Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
future politicians take to the streets!
Last week when we were up in Minnesota we were able to walk in the Maple Grove Days parade to support Grandpa David and his run for the MN House of Representatives! I wasn't sure how our kids would do with a long walk and no candy, but they did awesome! We brought a stroller for Mya and she sat in it for a grand total of 2 minutes.
Max and Mya stole the show. They held signs that said "Vote for my Grandpa" and Max was yelling "Vote for David Hoden" and Mya was waving to the crowd beauty pageant style. More than once I heard people say that they were going to vote for David because these kids were so cute! Unfortunately, the people saying this looked like they were not eligible to vote due to the fact that they were 16:)
After the parade we had a cook-out at Chris's parents house and it was really fun to meet fellow supporters and talk some politics. I don't claim to know a lot, but I think I held my own! Enjoy some pictures..they pretty much tell it all.
Max and Mya stole the show. They held signs that said "Vote for my Grandpa" and Max was yelling "Vote for David Hoden" and Mya was waving to the crowd beauty pageant style. More than once I heard people say that they were going to vote for David because these kids were so cute! Unfortunately, the people saying this looked like they were not eligible to vote due to the fact that they were 16:)
After the parade we had a cook-out at Chris's parents house and it was really fun to meet fellow supporters and talk some politics. I don't claim to know a lot, but I think I held my own! Enjoy some pictures..they pretty much tell it all.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Lake 2010
This last week we were up at Chris's family cabin on Lake Mille Lacs. It was a beautiful week and we all had a great time. It was the first year that both kids were able to really play on the beach without me worrying they'd be eating sand! Here is a run-down of what we did this week and a few pictures to enjoy along the way!
The week started with a 6 hr 40 minute drive North. It would have been about 30 minutes faster, but we had to stop 5 times. Believe it or not, it wasn't for the kids! I had a case of the stomach flu so it wasn't such a great trip for me. Thankfully, the kids were behaved rather well for once so that made it somewhat tolerable. (probably b/c I wrapped 14 presents from the dollar spot at Target so they got to open one per hour:) At one point I was on the phone with my sister trying to figure out how she could get me to the cabin later in the week because I didn't think I could make it past the twin cities! A special thanks to my mother-in-law for making me rice, peeling my bananas and buttering my toast for a few days:)
Onto the better parts...Uncle Jeff was up at the cabin with us and he took the time to teach Max how to skip rocks. Lots of fun was had by all seeing whose rock could skip the most and who could snap the best picture of the rocks skipping across the calm water.
One of the area towns was having a parade while we were at the cabin so Grandma and Grandpa, Chris and Jeff took the kids to see it. They got prime seating and came home with a huge bag full of candy. Highlights were the horsies (Mya's word) and the fire chiefs! (Max's word) We have a few videos of Max retrieving candy, but are unable to upload them right now. If I can keep my eyes open, I may try again later tonight:)
This year marked the 10th year I've been going up to this cabin. In those 10 years, there has been a little boat propped up against the side of the hill...never been touched. Leave it to Chris and his brother to try to get this thing working. They cleaned out the 10+ years worth of bugs and leaves from the inside, got the engine out of the shed and hooked it on. What happened next is best described by my brother in law who stated...."it's a miracle"! The boat started right away!!! We had lots of laughs over this boat and only once were stuck a little ways out and had to paddle back into shore:) Max was in heaven when we told him he could ride in this boat and better yet...could even drive it for a little bit. One night after the kids were in bed we decided to try to pull someone on a wake board. I was the guinea pig and it didn't work out too well. Apparently 5 HP isn't very much:)
Other highlights included Max and Grandpa hunting for the perfect maple tree to transplant in the yard, watching Max and Mya have races down the hill, building sand castles, perfecting the diving catch of the football in the lake, campfires complete with s'mores and hot dogs, late night dairy queen runs, sitting in the loft hopeful that the neighbor's wireless connection doesn't go bad, watching movies, trying my best to not think about the minnows nibbling on my legs while in the lake, eating good food (later in the week:), and making sure my kids always had dry clothes on!
Chloe of course had the time of her life. Since we went after the 4th of July this year, things up there were calmer so she got to be off her leash a lot more and enjoyed countless hours of swimming in the lake and rolling in dead fish.
Each year since we've had kids we have taken a family picture in a different location up at the lake. Here are the top 2 from this year...if you want, you can leave a comment and vote on which is your favorite for the wall:)
The week started with a 6 hr 40 minute drive North. It would have been about 30 minutes faster, but we had to stop 5 times. Believe it or not, it wasn't for the kids! I had a case of the stomach flu so it wasn't such a great trip for me. Thankfully, the kids were behaved rather well for once so that made it somewhat tolerable. (probably b/c I wrapped 14 presents from the dollar spot at Target so they got to open one per hour:) At one point I was on the phone with my sister trying to figure out how she could get me to the cabin later in the week because I didn't think I could make it past the twin cities! A special thanks to my mother-in-law for making me rice, peeling my bananas and buttering my toast for a few days:)
Onto the better parts...Uncle Jeff was up at the cabin with us and he took the time to teach Max how to skip rocks. Lots of fun was had by all seeing whose rock could skip the most and who could snap the best picture of the rocks skipping across the calm water.
One of the area towns was having a parade while we were at the cabin so Grandma and Grandpa, Chris and Jeff took the kids to see it. They got prime seating and came home with a huge bag full of candy. Highlights were the horsies (Mya's word) and the fire chiefs! (Max's word) We have a few videos of Max retrieving candy, but are unable to upload them right now. If I can keep my eyes open, I may try again later tonight:)
This year marked the 10th year I've been going up to this cabin. In those 10 years, there has been a little boat propped up against the side of the hill...never been touched. Leave it to Chris and his brother to try to get this thing working. They cleaned out the 10+ years worth of bugs and leaves from the inside, got the engine out of the shed and hooked it on. What happened next is best described by my brother in law who stated...."it's a miracle"! The boat started right away!!! We had lots of laughs over this boat and only once were stuck a little ways out and had to paddle back into shore:) Max was in heaven when we told him he could ride in this boat and better yet...could even drive it for a little bit. One night after the kids were in bed we decided to try to pull someone on a wake board. I was the guinea pig and it didn't work out too well. Apparently 5 HP isn't very much:)
Other highlights included Max and Grandpa hunting for the perfect maple tree to transplant in the yard, watching Max and Mya have races down the hill, building sand castles, perfecting the diving catch of the football in the lake, campfires complete with s'mores and hot dogs, late night dairy queen runs, sitting in the loft hopeful that the neighbor's wireless connection doesn't go bad, watching movies, trying my best to not think about the minnows nibbling on my legs while in the lake, eating good food (later in the week:), and making sure my kids always had dry clothes on!
Chloe of course had the time of her life. Since we went after the 4th of July this year, things up there were calmer so she got to be off her leash a lot more and enjoyed countless hours of swimming in the lake and rolling in dead fish.
Each year since we've had kids we have taken a family picture in a different location up at the lake. Here are the top 2 from this year...if you want, you can leave a comment and vote on which is your favorite for the wall:)
Monday, July 19, 2010
2 years old!
Dear Miss Mya Pat-
Happy 2nd birthday to my little girl. I think it's safe to say that these last two years have been the fastest 2 years of my life. When I called recently for your 2 year well child check I told the nurse I needed to schedule a 1 year check for you. Wasn't until I told her your birth date that she told me it was a 2 year check!!
You are definitely one of a kind. Typically your days start around 6:30. Unlike your brother, it's nearly impossible to get you to go back to sleep even if you woke up on the wrong side of the crib. We usually bring you into our bed to try to get a few more minutes rest, but "rest" is apparently not in your vocabulary. Instead...jump, kick, bounce, hide under the covers, ask for juice one million times over, and talk really loud are the only things on your mind at this time. You nap around 1pm for an hour to an hour and a half most days and wake up happy 50% of the time. The other 50% requires Max and I leaving your room and letting you wake up in a better mood a little while later. Bedtime is around 7 pm which is a lifesaver to us. Your dad is much better at putting you to bed than I am, so that's usually the route we take.
Babies, purses, strollers, shoes, keys, money and chapstick continue to be your highlight as far as "toys" go. You're starting to want to color/write more and more. Every time you write, you want me to come and look at the "B" you're making. I think you're listening to me work with Max on his letters and you see the attention he gets so you decided to copycat! Learning to color on paper has been an issue for you as I think you'd rather color on anything else. Your skin, the wood floor, the underside of the kitchen table, and books are a few of your favorites. You can match colors, but if I ask you what color something is, it's always green or yellow. I'm wondering if your dad secretly taught you that so you'd always answer with John Deere colors!
As far as stats and other fun tidbits...I think you weigh around 24 lbs and are 33" inches long. You wear size 6 wide shoes, are still sleeping in the crib, wearing size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes, drinking 2% milk, sporting some major curls, still struggling with some eczema issues, don't mind your hair in pony tails, love to have your fingers and toes painted, going potty on the potty 3-4 times a day, ask "why" all the time, saying lots of 1-2 word phrases, and you can count to 10 sans #8.
Some of my favorite things about you are the way you open your mouth as wide as it can possibly go when you're really excited about something. I love the way you run, the way you hit the kids' heads so hard when you're about to say "goose" in duck duck goose, how excited you are to see "Mat" in the morning, how excited you are to see a puppy until it comes within 3 feet of you, the way you still play with my hair when you're tired, and the way you yell "MAMA" at the top of your lungs when you're ready to get out of your crib in the morning or after naps,
I could live without your tantrums when we have to come inside or I take something away from you. I could live without you knowing how to take your diaper off. I could live without you crying the entire time a babysitter is here, I could live without you taking your shoes off EVERY time we get in the car...even if it's to drive 2 minutes to the park. I could live without you taking my pony tails out every time I'm wearing one because you can't play with my hair when it's in a pony. But in the end...these things are just phases that we know will soon pass and honestly I'll probably even miss some of these phases! There will come a day when you no longer want me to hold you and then I'll wish you'd take my ponytail out to play with my hair!
You are definitely Miss Independent. Sometimes this drives me crazy, but most of the times it works to my advantage. You have learned to put your own shoes on and because of this..Max can now do it too! In one day I went from putting 2 kids shoes on to zero!! You can put your pants/shorts on if I lay them out in the right direction for you. You can get yourself into the car seat and buckle the top part. You don't need any help at Jumpin' Janes or at the park anymore!
We love you Mya and are so happy you became part of our family 2 years ago!
Love, Mommy
July 18, 2008
July 18, 2009
July 18, 2010
Happy 2nd birthday to my little girl. I think it's safe to say that these last two years have been the fastest 2 years of my life. When I called recently for your 2 year well child check I told the nurse I needed to schedule a 1 year check for you. Wasn't until I told her your birth date that she told me it was a 2 year check!!
You are definitely one of a kind. Typically your days start around 6:30. Unlike your brother, it's nearly impossible to get you to go back to sleep even if you woke up on the wrong side of the crib. We usually bring you into our bed to try to get a few more minutes rest, but "rest" is apparently not in your vocabulary. Instead...jump, kick, bounce, hide under the covers, ask for juice one million times over, and talk really loud are the only things on your mind at this time. You nap around 1pm for an hour to an hour and a half most days and wake up happy 50% of the time. The other 50% requires Max and I leaving your room and letting you wake up in a better mood a little while later. Bedtime is around 7 pm which is a lifesaver to us. Your dad is much better at putting you to bed than I am, so that's usually the route we take.
Babies, purses, strollers, shoes, keys, money and chapstick continue to be your highlight as far as "toys" go. You're starting to want to color/write more and more. Every time you write, you want me to come and look at the "B" you're making. I think you're listening to me work with Max on his letters and you see the attention he gets so you decided to copycat! Learning to color on paper has been an issue for you as I think you'd rather color on anything else. Your skin, the wood floor, the underside of the kitchen table, and books are a few of your favorites. You can match colors, but if I ask you what color something is, it's always green or yellow. I'm wondering if your dad secretly taught you that so you'd always answer with John Deere colors!
As far as stats and other fun tidbits...I think you weigh around 24 lbs and are 33" inches long. You wear size 6 wide shoes, are still sleeping in the crib, wearing size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes, drinking 2% milk, sporting some major curls, still struggling with some eczema issues, don't mind your hair in pony tails, love to have your fingers and toes painted, going potty on the potty 3-4 times a day, ask "why" all the time, saying lots of 1-2 word phrases, and you can count to 10 sans #8.
Some of my favorite things about you are the way you open your mouth as wide as it can possibly go when you're really excited about something. I love the way you run, the way you hit the kids' heads so hard when you're about to say "goose" in duck duck goose, how excited you are to see "Mat" in the morning, how excited you are to see a puppy until it comes within 3 feet of you, the way you still play with my hair when you're tired, and the way you yell "MAMA" at the top of your lungs when you're ready to get out of your crib in the morning or after naps,
I could live without your tantrums when we have to come inside or I take something away from you. I could live without you knowing how to take your diaper off. I could live without you crying the entire time a babysitter is here, I could live without you taking your shoes off EVERY time we get in the car...even if it's to drive 2 minutes to the park. I could live without you taking my pony tails out every time I'm wearing one because you can't play with my hair when it's in a pony. But in the end...these things are just phases that we know will soon pass and honestly I'll probably even miss some of these phases! There will come a day when you no longer want me to hold you and then I'll wish you'd take my ponytail out to play with my hair!
You are definitely Miss Independent. Sometimes this drives me crazy, but most of the times it works to my advantage. You have learned to put your own shoes on and because of this..Max can now do it too! In one day I went from putting 2 kids shoes on to zero!! You can put your pants/shorts on if I lay them out in the right direction for you. You can get yourself into the car seat and buckle the top part. You don't need any help at Jumpin' Janes or at the park anymore!
We love you Mya and are so happy you became part of our family 2 years ago!
Love, Mommy
July 18, 2008
July 18, 2009
July 18, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
kids in underwear
Is it just me or are little kids in underwear one of the cutest things you've ever seen?!? Recently I bought some for Mya because we're going to give potty training a go here pretty soon and while I was at Target, I picked some new ones up for Max because his 2T-3T ones are getting kind of tight.
Mya was smitten with the new purchase I made. She played with her underwear for 15-20minutes straight putting them on then taking them off. Finally I asked her if she wanted some help (because most of the time they weren't on quite right) When she said yes, I helped her get one pair on. Then, she wanted another pair on, and another, and another until she had all 10 pairs on at the same time!! This is how she is currently walking around so I'm guessing she'll have an accident that will soak all 10 pairs and then I'll have one devastated little girl!
Mya was smitten with the new purchase I made. She played with her underwear for 15-20minutes straight putting them on then taking them off. Finally I asked her if she wanted some help (because most of the time they weren't on quite right) When she said yes, I helped her get one pair on. Then, she wanted another pair on, and another, and another until she had all 10 pairs on at the same time!! This is how she is currently walking around so I'm guessing she'll have an accident that will soak all 10 pairs and then I'll have one devastated little girl!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
4th of July weekend in review
We had a really nice 4th of July weekend here in Dubuque! Here's a little recap of what went on around here.
Friday night Chris and I enjoyed an adult night out on the Mississippi River with our neighbors. We boated down to Galena and ate dinner at the Sunset Grill at Chestnut Mountain. We rode the chair lift up and then rode the Alpine Slide down. For those of you who know me well..the alpine slide didn't go over too well with me. I thought it was the biggest waste of $8 and really wish I would have just walked down the mountain. I pretty much rode the brake down the entire time...evidenced by the fact that Brett Errthum started 30 seconds after me and was nudging me at the end! We had a couple babysitters here with the neighbor kids and ours and it went really well. I was pretty nervous about Mya because recently her and I have become really tight and she's not too anxious to be around new people! Max of course loved it and couldn't stop talking about Kat and Molly the next day!
I'm told the view of the Mississippi was awesome as you rode up the chair lift. I was too busy hanging on and closing my eyes.
Saturday Chris spent most of the day staining the deck. After about 2 minutes of Max "helping" he decided it was just a daddy job which broke Max's heart, but was for the best:) Saturday night we went down to watch the Air Show at the river walk. It wasn't where all the action was taking place, but we were able to see most of it and didn't have to fight the crowds with parking and everything. The kids didn't really watch the air show...they just ran around with William the whole time being crazy. Chris loved it and we both agreed that we felt more like "Dubuquers" after the show:)
Max helping with the deck for the 2 minutes that it lasted.
Mya enjoying the views on the River Walk doing her best to avoid being in the stroller.
Sunday my parents came down for the day and we had the All-American meal on America's birthday...brats/hot dogs, pasta salad, chips and dessert! Max and Mya helped me make a fruit pizza that they loved making, but had no interest in eating. Then, Sunday night we got invited to the Country Club here in town for their dinner and fireworks show. Unfortunately, the rain started just after they got everything set up for the big show so we ended up watching them at 8:00 in the daylight from under an awning. Neither kid really enjoyed them. Chris had to constantly tell Max to look up and watch as he was more interested in the kids jumping in the puddles! Mya just buried her head in my shoulder and kept asking for daddy. Maybe next year...:)
Today we were going to go down to the new Mississippi River Museum, but it was raining and the lines were too long. Since we're members, we decided we could go anytime and didn't want to mess with the crowds. So...we went bowling instead and the kids loved it as usual.
Have a good (short) week everyone!
Friday night Chris and I enjoyed an adult night out on the Mississippi River with our neighbors. We boated down to Galena and ate dinner at the Sunset Grill at Chestnut Mountain. We rode the chair lift up and then rode the Alpine Slide down. For those of you who know me well..the alpine slide didn't go over too well with me. I thought it was the biggest waste of $8 and really wish I would have just walked down the mountain. I pretty much rode the brake down the entire time...evidenced by the fact that Brett Errthum started 30 seconds after me and was nudging me at the end! We had a couple babysitters here with the neighbor kids and ours and it went really well. I was pretty nervous about Mya because recently her and I have become really tight and she's not too anxious to be around new people! Max of course loved it and couldn't stop talking about Kat and Molly the next day!
I'm told the view of the Mississippi was awesome as you rode up the chair lift. I was too busy hanging on and closing my eyes.
Saturday Chris spent most of the day staining the deck. After about 2 minutes of Max "helping" he decided it was just a daddy job which broke Max's heart, but was for the best:) Saturday night we went down to watch the Air Show at the river walk. It wasn't where all the action was taking place, but we were able to see most of it and didn't have to fight the crowds with parking and everything. The kids didn't really watch the air show...they just ran around with William the whole time being crazy. Chris loved it and we both agreed that we felt more like "Dubuquers" after the show:)
Max helping with the deck for the 2 minutes that it lasted.
Mya enjoying the views on the River Walk doing her best to avoid being in the stroller.
Sunday my parents came down for the day and we had the All-American meal on America's birthday...brats/hot dogs, pasta salad, chips and dessert! Max and Mya helped me make a fruit pizza that they loved making, but had no interest in eating. Then, Sunday night we got invited to the Country Club here in town for their dinner and fireworks show. Unfortunately, the rain started just after they got everything set up for the big show so we ended up watching them at 8:00 in the daylight from under an awning. Neither kid really enjoyed them. Chris had to constantly tell Max to look up and watch as he was more interested in the kids jumping in the puddles! Mya just buried her head in my shoulder and kept asking for daddy. Maybe next year...:)
Today we were going to go down to the new Mississippi River Museum, but it was raining and the lines were too long. Since we're members, we decided we could go anytime and didn't want to mess with the crowds. So...we went bowling instead and the kids loved it as usual.
Have a good (short) week everyone!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Swimming Lessons Week 1
Well, Max has completed one week of swimming lessons. Overall they went pretty well. My main goals for the week were for Max to stay in the water with his swim teacher the entire 35 minutes, for Mya not to fall in, and for me to bring enough snacks and drinks to occupy Mya's time so she didn't fall in! I'm happy to report all three goals were accomplished!
Max has been one of the last ones in his group to do an activity and isn't too eager about going. Putting his head/face under water is going to be a big accomplishment for this little guy. Our swimming friends (the Maher girls) got him all pumped up today about putting his head under and doing a "bob". After the lesson he told me he did it, but I'm pretty sure it didn't happen. How do I know?? His hair was bone dry:)
I'm not too worried about the whole anti-put-your-head-in-the-water-thing. While I was telling my mom yesterday about his trouble at lessons, she told me that my brother was 9 YEARS OLD before he put his head under!! I could look at this two ways. One...my brother was a big wuss. Two...only 6 more years until Max is behind! Enjoy some pics.
check out that dry hair:) this was at least 20 minutes into the lesson.
Max and Owen waiting to hear what they're going to get to do next!
This face pretty much sums it up:)
Stay tuned for next week's swimming lesson recap!
Max has been one of the last ones in his group to do an activity and isn't too eager about going. Putting his head/face under water is going to be a big accomplishment for this little guy. Our swimming friends (the Maher girls) got him all pumped up today about putting his head under and doing a "bob". After the lesson he told me he did it, but I'm pretty sure it didn't happen. How do I know?? His hair was bone dry:)
I'm not too worried about the whole anti-put-your-head-in-the-water-thing. While I was telling my mom yesterday about his trouble at lessons, she told me that my brother was 9 YEARS OLD before he put his head under!! I could look at this two ways. One...my brother was a big wuss. Two...only 6 more years until Max is behind! Enjoy some pics.
check out that dry hair:) this was at least 20 minutes into the lesson.
Max and Owen waiting to hear what they're going to get to do next!
This face pretty much sums it up:)
Stay tuned for next week's swimming lesson recap!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Who knew?
We are pretty frequent guests around the parks of Dubuque. I have sand toys in my van so if we have time to stop and the kids ask me to, we usually can. Max knows many of these parks by name and asks to go all the time. Oddly enough, our favorite park in this city is the park inside Menards! I know they have a playground at the Menards in Waterloo too, so maybe it's in every Menards. Yesterday I went to get a couple things for my garden and decided to let them play for a few minutes. A few minutes turned into the best 45 minutes of my day. They played so hard and so well there. I hated to make them leave, but Chris was coming home from work, so we needed to get home! They have a giant playground along with little houses and swings. I took a few pictures on my phone while I sat on the jungle gym and watched them play!
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