1st Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Drew's first birthday. It was a small party with just the grandparents, but it was great! It was a Where the Wild Things Are theme. We thought it was pretty fitting for our little wild animal. I bought some cheap decorations, made Drew a little costume and attempted to decorate a cake. I found a party blog that talked about a Where the Wild Things Are birthday party and the cake looked pretty easy so I attempted to recreate this cake. Why I thought I could recreate a cake made by a former staff member of Martha Stewart's is beyond me. Thanks to my mother in law and grandma's phone consultation, we were able to have it turn out OK. It tasted fantastic, it just wasn't quite as polished looking as the cake I found on line. Drew loved his cake once he figured out that it was something to eat. He also loved his new presents that he got from his grandparents. Blake got to open a few presents too. He got an art easel and a Veggie Tales movie from Lo Lo and La La. He thinks that the presents Drew got are also his so I think he had a pretty good day too. He was very helpful setting up for the party. He taped some of the vines together and set the table. The sugar high has run out so now Drew is napping and Blake is having room time. I'm about ready to fall asleep too.

First haircut

Singing 5 Little Monkeys at Chuy's restaurant

After his haircut

Enjoying the motorcycle

Kyle's parents arrived on Thursday night pretty late and somehow Blake managed to talk Kyle in to letting him stay up and drive to get them at the airport. The next morning Blake told me that he slept all night in the car. He then proceeded to tell me that he drove all by himself to the airport to get "Lo Lo" and "La La." He has quite the imagination these days. It's pretty hilarious to talk to him, you just have to make sure you don't believe everything he says.

Drew had his first haircut finally. He was really starting to look like a girl. We took him to Kaos-Kids Salon on Friday and both grandmas got to be there. LoLo also got to come along because we went straight from lunch. He admitted that it was actually kind of fun :) Drew did great and had a blast driving the motorcycle chair. I don't know who those hair stylists can cut hair on moving targets like that, but Barbara did a great job. It was kind of sad though because Drew looks like such a big boy now.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Eating an ice cream sandwhich for his birthday
I had a hard time getting a picture of him with his new toy because he wouldn't stop long enough for me to take it

Drew's first Birthday was a pretty pitiful one. Instead of throwing him a party and getting presents, he had to go to the doctor for his 1 year check up and got 3 shots. Poor guy. Don't worry, he is having a small little party just not on his birthday. He got a clean bill of health. He is a little peanut though. He is only 18 lbs 12 oz, which puts him in about the 3%. He was about 5% for height. The doctor watched him for about 1 minute and said, I know why he is small....he never stops moving. Yup. He's a go getter. Lucky Drew gets to move on to whole milk mixed with half and half for extra fat and butter on everything he eats. I wish I could eat like that. Drew had a blast opening his toy from Aunt Sissy and Uncle Pig. He loves it!! Blake and Drew have already had quite a few fights over the toy.

First T-ball practice

Blake's first t-ball practice was last Tuesday

Blake started T-ball and although he is really pretty good at throwing the ball and hitting at home, he didn't care too much for practice. He has his first game on Saturday so check back to see how it goes. Drew has learned how to climb down the stairs by himself. I still need to stay close in case he topples, but he's getting pretty good at it. It would be nice to do away with the baby gates in a few months. Drew still only has two teeth, but he is working on 4 on top. It doesn't stop him from eating anything including hamburgers and nuggets so we aren't too concerned. I'll be posting more in the next few days because Drew turns 1 tomorrow!!! So hard to believe.

Slumber Party

I turned my back for a minute and Drew had emptied half the cupboard and was eating Rice Krispies off the floor



This is his wild animal look. Even the hair fits.

Tonight Blake is having a slumber party with his friend Sadie. I know, you are all thinking "What kind of mother let's her kid have a slumber party on a school night?" Unfortunately Sadie's parents had a pipe burst and their house flooded. I offered to watch her tonight. I thought they were going to go right to sleep and I even said to Kyle "wow, that was easier than putting just two kids to bed." An hour later I can still hear them in there and one time I went in there to find that they had gone through a bottle of foam hand soap. No germs on their hands :)

Life has actually seemed to get pretty busy lately. Blake has school on T/Th, I started a Bible study on Fridays and also joined a MOPS group that meets twice a month on Mondays. Blake loves going to those with me. His friend Sadie is in his class there and he met a new friend named Kelly there too. I think he will have a lot of fun. He starts t-ball tomorrow. It should be hilarious!

Oh I almost forgot!!! Drew said his first real sentence tonight. Kyle was holding Drew and said "night night mommy" to me as they walked past to come up to bed. Then Drew said "night night mama" and waved. It was so precious and I wish we had it on camera. He says ba ba for bottle and has said mama and dada, but never at times that we could completely be sure he meant it. This time is was really obvious.

Blake's first day of preschool

Blake started preschool yesterday. I still can't believe it. Kyle left for Toronto yesterday so he was able to come with us to drop Blake off. Blake seemed to have a great time. His teacher Miss Marie seems great! Blake said that he met some new friends and that he did the scariest thing he'd ever done on the playground. He then proceeded to describe what this scary thing was. I'm still not sure what it is but his description was that two people can ride on it and you go up and down and all around. You put your feet on the rocks and the teacher opens and closes the doors. Hmmmm....please share your suggestions for what this might be. Maybe I will ask to go out back and see their playground so I can figure out what he is talking about. I'm glad that he did something scary and that he liked it. Sometimes he shies away from things like that. I think he is really going to enjoy it there. Drew and I enjoyed our free time, but Drew was very cranky. Maybe he is finally getting more teeth. He only has two!!

St. Paul

Blake driving the bus at the Children's Museum

Blake and Drew ice fishing


Blake and Drew in the habitat exhibit

Blake hugging Clifford

Us playing in the Clifford exhibit

So I am going to write about our vacation in three blogs because that way I can post more pictures. Unfortunately I started it in reverse order so you will experience our trip backwards. Just a recap, we flew to Minneapolis and stayed with Alicia, then drove to Birchwood and stayed in a cabin with Nathan's family and then drove over to St. Paul. This is the St. Paul segment....We drove from Birchwood to Woodbury where our friend Gudrun and Jon live. Jon was at work but we were able to see Gudrun and meet their precious little 4 week old baby, Ari. He was so tiny and absolutely adorable. I could have held him forever. We drove to a park and the boys played there while Gudrun and I got to catch up a little. After visiting her we drove over to St. Paul and checked in to our hotel. Blake and I went swimming in their scary hotel pool while Kyle and Drew took a nap. That night we met up with Kyle's friend Jay from grad school and his fiancee. Her name is Kristen and she is great. We are so excited for him. The next morning we went to the children's museum and had a blast. It is probably the best children's museum I have ever been to. The boys loved it and Kyle and I had fun too. Blake got to meet Clifford. The flight home was uneventful and considering Drew was pretty off his schedule, he did better than expected. The whole vacation was amazing and full of really great memories. Two definitions that we learned...."hero" someone who saves their ducky "thunder pants" (not to be confused with underpants...Blake likes to make up words that sound like others) "Kyle and I don't really know the definition of thunder pants but we loved coming up with ideas....Kyle's explanation is "when you just need a little extra support down there" I was thinking more in connection with thunder thighs. Either way, it was pretty funny listening to Blake's imagination and his silly commentary. He was really well behaved on the trip and so fun to be around.

Wisconsin Vacation

Boating on Lake Chetac
Bundled up boys

Hiking

Blake and Grace

Nathan and Kyle playing

After we left Minneapolis we drove over to Birchwood, Wisconsin and met Kyle's good friend Nathan and his family. We rented a cabin on the lake. This town was very small and their grocery store was actually named "The Store." Katie and Nathan were already there when we arrived and we spent some time outdoors at the playground and then grilled brats for dinner. We spent most of the night chatting and catching up. We also introduced Katie to Yahtzee. She got a yahtzee on the first game so I think she is hooked now. The next day we went on a hike. It was freezing cold and misting but we were going to brave it anyways. The lady at the resort told us that there was a new hiking path that had recently been made that was only about 5 minutes away. The best part was that it was wide and just a loop. We threw the little ones on our backs and Blake and Grace walked. Despite the temperature and the mist, it was actually really beautiful. The hike was just the right amount for the kids. When we got to the end of the trail we realized that it was not where we left our cars. Remember, this trail was suppose to be a loop. We ended up coming out on a road. I walked a little ways up the road to see if I could find our cars, but there was no sign of them and all of the ponds looked the same. Hmmmm....Nobody had their cell phones and the kids were starting to fall apart. We decided to retrace our steps. We threw the big kids in the backpacks this time and carried the little ones. We made it back to our cars, but it was definitely a little more exciting than what we originally planned on. The lady back at the cabins laughed at us because I guess the trail really is a loop but someone in our group thought we should turn down this one path (I won't name any names :) ) It was actually pretty funny. Sunday we braved it again by going boating to celebrate Kyle's birthday. The high was 60 degrees. We bundled up and got on the boat around 10 AM. It was freezing. We only lasted about an hour or less and had to turn around to take the kids home. We tried again later that day and this time went out prepared in our winter hats and fleeces. This time it was much more pleasant. The scenery was beautiful. On our trip back in to the resort the boat died or possibly the key got pulled out accidentally. The guys tried to get the boat restarted but couldn't. We were so close to being back, but not close enough to hail to anyone to come help us. I was starting to wonder which one would have to jump in to swim to shore. Kyle called the resort, but the office is closed during the time we were out so no one answered. We started cracking up because the people at the resort must think our crew is completely incompetent after getting lost on the hike and now not being able to start the boat. We tried a few other things and this time the boat started. One adventure after another. We headed out bright and early on Monday because check out was 9 AM. We had a really fun time and Blake and Grace loved being in their own imaginary world. They actually got to share a room so that was a big deal to them. They were jumping on the beds, screaming, laughing and going crazy. Sophia and Drew enjoyed following Blake and Grace around everywhere. Considering we had 4 kids under the age of 4 in the cabin, it was really fun and the kids did great.

Minnesota Vacation

Blake and Ariana at the dockside restaurant, I can't remember it's name

Alicia and I on the boat with the kids

What a fun bunch

Ariana, Drew and Blake

Our family at the park in Waconia

We flew in to Minneapolis last Tuesday and drove over to Waconia to spend some time with my friend Alicia, her husband Travis, and their adorable two year old. We had a fantastic time. We went boating on Lake Waconia and Kyle and I even attempted to water ski. Getting in to the water was the worst part. The lake was freezing! It took me several attempts to get up but I eventually did. It didn't take Kyle as many times to get up but he fell faster. Neither of us stayed up longer than 4 seconds. I guess when you are over 30 you can't learn things as quickly. The next day Alicia and I got to go to a fun coffee shop called Mocha Monkey (fun fact is that my cousin John's girlfriend's mom is the manager of this). The guys took the kids to a park while we sat and talked. We attempted smores that night but were attacked by the mosquitoes. We still managed to make smores though. It was worth every bite. We also learned how to play Chinese Checkers. It was a fun little game and we enjoyed ganging up on Travis. He still won anyways though. Blake and Drew loved playing with Ariana and all of her toys. The time flew by too quickly but it was so great to be there and watch our kids play together.