Our Little Baby!

What a Week

School started back up this week. The whole weekend before and the week itself was filled with activities. On Sunday we went to the campus block party (a barbecue with all the students/faculty/staff). There were inflatables and lots of food, the boys loved it. We're both very excited and relieved that the beginning of the school year went smoothly.

My mother-in-law was also here visiting from Sunday to Thursday. The boys really enjoyed spending time with her (I forgot to take a picture of them all together). She is coming back to visit in about 2 weeks, so I'll try to remember next time.

Tuesday was my birthday. We had already celebrated, but Mark still took me to lunch on the actual day. I also got a card from some of my students. They wrote out a message using candy and stuff to spell out part of the message. I've never been given a handmade card like this, so it was super special! I love those girls very much.

My oldest spent the night last night with his cousin at Granny/Pa's house. Mark and I took advantage of our time without one of the kids with us and we ended up going to Lincoln and doing some shopping and eating at our favorite place. We took my youngest with us which turned out to be nice spending alone time with him. He seemed to enjoy coming along for the ride. We picked my oldest up from his sleepover mid-saturday morning. He asked to sleep over at their house every weekend.
We had a party tonight to announce the gender of the baby. My dad made balloons (for the kids) and we made our cupcakes. My parents grilled out and we all sat around and talked. We took a video of the big reveal moment. I'll be posting the pictures of it and video of it all later tonight.

It was a wonderful week!

This Time of Year

Things I love right now:

-Going on long walks with the boys in such perfect weather
-Getting Scholastic book orders again since school started back up (I love books!!)
-Ethan loves his preschool, he actually said today, "Mommy, I love my preschool"
-Cool breezy nights where you need a sweatshirt to go on a walk
-Warm autumn colors that give a clue that fall is coming around the corner
-The beginning of the school year where everything is fresh and new
-Gymnastics is starting again for Ethan next week
-With every week that goes by I get closer to my due date and more and more excited about the baby coming

What are you enjoying right now? Hopefully you love this time of year too!

Ethan's 1st day at his New Preschool

Today was the day, the day my oldest has been looking forward to for weeks! He woke up and started talking about his new school right away. He was so excited! He doesn't have to be there till around 8:15 or so, but he was ready, dressed, waiting to go by 7:45. My husband takes him to preschool and I pick him up, so Mark decided to just go ahead and leave the house since he was ready and waiting:) They stopped by my office and he had the biggest grin on his face. I love that he is so excited to go learn and play with his friends.

Mark took him down to the preschool place and they got there early since they left early:) Since they had time before it started, Ethan got a picture of himself with his teachers. As soon as all the other kids came, he was off and playing and ready to learn! Mark said he could barely get Ethan to say bye because he was so interested in what was going on within the first minute it started.

I picked him up around 11:00 and we took him out to lunch to celebrate. My mother-in-law is in town this week, so she stayed home all morning with little Finn (my youngest). Ethan talked during the whole lunch about what they did, what they painted, what snack they had, his new friends, and lots more. I love that he is in this stage and it is great for him to be able to interact and make lots of friends.

He got there super early/before everyone else because he was so excited!

Turning 29!

Today I turn 29! We celebrated last week with a couple different get togethers with family and such, these are some pictures of our party with the boys.

My oldest tried to make the candles look like a 29. He didn't do too bad on the 2.

I didn't get any pictures of myself on my birthday, I'm used to taking pictures of the boys only!

Around the House

Weekend

Last night we enjoyed going to eat at the campus cafeteria, we ran into some friends there and had fun chatting for awhile. We took the boys on a walk after that. Nanny Nathana did such a great job with the boys last week during all our meetings! Thankfully the meetings are now over and classes begin on Monday (yeah for a more normal schedule!)

This morning I spent alone time with my oldest while Mark helped students check-in and register/move-in. He was nice enough to take my youngest along for the ride, which allowed me to run a bunch of errands with Ethan, my oldest. We went to the bank, got gas, ate out for lunch, and went grocery shopping.

Tonight we're headed to the campus soccer scrimmage and cook-out. Tomorrow is church and a big church potluck with all the students. Then Sunday night we're headed to the campus block party, which is basically another cookout with music/performances. My mother-in-law also comes to town tomorrow and is watching the boys for most the week.

Classes start on Monday, which we're very excited about. Ethan starts his new preschool on Wed and my 29th birthday is Tuesday (we kinda already had a party, which I'll post about later). It should be a exciting and fun week for everyone!

Baby Gender

We had plans to tell our family this weekend the gender of the baby. But my brother was called to a special SWAT training on Tuesday for a week. (If you didn't know, he is on the SWAT team along with the state patrol) So we called it off since he won't be able to be there this weekend unless we want to just tell family over the phone. I would rather just wait till we can all get together.

We are still excited and it is actually turning out to be kinda nice knowing what we are having and being able to share it with Mark without having all the world know right away. I'm sure we'll be able to get together with everyone sometime in the coming weeks and then we'll announce it to the world!

Or...we could just keep it a secret till the actual birth....hmmm....maybe we'll do that....

Just Some Photos

We took the boys to the city firework show with my family on 4th of July weekend. Here are some photos from it that I never got around to posting.

Here are the boys waiting for the show to start. They both really like going every year. We took them there early and they played around and granny/pa pulled them around in the wagon until it started. (My youngest is holding his cuddle bear that he can't live without)

The day before the firework show we set off fireworks of our own. We actually did some on the Friday night and Saturday night of the 4th of July weekend. My oldest was really, really, really excited and wanted a picture next to all of them:)
On the actual 4th of July we were invited to a barbecue with my sister-in-law's family at their house. Here are the oldest cousins telling each other stories before lunch.

Where does the time go?!?!

Nanny Thana (she told me I could start using her real name, which is Nathana) came over yesterday for the 1st time after the summer break. The boys had more fun then they knew what to do with. She brought craft stuff for them from her house, so they made rain sticks and paper hats. Isn't she amazing!!! I love that she does crafts with the boys and she even took both of them to the park all morning. I love that she doesn't turn the tv on during the day. I love that she is patient and pays attention to them. I love that they enjoy being with her and it gives Mark and I some peace knowing that we trust her and that the boys can spend the day at home. It is definitely nice having her back. I know she will be drained by the time Friday afternoon comes:) It is a good thing our schedules go back to some kind of normal next week!

On a different note, there are students moving in all week. It is exciting and refreshing to start a new year! Mark and I look forward to this time every year.

My oldest starts his new preschool next week and we've been trying to switch his schedule back to "school schedule", which basically means him going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. He has been good about it but is a little cranky the last couple days. Hopefully by next week he will be okay with it all.

That's all I have for now, have a good evening!

Weekend

Mark started RA training for all his new residence life team last Thursday night. He is in charge of a 5 day training that runs till Tuesday morning, which basically means that he is gone 12+ hours a day till Tuesday. I've been doing pretty good with the boys by myself, just keeping busy and making sure we have plenty to do.

On Saturday my parents were gracious enough to take me and the boys to Lincoln for most the day. Mark made breakfast for all his RA people around 8:30 a.m. and then was going to be busy with training stuff till 8:00 that night, so we were glad to get out of the house.

My parents took me shopping for my birthday most the day (my birthday is next week). And we went back to school shopping also. We had lunch at my favorite place, Braeda. The boys both fell asleep on the way home after a long day.

This morning we headed to church (although we were 15 minutes late for class...). The boys did okay during church. I took them to lunch with Mark and his RAs. The cafe on campus fed them all so we got to go along for the ride. It was steak, green beans, and baked potatoes! So good! (I can tell this new cafeteria plan they have is going to be awesome)

While we were at lunch, my youngest was walking around the table and his pants and diaper fell down when he stepped on his pant leg. He kinda fell over and everyone got a shot of him without pants/diaper. It definitely made a funny 1st impression to the new RAs that don't know our kids. Everyone laughed and thought it was hilarious.

This week starts the beginning of a lot of school-related activities. Our schedules are packed the next 8-9 days with the beginning of school. I like the start of a new schoolyear, but I like it more when the beginning is over and we have time to breathe. I keep telling myself that it is only 9 days of meetings/orientation/students moving in/etc, only 9 days and then life can be somewhat normal again. Luckily Nanny Thana is back from summer break and is coming to watch the boys Tuesday-Friday while Mark and I go to about 57 meetings (when I say 57, I mean about 12-13:) The boys are excited for her to come back and they always have a good time when she is here.

That is about all I have for an update. I'm looking forward to this coming weekend when we get to tell our family the gender of the new baby! (the weekend is the first time we can all get together) I'm hoping to remember to take a video of it.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Celebrating

Pictures from last night before we left for dinner

Our attempt at a family photo

We also opened our "gender envelope". We are very excited and ready to tell family, but we are going to wait till next weekend at the family dinner we're having. We decided to make cupcakes with icing and make the middle part colored with food coloring either blue or pink. Then everyone will bite into their cupcake after dinner to see if it is blue or pink!

Today we are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary! Five wonderful, strengthening, and shaping years.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the man I married five years ago today.

We're going out tonight for dinner and opening our "gender envelope" from our ultrasound. (No, we aren't telling people tonight, we're announcing it to family next weekend at a family get together, then we'll announce it to everyone else:)

Last night was the "Fall Kick-off" for the all the kids at church. The theme is "God is a Rock". Both the boys were given t-shirts and Ethan did a rock craft, then everyone had popsicles. I am once again shocked at how many kids are at our church. I think I counted ten 3-year olds in Ethan's class and 8-9 in Finn's class. I think they'll really like growing up with all those kids.

Below are some more pictures from the last few weeks.

The boys having quiet time in Ethan's room. My oldest loves his toy computer, he plays alphabet games on it. My youngest likes to sneak in his brother's room and play with the art easel.

So it was really hot one day and too late to go to the pool, so we set up this instead. They had fun with it.
They insisted they go down the slide together each time. (I'm going to photo-edit this one on photoshop today so it won't be blurry anymore)

Printable Puzzles and Coloring Pages

Nick Jr.com Printables

Does your preschooler ever lose a puzzle piece to the new puzzle you bought last week? Or have you ever bought a new coloring book and your toddler only likes 4 of the 50 pages? Does your preschooler ever want new things when you are at the store and you don't really want to buy them something or spend money?

Okay, so these things have happened to me. So, I decided last year to find a different solution. Nickjr.com offers a really cool selection of printable activities, including coloring pages, puzzles, learning pages, games, and flashcards. They are all free and all you can print from home. Here is the link:

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/index.jhtml

We only print the pages the boys want to color instead of buying a whole book with pages they might not want. Printing the puzzles is super handy and easy. I just print the page, glue onto construction paper, and cut out. If he losses a piece or wants a new puzzle, I simply print out a new one. They are only a few cents a piece to make.

Helpful Tips:

• Using a color printer makes a world of difference. We happen to have one, which is nice, but you can print in black/white and the kids still like it.
• Print the flashcards. My boys love them. They help teach them letters or words.
• You can print off about 10 coloring pages and staple the edges together so it looks like a book. It keeps all the pages together and the kids feel like they are getting something new.
• When I'm at the store and one of them wants a new toy, I tell them we don't buy something new at the store each time. If they behave well while there or if they do their chores at home (my oldest cleans his room now), then he gets a printed puzzle or we print off a couple coloring pages for him.

Free recipes and menu

I am the kind of person that would rather make and eat Spicy Chicken and Mango Stir-Fry or Fuji Apple, Walnut and Herb Salad with Roasted Chicken rather than sandwiches, plain salad, or lasagna. I really like getting new recipes that aren't your boring menu plans use usually see. And yes, I really like free stuff. So...here is a free 7-day menu from Oprah.com. I like trying out gourmet meals on weekends and seeing how cheaply I can make really good food.

On Oprah's website, Iron Chef's Cat Cora shares a week's worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, which can all be made for a family of 4 for $150 or less a week! Download her essential shopping list and mix and match the meals to your taste. That is about $7 for a wonderful healthy lunch for 4 adults! You can't even go to McDonalds for burgers for $7. It is actually cheaper if you are a family like us with 2 little children, ours averages about $5 a meal, rather than $7 using this menu.

Here is the link to Oprah's website that features Chef Cat Cora's 7 day meals, menu, shopping list, etc.

http://www.oprah.com/menu/food/menus/20090227-tows-cat-cora-menu

If you are tired of the same menu plan you always have or tired of making the same kind of food, then you should try some of these meals. I really like having a shopping list provided for me and being able to budget how much I'll be spending that week on food. Good luck with the menu and try some new meals this week...or weekend:)

More pictures from camp

More pictures from our week at camp (reminder: my nice D90 camera is still getting fixed, so some of them are blurry)

Faith-building games with campers

4 of the 8 college age counselors
Trying to decide how to get the campers to clean their cabins (We were all pretty much inseparable the whole week too)


My oldest and his cousin, they are even more of best friends after being together 24/7 for a week.

My brother and my youngest are like kindred spirits.

We stayed in cabin/housing #3, my brother and his family stayed in #4 (right by us). The "cabins" are air-conditioned:)

Update on the kids

Camp ended Saturday morning and we got back home Saturday evening. The week was amazing and we celebrated the baptisms of two teens during the week. The weekend before camp started we spent a few days at my grandma's house hanging out with my family and having fun.

I feel like we've been going non-stop all summer! Yesterday I looked around our place and realized we didn't really do much around the house and everytime we came home from something we just put stuff random places and stuff is everywhere. The boys and I are spending most the day picking stuff up, unpacking (for the last time this summer), and re-organizing for the new school year.

My oldest starts a new preschool this year in about 2 weeks. We switched his preschool so he could be with more kids his age from church. His class at his new preschool takes only 12 3-year olds per year and about 7 of them go to our church. He is so excited and talks about it non-stop.

My 1 year old is talking up a storm. I can't believe he will turn 2 years old in a little over 2 months! I think he'll enjoy getting some alone time with mommy and his nanny Thana while his brother is at school. This morning he woke up early and him and I just cuddled alone for an hour. It was bliss!

The new baby is moving around like crazy. I'm over 1/2 way done and I can't even believe how fast it is going. I have my next appointment in 2 weeks. Things are going well and I have no complaints yet:)

1st round of pics from the last 9 days of vacation (more to come later)