Mel and the BOYS

Kigin Family 2011

2011-12-25T15:09:00.001-05:00

Carribbean Cruise (KID FREE -- Thank you Grandpa Mike, Grandma Judy, & Grandma Bobbie -- and all other helpers!!)

2011-12-12T15:06:00.001-05:00

Date night at Cowboy Christmas Show

2011-11-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

Halloween with Batman, Spiderman, & Dinoman

2011-10-31T15:02:00.001-04:00

Lowes Build & Grow Workshop

2011-10-22T15:00:00.000-04:00

Kings Dominion

2011-08-30T14:55:00.001-04:00

Ryan & Melissa Trip to San Diego (KID FREE -- thank you Grandma Bobbie & her friend Allison!!!)

2011-08-14T14:58:00.000-04:00

Rehobeth Beach Trip

2011-06-02T14:50:00.001-04:00

The Three Musketeers!

2011-05-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

Welcome Caden Joseph Kigin!!!

2011-04-19T14:45:00.001-04:00

Just chillin

2011-02-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

Wyatt making Valentine's cookies

2011-01-20T14:39:00.001-05:00

Parker's 3rd Birthday!!

2011-01-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

2010 Year In Review

2010-12-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Family Picture 12/2010

Daddy's New Toy 11/2010

Camping with Cousins on Aunt Becky's WV land 10/2010

Diego 10/2010

Baby Jaguar 10/2010

Outer Banks Trip 09/2010

First Day of Preschool 09/2010

First Airplane Ride (and moving walkway ride) 08/2010

Oregon Family Reunion 08/2010

Wyatt likes bling! 08/2010

4th of July Celebration 07/2010

Homemade 4th of July Flag Cake 07/2010

Pool Fun 07/2010

Anniversary Trip to Hill Cumorah Pageant 07/2010

Anniversary Trip to Niagara Falls 07/2010

Funny hair 07/2010

Adventure Park Racing 06/2010

Mowing (Wyatt loves it!!) 06/2010

Cherry Blossoms in DC 04/2010

Trampoline Fun 04/2010

Cousins 04/2010

Rose Hill Manor Playdate 04/2010

Wyatt's 3rd Birthday 03/2010

Wyatt's Big Boy Bed 03/2010

Making pizza 03/2010

1st Haircut 02/2010

Blizzard 01/2010

Adding 2nd Story during Blizzard 12/2009

Parker pulling up to his knees

2009-09-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

Parker really likes his Baby Einstein caterpillar (mostly to chew on), but lately he has been using it to pull himself up to a kneeling position. Sometimes he doesn't have the best balance, but I think he will be standing and walking really soon! And yes, he is wearing a Halloween onesie in September....he is almost too big for it so I thought I might as well get some use out of it before I have to pack it away.

Cox Farms 2009

2009-09-19T20:39:00.000-04:00

We got free tickets to go to Cox Farms on Opening Weekend (September 19-20) by signing up for their email list. So after Parker's morning nap at Grandma Bobbie's house we headed over and spent the day sliding, playing on trains, in corn, and hay, and taking pictures with some of our favorite friends. We also got to go on a very entertaining hayride and through an elaborate cornmaze. Even Parker seemed to have a good time! There was so much to do that we didn't even finish before Wyatt had had enough and we decided to head home. He fell asleep right when the car started moving! We will definitely be making Cox Farms a family tradition!

Playdate with Laura & Mollie

2009-09-18T14:22:00.000-04:00

My good friend from high school, Laura, and her two kids were in town visiting so we decided to get together with our other good friend from high school, Mollie, and have a playdate. It was really fun and the kids seemed to get along really well together. I like watching Wyatt become more independent (from me) and able to play nicely with others. Parker stayed at home with Grandma Bobbie so that he could get his naps.

Grandpa & Grandma Polk's Auction

2009-09-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend of September 12&13 we attended an auction held at my Grandma & Grandpa's farm in Woodstock, VA where all of their stuff was being sold. We stayed in our usual hotel (the Holiday Inn Express, with free chocolate chip cookies at night!) with Grandma Bobbie and ate at our usual restaurants (Cracker Barrel & the Italian place that I can't think of the name). Wyatt and Parker did very well considering how long of a day it was (we got to my Grandparents's house around 8:30am and didn't leave till about 4:30pm). We put Parker down for his naps in my Grandma's bedroom (the auction was outside under tents) and Wyatt seemed to enjoy running around the farm and watching his videos inside the house. I was able to get a few things that I remember playing with as a child -- the alphabet blocks (we lost that one but I went up to the lady who won and asked her if I could buy them because I used to play with them as a child) and a little people plane. I also got the sign that hung in my Grandparents's kitchen that my dad and I used to playfully argue about everytime we visited ("Behind every successful man is a woman telling him that he is WRONG"). We were also able to get the large fork & spoon that both my parents and Ryan's parents have. Ryan also bought some of my Grandpa's tools and some other boxes of junk that I don't know what he is going to do with! It was a fun but sad time as I watched all of my Grandparents's possessions leave and saw their house bare.

Ryan & Wyatt standing in my Grandparents's field

Wyatt playing with the alphabet blocks

Grandma & Grandpa Polk's house

Parker likes ELMO too!

2009-09-08T15:03:00.000-04:00

It looks like Parker has followed in the footsteps of his older brother in liking ELMO. Not only does he like the doll that dances, he also is mesmerized by Elmocize at the gym and whenever I have ELMO on for Wyatt at home.

Sesame Place

2009-09-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

Grandma Bobbie had been wanting to take Wyatt to Sesame Place because of his love for Elmo. Frederick County was selling discount tickets for a 2-day pass, so we decided to make a mini-trip out of it. We drove up to Langhorne, PA on Sunday, August 30, and spent Monday 8/31 and Tuesday 9/1 at Sesame Place. Wyatt really seemed to enjoy the park, especially watching baby Parker & daddy participate in the "Elmo's World Live!" show in the "ask a baby" portion. But, he refused to meet any of the characters at Sesame Place, even Elmo, and got really scared when we tried to bring him closer to them or take pictures with them. The weather was really nice (70s and sunny) which was good for the dry rides, but not so much for the water rides (which, we found out once we got there, was about 95% of the park). The water was so cold that Wyatt wouldn't go in it, and when he did go in, was shivering after about 1 second. Parker was fantastic....he wasn't fussy and actually fell asleep a few times in the stroller for naps! All in all, a very fun trip! Thanks Grandma Bobbie!

Ahhhh.....chocolate pudding

Kids Wave Pool

Ahhhh.....chocolate ice cream on top of a funnel cake.

I think I ate too much. If you'll excuse me....

Parker getting ready for his role as 'baby' in the

"let's ask a baby" portion of 'Elmo's World Live!'

Swimming in the hotel pool.

First time he wore the new lifevest.

Waterproofing the basement after the leak & mold

2009-08-29T21:08:00.000-04:00

We had a really bad storm about a month or so ago where 2 tornados came through our area (I didn't know that there were tornados at the time, and I was out in the wind and rain chasing down our runaway trampoline and garbage cans. Note to self: check weather before leaving the house when it gets that bad again). Our street had a lot of trees down and some damage to houses. Luckily, we didn't have any major damage (just a power outage and some tree limbs down), or so we thought. After a few days Wyatt started developing a cough and when we were in his room it smelled funny. At first we thought that Schnoz, one of our cats, had peed on something again (he pees on our stuff periodically), but after Ryan investigated a little more, he found that Wyatt's room had mold/mildew in it from flood water. So, we had to move Wyatt out of his room to clean it up. Ryan decided that we needed to completely rip out Wyatt's room and waterproof the walls to prevent water from getting back in again. So we removed everything from Wyatt's room and the playroom, knocked the wall in between down, and made it a storage area. Wyatt was a big help to daddy as he was waterproofing.

Visit with Uncle Geoff

2009-08-23T21:00:00.000-04:00

Uncle Geoff came home this weekend for a visit and it worked out perfectly because Ryan and I were supposed to play in a softball tournament, so we went down to Grandma Bobbie's on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, the tourney got rained out, but we still had a nice visit with Uncle Geoff and went to the playground at our old Elementary School and then to a Brazillian Steakhouse (where Wyatt kept throwing things on the floor and screaming, and we forgot the backpack with Parker's milk at home so Ryan had to go to CVS to get some. Uncle Geoff said this is why he isn't having kids!). But how can you say that after looking at these cuties!

BBQ with the Oliphant & Hodge Families

2009-08-09T20:15:00.000-04:00

We had the Oliphant family and the Hodge family up for a bbq at our house. The kids had a great time playing in the backyard and in the inflatable bouncer and the adults had a fun time chatting and catching up. It is a shame we don't live closer. We need to get together again soon!

Ryan & Marc

Melissa, Socheata, & Sarah

No napping during dinner!

2009-05-05T20:27:00.000-04:00

So, Parker has a very bad tendency to not take very good naps during the day. He should be taking 1 morning nap and at least 1 afternoon nap. Usually they are about 30-45 minutes each, and sometimes he doesn't go to sleep at all in the afternoon. As you can see from the pictures, he definitely needs the sleep. Maybe he'll listen to me one of these days!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2009-05-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Ryan turned the big 29 on Friday, May 1. To celebrate, he went camping and hiking with his scout troop. Being the slacker wife that I am, I did not make him his favorite meal and I kept forgetting to make him a cake. The only decorating I did was to keep up the Happy Birthday signs that we used for Wyatt's birthday in March! Luckily, we had Marc, Sarah, & Joseph Oliphant over on Sunday, May 3 and they brought Ryan brownies with candles. We sang Happy Birthday to him and then Wyatt, Joseph, & Ryan blew out the candles. What good friends!

This is how we eat grapes in the Kigin Household

2009-05-03T14:11:00.000-04:00

He did that without any prompting from us at all....just thought it was funny, and then when we laughed, he kept doing it.

There's Something About Bert

2009-05-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is about Bert from Sesame Street, but both Wyatt & Parker seem to love him. Maybe it's his goofy hair or smirk. Whenever Parker gets in the Sesame Street Entertainment Center we have, he always focuses on Bert and starts smiling, sometimes even laughing. Wyatt did it when he was a baby too. Wyatt, however, has now graduated to an obsession with Elmo and wants to watch the Elmo movies all the time.

Backyard Fun!

2009-04-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

We had Grandma Bobbie, Jonny, Jana, & the kids, & Aunt Becky over for a barbeque. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the backyard.

Who does this remind us of??

2009-04-19T10:44:00.000-04:00

I think Grandpa Bob has been reincarnated....notice particularly the grey sweatpants and red longsleeved shirt. I didn't start out to dress Parker this way....but as soon as I put the sweatpants over the onesie turtleneck, I couldn't stop until we completed the look! I couldn't find an actual picture of my dad with the sweatpants....but I still think the resemblance is definitely there! Anyone have a better one to compare to?

Adventure Park USA Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-13T20:29:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the free Adventure Park USA Easter Egg Hunt. Unfortunately, we got out of the house a bit too late and missed the hunt (but I was told it started early and was a chaotic mess). Because of this, the park manager passed out free eggs (with prizes inside) and ride passes to all those who didn't get any eggs. So, Wyatt got to ride some of the rides for free. He LOVED the helicopter and Colleen and I basically had to pry him off of it. He also liked the cars, but was too young to go on it. In the arcade, he loved sitting in the car rides and turning the steering wheels. There was an awesome 4-story soft play area, but we decided against Wyatt going in because it was so crowded and Aunt Becky was not there to follow Wyatt through the tunnels so that he could get out. Maybe next time! Parker was really excited to be there.