Family Weekend

This past week/weekend was a time for us to visit with family. On Thursday we traveled to Red Wing because I stupidly agreed to remove all of the wallpaper from my Mom's kitchen so she can repaint. I think when I initially agreed I forgot how much wall paper there was but I did finish the job with the help of a steamer! While we were there the kids were spoiled with new toys but loved every second of it.

Just the start to my job...

Izzy's new bib...PERFECT! Robert's new car to cruise around Grandma's House

From Red Wing we traveled to Farmington to hang out with Eric's family. Once again the kids were spoiled with more presents but this time in the form of clothes (mom's favorite). Robert and Izzy had fun playing with Lyric and seeing everyone again.

Robert teaching Lyric how to use the phone!

Izzy chilling with Grandpa

Then of course it wouldn't be a weekend without a visit with Uncle Nick. He joined us for burgers on the grill and dipping our cookies in milk. Both kids were a little cranky from a long few days away from home and being off their schedules but Uncle Nick is good at always getting a smile from his little buddies.

Robert proud that the Twins finally won a game...

must be his shirt that brought them luck!

Oreos + Milk = YUMMY!

Love this Picture!

And after all the family visits we are one tired group!

This week brings a big change for me as I will be having Lasik Eye Surgery on Saturday. It is something I've wanted for a long time and am excited to lose the hassle of dealing with contacts and glasses! So for those that see me this week I'll be wearing my glasses for most of the week in preparation. I wouldn't mind this as much if Robert hadn't bent them and they now sit at an angle on my face...so if you see me please don't laugh at me!

Hello Snow...GRRRR!!!

So my post last week was a little too premature. Tuesday we were given a day of rain, Tuesday night an evening of sleet, and Wednesday a day of snow. The temps have not returned above mid-30s this week and it brings about the big question of WHY DO I LIVE IN MINNESOTA? Of course then I spend the weekend with my family and think of all the great people around me and realize why I live here. BUT if all of you want to move somewhere warmer (near a white, sandy beach preferably) let me know. :)

Izzy cuddling and eating with Uncle Nick after a long day of playing with Grandma while her mom and dad helped empty out Nick's storage unit with a truck full for the dump and a car + full for our basement. Izzy and Robert got the better day!

Meet Fish! (Still alive!!!!) So many toys to choose from!

Determined to still use our grill this week Robert helps me shovel off the deck for some more yummy meals and a CLEAN kitchen!

Bye Bye Snow!!!

The snow is finally disappearing and we're all eager to be able to get out of the house and partake in the warmer temperatures. Robert especially loves going outside to splash in any puddles he finds and to investigate the changing of seasons.

This weekend was a busy one for us on Saturday. We started the morning off early with a run to the dump to get rid of a bunch of stuff from our basement, then out to breakfast, followed by running errands to get new shoes for Robert and office supplies for Eric. By the time we finished it was time for lunch and then naps! Well the rest of my house slept I was busy in the kitchen making lasagna and brownies (a pan of each for us and one for my brother as a housewarming gift). After the food was done my family woke up and we loaded back up and off we went to Burnsville to visit Nick and see his new place. The house is great and he's lucky to have a great roommate that could buy such a nice home. From his house we went with him to Slumberland to look at a new bedroom set, to match his classy house and then ended the afternoon with DQ Treats and watching a little basketball. By the time we got home it was already bedtime for the kids and they went to bed very willingly after so much running throughout the day.

Today we did absolutely nothing and it was WONDERFUL! The rainy, gloomy day encouraged us to take it easy for most of the day but by late afternoon we were ready for some activity and decided it was time to break the grill out! Robert and I ran to the grocery store to get stuff for burgers and more meals to grill for the week and then came home to let Eric work his magic on the grill. I'm not sure if it was just the amazing combination of my seasoning the hamburger and Eric's grilling skills or if I've just been missing a home grilled burger but the ones we had tonight were amazing. They melted in your mouth and definitely made me excited for more grilling! The only bad side to the day was that Izzy was a little cranky and we're pretty sure she's teething. But after a late afternoon nap she returned to our happy girl and enjoyed in some family play time before bedtime.

So close to crawling and she gets so upset

that she can't move on her tummy yet!

One of our unplanned errands on Saturday morning

was buying a Beta Fish. Eric named him something

really original....Fish but he seems to be the perfect

pet for our family and Robert likes watching him!

Dinner with Nick! Robert loves being around his

Uncle and most times he could care less if we were with!

Since Robert has taken over Eric's office to watch

his movies Eric moved his work station to the couch.

Wish I could get a work station like this at St. Kate's!

Izzy is taking after her G'ma Mary and

starting on the Diet Dr. Pepper early!

The AMAZING Burgers!

Robert playing outside acting crazy!

Good thing it is spring break at work this week. I still have to work but at least the campus will be pretty quiet and I can recover from a busy weekend. We hope everyone has a great week while the snow continues to melt away!!

Growing up too fast!

Now that I'm home more, especially on the weekends, I've discovered my kids are growing up too fast! I am enjoying all of their new discoveries and abilities but at the same time missing my little babies. Izzy's biggest accomplishments the past few weeks include feeding herself with a bottle, moving forwards & backwards in the walker, and eating puffs & cheerios. She is also close to crawling but until that point can work her way across the floor quickly by rolling and scooching on her back. Robert's biggest accomplishments include talking more, putting puzzles together, and playing matching games. He has also learned how to de-childproof our house, right when Izzy is starting to need the childproofing, by learning how to open the cupboard doors (you just push down on the white tab...duh!) and take off the door locks on his bedroom door....realized this one on a morning when I was still sleeping and he came running in to our room and jumped into bed with me. At most times he's too smart for his own good but it is nice to see him put his brains to a positive use from time to time as well.

Here are some pictures of the kids over the last week and their amazing accomplishments!

Saying her prayers while sleeping!

Falling asleep while finishing a bottle

Getting annoyed at mom for taking a picture,

instead of opening and giving her the puffs!

Eating the yummy puffs! I had been trying these

with her for the past month but she wanted nothing

to do with it when I helped. This weekend I poured

some on her tray and all of a sudden she get enough!

Robert putting 2 puzzles together at one time!

Such a big girl!

Such a big boy!

Loving the Tax Refund!

With our tax refund finally in the bank we decided to upgrade a couple of much needed items around our house. The first was our couch. Springs were starting to break, the cushions were losing their cush, and the stuffing on the sides was wearing thin and Robert didn't like running into plywood while doing tricks on the couch! So I searched online at a bunch of stores but the couch I liked best was at Slumberland so off we went and it arrived today! It works great at dividing our living space from the kids toy/play area and is big enough for all of us to get quite cozy on the couch together!

The second item was our dishwasher. That arrived a week ago and I was amazed to learn that you don't need to wash your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and that it is possible to have a conversation or watch tv while the dishwasher was running. So even though our refund didn't go to something as exciting as going on a tropical trip without kids it is going to make our lives easier and thus we'll be happier parents.

The bad news for the day is that Robert broke my laptop. Even my genius, computer nerd brother couldn't fix it...well that isn't true he could but since the warranty has expired it wasn't worth fixing it. Luckily because of his passion/obsession for computers he thinks he has a laptop, or three, lying around that he can fix up and give to me. Eric was relieved by this so that he doesn't have to share his new laptop with me. So thanks to Nick's efforts we shared a delicious meal together of lasagna and the kids got to play on the new couch with him. It was a good night and I'm still getting to use Eric's laptop to do this post. :) I may or may not return it to him.

Izzy already has Nick wrapped around her fingers!

New couch and free ottoman!

New Dishwasher...that quietly cleans dishes

who knew that was possible?!

Smiles & Giggles

The last 2 weeks have flown by but I'm excited for March and a much slimmer schedule! The majority of the team finished up their season a week ago with amazing swims! We still have 2 girls with chances for Nationals. One is a swimmer who unfortunately is swimming the one stroke that is talent full in Division 3 this year and one diver who won both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter events at Conference. We'll find out this week if they make it into Nationals and if they do we'll be making plans for a trip to Tennessee at the end of March.

To reward myself for a long month filled with busy work days and long weekends of rental meets I took a few days off this week and spent 7+ hours for two days at Archiver's with my mom. I'm happy to announce that Robert and Izzy's scrapbooks are caught up and that our family album is just 2 pages short of being current. I also was able to finish both of the scrapbooks for my senior swimmers this weekend while working a rental meet. So 5 scrapbooks in 5 days isn't too shabby! Of course now as the new week is coming closer I'm thinking a few more days off would be wonderful but unfortunately that will have to wait.

Eric's real estate is picking up with the thought of Spring getting closer so it is a good time for my hours to be easing up. We're hoping to find a time later this month or in early April to sneak away for some children free time but haven't made any definite plans yet.

Robert continues to get into anything and everything! His curiosity is at an all time high but luckily one of the things he's becoming more curious about is the potty! So slowly we're introducing it but won't rush anything...no matter how tempting it is to only have 1 child in diapers. He is still a great big brother and loves to "help" with any of Izzy's needs.

Izzy is growing up way too quickly, well for my liking anyway! She is a lot more talkative and giggly now which always puts a smile on our faces. She is definitely a daddy's girl and whenever I'm holding/playing with her she's always trying to find daddy. Iz is also a big fan of Robert and her latest trick is to try and grab his face whenever she is near. Luckily Robert's interpretting this as tickling and it usually results in lots of giggles from both kids. She's also getting quite good at moving around the house. She can scoot on her back and tummy around the house and I have a feeling that as soon as she learns to tuck her knees up she'll catch on to crawling pretty quick.

This week brings lots of phone calls for Eric to make, meetings and the start of summer swim registration at work for me, and more bonding time between brother and sister. Oh and our 4th anniversary also falls in there somewhere! Have a good week everyone!

Izzy is slowly getting the hang of her walker

but until she fully grasps it Robert loves

playing train and helps take her on a tour!

Some videos of our little giggler!

Lots to catch up on!

The biggest event to catch up on is that our little girl (not so little in the picture above) turned 6 months old a couple of weeks ago! Her doctor check-up went well, besides a having a really bad nurse, and she now weighs 16lbs 2oz (54 percentile) and is 2feet 2.5inches long (78 percentile). It is always reassuring to go to the doctor often during the first year just to make sure thing are on track. Izzy's current favorites are playing with her brother and eating her toes (as seen in the picture below)! She is getting close to sitting up by herself and is finally embracing spending time on her tummy. We went through a short spell of her wanting to get up in the middle of the night again but luckily we seem to have already gotten over that stage and she is back to sleeping 10-12 hours at night. She definitely beats her brother in sleeping at night but he still, even at almost 2 1/2 years old, is the better napper during the day.

Robert had been getting the winter blues and was in need of some new entertainment...so what better than play-doh and a cool machine?! He sat at the table for almost an hour playing with his new toy and it was definitely worth the $8 investment at Target!

"Amazing!" (Robert's new favorite word to say)
That's enough pictures Dad!!!

About a week ago I came home to a beautiful
surprise from Eric...both the flowers and CLEAN
house were a wonderful! Thanks Honey!

This past weekend I turned 29 (well to be fair it was the 4th year of turning 29) and it was a great birthday. I took most of the day off of work and spent the day in my pajamas playing with the kids and taking a nap. It was perfect! Then I went in to work for practice where the team made me feel extra special and I even got to eat dinner with them in the cafeteria...okay not as good as dinner at the Olive Garden the night before with Eric and the kids but the company was good! That night was the first night of my weekend college class and I really had not been looking forward to it. I like teaching the class but Friday nights combined with it being my birthday didn't make me the most excited to be at St. Kate's late. I was pleasantly surprised to get an amazing group of students who all know how to swim (makes teaching a lot easier and we can get through a lot more activities) and have a great sense of humor. I left work that night feeling great and enjoyed my 32nd birthday.

On Saturday my mom and Nick came over and we headed to Buca Di Beppo for a late lunch. It was so yummy but I think we could have passed on the Colossal Brownie Sundae...or would've preferred it come in a smaller size.

Izzy playing in the booth while we were eating!

The Sundae!

Robert going for more since eating his lunch
didn't seem to interest him and he was the
only one with a lot of room left in his tummy!

Izzy didn't want to miss out on the yummy treat!

After a great meal Robert spent time snuggling with Uncle Nick!

And the best part of the weekend was the warm temps. It hit 48 today and it was, as Robert would say, AMAZING! We had a great time playing outdoors, building a snowman on the deck...the yard is still a little too deep for little boys!, and getting fresh air. The only downside to this nice, warm weather is that it is going to be very depressing when it gets cold or worse snows again. Maybe the groundhog got it wrong...spring will come early but earlier than the 6 week wait!

Grandma taught Robert the skills in snowman building!

Izzy also enjoyed the outdoors!

Want some snow? Quick get it before it all melts away!

And after a successful snowman was built we knew
it was naptime when Robert had a tantrum and
threw himself down on the deck and wouldn't
take a picture. Izzy was a little confused!