Em's Birthday Celebration

We had Emilie's birthday party over the weekend and it was a huge success. We had beautiful weather and the kids played outside for the whole party. Emilie had a Dora the Explorer party complete with a life size Dora balloon thanks to Aunt Vicki. Thanks to everyone who came!

Two Years Ago Today

She was born. What a precious angel.

The Outdoors

We have been spending a lot of time outside lately. It is so nice after being stuck in doors all winter. Here are some pictures we took at the park. Enjoy!

Puppy Love

I hope he knows how much I love him. There are day where I feel I didn't do enough for him or spent more time on the "no, don't do that" phrases than the "I love you more than you'll ever know" ones. I look at him while he sleeps and hope he knows how special he is and how much he is loved. He is no longer a baby, but he will always be mine.

Dora Who?

It's official... Emilie loves Dora. "Dora who?" some of you might ask. No, we don't have a new pet, I am speaking of Dora the Explorer whom Nickelodeon features 6 billion times a day. Well, not really but it feels that way with a 1 year old running around ordering you to turn on Dora. I have friends with little girls who are not at all surprised by this, apparently this is a normal "phase". They say don't worry, they usually get over it around the time the turn 3. Three???

I know Dora has been around a while because Abbie watched her when she was little. So I did a little digging and found out Dora first aired in 1999 so she has been around for a little over a decade. If you have never seen an episode I will fill you in on what Dora is all about. She is a little latina girl and in each episode she embarks on a journey with her best friend, Boots the Monkey, to help someone or find something. Along the way she faces different obstacles including a sneaky fox named Swiper. She always comes through in the end and saves the day. She also teaches spainish along the way, so I don't mind if Emilie wants to watch the same episode over and over. At least she will learn to speak spanish, right?

Today we went to the library and I decided to get some Dora books there so Em can fill her Dora needs in ways other than TV. We'll see how that goes.

My Weekend in a Picture

It's been a long time....

Well, I haven't blogged in ages! I was so busy with Christmas and then Ari's birthday and then recovering from them both! I find myself home this afternoon and EVERYONE but me is asleep. We have been battling some kind of crazy hardcore virus this week. After 3 trips to the doctor this week Emilie seems to be on the mend and now Luke and Ari are sick! I think I will have to find some university that could grant me some kind of honorary nursing degree! As for me I am trying to keep myself well and everyone else hydrated and fed.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentines Day. Although everyone here is sick I am with the ones I love most, so it is a good (not great)Valentines Day for me.

I will leave you with some recent pictures of the kids... since it has been awhile.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Merry Christmas!

All I want for Christmas....

Over the weekend we made our traditional trip to the Sheridan Public Library to go see Santa. Our neighbor is the director of the library and invites us to come see Santa every Christmas. We had high hopes this year that Ari would really have a good time, but silly us! Should we really have expected him to sit on a strange man's lap and happily report what he would like for Christmas? After much persuasion, and Uncle Stephen sitting on Santas lap, we were able to get the kids to cooperate, although neither were thrilled.

What did they ask for?



Ari wants a house to go into and a robot and he said Emilie want's baby dolls.

Speaking of Cardboard Boxes

For Ari's second birthday we wanted to get him a toy box so I scoured the interent looking for the perfect one. I found one I liked and what made it even better was that I could order it online and get free shipping. When it came in the mail we were so excited to put it to work. We opened the box and pulled out the toy box, put it where we wanted it and loaded it with toys. We were left with a HUGE box so Luke, remembering how much fun it was to play in a box, cut a door into the side and a window into another side and made it Ari's "house". It was his favorite toy for a long time.

We finally had to throw it out because it had been taped and re-taped and was falling apart rapidly. But I think it lasted a good 6 months! What a gift!

Cheap Toy

One laundry basket + 2 kids = FUN!

Mario & Luigi

Happy Halloween!

We had a hectic but very nice Halloween this year. Ari was so fun to Trick or Treat with. He was so grateful for the candy! He said"Trick or Treat" at every house we went to and when a lady gave him a sucker he hugged her and told her he loved lollipops! Emilie had a good time as well, but she was a little less vocal about it. And what were they you ask?? Ari was Luigi (surprise, surprise) and Em was a bee.

Halloween's Past

I got this idea from another blogger... I liked it so much I decided to do it myself!

2006

2007

2008

What are they going to be this year? You'll just have to wait and see!

Daddy is Much Cooler than Me

Ari asked me to spell his name in legos....I gave up at "R". I had no idea how to make one with legos. He asked Daddy and.... Wa La!

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to a pumpkin patch in southern Indiana on the way to Louisville. To call it a pumpkin patch doesn't really do it justice, it had an apple orchard, winery, baked goods, cheese and ice cream, restaurant and a corn maze.

We took a ride in a wagon to pick our own pumpkins and bought some yummy fresh baked bread. We also walked through a corn maze that had cartoon characters posted throughout it, and at the first bend there was people dressed as Bugs Bunny and Sylvester.

They really freaked Ari out and we had to carry him through the rest of the maze! Poor Guy! Never the less we all had a great time!

My Baby

One year ago... time sure flies!

I WON!

I won the Snuggle Me Stories!!!