8/27/11 - Off to the Ren Fest!

Today was a pretty fun day!

Christian worked this morning, so it was just me and the girls. They were quite a handful last night, and that carried right on through to this morning. I swear, I was breaking up fights and taking toys away ALL morning long. Let's just say, it was a loooong morning. While I was taking a shower, Chuy got out of the yard and ran away. Luckily our neighbor found him (like usual), so I was off to retrieve him. I came back into the house to find BOTH girls standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. Olivia can get the gate open, so she must have come down trying to chase after me and left it open. Apparently Amelia can get down the stairs no problem now...who knew?!? I asked Olivia how she got down, and she assured me that she crawled down on her belly...let's just hope that's the truth.

Finally, Christian was home. I got the girls ready while he showered and got ready, then we were on our way to meet the Madrid's at the Renaissance Festival. The girls had SO much fun watching all of the people and seeing all of the crazy costumes. We all had a great time walking around and taking it all in. Hopefully next year we can get there earlier so we can enjoy more of it, but it was a good time nonetheless.

We headed home at closing, ate some dinner and stayed in for the rest of the night. Our friend Nixon stopped over to hang out with Christian for a while and help fix something on the computer. And, that was about it.

Here are some pictures from the festival, much fun!

8/26/11 - 13 Months!

It's so hard to believe...my baby is not only one, but she's 13 months old! Which means summer is definitely coming to an end soon. It's bittersweet. I love winter, but summer is so much more compatible with kids!

Amelia is doing great these days. It's obvious that she really understands what we're saying now, and she's following direction well. If we ask her to do something, or prompt her to do something, she usually will. Or, at least show that she understands us. She's trying so hard to talk, she wants to so badly. She is learning where we keep things...for example, if she wants milk, she'll go sit by the fridge and yell for us. So, she's definitely learning how to communicate with us.

She still has 8 teeth, no new ones popping though yet. She's still getting a bottle of warmed milk before nap and bed, which I hope to break soon. She still pretty much just says mom, mama, dada and more...she appears to say baba and bubbles. She is REALLY working on her hand/eye coordination these days. She's learning to put the rings on the stick and put shapes into the shape sorter with little help. She is so far beyond walking it's not even funny...she just runs and runs, there is no stopping her. She's really getting into dancing these days, which is pretty entertaining to watch.

She is wearing Size 3 diapers now, and is about 1/2 6-9 month clothes and 1/2 9-12 month. She's learning to use utensils. She's not great at it, but she is learning. She is still in her infant carseat, I'm thinking we'll get another month or two out of it. But, if I get our gift card soon, we might just switch her anyway.

Amelia is becoming VERY strong willed. She's standing up for herself more and more, she won't just roll over for anybody. She throws full on tantrums, feet stomping and all when she doesn't get her way. I think she is unfortunately picking up some bad habits from Olivia...hitting, throwing things, some of the more violent outbursts, and we're not sure what to do about that. I think it's inevitable, but we'll see if we can get BOTH of them to learn how to play nice and gentle.

Today was a pretty low key day. The girls and I ate some breakfast quick when they woke up, then we were off with my mom to look at an apartment. She ended up really liking it, so I'm thinking her search for a new living space is over! After that, we all ate some lunch, the girls went down for a nice LONG nap, and I relaxed for a while. The evening from there was pretty low key. When Christian arrived home, we ate some dinner and hung out for the night. He is working some OT in the morning, so it was a pretty early night for all of us (you know, versus the party animals we usually are).

Here is Amelia's 13 month photo (she's not into cooperating these days).

8/25/11 - Draaaging

Today I was dragging, for sure. I don't know why, but I was just absolutely exhausted. I had to peel myself out of bed...extremely late...this morning. Sure, yesterday was a busy day, but I guess I didn't realize how much. It didn't help that Amelia woke up around 4:00 this morning. Boo, I forgot how horrible that was. Seriously, the minute your baby starts sleeping through the night, you forget how horrible the not sleeping through the night is. Honestly, I'm not even sure who woke who up. Olivia was crying because she had to go to the bathroom. When I went in to escort her, Amelia was standing there, and started crying as soon as she saw me. So, we did what I've been fighting for a while...gave her a bottle of milk to get her back to sleep. I try with all my might to keep bottles strictly for before bed and before naps...but we needed that last little bit of sleep, and she didn't eat great last night, so she needed the calories.

On that topic, I'm really wanting to get Amelia off the bottle. Right around this time, Olivia was done. But, she was better about getting herself to sleep at this point. Amelia still needs that comfort before sleep, and I don't know how to break her of it. I just know, I hate the bottle, and I can't wait until she's done!

I was busy as usual at work, and I'm finally getting some time throughout the day to get some of that "busy" not-so-fun work done. It's not REALLY fun, but it is necessary. I did get a BIG contract with the U of M executed today though, which opens the flood gates to a lot more contracts, so I'm going to be beyond swamped next week, and it scares me a little.

After work, I did the dishes and made dinner. We all sat down, chatted and ate a yummy spaghetti dinner, then proceeded to play the night away. We did get a sneak peak at the girls' paint pictures from last night, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! You can check out our photographers blog here to see them. Can't wait to see the rest, along with the every day family pics that we did.

I didn't take any pictures today. But here is one from a year ago...my tiny baby!

8/24/11 - Not Your Typical Wednesday

Well, today was anything but our standard Wednesday.

I took the afternoon off from work, so the morning was pretty packed trying to get as much done as possible. When we returned to work from the shutdown, we returned to a new financial system. Everything has pretty much been a mess ever since...waiting for budgets to be set up, waiting for people to learn the system, fix the bugs, etc. Things finally seem to be coming together, so things are suddenly moving along much faster, which means we can finally push everything through the system. Now, it's time to catch up for sure. Christian took his truck back to the shop during lunch today, and they were able to figure out what the ratting was, and fix that. Now, the truck really is good as new. YAY! So glad that's all over.

I left work at lunchtime, stopped into Walgreens to pick up a picture. They were offering free 8x10 collage prints over the weekend, so I made one in my name, and one in Christian's...of our wedding pictures! 4 years later. LOL. Now I can't wait to get them hung up! Then, it was home to eat lunch, and do some cleaning. I got the kitchen and living room all picked up. It always feels so good to look around at a nice, clean house!

Finally, it was time to get ready for our photo session! I put together the girls' outfits, packed our bags, got myself ready and waited for Christian to get home. He quickly changed and cleaned up, we picked up the girls, and were on our way. The girls did pretty good. Things started off great, but they quickly lost interest. But, Kristi was great at moving us to new locations and scenery to keep them entertained. After some cute outdoor shots, we were off to the studio for the REAL fun. FINGER PAINTS! I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but wait until you see these pictures. She did a session with an infant and finger paints a few months ago, and we agreed that it was perfect for the girls. I cannot wait to see the finished product!

Once pictures were done (and the girls were scrubbed down), we were off to meet the Madrid's at the local family festival going on by home. They had all kinds of jump houses, games for the kids, free food and drinks, a little mini petting zoo, music. The girls seemed to have a good time, and nothing beats a little free entertainment with friends on a beautiful night!

FINALLY, we were home, and the girls were off to bed. Amelia wouldn't eat very good tonight, so I'm hoping she'll sleep good. Hopefully she just wasn't hungry!

Here are a couple cute shots of the girls I took at the festival. Of course, I'll share session photos once I get the finished products. Can't wait! What a wonderful day!

8/23/11 - Girls Night

Christian picked up the truck today, and said it looks good as new, but that there is a strange rattling noise going on. Oh joy! He's going to bring it back tomorrow, hopefully it's nothing big. On top of that, the lucky duck had the opportunity to go to a Twins game tonight, so it was just me and the girls. After a long, busy day at work, I stopped home to let the dog out and do a few things around the house, then I was off to pick up the girls. They are always so excited to see me when I pick them up. It's fun surprising them like that.

The girls and I were off to spend some time at Target. Olivia LOVES shopping, it's so funny. We pulled into the strip where Target is, and I asked her "Where are we going". She said "Right there" with a big smile, pointing at Target. That's my girl! They did really well all through the store, which was a nice surprise. I picked up a little cake for us to share for dessert, and Olivia was very excited about that! Once we finished up our list, we picked up some dinner and were homeward bound.

After dinner, we played and goofed around for a while, then enjoyed our dessert. YUM. Soon after, the girls were off to bed, and I had some nice quiet time, all to myself. Now, that's the way to end your night! Amelia found some leftover fruit in my lunch bag tonight, and helped herself to it. LOL

8/22/11 - Winner, Winner!

Today started off on the most amazing note, EVER!

One of the DJ's on the morning show I listen to (I think I mentioned him in a vent last week) had a baby last week. The station hosted a contest, where you could enter a guess at what he was going to name the baby. The first person to guess the right name was going to win a gift card to USA Baby (they sell mostly bedding and baby/child furniture). Yesterday the DJ posted a picture of his wife and the baby leaving the hospital, and revealed his name, Isaac. Which just happened to be my guess! Well, this morning my phone rang shortly after I got to work. I don't usually answer numbers I don't know, but it was a "952" number, which I knew was where the station is located, and I knew I had the name right, so I answered. And, it was THE Dave Ryan on the other end, asking me if I had a minute to go on the radio. He put me on hold and I was seriously freaking out! I was so nervous and excited. Next thing you know, I'm on the radio, being grilled about how I came up with Isaac, and being awarded a $300 gift card. SO AMAZING! I couldn't believe it. My phone, e-mail and facebook was blowing up with people telling me they heard be on the radio and congratulating me. It was so exciting.

As for how I can't up with Isaac...this DJ has a 2 year old named Olivia, just like us. So, I thought about what I wanted to name a boy, and just went with that. What luck! And, as for what we're going to do with the gift card...convertible car seats for Amelia, so that I don't have to be the only one driving her once she moves out of her infant carrier. YAY! There is no way we'd ever be able to afford that. I'm so grateful!

So, I was on a high the rest of the day from my big win. I was pretty swamped all morning, had a meeting in the early afternoon, then took a couple hours off to get some shopping done. I stopped in to Cub and Rainbow to get some of our groceries. I was supposed to go to Target as well, but I forgot my list and coupons at home, and when my gas light came on, I decided it was a sign to just fill up, and head home. Ha.

When Christian arrived home, we ate some dinner, then spent a little time outside. We filled up the sandbox (finally), and as we were playing, I heard the tiniest, cutest chirping. Sure enough, the eggs in the nest on our deck had hatched. I tried to get a picture of the babies (in the brief time mom was away getting food), but I couldn't get high enough. Christian braved it, and heisted himself up high enough to get a good picture of them. So gross, but they'll be SUPER cute in no time. I love the sound of their little chirps, it's just oddly calming for some reason.

Here's a picture of the girls tonight (still on our matching kick) and, of course, "our" birds.

8/21/11 - Sunday Not-So-Fun Day

Oh Sunday. Usually such a nice, fun, family filled day. Today, not so much.

Today was filled with the usual. Breakfast and play time with the girls in the morning. Laundry (all day long), a little cleaning up and organizing around the house. Typical chores. I wasn't in the mood to do any shopping, so that didn't get done. Christian took a little nap while the girls napped, and I spent a little time on the computer (amidst the laundry fun). Once the girls were up, we ate some dinner. Sounds like a great day, right...just a relaxing day around the house.

Well, not so much. While everything sounds great and typical, really, it was out of control. The girls were TERRIBLE today. They would not listen to a word we said. They fought and fought all day long. They were violent and aggressive and just downright mean most of the day. Dealing with them took a toll on both of us, so Christian and I were fighting and arguing all day long. This went on from the minute they woke up, all the way through their bath. I finally had enough with them, and with the arguing, that I left him to finish baths and bedtime routine by himself, and took to cleaning the basement to get some aggression out.

Rico has continued to pee on the play mats downstairs, and I've had it with cleaning and sanitizing them over and over again, and the smell just won't go away, so I threw those outside and they are gone for good. I cleaned the carpet and vacuumed. Once I finished, I felt a little calmer, the girls were in bed, and I just went right on to bed myself. I know you are never supposed to go to bed angry, but there was no avoiding that tonight! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Here are a couple shots of the girls today. Christian is suddenly into having them match (which he would never let me do before). In a few VERY rare moments today, Olivia sat down and watched some TV with Chuy. Amelia is getting REALLY good at shape sorters and the ring tower. I was pretty surprised by her skills actually. Finally, they shared some fruit on their couch. Only, Olivia wasn't being as sweet as it may appear...she'd take a piece of fruit out of the cup, act like she was handing it to Amelia...then throw it on the floor and tell her "go get it sissy". Like she was a dog. Yeah.

8/20/11 - Congrats to Lisa & Josh

Today was a pretty long, but very fun, day. Today my little cousin Josh got married. It's SO hard to believe my younger cousin is actually old enough to get married. Man, that makes me feel OLD!

The day started with my car back in the shop. Two new tires and an alignment later I think the car is FINALLY fixed. Let's see how long we can make that last. While Christian was taking care of that, the girls and I got ready for the wedding, and packed up our bag. Then, he quickly got ready when he got home.

The wedding was down past Rochester, and my dad offered to pick us up so we could all ride down together. We definitely took them up on that offer. Amelia slept the whole way down, while the rest of us chatted and caught up. We were there before we knew it.

The ceremony was sweet and short. After that, we stopped off at my uncle's farm so the girls could see the cows. Then, we were off to the reception. It was a pretty low key, very kid friendly reception. The kids had a lot of room outside to run around and play. We ate some yummy food, celebrated and caught up with some of the family. Then, of course, the girls hit the dance floor and danced the night away. They were having the time of their lives! It's too bad we had quite a drive home ahead of us..we had to rip them away from the dance floor to get home at a decent hour. They passed out not long into the drive, and we were all passed out shortly after we arrived home.

What a wonderful day! I'm not all that into weddings, but it's still great to be able to celebrate such a wonderful event with people. It makes me think back to our wedding. It was only 4 years ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago. Such an exciting time, a new adventure, and amazing event in your life. It comes and goes so quickly, and becomes a distant memory even quicker.

Here are some shots of our day.

8/19/11 - Boggles My Mind

Friday, it's here again!

Today was my typical Friday to work, but my mom had to attend a funeral, so I took the afternoon off. I worked and worked all morning long to get as much done as I could, then was on my way home around lunch time. The girls were fed and ready for naps when I arrived home, which worked out perfectly! I spent nap time playing on the computer and having some relaxing me time. It was wonderful! I did come to the (fairly obvious) realization that I have a full fledged addiction to online shopping. I have so many packages on the way to me right now, it's crazy! But, I'm obsessed with deals. I figure, all of the free samples and free products that I work so hard for evens it out in the end! LOL

There is a report out today, from the county that I live in, that two barely one year olds just contracted measles. Like usual, it made me so angry. It just shouldn't even be possible. I will never, ever understand the new fad of not vaccinating your children. I've done this rant on my blog before. And, like I've said, I can understand delayed schedules, but just NOT doing it, period. I do not, and will not ever, understand it.

After a nice long nap, we hung out, waiting for dad to get home. I made a big, yummy pork chop dinner. The girl actually ate it, a lot of it, which is always a nice surprise. After dinner, we just hung out for the night. It was a pretty early night for all of us. We have a early, long day tomorrow, so nothing too exciting going on tonight.

Here is a sweet picture I snapped of Chuy and the girls tonight.

8/18/11 - The Old Typical Thursday

Today was a pretty low key day. Nothing too exciting going on in our world. Work was just work. Home was just home. The girls have been getting along fairly well, which is always a nice change of pace. Christian hung out at his mom's for a little while when picking up the girls, like he usually does on Thursday's, which gave me some alone time.

The one bit of exciting news that I have is that I have officially finalized my Chicago trip plans! YAY. I cannot wait to meet up with my "moms" and have a weekend away. It's set in stone, no turning back now!

We ate, played and hung out for the nights once they arrived home. And, that's really just about it for the day. I did snap this picture of Chuy and Rico, doing what they do best. Lazy animals!