9 year old in the house

Our dog Chloe Joanne Hoden turned 9 years old yesterday! We didn't get to celebrate yesterday because we were driving home from the twin cities where we spent the long weekend visiting Chris's family and some friends! Chloe's birthday means it's time for the annual update! She is still up to the same old shenanigans....ripping up stuffed animals, eating crayons, stealing food from Ivy, etc. Other than that though, she is starting to slow down a bit and we see the "puppy" in her less and less. We are actually able to have her stay out with us when we have company now. She just gives them attention for a couple of minutes and then is pretty chill the rest of the time.

Her favorite spots to be in the house are under the kitchen table (it's a pain because it's hard to clean under there and she sheds a TON) and on the chair in the living room. If something is on the chair she will come and find me and bark or make some sort of noise so I know that I need to move the blanket, lego set, doll, etc.! She sleeps on the floor in the kids' room and wakes us up with her puppy dreams quite often. Thankfully, it has never woken up the kiddos!

Max and Mya love walking her these days. She does really well on the leash so I trust them to walk her as long as we're not by a busy street. Mya and her friends love to play "puppy" with Chloe, even though she is not always in the mood to cooperate with them. Ivy is hit or miss with whether or not she likes Chloe. It's very much determined by Ivy's mood. Thankfully she is super calm when Ivy is pulling on her hair/tail/nose/ears saying "go away Co-ee"

Her favorite thing to do is the same as last year....riding shot gun in the mini van. Now that the weather has cooled down, she's back to the front seat for our morning errands. One day last week we saw some friends and my friend's little boy was so disappointed that I didn't have her in the car because he was so used to seeing her! So many people comment that it looks like I have someone in my van riding with me! The downside is that my van needs a good vacuuming on a weekly basis:) Someday we're going to get that new Honda Odyssey with the built in vacuum!

As much of a pain as she is to me sometimes, it's also hard seeing her get old. A couple of weeks ago she was not being herself. I had to lift her in and out of the car (70 pounds is not easy!) and she seemed really depressed. So I brought her into the vet and he said she most likely has arthritis. Basically it's inevitable with goldens. So she was on some doggie ibuprofen for a week or so and then it will be some glucosamine for the rest of her life to help with joint pain. She seems way better this week. She's back to barking at me when she wants food! I don't really appreciate being barked at, but I kind of missed it last week!

Tonight we made our annual trip to PetCo to let Chloe pick out a new toy and get her some treats. After we made it out of there spending the least we ever have ($10) we ate birthday cake and let Chloe lick the plate:) So happy she's our dog!

phone catch up!

It's that time again! Here goes:

The only reason I'm happy that this weather has cooled down is that the fruit flies have finally died off! We were having a lot of trouble with them. Chris googled it eventually and came up with this magic potion that helped the problem a bit...apple cider vinegar and dish soap.


My mom is the queen of finding the perfect napkin for every occassion. She sent me these awhile back when I joined book club, and I just hosted for the first time a couple of weeks ago so I got to use them! Of course everyone loved them.


My friend Jaramee was getting rid of this playhouse so I told her I'd gladly get it off of her hands so she didn't have to store it for the winter! Ivy was thrilled and the big two kids have had their fair share of time playing in it as well.


My friend Kate just built a new house and hosted the play date of all play dates. 9 moms, 27 kids and each kid (minus one that was too small) had a riding toy! It was crazy, but the kids loved it and it was a beautiful 80 degree October day so that helped!


Max and Mya each have a "special drawer" in their rooms. It originally started out with the intention of putting their special stuff in it, but it has turned out to be a junk drawer and I throw everything that doesn't belong on the floor in that drawer. I decided to clean it out a bit the other day and ran across this little piece of paper in Max's drawer. I have no idea when he did it or why, but it was pretty cute and made me smile.


I couldn't resist snapping this pic of my almost 2 year old. Hard to believe she's asking me to bring her backpack and acting like she's one of the big kids already!


I drove up to Decorah Friday night to drop Max off at my parents house and to spend the evening with a couple of my Luther friends! The drive home Saturday morning was gorgeous so I snapped a quick picture with my phone. It's not the best picture ever, but you can kind of get the idea of how beautiful it was!

Tokyo 2020??

Okay, maybe it's a little soon to start proclaiming that Mya and Max will be competing in the 2020 Olympic Games, but we sure are proud of our little gymnasts. They had their first ever competition last weekend and both of them walked away with 1st place! Of course we had no idea what was going on the entire time. We walked in late (who knew you HAD to be at the warm up??) and our kids went 1st and 6th overall so they performed and we walked out 15 minutes later! Each of them had a routine that they memorized and practiced countless times so they were definitely ready. Here are a few pictures from their big day.

creativity at its finest

Tonight when I got home from work, Max was too busy to come and say hi to me because he was "working." As I was putting him to bed, he was talking on a fake cell phone to the general manager of the John Deere Dubuque Works factory, Byron. He was explaining to him that he couldn't find time in his schedule to meet with him. So...I decided to play along and find out what was going on in that little mind of his. I started asking questions and telling him what he had going on tomorrow and was offering suggestions for times he could meet with Byron. He then pulled out these 5 papers that he had been "working" on tonight and told me that he's showing these to John Deere and hopefully they will make these machines. This is a direct quote (I wrote it down in my phone so I wouldn't make any mistakes): "I have to get it done before 2014. I talked to Byron and I just have to get it done."

This stuff just warms my heart and gives me chills all at the same time. Seriously who's kid is this? And what did he do with my 6 year old?? And man...he sure looks up to the men in his life. One minute he wants to be a Marine and the next he wants to design machines for John Deere. Chris's brother watched the kids tonight when I was at work. Now I'm really wondering what they talked about the whole night:) So glad this parenting thing is not a one person job...pretty sure I've never talked machines with Max....not even once. But the kid also knows how to shop online. That I take all the credit for!

weekend update!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Ours started out a little rough, but ended up being a nice weekend. I got a call from the school nurse on Friday saying that Mya had a bad belly ache. So I went to get her and she then told me she had a sore throat too. That combo isn't good for my kids so I took her in and I was right...strep throat:( She was pretty down and out for about 8 hours, but then got a 2nd wind and didn't look back.

She was supposed to go to my parents this weekend for a big girls weekend with Olivia nad Grace. We had to postpone her trip by 24 hours until she was no longer contagious so I met my dad halfway Saturday afternoon. She got to go to the pumpkin patch with her best buds and spend some quality grandparent time as well! My mom says next year Ivy will be invited because at times 3 can be a hard number:) Won't be long until Livi and Grace are big sisters! We're all so excited for a new little one to be born:) I'm guessing it will be before Halloween, but the expected date is November 8th.



Our little Ivy babes has been giving us a run for our money lately. She has a very strong personality and wants to make sure she is heard. When I really need her to stop doing something I say "Ivy Anne" with a stern voice. So yesterday in the car on the way home from Decorah, Mya was bugging her and she started saying "Mya Anne" with the same stern voice I use. It's pretty crazy how their brains work! Also one time lately I let her get out of going down for a nap because she said she wanted to play legos. So now every time she has to take a nap or go to bed she says she wants to play legos! Wonder how long that will last. She's pretty into books again these days and now has started to memorize them because we read the same ones so often. I took a video of her reading and it's on youtube. you can see it here.

As much as Ivy is into books, she's also into climbing. Here is a spot I found her the other day. I heard her asking for a "couple books" which is what she says when she wants to read and apparently she wanted some new choices so she was helping herself!


Here's another one...this time we heard her say "Mom, get down" so I went running.


Also in news from this weekend...Mya learned to tie shoes! Max can also tie his shoes, but he would MUCH rather I still tie them for him and when we told him Mya could tie really well and wondered if he would want her to tie his shoes for him, we got the opposite response we were looking for. We were hoping it would motivate him to work on it a little more and become more efficient, but he simply responded, "sure. that would be great."



Max got camo paint for his face and is pretty excited to be a Marine for Halloween. The other night when he was going to bed, Chris said, "It's time to go to bed Mr. Max" and he responded with, "Don't call me Max, call me Tony Brown." (my sister's hubby in case any of you were wondering who Tony Brown is:)



My big news is that I got a new iPhone! My other one fell in a bucket of water in July and I was able to make do until the new ones came out. I even traded the other one that was hanging on by a thread and needed to be charged fully 3 times per day for $100! They didn't ask if it was working so I figured they didn't care! My pictures from my phone will be much better now so expect more iPhone posts to come:)

Also, want to wish my in-laws a very happy Anniversary! And my dad turns 61 tomorrow:) Hard to believe it was a year ago we were celebrating his big birthday!

nails all around

Last Friday was the annual VNA gala that I've been in charge of the past two years. This year though I just got to go and attend and I have to say...it's much more fun!! I found a dress at younkers for $38 so I felt like I could splurge a bit and I got a spray tan and my hair done! Shortly before leaving for the event, I wanted to paint my finger nails, but Chris was gone so I knew I would have a couple of helpers.

These two little girlies were in heaven. I have been reading a lot of books to Ivy about colors, but she didn't seem to be catching on until I got out the finger nail polish container. She knew all of her colors! I was shocked. I let her paint her own (there was no use stopping her...she was going to do it regardless) and Mya is better at painting her own than I am!



Then the next day Chris was hanging something up in Max and Mya's room and these two were helping complete with their own tools and all! Whenever Chris gets tools out, Max is very quick to help, but now we know the girls are as well. It's pretty cute watching them imitate us:) I just love my tomboy girly girls!




Happy Monday!

Half Dozen and a half

Max turned 6 1/2 on September 3rd. I've been meaning to get this post written since then, but that's how it goes these days. I decided to do a little question and answer session with him!



1. How does it feel to be 6 1/2?

Good. Really cool. Better than being 6. I can't wait to be 7.

2. What do you like about school?

Lunch and Gym

3. What do you not like about school?

That it's so long

4. If you could do anything you want after school, what would it be?

Go to Jumpin Janes with Cooper

5. If you could go on an airplane to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Japan

6. What is your favorite thing to do with Mya? Mom? Dad? Ivy?

Mya-wrestle Ivy-run around with her Dad-make stuff Mom-go to places shopping

7. If you could have any pet you wanted (besides a dog because you already have one) what would you get?

A hamster

8. what do you want to be when you grow up?

Football player

9 what your favorite sport?

Football

10. who is your favorite team to watch on TV?

Broncos

11. What's your favorite snack?

Jelly Beans

12. if you were 16 and could drive, what car would you want to get?

A Mustang

13. What do you want for Christmas?

An iPod

He wasn't too interested in this survey so the answers aren't very complex:) I have no idea why he likes the Broncos. Football is pretty much the only sport we haven't exposed him to, yet it's his favorite??!?? There's no chance he's getting an iPod for Christmas and believe it or not, he's a really good student despite the fact that he only likes lunch and gym!

He has lost 8 teeth plus the one that got pulled from the roof of his mouth. He's kind of over the tooth fairy because the other day he lost a tooth and didn't even ask to put it under his pillow! We did anyway and he didn't even check to see if there was any money until we reminded him to look. He's pretty busy right now with cub scouts, gymnastics and tennis. It's definitely enough for him and his parents! He's still a sweet, sensitive soul and hates when I get mad at him. I would love it if he were a bit nicer to Mya when his friends are around, but I assume it's pretty typical behavior. He still loves the ipad, prefers to watch the Disney channel and his favorite family show is the American Ninja Warrior:) That's about all I have to report right now! Growing up way too fast.....


Here he is at 6 months...his first "half birthday"

another iphone post

It seems like these are the easiest posts for me these days! Sort of encompasses everything we've been up to! I have a 6 1/2 year old post almost ready to go, but I need a little more time so this one will have to do until I get a chance to finish it!

Here goes...

2 Saturdays ago I drove over to Platteville to spend the day with a few of my high school besties and their kids! I hadn't met 2 of them so it was such a great day with such great people! Here are all the kiddos lined up before bedtime:) I just love seeing my friends as moms.



Last Friday there was no school so 10 other moms and our 30 or so kids drove down to the Niabi Zoo in the quad cities for the day! We had a great time. Here's a photo of Ivy and me on the train.



When we got home from the zoo and I was looking through pictures on my phone I came across this one of Max and his friend William:) These two have been buddies for 4 1/2 years! So cute:)


Ivy watched Mya pull the chair over to get a snack and then pull it back so it wasn't 10 seconds later and she was doing it herself! She can also pull open our slider doors and shut it as well. I thought I lost her the other day in the backyard when I took my eyes off of her for 30 seconds. She was inside...just let herself in and closed the door behind her!! Wish my other two would do that...:)


She's very interested in the potty, but has yet to go. She thinks she does and loves to "wipe" herself and then put it in the big girl potty and flush. I'm dreading potty training btw. and as long as we're on the topic of things I'm dreading...I'm also dreading getting rid of that pacifier!



Max and Mya both came home last week begging to do boy/girl scouts. They get the kids all worked up about it at school so they were really excited. Max begged last year as well so we decided to let him do it this year and let Mya try girl scouts next year when she's in 1st grade. Last night was the first "den meeting" so we had to get Max all dressed up! Chris took him and clearly we didn't know how to put the handkerchief on before the meeting, but someone was kind enough to help! I have to admit he's a pretty cute cub scout and I want to let everyone know (and by everyone I mean Tara:) I did not put him in those jean shorts. He asked me to cut off a pair of jeans last week and I obliged:)





Ivy will sometimes watch a 15 minute episode of Curious George so the other day when I was putting clean clothes away I put it on for her and came out to this! My kids never hardly ever fall asleep anywhere besides their beds or the car so I was quite surprised.



Last Friday night Chris set up the tent and was going to sleep outside with Max and Mya. Mya decided pretty early on that she was going to sleep inside and Max thought that if he didn't sleep outside we wouldn't let him join cub scouts so he was bound and determined! I'm afraid my kiddos are going to be like their mama and prefer to sleep indoors:) Max and Chris made it most of the night, but Chris brought him in because they were freezing. Mya and I had a slumber party and I had to snap a picture of her twirling her hair in the night.




And lastly...my photographer friend Marie has taught me a lot about taking a good picture so two weekends ago I went out with a friend of mine and her adorable family and I wanted to share a couple photos that I took. She no longer is a mom of two boys, but rather a mom of 3 boys! Her 3rd adorable little guy was born over this past weekend.

iPhone update

Things are trucking along here in Dubuque. The kids had 4 full days of school this week so that was quite the change from last week! I started teaching tennis again this week and Ivy is growing fonder and fonder of her mom with all of this one on one time! Mya is doing better at school. She still is hesitant to go and wants LOTS of hugs before getting on the bus, but comes home reporting good things each day. Max reports that his favorite part of school right now is lunch. The reason is because all day he is starving I guess. The worst part is that PE is at the end of the day. Such problems! Here are some pictures of what we've been up to...

On labor day we had some friends/neighbors over for dinner. The kids all went for a bike ride after dinner and I thought I needed to take a picture of the bike gang!


The after school gang playing football. I love when the big neighbor kids organize games for the littler ones and I really hope when my kids are bigger, they do the same!


Ivy is finally taking to eating with utensils! We've offered them to her for awhile, but she has not taken us up on the offer to use them.


Here's Ivy giving her new best friend Chloe a hug before the bus got here one morning. We were running a little late and Ivy refused to get her clothes on so I just let her go outside like this! Lots of people were smiling as they drove by:)


Max is really into money these days and wants to make money in the worst way! So he decided to open up a pet business out of his room. $1 for 5 hours of watching your pet. Not bad!


Chris and I took the big two kiddos to Maquoketa the other night to watch Planes at the drive-in movie theater. We all had a great time!


I caught Mya reading a book to Ivy before bed the other night. Melted my heart.

semi-successful photo shoot

A few weeks ago Chris and I took the kids on a hike at the Mines of Spain and I decided to snap a few pictures of the kids while we were there. It seems like at all times, I have two kids that sit for the camera really well and one that doesn't. So...right now it's Ivy's turn to be a stinker. Just a few weeks ago she was sitting nicely for a picture and Max was making the weirdest forced smiles you've ever seen. Now Ivy thinks it's hilarious that I want her to sit still and smile for the camera while Max has the cutest toothless smile ever! Go figure. Here's a preview of our afternoon hike/photo shoot!



And here's Mya...being Mya:)