October in Pictures

Life has been extremely busy! The kids are loving preschool and AWANA! I am babysitting 2-3 days a week for a 15 month old and her 8 week old brother as well as working one day a week at church. We made a trip to Illinois at the beginning of October, went on a field trip to the critter barn, had a visit from Grammy, and enjoyed "Trunk or Treat" at church!

August in Pictures

It has been almost a month since I have written anything on the blog. It is definitely not because we have had nothing going on -- we have been BUSY! During August we:

went to swimming lessons.
spent a day at a cottage with a friend.
went to the zoo with friends.
enjoyed a night at the local fair.
attended our church's annual KidZone Blitz.
had a visit from Grammy and Auntie Amanda.
spent time being silly.
created a countdown to preschool.
had a sprinkling system installed.

The greatest joy in my life also happened during August: Lily and Wyatt both asked Jesus to live in their hearts!

some pictures and a check up

Here are some recent pictures, mainly of Lily. They aren't the best pictures ever, but I felt like I hadn't put any up in a while. We were in Illinois for a few days last week to see family and friends and to celebrate Lily and Wyatt's birthday with Ryan's family. It was fun but busy trip.

Papa Steve had balloons and streamers at his house -- it was hours of entertainment!

Chairs they got from Papa Steve...they were watching either Goofy or Chip and Dale (the classic cartoon DVD's from Auntie Amanda and Uncle Nick).

On Friday, we celebrated with Grammy. We went to Woodfield Mall and ate at Rainforest Cafe for the first time -- it was not too traumatic, they just had to get used to the thunder. Lily wanted her picture taken with Grandma and the snake that hangs outside the restaurant.

Lily was happy to come home and see her Papa Les too!

Monday I took the kids in for their 4 year check-up. I am sure most people don't want to know the details of their weight and height, but I like to write it down so that I can remember it. (I wanted to compare this year to last and I didn't write it down. :( ) They both did great at the visit. They were excited to do the vision and hearing tests and get weighed and measured (HUGE improvement for Wyatt who used to scream about getting on the scale). The worst part for all of us was the 4 shots that they each had to get -- they both cried and Mommy almost did too.

Lily Grace:

Height: 37 1/2" (10%)

Weight: 27 lbs. (3%)

Vision: 20/30

Wyatt Ryan:

Height: 41" (70%)

Weight: 36 lbs. (50%)

Vision: 20/30

Christmas in Pictures

Well, Christmas 2009 has come and gone. It was a whirlwind of parties and craziness, but a lot of fun too.

Traditions of Christmas:
ornaments ~ one for each of the kids to represent something about their year and a family ornament
watching some Christmas classics (Charlie Brown & the Grinch) together in our jammies (new this year)
making some sort of birthday cake for Jesus and singing Happy Birthday to him!

Schedule of our Christmas week ~ BUSY!:
Christmas Eve's Eve (Wednesday): made cupcakes and watched Christmas classics
Christmas Eve (Thursday): decorated cupcakes and cookies with friends, opened some presents on Skype with family in Florida, Christmas Eve Service at church
Christmas Day (Friday): Christmas breakfast -- singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, opening presents as a family, celebration with my family, celebration with my Dad's extended family
Saturday: packed up and headed to Illinois (and a winter storm), party with Ryan's extended family, checked into our hotel, party with Papa Steve (Ryan's dad)
Sunday: church (at the church Ryan and I were married in), party with Grammy (Ryan's mom), quick visit with Papa Steve, dinner with friends
Monday: packed up and headed home!

Weekend Fun

What fun weekend!

Friday started with birthday party for my nephew, Noah. This was interrupted by a phone call from my friend, Val. She was calling to tell me that she is ENGAGED! YIPPEE! Congrats to Val and Dave, I am so excited to see how God is going to work in your lives together.

Val was really excited! (Who isn't when they get engaged?)

Dave did a great job picking out the ring!

The happy couple!

On Saturday and Sunday, we enjoyed a visit from Ryan's mom and Grandma! The kids were spoiled rotten, but we all had a good time together.

Lily, Grammy, and Wyatt

Grandma-Great, Lily, and Grammy

Here are 3 videos of Lily and Wyatt "exercising" with Grandma-Great. I couldn't pick which one was my favorite, so I put all three of them up. Lily thought that it was fun to get up and run circles around Mommy... (don't forget to turn the music off on the blog).

Today we are on to the joys of potty training. We are 3 hours in and they have both had 2 accidents and 1 successful attempt. This just might be a task that is put on hold for another week or two...

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Today is Grammy's birthday (Ryan's Mom).

This is Lily and Wyatt's birthday wish for her today!

Remember to pause the playlist on the lower left side of the blog.