summer is flying by.....

Well this summer is flying by!  It seems we have something happening every weekend.  I am not complaining by any means, but it just reminds how quickly my kids are growing up.  Can you believe Jonathan will turn 1 at the end of August, the 26th to be exact!?  Here is a quick glimpse of our summer so far.

At the end of May, Brian and I took the kids to Kansas City for a mini vacation with my family and to see one of my best friends.  I am not sure if I would call it much of a vacation (in terms of relaxation), but looking back it was great.  Just very sleep deprived.  

My parents, Brian, and the kids visited a place called Diana Rose farm.  Basically an enormous/educational petting zoo.  Mimi and Papa took Katelyn into the old school house (which I later learned my best friend helped build, cool huh?!).  Papa had to look inside and show Katelyn what his school looked like.

Next we went into a barn with lots of cows.  (sorry no pictures of that)  But, Katelyn saddled up!

Feeding the goats with Daddy.  Katelyn loved it.  I might mention it started to rain quite a bit at this point.  But we kept on truckin'.  And Mimi thought she was the biggest trooper of us all!!  (Love you mom!)

 Taking a quick lunch break with Daddy and Papa.  Katelyn felt pretty special with her own bad of potato chips.

Brian's Turkey Coop!  Just one of those things you see and have to get a picture of!

 And at the end of the day, our attempt to get a family picture.  I am telling you, it NEVER works out!

Katelyn has also been to the Niabi zoo with her friends.  Check her out looking at the goats with her buddy.  This picture gave me a chuckle.

She is becoming a pro at feeding the goats.  All I can say is: lots of hand sanitizer!

And when it isn't too hot like the past few weeks we get out the pools so Katelyn and Jonathan can splash around.  These photos are from the month of June.  I already think Jonathan looks so different now compared to these pictures.  Jonathan LOVES the water.  And Katelyn pretends to like the water.

 

I love this photo of my baby girl.  And of course you can see a Hawkeye in the background.

Funny faces.  Such a character!

And most recently, my best friend celebrated her marriage with a reception back home.  Andrea got married in Cancun, but I sadly couldn't go.  But we had an amazing time celebrating.  All the high school girls got together for a picture.  What fun, some 11 years later!  ha.

Anyhow, I am exceptionally in love today spending time with my kids.  Nothing special has happened, in fact, they have had many tantrums already today.  But while Katelyn and I were dancing (while I was holding Jonathan), I was reminded how lucky I am to be with them every day.  And I owe that to my great husband.  Love you Brian!!!!  (did i just embarrass you??)  ;)  Like I said, they are growing so quickly it brings tears to my eyes.  (And for some of you, I know the wheels are turning in your head.......no, I am not thinking of having more at this moment.  My hands are more than plenty full, and I am enjoying my 2 year old and almost 1 year old in the moment.)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!

Still catching up.....

Okay so I am horrible at keeping up with posting, hence the Easter pictures below.  But I know everyone loves the pictures the most so I am adding the most recent ones uploaded to our computer.  We went to an indoor soccer field for an easter egg hunt.  It was CRAZY!  Too many kids for us and although they were supposed to be divided into age groups, the older kids didn't really respect those "rules" and took all the eggs for the little ones because they were much faster.  I sound like such a mom, don't I?

Oh rainy days.  Katelyn loved playing in her crib and making a little fort with a blanket.  This was at our old rental house so we had to get creative with the little space we had.  She was all smiles.  I think these photos were taken at the end of April so she is about 26 months.  (When kids are toddlers do you really say their age in months??  Sounds sort of silly to me. ha ha)

Let's see......these photos of Jonathan were taken around the same time, so that would make him around 8 months.....?  Don't mind his pink sleep sack - yes, it was his big sister's.  Sorry buddy, you just have to wear pink sometimes.

Now he is just mad I keep taking pictures of him in pink.  How embarrassing mom!!!

Starting him early with Mickey Mouse.  Grandparents brought him back an cute onesie from Disney World.  I am sure it won't be long before he is joining them.

And of course my little Belle will probably be joining also to see all the princesses.  She is obsessed with most Disney "princess" movies and she loves playing dress up and dancing in her dress!

Quite a handful and VERY high maintenance!

The pictures below are in our new house so Jonathan would be almost 9 months!  Doesn't he look annoyed and sad that I am taking his picture (and on a pink towel!!  ha ha, he just can't catch a break!)

Starting to sneak in a smile.

Crawling to come get me, and the camera.

well, it's been awhile

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE THIS OVER 2 MONTHS AGO.  I AM HORRIBLE AT THIS.  And I considered writing a whole new post but there was quite a bit here so I didn't.  Well, enjoy, 2 months later!  ha ha.  A lot has happened since then.......to be continued.

Hello Everyone,
I always have a difficult time deciding where to begin my "update."  But probably the most exciting news (that I know feel confident in sharing, if you don't already know) is we close on a house this Friday!  WE ARE SO EXCITED.  We feel SO LUCKY to be starting our first home together.  I still have my condo in Iowa City, but am currently renting it.  And the house we are living in right now is a rental.  So technically, this is our first home together!  Ah, I love it.  So wondering where it is?

Well we bought a home in Bettendorf.  Those of you who are familiar with Bettendorf - it is on Greystone Drive (near 53rd street and 18th street) and in the Paul Norton school district if that gives you an idea of the general area.  Here's a picture of the outside.

It has an unique floor plan (tri-level), which I never thought I would live in.  I LOVE the neighborhood, very family friendly.  We will feel like we have so much space that I can't wait until we get settle in, but we probably won't move until next weekend.  There is wall paper galore!  Yes, we are talking pink and green floral theme with lace curtains.  The house only needs a cosmetic face lift, but anyone that has owned a house that needs some work knows there is nothing cheap about fixing!  I so badly want to get everything updated right away, but that is because I am so excited.  And there are so many decisions to be made, how can anyone decide (paint colors, shade of carpet, blinds, etc.)  Maybe I will have to do before and after pictures like so many do on the blogs I follow.  I have a ton of DIY projects in my mind I can't wait to get started, but it is overwhelming!  I can't help but wonder though, how do people get all these projects completed?  Even as a stay at home mom of two, I can't find a solid 30 minutes to myself to do much of anything.  I think I had the misconception as a working mom at one time that stay at home moms had more time to get "things" done.  So not true, at least not right now.  I guess it all comes down to a strategic plan (for example, I cleaned the bathroom this morning while Katelyn took a bath and Jonathan napped), but who am I kidding, plans never goes as "planned" when you have kids.  Listen to me ramble......a good diversion from doing laundry, dishes, cleaning bottles, folding laundry, preparing food, etc.

On to other things.  A couple of other "big" things (well sort of, maybe I should say family milestones) happened this weekend.  Saturday morning was the first time we have ever had a baby sitter come over and watch our kids (yes, first sitter for Katelyn and she is over 2). We have had the grandparents watch our kids multiple times before, but we are ready to have other options too.  Nothing beats the grandparents watching the kids and their help is wonderful, but they need a break at times, and don't always want to stay up late waiting for you to come home.  And summer always has a ton going on such as weddings, we figured we better get something started.

But wait.....before I brag, I will say we stayed at home part of the time with the sitter, and then left for only 45 minutes.  While the sitter and my kids got to know one another, Brian and I tried to do some packing upstairs for our move.  Then we went to Home Depot and got some quotes.  It was great, but felt so weird.  I felt so guilty (and Brian thinks I am a nutball).  I can't explain it.  Moms can you help me out with this one???  I will talk the talk and say I need a night out or Brian and I actually need to have some alone time or a date, but when it comes to it, I feel bad leaving the kids.  But anyway I really liked the girl we had, and will use her more once we are moved and hopefully, gradually leave the the kids longer than 45 minutes!  ha ha.  You all might think I am crazy, but it really was a milestone for our family.

Then on Saturday we drove to Des Moines for my nephew's first communion.  All four of us.  What's the big deal you say??  Well, the longest drive we have made with both kids (even with just Katelyn) is about an hour and a half.  Now, this past Sunday was 6 hours in the car for my kids, in one day.  Most people will say, "aw don't worry, they will sleep half the time."  I don't know if you know this, but my kids are a bit different - they only slept 30 minutes out of the entire car ride.  30 minutes on the way to Des Moines, and absolutely no shut eye on the way home.  Crazy kids.  But the experience was great.  Pulling over in a Hy-Vee parking lot to feed Jonathan, finding a nutritious McDonald's to have lunch, public diaper changes, making the messiest table at Granite City - courtesy or Katelyn, etc.  ha ha.  No really it was all good.  My niece and nephew (11 and 8 years) are growing up so fast I was happy to spend some time with them.  Here are the cousins.

There is plenty more to bore you with, but this is getting too long and I have avoided cleaning up long enough so I will throw a bunch of pictures in for you.  xoxox, Al

Oh and here are some photos from months April - May.  Jonathan is around 7 and a half to 8 months.  Believe it or not I have taken a ton more photos since then, but will work on that later......so I say.  Enjoy!

What, I didn't do anything?

                                                               what mom? he did, I swear!