Shannon Lee Designs

Apple Picking

2011-10-01T10:46:00.005-05:00

Every year we go to Emma Krumbees in the fall, but this year we decided to try a new place; Apple Jack Orchards in Delano.

We wore our fall pictures outfits that I had picked out, thinking maybe we could find a good spot for a family photo while we were there to use for our Christmas cards this year. Well, I apparently didn't plan ahead well enough though, because we got there and all THREE of my camera batteries were dead! Bummer. But I did still get some cute pictures on my phone. Not too bad for a camera phone!

We picked our apples, (and ended up with WAY to many), had a delicious lunch while we listened to some live music, and then the kids played in the play area and jumped on the big yellow bouncy thing.

Gymnastics!

2011-09-07T16:56:00.011-05:00

Finley and Scout started a gymnastics class today. It hardly seems they could be old enough to be in gymnastics! (well technically it's a 3 year old class, and they won't be 3 for a couple months). They both LOVED it. Scout jumped right in and listened amazingly well to Coach Heather. Finley was more hesitant, and was scared that I was leaving so he clung to me for the first bit. Eventually he warmed up, and was right out there with all the kids doing everything. Him and his best buddy Chase are in class together, so he just loves that!

They practiced donkey kicks, walking their feet up the wall, jumping on the trampoline, swinging from the bars, and jumping in the foam block pit!

First day of school!

2011-09-06T16:55:00.001-05:00

Somehow we have have a FOURTH grader, AND a FIRST grader! Here they are all ready for their first day of school!

Finley and Scout waiting for the bus with Kinzie and Malichi...

It was an emotional day for Mama; Malichi has begun his last year of elementary school. Next year we have to brave the middle school. Middle School! I know. I can't believe it either...

Both kids came home reporting an awesome first day of school! :)

Malichi's 10th Birthday!

2011-09-05T16:56:00.004-05:00

Malichi is 10 years old today!

T E N !

Half way to 20. He is more than half way to adult hood. I can't even believe it! This birthday was definitely the most emotional one for me. Some times it seems like it was just yesterday that I was holding him in my arms in awe of this little being we created.

Here he is 10 years ago...

And here he is today....

We celebrated a couple days early and went to the Mall of America to Nickelodeon Universe.

The flume was the favorite ride of the day, and it was a good thing Kinzie and Malichi enjoyed it, too...we waited an hour to get on it!

Finley was pooped after a long day at MOA.

Malichi absolutely loves to read, so this year we decided to get him a Kindle for his birthday. He loved it, and was so eager to start downloading books onto it.

Then on his actual birthday, we woke him up singing Happy Birthday, and he got to blow his candles out on a giant cinnamon roll, as requested by him.

Me and the birthday boy!

Happy 10th Birthday, Malichi! We love you!

Scout's first haircut!

2011-09-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

We went into Great Clips to get Finley's hair cut, but instead came out with a hair cut for Scout!

Finley was crying because he was supposed to get his hair cut, and Scout was crying because she wasn't getting her hair cut, but she wanted to.

So, after giving myself little pep talk, reminding myself that it will grow back, Scout hopped up in the chair all excited for her hair cut!

Here is the before:

During...

And the 1st After:

Then we decided to go back for more and here is the 2nd After:

I am SOOO glad we cut it, I absolutely LOVE it! (I really was mostly just sad because I knew once we cut off the baby curls, they'd be gone forever). She got a total of about 6 inches cut off! And she loves it! She tells people, "Look at my hair!" and turns around so they can see the back too. :)

Back to School....

2011-08-31T16:59:00.001-05:00

Tonight we had our "Back to School" night where the kids get to see their classrooms and meet their teachers.

Kinzie has Mrs. Ronning. Last year she was Ms. Watts, and had a morning Kindergarten class, so she was the aide in Kinzie's kindergarten class for the afternoon. Over the summer she got married, and movied into 1st grade. Both Kinzie and I were super excited that she got Mrs. Ronning (althought I am having a hard time not calling her Ms. Watts). It is just so nice that she gets to start her year knowing her teacher well already!

Malichi got Mrs. Benson for 4th grade. She seems so great, and I have heard great things about her! I think this year is going to be a really good one for Malichi!

Both kids are looking forward to starting school again!

Kinzie and Malichi's birthday party!

2011-08-29T23:40:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating Kinzie and Malichi's birthdays with all our closest friends and family!

This year Kinzie requested a barbie cake. So, I attempted. This was my first time making a cake like this, and using fondant. But I must say, I think it turned out pretty okay! And she was SO excited about it!

Malichi first requested a Harry Potter cake. Um, what? Not sure what to do there. So he gave me his second choice. Mario themed. I can work with that! Malichi was so excited about his cake too, and couldn't believe that I actually MADE it!

The party was a blast!

Kinzie and her new glasses!

2011-08-29T22:00:00.002-05:00

At Kinzie's 7 year check up, she had a hard time with the vision test, so Dr. Erickson recommended we do a regular eye exam. Sure enough, she needed glasses. All that time that she would get up and move so close to the tv, I though it was because the twins were being loud and distracting and she was moving herself in front of where they play. But nope, she just couldn't see the tv!

That night we went to target and she picked out her brand new glasses. Here is what she picked out! Doesn't she look so much older with them!?

For her birthday, Kinzie's BFF, Kennedie gave her matching glasses for her American Girl doll Maddie!

Kinzie and Maddie with their new glasses and their matching dresses from Nate and Joan!

SCFF

2011-08-22T16:58:00.000-05:00

Highlights from our annual Steele County Free Fair week!!!

This year was especially fun because the twins were big enough to go on a lot of the kiddie rides, and they LOVED it! The two of them and cousin Thor had a blast going on rides together. Malichi tried out the bigger rides like the Zipper. He was not so much a fan...yet. He said he needed to get "thicker" before he can ride it so he doesn't slide around so much! LOL! Kinzie loved the tilt-a-whirl!

Petting Zoo, Llama rides, and fun houses!

A new attraction to the fair this year was the WowBalls! They are big clear balls that they zip you up into and fill it with air, then they roll you into a pool of water and you try to keep yourself upright. NOT so easy, but SO much fun!

Kinzie posing and showing off her new feather for her hair.

Prizes we won (or just paid way too much money for) at the games.

More fun at the fair...

That's it...until next year!

Kinzie's 7th birthday!

2011-08-09T16:57:00.000-05:00

Kinzie celebrated her 7th birthday this year, and the day was all about her!

We started the day out with a breakfast of eggs, pancakes and toast. Then we spent the morning at the park, and had lunch at "Sub-a-way" as Kinzie always calls it.

In the afternoon, she and I made her birthday cake and decorated it. Chocolate cake, with chocolate whipped frosting. Her favorite, just like her Mama.

After Daddy got off work, we went as a family and with her bestie, Kennedie, to the theater to see the Smurfs Movie.

Then we came home to open her gifts....

A Selena Gomez CD, and vanity mirror and table. She loved both! Our little girly-girl loves sitting at her new vanity and doing her makeup, hair and singing Selena Gomez songs in the mirror!

After spending some time in her room dancing to her new music, we enjoyed the cake she worked so hard on!

And she ended a wonderful birthday with a game of cards with her brother, and returning some important birthday phone calls!

Happy 7th Birthday, Kinzie! We love you!

VACATION 2011

2011-08-08T09:37:00.007-05:00

Vacation with my family every year is always adventurous!

Day one-Sat: We arrived at the cabin, and just after we got there the hail started. Pretty soon the sirens were going off and I had all the kids in the basement waiting out the storm. There were funnel clouds in the area so we called Nate and Joan to tell them they were driving straight into the storm cell. Not surprisingly, Nate just kept driving straight into the blackness. Luckily, they got here safely and the storm eventually passed. We even had a little time left before dark to swim in the pool!

Before vacation I bought these life jackets that had great reviews. They are supposed to be good for 2 to 3 year olds in helping them "swim" on their own. Scout absolutely loved it and within a few minutes was kicking her feet and swimming all over the pool all by herself! Finley was a little more hesitant and stuck by the ladder where he could touch, but still did great!

Day two-Sun: We rented a pontoon and spent the day relaxing out on the lake. Not of course without some type of boat issues. The jet ski got a rock stuck in it, and the pontoon had to be returned early because it wasn't running right. But we had fun while it lasted! Kinzie went tubing with Kelsey and mom road on the jet ski to watch the tubers. Sunday night we had a campfire, and made smores. The area was not well lit, and Grammy almost fell again this year believe it or not!

After the kids were in bed some of us sat down to play the game of things(Grammy, Me, Joan, Rachel and Mom). But we instead spend the evening trying to catch a mouse. As we were all sitting at the table ready to play our game, we saw a mouse run past us in the kitchen, and we all jumped up on top of the table and screamed. I texted Aaron, asking him to come and help us, but he didn't believe us. So Rachel called him, and begged him to come help. Finally, he came up, laughed at us, and looked for it, but we didn't find it. Not on night one anyway....stay tuned...

We tried to lure him in with our high tech trap, but it didn't work...

Day three-Mon: We had another rainy day. We made a Walmart trip for groceries for the rest of the week. The guys went golfing and we had a Fooseball tournament after dinner. Daddy was the champion! During the fooseball tournament, Kinzie lost her other front tooth that was SO ready to come out! Love her cute toothless grin!

Mom and Nate enjoying their banana baby food we picked up at walmart!

The mouse was spotted again and we chased the mouse out of the house. We went out for ice cream after the mouse fiasco. Then we came home and played game of things, with much inappropriateness (Question: What should you never say in front of your grandmother? Answer: Twat. And every answer thereafter had something equally inappropriate and the word twat was banned for the next game night! Oh, and also we signed mom up for seniorsmeetpeople.com. HAHA Her name was FunHotTammy! LOL

Day four-Tuesday:
Poolside all morning. Rented a pontoon again for the afternoon and did some tubing and swimming at the sandbar.

For dinner we went to Moonlight Bay on the lake. The kids love going there and playing all the games!

Day five-wed: We spent all day relaxing by the pool. Mr. Mouse was spotted throughout the day. Tiff and Eric came in the afternoon, But that evening Rach had to leave. We had a campfire and made smores again. Played game of things and minute to win it. Spotted mouse again, but of course after all the guys were in bed.

Scoutie was apparently practicing for a pageant or something???

Finn and Scout were going around giving foot massages.

Scout and Kinzie getting made up by Auntie Tiffy!

Oh and Finn too...

Day six-thurs: We went to Pequot lakes and Nisswa shopping while the boys went go carting. While in Nisswa we went on a carriage ride. That night we went to look at lisa's aunt's cabin in Hackensack and then got ice cream after. It was supposed to be a secret since only a few of us went, but oops, I slipped. We finally caught the mouse on a sticky trap...and had to um...get rid of it. Micheal Meyers made an appearance at the screen door outside, but Mom just smiled at him when she saw him. And then it was drinks and late night pool for the adults :)

The girls got eye glitter put on at the Fun Sisters store!

Day seven- Friday: Our last full day at the cabin. Sad. :( We caught a baby mouse in the morning had to also dispose of it...

Poolside...

Jet skis and tubing. Eric's 2nd time tubing EVER and first time jet skiing. It was pretty great to watch. But I am thinking he did not enjoy it.

We went to Zorbas on the lake for dinner. Then we went for more ice cream afterwards.

Micheal Meyers made an appearance to stand in Todd and Lisa's window and scratch on the screen. Too bad they didn't see him! They just thought the screen apparently fell out for no reason! So then Nate got Shan and Tiff. Tiff got Shan and Shan got Tiff back. I think we maybe all slept with our eyes half open that night?!

Saturday morning we got up, cleaned and checked out of the cabin, and headed to Glenwood for the Anderson Family reunion.

The Fish pond is always a highlight of the reunion

Scoutie showing off her new watch!

Sout hoarding the chalk...

I love my family and I cherish this time we have with them!

Kinzie's new smile!

2011-08-01T16:57:00.002-05:00

Kinzie FINALLY lost her front two teeth! Her top left tooth has been loose forever. We joked that she looked like Nanny Mcphee because her tooth was so loose it went straight out over her lip!

Once it was hanging by a thread, it finally came out!

And then a few days later, her other front tooth fell out! I just love her toothless grin.

Malichi and his Mini Me

2011-07-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

One of my all time favorite phots of Malichi he is wearing this little green plaid shirt from Old Navy that I loved. It was the cutest shirt on him, so I saved it, and now Finn wears it. The shoes were Malichi's too, but you can't see them in Malichi's picture. Finley looks just like Malichi did when he was little, but especially in these photos....

Malichi 2 1/2 years old.

Finley 2 1/2 years old.

Just look at those cute boys!

The 4th and more

2011-07-05T15:20:00.007-05:00

July 4th weekend was filled with fun spending time with our wonderful family and great friends.

Saturday we spent the day up at the Norwood pool. We've lived here for almost 6 years, and this year was the first year we bought a summer pass! I am so glad we finally did. The kids have been loving swimming up there! We figured it's time to give Malichi a little more freedom, so he gets to ride his bike up there by himself, while we drive, and then we meet there. He thinks that is an especially cool thing about going to the pool.

Then after an afternoon in the sun, we relaxed outside and had a campfire with our good friends, the Dustins. We made smores', and lit off some fireworks.

On Sunday we went to Chanhassen to attend all the festivities there with my family. Tiff and Eric just moved back from Texas last weekend, so we got to spend the day with them, Mom, and Joan and Thor. The kids did a few rides, rode ponies, and danced to the live music.

Monday, we went back to Chanhassen for the Fourth of July Parade with Grandma Tammy, Grandma and Grandpa Carlson, and the Dustins (well half of them, Chasey was sick).

Then that night we ended our perfect fourth of July weekend with watching fireworks over Lake Waconia.

Nothing makes me happier than quality time with the people I love.

29!

2011-06-26T22:47:00.001-05:00

Aaron turned 29 this year, and has begun his last year in his 20's! 364 more days and I will be married to a 30 year old! Crazy!

We celebrated his birthday this year by going to Fire Lake restaurant in Minneapolis with Steph and Adam, and then out for drinks afterwards. We had a great time talking, laughing, people watching, and debating our views on the gay 90's. The kids were with Mom and Grammy, so we stayed downtown. We planned to go to the Shout House, but someone is getting old and wasn't feeling so great, (definitely NOT me) so we ended up just watching movies at the hotel. And the next morning we got to sleep in and not to wake up to any fighting, crying, or screaming! It was wonderful.

Happy Birthday Love!

Garage Sale 2011!

2011-06-25T23:37:00.000-05:00

Once again, we held our annual garage sale in Owatonna. I think this year might have just been our 10th year doing it! Or maybe 11? Anyway, we've been doing it a long time! I look forward to this part of our summer every year! Julie always comes down, Grammy comes, and of course Mom, Joan, and I. Shauna came with Julie this year, and Nancy brought her homemade cookies as usual. Every year we are shocked by how much stuff we come up with to fill the garage... and the driveway...and 3 pop up canopies!

The last few years Malichi and Kinzie have been setting up a lemonade stand. They make their own sign, decide on the prices for what they are selling, and they get to run the stand. Afterward, they get to use their hard earned money for whatever they choose.

The twins' enjoying cookies from the lemonade stand.

At the end of the sale we had all made a little extra cash, got rid of some of stuff we don't need (though we still had tons to pack up), and had a blast! The best part of the garage sale weekend this year was that Tiff and Eric moved back to Minnesota on Saturday night!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T11:47:00.000-05:00

For Father's Day this year, we spent the day in Owatonna. The weather was beautiful, so we grilled out at Aaron's parents and let the kids play in the water all afternoon.

Scout loves to get other people wet, but when they get her back, she is not happy!

Daddy opening all his gifts from the kids. They each made him a card, and they picked out a new pair of swim trunks for him for this summer! :)

Then we headed to my Dad's for dinner, and the kids played pinball and had races in his basement.

A blast from the past!

2011-06-10T23:36:00.000-05:00

As a kid I remember walking to this really awesome park whenever we would go to my Aunt and Uncles house. I remember it having huge metal slides that seemed to never end, and huge wood and rope climbing structures. I seem to remember it having zip lines too. It was the best park I had ever been too, despite the splinters and metal slide burns I remember getting!

Well, I haven't thought about that park in years, until someone in my ECFE class mentioned Chutes and Ladders as a fun place to take your kids in the summer. I about jumped out of my chair in excitement, recalling my memories of going there as a kid!

I knew I needed to take my kids there, and soon! So on our first day of summer break, Kristie and I took all the kids there for the afternoon!

The Fab 7!

I was so anxious to see if it was still what I remembered it as a child. Of course, they have updated it to today's safety standards, and added lots of colorful, plastic play structures. And everything seems bigger when you are a kid, so it didn't seem as big as I remembered it. But the really big metal slide, and some of the play structures were the same as the ones I remember playing on.

I hope my kids had as much fun playing there, as I did as a kid!

School's out for summer!

2011-06-08T20:52:00.006-05:00

We officially have a 1st Grader and a 4th Grader here (and a little toddler who wanted to be in the picture too)!

I can't believe Kinzie has already finished her Kindergarten year! I still feel like I should be bringing her to preschool! But unfortunately she's not my baby anymore. She's reading, and writing and doing math! She loves to read the Junie B. Jones series and the Ramona series. And most days she writes someone a letter or a story! She just loves to write. She's growing up and is all ready for first grade!

Malichi's 3rd grade year was great too! He will be starting his last year in Elementary come fall! OHMYGOD for real? His last year in elementary? I don't see how this could be possible!

Both of the kids were super excited for summer break, but a little sad too that their school year was ending. I, on the other hand, was not sad that school was ending. I love having the kids home for the summer, and not having such a schedule!

Kinzie's first T-ball game

2011-06-05T23:34:00.000-05:00

Kinzie chose to play T-ball again this year. While she is having lots of fun, and looks forward to all her games, I definitely don't think it is her favorite sport. She has a few friends on her team and spends a lot of time chatting with them; it's a social gathering anyway, right?

She sure does look cute in her T-ball getup though, doesn't she!?

Here she is with her team, and Daddy is even one of the coaches!

Bayview Carnival

2011-06-02T23:33:00.000-05:00

Highlights from the Bayview Carnival 2011!

Kinzie's favorite thing was getting "Wacky Hair"

Malichi's favorite thing was dunking his classmate in the dunk tank!

And the twins favorite thing? Playing in the puddles!

Track and Field Day at Bayview

2011-05-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

We had a beautiful day for Track and Field this year, unlike the past few years where it is has been super crazy hot. The twins and I met up with Kinzie for lunch first, since Kindergarten doesn't do track and field day. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon following around the 3rd graders and watching Malichi at all of his track and field events. His favorite events were jump roping, and the one where you swing on the rope in the gym and pick up the lizards and throw them into the bucket. I don't know if that event has an actual name...but if it does, I don't know it!

And the twins even lasted all afternoon! Granted, I brought lots of snacks, crayons and coloring books, blankies, and some toys to keep them occupied!

It's officially up for sale!

2011-05-23T23:32:00.003-05:00

We have been thinking about putting our house on the market for almost 2 years now, and have met with a few different realtors during that time. With the market the way it is, we just never went through with it. But this spring we got talking about it again, found a realtor we really liked, and decided to take the leap and give it a try! Now we just need the right person to come along!

As much as we do want to move to Waconia, it will be bittersweet if we do actually sell this house and move. This is our first real home we purchased for our family. I fell in love with the character of this house inside. Kinzie was a just baby when we moved here, and the twins were born in this house. We have so many wonderful memories in this house.

Date Night!

2011-05-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

Every year Kinzie and Daddy do the Father Daughter Dance. This year was their third year. Kinzie loves that she gets to dress up and have her Daddy take her out!

They spent the evening eating pizza, cake, hula hooping, and of course dancing! I don't think Kinzie realizes how special she must be that she gets her Daddy out on that dance floor with her! That is a rare occurance!

Happy Mother's Day !

2011-05-08T21:44:00.005-05:00

The best Mother's Day present:

A family photo where everyone is looking!

I spent my Mother's Day at the Arboretum (until it started raining) with my kiddos, hubby and my mom, had lunch at the Olive Garden, and then came home for a nice long nap!

My Mom.

2011-05-08T21:15:00.006-05:00

Me and my Mama.

She is the best Mom ever. Seriously. She has been there for me through everything, and I honestly don't think I have ever doubted that once. Even when I was a teenager, and gave her more than her fair share of hell. I have always known she would never turn her back on me, I always knew she loved me, and I am forever grateful for that.

Her and I were talking the other day about the past, and realized that between me and my sisters, she had about 12 years of teenage girls, drama, and one crisis (real crisis, not the teenage girl "oh my gawd my life is over" kind of crisis) after another pretty steadily through those 12 years. But it does not show. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting my mom, you'd agree. For one, she just looks young, like could be my sister young. And secondly, her spirit has never been broken. She has always, always, had this amazing ability to deal with the cards she has been given, in the most positive manner, always optimistic. But while still taking action, and doing whatever needs to be done for her kids, her family, heck probably even for a perfect stranger. That's just how she is. Compassionate, selfless, loving, beautiful. And I am blessed to call her my mom.

I coudn't have asked for a better Mom in my life, and a better Grandma for my kids!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I ♥ U!

Moments like these...

2011-04-22T21:48:00.003-05:00

♥ ♥ ♥

...are my favorite kind of moments in motherhood.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-22T21:13:00.003-05:00

Try #2 of visiting the easter bunny went much better. Day one I don't think the twins even made it within 5 feet of Mr. easter bunny. But who can blame them? When I said bunny, they were thinking bunny, cute little furry bunny that I can hold in my lap kind of bunny. Not ginormous, fully clothed, bunny whose eyes are as big as my head, and walks on 2 feet!

There may or may not have been an ice cream bribe to get this photo...

Finley's new motorcycle

2011-04-09T15:31:00.006-05:00

Grandpa Cory gave Finley a rocking motorcycle, hand made by him, for Christmas. We only got to see a glimpse of what it would look like at Christmas, because it wasn't complete yet. I was in absolute awe when I saw the finished motorcyle last week when Rachel brought it over! It was so much more than I could've imagined! So much detail, I can't even imagine how many hours went into it. Tiffany's Mother in law painted it, and did an amazing job as well!

Finley and Scout were both super excited about it.

My dad has always been creative, and comes up with some amazing projects. He doesn't ever use a pattern, he just gets an idea in his mind and goes with it. Growing up he always had some cool project he was working on. He made canoes, a speedboat, a real working roller coaster and a half pipe in our backyard, a racetrack, and a hot tub among other things. I remember a little cradle and benches he made for our dolls. And the cabinetry work him and my brother do is just beautiful.

And now he is sharing that talent with his grandkids. Malichi got a rocking horse when he was little, Kinzie got a dollhouse, Scout got a rocking chair, and Finley, the rocking motorcyle.

They will be gifts that we will forever cherish.

Love this boy.

2011-04-09T15:27:00.003-05:00

He gives the best kisses. Ever.

♥ ♥ ♥

Pine Wood Derby

2011-03-27T20:32:00.003-05:00

The highlight of Malichi's first year in Cub Scouts was the Pine Wood Derby. He worked really hard on his car, doing most of the work himself, with just a little help with the sawing part from Dad. When the big day came, he was so eager to race his car and see how fast it was.

His car raced 4 times, and he got 4th, 4th, 4th, and 3rd place(out of 4 cars racing). Even though his car wasn't the fastest one, he was proud of it, and we were so proud of him too! He just had fun watching his race, and checking out everyone else's car designs. But he does want to figure out how to make it faster for next year!

Here he is with his car, "Speeding Snake" as he named it.

Malichi's new smile!

2011-03-18T16:17:00.004-05:00

After 9 months of not eating popcorn, candy bars, and only getting to chew gum once or twice, Malichi got to celebrate getting his braces off by enjoying a big milky way and a pack of gum (which I am pretty sure he chewed all in one day).

Check out his new smile.

I am absolutely amazed at what 9 months of braces can do! Remember his before picture?

My Daisy girl selling cookies.

2011-03-07T22:06:00.009-06:00

This year Kinzie started Girl Scouts, and is a Daisy. I was so excited to get her into it, that I was roped into being one of the leaders so we would actually have a troop. But it has been a fun year, and it is something her and I get to do together a couple times a month.

One of the highlights of the year so far has been selling cookies.

We made a troop goal for each girl in our group to sell 50 boxes, and then Kinzie made her own personal goal to sell 80 boxes. I had NO idea what to expect, and to me it seemed like selling 80 boxes would be quite a task.

She practiced her sales pitch, we loaded up our wagon with cookies, bundled up, and headed out in the cold to sell cookies in our neighborhood.

After coming in and warming up with some hot chocolate, she called all our family to take orders from them as well.

I was super impressed; she did amazing. She ended up selling a total of 130 boxes of cookies,(only 12 of which we bought) and well exceeded her goal! She was so proud of herself, and so was I!

Kinzie lost a tooth!

2011-03-03T22:52:00.007-06:00

Kinzie finally lost her first tooth...well, that came out on it's own anyway! She has had 3 teeth pulled, and was so excited to have the tooth fairy visit without a dentist visit first!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:08:00.004-06:00

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We spent our Valentine's Day hanging out at home tonight because Malichi had the stomach flu last night and stayed home from school today.

Daddy picked up smores dessert pizza from Papa Murphy's and we watched a movie together. I bought each of the kids the "I Like Book" for Valentine's day and Daddy picked up a few other little goodies for them. I found out about the I like books from a fellow blogger, and thought they would be a fun thing to start with the kids. Basically you just write down something you like about them every day and then at the end of the year they will have a book filled with wonderful things about them. What a fun way to document the little things in life, and a great self esteem booster for the kids!

The kids each decorated a paper picture frame with their own picture in it for Daddy. The twins thought it was so cool to decorate something that had their own picture in it! Finley kept pointing to himself, saying "ME!" as he colored, and Scout kept saying "Me Scoutie" pointing to her picture.

Aaron brought home flowers for me, and I bought him the "I like book" for couples so we could start one of our own as well.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The potty training stage

2011-02-02T11:54:00.004-06:00

.

we. are. there.

3 or 4 weeks ago, Scout started telling us every time she had to go potty or had just gone potty. She would come running to us yelling "pooping. POOPING"! We would go bring her to the potty, but she had always peed in her diaper just before she told us. (she was calling both peeing and pooping, pooping for a while). If she pooped in her diaper, she would immediately say "Scoutie poop. Change".

There were a couple of days in there that she absolutely would NOT put on a diaper. She only wanted to wear panties. We put her panties on over her diaper but that wasn't good enough! During the day I would let her wear her Dora panties, but being that she had not peed on the potty once yet, I wasn't ready to let her wear them to bed or nap! A couple times I had to go put on a diaper over her panties after she fell asleep, just to save myself from having to clean up poop or pee in her bed.

Finley doesn't really care if he has a wet or poopy diaper at this point, actually I think he'd rather sit in it then have to get his diaper changed! But he likes to try going on the potty every time Scout does, because of course, if one does something, the other must too!

During dinner a couple of weeks ago (Jan. 23rd to be exact, since us Mom's like to remember when their child first went on the potty) she yelled "poopie mommy"! Her diaper was dry so we ran her to the bathroom. After a few minutes of reading "The Cat in the Hat" (our bathroom reading material) she peed on the potty!!!! Yay!

I ran to the kitchen to find a potty treat to give her, which happened to be chocolate chips, because it was the only candy we had. She got 5 chocolate chips for going pee on the potty!

Finley wanted to have his turn on the potty, and as I was taking his diaper off a little turd fell out and rolled on the floor. Scout saw it and shreiked, "Oh! More CANDY", as she reached down and scooped it up! Luckily Daddy grabbed it just before it went in her mouth! I guess chocolate for a potty treat might not be such a good idea.

After that she had one accident in her underwear that night, and she totally freaked out. She did NOT like that her Dora underwear were wet!

Since then she has been staying dry all day whether she is in underwear or her diaper. She is sometimes wet in the morning, and if she needs to poop she usually does it during naptime in her diaper, but other than that she stays dry.

For the first few days she was excited about going pee on the potty, but now the last week or so she doesn't want to sit on the toilet, but she absolutely does not want to pee in her diaper anymore either. She'll come running to me saying "potty mommy", and we'll run to the bathroom, but once she gets in their she'll cry and say "no potty mommy". So we leave. She'll do that a few times, until she can't hold it anymore and she will give in and finally sit down and go pee. Some days she holds it until dinnertime before she finally goes potty. There are some days though that she has gone 2 or 3 times on the potty. She has even gone in a public bathroom a few times...at Subway, MOPS and Edinborough park! That is such a relief becasue Kinzie would NOT use a public toilet for months and instead would hold it for hours and hours until we got home.

I am going to take her to target to buy her some new panties, and pull ups, and I think we will be diaper free for her! Right now she only wears her diaper at naptime and bedtime, and when we are out in public. But since she has only had 1 accident in the past couple weeks, I think we'll start doing pull ups at nap and bed, and underwear all other times! Yay! Now I just need to get her to poop on the potty, and NOT hold her pee for so long!

And then when Finley is ready, we'll start the process all over again with him.... but for now he just sits on the potty when he wants to and pees and poops in his diaper without a care in the world. :)

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solitary confinement

2011-01-23T14:10:00.006-06:00

...well except that they aren't alone. They still have each other.

But their room is now down to 2 beds. That's all. No other furniture. No toys.

After we took the nuks away, naptime got even harder. As soon as I left the room they would instantly get up and start playing. Well, trashing their room is really more like it. We had this problem before, just not as bad.

They've learned how to open the drawers of the dresser, even after I put on the child drawer locks. And when they get into the dresser they throw every single piece of clothing out, including ripping apart the matched up socks.

They open the closet doors and pull out all of the clothes off the rack, and take them off the hangers.

If you look closely you can see them in the back of the closet taking clothes off hangers.

They move Scout's bed all over the room. They learned to open the bedroom door now too.

I bought black out curtains hoping if the room was dark they would lay down and go to sleep. It helped some. But not enough.

At naptime I sit and watch them on the monitor and when I see them get up I yell to them, "get back in your beds" from outside the door. Then I watch them look around confused and quickly scurry back to bed. We do this over and over every few minutes until they finally give up and go to sleep. Or until I finally give up and let them get up.

(sidenote:I would highly recommend a video monitor if you have twins, not only for safety but for entertainment as well; it's hilarious to watch them conniving).

Last Sunday, as they were supposed to be napping, I watched them get up from their beds, and I gave them a few minutes to see if they would get back into bed on their own. They didn't. Instead they moved Scout's bed, and Finley's bed too(not sure how they moved his because it's not on wheels). I went in their room and they had both beds pushed up to the dresser, and they were standing on top of the dresser fighting.

So, I called Aaron in and decided that we needed to move all of the furniture out of their room. Not only for their safety, but for my sanity as well.

So we took everything out except their beds, blankies, and stuffed animals that they sleep with.

The next day I put a lock on the closet door, put a child-proof door knob cover on the door, and anchored the beds TO THE WALL! Ha!

I am not sure there is anything else I could do to childproof in their room. But I am sure they will still find something to get into.

But for now, naptime has gotten better. They still play and giggle,and go back and forth in each others beds. But they do get bored quicker and go to their own bed and fall asleep eventually.

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Bye Bye Nukies!

2011-01-05T20:40:00.006-06:00

It's a new year, and time to break a new habit.

As of Sunday night we took the twins' nuks away. We told them we left them at Grandma and Grandpa's house for baby Micah, and that they were big kids now and didn't need them. It was bittersweet for me. I am so ready for them not to have their nuks anymore, but it was also taking away a piece of their babyhood, reminding me that they are no longer babies anymore, but growing toddlers.

These first few days have been rough without them. Scout cries for hers, but then she'll say "No Scoutie nukie. Scoutie big girl". Finley usually only asks for his if Scout is asking for hers.

As you can see we have quite the stash of them because they each sleep with one in their mouth, and one in their hand to rub on their face, and Scout usually likes to have a couple in her other hand as well.

I will not miss running around the house and dumping out the diaper bag desperately looking for nuks at bedtime.

At this point they are crying themselves to sleep at night without the nuks, and at nap time they are just not even laying down. They are trashing their room instead. Hopefully this doesn't last too long.

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Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T15:23:00.004-06:00

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We hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! We sure did!

Here are a few highlights:

Kinzie and her new American Girl doll! She was so excited for this. She named her doll Maddie! She and Maddie have matching jammies!

Malichi playing his with his new ping pong table in his room:

Scout and Finley being crazy as usual:

Cookies for Santa:

The Santa letter Malichi and Kinzie wrote says:

Dear Santa,
Ralph the Elf has been sleeping on the job! I hop you dot git mad at Ralph. Merry Christmas. Love! The Carlson Family.

Christmas came and went too fast, and while we had fun opening all our new gifts and playing with our new toys (ahem, our kindles-but the kids had fun with their toys too), the best part of Christmas for us is that we make it uninterrupted family time. Just for us. Us and the kids. I love that time we have together as a family.

Holidazzle

2010-12-22T21:08:00.010-06:00

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After missing it the last couple of years, we started up our tradition again this year of going to the Holidazzle parade, and Macy's Eighth floor holiday display.

We bundled everyone up, met up with Mom, Julie, Megan, and Ana and took the lightrail downtown. That in itself was exciting for the kids! They thought the lightrail was pretty awesome.

While I knew Kinzie and Malichi would enjoy the parade, I wasn't sure how the twins would do, with it being so cold out, but they absolutely loved it! Finley was frantically saying and signing "more" in between each float, and squealed with excitement when he saw the next one coming.

After the Holidazzle, we went to Macy's. This year the Holiday display was "A Day in the Life of an Elf". The big kids had fun going through each section reading the story as they went. The twins were just in awe of everything they saw. It was so fun watching them enjoy it so much.

We decided to skip waiting in line to see Santa since we just saw him at the mall. But we went to Mrs. Claus' Bakery and got our treats as usual.

This has been one of my favorite holiday traditions. I have been taking the kids to it since Malichi was probably 2 years old. I look forward to many more years of going with my kids!

After sending Aaron home with 4 exhausted kids, I went and had a little girls night with Mom and Julie. Mom even brought a little Christmas tree and fake presents to put under it so the hotel room had a little christmas spirit too (some were real presents too). That is so my mom. Gotta love her.

the terrible two's.

2010-12-22T21:06:00.009-06:00

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...have set in.

Ok, let's be honest. They set in a long time ago. But now it's official. They are two, and sometimes terrible. And if it's not one twin, it's the other, but mostly it's both.

On this particular day, the twins woke up from their nap and I heard them talking on the monitor. I needed a few more minutes to finish whatever I was doing, so I left them in their room for probably like 10 minutes. Then I went in to get them up, and they proudly showed me what they had been up to.

Apparently we left a new, full tube of desitin on their changing table.

I put them in time out by the wall, while I ran the bath water. Meanwhile they smeared their hands all over the wall, leaving greasy desitin streaks and little handprints all over.

Clean up for this little stunt of theirs was not fun!

Things that desitin does NOT come out of:

clothing
rugs
bed skirts
walls
sheets

It does come out of hair, and off the skin. But not so easily.

I guess we hadn't toddler proofed their room as well as we thought.

Disney On Ice

2010-12-13T10:23:00.007-06:00

Disney on Ice 2010!

Aaron and I took Kinzie and Malichi to Disney on Ice this year for one of the Girl Scout Service Unit activities. It was a great show, and they both loved it!

Kinzie and Kennedie

Malichi and Parker

Kinzie's favorite was "all of it"

And Malichi's favorites were Peter Pan and Lilo and Stitch.

What a fun night!

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Meet Ralph...

2010-12-13T10:14:00.006-06:00

...our Elf on the Shelf.

We started the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year with the kids. We read them the book, and then the kids named our Elf "Ralph".

Ralph watches over the kids, then reports back to Santa during the night if they've been naughty or nice. Then he returns by morning, always perched in a new place to keep watch.

The kids are having fun looking for Ralph every morning! The one rule of the Elf is that you can't touch him or he could lose his magic. One day Ralph fell off the entertainment center where he was sitting, and Kinzie says to me skeptically, "I think Ralph came from the store. He has a tag on his butt". She thinks very logically and I maybe even has some doubts about Santa and Elves and such. But she loved going to see Santa and has been working on her letter to him, so even if she's not fully convinced, she loves believing anyway.

It's been a fun little way to celebrate the holidays, as well as keeping the kids in line! Remember... Ralph is watching you!

Snowed in.

2010-12-13T10:02:00.004-06:00

This weekend we were supposed to be going to the Holidazzle, visiting Julie, and having the twins' birthday party, but instead we were snowed IN! I am not even sure what the snow totals were for our area, but it was A LOT!

Here is a view out our front door. You can just barely see the little dent in the snow where the sidewalk is underneath.

Mom and Rachel were snowed in with us. We baked and cooked all day saturday and had a great time!

We made Grammy's famous sugar cookies, and they actually tasted just like Grammy's! They just melt in your mouth. I was so proud! SUCCESS!

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps. Yummy cookie recipe found on the internet. One of Aaron's favorites.

Almond Bark Puff Corn. Super easy recipe I got from Kristie. It's literally just almond bark, and puff corn, but tastes amazing!

We made homemade chicken noodle soup too. YUM!

Mom made her first batch of homemade noodles too, which turned out awesome! Good job Mama!

The kids had fun baking and even more fun eating!

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Seeing Santa

2010-12-09T21:02:00.004-06:00

Kinzie told Santa she wanted a pink car for her doll house, and Malichi wanted some new books and a DS game.

And the twins didn't really talk to Santa... I was just lucky to even get a photo with them near him!

Oh Christmas Tree...

2010-12-07T23:05:00.008-06:00

Holiday decorating for 2010...

Felt gingerbread ornaments Kinzie and Malichi made...

TA DA!

Yes, we know the top is totally crooked. We were going for the Grinch Christmas tree look this year!

Ok so not really, but our tree broke, and we decided to wait until after this holiday season to buy a new one. We couldn't even put the star on the top, because it fell right off with how crooked the top was!

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The Twins turn TWO!

2010-11-26T18:37:00.010-06:00

I can hardly believe they are 2 already. They are quickly becoming little people with their own thoughts, and words, and opinions!

At their 2 year check, Finley weighed 25 lb. 12 oz. (25%) and Scout was 29 lbs. (75%). Finley was 33" tall (20%) and Scout was 33 1/2" tall (50%). It's always fun to see if Finley is catching up to his "little" sister yet!

Scout is definitely the leader of the two and Finley is the follower. She instigates a lot of the mischief, but he definitely joins right in. Even habits that she has formed, he will copy.

For the longest time Scout has wanted to have one nuk in her mouth, and one to rub on her cheek to fall asleep (why, I have NO idea...they aren't really soft)! Finley, as usual, has copied her, and now needs to do the same to fall asleep. So we always have to make sure there is a minimum of 4 nuks in the bedroom at nap and bedtime, though more is better because Scout likes to hoard them and have a couple in the other hand that she is not using to rub a nuk on her cheek with. So we are usually trying to scrounge up about 5 nuks at bedtime.

Finley is the sensitive one. Anytime he gets in trouble, or you even say his name the least bit sternly his bottom lip comes right out and he buries his head not wanting to look at anyone. Scout, on the other hand, she might laugh at you, throw a fit on the floor, scream, or maybe just ignore you.

Both are still very attached to their nuks, but we are limiting them to naptime and bedtime now that they are 2. They've actually done pretty well with it. Finley doesn't really cry for his outside of nap or bedtime. When Scout is upset though, she'll scream out "Noookie! Noookie Mommy"!

Their favorite place to play is in Kinzie's room...if they can ever get in there. Luckily they can't open her door yet, but if it is ever left open, you can bet they'll be in there! They love to get into all her little treasures, which she absolutely hates. She'll come home from school and notice one thing out of place and come to me asking "Moooom, did you let the twins in my room today!?"

Both of the twins are so into puzzles right now. They have mastered all of the ones we own and got a few new ones for their birthday. Their favorite one is this cheap foam one I got from like a dollar store when Malichi was little. It is an alphabet puzzle with colorful foam letters. Scout calls it "A-E-O-O".

Scout didn't have much interest in participating in their 2 year photo shoot. She is definitely strong willed and stubborn, just like her big sissy. So most of the shots she has a mouthful of goldfish as we were trying to get her to at least just sit in one spot! As soon as the camera comes out, Scout will start whining, "no cheese, no cheese"!

Finley, though, was all smiles. Much more laid back, like his brother. He sees the camera and willingly says "cheese". Sometimes he'll even look up and say cheese just hearing his name being called, assuming it's for a picture!

Since their birthdays fell on Thanksgiving this year, we celebrated the night before. Kinzie and Malichi helped me make cupcakes for them in the afternoon and after dinner we had cupcakes and opened presents. Luckily, no one was in the hospital or ER this year for birthdays or thanksgiving. Let's hope we have ended that tradition!

Happy Birthday Finley and Scout! We love you!

♥ ♥ ♥

Halloween 2010

2010-11-11T20:29:00.005-06:00

Costumes for 2010... Mario, the Skelecutie, & Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Halloween is quite the holiday around our house. There are always lots of festivities involved....

This year was the first year the twins got to do the ECFE pumpkin decorating. They went crazy over the glitter.

Fall Parties at school

Carving pumpkins. The big kids did their own, and we helped with the twins. They did not like putting their hands inside the pumpkins.

The Safari Island Fall party that we attend every year!

Halloween parties.

Jack-O-Lantern pizzas.

Trick or Treating

... and best of all, was eating the candy.

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Three Muskateers

2010-11-11T20:25:00.006-06:00

Chasey, Finley and Scoutie.

Aren't they so cute!?

Big kid beds for the twins...

2010-10-07T22:30:00.012-05:00

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This was entirely against my own wishes.

Back at the end of June, (at not even 19 months old) Finley climbed out of his crib, and fell on his head on the wood floor. Yet another head injury for my poor son. So, I had no choice. It was time for toddler beds.

And of course, I couldn't move one to a bed, and keep the other confined to a crib. That just wouldn't be fair! So, even though Scout had not climbed out of her crib or ever tried, we put her in a big kid bed too.

Toddler beds were NOT an easy transition...for us, as parents. For them? They loved it. They had the freedom to get up. They quickly figured out that they could explore.

It started with getting out of their beds, and pulling out every single article of clothing from their dresser and making a huge pile in the middle of the room.

Then they some how managed to get all pictures off the wall. (luckily they were canvas and didn't have glass)!

They managed to get their toddler toothpaste out of the changing table, and I found them each with a tube in their mouth, sucking the toothpaste out. Luckily it was the "safe if injested" kind!

Then they learned how to climb on top of the dresser. One day I went in to check on them after hearing Scout crying on the monitor. I walked in to find them both standing on their dresser, and Finley was trying to push Scout off!

So we had to rearrange the room because they were climbing from their beds to the dresser, we removed pictures from the wall, took everything off the dresser and the changing table.

When we moved everything off their dresser, Aaron put a piggy bank in the back of their closet. One day I went in to check on them at nap time, and I walk in and the piggy bank was shattered on the floor and Scout holds out her hand, saying "Owie Mommy, Owie". She had apparently dropped (or thrown) the piggy bank, and cut her hand on on it, just a small cut, but she wasn't even crying. Just showing me her owie!

So I cleaned out the closet too.

Then they figured out how to open their drawers and use them as stairs to get to the top of the dresser.

They've figured out that Scout's bed is on wheels, and move it in front of the door during nap a lot of days, blocking the door.

And now they can turn the light on, so that almost always goes on as soon as walk out after tucking them in. We usually have to go back in a few times and put them back in their beds, and turn out the lights. Eventually they get bored and crawl into their beds and go to sleep. For a while we would find Scout sleeping on the floor right next to Finley's crib, and a few times they were asleep together in one bed.

This was the damage they did one day before they finally got in their beds and took a nap. (this was while I was in the basement, thinking Daddy was upstairs in his office and would put them back to bed if they got up, while Daddy was actually taking a nap thinking I had the monitor with me downstairs and would hear them if they got up...so neither of us heard them)

Oh how I miss being able to put them in their cribs, say goodnight and the most they can do is jump in their cribs and giggle at each other.

They have have been in beds for over 3 months now, and they aren't even 2 yet! I don't think we moved Kinzie and Malichi to beds until they were almost 2 1/2, and even then it was because we thought "it was time", not because they were climbing out.

I guess with twins, what one doesn't think of, the other does! They have been way more mischievous than our other 2 were as toddlers!

Our first Twins game.

2010-10-07T22:30:00.007-05:00

Our school district did a Twins Game family night at the new stadium, so we got a babysitter for Finley and Scout and took the big kids to the game! We went with the Dustin's and the kids all had a blast!

Daddy bought Kinzie and Malichi each a Twins hat as a souvenir from the game. He also surprised me with a hat (which was very, very, sweet of him, and I was not as excited about the gesture as I should have been- sorry babe), but being that I am so not a baseball hat type of girl, I exchanged it for a cute "I Only Kiss Twins Fans" shirt(which I think he liked better on me anyway). I am also not a big baseball fan either, but I changed into the shirt and wore it for the game to show my enthusiasm!

The new stadium was really awesome, and we had pretty good seats too! I thought I was going mostly for my kids to have the experience, and because it was very exciting for my husband to have me go to baseball game with him, but wouldn't ya know it, I even had a great time too!

My mom happened to be at the same game with her work, all decked out in Twins clothing and face paintings! It was fun for the kids to see Grandma there too!

Malichi's 9th Birthday!

2010-10-07T22:29:00.004-05:00

Malichi turned 9 this year! Which means he is half way to adulthood....HALF WAY there. Wow. Now that is scary. He is growing up crazy fast!

This year we spent his birthday at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America.

We had lunch at our family fave, Noodles & Company, and then headed off to ride rides all day long!

For Malichi being 9 meant being tall enough for ALL the rides! Malichi went on his first upside down roller coaster, and he loved it!

Kinzie did one of the bigger roller coasters too, but as you can see from her face, she was not as thrilled once we were on the ride. She decided once was enough for her on that one!

Malichi had a great birthday, and we all had fun going on rides. I forgot how much I love roller coasters!

Happy 9th Birthday Malichi!

Backtracking to Vacation 2010

2010-09-13T22:05:00.017-05:00

my long overdue post with our vacation photos. I am just going to warn you now, I think this might be a long one....

We went back up to Glenwood for our vacation this year following the Anderson family reunion. I think we've decided though, that Glenwood is bad luck for us and we'll be going elsewhere from now on.

However, despite quite a few um, mishaps... we had a great time!

We started out with the reunion the first weekend. The twins had gotten strep throat 2 days before we were supposed to leave, but they had 48 hours of antibiotics in them, and were feeling much better so we decided to leave on friday as planned. We got to the campground in the afternoon and met up with Grammy at the campground park.

We had just barely gotten there when Malichi started saying his throat hurt, and he ended up with a fever. Aaron took him back to the hotel for the rest of the day while me, Kinzie and the twins stayed at the campground.

My poor boy, feeling too sick to play.

By saturday morning, we had called our doctors back home and all 6 of us were on antibiotics for strep. :(

By sunday though, we were all feeling pretty good with 24 hours of antibiotics, and the kids were all able to participate in the kids' games at the reunion.

Scout was so proud of her candy bracelet. She went around showing it off to everyone!

We had checked in to the cabin Saturday afternoon and Sunday after the reunion we were ready to start our vacation!

Nate had this really great idea that we should all pitch in some money and fly Tiffany home for vacation! We were all excited about it, and everyone wanted to pitch in! Vacation is just not the same without her! So Saturday night Mom and I found a flight, and called Tiff. The conversation was priceless.
We asked her what she had going on during the week.
She said "nothing".
So we said, "we are flying you home for vacation".
She laughed and said "ok send me a ticket", jokingly.
We told her we weren't joking and we were flying her home tomorrow.
She kept asking "are you serious, are you joking?" and when she realized we were totally serious she starting bawling!

So on Sunday Rachel picked her up from the airport and brought her up to the cabin. It was so great to have here there!

Monday Kinzie turned SIX! We had the cabin decorated for her when she woke up with a banner and balloons. We let her pick what she wanted to do for her birthday and she chose getting her hair and nails done. It was between that and going to see "Ramona and Beezus" at the theater.

We left the other 3 kids at the cabin with my family, and Aaron and I took Kinzie out just the 3 of us. We went out for lunch first and then took her to get her hair and nails done. She loved being pampered, and it was great to be able to just focus on her!

After we got done at the salon, we stopped to take some pictures of our sweet 6 year old! She looks so grown up in this picture. I can't believe my baby is 6!

After supper that night we had cake and Kinzie opened up her gifts. I was especially excited this year for her to open her gifts.

Kinzie lost her special purple blankie that had her name on probably 3 years ago. It was her favorite blankie, and ever since she lost it, she has been asking me about it. "Mommy, will you find my purple blankie"? "Mommy, I miss my purple blankie". She probably brought it up a few times a month!

Ever since we lost it, I have been looking EVERYWHERE for one like it. The place it is from no longer sells purple ones. We bought her a pink one a while back, but it is just not the same to her. So every so often I would search for one. Well back in May I finally found one that would be almost exactly the same! So I ordered it and saved it for her birthday!

Kinzie was so excited when she opened it.

Earlier that night she rode home from dinner with Grammy, and she had her pink blankie with her, so Grammy asked her "Is that your favorite blankie"?. So she was telling her about how she lost her favorite purple blankie, and that we looked everywhere for it, and how maybe we should paint her pink blankie purple. She says "Hey, there's a star, let's make a wish! I wish for my purple blankie"! So Grammy and Malichi wished for Kinzie to get her purple blankie back too.

She was so cute telling us how her wish came true after she opened up her blankie! That whole week she did not let that blanket out of site!

Tuesday the kids did some tubing behind Nate's boat, but I didn't get any photos. I stayed back with the twins. Too bad I didn't know at the time that would be the only time they got to tube on vacation! I did go out later and take some pictures of Rachel and Steve tubing. Rachel is hilarious to watch!

Tuesday night we had a campfire and all was going well...

...until Grammy tripped in the dark trying to grab onto a railing that wasn't there. She fell down probably 3 or 4 stairs and as soon as we got to her we knew she broke her wrist. It was completely crooked. We got her up and Tim, Tiffany, and I took her to the E.R. right away. (3rd year going to a Glenwood cabin, and I think 4th ER/Urgent Care trip over the 3 years....can a town be bad luck?)

She had shattered her wrist, had a big goose egg on her cheek, and bruised her thigh and face.

She was so calm about it all, and kept insisting she was ok. She ended up needing surgery to put pins in her wrist, but they said they couldn't do the surgery until the following week once the swelling went down. She was such a trooper and wanted to stay up at the cabin for the rest of the week anyway. They wrapped her wrist, and send her back with some good pain meds.

We spent the next few days fishing, going to the beach, going to the Glenwood fair, hanging out on the pontoon we rented, relaxing in the cabin, and taking good care of Grammy.

Thursday night we had some really bad storms. Joan's aunt had passed away so they were gong to leave Thor with us on Friday and drive down to Iowa for her funeral, and come back friday night. Well, friday morning it was still storming, and Nate went down to check on his boat at the dock. He got down there to find it sunk.

They ended up staying back at the cabin to take care of his boat. We took 5 gallon buckets down to the lake and starting bailing out the water. We did manage to get the water out and get the boat pushed up onto the shore. Nate's boat was ruined though. I felt terrible. He had just put a lot of money and time into it to have it fixed so we would all be able to use it while on vacation!

Maybe that wasn't Glenwood bad luck at all, maybe it was the fact that it was Friday the 13th!

After dealing with all the boat drama, we celebrated Jaden's 7th Birthday Friday night!

And the remainder of the weekend we did some more swimming, pontooning, and relaxing. We joked about needing a vacation from our vacation. But we really did have a good time even though it seemed like it was one bad thing after another. That is something I love about my family, we make the best of everything!

The only thing that could have made our vacation better was if Kelly would have been there. We all missed her a lot.

The first days of school.

2010-09-09T13:44:00.007-05:00

Luckily, the kids' first days of school were staggered this year. Maybe they just know that parents with an older child and a Kindergartener need to be eased into having 2 kids gone at school all day!

Malichi started on Tuesday, September 8th. All of us went with to see him off to his first day of 3rd grade. Here he is all ready for school, new white shoes (that won't stay white past today) and all!

Getting on the bus...

Kinzie started the next day, September 9th. She was so excited! There were a few nerves about eating lunch at school and recess, but overall she couldn't wait.

Here I am with my 2 grade schoolers. Ok, after seeing this picture, I am really realizing how tall Malichi is getting and how short I am.

Daddy, Malichi, and Kinzie.

Kinzie getting on the bus, not a bit scared!

And they are off...

Aaron and I met Kinzie at school as she got off the bus at her new school for the first time. It hit me as she got off the bus, that she would be gone all day now, and I started tearing up. I walked with her to her room, and said goodbye there. I had a few tears, but she was all smiles.

The first day they were both gone was hard. The twins keep me plenty busy in the morning, so I didn't really realize until nap time when the twins were both sleeping and the house was quiet that I really missed them! That said, I did, however, enjoy the quiet, and realized I could actually find time during the day to do something productive! But I was anxious to pick them up and find out how their day was.

Malichi's response was "It was AWESOME", and Kinzie couldn't wait to go back.

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Lucky

2010-09-09T13:43:00.004-05:00

I am so blessed that my children are able to have such a close bond with my Grandma, their Great Grandma.

She is young, and fun, and able to do so much with them. I love it.

Grammy, we are so lucky to have you.
♥♥♥

Bayview Back to School Night

2010-09-02T01:22:00.007-05:00

Well if I didn't already know summer was over, I sure do now. We had our Back to School Night at Bayview tonight, and it really hit me that our lazy mornings, and fun summer activities are coming to an end and Kinzie and Malichi will both be in school all day, everyday, starting next week!

But they couldn't be more excited! They got to meet their teachers and check out their classrooms tonight.

Malichi being a big 3rd grader now, is upstairs at Bayview this year, which is apparently pretty "cool". He has Mr. Janzen for 3rd grade. I think Malichi will love him! He was joking with Malichi saying "I am going to do a mohawk just like yours for pictures this year...except I don't think I have enough hair anymore"! :)

Kinzie will be all day Kindergarten this year! She has Mrs. Karow for her teacher. She seems great! We have heard nothing but great things about both of their teachers! Kinzie was so excited seeing her name everywhere in the classroom as she looked around! She kept saying "Mommy, LOOK! There's MY name!"

After meeting the teachers and checking out the classroom, we enjoyed an ice cream treat in the cafeteria. And until next Tuesday we are going to try to suck up every moment of summer we can!

Steele County Free Fair

2010-08-26T23:25:00.006-05:00

As usual, we went down to Owatonna for the fair, and as usual we had a blast. The twins were old enough this year to go on some rides, which they LOVED. And Kinzie and Malichi went on some bigger rides with my sister's boyfriend, Steve. The kids tried the bungee trampoline. We got our "Cindy Nachos", mini donuts, cinnismiths, and lots of other good food. I met up with some good friends, and even ran into some old ones.

I always loved the fair growing up. My parents always got us the ride wristbands, and we'd spend every day at the fair the week it was open. Now my kids love our tradition of going to the Owatonna Fair with Grandma Tammy every summer. It's one of the things we all look forward to each summer.

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Summer Recap

2010-08-26T23:24:00.016-05:00

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Summer has flown by, and school starts in just over a week!

Here is our crazy busy fun summer in a nutshell....

We always attend the end of the year Bayview Carnival. The highlight is always getting wacky hair spray. Last year they ran out, so the kids wanted to that first this year!

Malichi on his last day of school with his teacher, Mrs. Parten. She was an amazing teacher and Malichi loved his 2nd grade year. So much so that he actually asked me if he could do summer school!

Malichi did the Crown College Soccer Camp again this year. His coach chose him for Camper of the Week from his team, saying he earned the spot because he was an all around good sport, taking whatever position he was asked to, even if he didn't necessarily want to play it, and that he was respectful to all of his team mates. His reward was a crown college scarf. Why they gave him a scarf in JUNE, I have no idea. But the reward didn't really matter, he was just thrilled he was chosen for camper of the week! I was so proud of him!

The twins try out their new roller coaster. It was a big hit!

Backyard camping. Not so much fun with the twins. They did not sleep well in the tent sharing a pack and play!

Kinzie played T-ball, and Malichi played baseball.

Daddy turned 28! Kinzie and Malichi made a cake for him.

Just a cute photo of my two girls :)

Swimming in our new pool.

Playing with cousin Jaden on Grammy's farm. These three have so much fun together!

Our annual 4th of July photo

Girls day at Arbor Lakes with Mom, Grammy, Rach, Tiff, and Joan. We shopped and ate at Benihana. Yum.

Beach days.

Malichi got a REAL mohawk! He was super excited about it, but he was afraid his friends would make fun of his hair. :( I wish kids didn't have to worry about things like that. But I am proud of him for doing it anyway, not matter what other people thought, and spiked it up!

Como Zoo.

Vacation and the FAIR! These 2 apparently require their owns posts with the number of photos I took. coming soon....

Kinzie's birthday party with all her friends! She chose to do bowling and Pizza Ranch.

Roller Garden in Burnsville with friends. This mama hasn't been on skates in years, and was a bit rusty. Fun though!

Malich's friend birthday party. His party was at the Norwood pool and park. It was a rambunctious group of 6 boys, but they had a blast!

The big family birthday party. We rented a waterslide for the occasion this year, and the kids loved it! I also decided to make the kids' cakes this year myself. They each picked out their own cake "tattoos". Move over cake boss. :)

Malichi was saving up his birthday money for a nintendo DS. He has wanted one for a long time. We told him that he needed to show us he could be responsible enough to have one. He needed to show us he could take better care of his belongings, he needed to earn one with showing good behavior, and he needed to show us he could play video games without obsessing over them. Aaron and I decided he was doing really well with all of that, and he earned his DS!

Kinzie saw a 2010 Holiday Barbie (an expensive one!) at target that she really wanted.

So after the party we took the kids to target to spend their birthday money. Kelsey was super generous and gave Malichi her old DS for his birthday, so he spent his money buying a few games for his new DS, a hard case for it, 2 books and a new bike helmet. Kinzie got her Barbie she had been wanting so badly, 2 beds for her zhu zhu pets, a new zhu zhu, an accessories for them, and a squinkies house (the new fad that is similar to pencil buddies). Both of the kids decided (after a little money talk from us) to put some of their money into their savings accounts as well!

And with that, now we must get back into the school routines. 8:00 bedtimes, early mornings, schedules. I am not sure if it will be harder on them, or me...

Litchfield Watercade

2010-08-26T23:24:00.009-05:00

Litchfield has a really great parade during their Watercade celebration, and we usually try get to it with Aaron's family every year. The kids always love the parade, and the twins got to experience their first parade where they actually got to participate in getting the candy and freezies they throw out. Scout practiced her parade wave back at all the beauty queens!

Hello Cici!

2010-08-18T01:24:00.005-05:00

Here we are, almost 2 months post surgery, and I am SO happy!!! I feel SO much better. I am more comfortable, my back feels so much better, my body looks proportionate, AND I have been able to buy bras.

From a real store.
NOT online. :)

Shopping has been so much fun. I have been able to buy things I could never have bought before, things I never would have even tried on. I don't have to find things that help minimize my boobs!

The first photo is last summer on vacation, and the second is a photo of me this year on vacation. What a BIG difference, seriously! (Although I do like my hair better last summer in that picture, I might have to go back to that :)

So, my GG's are gone forever, and I will NOT miss them one bit!

Swagger Wagon

2010-07-24T10:45:00.003-05:00

For all you mini-van fans out there... I got a kick out of this video this morning.

It's true what they say, once you own a mini-van, you'll never go back. I started out with a pretty sweet obnoxiously tealish colored Ford Windstar. No sarcasm there, it was pretty awesome. Ok, well...but at least my van was easy to spot in the parking lot, and I did like having the space of a van! (Sorry, Mom. It was a nice van)

Then we upgraded to an actually awesome Town and Country with Stow and Go seats. Oh how I love my stow and go seats! :) But now I long for the new Town and Country were the back seats can face each other and there is a little table that comes up in the middle. Perfect for a family with 4 kids!

Oh, yes I am that mom. I love my mini-van!

Goodbye Gigi!

2010-06-24T16:52:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day... I am having my breast reduction! I have been waiting for years to do this. I've said for a long time that once we are done having kids, I am going to have a breast reduction. So, yes, we are done having kids (sniff sniff). I know, sad right?

At my last bra fitting, I was a 36 GG. Hence, the nickname my mom gave me, Gigi.

My back hurts most of the time; I go to the chiropractor almost weekly. I can't bra shop in a store... I always have to order them online. I can't find shirts that fit me. And I am just too damn short to be a size G!

So, it is finally time to do something about it!

After about a week and a half of dreaming that my boobs are lopsided, still too huge, tiny little barely there boobs, or my that my nipples are in the wrong places, I am ready to get this surgery OVER with. Up until today I wasn't too nervous, but subconsciously I must have been with all of the crazy dreams.

But I am off to bed now because I have to get up at 4:30 am to get to the hospital by 6!

So Mom, as of tomorrow, you may call me Cici. :)

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the coolest new thing in my 8 year olds world...

2010-06-01T15:57:00.013-05:00

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is the set of braces he got today. Isn't it funny how kids are actually excited about getting braces?! I suppose until he realizes that they actually do hurt! He is so excited to show all of his friends!

Kinzie says it's no fair that Malichi gets to get braces and she doesn't. Oh dear, you just wait....sadly, your perfect baby teeth might not be straight when they are adult teeth! Your time will come! :P

before:

Malichi has 2 teeth in crossbite; two top left teeth going behind the bottom teeth when he bites. So they had to put glue on his back bottom molars to open up his bite so the top teeth have room to push out in front of the bottom ones, and so when he bites he doesn't hit the top braces with the bottom teeth that go in front. With that glue on there, his teeth don't touch when he bites so it's pretty uncomfortable for him right now, not to mention, hard to chew!

After:

So there he is sporting his new braces, with bands in gold, silver, blue, and green, all metallic. Isn't he adorable!?

Out on Grammy's farm

2010-06-01T15:56:00.007-05:00

♥ ♥ ♥

Sunday afternoon we headed out to Grammy's farm.

I remember riding to Grammy's house when I was a kid, and remembering how long the drive seemed. But once the turkey barns came into site, we'd get so excited! My kids exclaim the same thing I remember saying as a child, "I can see the turkey barns! We are almost there!" The drive down the long gravel driveway to grandma's house was always filled with anticipation.

The kids had fun running wild on the farm, chasing Grammy's cats, and playing baseball.

The cats kept hiding out under the van, and the twins were very intrigued by this.

I think the twins enjoyed being able to run free. There was plenty of room and no where to go. I didn't have to worry about where each one was, and if they ran in separate directions, that was OKAY! Actually, I may have enjoyed it more than they did!

Monday, Memorial Day, we spend the day with Todd and Jaden and most of the rest of the family.

We grilled out for lunch, and spend the afternoon outside. The twins enjoyed their first ice cream cone!

After spending the afternoon relaxing, we helped Todd hang pictures and do some decorating around his house. This is what you end up with when you run out of decorating funds:

Now that's one nice piece of decor isn't it!?

The new house looks really great. It made me so sad that we were all there decorating 'Todd and Kelly's' house, but without Kelly. We all miss her so much. Memorial Day would have been Todd and Kelly's 13th Anniversary.

Before dinner we went out to the cemetery. Kelly has so many beautiful flowers on her grave, and her Grandpa wrote a beautiful poem and left it there that morning. We visited Grandpa's memorial and Great Grandma's Grace's as well.

♥ We Love You and Miss You Kelly & Grandpa ♥

Track and Field Day

2010-06-01T15:55:00.002-05:00

Malichi had his track and field day last week. We were rebels and skipped the twins' naps so we could attend. :)

We made it to school just in time to watch the tug-o-war finals. Unfortunately Malichi's class didn't make it to the finals, but they were still fun to watch. After the finals, we got to eat lunch in Malichi's classroom with him. We brought in subway for a special lunch. I think Kinzie thought it was pretty awesome that she got to eat in Malichi's classroom with him!

After lunch we spent the rest of the day watching Malichi participate in all the track and field events. He said his favorite was jump roping, which he did quite well in! My personal favorite was watching all the kids try to do the high jump!

The twins did great hanging out at school all afternoon, but by the end of the day they were exhausted, and Kinzie and Malichi were tired, hot and thirsty! After watching the 4 grade relays, they let school out a bit early and we came home and cooled off with some popsicles!

Let's Dance!

2010-06-01T15:54:00.010-05:00

♥

Dance has come to an end for the year, which meant Kinzie's big dance recital was upon us! It was an exciting day for Kinzie. We started our day out with taking her to get her nails done with her girls, Kennedie and Campbell.

Kinzie chose pink with blue glitter for her fingernails, and pink for her toenails with a white flower on her big toe. By the time we left she had smudged them all and had to have her nails fixed, but she had fun. After that we went home to finish pampering for the recital.

Her class danced 2 performances and she did awesome! I am so proud of her!

Her first dance was "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins.

mary poppins from shannon carlson on Vimeo.

The second dance was to "On Account A I Love You" by Shirley Temple.

Kinzie's dance recital "on account a I love you" from shannon carlson on Vimeo.

She had lots of family and friends come to watch her at the recital, and she got lots of pink roses after the show!

After working so hard we all took her out to dinner at Perkins where she ordered "her usual". Rainbow pancakes :)

Then after a quick outfit change, her and Daddy headed out for their Father Daughter dance they do every year!

She was quite exhausted Saturday night, but I think she enjoyed her big day!

We're one and a HALF!

2010-06-01T15:52:00.017-05:00

♥ ♥ ♥

The Twins have turned 18 months!

Stats from the 18 month check:

Finley:
Height: 30 1/2 inches (5%)
Weight: 23 lb. 2 oz. (15%)
Noggin: 18 3/4 inches(50%)

Still wearing plenty of his 6-9 month and 12 month clothing(from last summer), Finley is still our little peanut. ♥

Scout:
Height: 30 1/4 inches(25%)
Weight: 26 lbs. 6 oz (75%)
Noggin: 18 3/4 inches (80%)

And Scout barely fitting into some of her 18 month clothes...well she still has that round little belly we all love so much! ♥

They have almost always been the same height or very close, and ALWAYS have the same head size. Funny how for a girl 18 3/4" at 18 months is a big head, and the same measurment for a boy at 18 months is an average size head!

They both know where their nose, hair, ears, belly and stinky feet are and will gladly point them out :)

They sign please, more, and eat/hungry (sometimes).

Their vocabulary is starting to expand, and they are both really trying to copy words we are saying.

Scout's words:

Mama
Dada
Hi
Uh Oh
Buh bye
Baa-a-bye (bush-a-bye, which you can only distinguish from bye-bye because of the fact they are rocking a baby doll. when they say it It's the lullaby my Grandma sang to us, and I now sing to them)
pee-boo (peek-a-boo)
baby
bapple (apple)
tay-too (thank you)
Kai-Kai (not real sure how to spell this one but it's how they say Malichi)
puppy (which sounds more like Popeye)
owie

Finley's words:

Mama
Dada
Hi
Uh Oh
Buh bye
Baa-a-bye (Bush-a-bye)
baby
papple (apple)
pappy (puppy)
kai-kai (Malichi)
pew (as he waves his hand in front of his nose)

They'll tell you a lion says "raaaarrr", and a puppy says "wwfff wfff", and sometimes kitties say "raaarrrr" and sometimes they say "mow". Depends on the cat I guess!

Scout is little miss personality. She is super animated all the time. It is the funniest thing. She'll stop to wave anytime she sees someone walking by, or a car drive by. She loves to gasp in total surprise at anything and everything, as she cocks her head to the side, and opens her eyes wide. She also loves to throw her hands up in the air to say "I don't know"!

Finley's new thing is to take the hand mixer for a walk. Our hand mixer is in a cupboard that is within his reach and he'll go take it out and pull it around on the wood floor (without the beaters attatched) by the cord and take it for a walk. He'll stop and turn around often as if to check if his "puppy" is ok!

As far as getting a long, they do, but they definitely fight too. They are pretty good at screaming at each other when need be! Which is apparently often these days.

They are always very aware of each other, and what the other is getting or doing.

They are also very aware of making sure the other gets whatever they are getting, especially when it it comes to food/milk/blankies/babies. If one comes in the kitchen for a sippy of milk, he/she will stand there with their hand out waiting for a second one to give to the other twin. It is the sweetest thing to see them lookin' out for each other like that!

Scout has become very into hugging and lovin' on Finley lately, but I am pretty sure he remembers the days she used to torment him, and usually pushes her away.

He does love to give others hugs and kisses. He puckers up and gives the best little smooches.

The bedtime routine has gotten so much easier for us. Thinking back to one year ago, they would be fussy all night until about midnight, then finally go to sleep only to wake up at 2, 4, and 6 am to eat. I am not sure how I made it through those days, but I am thankful they are no longer.

Now we bring them up to bed, give them their nuks, blankies, and giraffes, lay them down, and then we sing a couple of songs with them before tucking them in for the night. They usually lay right down, and we usually don't hear a peep out of them all night. Quite a contrast from the fussy, non-sleeping babies we once had!

We are trying to break them of their nuks during the day. I have no problem with them having them at night or at naptime. They are still little, and I like my sleep! But during the day, we've taken them away for the most part. They are doing pretty well with it, unless they are getting tired or not feeling well. Most of the time if I say to Scout "give me your nukie", she'll hand it right over. Finley on the other hand doesn't give it up quite as easily. Which is strange because he was NEVER a nuk baby... until like 14 months old. I swear we were like begging him to take one when he was a baby hoping it would calm him when he was so frantic!

Well, here we are,18 months old, and I have yet to finish (or should I say start) their baby books, so this blog has served that purpose until I take the time to copy everything from here to there :) (however, I DID finish their first year calendar though! woohoo)

I can't believe they can already be a year and a half. This summer is going to be a fun one. They are to the age that they can really start enjoying the activities we do. They are also to the age that they are VERY clumsy, and accident prone. I think more than the average toddler maybe! I swear, we have had more accidents and goose eggs on the head..... the most recent being Finley falling into the 3.5' hole in our yard with cement chunks on the bottom of it. He got a nice big cut on the back of his head, no stitches, thank goodness! Also, Scout somehow needs to learn that when it looks like things drop off, they actually DO drop off. Like the openings on the play structures at parks, and stairs, and slides. She just tries to walk right off things like that. Perhaps they should wear helmets all summer?

Anyway, I can't wait to do things like the zoo, picnics, parks, camping, and dare I try...the beach a couple times! :)

I am constantly amazed at these 2 little people, and I couldn't be more proud of them!

♥ ♥ ♥

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T21:38:00.005-05:00

I hope all you Mama's out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

My kids gave me beautiful handmade cards, gifts and pictures.

I spent my Mother's Day taking a nice long afternoon nap, then walking around the MN Landscape Arboretum and taking pictures with my kids and husband, and then going to the Olive Garden for dinner. We got the best compliments at dinner. This cute little older couple sitting across the room came over to us as we were getting ready to leave. The man says "I just had to come over and congratulate you. Us old grandparents have been sitting over there enjoying watching you and your family. Your children are so well behaved, they were such a joy to watch!" The kids really must have been good because 2 waitresses also came over and commented on how good are kids were in the restaurant,and one of them tells us the older couple commented to her about our kids saying "they are energetic, but well behaved and respectful". :) That definitely brightened my Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

the surprise visit to texas.

2010-05-01T19:38:00.006-05:00

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Tiffany and Eric didn't know that me and Grammy were joining Mom and Rachel on their trip to Texas! It was such a fun surprise.

surprise trip to texas from shannon carlson on Vimeo.

The trip was much too short, just Friday through Sunday. But we crammed in lots of fun stuff in that short time.

Genghi's Mongolian grill and Grammy deciding to throw her pop all over us!:P
Shopping and I didn't even buy ONE thing!
Being introduced to the famous Kirklands my mom always talks about
Visiting Katie
Surprising Eric
Touring Fort Hood and the area Tiff and Eric live and work
Eating at Dead Fish restaurant on the lake and sharing our table with lots of bugs!
Piling up on Tiff and Eric's ONE couch to watch The Fourth Kind
Garage Saling
The 2 1/2 hour squishy trip to San Antonio....with just a few complications...
Maggianos in San Antonio
The River Walk in San Antonio
Ripley's Believe it or Not haunted house (complete with a man and a chainsaw, much to my family's amusement)
Guiness Book of World Records Museum and practicing our drumming skills, of which I have NONE.
Tomb Rider 3D ride
Hard Rock Cafe on the River Walk
Driving home from San Antonio in the middle of the night
Lots and lots of girl talk (sorry Eric)and lots and lots of over-tired laughter
Taking lots of photos
Cramming in last minute souvenir shopping for the kids

The brave little girl...

2010-04-21T13:18:00.002-05:00

got her 2 front teeth pulled! She was so brave and did so awesome! Her adult teeth were growing in behind the baby teeth, just like Malichi's did, so they weren't pushing the baby teeth out like they should be.

I love this photo of Kinzie and her gap toothed smile! (Although it's really not a gap toothed smile because the adult teeth are already grown in and you can kind of see them in this shot)

In loving memory of Kelly...

2010-04-20T12:19:00.005-05:00

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It's been just over a week since my Aunt Kelly passed away very unexpectedly.

I have been having dreams almost nightly of her. Some of the dreams are about what actually happened and about the day she passed away. Some of the dreams are of us at a family event and I am talking to her. When I wake up from those, it takes me a minute to come to the realization that she is really not here anymore. It's almost like I feel the shock again for a moment, just as I felt when my mom called me sobbing, saying "She didn't make it". I can still hear the shock and pain in her voice. Those words keep replaying in my head.

Last Wednesday was the visitation, and the funeral was on Thursday. The visitation was amazing. There were so many people, and so many flowers sent. It was very apparent that Kelly was loved by many. The funeral was a beautiful service celebrating Kelly's life.

I had decided I wanted to make a memorial scrapbook album for Todd and Jaden like I did for my Grandpa's funeral. I printed a copy for Kelly's parents and her sister as well. And all of my family will be getting a copy too.

When I gave the book to Mary Ann, Kelly's mom, she cried and said "How did you know? How did you know I wanted to ask you to make this? I saw the one you did for your Grandpa, and I wanted to ask you to make one for Kelly". What an honor that she wanted to ask me to make a memorial album about her daughter. I hope they can find some sort of comfort in it.

One of the first memories I have of Kelly was when she and Todd were dating. I am only 7 years younger than Todd and Kelly, so growing up, Todd felt more like a cousin than an Uncle to me. I was always the annoying little cousin that "should be out playing in traffic" to Todd (don't worry...now that I am grown up we get along great). I remember him bringing Kelly to Grandma's house and they would be up in his bedroom and I would just "pop in" to say "hi! wanna hang out". Needless to say, they didn't think I was so funny, but I apparently did!

I will always remember going out to the farm in the summer with the kids. Kelly would bring Jaden out and the kids would all play while we sat outside or in the gazebo and talked. Grammy would make her famous grilled cheese and tomato soup because it was Kelly's favorite.

I will always remember the trip to the Clay county fair in Spencer Iowa. Grammy, me, Kinzie, Malichi, Todd, Kelly and Jaden went down for the day during one of our stays out on the farm. We took the kids on rides and spent the day walking around the fair. At some point, Kelly and I found a spot to sit and have a snack and had a really great conversation, just the 2 of us. A conversation I will remember forever.

Our family vacation up at the cabin won't be the same this year without Kelly. I remember last year making jokes about how Kelly would be reading a book and Todd would be glued to his US Weekly magazine...usually the roles are reversed! We would tease them about how Kelly didn't like to shop and Todd did, Kelly didn't care if there were curtains on the windows, but Todd wanted something frilly or lacy for window treatments. They truly were so cute together.

Todd and Jaden loved Kelly so much, and I can't imagine what they are going through right now. The days ahead are going to be hard as they grieve and as they try to find a new "normal".

Kelly, we loved you and miss you so much. Tell Grandpa I said "hi".

Happy Easter!

2010-04-09T09:09:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning we started out Easter weekend by dying our eggs.

Then we headed to Owatonna saturday night. I was supposed to meet up with a dear friend of mine at Perkins for dinner, but she was not feeling well, so we had to cancel. Such a bummer!

We stayed the night at Mom and Randy's so we'd be there for Sunrise Service on Sunday at the church Aaron and I grew up in. I got up at 4:15 on Sunday to start getting ready for church. I got everyone else up around 5:10. Church was at 6:00am and we made it on time!! All six of us! The kids were absolute angels during church too! I am not sure if it was the fact that they were not fully awake yet or what, but it went great! I love going back to our home church. It brings back wonderful memories, and I feel at home there.

All dressed up for Easter Sunday :)

After church, we had breakfast at Perkins and then went back to Mom and Randy's to see what the Easter Bunny brought for the kids, and Grandma Tammy and Randy gave the kids their souvenirs from the Mexico trip they just got back from!

After all the family got there, we had a big lunch, and did our egg hunt outside.

Uncle Nate holding Finley and cousin Thor. You'd think these 2 were the twins... They are about the same height and weight, but they are almost a year apart!

Little Miss Scout has such personality! The Easter bunny brought a bubble machine for her and Mr. Finley and she thought it was GREAT! The second photo, is her lovin' on cousin Thor. She was so into him. She'd go up and hug him, or go right up to him and smile and say "hi" as she gently patted his arm. It was darling. Although I am not so sure he thought it was cute...?

Gosh, lunch and easter egg hunts sure wore out the daddies!

In the afternoon we went to Aaron's parents where we flew kites, played at the park, and grilled burgers for dinner. It was a perfect day to be outside!

Don't worry...that's just a dog...it's not a bear! :) LOL. I thought this shot of Riley was pretty crazy! He looks ginormous!

I love the fact that when we get together with the Carlson side of the family, I also get to spend time with my best friend! Steph and I chased the twins around the playground while the big kids flew kites.

Scoutie and Uncle Adam walking home from the park.

I hope you all had a Great Easter too!

Spring Break: Day 5

2010-03-21T23:16:00.003-05:00

Friday.

Today Malichi went to his friend Jack's house in the morning, while we (me, Kinzie and the twins) stayed home for a morning of playtime. Kinzie building a block tower, and then the babies knocking it over kept us entertained for probably a good hour! Amazing how such a simple toy can bring so much excitement!

Then after naps we went to play at Safari Island, our local community center. It was quiet there and we had the Lion's Den all to ourselves! All of the kids loved playing in the big ball pit. (which really kind of grosses me out...who knows what is in there). But they have such fun, I can't refuse.

After playtime at Safari, I took the kids to Ray Azteca for dinner, where Daddy met us after work.

Then, we went home to get a much needed GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP.

I was sad that this was our last day of "Spring Break". I really do love it when the kids have breaks from school. Don't get me wrong...I do love sending them to school... and I am so not the homeschooling type....

But I am so much more relaxed when they are with me. I don't have to worry about all that school "drama", and it always feels like something is missing when we go do something fun and Malichi can't be there with us, because he is at school. Plus of course, there is the fact that I don't have to wake up to an alarm at 6:20 on no school days. I do love that!

As much as we tried to get back on schedule with spring break and the time change, I have a feeling Monday is still going to be a rude awakening! Wish us luck.

Spring Break: Day 4

2010-03-19T22:59:00.004-05:00

Thursday.

Good Morning! :)

After our fun sleepover and LATE night, the kids got donuts for breakfast which they loved, and the twins enjoyed the rare treat.

In the afternoon we went park hopping, stopping for a picnic at the first park we hit. It was a GORGEOUS day out! 60 degrees and SUNNY!

My kids were EXHAUSTED after an afternoon outside. We headed home for dinner and baths!

I tried a new recipe, that turned out so yummy. It will definitely go into our "Carlson family favorites" recipe binder! Baked chicken topped with alfredo sauce fresh mozzarella slices, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and basil, all served over linguine noodles in alfredo sauce. Super delicious!

Spring Break: Day 3

2010-03-19T10:38:00.009-05:00

Wednesday.

We hung out at home in the morning. Just me and the kids. We slept in late. Stayed in our jammies till' almost noon. It was nice. I could handle days like this more often!

We had our normal gymnastics class in the afternoon. Both Malichi and Kinzie are in it. And while they are in class, Finley and Scout run around like crazy people, and I run around chasing them.

Then the Dustin's (minus Eric) came over for a sleepover. The big kids all got to create their own mini pizzas.

The kids spent the rest of the evening playing outside, watching movies, playing video games. We let the big kids stay up WAY past their bedtimes talking and giggling up in Malichi's room.

Scout and Chasey shared a sweet goodnight kiss before I put the twins to bed.

Spring Break: Day 2

2010-03-17T10:17:00.004-05:00

Tuesday we had a low key playdate at our house with a couple of Kinzie's friends. They played ponies and littlest petshop, while Malichi read his Spiderwick book, and the twins and the moms hung out upstairs. Then we headed to McDonalds for lunch and more playtime, and Kristie and her kids joined us there. Kinzie, Hannah, Tori and Kennedie hadn't had a play date all together in quite a while, and they had a blast.

And the big boys and the toddlers had fun too :)

Spring Break: Day 1

2010-03-16T15:13:00.004-05:00

The kids are off school this week for spring break, and we've got a week full of fun! I don't get to spend as much time with Malichi as I would like to, ya know with school getting in the way and all! :) So I am taking advantage this week and planning a little something fun everyday.

Monday was ice skating, the library and the park with our best friends, Kristie, and her kids!

Malichi hasn't been skating in 3 years, and Kinzie has never been. They were so pumped about it! They both did really well. I haven't been skating in 3 years either, and while I was far from graceful on the ice, I didn't fall once! :)

After skating and hitting the library, we stopped at the park. It was such a gorgeous day! It has finally been warm enough to play outside. We ALL needed this. Big time!

15 months.

2010-03-01T13:27:00.009-06:00

Fin

Scout

she was upset that he didn't want a kiss

he was upset that she wouldn't let him pull her hair

15 month stats:

Finley:
29 3/4 inches tall putting him at 15%
22 lbs. putting him at 25%

He's catching up in weight a little bit, but not so much on height. I guess they both take after me.

Scout:
30 inches tall putting her at 40%
24 lb. 4 oz. putting her at 75%

I was very surprised to see that she is taller than him.

Well... let's see. 15 months. Alot has changed since I quit doing the monthly posts at 12 months!!

I have weaned the twins off nursing and off the bottle. They have been without for probably 2-3 weeks now. Sometimes they still try to rip my shirt down to nurse, (like right in the middle of ECFE group time for example) but for the most part, they are doing well with it. I however, have had my sad moments knowing they are through that stage of their life. I miss that time with each of them. I could have nursed longer but with my heart issues I need to try a new medication that I cannot use while nursing. I am proud to say though, that I nursed twins for 14+ months!

They are both very mobile toddlers these days. Finley walks, and Scout runs! They have begun to climb on everything. I caught Finley in the craft room like this the other day:

Don't worry, I didn't leave him up there so I could rush to get the camera and take his picture. I walked in with it in my hand.

Their vocabulary has grown by....maybe like 2 words. Scout now says "buh bye" and Fin says "no" (as of today apparently). "uh oh" is still the most frequently used word from them though, well besides mama. mama. mama. MAMA. MAAAAMAAAAA. repeatedly of course.

And the biggest and best change of all...... drum roll please...

....

....

They sleep THROUGH the night! Consistently. Every. Night.

I had forgotten what it was like to get a full nights' sleep! But damn, is it lovely!

(Although these past few days that have not slept well, because they are sick. High fevers, double ear infection for Scout, and one ear for Finley. Along with coughing, congestion and yucky noses.)

But hopefully they will be back to their happy selves once these antibiotics start working. :)

just sharing.

2010-02-24T12:15:00.018-06:00

I have been missing out on a big part of my own life lately. Scrapbooking has always been a priority for me, (well since I became a mother anyway) but since the twins were born, I have found it incredibly hard to find any time. Or when I have had the time, the creative juices were not flowing! I am sure it's due to lack of sleep, stress, and being overwhelmed with how far behind I have gotten on my books!

At the start of the new year I decided I was going to make time to scrap, and I actually HAVE!!! I have done 21 new pages since the beginning of January. It feels so good to be doing something creative again. I have missed it so much.

Here are some of the new layouts I've done:

just for fun....

2010-02-22T19:55:00.003-06:00

click the link above and vote for my blog! :) What do I win....? Absolutely nothing. That's why it's just for fun! :) Although maybe I will get more blog readers if make it to the top 100? :P

p.s. the link just brings you to the main page, but just clicking the link from here registers your vote. You don't have to do anything else :)

tiffany + eric

2010-02-17T22:27:00.007-06:00

My little sister Tiffany and her husband Eric came up for a photo shoot and one last visit before they move down to Texas.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from today:

They are such a cute couple, and Tiffany is just gorgeous. I love doing shoots with her.

Muah. I love you Tiffy. I hope you like the photos! I am going to miss you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T14:30:00.009-06:00

Not in London

2010-02-14T10:33:00.003-06:00

FYI: My hotmail email address has been hacked into, so if you've recieved an email from me saying I need help or need money they are not from me! I am most definitely NOT in London! If you use my hotmail account to email me, please switch to my gmail account for now, until I get this straightened out! Thanks!

this week in photos.

2010-02-12T23:00:00.007-06:00

proof that they do actually love each other.

mr. potato head has been very big at our house lately :)

kinzie and I went to the ECFE Valentine Sweetheart Dance together as we do every year. this year is the last for the two of us as next year she'll be "too old" :(

kinzie got to celebrate her half birthday at school this week

ECFE with the twins

bubbles are always a favorite at ecfe

first he brought me scout's shoes and stuck out his foot, then he brought me the hair clip and put his head down waiting for me to put it in, and finally he found one of her nuks. LOL

so proud of this girl ...

2010-02-09T13:44:00.003-06:00

She's been working very hard on her reading skills, and it is showing! I am so proud of her.

fat cat from shannon carlson on Vimeo.

we need sunshine.

2010-02-06T21:40:00.004-06:00

We are all feeling a little cooped up these days! The big kids especially. They have been roller blading and roller skating in the porch. I wish we could be doing that outside....

just another day in paradise...

2010-01-26T19:32:00.026-06:00

just a lazy sunday at home with the kids :)

Playing dress up...

Malichi is loving playing his new guitar he got for Christmas. He is learning to play Smoke on the Water, an Indiana Jones song, and a Star wars song :)

Kinzie can always be found around the house with "crunchy baby" as she calls it :)

Apparently we might need two of these toys....

He decided it was time...

2010-01-21T19:15:00.003-06:00

..to get serious about this whole walking thing. He must be sick of his sister walking all over him when he is crawling.

they are growing up too fast.

2010-01-14T13:15:00.010-06:00

It hit me hard today when I took the twins to our first ECFE class.

Both of them sitting up at the little table on real chairs, eating snack with the other kids. I can remember when Kinzie was sitting at that same little table. And now the twins are sitting there.

Scout coming over numerous times during parent discussing time just to say "hi" and lay her head on my shoulder for a quick second , then waddling off back to play with her brother.

During group time, while the bubble machine was going and the teacher was singing a "bubbles" song, Scout yells out "Bubbaallll". I was surprised to hear her say it, but another mom looks at me and says, "she said it, we all witnessed it!" :) It melted me.

Finley flirting with all the teachers, going from teacher to teacher with his arms up, waiting for them to pick him up and give him some love.

Both of them actually sitting during group time. They both clapped their hands when the teacher was, and put their arms up when the teacher did. They even clapped the blocks together when we sang "bang bang" (Kinzie's FAVORITE song from ECFE!)

Can they even be classified as babies anymore!? Or are they toddlers now!? I still call them "the babies", which I am sure will continue on for some time. I just can't handle the thought of them being toddlers yet. Can't they just be my babies forever!?

Scout. Already addicted to the phone.

Finner. Just cute in his hat.

Cute hats and boots courtesy of Auntie Tiffy. :)

Also, if you read my blog and like it, click on the banner below to vote for it! :)

8 years.

2009-12-09T10:39:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was our 8th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you.

Dear stomach flu, please please please leave us alone now.

2009-12-01T14:55:00.021-06:00

So, the twin's birthdays' started out well, and then it all went downhill from there.

We started the day out making number "1" pancakes, which Finley and Scout thoroughly enjoyed! They loved the whip cream on them!

We had plans of just hanging out for the day, and then having a mini birthday party with just the family that night. BUT Finley decided to get sick. When I got him up from his nap I discovered that he had thrown up. There was vomit ALL over his crib. :(

And that was the beginning of a very long week and a half...

He threw up again after supper, and then again while opening their presents, (which happens to be caught on tape...lovely birthday memories huh!)

He did feel good enough for a little while to participate in opening presents.

One of the things we gave the babies was this penquin, and Scout was not so sure what she thought of it.

Finley continued to throw up all through the night, and couldn't keep even the tiniest bit of water down. By 9:30 am on thursday, Thanksgiving Day, he couldn't even hold his little head up he was so weak and dehydrated.

We called the on call Dr. who suggested we bring him in to the E.R. We agreed, and Mama and Finley went while Daddy stayed home with the rest of the kids.

Apparently our Thanksgiving tradition has become going to the E.R. for some reason or another! Last year it was me with dehydration.

When we got to the E.R. the Dr. said right away that he definitely needed fluids. He was like trying to hold an 18 lb. newborn. He couldn't hold his head up, couldn't sit, wouldn't even move on his own. He was just limp. :(

First they did a chest x-ray and took a urine sample, and then they started the IV and took blood. They came back later saying they didn't get enough blood, and had to poke around in 2 more spots to finally get some.

My poor little babe was just limp in my arms all day. We hung out in the E.R. for about 5 hours, just rocking and snuggling.

After 2 units of fluid he was doing a little better as he wasn't throwing up anymore, but was definitely feeling pretty miserable still. The crappy pictures are from my phone.

The Dr. decided he was still too dehydrated, and needed an IV fluid drip overnight, so they admitted him.

Around 3:00 they moved us up to a room in pediatrics. After we got settled in the room, Daddy, Malichi, Kinzie and Scout came to the hospital. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital from the hospital cafeteria. The food was....not the most edible, and it was far from what we planned on doing for Thanksgiving, But we were together and that was what mattered.

After our "feast" I took the big kids and Scout back to the house, and Mom and Grammy came to stay with them so Aaron and I could be at the hospital with Finner. Scout came back with me to the hospital and stayed the night too. Since they are both still nursing I couldn't leave her home overnight.

The nurse asked me if they could just share a crib for the night! REALLY? First of all no, they don't share a crib...Scout might maul Finley...and second...um he has the stomach FLU! Hello. We brought in a pack-n-play for Scout.

Thursday night Finley's IV came out of his hand, so they had to take it out and they tried to put it back in the same spot, which was a disaster. He started throwing up and they couldn't get it in. So then they put it in his foot, and threw up then too.
Overnight he did pretty good, and had quit throwing up. By friday morning he was wanting to be up and crawling around, but with the IV he couldn't. The Dr. saw us early and we were discharged around 9:30. We took our baby home, and he seemed to be doing so much better! It was so good to see him smiling and crawling around again!

Finley was doing well, so I went out Black friday shopping with my mom while Grammy and Daddy stayed back with the kids.
Saturday Finley did really well too, and was on the mend. The big first birthday party was scheduled for Sunday, and I spend the day saturday preparing for it, baking, making soups, cleaning, and finishing up a birthday present for the twins I was making.

Sunday the party was ON! I was so excited to celebrate with my babies, especially after the few days we'd had prior!

I made giant cupcakes, one for each of them, to dig into, and small cupcakes for the guests instead of cake.

The party was really great! Finley and Scout had a blast digging into their cakes, and opening their gifts!

Late saturday night I finally finished the project I was working on for the twins, so I gave them their gift on Sunday.

They each got their own fabric book; "Who loves Scout?" and "Who loves Finley?". The books have the family, the Grandparents, Great Grandmas, and Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in them.

Sunday night we thought everything was good, and everyone was healthy, until Finley threw up again! Even then we thought maybe it was just too much to handle with all the excitement and too much cake, too soon after being sick.

But we soon realized that was not the case. He threw up again Monday morning, Monday evening, Tuesday morning, and Tuesday night.

Monday we went to the Dr. for the babies' 12 month check ups. We didn't do Finley's shots because he was still so sick, but we did Scouts. She had to get 2 in each leg and 1 in each arm! :( Poor babe!

Finley weighed 18 lbs. 12 oz. (up from 18 lbs 1 oz in the hosptial on Thanksgiving), which put him at 5% for weight. He was 28 1/2" (20%) for height. Scoutie was 22 lbs (70%) for weight, and was 28 1/4" (25%) for height.

After Finley was up for about 2 hours screaming tuesday night and most of wednesday morning, I scheduled a Dr. appt. for noon that day. I was starting to worry that there might be something else wrong besides the stomache flu.

We were on our way to the Dr. when Scout starting throwing up in the car. A lot.

We got to the clinic, and I got Scout cleaned up, and we saw the Dr. She thought Finley was probably having cramps from the flu and that was why he was so fussy. He didn't want to be put down at all and just couldn't be consoled. She gave us zofran for Scoutie's puking and nausea. And just told us to really try to keep her hydrated as much as possible to avoid another E.R. visit!

My mom came up that afternoon to help out. Thank you Mom for coming on such short notice!

Scout puked again after supper on wednesday, so we gave her the zofran. That seemed to help, and she slept pretty good that night. Thursday and Friday she wouldn't nurse or drink anything, and we didn't give her any solids. Finally on friday night we gave her a little toast. She kept that down, but still wouldn't nurse. We gave her medicine syringes full of pedialyte and gatorade to try to keep her hydrated.

By Friday Finley was finally back to his old self, giggling and playing. It took him a few days after the symptoms were gone to really feel good again. This flu has just taken so much out of them.

Saturday afternoon Scout finally started nursing a little, but was pretty lethargic and had not had much wet diapers and wasn't producing tears. We debated bringing her in for IV fluids too, but just kept pushing the fluids through the medicine dropper. Saturday night she nursed a lot so decided to keep her home as long as she was keeping it down. Sunday morning she threw up after breakfast again. She seemed to feel a little better after vomiting. We gave her medicine syringes of pedialyte all day. She slept a lot, and kept down the fluids. By evening she was producing tears and even had a somewhat wet diaper.

The last 5 days poor Scoutie has just been laying around not interested in doing much :(

We are going to take it easy the next couple of days and hopefully she'll be back to her old silly self again soon!

In between all the puking, we did manage to get our tree up this week, which brightened up our lives a little! I just love having the tree up, the house decorated, and listening to Christmas music.

Hopefully we can all stay healthy the rest of the holiday season!

Happy 1st Birthday Finley and Scout!

2009-11-25T12:40:00.002-06:00

Our babies are ONE today.

Not only am I celebrating this huge milestone for them, I am also celebrating the fact that I have made it through the first year with twins!!! We made it, babies!!!

It is very bittersweet for me.

As exciting as it is, I must admit, I am also very sad. This first year has gone by much too fast. The first 5 or 6 months really are kind of a blur to me. I was functioning (or trying my best at functioning) on very little sleep. I was adjusting to having not one new baby, but two! The days sometimes dragged on, but the months flew by.

And then they became mobile.

And life became even crazier! Good. But crazy!

And now, here we are, celebrating Finley and Scout's first year of life.

Although neither of them are big babies really, it still amazes me how much they have grown over the past year! It is hard to remember what they were like as little 5 and 6 lb. babies.

Finley might be small, but his is soooo strong! He is not yet walking, but he stands on his own now for a short time, and he has taken a couple of steps! He loves to push things around the floor walking behind them though. But he gets around just fine crawling and he is quick too! When he has gotten into something he knows he is not supposed to, he'll see me walking over to him as I say "Finley...what do you have", and he'll drop it immediately and make a beeline to get away!

Finley is a great eater! He will try anything we give him. And he dives right in too. He loves to make a mess! He also likes to drop things off the side of his highchair to let us know he is finished. We started whole milk a few weeks before the twins' first birthdays so we could supplement with that instead of formula, when nursing wasn't enough. Finley took to the whole milk wonderfully! He is just not a picky boy!

Finley likes anything that provides sensory stimulation. He loves to squish food in his fingers, or scratch his fingernails on different textures, or smell new things. He has done the scratching thing since he was just a newborn.

He doesn't love going down for a nap or bed, he usually cries at least a little. He does not use a nuk, (unless he wants to take it from his sister and pretend to use it briefly before tossing it). He loves his baby, (a wind up giraffe from Great Grammy), and his rattle blankie, and he loves to snuggle. He does not sleep well at night still, and insists on getting up to nurse 2-3 times a night. He is a very light sleeper.

Finley has a small vocabulary consisting of Mama, Dada, and as of recently, "Hi". Though he sounds like is trying to say other things, we can make out what any of them are.

Finley loves to play. He loves to bang toys together to hear the noise they make. He loves to get into everything he is not supposed to. He loves to climb. He does not especially like his play area, (AKA 'baby jail') although he has gotten much more used to it. He cries when I put him in, but usually will calm down after a minute and play. If the door is open he goes in and out and in and out and loves it, but the minute I latch the door, he knows it and lets me know he is not happy about it.

Finley always wants someone to entertain him and give him attention. He will play on his own for a short time, but he lets me know when he wants me to play with him. He loves to be around people, and watch what everyone is doing. He loves to be held.
One of his favorite games is "drop the baby". He'll throw his head back when we say "do you want to play drop the baby?" Then we'll pretend to "drop" him, of course holding on and catching him. He just squeals in delight when we play that!

He loves to play peek-a-boo too! He'll take whatever object is around, a book, a blanket, a spoon.... whatever, and put it up to his face until we say "Where's Finley". Then he'll move it and giggle as we say "There his is!!".

Scout is much more delicate when she eats than her brother. She picks at her food much more, rather than just shoveling like her brother does. She is much pickier too. She doesn't like meat very much, or things with a lot of texture, or things that are very cold. She eats like a bird much of the time, and is wary of new flavors and textures. Wouldn't you think it to be the opposite when she is 3+ pounds bigger than her brother who shovels in his food!?

We started Scout on whole milk as well, but she definitely doesn't love it as much as her brother does. Especially if it is cold. She'd much rather nurse, and if I produced enough milk, I'd let her, but she's never full after nursing so we give her whole milk.

Scout is very independent. Now that she is walking, she can get where ever she wants to go. She will explore everything, just taking it all in, but not really getting into things. Just looking. She loves to walk all over the house, and check things out. She will go in the baby jail and play on her own, and it doesn't seem to bother her too much. She can definitely entertain herself.

Scout loves to go through the house collecting and hoarding nuks. She'll have on in her mouth, and then she'll always have 2 or 3 in her hands that she is carrying around. When she was still crawling she did the same thing, one in her mouth, and one in each hand as she tried to crawl.

Scout has cut out crawling completely and walks everywhere she wants to go. She gets ahead of herself sometimes and tries to "run", and topples over. It's hilarious!

Scout is a light sleeper as well, and also doesn't sleep through the night much of the time. I think if she could just sleep through Finley waking up, she might actually sleep through the night. She goes down for naps and bedtime pretty good usually. She loves her nuk, and her blankie and her baby (also a wind up from grammy).

She is a loud little girl. She loves to talk and shriek. A lot. She mostly babbles, but she does say "Mama", "Dada", and "Moooooommmmmmm"(when waking up from her nap and wants to get up)!

She loves to dance and move. In the morning sometimes I will have "Ellen" on, and every time the music comes on and Ellen starts dancing, so does Scout!!!! She's got some cute little moves that girl (my baby I mean, although Ellen can dance too)!

Scout loves to play peek-a-boo too. She'll throw a blanket over her head, and then pull it off giggling when we ask "Where's Scout?"! If she doesn't have a blanket she'll put her hands over her ears, instead of over her eyes to play peek-a-boo!

Both of the babies are always very aware of what the other one is doing. If I am nursing one, the other cries and hangs on my leg in jealousy! If I am rocking one, the other hangs at my leg and cries. If I am playing on the floor with one, the other one crawls up on my lap wanting to get in on the action too. If one is having a snack, the other must get some too.

They get along well overall, but they have just recently started to truly fight over stuff. If one has a toy, and the other wants it they have no problem grabbing it and having a little game of tug-o-war over it. Scout usually wins, and Finley usually cries. Finley likes to take Scout's nuk out of her mouth, put it in his, then spit it out 2 seconds later as if he just remembered he doesn't like nuks. Then he'll notice she found a new one to put in, and he'll take that one. Usually she doesn't get too upset, (unless she is tired) she just goes and grabs a few more from the stash.

The babies both give kisses, and they both are particular on who they give them to! Usually they will give them to each other, but are much more hesitant with anyone else.

This past year has been....amazing. It has been so much fun to watch Finley and Scout grow and learn in their own ways, and develop their own, very different, little personalities!

Here they are one year ago.

Here they are now.

Happy 1st Birthday Finley and Scout! I love you both so very much!

Finner....sorry you are spending the second half of your first birthday throwing up :( Poor babe.