Our family

Our family

Sunday, May 13, 2012

1st Mother's Day!

Today was my first mother's day! I was pretty excited, even though I know Caylee is so small and really it's just another normal day for her. 

The day began EARLY.... 5:33am to be exact.  It's not what you think either.... Caylee was sound asleep doing so well in her bed.  Matt's alarm had gone off a little before that, but I rarely pay attention to that anymore.  But then, at 5:33, Matt woke me up and said "Happy Mother's Day!" and handed me a plate of hot pancakes.  :)  It was early, but it's the first time he has EVER made me breakfast in bed and the first time he has EVER made pancakes, since he doesn't even like pancakes!  I was very touched and ate them, it was sweet that he tried so hard, I really appreciated the thoughtfulness!!  He did apologize for it being so early, but he had to leave for work a little before 6.  He also cleaned up afterwards, which made everything really good!!!

Caylee and I got up about 7 and she had breakfast and we got ready for church.  Church was good, then we came home, had lunch and took much needed naps :)  Matt got home about 3:30 and we headed out for an early dinner around 4:30.  Dinner is not as easy, or convenient with a 6 1/2 month old, but it was still wonderful.  We ate at Bella Notte (the last time we were there I was pregnant with Caylee!!).  They have delicious food and we have leftovers for tomorrow!! 

We are going to end the day with a DQ Blizzard Cake- YUM- my FAVORITE! 

Overall, it's been a wonderful Mother's Day and I'm looking forward to many many more!!! :)


First Mother's Day

May 13, 2012!! 




In our pj's ready for naps :)  Yes, I have a sweatshirt on in May-- it's rainy and only about 65 today!

Helping Daddy decide what to order

All 3 of us at Bella Notte! May 13, 2012

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

CONTEST!

Yes, I will be a little annoying this week as I comtinue to try to get people to vote for Caylee!  I entered her into a contest (so did thousands of other parents), but she's currently ranked 351 279th 232nd 204th 153rd  104th!! (May 13th)... that's pretty good considering I know the number goes way past 2000!  Anyways, you have all week to vote and can vote everyday.  I also found that you can vote from your phone and any computer... so vote as many times as you have options!!! :) Share the link on your facebook and get all your friends, family and co-workers to vote too....


Here is the web address to vote:
http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/1290193

Here is the picture I submitted:


I do realize the odds of winning are very slim, but try for me anyways!! :)  It would be so fun to see her on the cover of Parents Magazine!!  (And just prepare yourself because I get bored at home... so I may be entering her in more as I find them) 

Have a happy day!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Ohio Visit

Yesterday, Caylee and I headed up to Ohio to visit Matt's family.  His Aunt LeeAnn lives just 2 hours away so we were able to go to her house.  That seemed like a good middle place for his mom and 2 grandma's to meet us as well and worked perfectly for us.  Any farther and we would have had to stop because Caylee needs a little break at about 2 hours :)  A friend drove up with me, and conveniently (I had not really put 2 and 2 together) she is from Iowa, so are Matt's Aunt and Grandma Max... they talked Iowa stuff quite a bit, which was fun!  

LeeAnn's house was gorgeous (sorry, no pictures of that), but it sits on a golf course and I noticed a pool as we were driving in (we'll be bringing up our suits next time!).  She is also super close to the outlet malls (too bad I forgot the stroller and didn't realize this when I drove up there, we would have had to make a side trip!).  She had a wonderful pasta salad lunch and Matt's mom and Grandma had brought me a birthday cake!  We had a nice time visiting and Caylee was all smiles, she really is a happy baby.  It's too bad Dick (LeeAnn's husband) had not been there because Caylee really likes smiling at men, they would have gotten along great! Next time...

Here are some (ok, ALOT) of the pics his mom took (mostly Caylee)...

Isn't that the most precious outfit!?  Thanks Grandma!! (my mom)

Her pretty blue eyes...

Something must have been really funny here... just thought it was a cute capture

Great Aunt LeeAnn


Great Grandma B and Great Grandma Max

Great Grandma Max trying to read Caylee her book- later I think Caylee just stuck the whole book in her mouth... nice try though!

Here, I think her smile is looking more like Matt's... maybe that's just me though!

Great Grandma Max

Great Grandma B
 Great Aunt LeeAnn

Adios Amigos! (no, she can't really wave yet, but we're working on it... I think she wanted the toy off her arm I had put there to distract her while we ate!)

Thanks LeeAnn for having us at your house! The food and sweets were wonderful- we had a great time!  :)  

So long, Farewell...

I posted about some changes for us a while back when I posted the story about the train and deciding which track it would take... well, our track is changing, slowly....

About mid-April rumors began to speculate about the sale of Calumet Farm... the multi-million dollar thoroughbred farm in Kentucky where Matt and I have been living for the past 10 months.  With this rumor came the uncertainty of us being able to stay on the farm or not.  Go forward a week or so to April 25th... the sale of our Texas house was official and we closed!  We were very, very thankful.  That weekend we were told we would need to be out of this house in Lexington by June 1st.  So... on April 24th we had 2 homes and by April 27th we technically had none!  Crazy how God works, but I wasn't panicked.... I knew He'd work things out for us. 

Well, news broke of the Calumet sale a little earlier than expected and then the rumors were that it made the guy so mad that he backed out of the sale....  woohoo for us! 

However, just yesterday, May 3rd, the sale did finalize and we have been given a move out date, but of July 1st, not June.  We were thrilled!  To many of you that's just one extra month and who really cares, to us, it's time to figure out where God really wants us :)  God planned the sale of our Texas house and planned that we'd have to leave this house in Lexington... so He definitely has a house out there for us!  July 1st will come up quickly, but we're not worried...I'll fill you in as our house journey continues!!!










Here are some background articles of Calumet
and the sale for any who want to keep reading:

The eight Derby winners from Calumet Farm are: Whirlaway (1941), Pensive (1944), Citation (1948), Ponder (1949), Hill Gale (1952), Iron Liege (1957), Tim Tam (1958) and Forward Pass (1968). In addition to breeding all eight of its winners, Calumet also bred 1991 winner Strike the Gold.
Founded in 1924, Calumet also has a record seven wins in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of racing's Triple Crown. Its last major stallion, Alydar, became racing's most beloved runner-up after his exciting rivalry with Affirmed in the Triple Crown races of 1978.
The property fell into financial disarray in the 1980s during the management of J.T. Lundy.
Calumet declared bankruptcy in 1991, listing debts of more than $118 million and there was suspicion surrounding the 1990 death of Alydar, who was heavily insured. Lundy and Gary Matthews, the stable's one-time chief financial officer and legal counsel, were later convicted of fraud and bribery stemming from the farm's downfall.
Henryk de Kwiatkowski purchased the farm in 1992 for $17 million and was perceived as a savior for keeping the farm intact. He died in 2003 and the property has been part of his trust ever since. Stallions returned to the farm earlier this year for the first time since 2004.
       Taken from: SI.com the article is titled Calumet Farm Sold to Invesment Group for $36M

Calumet Sold to Trust
Kennelot Stables, operated by the de Kwiatkowski Trust, announced May 3 it has sold the historic Calumet Farm and all of its improvements to the Calumet Investment Group Trust. The trustee for the buyer also announced the farm will be leased to Central Kentucky Thoroughbred operations Hurricane Hall and Bluegrass Hall, which are owned by billionaire businessman Brad Kelley.
The Associated Press reported a purchase price for the 799-acre property of nearly $36 million.
Bluegrass Hall has homebred Optimizer, a son of English Channel , entered in the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and owns longshot Colonial Empress, a daughter of Empire Maker, who has been entered in the May 4 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). Both horses are trained by D. Wayne Lukas.
"Both of these operations owned by Mr. Kelley will be consolidated on the property," said Charles Middleton, a Louisville attorney and the trustee for the Calumet Investment Group Trust. About 280 horses are currently on the farm, which sits along New Circle Road west of Lexington, and they will be relocated during a transition phase. The anticipated official turnover date for the property is July 15.
Kelley, 54, was born in Franklin, Ky., and founded Commonwealth Tobacco, a discount cigarette company, in 1990. He sold the business for $1 billion in 2001 and since has acquired more than 1.7 million acres of property in Florida, New York, Texas, and New Mexico. According to Forbes, he's No. 263 on the list of the 400 richest Americans.
Kelley is a former Churchill Downs Inc. stockholder and also owned Kentucky Downs, which is located in his hometown on the Tennessee border. He has been active at Thoroughbred auctions and owns roughly 60 broodmares.
Calumet, perhaps the most recognized property in Central Kentucky, sits along Versailles Road near Keeneland. It has a long history of producing top horses, but fell into bankruptcy in the early 1990s following the management of J.T. Lundy. The late Henryk de Kwiatkowski purchased the farm at auction in 1992 for $17 million and restored the property.
Rumors had been circulating for a couple weeks that Kelley was purchasing Calumet. When asked if Kelley was associated with or part of the trust that purchased the farm, Middleton said that information on the identity of those involved is confidential.
"The rumors were not far off," Middleton said. "I can say the rumors probably accelerated things."
The purchase, which includes all the property, the farm name and the silks, was signed at 2:30 p.m. May 3, and the deed officially transfered at 3 p.m.

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69474/calumet-sold-to-trust#ixzz1tuAdkzxl

Monday, April 30, 2012

Rolex Lexington 2012

Every year Lexington sponsors The Rolex out at the Horse Park.  This is a three day event with all types of equestrian show... jumping, reining, dressage, etc...
Friday evening was the Ariat Reining Cup and we had some friends in town to show for this competition.  We were able to have lunch with them Friday (of course, they loved seeing Caylee!) and then when Matt got off work, we headed up to the competition. 

Before the event started.. another one of the painted horses around town :) I'm bound and determined to get their picture with as many of these as I can--- Matt is less than thrilled :)

Playing and listening to the music before the event!

Watching the event.. Caylee did really well! She loved watching the horses run fast, but she especially watched when the ladies came out in all their bling.  Their sparkly shirts definitely caught her eye.


Before Shawn showed (he was the last to go).  His wife Michele and oldest son Cody.

Caylee riding her first horse (Wimp's Chocolate Chip) with Shawn... Shawn won the whole event too!! Caylee only rides with the best :)

She wasn't so sure about touching the horse's mane, but given that it was already an hour past her bedtime she was doing really well!!! And yes, she once again has no socks or shoes on... we really only have dress shoes and socks fell off as soon as we got inside the arena.  Luckily we were indoors, so it really didn't matter too much.  


So that was Caylee's first horse show with her Daddy and first horse ride.  She enjoyed it and did really well the entire night, even with all the noise and it being so late for her.  The Rolex went on for 2 more days, but we didn't go to any other events, maybe another year because I would love to see the cross-country where the horses jump over logs and streams and such.  

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

6 Months!

      Caylee Ann is 6 months today!  We're back from her appointment and she did GREAT!  I was so proud and happy when all the nurses and doctors said how pretty she was!  Caylee is 27 inches and in the 89% in height! She may have some of my looks, but she'll be TALL just like her daddy!  She weighed 17lbs and 6oz.  The doctor said she looked fantastic and at 6 months they just look for her to be sitting up for a few seconds... she sits up for hours!  The nurse came to give her 2 shots.  With the first shot Caylee just stared at the nurse, then when she began to get the 2nd one ready, Caylee started screaming!  Only a few seconds and then I held her and she quieted down very quickly.  She's still a little sore and will cry here and there, but she also missed her morning nap because of the appointment.  With a long afternoon nap, I'm sure she'll be just fine! 
     Caylee JUST started rolling from her front to back.  Literally, 2 days ago.  (She had rolled once from front to back and once from back to front about a month ago, then just decided it wasn't worth it).  She only rolls when she's in a super good mood- otherwise she just screams to get off her tummy.  She still spits up when on her tummy, so I think it just doesn't feel good.  However, she much prefers sitting up and can sit very well.  She only tumbles backwards if Sammy gets too close and she loses balance.  She sits in grocery carts too!  She can also stand up, just for a brief amount of time, but without help (leaning against something, but not needing my hands to hold her up). 
     She's eating all sorts of things these days.  She's even eating well enough (cleanly enough I should say) to take her out in public :)  I no longer need to strip her down to eat!!  Her favorite is still Sweet Potatoes, but she'll also eat: applesauce, peaches, peas (mixed with bananas only), carrots (mixed with cereal only), apples and blueberries, squash (sometimes), bananas (plain or they are strong enough to mask flavors she doesn't like), apples and cherries, green beans (maybe, some days) and we just tried corn (not a huge hit, but she will get some of it down). 
     Caylee is smiling at everyone these days... she smiles at all the people we see in the store, at the library and just anyone she sees!  However, she is beginning to cry when I leave the room, not too much, but a little.  If Matt is there it helps. 
    She can sleep through the night, but usually does not.  We don't do any nighttime feedings and we're not sure why, but she just starts crying in the middle of the night.  If she can't find her wubbanub close by she'll keep screaming and I have to go give it to her.  If she can find it, she puts it in her mouth all by herself and goes back to sleep.  However, if the crying starts before 1am it's almost a guarantee she'll cry again around 4:30 and then ends up in bed with me (probably just 2 times a week this happens).  She will sleep in with me until 7 or 7:30 though. Matt moves to the couch so his alarm doesn't wake us and because she sprawls out and takes up lots of room!  She is not a cuddly sleeper :)  She takes 2 good naps a day- about 1 1/2-2 hours both times. 
     We have been spending a little more time outside on nice days.  She does great on our walks and has even enjoyed her friends more (they notice each other anyways!).  She LOVES her dogs more than any toy and squeals whenever they are close.  After naptime she always looks for them.

Here are some pics!

Little blurry, but she is standing on her own!

Love this one!


Early morning playing...

Twin friends!


Always trying to pet the dogs... Caylee and Diego

Happy 6 Months Caylee Ann!!! We love you soooo much!



Monday, April 23, 2012

Food Truck-ies!

St. Louis apparently has TONS of food trucks.  You know, the kind you'd see outside an office building selling tacos or something.  But in St. Louis, they have all types of food trucks and people are OBSESSED with them!  You can even follow your favorite truck on Twitter and find out where they will be on a certain day.  Occassionally, especially in Spring and Summer... they have Food Truck Round-ups!  This is where several food trucks meet in a parking lot and lots of people come out to taste the food.  They happened to have one this past weekend and we were so hungry after the zoo, so we headed out to one...

Parking lot with all the trucks and people...


Greek food! I got a Chicken Tahini... delicious!

Holding cupcakes from the cupcake truck...

We had so much fun at the round-up!  The food was amazing.... we tried Sweet Potato chips, Italian fries, fish tacos (not for me- blah!), and cupcakes! Yes, we took full advantage of all the trucks and it was very worth it! 

That was our awesome weekend in St. Louis- there is so much to do in that city! We had a blast!!!