So this month's blog is about a week off pace, but we've had two weeks of health issues with the kids so most things in our family seem postponed or on hold...like laundry being put away, special interest projects, football watching, haircuts and general socialization.  In two weeks we've had one ER visit (Elise: Bloody Nose), Hospital Visit (Elise: Blood draw related to nose bleed....all was well), Two Clinic Visits (Elise: Roseola, Elise/Ryan: Croup) and four nurse line calls. I'm sure our insurance company is scratching their heads. Between provide visits we've been doing is a lot of cuddling, nesting and laying low. And I've been playing a lot of catch up and balancing act with work. I'm grateful to only be in office three days a week right now. I can't imaging if I was supposed to be there five days a week in the midst of this!

Max has been on the go between football, the chaos of working in a building under construction and a grad class he's had to start. The kids and I have missed the last three football games due to illness, but maybe that's the key to the team's winning record. We lot the first game and have been victorious the next four...we've only seen one of the wins! 

ArtPrize is in fulls swing. We made it down last weekend as you'll see below, but we're hoping to see more if the weather and health holds. And Rockford's Harvest Festival kicked off here this weekend. Hoping maybe tomorrow we can make our scarecrow so it at least feels like fall.

Given all the sickness though, the kids have been amazing and very patient with one another. Elise is starting to take direction very well, as well as understands the natural order to human interaction. For example, on her own she will seek out Ry to say goodnight. She also is beginning to copy him. Tonight he was laying on the floor and put his feet up in the air towards her face. She then laid down and did the same thing towards him. She's also learning the difference between gentle touches and hitting, which she'll do on command when you ask her to give love. 

Ryan has been very helpful with her as she's the one that has been sick the most. Although he had high fevers last week. You know it's bad when he doesn't leave the couch for 14 hours. He's always the sweetest most grateful boy when he's sick. You'd never wish it on him, but it melts your heart at the same time.

Let's hoe our next post reports a run of health and fun for the Kerry's....and that momma and pappa bear don't give into the bugs. I'll go knock on some wood!

Love, 

Court, Max, Ryan + Elise

Ryan making his own ArtPrizes. He is a prolific, intense little artist!

Morning light pouring in our window as OUR little sunshines light up the room.

Big girls sitting in her bedroom chair.

The kids had a blast chasing bubbles in the drive.

Ella and Ryan playing dinosaurs....that drink tea, during a visit to Meijer Garden.

Yes, those are indeed Elise's toes in her mouth. She's not a big eater right now and has also taken to chewing toes lately, though this was a first during dinner.

It appears my pre-natal yoga paid off. Elise often does down dog all on her own for no apparent reason.

A trip to Robinette's Wine Haus and Cider Mill was in order two weekends ago. Nothing like fresh-pressed cider and pumpkin spice dougnuts! We made a second run yesterday with the kids since we were tired of being house bound and needed some fresh air...and it was 80º.

Elise was big enough to climb the wagon / slide this year.

Hayride!

Ryan jumping on Robinette's giant air cushion. 

I realized shooting this that not so long enough, this little soul lived exactly in the same spot within me! 

Elise has been into cooking along side me and making pretend soup.

She also loves the beater.

My little artists hard at work on a weekend morning.

He hooked up the electric dump truck to the excavator so that they pulled one another back and forth. I'm encouraged that Ryan's doing creative things even with battery operated toys.

During one of the morning's of sickness, I had to wake Elise....It was tough when she was sleeping this sweetly.

Like most mornings, when she did awake, she was happy!

Daddy and Elise story hour.

Elise at ArtPrize with me and auntie K. We tried to escape Ryan's bug with an all day excursion last Saturday...In the end, Elise got hit on Monday with 105º fevers, but we had a great time the weekend before it happened.

Ryan's made this banner to give his daddy the day before school started.

Ryan returned to Ms. Katie's Pre-K B class this year. He loves the class and we're already seeing his language and story-telling take off. Today he explained how gravity worked....and was right.

Ryan at the Jenison / Northview game where we claimed the season's first win!

Uncle E and Ryan having too much fun at the game.

Ryan acting silly with a sheet and a slide at a local park.

Watching football on a laying low kinda' weekend.

Ryan decided to give his Polar bear a c-section since his Aunt Emily delivered his cousin Trevor in a similar fashion :) 

Little Bear and Elise reuniting.  (Elise circled the island at my parents....it was a torturous separation.)

104º

13 Months + 4 3/4

Hi all,
I don't know what it is about the second time around the child merry-go-round but I find myself FORCING the month count for Elise. She's one. I think I kept Ryan on the month-timer until he was 3! Ironically, Ryan is very concerned that the world know he is 4 AND three-quarters.

It's been a month of forward progression at the Kerry's. Ryan removed his own training wheels and learned how to ride his big boy bike on his first attempt! If we had kept him on trainers until he was 6, then I'd have expected it. But he has been on this bike for as long as Elise has been walking the Earth since we got his bike just hours before labor started. And when we say, "walking the Earth" we're not joking. Elise is now part of the uprights. She's walking long stretches with no issues. Today she even tried to jump twice. She's very graceful and measured in all her movement. It's funny, but as a kid and even an adult, I could not get enough of people playing with my hair. It appears my search is over for someone to endlessly stroke my wavy locks...Elise cannot get enough of it. She never pulls, but loves to gently move her fingers through it as she nurses or just sits with me.

In more exciting news, our newest nephew has arrived! Trevor Kerry is now an official part of the clan and we could not be more thrilled for Billy (Max's brother) and his wife Emily. After a safe delivery, he looks to be immensely cuddly and very sweet....like all Kerry men. We can't wait to go see him...unfortunately not until the conclusion of football season.

Max and team played their first game last week. In summary, Ryan said afterwards, "I am very disappointed for Daddy. I wish Byron Center wasn't alive." I then asked Ryan, "Do you know that means you wish they were dead?" His response. "Um. No. I didn't mean I don't want them to live. I just didn't want them to beat Daddy." Were hoping for better results for tomorrow night's game.

Max is easing into a new school year in the midst of CHAOS, as his building is under continued demolition and remodeling. His weight room is actually three normal classrooms with carpet and no ceiling tiles (picture that smell with high school boys sweating as they lift.) In the end it will be great, but for now there is lots of growing pains. As for the kids school year, this week Ryan has moved back to his Pre-K B room for the second year and is thrilled to help along the newbies. Elise has transitioned from the Infant A room to the Wobblers room and is doing better than expected. She sleeps on a cot and eats at a group table (though we can barely handle the crib and a high chair some days :) I still can't believe it works, but they swear it does.

Meanwhile, I'm typing form my parent's kitchen island while my daughter is asleep in my high school bed room. Just a little surreal. (We have a no contact warning on our water right now, which seems quite impossible with a messy little eater until you realize 3/4 of the world drinks worse.)

On that note, it's 10:15 pm. Both kids are sleeping....so I believe I should be too.

Love to all,
C, M, R + E

We headed to Grand Haven for Coast Guard Festival with Abby (our sitter and friend).

Ry and Abs had a GREAT tie riding the Himalayan...A ride that was much to young to ride, though barely tall enough. I would have been scared but he handled it like a champ.

He was all about the Coast Guard ships and watched this ceremony go on for a long long long time. We still have no clue what it was about :)

We headed to the Lowell 4H fair to see our neighbor's animals. Ryan got up close and personal with many of the animals. It was an education as he learned more about where our food comes from.

Elise at Bostwick Lake Inn for my Dad's birthday.

If you ever babysit and loose Elise, check behind the sofa where the big cars and trucks are, because that's a great place for babies to play.

This image looks better in person, but it's how I will forever remember Ryan at 4.

Elise loves chalk drawing almost as much as Ryan does.

There was a time that Ryan was too small to climb through this train at John Ball Park zoo, let alone climbing on top of it.

Elise being less daring on the same train.

Crafty.

Ry crossing the Rockford bridge.

My best friend from college, Staci and her husband Craig, welcomed their fourth child to the world two weeks ago. Welcome Mia!

Proof he removed his own training wheels. What a surprise when I came outside and found this!

Ryan riding his big boy bike the first night.

Riding her big girl bike.

Elise got into the Cherios as I made dinner the other night. The floor was clean before she got to it...which makes it ok that she then cleaned them up by eating them, right?

Ryan and Elise hanging with our buddies Tessa and Brompton after a serious session at Rocky's for Ice Cream.

We got to spend time with my Grandma Stevens and Aunt Terri. Shown here is four generations of Stevens!

Elise was way into the sea gulls at Millennium Park the other weekend.

Our garden failed tremendously, but our tomatoes made out well (first time ever.) Ryan loves being the official picker.

Elise and I swimming at Egypt Valley...19 years of membership and this is the first time we ever took the kids...Why we never thought of it before is beyond us! Next summer will be fantastic.

Wearing Papa's hat.

Bath Time!