Moments that take your breath away....

Kari and I knew (even before they arrived) that Hannah and Nicolas would hit it off. 

Their personalities are so much a like and they were both so excited to play together.  This weekend we were at the lake.  The two of them were sitting on the deck, eating freezies (imagine that) and talking.  I heard them 'arguing-and giggling' about who was the bigger freezie monster (I am, No I am, No me, and so on).  Hannah asked Kas if he wanted to go down to the lake to see grandma.  He said 'yes' so they started walking down the steps of the deck.  When they got to the bottom, Hannah turned to him and said "Hold my hand".  Without any hesitation at all, Kas put his hand in hers and they started on their journey.

Remember when you were little and that walk from the cabin to the lake felt like a mile?!  Now it doesn't seem like a big deal but I can only wonder if those two felt as I used to when I was there age.

Anyways, back to this picture....kinda makes your heart melt, doesn't it?

Two peas

These two have been like two peas in a pod.

Here they are, at the lake, both with their 'dankies'.

Kas doesn't usually carry his dankie around with him like Hannah does.  This weekend, he did.  He was actually watching Hannah with her 'dankie' and copying what she was doing.

Hannah would throw dankie into the air, Kas would stand to the side and watch.  Then he would get this look on his face as if Hannah was doing something with this blanket that he had never thought of before.  Next thing you know, Kas' blanket gets tossed into the sky.

He watched her for a while that day, copying her every move.

It will be interesting to see if any of her 'training' will rub off on him. 

You never know, this might open a whole new world for him :-)

I can't wait to see how their relationship is as they grow older.

Children's Museum

Thursday we went to the Children's Museum.
4 floors of things to touch!
The kids loved it.

I can't be positive because I didn't ask but I think that Agustin and Nicolas's favorite thing was the assembly line.  They got to wear hard hats and vests and move blocks around as if they were loading and unloading trucks, or luggage at the airport. 

Hannah's favorite part were the hand dryers. 

Seriously.

At each floor and most of the time at each station there were sinks for the kids to wash their hands and air dryers for them to dry.  Hannah would wash her hands over and over, just so that she could use the hand dryer. 

Anytime the kids would run off and separate, you knew that you could find Hannah by the dryer.



She also loved the grocery shopping area.  This was a little area set up like a town, but kids sized.  The kids got to walk around to the different areas and pretend they were all grown up.  There was a clinic, a resturant, a post office, a grocery store, a bus, a house (where you could pick flowers or hang clothes), etc.  Hannah spent a lot of time shopping in the store, at one point she found a baby doll from the pretend clinic area and brought it over to the grocery store so that she could ride in the child-sized cart.
It was so fun watching her, in her own little world.

I just hope she was pretending to be like me.

Just the kids

I had the best idea for Wednesday.

Kari and Andy had some things to take care of downtown and today was the day that Bati came in, Kari and Andy would need to go and pick him up at the airport.  I offered for grandma to drive the boys to my house for the day and mom and I would watch all the kids while Kari and Andy went and took care of their business (and hoprfully had a few moments to do some shopping- kid free!)

Grandma and the boys arrived about 10:00. 

Hannah was so excited to see them.

The kids spent the better part of the day in the pool in the backyard at Parmley Park.

(Yep, you guessed it, the slide made it back into the water)

We had hot dogs and macaroni for lunch and burgers and dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner.

Grandma and the boys came to watch Hannah at gymnastics for the first 20 minutes or so.

Of course the day wouldn't be complete if the kids didn't enjoy some freezies.

What a special day!

I loved spending time with the boys. 

Tuesday brings the Mall of America

Tuesday we spent the day at the MOA.  Kari and Andy wanted to shop and the kids wanted to go on rides.  We tried to compromise by circling one floor at a time with a reward of going on a few rides after the level was successfully shopped.  Worked out pretty well for Kas and Tin.  For my two year old?  Not so much.   Overall she did pretty well (for a two year old) but I don't think 5 minutes went by without her asking when we were going to go on rides.  We finally made it to the rides and as you can see, fun was had by all!

*Hannah and Kimmy are in the third row, hard to see since Hannah was so small in the seat

Two laps

One of Hannah's favorite things to do at the lake is ride on Grandma's tractor.

This day Nicolas and Hannah had walked down to the lake.  They wanted grandma to bring them back to the cabin.  Grandma told them that she didn't think she had room to take them both.

Couldn't put that one past Hannah...she responded to grandma with "Yes, you have two laps.  One sit here and one sit here (while pointing to each leg)."

Once again, if a kid is smart enough to reason with you, you have to give in....don't you?

First stop, the cabin

First stop on the list of adventures.....the CABIN.

Pine City, Minnesota

Hannah and Kas wasted no time getting to know each other.  These two hit it off immediately and for the rest of the weekend could not be seperated.   I wish that my other hard drive was working so I could post a picture from last year as well, this scene looks awfully familiar.

Of course we ate at Pizza Pub, played at the playground, and enjoyed hours out on the deck visiting.

They are here! They are here!

Finally- Kari, Andy, Agustin, and Nicolas have arrived!  It seems like forever waiting for the time to pass before they are here again.  Within the past year Hailey was born, Tin got glasses, Kas has been practicing his English, and Hannah has gotten hair :-)    Hannah ended up making it until 10:30 when their plane arrived.  She even stayed awake long enough to make it back to grandma's so that she could spend a few minutes giggling with her cousins before we made them go to bed.  Looking forward to the next 3 weeks, having them home.  SO nice to see everyone!

OUCH!

Tonight we were sitting outside in the grass with the kids and a few of the neighbors.  I was sitting on a blanket with Hailey.  I put my foot down in the grass and all of a sudden I felt like my leg was paralyzing.  Something was poking into me.  I moved my leg and there it was- a HUGE, black, nasty, devilish WASP- still stuck in my ankle!  I flicked him off but immediately my leg started aching.  That jerk stung me!!!    It hurt SO bad. 

As the night went on, my leg continued to throb.  The next day and for the rest of the weekend, my leg looked like this.  Swollen, hot to the touch, red and splotchy, and just plain NASTY!  Not to mention that I couldn't bend at the ankle.

Professional

It has been pretty hot and humid this summer.

The girls love it because that means LOTS of 'freezies'.

Most days Hannah is asking for a freezie as soon as she is home from daycare.  Depending on how long it is going to be before we eat, we usually let her have one.

Recently, Hailey has not wanted to be left out.

I am not sure if it is the cutest thing I have ever seen or the saddest but, this girl can eat a freezie like a professional!  She holds onto it and sucks away until there is nothing left.

Her two top teeth are coming in right now so I am sure that it feels extra good on her gums right now. 

She sure enjoys acting like the 'big kids'.

Gymnastics

Hannah started Gymnastics tonight at Twin City Twisters.

I wanted to start her this summer because by the time the fall session starts, she will be 3 and she would need to go al by herself.  At two, I go with her and help her in the class.

I thought it would be a good trial to see if she likes it or pays attention, etc.

When the kids get there they all sit in a circle and first they stretch.  After they have stretched the teacher asks for a volunteer and then walks the kids through the different stations.  Then the kids each go through the stations practicing their skills.

At the end of class the kids get to jump in the huge foam pit.

Hannah really likes it and she does really well.

Her favorite thing is the monkey twirl (this is where she holds on to the uneven bars and then flips around on them). 

"I can do it all by myself."

And she did.

Take a swig

Sometimes I look at Hailey and I am just amazed at how old she is already.

She is crawling, she holds her own bottle, she almost seems as though she can understand what you are saying to her.

When did this happen? 

When did she grow up?

Can I make her stop?

Secret

I am still waiting for the moment where Hannah starts to get annoyed by her little sister.  I know it is coming.  She won't want her around, won't want to share with her, she won't want to talk to her.  It hasn't happened yet and instead she is obsessed with her.

Hannah likes to tell Hailey secrets.  Hailey was crawling around the floor and Hannah will follow her, waiting for her to take a break so she can bend down to whisper in her ear.  Hannah then starts giggling and Hailey will grin from ear to ear.

I know the moment will come.

For now, I cherish these moments and hope that as they grow up they continue to want to share secrets and giggle.

Fun in the Sun

This weekend Brian went and bought Hannah a pool.   We started out just sitting in it, well, it was more like standing.  Not sure why a girl that loves baths so much would be scared to sit down in a kiddie pool.  A few minutes into the uneventful event,  I looked over and saw the slide sitting under the deck and had an idea..  We grabbed it and put it in the pool.  I wasn't sure at first if she would even go down the slide...knowing that it would land her into the pool of cold water.    She climbed to the top and 'Whoosh!", down she came.  She loved it!

See that chair by her?  I was sitting in it with my feet in the water.  First slide down and I got soaked! 
She sure had fun.  We ended up spending most of the day outside.  I can tell that this won't be the last of the Parmley Park :-)

Never too young

Walk in the room to find that Hannah is teaching Hailey how to change a diaper.

Both have babies, a package of wipes, and Hannah was instructing Hailey "This is how you do it, babes".

It will be interesting to see if Hailey is as addicted to babies as Hannah is when she gets older.  Already she seems to have taken to them.  Many times she will crawl around with a baby in hand dragging one behind her.

You can't boil the ocean

I am exhausted.

My head is usually spinning.  I am constantly thinking about things that I need to do, things that I want to do, things that I said I was going to do and haven't done yet, things that I have started to do and haven't finished, things that I need to buy -things that we need, things that we don't need, things that I shouldn't do, things that I can do but choose not to. 

The other day I was talking to my boss and mentioned to him that I have so many things on my plate and I am working on so many little projects that it gets hard to keep up some days.  I had mentioned that I have been making lists and those lists are starting to get so large that they are overwhelming.  He said something to me that really hit home "You can't boil the ocean.  No matter how hard you try, you will never do it."

When I left his office that day, I realized that that statement does not only apply to my work life but also to my home life. 

My problem is that I have so many thoughts and ideas that I get so overwhelmed with the amount of items that I end up doing nothing.  I don't remember ever in my life being so unproductive.

Part of the reason is because I feel like I never sit still.  I know that I am not the only person who feels like they are constantly on the run (and in comparsion-I am not as busy as others) but add to the stuff that I have to do, the fact that my mind never shuts off- I feel like I am never 'just being'.

I don't get as much sleep as I should.  During the week I go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and wake up (if by alarm and not earlier because of children) at 5:03 am.  (weird alarm set...)  On the weekends I will go to bed between 10:00 and 1:00 am and still get up between 5:30 and 6:30 am with the girls (Look mom, it's wake up time).  Because of this, when the girls go to bed at night between 8-9 I am SO tired that I want to just sit.  I want to talk to Brian, I want to watch TV, I want to blog, I want to surf the internet, etc...

I keep telling myself that I should just set some goals.  Make a checklist.  Tackle one things at a time.  Sometimes I start it.  I start by setting one or two goals of things that I want to change or be sure to do and then my mind starts going about all of the possibilities and I go from making the bed to painting the bedroom, putting up new curtains, new bedding, hanging pictures, etc (see how I work?).  So, now I have new bedding, pictures to hang, but need to buy paint and curtain rods before the project can start.

I can't even begin to talk about what this means for my work-life.  I currently have 1810 emails in my Inbox.  You can't make this stuff up...

I need time to stand still for 7 days.  7 days where I can just catch up.

I am now having trouble thinking of how to finish this post because I am getting heartburn thinking about the number of emails that I have yet to address.  I haven't even talked yet about all of the other projects and deadlines that I am working on.

I walked into the Maplewood Clinic the other day and a dear friend of mine looked at me and said "You are wearing the stress of your new job."  She said it with a smile but at the same time I could hear it in her voice that really, I must look stressed out.  This is part of the reason why I don't post pictures that include me on here.  I don't want to be reminded of the person that I have let myself become.

My career is demanding, my kids demand a lot from me.  There is not enough of me to go around AND to find anytime to do anything for ME.

What a drag, huh?

(Then I scroll up and look at this picture that I have posted and think that THIS is what it is all about.  They are the only things that matter)

I can't boil the ocean.  Goal for tomorrow: do not set any goals :-)

Yum!

This past weekend while we were at the lake, we went to Pizza Pub for dinner.

When they bring your check they also bring Dum Dum suckers for everyone.  I gave Hailey one not knowing how she would react.

She loved it!  It was pretty cute watching her eat it.  Her and Hannah kept clanking theirs together and smiling at each other.  You could tell that Hailey was pretty proud of herself.

Easy Rider

Now that Hannah has figured out how to ride her bike, that is all she wants to do. (see Baby's day post)

We went last weekend to get her a basket for her bike.  This is the one that she picked out.  Usually there is a baby sticking out of the top and sometimes even two or three are squished in there.

Tonight it just has a bottle of water.

I also bought her these cool things for her spokes. 

I can't wait until I am brave enough to actually let her ride this bike out of the driveway.

It has been amazing to me to see how she went from being scared to sit on this bike to being able to ride - going fast and turning circles around the cars (or falling into the bushes).

Mom, I'm talking

I was on the phone while driving to work the other day, talking to Brian.

Hannah was in the backseat calling for me.

Hannah:  "Mommy...Mommy...Mommy...Mommy"

Me:  "Hannah, just a minute please.  Mom is on the phone."

Hannah:  "Mommy....I am talking to you!"

Me:  (finish conversation, hang up phone)  "What Hannah?"

Hannah:  "I need some Rock and Roll.  I tried to tell you that."

Sure eough she was pretty picky about what she considered Rock and Roll.  None of that radio stuff worked.  She directed me to the visor in daddy's truck where I could find the 'good rock and roll'.  I pointed to each CD until she finally said "Yes!  That one!".  It was Aerosmith.

She spent the rest of the way to Jackie's 'rockin' out' in the backseat.

Baby's Day

Some nights you get home from work and all you want to do is sit - to relax and come down from your day.  Tonight was one of those days. 

Hannah had a different idea. 

She wanted to go outside and play 'Jackie's'.  This is where she pretends to be the mom and drops the kids off at Jackie's.  The whole time instructing me on how many times the baby should eat, or that she isn't to move from her mat at naptime, sometimes I will hear that she is 'training' and I need to make sure she does potty or poppy on the toilet-not in her diaper (we are still talking about this baby...the one dressed in the underwear in the picture above).

Anyways, tonight it was hot and humid.  Not only did I not want to 'play' tonight, Hailey was cranky and tired, and it was sticky.

Me:  "Hannah, I need to go inside to feed your sister.  Let's go, please."

Hannah:  "Mommy, no, it's baby's day* today.  Baby?  Do you want to stay outside or go inside?"

Baby: "  "

Hannah:  "You want to stay outside, ok.  Mommy, we need to stay outside, baby wants to."

Me:  "Hannah, seriously.  I need to get your sister a bottle and get her to bed.  She is tired, it is hot, and she needs to get ready for bed.  Daddy is busy so you need to come inside with me."

Hannah:  "What baby?  You want mommy (meaning herself) to stay outside to ride her bike?  Oh, ok.  Mommy, baby wants to stay outside to watch me ride my bike.  It is her day today so we have to do it."

What would you have done?  Seriously?

For a kid her age to be so creative to manipulate me to stay outside...?!  You gotta give it to her. 

  We stayed out for a little while longer.

*Every so often at daycare Jackie will let each child have 'a day'.  They can bring something special to do or share and apparently they get to make decisions about what they do.

Cool, daddy

Brian started building a shed last week.  He took the week off of work and just like that (the same way he just magically builds ANYTHING!) he had an idea, wood and started in on building.

Each day Hannah and I would come home and she would run to the backyard to see the progress that daddy has made.

Brian's dad came over this day to help him lift the walls into place.

This day Hannah came home, ran up the back hill to where daddy was working and shouted out "Daddy, that's cool!  That is the humungous thing in the whole world!" 

He was a little concerned that the shed may be too big and that didn't help  :-)

The shed has a door and roof has been shingled.  Last steps : paint job and filling it!!

Flashback

Heading up to the cabin today and I stop next to this car.  Look at the front window...the triangle one that is open in the front corner.  Man-that brought me back.  Remembering Grandma Alice's car and cranking that tiny window open to let in some air.  Oh how times have changed....

She's been spotted!

Dropped Hailey off at daycare this morning.

Brian picked her up this afternoon and she was covered in spots.

Took her to the doctor and they were stumped.  This was like nothing they had seen.  What they could tell me is that it was not contagious, it wasn't a disease (i.e. Chicken Pox, Measles, etc), it could be from a reaction to the Amox she was on earlier in the week, it could be from a virus (which caused the ear infection in the first place).

Only thing we knew for sure - it does not bother her.  She has no fever, no trouble breathing, she doesn't seem to notice that it is even there.

If only everyday were this simple

This picture reminds me what it was like to be a kid.  No worries, no bills, no stress, no understanding of the horror that the world has to offer.  Here Hannah sits - bike helmet on, baby on her lap getting her hair brushed, bikes parked everywhere.

Like mother like daughter

Hannah wanted to go for a walk.

I got out the stroller and started to get Hailey settled in, thinking that Hannah wanted me to push her and Hailey.  I turned around to tell Hannah to hop on and {not} to my surprise she already had her baby buckled in her stroller ready to go. 

We got to the end of the block and before I could tell Hannah to turn around so we could head back home, she had turned the corner and was briskly walking down the street.  "Come on, mama!  We going to the park."  Sure enough she was heading in the right direction.  Hailey and I had no choice but to follow her.  The brisk walk soon turned into a jog and the closer we got, the faster she went.

"I see it mama!"

You can imagine the looks and comments we got strolling up to the playground.

Everyone loved it and their little show didn't stop at the stroller.  They watched me take Hailey out of the stroller while Hannah unbuckled Soda...kissing her on the forehead on her way out.

Just another day feeling lucky to be this little girl's mama!

There she....wait, where did she go?

Hannah was riding her bike around my car the other day.  She disappeared around the car and....disappeared.  Within about 10-15 seconds I heard "Mommy, I need your help". 

 I walk around the car and find this. 

Poor girl didn't have enough room to ride her bike and had a crash landing into the hostas. 

What did her mom do? 

Took a picture to blog about it, of course :-)

Growing up, right before my eyes

Hailey started crawling yesterday!

About a month ago Brian and I were talking about when we thought Hailey would start crawling.  I thought that by July 4th she would be crawling.  Well, July 4th came and almost went....we were at Stacey and Shane's celebrating the 4th of July, Hailey was sitting on the ground and all of a sudden just took off.  Up on all fours and moving.  I felt so proud of her but at the same time it made me so sad.  One more step closer to becoming a toddler and not so much a baby anymore :-(

It is so fun watching your children grow up but each time you hit a new milestone you realize that they will never 'not be able to crawl' again, she will never be 'all gums' again (2 teeth now!), she will never 'not be rolling over' again. 

Happy 4th of July!

What a great day spent with great friends!

We went to Stacey and Shane's to celebrate the 4th of July.  Tammy, Josh, and their kids- Riley, Noah, and Chloe, joined us.  Shane smoked up some good pulled pork and brisket and we all brought dishes to share.

Looking out the window of the house, I saw Hannah and Chloe driving around the yard.  Every so often they would stop and turn around to get a snack from the back of the truck.  So cute!

Hannah is almost like a dog when it comes to using certain words.  The girls were pushing their babies in their strollers and I asked "you girls taking your babies for a walk?"  Next thing you know they are walking down the driveway headed down the block.  Tammy and I could hardly keep up to go along with them.

We got about half way around the block when all of a sudden Hannah went crazy...she needed to go potty (yikes!).  So, I carried Hannah while Tammy and Chloe pushed Hannah's stroller back to the house.  As soon as she was done going potty, the girls were right back at it.  What an adorable site to see!

You may notice that Chloe has a purse hanging on her stroller.  There was makeup and a phone in that purse.  While on our walk the first time around Hannah and Maddie were ahead of us, Chloe was behind us.  Tammy turns to look at her and finds her pushing her stroller with one hand and talking on the phone with the other.  Wonder where she has seen that before?

We finished the night watching fireworks from the driveway.  The girls found a couch that fit them all. There is something so special about spending time with Tammy, Josh, and their family.  It makes me really emotional and to think that we spent a day together and our kids played while we visited. 

Happy 4th of July!  Thanks to all who fight for our freedom everyday!

Good ideas that just don't make it

I thought I had such a good idea this month.   My plan was to post a reason why I am so excited for Kari and Andy to come home each day.  A different reason everyday until the 24th when they arrive.  Cute idea huh?    I was going to talk about how much fun it is going to be reuniting the Frog Brigade (minus bee hives this time), shopping, taking the kids places, watching the kids interact, finally being able to talk to Kari (IN PERSON) about our new jobs, sharing ideas and thoughts about scrapbooking, listening to Andres' tell us stories (you know, the ones that he has been telling Tin about all the trouble that he gets into), and so on.  Then I went to access my pictures on my external hard drive and realized that there is something wrong with it.  Whenever it is plugged into the computer and accessed it freezes.  AHHHHHH....1000's and 1000's of pictures are stored on there.  So, it was brought to one of my IT friends at work to hopefully be recovered.  I am sick to my stomach about it and since then haven't really felt like blogging. 

Please oh please be able to fix my hard drive...

Reason 22

Reason #22 why I am excited for July 23rd*

Can't wait to spend time with Kas and his sense of humor.  Kas and Hannah are going to have so much fun together.  I can see it now, actually hear it.....giggles.

*July 23rd is the day when Andy, Kari, Tin and Kas come to visit!

The countdown begins

Reason #23 why I am excited for July 23rd

Can't wait to see Tin in his new glasses!