The Ellis Family

Popcornasaurus

2012-01-31T00:13:00.001-06:00

Sorry this is such a long post, but it's a story that I want to remember about Jonah's first real at-home school project : )

Jonah's class has been doing a unit on dinosaurs these past few weeks! As part of the unit, he had to complete a dinosaur project at home. It consisted of creating a dinosaur model made out of some kind of material and covered in the item of his choice.

PLAN A

As soon as he brought the letter home, he was adamant about using marshmallows for the project. So, we went to the store, bought three large bags of colored marshmallows, lots of toothpicks, and tacky glue. I left it up to Randy to get the foam to mold the dinosaur shape. Well, apparently Randy and I had different ideas about how this dinosaur project was to go down. My idea was to cut the shape from foam and use toothpicks to cover the surface in marshmallows. Randy's idea was to use the foam as a stand and build the dino out of toothpicks and marshmallows. Let's just say I won that battle ; ) So Jonah and I sat for approx. 2 hours covering the area of the shapes in marshmallows. Our plan was to piece the foam together the next night to create a large dinosaur and then we'd mount it on a board. Well, that's when things took an unexpected turn! We get a note home, the night before the project is due, that says, "Your child must be able to carry this dinosaur on his own without assistance!" This was never stated in the original project description and if I weren't so exhausted from gluing 500 marshmallows the night before I might have argued that point to his teacher. There was no way Jonah was going to be able to haul this ginormous dino on his own. So Randy and I got to brainstorming again! We tried cutting the original one down, but it just mangled the marshmallows and made it look like a T-Rex had gotten a hold of it. All the while, my parents keep calling ready to zip over to save us from this dino disaster. I'm pretty sure my dad had his boots on and his truck fired up ready to roll. My dad is the king of school projects! He spent many a late night constructing whole towns from mere scraps of wood and, as Linds reminded me, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria out of toothpicks and popsicle sticks, no joke! I now know how he felt! I reassured them we had it under control, well kind of, lol. So onto...

PLAN B

Randy goes back to Michael's, buys more styrofoam (mind you, we've probably just spent $20 in styrofoam on these 2 dinos), we cut it out in the shape of a brontosaurus and proceed to glue popped popcorn all over the thing. We had tacky glue and hot glue strings everywhere! The important thing is that Jonah was having so much fun! We kind of turned it into a dino party. And the best part was that we could snack on the materials as we were assembling, lol. I'm proud to say he (or should I say we) scored a 10 out of 10 ; ) He was so proud of his dino! And I present to you...

POPCORNASAURUS!

GiGi's 60th Birthday Celebration

2012-01-30T14:02:00.000-06:00

Last week was GiGi's 60th birthday! Since we knew she'd be nearly impossible to surprise, we filled her in on the festivities : ) We had actually planned, with my dad's help, to surprise her for dinner on Wednesday (her actual birthday), but both kids were sick with horrible coughs and a fever. Jason and Tyler have both been sick, too. Gotta love the cold and flu season! Thankfully, we were all a little better by the weekend. We spent the entire weekend celebrating her special day. Lindsey, Jason, and Tyler came down from Chicago to spend the weekend, too. We had such a wonderful time! Lindsey and I are taking my mom to Memphis as her birthday present (as we all know, she's a big Elvis fan)! The last time she went, my dad took her. They even stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel, which my dad said was a little creepy seeing as they pipe Elvis music into your room 24/7, lol. We are looking forward to our girl's weekend! Happy Birthday to the most wonderful, caring, and loving mother anyone could ask for! We love you so very much, Mom!

GiGi's Birthday Cake! This is a picture of her when she was about a year old! Isn't she sweet!

We love our GiGi!

GiGi and her little princess!

Love how little Ty Ty is background guy in this picture ; )

Blowing out the candles with some help!

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother"
~Abraham Lincoln~

Jillian the Gymnast

2012-01-17T01:09:00.000-06:00

Jillian started gymnastics a few weeks ago and she is loving it! This is her first gymnastics class without mommy participation. She really enjoyed the class we took together at the Y, so I thought she might be ready for the next level. Her class is at a competitive gymnastics facility, but of course at this age, they just work on beginning tumbling skills and having fun, thank goodness. Not too sure how I feel about the whole competitive practice schedule as they get older, it's so intense. I was a little worried about how she would do without me down there with her, but she did wonderful. There are 5 little girls total in her class. They are all adorable! After the first week, I showed her some videos I had taken of her in action. After seeing the videos, she looks at me with a serious face and says, "Mommy, but where are the pictures of all my new friends?" Too funny! I did notice her chatting it up quite a bit with several of the girls. I wish I could have heard those conversations, too cute. Oh, my little social butterfly! Here are a couple of videos of her in action, sorry about the quality and all of the background noise.

Tiger Cub Ice Skating

2012-01-16T23:28:00.001-06:00

Jonah had a Cub Scout ice skating event this past weekend! He had a blast! Of course, he came home telling me he now wants to play hockey after soccer this spring. The thought of him playing hockey makes me a nervous wreck, considering most hockey players don't have any of their own teeth, yikes. My mom suggested I let him play right after he loses his two front teeth, that way there will be no teeth to get knocked out, lol. Maybe they play with a plastic puck at that age, fingers crossed!

This is his first year as a Cub Scout, well he's actuallly a Tiger Cub. There are 3 other boys in his den and they're having so much fun! They meet every Monday night with the whole pack and then sometimes have special activities on the weekends. His next big event is the Pinewood Derby. He and Daddy have been working on the car for the past few weekends. He is so excited! They have had lots of father/son bonding time, which is so important. You know how those boys love their daddies : ) Jillian and I tagged along for a couple of the events as scouts is very family oriented. Jillian already said she wants to be a Cub Scout, lol. Jonah set her straight on that one though, telling her that cub scouts is for boys, but she can be a Daisy and then a Brownie. She was thrilled to hear that! Now anytime Jonah puts his uniform on, she excitedly talks about how she's going to first be a Daisy and then be a Brownie. Bless her little heart!

Jonah in his Tiger Cub uniform! He's so proud!

Jonah & his buddy, TJ

Jonah & Daddy on the ice!

Blake Shelton Concert

2012-01-16T22:47:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I had an evening out on the town with the Lewis girls! Susan, Sharon, Rachel, and I went to see Blake Shelton in concert at Chaifetz Arena on SLU's campus. It was an awesome concert! We met for dinner at a cute Italian restaurant before and then made the icy trek over to the arena. Thank you girls for such a fun evening and for letting me be your 4th sister ; ) We always have so much fun together!

Susan, Rachel, Me, and Sharon

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T17:31:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's 2012! Jason, Linds, Tyler, PaPa, and GiGi were here for New Year's Eve this year. PaPa & GiGi were sweet enough to stay with the kids while we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Paolo's! It was delicious! We then came home and played board games, I know, I know, we're getting old, lol. What a fun night! May your 2012 be full of many blessing, love, and happiness!

Our Happy Little Family!
Randy rang in the new year with a fresh face, let's just say he's already growing his goatee back, lol.

Ready for a night out on the town : )

Jillian loves her auntie!

Momma and her girl!

We love our PaPa & GiGi!

Lovin' on some Ty Ty!

PaPa Snuggle Time!

Two New Year's Cuties

Another New Year's Cutie

PaPa is a celebrity around here and so is Buzz!

A mouthful of popcorn and M & M's!

Christmas Celebrations!

2012-01-03T16:57:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Christmas Day at my Aunt Jan's house this year! After the kids opened their Santa gifts we headed over to Forsyth for a day of family and fun. We had lots of good food and special memories with those we love. Thanks for hosting in your beautiful home, Aunt Jan & John! We had a wonderful time! I didn't get near as many pictures as I'd like, which makes me a little sad. I didn't even get one picture of my Grandpa Heinie. Hopefully, Linds got some with her camera! We then stayed the night at my Grandpa Heinie's house and got to visit with him the next day. On Monday afternoon, we all headed back to GiGi & PaPa's house to spend the week! It was like old times, well, plus 3 kiddos, lol. I also got to have lunch with some of my best girl friends and the kids had a playdate, so much fun. We don't get together as often as we'd like, so it was great to catch-up. We finished off the week by heading back home to STL to celebrate the new year.

Christmas Morning!

Grandpa Lager opening his gifts!

Jonah and his new talking globe, so cool!

Jillian and her new Lalaloopsy treehouse! Happy Girl!

Aunt Jan & Jillian

All the cousins!

Coloring Cousins! Love Ty Ty's cheesy grin : D

Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T16:26:00.000-06:00

Cookies and Milk for Santa!

Christmas with PaPa and GiGi

2012-01-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

The Friday before Christmas, PaPa and GiGi came over so the kids could open their presents from them early. We had such a special day! After opening presents we went out for a Christmas lunch at Olive Garden : ) Jonah's favorite gift was his Lego space station and space shuttle. Jillian's favorite gift was the mermaid mountain, complete with 8 tiny mermaids and all their accessories. Thank you PaPa and GiGi for all the presents! The last two years Jonah's school had a Christmas store set up and let them shop. He took $20 to school and came home with gifts for each of us. He even brought back change! It touched my heart to see how his eyes lit up and he got so excited seeing us open his gift to each of us. He is such a sweet, thoughtful, little boy! I'm so proud of him and how he's learning it's better to give than receive. That's a hard concept for little kids! He told me several times this Christmas season that getting presents is fun, but the most important thing is celebrating Jesus' birthday. How sweet and true!

GiGi, PaPa, and the kids!

Jonah and his Papa!

Jillian and her mermaids!

Awww, how sweet! Jillian was thanking Jonah for her gift from him, a hair accessories set!

Christmas with JoJo and Grandpa Dan

2012-01-03T15:54:00.000-06:00

The weekend before Christmas, JoJo and Grandpa Dan came over to celebrate Christmas with us! We had a yummy lunch (JoJo brought her delicious pasta) and opened presents! We loved spending the day with them : ) Thank you for all the neat presents!

Grandpa Dan, JoJo, and the kids!

Jillian opening her dollhouse!

Jonah got a really neat dinosaur excavating kit!

The two excavators! Jonah was the chipper and Jillian was the detailer : )

Excavating takes concentration!

The finished product! Once you dug up the bones, you had to assemble the dinosaur.

JoJo & Jilly

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T11:08:00.000-06:00

Seasonal Chic Christmas Card

Quick and easy: Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Surprise, Papa!

2011-12-22T00:48:00.000-06:00

On December 9th, my dad turned 60 years young! With my mom's help, we managed to surprise him at the mexican restaurant in Flora. He had no idea that we were coming to celebrate with him! Lindsey and I felt horrible on Friday morning when we called to wish him a Happy Birthday and had to act like we weren't going to be able to see him on his special day. It was all worth it though to see his face as he walked around the corner. Although, he may have known we were there because Jillian and Tyler were running willy-nilly around the place, lol. We're so glad we got to spend the entire weekend with him! He is so very special to us and deserves to be celebrated, not only on his birthday, but everyday! Here's to the best dad and Papa on the planet! We love you!

Surprise!!!

Papa's Special Cake! This picture was taken when he was around Jonah's age (6).

Dad and his girls!

They sure do love their Papa!

Ty Ty loves Papa, too!

Our first attempt at a group picture!

Our second attempt...even worse! Yikes, lol!

Helping Papa blow out his candles!

Ty Ty loves him some cake!

Jason, Tyler, and Linds at Little Toot!

Jonah on Little Toot at Charley Brown Park! We waited in line for an hour and froze, but we rode the train : )

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2011-12-02T17:14:00.001-06:00

Oh, what a difference a year makes! Last year Jillian was screaming and crying while sitting on Santa's lap. This year she and Jonah both did great! Jillian is not a huge fan of men in general, so I was surprised when she sat right down next to the jolly ol' fellow (with some reassurance from Mommy, of course). And they were both smiling, bonus! Jonah told Santa he wanted a t.v. for his room (which was news to us and will not be happening for many years, lol), and Jillian asked for princess toys. They are both looking forward to Santa's visit this year!

A Special Surprise Party!!!

2011-11-27T23:48:00.001-06:00

A few weekends ago our family got together to celebrate a very special occasion, my Grandpa Lager's 85th birthday! We were lucky enough to be there to share in the celebration. Sheila put together a wonderful surprise party for him at the country club in Marion. It was such a fun evening full of many special memories! On the way home that night, Jonah told me how much he loved Grandpa's party, and Jillian keeps asking when the next surprise party is going to be, lol. Happy Birthday Grandpa! We are so blessed to have you and Sheila in our lives! We love you!

Here comes the birthday boy!!!

I think he was pretty surprised!

Grandpa and his girls : )

Sheila & Grandpa

Oh boy! These two are trouble ; )

Jonah sure was happy to be a part of the celebration!

All the grandkids, minus Ryan who couldn't be there (We missed you, Ryan!)

My dad and mom : )

John, Randy, and Jonah! Don't they look spiffy!

Kisses and snuggles for Grandpa!

Helping Grandpa blow out the candles is hard work!

Grandpa & his grandkids

Grandpa & his great-grandkids! We knew getting this picture would be a challenge, at least one of them is looking, lol.

For some reason this is the only picture I got of Jason the whole evening, lol. Boy, do they love their Uncle Jason!

Trick-or-Treat 2011

2011-10-31T23:28:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween! This year we stayed in our neighborhood to trick-or-treat. We ran into our friends the Otto's and got to spend the evening with them. Their little girl, Lily, is in Jonah's class again this year, and their little boy, Beckett, is Jillian's age. They were all so cute together tonight! Thank goodness, they brought along their wagon, and Jillian rode in that quite a bit. That's a lot of walking for a little mermaid ; ) Both Jonah and Jillian were really into the candy this year. Every house that they went up to, Jillian would giggle and say, "I get to trick-or-treat AGAIN!" And as she was running back from one candy stop, I heard her say, "Best...Day...Ever!" We have seen the movie Tangled way too many times, lol. Jonah was all about quantity this year. The more candy the better! His pumpkin bucket was overflowing! We actually did something new this year. They each got to choose a small toy from Target and they are trading a majority of the candy for the toy. I'm not sure Randy was too thrilled about this idea, but I see no real purpose in gorging themselves with candy and it's horrible for their teeth, too. (Speaking of teeth, Jonah lost his other bottom front tooth today! Just had to share that exciting news) I did let them each keep some of their favorites, and then Jonah decided to make a bag for GiGi and PaPa filled with their favorite candy, what a sweet, thoughtful boy: ) I'm sending the rest to school for their reward stash and with Randy to work for his co-workers. Yep, they're gonna love me : ) Here are some pictures of our astronaut and mermaid!

The Mermaid and The Astronaut

Well we had to get one with the helmet, too ; )

Love these sweet little trick-or-treaters!

What is Daddy dressed up as?!?

All the kiddos ~ A mermaid, an astronaut, a bumblebee, and a dragon! I know I should have gotten a better picture, but try telling that to 4 kids on a candy mission!

In Jillian's words, Best...Day...Ever!

Mission control, mission control, need more candy!

This is our kitty pumpkin all lit up! Pretty scary ; )

Celebration in Cardinal Nation!

2011-10-31T00:40:00.000-05:00

What an amazing week in Cardinal baseball! Those incredible birds have done it again, winning the 2011 World Series title for the second time in 5 years! We stayed up way too late several nights this past week watching some very exciting games, especially game 6 and 7, totally worth it though. Probably two of the best games we've ever seen in baseball! Today we went downtown for the big Cardinal celebration! We were lucky enough to score tickets in the stadium, thanks Jess! We spent a fun-filled afternoon with the Gunther family enjoying the festivities. The city was jammed packed with Cardinal fans. There was a parade and then a ceremony inside the stadium. Tickets could only be purchased in increments of 2, so Jillian and I sat in one section together, while Jonah and Randy sat in another section. I must say, I think Jillian is going to be a big fan of Cards baseball. She had the biggest grin on her face the whole time, and would clap and holler loudly every time a player entered the stadium. I think the Clydesdale's were her favorite though : ) Both kiddos were thoroughly exhausted, seeing as Jillian fell asleep on the way home, and Jonah fell asleep while watching a show in our bedroom. What fun memories made today!

Little Redbird Fans : )

Loving the view from up top!

Jillian finds something else way more interesting than having a picture taken with Mommy and Jonah ; )

Someone is excited!

A picture with Daddy!

They really were having a good time ; )

Jillian and her bestie, Lexie!

Whatever she's doing, Lexie thinks it's funny ; )

An attempt at a group picture, lol. 3 out of 5 isn't too bad!

A girl and her squirrel! Both she and Jonah got one of these rally squirrels and love them!

Tony LaRussa came in on the Clydesdales!

Fredbird!

One of my new favorite players...David Freese! I do still love Albert though ; )

The Team!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2011-10-28T01:19:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we went to Eckert's to find the perfect pumpkin! However, the pickins were slim this close to Halloween, but we managed to wrangle up a semi-round, non-bumpy, orangish (most of them were orange and green striped) pumpkin : ) Here are some pics from our fun day!

Down on the Farm

I think Jonah was expecting his pony to be a little faster like at the races, lol!

Jillian loved the pony, at first, then needed her momma with her : )

Jonah feeding the cute goats!

The Goat Whisperer (Look at all those goats mesmerized by her)

On the tractor...it was a bit windy

Jillian with one of the front runners for our perfect pumpkin (it lost out to a fatter one)

Our sweet little pumpkins! Jonah is sitting on our final pick ; )

Our kitty pumpkin! Of course, they didn't want a normal jack-o-lantern face ; )

Meow!

It's Ty Ty Time!

2011-10-12T12:58:00.000-05:00

Tyler is here for a visit this week while his mommy and daddy are on a cruise! GiGi and PaPa went and picked him up Friday and came to our house on Saturday for Jillian's party. GiGi then spent the rest of the weekend and Monday with us. I was a little worried because he was super attached to GiGi over the weekend. Anytime she'd leave the room he'd cry for her. However, I'm happy to report he's become a big fan of his Auntie over the last few days, which I love! Yesterday I went out on the deck to grill, and he stood at the door and yelled, "Auntie, Auntie, Auntie!" over and over again. He's such a sweetie, not to mention an awesome sleeper! I had to wake him up today at 8:15, so we could take Jonah to school, and he takes 2-3 hour naps. He is a little monkey though, as I found out when he Houdini'd (not sure if that's even a word) himself out of the Pack N' Play the first morning, yikes. I'm keeping a close eye on that one, lol. He and Jillian are really playing well together during the day while Jonah is at school. It's so cute : ) I forget how busy and on-the-go, curious, 20-month olds can be. Let's just say, I'm sleeping really well at night, lol! When we went to pick Jonah up from school yesterday, both of them wanted to be carried, so I had one on each hip. I'm sure it was quite the sight, considering Tyler weighs more than Jillian. Yep, that's my workout for the week ; ) Here are some fun pictures I took yesterday.

Enjoying a little Despicable Me before bedtime! It's my kiddos favorite movie, and secretly it's one of my favorites, too ; )

This is what Tyler did when I said, "Squishy Face!"

Buddies! Tyler was roaring like a dinosaur here, his favorite animal right now.

It's swing time! He giggled and giggled the higher he went..

Yummy! Tyler, Jillian, and I went and got milkshakes while Jonah and Daddy were at Cub Scouts.

Cruisin' in the Barbie Jeep! Sorry to tell you, Jason, he was very excited about riding in a pink jeep ; )

When I'm at my Auntie's house, I can do whatever I want! Don't panic Linds, it wasn't open ; ) He loved playing in the ice and water in our outdoor cooler. I think he might have thought it was a water table like he has at home, ha,ha.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Jillian!

2011-10-11T13:58:00.000-05:00

This weekend we celebrated Jillian's 3rd birthday with our family! I can't believe our baby girl is 3 years old!  It was such a wonderful day and such beautiful weather! Thank you to all of our family who came to share Jillian's special day with us. We love you!
Jillian is such a blessing in our lives!  She is such a momma's girl right now, which I love, of course : ) She is smart, sweet, and spunky, all rolled into one. She is also very independent, which can be a bit frustrating at times, but I know we'll be so thankful for that quality as she grows into a young woman.
She does and says the cutest things! Just the other day as we were riding in the car she told me, "Mommy, when I get older, I want a beard, just like Daddy's!" I about had to pull over I was laughing so hard. I explained to her that girls don't have beards, unless you're in the circus, of course. She then told me she just wanted a little beard. Lol! That girl is too funny! She also thinks her middle name is "Bean" now. A few weeks ago I called her Jillian Sue and she said, "My name isn't Jillian Sue, it's Jillian Bean!" I guess that's what we get for calling her Jilly Bean ; )
Some of her favorite things right now are mermaids (she told us she wants to be one when she grows up), cats and dogs, Bubble Guppies, Dora, books, puzzles, crafts, being outside, dancing, and riding in Daddy's Jeep. Her favorite foods are cheese, apples, goldfish, popcorn, M &M's, and Special K bars.  She still sleeps with and rubs her lip with the scraggly pink puppy. I have to wash it several times a week. She's also a big fan of little trinkety toys, like Polly Pocket, Hello Kitty figures, and anything that has to do with animals. She has tons of them! She will have tea parties with them, puts them down for naps, and carries them around in her purse, so cute. She's pretty much given up naps, which is fine with me because if she does nap, she's up until 10:00 or later, yikes. At bedtime, she wants me to sit with her until she falls asleep, so sweet! She's also been sneaking into our bed about halfway through the night. I know they are only little for so long, so I don't mind a little snuggler next to me at night because I know it won't last forever.  Im just curious though, why is it they always migrate to my side of the bed and never Daddy's?!?
Jillian attends a Mom's Day Out one day a week at the Methodist church in town.  It's from 9-1 every Tuesday and she loves it! Her little friend, Lexie, or Waxy (as she so lovingly calls her) goes there, too. The ladies there are wonderful and are such caring, sweet, Christian women who love her like their own. We're so thainkful for that!
For her birthday this year, we bought her a Barbie Jeep! She is in love with it! We gave it to her Saturday, and she has been riding it non-stop ever since. I'm just thankful that she doesn't get her license for another 13 years because she is a crazy woman behind the wheel! She's very skilled at steering, but doesn't always keep her eyes on the road. Must get that from her dad, or her PaPa, lol. PaPa & GiGi got her an outdoor cottage for her birthday! We have it in our sunroom now, since we're so close to cold weather. Both Jonah and Jillian love to play in it! They get along so well at times and can play for hours together, but then they also can irritate each other, lol. Just tonight she said, "Jonah, stop irritating me!"
We are looking forward to the fun and adventures that the 3's bring!
Here are some pictures from her birthday weekend! I didn't take near as many as I wanted, since it was a super busy day. I didn't even get a family picture!

Jillian and her mermaid cake! She actually had a little nibble before the guests arrived...it was her day!

Jonah & The Birthday Girl!

The unveiling of her new Barbie Jeep! It even has a working FM radio! She was so excited!

Off they go!

She was so sweet to share and give her big brother some time behind the wheel!

Sweet Ty Ty was here for the celebration! He is actually visiting for the week while his mommy and daddy are on a cruise!

Blowing out her candles! She sure is windy!

Tyler even tried to take the John Deere out for a spin. This was right before he ran me over while I was trying to get a picture, lol!

An attempt at a group picture of the kiddos with the neat pumpkins that JoJo made! As you can see it was pretty much a failed attempt ; )

There's no place like home!

Go Cards!

2011-09-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

This weekend was our annual Cards~Cubs game with Linds, Jason, Sara, and Tom! The weather was beautiful on Saturday, 60's and sunny. I love fall! My mom was sweet enough to come spend the day with the kiddos. Thanks, Mom! They sure love their GiGi! PaPa was harvesting, so he didn't get to join in on the fun. We sure missed him : ) It just happened to be my birthday Saturday, so we celebrated Redbird style : ) We got tickets on the Coca-Cola deck this game, so we had unlimited food/beverages for the majority of the game. Of course, it was the shortest game ever, but we took full advantage of the freebies. The Cards pulled out a win at the end, barely. After the game, we met my good friend, Jess, her hubby, and her brother at Schlafly to celebrate a little more. What a fun day! Can't wait for our game next year!

Go Cards!

Linds & Jason, the lone Cubs fan

Busch Stadium

The Girls

The Guys

Linds & Sara...Besties!

Sister, Sister!

Lol! Don't even ask! This was some random guy dressed in an orange tux, weird ; )

PaPa's Sunflowers

2011-09-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

This Labor Day weekend, we went to Flora to visit GiGi & PaPa! Linds, Jason, and Tyler were there, too. We had so much fun! The weather was perfect on Saturday for one last day of swimming before PaPa closed the pool, boo! I love fall weather, but get a little sad when the summer comes to an end. PaPa's sunflowers that he planted opened up in time for some pictures on Monday. What a perfect weekend! We get to see everyone again in a few weeks for our annual Cards/Cubs game here in STL...Can't wait!

Just Peachy

2011-09-05T23:17:00.002-05:00

Last week we went to Eckert's Orchard to pick peaches and apples! We had so much fun, even though the honeycrisp apples were slim pickins, no pun intended. They had very few peaches left, too, but the ones they did have were delicious! The honeycrisp apples were yummy, and worth combing through the rotten ones. Jonah is a huge fan of apples! He once ate 3 whole apples in one sitting, no joke! Plus, the cicadas were out in the apple trees, and I was not about to be attacked by one of those, lol. They creep me out! My one and only run-in with one this season was with my friend, Susan. Let's just say there was a vehicle involved, a cicada, and lots of screaming ; ) Here are some pictures from our peach/apple adventure!

Ready for picking!

Tractor Tire Fun

The whole fam on the tractor ride out to the orchard

First peach of the afternoon! There were several more to follow and some apples, too ; )

What a perfect peach!

Workin' Hard

Jonah insisted upon carrying the box, until it got filled up, of course ; )

Getting a lift from Daddy!

Playing hide-and-seek in the trees

Awww, sibling love! Daddy is in the background, contemplating how to get an apple off the top of the tree, lol!

Relaxing before dinner! Apple/Peach picking is hard work!

A Toothy Tale

2011-09-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

Last week Jonah lost his first tooth! He's been anxious to lose a tooth for some time now. Seeing as most of his friends were losing theirs in kindergarten last year. His tooth has been wiggly jiggly for quite sometime and ready to come out. In fact, his permanent tooth was already coming in behind the loose tooth. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually called the dentist to see if this was alright or if the tooth needed to be pulled, lol. Yep, I'm that mom! They did say that if still hadn't fallen out in a week, that I should pull it. Yikes! Jonah wanted either Randy or I to pull it out, but we're apparently both too chicken to do it. Pulling teeth makes me squeamish! I couldn't even pull my own teeth when I was younger. I told Jonah how when I was little, my grandma, Bava, helped me pull my tooth. She sat patiently with me for over an hour while my mom snuck around outside spying on our progress. Of course, then he wanted GiGi to drive over and pull it, lol. Jillian even volunteered to yank it out and, surprisingly, he let her give it a whirl. Still, no tooth : ( Finally, after school last week, I noticed it was really starting to dangle. So he went into the bathroom, gave it a tug, and out it came! He was so proud! The tooth fairy left him a generous gift. It was his first tooth, you know : ) And it was extra special because August 22nd is National Tooth Fairy Day!

First Day of 1st Grade!

2011-08-21T12:55:00.007-05:00

Last Thursday was Jonah's first day of 1st grade! Can't believe he's a first grader! He's even got a loose tooth now! There are only 2 first grade classes, so he has a lot of the same little friends in his class that he had in kindergarten. He was so excited for the first day! We met his teacher, Mrs. Willis, the night before, so he was excited to see her again, too. He set his Star Wars alarm clock the night before and was up and dressed with a big smile on his face by 7:15 : ) Jillian and I drove him to school, walked him to his line and he sat right down, no tears, from anybody, lol. After a hug and a kiss, Jillian and I left the big 1st grader with his friends. I did hang towards the back of the gym, just to be sure he was o.k., and he was perfectly fine. That's the worrier in me ; ) Jillian and I are missing him like crazy during the day, but I'm so happy that he's loving school so much. We are hoping he has another amazing year like he did in kindergarten. I must admit though, we are missing his kindergarten teacher Miss Brown. We were spoiled last year. She was the best! I'm sure Mrs. Willis will be great, too!

Six Flags

2011-08-21T01:05:00.003-05:00

Jonah has been begging us to go to Six Flags the entire summer! He participated in a reading program at school and the reward was a free ticket to the park. It's been so hot, that we've been holding off, waiting for cooler weather. The week before school started, temps were in the low 80's, so we took advantage.
We arrived not long after the park opened, had a picnic, and spent the rest of the day in the park. We were having such a great time that we stayed until almost 7 p.m. The crowds and lines were minimal, well most of the lines. The kids were rockstars all day and didn't complain once, not even when we waited in line for an hour and a half for the Scooby ride (definitely not worth the wait). Jonah even rode his first real rollercoaster, The Mine Train! And surprisingly, Jillian was tall enough to ride quite a few rides, like Thunder River and the Log Flume. The Log Flume was our very favorite! The line was so short that we got to ride it 4 times in a row. It was a terrific day! Jonah and Jillian are already asking to go back : )

Orange Beach 2011

2011-08-20T22:59:00.009-05:00

This summer we took our family vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama! We had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect most of the week, well, besides the 90-100 degree temps. Although, it was no hotter than the weather we've had here in Illinois. Plus, I can deal with the heat if I have the beach, a pool, and a fruity drink ; )
We decided to drive again this year, and it went 100% better than last summer's drive. It's amazing the difference a year can make when you have a toddler ; ) Part of that could be due to the fact Jonah and Jillian both wanted to ride in PaPa's truck the whole way down and back. That's what happens when you have a cool big black truck (as Jillian put it, lol). He even had dvd players installed in the headrests, so they each could watch their own movie. There not spoiled or anything, ha,ha. So a majority of the trip my mom rode along with me in the van, while Randy rode in the truck with PaPa and the kids. I got to ride kid-free a total of 26 hours! I felt a little spoiled, too! Lindsey, Jason, and Tyler opted to fly and meet us down there. And Ty Ty did super on the plane once again : )
The condo we stayed in was beautiful! It had lots of space for the kids to play. It even had a gourmet kitchen, and a grill and hot tub on the balcony. The building also had a fantastic pool and a lazy river. We spent some time at the beach, but a majority of the time was spent at the pool and lazy river. The pool was zero entry and had a waterfall and fountains. Jillian and Tyler had a blast with the fountains, while Jonah, our more advanced swimmer, couldn't get enough of the waterfall and the lazy river. However, he didn't float in a tube in the lazy river, he swam lap after lap in that thing. Wore me out just watching him!
The week went by way too fast, and we wished we could have stayed another week : ( We can't wait for our next vacation together! I'm missing the sand, sun, and fun already!

Jillian's Cozy New Bed

2011-07-28T23:23:00.004-05:00

This week we put Jillian in her big girl bed! She's been in a toddler bed for about a year now, due to the fact she was trying to climb out of her crib when she was around 18 months old. That's our little monkey! The headboard we're using in her room has been in our family for close to 100 years! It was passed down from my great grandmother. Both my mom and my sister used them growing up! It's actually a set of two twin beds, hopefully Lindsey can use the other one for Tyler! Lindsey likes to joke about my parents making her sleep in a twin bed until she was in college, lol.

Jillian absolutely loves her new bed! She told me just tonight, while I was laying with her in it, that it's so comfy and cozy. She's right! I actually dozed off for a bit it was so cozy. As an added bonus, she actually slept until 9:45 this morning in her comfy new bed. Wow! Let's hope that happens again real soon! I also recently painted her room. I tried to talk her into a pale yellow color, but she was adamant that her room was going to be pink, Sugar Plum Fairy pink to be exact. She was right, it looks so cute pink! Here are several pictures of her in her new bed. She was being so cute, I couldn't resist posting them all : )

Ta-Da! Jillian's new room!

Tickled pink!

Awww, it's so snuggly!

Striking a pose with her puppy! Notice her coordinating pajamas and socks...we're going to be in trouble as she gets older ; )

Jonah loves the new bed, too : )

A Summer Family Cookout

2011-07-25T13:56:00.007-05:00

This past weekend my Aunt Jan and Uncle John had us over for a summer cookout! It was so wonderful getting to see everyone and spend the day. This was first time we'd been to their new house, and it was beautiful! It was super hot, so we spent most of the day inside, but did go outside for some water fun. The kids had a blast running through the sprinkler, in their clothes I might add. Who needs a swimsuit! The highlight of Jonah's day was hanging out with my cousin Ryan's dog, Boston. He loved Boston! He walked him, pet him, and was by his side the majority of the day. It was so cute! Tyler even caught a ride on Boston, lol. Jonah has been wanting a dog for a long time, and we've been seriously considering getting one this fall. I grew up having a dog and so did Randy. After seeing him with Boston this weekend, I think we've made our decision....stay tuned for updates ; ) We then went on to Clinton and stayed the night with Heinie Honey. We had such a great visit and were so sad to leave yesterday. We hope to be back soon to visit! Thanks again to my Aunt Jan and Uncle John for a wonderful day!

Grandpa Heinie & the Girls

Grandpa Heinie and the Boys!

The Three Amigos=Trouble ; )

Aunt Pam, Aunt Jan, & My Mom

The Cousins!

Awww, they love Boston!

Jonah and his new buddy, Boston

Free pony rides! It's better than the carnival!

Sweet Tyler

Someone loves their Bink!

Armed and Dangerous

Happy Girl!

A little sprinkler action!

"Yes, I'd like to order a bushel of bananas for delivery!"

We love our Grandpa Heinie!

Well, at least we tried to get a picture ; )

A Night at the Drive-In

2011-07-25T12:47:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we took the kids to the drive-in to see Cars 2! We considered going to the theater, but weren't sure how Jillian would do having to sit still in a seat for that long. I'd say it was a good move, considering she made the back of the van her playground at the drive-in, lol.

It was such a fun night and definitely an experience. If you know me, we brought our own snacks and drinks. Yep, I'm one of those people who brings their own snacks and drinks to the theater, despite the signs that say not to, I think you can do that at the drive-in though. I'm not cheap by any means, I just like to be thrifty or get a good deal. Jonah has called me out several times, which made me feel a tad bit guilty. I learned my lesson last time, I spilled my enormous Sonic drink inside my purse, boo : ( We did however spring for popcorn at the drive-in. And Jillian had her first Sprite, which might explain the sugar rush that ensued, yikes. Jillian was bouncing off the van walls, and Jonah fell asleep about an hour into the movie. Maybe I better rephrase, Jonah AND Randy fell asleep about an hour into the movie, so I was the only one watching the movie, which was not near as good as the first Cars movie. Thank goodness Transformers was on the other screen, so I could catch glimpses of McDreamy every once in a while. I LOVE Patrick Dempsey! My camera battery ran out halfway through the movie, so I don't have pics. of the snoozers. I think we might wait until the kids are a tad bit older for our next drive-in experience : ) I was getting a little sleepy myself!

So excited to be at the drive-in!

Jillian's Silly Face!

Jonah's Silly Face!

Jillian guzzling down her Sprite!

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T16:15:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, Lindsey, Jason, and Tyler came down to spend the holiday weekend with us! It was a scorcher! Between the 90 + temps. and high humidity, it was almost unbearable to be outside. Thankfully it was sunny, and we were able to go the pool on Saturday and enjoy the cool water. On Saturday night, the Kaspers came over, and we enjoyed a yummy steak dinner and fireworks (both compliments of Sara & Tom)! The adults and kids had such a great time! We're looking forward to our annual Cardinal game with them in September! On Sunday, PaPa & GiGi came over for a 4th of July cookout. The weather was a bit cooler, but it rained most of the afternoon. Poor GiGi fell off her bike last week (the bike was a gift from Linds & I for Mother's Day) and fractured her shoulder, so they just stayed for the day not overnight. Lindsey said we should have got her a stationary bike ; ) It was sad to see the fun-filled weekend to come to an end : ( Looking forward to our vacation to Orange Beach with them coming up in August! Here are LOTS of pictures from our weekend!

Our Little Sparklers!

Sweet cousins! I'm amazed we could even get the two littler ones to sit still long enough to get a picture ; )

Daddy and the kids!

Mommy & the kids (Lifting the two of them was my workout for the day, make that month, lol)

A picture with the little firecrackers!

So sweet!

Love his little profile!

Love her! She's a feisty one : )

Lovin' on Ty Ty!

Jonah & Hayden ~ Best Buddies (And yes, that is sweat, it was that hot)

A little cutie and two hot mamas ; )

Sparkler Fun!

Jillian feeding Tyler some Cheerios ; ) So cute!

Father's Day Fun

2011-07-07T13:26:00.004-05:00

We spent Father's Day weekend in Flora this year! Well, actually just the kids and I, along with Lindsey and Tyler. Randy and Jason were actually not there for the Flora Father's Day festivities. They were on a trip to Vegas with my cousins. I'm pretty sure they did their fair share of celebrating that weekend! And we actually celebrated Randy's birthday/Father's Day earlier that week, so don't feel too bad for him, lol. We enjoyed getting to spend the weekend with GiGi & PaPa! It was like the old days, well plus 3 kids ; ) It was rainy and overcast a majority of the weekend, but we still were able to swim one afternoon. Lindsey's good friend from high school, Beth, also came over with her two kiddos, Allie & Gage! The kids had so much fun together : ) We had a wonderful weekend!

PaPa & the Kiddos

The Whole Gang ~ Jonah, Jillian, Gage, Allie, and Ty Ty

Gage & Allie (Beth's kids)

Allie & Tyler

Silly Faces! Jonah & Allie had a blast together!

Snuggles from Tyler

A PaPa Pyramid

Tyler Attack! Tyler thinks Jonah is so funny...they love each other so much!

Summer Sleepover

2011-06-05T00:27:00.004-05:00

Tonight Jillian attended her first sleepover....in her brother's room, lol ; ) The two of them came to me this evening begging to have a summer sleepover in Jonah's room. They were so darn cute, how could we resist! So, we pulled Jillian's mattress into Jonah's room and gave it a go. Jonah did great! He fell asleep about 30 minutes after the slumber party started. Jillian, however, was still running around his room about an hour after Jonah fell asleep, which didn't phase Jonah in the least bit. He must have been exhausted! I went upstairs and gave her one last warning before threatening to put her back in her own bedroom. And what do you know, it worked! She was fast asleep within 5 minutes. Now, we'll see if she stays in there all night or ends up in our bed ; ) The first of so many wonderful memories they will have this summer!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2011-06-04T23:54:00.004-05:00

We signed Jonah up for Coach's Pitch T-Ball this summer! We were lucky enough to get a spot because someone dropped out. Jonah is on a team with his buddies, Brady & Jordy! They are all so cute out there : ) Today was our first game and let me tell you, it was a scorcher! It was at 10 am and the temps were already in the 90's, yikes! They did such a great job! Coach's pitch rules are that they get 3 attempts with a pitcher and then if the don't get a hit, they bring out the tee. Jonah actually got a few hits off the pitcher, woo hoo! And he's super fast at running to retrieve the ball. His whole team is pretty much at the same skill level, which is nice, so they are all learning together and having fun while doing it. And his coach is great, too, very helpful and kind. After the game today, we headed to Edwardsville with the Gunthers to a new brick oven pizza place, yum! Looking forward to our next game on Saturday and hoping for cooler temps!

Jonah out on the field

Up to Bat!

It's a Hit!

Brady & Jonah in their "ready" stance

Man, was it hot!

Jordy rounding third with his Daddy cheering him on!

Jonah on third!

Last Day of Kindergarten

2011-06-04T22:40:00.005-05:00

This past Tuesday was Jonah's last day of kindergarten! It was a bittersweet day. We've been looking forward to summer vacation, but it now means we have a 1st grader : ( 1st grade makes him seem so much more grown up, where as when he was a kindergartener he still seemed so little. Not to mention that we absolutely LOVED his teacher, Miss Brown! She is such a kind, caring, sweet person and provided Jonah with the nurturing that he needed. We're definitely going to miss her! I got teary-eyed when Jonah came home from school on Tuesday and was sad because he didn't realize that he'd have a different teacher and classroom next year. Bless his little heart! He must not be good with change, like his momma ; )
On the last full day they had an end-of-the-year party! My mom and dad kept Jillian after the Memorial Day weekend, so that we could have some one-on-one time with Jonah his last week of school. I got to attend the end-of-the-year party, and it was a blast! They had a mural station, a popsicle station, a yearbook signing station, and, my personal fave, the DJ station. Yes, they actually had a professional dj come and spin the tunes! We did the YMCA, the Hokey Pokey, Twist-and-Shout, and lots of Justin Bieber, lol. Some of the little girls in his class knew all the words to the Bieber tunes, cracked me up. Here are some pictures from the festivities!

Jonah's First Day of Kindergarten ~ August 2010

Jonah's Last Day of Kindergarten ~ May 2011

Jonah & Miss Brown

Jonah & his buddy Hunter

Yee-Haw

2011-05-21T20:19:00.010-05:00

Today we spent the afternoon celebrating our good friend's kid's birthdays at Cornerstone Farms! It was a cowgirl/cowboy themed party, very cute. We had an absolute blast! The weather was gorgeous, no rain, yippee! The kids and adults got a chance to ride horses and explore the farm. It is a really neat place! Thank you, Steve, Jess, & family for inviting us to share this special day : )

Jillian trying to steal back her hat ; )

All the cowboys and cowgirls!

Our Shy Cowboy!

Our Feisty Cowgirl!

Jillian was a little afraid at first, but warmed right up to Duke when she got on to ride : )

Jonah was an old pro!

This was Randy's first time on a horse, no joke! I must admit, I was a little afraid for the horse, lol!

The Sweet Birthday Trio (Brady, Jordy, & Lexie)

Lexie opening her gift!

Jonah petting Stanley!

They LOVED the horses!

Jonah's Birthday ~ The Sequel

2011-05-21T15:42:00.010-05:00

I'm way behind on postings lately, sorry : ) Jillian has decided that afternoon napping is not an everyday necessity for her anymore, ugh. She still naps some days. Thankfully when she does nap it's for about 2-3 hours, so I take advantage of that time by doing fun stuff like laundry and cleaning, ha,ha.
On Jonah's birthday weekend, we went to Flora to PaPa & GiGi's for a small family celebration. PaPa, GiGi, Grandma JoJo, and Grandpa Dan were all in attendance. We had cake and ice cream and went to the farm for some 4-wheeler riding. It was a beautiful day and we had such a wonderful time!

Jonah and his brand new helmet, pretty spiffy!

GiGi, PaPa, & the Birthday Boy

JoJo, Grandpa Dan, & the Birthday Boy

JoJo & Jillian

Jonah & his new Nerf gun! These were the entertainment for the day : )

Jillian LOVED the Nerf gun! She was hilarious and would laugh hysterically after firing off a round of ammo. Now that is scary : )

Sissy Attack!

Blowing out his candles on his Star Wars cake (of course)

The Jillian technique of eating cake ; )

Our 4-Wheelin' Little Buddy & his shadow ; )

PaPa & his little girl buddy

A little mud action!

Brrrrr! A little early in the season for a dip in the pool!

Not even Daddy was man enough to stay in very long, lol!

Jillian's pooltime was short-lived....she opted for a popsicle instead. Do you blame her?!?

Jonah is 6!

2011-05-07T00:13:00.005-05:00

Today our sweet little boy turned 6 years old! I can't believe how fast these 6 years have gone by. He is such a sweet, kind, caring child! He has been acting so grown-up lately, which is super cute, but makes me a little sad, too. He is such a sweetie! Just tonight, after his birthday dinner, Jillian wanted to ride home with Daddy in the jeep and Jonah says to me, "Mom, I'll ride home with you in the van so you don't have to ride home by yourself and you won't be sad." Melted my heart! He was also super snuggly today, too. He kept hugging Randy and I and saying how he was having a great birthday and how much he loved us. Oh, if we could just keep him this age!
He had a wonderful day today! It started out with a pancake birthday breakfast. We also let him open a couple of gifts this morning. Daddy surprised him and went to work later this morning so he could take him to school. Jonah loves his daddy! Jillian and I picked him up for lunch and took him out to Arby's (his choice) and then to a nearby chocolate shop for chocolate covered strawberries, yummy. When we picked him up after school today, he told me it was the best day ever, awww! We let Jonah choose where he wanted to eat and he chose Red Lobster. I think all I've done today is eat, lol. After dinner, we headed home, opened more presents, and made s'mores around the firepit. The perfect ending to the perfect day!
Happy Birthday Sweet Jonah! We love you so very much and hope all your birthdays are as wonderful as this one : )
Tomorrow we are heading to Flora to celebrate with PaPa, GiGi, JoJo, and Grandpa Dan! More pictures to follow!

The Birthday Boy & his Star Wars streamers! He loved these!

Yummy chocolate chip pancakes on the special birthday plate!

The birthday treats he took to school!

Mommy & Jillian at Red Lobster!

Daddy & Jonah at dinner!

They were very intrigued by the lobsters. Jillian kept saying, "We need to feed the lobsters, they're hungry!" Little did she know one of them would end up on Daddy's plate : (

Jonah and his favorite present, his new Nintendo DSi! Yep, we caved and bought him one. He loves it! I guess Jillian is now the proud owner of a Leapster, lol.

Oh, how I love this little boy!

Our sweet little girl! She's just entered into the "cooperating for pictures" stage. Finally! I'm sure I've just jinxed myself ; )

The Birthday Boy!

Birthday Kisses! Love how she's squishing his face while smooching him!

Oh my goodness, a picture where they are both looking at the camera and smiling! It's a birthday miracle!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:24:00.005-05:00

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3
Today we celebrate the greatest gift given to us, the gift of eternal life! How thankful we are for that amazing gift!

We celebrated Easter in O'Fallon with just our little family this year! Jillian was sick yesterday with the stomach bug, so I was nervous that would continue throughout today, thank goodness it was a 24-hour thing. The kids awoke at a reasonable hour this morning. Praise the Lord, momma and daddy needed some extra sleep ; ) They were so excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. They each got a Razor scooter, kites, and Play-doh sets, along with a lot of candy! Since the weather was so yucky, we had to have our easter egg hunt inside, which worked out well. After breakfast we headed out for church. It was an amazing service! After church we had planned on going out for Easter dinner, however, Jonah had other plans. When Randy went to pick him up from Sunday School, he looked pale and puny : ( Poor buddy, he apparently was suffering from the same stomach bug Jillian had yesterday, and I wasn't feeling the greatest either. Jonah never gets sick, so when he went straight to bed, instead of playing with his Easter goodies, I knew he was really sick. Needless to say, Jonah and I spent the majority of the afternoon sleeping. I think we're both feeling better this evening! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your loved ones!

Our Easter Cuties!

Jonah, Jillian, & Mommy!

Jonah, Jillian, & Daddy!

Somebody is excited about the Easter Bunny!

Jonah & his new scooter! He looks so grown-up here!

Jillian & her new lil' scooter! It's pink, of course!

Jillian on the hunt for eggs!

Jonah clearly on an mission! He was so good to let his little sister find some, too : )

Examing the contents of the eggs! Notice Jillian getting ready to devour a chocolate egg...she's so much like her momma ; )

Awww, poor little NaNa! Jillian insisted upon snuggling up next to him and rubbing his head, saying, "It'll be ok, little buddy!" So sweet!

Everyone Smiles in the Same Language

2011-04-06T14:39:00.004-05:00

Jonah recently made his stage debut in the kindergarten musical at his school! He did a great job! He actually had lines! I was afraid he would get stage fright and freeze up when he got in front of the microphone, but he surprised us all. He remembered all of his lines and said them so clearly. He also had a part playing the xylophone! We tried to get as many pictures as we could, but our seats weren't very good. Plus, we had to keep Jillian from running up on stage, lol! She kept yelling Jonah's name and would take off towards the risers. She loves her big brother!

Right after saying his lines! He was so proud of himself and so were we!

Singing with his class!

"Great Job, Jonah!" She loves her some NaNa (her nickname for him)

Four-Wheelin' on the Farm

2011-04-06T13:29:00.008-05:00

PaPa had a big surprise for Jonah this last weekend! He took us out to the farm, whipped open the machine shed, and there sat a shiny new kid-sized 4-wheeler. Jonah was definitely surprised, as were GiGi and I (it was a surprise to us, also, lol). Jonah spent most of the day Saturday testing out his riding skills. He got a cool helmet for it, too, but it was a tad too big, so a smaller one is on order. He used his bicycle helmet for the time being. Of course, we made him watch the safety dvd that went along with it and by the end of the dvd, he was telling PaPa the rules of ATVing. "PaPa, you're supposed to take the key out of the ignition when it is not in use!" "PaPa, do you see this picture, two people aren't supposed to ride on it together!" Oh, my little rule follower : ) Maybe I should put together a dvd for rules at home, lol. Jillian had fun cruising around with GiGi on Saturday in her new Volkswagon convertible. It is so cute and so little (as Jonah told us). Don't worry, she still has her suburban so she can haul all of us around. She has wanted a VW bug forever! It was her first car when she was 16. We can't wait for summer! We had such a fun visit with GiGi & PaPa!
This weekend was also a baby shower luncheon for one of my dear friends from high school, Shanda, who is expecting a sweet baby boy anytime now. It was great to get to visit with old friends, their kiddos, and see Shanda's cute little baby belly!
Randy didn't get to come with us this visit because he was studying for his PMP exam, which I'm happy to report that he passed with flying colors! Woo Hoo! No more late night studying for him.

An action shot on the 4-wheeler!

Such a happy boy with his new set of wheels!

The perfect size! I think Tyler might even be ready for a ride, just kidding Linds!

Lovin' their PaPa!

Jillian insisted upon having a seat! Of course, she did not actually get to ride it while it was moving. I might not let her ride one until she's 16! She's our wild, daredevil child!

GiGi's new set of wheels!

Shanda's Baby Shower Luncheon!

Date Night

2011-03-21T13:28:00.005-05:00

A few weekends ago, we had a night out on the town with our good friends, Jess & Steve! We went to dinner at Maggiano's, yummy! Randy had never been before, so he was initiated into the family style club, lol. We had such a great time and ate way too much, but how can you go to Maggiano's and not eat way too much. We had lots of leftovers, which was nice because I didn't have to cook for 2 whole nights, now that's a treat : ) Can't wait to paint the town again!

Monster Jam

2011-03-15T21:45:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Randy surprised Jonah with tickets to the monster truck show! They had a blast watching a bunch of big trucks doing tricks and crashing into each other (that's my very official description of the event). Jonah loved it! Jillian was a bit sad that she didn't get to go, too : ( She kept saying, "I want to see the monter (she omits the "s") trucks!" Lol! Apparently, she too is a fan of monster trucks ; ) I guess next year we will be taking them both!

The boys all ready for their big night out on the town!

Superman in action!

I thought this one was so funny!

I'm sure they were going for the tough look, but really, a truck with a mohawk?!?

Mighty Ball

2011-03-14T14:06:00.005-05:00

Jonah participated in his first organized sport this winter! His team consisted of 8 kids ages 4 & 5. They started out each week doing drills like, passing, dribbling, and shooting, and then would play a 15-20 minute 4-on-4 game. We were so excited to see how he would do out on the court, especially since his PaPa played high school and college b-ball. And how can we forget, his momma was the West Richland high school and jr. high b-ball coach, lol. He did great with the drills and is pretty coordinated when it comes to dribbling and passing. The challenge came when he got out on the court during the game. There were some pretty aggressive kids out there! Not to mention aggressive parents in the stands, which I know only gets worse. And Jonah, being a lot like me, does not have an aggressive personality. He was more concerned with sharing the ball with others. What a sweet, caring boy! I must say though, he was the fastest runner on the team. He'd get up and down that court lickety-split! I'm thinking cross-country or track might be his sport. It was a great experience for him, and we're still not giving up on him becoming a basketball player. I mean, he is only 5 ; ) We just wanted him to have fun and learn to work as a team, and he did just that! At the end of the season, each child received a cute little bobble-head trophy with their name on it. I honestly think that might have been his favorite part of the whole experience, ha,ha. He was so proud!

Storytime with Jonah

2011-03-14T13:33:00.003-05:00

Jonah has become quite the little reader! One of his favorite things to do is to read to his little sister : ) He even writes mini-books that he loves reading to her, too!

A captive audience! The Big Red Barn is one of their favorite books. It reminds them of GiGi & PaPa : )

Reading one of his own creations! I think it had something to do with raindrops falling on Jillian's head, lol.

Someone is sleepy! I think he's faking it ; )

Slumber Buddies

2011-02-18T22:04:00.004-06:00

Jonah had his buddy Grant over to spend the night Thursday night! They had the best time! We went and picked Grant up in Fenton Thursday afternoon, that way we got to see Susan, Mara, & Hannah, too. We even got to see Grace, Sharon's (Susan's twin sister) little sweetie ; )
The boys were so cute and got along so well the entire time they were together. They even let Jillian in on the fun, for a little bit, lol. She loves Grant! They spent the evening doing what boys love to do, playing Wii, tag, Star Wars Legos, and Pop N' Race Scooby. They went to bed fairly early, or so I thought. I went up several times to tell them it might be time to catch some z's. Finally, at 10:30, I peeked in to find them both sound asleep. Grant actually slept until 8:45 the next morning, which Susan said he never does for her. Sorry Susan, I'm sure if you let him stay up until 10:30, he'd sleep in for you ; )
Friday we ate yummy Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast. We let Grant choose what we had for breakfast and, of course, he chose donuts. Grant is a huge fan of donuts! It's really very cute! I mean, really, do you blame him? He even asked for a year's supply of donuts for Christmas this year, no joke! He's a funny boy! After our delicious breakfast, we rode our bikes to the school park, played there for a while, went and got lunch at McD's and then came home and played outside again since the weather was so springlike. What a fun day!

The boys in their matching Lego Star Wars pjs. Those boys love Star Wars!

A fun game of Pop N' Race Scooby

Ready for bed! They sure had me fooled ; )

Fun on the school playground!

What a big girl! She loves to slide!

Tyler's First Birthday!

2011-02-17T20:09:00.003-06:00

A few weekends ago (I know, I'm way behind on posting) was Tyler's 1st birthday party! Can't believe he's one! Seems like yesterday I was driving like a mad woman up to Chicago to hold that adorable snuggly bundle : ) He is such a sweet little boy and always has a smile on his chubby little face! We had such a great time! GiGi and PaPa were there, and so were Cousin Misslissa and Auntie Dre' ; ) We are so lucky to get to see Ty Ty (and Linds & Jason) so often, even though they live in Chicago! We love you!

The birthday boy and his mommy and daddy!

What a sweet little face!

Mmmm! I love cake!

After having a little more of this sugary stuff, I am not impressed ; )

Tyler's Cake

My mom & I

This girl is a big fan of cake!

Snuggling up with PaPa!

Gotta have some GiGi time, too

Hey, save some snuggles for me, GiGi!

Awww, so sweet!

The Little Party Animal!

Linds, Melissa, and Andrea

Ty Ty loves his Auntie!

I think Tyler needs to come stay with his favorite auntie for a while ; )

Igloo

2011-01-30T15:55:00.004-06:00

Jonah and Daddy built a snow igloo/fort the other day before all of the snow melted! They worked several hours out in the cold constructing their masterpiece. I must say, I was pretty impressed with the final product and so was the UPS man who stopped to check it out, lol ; )

The Eagle Has Landed

2011-01-22T22:18:00.005-06:00

Today PaPa and GiGi came over to spend the day with us! We had such a fun day planned! We headed over to the Alton/Grafton area to do some eagle watching. I'm not a fan of cold weather and the thought of standing out in the frigid temps watching for common birds would be ridiculous, but they were bald eagles! We even learned some fun facts about the bald eagle. They migrate to this area in the winter, crazy, I know, since it is freezing, but they come from Canada, so it is a tad bit warmer here. They also don't get their white "bald" head until they are mature. And my last nerdy bird fact, the largest bald eagle nest discovered was 12 ft. deep, 8 1/2 feet wide, and weighed close to 2 tons! Now that's a bird mansion!

Our first stop on our excursion was a bird sanctuary where we spotted a few in the trees and tried to get some pics. with our zoom lens, but they turned out blurry. We actually thought the eagle watching might be a bust, so our next stop was for a birthday lunch for GiGi (her birthday is next week). A friend of mine took her family eagle watching last week and suggested this neat restaurant called The Fin Inn (Thanks, Shara!). It was really yummy and had a neat atmosphere! And a bonus, each table had an aquarium (see picture below). Our aquarium even came complete with a giant turtle! Jonah was fascinated with it, and it kept Jillian's attention for about 2 minutes (it was way past her lunchtime and naptime, which explains the tantrum that later ensued), lol. After lunch, we spotted some cars pulled over, and we got a chance to see more bald eagles!

In the end, our eagle watching turned out to be a success : ) We had such a fun day and were sad when PaPa and GiGi had to head home. Thanks for coming and spending the day with us, PaPa and GiGi! We miss you already! Although, we do get to see them in 2 weeks at Ty Ty's 1st birthday party in Chicago : )

Snuggling with PaPa & GiGi to keep warm : )

A bald eagle in flight!

This was the best picture we could get without a stronger lens, decent, but a little blurry.

A cute little bird on the snowy/icy Mississippi River

Our fancy aquarium table! The big turtle was to the lower left of Jillian. As you can see, Jonah was very interested, while Jillian was more interested in the camera ; )

Three bald eagles resting in a tree on a cold January day

The Grafton Lighthouse

Snow Day

2011-01-20T13:45:00.004-06:00

Today was yet another snow day for Jonah! We love snow days! He was so excited that he climbed into our bed very early this morning asking if Mr. Keller (his principal) had called yet, lol. Thank goodness he fell back asleep, until almost 9:00! We had a yummy breakfast of Star Wars pancakes, and then we bundled up in our snow gear (a 20-minute process) and headed out into the snow. Jillian hasn't been out in the snow in a while, so she was a little cautious, but she sure looked cute in her little pink snowsuit. She got her mittens snowy and did not like that at all, lol. Plus, the snow was pretty deep, so she had trouble walking in her snow boots.We spent about an hour outside taking sled rides, digging in the snow with shovels, swinging, and building a snowblob, I mean snowman ; ) We then came inside and warmed up with hot chocolate and marshmallows. What a fun, snowy day!

All bundled up in our snow gear!

It sure is cold out here!

Swinging in the snow is fun!

They loved the snowman, even though it was more of a lump, lol. However, Jillian was not happy when I made her sit in the snow.

Frosty! The snowman's attire is compliments of Aunt Joni, Kyle, & Evan : )

Jonah is a big fan of the snow!

Jonah's snow angel : )

Warming up with hot chocolate!

Icy Fun

2011-01-17T21:40:00.006-06:00

This afternoon, we headed over to the outdoor ice skating rink in Forest Park! Jonah has been begging to go ever since he went last year. Jillian and I tagged along, while the boys did the skating. Jillian kept saying, "I want to skate, too!" And that girl was serious! I spent most of the time chasing her around trying to keep her from going out on the ice in her shoes. She was bound and determined to skate today, lol. Jonah and Randy took an icy tumble twice, so Jonah was done after about 4 times around. I think next time we'll get a sitter for Jillian (until she's old enough to join in on the fun), so I can help Jonah out on the ice, too. Randy goes more for speed and power, not precision, typical linebacker, ha,ha. We finished out the night at a yummy hamburger place in the Delmar Loop called Blueberry Hill. What a fun way to spend a dreary January afternoon!

The Skating Duo!

I think I'll join in on the fun, after I put on my Daddy's gloves : )

Skating can really wear a boy out!

Our Icy Cuties!

Jillian was jumping in the puddles and was not thrilled about her pantleg getting wet, as you can tell from her facial expression.

Ummm, hello Mom, it's my turn to skate!

John Deere Pink!?!

2011-01-08T11:54:00.003-06:00

Jillian just recently decided that she will choose what she's going to wear on a daily basis! I was hoping this didn't start until she was in her teens, lol, but she's our feisty one with a mind of her own. Today she went to her drawer and pulled out her new pink John Deere shirt, compliments of PaPa : ) As she pulled the shirt out, she said, "I wear John Deere shirt, PaPa really like it!" How could you deny that request with such a cute little explanation : )

A Long Time Ago

2011-01-06T13:27:00.004-06:00

In a galaxy far, far away....

Little boys ate storm troopers for breakfast!

This pancake mold was one of Jonah's fun Christmas gifts from his Aunt Jan & Uncle John! The perfect companion to the Star Wars plate set that Santa brought him : )

Can you tell he's a big fan of Star Wars?!?

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T16:20:00.011-06:00

Happy New Year! Sorry this took me so long to get posted, but we've been out of town and then had Jason, Linds, Tyler, & GiGi visiting this past week. Plus, Tyler, Jonah, Jillian, and I have been fighting colds this past week. Ty Ty and Jillian both had ear infections : ( We're finally on the mend and out of our pj's : )
We had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend lots of time with family! We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at our house and then traveled to Flora for Christmas Day. It was a beautiful snowy day, a real white Christmas!
The kids were so cute on Christmas morning! Jonah woke up before Jillian and was super excited to see that Santa had fulfilled his wish of a Star Wars speeder and tanker train car. He was also thrilled to see that Santa had brought Jillian a dollhouse. I think he loves it just as much as she does, lol. Jillian woke up not long after and was also excited to see her new dollhouse. However, I think she might have been just as excited about the chocolate Santas she found in her stocking. She must get that from her momma : ) Growing up, my parents ruined us in the chocolate department. They made the mistake of turning Lindsey and I into fans of Fannie May from the start. So, I had to carry on the tradition, of course. It's hard to find Fannie May chocolate here in STL (apparently, this is Godiva country), so I had to order it online. Crazy, I know, but so worth it! I've been snacking on Santa's all week long, not a good thing, as my jeans recently told me.
We were so lucky to get to see our whole extended family on Christmas Day! They spoiled Tyler, Jonah, and Jillian with all the presents. We got to stay and spend several days after Christmas with PaPa and GiGi. When my mom brought Linds, the kiddos, and I back last week, we couldn't fit it all in the suburban. We're so blessed to have so many wonderful relatives who love us so much!
Jonah goes back to school on Wednesday, which makes me sad because we've loved having him home all day with us. We're looking forward to his next day off already!
Here are MANY pictures from our Christmas! Enjoy!

Jonah & Jillian on Christmas Eve before church

Jonah's last picture with Timmy the Elf before he headed back to the North Pole

Jillian enjoying a nutritious breakfast....a chocolate Santa!

One Happy Boy!

Jonah & Jillian's new John Deere teepee!

Little Drummer Girl & Boy

PaPa, Jonah (who is pretending to sleep), Jillian, and their Pillow Pets (this might have been their favorite gift from PaPa & GiGi, lol)

Jonah and his new guitar! We are actually going to get him started with some lessons! Who knows, maybe he'll be the next Kenny Chesney, or even better, Kenny Rogers ; )

Daddy & Jonah

Mommy & Jonah

I love my Pillow Pet!

Aunt Joni, Tyler, & Evan (background guy, lol)

Tom, Aunt Mary, & Nancy

Lindsey, Jason, & Misslissa (what Jonah & Jillian so lovingly call their sweet cousin)

Two Cooking Mommas!

Sheila & Grandpa Lager

I'll take those glasses, Kyle! Tyler loves his cousins, Kyle & Evan!

Ty Ty & his new tractor! He's such a big boy now!

Heinie Honey & the grandkids

(Minus Ryan, who was in Chicago for Christmas this year. We missed you, Ryan!)

Grandpa Lager & the grandkids

Christmas with the Maces

2010-12-23T22:08:00.007-06:00

Today we traveled to Fenton to spend the day with our dear friends, the Maces! We miss them so much since they've moved! Luckily, it's not too far of a drive, so we still get to see them : ) We had a fabulous day! Susan and I got some much needed girl bonding/chat time, and the kiddos had a blast playing together! Jonah and Grant spent all day doing what boys do best, lightsabering, 4-wheeler/motorcycle/scooter riding (in the basement, complete with a mini-ramp that Mike built), decorating sugar cookies, and watching Star Wars. Jonah really misses his little buddy Grant! Jillian and Hannah had some little girl bonding time, too. They watched Dora, played in a pop-up tunnel, took turns using the potty and washing their hands (a favorite activity, lol) and pushed their babies in strollers. They are so sweet together! Hannah took a great nap, while Jillian opted out of a nap yet again. Mike stayed home with the boys and Hannah, while Jillian went out exploring Fenton with the mommies. Mara, our little social butterfly, had a birthday party to attend. Thankfully, we got to spend some quality time with her later in the afternoon : ) She is such a sweet girl and was full of hugs and snuggles! She is wonderful with Jillian and helped soothe her when she had a case of the no-nap meltdowns. Randy and I decided we might just borrow her for a week or two, or three ; ) Randy joined us after work for a yummy taco dinner compliments of Chef Mike. Mike is famous for his delicious tacos and guacamole! We can't wait to see the Mace family again! Maybe we'll make it a slumber party next time ; )

Best Buddies Forever!

Hannah loves Jonah! I think she has a bit of a Jonah crush. She got all giggly and shy around him. He is so sweet to her, too : )

Jillian's favorite part of the cookie is the icing and sprinkles!

Woah there! Let's have some cookie with our sprinkles!

Mara, the expert cookie decorator : )

Grant, the expert cookie eater : )

Hannah, the precise sprinkler!

Watching the Polar Express movie theater style! They even have stadium seating at the Mace's!

Jonah's sprinkled cookie masterpiece! I think it actually might have been even too sweet for him, as evident by the slightly nibbled corner.

The little girls hand-in-hand jumping off the bottom step! They were easily entertained by this fun activity.

My sweet friend Susan and I!

These boys love their daddies! Grant has wanted a picture of them with their daddies for quite a while. Wish granted!

The whole gang! What a sweet bunch of Christmas cuties!

Christmas with JoJo & Grandpa Dan

2010-12-21T23:57:00.007-06:00

This past weekend JoJo & Grandpa Dan came to celebrate Christmas with us! We had such a fun day! We had lunch, opened gifts, and spent the whole afternoon playing with all the new toys ; ) Jillian even decided to forgo her nap to stay up and party! She was amazingly happy and sweet, even without a nap! Thank you to JoJo & Grandpa Dan for all the wonderful presents and coming to spend the day with us!

Jillian with her new Peachie pup! I'm sure she was pretending to go shopping, probably at Target ; )

Kisses for Peach

Tickles from JoJo

Jonah snuggling with JoJo

Randy, Dan, & Peach

Wow! I'm really good at opening presents!

She was a happy girl when she saw Dora!

Mommy & Jillian cuddling by the tree!

Jillian will sit in your lap all day if you read books to her!

The Train that Jonah Built (Jonah and Daddy took a train building class at Lowe's and Jonah loved it, and Randy did, too!)

This toy bin would make a great hiding spot...maybe not!

What a dainty eater, lol ; ) If it were socially acceptable, I'd probably eat my favorite red velvet cupcake just like this!

Our Christmas Dinner! And no Christmas dinner is complete without Sonic drinks : )

Jillian the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2010-12-14T12:18:00.002-06:00

Today, when I picked Jillian up from Parent's Morning Out, this is what I found....

A cute little reindeer!

Giving her puppy some love! She carries this puppy everywhere! I actually found another one just like it and had to buy it, just in case we ever needed a replacement pup ; )

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-12T15:09:00.002-06:00

Pretty Pink Tootsies

2010-12-10T10:38:00.005-06:00

I had some fingernail polish sitting out on the counter this morning, when Jillian came to me and said, "Please paint toes, Mommy!" So what's a good OPI (brand of polish) lovin' momma to do...paint my sweet girl's toes! I couldn't deny her the request of wanting pretty feet : ) Amazingly, she sat still the entire time and watched with wide eyes as I polished her little toes. She is thrilled with her pink tootsies and can't stop looking at them. So cute!

Tiny pink toes!

I couldn't resist this cute pose! She was watching Dora on her belly and had her feet crossed : )

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2010-12-08T22:26:00.004-06:00

Well, not the winner of a chicken dinner, per say, but the winner of this cool super hero! Yes, Jonah actually won one of those games that you normally put $20 into only to get a frustrated, crying child as the end result. Not Jonah, he was a winner! And I think he only spent about $1.50! Never thought I'd ever get teary eyed over my sweet boy winning "The Claw" game, but I did. He was so proud of himself and shocked to say the least. He kept saying, "I just can't believe I won! I don't know how I did it, but I just did!" It was so darn cute and so sweet! He finally admitted that he acquired the skills while watching an episode of Sponge Bob. You know, the one where Sponge Bob repeatedly wins "The Claw" game, and Squidward repeatedly feeds money into the machine only to be mocked by "The Claw". I must admit that I am not a fan of the little yellow sponge and rarely do I let Jonah watch it, but in this case he actually learned something, well sort of ; ) He tried to win his little sissy one, too, but wasn't quite as lucky. Here's my proud boy with his super hero friend!

Dear Santa,

2010-12-08T14:45:00.003-06:00

I would like a Lego Star Wars ship, a puppy, and for you to please let my sister off of your lap!

Love,

Jonah & Jillian

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-07T21:36:00.009-06:00

For Thanksgiving Day this year, we went to JoJo & Grandpa Dan's house! They fixed a yummy turkey dinner, and we ate until we were stuffed. We got to see lots of family and friends that we only really get to see once a year. Randy's Uncle Jerry & Aunt Mary were there, too! We always enjoy getting to visit with them, they are so sweet. Thank you JoJo & Dan for the wonderful day!

On Friday morning, Randy tried his hand at Black Friday. I told him he'd have to get up way earlier than 5 a.m. to even have a chance at any big ticket items, needless to say, he didn't listen, lol. So, he pretty much woke up, went to Target, saw the huge line wrapped around the store, hopped in the car, got some new work shirts at the mall, and then headed home. Thus ended his Black Friday adventure. Meanwhile, the kiddos and I were snug in our beds ; )
On Friday afternoon, PaPa, GiGi, Lindsey, Jason, & Tyler came and spent the rest of the weekend here in STL! We had so much fun! We did some shopping, lots of eating, and went to see Santa. The guys were sweet enough to entertain the kiddos two days in a row, while my mom, Linds, & I shopped 'til we dropped. We're not big into fighting the crowds, but it worked out that most people did their shopping Friday morning, so the stores weren't crowded at all. I love our long weekends together!

Snuggling with Grandma JoJo & Grandpa Dan

Mmmm! Yummy turkey!

First snow of the season!

Our sweeties in their Christmas jammies! We had to bribe Jillian with fruit snacks to even sit there, so we weren't surprised when only 1 out of the 3 was actually looking at the camera, lol ; )

Jason was giving Tyler a bath, and Jillian took off her clothes and jumped into the tub. She wanted to join in on the fun! Tyler was amused : )

I Love My Mommy!

Jonah always loves a picture with Ty Ty!

And his Auntie Linds, of course ; ) He's becoming quite the little "poser" when the camera comes out!

Christmas kisses for GiGi! Tyler & his favorite Aunt!

So happy to be snuggling with PaPa! Love his hair in this picture. He's so GQ! I actually put a little gel in it to really bring out the curl ; )

Love this picture of Jonah & GiGi! Jonah looks so tall, kind of makes me sad...can't he just stay little!

Fall Zoo Fun

2010-11-14T21:05:00.005-06:00

The day after Veteran's Day, we got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather with a trip to the zoo! I can't believe it was in the 70's at the beginning of November, crazy weather I tell you! It was the perfect day for the zoo, there were no crowds at all. Here are some pictures from our fun day!

Those cute sea otters look familiar!

Jillian loves fishies!

This enormous goat made himself right at home on this bench!

Jillian made a new friend, a furry baby goat!

There's something about a carousel that makes everyone smile...

Even our most fiesty subject!

They were intrigued with the monkeys, and the monkeys were pretty curious about them, too!

Jonah & Mommy waiting on the train! I love this sweet boy!

My boys love trains!

And so does our sweet little girl!

Jonah loves to climb rocks! It made for a cute picture, too! I thought for a brief moment about getting Jillian up there, but knew that would probably result in a tumble into the fountain below with her monkey-like tendencies ; )

Trick-Or-Treat 2010

2010-10-31T21:17:00.006-05:00

Tonight we went to the Mace's for their annual Halloween bash! The Browns are also regular attendees of the party. We've done our trick-or-treating in their neighborhood for several years now, and we always have the best time! We're very sad that they are going to be moving to Missouri soon, but know we'll get to see them lots. We've made so many wonderful memories over the years and know there will be many more to come. What a fun night!

Our cute, sweet little kitty!

Jillian loved her costume, but wasn't thrilled about the face paint. I did get some good pictures before she smeared her cute pink nose and whiskers ; )

Commander Cody ready to battle Droids! What a cute trooper stance! Love our little Clone Trooper!

Allie & Josh (a.k.a. Jesse & Woody) So cute! Allison even had glittery red boots! And Joshua told me that I needed to call him Woody, not Joshua. Funny boy!

Jonah as Commander Cody, Mara as Princess Leia, & Grant as Captain Rex!

Mara looked so cute in her fake bun headpiece! And the boys were so proud of their clone trooper costumes. They were defending the Republic the whole evening.

May the Force be with you!

Hannah Banana as Tinkerbell! What a cutie! She is such a mini-Mara!

Our Family Halloween Portrait! I'm not sure when we'll get a picture when everyone is looking and smiling at the same time, lol.

The Brown Family! They always take a great picture!

The Mace Family! Another great picture and they even have 3 kiddos to all look and smile at the same time!

The Whole Gang!

The Girls!

Dinner Time Fun!

On a mission to bring home lots of candy!

Miss Independent!

Candy makes me happy!

Pumpkin Buddies

2010-10-27T14:40:00.005-05:00

Today was Jonah's fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch! My sweet friend Shoo-shun (as Jillian so lovingly calls her) kept Jillian for me, so I was able to go along as a chaperone. What a fun morning! Jonah was so sweet and proud of his momma being there. His little buddy Hunter G. (Jonah actually calls him that) must have been excited I was there, too. He kept peeking around the bus seat saying, "Hi, Jonah's mom!" Hunter lives a street over from us, and somehow we never knew this until they started kindergarten. I had a wonderful group of kiddos! Our little neighbor friend, Elliott was in our group, along with Jillian's gymnastics teacher's little girl, Avery. They were all so well behaved and super sweet! Their 4th grade buddies tagged along, too. I finally got to meet Jonah's buddy, Chase. He was a great kid and talked my ear off on the way to the patch. Let's just say I know most of Chase's life story from birth to present ; ) All-in-all the 4th graders were well behaved. A couple got a little silly there at the end, but I'm sure it was from all the excitement of the morning.
I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom and wouldn't trade it for the world! Today was just a little taste of what being back in the classroom would be like, and I think when that day comes, I'll be sad, but I'll be o.k. : ) However, right now, I'm loving every minute of being home with my sweet babies!

Jonah & Chase, his 4th grade buddy!

They got to pick a pumpkin from the patch, but only one small enough that they could carry. I may have to use that rule for future visits : )

This lady really threw herself whole-heartedly into her job! She was awesome!

On the hunt for the perfect pumpkin!

Clapping along to some pumpkin patch jams!

One of the llamas at the petting zoo! It reminded me of Jillian, cute and sweet as can be, but a little bit fiesty, lol!

All Aboard

2010-10-26T21:26:00.008-05:00

This past weekend, we went to the Museum of Transportation with our wonderful friends, the Gunthers! It was a great day! All the kiddos had a blast, and the adults did, too, especially our lunch at Rib City. I think Jess and I might have been more excited about the bbq than the trains, lol. The train museum was really neat! We rode a little train, then also got to ride on an old electric trolley. Here are some pictures from our fun day!

The Boys!

Daddy & his sweet little girl

I'm not as big a fan of trains as Randy and Jonah, but I thought this was neat because it looked like the Polar Express!

Daddy & Jonah with an old red caboose!

Jonah has a new train book that has a caboose log in the back. He added this picture and train sticker to it : )

The locomotive that we rode in to take a scenic tour!

Sweet little Lexie enjoying the trolley ride!

Ellis Family Train Picture

Gunther Family Train Picture

They actually had a train in their picture! I should have thought of that for ours, lol.

The boys on the back of a caboose, too cute!

Jillian & Mommy hand-in-hand enjoying the trains

Leave it to Jillian to turn a train light switchboard into a monkey bar, lol. That's my girl!

Ready...Set...Pull! The boys using a little teamwork to ring the train bell!

Maybe if I swing on the rope, the bell will ring! Nope ; )

Swiper, No Swiping!

2010-10-25T09:07:00.005-05:00

Jillian absolutely LOVES Dora the Explorer! She's never really been interested in watching tv, until she discovered Dora. Here's her version of the theme song from Dora! I love how Jonah is sitting behind her, legs crossed, eating a snack, just enjoying the entertainment ; )

An Afternoon at Eckert's

2010-10-22T13:32:00.004-05:00

Down (and Out) on the Farm

2010-10-21T22:47:00.009-05:00

A few weekends ago, we made a trip to Flora to celebrate Jillian's birthday and do some farming! PaPa was harvesting soybeans and the kids were anxious to help him out on the combine. Jillian loved riding with PaPa on the combine! Jonah loves riding on the combine, too, if PaPa is harvesting corn, not soybeans. Apparently, Jonah has a severe allergy to soybean dust. After making one round on the combine with PaPa, Jonah started itching, and he broke out in hives all over his face, mainly his eyes. They actually were almost swollen shut. Since the reaction was so severe, and on his face, we opted to take him the ER. I was afraid he was suffering from anaphylaxis. The ER doctor checked him out and he had no swelling in his mouth or throat. Hallelujah! The benadryl and shower we had given him immediately after the incident seemed to be working, so no shots were needed. He concluded that it must just be an allergy to the soybean dust and not the soybean itself, seeing he eats food products with soy and has no reaction. This had happened in the early summer too, just not as severe. We thought he had a reaction to eyedrops that we had put in his eyes after swimming, when in reality he had just been to the farm while PaPa was getting ready to disc up the soybean field. So from this point on, Jillian and Tyler will have to do the soybean planting and harvesting, while Jonah will solely be a corn farmer. Either that or he'll have to wear a Hazmat suit while combining soybeans ; )

Jillian's First Combine Ride! She loved it!

Thanks, PaPa for sharing your chips with me ; )

Poor Jonah! And this looks good compared to what it looked like earlier : (

Just lounging around on the deck!

I love my GiGi!

Not too sure about the wooly worm

Jillian's new set of wheels

Jonah got to ride Little Toot and meet author Lando Brown!

By the Little Toot train bridge

Storytime with PaPa! This has been a favorite activity of Jonah's and PaPa's since Jonah was just a little baby, so sweet.

It's a leaf ambush!

Jillian's Birthday Celebration~Part Two

2010-10-17T13:54:00.013-05:00

This past weekend was Jillian's birthday party! We had a wonderful time! Lots of our family celebrated her special day with us. They were so sweet to spoil her with lots of love and neat presents. She had so much fun! Thank you to all of our family for spending the day with us and making her birthday extra special! We love you! Now get ready for a whirlwind of pictures!

The Birthday Girl

Jillian's Pretty Kitty cake

Birthday Love from GiGi

Snuggle time with Ty Ty

I love my Grandpa Heinie

Jillian showing Sheila her "pretties"

Kisses from Aunt Joni

Grandpa Lager & Sheila came to celebrate with us

Snuggling with PaPa

Jillian loved when we sang Happy Birthday : )

Looks like were ready to do a kickline, lol

Aunt Jan & Jillian just a rockin' away!

JoJo, Grandpa Dan, Randy, and Jonah enjoying lunch on the deck

I love my Auntie Linds!

JoJo & the kids outside enjoying the sunshine

Heinie Honey, Linds, & I

Love this picture of Tyler's little grin

Happy Little Family

I've got a snuggie now, too!

Sheila made Jillian a cute little snuggie of her own...what a thoughtful gift!

Handpainted Pumpkins by JoJo

Jillian's Birthday Celebration ~ Part One

2010-10-09T00:03:00.009-05:00

To celebrate Jillian's birthday yesterday, we went to the zoo with some wonderful friends! We were lucky enough to get to spend the day with Susan, Colleen, Sharon, and all their sweet kiddos. Colleen, Susan's neighbor, joined in on the fun and was super helpful with the boys. I've been doubly blessed to have found a best friend in Susan, which then led to a friendship with Sharon (Susan's twin sister). I think it's cute that their names are Susan and Sharon, just like The Parent Trap, one of my favorite movies : ) We had a great time! By the time we returned home, it was naptime. Jillian took a power nap and was ready to get back to celebrating. She opened her gifts and then we went out for a birthday dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (Jonah's choice). We came home, ate cupcakes, took baths, and watched Dora. The perfect ending to the perfect day! Happy Birthday Jillian!!! We love you!

The whole gang, minus Colleen, she was taking the picture

Our tour guides for the day! The boys loved their maps!

All the kiddos! Mara was trying her best to keep Jillian & Grace from escaping ; )

Mara stylin' in my sunglasses on the train! Love this girl! She's such a sweetie and such a big helper. I told her if only there were 2 or 3 of her, we'd be all set, lol.

Susan & Hannah on the train! Hannah loves her momma! She also adores Jonah. It is so sweet! And he adores her, as well. Susan got a great picture of the two of them that I will post later.

Jillian being silly on the train! I think this was her favorite part of the day : )

Our two sweet babies!

Jillian & her new Hello Kitty 4-wheeler! We didn't realize we had to charge it 8-10 hours before use, so she hasn't had a chance to actually ride it yet. I think she's going to love it!

Jillian and her new Duplo blocks that Jonah picked out for her. That girl loves Lego's, well mainly Jonah's. That might be why he wanted to get her a set of her own, lol.

Birthday Smiles!

Jonah testing out Jillian's new stroller! Maybe we should have got him a blue one, just kidding, Randy!

The birthday girl getting ready to blow out her candles. She's not too sure about this whole candle thing.

Jonah and his Hello Kitty cupcake! And yes, he scarfed down the whole thing.

Giving Hello Kitty birthday kisses before digging in!

Can I eat it already?!?

The Dainty Dig-In

I'm Two!

2010-10-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

Today is our sweet little girl's 2nd birthday! Can't believe she's 2 already! Although, everytime we ask her how old she is, she tells us she's 3. She is getting to be such a big girl and is doing so many fun things. We are spending her special day today at the zoo with friends. Her big birthday party with our families is going to be next weekend, so there will be many pictures to come. Her 2-year well visit isn't until next week, but according to our scale, she now weighs 25.8 pounds. It amazes me how petite she is, considering Randy and I are both tall people. My grandma, Bava, was tiny, so maybe she's going to be sweet and petite like her ; )
Jillian continues to amaze us with her development, especially her language! She says practically any word you can imagine and is putting together 4-5 word sentences with ease. She likes to count and sing bits and pieces of the alphabet song. She loves listening to music and likes to sing along. Every time we get in the van she says, "Turn on kid songs, Mommy". Sometimes she'll even let us listen to a country song. Some of her favorite songs are "No More Monkeys", "Swim, Jonah, Swim", "YMCA", and the country song "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland. With Jonah and Jillian singing and chatting it up all the time, Randy and I hardly get a word in edgewise. It's funny, too, how we pick up on our vocabulary habits through listening to them. Apparently, I say "yep", instead of "yes", quite frequently because both Jonah and Jillian will answer a question with "yep". I guess I need to work on that one.
Jillian loves to color, play with play-doh, go outside, play with Jonah (and pester him, too), play dolls, do her rendition of pilates, do somersaults, play Barbies, and dress-up in Jonah's old costumes. Yep, (see there I go again) she's a girly-girl, but she will also get rough and tumble with the boys when needed. She LOVES books and would sit on your lap all day to be read to if you'd let her. She gives tons of kisses and snuggles, which is super cute. Although, her new thing is asking you for a kiss and then wiping it off, which she thinks is so funny. She's also entering the "mine" phase, which is cute, for now. The other day I was sitting with her to watch Dora and she says, as sweet as can be, "Mommy, please no watching, Dora is mine." And anytime we sing in the car, she tells us, "Mommy/Daddy, don't sing my songs". She sure is a feisty little thing! Hmmm, wonder where she gets that from ; )
This week we also started potty training! We were definitely not ready for that yet, but she is super interested. I'm afraid if we wait until we're ready, then she'll not want anything to do with it. And our doctor always told us that they will be the ones who decide when they are ready. He's right! She has been doing great thus far and has gone tinkle on her little potty several times. She actually wanted to sit on the potty most of the day yesterday. She picked out her very own Dora panties and Pull-Ups that she has been wearing. We are rewarding her with M & M's and stickers, her two favorite treats right now.
This is such a fun stage! I know the 2's will bring us many new and exciting adventures and challenges. We are looking forward to each and every one of these precious moments! We are so very blessed and thank God everyday for our healthy, happy, sweet little family that we love so very much!

Snuggie Buddies

2010-10-02T22:53:00.003-05:00

Jonah is the proud new owner of a Snuggie!

And yes, I'm a little embarrassed to say, his Daddy has been a proud Snuggie owner for over a year!

Yay for Snuggies! Jillian loves them, too! If only they made one in her size ; )

Picture Parade

2010-10-01T21:25:00.005-05:00

Just some fun pictures for you to enjoy!

Jonah's new light-up Captain Rex sneakers! He has been begging me to get them for him, so I finally gave in and bought him a pair. They must be a popular item, I practically had to scan the globe to find his size. And you'll be happy to know, he had to earn them : )

Jillian enjoying an afternoon snack while waiting for Jonah to get home from school. Popsicles are her favorite!

What a sweet little profile! Love her pouty popsicle lips!

Jonah and Daddy ready for the Cards game! Randy's work had an event at Busch Stadium/Homers Landing this past week, so he took his little buddy. The tickets were free, and they got to eat lots of yummy ballpark food!

Storytime with Daddy! After his workout, he was laying on the floor resting, and Jillian just plopped herself right down with her Cinderella book. Jonah thought it looked so comfy, he joined right in on the fun!

Jillian and her many "lovies"! She likes to sleep with a baby, a puppy, a rabbit, a kitty cat, her light-up seahorse, and tonight she insisted upon sleeping with her bible, lol. So sweet!