Camping!!!

A walk...

A sunset...

A(nother) good meal!

A sleeping bag to keep warm in the boat!

A happy couple after some time away!

A Rainy Day (a few days late...)

Mom, can I go outside please?

No...little man...but your sister can!

Time for a hot bath! Which is just what we did, and put jammies on...even though it was 3:30 in the afternoon!

What have we been up to?

Sometimes I just don't know how so much time passes in between posts. So, what have we been up to?

Olivia officially is NUKIE FREE! Yesss!!!! Seriously, this was so easy. I expected major drama, crying, not sleeping, etc. Nothing! 2 minutes of crying the first 2 nights and that was it! Out of habit, she still asks for it when she goes to sleep, but is totally fine when I say we're done. (Side note: I still haven't thrown them away...I'm either sentimental, or chicken.)

Aidan is crawling like a mad-man, climbing up the stairs, pulling to standing, when standing-switching from one thing to the next--coffee table to sofa, babbling like there is no tomorrow, banging 2 objects together w/hands...what will he do next? Run a marathon?

I have been having baby dreams lately--3 in a row! Now don't all go getting your hopes yet, we haven't even decided if a #3 is in the cards for us... They've been weird dreams anyway.

I have poison ivy. I've NEVER had poison ivy before. It sucks. And I think I caught it from Ryan. He may be banned to the basement until his is cleared up.

We're taking Olivia to the dentist next week. I noticed that one of her front teeth has darkened and I don't know if it's from some injury or something else. We'll get it checked out...provided she'll open her mouth... ;) Any dentist tips?

Camping trip #2 this weekend! Kid-free this time!! I am SOOO looking forward to it! We are going with our good friends, Jill & Mike, for our annual camping trip with them. We have been so lucky we have been able to do this since I was pg with Olivia! It is always a blast!!

What do you think they're saying here?

Apparently the easiest way to drink from a sippy, is flat on your back. :)

A trip to the gardens in St. Cloud w/some great friends!

Family Pics

Check out our family pics from the link on the right!

Camping on Trout Lake

Breakfast & wearing panties!

Doesn't she look grown up?

Enjoying her very first smore!

Very tired little girl on one of our many hikes...and back in diapers after peeing through 3 pairs of Tinkerbell panties...not quite ready!

All tuckered out, napping in the tent

Weekend Update

(Even though I could never be as witty as SNL)

Camping was a success! Despite having to leave early, packing ALL of our gear (imagine a lot of gear x10 and you are maybe envisioning as much as we had) and ALL of us (um, 10 of us) in our boat to leave early due to massive rain showers (imagine 4 inches in about 20 min.) we had a marvelous time! (Shhh, don't tell the DNR!)

The best was Friday night in the tent as Ryan and I were lying as quietly as we could waiting for Olivia to fall asleep (about 10:00) and all of a sudden she starts pounding her feet on the pack & play and says "Uh-oh, the bear is coming! Hide!!" Oh we tried so hard not to laugh out loud!!!

Aidan did marvelous without his mommy too! He stayed back with Mucka and slept and ate well! And the best part? He did all that sleeping & eating and being happy all while popping through 2 little teeth! They are just above the gums so no cute teeth pics yet, but I can't wait to post them!!

AND! Last night Olivia was having a tough time falling asleep; although, not tough to her! She was having a blast laying in bed singing, playing, and pounding on the wall. I however, was not happy with it. I went in and let her know if she didn't go to sleep, I would be taking her nukie. Alas, she did not go to sleep, so I took her nukie. (I know, my consistency is amazing) SHe cried for like all of 2 min. and promptly went to sleep! So now we are in it for the long haul--NO MORE NUKIE! Well, I'm a wus, and can't really go cold turkey, so we are doing no nukie at nighttime and a choice at nap time. Olivia got to pick out a new toy at Target this morning for going the whole night with no nukie--this was what she picked. She told everyone at Target & the grocery store that she got to pick out a new toy for no nukie. It was hilarious. I bet we stopped to talk to 5 or 6 people.

Let's hope it goes smoothly tonight!

Another week...

Goodness. I can't believe it's already been another week! Here's some thoughts:

Right now I'm sitting on the couch and Olivia is feeding me fake food. She has picked hamburger buns (the tops only), french fries, bananas, corn on the cob, a breadstick, and one potato chip. Mmmmm....

Aidan is taking a nap. (Pleast don't let this jinx me...) He has been sleeping SO awesome for 2 weeks! He's now going 8-9 hours almost every night! It's amazing. And I feel SO much more rested!

We are going camping this weekend! It will be the first time Olivia will have gone camping!! And it will be the frist time that Aidan will spend the night away from us! I'm not crazy enough to bring them both sleeping in a tent...not yet. :) Aidan is staying with Ryan's parents and we are tenting on a lake just a few minutes from them. Let's pray Aidan sleeps well for Mucka!

(Side note: she just brought me more food a cookie, an apple, and pop...and then said, "No that cookie is not for you, it's for me.)

Yesterday we went to the Splash park in the morning--it was a blast, despite both of my kids being sleep deprived (late night Tuesday). It was gloriously hot!! After naps we ended up going back & hit the DQ on the way home. Mmmmmm.... I forgot to bring with a change of clothes for me (well undergarments) so wore my swimsuit home. I wasn't going to go into DQ with a wet butt, so we went through the drive-thru. Dangerous thing to give a 2 year old an ice cream cone in the car, on a hot day, with no air conditioning. She didn't spill a drop! Of course, I helped eat most of the ice cream so it wouldn't drip all over...but still, no spillage! :)

Oh yes! I almost forgot! I am bringing a limited supply of diapers with on our camping trip! I am expecting we will spend most of the weekend in our swimsuits...and since we will be surrounded by Olivia's older cousins, I am hoping the potty effect will wear off on her! As you know, my goal was potty trained by the end of summer. Well, we are getting awfully close and neither of us is any closer to MY goal! (Side not again: I'm pretty sure she's downstairs pooping right now...) We'll see how she does this weekend; cross your fingers!

Aidan-man is getting such a little personality! He has the biggest smile and best reactions when he hasn't seen you for a while. He reaches up for you...and cries when you put him down. Unless Olivia is in the room, then he is happy. She is his biggest source of entertainment...when she's not trying to take toys from him. He is always on the move, crawling, rolling, pulling himself to standing (his new favorite) and is just a blast to watch. I can NOT believe it's been over 7 months! Seriously, wasn't I just whining about being pregnant still last week??

Hope your week was as good as ours!

Happy 7 months!

Are we sure she's related to us?

Oh yea...I guess those of you who knew me as a child would say that sometimes I could be, well "hyper". :) And I think Ryan's mom would attest to the fact that Ryan was well, "rambunctious". We were both spirited. And I guess she is too!

This crazy video is from last weekend. We had just arrived to Mucka & Papa's cottage, Uncle Aaron & his 4 Swedish friends were there, and our good friends the Yankowiak's had stopped by for a visit. Oh, it was also probably 8:30 at night. She was wound up and ready to go...and well, you will see...

Flashback

As Aidan will celebrate his 7 month birthday on Thursday, here's a little flashback to Olivia at 7 months. You'll have to wait unitl Thursday to see his 7 month self...and then I want to hear comparisons! :)

7 month birthday

7 1/2 months