coloring book. He came back with the construction paper, so he just drew. Josh and I were cooking, and we could hear him saying “I love Mommy, I love Daddy, I love Papa, I love Colin, etc.” He was writing with his crayons like he was writing a letter. Then he’d say, “Mommy this is for you” and he’d bring the paper over to me and pretend to read it. One time he said “I love Mommy very much.”
When it was dinner time he wanted to eat with Diego and Diego's dinosaur, so the little figures sat on the table next to him and Jasper talked to them and offered them bites.
Family Vacation
NOT MANY PICTURES YET - Mom and Heidi took photos, that I haven't gotten yet. When I do I'll put them with this post.
We had a great mini-vacation over the weekend. We left Friday morning with my parents, Colin and Heidi. Our first stop was at Bickels Café and Catering in Anderson. It was a cute little local restaurant with great food. Jasper’s favorite part of the meal was the “bickel”berry pie. It was cute to hear him say it. Then we headed to Summit Lake State Park where we played on the playground, walked to the lake and fished with my dad’s remote control boat. Jasper that it was very cool – and he thought it was really fun to touch the fish we caught (I was ‘driving’ the remote controlled boat when we caught the fish!) We rented 2 rowboats and took them out on the lake. Jasper wore his new life jacket.
Josh, Heidi, Jasper and I were in one boat and Colin and Mom and Dad in another. We claimed defective paddles, because we kept drifting to one side. Jasper really liked the boat and enjoyed seeing the ducks and crane. Then we headed to the hotel to get checked in. We went on a long search for a restaurant for dinner but ended up with a great choice of a local ribs and seafood place. When we got back, Jasper, Heidi, Colin and I went swimming. Jasper was getting braver in his floaty swimsuit (it has a floaty built in.) That night Jasper was up until nearly 11 with only about a 15 minute nap the entire day, but he was a trooper! The next day, we went to a fantastic breakfast at a local pancake house. Jasper was pumped about the Mickey Mouse pancake. We then headed to the Indianapolis Zoo. Jasper got to see some animals he’d never seen before –giraffes, rhinos, a komodo dragon (which he was really excited about the whole time– though I think he thought it was going to breathe fire!) and dolphins. He LOVED the dolphin show and especially liked when they jumped out of the water and hit the ball hanging from the ceiling with their noses. We went back to the hotel for a brief rest and then headed to Symphony on the Prairie – it was looking a little dreary, so Mom and Dad pulled out the emergency ponchos and rain suits (they are always prepared!) We stopped off at Marsh to pick up our picnic dinners ( a great deal!) The prairie was PACKED, but we found a decent spot and enjoyed our dinner and the music of the Beatles. Jasper did a few of his “new moves” for us. It was a good time. We got back to the hotel late, and went straight to bed. Sunday, we ate what I don’t think could be classified as a continental breakfast (a couple bagels, some jelly, one package of cream cheese, some white bread, one container of cheerios and a carafe of milk and a toaster) and then Jasper and I took a swim. I would tell him what number to count to and then when he got to that number I would lift him up in the air and splash him back down in the pool. He was counting very well – up to 14 every time with no mistakes. After swimming, showering, getting dressed and packed, we headed to Muncie for Ribfest. Josh was sporting his fluorescent orange Ribfest T-shirt from 2002. We ate, looked at some of the booths, and Jasper jumped in the kids bouncy toys. Then we went to Incredible Yogurt (Josh and my favorite Muncie location!) before Josh, Japser and I headed home and Mom, Dad, Colin and Heidi headed to Peru. Jasper was so good the whole time, so we stopped at Wal-mart on the way home and let him pick out a toy. He chose a Diego toy that he insists is a bath toy. He loves it.
We had a great mini-vacation over the weekend. We left Friday morning with my parents, Colin and Heidi. Our first stop was at Bickels Café and Catering in Anderson. It was a cute little local restaurant with great food. Jasper’s favorite part of the meal was the “bickel”berry pie. It was cute to hear him say it. Then we headed to Summit Lake State Park where we played on the playground, walked to the lake and fished with my dad’s remote control boat. Jasper that it was very cool – and he thought it was really fun to touch the fish we caught (I was ‘driving’ the remote controlled boat when we caught the fish!) We rented 2 rowboats and took them out on the lake. Jasper wore his new life jacket.
Josh, Heidi, Jasper and I were in one boat and Colin and Mom and Dad in another. We claimed defective paddles, because we kept drifting to one side. Jasper really liked the boat and enjoyed seeing the ducks and crane. Then we headed to the hotel to get checked in. We went on a long search for a restaurant for dinner but ended up with a great choice of a local ribs and seafood place. When we got back, Jasper, Heidi, Colin and I went swimming. Jasper was getting braver in his floaty swimsuit (it has a floaty built in.) That night Jasper was up until nearly 11 with only about a 15 minute nap the entire day, but he was a trooper! The next day, we went to a fantastic breakfast at a local pancake house. Jasper was pumped about the Mickey Mouse pancake. We then headed to the Indianapolis Zoo. Jasper got to see some animals he’d never seen before –giraffes, rhinos, a komodo dragon (which he was really excited about the whole time– though I think he thought it was going to breathe fire!) and dolphins. He LOVED the dolphin show and especially liked when they jumped out of the water and hit the ball hanging from the ceiling with their noses. We went back to the hotel for a brief rest and then headed to Symphony on the Prairie – it was looking a little dreary, so Mom and Dad pulled out the emergency ponchos and rain suits (they are always prepared!) We stopped off at Marsh to pick up our picnic dinners ( a great deal!) The prairie was PACKED, but we found a decent spot and enjoyed our dinner and the music of the Beatles. Jasper did a few of his “new moves” for us. It was a good time. We got back to the hotel late, and went straight to bed. Sunday, we ate what I don’t think could be classified as a continental breakfast (a couple bagels, some jelly, one package of cream cheese, some white bread, one container of cheerios and a carafe of milk and a toaster) and then Jasper and I took a swim. I would tell him what number to count to and then when he got to that number I would lift him up in the air and splash him back down in the pool. He was counting very well – up to 14 every time with no mistakes. After swimming, showering, getting dressed and packed, we headed to Muncie for Ribfest. Josh was sporting his fluorescent orange Ribfest T-shirt from 2002. We ate, looked at some of the booths, and Jasper jumped in the kids bouncy toys. Then we went to Incredible Yogurt (Josh and my favorite Muncie location!) before Josh, Japser and I headed home and Mom, Dad, Colin and Heidi headed to Peru. Jasper was so good the whole time, so we stopped at Wal-mart on the way home and let him pick out a toy. He chose a Diego toy that he insists is a bath toy. He loves it.
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