Bubble Beard

Ada loves taking a bath and playing around with the bubbles. She enjoys getting the bubbles to stay on her face. She will dunk her face down into the water and come up with a bubble beard and laugh and laugh until the bubbles are all gone. She thinks playing with bubbles is one of the greatest things on earth to do. She is our little ham!!

Too Funny...

During supper Benjamin told Dave that he wanted to watch the bug movie (It's a Bugs Life). Dave then preceded to ask Benjamin what he needed to do first before he could watch the movie. Dave was anticipating Benjamin saying eat supper, take a bath, and get his jammies on but Benjamin took Dave by surprise. Benjamin took a few minutes to think about his answer before he said anything. He then looked right at Dave and said "rewind the movie." I could not stop laughing! It was too cute!!

Daddy's Redneck Floatie....

Little Dolphin Fan!!

Ada was a proud Miami Dolphin fan this weekend as the Dolphins added a win to their belt! Daddy was so proud of his little Dolphin fan!

Ceres Halloween Social

Shirley organized a Ceres Alumni Halloween social. She planned it with our kids in mind! She had all kinds of activities for them and plenty of food to eat! Benjamin loved painting his pumpkins. He painted one for himself and one for his sister. His pumpkin had boy colors while Ada's had girl colors on it. While he was painting Ada's pumpkin he asked if Quinn (his friend from daycare) will think it is pretty. I think I should be concerned.

Benjamin got to frost and decorate some Halloween cookies. He loves to frost and decorate with sprinkles so he was in Heaven! Ada enjoyed eating his creations! They went so fast that there was no time for pictures.

At another station was photo frame decorating. I decorating Ada's frame while Benjamin painted his own frame. He did a very good job of painting. I let him paint it himself (that way I can treasure the frame he made). I applied the stickers/decals but Benjamin directed me as to where he wanted them to go. I think the frames were a great idea and I think they turned out very cute!

There was a station with music and movies so the kids could rest. There was puzzles to put together and noodles to play with and make necklaces with.

Ada's favorite station (she did this station all day) was the snack station! There was very food imaginable to eat and it was all so good! She enjoyed meat, cheese, & crackers, fruit, veggies, cupcakes, brownies, chips, etc. The snack station was Ada's favorite station. There were even these cute disposable cups that you could make into sippy cups. Ada really liked those cups but she had a nasty habit of chewing on the lid till it broke and then she would get her milk or water all over the place.

Mommy enjoyed visiting with her Ceres sisters and getting a chance to catch up with them. It was also fun to see everyone children and to see how much they have grown! Thank you Shirley for organizing a really fun day! We enjoyed it!

Craig & Steph's Wedding

Mommy & Ada, Uncle Craig & Benjamin Dancing

Ada

Auntie Carrie & Benjamin

Here are a few snapshots from Craig & Steph's wedding. Doesn't Benjamin look so handsome? And Ada look so cute? Didn't Steph and Renae do a great job with making the earrings and necklace?

The problem with being a bridesmaid and a mother of two was I didn't get to take very many pictures. Also, we never got a family photo taken with the four of us. Hopefully, someone else did! Danielle, Corey's girlfriend, took pictures with my brother Colin's camera but he has yet to share the photo's with us. Notice that I don't even have a picture of the bride and groom--Sorry about that! Craig and Steph got married on October 10, 2008. It rained early that morning and then turned into a beautiful fall day. The wedding, reception, and dance went off without any problems. They honeymooned in Aruba (far more exotic that the Black Hills) and are still happily married so things look promising!

Pool Time...

We spent most of our free time enjoying the hotel pool. Benjamin loves to swim and play in the water for hours! Ada enjoys the water too. Both kids miss swimming in the pool. Benjamin is a little daredevil when it comes to playing in the pool. He likes to jump off the deep end of the pool towards his daddy and his uncles. Every once in a while Benjamin would sneak off and go into the hot tub to warm up his feet. He would then come out and say that his feet feel better. Benjamin and Ada liked to chase each other around in the pool and would also play bumper floaties.

Where's Benjamin?

Minnesota Zoo

We spent a few hours at the Minnesota Zoo. The zoo was fun and the kids really enjoyed looking at all the animals but the weather was cold and windy! I couldn't believe how cold it was because the weather was really nice the day before. We walked the entire zoo and checked out all the animals. It was so nice to get out as a family and take in a few sites.

Seahorses

I just had to share a picture of the seahorses that Ada and I thought were so neat!

Stare Down...

Benjamin was entranced with this alligator. The alligator seemed just as entranced looking at Benjamin! The alligator almost looks like he is standing but his head looks like he is laying down. Such an eerie sight! Thank goodness we don't have any of them around here!

Benjamin

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy 3rd Birthday Benjamin! We love you very much! Mommy, daddy, and Ada enjoy spending every day with you!

Underwater Adventures

Since we were going to be in the Cities for Craig & Steph's wedding we took a couple of days and enjoyed a mini family vacation. One of the places we went to was Underwater Adventures in the Mall of America. The admission was a little steep but it was pretty neat. Benjamin enjoyed looking at the alligators and at the sharks. Ada and I liked looking at the seahorses. Dave enjoyed watching the expressions on Benajmin and Ada's face. Just watching Benjamin and Ada take it all in, ask questions, or get excited was so worth it for us to go there. Our ticket was good all day so we ended up going through it twice! There was an area where the kids could climb up the ship and pretend that they were sailors by looking through the telescope. Dave and the kids had a good time playing together in the play area. The area that mom thought was very neat was the hands-on area. We were able to touch stingrays, sharks, and other fish.

These are just a few snapshots from our trip to Underwater Adventures

Our Treasures!!

More teeth

It finally happened! Ada's two bottom molars finally came through. Her bottom right one came through yesterday (10-20-08) and her bottom left one broke through today (10-21-08)! She has such a terrible time teething. Nothing seems to help her. The most relief she gets is from chewing on her toothbrush. Let's just say we started with a brand new toothbrush and she already needs a new one--just from chewing on it! I feel so bad for her because I know that it has to hurt and really bother her. I feel so helpless. Her little gums swell up really huge and just seem to take weeks for her teeth to break through. When she teethes she does not sleep well and usually gets a diaper rash which bothers her when we clean her bottom. She is also a major, major crab bucket. My poor baby! She is now up to 10 teeth. She is growing up so fast. Too fast in my opinion. Hopefully we all can get a good night's rest.

Our Birthday Memories!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

1 year & 3 year check-ups

The kids went to their wellness check-ups on 10-6-08. Both kids were deemed very healthy and right on track developmentally. One of the questions they asked was if Benjamin could stack 5 or 6 blocks together. I started laughing because he has been doing this since before he was one year old! There were other questions that I just had to laugh and shake my head at also. They asked if Ada understood what he say to her or ask her to do. I told them definitely because if I say, "Ada, let's go get your clothes she runs to her dresser and starts to open her drawer where her clothes are." She definitely understands us! We have been working very patiently with potty training Benjamin. It has been a very slow process. He can recognize when he has to pee but is afraid to poop on the potty. There are days I feel he will never be potty trained but I have to stop myself because I do not know of anyone who has started school wearing diapers!

Ada has grown-up so much in the past week. Her hair is finally starting to come in a little (I said a little) thicker and longer. She likes to sit on the potty and has even went potty. Ada will lay down with the "big kids"(Benjamin & Quinn) to take her nap. If they still are sleeping or are laying quietly she will too. After we come in from outside, I ask her and Benjamin to take their shoes off so she sits down and takes her shoes off! Both of my children make me very proud and happy. I cannot believe how much Ada has learned to do in a year. Lately, Benjamin just seems so grown-up. He enjoys doing puzzles and he can almost do a 26 piece puzzle by himself! His knowledge and conversational skills constantly amaze me.

Anyhow, back to their doctor's appointment. Benjamin weighs 30 lbs 5 oz (50%) and is 38 1/2 inches tall (75%). The most traumatizing part of Benjamin's doctor's appointment was getting weighed and measured. He was slouching a little bit so I think he actually might be a little taller but we went with what we could get.

Ada weighs 22 lbs 15 oz (75%) and is 30 3/4 inches tall (90%). Each one of my children are officially over half my height! Good for them, scary for mom!

9 Month Appointment

The problem with the kids' doctor's office going paperless is that they forget to write down their measurements such as height and weight. I give Dave a hard time for not remembering to ask for it so he left Ada's 9 month doctor's appointment (7-22-08) without such information and he could not 100 percent remember what they said for her height and weight. He relayed information such as doing everything that she is supposed to be doing, she doesn't need any shots, etc. So here is Ada's long awaited measurements: 21 lbs 8 oz (75 %) and 30 inches tall (97 %). My little girl is officially half my height!

Birthday Celebration!!!

Since my brother's wedding was immediately following Benjamin's birthday we decided to hold a joint birthday party at my in-laws for both Benjamin and Ada. It was a beautiful day all around as the weather was wonderful and we got to celebrate with all of the great grandparents, cousins, etc. Everyone had a great time; although, I am not quite sure who was more tired--the kids or the grandparents!


Dave had asked me what type of cake I was going to make and I told him that I was going to make a pink teddy bear cake for Ada.
He then preceded to ask me what type of cake I was going to make for Benjamin. Silly me, thought I could get by with Ada's cake and Benjamin's decorations but Dave said, "Benjamin needs his own cake." So I ended up making a dinosaur cake for Benjamin's birthday. We had plenty of cake to go around!


While we were finding candles (I forgot mine) some of the kids sat at the kitchen table patiently waiting to eat birthday cake! I think it was a cute shot. Pictured below (left to right) are Benjamin (3), Hannah (3), and Harper (3).


I decided to do something crazy if the weather was nice for the birthday party and it was so we had a pinata. This pinata took a lot of beating before big cousin Ethan (9) finally broke it and got the goodies out. Note to self: never put kit kat candy bars in a pinata--they come out very broken! A hard lesson learned!




The kids really seemed to enjoy the pinata and the day turned out GREAT!! Happy Birthday Benjamin (October 9) and Ada!! We love you very much!!

I'm Back...

I know, I know it has been an eternity since I have updated anything to our blog. Sorry about that, I am really going to try and be better about it. It has been a very emotional time for us. Benjamin (3) and Ada (1) each celebrated their birthday's recently, my brother got married (yes, I said married--it is pretty hard for me to believe it yet), and I just got back from a week of training at Annual Conference! Busy, Busy!