Summer of '09

My kids.....they crack me up. One of the things about mommyhood that I enjoy the most is watching them when they are in their own element. And happy. Because they can be in their own element and be crabby. Trust me...but for them to be comfortable and happy....is sometimes quite hilarious.

For example, Isabelle with a book; if you could hear her babble you would agree.

Isabelle singing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'.

Isabelle and her non-stop scare tactics....'boo!'

Isabelle and her love for laying on the floor.

Isabelle and her belly laughs when being chased by the mommy-monster and KNOWING the monster will eat her.

And my little man, Carter. Who, is gorgeously tan and blonde with blue eyes. He is so sensitive and loving. He is my echo, my shadow, my little helper. He is so good at going potty on the potty chair, that for a measly M&M he will squeeze out 2 drops of pee-pee....every 60 seconds....for 60 minutes straight.

He is SO serious about coloring, that he lays himself on top of the table.

He, like his sister, loves the new wagon from Grandma Diane. Now mommy and Daddy can pull both the kids together in a more acceptable contraption than the ole wagon hitched to a car by twine pulled by Simon's leash tied to the steering wheel. Thanks to Grandma, we are a more civilized family.

Complete with flowering baskets and pots hand potted by the most wonderful of all people.

Both my kids are fascinated by water. They love baths. They love pools. They love sprinklers.

Thank goodness it is summer since they are rarely fully clothed and more often than not barefoot.

We are over our horrible illness (hand-foot-mouth), Isabelle finally has her molars in, and she is due in no time for shots. Carter will turn 3 in August. I think he will get Spider man underwear for his birthday.

As for Simon, he has met his match: The Water Bottle. That's right, no more barking in the house!!!!!!

S.O.S.

Please send help. We have hand-foot-and-mouth!!!!!!!!
Its worse than teething, strep throat, and the flu.

And I say 'we' b/c Carter had it first, and Isabelle now has had a fever all day, which is what Carter had on Friday.

Ahhh, the joys of parenthood.

Trying to console a toddler who has been screaming for 20+ minutes because he has ulcers in his throat is not what was on the agenda for the weekend.

The boy seriously has not had a quality meal nor a good nights sleep in 3 days.

It hurts to eat, and apparently there is something about this virus that makes the throat pain worse when sleeping.

He wakes up every hour SCREAMING that something hurts.

Please pray for us, I'm not sure we will make it out alive!!!

Unrealistic Bubble

Apparently, living in a bubble is no longer an option for me. Someone has to do the grocery shopping or we will all die.

And my boss told me that if I didn't come back to work soon, he would no longer give me money.

I think the bubble has just seen it's last day.

*****POP!*******

Spring has sprung

Luxuries

I'm happy to report that the pool is down, and hauled away. We gave it to a co-worker of mine who has three bubbly girls whom are delighted to shrivel themselves up in it.

Jer seeded the bald spot in the yard and then it rained, rained, shined, rained, rained, and shined. Can't ask for a better mix of weather for growing grass.....rye grass, that is.

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I've recently been challenged at work to not work, but to lose weight. Weigh-in is every Tuesday. Don't ask me what I weigh, because I care not to know. There is, however, someone who is weighing and keeping track of the 7 or 8 of us that are competing. I have 12 weeks to lose the most weight - we are 3 weeks in, and I've lost 2. Whoopie. It's been something that I've taken quite seriously since I've been needing this motivation ever since Isabelle was born.

So, here's the plan: walking walking walking walking and lifting and lifting and lifting and less eating eating eating and better choices choices choices. All this soon to be mixed up with some new activities; kick boxing, biking and hiking and of course, walking hills.

To help execute the plans, my favorite things are walking in the marsh with Simon and Belle in the backpack, or just walking in the marsh with Simon. There is a great length of curvey paved trail that takes you straight through the wildlife. It is easy to spend an hour walking without seeing the same thing twice. There are lush trees and many green things growing, a nice breeze, spots of shade and spots of sunshine, and the most fabulous sounds of nature. How could anyone not spend 2 hours walking this trail?? So far this exercising thing has been a wonderful experience for me which I am so thankful for.

I nagged my husband enough that he did has he was told and bought me a fanny pack and an iPod for Mother's Day. How lucky am I???? Again, so thankful.

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Isabelle is officially a walking child. She goes here and there and down the hall and up the hall and over this way and over that way to get this and play with that. It's WONDERFUL that she can bop all over the place and keep herself happy. She loves to walk and we love her walking!!!!

Our friends Megan and Jarod came over the other night, as they often do. Jarod is 10 and he is Carter's favorite friend. They go on 'adventures' and make believe all kinds of crazy things. They wrestle and dance watch videos together. We are lucky to have such great company!

All in all, I have to say that we are so lucky to have our health and family and friends. And we are also lucky enough to be able to enjoy a few pleasures in life, like iPods and fanny packs. That is until the price of gas goes up to $5.00 per gallon.

Busy Belle

Happy Mother's Day 2008

My dearest Husband,

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and this is your reminder. Now go buy me an iPod.

Love,

The Wife

Growing like a weed

Isabelle is starting to take her first steps. She can cross the hallway, and walk/dive into you. She laughs and doesn't really get too discouraged...in fact, I think she thinks it's fun. Some of her first words are mama, dada, no-no (with a pointing finger), BOO!, cookie/cracker, and she has this thing she says when Simon barks. It always sounds the same, it consists of a series of syllables, and it means "Simon, no barking!". I'm not really sure how to pronounce it though.

She loves to play on the couch. It's her new thing. We lay pillows on the floor along the base of the couch for extra cushion since, it's only a matter of time and she'll fall. She's been doing pretty well getting off the couch on her own without falling too hard. Her biggest challenge now is getting back ON the couch.

Carter feeds the dog

According to Carter, Simon was very, VERY hungry.

A day in the life of Carter

Itty Bitty Tid Bits

Auntie Lynny bought an '07 Nissan Maxima one day. Its a killer car and full of all the latest technologies.

She also got a boyfriend. No, he didn't come with the car. We call him Matt. We like him a real lot.

In this shot, Isabelle and Auntie Lynn are talking about Matt and new cars; and hopefully the dangers of both, especially when combined.

And at Easter, my husband finally came out of the closet.

Belle and her Mama

Carter Carter Carter

Carter, Carter, Carter. Where do I begin? He has suddenly grown about an inch a month for the past 3 months. He has grown into, and out of, an entire clothing size, jumped up an entire shoe size, needs a new hair cut, and narrates everything he does. His little brain is starting to put basic concepts together, and I think he is gaining a sense of logic. He is piecing together words to make a fragment of a sentence. He remembers everything. He has favorite things, for example, his night-time donkey. This child will not go to bed without knowing that his donkey is in bed with him.

He loves to climb, and has started jumping off the couch. Last night I coaxed him to jump off his bed all by himself (what was I thinking?!?!?!). He is a little, independent pistol, ready to backfire at any given moment; without warning.

I quote, "No mama, I DO IT!"
I quote, "No mama, THIS!!! THIS!! THIS!!"
I quote, "No mama, I don't wanna!"
I quote, "No mama, MINE! I WANT IT!"

But he is so loving and caring. He always wants your attention. He is concerned when we accidentally bump heads. "Mama, I sorry. Ya okay???......Ya cry?" I say, "no honey, I'm not gonna cry."

One night I wasn't home at 8PM for Carter's bedtime, so he gives me a kiss via an 8x10 framed photo on the end table in the living room.

He always says 'thanks' without me asking.
He sits at the dinner table like a big boy, and enjoys conversation.
He loves to make Belle laugh.
He loves special time with daddy.
He gets excited for us to crawl into bed with him and read a story.
He always wants more hugs and kisses. And so does donkey. And so does baby, according to him.

He can't get enough of playing outside.

He's worried when Simon runs away and we have to go find him. He shouts throughout the neighborhood "Seemon, come home!" and claps his hands quickly twice in a row to show his authority.
He feeds Simon his food, and he is sure to be the ONLY one to open and close the doors to let Simon in and out. He scolds Simon, and tells him every morning when we leave the house "G'd boy Simon, no barking!". And he never forgets to wave at Simon in the window as we back out of the driveway.

This summer we would like to build a play set built for him and Belle.

She, by the way, has been taking her first few steps without our help. Soon she will be off and running. I can only hope that she and Carter will be able to run fast enough to catch Simon....

Full of love

Famous Family

So, as it turns out, my Uncle Gary is good at racquetball. He won first place in the MN state singles racquetball tournament this past weekend. He is also getting married soon. Congrats Gary!

My Uncle Steve, is going to Iraq in a few short weeks. He will be there for a year trying to make peace. Good luck Steve, you are very brave, and we will miss you dearly.

The Laws

If there are any questions, go back and re-read laws 1 thru 5 again.

Seriously, there should be NO questions.

This shirt can be found on the back of a young man, named Carter.

Protest weekend work!

We just wish Daddy didn't ever have to work on Saturday and Sunday again. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that he will be working on Saturdays and Sundays for a very long time...