Wow, I Promise To Be Better!

I cannot believe it has been August since I have posted! I am not going to try and catch up on all that I have missed. Just a synopsis! The kids are growing beyond belief! Cole is as sweet as ever and thinks he's a comedian, and Emmy is as sassy as she has ever been! She might be a bit like me ya think? Cole has had an awesome first semester of first grade! Emmy is loving Mrs. Tinas and being home with dad...well, maybe now that duck hunting season is coming to an end, she will be home with dad! I will start with Christmas and go from there and make a resolution to be better organized with my time so I can blog a little more! I did change my picture on the blog to represent how we spent our fall season! I thought Nathan, Monica, Jackie, Lindsay and the rest of my Texas friends would want to be reminded in case they have started to forget who won! GO CARDS! (can you tell I'm on break so I can blog?)

He Jumps!

Well, it has been no secret to those who know me well, that I have a major fear of water! I do not swim well, and usually never. I am not comfortable going underwater and really could care less about going to pools. Cole loves being in the water, but hasn't been all that comfortable trying to learn to swim. A teacher had us over 2 mondays in a row, and the 2nd time, right before we left he told me he wanted to jump off of the diving board! I could not believe it! The kid who has never really gone under! He did it, and I got it on camera! He was so excited to call Dan and tell him he did it! Then, for 3 weeks all he wanted to do was take Dan somewhere with a diving board to show him!

Wow! BEHIND!

Well, 8 weeks later, I am just getting around to posting pics of my summer OFF! What? Yes, I had 8 weeks off with my family and didn't blog! So what was I doing you ask? Enjoying my family, keeping the house picked up and chasing Emmy! We had such a great summer! We didn't do near as much as I had planned as the heat became too much for me! We even let our 6 flags tickets go to waste! Poor Cole read a billion hours to earn them and we didn't go! We did however, spend lots of time at pools, my sisters, friends houses, sew etc! SO, I will try to catch up on some of the outings, but not all. THese are from a picnic Dan and I took the kids to at Indian Camp Creek, and a LITTLE fishing back in June.

Up North!

THis year we took our family vacation back to Lutsen Minnesota with The Hudsons! The weather was less than desireable but we were able to find lots of ways to have fun! The kids had a fabulous time and so did we! We only got to hike once but we threw lots of rocks, did the alpine slide, looked for moose, ate donuts, played play dough, danced, wrestled, fished, saw wolves and bears and enjoyed company!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just Plain Fun

Dans parents called recently and asked us to come for a bbq with his sister and her boyfriend and family. They bought the kids a little blow up pool and a sprinkler. The day was beautiful, the company was perfect and the kids had so much fun! Cole, Lily and Brittan made up make believe games as they ran through the sprinklers and Emmy stayed in the pool all day!

It's Magical

A few weeks ago a student from my class invited my family to her birthday party at the Magic House. We decided it would be fun to go. Cole was not in my class this year but got to know my kids well from being in my room before and after school. Emmy had never been to the Magic House so we thought it would be fun. The party was great and then we headed out on our own to explore. Cole and Emmy had so much fun! Cole loves going to Childrens Village to do all of the pretend play. HE also enjoyed Snow Whites exhibit just because of all of the musical instruments they had. Emmy loved all of it! She was banging on drums, playing in sand, water and then of course also found Childrens Village and the baby doll nursery. She is obsessed with baby dolls so we thought we would never get her out. Come to find out after about 15 minutes of playing in there, she undressed a male doll. It had the real anatomy and she was not having that! She took one look at that babies penis and yelled and threw the doll and did not return to the baby doll nursery! It was such a fun time!

Splash Time

Recently we had a really hot weekend, and Emmy absolutely hates the pool unless it is a zero entry, so my mom and I decided to take the kids to a splash park. We thought it would be the best of both worlds for the kids. Cole of course went nuts! He immediately made friends and began running and splashing, but it took Emmy a little bit to work her way into getting sprayed with water. Once she figured it out she loved it. I never put her suit on because she was so unsure in the beginning! It turned out to be a wonderful day!

Best Job In The World

I think every mom will agree that being a mom trumps any job you could ever have! It can be so challenging at times, but the rewards are far greater! I am so lucky to have such sweet children. I am also so lucky to have been raised by an amazing mom. I love knowing that parts of the way I was raised and loved by my own mom will be seen in my parenting to my own children. I have also been blessed (some would look at it differently) to have been given two other "mother" role models with a wonderful mother in law and the sweetest step mom you will ever know. How can you go wrong with 3 beautiful ladies in your life right?
Today I will reflect on being a mom to Cole. He has been the easiest child EVER to raise so far. I realize that we have lots of years ahead, but I am hopeful that his personality will remain the same! He has always been so happy! He has this bright funny attitude! I call him "querky" at times. He has this ability to perform and make people laugh with this wittiness! He also has the biggest heart. He will hug you for know reason, or walk by and say "I love you." Of course he isnt perfect, but its such a rarity for him to be difficult. He goes with the flow, but is such a rule follower. I was so proud at his kindergarten award ceremony to learn that he was one of 2 kids in his class to be chosen for the etiquette award. Dan and I always say if our kids do not earn straight A's or go to Harvard that's ok, as long as they are kind, sweet and set good examples, its good for us!
Emmy came along 5 years later and threw me for sort of a loop. Not sure if its the second child thing, or a girl thing. Havent quite figured that out yet. She started off pretty rough! lol. SHe has changed so much though in the last 6 months. She has become so sweet. She loves her brother so much and can be caught several times a day with her head on his shoulder saying "aww." If he cries she rubs his head and pats his back. She is very independent but also very cautious. She will test the limits. Its been very interesting so far to try and figure out "what works" with parenting her. I would not trade her for the world. She is all girl from the dolls, to the cuddles, to the bows to the dresses...and her favorite...SHOES!
SO back to my blog. On Mothers Day we had my mom and dans mom over for BBQ and playtime. It was a beautiful day and we had such a great time sitting and talking on the deck, watching the kids play!

My Montage 6/10/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Boy!

I am not sure where time has gone but my baby boy turned 6! We had a 2 party day! He really wanted to have his school friends too, which poses a small..ok..large crowd problem! He wanted to have a bounce house, so we decided to rent it for the day and have a party for school friends, and then a few hours later, our friends and family. It worked perfectly exhausting! lol. No really, we had a ball and most importantly COLE had a blast!
Although he turned 6, he remains the sweetest child I have ever known! His heart is as big as this world. He is so creative and caring! Most of all he is so dang funny! I am so proud to be his mom!
I put a bday party montage in the blog below.

Easter In June!

ok..not really..just way behind on my posts! What happened? Here are a few pictures of our Easter! Dan had to work so it was myself and the kids on our hunt! Emmy was not in the best of moods for hunting so Cole got them all to himself! We spent our day with our family at Dans parents house with my mom!

Easter Village With The New Addition

Every year we have taken Cole to Purina Farms to see Easter Village. All of the baby animals are out for you to pet, and its decorated for Easter. It was a perfect weather day so Dan and I took the kids...Mimis first time to Easter Village. It was too fun! The kids loved the animals, but both of their favorite things were the dog show! Emmy and Cole danced to the music and clapped and cheered at t dogs performing. We finished the day with lunch and the park!It was truly a perfect family day!

She Speaks!

Emmy talks so much more at 16 months than Cole ever did. It cracks me up! She is saying lots of little sentences like, "Dada go bye bye" and "Thank you mama" when she gives me something. She also says tons of single words such as more, down, please, thank you, eyes, mouth, nose, dogdog, night night, play, swing, outside and many more. I just love listening to her. In this clip right at the beginning you can hear her say "Thank you mama" then a few other words like "go". SHe was being silly in this clip. I really just wanted my sister to get to hear her talk since shes so far away! So here ya go Mindy!

I'll Wear My Pearls

Emmy has been obsessed with her beads since St. Pattys Day. She always goes to find them as soon as she wakes up and puts them on. On this particular day, we were taking the kids to Purina Farms to see the baby animals. I had her cute dress on, and her shoes, and of course she had her beads on already. Well, when I went to pick her small bow, she threw a fit because she wanted the big flower. I finally gave in and figured it wasnt a big deal, I could just switch them later. Then, she threw a fit and wanted to pick her shoes. I didnt give in, but let her carry them around. At 16 months, she is already very into picking her things to wear!