K is for Knight

My mother in law has been out of state for several months getting some much needed medical care and trying to focus on herself and get well. She has had long term struggles with back and neck pain and after seeking the advice of out of state doctors she is finally on the right track to a pain free and healthy life! While we're glad that she's getting better we've also missed her GREATLY! The last time the boys and I saw her was the beginning of August, just  before the boys started school. Yikes! We're used to seeing Noni at least once each month, if not more, and so this has been way too long to be apart. A couple of weeks ago, my mother in law was able to come home for a long weekend visit before undergoing a major shoulder surgery. We were SO EXCITED!!!! Brandon and I made the decision to take the boys out of school for two days and travel to Ponca City to not only visit Noni but also both of Brandon's brothers, their wives and all of the cousins! This was a much needed visit!

Tyler and April's daughter, Natalie, really loved playing with the boys, playing with their toys and doing her best to keep up with them! I think she's going to give them a run for their money in the future! She really took to Maddox! Anytime he was on the floor playing with her she would literally ATTACK him and try to  give him kisses! It was HILARIOUS! Especially since Maddox can't stand little girl kisses...even from his cousins! (We think secretly he really does like it he just has to act all tough and grossed out...!!!)

What a pretty girl! Natalie is such a sweet heart! Look at those eyes!

Sometimes she couldn't decide if she wanted to play with Maddox or Ash...

When she would sit still long enough Ash gave Natalie an extensive tutorial on excavating dinosaur bones out of rock! Ha!

I think she was genuinely interested!

Natalie loves to be outside! Her belly laughs are contagious!

She loves the flowers! In fact, she loves them so much she tries to eat them!

Nathan, Dana and Evie arrived shortly after we did and we were so excited to reunite with them! We haven't seen them since mid summer and boy has Evie grown! She's such a beautiful baby! Love those cheeks!

Quality time with Noni.

Maddox and Natalie. More bonding time. Maddox does SO well with babies!

Another of our favorite past times that we got to do while we were in Ponca City was hang out early in the morning in Noni's backyard! The boys helped Noni pick up pecans (or "mecans" if you ask the boys...) and just hang out in the beautiful weather outside.

Aunt Dana had a really neat bracelet that is specially made to double as a teething ring! The mom wears it but baby can chew on it! It's the neatest thing ever invented! Natalie REALLY loved this new toy and would carry it around in her mouth like a puppy! Ha!

Dana had put together a custom blanket with each of the grand kids pictures on it for Glenda to take back with her and take to the hospital while she has surgery. It turned out great! We surprised her with it by placing the blanket on the floor while Noni was out of the room and having all of the kids sit on it and we waited to see how long it would take Noni to notice! Surprisingly it didn't take her long and, of course, she LOVED it!

Again, Maddox is SO good with the babies!

Noni really wanted to get a picture of herself with all of the grand kids before she went home BUT that turned out to be much harder than we expected! Ha! Every single time Noni would hold both Evie and Natalie on her lap the girls would try to touch each others faces, poke each others eyes and ultimately someone would end up crying! They were only trying to play with each other but it just wasn't going well...so, in the end, we didn't get a picturesque family photo but we did get a real life version! Nothing says memory like babies crying and all the parents standing behind the camera making silly faces and saying "look over here!" "smile!" "no don't do that!" while shaking rattles and pushing singing toys! Ha!

When you only have baby toys to play with you have to get creative...

My nieces are beautiful! Natalie doesn't like to wear headbands, though...we're gonna have to work on that...

Our visit with Noni and Brandon's side of the family was wonderful! It was way too short but it was great while it lasted and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. There's just something about going home and being with family that always makes you feel so good. I'm sad to see Noni go but I know that soon she'll be back home feeling much better and ready to tackle life once again! She's a go getter for sure! We love you Noni! Focus on yourself and GET WELL SOON!!!!