Father's Day

Hiking with an Old Friend

Rachel is a dear friend of mine who dates back to my elementary days! Our friendship began when our preachers wife (at the time) introduced us at a sleepover at their house (she was brave to have 4 elementary girls over for a sleepover!) Our friendship continued to grow through HS-mostly during our weeks spent together at LaMoine Church Camp. As life does, it took us in different directions, we were both married and started families. Recently her family moved into the Chicago area and (thanks to facebook) we reconnected! Rachel was able to go to Hearts at Home conference with some friends and me back in March. Last weekend we got to meet her husband Scott when they met us at Matthiessen State Park to go hiking. Rachel, Scott, & baby Ned

Sadie & Kinnick--Cheesin' it Up, they loved walking in the water!

Our Happy Hiker--she did great the whole time, even took a 20 minute nap!

The kids loved climbing up here. Kinnick called the little hole a "lion's den". (Good thing they had their "guns" in case they saw any lions!)

Rachel & Me

Sadie always likes to get to know my friends (especially when they have kids!)

Kinnick loved Ned.

We had a great time and plan to get together again in the future!

Potty Training Encore

I had been waiting until summer to potty train Kinnick (I figured more time outside, less accidents to clean up!) As I looked at my summer schedule I realized that we didn't have a week all summer that we could be home bound for 3-4 days in a row... so I decided to go for it anyway.

Two weeks ago (June 6th) I got out the Mikey Mouse undies (from his Eater Basket) and started my kitchen timer. I was more than a little bit nervous b/c up until this point my little boy had NEVER gone pee on the potty (despite me putting him on the potty every night before his bath). It didn't take too long... after 5 tries of putting him on the potty and nothing, he yelled "My pee's coming out!" and we ran to the bathroom for his first success. I kept giving him juice and water all day to try and have more potty experiences. I put him in a diaper for rest and he kept it dry. After rest, we headed to the Y for Sadie's swim lesson and I put him in a pull-up. He kept his pull-up dry and even went potty while at the Y. We finished day 1 with 5 successful potties and 3 accidents. I was definitely encouraged enough to keep going! (And for those wondering, he did start out by sitting down. I didn't really plan to do that, but when we got out the baseball potty seat, he was SO excited to use it! We have now transitioned to standing up.)

Day 2 was somewhat less eventful--2 successes and 2 accidents. We also spent a 3-hour block of time swimming (and he wore a swim a diaper.) Day 3 was our most successful day yet, 5 successes and 1 accident. Day 4 was similar, 8 successes and 2 accidents. By Day 5 I was somewhat worried that he hadn't pooped on the potty yet. He usually does #2 every day (or multiple times). So far during the week he did one poop over night and one during nap time. Day 5 was the day--he did his first poop on the potty... I loved watching him smile and show so much pride in his "big-boy" accomplishments.

I had been putting him in diapers for nap/bedtime... until he woke me up two nights in a row at 4 in the morning to go potty! I decided a pull-up would be a better option for when I'm half asleep. I'm still using pull-ups over night (and under ware at nap time) but I'm ready to let him try his under ware soon. I believe we're going on 10 nights in a row dry. He still has occasional accidents (usually when he's too busy playing to stop) but he's doing so well! He even made the 3-hour trip to my parents in under ware (I wouldn't have dreamed of trying that with Sadie this soon!) I'm so excited--between the diapers, pull-ups, and swim diapers that I will no longer have to buy, I just gave myself a raise!

I love watching this little boy... he would make this face right before he started to pee: Followed by this face:

This time around was SO much easier. I'm sure there are many variables involved: him being older, his personality, my experience, my LOW-er expectations, me being more laid-back, not having a nursing infant... I'm glad I got this easy experience, but I'm not holding my breath for take 3!

Quote from Kinnick: "When you feel the pee coming out, you have to say "POTTY!" and run to the bathroom. You have to make your pee go in the potty, not in your underwear."

More Cookies

It's safe to say I'm addicted to decorating cakes & cookies... I would love to start a little business, but we'll see. For right now I'm just practicing and working on building all the supplies I need! Spring Cookies

I did these for Ms. Jennifer's daughter's baptism.

Sadie helped me make LOTS of cookies to share with the 41 HS students who helped with her pre-school. I used a slightly thicker icing, but it still dried hard.

I made these cookies for a couple friends who had baby boys recently.

I did this cake for a baby shower. The couple (in our small group) knows what they're having, but it's a BIG secret. We've been trying to get them to slip up for months! This cake was decorated with butter cream frosting but I forgot to take a picture before we cut it. I found a new butter cream frosting recipe that I LOVE!

Kinnick--2 & 1/2 Years

Kinnick still LOVES to read... probably his most favorite activity. He loves I-Spy books and his Bible. He has been enjoying learning how to hit balls off a tee and how to throw and use his glove to catch. He also LOVES music--he listens to cd's in the car and at rest and randomly starts singing songs from them. I love hearing him sing, "Row Your Boat", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", "Jesus Loves Me", "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and many others. He can sing his ABC's and recognizes about 5 letters. He can count to 20 (most of the time) and knows all his shapes & colors. He has also started memorizing verses with Sadie. We're trying to work on writing and coloring, but these are not his favorite activities. As of recently he is potty-trained (more on this later!)

My Favorite Things... rocking my little boy when he wakes up from nap, seeing his smile when he accomplishes something, having his help ALL the time in the kitchen, watching him try to make a "grouchy" face (see below) and start giggling, listening to him at nap/bed time playing/singing by himself, watching him run, listening to his little voice ask "What's that mean?", seeing him imitate his daddy...

He can also be quite the little sassy pants! The following are some of the quotes he's given me when asked to do something:

• "I'm too busy."


• "Mommy, I want you to do it for me."


• "I can't! I have to finish fixing the door first."


• "I have to finish typing Sadie's e-mail first."


• "I don't want to do that job, please."

He's ALL boy! If it's tall, he'll climb it. If it's a ball, he'll throw or kick it. If it's another little boy, he'll try to wrestle or fight. If it's long and straight, it will become a sword. If it's dirt, it will be somewhere on his face, clothing, or body. Have I mentioned I LOVE my little boy?!?!

Carnival Fun

Memorial Day weekend we took the kids down to the city park for some carnival rides & treats. It was a muddy mess from all the rain, but we had a blast... The long-anticipated cotton candy!

The kids did lots of rides... Sadie was tall enough to do a few more this year--her favorite was the big swings (Kinnick was bummed that he couldn't ride them too, but he loved these motorcycles!) They both loved the dragon coaster--Sadie was big enough to ride by herself this year and I got to ride with Kinnick. Kinnick's favorite ride was the big slide--he and I did it twice!

After the rides we enjoyed some carnival food--it was hard to decide what to get, but we settled on a giant corn dog, cheesy fries, a sno-cone for the kids, and of course a lemon aid shake-up. Macey didn't get to do any rides this year, but she took it all in from her stroller and enjoyed the yummy treats!

Family Projects

We spent the last couple weekends in May doing some family projects. It's been fun to get the kids involved now that they're a little older. Our first project... cleaning out the garage. We always try to tackle this once each spring. The kids and I washed ALL the riding toys while Marc swept out the garage.

Kinnick was done after a few minutes, but Sadie was a trooper! She helped until everything was done. She earned $1. Macey took a nap while we worked.

Our CLEAN garage! Before we started the shelf in the back was overflowing with balls, toys, etc. We used a big tub to throw all their balls into (so we can easily take it out of the garage to play and put back when we're done.) We also used so smaller tubs to organize their sidewalk chalk & bubbles. The garage has stayed very neat and clean so far and it makes me happy to look at... Oh the simple joys of life!

Project #2: Planting flowers on Memorial Day Weekend

We all went to the garden center Saturday morning to pick out flowers. Marc and Sadie drove his truck and Macey, Kinnick, and I walked with the wagon. The kids had fun seeing all the plants and flowers. After lunch, Macey and Kinnick laid down for naps and Sadie got to help us plant. She LOVED digging for worms--she had a big bucket full of them by the time we were done. Usually I plant by myself and Marc works on other yard work. This year he helped me and it went so much faster. We had a great time.

After we finished the flower bed, Sadie helped me plant this planter with different types of flowers and plants. Sadie and Kinnick each brought me a little plant for Mother's day from pre-school/Sunday school. I used those and picked out a couple additional things to plant with them. I love that Sadie is getting big enough to help with things like this! Her and Kinnick both helped me weed my flowers yesterday--they had a great time.

Do You Know...

any firefighters... who wear high heels and tiaras?

or this much bling?

Macey--15 Months

Macey is getting so BIG!! She finally has a few teeth (3 on top, 2 on the bottom) but they are still hard to see... the bottom ones are in, the top ones are barely there! We still get lots of comments about how she looks "too little to be walking" but she is not too little anymore--she's getting lots of rolls and a big belly. She is over 20 pounds now, so she is big enough to move to a forward facing car seat. I have not switched her yet because she still fits in her rear-facing seat just fine and is happy.

She is constantly "talking"! She has learned several new words including her most recent--"graham cracker". She loves to say Hi and Bye to people, especially when we are out in public. She ALWAYS says thank-you whenever we give her anything (I love this b/c she picked it up from her brother and sister!) She occasionally still signs "more", "eat", "milk", and "please" but she is mostly saying words to communicate.

She is a great imitator--she loves to imitate what she sees her brother & sister doing and also what she sees Marc and I do. She loves to climb up on the step-ladder in the kitchen so she can see what I'm doing.

Macey loves to be outside. She usually throws a fit when it's time to go in. She likes riding toys, bubbles, balls, sidewalk chalk... pretty much anything she sees Sadie & Kinnick do.

She also likes playing with baby dolls and Sadie's play kitchen. She recently discovered the baby doll strollers and likes to push them around. She likes using the play phone from Sadie's kitchen and also likes putting food in the fridge/microwave/oven.

One of her other favorites right now is brushing her teeth. She gets so excited when we tell her it's time to brush teeth. If I am in the bathroom getting ready, she will come in and point to her toothbrush until I get it for her.

Some of my "Macey" favorites right now:

-I love how social she is around other people.

-I love that she's a "Mommy's Girl" right now.

-I love that she still likes to rock and cuddle with me.

-I love the sad face she makes when she doesn't get her way.

-I love her little dimpled smile (don't know if that will ever change!)

Water Fun

I'm a little late in posting these pics... they were from May 12-when we were still getting hot days mixed in with cold rainy days. Sadie had been bugging me to play in the water, so we filled a bucket and they played...

Looking forward to LOTS more lazy summer days!