This sweet little 6 1/2 year old lost his first tooth today at Lowe's. He was eating a hot dog, while shopping (he's a good multi tasker) and all of a sudden told Steven, "Daddy! My tooth is gone!" We can only assume that tooth is now in this belly. Too bad for me because I love to save the first baby tooth that falls out for each of the boys. I guess with this child I will just have to make it the second tooth, call it the first tooth, and be good with that! The fairy will come tonight and collect nothing but at least she will still leave him something because the tooth fairy still has a heart:)
Our little boy is growing up, and BONUS, he learned today where he can find his tooth in a few days. Yes, I taught him a little science lesson. Let's just say...he's already been looking each time he visits the bathroom! Nasty.
I'll leave you with that....
Will Parker Kueny came into the world on Nov 27, 2006 at 6:31pm. Or maybe it was 5:31pm? Who's counting right, and I'm too lazy to go find the baby book to get the correct time.
I do remember, however, very clearly how he was 10 days late. It was Thanksgiving week and my doctor told me to "wait it out" and he would take Will on Monday if he hadn't come yet. Basically, he didn't want to work on Thanksgiving if he didn't HAVE to so he told me to go home. Suffice it to say, it was not a very comfortable holiday for me. I couldn't eat anything because I was so overdue and uncomfortable.
Monday morning came and I was finally able to have my baby as I began my 42nd week of pregnancy. It was freezing outside and there was an ice storm on the evening Will came into the world. That made for an interesting, tear induced, and stressful drive home 36 hours later.
Fast forward 9 years and here we are. I almost can't believe it. Time sure does fly and I know before long I will blink and it will be his 19th birthday we are celebrating. He had his good friend, Owen, over to spend the night. His birthday was filled with his favorite foods, his family, his friends, and a sleepover with the holiday classic "Home Alone". It was a birthday I hope he remembers for a long time.
Happy birthday to my sweet, soft spoken, studious, obedient, mathematical, and loving 9 year old. We love you more and more each day!
This Thanksgiving we made the 2 hour drive to Norman to celebrate the holiday with the Kueny side of the family. One Kueny sibling lives in Hawaii and another Kueny sibling lives in Germany so only 3 out of 5 were present but we still made the best of it.
Cousin Nathan turned 11 on Wednesday and Will turned 9 TODAY on Black Friday. We woke up on Friday to Nana having made waffles, bacon, and sausage and candles in the boys' meals for a birthday sing off. We had a little family party, games were played, and gifts were exchanged. It was the perfect ending to a very wet and cold Thanksgiving gathering.
This morning we woke to a wind chill of 19 (crazy since the day before I ran the campus in 65 degrees). So, we had 19 degree wind chills and that's when the Kueny heater decided to stop working:) Thankfully, Poppa is an all around handy guy and was able to get it back up and running before we all had birthday snot running down our noses!
I hope and pray everyone had a safe and happy holiday with their friends and family. It was different this year without Rachel and her family. It was a BIT more quiet without the addition of 5 more children to add to the blessed noise. Hopefully the years will fly by quickly and then we can all enjoy the holidays with all the family back together again.
Now, we are home again and I am scrambling to unpack, unload Thanksgiving dishes and food, BLOG, and make another birthday meal for Will for 11 people. His choices: Pepper steak, fried rice, steamed broccoli, baked squash, and strawberry cake. Some of those picks might seem odd to some people that a 9 year old would pick those things, but not to me. This child loves to eat most of anything (not sushi though, and that upsets me).
Happy birthday to Nathan and Will and look for another birthday blog soon to come for our celebration tonight with my family.
Happy Thanksgiving All!
This other picture was just a random survey I found at the Kueny's house this week that made me LOL:)
I am not normally a, "Hey, look at that cool sculpture!" type of girl. BUT...this "Bean" sculpture in Millennium Park is incredible. I don't know how it works, I don't know why it works or why it's shaped like a bean. All I know is that it is Uber cool and a MUST SEE whenever you are in Chicago. My favorite picture of the whole trip is probably the one of all 6 of us standing in front of the bean. I love so much that when you scroll in closer on the pic you can see our reflection from behind on the bean. Coolness.
Another cool thing we did while in Chi Town was visit the Hancock Tower. This tower stands 1500 feet off the ground. We took the elevator to floor 94 and had some drinks at a tower restaurant. This was a pretty awesome view if you ask me. You had Lake Michigan on one side of the tower and part of the Chicago skyline on the other. Another interesting fact about this trip...remember when I said 2 days later it snowed 8 inches? Well, 2 days later a fire started on floor 50 of the Hancock Tower and the whole building had to be evacuated into the freezing cold snow storm that was outside. No one was injured or killed (that's the good news) but more good news is that we were, once again, gone during this not so fun Chicago experience!
If and when you might visit this town (we highly recommend it), I would suggest doing these things. In no particular order:
Navy Pier
Hancock Tower (use the women's bathroom on the 94th floor. Pretty cool)
Willis Tower Glass Walk out (this will have to be our next trip as we ran out of time)
Magnificent Mile (yes yes and yes)
Millennium Park
ANY local Chicago Pizzeria
Rock Bottom Restaurant on Grand Ave
Garrett's Popcorn (all over downtown)
Wrigley Field
I am sure I am forgetting things but pretty much anywhere we ate or went we all loved it. I loved how Chicago had the NYC feel but on a much smaller, doable, more walkable feel. I loved downtown and the hustle and bustle. I loved it all and I KNOW we will be making a return trip. It was so worth it.
Bonus: We also really enjoyed our 1/2 day trip to Notre Dame. All of us were kind of shocked that the campus wasn't bigger than it was. I think we all were expecting something huge. It's not. It's pretty and old but not nearly as pretty and old as Duke's campus was in North Carolina. Still, we were happy we did it and saw it but that will be it for me and Notre Dame. Been there, done that (and yes, I bought the T shirt).
It is now Thanksgiving week and I hope everyone has a great holiday spent with family, friends, and loved ones. Someone in the Kueny house has a very special bday this week on Friday. Happy early birthday to our oldest, Will, who turns the big NINE on Black Friday. How is that even possible?! Happy Turkey Day everyone! Bless those Pilgrims!
Last week we went to Chicago. Steven and I had never been there before (unless you count a 36 hour trip back in 2001 when Steven thought he wanted to be an actor). That is a whole other blog all together:) Anyways, back in 2001 we didn't have a lot of extra money. In fact, we only had $ for gas, food, and one night of a hotel. So, that's all we did. Fast forward 14 years...Chi Town again! This time with 3 of our closest friends and my cousin. Man, it was a blast and we had absolutely perfect Chicago weather. Just 2 days after leaving it snowed 8 inches at O'Hare Airport. No thank you! We were long gone by then (thank heavens).
All the pretty weather allowed us to shop the Magnificent Mile, walk Navy Pier, visit the "Bean" in Millenium Park and probably several other outdoor activities that I am forgetting.
Tanya and I were able to check the states of Wisconsin and Michigan off our lists (thanks to a couple of road trips). Kenosha, WI and the lighthouses, mansions, and crystal clear Lake Michigan ranked high as one of my favorites on this trip. The whole city was beautiful and clean.
Honestly, we didn't do much in Michigan but stop for a sign picture, get gas, and use the bathroom. Michigan was checked off the list and the majority of the day was spent in South Bend, IN (where we toured Notre Dame)...blog on that tomorrow.
It was a great trip, with fantastic people, and a welcomed break from work. Bonus...it rained almost the whole time we were gone (in Tulsa) so Steven wasn't on the phone the entire time coordinating crews and jobs because they weren't working anyways! Boom!
It's always hard leaving the boys but they have grown used to us leaving every so often. It's good for parents to get away some and enjoy some time alone, to rest, refresh, and clear your brains for a few days of the hustle and bustle that is life with children. We wouldn't trade these boogers for the world, but I wouldn't trade the priviledge to travel either. We are surely blessed!
Halloween always brings out the ghosts, goblins, and witches (and football players and the latest superhero in my house). It also brings out our family in this household because it's my Papaw Fournier's birthday. This year he celebrated number 84! I think he looks pretty darn awesome for 84. He's doing so well. I know it's a day by day process for him but for Mamaw only being gone 3 months, I think he's doing amazing and I am so happy and proud of him. He has his moments, many of them, as we all would but he is such a strong and precious man.
We all met at a local BBQ place for some ribs and okra for lunch yesterday. I came sweaty after my run, the boys came soaked in rain, mud, and grass from flag football games. Steven and Will came with hair all over their clothes and necks from freshly getting haircuts. The girls came covered in eye makeup and face makeup from a football game/halloween dress up. We all came though! That's life right now in our world. Super busy but NOT too busy to celebrate 84 years with this amazing man in our world.
Halloween night arrived at all the kids came to our house to trick or treat in this neighborhood. This neighborhood can not be beaten for this holiday. It is insane how many kids are here, parents, grandparents, friends, etc. Sometimes you even lose your children because there is so much madness in the streets. The kids love it! This year we had a Halo character, football player (gasp, again?), a chainsaw killer (yuck), greek goddess, witch, Rapunzel, ninja, and Antman. 6 cousins and 2 friends went with us while we walked probably 4 more miles around the neighborhood. Yes, my legs were sore:( All in the name of Butterfingers, Twix, Snickers, Twizzlers, Kit Kat's....the list could go on and on of the candy that I stole from the boys buckets!
I always love to watch on Facebook throughout the week and see all the kids (and adults) costumes. It's so fun and many people, MANY people are so much more creative than our family. There's not much I can do to change Will's mind on the football player thing. At least his costume doesn't usually cost me a dime. I use that dime on Owen to buy yet ANOTHER superhero costume. He has as many superhero costumes as most girls do dolls and purses. Both my boys are consistent in that avenue, that is for sure!
Happy weekend and daylight savings time fall back. I hope everyone enjoyed this family this holiday weekend and snuck some good candy grabs here and there. You're the parent! You don't have to cap it at 5 pieces. Keep eating:)
This last week has not been the easiest for me. I have been suffering with no voice (I'm sure Steven didn't mind that), little to no energy, sinus infection (head feeling like it's gonna explode), no appetite, and to top it all of the doctor said I had bronchitis as well. That's a doozy of a week! NOT good for any Momma to get sick and have littles to take care of but this week was especially hard for me because I had scheduled to run the Tulsa Run on Saturday.
This race is a tough one. It's called a 15k but this race is NEVER 9.3 miles. It's always more and I don't understand why they don't adjust the course to be a true 15k. I crossed over the finish line at 9.5 miles with a 8:53 pace. This course is UBER hilly. It's probably the hilliest race (if not the most hills) on any race we've ever ran. I know I am not the only one that says this about this race. I hear it all the time. I was nervous about this race because I had not been able to do ANY form of physical activity the entire week to prep. Looking back, that might have been a good thing because I was storing up all my energy and strength for the morning of the race. God cleared up the rain, it moved out, and 8000 runners moved in. Jackie Kueny crossed that finish line in 1,064th place. Top 13% while attempting to get over bronchitis. Thank you Jesus for your supernatural strength you gave me throughout this race. I felt it.
I also felt the presence of my running buddies. I can't even remember now how many runs we have done together. It's been quite a few. It's great to know you have someone right there beside you, in front of you, or behind you. We all eventually split up some but all crossed the finish line about 6 minutes of each other. Thank you Kristi and Melinda for another great Tulsa Run in the books. I couldn't have done it without you this year. Seriously, I would have stayed on my couch...so thanks:)
Cousin Nathan turned 11 on Wednesday and Will turned 9 TODAY on Black Friday. We woke up on Friday to Nana having made waffles, bacon, and sausage and candles in the boys' meals for a birthday sing off. We had a little family party, games were played, and gifts were exchanged. It was the perfect ending to a very wet and cold Thanksgiving gathering.
I hope and pray everyone had a safe and happy holiday with their friends and family. It was different this year without Rachel and her family. It was a BIT more quiet without the addition of 5 more children to add to the blessed noise. Hopefully the years will fly by quickly and then we can all enjoy the holidays with all the family back together again.
Now, we are home again and I am scrambling to unpack, unload Thanksgiving dishes and food, BLOG, and make another birthday meal for Will for 11 people. His choices: Pepper steak, fried rice, steamed broccoli, baked squash, and strawberry cake. Some of those picks might seem odd to some people that a 9 year old would pick those things, but not to me. This child loves to eat most of anything (not sushi though, and that upsets me). 
Halloween always brings out the ghosts, goblins, and witches (and football players and the latest superhero in my house). It also brings out our family in this household because it's my Papaw Fournier's birthday. This year he celebrated number 84! I think he looks pretty darn awesome for 84. He's doing so well. I know it's a day by day process for him but for Mamaw only being gone 3 months, I think he's doing amazing and I am so happy and proud of him. He has his moments, many of them, as we all would but he is such a strong and precious man.
Halloween night arrived at all the kids came to our house to trick or treat in this neighborhood. This neighborhood can not be beaten for this holiday. It is insane how many kids are here, parents, grandparents, friends, etc. Sometimes you even lose your children because there is so much madness in the streets. The kids love it! This year we had a Halo character, football player (gasp, again?), a chainsaw killer (yuck), greek goddess, witch, Rapunzel, ninja, and Antman. 6 cousins and 2 friends went with us while we walked probably 4 more miles around the neighborhood. Yes, my legs were sore:( All in the name of Butterfingers, Twix, Snickers, Twizzlers, Kit Kat's....the list could go on and on of the candy that I stole from the boys buckets!
This race is a tough one. It's called a 15k but this race is NEVER 9.3 miles. It's always more and I don't understand why they don't adjust the course to be a true 15k. I crossed over the finish line at 9.5 miles with a 8:53 pace. This course is UBER hilly. It's probably the hilliest race (if not the most hills) on any race we've ever ran. I know I am not the only one that says this about this race. I hear it all the time. I was nervous about this race because I had not been able to do ANY form of physical activity the entire week to prep. Looking back, that might have been a good thing because I was storing up all my energy and strength for the morning of the race. God cleared up the rain, it moved out, and 8000 runners moved in. Jackie Kueny crossed that finish line in 1,064th place. Top 13% while attempting to get over bronchitis. Thank you Jesus for your supernatural strength you gave me throughout this race. I felt it. 
I also felt the presence of my running buddies. I can't even remember now how many runs we have done together. It's been quite a few. It's great to know you have someone right there beside you, in front of you, or behind you. We all eventually split up some but all crossed the finish line about 6 minutes of each other. Thank you Kristi and Melinda for another great Tulsa Run in the books. I couldn't have done it without you this year. Seriously, I would have stayed on my couch...so thanks:)