Kimball

Kimball is so cute coloring his masterpiece!

Kimball's new thing is to take the castle storybook that grandma Starkey gave him for his birthday, put it on the floor, sit down in front of it, and then try to wrap the doors around himself. It's hilarious because he has a very precise system to do it in, and I have no idea where he got the notion that he wanted to do that. He seems like some old Japanese woman struggling to wrap the belt around her kimono.

Trash Man

Here is an old video I forgot to post. It's of Kimball when he first started walking on his own at 14 months. His favorite thing to do was take all the boxes out of the pantry and throw them in the garbage. Unfortunately that is still one of his favorite things to do. My favorite is Joseph's face in the video, looking at me with those eyes that say, "Mom have you lost your mind, you're just going to stand there and let him put that stuff in the garbage?"

H

Zoo

Since it only took us a few minutes the walk through the entire "Fair," we decided to go to the zoo which happened to be right across the street. There was a lot more going on there.

I love these guys!

Cute baby monkey

Come here big, hungry tiger....

Okay, I surrender!

I love that wrinkly bottom

Joseph has real issues with the elevator. It beeps when you reach the bottom floor where the sea lions are, and he starts plugging his ears as soon as he spots the elevator in anticipation of the noise. He's so funny.

That is such great advice :)

Bummer

When we first moved to El Paso everyone kept telling us that there's nothing to do here and it's pretty lame. We didn't believe them because there are mountains, lots of sunshine, palm trees etc, but when we pulled up to the county fair we started to believe a little about what people said. We were the only people there who did not own a cow, pig, chicken, or goat. There were no rides, cotton candy, or men guessing your weight. Just us and the livestock. But the boys had fun so it was all worth it.

Knock, Knock

I love that we can just send the boys outside as soon as breakfast is over. Kimball likes to come knock on Joey's window when he's done.

Everything's a train

I love this phase, when all cars/trucks become a train. I remember Joseph lining up tons of cars to make a giant train. It's so fun to see Kimball doing the same thing. It must be part of the little boy lessons they learned in Heaven.

Dream House

After seeing the beautiful new homes here in El Paso, I have decided that I really want this style of home. They are beautiful, with no siding, or wood to repaint. I love the bay areas, the huge windows, and all the breakfast nooks surrounded by windows.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!

It is always a great time for everyone when Dad gets home from work! Mom's relieved, the boys are excited, and Dad gets to know how much he's loved. Kimball is a serious Daddy's boy! Whenever he hears the key in the front door he takes off running as fast as he can to give his daddy a big hug.

Kimball kisses: "How about I smash my nose onto your lips."

Airshow

It was so wonderful to take the boys to the airshow on the Military Base (Fort Bliss) here in El Paso. Some of my best childhood memories are of the airshows at Pratt and Whitney (my Dad's company), so I was so excited to create those memories for my own kids. The day started with a bus ride from the parking lot, through the base, and to the airfield. Joseph was in heaven getting to ride the bus. He said that was his favorite part of the day. Then we got to see all the airplane tricks and climb inside planes and helicopters. It made me again love to be an American!

Kimball's talk

Here's a video of a bug we found in the backyard. I mostly filmed it to record Kimball's "talk." He shakes one hand up and down and says, "ugh -ugh-ugh-a" over and over. This is the word for anything exciting like bugs, animals and airplanes. So cute!

Castle Bouncer

This is the best $40 ever spent. The kids LOVE this bouncer from Walmart. It keeps them happy all the time! It comes with 24 fun balls and Kimball loves to sit inside and push them all out of the holes in the wall.

Shoes

Kimball has a new fetish. He loves to put on any shoes he sees and walk/waddle around the house. I love it!

Sneaky

Since Joseph doesn't finish dinner until 20 minutes after the rest of us have, Kimball usually gets hungry again before Joey has finished. One night Kimball climbed up on the chair next to Joseph and Joey thought this would be a good way to get rid of some broccoli he didn't want. Unfortunately, Kimball already had toast and strawberry jam in his mouth, so it probably tasted pretty bad. But being the eating machine he is, he kept right on chewing.

Outdoor fun

It's been so nice to still be able to have summer last even in October! The boys still love playing outside, and since Joseph doesn't really like to wear clothes, it's great that it's still so warm. They love making towers out of these little toys and then doing some sort of Indian rain dance around them until one of them can't control the urge any longer and just has to knock it down.

Joseph's private pool float. He pulled the sprinkler right over and just lounged away.
He cracks me up!

Kimball is so cute, he just has to touch things up high: lights, ceiling, even the sky. He will reach up and pant uncontrollably until you lift him up as high as he can go. It's sweet to see he'll always reach for the stars.