Engel Family Happenings

Christmas 2011

2012-02-05T16:59:00.001-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids helped me make cookies this year and did it all with exception of making the dough and icing. They absolutely LOVE projects like that! I only made the sugar cookies and chex mix this year out of need to not have so much in the house (I end up eating most of it, so I feel like I get to make the executive decision on that one)!

It was a very compressed few days of celebrating. We kicked it off going to our Christmas Eve service and then coming home and spreading reindeer food outside and setting cookies our for Santa. The kids really understood the concept of Santa this year, which made it fun. Once the kids were up in the morning, we all came downstairs to see what Santa brought. I then made breakfast and then we opened presents to each other Everyone got each person in the house presents this year. It's important to me for the kids to understand the art of giving, not just receiving.

We then went to Decatur for the rest of the day to celebrate with my family. Debbie's family was there too and it's been awhile since my side of the family has had a house full of people on Christmas! Lots of great food, people, and the kids were absolutely spoiled in gifts.

We went to Dan's mom's house the next day and celebrated with most of Dan's family. It was just immediate family and Debbie actually got to spend quite a bit of time sitting and enjoying the kids. It was such a nice day. We brought the kids pjs with us and left close to bed time so they could go to sleep in the car and go right to bed. It worked out perfectly!

After Christmas, the kids and I made the gingerbread train. It was harder than I anticipated, but it was fun to do. I'm thinking that food crafts just aren't my thing :)

Christmas 2011

Jacob's 4th Birthday Party

2012-02-05T16:55:00.000-06:00

Jacob celebrated his 4th birthday in November with his first ever friend party. In order to keep it under control as far as numbers go, he invited a select group of friends from Rogy's. The problem is that he is so social, his close group of friends was 14! I was amazed that eight came and we ended up with a total of 12 kids including Jacob and Bailey and two of their cousins.

At the time, his favorite show was Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so a pirate theme it was! I worked on prepping for his party about two months prior and collected a million items for the party. The Internet is a beautiful thing and I got so many great ideas from other people who have been through the same party.

I had a craft/snack table set up for the kids when they arrived in order to help transition the kids as well as allow for late arrivals. The kids got eye patches, necklaces, pirate tattoos, and made spotting scopes. The kids LOVED it all and I made a rookie mistake by cutting this time short in order to move on to the next activity. I created a minute-by-minute schedule and I was bound and determined to stick to it!!

The next activity was a cannonball game set up in the basement. I divided the kids into two teams and had them try and sink the other's ship (bucket decorated as a ship) with their cannonballs. The losing team had to walk a plank that I made. I thought this game would be a hit.... nope. The game was probably too over their heads and they were more excited about playing with the other toys.

Next, the kids went on a treasure hunt that started inside, went outside, and then ended back inside. I made treasure maps with picture clues and told them which one was the first location. At each location, a picture of the next location was attached. Near the end, they found an empty treasure box with a note that Captain Hook stole their treasure and they had to follow his clues to where it was hidden. The final location was a toy box with a treasure box filled with treasure for each kid. This game was a HUGE HIT!!

The kids ate cupcakes next and then watched Jacob open his gifts. We actually had about 15 minutes to spare and the kids had a good time running around and playing. A few of the parents stayed to help and I was grateful for our family members who were able to help out too. It was definitely a team effort.

I made dinner for family afterwards and then Jacob opened family presents in a much calmer setting.

I was completely exhausted, but the party went really well and Jacob has a great time. I'm not sure I have it in me to do this each year for both kids, but we'll see.

Jacob's Pirate Party

Cake Fail

2012-02-05T16:53:00.000-06:00

I decided that I wanted to make Jacob's birthday cake instead of get a store-bought one.... again. I did a lot of research and found one that I thought was doable. I wanted to make a treasure box that was four layers high. It looked easy! I made a practice cake two weeks prior and planned on using it for my dad's birthday cake. Hey, it's family and they don't judge! It was the worst thing I have ever done. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh and I did both. I was able to partially salvage part for my dad's cake and tried to make it work. Again, it's just family. The hilarious part is that my three aunts were in town (as a surprise) to visit my grandparents and so it had a bigger audience than anticipated. Truthfully, we all needed a laugh at the time during my grandma's failing health.

Well, it was a lesson learned and I will not make another cake anytime soon.

Busy Times

2012-01-23T12:38:00.002-06:00

I received an e-mail from one of my friends the other day asking if everything is alright, because she was concerned since I haven't blogged in awhile. I decided that I better post an update so everyone knows that we're all fine, just a bit overwhelmed. When I last blogged in November, I mentioned that we had a busy month and were looking forward to a quieter December. Were we ever wrong!

December began with the passing of my grandma, who was so incredibly special to me and to so many others. It was a hard time, especially for my grandpa, whose health is continuing to decline. Christmas always presents lots of things that keep us busy and our contractor began work the week before Christmas on finishing our basement. We completed work on our house last week and still have lots of other minor home projects to tackle as well as settling into our new basement. In the midst of all of this chaos, I have been the busiest I have ever been with work since November and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.

The main reason I have let the blog go is because every spare second I have had has gone towards either the house or long hours with work. I have about five blogs started that I began at the end of December, but just haven't had time to finish. As soon as I can catch a break, hopefully sooner rather than later, I'll publish a flurry of posts going all the way back to November events!!

Hope everyone is doing well and I hope to get back to blogging soon!!!

My Love/Hate Relationshiop with November

2011-11-28T12:37:00.003-06:00

I can write this now that the month is nearly over. November has turned into our craziest month of the year. Most people start their stress in December, but mine eases considerably as soon as Thanksgiving weekend is over! I have lots of blogs in my head that need to be created and posted, but this one will have to do for now while I catch my breath.

November always kicks off right after Halloween and the time that we take our annual family pictures. We started November by celebrating my dad's birthday in Decatur at which all of his sisters were there to celebrate. It was a nice surprise! My grandparents recently moved into an assisted living facility as they are unable to live independently anymore. It is a really nice place and it was great being able to see all of my aunts. I volunteered to bring the cake since I was making Jacob's practice birthday cake the night before. Well, I'll talk more in another blog about this, but it turned out HORRIBLY! I tried to fix it for my dad's party, but it just got worse. Dan convinced me that it still tasted good, and since it was just family, what did it matter? Well, everyone got a kick out of it and my tears over it turned to laughter too.

The next weekend Dan and I got away for the first time since before kids. We celebrated our 11th anniversary on 11-11-11, so how could we not do something special?!! We ventured over to Peoria for the night and did some shopping, ate a nice dinner, and went to a comedy club where Kevin Pollack was performing. We had a good time! We are so grateful for my Dad and Debbie taking the kids for us!! We desperately needed the time away and it was nice :)

Jacob turned 4 a few days later and then we had his first friend and family party that weekend. I underestimated the time and energy those take! I'll share more on that later, but it was a lot of fun and went well.

The next week we celebrated Thanksgiving three days in a row with family and the weekend ended with me being sick, yet having to work a TON just to get caught up on a deadline I had. We somehow managed to get the house all decked out with Christmas decorations and lights too, which was a priority for me to get done. The kids LOVE them!

On top of everything else we both have been crazy busy with work and have also been tackling home projects (more on that later). I'm leaving out a lot of other miscellaneous things that we have had going on, but you get the drift.

After proofing this, I realize this comes across as whiny. As stressful as November is and as exhausted as it makes me, each event was filled love, laughter, family, friends, and great memories. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Looking back, each year gets busier than the last, so I guess it strengthens you for what's ahead :)

Outtakes

2011-11-13T13:40:00.001-06:00

I hear a lot that we have cute pictures of the kids. Well, it's because I only pick out the good ones to share! There are LOTS that get deleted. I have no idea how people managed having any decent pictures of little kids before digital cameras! Anyways, I save a few outtakes of our photo shoot to share with you :)

Halloween Weekend

2011-11-09T18:18:00.019-06:00

We squeezed a couple of Halloween activities into the weekend before Halloween. We made cut-out pumpkin cookies and the kids actually cut them out themselves and decorated most of them. We passed them out to their teachers along with homemade cards. We also carved pumpkins and used patterns for the first time. I feel like they turned out well and I am anxious to try out new designs next year!

The kids loved trick-or-treating this year and they went around the neighborhood with our neighbors, the Tuppers. Jacob kept pace with the other kids, but Bailey lagged some. She's just in her own world sometimes! The kids got quite a bit of candy and it should keep them motivated to eat their dinners for awhile!!

Albums Back Up

2011-11-04T23:56:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize it until lately, but my last two photo albums (Wisconsin Dells and Fall Photo Shoot) were not accessible to view to anyone but me. Well, I fixed the issue, so take a look!

Halloween Parties

2011-11-04T21:52:00.023-05:00

The kids had their Halloween parade at daycare along with parties in their classes afterwards. I felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing between both their parties, but I had a great time. Bailey's class decorated pumpkins, read a story, played "where's the skeleton bone", and had fun snacks. Jacob's class read a spooky story, played Halloween bingo, decorated pumpkins, dropped popsicle sticks in a pumpkin, and had snacks.

I usually ask the kids what their favorite part of their days are and that night Bailey said it was her party. When I asked her what part of the party was her favorite, she said "having mommy there". I absolutely melted!

Parade and a Party

2011-10-30T20:06:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago we took the kids to the ISU Homecoming parade. We had a great time and the kids got lots of candy. We left halfway through it so we could go to our niece's 6th birthday party out of town. The kids had fun and it was nice to see Dan's mom and sister. We figured the kids would take a nap on the way back home. Wrong! Since they loaded up on cake and ice cream prior to leaving they were absolutely wired!! This was the first time that Bailey skipped a nap. It was an early bedtime that night for sure :)

Here are some pictures from the day. You'll see one picture of Jacob eating cake. The reason for the picture is because all the other kids were seated at two tables in the room and Jacob didn't have anywhere to sit. He quietly went to another room, grabbed a toddler chair, and brought it back and faced it away from everyone else and peacefully ate his cake and ice cream. He wasn't mad, but just handled the situation very maturely. It was almost sad to see him by himself, but I was also a proud momma for how he handled the situation :)

Fall 2011 Photo Shoot

2011-10-27T18:23:00.003-05:00

We took family pictures a couple of weeks ago on ISU's campus while the weather was nice, the trees still had leaves, and while we had family in town. My sister was here for the day and my dad came for a few hours as well. I made the mistake of giving the kids a lot of juice beforehand, so they were hyped up on sugar. Bailey is also in the nose-picking phase and with having a cold, it didn't help the situation! Several pictures were ruined by her finger in her nose :( Any suggestions out there on breaking this habit? It's seriously a major issue right now. Anyways, afterwards we grabbed a quick dinner at McD's and then went to the Haunted Trail here in town. It was a fun, yet tiring day!

Photo Shoot Album

Fall 2011 Photo Shoot

Pictures while waiting for the Haunted Trail

Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-14T18:51:00.028-05:00

We went to Rader Farms a few weekends ago while we had a free Saturday and nice weather. The kids could have played there all day! This is the fourth year in a row that we've gone and it just keeps getting bigger and better! One thing about having kids is that you get to relive your childhood again through them!

Rainbow

2011-09-26T20:28:00.002-05:00

I took these pictures a couple of months ago. It was mid-afternoon at a time when noticed that the sun was out while it was raining. I scooped both kids up and took them outside so they could witness their first rainbow. Pretty neat!

I forgot about these pictures until the other day and thought I would add them to a post at which I am also going to ask for some prayers. There are a lot of people around me hurting right now and I wanted to mention a few of them in case you want to add them to your prayer lists.

My grandparents (paternal) are both really struggling with their health right now. Both have cancer, my grandma's is far more advanced, and my grandpa is currently recovering from a head injury he got from a fall. The swelling/bleeding in his brain caused some damage and he is working on regaining the ability to fully communicate. He seems to be mentally in tact, but he is unable to fully verbalize. They are currently in the process of moving into an assisted living facility as living independently isn't realistic anymore. My dad and each of his sisters have spent a considerable amount of time taking care of them the last year and a half, which hasn't been easy on them.

My 24-year old cousin was diagnosed with cancer last spring and he is currently undergoing treatment. His prognosis is good, but he has really struggled with his treatments.

I have a friend who just lost her mom and at the age of 24 has to deal with not having a living parent (her dad died when she was a teenager). She is dealing with this very maturely and is very strong. Whenever I see her, she always has a smile on her face, which is just amazing to me.

There are several others close to me struggling for other reasons and I just pray for their comfort, healing, and wisdom.

Inside the Heads of My Kids

2011-09-20T18:22:00.004-05:00

I have often wondered what goes through Jacob's and Bailey's mind, particularly when they say or do something that doesn't make any sense to me. One example of this is from a conversation my sister and I had with Jacob on the way back to my sister's house from the Chicago beach we were just at. Both kids had been passed out in the back for about 45 minutes and all of a sudden Jacob woke up and said "Aunt Sharla, you only have two chairs (at the kitchen table) and there are four of us. Where we all sit for dinner?" Wow!!!! Where did this come from. We hadn't even been talking about dinner or anything before that. Is this the type of thing that he stresses about? How smart for a three-year old to reason like that!!

Anyways, I stumbled on these two blogs that were posted on a Facebook friend's page the other day. He has a realistic, yet hysterical take on the subject.

Inside the mind of a two-year old:

http://jasongood.net/365/2011/08/day-215-approximately-3-minutes-inside-the-head-of-my-2-year-old/

Inside the mind of a four-year old:

http://jasongood.net/365/2011/09/day-250-5-minutes-inside-the-brain-of-my-4-year-old/

Wisconsin Dells 2011

2011-09-05T15:20:00.004-05:00

We took our very first vacation with the kids last week to the Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at the Kalahari resort at the recommendation of several friends. It was amazing! We were there for four days/three nights and never left!! My main concern was how the kids would sleep in a hotel room, but it went perfectly! We splurged on a two-bedroom suite that had a living area and kitchenette. We were able to eat lunch in the room each day and then put the kids down for their naps afterwards. They slept in the same room, different beds, and I think that since they were so worn out, they didn't fight it. I joked with Dan that we set the bar pretty high for what a hotel is like so next time when we are in a regular one, the kids will be disappointed :)

The resort had an outdoor waterpark, indoor waterpark, and an indoor theme park. It also had umpteen places to eat, so there was never a reason to leave. We had originally planned on going to an outlet mall and do a Ducks tour, but never had time for them. We lived in the waterpark for the majority of the time. Jacob was just barely tall enough for a few of the rides and Dan and I took turns going with him. Bailey was able to do a couple of family float rides, which actually had some thrill to them. The kids loved all of the fun areas for little kids. There were different levels spread out everywhere and we always had to peal them away so we could do some of the bigger waterslides. It also had a wave pool and two lazy rivers. Dan and I took turns doing the FlowRider, which is a surfing simulator. Below is a video of Dan doing it - he did really good!

The indoor theme park had a six-story ferris wheel, go carts, a million arcade games, a children's area with a carousel, boat ride, swings, and a humongous climbing structure that went on and on and on. We didn't find this until the end of our last day unfortunately. It also had a miniature golf course and bowling alley. The kids had never done either before the trip. Miniature golfing was a disaster since the kids didn't understand to keep their clubs on the ground or to not pick up the balls, particularly other people's! We quit on the fourth hole. Bowling was much more controlled and the kids loved it. They are still small for it, but really had a good time. Below is a short video of Jacob using a nine-pound ball.

Dan and I were able to take turns going on the "big people" water slides, which made our experience even better. We took turns standing in line with the kids for the family rafts while the other one raced to other slides. We also took turns while the kids slept going out to the slides. We had such a blast on this trip and will definitely be going back again sometime. I think we will wait until the kids are a bit taller so they are able to do most of the rides next time. It was such a busy and fun trip and now I am trying to think what we can do next time!!

Here is a photo album of our trip!

Wisconsin Dells 2011

Video of Dan doing the FlowRider

Video of Jacob Bowling

Night out with Reggie

2011-08-30T21:20:00.003-05:00

We went to the ISU Fan Fair last week for the first time. There were lots of activities for the kids and they had a great time. They got to play in bouncy houses, got Reggie tattoos, visited with Reggie (only Jacob got close enough for a picture), and we ended the time eating pizza in a tent while a quick rain shower moved in. Afterwards, we went to get ice cream cones. It was Bailey's first! They got huge cones and ate all of them! It was a great summer night.

Chicago Visit

2011-08-26T21:05:00.002-05:00

I took the kids up to Chicago for a day last week to hang out with my sister. We went to Navy Pier first and rode the ferris wheel, looked at pirate ships, had balloon swords made by a pirate, and had lunch. Afterwards, we went to the beach along Lake Michigan and had a blast. It was the kids' first trip to a beach and they LOVED it! Jacob was obsessed with the water while Bailey had a ball playing in the sand. I think she could have sat there for hours!! I've never seen her so focused. We will definitely be making more trips to the beach in the future! Before we drove back home, we ate pizza at Sharla's house and got the kids bathed and in their pjs so they could go straight to bed when we got home. It was a great day!!

Here are the pictures from our day.

Chicago Visit 2011

County Fair 2011

2011-08-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

We took the kids to our county fair a few weeks ago and had a good time. Below are pictures from our adventures. The video at the bottom of this post is of a moment when I spotted Jacob dancing on his picnic table seat during dinner. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing.... dancing with his shadow!

County Fair 2011

Video of Jacob dancing with his shadow

Dan's B-day Weekend

2011-08-22T21:05:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Dan's birthday at the end of July in a few low-key ways. Dan was out of town for work that week, so the kids and I were able to make a cake and surprise him with it. Well, until Jacob threw a fit the morning of his birthday saying that he couldn't go to school until we ate the birthday cake! The day after his birthday, I took Bailey down to Decatur to visit with family and Dan took Jacob to the new Cars movie. Jacob lasted an hour before he asked to leave the movie. Dan basically said it did not go well, so it will be awhile before we try that again!! On Sunday we had our parents over for dinner. The kids loved having them over in a relaxed setting to just play. The pictures below are from the various activities.

Illness Overload

2011-07-28T20:34:00.001-05:00

Dan and I were talking one night a few weeks ago about how healthy everyone had been. I think we actually made it about two months without anything attacking our family. Of course, we jinxed it and the next day it all went downhill. When I picked up the kids on the Tuesday after the Fourth of July, Jacob's teacher said that he complained of a stomach ache after being outside for a few minutes in the afternoon. At home, he was utterly exhausted and skipped dinner and went to bed. I figured that he was just worn out from being up late the night before for the fireworks.

He woke up the next morning fine, went to school, ate great all day, ate dinner, played tons, and went to bed. At 11:00 he came out of his room crying. Keep in mind, that he never wakes up in the middle of the night unless he wet the bed. When I went in there he said that food came out of his mouth. Then it hit me.... and the smell. He threw up for the first time in his life and didn't understand what had happened. He then threw up off and on all night, making it into the bathroom each time, bless his heart! I kept him home on Thursday and he relaxed and watched a lot of TV and ate nothing. After drinking some juice (my first mistake), he threw up a ton. He then basically went to bed and slept about 14 hours straight! He woke up on Friday, refused anything to drink or eat, and then slept most of the day. He drank some gatorade and then threw it all up again. He refused any food that day, but woke up pretty normal on Saturday.

He ate well, played, and seemed good. Bailey, however, began having stomach issues, so she stayed home from church on Sunday, while I took Jacob. He seemed fine, but threw up later in the afternoon after a snack and juice. He became lethargic and slept all night and then threw up again in the morning. Dan stayed home with him and got him into the doctor. He had lost between 5-6 pounds and the doctor said his stomach was basically contorted from the virus and needed to gradually be reintroduced to foods and liquids. He gave him a prescription for his stomach, which did wonders. I stayed home with him on Tuesday and followed the plan. He felt great and was absolutely starving. However, I had to control his intake, which was very hard on him (and me). He finally made it back to school on Wednesday with restrictions on what he ate. By Friday he was back to a normal diet. I have never seen the stomach flu take that long to exit the system!

In the middle of all of this, we all got colds. Mine turned into another sinus infection. Ugh! The doctor said that if I keep getting them, I'll have to see an ENT and possibly go through the surgery similar to what Dan just went through. No thanks!!

Anyways, I think we're finally through it all. It's honestly hard to complain, though, as there are many going through MUCH greater illness than we have experienced. My grandparents are fighting their cancer very hard and are having a rough time, particularly my grandma. She is such a tough lady, but she is struggling and I feel so bad for her. I also have a 24-year old cousin undergoing chemo/radiation to fight a cancerous tumor. We just got news that the treatments are working and it is gone! However, he is very sick and weak. It's very hard to complain about colds and flu, when others are fighting for their lives. It really puts things into perspective.

Backyard Water Park

2011-07-24T21:16:00.002-05:00

The kids really like playing in water, so I have been trying to change it up all summer so they get a variety of water play. We've gone to the pool a few times, gotten our kiddie pool out here and there, and also set up a mini water park in the backyard. We have a water table, hopscotch sprinkler, beach ball sprinkler, and a redneck water slide that goes into our sandbox filled with water. The favorite, though, seems to be the old-fashioned hose! The kids love it when I water them down after their water play in the grass. I do it so they don't track in dirt and grass, but they think it is fun! Bailey has also been helping me water my flowers at night and she loves getting sprayed. Jacob isn't a fan of getting his clothes wet, but Bailey is all over it!! I have to do it right before bath time because she is literally dripping wet!

Robin Nest

2011-07-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Each year, at least one bird attempts to build a nest in the corner of our deck. They often fail because it gets blown over, the bird abandons it, or a crow gets the eggs. This year a Robin successfully built a perfect nest and laid three eggs that hatched a few of weeks ago. It was been fun watching the process and the kids got a great education out of it. I happened to be looking out our window one day and saw the first baby bird fly out of the nest and fly into our nearby tree. I have to admit that I was a little sad when they were all gone!! The pictures below show the progression of events.

4th of July

2011-07-09T15:07:00.007-05:00

We had a great, great, great 4th of July weekend. We didn't have any plans to go anywhere or have anybody in town to visit. I got a new bike the Friday night before and Dan hooked the bike trailer on it Saturday morning so I could take the kids to one of our local splash parks and meet our friends the Brutlag's. We hadn't seen them in awhile and it was great to catch up, although the kids can make it difficult to have a long conversation, but that's okay! We got the kiddie pool out that afternoon and the kids got to play in it that day and Sunday. We missed church on Sunday because Bailey woke up with a slight case of croup, I had to get her into the doctor that morning. Since she wasn't that bad, she could continue playing outside as long as her breathing wasn't troubled.

We met the Rodt's at the pool Monday morning and had a blast. Their daughter, Gwen, is Bailey's best friend at our daycare and they had so much fun playing together. Since the kids are a year older, they absolutely loved the toddler area at the pool and went down the slides over and over again. Once the main pool and adult slides opened up Dan and Jacob went down one of the slides for over an hour! I was not a fan of this idea, but Jacob did great. Dan would go down first and then catch Jacob in the receiving pool. Bailey and I had a great time swimming in the big pool while watching the boys. We hope to get the kids there more this summer now that we know they love it.

We had a picnic lunch, well inside to break from the sun, and then vegged out the rest of the day before fireworks. We went with our neighbors and had a lot of fun while waiting for the fireworks to begin. Our kids like playing with their kids, although they are a few years older than them. I brought lots of glow sticks and bracelets and they were a huge hit and source of entertainment. The park we went to had technical problems and we heard that they were cancelled. Well, the word-of-mouth was incorrect and they started shooting off right when we got back to our car. We could see the top half of them so the kids sat in their wagon for part and then the hood of our SUV for the rest. They didn't know they were missing the full experience, so it worked out.

It seriously was a perfect weekend and since I took lots of pictures, just from the actual 4th, I put them into an album. Enjoy! I also added a couple of videos of the kids going down the kiddie slide.

July 4, 2011

A Black Eye and Nail Polish

2011-07-08T12:48:00.004-05:00

Bailey got a black eye one of the mornings following Dan's surgery. It was the morning from you-know-what and I was ready for a nap by the time I got to work that day. Bailey was eating her breakfast at the kitchen table while I was dealing with Jacob and she fell out of her chair and face-planted on the floor. I thought she just had a bruise on her forehead but when I got her out of the car at daycare, I noticed she had a shiner!!

That night decided to paint her nails to try and dress her up some. It was her first pedicure and she loved it! All I had was red tones, so I made a trip to the store for more little girl colors for the next time. Something about a red on a two-year old didn't feel right!

Father's Day

2011-07-08T12:47:00.002-05:00

We had a nice Father's Day. We planned on a low-key day - go to church and then hang out at home the rest of the day. My dad was out of town, so we didn't have any real plans. We were about five minutes away from leaving for church, but we decided to take a trip down to Decatur to visit my grandparents. We hadn't seen them in several weeks and I want to spend as much time with them as we can since they aren't doing well. We had a great visit and I am so thankful we went.

Dan's Nose Job

2011-06-27T12:07:00.002-05:00

Dan didn't really get an actual nose job, but he did have a septoplasty done a few weeks ago to correct his deviated septum. The doctor told me once he was out of surgery that Dan's deviated septum ranked in the top 10 percent in severity of all the ones he has seen. I don't think Dan was fully prepared for what the first days of recovery would be like. He was pretty miserable for the first two days and I have never seen him like that. His eyes were devil-red and very puffy and he said the pressure was incredible in his face. He could barely talk and I couldn't even get him to give me a faint smile. He was like a zombie. The amazing thing is that despite how bad he felt, he continued to work from home, putting in long hours during the week he was supposed to be taking it easy. The crazy thing is is that as soon as he was able to open his eyes in recovery, he asked for his Blackberry and began taking care of e-mails. I guess that is the life of a salesman!!

Of course, I had to snap a few pictures of him and he actually gave me permission to post one. The second picture is of the kids on one of the mornings following the surgery. They had to entertain themselves while I showered and had to leave Dan alone while he was passed out downstairs. This is how I found them after I started a show for them. The cute thing is that after this, they went downstairs and Jacob helped Bailey get set up with a poptart and her milk (already made in the fridge) for breakfast. My heart seriously melted!!

Swimming

2011-06-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

We got the kids a new kiddie swimming pool over Memorial Day weekend. They love it! It's fun because we can all comfortably get in it at once. The kids love being able to play in the water as they wish, unlike the bath tub. The main problem is them consuming way too much water!!

I wish I could caption these one at a time, but they basically show the kids (and Dan) playing and dumping water on each other.

Pigtails

2011-06-27T12:05:00.002-05:00

I finally had some success doing something with Bailey's hair the other week. My hairdresser suggested these tiny, plastic bands that wont slip out of fine hair and are hard for the kids to pull out. I managed to put Bailey's hair up into pigtails while she cried and pouted about it. She is tolerating it more now, but will not let me do it every time. My first try was pretty pathetic (see below) and now I am getting better at doing them. It's not as easy as I thought it would be!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-12T11:01:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day weekend is a time when Dan's family usually comes home in order to take advantage of the three-day weekend. Dan's older sister, Cathy, and her family stayed in Bloomington this time so everyone came to us to visit. We had a nice visit and cookout on Saturday and Dan and his brother golfed in the morning. I got to watch Audrey while they golfed. It went well! On Sunday, we met all of his family at Miller Park for a picnic lunch and a visit to the zoo. The kids also played in the playground afterwards. The main damper on the weekend was the weather. It rained a lot both days, which was frustrating, but we survived and were blessed with a quiet day on Monday with perfect weather!! We got the kids a new pool for the backyard and had a good time playing in it. At one point, all four of us were in there and it was fun! (I'll even admit that I sat in it while the kids napped in the afternoon!)

Storm

2011-06-08T12:19:00.000-05:00

We have had a lot of storms this spring and a couple of weeks ago we had a really nasty storm come around dinnertime. It even set off the tornado sirens because of a few funnel clouds around town. Due to the recent tragedies, we took it seriously, especially since we have kids to think about now. I did manage to get a few pictures and a video before the sirens sounded. The rain was literally coming down in sheets and with the intense wind, it looked like a hurricane outside!

Great-Papa Organ Time

2011-06-05T11:01:00.001-05:00

My grandparents have always had an organ for as long as I can remember. As kids we would love to go over to their house and play it. My grandpa can play it pretty well. Now as the great-grandkids go over and visit, the organ has new interest. Jacob loves to play it and my granpda sat down with him the last time we were there to play with him. It was one of those neat moments and I'm glad I have pictures to remember it by.

Video of them playing

Creative Movement Performance

2011-06-01T12:42:00.005-05:00

Jacob participated in a Creative Movement class one morning a week while at preschool this spring. He loved it! We attended an end-of-year performance a few weeks ago and it was neat to see what he's been doing all this time. He sat out the first 10 minutes because he was too shy to perform in front of the audience, but he eventually warmed up and let himself go. Bailey was the real challenge and didn't understand why she couldn't perform too. It also coincided with her breakdown time at night, so Dan had to take her out for the last half since she was being really disruptive.

Here are a few pictures and video!

I can't seem to figure out why my captions are not aligning with the pictures, so the next few pictures show Jacob doing the "swan", cartwheels, and hurdles. The first video is of the kids acting out animals.

Jacob's solo - supposed to be skipping and galloping

Somersaults

Ending

Bunnies

2011-05-30T16:01:00.001-05:00

We had a nest of baby rabbits underneath our deck this spring. Once they were a little bit bigger they started venturing out on their own and the kids loved to look for them and try and smoke them out from their hiding places. A couple are still around, but they are getting really big!

Below are pictures of when all five were out at once munching on grass.

Easter Mini-Photoshoot

2011-05-25T19:31:00.003-05:00

We took several pictures of the kids on Easter and here are a few of them!

Easter 2011

2011-05-25T19:31:00.001-05:00

We had a nice Easter weekend and we spread the Easter festivities out over the two days. Sharla came the day before to spend the day with us. Since we were headed to Decatur after church on Sunday and due to predicted rain, the Easter bunny came on Saturday at our house. We planned on hiding the eggs in the yard, but Dan had just cut the grass and since it was wet, newly cut grass, shoes were getting stained green. So instead, the Easter bunny left eggs on our deck and inside the house. The Easter bunny left goldfish, marshmallows, and coins.

We had a nice Easter lunch in Decatur at my dad's house and the kids got plenty of play time outside. They have amazing flower beds and the spring flowers were in full bloom. We got some pictures of the kids that I'll share in another blog.

When we got home and after the kids woke up from their naps, they discovered their Easter baskets. One big hit were their new bubble blowers. They request these each time we're outside now!

Bailey at 2

2011-05-25T12:30:00.001-05:00

Here goes round 2. I completed and successfully posted this blog about three weeks ago, but the site went down soon after and most of my blog disappeared. It's hard to complain about a free service that I oh so love, though, but I have put off redoing it because it takes time!!

Bailey turned two at the beginning of April and although I already posted about her party, I didn't post some pictures on her actual birthday or run through my typical list of milestones, so here goes!!

*Talking, talking, and more talking! She was phrasing at the time she turned two, but now is putting sentences together as well as logic. For example, the other day it was raining when she woke up and logically pieced together that since it was wet outside, she wouldn't be able to outside to play.

*Everything and every person has a person attached - mine, yours, Daddy's, Mommy's, Jacob's, etc....

*She is very independent and wants to do most things herself. It's a great step, but also one that requires lots of patience. She wants to get dressed herself and if you try and help her, she'll get mad and take it off and start over.

*She knows her colors and shapes (has for months now).

*She can count to 10 and sing the ABC's.

*She goes potty before every bath and wants to go whenever someone else is going too.

*She is still on the small side, but is starting to catch up some.

*She loves puzzles and is getting great at putting the 12 and 24 piece ones together with some help.

*She is starting to pretend play.

*She still loves to cuddle and sit on our laps or have us hold her.

*She loves her brother and wants to be around him, we'll see how long that lasts!

*Still is a very picky eater and will not touch vegetables, but LOVES fruit.

*Like her brother, she is very active and rarely sits longer than two seconds.

Here are some pictures from her actual birthday.

Jacob's First Church "Singing" Experience

2011-05-06T16:31:00.002-05:00

Our church had a special revival church service a few Sunday evenings ago. Jacob was asked to sing two songs with the 3-5 year olds. They practice each Sunday morning, although I don't think Jacob participates much. The leader assured me he would be fine, so we let him do it. Ummmm, wow, is all I have to say! Let's just say that he was a high-energy, little monkey on the stage! He ran around, climbed on the stairs, and did everything but participate. We didn't remove him from the situation because, honestly, it would have caused a greater scene because he would not of come down willingly! It was one of the parent moments that I ran back-and-forth in my head for days wondering how we could have handled it differently.

I captured it all in a few pictures and two videos below. I realized after watching the videos later that they didn't fully capture running back and forth. A couple of the pictures illustrate this beautifully, though! I think that until he matures some, we'll keep him sidelined from future church singing!

Bailey's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-04-20T11:02:00.004-05:00

We had Bailey's 2nd birthday party a couple of weeks ago. The day was absolutely perfect. The weather was sunny and in the 70s with absolutely no wind. We were able to hold the party outside for most of the time. It was so great to hang out outside and let the kids play. Bailey got so many great things!

Here is a photo album of the party.

Bailey's 2nd Birthday Party

Busy Stretch

2011-04-17T21:50:00.003-05:00

We had a relatively quiet February and March, but now life is picking up again. We've had birthday celebrations, family visits, a funeral, church activities, fun events like the Gamma Phi Circus and the Children's Discovery Museum, spring cleaning projects, lots of illnesses, and other things that I'll go into another time. The next few weeks are packed full of events as well and I think our next weekend without any obligations is late May. I'm not really complaining because we are getting to do a lot of fun things!

I wasn't planning on doing a garage sale this year, but out spring cleaning is resulting in piles of junk in the basement that we need to clear out. I'm in a de-cluttering mood, so a garage sale is needed.

I finally downloaded about 300 pictures this afternoon and have tons of blogs that will start popping up here in the next few weeks :)

No More Crib!!

2011-03-31T18:00:00.003-05:00

After having a crib up for 3 1/2 years, it is now a toddler bed! We vowed to keep Bailey in her crib as long as we could, but last weekend, she startled us in the morning because she came out of her room on her own. She's been working on it for awhile, but she finally did it. Shortly after, Dan had her crib converted to a toddler bed.

Jacob went straight to a twin bed and into another bedroom all at once, so this transition has been much easier. The first night we found her sleeping in a kneeling position from her floor (her head and arms were resting on her bed). She must have partially rolled off her bed and remained asleep! She woke up before I could get a picture, but it was cute!!

I'm working on changing her room from the animal safari theme we had set for the nursery to a girly theme. I'm looking forward to purchasing pink and purple decor!!

Wall Art

2011-03-29T12:50:00.004-05:00

The kids come home with a lot of art they do while at school and it's a dilemna on what to do with it all. Some goes on the fridge, holiday-themed art gets packed in boxes with our other decorations, but there is a lot that I cannot throw way, yet don't want to store. I found a solution on my friend's blog (thanks Leigh!) on a creative way to display art projects. She hung a string or rope along the wall and then used clothing pins to hang the projects. Genius! I created one for each of the kids and put it on one of their walls. I love walking in there and seeing a personal touch that they created and I think they have a sense of pride as well. It's also a great way to help decorate their rooms!! I rotate the art in and out to keep it updated and also to correspond to whatever season or holiday is near.

Love Me a Good Sale

2011-03-22T17:08:00.002-05:00

I love finding a good sale, especially on kids things which is pretty much all I buy anymore. Over the course of a few days Dan and I made a couple of trips to Kohls and took advantage of its clearance sale. We got the kids so many clothing items, including winter coats for next year, everday clothes, dresses, pajamas, etc... It's a guessing game on sizes, but I think we'll be okay :)

The picture below illustrates our last trip. The best part is that it only cost us a little over $20 (with the help of a 20% off, $40 Kohls cash, and a merchandise credit). How can you beat that!!!

First Haircut

2011-03-14T18:06:00.011-05:00

Well, the mullet is gone! You're welcome, Sharla. I took Bailey in last week to get what I thought was a small trim to get rid of her dead ends. My hairdresser asked what I wanted and I decided to defer to her judgment on what would be best. She recommended a bob to help even her hair out. I immediately burst into tears. It took her TWO years to get any length in hair! Bailey fought during the whole five minutes it took to cut her hair, which is what I expected.

It actually turned out good and her hair is much fuller looking and healthy. I managed to get a few pictures taken during the process along with some before and after shots. Her hair should now grow out quicker and more even now.

Now cross your fingers for a bow in the near future :)

Before pictures

During haircut

After pictures

Potty Trained!!!

2011-03-09T17:17:00.003-06:00

Jacob is potty trained!!! This actually happened at the end of January. We finally stumbled upon a reward system that worked. Jacob has a deep love for Toy Story, so we bought him a set of characters that he could earn when he pooped on the potty. We set them on top of the fridge so they were out of reach, yet in his line of sight. He pooped on the potty immediately!! In the course of two weeks, he had a few accidents during which one would be put back on the fridge. He earned it back when he went on the potty again. I don't want to jinx it, but he hasn't had an accident in a month.

We also no longer have to ask him, more like force him, to go at regular intervals. He goes on his own and we are so proud of him! He also is now waking up dry on most mornings. He still wears a pull-up just in case, but truthfully, I don't care. I'm sure that his nighttime accidents will fade completely away in the near future.

I never really stressed too much about his training, but honestly, I was getting a little worried towards the end that he would never figure it out. Lots of people said that something would click in his brain and he would get it and that is what happened.

Bailey is showing signs of getting close to being ready to train, but I just don't want to go there yet! The other day, she asked us desperately to help her on the potty and I just didn't have the energy for it. I gave in and she actually really went! I guess here we go again :) That's the thing about having two really close together is that it is a lot of work upfront and then life gets easier later, right?!!

Pigtail Fail

2011-03-04T17:12:00.004-06:00

I'm absolutely dying to put Bailey's hair up in a ponytail, pigtails, or just clipped with a bow. Bailey has other ideas! She acts like she is getting tortured. I figure that I'll just keep trying with different approaches with the hopes of one working!!

My hairdresser talked me into getting her hair trimmed to help even it out and cut off the dead ends. I'm taking her next week, so we'll see how that goes!

Here is proof of her dislike of anything in her hair!

Running off Energy

2011-03-01T17:07:00.002-06:00

The video below is a result of what being couped up inside too long leads to. One night after dinner the kids had soooo much energy to burn and since bedtime was rapidly approaching, I created this impromptu activity to help them wear down. It is now a frequent request by the kids!!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-25T17:07:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day came and went over the course of a few days in our house. I dug out the Valentine's Day decorations about a month before the actual day just to have a treat for the kids. Dan was out of town twice for about 4/5 days each in late January and early February. Bailey got sick both times he was gone, so we (meaning Jacob, Bailey, and I) had lots of home time since I couldn't take them out while Bailey was sick. At one point, I was home for four straight days and I went a bit crazy I think :) To help pass the time, I cut out hearts and let the kids decorate them with stickers and crayons. They then got to put them up on our doors. I also decided to have them make their teachers cards since I had extra time on my hands.

The kids had their class parties the Friday before Valentine's Day and then we celebrated as a family again on Valentine's Day itself. We haven't traditionally gotten them gifts, but Jacob's teacher sent home an empty wipes container for us to fill with goodies for him as an activity on Valentine's Day. We couldn't leave Bailey out, so they each got a few little things at home that night.

Below are pictures from it all.

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-22T17:07:00.007-06:00

At the beginning of February, we had a blizzard come through that brought us 13 inches. The storm began late morning on a Tuesday and Illinois State closed down for the whole day fortunately. Dan's company closed at noon, so we were all able to hunker down at the house. The wind was absolutely crazy and it howled all night. It blew from the North and it was blowing so hard that we discovered two imperfections in our house. First, was with Jacob's window. When I went to get him from his nap Tuesday afternoon, I discovered a small pile of snow on his carpet below his window. Apparently his window has a crack in the window frame. The second was in the corner of our garage door. We had a rather large pile of snow INSIDE our garage! We've lived here 10 years and this was the first for both of those!!

We woke up Wednesday to 13 inches of snow and high drifts everywhere. The sun broke out shortly after breakfast and Dan worked hard on clearing our driveway and sidewalks. I switched with him during the kids' lunch because I was losing my mind with their behavior and needed a break. Jacob had just had an accident that was a mess to clean up and Bailey was in a mood which resulted in her entire plate of food being chucked all over the kitchen. Shoveling snow seemed much easier than the storm brewing in our house! By the time I got outside all of our neighbors were outside and it turned into a group effort helping each other dig out. It was great to see each other after months of hibernation.

We went back to work the next day and it was such an experience driving through town. It was like driving through tunnels and not every lane was fully plowed, so it was an adventure to say the least.

Here are lots of pictures from our blizzard.

Cruise

2011-02-19T10:23:00.004-06:00

My sister, Sharla, and I had the incredible opportunity to go on a cruise in early January together. This was a trip four years in the making. We were planning on going on a trip together in 2007, but I became pregnant with Jacob and a beach vacation while pregnant was not my idea of a good time! We chose to go on a Western Caribbean cruise through Carnival for five nights.

Day 1
We flew down to Miami the night before the cruise left in order to allow for any travel delays. Thank goodness we did because we connected through Atlanta and we literally flew out of there a couple of hours before the snowstorm that shut down the city for five days hit!!! We stayed near the port and our hotel was across the street from a major shopping/tourist complex. We spent hours there and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner - outside!!! It was so strange to eat outside in January!!

Day 2
The next day we took our time getting ready and headed to the port early and actually got right on the ship and were able to spend the afternoon sitting outside and exploring the ship before it even left. We took several pictures of the Miami skylines while on the boat. I think there are four!! The first evening we had dinner in the dining room, which was an experience, and then attended several of the events scheduled for that night. That was also our first experience of what the ship felt like while at sea. You really felt the movement, particularly on either end of the ship and it makes you a bit uneasy. I managed without any medication, but Sharla had to take some at times to keep her nausea under control.

Day 3
Our first full day was at Nassau, Bahamas. We got up early, ate breakfast, and left the ship to meet up for our excursion to the Atlantis resort. It was so pretty and BIG! We first took part in a deep water swim with the dolphins. Wow!! This was such a neat experience. It began with instruction on how to interact with the dolphins and then we were divided up into small groups that worked with a trainer and dolphin. We got to pet them, hug them, and take pictures with them. We then got to swim with them across the bay with a propeller and snorkel gear. It was so neat to watch them swim through the water. Next was the ride of a lifetime. We each took turns laying on a wake board and the dolphins swam up behind us and pushed across the water with their noses. Very, very cool!!. Last up we got a private show of the all of the dolphins doing their synchronized flips out of the water.

After our dolphin adventure, we spent the rest of the day at the Atlantis water park. This water park had a mile-long lazy river and multiple water slides, two of which are major vertical drops. One was a 60-foot drop that shot you through a tunnel within a shark tank. The other was 120 feet long!! You literally felt like you were dropping through the air and it was extremely thrilling. It was fun to do it once, but I couldn't be talked into going multiple times! The water park would have been more fun if it was sunny and warmer and we froze much of the day. It was amazingly not busy either, which surprised me. We also wandered around the resort and went through its well-known aquarium tunnel. I expected it to be nicer, but I've also been to the Georgia Aquarium which is the largest in the world I believe. It was still neat to be at this resort that is globally known and one that I've seen on TV and in magazines!!

Dinner was great and we attended lots of evening activities, including a Broadway-comparable show.

Day 4
We went to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas the next day. This was my favorite day of the whole trip. The island is Carnival's own private island and it was beyond gorgeous. I woke up that day and got in a good run on the running track at the top of the ship (had to burn off all the food I ate). We got off the ship right away and lounged on the beach before we had to leave for our snorkeling adventure. Snorkeling was fun despite the lack of fish that we saw. It was disappointing, yet still fun to swim around the ocean. We then caught a lunch barbecue in one of the huts and then laid on the beach the rest of the afternoon. This was my idea of a perfect day!!

Dinner was another amazing experience and we enjoyed the nightly entertainment.

Day 5
This day was our last day of port. Since our ship wasn't scheduled to arrive to our port until 11:00, we scheduled massages and facials early in the morning. I've never done either before and have to say I wasn't blown away! Not really my thing, especially for the amount we spent on them!

We docked at Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, alongside another ship and started the day out lounging on the beach. It was HOT. I was actually thrilled for some clouds that day, although the rain put a damper on the majority of the day. We took reprieve from the rain at Margaritaville and then did some shopping. It was frustrating to lose our day to the rain, but what are you going to do?!!

We took a break from the dining room this night and ate at the buffet and walked around outside. The storm was coming through and the wind was incredible. We pretended to be Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel in a hurricane!!

Day 6
This was our last full day on the boat and we were hoping to lay out all day on the ship since we were at sea. Not the case. We woke up to the temps in low 60s with clouds and 40-50 mph wind. It was so windy that they closed the upper deck, so I couldn't get my run in that day. Despite the weather, I figured it was still nicer than back home and lounged on the chairs all day bundled up. The clouds broke for about an hour and I got some sun in, which helped our moods! We got lots of reading in, so I was happy about that. This was also my birthday and it was nice to be away from reality!

The night ended with an incredible show and dinner.

Day 7
We arrived back to Miami first thing in the morning and had breakfast before we disembarked from the ship. Our flights home (three of them!) went flawlessly and we were home by 9:00 pm.

It was such a great trip and I can't wait for my next cruise!! I highly recommend it and hope to go with Dan in a few years when the kids are older. One thing that I didn't expect was to have motion issues when we got back. I felt like I was still swaying on the ship and was uneasy for a few days after returning. Not sick, but just a little tipsy!!

Below is a photo album of our trip.

Cruise 2011

Things I HATE Saying

2011-02-15T18:08:00.003-06:00

I'm finding myself saying the same things over and over to the kids that I absolutely hate saying. I feel like some days, especially lately, I'm this monster mom who just yells at her kids all day long. One of these days they will learn that I hate saying them more than they hate hearing them!

Sit down and finish your dinner.

Don't throw your food on the floor.

Stop banging your fork/spoon on the table.

Keep eating or I'm going to turn off the TV.

Don't push your sister.

Don't take that toy out of your brother's/sister's hand.

You need to go wash your hands since you just went potty.

Get your finger out of your nose. Go get a kleenex.

Stop drinking the bath water.

Don't splash the water too hard because you are getting me wet.

Go back to your room.

Don't come out of your room (after bedtime) or you are going to lose a toy.

Don't bang your wall with your toys.

Stay in your car seat until I can come over there and buckle you in.

Don't run away from me (in public places).

No, you cannot watch another TV show, you just watched two (our limit).

Stop jumping off the furniture.

Don't climb on the kitchen table, play kitchen, piano (yep this happens!), top of the couch, dining room table.

You do not talk to me or Daddy that way.

It's time to clean up the toys.

You need to listen.

What do you say? (prompting for a "please" and "thank you").

These are just a few things that I say often. I do say a lot of nice things to the kids too, but lately, I feel like the negatives are far outwaying the positives!!

Jacob's Pink House and Airplane

2011-02-09T18:30:00.002-06:00

My next planned post was to supposed to be about my cruise, but since it is only a quarter done (it's going to be rather windy), I'll slip in this post.

Jacob's imagination seems to really be developing as of late. One thing that he continually talks about with excitement is his pink house that he has. This house is amazing in his eyes and has everything that he could ever want. For example, I'm in the middle of making dinner right now and he asked me if we could eat apples. I reply that we don't have any right now and he says that he has apples in his pink house. This house apparently doesn't have rules and is restricted to those that are on his good list for the moment. This house previously was yellow and I actually was asked by teachers at his preschool if we lived in a yellow house because he was talking about it a lot.

He also has an airplane that he owns and flies and likes to take family and friends on plane rides. He doesn't have any specific destinations, but he loves to fly it. When I told him that Aunt Sharla and I were going to fly in airplanes on our trip, he said that he was going to fly us and Daddy and Bailey were coming to. I think that a trip to our airport sometime to watch the planes arrive and depart will be a special trip that we might take in the near future :)

I think the fact that he has this great imagination is an exciting stage in his development and I love to go along and live in his dream world with him!!

Unexpected Blessing

2011-01-27T15:07:00.004-06:00

Today is one of those days that takes a 180-degree turn at the drop of a hat. Dan left for Alabama for a five-day trip with his brother at 4:30 a.m. to go golfing, so it's my turn to be a single parent. I was all ready to walk out the door this morning with the kids on time, which never happens. My last task was to wake Bailey up and get her dressed. I walked into her room to an overwhelming smell that all parents can distinguish. The poor girl had gotten sick repeatedly overnight and never even cried or tried to alert us to the fact. It was all over her crib, her books, her stuffed animals, and caked in her hair. That's when I knew my day was not going to go as planned.

Since I'm by myself and didn't want to take Bailey out of the house, that meant that all three of us were staying home. It took me 45 minutes to clean that disaster up!! Amazingly, Bailey has done fairly well today and even has eaten and kept it all down. She's just very tired. I'm hoping that Jacob and I can ward this off, especially me, because if I'm sick it will be interesting on how these kids will get taken care of!!

Although poor Bailey isn't well, this day has been actually nice. I've been feeling really sad lately that these kids are growing up and I'm spending my days at work. I love my job and need to work, but it doesn't mean that I don't miss time with the kids. I think that my time with them over Christmas break and my actual break from life while on my vacation has really made me reevaluate my priorities in life. I've gotten to spend bonus time with the kids today that I normally wouldn't have had. We've eaten at our leisure and not in a rush, we've watched lots of children's TV, read books, raced cars down a race track, played Candyland (with Jessie and Buzz of course!), and the day is still young. I also get them ALL weekend to myself, so I'm feeling pretty lucky right now. I just can't bear the thought of the fact that one day they will be teenagers and not want anything to do with me and will eventually begin lives outside of this house.

So who would have ever thought a sick day would be an unexpected blessing?!!

Jacob Day

2011-01-12T16:24:00.013-06:00

I took the day off of work in early December to spend with Jacob. I really think that he likes these days. He kept saying "just you and me mommy" throughout the day. We spent the morning at the Children's Museum and then went to McDonald's for lunch and then he spent some time in the indoor playground for the first time. It was a little nerve-wracking for mommy not being able to see him, but he had a good time!

The incredible Christmas village display

Water play

His favorite, the red delivery truck

Making pizzas

Train track

Tractor

Climbing structure

Floor piano

Virtual drum station

Stage

Image projectory

Our Christmas and New Year's

2011-01-05T18:19:00.031-06:00

We had a great Christmas and had lots of quality family time between Christmas and New Year's. One of the perks of working for ISU is getting seven work days off. I usually fill my time off with house projects, but his year I made it a point to just relax. Dan and I had an impromptu day date on the 23rd and went out to lunch and went bowling. It was fun and felt like old times!

We spent Christmas Eve at home while the snow piled up outside. Due to the weather our church cancelled its services, so we got in the car and drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Dan had a little fun driving in our four-wheel drive on the empty streets :) Before bedtime, Jacob and Bailey spread out reindeer food and left cookies for Santa.

The kids slept in (til 7:30) Christmas morning and we went down to see what Santa brought them. We then ate breakfast and opened presents. Since it was just us for the day, I planned on spreading the gift opening all day, but Jacob was not in agreement with that idea! Bailey, however, got tired of opening gifts and gave up when she had four to go! She kept pushing them away and in her little girl voice saying "no" and shaking her head. She finally decided to finish opening her gifts before lunch and the rest of the day was spent relaxing.

We kept the kids home from church the next day because both of them had gross colds and I didn't want to spread their germs onto others. We took them sledding but neither one was really into it this time around. Dan went back to work on Monday and I kept the kids home with me for the day. We were supposed to go visit family in Decatur, but their trip got cancelled due to the crazy snowstorm out east.

Jacob and I had a fun day on Wednesday and he went to his first dental appointment. It took him awhile to warm up, but he did fine once he discovered that he could move the controls of the chair. Such a boy!

We spent New Year's Eve morning with our friends from North Carolina who were in town for a visit along with our other friends in town who were part of our group before they moved. It was crazy because none of us had kids back then and now there are lots!

The rest of our weekend was pretty normal. I absolutely loved the down time and getting to spend so much time with the kids. We don't get to do that often, so it was a real treat. I also think that I am the most relaxed I've been in probably three years or so. I leave for the cruise with my sister this Sunday and I am so glad I am heading into the trip already relaxed and with some good family time spent over break.

Here are lots of pictures!!

Jacob and Bailey in front of the tree

Spreading reindeer food

Leaving cookies for Santa

Posing together

Santa came!!

Coming down the stairs Christmas morning

Look! Santa ate the cookies!

Looking at what Santa brought

Jacob's stocking

Bailey's stocking

Picture in their pjs

Bailey's new doll

Jacob's race track

Jacob's new blanket I made him

Bailey's new blanket I made her

Bailey's new Dora Backback

Bailey playing with her new doll

Jacob posing in front of the tree

Our gifts from the kids (made at daycare)

Daddy and Jacob "in the zone" watching Toy Story 3

Jacob loved the Santa hat

Jacob's first dentist appointment

Christmas with my side of the family

2011-01-02T21:05:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family the weekend before Christmas. It always goes by too fast and I wish that we could just relax and visit more. We made a traditional Christmas dinner and even made a ham (well it was pre-sliced and pre-cooked, so I don't know if that counts!). My grandparents looked and seemed great and I was so happy that they were able to come up and spend the day with us! Sharla brought her boyfriend down for us to meet him and we thought he was great. You'll see in the pictures that Bailey took to him easily, which is a good sign :)

Here are some pictures of our day.

Mesnard Christmas 2010

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-20T18:22:00.001-06:00

As I write this, I am breathing a HUGE sigh of relief. My Christmas stress is done and it is five days before Christmas. Woohoo!! As I mentioned in a previous blog, we already celebrated Christmas with Dan's family over Thanksgiving and my family celebrated yesterday at our house. We are looking forward to a very quiet Christmas Day with just the four of us. Nowhere to go, nothing to do except spend time with our little family. I can't wait to just sit on the floor and play with the kids and their new toys and books all day!! Dan's mom and step dad are stopping by the next day to hang out with us and visit, so it will be a nice weekend.

This week is the first week in about three months that I do not have to squeeze in projects after the kids go to bed and I'm looking forward to hanging out with Dan again!!

Below are some pictures taken in November of the kids visiting Santa and helping to decorate our tree.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!!

First Snow

2010-12-14T18:27:00.001-06:00

We got about eight inches of snow a couple of weeks ago and we got the kids out in it before it turned bitterly cold. This was Bailey's first time in the snow!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T22:04:00.004-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving Day with my family in Decatur and that Saturday with Dan's family. It was great because EVERYONE was home this time and we had fun!! We took advantage of the day and took pictures of the family. We also celebrated the fall birthdays of the four grandkids who had birthdays the past couple of months. Additionally, we also exchanged Christmas gifts for the kids since not everyone will be home for Christmas. It was a chaotic, but fun day!!

Thanksgiving with the Engels

Jacob's 3rd Birthday

2010-12-08T21:40:00.005-06:00

Jacob celebrated his birthday three different times. He celebrated at school and at home the night of his birthday. We had a family party in Decatur a few days later and were lucky to celebrate with my three aunts who live out of town. We did a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party, because he seriously would not have it any other way! We also celebrated on Thanksgiving weekend with Dan's family and included the other grandchildren who had fall birthdays. Since everyone lives out of town, we all missed the other's parties. It was fun!

Here are some pictures of the celebrations.

Jacob's 3rd Birthday

Jacob at 3 Years

2010-12-08T19:01:00.006-06:00

It's hard to believe that Jacob turned three a few weeks ago. He is growing up really fast. He is such a great boy, fiercely independent, but a fun personality.

Here are some tidbits about Jacob:

*He is ALL boy! He is very active and will jump off anything that has height. We caught him jumping off the stairs, four or five steps up the other day!

*He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora. These shows are literally his bribe to do anything we need him to do. We've had to limit him to two episodes at once because he would probably sit in front of the TV all day.

*He is also a big fan of games. He currently has Candyland and Memory and could play them all day if we let him!

*He talks like an adult at times and says the craziest stuff sometimes!

*He is very strong headed and independent and we are working hard at not letting him run all over us sometimes. We've stepped up our attention to things and are working on being more consistent with things and holding him to threats if we reach "3". We are also learning to pick our battles.

*He is starting to pretend and practice his imagination. He has an imaginary house and airplane that he talks about. He also sees Swiper (from Dora) all over the place. I think it's great that he is going through this stage because it's important to his development.

*Potty training has not progressed passed it's point months ago. He refused to poop in the potty and never tells us when he needs to pee. We've tried underwear and he doesn't care when he poops in them, so back to pull-ups we went. The laundry isn't worth it to me! I keep waiting for that moment people say he will have when he gets it. I'm really not stressing too much about it, but as he gets older, it gets harder to wait on.

*He has been starting to skip his weekend naps, which is frustrating at times, but a reminder that he is growing up. It does make it easier to plan things for the afternoons though.

Bailey at 20 Months

2010-12-08T11:33:00.003-06:00

Well, I started this blog two months ago and never finished it. Bailey is really changing fast and cracks us up all the time. Here are a few things about Bailey at this age:

*She's becoming independent and wants to do things herself or her way now.

*She is a feisty little thing and can express pretty strongly what she wants.

*Her vocabulary grows each day and she has been phrasing for a couple of months now.

*She can now sing along to parts of songs.

*She still loves to dance to any music. The video below is a fun one of her dancing to some of the singing toys the kids have.

*She's growing like a weed and is outgrowing her clothes all of a sudden. At her 18 month check-up, she had the following stats ---- Height - 33 1/2 inches (73 percentile) and weight - 22 lbs 16 oz (16 percent)

*She now has 10 teeth, but is still missing her outer four bottom teeth for some reason. I'm worried she will never get these!!

*Her eating is pretty awful at times. Still no vegetables and could live on bananas, bread, potatoes, and yogurt. She's a carb-girl!!

*She has been expressing interest in potty training and actually goes about 50 percent of the time when we put her on it.

*She is starting to exhibit the desire for routines just like her brother. She has to read the same five books before bedtime AND in a particular order.

*She's discovering her surroundings and loves to point things out now as we drive, like buses, Christmas lights, and dogs. All in all, she is a lot of fun to be around and she still loves to snuggle, which is a bonus for me!!

November's Highs and Lows

2010-11-30T18:22:00.002-06:00

Phew!! I'm glad today's the end of November. It was a whirlwind of a month that was very busy with lots of ups and downs. I love my life, I really do, but sometimes normalcy is a good thing. I'm hoping that December goes as planned and is fairly easy-riding, despite Christmas festivities (which I have a head start on and believe to be in control of!). Look for future blogs on several of the events below :)

Highs:

*Seeing a lot of my mom's side of the family for the first time in years, although the circumstances were less than ideal (see below).

*Throwing my Dad (along with Sharla and Debbie) a surprise 60th birthday party.

*Dan and I celebrated our 10th anniversary.

*Celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday with our own family party on his birthday and another family party with my Dad's side of the family a few days later. We also celebrated briefly on Thanksgiving with Dan's family.

*Celebrated my grandparent's 65th anniversary with lots of family and their friends. We surprised them with two separate gifts. The first was a quilt made by their five great-grandchildren. Each decorated two squares and my cousin, Shannon sewed it all together. The other was a scrapbook from their 10 grandchildren. Each grandchild put together a couple of pages and then Sharla and I assembled it. Both gifts turned out perfect!

*Celebrating Thanksgiving twice, once with my family and the other with most of Dan's family, including all of his siblings and their families. It was a great time and it was fun to watch all eight grandchildren play together.

*Jumped into the Christmas seeason with getting all of the Christmas decorations up, most of the presents bought, Christmas celebration with Dan's family on Thanksgiving, Christmas cards ordered, and a visit to our local Festival of Trees.

*Got the house cleaned and in order after being gone so much, which makes me feel like a new person. When things aren't clean and are disorganized, my mind goes into a frenzy!!

Now onto the lows:

*My grandma (mom's mom) died at the end of October and her funeral was the first. This brought up a lot of suppressed emotions of losing my mom eight years ago.

*We had to put Rascal down on the 20th. Sad, sad day. He began having back pain at the beginning of November and he ended up rupturing at least one disc in his back. He was in and out of the vet's animal clinic for two weeks. Unlike his other back episodes, he would take one step forward and then two steps back. The vet discovered that he was also suffering from liver disease, which was causing his abdomen to bloat and cause additional pain. On the 19th, he seemed to be improving and actually took a stroll around the yard. A few hours later, his back legs became about 90 percent paralyzed and he lost the ability to go to the bathroom. We knew this was his time and decided to end his suffering. It was a rough day, which was the same day we celebrated Jacob's birthday and my grandparent's 65th.

*Illnesses - Bailey and I got the stomach flu at the beginning of November, all four of us got bad colds the second week of November, Bailey's cold turned into a sinus infection and she was home with a fever for three days, and Bailey developed an allergic reaction Thanksgiving weekend and broke out into hives (likely from her diapers).

Here's to December being an easier month!!

Fall 2010 Photo Shoot

2010-11-16T16:33:00.001-06:00

At the end of October, we went to Miller Park for a family photo shoot to capture Jacob at 3, Bailey 1 1/2, and a family picture that we could use for our Christmas card and in frames. I absolutely love going through other people's photos on Facebook and getting ideas. I'm still anti-studio at the moment and really like the outdoor shots instead. My dad and Debbie came up to lend a hand so someone could take our family picture and help with the kids. It was great having them there and we all had a good time, despite the cool temperatures (which is Bailey has a very pink nose in the pictures!).

There is a special picture for my dad in the midst of the album, so happy hunting!!

Fall 2010 Photoshoot

Dad's Surprise 60th Party

2010-11-10T21:16:00.006-06:00

We threw my Dad a surprise party for his 60th birthday. It was a lot of fun to plan and have for him. Both our and Debbie's family came and it was a great group. Sharla and I had a great time preparing for it and decorating their house. Below is a photo album of the party and several shots of the decorations.

Dad's 60th Birthday Party

Halloween Events

2010-11-10T21:05:00.003-06:00

The kids had a great Halloween this year. It started off with their parade and parties at daycare and then pumpkin carving and trick or treating coupled with a fun visit from Aunt Sharla.

Halloween 2010

ISU Homecoming

2010-11-10T21:01:00.010-06:00

We enjoyed a fun ISU Homecoming parade with my friend Amanda and LOTS and LOTS of candy. The next day Amanda and I teamed up for the Great Urban Race held here in town. I said this last year, but if you ever have an opportunity to do this race here or in a city near you, DO IT!! You need to be in decent shape because it requires a lot of running around, but it is sooooo much fun!! I think we ran around 10 miles, but it was a blast.

Parade

Amanda with the kids

Stanley Cup made an appearance. I'm not a hockey fan, but I thought it was pretty cool!

Picking up candy

Candy loot

Amanda and I before the race in our costumes

St. Louis Zoo

2010-10-12T21:35:00.001-05:00

We went to the St. Louis Zoo a couple of weeks ago for the day. We waited all summer to find a dry and mild day to go and it worked out for us finally. The kids loved seeing all the animals and I am glad we waited because Bailey now knows her animals and can say them too so I know she enjoyed it more now than when we originally wanted to go earlier in the summer. Both kids refused to ride in the stroller which meant that we all were very tired by the end of the day. Jacob did okay staying with us but it was trying to keep him moving onto the next exhibit that we struggled with. Since Bailey is so slow, I carried ALL four hours we were there! Amazingly I wasn't sore, just more hot and tired.

Here is a slide show for you to enjoy of our trip.

St. Louis Zoo

Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-06T22:12:00.002-05:00

We visited Rader Family Farm a couple of weeks ago to pick out some pumpkins and let the kids participate in all of its fall activities. We had a blast! The farm expanded this year and there was more for the kids to see and do. We were there for three hours and could have spent more time there if Bailey didn't need to nap. It was more fun this year because both kids were older and could enjoy it more, not to mention the weather was PERFECT!

Giant inflatable jumpy pillow

Train ride

Wagon ride around the farm

Corn pit

Petting Zoo

Hay structure

At the top

Picking out pumpkins

Inspirational Sight

2010-09-21T20:20:00.001-05:00

I shared this on Facebook today, but I wanted to blog about it and share more of my thoughts.

As I was driving to work this morning, I was stopped at an intersection as a crossing guard escorted a mother and her two children across the street. This was no ordinary sight. The mother was pulling a wagon with two children in one hand, one obviously onto her way to school, and in the other hand was a harness of her guide dog. WOW!! This woman is blind, with two small children, and walking them to school.

I still cannot get her out of my mind. Here I struggle with my two kids and keeping up with them and everday life and she is doing the same, yet cannot see. What an amazing woman she has to be. While I don't know anything about her, just imagine the perserverance and determination she has to go through each day.

While I admire her, I also feel sorry for her and have a sense of sadness for her. I cannot imagine never being able to see my children's faces. I tear up just thinking about it.

This was a sight that I will never forget. It was a real lesson for me on how blessed and fortunate I am. It makes any struggles I have seem so insignificant.

What an inspiration!

The next blog entry is one I wrote a couple of weeks ago but have been saving. I feel like it really ties into this blog entry.

It's the Simple Things

2010-09-21T19:37:00.002-05:00

I'm a simple girl. I don't need fancy things. I don't need to be the best at things. I am easily entertained. I love my simple life and here are few thing that make me happy.

Evening walks with the family, including Rascal

Playing with the kids outside

Watching lightening with Jacob at bed time or just laying on the bed with him talking to him right before he goes to sleep

Saturday mornings - we get a few minutes of extra sleep and I like to make breakfast and then spend time with the kids. They are rested, fed, and just a lot of fun to play with. These opoortunities are rare during the week since we work, so they are all the more precious when get these times with the kids.

Bailey learning to talk

Jacob figuring out the world and watching him grow into a young boy

DVR - seriously what did we do before the DVR?!?!

Uninterrupted conversations with Dan

That moment when both kids are both asleep and Dan and I can hang out

Sitting outside early in the morning when everything is still quiet - haven't been able to do this in awhile since the kids don't sleep in!

A good run

Reading a good book for more than two minutes at a time

A successful dinner that everyone likes and eats

Kids laughing and playing well together

Jacob acting like a big brother (the other day he held her hand and helped her down the steps)

Spending time with family

Opportunities to spend time with my friends and sister

Facebook

Blogging

Having the house clean and organized

Getting it Together

2010-09-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions, let alone keep any if I did make them. That changed this year. I literally woke up on New Year's Day and decided I wasn't happy about certain aspects in my life and I vowed to make some changes. I won't go into some of them (you'll just have to just trust me that those changes were made!), but I thought I would share a couple.

One of my resolutions was to change how our dinner meal was being executed. For many years, Dan and I ate dinner around 8:00 at night. While that suited our lifestyle before kids, that didn't fly anymore. I have worked hard at getting dinner ready between 6:00 - 6:30 each night. I also wanted to eat as a family, which is really important to me. For Jacob's first year, I fed him his dinner and then Dan and I ate once he was in bed. When Bailey was born, that changed everything! Another piece of this mix was actually making a dinner as many nights as possible instead of frozen meals. I cleaned out my recipe box, added new ones that I found online (Kraft.com is amazing!), and talked to friends and family about meal ideas and tricks on getting dinner ready in a timely manner. I'm still experimenting with new recipes (much against Dan's preference) and have found ones that have turned into new favorites. I recently started making out a menu for the week, which is coordinated with what the kids eat for lunch. I love, love, love having everything planned out and knowing ahead of time what we're eating and the prep time involved. I can't tell you how many times I stood in the kitchen just staring at the pantry trying to figure out what to make and then settling on something less healthy that was quick because everyone was hungry. I in no way, shape, or form can call myself a good cook, but I'm learning and trying. I don't remember helping my mom in the kitchen much growing up, which is a mistake I won't let either of my kids make!

I also vowed to get my house in order. After having two kids back-to-back, I definitely let my house go. I have forced myself to clean on a schedule so it wouldn't get behind again and it has worked! I also created a long list of spring cleaning projects that needed to be tackled back in late spring and am proud to say that I am finally through the list! It's so nice to finally feel comfortable in my own home again. I could still come up with a number of projects to work on, but for now, I'm done.

In the spring, we decided to upgrade our washer and dryer to the energy efficient models. At first I wasn't a fan and didn't think it was worth the money. After using them for a few weeks I could see how many less loads I was doing a week. It probably comes to about three less loads a weeks, which makes such a difference!

I feel like we have finally emerged from the fog of the last year after Bailey was born. Adding one little body into the household is no small feat!! I love that the kids are on the same routine and are becoming more independent. I have started venturing out for some "me time" more (although not enough) and getting just a couple hours to myself is a great way to refuel. I'm also working out again and hope to rediscover my muscles that have morphed into jelly the past few years!!

Well, that's all for now. Oh, and I in no way feel like the changes I have made are in anyway "groundbreaking", but for me it is a step up in the right direction!!

Bailey's Dance Party

2010-08-27T18:31:00.003-05:00

Bailey loves to dance. Any music gets her going. I grabbed the video camera to capture one of her moves last weekend and got more than I could have asked for. You'll have to view the video below, you will see what I mean!

I Wonder Where He Gets It?

2010-08-27T18:19:00.001-05:00

Jacob has some OCD in him. It's really no surprise because I make no secrets that I have my OCD issues. Jacob loves to line things up. Lately, it's his bigger toys that are kept downstairs. He turns them into a perfectly lined train. If one gets moved, he freaks out! He also likes to line up the letter magnets from the fridge onto the dishwasher. He also lines things up in his room when he is supposed to be sleeping. He makes lines out of his lego blocks and books. He went through a phase where he would take all of his sheets off his bed and then line his books, one-by-one, in a perfect square on top of his mattress. I seriously wish I got a picture of this. His OCD goes beyond making lines of things. He has to have his food in just the right spot on his plate and if you want to cut up his food, you better ask first because if it's cut the wrong way, he won't eat it! I could go on and on!

Bailey has shown her first OCD issue. When you feed her, she likes you on her right and sitting down. This was where I would always feed her when she was eating baby food, so maybe that's it. We'll soon see if this is the extent of it for her or if she'll take after her brother (and mother).

Mommy and Jacob Day

2010-08-22T16:00:00.018-05:00

I took a day off last week to spend the day with Jacob. I miss my little buddy sometimes! Bailey gets plenty of my attention and is sick often enough that our one-on-one time outnumbers mine with Jacob. We had a blast. We went to the Miller Park Zoo for the first time and played at its playground afterwards. I didn't know that was there or how great a playground and splash park it is! We'll definitely be back and also to take Jacob's three-year pictures there I think. Lots of opportunities for some great shots! After the zoo and park, we met Dan for lunch at Culvers. Jacob loves the fish tank and we were lucky enough to get a booth right next to it. Afterwards, we played outside for awhile before he took a good nap.

It's funny, because although I know he had a great time at the zoo, his favorite moment was going to the restaurant. He even told everyone at school the next day what he ate there! I think that the day was as much for me as it was for him. I gained more patience with him and he actually seemed to behave ALL day. I am going to plan on more days like this because before we know it, he'll be driving and not wanting anything to do with me!!

Wallabies

Watching the birds

"Reindeer"

Alpaca

Giant tortoise

The real tiger was "hiding" so Jacob posed with this one. He actually thought it was real!

Fair

2010-08-22T15:38:00.018-05:00

We went to the McLean County Fair a couple of weeks ago. The kids loved seeing all the animals and they also liked looking at the tractors. We somehow missed the building with the baby animals and kid-friendly activities. Oh well, we'll hit it next year!

Weekend with Aunt Sharla

2010-08-15T11:04:00.001-05:00

I took the kids up to visit Sharla for a weekend at the beginning of July while Dan made a trip to Minnesota to visit his family. It was a rather busy week. I had a conference in Minneapolis from Sunday through Wednesday, which was my first time away from the kids. Dan left the next day for Minnesota and I took the kids to Decatur for the afternoon/early evening for a visit with my family and then we (including Rascal) took off Friday afternoon for Chicago. Needless to say, when we got back home at 10:00 that Sunday night, I was EXHAUSTED and so ready for to be in one spot for awhile. Oh and top of it all, Bailey had a stomach bug from Thursday evening to Saturday evening which added some fun to all!

We did have a great time up in Chicago. Friday night was a bit rough because Jacob refused to go to sleep until midnight. He slept in the next morning and then we were good to go! We visited Shedd Aquarium, swam in Sharla's pool (this was the kids first time in a pool and they LOVED it), and hung out. It was great to get away with the kids, but I couldn't do it very often :)

Updates on the Kids

2010-08-11T17:13:00.010-05:00

I figured that it is time that I posted updates on Jacob and Bailey.

Bailey

My little girl is growing up and I'm not sure that I like it! She is really transitioning from baby to toddler. She is such a sweetheart, yet so ornery. I feel like she is more work now than when she was when she was a little younger. She plays well, but the monkey in her climbs on everything. She is learning how to go down the stairs and it's hilarious. She literally slides down all in one shot. It's so fast it's nearly impossible to go down with her to make sure she doesn't fall. She seriously has no fear! Here are some quick updates on her:

*She's finally talking and has about 10 words she says on a regular basis (mommy, daddy, milk, doggy, hi, bye bye, baby, ball, rabbit, yeah, snack, mine, uh oh) and also likes to mimic what we're saying.

*She is getting her other top three teeth ALL at once. The poor girl has her moments but she's doing better than I would. Supposedly if adults were cutting teeth, we would need morphine!

*She has started to throwing temper tantrums, and I mean the throw yourself on the floor, kicking and screaming kind!

*She's had a couple of bouts with the stomach flu in the past six weeks.

*She likes to dance to music.

*She is learning her body parts and can point to various ones (head, mouth, ears, belly, hands, feet).

*Her hair is growing out, more in the back, but with curls.

*She still won't eat vegetables (at least at home).

*Stats at her 15-month appt: weight 20 lbs (12th percentile), 30 1/2 inches (50th percentile). She's growing!

Jacob

Wow, what to say about Jacob. It is up and down with him. The kid needs some discipline and I miss my little sweet boy! He is Mr. Independent and wants to do absolutely everything himself. We're still trying to learn that balance of allowing him to be his own person, yet exert authority over him. Time outs in his room seem to work and incentives also have an influence over his behavior. I'm amazed how smart he is and the things he says. He really understands things and how they work and likes to talk about it. We're getting the million questions right now too. Here are things about Jacob:

*His potty training has plateaued at just peeing in the potty. Pooping is a ways away I think, but I'm not stressing about it.

*He is really into watching Dora the Explorer right now. That's right. We're okay with it. It's really a great show and he LOVES it. Dora is his incentive to behave right now, so it works for us too!

*He says funny things all the time. One common thing is: Us "Jacob, do you know what we're having for dinner?" Jacob "Yeah" Us "What?" Jacob "I don't know" This happens with many types of questions.

*He loves to share stories with others about his life. For some reason he tells it backwards. For example, "soooooo I got a boo boo, brick, I fell down". I often have to translate what he is saying. It's funny because he talks fine with us, but I think he gets excited when talking to others.

*He has (is) going through a biting stage. I blame the kids in daycare that seem to have it out for him. He has bitten a couple of kids there and has also bitten Bailey a few times. You think a kid who has been bitten so much at daycare would know not to do that, but he is two.

Well that's all I have for now!!

Summer Photo Shoot

2010-07-19T21:15:00.006-05:00

Here is a slideshow of pictures we took of the kids at Dad and Debbie's house. I never got around to taking Bailey's one-year pictures, so this was a good option, especially in their beautifully landscaped yard. Bailey still doesn't cooperate and smile for the camera, so she looks kind of upset in the pictures. Jacob was the direct opposite! Here are all the ones that I like.

Summer 2010 Photo Shoot

Fourth of July

2010-07-19T21:09:00.029-05:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend. I wanted to do something fun each day for the kids. We took the kids to the pool on Saturday and played in the toddler area. It went okay. Neither kid is a fan of the splash part and the lifeguards didn't allow us to go down the slides with the kids and they are still too little to go by themselves. Jacob tried and really freaked out. We took a day trip to Decatur on Sunday to visit my family and to also also take pictures at Dad and Debbie's house. We then came back up in time for dinner and fireworks. It was such a long day, but fun for the kids.

Pool

Decatur Visit

Fireworks

Do You Ever Feel Like a Bad Parent?

2010-06-30T16:14:00.000-05:00

I do!! I feel like this often and it is a bad feeling that I just can't seem to shake. It's like a pit in my stomach. I really don't want to be THAT parent that everyone looks at like she has no control over her kids and just stands by and lets them walk all over her. Yes, I know that my kids are very young, but I long for them to listen to me. They are incredibly active and Jacob is going through a phase right now that isn't fun - attitude, need to be independent, not listening, temper tantrums, and the beginning of biting/hitting. I talked to his teacher today and she is having problems too. Not that I'm happy about it, but at least it's happening there too, so maybe it's not just us. Here are some examples lately that make me cringe inside.

Softball game

I took the kids to Dan's softball game last night. It was the first game that somewhat worked into their schedule and the weather was nice. I knew it would be a challenge given that neither kid can sit still. I pushed them in the double stroller with the plan to leave them in there as long as possible. Jacob wanted out the minute he was buckled in. When we got to the field Jacob started whining to get out. I reluctantly let him out and Bailey soon followed since I can't leave her there while I chase Jacob. Thankfully there was a playground about a 100 feet away that occupied them for awhile. Soon Jacob wanted to see daddy play. What he really wanted was to go onto the field, which I explained was not a possibility. I tried to get him interested in hanging out with the other children, who seemed so content and cooperative sitting or playing near the bleachers with their parents. Oh no, he just wanted to run around, visit the playground again, go out onto the field (which I explained again that could not happen), and back and forth.

I finally got him and Bailey settled with some Cheerios on the bleachers for a few minutes. Yay! Jacob then tried to climb up to the second tier and fell and scraped his knee. I usually carry with me everything that they could possibly need plus more whenever we go somewhere. Of course a bandaid was not with me. My friend passed her daughter (two days younger than Bailey) to her in-laws and grabbed Bailey from me so I could tend to Jacob without Bailey taking off. Another mom gave Jacob a bandaid since his knee was dripping blood down his leg and a kleenex would not do. Once that scene had settled, Jacob was back to his running back and forth with me carrying Bailey in tow. At least Bailey is content most times letting me carry her, otherwise she would have compounded the problem.

Finally at one point while chatting with a friend, Jacob seemed content standing next to me. Next thing I know he takes off in a dead sprint for the gate to the field. Onto the field he goes, and as soon as I expect the umpire to halt the game, Jacob runs into the dugout. I snuck in too in order to contain him until the play was done and get ourselves out of there. Finally as we're leaving to go home and I have Dan to help, Jacob takes off running towards the playground through players warming up for the next game. I threw Bailey to Dan and took off after Jacob who was running pretty fast I might add. Ugh!!

I'm at a complete loss with him. Reasoning with him doesn't work and yelling isn't a great alternative either. You can't really do a time out in that situation either. I felt like every single person out there was watching and judging, although it was probably just in my head. He runs off in other situations too and he refuses to hold our hand while crossing a parking lot. Do other parents go through this too? I'm just so exhausted!

Monkey

Bailey is part monkey. Literally. She climbs on EVERYTHING and gives us that look that she knows she isn't supposed to be doing it. Jacob didn't climb much, but when he did we quickly got him down. It's just not that easy now with two little ones to watch after. The other day I was helping Jacob empty out the potty so pee didn't get everywhere. When I turned around, Bailey was sitting on top of the kitchen table. Ok, address the safety of one or monitor clean-up of pee of the other?!! The thing about Bailey is is that she is pretty stable and doesn't fall. I still can't allow her to think climbing is okay though. I cannot get anything done because she needs constant monitoring now. She is literally teaching Jacob new things so he copies her. We had friends over one night and got out our Little Tykes picnic table for the older toddlers to eat from. This quickly became Bailey's new quest. She wouldn't stay off of it. Since I was busy getting things ready and Dan was grilling, I couldn't stay on top of her to stay down and she did fall off of it and get hurt. Inside I knew it was my fault and thought about what our friends must think of our parenting in letting her climb on it.

Outside play

I feel like I am constantly yelling at our kids outside to stop getting on this or that, stop running into the street, share the toys, etc.... Our poor neighbors must be so annoyed. Jacob never wants to go inside so it can be a real nightmare when I am by myself tyring to corral the kids inside and get everything picked up. I rarely take them out to the front of the house by myself for this reason in addition to my constant fear of one kid running one way and the other going the other way or perhaps into the street. I can't wait until this worry goes away!

At a garage sale last week I found the "123 Magic" book on disciplining and handling kids. I plan on reading it to try and get some ideas. Jacob's random temper tantrums are now daily and it's exhausting for all of us.

I love my kids, I really do. I feel lucky that they are healthy, have great personalities, love to play and enjoy life. I think every parent goes through trials with their kids and doubts their abilities at times. I just want to be a good mom and have others look at me and think the same!! I guess no one ever said this parenting thing was easy.

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

2010-06-20T17:25:00.004-05:00

I took advantage of the kids so kindly coordinating their naps together on a much-too-hot Sunday afternoon to go outside and do anything else and uploaded lots of pictures. Scroll down through the four posts below to see what we've been up to the last couple of months!

Outside Play

2010-06-20T16:11:00.023-05:00

We love to spend time outside and the kids have a great time getting to run around and play with their outdoor toys. Here are some pictures of their adventures.

On a bike ride to the splash park

Bailey sitting on the frog

Jacob checking out the water spray

Jacob riding his tricycle

Kids playing in the water table

Sitting outside chilaxin'

Bailey climbing onto her slide

Bailey checking out the flowers

Earlier this spring on one of our first walks

Wedding Reception

2010-06-20T16:10:00.011-05:00

Dan's cousin, Rachel, got married in April in Las Vegas and held the wedding reception last weekend. In between the chaos of trying to keep both kids entertained, contained, and out of trouble, we didn't get a lot of photos, but made up for it duirng the dance portion. It took a awhile for Jacob to warm up to the idea of dancing in front of people, but once the Cha Cha Slide came on he lit up! The cute part happened during a time when the kids were running around the dance floor and Bailey ran to one end and I told Jacob to go get her and dance with her. He ran to her grabbed her hand and the two walked back to us. It was so cute..... until Bailey couldn't keep up any longer and fell flat on her face. The crowd went from "Awe" to "Oh no". I didn't get a good picture of them holding hands, so I'm disappointed in that!

Anyways, it was a beautiful reception and it was great to spend time with Dan's family. Congrats to Rachel and Jason!!

Click below for the photo album!

Rachel and Jason's Wedding Reception

Memorial Day Visit with Dan's Family

2010-06-20T16:08:00.021-05:00

We got to see Dan's brother and grandfather from Minnesotal and Cathy and her two girls on Memorial Day and had a nice cookout and visit with them at his mom's house. We wanted to get some group pictures because Dan's grandpa may not make it back down for a visit again because it is getting too difficult for him to travel, he is almost 96 after all!! Below are some pictures.

Group shot of the family (minus several who were not there)

Dan and his grandpa with the kids

Cathy and her kids

Dan's grandpa along with three out of the four siblings

Four grandkids - Jacob and Mackynzi are only a few days apart and so are Bailey and Riley

Jacob and Bailey

Bailey and Riley driving the Dora car

Jacob and Mackynzi

Grandma playing with bubbles with the kids

Mother's and Father's Day

2010-06-20T16:06:00.027-05:00

Since I never created a Mother's Day post, I'll just combine Mother's and Father's Day pictures into one. Enjoy!

Mothers Day

Me with the kids

Jacob's gift he made me at daycare

Bailey's gift she made from daycare

Close-up of the gifts

Father's Day

Dan with the kids

Jacob's gift, a key chain, he made at daycare

Bailey's gift she made from daycare

My dad visiting on Father's Day

What we have been up to

2010-06-12T13:10:00.007-05:00

Wow, this blog has sure gotten behind lately! I think about it daily and have lots of topics to write about, but never get to it. I usually write several blogs at one time and then space out their posting dates, but finding that chunk of time to write and upload picture has been hard. Life is good these days and below are little snippets of what we have been up to the last several weeks....

Potty training

Our little man is in the middle of potty training. He has been going on the potty randomly for the last two months and last weekend I decided it was time get more serious about it. We put him in underwear the first day to see how he would do and to teach him how it would feel if he had an accident. He peed every single time in the potty, with and without prompting. Pooping was another story. Let's just say that after cleaning up two of those accidents, we switched him to pull-ups for the second day. Amazingly, he still peed in the potty and even went poop in the potty once and earned a coloring book. I was anxious to see how he would do at school and he went on the potty all day long! So proud of him! It seems that pooping will be more of a learning process for him, but this is just the beginning and I think he is doing great.

Garage Sales

My addiction to garage sales continues. I have gone out a few times and took off last Friday to go. I'm still amazed at the deals you can find! It is such a high. I have gotten the kids clothes for fall and next summer, lots of shoes, snow boots, books, race car track, tee-ball set, coloring desk, bike trailer, bike helmets, and a step stool just in time for Jacob's potty training. I hope to get out more this summer to find more bargains.

We also had our own garage sale in May. We got rid of a lot of things lying around the house. No big baby items yet, just not ready to say we're done. If being a professional garage saler could earn me a good salary and benefits, I would quit my job to do it! Maybe it will be a retirement job. I love shopping sales and running them.

Playing Outside

We spend as much time outside as we can when we're home. The kids love it and I love being outside. Jacob is so much easier this year and can play pretty independently and doesn't run into the street like last year. He is also finally long enough to ride his new tricycles. I think that by the end of the summer, he will be really good at it. Bailey likes being outside too. As soon as we put sandals on, she heads to the patio door to go out. She is the one in the street this year. It makes me so nervous! You turn your head for a second and she takes off. We have taken the kids out in the bike trailer a few times now. I hope that we can do some longer rides this summer with them and maybe do a picnic lunch or something.

Visiting Family

We've visited family a couple of times this summer, once to Decatur and once to Lowpoint. We got to spend some time with Dan's older sister, her two girls (exact ages of Jacob and Bailey), his brother, and great-grandfather. I got some great pictures and will have to post them sometime.

Summer Plans

I have lots of plans for the summer, but don't know how much will actually happen. I have a conference in July in Minneapolis, so Dan will be riding solo with the kids for a few days. He also wants to take a trip up there to visit his family some time soon. We try and go to Chicago to visit Sharla each summer and go into Chicago. I'm hoping we can go sometime in July for a weekend when she's not working. I also would like to take a mini-trip with just the four of us somewhere relatively close, but Dan is resisting with the kids at the ages they are. I am just so desperate to get out of town and go on vacation! Other than that, my goal is to take off random days to take the kids to the pool and let them enjoy summer.

I'll make a point to work on pictures soon and post them. Hope everyone is enjoying your summer!!

Jacobisms

2010-06-09T17:19:00.001-05:00

Jacob is quite the talker these days. He literally starts talking the minute he wakes up and honestly talks/sings himself to sleep every night. He is speaking very well, but will say the funniest things sometimes or get something mixed up. Below is a collection of things that he says quite a bit that make me laugh.

What you got?

I want popcorn (corn on the cob)

Silly Bus (city bus)

I'm too little (when he doesn't want to do something.... this is our excuse to him sometimes when we don't want him to touch or do something and now he's using the excuse for himself)

You make water? (asking me to fill the tub up with water during bathtime)

Look at Bailey (in a sing-song voice when he is tattling on Bailey)

We'll see or Sometime (his response to me when he asks me something and I teeter on the answer.... he's heard me say these too many times apparently!)

Five! (this is ALWAYS his response when we ask how many of something he wants)

Ewwww, that's nasty! (when he watches me change Bailey's poopy diaper)

Yup (this is one of those things I realized that I say a lot, but had no idea!)

You okay? (with a very concerned look in his eyes.... whenever he sees one of us with a cut, scratch, or bruise

I'm sorry (after I was at my breaking point one day and told him I was tired)

And lastly, a translation of Bailey's babbling on the way to daycare this morning.... I asked Jacob what Bailey was saying and he said "booty".

Jacob's Quilt

2010-05-10T17:52:00.002-05:00

My Grandma Mesnard made Jacob a quilt. It is very neat with animals stitched on it. She gave it to him at Bailey's birthday party and it was very sweet. She made Bailey one last year and I'm so excited that both kids have one that they can keep forever. So precious. My grandpa said that she worked on it just about every night for a year. My grandma is 86 and has arthritis, so the sacrifice is overwhelming to me. Such a gift!

Sorry, the lighting was bad when I took this!

Bailey's First Year in Pictures

2010-05-06T21:00:00.001-05:00

Like I did for Jacob, here are Bailey's pictures at each month during year one.

Newborn

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year old

Spirit Week

2010-05-01T16:50:00.004-05:00

The kids' daycare had Spirit Week last week where the kids dress up in different themes each day. I tried to get a picture each morning, but with the craziness that exists getting them out the door in the morning and the varying wake-up moods they are in, cooperation was not easy most of the mornings!

PJ Day

Stripes and Polka Dot Day

Sports Day

Crazy Hat and Hair Day

Mismatch Day

Easter

2010-04-25T11:54:00.016-05:00

I'm a bit behind on this, but wanted to share some pictures from Easter. Since we saw lots of family the weekend before at Bailey's party, we stayed home and had a quiet day of church and then quality time at home with the kids. It was nice.

While Bailey took a nap after church, Jacob had his Easter egg hunt. Bailey was anti-grass at this point so it worked out for the best.

Posing with his eggs

With Daddy

With Mommy

Bailey woke up and wanted to play with the eggs

Best pose I could get in her Easter dress

The kids with their Easter baskets

I wanted to get a pose with the two kids together and instead of a nice pose, they decided to play wrestle

I thought it would be cute to have Bailey take a picture next to the Easter basket she sat in last year at Easter to see how big she has gotten!

Bailey carrying her basket around

I liked this pose

Aunt Sharla giving the kids their Easter baskets the weekend before

Sharla gave Bailey this adorable headband and Bailey loves it

Bailey's Milestones at One

2010-04-18T20:53:00.020-05:00

Bailey hit a number of milestones around her first birthday. I also took some pictures of her at one, but she is too busy to sit still, let alone look and smile at the camera. I want to take her to get her pictures taken, but just haven't had the opportunity yet.

Here are her milestones:

*She is a tiny, little thing. Weight 17 lbs 11 oz (6th percentile) - Height - 28 3/4 inches (39th percentile)

*Her first tooth finally poked through the bottom the Sunday before birthday (3/28). It literally came out of nowhere and just when I was thinking that her teething was going to be easy, she proved us wrong! Her drooling is out of control right now and she has had fevers on and off for two weeks now. It could also be from her shots, so who knows. She is also a bit more fussy at times and I think that she is just hurting. I'm just glad that her teeth finally decided to make an appearance!

*She is trying to talk more. Although I can't prove that she is saying actual words, she is pointing to a lot of things now and making some appropriate sounds, like "da" for daddy, "mama" for mommy, "dah" for dog, and "meh" for milk.

*We had been trying to get her to drink her milk out of sippy cups for some time now with failure, but she has come around. She refused her formula in a sippy cup, but she has absolutely no problem with cold, whole milk in a cup. Yay!! The transition cups I used with Jacob did not work for her, but she is partial to the harder nipple kinds, which is fine with me! I'm still giving her a bottle of formula at bedtime, mainly because I want to make sure she is taking in enough fluids and getting some extra calories to beef up.

*She is a great walker now, but is not a fan of the grass. She just stands there and cries. Occasionally, she will walk while holding my hand, but that's it.

*She is getting more assertive with Jacob and has tried to push him away a few times. However other times she will initiate a wrestling match with him. It's cute, but the main problem is Jacob doesn't understand that he's bigger and will lay on top of her and crush her.

Here are some of the pictures I took of her around her birthday.

New ride-on toy from Aunt Sharla

First time walking outside

Fun swinging

Bailey's 1st Birthday

2010-04-03T23:34:00.013-05:00

We celebrated Bailey's birthday with family last weekend (check out the blog below) and had a low-key celebration with just the four of us on her actual birthday. Our new oven was a day late getting delivered, so I couldn't make our traditional cupcakes or even a real dinner, but the kids didn't know the difference! It was so nice outside, that the kids got some quality time outside after work and then we opened presents after a quick dinner.

We got Bailey a new chair in hopes that the kids stop wrestling over the other one Jacob got last year. We also got her a stroller to push her dolls in and a couple of books. So far, Jacob is the one enjoying all the presents. He loves the new books, likes to run through the house pushing/ramming the stroller, and prefers the hot pink chair to his tan one. One the other hand, Bailey likes the tool box and tools that Jacob got on her birthday (actually a regift from Christmas that I hid from him until now).

Enjoy the pictures.

Before work in case her outfit got ruined during the day!

Sitting in her new chair getting ready to open gifts

Doll stroller

Me and Bailey

Dan's the fun parent

Father/daughter pose

Wrestling over the new chair

In the correct chairs

Bailey's Birthday Party

2010-04-03T22:50:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Bailey's 1st birthday last weekend with family. We were blessed with a nice day and lots of family to celebrate with. Below is a slideshow of the party and a video of her eating cake.

Bailey's 1st Birthday Party

Eating cake (she was a little sleepy!)

Little Girl Walking!

2010-03-19T17:46:00.002-05:00

Bailey has been taking steps for weeks now, but she officially started walking a couple of weeks ago (March 6th). It was a Saturday morning and she just kept going and going and going!

Here is a video!

Seeing Family

2010-03-07T12:45:00.011-06:00

Here are a few random pictures of family visits over the last month or so.

Jacob making brownies with Grandma and Grandpa

Getting every last drop of brownie and ice cream

Grandpa and Bailey

Grandma walking with Bailey

Uncle Dallas

Jacob "playing" the Wii with Daddy and Uncle Dallas

Aunt Sharla, Jacob, and George

Jacob Update

2010-03-03T17:01:00.014-06:00

Jacob is growing up so fast. He talks incessantly, which is cute most days! He constantly amazes me on what he knows and says. He doesn't miss a beat, there is no more talking in secret around him because he hears it and isn't stupid. We're working on code words. He is starting to point out letters he sees in books and signs. He has known the whole alphabet for awhile now and can count to 15 or so. I would say that we understand about 95 percent of what he says. That five percent can be a real source of frustration for him though because he doesn't understand why we don't get what he is saying.

He just loves life. He is pretty smart, although I'm a bit biased I think. He loves to do whatever we're doing. It's so funny when we're on the phone, because he will run and go get his Tigger cellphone and then mimic everything we are saying. Very cute. He watches us very closely and will ask questions so he understands what we're doing. He is starting to get out and experience the world more and more. Check out the blog below to see what he has been up to lately.

The terrible twos are definitely here, although they aren't too frequent and we can usually get him out of it with a good distraction. He loves snacks and knows where they are so when we tell him "no" it usually results in a mini temper tantrum.

Jacob is turning into a picture lover. He loves to pose and then look at what it looks like on the camera. He wants his picture taken all the time as well as videos of himself.

Jacob is drinking out of regular cups now most of the time. With this comes spills but we're working on it. Eating is never really an issue with him. When there are times he doesn't want something, we can usually bribe him with a small snack if he finishes his food. This usually works, anything for a snack!

Songs are a big part of his life. He LOVES to sing and be sung to. I love that preschool does this for him because I'm not the best singer to teach him songs, but I try!! We usually have a good children's song going in the car on the way home each night. Wait until the windows are open again, look out Bloomington/Normal!! He also loves to dance and seems to be teaching his sister some moves. We still play the "Cha Cha" frequently and both kids really get into it.

Jacob is slowly figuring out the potty. He begged to go the other night and I thought it was just to play (we were in the middle of a bath). I reluctantly let him out and he actually peed.... a lot!! So proud of him and he was super proud too. I know training is just around the corner and I'm very nervous about working with him on this. I hate messes and I can only imagine what is in store for us!

Jacob loves his routine. He knows when we get home at night he gets to go downstairs while Daddy works out before dinner. His bedtime is really where his need for routine comes through. Dan is in charge of this most nights post-bath and has really turned this into a playtime for him. It originally began as one-on-one time for him and a safe place where Bailey wouldn't get into his toys. They put together blocks, puzzles, and read books. He goes through a series of books (in a certain order) and rotates which books he likes. Right now Dr. Seuss is a favorite. We need to scale back this routine to just books because bedtime really needs to be just that and not playtime (in my opinion). This will be a habit that will take time to break. He really gets upset if something is left out.

Jacob is such a joy and is really a sweetheart. Minus the tantrums, I really can't get enough of him!!!

Jacob trying to take his clothes off

Jacob's new interest in his stuffed animals

Sample of his OCD

On the flip side, here is him taking apart the toy storage shelving unit

Jacob Time

2010-03-03T17:00:00.002-06:00

Over the last month, Jacob has been getting more one-on-one time with Dan and I. We have been taking him out more on errands and to do special things. I think that he has been a bit deprived since Bailey was born because it's too hard to take them both out to certain places, so we have stayed home a lot. Now that he has gone out with us more, he has been sooooo happy. He will talk about whatever he did for days and tell everyone else where he has been, so obviously this time is extremely important to him and we need to do more of it.

Jacob always goes with Dan to the grocery store each week and maybe an extra errand or two, but lately he has also gone to the Children's Discovery Museum (first time and LOVED it!!), sledding a few times, ISU basketball game, the car wash (a full-service place so he can watch the assembly line of cleaning), and gas station (yes gas station, loves them!). One morning, he went to get his hair cut, as well as to the gas station and car wash. For days, he said "went with Daddy, haircut, gas station, car wash". It's so sweet that the simple, mundane things to us is the most exciting thing to a little kid. It's really a lesson about how to enjoy life. It has been such a treat to spend quality time with him and I can't wait until the weather changes so we can get outside and do more!!

Here are some pictures from the Children's Discovery Museum....

Train table

Water play, he loved the pump more than actually playing in the water

Mirror play

Climbing wall

Slide

Grocery shopping, he liked organizing the creepy-looking fish

Driving the tractor

View from underground

Soybean processing

Painting wall

Playing with magnets

11 Months

2010-02-28T15:10:00.014-06:00

Only one month until she is one, just too hard to believe. I bought her party invitations yesterday so reality is setting in. She is just so small and doesn't look almost one to me. Maybe it has to do with her having very little hair and no teeth. Her personality is really developing and she is such a sweet, determined, and smart little girl. We feel so blessed. Here is what is up with her!

*Taking up to 10 steps at a time

*Standing up on her own without assistance of anybody or anything

*Shaking her head back and forth like a "no"

*Eating table food (new this week)

*Climbing on EVERYTHING!

*Climbs the stairs perfectly (stumbled on this recently, had no idea she could do it)

Valentine's Day

Sitting on her school bus, her favorite at the moment

Getting into the toy box

Peek-a-boo!!

First complete "big person meal". Her meals take about an hour now and clean-up afterwards is lots of fun :)

Had a really hard time keeping her seated AND looking at me

Very sweet Bailey smile

10 Months

2010-02-07T11:29:00.009-06:00

It's time again for Bailey's monthly post. She has really progressed this past month. Here are all the things new with her!

*Walking along everything

*Taking a couple of steps independently (as of 1/29)

*Climbing on everything. She has quickly figured out how to get on the couch and also loves to stand on her rocking chair and rock back and forth. Obviously this is a little scary for me!

*Transitioning to table foods. This will be a slow process I'm afraid.

*STILL no teeth or any sight of them.

*Developed anxiety with a lot of people. Thankfully daycare is not one of those places, but the church nursery is.

*Taking baths with Jacob now. Both kids love it!

New fear of the vaccum. This is the position she went into the other day while I started the vaccum. She literally didn't move and stayed here for a few minutes. No crying or I would have rescued her!

Here is an example of her being a little monkey. She loves to dive over things. Absolutely no fear!

She loves to push the grocery cart. One of her interesting things is putting a toy in her mouth and either crawling or walking with it. Here's a turkey leg, which is hysterical!

Playing with the gate by the stairs.