June Recap

June 1:  We had volleyball early so we took the kids with.  Lost all three games, "friends" who were there sucked, but the kids were great!

June 3:  In the hustle and bustle to get ready in the morning, Livie was left alone long enough to discover the Kleenex box.

June 6:  We went to a few garage sales in the early afternoon and then ran some errands.   Shaun bartended at the church festival at night.

June 7: We went to church, then to the Dairy Breakfast.  Tavin wanted to race tractors but he isn't old enough.  He had fun doing the other activities.  Livie was less then enthused as she was ready for a nap.  We went home so Livie could take a nap.  The weather was awful so we turned on a movie for Tavin.  Around 12:30 we woke Livie up from her nap and went to the church festival for lunch.  After lunch we played games, did a little dancing, played the shortest game of bingo ever, and tried our luck at some raffles.

June 10:  Went running with Tavin in the morning.  I spit once and he said "Daddy do that.  All.the.time!" while shaking his head.  It was so funny!

June 11:  My birthday!  Keith and Syd were coming over to go out to eat.  Was surprised when Mom, Dad, Ang, and Quinton were also there!  Best surprise ever!

June 13:  We went to a church garage sale in the morning.  Proceeded home to take Daisy to the vet and let Livie nap.  When we got home Daisy was MIA.  It took us like 15 minutes to find her which in turn made me late to the appointment.  So in a hurry to get to the appointment, I rush out the door with Tavin and Daisy (in the pet carrier).  I put the carrier down to help get Tavin in, When I pick up the carrier it opens up, and Daisy goes running.  I catch Daisy through her in the car and hop in myself.  I then realize I don't have keys.  I run back inside to get them.  Get back out to the car and realize I forgot Tavin's snack.  Run back in and get that.  I am finally ready to drive away and before I get a block I hear "Mom you forgot to buckle me in".  Wow!  Complete mom fail there!  Thank goodness for an honest toddler!  After the vet, Tavin and I ran a few errands and the headed home for lunch.   They both went down for a nap before we had to leave for the wedding.

June 14:  Shaun had a pinched nerve and severe pain from it.  He stayed in while I took Sadie for a walk, ran errands with Tavin, and mowed the lawn.  Tavin didn't want to take a nap despite not getting enough sleep the night before.

June 16:  We packed a picnic supper and went to the Splash Pad.  Tavin had been asking for several weeks to go swimming.  It was rather cold but the kids had fun.  Tavin insisted we ride the train again.  We also walked to another area in the park to see some people getting horse

June 19:  We went to the Summer kick off.  Wasn't as great as I thought it would be, but Tavin still had fun!

June 20: Livie has finally caught on to signing.  It's cute because she can only do more so she will do it when she wants to nurse before bed.

June 21-22:  We went to the Dells for a mini trip.  My parents had won a one night stay at Chula Vista so we made use of it.  We left home around 10 and got to the Dells for lunch at Buffalo Phil's.  Tavin thoroughly enjoyed the train!

 After lunch we did the Ducks tour.  So interesting to see the different areas of the Dells.  After that we headed to the hotel and did some swimming.  Tavin now has a new found love of water slides!  For supper we went to a pizza place that had good reviews.  It was ok pizza, not as great as the reviews had made it seem.

Monday morning we called Papa quick to wish him a belated Happy Father's Day.

Then we went to Paul Bunyan's for breakfast.  By far the best tasting meal!  After breakfast we went back to the resort and did the indoor park (it was raining outside).  Tavin was doing great until it was time to go.  Then hunger and tired kicked in.  Before leaving, we played a little in the arcade and did some picture snapshots.

For lunch we went to Macs.  It was a very interesting concept and delicious.  Would definitely go back!

After lunch we drove home.  When we got home we put both kids down for a nap and cleaned up a bit.  When they woke up we went to Shaun's company's outing at the Woodchucks game.  Tavin had fun meeting Woody (and getting his hat signed!).  Shaun was also pretty lucky as he won Packer's tickets to a pre-season game!

June 27:  Both kids have discovered the joy of washing dishes

June 28:  We went to Shaun's grandparent's old house for the day as they were spreading his Grandpa's ashes.  It was quite the day!  Livie and Tavin did well despite Livie not having napped on the way up.  After leaving, Livie fell asleep immediately and we went to Culver's and Tavin got ice cream with a bunch of sprinkles!

May Recap

Now that I no longer have a pregnancy to recap or a baby to do month-by-month recaps for, I found myself wondering how am I going to keep track of all things we do, the crazy things Tavin says, and the many milestones Livie has yet to hit.  I've decided to write type memories from some of the days.

So here goes for May:

May 5:  Tavin had his first real eye appointment.  The screening exam at his 3 year old check up showed possible issues with his eyes so we were referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist.  The assistant had him do a series of tests.   Match what is on the screen at the end of the room to what is on a board; cover each eye and then do some light tests; and a few other things.  After those tests were done, they dilated his eyes.  Tavin screamed bloody murder as they put the drops in.  We were sent to the waiting room to wait for the dilation.  Tavin was doing good for a while but you could tell the drops were working because he kept rubbing his eyes and trying to focus.  We then got called back to the room and saw the doctor.  She ran through a series of lenses and more light tests to check his eyes.  The good news:  he doesn't need glasses.  His eyes aren't horrible enough and since the eyes are always changing at this age, she doesn't feel he will benefit from them.  They will recheck in 6 months to see if it is getting better or worse.

May 7:  We went out to eat for Leanne's birthday.  While I miss going out with friends, it's not the same anymore.  They don't have kids so don't understand what we are going through and we are in two completely different worlds.

May 8:  Livie had her 1 year check-up.  Doctor has no concerns.  It went very well (except for the wait time and shots).  She is 21 pounds (.9 less than Tavin) and 2'3.75" (Tavin was 2'4.75").

May 9/10:  We went to my parents for Mother's Day.  Didn't do much on Saturday but went out to eat on Sunday with everyone.  Shaun and I contemplated going to a movie but nothing sounded good.

May 16:  I helped Tiff move while Shaun stayed home with the kids.

May 17:  We helped Tiff some more for a couple hours.  After we got home, Shaun ran errands while the kids took naps.  I got supper ready.  We sat down to eat and Tavin FREAKED out that we were not having pizza and then there was a knock at the door.  Grandma and Grandpa stopped by for a surprise visit! Thankfully they averted a major meltdown.  Grandma and the kids were watching Madagascar and started having a dance party!  Livie walked from the TV to the couch all by herself!!

May 23:  Mom, Dad, Ang, Quinton, Keith, Syd, and Griffin came over for Memorial Day. We grilled out. Keith and Syd brought cupcakes from Sweet Lola's which we all shared while the kids were napping.  Ang and I started setting up for the garage sale.  That night, we had our first bonfire of the year and Val and Brad came over.

May 25:  Memorial Day.  It was a dreary morning.  We watched a movie with Tavin (we may have doozed off) while Livie slept.  I made some play dirt so Tavin had something to do.  The sun came out later in the day and we were able to get out and plant the garden.

May 29/30:  Garage sale days.  The weather cooperated and held out but it was a pretty low turnout.

Shaun and Tavin did the Run for Their Lives 5k/1k on Saturday morning and then spent some quality time together the rest of the morning.

After the sale on Saturday, we went out to eat with Mom and Ang.

2014: A year in Review

I posted this last year, too, and thought it'd be fun to keep the tradition going.

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?  Attempted to raise TWO kids!!

2.  Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next this year?  I don't think I made any resolutions last year because of being pregnant and the chaos that comes after it.  This year I made a couple and am hoping that I stick to them.

3.  Did anyone close to you have a child.  Yep!  Moi!

4.  Did anyone close to you die.  No.  It's been blessed year!

5.  Where did you travel?  Green Bay.  Can't stray too from home with a newborn.

6.  What was the best thing you bought?  Our new kitchen!

7.  Where did most of your money go?  Our new kitchen and daycare!

8.    What did you get really, really excited about?  Our newest bundle of joy.  It still seems surreal that she is here and we are a family of 4.

9.  Compared to this time last year, are you:  a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter?  c) richer or poorer?
a.  Happier, but more stressed.  There's a lot to juggle.
b.  Thinner.  Still have 20 pounds to my goal weight.
c.  Poorer.  Two kids in daycare is seriously a money drainer.

10.  What do you wish you'd done more of?  Getting out of the house more (aka date nights with Shaun)!

11.  What do you wish you'd done less of?  Spending money.  Seems like we are constantly buying something.

12.  What valuable life lesson did you learn in 2013?  Life is good.  We were blessed abundantly with a healthy delivery and baby.

2013 in Review

I saw this on another blog and wanted to do it here as well.  I know it's super late, but I don't think anything is ever very punctual with this blog :)

So here goes the 2013 year in review for our family:

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?  Flew on a plane with a toddler.  It went smoother than I ever thought it would.  Especially on the way back since Tavin slept.

2.  Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next this year?  Yes and no.  I didn't lose the weight I had wanted to due to becoming pregnant.  But I did manage to get quite a bit of sewing done.  Yes sewing was part of my resolution :)

3.  Did anyone close to you have a child.  No.

4.  Did anyone close to you die.  Yes.  Shaun lost both his Grandma and Grandpa.  :(

5.  Where did you travel?  Went to Wisconsin Dells twice, once in April and again in August.  Also went to Disneyworld in August.

6.  What was the best thing you bought?  Our Rav4.  I'm so glad we decided to switch vehicles.  It feels much more like us than the Murano.

7.  Where did most of your money go?  Mostly daycare, the new car, and vacations.

8.    What did you get really, really excited about?  Finally deciding to take plunge and remodel our kitchen.  Granted it won't be done until Aprilish, it's nice knowing it'll be done.

9.  Compared to this time last year, are you:  a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter?  c) richer or poorer?
a.  Happier.  There are still things I'm stressed about but in general things are good.
b.  Fatter.  Thanks pregnancy!
c.  Poorer.  The planned kitchen remodel is happening earlier than expected so it's draining our funds.

10.  What do you wish you'd done more of?  Spend more time with Tavin just playing or exploring. Also, going out with friends.

11.  What do you wish you'd done less of?  Worrying about how things will work out.  Sometimes I just have to go with the flow.

12.  What valuable life lesson did you learn in 2013?  Expect the unexpected.  Baby #2 coming along was a huge surprise and one we weren't quite ready for.  We also weren't exactly ready to remodel our kitchen but want to get it done before Baby #2 comes so in turn that resulted in Shaun having to get a part-time job to help save up money.

Little Mister

Little Mister is almost 18 months!!!  I can't believe how fast he is growing, how much he is learning, how awesome he is, and how much I love him!

He's been watching some Classical Baby ever since he was younger (it was the only way he'd still long enough to do weekly nail clippings).  He still thoroughly enjoys it and has been addicted to it lately.

It's so funny to watch how excited he gets.  Squeals, fist clenches and all!

Rarely is he still passed out in the morning when we come in to his room, open the shades, turn off his music, etc. So when it happens, I like to capture it.

So cute, so peaceful!

He is a great baby toddler.  He understands so much.  Will nod "yes" or "no" if you ask him a question.  He has a few select words that he loves to say, "go" and "boom".  He tries really hard to say Sadie and Daisy's name.  He knows quite some signs, eat, more, please, and open.  I'm hoping he'll start talking soon!

Despite all the goodness he is starting to test his limits with tantrums.  I'm not a fan and hoping the phase passes soon.

Water Fun!

We were at my parents on August 11 and trying to keep Tavin entertained.  My mom had a sprinkler that we hooked up and we set it up to see what he would do.

Tavin had a blast!  It was hilarious to watch!  My mom and I were dying laughing.

Momma's Boy!

Tavin is definitely a mommy's boy.  Whenever he sees me he immediately wants to come to me and give me a hug.  He's pretty awesome and being a mom is something I didn't expect to love as much as I do.

Our self portrait

His new favorite toy (courtesy of Grandma)

I love this little guy to pieces!

Our Animal House

Just some random pictures of our zoo animals these days.

Daisy trying to figure out how to get the fish

Sadie waiting for Daisy to finish drinking

It's interesting to see how Daisy follows Minnie and sleeps where she sleeps.  Minnie's been a great big sister, except for the times when Daisy wants to play and Minnie just wants to go.outside.now!

I did not stage this picture!  Daisy jumped and curled up with Sadie all on her own!

And finally a little smothering loving from Tavin