Naylor News

Choir Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:00:00 +0000

Max sang in church yesterday during the 8am mass. Too cute! Too bad Max is smaller than the other kids...he is hiding between them and was hard to see at times!

Halloween 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 23:32:00 +0000

Happy Halloween! The evening is about over and the kids are already planning on what they want to dress up as for next year!

We carved our pumpkin...

We had a party at school...

We made mama happy by posing for pictures...

We surprised Suzy and her husband Rob...

We counted our candy...

And Noah said to hell with that and dumped his out...

Halloween Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:58:00 +0000

At Leah's dance studio the kids put on a little Halloween show during their normal class time. The kids all dressed up in the Halloween costumes and performed a dance that they have learned in less than a month! Enjoy!

Food Allergy Walk a Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 22:29:00 +0000

Yesterday was a beautiful day to support and celebrate people who live with food allergies...especially my favorite food allergy kid, MAX!

This was the third year of the FARE Food Allergy Walk in Cincinnati and the first year for us to participate. Crazy to think that the first year of the walk was when Max was first diagnosed with severe food allergies...peanuts and eggs. We are so fortunate that we have been able to cross peanuts off the list!

Our team this year was small yet mighty, just like Max! Pat's parents were in town and our friend Annie, who has a laundry list of food allergies herself, and her son Wesley, allergic to fish, also joined us. My parents were with us in spirit and wore their shirts proudly!

Photo by Annie Anglin

Photo by Connie Naylor

Photo by Tom Lindsey

Photo by Donna Lindsey

Leah and Max had a great time sliding down the bouncing slide while we waited for the walk to start. Max was able to sign a banner and we 'tried' to get some pictures. The walk took place at the International Friendship Park along the Ohio River. It was such a pretty path to walk along. I was even able to get a nice picture of Leah.

Our day would not be complete without a little drama...the boys ended up at Urgent Care for an upper respiratory infection and Noah was also diagnosed with pink eye!

Small yet mighty, Max's Maniacs enjoyed the day. We hope our team can grow next year!

Happy 34th, Pat!

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:54:00 +0000

Today is Pat's 34th birthday, but because we will not be home all together until 8:30 tonight, we celebrated a day early.

Noah and Max helped me make Daddy's cake while Leah was at the marching band show with Hippa. Memaw made sure that the spoons did not turn into swords!

Since Pat's favorite cake is cherry cheesecake I make two different goodies. The cheesecake for Pat and anyone else that will eat it (aka the adults) and cupcakes for the kids (mainly because if Max ate cheesecake, we would probably end up at Childrens' for all the vomiting that would take place since it is loaded with eggs!)

Max is really eyeing those cupcakes!

We sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed dessert for breakfast!

Happy Birthday Pat!

Five Years of Betty's Bunch

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 15:19:00 +0000

Yesterday our little family gathered at the Wetherington Golf and Country Club in West Chester to Walk to End Alzheimer's. This was our fifth year walking together as Betty's Bunch in honor and memory of my Grandma Snow.

We had shirts made our second year, but I decided they needed to be spruced up a bit this year. I love the result! Special thanks to Moonshine Printing in Oxford for creating our new shirts!

A special thanks to many friends and family, including Tom and Donna Lindsey, Dawn Hofherr, Becky Kuritz, Kathy Jaynes, Larry Snow, Christine Birhanzl, Mary Jo Wilhelm and a few others who wish to remain anonymous, who made monetary donations to the Alzheimer's Association in the name of Betty's Bunch. I appreciate the donations! We surpassed our goal of $500 this year! I would love it even more if our little group of seven can grow next year! We have a great time walking and sharing stories of Grandma Snow! Mark your calendars NOW for September 12, 2015!

Walk to End Alzheimer's

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 20:35:00 +0000

This September my family and I will be participating in the annual Alzheimer Walk. We walk in memory of my Grandma Snow, who passed away 15 years ago from this awful disease. Please consider donating or joining our team, Betty's Bunch. Click HERE to support finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

First Day of School #3

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 18:45:00 +0000

This past week, both Leah and I headed back to school!

Leah had her first day of First Grade on Wednesday. We met her teacher, Mrs. Clemmons, Tuesday night at Open House. Leah found her desk and was amazed by all of the workbooks and journals inside! She was excited to put her box of school supplies in her desk. We learned that each day she would have a different 'special': library, gym, music, art and computer. On her first day, she had gym! She came home with lots to tell. Her favorite parts of the day were sitting at her own desk, eating lunch in the cafeteria and gym class. She said she loved her teacher and is excited about the upcoming year!

I started my 14th year of teaching on Wednesday. I can't believe it is year number 14! Time is flying by! This year I am teaching Math 2, Math 3 and Advanced Precalculus.

On the first day I usually plan some sort of activity for the kids to complete. This year it was the Marshmallow Challenge. I found the activity on Pinterest. Students worked in groups of 4 and were given 20 pieces of dried spaghetti, 1 meter of string, 1 meter of tape and 1marshmallow. Students were given 18 minutes to construct a tower as high as possible that would hold the marshmallow at the top. Here are some of the various towers, and one that had a good effort :-)

And here is the winner at 68 centimeters!

Looking forward to a good 2014-2015 school year!

This Is What Happens...

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 18:48:00 +0000

When Noah takes Pat's iPhone and the camera function is on!

First Day of School #2

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 11:04:00 +0000

Today is Pat's first day of school...for the ninth time!

All nine years have been in the Hamilton district. This year he is teaching grades 5-12! Have a great day, Pat...and Happy National Left-Handers Day!!!

First Day of School #1

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:51:00 +0000

'Tis the season of Back to School! The boys, Max and Noah, had their first day yesterday.

Max started his second year of preschool. He was so excited to go back and move up to the 'Blue Room' with Ms. Krissy! And he is so excited that he will still see Ms. Kelli every morning for breakfast!

Noah started his first year of preschool. He's just shy of two-and-a-half, but we decided that the time was right for him. I was tired of picking up three children at three different locations nearly everyday, and Noah was ready for some interaction with other kids. I think it will work out well!

We received reports on tho boys mid-day. Ms. Krissy commented on Facebook that Max was taking a good nap. Mr. Andrew sent me an email that Max was acting like he had never left for the summer and Noah was fitting right in. However, Noah was having some difficulty at nap time. If I had to guess what would have been problematic on day #1 it would have been lunch because Noah is so picky (he didn't eat a thing) and nap time. At school the boys sleep on a cot, which is a first for Noah. Noah is used to sleeping all alone in his bedroom and when he was at Suzy's house last year he slept in a pack n play in his own room. I'm sure Noah will get the hang of it!

When I picked them up in the afternoon, both had smiles on their faces and said they had a great day!

And a few more of the few dozen pictures I took...pictures that show their personalities!

Good Wife vs. Good Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 03:06:00 +0000

I often find it difficult to be a Good Wife and a Good Mother at the same time. I know I am a Good Wife, but when I am, I feel like I am not giving my children the attention they need. I also know I am a Good Mother, but Pat usually takes a back seat. And don't get me started about being a Good Self...I know that never happens because I never put myself first. But back to being a good wife and mother...it is hard to be both simultaneously.

Which brings me to tonight. I chose to be a Good Wife. Pat has been working the past two weeks at band camp and tonight was the Preview Show for the band families. Pat had asked if I was going to come and bring the kids. I laughed. There was no way I was taking my three children to the show. I knew exactly how that would end up...lots of tears and most of them would be shed by me! But I knew I needed to be a Good Wife and support my husband, so I packed the kids up and we headed to the high school. I think Pat was excited I had changed my mind...he loves to show off the kids to his colleagues and students. We were able to have dinner with Pat and even got to go to the band office where Leah found some pom-poms and Max and Noah found some drums. Maybe I had been wrong in thinking the night would end badly.

We then headed out to the stadium and we chose seats all the way at the top. I wanted to record the show and I wanted the kids to be able to see. It was hot...the plastic stadium seats had been heated all day from the hot sun and we were all sweating before the show started. The kids complained they were hot and bored but they didn't want to leave...they wanted to watch "daddy's band." I started to worry how their behavior would continue.

The band actually performed the show backwards. They performed their halftime show first, followed by the pre-game performance. The halftime show was pretty good seeing how the students had learned it in two weeks. And my children were mostly well behaved. At times Noah wanted in my lap, but for the most part they were pretty good.

Then the band performed their pre-game show and that is when Rocky happened in real-life. Max and Noah started throwing punches at each other and were tackling each other. We were lucky that the bleachers did not have the empty space under each seat otherwise one or both would have fallen straight to the ground. I was surprised that neither went tumbling down the stairs. I somehow avoided a trip to the ER! And during all of this I was trying to be the Good Wife...watching the show and recording it for Pat to see and to share with family and friends. And while I was being the Good Wife I was definitely NOT being a Good Mother...because my boys acting out scenes from Rocky and they were tackling each other. I can be heard in the video attempting to discipline the boys, but I was distracted by the show and my 'discipline' was not very effective. As soon as the marching portion was finished, we quickly exited the stadium. I felt bad for Leah who had been really good all evening, so she did stay with Pat for the remainder of the show. I felt bad leaving early, but fortunately Pat understood why while watching the boys exchange swings and tackles coming down the stairs.

But in the end I was a Good Wife. We made it through the important part of the show causing little embarrassment to ourselves. And I guess I was a Good Mother, at least in my children's eyes, because I rewarded my little fighters with a trip to Flubs.

Puddle

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:48:00 +0000

If there is a puddle, Noah WILL find it!

Collarbone Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:58:00 +0000

I took Max to Children's this morning for a follow up appointment with Orthopaedics for Max's broken collarbone. After getting Max settled with some Lucky Charms and an apple juice, we were off to our home away from home...radiology. Today marked the fifth time Max has been seen by radiology in this year alone! We have been there for a 'hurt' foot, twice for bowels and twice now for his collarbone.

Here is a picture of Max's x-rays. The left side is from today and the right side is from when the break initially happened at the end of June.

Looks pretty much the same, but the doctor said that the cloudiness on the left is indication that the break is healing.

The original X-ray from June

X-ray from today...note the cloudy bump surrounding the break

It first forms a 'bump' (which we can feel and see protruding from Max's neck/shoulder) and will heal from the outside and in. So that is why to us normal people it looks like it is still broken. The good news? No need to go back as long as Max is not complaining of being hurt...and as long as Max stays out of trouble!

Snapshot Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 21:03:00 +0000

We had another pretty quiet week here...and the weather was awesome! It definitely felt more like fall than mid-July! However the steamy temps are heading back this week.

Max is working on his "pooping on the potty" goals...he is doing a great job!

We went to a new park (new for us anyway) in Oxford, followed by lunch at Mac n Joes...

We met up with our friends Jay, Jenny, Lily and Lanie at Kings Island...

Saw the new Planes movie...

And Mo got a much needed haircut!

A New Look

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:32:00 +0000

I redesigned the blog after having some new family pictures taken. Hope you enjoy it! I also noticed that this blog is connected to an OLD email address. Please unsubscribe and then resubscribe on the page. This way if you reply I will get your message!

We had a great time with Jena last night from Jena Marie Photography, you can find her on Facebook. She put up a few preview pictures on Facebook last night...I can't wait to see the rest! Enjoy these for now!

Time Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 21:04:00 +0000

Poor Noah had a rough start to his day...a time out for hitting Max.

I then headed to the vet with Mo and when I came home later Noah was being put in time out again for hitting Max.

After lunch the three kids headed to the basement to play, but it didn't take long for Leah and Max to come running up the stairs. This time Noah had hit Leah twice and bit Max. Instead of a third time out, we decided it was time for Noah to take a nap.

Here's hoping to a quiet evening while Pat is enjoying some guy time on the golf course. Remember the phrase Monday Meltdown? Fingers crossed :-)

Snapshot Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 22:41:00 +0000

We have had a mostly quiet week...quiet for us anyway. We have had T-ball practice/game, swimming lessons, a night out to Kings Island and a morning at the zoo. Sounds busy, but for us this was not busy! Next week is Pat's last week of 'freedom' as band camp starts a week from tomorrow. I am sure we will try to squeeze in as much summer as we can this week.

Some snapshots from the past few weeks...

Noah with friend Lanie

Tilly the turtle from the aquarium

Kings Island fun

Camping out

Zoo! Nasha the new baby giraffe

Noah just LOVES the goats

Noah, what's in your nose? Booboos!

Flowers in the front of our house

4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 21:39:00 +0000

The morning of the 4th of July, I took the kids to the Hamilton parade. Pat's marching band was one of six bands in the parade. The big hit were the 'race cars.' I remember these as the Zoom Zoom cars from the Warren 4th of July parade growing up as a kid. I remember them to be really loud, weaving in and out of a figure eight, almost cutting of our toes. I don't know if times have changed or if seeing it as a kid vs. an adult has changed the experience, but I thought these zoom zooms were kind of pitiful.

After the parade, we packed up the kids and dog and headed 5 hours northeast to Conneaut to spend the weekend with Pat's parents. We enjoyed roasting hotdogs and s'mores and a beautiful sunset. A neighbor even volunteered to take a family picture.

Going...

Gone!

The following day we went to the Conneaut Township park, which is where the beach is. The kids were expecting a beach like we had in Florida, so they were surprised with the 'brown sand' and all the rocks. Leah enjoyed collecting sea glass and Max collected drift wood. Max especially liked to collect the pieces that were shaped like a gun.

After the beach we cleaned up and enjoyed the afternoon at the Buccia winery. Pat and I enjoyed two bottles of wine (perhaps a bit tooooo much) before heading back to the house where Pat's sister, Dayna, and her family joined us for the remainder of the weekend. And unfortunately, that is where the pictures stop.

We had a great time...thanks Connie and Rick for having us!

Eight Years of Wedded Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 20:02:00 +0000

Eight Years of Wedded Bliss! Pat started that saying a few years ago on our anniversary, Wedded Bliss, so now we say it every year. We were married eight years ago on July 1.

We celebrated with a nice dinner over the weekend at Jag's Restaurant since Pat had to work on our actual anniversary.

We have never really exchanged cards or gifts for our anniversary, but Pat breaks that rule every year and gives me a bouquet of flowers that replicate my wedding bouquet. My original bouquet was a collection of white tulips and white hydrangeas...but tulips are not easy to get in July, so Pat always uses roses instead.

We enjoyed the day being lazy and hanging out with the kids. Pat returned home from work during a crazy thunderstorm, so we had some guests, aka Leah and Max, camping out with us for the evening.

Night at the Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:25:00 +0000

Yesterday just as we were getting ready to start dinner, I was on Facebook and saw a post that it was Member Appreciation Night at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The zoo normally closes at 5:00, but it would be open from 6:00 until 9:00 for members only. So Pat and I quickly got dinner on the table, cleaned up and got the kids in the car with no idea where we were headed. Max and Leah guessed all the normal places but never mentioned the zoo, which was surprising. They were so excited when we got there.

This turtle greeted us at the entrance...he is 34 years old!

It was a perfect night to go. It was cloudy and not too 'hot' and not too 'humid.' We easily found a place to park and it was surprisingly not busy. We were there for about 2.5 hours. Pat and I even had a beer!

We saw all of our favorite animals, but of course the giraffes were the hit of the night. Kimba, the male, was out in the yard. But all the females, including Tessa and her two babies Lulu and Nasha (the newest one) were inside. We were able to see them through a window. All of a sudden, one of the giraffes was right up against the glass...the highlight of the evening.

Noah's favorite part of the night were the goats. I think one day he might own a farm of goats...he loves them!

We ate popcorn and were even able to ride the train and carousel without a wait!

We saw the baby gorilla, Gladys, attached to her "mom's" back but we were not able to get a good picture of here. The polar bears were pretty active and put on a good show.

One of my favorite activities of the night was the canvas painting. A local art studio had canvases set up for kids to add their own strokes to. Max added some yellow, Leah added a pink butterfly and Noah added some red.

The girl behind Noah looks like Leah, but it is not!

We had a great time!

VBS

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:09:00 +0000

This week Leah attended Vacation Bible School at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church. Each day she learned something new about the Bible and Church. Each day had a new theme...everything from the games, songs and snacks related to the daily theme. All week the kids participated in a service project, the Summer Lunch Program. Leah took individual packages of pretzels for her donation.

On the first day, Leah received a T-shirt to color, and she wore her shirt the remainder of the week.

Today, the final day, parents were invited to the Church to watch the kids perform all the songs they had learned throughout the week. I wasn't able to attend since I was at a math seminar, so Pat had to take the video with Noah crawling all over him. Leah is in the center of the video.

Eden Park

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 20:52:00 +0000

Today after church we decided we would head down to the Krohn Conservatory for the Butterfly Show. We packed a picnic lunch and parked at the Twin Lakes section of Eden Park. The boys enjoyed chasing and feeding the ducks. The butterflies were from Costa Rica and were beautiful. Pat had several land on his shoulder, and Noah had one land on his back. I was able to get a few on my finger from a leaf. The kids didn't last too long in the Conservatory...it was hot! We walked back to where we had parked and enjoyed the playground and views of the Ohio River.

This Month So Far...

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 03:09:00 +0000

Finally... All caught up! Let's hope I can keep this current :-)

While Pat was golfing with his buddies Monday night, I took Leah, Max and Noah up to Miami to enjoy their 'splash pad.' It's just a small section of their sidewalk with water fountains...but the kids love to go there.

Pat took the kids to Graeter's while I was out with some friends...

Beautiful...love the freckles...

This picture reminds me so much of my brother from when he was a child...

Pat and Noah enjoying a little Nascar...Noah LOVES Nascar...

TBall Videos...

Max Goes to Safety Town

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 02:45:00 +0000

Last week Max was at the Hamilton Safety Town. Leah spent the past two summers there and Pat did as a child, too. Max learned about strangers, what a police uniform consists of, lots of songs and most importantly (to Max anyway), learned how to drive the Kettcar.

On Wednesday, the kids learned how to ride a school bus, got to go through a smoke house at the fire department and had a treat at Flub's.

Max graduated on Friday! Way to go!

Leah had to bring her babies

Noah wanted to go ride the cars so bad

Max with Officer Collins