Andy, Becca, Brady, Alex, & Anna Johnson

Anna's 9mo. Pictures

2012-02-12T22:46:00.012-06:00

A month and a half has gone by and I haven't blogged a thing. We have had the flu, multiple ear infections, and two rounds of colds in the last month. It's been full of antiobotics, blowing noses, and trying to keep up with our regular crazy routine!

At the end of December Anna turned 9 months old. That meant picture time! We took in the boys too as they are on their half year. It's hard to believe that Alex is 2 1/2 and Brady is 4 1/2. I was thrilled with this picture of them all together.

My sweet baby girl!So big!Anna loves to read and has started turning pages in her books.Alex at 2 1/2 Brady at 4 1/2

Outside time

2011-12-31T08:47:00.009-06:00

December 27...no snow...sunny...and 44 degrees. Calls for some outside time!

The boys really enjoyed playing on their new scooters outside.

Okay, so there is a tiny bit of snow.Baseball too!Swings!Just happy to be out playing.LOVE this picture!Giggles full of fun!

Christmas Eve with the Johnson

2011-12-31T08:38:00.015-06:00

Christmas Eve at church.

I must say that dressing up my little girl for Christmas was a lot of fun. She was a cutie!One more shot on a family picture.Brady and Matt got a hold of my camera...Brady was excited to get a new Brewers tshirt.Cheese! Alex got a sweet dump truck from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Patrick.Both of the boys got new Cars scooters from grandma and grandpa. They were a big hit!Brady was excited to get a new Hotwheels garage from Lisa, Patrick and Matt.Trying out that new scooter...in the house!Anna got a really neat walker/activity center from grandma and grandpa.Lovin' the boxes and wrapping paper.Alex's scooter too a little while to put together, but grandpa got him up and running.All tired out from all the Christmas fun.

Christmas at Home

2011-12-31T08:18:00.035-06:00

Santa was here!

Awaiting the children's awakening...Brady started his day eating carrots...like the reindeer.He was SO excited to get downstairs to see if Santa had come.Alex was a serious little guy Christmas morning. Teething is just no fun.One happy boy!Merry 1st Christmas to my little peanut!Not sure how she got a hold of Alex's peanut butter cups, but it's still a good picture.Playing in the presents.Christmas morning with my kiddosSanta brought Brady a Hotwheels Wall Track. He was very excited!Santa brought Alex an arcade style basket ball game. Also a big hit!New Curious George books always make Alex happy.The boys are really into Angry Birds right now. I was excited to find toddler size sweat shirts for the boys. Santa brought Anna her very first doll!Brady picked out a new basketball to give Alex and as you can see, he loved it.I guess hugging a gift means he likes his new remote control car.Alex got an Angry Birds bean toss game.Anna got lots of new clothes. A good thing seeing as she will be moving up sizes again soon.Brady got an Angry Birds game as well. He gets to build his own towers and then use a slingshot to knock the birds down. Right up his alley.Tea anyone? Buying little girl toys is so much fun!Santa also brought the much anticipated...Shu Todoroki and Max Schnell! Brady was trilled!Brady got Anna her first purse. Who knew it was tasty too!All dressed up and ready to head out for Johnson Christmas.Anna always has lots to say. Pretty sure I have a picture of me when I was little with this same expression. :)We polished off Christmas night by sitting around the table and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was a great way to finish off a great day with our children.

Christmas with the Schwartzhoff's

2011-12-24T16:10:00.011-06:00

Merry Christmas! Today we celebrated Christmas at my mom and dad's. The boys were so excited to get to grandma's in the morning. Wishing I had closed the blind in this one, but it's still a pretty good picture.

Anna's first Christmas! She got a cute kitchen from grandma and grandpa Schwartzhoff.Brady has started the yearly tradition of sticking a bow on his head for a picture. Here it is!Pretty excited for our new Brewer gear!Packer stuff too!My grandma got the boys pillow pets. Packer and Brewer ones of course. They were really excited!Who knew clothes were also tasty!?!Anna got these cute boots from my parents. They are adorable on her!Opening presents with daddy.Alex was so excited to get his new t-ball glove. It didn't leave his hands once it was opened.Anna loved playing in the wrapping paper. She just giggled, grabbed, and kept on rolling around in it having fun. What a great way to begin our Christmas Eve! It was a wonderful day spent with family!

Building with Daddy

2011-12-24T16:07:00.003-06:00

Thursday night we celebrated Christmas with some good friends of ours. Brady got a "build your own truck" set. First thing out of his mouth yesterday morning was, "Dad! We have to build my truck now." Jammies and all, daddy and Brady got it built. He had so much fun!

Pretty proud of his hard work!

Brady's Special Day

2011-12-23T11:56:00.003-06:00

This week at school, Brady's teacher invited in parents and grandparents to share holiday traditions with the class. On Wednesday, Andy and my dad went in to share our tradition of singing. Andy played his guitar and they both sang. They sang Away in a Manger, Rudolph, Frosty, and Silent Night with Brady's class. Brady was so excited! He even got to be the daily helper that day. He got to sit in the daily helper chair up front while daddy and grandpa sang.

I love Brady and Madi's expressions!It was a special day!

Of all the day to forget my camera...

2011-12-23T11:50:00.006-06:00

Last Sunday I left my camera at home, sitting on the desk. Yep, it was Sunday School program day. I tried with my phone, but the pics are not the best. Brady did a great job singing this year. He even did a few of the actions that went with the songs. His class sang Away in a Manger and Go Tell It On the Mountain. We was thrilled that all of his grandma's and grandpa's were there to see him too! He is in the middle of the second row.

All the kids sang We Wish You A Merry Christmas.Following the program, we headed to Fanny Hill for brunch with Andy's parents. Little did we know Santa was there! And I had NO camera!!!

A bit fuzzy, but this was the best we could do. Brady was excited to get to tell Santa in person all about his letter he sent to him.

Our happy girl!A little unsure...

Christmas with the Grotjahn's

2011-12-22T23:50:00.001-06:00

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with our good friends the Grotjahn's. It was so much fun! Pizza party with the kids, gift exchanges for the little ones, Christmas jammies, a movie, and play time. A great night. I love this bunch!

So Big!

2011-12-22T23:47:00.003-06:00

Anna is doing So Big! She is so cute. You ask her once "How big is Anna?" She immediately grins and throws her hands in the air...and then keeps doing it about six times in a row. Adorable!!

My little one is discovering the fun of playing with the cups/coffee mugs and tupperware on the kitchen floor as well. I remember that all too well with the boys and how they LOVED to play with stuff in the kitchen. She is well on her way.

Cookie baking

2011-12-22T23:43:00.006-06:00

The boys have been so excited to do cut out cookies. With the help of my mom, we were able to get them done this week. Brady was SO excited and a great helper. He helped every step of the way. From making the dough, to cutting the shapes, to putting al the sprinkles on he was a great helper!

Cheese! Alex on the other hand wanted to help and just play in the flour. He was a glorious mess by the time we were done, but he sure had fun!Hard at work.So many to choose from!Enjoying all of our hard work. It was a messy and fun night!

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-22T23:40:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my Aunt Kris, we are the proud owners of the elf Cookie. Our little Elf on the Shelf has become a fun tradition for the boys. The giggles have taken over many morning as they have found Cookie hiding in the tree, hanging upside down from ceiling fans, and peaking out from the leaves of some plants. Such a cute tradition for little kids!

Christmas Card Pictures

2011-12-22T23:37:00.006-06:00

It took many photos and Andy and I being really silly, but we finally got good pictures of the kids for our Christmas cards. Here are the winners from this year.

Letters to Santa

2011-12-22T23:32:00.005-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, we headed to the cities and hit up Macy's with Jen and Jerry. While we were there, Brady had a chance to write a letter to Santa. This is him writing his letter. He spoke aloud what he was writing while he worked.

When he finished it was my turn to write for him. He told to write,

"Dear Santa, I really want Lewis Hamilton, Rip Clutchgoneski, Max Schnell, and Shu Todoroki for Christmas. I love you Santa. I would like you to come play with me. Love, Brady"

All four items on his list are cars from Cars 2 that we do not have. I love that he hopes that Santa will come play with him!

Mailing our lettersWe headed upstairs after our letter writing to view Macy's "A Day in the Life of an Elf" show. It was really neat. We tried for a family picture and this was the best we could do.

Our tree

2011-12-22T23:29:00.002-06:00

We have two Christmas trees at our house each year. Our tree in the family room is all about the kids. Disney ornaments and all the kids homemade stuff. Upstair is the "pretty" tree with all my glass ornaments. It is beautiful. Brady was sad that he didn't get to help decorate it...maybe next year. Anna is getting closer and closer to crawling too. She has taken to scooting/rolling herself to the tree and pulling ornaments off of the bottom branches. And so it begins... :)

Mr. Independent

2011-12-22T23:27:00.001-06:00

As usual, Brady was thrilled with the snow. More importantly, he was so proud that this year he can put on all of his snow gear all by himself (minus zipping up his coat)! His snowpants were on and off so many times showing us how he could do it "all by himself."

SNOW!

2011-12-22T23:24:00.005-06:00

In the first week of December we had our first snow fall. The boys woke up in the morning and were glued to the window looking at what had happened overnight.

The snowfall was amazing. The trees were so beautiful. Every branch was white...it was stunning. This was the view from our kitchen.Trees in our yard. It looked like Narnia outside!

Christmas Begins!

2011-12-03T16:45:00.007-06:00

This past week we took a night to get out the downstairs Christmas tree and decorate it with the kids. We are so excited for Anna's first Christmas! She loves looking at the lights and all the ornaments.

Alex enjoyed hanging our Disney ornaments on the tree.Brady was excited to help do it all!Since the tree was up it was only fitting to get this little one in her Santa sleeper and hat!

Happy Girl!

2011-12-03T16:43:00.004-06:00

I have been excited for this little outfit to fit since the day Anna received it! Our pastor and his wife gave Anna this adorable little tutu/ballet outfit. She was such a happy girl playing on the floor that every picture I took turned out great. These are two of my favorites.

Trying!

2011-12-03T16:39:00.002-06:00

Alex is beginning to show some interest in using the potty like his big brother. We let him try...no success yet. I'm not getting too excited yet (or forcing the issue at all), but the thought of only one in diaper is wonderful!

We Are Thankful

2011-12-03T16:13:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving is always a time of year when we pause to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. This year we said good-bye to a great blessing in our family. Andy's Grandma Johnson passed away on Thanksgiving evening after a battle with cancer. We are thankful for the blessing she has been to our family and for her great example of love. We miss you Grandma!

Anna at 8 months

2011-12-03T16:11:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that Anna is 8 months old already! She has had some big changes in November. She now proudly shows 2 teeth, sits up on her own, loves to play with toys, look at books, and jabbers non-stop. What a precious gift she is!

60!

2011-12-03T16:09:00.004-06:00

Both of my parents celebrated their 60th birthdays in November!

First is was my mom's on the 20th.

Then it was my dad's on the 25th.Happy Birthday to you both!

I want to hold Anna!

2011-12-03T16:08:00.004-06:00

Always my helpers! The boys have been wanting to hold Anna quite a bit lately. Here are a couple of cute ones of them doing just that.

Together Time

2011-12-03T16:04:00.004-06:00

My boys having a little play time together with Brady's Mobigo. It's been a while since it has been out so it's like new again. I loved this one of the two of them together.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T11:58:00.016-05:00

Halloween was a blast this year! The boys wanted to be Packer football players and Anna was a monkey.

My littlest monkey!Hut Hut!Brady was SO excited to go trick-or-treating this year. He was sitting by the door waiting for us to finish getting ready singing, "We're going trick-or-treating, we're going trick-or-treating!" It was adorable!

We met up with our good friends the Grotjahn's to start the night. Unfortunately, Kaylee was sick this year, but we still went out with Madi. She and Brady are quite the good buds since they go to school together every day now.

Off to gather up some candy!Alex had so much fun, but his little legs just couldn't keep up. Andy ended up carrying him a lot. My favorite was that Alex would go up to a house and say "Trick-or-treat!" Then he would stare wide eyed at the candy, walk half way down the driveway and then whisper, "thank you!"Anna was a trooper. We bundled her up and she spent the evening walking with me in her Snuggli.Our annual stop and Grandma and Grandpa Schwartzhoff'sand at Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's.It was a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-05T11:53:00.010-05:00

The Friday before Halloween we had a great family fun night of pumpkin carving! The boys were so excited. They couldn't wait to dig in and get started. We had a pizza party and then got to work. Here is Alex beginning to scoop away.

Once the seeds came out of the pumpkin, Alex decided Brady should scoop and he would just play in the slop.Beside himself happy!Enjoying every minute.Anna wanted in on the pumpkin action too. She was reaching for everything so we just gave her her own little pumpkin.Our final product. The boys picked out the designs. They were especially excited about our Angry Birds.The boys with the final product the next morning.

It's Beautiful!

2011-11-05T11:51:00.002-05:00

Alex sure has a sweet tooth. Andy stopped at a Hostess store and got a box of Ding Dong (his favorite). When we gave Alex one to eat one night after dinner he gasped and proclaimed, "It's beautiful!" We all died laughing. Love his great personality!

Pumpkins! Packers! It's fall!

2011-11-05T11:47:00.008-05:00

Hands down my favorite picture of my three kiddos. I love fall and this picture just turned out great!

Brady was so excited to carve pumpkins!Alex just wanted to hug the little ones.Here's a smile, but he wouldn't look at the camera.I just loved this one of Anna in her Packer gear.

A Day in Eagan

2011-11-05T11:42:00.007-05:00

With three kids, I don't feel like we do many spur of the moment things anymore. Two weeks ago we decided one morning that we would head to the cities for the day to see Jen and Jerry. They were glad to have us come and it was fun to do something rather spontaneous. They took us to this great park in Eagan where we played for hours and enjoyed the beautiful fall day.

Poor Alex was so worn out, he feel asleep in the swing.

Cars 2 Shirts!

2011-11-05T11:40:00.003-05:00

Grandma Johnson got the boys these great Finn McMissle shirts from Cars 2 at a Disney outlet. They are so cute and were a BIG hit! Thanks, Grandma!

Solid Food!

2011-11-05T11:38:00.005-05:00

We were a little slow getting going, but Anna is starting to eat solid food! Last month she began on rice cereal. This was her first meal of cereal and she did great! We had better get moving is this girl is going to eat birthday cake in March!

My Cutie

2011-11-05T11:37:00.002-05:00

Anna is getting so big! She is getting lots better at sitting up on her own and is really getting into playing with her toys. She loves anything that plays music or rattles and puts everything into her mouth. Hard to believe she was 7 month old already last month!

A Berge Visit

2011-11-05T11:35:00.002-05:00

We love having our good friends the Berges come to town! In October they came for a weekend and we enjoyed the great weather out at Carson Park and just hung out. With 8 kids in the house, it was an amazing relaxing weekend. Love this bunch!

Brewtober

2011-11-05T11:30:00.006-05:00

October baseball is the best...especially when your team has made the playoffs! We really enjoyed watching the Brew Crew in the playoffs. This is Alex doing his Beast-mode! It was so cute!

Anna got all decked out for the big games too!Andy was thrilled to see his baby girl in Brewer gear!Just chillin' watching the game. No good pics of Brady from this game. He wouldn't sit still long enough to get a good one. :)

UWEC Homecoming

2011-11-05T11:22:00.004-05:00

As always, we went to the UWEC Homecoming parade in early October. As you can see it was a beautiful, unusually warm day. The boys loved snuggling in with Grandma and Grandpa to watch all the bands, trucks, and floats go by. Oh and let's not forget scrambling for candy!

Me and my little sis.Anna enjoyed all the sights too. Yep...we've entered the bib phase. Ugh.

Quality Time with Grandpa

2011-11-05T11:21:00.002-05:00

I just love this pictures of my dad and Anna spending some quality time together!

Creepy Cakes

2011-11-04T22:58:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm officially a month behind in blogging...All of October's pictures were still on my camera when November 1st hit and now it's time to catch up. Goodness, it's been a busy month!

We started off October by making some Creepy Cupcakes at home. I do this project with my kids at school every year and decided we should make our own at home. The boys loved them and it was a lot of fun! Alex bit the nose off of his first!

Brady was just excited about the candy corn.Andy wanted to use the maximum amount of candy possible.We were messy, but sure had fun!

Anna's 6 month pictures

2011-10-01T17:07:00.009-05:00

Our Anna is 6 months old! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. We had her in for pictures recently and they turned out great! Here are a few.

I love this one, playing with her feet!We did a few fall shots as well.

4K Family Fun Day

2011-10-01T16:57:00.011-05:00

It was a chilly morning here when we headed out for the 4K Family Fun Day. I just had to bust out Anna's hat!

The morning was filled with fun activities for the kids - math, science, reading, art, and phy ed. The boys favorite was the obstacle course with the balance beam.These little legs had trouble staying on the beam, but he kept trying.We enjoyed trying different kinds of apples for snack.Brady was excited to see his teacher, Ms. Michelle there as well. It was a fun morning!

Getting so big!

2011-10-01T16:55:00.005-05:00

Anna is getting so big! Her hair is really starting to grow and gets a little crazy at times. This was a surprised little look of excitement she gave Andy the other day.

Anna is getting awfully tall! She looks so long to me in this picture.

Be persistant!

2011-10-01T16:52:00.003-05:00

I find it a little strange that Brady has so little interest in learning to ride his bike. We have been "making" him practice riding. I think he doesn't like that it's hard for him, but he is improving. Guess we'll just have to keep at it.

Mmmm...honeycrisp!

2011-10-01T16:48:00.008-05:00

Last weekend we headed out to the orchard. It was a gorgeous day! Though we couldn't go out to pick our own honeycrisps, we did enjoy some from in the orchard store. The boys love them!

Too little to try any this year...Andy got his jug of cider.It's a shame Brady wants to be so much like his daddy!We tried...it was really sunny and this is the best we could do.

Look at Me!

2011-10-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

"Hey, mom! Look at me! I look just like Rapunzel!" Better not let daddy hear that one, Brady. I love his imagination!

What do you mean it's only Friday?

2011-09-23T21:38:00.004-05:00

The boys simply could not wait for Sunday to wear their Packer gear and play more football. Only having one helmet in our house poses a problem...I solved it with a cheese head!

Football with daddy = two happy boys!

Anna is 6 months old!

2011-09-23T21:36:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe that Anna is 6 months old already! She has been growing and changing so much. Yesterday we were in for her check up and she weighed 14 lbs. 7 oz. and is 25 inches long. She also got her first tooth on the 21st! Happy half-birthday my little peanut!

Twins Game

2011-09-23T21:28:00.006-05:00

This past Sunday we braved the rain and headed to Minneapolis for a Twins game. The Statesmen and alums sang the anthem for the game. Through all the rain and cold the kids were great troopers. I didn't get too many photos, but here are a few.

Anna, bless her, slept through the drizzle for an hour before she woke up and wanted to eat. She and I headed inside for bottle time. Brady was just happy to be watching baseball!

Alex was a little serious through all the rain, but had a lot of fun and did great in the drizzle.A little misty from all the rain, here are the boys on the field to sing. They sounded great!!Even as we left after the 6th inning, the boys were still smiling. Now that's a true baseball fan! Don't you love that we were at a Twins game, though the boys wore their Brewer hats!?!

Happy Girl!

2011-09-23T21:25:00.005-05:00

Our Anna is all smiles and giggles most of the time. I just loved this one. She is often sticking her tongue out lately along with all her slobber. I fear we are entering the bib phase soon...

We had this toddler seat for Alex when he was little since he sat up in the papasan so early. Anna really like it and the mobile of singing animals that comes with it. She is such a happy girl!Peeking over her seat during dinner the other night and wondering "What on earth is going on over there?"

Hold Anna!

2011-09-23T21:22:00.003-05:00

Alex wants to be a big boy just like his brother. Lately I hear "Hold Anna!" quite often throughout the week. He loves holding her and she loves it when he sings to her!

Getting So Big

2011-09-23T21:15:00.003-05:00

What did I just do?! Anna has been working hard for a couple of weeks to try and sit up in her papasan chair. Last week she finally succeeded. A sad day for me...I love that chair!

So proud of herself!

Brady's first day of 4K!

2011-09-10T23:45:00.006-05:00

Tuesday was Brady's first day of 4 year old kindergarten! He has been so excited to start. Andy took him for his first day. Here they are all ready to go.

Our first day of school picture. No backpack this year since it was already at school with his supplies from orientation day.My big boy on his way there.It took him no time at all to find the trucks and cars in his new classroom.Brady with his teacher Ms. Michelle. It's going to be a great year and he loves it already!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2011-09-10T23:43:00.003-05:00

On Monday we helped Andy's mom celebrate her 60th birthday! It was fun to have everyone home for her special day. It was an added bonus for the boys to play with Uncle Matt, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Patrick.

The boys had to get in on the present opening action.

Tub Time!

2011-09-10T23:40:00.003-05:00

Anna has graduated out of the infant sling in her tub - finally! I gave her her first bath without it earlier this week and she had so much fun kicking in the water. I love this picture since you can see the water flying as she kicked. We might have to start using this tub in the big tub since she splashes so much water!

Anna has a hard time sitting up without tipping to the side. :)

Chillin' with Daddy

2011-09-10T23:39:00.002-05:00

Anna loves chillin' with her Daddy. Drools and all smiles!

The boys lately

2011-09-02T23:43:00.007-05:00

I can't believe that Brady is starting 4 year old kindergarten this next week. Early this week we toured his school and Thursday he got to go for orientation day. They brought in their school supplies, read a story, had a snack, and some play time. Brady was so excited when he left. He is really looking forward to his first day of school on next Tuesday!

We have tried only a few times. No success yet for Alex, but he is beginning to show some interest in taking the next step of being a big boy!

Yet, he clearly missed this baby toy. Since the Jumperoo came out I cannot keep Alex out of it! He can get in by himself, but he can't get out!I love that our boys love playing together. Most of the time it's cars or chasing. On this particularly warm summer day we decided to get out Brady's ping pong set. It was good fun for a while...just need to get better at hitting the ball. :)Thanks to Andy's dad we got to join Bob and Diane for a night at Target Field. Thanks to my parents it was a night for just the boys as they enjoyed a night with Anna. The boys loved the game and seeing the new field!

Anna at 5 months

2011-09-02T23:38:00.007-05:00

It's hard to believe that Anna is 5 months old already. She is rolling over both ways, pushing herself up on her tummy, trying to sit up in her papasan chair, and jabbering constantly. She is full of smiles and loves to have people talk to her. The 5 month mark brought back the presence of the Jumperoo in our house. She loves playing with the toys and is just starting to bounce in it a bit.

In August we had a visit from a distant Schwartzhoff relative from Germany. Henrich joined our family for dinner one evening and we shared many old photos together and stories. We think he is the oldest of the Schwartzhoff family along with our youngest. Very neat.

One of Anna's new tricks is putting nearly her whole fist in her mouth.Can't believe she is getting so big! She loves her tubs!My sleepy little girl feel asleep in her bumbo the other night. Oh sweetie...

Surprise!!!

2011-09-02T23:36:00.003-05:00

We did it! August 20 we surprised my mom and dad with a big party to celebrate their upcoming 60th birthdays and 40th wedding anniversary! They were completely surprised and it was a wonderful day spent with friends and family. We are thankful for all those who were able to come and help us celebrate!

Colorado Adventures Part 2

2011-09-02T22:41:00.027-05:00

Following family pictures, we loaded up the kids and headed up into the mountains. After missing out on the day our car broke down, we were anxious to get into the park. Brady and Andy enjoyed doing some rock climbing together.

He was pretty excited to get to the top!Snow! Snow! After being in CO last year in June when it snowed the first two days we were here, Brady was determined to find snow. We did find some for him to play in near the arctic tundra line. Sweatshirts on, let the snowball fight begin! Brady, Alex, and Andy had lots of fun!Helping out his little brother.Neither are looking at the camera, but I still love this sweet picture.Can you ever get enough of a view like that?After our afternoon in the park it was Christmas time! We enjoyed a gift exchange night with the family and our traditional Christmas meal of egg bakes and cinnamon rolls! One of Andy's cousins even found Anna a little hat!The kids were all anxious to open their gifts!Brady got a cool Cars play dough set. It was a big hit! Alex got a great moon dough set (which we waited to open until we got home) and Anna got some wonderful little girl toys complete with a diamond ring rattle!The biggest four kids enjoyed playing lots of games together. It was so much fun to see them all playing together and loving every minute of it!We spent one more day up in the park. We took a picture here last year as well and wanted a new one with Anna in it as well.This was the one and only stop that I took Anna out at up in the arctic tundra. Most of the time one of us stayed with her in the car due to all the wind and cold that I knew would just take her breath away. This particular day it was windy, but not quite as bad as other days we have been there. She still wasn't such a fan of the wind.We found a great picnic stop for lunch in the park. We were surrounded by wild life and beautiful views. When we finished we hiked around another lake as well.The pure joy of throwing big rocks into the water.This is one of a few herds of elk we saw on our trip. Amazing!More beautiful sceneryWe surprised Diane with a special evening to celebrate her upcoming birthday. There were decorations, songs, and ice cream sundaes!The parents of the little ones decided a movie night was in order one evening...we were all tired of dirty, brown children and giving nightly tubs!Cousins night! Thanks for all of the grandparents, we were gifted with a night out away from the kids with all the cousins. We hit up downtown Estes Park for an evening of fun and lots of laughs!Our last evening in CO we went to an old lodge for a chuck wagon dinner. The food was great and the entertainment was fun. Here is Alex enjoying his dinner.Brady and Andy gave it two thumbs up!Anna enjoying the show.While watching the performers, Alex started hollering that he needed a hat. They were all wearing cowboy hats so naturally he thought he needed one too. A napkin on the head was the best we could do. What a sweetie!It was a great trip that made many wonderful memories!

Colorado Adventures Part 1

2011-09-02T22:04:00.024-05:00

Computer is up and running again and I have the time, so it's time I catch up on blogging! In early August we had the opportunity to go to Colorado again this summer. This was a family trip with Andy's mom's side of the family. We had everyone along from Grandma and Grandpa Wall, all the aunts and uncles, most of the cousins, and 6 of the 9 great children. It was a great trip! Here are some of the highlight.

My little travelers. The kids did great in the car. Two long days of driving. There were lots of books, toys, songs, and movies to help keep everyone entertained.

Brady hardly slept a wink. He didn't want to miss a thing!

This was one of the rare occasions when Alex did nap. He wanted so badly to stay awake, but did give in for a nap every now and then.Anna loved to play with her toys and she napped a fair amount too. She did fantastic on her first big road trip!We were blessed with a great playground set in the backyard area of our condos. That was the good part. The down side was it was literally a dirt patch...no grass at all meant tubs EVERY night since they were always filthy dirty. Alex says, "Who, me?"Bedtime stories with grandpa were a nightly event.

The day after we arrived the whole family loaded up to head into Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. We thought it would be fun to do a day there together as a big group. Just before entering the park, our vehical decided it was not our day to go. Our alternator went out and we were stranded with all of us pulled over on the side of the road. Here is the crew waiting with us as we called a tow truck...

Yep, it was dead. A tow and two alternators later, we were back in business and on the road again.Enjoying a little snuggle time with Aunt Sally and Grandma Wall.Andy, Brady, and Grandpa checking out the elk just down the hill from our condo.Nearly every night we gathered around the fire for drinks and good conversation. Brady enjoyed a little snuggle time with Uncle Matt.The tire swing was a big hit! The kids played on it every day.Mmm...smores!Brady enjoying his first smore. Not a huge marshmellow fan, but he loved the chocolate and graham crackers. Imagine that!Tuesday was family picture day. Here are the boys chillin' in their shades while waiting their turn. Shades are pretty stylin' huh? We are waiting to get the photo back and once I do we'll post some.Andy and me beside the lake where we took our family photos.We hiked around the lake when we finished up our pictures. It was perfect for the kids (and our stroller) because the path around the lake was nicely paved and not too far of a walk for our littest legs - only about a mile and a half.I really wanted some more pictures of the kids together in the scenery, but Anna was in great need of a nap by the end of our photo session. So, I brought a little nature to here for this precious photo instead!A highlight of this day was finding rocks with grandma to throw in the lake.This little guy walked along with us a bit and stopped often to take a look at the boys. They just giggled at him and thought he was so funny.Enjoying a little lake time with Grandma and Grandpa Wall.Alex had lots of fun riding on Uncle Patrick's shoulders when his legs got too tired from walking.

She did it!

2011-08-05T00:15:00.002-05:00

On July 31 Anna did it, she rolled over! Four times all in one night. Now it's tough for her to stay on her back, she just rolls right away. Can't believe she is getting so big. Four months already!!

Random Pics

2011-08-05T00:09:00.007-05:00

Hands down, Melvin Might? is Alex's favorite book right now. We read it over and over again. He can almost recite the whole thing himself. Here he is reading it with daddy the other night.

Brady found himself an audience. Don't you love his guitar face?We hit up a carnival in Owen Park the other night. The boys got to play games, have popcorn, get balloons and balloon hats and get their faces painted. Brady got a football.Alex got a baseball.They boys had a great time!

Our Day at Bear Lake

2011-08-05T00:00:00.014-05:00

This past weekend we were blessed to be able to spend a day at Bear Lake with our Bible study group. The Koxlien's were our hosts and we had a fabulous time! It was the boy's first trip to a lake and they loved it!

The boys splashed around in the water all day long. The shallow water was perfect for an afternoon of playing.

Brady really liked playing with these squirt guns.Alex took a break from the water to play with the bat and ball. Imagine that!Kayaking with daddy Brady had his first experience fishing at the lake. He lasted about 10 minutes, thought it was great fun, and caught 3 fish! Not bad for his first time. Here is his first fish - a perch.Followed up by this nice size sunfish.Fish #3...not sure what it is.All five of us went for a boat ride. Our friend Mark has a great deck boat that is perfect for kids. We had a great time riding around the lake and watching some friends tube.Brady was brave enough to try out tubing for the first time. He went with our friend Todd and he LOVED it! I was thankful that Mark didn't drive too fast! :)While out on the tube, Brady told Todd "I want to stay out here forever."

It was a great day at the lake! Thanks, Koxlien's!

Busted

2011-08-04T23:58:00.002-05:00

Alex is frequently busted trying to "do work" on the computer. On this particular night he was pushing buttons and making the songs skip around on iTunes. How fun...

One is just not enough...

2011-07-29T16:18:00.001-05:00

His arms can carry three, so that's how many Alex needs!

My helper

2011-07-29T16:15:00.004-05:00

My big boy is such a good helper with his sister. Brady is really "into" holding Anna again. He wants to hold her and help do things for her all the time. He just looks so old in this picture!

Anna at 4 months!

2011-07-29T16:03:00.008-05:00

I can hardly believe that Anna is 4 months old already! She is 23.5 inches long and 11 lbs. 11 oz. Still our little peanut! Anna has really been enjoying time on the floor lately. She loves to lay and play with her rattles and be pulled up to sitting. She is getting pretty close to rolling over too!

I cannot get enough of that smile!Anna is getting lots stronger. She is getting better at pushing herself up when she is on her tummy.She tires of tummy time pretty quickly still. Just taking a little rest and chewing on her hands.At four months, she found her feet!My sleeping beauty. She always pulls at the little pillow on her papasan seat and in her swing when she sleeps. One of Anna's little "things."My mom recently got the kids the Clifford characters. Here is Anna having a little chat/look at all of her new friends!

Fair Fun

2011-07-17T23:07:00.022-05:00

We enjoyed a fun night at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair last night with Andy's parents. It was a warm one, but the boys had a blast.

Enjoying a little snuggle while waiting for daddy to bring us some dinner.

Grandma got some snuggle time with Anna in the heat while she fed her a bottle.

Brady was dying to get to the rides. Dinner just could not end fast enough for him. His first ride choice was the race cars. He remembered this ride from last year as it was his favorite then.Alex was just tall enough for the little kid rides this year. He really enjoyed riding the cars with his big brother. Too hard to look at the camera though, there was just so much going on!The little hill on the motorcycle ride got him giggling every time!Both boys were excited about riding the big semi-trucks.Anna was such a trooper! She was a happy girl in the heat and even slept through about half of our time there. Amazing to me given how loud it was between all the rides, people, and bands that were playing.Brady's prize of the night - a REAL lightsaber!Big night for our big boy - he was tall enough this year to ride his first roller coaster. Granted, it was a kid one, but still a roller coaster none the less. He really wanted Andy to ride it with him. They got a front row seat.Andy...a ham like usual...Brady thought it was so funny that Andy put up his hands going down the little hill and shouted on the dips and turns. He made it really fun for Brady's first ride. Thanks for being a trooper, daddy!We took the boys on the carousel. Just not the fair without a carousel ride!Alex enjoying his first snow cone with grandpa.Andy played a baseball pitching game and won Alex a giant bat that he really wanted. The look on his face says it all about the size of this thing.Yep, it's bigger than he is!Diane and I enjoyed our annual funnel cake. Good thing we had all our boys to share them with!Brady's little legs were getting pretty tired by the end of the night. Andy gave him a shoulder ride for a good long while. What a great dad, sweaty, but great!The boys really enjoyed seeing all the animals. The highlight was definitely seeing and petting the horses.We finished off the night by looking at some of the biggest tractors that John Deere makes. Brady thought it was pretty fun to climb up the huge steps to take a peek inside this one. It was another great year at the fair!

Playing in the Rain

2011-07-17T22:54:00.005-05:00

We had rain forecasted for several days in a row at the end of this past week and the boys were dying to put on those boots and get out to play in it! Friday we had a nice gentle, warm summer rain that was perfect for playing in. Brady was thrilled to use his umbrella and Alex was just happy to be outside - rain or shine!

Brady didn't last too terribly long. About 10 minutes and he was done. Alex got the umbrella then. He wasn't too sure about it at first.

But then thought it was really fun. I love this picture of him!

As if the rain wasn't enough, he then decided to splash around in the water table some too. It was tough coming in...there were lots of tears after almost an hour in the rain...but when the lightning began it was time to come in. He sure had lots of fun!

Brady's Find

2011-07-17T22:52:00.004-05:00

While doing laundry the other day, Brady rummaged through the clean clothes in the dryer and found his daddy's softball socks. He thought it was a great find so he put them on and said he was "off to his game." I took these pictures and then texted them to Andy so he could see what Brady was up to. They are so long on him that they look like tights!

Showing off the socks. Nice look, huh?

Alex Lately

2011-07-17T22:48:00.004-05:00

Alex continues to make us smile. These are a few random pictures of what he's been up to this past week.

Blue mouths are always fun after eating popsicles!

Blankie capes make a rainy day a little more fun!Yep, still love playing in the laundry basket. The best part is that he closes the closet door and then sits in the dark and giggles and talks to himself. It's precious!

Fun at the Pool

2011-07-17T17:06:00.006-05:00

Recently Andy's mom and I took the kids to the pool for a day of fun in the sun. The boys were thrilled to go. We packed up a picnic and swam. The boys had a ton of fun and were thoroughly worn out by the time we got home.

This was Anna's first trip to the pool. Seeing as I needed my arms to help out with the boys in the water, I decided to strap Anna on me in her Snuggly and in we went. She did really well - actually slept most of the time.Thanks Grandma Schwartzhoff for my cute first swimsuit!

Action City

2011-07-17T17:03:00.005-05:00

Almost daily Brady asks...or should I say begs...to go to Action City. This past weekend my parents snatched the boys for a few hours and took them there for an early afternoon of fun. It's hard to beat pizza, mini golf, mini bowling, basketball, skeeball, and rides with grandma and grandpa!

Brady was thrilled to get to go mini golfing there for the first time.

Alex was happy doing just about anything, especially games that used a ball.

The group shots

2011-07-15T16:11:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple of the group shots. Tough to get everyone looking in one direction and smiling at this age.

Brady insisted on one with Anna by himself. Wish I could just paste Alex into this one.

Brady's 4 year pictures

2011-07-15T16:07:00.009-05:00

Nearly every picture Brady took was a keeper. He made choosing what to order hard. A good problem to have I guess!

Can't believe my bug is 4 already!

Alex's 2 year pictures

2011-07-15T16:03:00.007-05:00

Alex turned 2! These are his 2 year pictures. He is getting to be such a big boy!

Anna's 3 month pictures

2011-07-15T15:58:00.012-05:00

Hard to believe that Anna is close to four months old already. We were recently in to get her 3 month pictures taken. This first one is hands down my favorite.

She loves sticking out her tongue lately. :)

The morning after

2011-07-08T22:36:00.004-05:00

The morning after the fourth was a tired one for several of the younger members of our house. Andrea and I always like to get a picture of the kids when they are all together. Alex was so tired and we took him away from his car outside. Tears, tears, and more tears. Other than that, it's a pretty good picture! No Timmy this time, he was out of town after just finishing up camp.

We had a pretty quiet day once the Berges hit the road. Brady really wanted to try out all his new toys. We got Brady a Mobigo for his birthday. Here he is trying it out for the first time. He was SO excited!

The boys with their technological toys. Notice similar expression and arm position. Oh boy...

Fourth of July Fun

2011-07-08T22:14:00.022-05:00

After the birthday festivities, we had a little down time before the evening of fireworks fun commenced. The kiddos napped and we cleaned up a bit. Then it was a pizza party for dinner, more play time outside, and then the much anticipated fireworks! We were thrilled to get to spend the evening with our good friends the Berges!

Brady and Luke enjoying a little watermelon.

Anna slept through most of Brady's party, but she was up and with us during our evening of festivities. This cute little white and blue dress was one that Aunt Jen picked out for her first 4th of July.

The pitching machine is great, Brady still likes it when grandpa pitches best. ;)

Mattea and Anna having a little fun in the driveway.

Alex's new favorite outdoor toy. He has been in it constantly since this weekend.

Smiles with grandma.

Happy first 4th of July, Anna!

All the ladies.

Hannah really enjoyed holding Anna and she did a great job with her.

Brady and Grandma Johnson waiting for our fireworks show to begin.

The boys really liked doing sparklers this year. Last year, Brady was a bit scared of them. This year he loved it.

Alex too was a bit hesitant, but had a lot of fun.

So fun to spend the evening with my girls Andrea and Ellen.

The final sparklers of the evening. Alex was too tired to participate. It was a great fourth!

Brady's 4th Birthday

2011-07-08T17:05:00.021-05:00

July 4th was Brady's golden birthday! We celebrated with a Cars themed party. This was Brady's cake. He wanted the Piston Cup race.

My birthday boy! He insisted we had party hats.

Let the party begin! It was great to have some of Brady's friends at our party this year.The kids enjoyed a lot of time playing outside. We had all of Brady's favorites out - Bean Toss, Ladder Golf, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, t-ball, bikes, and the swing set.Happy 4th Birthday, Brady!He was a little surprised by the sparkler on the cake this year. :)Blowing out the candle.Such a happy boy.A good picture with the cake before it was cut.A cheese head hat! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Schwartzhoff!My photographers. :)Alex was so warm from playing outside. We talked him into coloring in the garage to get him out of the sun for a little bit.Trying out our new pitching machine. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Johnson!Mommy and the birthday boy.Brady always likes taking a silly one now too. :)

Our much anticipated movie...

2011-07-02T15:32:00.011-05:00

Cars 2! It's finally out! The boys have been so excited for Cars 2. We went this past week on Wednesday with Andy's dad.

Here is Alex off to see his first movie on the big screen!

I think grandpa was as excited to take these boys to see the movie as they were to go themselves. With State Farm being a big sponser, we have all been looking forward to all the extra little perks from State Farm (like the Cars 2 tshirt Brady is wearing! Thanks, Grandpa!)
I was hoping for a good one. The someone started lighting off fireworks in the neighboring parking lot. No getting the boys to look at the camera any more. :)

Wow...the boys really enjoyed hunting through this picture for the cars they knew.

Alex was in awe... Overall he did great through the movie. He got a little wiggly at the end but sat well on Andy's lap to finish it up. I suppose the popcorn and reeses pieces helped out a little...

I love this look. Brady was SO excited!

Enjoying the movie.

What a fun night. Brady asked as soon as we were in the car "When can we go again?!"

A Ballgame with the Guys

2011-07-02T15:30:00.004-05:00

Brady got to go to another Express game this past week. This time it was a night with Grandpa and Daddy. He was so excited and they all had a great time.

As usual, they had to stick around so Brady could run those bases at the end of the game.

Busy Boys

2011-07-02T15:25:00.006-05:00

My boys have been rather busy lately. Here is a look at some of this weeks favorite activities:

The laundry baskets are rarely empty at our house...but when they are it's a favorite place to play.

The boys LOVE coloring together on the deck.
Grandma Schwartzhoff got the boys new sunglasses on our recent shopping trip. They boys have loved wearing them both inside and out.

The water table from Grandma and Grandpa Johnson has been a favorite this past week too. They have spent a good hour each day this week out on the deck splashing, scooping, squirting and giggling. Great summer fun!

Road Trip Candids

2011-07-02T15:15:00.012-05:00

Last weekend we took a road trip to Missouri. My aunt was recently married and we headed down for their picnic to celebrate. On the way there, we made a brief stop at our favorite place to eat in Ames, Hickory Park. Delicious!

The boys were thrilled to get out of the car. Even better, there were cartoons on in the lobby with some theatre seating and old fashion candy sold right inside the door.

Bein' cheesy with grandpa

Andy and Anna at the picnic

This is my favorite picture to date of our little Anna. Just precious!

Cuddles with Great Grandma Ellen

That were the picnic pictures ended. I got to busy chasing kids around and forgot about my camera. Boo...

Following the picnic we headed to the hotel for a little fun in the pool. Alex was having so much fun and giggling, but he refused to smile for the camera.

Brady was lovin' having Aunt Jen in the water with him.

Anna and I were all set to head in for her first swim, but the water was way too chilly for this baby girl.

Our road-trippers.

This silly one in the back...who "wasn't tired." At least they all traveled well.

Anna in her Bumbo

2011-06-29T13:41:00.007-05:00

Anna is beginning to hold her head up pretty well now that she is 3 months old. We got out her Bumbo seat a little over a week ago. She does really well in it and likes sitting up and looking around.

Sitting up is hard work though. Tears usually let us know that it's time to get out. Andy always says that you have to get a few good crying pictures since I only take ones when they are happy and smiling.
I thought it was fun to take a look back. Here is Brady when he was 3 months in the Bumbo.

Alex at 3 months in the Bumbo. Anna is a peanut compared to her big brothers!

Yep...the boys still like sitting in it. And yes, Brady still fits!

Alex too. :)

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-29T10:26:00.012-05:00

We kicked off Father's Day weekend with an Express game. The boys love going to the ball park!

Anna's first baseball game - she slept through a good portion of it and enjoyed the outdoor breeze during the rest.
Chillin' with grandpa and grandma

The following day we headed to Chippewa Falls for Leinie's Family Reunion Day. A good time was had by all. Alex was a big fan of the cookies!

Enjoying a little summer fun!

The boys enjoying some of their free brew.

Anna was a trooper. She napped, talked, and just chilled while we were there.

Then we headed to Owen Park for a little play time. Swings are always Alex's favorite.

Brady was happy as long as Aunt Jen was with him.

Brady also got some time to throw rocks in the river.

Anna, my dad and I took a walk down the trail too. It was a beautiful day and a great way to kick off the weekend!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-29T10:13:00.007-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

We tried to take a picture before we left for church on Father's Day morning. Anna was less than thrilled as you can see. She really just wanted to go back to sleep.

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy ever!

Following church we headed to Carson Park for a train ride with my mom and dad.

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa!
Anna slept through her first train ride. :)

Brady and Alex both LOVE the train. It was a highlight of the day.

Fun as it was, Alex was out before we even left the park!

VBS Week

2011-06-22T16:50:00.011-05:00

We kicked off our first week of summer with VBS at our church. Brady got to go for the first time this year and he LOVED it! Our theme was Big Apple Adventure - all about NYC. Here is Brady with his buddy Josh on the very first day!

Ellen was in charge of the kitchen and snacks for about 300 kids and volunteers each day. Here we are kickin' it at Midtown Snacks.
Hear it! Believe it! Connect it! The motto for the week. Brady shouted it non-stop all week long.

Tough to see, but Alex and Anna participated in VBS too. Alex is sitting in the front row on the floor. They were both in the nursery while I was working in the kitchen. The fantastic part is that Alex and all the toddlers got to join the big kids for songs, snack, and outside time all week too.

Anna was a trooper. She was the youngest one there and did great. :)

Alex would get excited when he saw the VBS logo - "City!" he would shout. My favorite - Alex was running around saying "My Jesus!" all week long. Melts my heart.

This is Sid, our VBS puppy.

Brady with the best VBS teachers ever. Thank you Allie, Karina, and Olivia for a great week!

Friday night all the kids put on a program with the songs and Bible stories they had learned throughout the week. It was a fun way to celebrate!

Our new family picture

2011-06-14T15:47:00.002-05:00

We recently had family pictures taken at our church. I am amazed that we got one that turned out this well. After waiting for 45 minutes (they were running late), Anna was in tears and needed to eat, Brady was running around being silly, and Alex was a wiggling mess with hands in his mouth due to teething. Then picture in the background my parents dancing around like crazy trying to get all the kids to look at them. I am tired just thinking about it! Like I said, I couldn't believe it turned out as well as it did. Yay God!

Walks

2011-06-14T15:31:00.002-05:00

We have been loving our Wisconsin weather lately and have made it out for several walks. The boys are loving their wagon rides and Anna really enjoys getting a little fresh air in the stroller. Here are our views as we walked the other night.

Singing with Grandpa

2011-06-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

While we took Brady to the game the other night Alex and Anna played at my mom and dad's. When we arrived at their house, we found Alex and Grandpa singing together in the chair. It was pretty hilarious. My dad was laughing the whole time. I must say, he has taught Alex to pucker up for his oo's pretty well! I wish I had video of it...

Brady's Special Evening

2011-06-13T22:21:00.006-05:00

Our Brady-bug has been having a wonderful couple of weeks! He is getting along with his brother much better and has been an excellent helper with Anna. Andy and I decided a special Brady night was in order. We hit up an Express game this past week. Brady was thrilled. Thanks to some friends of ours, we had seats in the front row right behind home plate!

Following the game Brady got to take his turn running the bases. Here he is headed for home!

What a great night at the ball park!

We topped off the night with a picture with Trax - the Express mascot. Brady also got to bring home a Northwoods League 2010 Champions baseball. It was a great night with out Brady-bug.

Anna Lately

2011-06-13T22:17:00.004-05:00

Anna is growing and changing so fast. Brady has decided that Anna needs to start playing with her toys. :) Here she is with her doll...supplied of course by her biggest brother.

All dressed up and ready for church. Isn't she a cutie!
Check out my new trick! Alex just runs around announcing "Bubbles! Bubbles!"

Happy 2nd Birthday, Alex!

2011-05-30T22:58:00.026-05:00

Our littlest monkey had his 2nd birthday on Saturday. We had a Curious George themed party. Here is Alex's birthday cake.

Happy Birthday to you!
As soon as we were done singing, Alex grabbed a cupcake and dug right in.

Brady had to be in on the action all the time. Love this picture of my boys!

Tasty!

One tired birthday boy.

Sneaking in a little smolder!

Messy from his cake

Random picture of Jen and Brady but it makes me laugh. I love Brady's expression!

Cheese!

Brady and Daddy

Alex was getting pretty tired by the time we were opening presents. He is working on cutting some new molars so his hands were in his mouth most of the time. We had to open presents in a couple of chunks. A few before nap time and then we finished up after.

This is a cool new Cars Slip 'n' Slide!

A new water table!This picture is fuzzy, but I still love it. It captures my little studier.

Biking riding on his birthday

Monkey masks for the kids. Aren't they fun?!

As long as we are outside with a bat and ball, Alex is in heaven.

Playing hoops with Uncle Jerry

Trying otu some of our new presents.

Alex got this cool Shake and Go Cars track from mommy and daddy. It has been a big hit with both of the boys!

Long after the party was done, Jen and Jerry played "Timbers" with the boys. This is a new game that they made up last weekend. The boys get shoulder rides and they run around the house, sometimes nearly bumping in to one another, and then into our bedroom where the boys "timber" onto our bed. They think it's great fun. The laughter was precious!

Mommy and Alex...Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!

Brady's Preschool Graduation

2011-05-26T23:44:00.009-05:00

It was a big celebration day at preschool today - graduation! Brady was so excited for his big day. They children sang a couple of songs and each were congratulated on all their learning for the year. Brady is in the yellow shirt. :)

Receiving his congratulations from his teachers.
Daddy came for the big event.

They even celebrated with graduation cake and punch.

This is the loft in Brady's preschool room. It was one of his favorite places to play.

He mastered the stilts this year!

Brady with his teacher Mrs. Lattimore

Brady with his teacher Mrs. Brantner

It was a GREAT first year of school for our Brady-bug!

MN Children's Museum

2011-05-26T23:31:00.020-05:00

Sunday brought more rain for us, so we decided to head to the Children's Museum. It was fun to have Alex be able to do so many more things there this time.

The boys favorite area was the water table. Here you could race boats which they both loved!

More water fun.

I love the expression on Alex's face. :)

I think every 4 year old boy in the museum was in the construction area. Brady was so busy "working" that he couldn't look at me for a picture. He hauled blocks to the conveyor belt for a very long time.

The grocery store was also a big hit. Lots of fruits and veggies for my boys.

Alex really enjoyed the caves in the toddler nature area. I think he just liked hiding in there and talking to himself.

Jen and Jerry found small spaces again - this time it was the ant tunnels. Jerry avoided all areas where I might snap a photo of him, but I did capture Jen!

Much too busy to look at mommy, but they sure had a lot of fun!

Edinborough Park

2011-05-26T23:26:00.006-05:00

This past weekend Andy was out of town for a golf retreat so I decided to be brave, load up all the kids, and head to MN to see my sister Jen and her husband Jerry. We had a weekend full of rain so we had to be creative in our activity planning. Jen heard about this great indoor park in Edina. It was nuts. A huge gym for kids to play in - basketball was the boys favorite - and then a 5 story high indoor tree house. The place was HUGE!

Alex loved the slides and the toddler area.
Jen and Jerry are the best aunt and uncle ever. They crawled around in this huge tree house with the boys. Here is Alex up about 4 stories just before heading down a huge slide with Aunt Jen.

This was my other view. I don't know how she slept through all that noise, but she did!

Brady stopped moving long enough to take this picture and that was it. They had a ton of fun!

Brady's Birthday at Preschool

2011-05-26T23:23:00.002-05:00

My summer birthday boy got to celebrate early at preschool this past week. He was so excited and insisted upon wearing his crown for the rest of the day. No cupcakes for this kiddo. He wanted banana muffins for his birthday treat. How can I complain about that? As a special treat, he took a little bag of Skittles (his favorite candy) and a Cars sticker for each of his classmates. He was thrilled!

Smiles!

2011-05-26T23:22:00.002-05:00

The two month mark is always so rewarding because you begin to get lots of smiles!! Anna has been cooing and smiles all the time lately and we love it! At two month she weighs 9lbs. 6oz. and is 22 1/4 inches long. She is one growing girl!

Anna's Baptism

2011-05-22T22:54:00.023-05:00

Last Sunday, May 15 Anna was baptised at our church. It was a nice service and we were surrounded by friends and family.

Brady was very curious about what was happening. He wanted to be right in on the action. Anna was asleep when we went up for her baptism. When I laid her down and the first water touched her head her eyes popped wide open. No tears or even a whimper, she did great.

Prayers for Anna.

Anna's Godparents - Charles and Ellen

We attempted a family picture. Anna was hungry, thus the bottle and well, the boys just didn't want to sit still. This was the best we could do at church.

Anna was baptised by our pastor, Paul.

You will notice in the family pictures to follow that the boys are not a part of them. They were so wound up. We decided it was just easier to let them play.

The Schwartzhoff family

The Johnson family

Wide awake and looking beautiful on her special day!

After brunch at Fanny Hill, we all headed back to our house for cake.

Another try at a family picture. Sigh...

Great Grandma Johnson got to meet Anna for the first time on her baptism day.

Our kids are so blessed to have four of their great grandparents living. Here they all are with Anna. It was so special to have them all there for Anna's big day.

4 generations of the Wall family

4 generations of the Johnson family

4 generations of the Silliman family

Great Grandma Ellen holding Anna on the blanket she made for her.

Here is a look at the blanket in a little better detail. It's beautiful!

God bless you, Anna!

Farm Field Trip

2011-05-22T22:48:00.011-05:00

May 12 was another special day at preschool - it was field trip day! Brady's class took a trip to a local farm to learn all about farm life. Daddy went on the field trip with him. They began their day with a special Daddy Brady breakfast at Randy's.

So excited to be on the farm!
They were huge and he was terrified, but the buffalo were his favorite. They were all he talked about once he got home.

Seeing the baby pigs was a big hit!

Brady's class out at the farm.

Brady thought it was fun to check out the tractors too.

Circle time back at school.

What a special day!