Decorating the Tree

I wanted to share the joy of decorating a tree with a 2 & 5 year old. If you can see - there is a pretty big grouping of ornaments in one place. Jack was hanging balls on the ribbon and on the tree. Also, he thought it most convenient to just hang them on each other. Billy & I found one large star that had 4 other ornaments on it. Hilarious! Ellie just kept hanging them around each other. We let them enjoy their moment, and then after they went to bed I fixed them so that the tree didn't fall over!

The Growl

This was taken this morning. Amelia has decided that being held is the only capable way she can live! If not, this is what I endure. I had just gotten out of the shower (she cried the entire time with Ellie while I was doing that) and I was trying to get dressed. I was in the room, talking with her and trying to console her - NOPE! This is what was going on...

Anyone feel the desire to come and relieve a mentally tired mom?! I'm not sure if it's teeth and something real to cry about - but since there are no actual tears following, I think she's just pissed.

Amelia's 1/2 Birthday

Amelia shared a half birthday with Thanksgiving this year - so that was kind of fun. I took my camera that day - but don't think I took any pictures. I've have to check with Aunt Abbi.

She's officially sitting up now - which is fun and gives her a better view of the world. She playing with toys at her feet and also getting very grabby. Anything in her reach is usually fair game. And then, of course, it goes in her mouth. The kids are realizing that they need to keep things away from her now, or they end up with slobber on them. Oh, they can't even imagine what's coming when she's crawling and into their stuff!

We'll also started her on some fruits and veggies. She doesn't like any fruits - too tart?! - so we've moved onto veggies. I've decided to puree my own this time around. Starting with a leftover stash of veggies from a relish tray at Thanksgiving, we tackled cauliflower. Then onto some stuff we had in the freezer - peas & mixed veggies. And then this weekend I purchased, steamed and did up some squash and sweet potatoes. All have been a hit - as long as they are mixed in with her cereal. She doesn't seem to like anything "straight up" yet.

Luckily, we were able to borrow a Magic Bullet from a friend to try out - it's a fantastic small blender that has made it very easy to make my own food for her. And we are also using the purees in some of our food too to get a boost of nutrition.

Ellie's 5th Birthday Party

Birthday Girl, opening presents - oh wait, that's me, cleaning up!

This year, now that Ellie is in preschool, we had a "kid" party and invited her friends from school, church, and the neighborhood. It was VERY fun! I wasn't sure how it would work out - but everyone had a blast. She had about a dozen friends come with their parents and we did some relay games (3-legged race & balloon race videos!) where everyone got involved and won prizes. Then, of course, cake & ice cream! Thank you for those that came and brought presents - we are still working on the official thank-you notes.

Trip South

Billy has had a tradition of deer hunting with his dad opening season in Arkansas - and this year Amelia & I went along. She & I certainly didn't sit in a tree stand for 3 days, but we did enjoy visiting family. She & I spent some time with Faubus Grandparents - a picture of Marie and her great-granddaughter, Amelia Marie - is above. We then made a quick trip over to Oklahoma to say hi to everyone there. Only one night and back to Iowa. We'll be back down there for Christmas.

Big Kids!

I took some photos of the kids outside the other day. They look GIGANTIC! I just can't believe how fast they grow and my sweet little babies are "big kids!" Ellie will be 5 in a couple weeks. WOW! Jack is only 2-1/2, but acts & talks more like a 3-year old thanks to a big sister.

Halloween Party #1

Billy & I went to a Halloween Party this past weekend, and we have another this coming weekend too. Here are the pictures of us as Count and Countess. We won "Scariest Costume" - I should mention that we were really the ONLY scary costume. But we looked good - I think we can brag on our trophy!

Ellie thought it was very exciting! She helped me get dressed and watched me put on my make up. I came out of the bedroom completely ready and scared Jack a bit. He's not too sure of all the scary masks and skeletons around. Hopefully he makes it trick-o-treating on Tuesday night, and doesn't get too scared. The kids are planning to be superheros. Ellie is Wonder Woman and Jack is Flash.

5 Months Old

Lil' Miss has just passed the 5-month mark. Can't think of a major milestone to share. Of course, she's growing in strength to hold objects, sitting up better, and her mad scream. When she gets really upset, she actually kind of growls. I'll have to get it on video sometime. But it's hard to imagine this cute little face growling, huh?!

Making a Track

Jack made this cool track the other day all by himself. These little pieces have magnets on the ends and he started making a "track" and eventually he made it into a big circle. I watched him the entire time, and one interesting thing is that he knew when the magnets were not connecting right (polar sides wrong) and he turned it around so it could connect tight. Pretty good for a 2-1/2 year old. Magnets are fascinating!

Sensitive Boy

Evenings around Amelia without Mommy can be kind of a challenge. When she is tired, she doesn't want to be comforted by anyone but me. So on evenings when I have to be gone and Daddy is on duty... sometimes things can get kind of stressful. She's been known to scream her head off for 2 hours until she finally gives up and falls asleep.

Recently, during one of these fits, (I think it had been going on for quite awhile and Billy was grateful that the big kids were being well-behaved) Billy was croutched down trying to get her comforted in her bouncy seat. Along walked Jack and stopped for a moment, patted Billy's arm, gave it a kiss, and off he went.

Billy said he nearly cried it was so sweet. Jack didn't say a word, but Billy knew that he was just trying to say, "Hang in there, buddy, you can do it!" What a sweet story.

Excuse Me!

Teaching children good manners is a never-ending task. And with eyes watching, we as parents have to be good mannered also! Please and thank you, excuse me, elbows off the table, don't interrupt, etc.

Jack & Ellie now share a room with bunk beds. Jack on top, Ellie down below. This change came when Amelia was ready to go to the crib and her own room a couple months ago. The "big kids," as I like to call them, are doing very well with this adjustment. Much better than we thought! They go to bed at the same time and normally with very little talking, off to dreamland.

The other night, after putting them to bed, we could hear Jack in the room shouting, "No!" A few seconds later Ellie comes out to announce, "Mom, Bubba tooted and he won't say 'Excuse me.'" We politely told her that it was okay and to go back to bed. Luckily, she listened and headed right back because we busted up laughing!

Coos that Melt your Heart

The fun thing about Amelia's age now is that she's starting to coo and shout. Sometimes I have to check to see if she's upset or just testing out her vocals. She'll just be shouting away at Ellie or Jack - I guess she's already seeing that she'll have to be loud to be heard!

Since Billy's family is 2 states away, I wanted to make sure I got some video of Amelia up so they can see how she's growing. We'll be down there next month, and I'm sure they can't wait to get their hands on her!

They've got talent!

Here are a couple of videos of Nate, my brother-in-law, and Brian Mantz, my brother, Jon's father-in-law doing some jamming the evening after Jon & Abbi's wedding. It was really fun! They are both very talented and they entertained us for a couple of hours!

Unfortunately, because I was holding the camera, you can hear my intoxicated-self singing sometimes too. Really, it is unfortunate. I think I picked 2 clips that I don't embarrass myself too much.

A Whole New World

Here is Ellie singing along with her discman. If you can't figure it out, it's Aladdin's "A Whole New World." Hilarious! Someday she'll love it that I have this on record ... hehehe

1st Annual Fabulous Grill 'n Chill

On September 8th we had our 1st Annual Fabulous Grill 'n Chill! It was a smashing success with around 75 folks here...20 of them being kids! It was nuts!

We had a couple of food contests going on - Voted Best Side Dish winner was Michelle Siepker, Ellie's preschool teacher with her Mexican Fudge. It's not fudge, it actually has not chocolate in it. It's some egg/salsa/cheese dish that was delish! Voted Best Dessert winner was a consultant on my Pampered Chef team, Sherri Reinier with her Not Yer Mama's Nana Puddin'. (She's from Texas, can ya'll tell?!) An awesome version of banana cream pie. Everyone had a great time tasting the food and then voting.

Billy went a bit nuts-o on the meat. We overestimated how much we needed... forgetting that people would be stuffed with side dishes and desserts and not eat as much meat. So we had plenty of smoked ribs and chicken. He also made 3 new bbq sauces from scratch that were a nearly gone too.

4 Month Pictures

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted pictures. September was a complete blur! I had a very busy, successful month with my business... so some of my normal fun activities had to be set aside.

Amelia is growing... as babies do. Her 4-month well-baby check went well. She ended up with a fever for 2 days after the shots, but she wasn't too fussy. She weighed in at 13 -13 and is 24.5". She's still my biggest baby of the 3. She's eating cereal once a day and also is now in the exersaucer standing up and grabbing at toys.

Besides a week of no #2's, there hasn't been anything alarming with her health. And that is pretty normal for a breastfed baby. Billy was pretty concerned... but with lots of smelly farts, we knew the pipes were working. Amazing how topics like poop are the norm when you have a baby and toddlers.

She gets her good looks from her dad

Okay, so maybe I'm bias... but she's adorable, and he's a hottie!

Jon & Abbi's Wedding

The Bride

The Groom

Jack "Ring Bearer"

Ellie "Flower Girl"

Lilah "Flower Girl"

My brother, Jon, and his long-time girlfriend, Abbi Mantz, were married this past weekend. Luckily, it stopped raining in Iowa long enough for them to have a beautiful couple days for the wedding. It was a simple occasion with the ceremony and reception both at the church. Abbi chose the bright colors of pink, aqua, and green. It was very fun and looked awesome! Here are a few of the pictures I got... but we didn't take a lot of snapshots because they bought the rights to all of their professional photography. So Abbi will get to have all of those for us.

Jack was the ring bearer. He did make it down the aisle, with much haste. He decided that running was better than walking. Ellie & Lilah were the flower girls and they too did a nice job. Ellie even stood up front nicely thru the entire ceremony. Billy was an usher. My sister, her husband, and I were musicians.

This week they are in Jamaica and we've heard they are having a great time! We are excited to "officially" have Abbi part of our family. They will be moving back to Belle Plaine in the next month or so, as my brother will be an agent for a local insurance company there.

3 Months Old

Here is a picture of Amelia at 3 months. I can't believe that next month she'll be sitting up and eating cereal... wowzers! She's still a good baby. Sleeping all night - 12-13 hours. I have to wake her up in the morning when she snoozes until 9am. She's definitely a mommy's girl... and has a hard time letting others console her if she's upset. She's starting to coo and talk quite a bit and did bless us with her laugh this past week too.

Sisters

A few cute pictures of Lil' Miss... who is growing like a weed. You can catch of glimpse of Ellie's great tan that she's gotten from swimming quite a bit this summer. She took private lessons from our neighbor and is really doing quite well. She can swim underwater about 7-8 feet across. She can't tread yet... but does well going off the board and other daring things like that, of course!

She also just finished a tumbling class this summer and has nearly accomplished the cartwheel along with front & back rolls. She'll start a new gymnastics class next week in Ames at Iowa State. She's very strong and hopefully we focus that strength and energy into something productive.

Also, next week starts preschool! She's gotten some new clothes and can't seem to wait to get the tags off those puppies. Everyday, I catch her trying on a new outfit and then having to tell her to take it off and save it for school. She'll be going every afternoon here in town at LilyPad.

Clean Up Time!

Here is Jack's version of cleaning up. You will notice, that all the toys in the corner were actually on the white shelf. He took them off the shelf, and decided to pile them up in the corner on top of each other. Or should I say, throw them up in the corner... like Superman does.

Poor Biscuit

Well, we've found out that the kids LOVE the cat. Correction, Ellie loves the cat. She's nearly obsessed with him. So is my niece, Lilah. And when they are both here poor Mr. Biscuit doesn't get a moments peace. Here he is trying to take a snooze in the baby doll grocery cart.

Oh, and is he ornery! When the kids are gone at their dad's, he gets bored and attacks us. He bites my feet and attacks anything that moves. Billy scared the crap out of him the other day coming up the basement steps. Biscuit saw Billy coming and wanted to swat at him, but couldn't because he got his claw trapped in the carpet. So here was Biscuit, hissing and arched up, but couldn't swat because he was all caught up. I thought Billy was going to pee his pants...I wish I could have seen it.

Overall, we are happy with our decision to get a kitty. He's quite the character. And when he's sleeping he's just the cutest little thing.

Vacation Photos

Kids watching a DVD on the way down ... many DVDs!

Billy's dad holding Amelia for the first time.

Fun at Billy's mom's house on an inflatable waterslide.

It's even fun for adults!

The hose water was cold, but they still enjoyed it.

Here are a few pictures from our week long trip around the Midwest. We drove down to Oklahoma to visit Billy's mom & family in Jay, his hometown. And also over to Arkansas to see his dad & grandparents and other family. This is the first meeting of Amelia for the Faubus family. Then up to Belle Plaine and Marquette, IA to be with my family after the 4th. Over 1600 miles on the van in about a week. Overall a very successful trip!

Jesus is Aquaman?

We have a small picture of Jesus (it's a card from the Mormons) that is with the kids stuff and they occasionally have it out and play with it. The other day, Jack happened to have it and he mentioned to me that it was Jesus. "Yes! That's right," I said. An hour or so later, he still had it and so I asked, "Who is that, Jack?" Without missing a beat, he exclaimed, "Aquaman!" I guess Jesus did walk on water.

Ellie made us laugh

Here are two recent incidences where Ellie really made us laugh.

The other day, Billy was getting dinner ready in the kitchen, and when Ellie walked in, he asked her politely if she would throw something in the garbage for him. On walking back to her room, she kindly, but smartly responded, "I'm not your garbage girl!" Instead of being good parents, and teach her a lesson of respect, we decided to just laugh our ass off.

Last Wednesday evening, when she returned from Tony's, I told her that we were going to get some movies to watch that night. She was really excited about getting to go to the video store and had a couple already picked out. But we had to clean up first. The conversation went like this:
"Won't it be fun to watch movies!"
"Yes!"
"But first we have to do something."
"What?"
"We have to get the basement cleaned up."
...Pause....
"We can get movies on Sunday."
And she walked off.

Billy did end up getting both of the kids to pick up the basement, and we did get movies. But the idea that cleaning up was not worth the getting movies was hilarious!

Addition to our Home

Meet Biscuit! Born around the same time that Amelia was, this sweet, little mister melted my heart and I just had to bring him home. My neighbor did say he was non-refundable, and comes "as-is." No warranty! But so far, in the first couple of hours, we think he's a keeper!

Two Months Old!

Our little girl is two months old today. Today also marks the day that Billy and I met, just one year ago. We both agree that it's been quite a life-changing year, but we are both so full of joy and would not change a moment of it. We took a bit of time to visit Reiman Garden in Ames and enjoy some time together - the three of us.

She is sleeping thru the night now, yippee! She's done that about every night for the past week. She has also become quite the smiley girl. It's so fun to see how she's growing and getting a personality.

Harry Potter

Here is a video of Jack being Harry Potter. He's got a stick in his hand as a wand. It gets kind of long... sorry I don't know how to edit yet.

Somber Face

I just had to post this adorable face.

Our Little Pooper

If you aren't a fan of gas... especially in the form of a liquid... I would recommend holding off on having a baby! The yellowish streak that stretches about a foot long would be my daughter's projectile poop. So much for letting her "air out" for a bit.

One Month Old Today!

Wow... how quickly a month goes by. Which means before we know it summer will be over too!
Amelia has been a very good baby. She has her moments, like most babies do, but it only seems to be when her dad is holding her! Poor guy.

She sleeps 5-6 hrs at a time at night. And is sleeping well during the day too. We've seen a few smiles here and there, but I'm still not certain it's because of me... or just gas. Luckily, Ellie has been very helpful and Jack seems to just disregard her.

On her two-week birthday, I came down ill. I actually had to go to the ER and ended up having my appendix taken out. It hadn't ruptured, but still pretty scary to have surgery when you are nursing a 2-wk old. I wasn't sure how all that was going to work out. But it did and thankfully I'm all healed and back in the swing of things.

Here are some recent pictures of her... filling out quite nicely!