Apple Orchard!

Of course the week I return to work is the week we have record high temps and gorgeous weather! Luckily I took most of the day off on Thursday to make up for a long day on Saturday and got to enjoy at least one day outside.

When I returned home from morning practice on Thursday Eric and I were talking about what we should do and decided that grocery shopping and cleaning the house could wait and we should find an apple orchard to visit instead. It was a great decision!! We went to Minnetonka Orchards in Minnetrista and were amazed at how great of a spot it was for little kids. (See the pictures below for all of the fun activities we enjoyed!) Robert had a blast and did NOT want to leave so we'll definitely be returning there next year. Izzy didn't get to do much but enjoyed being outdoors and we're sure that next year she'll be able to have a little more fun.

Walked the Trails

Ate some yummy Apple Donuts!
Went on a hayride
Played on and in a wooden train Saw some goats, rabbits, chickens,
a baby cow and horse

Rolled some pumpkins...well tried to anyway!
Today, after quite a few months I fell back into my normal Sunday routine...laundry, dishes, cleaning, taking out trash, and finding ways to occupy myself online while the boys (Uncle Nick was visiting) watched football all day. Not quite how I like to spend my one day off this week but at least I'll start the week with a clean house & clothes!

Back to work...

I officially return to work tomorrow and am having mixed feelings about it. This past month I've been working part-time and really enjoy having the best of both worlds. It has allowed me to get out of the house and interact with more people (most of whom I like)! When I wasn't working I got to be at home with my 3 favorite people, take the occasional nap, and stay on top of house chores but now I'll have to try to accomplish all of that on Sundays... Okay enough whining and on to the events of the past week!

Isabel turned 2 months old on Thursday and to celebrate we took her to see the doctor for her 2 month check-up...and shots. It is always nice to see the doctor and to be reassured that everything is going okay and that she is growing just fine. She weighed in at 11lbs 8.1oz and was in the 70th percentile, she's 22.5" long for the 58th percentile, and like a true Hempler still measures in the 90th percentile for head circumference. I really hope that our kids use their large heads to do something great with their lives...plus it is the only thing that will make me forgive them for the painful births! As she's gotten older she's outgrown the colic issues she started having around 2 weeks and is usually a pretty happy baby. Eric is especially happy about this since it will make his time at home with both kids A LOT easier!

I think the thing I'll miss the most about returning to work is my time with Robert. Don't get me wrong I love the cuddles I get from Izzy but Robert is really starting to show his personality and when he's not throwing tantrums he is so much fun to be around and always keeping his mom and dad laughing. To make up for the guilt I know I'll have this week about leaving him home we went to some new places for him to play. Our first stop was to Underwater Adventures with his friend Cooper and my friend Abby. The boys might have still been a little too young to fully appreciate it but they did enjoy looking at all the moving objects and lights. Abby and I enjoyed the different aquatic animals a little more and especially liked the rock...er I mean Shark Turtle thing we saw that honestly looked more like a fossil.


The next day Eric wanted to check out a possible play area for Robert so off we went with both kids to Maple Grove's community center to check out their indoor play area called Maple Maze. I was shocked to see how tall of a play structure they have for the kids to climb on and go down slides. Luckily they also had a toddler area with smaller slides and a ball pit. Robert was a bit timid at first but then got into the fun. The only bad part of the day was the 3 little boys (probably around 4 years old) kept chanting "stinky baby" every time they'd run past Robert. Kids will be kids but it really upset me that their moms just allowed this to happen even though they too had younger children who were about the same age as Robert. Robert was too young to even realize what was going on, especially since when he hears baby now he thinks of Izzy not himself, and had a great time as you can see below. We'll definitely be returning to this spot and probably taking advantage of the great zero depth pool area as well.

Climbing to the first of the many levels on the big structure...

don't worry he didn't go up any higher than this!

Playing in the Ball Pit!

"Oh wow whas dis!"

Well the time is finally here and after a LONG period of no words this past week Robert is finally adding to his vocabulary! He started on Saturday with saying "uh-oh" to Eric all day while I was at work and as the week has progressed he's added in "oh wow" and "what's this". We'd still like to hear some more useful words but it is pretty darn cute to here him talking with such excitement and to actually understand part of his talking.

This is my last week being at home and we're trying to take advantage of it! The other day we walked to the park and instead of Robert riding in a stroller he cruised along in his wagon. He had fun playing at the park and Eric and I were excited to learn that the park is being torn up and a new kid area was being built. Plus the nice thing about having 2 parks within a block from our house is that while the one is being remodeled there is still a place for Robert to play! Robert and I also have a playdate set up for tomorrow with his buddy Cooper (and my buddy Abby from work) to go to Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America. I have never been there, which is hard to believe given my love for water and fish, and am excited to see it and to hang out with Abby and Cooper! Of course before we can have fun tomorrow afternoon I have to bring Izzy in for her 2 month doctor appointment which includes shots. Not looking forward to that especially since she doesn't have as chubby of legs as Robert did which will mean it will hurt her a little more.

Okay I think a nap is in order for me and Robert! Izzy is already snoozing so it would be a good time to take advantage of napping as well. Enjoy the new pics from our last post!

Twins Game with Mom, Nick & Eric on Sept. 20th
Such an alert girl!
Uncle Nick's ahead of schedule...
he didn't feed Robert until 4 months but Izzy flashed
her big blue eyes and got him to feed her at 2 months!

Taco Salad Recipe

Taco Salad Recipe

Another Busy Week!

This week was filled with 3 workdays for me, 2 doctor appointmens (my 6 week check-up and Robert's 2 year check-up), a little boy's birthday, Izzy learning how to giggle, Eric learning new photo tricks with his camera, scrapbooking, and a trip to see the Wildcat Volleyball team play a game in St. Cloud. Good thing a certain little girl is nothing like her brother and is already sleeping through the nigt to allow for both mommy and daddy to get more rest! Here are some pics to recap our busy week!

Robert's birthday meal...bananas with some brown sugar, chocolate chip pancakes, and bacon! Yummy!!!


Watching the Wildats with Taylor!

Robert making use of Izzy's swing since Izzy rarely uses it!

Izzy is really starting to show her personality. This week she showed her determination to not let her brother steal the show and decided to debute giggling, to her daddy, over a month earlier than Robert did and on his birthday! I didn't hear it until a few days later but it is really cute!! She has now been sleeping through the night for over a week. The new average is about 8-9 hours with the most being 11 hours! I still wake up around 5:00am to go in to check on her because I'm still amazed that little baby's sleep this long...or maybe that is because it took until 9 MONTHS for her brother to sleep this well. The only problem with the long nights of sleep is that she doesn't sleep much during the day and has some fussy spells that often pushes Mom and Dad to the edge of insanity!!!

A rare daytime treat...she's sleeping!

Laying on the floor and stretching with daddy!

Robert and I both got clean bills of health at our doctor appointments and I was cleared to go back to work...too bad I'd already been working! Robert threw multiple tantrums at the doctor and because of that getting acurate measurements was a challenge. For his weight I had to hold him on the scale and then have myself weighed seperately thus making the nurse do math but she still determined that he was in the 90th percentile compared to other 2 year old boys. For his height he wiggled on the table and the reading wasn't accurate because it placed his height in the 20th percentile...which would have been a huge drop from his 18 month check-up. The last measurement was for his head...Robert was pulling on the tape measure while the nurse was trying to measure his head and according to her readings his head shrunk from last time. The doctor said that this is physically impossible so I guess, other than his weight, we aren't too sure where he stands. He also said that Robert's motor skills are advanced and that the only reason he isn't talking is because he is too stubborn. We now have to make a big deal out of any word Robert says and ignore him when he is grunting...we can't wait for more temper tantrums! I'm glad that he is healthy and that we don't have to bring him back until he's 3 because that appointment was a lot of work for me with all of the fits he threw fighting the nurse and doctor!

This week gets a little easier for us. No doctor appointments until next week (Izzy's 2 month check-up), I only have to work 1 night and Saturday, and we start the week off right by going to the Twins Game tomorrow night with my mom and brother while Eric's parents babysit the kids. Should be a lot of fun!

Robert"s Birthday Party!

Today we celebrated Robert's 2nd Birthday with our families. It was a great time and it is hard to believe that our little man is already 2, or at least will be on Tuesday. He has such a wonderful personality that keeps us smiling as well as on our toes! We look forward to watching him grow and are hoping the Terrible Two's really aren't too terrible!!!

One of Robert's classic looks...the sideway glance!
First bite of ice cream cake!
Getting a little more messy...

Eric's parents brought Robert Eric's old wagon and he loved it so much that after he pulled it around for awhile he ended up sitting in it sat in it while opening his gifts!
Some pics with a few of his new toys!

Not sure who liked the toys more...

Another highlight from the weekend was that my Aunt Julie came over with her kids to visit my mom while she was babysitting the kids. I'm thankful that they came over to help entertain the kids and make my mom's job easier while Eric and I were both working but sad that I didn't get to see them. However after hearing how great of a job Oliver did playing with Robert and the baby whisperer skills Henry had with our fussy girl we might need to get together again with them real soon. Sorry we missed you but I stole the pics my mom took to put on the blog since they were so cute!

Children's Museum

We were getting a little restless and decided to take Robert to the Children's Museum and convinced my brother to join us. The special theme room was Wizard of Oz and even though Robert didn't see any difference between that room and the others he still had a great time. Here are some pictures from our outing!

Ooh what's over there? So many things to see!

Uncle Nick where did you go?

Doing a little grocery shopping!

Showing Uncle Nick what he bought!

The rest of the weekend we didn't do much besides the standard fun things like grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. It was nice to do a little relaxing before I start back to work part-time. I think what I'm going to miss most about going back to work (well besides time with both kids and Eric) is my clean house! It is so much easier to keep up with dishes and picking up when both Eric and I are home and I have a feeling once I'm working more those items are going to pile up. UGH! Let's hope this week things don't get too out of hand this week since we'll be having family over for Robert's birthday party on Sunday. I wouldn't be as concerned about it but both Eric and I will be gone at different work events on Saturday so it could be a late night getting everything cleaned up and baked. Good thing we're just doing a family party and not inviting a lot of people...family has to understand about messes...right?! I'll leave you with a few pictures of Izzy from when Eric was playing around with his camera. Have a great week everyone!

Happy baby above...Crabby baby below!