All About Kainaan!

Where is Kainaan?? I know it feels like a lifetime since I posted pics of Kainaan. So here you go...this is all 4 days of his 1st & 2nd week at school. The first 2 pics was his 1st day while I was in CA. Tim took these pics with our old camera so I apologize for the lack of clarity. Its not Tim's fault, he tried. And the scab on his nose is from where he did a face plant on the concrete while I was gone...he's fine, just scratches, he's tough! And what can you say? He's 2, part Polish, and clumsy at times. :-)
Anyways, enjoy the pics of my little school boy!

PS- The last 3 pictures are of Kainaan's new habit, its his little OCD habits, that he seems to have picked up from me! LOL! He was making a 'train' with his books. Running from his room, one book at a time! It was great!

My handsome boy on the 1st day of school!

1st Day of School at Fountain City.

"Mom, another pic? Can't I eat my yogurt in peace?"

This was when I picked him up, he was not this happy that morning! this is his new school on Tuesdays and Thursdays...he's not used to it yet.

I'm Outta here!!

He's ready for school! He's happy here, its his old school from last year, he doesn't cry here anymore!

Another day! "I'm ready! Take my picture! Cheeese!"

His new thing...he's OCD like Mommy!

He ran out of room in the living room. He had to move it to the kitchen.

This what he does all of the time! He lines his toys up perfectly straight, and if I move them on purpose...he gets mad and yells,"Stop it Mommy!" He is so OCD! :-)

"Cheeeeese!" My pretty boy!

4 Years, 3 Moves, 2 Hurricanes, & 1 Baby Later...

So, today is September 4...it's mine and Tim's 4 year anniversary! Wow 4 years! Some days it feels like a lifetime, other days it feels like only yesterday we were saying 'I do' in New Orleans. Well, what has gone on in 4 years? We will do the short version...
*We moved from Monroe, LA to Valencia, CA...from Valencia, CA to Hesperia/Apple Valley, CA...from Hesperia/Apple Valley, CA to Knoxville, TN! Now in Knoxville, we have purchased our 1st home, which I have come to learn is not all that its cracked up to be. But Tim, my little financial guru, insists its a great investment...blah, blah, blah...I wish it would pay off! LOL!
*And the hurricanes? Well, our 1st anniversary was spent in our new place in Valencia, CA, while I was pregnant and hormonal, and had to watch my beloved city get wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. And now, for our 4th anniversary, I got to watch my hometown get hit by Hurricane Gustav! Man, does the madness ever end?!?
*Now the best thing ever!! Kainaan Michael!!! :-) He came along and made our marriage....different...in a good way. Kids really do change your marriage, lifestyle, perspective, and 'other things' (hint, hint). LOL! :-) Instead of keeping up with the latest movies, we can tell you when the newest Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD is coming out (this past Tuesday), and sing all of the songs for every cartoon. :-) La la la la la la, Elmo's World....
OK-enough of that, I will have Elmo's Song stuck in my head all day now. So anyways, all in all, its been one hell a ride so far, and I hope it never stops!
Tim, Happy Anniversary, I love you very much!
Here's to many more years together!
Love , Lori

Where has 'Kai-naan Mi-tael' Been??

Well, what has Mr. Kainaan been doing? He has been hanging out with Daddy while I was gone. They visited Granny & Pop in NC. They had fun! Kainaan got lots of new toys while I was gone. Surprise, surprise. But I have to admit, my husband knows to make me happy...he cleaned the house, did the laundry, and cleaned Kainaan's carpet with a rag and a bucket of water! :-)
Anyways, so Kainaan had his 1st day of school at Fountain City United Methodist Pre-School (a.k.a. FCUM). Its the one he went to last year. I picked out his outfit and left it on the bed for him, and made sure Tim had all of Kainaan's stuff there at his finger tips. Yeah, I am OCD...so what. It made it easy for Tim and Kainaan on that morning. Tim took pics, they are not very clear, but at least I have them. Kainaan was great! Didn't cry, had fun, no worries. What a relief!!
Now as for today, Tuesday, Kainaan had his 1st day of school at Beaver Dam Baptist Church Pre-School (a.k.a. BDBC). Things were going smoothly, until...we got in the front door and he stopped. He looks and says, "Nooo, Noooo mommy." So we hang out for a minute looking at decorations. And then he spots it! Another kid's Thomas the Train lunchbox! He ran towards classroom, and tried to take the kids lunch off the cart in the hallway. He got mad at me for a minute but realized he better suck up b/c Mommy was getting ready to leave! Gasp! He started getting clingy, and lost it the second the teacher took him. What a sad little boy! I knew he was going to do that. He was too good for Daddy last week. And this was a new school today, so here's hoping that tomorrow (Wednesday @ FCUM) is better.
And I get to go hunt down a Thomas the Train Lunchbox, b/c the Lightening McQueen & Tow Mater lunchbox is not good enough now...sigh...
I will post pictures tomorrow. I am too tired tonight. Going to bed, its a school night! :-)

My Last Day in Cali...(Sniffle)

OK-here it is...my last day in California. We started at the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park. Its an awesome place all about the stars, the planets, the Big Bang Theory, and all that other stuff. :-) It was really neat! The views were amazing! Smoggy, but amazing! The stuff they had in there, I tell ya, I could have made straight A's in Science class had it been presented this way! The elements table was awesome! I hated the elements table in school, and how many of you cringed at the thought of a test naming ALL of them?? I did! You will see in the pictures exactly what I am talking about.
So, next stop...Beverly Hills! We rode through it, and by 'The' Beverly Hills Hotel, and by Rodeo Dr, baby! Then, why not ride around looking for none other than Hugh Hefner's place! Rocio found the address, mapquested it, and bam, there we are! I got a picture of his gate, his unmarked gate with like, 5 security cameras looking at me as I take the picture! Its very deceiving from their show...you can't see anything. And this gate can't be the main entry, its not elaborate enough. Well, its another story I have now. So after all that riding around, it was time to call it a day and go back to Valencia. We finished off the day with dinner at a great Italian place in the center of town. And so, there it ends. My California adventure is over just like that. Enjoy the pics!

We have arrived!!! At the Griffith Observatory in the Hollywood Hills.

Its so pretty! And yes, my picture came out crooked...

What a view of the smog...looks scary doesn't it?? The end of the world or something?

Rocio with the kiddie-boos!

The beautiful ceiling in the center of the observatory.

The Elements Table...remember science class?

The Elements Table close-up. And a live image of the sun, I guess this time Mom can't say, "Stop staring at the sun, Lori, you'll go blind!!" LOL!

Look! Its planet Earth!

Its the moon and a real piece of it in the box. And now, I know Neil Armstrong was the 1st man on the moon, but what about this guy Buzz? He was the 2nd man...he got screwed! I think they should have jumped down together.

The statue outside the Observatory. And the Sun Dial...I think. :-)

The Beverly Hills Hotel...I wonder what celebrities are there...

Rodeo Drive, Baby!

'THE' Playboy Mansion Gate...and there are lots of cameras looking at me at this point.

We are so tired! The Italian food was great!

Memories, Oh Memories!

OK-here are just a few pics of stuff from Valencia. Our apartment where my baby was brought home to, the hospital where my baby was born, the store that was responsible for moving me away when I was pregnant and hormonal...ooohhhhh the memories!

This was where we lived...very nice apartments, and gated!

Awww! It's my apartment! And my garage-2nd from the right.

Awww! Its my balcony! Great views from here. The window to the Left was my kitchen, to the right was my living room. Oh, I miss it!

Yes, I took a pic of our other parking spot...LOL!

The shopping strip across from us. We used to walk across all of the time.

It had everything! Tanning salon, hair and nails, Starbucks, Grocery store, Subway, Cuban Steak house, Pizza place, beauty supply store...it was awesome walking over with Kainaan in the stroller!

Our place from the 5...(I-5).

Pilot of Castaic, CA. Tim's nightmare with the famous CA EPA!

Awww! My little baby was born here!

There's my room! Ha! Well one of them...I remember my room faced the street. It was the 2nd floor...somewhere! :-) Kainaan spent his 1st 3 days of life here!

Visiting with The Berru's!

I got to visit with our friends, The Berru's! We all went to eat at Yamato first. It was our fav Japanese restaurant in Valencia. It was also my pregnancy craving...we ate it at least 2 times a week. And usually, Danny & Val were right there with us. So, we had to bring back the memories! The food was not as spicy as I remembered, but it could be b/c I am spoiled to out Japanese food here in Knoxville. But it was great to be there anyways. After the food, we went to their house! Their new house is amazing!! I love it! And Nathan and Christian have the biggest playroom I have ever seen! I took lots of pics of their house, but I figure it would be a little weird to post the pictures of it on here. But I can say I want to redecorate my house now! I think I will start with the kitchen. It will match Val's! :-) I will scrap the Chef stuff, re-do with the Espresso/Coffee motif, but add a little New Orleans touch! OK- so I will end this now. But I did post a couple of pics of there cutie pie boys!


Here is Christian! Isn't he a cutie??


And here is Nathan! He is 6 weeks younger than Kainaan. ADORABLE!

Horseback Riding in Hollywood?

Yep! I was horseback riding in the Hollywood Hills. Not exactly what you think of when you think of Hollywood, right? Anyways, we had a great time! We did the 1 hour tour instead of the 2 hour one...and all I can say is OUCH! My butt was numb! My horse's name was Sampson, he was actually a Wild Mustang back in his hay day...LOL...get it, Hay day? Horses eat hay?? OK, that was a Lori-ism! Rocio's horse was named Raw, he was really gassy, but so was Sampson. Sampson walked right on Raw's butt. And on a trail that was at least 6-8 feet wide, they HAD to walk on the EDGE! What is that about?? Our trail guide kept reassuring us that they would not fall b/c they don't want to, not b/c they would protect us, but b/c they are not stupid enough to do something to themselves. Ha! That's great, and I was just told that mine used to WILD and he is a Mustang, isn't that breed notorious for running and bucking and being uncontrollable at times?? Anyways, the view was gorgeous, except for the smoggy layer looking over the city.
Well, enjoy the pics!


Sampson had cute ears!



Isn't he pretty?



Yeah, his butt was cute, too. LOL!



He was branded with a 'W' which matched my last name! It was a sign!



The smoggy view of L.A.



OK Sampson, a little close to the edge!! Can you move over some??



Another view! And look how wide the trail is! Why did they mess with us like that?Horses have a warped sense of humor! LOL!



Hey Rocio!!



Our tour guide and her horse, Chloe?



Me and Sampson!



I got to feed him a treat after our walk! He enjoyed it!