December 2011

Wow! It has definitely been a while.....

Well, we had a fun filled month is December!!! We had a surprise visit from Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Pat on their way down to Arizona. We had a short visit but it was so nice to see them!!
On Christmas Eve we had one last "present" arrive which ended up being Bama Sanders!!! She was able to spend a week with us and have some quality time with the grand kids! While she was here we put her in Austin's room on the air mattress and moved his crib into Kaelyn's room. But we turned his crib into a toddler bed, so he is officially in his big boy bed!!! Kaelyn and Austin really seem to enjoy being in the same room so we have re-arranged a little bit and they are sharing a room again. It's fun to see them take care of each other!
We spent Christmas Eve night with Joe's mom, step dad, and siblings, cousins and more cousins!!! It was fun to see everyone and the kids had a blast. We woke up Christmas morning to find presents from Santa under the tree. It was so much fun to watch the kids open their gifts and spend time together!!
Joe had volunteered me to make a turkey for Christmas day, and luckily my mom was here to help. I decided that I will probably never try and make a turkey again!!! It really grossed me out! But it turned out well and we had lots of yummy food!
Joe and I were able to get in a few movies and go out to dinner at our favorite place-Ichibans-while my mom was here. It was a great visit!
The end of the month was followed up with a visit by Uncle Nate!! This was another quick visit but we got to meet for dinner and spend some time at the mall.
Life has been busy and crazy, but so what else is new!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

December 2011

March/April 2011

Well, this is a little late, but I figure better late than never!!! We have had an eventful last two months. I started my new job the end of March. I am working at Park Nicollet Melrose Institute. It is an eating disorders clinic. I am a receptionist at the Level 4 desk. This is the area where patients come for out patient programming. It is for levels 2-4 which consists of anywhere from 3-12hrs a day. I work mostly with Health Educators and Dietitians in this area. I am learning a lot and really enjoying getting to know the patients! I have realized why I like it so much. It is because I am not answering incoming phone calls!!!!
The kids started going to daycare the beginning of April. They are going to a licensed in-home daycare in New Hope. The lady has three of her own children-all girls. One is just older than Kaelyn, the next is just older than Austin, and then the baby is about six months. There is also another little boy who is Austin's age. Ironically he lives two doors down from us!!!!
We moved the middle of April into a house in Crystal. It has 3 bedrooms, two baths, a fire place and hardwood floors upstairs. The basement is finished with a big family room and laundry room. It has a nice back yard that is fenced in with a screened in porch. The kids LOVE it!!! Everyday Kaelyn tells us that she loves her new house!
We celebrated Kaelyn's 3 yr birthday 2 weeks after we moved in! She had a Hello Kitty birthday! It was mostly just family with a few friends and went very well!
My parents were here for the whole month of April. So they helped with packing, moving and getting us settled. They were a life saver and we couldn't have done it without them!
There have been a lot of changed and adjustments, but the kids seem to be settling in with everything. Day care is going pretty well. Austin still has a hard time when we drop him off but he is getting better! He has talking and saying new words and phrases everyday! Kaelyn has been counting and singing the ABC's. She got a new bike for her birthday and loves riding that. We are enjoying time outside and bike riding as a family, when the weather lets us!
We are really enjoying being out of the apartment and our time together as a family!

March/April 2011

January/February

Well the last two months have brought lots of change in our family. I celebrated my 30th b-day! I had mixed emotions about it, but have decided that it doesn't feel any different than 29. Although sometimes I feel it in my knees when I am down on the floor with the kids!!!! We celebrated by going up north an hour and a half to Grand Casino Mille Lacs. We were able to get a free room through Joe's parents which was awesome. They came with us so they could watch the kids while we went out. We started off by going swimming with the kids, which they loved! Then we got ready to go out and had dinner at one of the restaurants there. It was really good food and nice to be able to talk and have an adult conversation! Then we went back to the room to help get the kids ready for bed. Then we headed out to see a movie. It was SO nice to be able to spend time together and get out without the kids for a few hours!!! When we got back about 11:30pm Kaelyn was asleep in between Grandma and Grandpa in their bed and Austin was wide awake with a fever. Needless to say it was a very long night. Then we went out for breakfast and then packed up to go. It was nice to get away for the night and enjoy some family time!!!
Our lease is coming up the end of April on our apartment and we have decided that we need more room and a yard for the kids. So we are going to be moving again and renting a house. We got approved for a home in Crystal. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, hardwood floors, fireplace, a living room up stairs and a family room downstairs. It has a fenced in back yard with a huge detached garage. We are really looking forward to having more room and a yard for the kids to run around in!!!! We will let you know more about that when it gets closer to moving!
I have also decided to enter back into the work force. Unemployment has been such a blessing for us over the past year and a half, but we will be needing more income to provide what we want for our family. I was offered two different positions and have decided to go back to Park Nicollet. I will be working at the Melrose Institute which is their eating disorders clinic. They recently moved into a brand new state of the art facility. They have in patient and out patient services. I will be a medical receptionist and that will include working the call center too. It's very similar to what I was doing before minus checking insurance. It will be 36 hours a week and I will be done by 3:30pm every day. Joe will be home with the kids on Tues and Wed so they will be in day care 3days a week.
The kids are doing great! Kaelyn is an outgoing, energetic little girl who isn't afraid to talk to anyone! She recently just got glasses because her left eye is crossing and she is a little farsighted. The glasses are supposed to help her left eye straighten out. We go back to the Dr in March to see if they are helping and will find out more then. She does a pretty good job with keeping them on, although we have had to go in and have them adjusted a few times already. She is talking in full paragraphs now and is so much fun to have a conversation with!!! She is so loving with her brother and takes such good care of him!
Austin is also talking a lot more! He is saying new words everyday and it is so much fun to see all of the connections he is making. He is 18 months now so he is finally able to go to nursery at church!!! So now Joe might actually be able to get something out of church! Kaelyn is in nursery with Austin and takes good care of him!
So we have a lot coming up in the next few months, but we are looking forward to all that is in store for us!!!

Jan/Feb 2011

December 2010

December was a fun month for our family!!!! We started the month off with a visit from my parents. It was so nice to see them and spend a week with them! The kids has a great time playing with both of them. Pretty much everyone got sick the week they were here, but we enjoyed the time together! However, my parents said that they will not be back to visit in December ever again! (Floridians!!!!)
I was able to take the kids downtown to see the Macy's display along with two friends and their kids. It was fun to see "Santa's workshop" and sit on his lap. Both kids managed to sit on his lap without crying, although they didn't seem too sure of what to think!
I got to have my annual cookie baking day with my two best friends from high school, Jamie and Alison. We get together every year to do this and really enjoy it! Every year we get a little quicker even with the addition of 5 kids (Jamie-2, me-2, and Alison-1) between the three of us now!!!
We were able to spend Christmas Eve at Joe's parents house. Joe's two brothers, Kip and Buddy, were there. As well as his sister Penny along with her 4 kids and boyfriend Alan. Our oldest niece Lucia and her son Alex were also there. It was a full house but we had a lot of fun!!! Good food and lots of presents so the kids and the adults enjoyed it.
Joe finished another 9 credits at North Hennepin Community College and was able to get a second Associates Degree! It was a long semester but he did an awesome job! He will be starting at Metropolitan State in January to get his Bachelors Degree in Business Management. He has 32 credits he needs to complete to get that degree. So we will just take it one semester at a time!
We spent New Year's Eve at home with our friends Ethan, Kim and their kids. We made steak and crab legs which turned out great!!! The two little one's, Austin and Taylor, went to bed early. But Kaelyn, Bryson and Kelsey stayed up until midnight! It was a nice way to end the year. We are looking forward to all that 2011 will hold for our family!

December 2010

November 2010

Hello everyone! November ended up being a pretty quiet month for us. We had some birthday parties and dinner with friends throughout the month. We had a visit from Joe's dad and his girlfriend so they got to spend some time with the kids! Joe was able to take the kids to his sister's house for Thanksgiving while I stayed home with the stomach flu. We had our first snow of the season which Kaelyn absolutely loved!! Other than that things were pretty low key.
Kaelyn and Austin are doing well and growing up!!! Kaelyn is talking in full sentences and learning to dance like a ballerina!! She loves arts and crafts and being with friends. Austin is starting to use new words as well. Some of them include down, baby, Shhhhh (with his finger pressed to his lips), soft, Dora, bye bye, puh (for please), wa-wa (for his cup), and blanket (which sounds more like baby!). They love laughing together and making each other laugh! They definitely keep us busy and laughing!

November 2010

Winter Wonderland

This is what we woke up to!

Kaelyn LOVED it!!!!

Austin HATED it!!!!!

Austin was SO happy to be back inside!

Kaelyn wasn't ready to come in so she went out on the balcony

We had our first official snow of the season!!! We got close to a foot of snow! Kaelyn absolutely loves it and could play outside all day! Austin on the other hand, not so much. He cries as soon as you get all of his gear on and continues to cry the whole time outside unless you pick him up and hold him. But they both look pretty cute all bundled up! We got Austin's snow suit from an old co-worker of mine. It is 18-24 months so it is a little big, but it was free so it works!!! Kaelyn is actually wearing the jacket and snow pants we got last year which are 18 months. It fits her perfectly!!!! So we have been enjoying building snowmen and sledding with all of this white stuff outside!!!! It has been fun to actually be able to enjoy it this year!

Looking back....

So Austin and Kaelyn are 15 1/2 months apart. Austin in now 15 months, so I have been thinking......I am SOOOOOOO glad I am not 9 months pregnant right now!!!! Or even pregnant at all for that matter!!!! I love my kiddos, but they keep me busy enough right now!