Weekend Trip...

On Sunday... Reese and Carsten loved the fire truck at Great Papa's house... They crawled all over it and tried on the fire helmets... We could have stayed here all day.

We went camping this weekend with Jim's mom's family. On Saturday we went to the river. It took Reese awhile to enjoy the water. Unfortunately life vests are not comfortable, so we took it off and put him in water wings and a tube. Hailey had a comfortable life vest, so we might have to look into getting one like hers...


Hailey at the river.

Justin's morning smile.

Reese in the morning...

Abigail

Carsten showing off to the girls... He happens to be our fearless one.

Name Game...

I need help...
I am thinking of getting a little more into photography, not professional--don't know that I'll ever achieve that, but I do need a name.
Any suggestions? I'm thinking something to do with kids/families... (don't want to do weddings).

Will I ever catch up???

I promise that I am not sitting around eating bon bons and reading magazines... I wish I was, but alas laundry and other not so interesting housey items have my attention these days.

During my lack of blogging, Carsten got tooth number 11! He has number 12 right behind it on it's way... They are on the bottom, on either side of the middle two.
Carsten is wearing a size 6 1/2 in shoes all of a sudden and Reese is only wearing a size 8... Reese had better watch out! Carsten is signing more and more--he signs for the words: more, all done, thank you, dog, and we are working on please.
Reese is always saying something funny and he calls his brother, "bigoly"--thanks to Oma. Today he asked me why God made the railroad tracks... He talks constantly to his contractors on his play cell phone and Sunday he said that he couldn't go with us as he needed to do some work for his contractor. Wonderful.

We had a great treat last week... Our friends from where we used to live stopped by on their way to grandparents... So fun to catch up and see kids that we rarely get to see!


Reese and McKenzie had a great time playing the piano and just goofing around.

Without Oma...

Without Oma here I haven't had time to post! Pathetic I know... Here is a little of what's been going on here...

Our two cute little boys...

We went to Nana Wendy and Bob's this weekend and Reese got to play with Cole! His special buddy. They get along very well--wish we lived closer!


Reese couldn't get enough of the fishing pole and outsideiness of Jim and JoAnn's backyard. I was over taking pictures of their grandkids and my two were in outdoor heaven.

Carsten trying his hand at fishing in the grass...

Bliss...

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about how a new pair of shoes makes my day... I need to say that I have now found something much better, bliss--a visit from Oma. Having Oma here means a few things--I haven't unloaded the dishwasher once in the past three weeks (my least favorite house keeping duty), I get 3 hours a day of freedom as she naps with them. I haven't given one bath, I rarely change a diaper or get someone dressed other than myself. She even let Jim and I go to the midnight release of Harry Potter last night! Oma is going home tomorrow, Sunday, and I'm going to go through withdrawals, depression, sadness, and having to deal with grandchildren that miss their Oma...

Too Much...

Well, it seems that just daily life is too much... I can't seem to do the laundry, pay bills, cook, clean, bathe children, pick up, go to doctor appointments, read blogs, AND keep up my blog.
We are still around and we are doing fine. Oma is here and keeping us sane, so I can try to do all of the above, but I am still sinking some days... Each day we try to accomplish something else on our list and we do, but we also add a couple more things each day. Oma is here until Saturday and then she is going home... (how will I do it???).

We had a great visit from Wendy and Callie--can't get enough of those two... Might just have to go and see them again before Callie leaves. It was Wendy's birthday, so we got in on a birthday celebration which is of course of one Reese's favorite things.

Both boys are doing good. Carsten had his one year shots yesterday and his fourth molar is finishing coming in so that has got to be painful. He signs now for; more, thank you, all done, and milk. He says, "woof" for a dog and he claps for everything.
Reese continues to say the cutest things even though I can't come up with one at this moment...

The 4th, Camping, Friends...

We went camping the weekend after the 4th with Jim's family. We got to try out our Suburban with the trailer--it did quite nicely. Oma was with us and we had a very good time. Reese and Carsten enjoyed the amount of dirt that surrounded us and were quick to cover themselves... not really, but it was a dirty weekend. Both boys were doted on by all the adoring relatives and we ate ourselves happy.

Carsten learned how to *pick* his nose. He really just figured out where his nose is and realized that by putting a finger in it all the people surrounding him would make a big fuss.

Abigail (Terry and Sara's girl) was there and she and Carsten tootled around together.



4th of July we spent with Steve, Barb, Heidi, Siena, Remy, and Oma. We went to a small town parade (which was way better than the circus) and then back to Steve and Barb's for lunch. The kids played with multiple water toys--a wiggly hose, water mat thingy, and a Elmo water spinner deal... Fun was had by all.

Friends, New Cars, More Teeth...

We are the proud owners of a Suburban as of today... We needed something to tow our trailer with and this one fits the bill. We brought it home and cleaned it to our little standards and put some of our things in it so now it is feeling like ours...

We had a surprise visit from our friends Siena and Remy (their mom and grandma too). Fun crazy kid times...

Well, Carsten has tooth number ten... He has the four top in front, two little ones in the middle on the bottom, and four molars. He seems to be handling this molar a little better. The other molars are finishing coming in at the same time. It seems so cruel the way they come in a little at a time.

Bibs, New Shoes, The Circus...

So, Carsten refuses to wear a bib at meal time, but yesterday and today he has worn a bib all day long just around the house. He pulled some bibs out of the drawer and tried to put them on. I helped him and he was satisfied and trotted off. Kids are really weird.

New shoes... Nothing makes my day more than a new pair of shoes. Especially clearance ones. These Keens are very comfortable and I think quite cute...

Carsten also has new shoes since he's a'walking.

Reese can never be outdone, so here are his new shoes that we got on clearance over a year ago, but that are fitting him now.

And... THE CIRCUS... What to say??? We thought it would be fun to go to the circus with Reese, so we took them on Monday night. We can honestly say we were disappointed. It was expensive--$20 for each adult--children were free, but good night that is still a lot of money. Especially when each item in the circus (popcorn, cotton candy, slurpies, etc.) were all $4-. The music was extremely loud (we were trying to cover the boys' ears). The performances were just okay, and there was a lot of wasted time. I don't remember circuses having advertisements, but every few minutes they would stand in the ring and show some new toy, drink, etc., and say that they wanted the kids to promise they wouldn't go home without one... oh boy. The crowd was fairly low class and the set-up was cheesy... the last performance was motorcycles in a globe deal going around and around--how exciting. We don't recommend the circus. period.

Boys, Sun, Water...

Our little park here in our development has lots of picture opportunities... I love the tunnel. This was Carsten's second time in it and he was just as excited as the first time...

Summer is here and the sun, water, and boys go quite nicely together. My two could live outside all day as long as there is an endless water supply. Did I mention sand and water go together as well??? If I'm not watching the sand box and water table get very mixed up and you can't tell which is which!

3 Years and 1 Year Pictures...

I finally got around to taking the boys pictures and here they are... I redid the header using them too, but it is not fitting quite right--oh well.

Father's Day Weekend...

Last minute we decided to go away for the weekend. We left after lunch on Saturday and drove a couple of hours to stay in a nice hotel and to relax away from home. We had a nice time. The boys slept on the way up and the way home for a couple of hours--traveling at nap time is great. We didn't do too much, a little shopping, a little sight seeing... Sunday we met with people we hadn't seen in a long time...

This was Jim's Father's Day! Thanks for being a great dad!!!

Big fluffy beds with lots of pillows make a fun playground...

Reese all dressed up on Sunday. He enjoyed being on the 13th floor and watching all the goings on down below. He would report on what he saw.
As soon as we got to our room he said, "Look they have a TV, I've always wanted a TV." Wonderful. Thankfully he didn't figure out how to turn it on and he didn't ask so our peaceful getaway remained peaceful.

Doctor, Vehicles, Boys...

We've had a fun evening... We ran around all day, had a doctor appointment, etc... When we got home we went for a walk/trike/stroller ride and then the boys played in the front yard with their vehicles. Carsten was thoroughly enjoying sitting on Reese's tractor and putting the scoop up and down. The picture above is of him laughing after putting the scoop down... he thought it was a riot. It also shows the wound he got by this walking thing... he fell against an end table and it left a dent--seriously a dent! He is now walking everywhere and loving it. Oh, boy.


On our walk we saw a different looking lawn mower and Reese pointed it out. I said that it must be an electric mower... He said, "Maybe that is the way God made it, maybe (shrug, shrug)."



Today was the boys' one year and three year check-ups. They both weighed/measured fine. Carsten is 21 pounds and in the 25 percentile in weight and height. I opted to wait on Carsten's one year shots as he is just getting over being sick and it seemed unfair at this point (for both of us--me having to put up with a cranky baby and him having to feel cranky).

Carsten also has tooth number nine. It is another biggie on the top. He seems to be getting four molars right now. Yick.

No Pictures, Sick, Camping...

Not too much to report other than we are all recovering, or in the midst of being sick... Jim is the worst case now and the rest of us are hopefully getting better. There doesn't seem to be as much green stuff oozing today as there has been.

We went camping this weekend and don't have one picture to show for it. We were camping with two other couples who stayed in tents. We were in our new to us trailer. Everyone decided to come home one day early as the rain never let up... The tenters had had it. Seeing as how we were all sick we didn't mind. I will have to admit that it was kind of fun to be in the trailer all warm and dry with it pouring outside. We'll have to try it again sometime.

In other news... Reese this morning at breakfast said that we shouldn't talk because our voices were all funny. This cold has taken all our voices at some point and we are left now with gravely voices.

Teeth, Talking, Anniversary...

Carsten now has his 8th tooth... He really broke it through on Monday. His third on the bottom, a big one near the back. He is also walking a lot now--fun to watch him teeter along so proud! Reese usually makes us all clap if he is paying attention...

Reese is still making us laugh with his language usage...
We were driving to Grandma Paula's and Papa's house and Reese had to go to the bathroom, "Real bad.." We were almost to their road so we asked him to wait. Once we stopped Jim asked him if he'd like to help drive down the driveway. Of course he did and he also no longer needed to go to the bathroom so desperately. When he climbed on Jim's lap to drive, I said, "Just hold it Reese". I meant for him to hold in the pee... He said, "I can't, I have to hold the steering wheel."

This morning... Midway through my shower I hear, "Mommy, wipe me..." Decisions... I told him to wait, or try himself. He did both. I had some cleaning up to do.

Our 11th Anniversary today!

Don't we look cute???

Weekend, Birthdays, Runny Noses...

My awesome brother gave me a new (to me) laptop for my birthday... I've been getting all the programs I use put on it and so I've been lax again in posting. Lots going on here it seems...


This weekend my parents came to help celebrate all the birthdays and they are heading on a trip and we were on the way. We were sure glad that they were here as we added two more little people to our herd. Jim's cousin, Tom, and his wife Rae Ann had a funeral to go to and we watched their two girls for Friday night and Saturday. Reese and Stella had a blast. There were bikes to be rode, bubbles to be blown, toys to be investigated, baths to be taken, snacks to be eaten, and water everywhere! Carsten and Ivy did a lot of sibling watching as the little whirlwinds ran around. Fun cousin times.



Carsten is one today!!! Can hardly believe that my baby is one... He is an amazingly happy little guy. He always wakes up happy--whether he gets woken up or wakes up on his own. Hardly a grumpy moment for him. Just this weekend he has decided that walking is okay. He has taken steps before, but now we catch him walking places instead of crawling. Carsten is still our bulldozer, crawling over any obstacle and not too afraid of falling. He climbs on anything he can--he loves standing on Reese's chairs and then letting go--no hands! I think that he is bigger than Reese at this age--I put some of Reese's shoes from this age on him and they are too small...

Reese got a, "scootcase" for his birthday and a sleeping bag. We've been camping on the floor this morning. Carsten got a little car and that has been the *toy of the moment*--they both want it.

Now we are sick... Carsten has a gooby nose, I have a sore throat, and Reese has a runny nose... we've put a call into the doctor. It is disgusting to be sick this time of year as it is so nice outside and feels like you shouldn't be sick. Mondays are laundry and bath day, but we might just skip those...