~*Graduation*~

Today is my college graduation party. I'm graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Health Care Administration and Bachelors of Liberal Arts- Psychology degree. Wow, I can't believe it was over 4 1/2 years ago that I stopped working full time to return to school. What a fast 4 years! Two kids later, here I am! Although I'm spending the day celebrating no more homework (after August 3rd- my last day of classes), I truly am celebrating family. The ability for my family and friends to encourage me in pursuing my dreams.

I know I would have quit without the love and support from two very special people, John and Debbie. They have supported us more than anyone in making sure that it was a successful college career. People always would say "wow, two kids, a job and school, how do you do it?" My answer has always been and always will be "The support of my in laws.". I COULD NOT, WOULD NOT have been able to do it without them. They are the success behind it all. So,without going on and on, John, Debbie, thank you. I love you both, to the moon and back, and I am so eternally grateful. You are the success.

{Knock Knock} *Anybody out there?*

Wow! Where has the time gone!? I think this is a trend among the beginning of my posts lately is to ask where the time has gone! I find most days that I just don't have enough of it, yet it goes so fast. A lot has been going on in our lives as you can imagine, so finding some time to write a blog has been back on the list of to dos. A lot of it has to do with getting a new camera and I didn't think it would work with my little laptop, but I found out today that my computer handles those big photo files like a champ! Yay!

So- what all has happened since the last time I blogged? A lot! Wow, May flew by... lets see, the first weekend in May I ran a 1/2 marathon in Eau Claire. My time was under 2 1/2 hours. It was a huge accomplishment to a goal I had set for myself a long time ago and was happy to see the finish line that was for sure!

The second weekend in May we went to Oshkosh at the last minute. I was on my way home from work on Friday night and Jake's parents were planning on heading over to visit his brother in Oshkosh, we were planning on being home all weekend. After realizing we didn't have much to stick around for we decided to head over to Oshkosh that night. What a whirl wind it was getting the kids ready! But we made it there in good time. We celebrated Gavin's birthday that weekend at Chuckie Cheese. Hunter and Abby had a blast.

The following weekend I was in my cousins wedding. That was so much fun. I don't think I've had so much fun being in a wedding before! The kids ended up going home before the dance since they were tired, but I think Hunter had all intentions on dancing up a storm! Oh well, I made his absence up for him... I was quite sore for a few days afterward with all of the head bouncing I did while dancing!

The weekend after that was the weekend between Jake and my birthday. We were invited up to a mud bog up north so we went from Friday through Sunday. We had a most fabulous time and met some really awesome people. This is something we would love to do again in the future. I have attached a clip of what the mud bog is like up there... something I would never had known existed!

Now looking into June Jake and I are excited for our upcoming trip to Texas to visit some friends. We are thinking of things to do down there and looking forward to relaxing and just having a good time. I'm currently getting into my job search and have an interview tomorrow for one of the positions I've applied for. I'm hoping to hear more in the future with my job search and to land a great job. I also will be taking my Nursing Home Administrator Licensing Exam probably this month. I'm studying for that currently.

Abigail is doing fabulous. I would love to post what she IS doing, but I feel that the list would be shorter if I posted what she ISN'T doing! She is so incredibly smart and we LOVE watching her and Hunter talk and communicate together. They love each other so much (for now...) and get along great most of the time. She loves to boss people around and she is such a ham. She will put on a show for pretty much anyone these days. Give her a giggle and she will the same action again and again for you!

Hunter is also doing wonderful. He is a great 3 year old, and although we have to deal with his whiny ways sometimes, he is more sweet than not the rest of the time. I taught him last night how to play Mario Bros. on the WII so I'm guessing our lives will start to have that incorporated into it! He loves when Jake and I take him on extended walks/runs out on the road, Abby on the other hand... she doesn't have patience for us to take extended runs, and she will let you know!

Here are some of the photos from the past month!

After my 1/2 marathon

Abigail emptied this basket to try to get on top of the couch arm!

Hunter fell asleep mowing the yard with papa!

My handsome boy

Goofy little show off!

~April 2012: A Recap~

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

Have you all been wondering where I've been? Me too! I wish I knew if I was coming or going. I am stuck in this pattern of too much to do and not enough time and then realizing I have too much to do and trying to get it done, just to find out I missed something which means I have more to do and less time to do something else... the cycle has been continuing! It is tiring! But the good news? I have time right now to do this. So here it is, my recap in April in all of its glory. I hope you enjoy it, because it is a LOOOOONG one!

Golf- Dad Gives A Lesson



Dad shows Hunter how to "square up"




Hunter is strategically placing his ball for a stellar hit!



Project- Bathroom Tile

One thing that has been on my mind the past year or so was tiling the bathroom with vinyl tiles. We saved our money (Dave Ramsey Rocks!) and with a total of $50.00 and four hours I was able to transform my bathroom into the look that I was wanting so badly! I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and even better? I did it myself!

Before photo (minus the large lines in the center right...)

After

After

Sandbox Fun

One of the favorite activities for the kids to do during week nights or on the weekend is to play in the sand box up on our porch. They do have a big sand box at Nana and Papa's house, but the one by the house has really soft and dry sand. They like to dig right in! Abby's favorite part? Eating the sand and crunching it in her teeth! Yuck! But she finds it hilarious... can't hurt her right? Plus, after one or two bites, she is pretty much done and then starts spitting.. Making mud on her face! Silly peanut.

Hunter likes to dump the sand out of the box with his John Deere toys... this doesn't make Dad very happy!

Laughing about her eating the sand!

 A Fun Weekend

This past weekend was a fun-filled and family-filled one! It was Gavin's birthday (Jake's oldest brother's son). We spent a lot of time outside and playing with the "kid cars". They brought Gavin's 4 wheeler (the one Hunter is driving below) and Kylin's Barbie Jeep. Hunter LOVED that they brought them. He was pretty much done with his Gator all weekend! Like I said to Jake, he loves his Gator, but these new ones were something NEW to drive! Hunter loved Gavin's birthday party. He finds them so much fun and Gavin even let Hunter open one present. Abby just loved being around people... she was BUSY BUSY BUSY like usual! The best part of the weekend? Seeing the two of them needing to be "Towed" back to the house because the Barbie Jeep ran out of juice!



I loved watching her lean against this giving faces and twiddling her toes... it was so adorable!



Hunter driving the Jeep- and Abby needing the helmet more than him at this point!

Kylin and Jake- I love this girl so much!

Hunter giving Gavin a ride on the "forff wheeler"

They don't look alike do the? :)  (and Abby is rocking the mullet look)

The Jeep ran out of juice and needed to be towed back home! Too funny!!!!



*Easter 2012*

Wow! An update on a holiday, in nearly real time!

It was a very nice Easter. We started the day at Nana and Papa's house with a very delicious brunch. The kids then did an egg hunt. Inside was candy and each kid found a gold egg that had money inside! Hunter squealed with delight after finding almost nearly every egg that he put in his basket. Abby stuck close to dad and tried to understand why one egg wasn't enough. But she had fun being outside. Their cousins were here too and they all enjoyed spending time together.

We then went over to my parents house and spent the afternoon with them. Neither kid took a nap in between parties (which explained the break downs, crying, and falling asleep an hour early!). But we had a splendid time there as well. We had another egg hunt and Hunter was just going crazy looking for those eggs. He was pretty excited to get more candy and then some money coins! He will be putting them in his piggy bank as soon as he wakes up tomorrow. Yup, he didn't make it home on the way back from their house. We had so much fun outside finding eggs and presents, flying kites, and painting with finger paint that he tuckered right out at 7pm and didn't want to wake up again. Abby as well had a great time. She kept getting on the couch and walking on it... and when Grandpa tried to tell her no, she pointed her finger right back at him! She is very SPICY! It was a fabulous holiday. Thanks to all of you who made it so special.

*Ages 3 & 1- Status Update*

Ok- so my lack of blogs has lead me to writing one long one about the kids, together. We had Abigail's 1 year old check up back on the 4th of March, and then Hunter's was earlier this week. I'm finally getting around to the updates. Sorry for the long post. I hope you have time to enjoy it!

First Birthday First

My pretty-pretty as I like to call her is full of sass. We like to call her spicy. She is quite the busy little girl and will keep you on your toes as much as SHE pleases. We have all come to terms with her bossy behavior, but let me tell you, the one she has the most wrapped around her little finger is her brother. She just knows how to make him feel bad and he gives into her within a second. They are pretty cute together, that is for sure!

A few stats from the Dr's office:
Weight- 24.6 lbs- 91% of kids weigh less than her at this age (babies should weigh 3x their birth weight at 1 year of age- she was 8lbs 1 oz at birth- so she is right on track!)
Height- 30 1/2 inches- 85% of kids are shorter than her at this age
Head- 19 inches- 97% of kids have a smaller head than her at this age

What can I say? I have giant babies.

As far as her development, she is right on track just like her size. She has been walking for a while now and has it pretty much down to a science. She now practices walking backwards- she loves it! She still has bottles at bedtime because we can't seem to find a good alternative for her at this point for a sippy cup, she hates when it comes out of the sippy cup too fast. She loves to give kisses, loves to talk, and loves to pretend she is on the phone. She can say many things, "Mama, Dada, Down, Up, Tucker (tuter), Hunter (ahhhhh)" She has also spontaneously said two words together before, one day it was "Oooo pretty". We were so excited the other day to teach her to say "More" in sign language in the midst of one meal. It only took that one meal for her to completely learn it! Then we later found out she has been doing the sign for "more" at daycare long before this... we just thought she was really smart! Ha!

What is Abigail's favorite thing? Food! She loves to eat. She is so good at eating her fruits and veggies and pretty much anything else. There was a Chili's commercial on TV tonight and she signed "More" to it. She is so funny.

Her Dr appointment went pretty well. She did have 4 shots, but her brother helped her through them. She cried for maybe 20 seconds. The worst part (for me- she didn't mind) was that she developed a hive at one of the injection sites. This got me really worried since she already has what the Dr. diagnosed as a mastocytoma on her leg just above where she developed the hive. You can read some good information regarding mastocytoma's here: http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/factsheets.cfm?doc_id=5131 . She will be seeing the dermatologist this month to give us more information. I'm just happy to know that this probably will go away on its own.

I again cannot believe that it has been a year. So much has happened in a year that it feels like forever ago, but yet yesterday. I still remember being pregnant with her and being so excited for having a little girl. I just never knew how lucky I would be to have HER!

My Little Man

3!!!!!!!

Holy cow... now I'm starting to feel old! When did he get to 3!?!?!

I just cannot believe it has been so long. He is such a pure joy, he is truly simply the sweetest little boy I've ever known. I swear he breaks my heart daily with his sensitive nature. In many ways, he takes after his dad in his manners and sweetness. The world is better for having another guy like his dad in it! He can be "spicy" in his own 3 year old manner though, so let me tell you, not everyday is a day in the clouds!

Here are some stats:
Weight: 34.3 lbs- (down 1.5 from two days prior when he went to urgent care)- weighs more than 76% of kids at his age
Height- 37 3/4 inches- taller than 62% of kids his age

One thing that Dr. Philips mentioned with both Abby and Hunter was that their height was low compared to some of their other height charts, so they are both due for a growth spurt. He said it was normal for kids to grow in a step pattern and they are both probably due for that next step! I know Hunter will be. He had a small one in December/January but hasn't grown much since and that one wasn't very big.

Another thing- he was at Urgent Care on Sunday. Remember my last post about how miserable he was? Well that was Saturday that he was puking and still running a fever while dealing with a cold. On Sunday morning he woke up at 6am crying that his ears hurt. Poor little guy. I took him in that day and they saw that he had a double ear infection. Thankfully after 18 hours on that, he perked right up Monday afternoon and we have had our wonderful little guy back ever since!

Some things about our 3 year old: He is starting to play pretend, so like tonight, he had baby "Amanda" and laid her in her bed and was pacing around her trying to wait for her to go to sleep. He knows a lot of things that really impress us. Like the other day, we were getting on the elevator and I asked him to press the one on top. He did. I asked him to point to the one on bottom, and he knew that too! He does really well with his colors and only gets a few of them mixed up from time to time. Usually based on interest level. He is potty trained except at night. He is starting to eat more fruits, he has recently started eating more apples, grapes, and strawberries. This is a huge improvement over our past variety of pureed pears and canned green beans.


The Next Year: My Wishes

What are my wishes for my children over the next year? I wish that Abigail continues to grow and thrive the same as she has been. I wish that she starts to understand empathy and sympathy and works on those skills to ensure that she is sensitive to others feelings as well. I wish that Hunter enjoys his first year of school (K3 in the fall!). I wish that he does not struggle with becoming older and does not get his heart broke too much when it comes to friends and playing with others (enough to teach, not to break).  These are just a few... but most of all, my wish for our family is that we continue to love each other as much as we have and more than we think and enjoy our brief moment that will be this next year.

*Wishing Miserable Felt Better*

I know I need to post more to the blog. I need to set a new goal. I am always *thinking* about a blog that I have in mind, a photo that I take, a memory I want to keep, but yet, time gets away and I'm not taking the time to do it. I'm trying to think of a good goal, but I know I probably won't do anything more soon than once a week at this point. I know what the next couple of weeks have in store and I'm trying to be realistic.



Miserable is the word




Is there anything better than pajamas and ice cream sandwiches after lunch?

 Beyond my goals of writing more, there is a larger topic to this post. Hunter has crummies in his tummy and I want them to get out! He has been running a low grade fever for the past three days and hasn't been in the mood for eating at all. Unfortunately, this morning I made a bad mistake since I didn't know that he really had been puking, but I gave him 3/4 glass of milk. It ended up coming back up within a 1/2 hour and that really sent his tummy for a rumble. I think I definitely did more bad than good! Luckily, Grandma Julie ran to town for us and got some sprite and essentials for his belly ache. He just got done eating a soda cracker and three sips of sprite and that was enough for his belly to be full so he could fall asleep. I'm hoping when he wakes up from his nap that it is settled enough to try some more crackers and fluids. What a poor little peanut. These are a few pictures from just a few minutes ago. I hope you all stay healthy---- and us too!

*A Fun Weekend Away*

Well we had a great weekend last weekend! Nana and Papa invited us to Metropolis to spend a family weekend away. We met Josh and his kids Gavin and Kylin there. We also got to spend the weekend with Holly and Jordan, whom our kids just love the two of them! We got there on Friday night and started off in Action City. The kids played for a little bit. Abby and I went to the hotel room a little bit before the guys so that she could go to sleep before they got in there. On Saturday morning Hunter was excited to go to the waterpark! The air was warm in there, the water was warm in there, and I feel like it was a perfect size for our young children! It also wasn't very crowded so we were able to hang out and relax without running into a bunch of people. Hunter went down one of the big water slides over and over again. He was having a blast. Abby just loves the water and is basically more fish than human. I did take her to take a nap mid-day and she ended sleeping for 3 1/2 hours! She was recharged and ready to go after that! We went outside and played mini-golf for a while. Wow! What beautiful weather it was outside to do that! It was 75 degrees and sunny... it couldn't have been more perfect!



My little golf players



Look at that form! Bent knees, head down, eyes on the ball...

Playing in the creek more than the golf course!

Later on that day we went back over to Action City. The kids (and men) had a blast riding the go-karts. Abby, Nana, Jordan, Holly, and I became their cheerleaders. Abby was having fun riding around in their "strollers" that look and act like little cars. She also had fun playing on the toddler play equipment. It was a long day by the end of Saturday and Hunter was wiped out by the time 7pm came around... he actually fell asleep in my arms at the table! On Sunday we went back to the water park for an hour and a half to play before we had to get ready to leave. We all went out to lunch before Josh and the kids headed off back to Oshkosh.

Abby putting herself in the hotel room cabinet!

The girls are wearing their matching pajamas and playing dolls

It was a fun-filled weekend and thanks again to Nana and Papa for such a great time!