Happy 16 Months Old, Kayla!

My little monkey....

Another Jean Danceoff

Once again, the Jean Team likes to dance at night.  This video is kind of long but equally hilarious.  If you hang out long enough, you will see Kayla putting her contribution in, as well as Avery flashing some gang signs.  Not sure who Avery is hanging out with at school these days....

KY Folk

The weekend after we returned from Cleveland and North Carolina, we had some Kentucky friends visit us and the beach for a couple of days.  For the first time ever in the month of June since we have moved here, I said "BRRRR" while sitting on the beach.

A North Carolina Graduation

See, I told you we were crazy.  After I flew with the kids to Cleveland for a couple of days, we drove with my mom to Fayetteville for my nephew's graduation from highschool.  The kids were fantabulous in the car, thanks to these wonderful inventions called the portable DVD player and McDonald Playplaces.  Phil met up with us in Fayetteville and took us home after a couple of days.

As usual, the Sattelmeyer and Jean cousins enjoyed spending time with each other.

Four cousins enjoying another rousing game of chase through the first floor.

Athena teaching Kayla about the importance of accessorizing.

We're so proud of you, Jon!

Jon graduated in the top 10% of his class.

Athena lost her first tooth during Jon's graduation.  I know Susie's heart was hurting that day...everyone is getting all growed up!!!!

Kayla is a rockstar....

...and shows off her rockstar moves while watching "The Chipmunks".

I think Avery had chocolate at some point....

Kayla and her Aunt Susie.

All of Maw Maw's grandchildren.  I am not sure whose three year old is in the corner yelling at the photographer.

The Sattelmeyer Fam.

Rub a dub dub, there are way too many blood-related children in this tub.

Avery and his BFF, Maw Maw.

Uncle David entertaining the troops.

Look at that smile.  This girl was immediately smitten with her uncle and did not leave his side.  It was really strange; there was a real connecting presence between these two.  Their connection was very palpable and noticed by all of us.  I have never seen that before, it was really cool.

 The chair is getting more crowded.

Look who has Uncle David wrapped around her little finger....sucka.

 It doesn't take much to entertain these two.

Cleveland: Part 2

Literally, one day after Avery and I returned to SC from Cleveland, I received an e-mail from my best friend from highschool, Karola, that she and her nine month old daughter would be making a trip from GERMANY at the end of May.  Well, I certainly wasn't going to miss Karola's first visit home in two years!  So the kids and I hopped on a plane at 6am one Saturday morning and flew from Charleston to Atlanta to Cleveland.  Long story short: flying with two kids by yourself is very stressful, even if your kids are pretty well-behaved.  Because, apparently TSA will assume you are a terrorist and need to have you hold up the line while taking a sample of your shoes, because who else would be crazy enough to fly with two kids three years old and under??  Oh yeah, and apparently Delta will feel the need to separate your group of tickets for one of their priority members, because it makes the most sense to separate a block of tickets that reads: Adult, Child, Infant with Seat.  And sterwardesses will be of no help to a single mom flying with two young ones because they will be too busy mixing cocktails for their first class passengers...WHO APPARENTLY FEEL THE NEED TO CONSUME ALCOHOL AT 5:45 IN THE MORNING.  And Delta will also change your gate number within one hour of you checking the board religiously, causing you to drag your kids BACK ON the ATL airport tram and return to the concourse you originally came from.  Needless to say, I was about to order some Captain and cokes on the 2nd flight, to dull my jumping nerves, when both of my children miraculously fell asleep before we even left the runway.  God threw this frazzled mom a bone.  :)

Kayla on her first plane since turning one year old.  Yup, glad I had the carseat to strap her in.

 Avery and Kayla playing "forts" between the chairs in the airport during our layover.

 This is what saved me from having to order a drink on the second flight:

After a morning filled with wonderful travels with Delta (by the way, I did call customer service to complain and received a $100 credit voucher...whoopdeedo), my highschool friend, Maria, and I met up with Karola at her parents' home for dinner.  I will briefly skip over the fact that my three year old who NEVER has accidents, wet his pants within the first 5 minutes, causing him to run around the Kirsanow household without any pants on for over an hour while we washed and dried his clothes. And by running around, I mean, sitting on nice furniture, rolling around on a giant floor puzzle, and jumping off of stairs, all butt-naked.  A total win for this mother of the year.  Sidenote: Before we left, I had looked at the extra pants/underwear that I took on the plane with me and thought, "should I bring these?....Nah, this kid never has accidents!".  WRONG.  Lesson learned: always have a spare of clothes for your kids (let me note here that I always have extra clothes in my car, but with them being in South Carolina at the time, they were of no help to me).


Maria and Jude (5 months), Karola and Solveig (11 months), and Emily and Kayla (15 months).  Kayla and Solveig couldn't keep their hands off of each other for the picture.  I am not sure whether it was out of friendship or fiestiness.

 From carpooling to and from soccer games to enjoying their expanding families: Mrs Sattelmeyer and Mrs Kirsanow hold their granddaughters.

 Solveig "kissing" Avery.  She knows the good ones when she sees 'em.

 



Since we already visited the Cleveland Zoo several weeks ago, my parents and I decided to take the kids for a rapid transit ride to Tower City downtown.  There, we enjoyed playing with the pimped-out "strollers" decked out like cars that cost a college semester's worth of tuition to rent for an hour; throwing coins in the fountain, until MawMaw ran out of money; riding up and down on the escalators and glass elevator; eating at Hard Rock cafe; and checking out the new casino.  My dad titled the last picture, "The family that plays together...."

Jean Team Family Photos: March 2012

Here are some pics I forgot to post from our family portraits in Battery Park when Kayla turned 1 and Avery turned 3 in March.  As usual, my kids are very hard to get photos of.