Time To Play!

Here are a few pictures of Kailer waiting for me to finish gathering our "stuff," putting on sunscreen, making water bottles, finding a snack, etc. before we headed outside to play. He loves to be out and thankfully the weather has cooperated recently; though today it's not looking very nice (of course), since I have the day off. Bummer! He's tall enough enough to see out the screen door- which provides lots of entertainment when Mesa is outside and she peeks her head up from the other side! :)

...AND You Should See The Other Guy!!

So the other morning Kailer woke up with a black eye and a little cut on his eye-lid (right). I reflected for a bit about what might have happened the day before, but could not recall any accidents that resulted in some serious crying (which I'm sure would have occurred since the eye is so sensitive). I then asked Dan and Papa Martin and Grandma DJ; none of whom could recall anything happening. So, as the story goes, "You should see the other guy!" :)
The picture doesn't do the black eye much justice, and my best chance of getting any sort of a picture was once he was asleep so the lightening was terrible.

Silly Face

Oh how I love this little boy!!

Great News!!

This morning the Gallatin County Commissioners decided to accept the Sheriff's revised budget proposal. The budget is not finalized until August, but they have agreed not to lay off any deputies at this time!! The battle is not completely over, and the pending lawsuit that he deputies have against the commissioners may impact this decision. The community really pulled together and did a lot of lobbying, letters to the editor, letters to the commissioners and attending numerous budget meetings. For now we are ever so grateful for all of the prayers, phone calls, e-mails (to us and the commissioners) during this difficult period in our life. It's times like this when we really understand how fortunate we are to have such wonderful families, friends and co-workers! May God Bless all of you - as he's blessed us. Again, Thank You!
Kailer's Papa Martin and Grandma DJ have also been in Montana since last Tuesday. They left yesterday morning, but we had a very nice visit with them and of course the time just flew by! It's never easy to say 'good-bye,' but hopefully we'll get to see them within 6-8 months ... I'm thinking that would be a good time for a vacation to Mexico again! :)

Playing with his choo-choo and the new fish toy from Grandma DJ

Ready to shoot some hoops ... or on this particular day, he was picking on the dog.

To me, at least, looking much older than the 12 1/2 months that he is!!

Happy Father's Day!!

I want to start off by saying "Happy Father's Day" to my wonderful husband! I have been so very blessed to have him in my life and now Kailer gets to experience the best father in the world. Through all of the struggles and curve-balls that life has thrown our way (more recently then ever, it seems) Dan has always remained optimistic and helped guide his family to a brighter tomorrow.
Friday morning we received the dreaded news that deep in our guts we knew was probably coming our way. June 27 will be Dan's last day with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office. Three deputies were given their "sentence" that day with the possibility of two more being laid off before this mess is all done and said.
Last night the guys that Dan works with had a gathering for the three that will be leaving and I cannot even begin to tell you how sad it was to sit around a table with a bunch of men who are literally like brothers, watch them toast their good-bye's, in hopes that some day they will see their fellows in uniform again. Everyday the men and women in law enforcement go out on the streets to protect us and make it so that when we shut off our lights at night we can sleep peacefully. It's unfortunate in this county right now that the County Commissioners are willing to risk the safety of everyone to ensure their own paychecks.
But I am venting and could probably write for hours about this topic. At this time, we don't really know what our future is going to bring. Dan has the opportunity to make a lateral transfer to the detention center, which will also result in a pretty significant pay-cut. We realize it's better than nothing and for now that may be the avenue he has to go down. His heart and soul is with the sheriff's office here and we're holding on with a dim glimmer of hope that their positions will open up again in the near future.
Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful men out there. I've watched my husband evolve into an amazing Dad and Kailer is so lucky to have him. I love you Dan.

Prince Kailer and his Chariot

After a short nap last Sunday, Dan woke up wide-eyed and ready to enjoy the sunshine that was finally warming our hearts and home! It has been a dreary, wet Spring thus far and I'm only hoping for a long summer or I'm going to be a bit disappointed.
So we decided that we might as well take full advantage of the sun and hit the trails. We loaded up the bikes and our faithful dog and headed toward the Headwater's State Park. It was a nice day to get out and burn off a couple of hours in the sun and have some fun!

Kailer in his Chariot - patiently waiting for his "driver" (me).

And we're off!!

It's certainly a lot of work being a Prince.

Yum!

Enjoying some lunch on the front porch ... oh, how we're longing for our warm summer days to return!!

Baptism - Park - Cake - Crash!!

...and as if driving 7 hours (one way), having a birthday party, and feeding his calf wasn't enough, we decided to add more to our already busy trip. On Tuesday morning, Kailer was baptized and his wonderful Aunt Jamie and Uncle Mark-o are his God Parents.

After the baptism, and a nap, Kailer went and did a little playing at the park.

AND...just in case he hadn't gotten enough cake the past 2 days, he had just 1 more piece!!

What a busy weekend our little guy had - and it was ALL for him!! He was exhausted. This picture is of him sleeping on Tuesday night, but on Wednesday night the exhaustion finally got the best of him - he was in bed before 6:30 p.m. and didn't wake until 6:45 a.m. He was one tired toddler!!

Old McGrandpa's Farm

While in Newcastle, Kailer got to meet his very own calf, Floyd. It was quite an experience for him and I don't think he quite knew what to think of Mr. Floyd!

For a little boy who never drank more than 4 oz of milk at one time, this bottle looks like a lifetime supply!!

Watching Floyd gulp down all that milk!!

...and for dessert, Kailer's arm...yummy!!

Presents, Presents & More Presents!!

Since having Kailer, I've gotten quite good at opening presents, because up to this point he hasn't really been very involved in the whole process. He got some great gifts and again "Thank You" to everyone!!

"Hmm, maybe I'll help just a little bit with opening this one."

Oh boy, clothes!!
(He actually seemed excited- kind of unusual for a kid)

Ribbon!! The only thing better is actually getting to play with the boxes.

Kailer and Carter

Playing with his train.

Cake Eating, Take 2 ... The Party!

After spending many weeks (not even kidding) trying to pick a theme for Kailer's party, I finally decided that a dinosaur theme would be appropriate for him. Don't ask me why, but it was extremely difficult for me to decide. But I figured I might as well take full-advantage of having that "power" because I'm sure that within the next year or two, he'll be telling me what kind of party he wants.

I was looking through his photos from the party tonight, and decided that I needed to post 'quite a few,' because there's nothing cuter than a toddler getting frosting all over his face!

Kailer's birthday cake!

Patiently waiting while we all sing, "Happy Birthday."

Testing the waters, a.k.a. frosting.

Time for a bib - he was starting to get pretty messy.

At this point, we took away the cake and just gave him his own piece.

Little Green Monster!!

Savoring his last bite.

Mmm, all done --- "Mom can you clean me up now?" Time for present....

Eating Birthday Cake, Take 1!

Grandma had a birthday cake all ready for Kailer after dinner on Sunday. It was interesting to watch him eat is cake - as he was very polite and it actually took some prodding before he got too sticky. I was surprised, because usually he is a clown and not exactly a "clean eater."

Starting to get the hang of it ... and starting to get messy! :)

Birthday Morning...

As many of you know, the Mayland Family left for Wyoming on the morning of Kailer's birthday. Dan took Sunday off, so we were able to go down until Wednesday morning. So even though I knew he was going to be having a party the next day, I found it imperative to sing Happy Birthday to him while he ate his breakfast "cake" (toast with yogurt and pureed fruit). We also decided that he needed to open one present in honor of his day!

The only picture I got of Kailer with the candle lit .. he tried to grab it, and I quickly stopped him!

Mesa helping Kailer open his gift!

Peeking inside -- an Einstein book and a new travel CD!!