Lauren's 2 year pictures

I finally gave in and decided to have Lauren's 2 year pictures taken. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision but I am happy to say the pictures turned out great. Here is a quick preview. Ryan had to stand in and have some pictures taken first before Lauren finally warmed up to the photographer. As you can see, he didn't seem to mind.

Our baby is 2!

We had a rather busy past four days. Between Thanksgiving, celebrating Lauren's 2nd birthday, and decorating the house for Christmas, we were BUSY! Let's start at the beginning . . . Wednesday night we headed to Aaron and Ann's house to start the Thanksgiving celebration early. We also used this night to give Lauren an early birthday celebration. Check her out in her new ballerina outfit complete with star shaped sunglasses - she couldn't have been happier!Thursday we did the usual Thanksgiving - lots of food, lots of laying around, and some Wii fun. After the long day, we finally packed up the kids and headed home. The kids were both lucky enough to finally catch the cold I've had for the past month or so it made for a rather long day and night - needless to say, everyone needed to get back in their own beds and get some rest. We spent Friday at home with just the four of us. The kids were snotty and coughing so we stuck to indoor activities - the highlight being putting up the Christmas tree! Ryan did the majority of the work while Lauren spent most of her time putting up and taking down the same two or three ornaments. After the nice lazy day on Friday, we geared up for some more birthday fun with the Quast side of the family on Saturday. Lauren loved her bunny birthday cake that Grandma Connie made, sh also loved to be the center of attention while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her - such a little attention seeker. After all the birthday fun, the birthday girl was ready for bed so we left her home with Grandma and Grandpa while we took Ryan out for his first "big person" bowling adventure. Ryan was really into it at first, but by the second game he was more interested in the lights and music than he was in actually bowling - oh well, at least he still had fun. After bowling, we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and started what would be a rather long night with the kids - lots coughing and congestion, very little sleep. By late Sunday afternoon, we were finally ready to put an end to all the craziness of the past four days so we packed up and headed home for good. Now it is Sunday night and both kids are in bed (coated in Vicks vapor rub and using vaporizers), I am able to finally sit back and relax for a while. Hoping the night goes better than the past few - keeping my fingers crossed. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Balls and belts

With today being kind of a dreary and rainy day, I decided we needed to get out of the house and burn off some energy. So we packed up the mini and headed to the community center for a couple of hours of running, jumping, and laughing. Ryan was off playing with new friends within minutes of arriving so that left Lauren, myself, and Baby Robbie to make our own fun. Lauren wasn't too excited about all the kids running around so she stuck close to me for the first ten minutes or so. Finally I was able to get her into the ball pit (hence "balls" in the title), and once there, she had a blast. After a while most of the kids cleared out and Ryan and Lauren pretty much had the run of the place to themselves. With all the big kids gone, Baby Robbie even got in on the action.Before I knew it, it was lunchtime so we packed up again and headed home just in time to wash up, eat, and take a nap - what a morning.

After naps, I was feeling energized so the kids and I went to the gym so I could get a little exercise in while the kids played with some of their "gym school" friends. I wish I could say the exercise was good and easy, but it wasn't. I was exhausted, winded 50% of the time, and fighting back tears the other 50% - yeah, that's right, I was almost crying. Apparently Oprah's show on heroes coupled with my crazy hormones made for a deadly combo which made me cry at basically anything that sounded even remotely sad. I'm sure I was a sight to see . . . me in my paint stained sweats paired with a too big t-shirt (to fit over my ever increasing belly) laughing one minute, wiping tears the next - I can only imagine what people were thinking. On top of that, my hair was all over the place and my face was covered with acne (another blessing of pregnancy) - seriously, I would have been scared of me!

After my "workout" (that is what I consider a workout nowadays), we grabbed a quick dinner before heading out to Ryan's belt testing ("belt" in the title). This was Ryan's second testing and he was pretty excited about the idea of moving up to a yellow belt. All of us were there to support him and after two months of work, he proved his skills and earned himself the coveted belt - way to go buddy!

With his new belt in hand, we stopped at DQ to grab a celebratory ice cream treat before heading home and calling it a day.

We're heading to Aaron and Ann's tomorrow for our Thanksgiving celebration and then we'll head to Gaylord for the weekend to celebrate our baby girl turning 2! Hard to believe she is that old already. I guess we'll have to stop calling her "the babe" and think of something more mature to fit her new status as a "big girl."

Another karate kid?

It seems Ryan's karate influence has started to rub off onto his little sister - she has learned punches, kicks, and even bows. Here is a video so you can check out some of her moves. She seems to have switched into some sort of "Kung Fu Panda" meets dancing queen at the end - not to sure what that's all about. Enjoy!

Time for rides!

The kids and I met up with Aunt Dawn and cousin Amelia for a day of fun at the Nickelodeon Park in Mall of America. This was the first time I had been to the MOA in many, many years, and the first time ever for the kids so everyone was very excited. As it turns out, it was "Toddler Tuesday" so there were discounts on everything related to kids from lunch to rides - yay! We did lunch first, and then hit the park to start in on the rides. For $10.00 a piece, the kids were able to have unlimited rides for 3 hours - what a deal! The rides were limited to the "kiddie" rides, but there was still more than enough to keep everyone happy. After we hit up each ride once, we went back and did the "Big Rig Truck" ride one more time and then headed home. Lauren was on the verge of a meltdown from skipping her nap, and Ryan was "so thirsty" he could hardly walk to the car. Once we were loaded up, it took a minute or so of Lauren's screams before she passed out for the rest of the ride home. Unfortunately, when we arrived home, she had no intention of going back to sleep - guess that means a really early bedtime tonight. Ryan has continued to talk non-stop about how brave he was on all the rides and how much fun it was - guess that means I can chalk this up as another fun adventure! Check out the pictures from the day - lots of smiles means happy kids. A quick story about this last picture. I wasn't too sure about putting Lauren on this ride because it looked a little scary. But, considering she was already pissed at me for not letting her get on the previous ride, I figured I'd let her try instead of risking another tantrum - turns out I should have risked the tantrum. Lauren looks happy in this picture because it was taken before the ride started, but once it did start, Lauren's face went from smiling to unsure to scared to crying. They had to stop the ride to let her off, and once they did, Ryan and Amelia decided they should get off too - either it wasn't fun, or they were scared too. Note to self . . . skip this ride next time!

Early Winter Celebration

This weekend we headed south to visit Grandma and Grandpa Loken. The plan . . . relax on Friday night; Saturday, take the kids to see Santa, some reindeer, and catch a ride on a horse drawn carriage, and then relax again on Sunday. What we actually did - go out to eat on Friday night, sleep in Saturday then start what would turn out to be a really hectic day. For starters, a quick morning walk with the kids and Auntie's dog Kelty. Then I headed out to get my hair done while Grandma spent some time with the kiddies. During this same time Auntie and Grandpa are checking out new cars for Ash to possibly buy. After my haircut, everyone grabs a bite to eat then we head out again to check out a open house in the area (I believe anyone with Loken in their blood views this as a favorite weekend past time - might as well start early with the kids). After the open house we rush home as it turns out the car Auntie test drove in the morning is going to be the one she buys - how exciting! Grandpa and Ash head back over to get the car and do paperwork while Grandma and I take the kids to the big event - Santa! So it turns out not everyone thought Santa was that great. Look it this picture of us trying to sit on Santa' lap. I'm obviously doing my best to not put all of my weight on the poor man's leg while making a horrible face, Lauren is screaming and trying with all of her might to break free, and then there is Ryan just standing as nice as can be - what a perfect picture! After this we just gave up and let Ryan take a picture alone with the big guy - so much easier.With the visit to Santa done, we headed out to explore the rest of downtown and see what there was to do. Unfortunately, or fortunately (if you are Ryan) we saw the horse drawn carriage rides. Once we saw that, Ryan had made up his mind that we definitely needed to get on that ride. So we headed towards where the line was forming and started what would be a long, long wait. We stood there about ten minutes before Lauren started to get antsy so Grandma offered to take her to see the reindeer. I tried to convince Ryan that we should go with and maybe skip the carriage ride, but he was having none of it. When Grandma and Lauren got back, they stood in line with us for another five minutes or so before Grandma offered to take Lauren home and keep her warm while Ryan and I continued to wait. Now that sounds nice and all, but let's be honest, Grandma used Lauren as her out from standing in that horrid line for what would be the next 45 minutes - lucky lady. Unfortunately there was no talking Ryan out of that ride so there we stood and waited until finally (about an hour after we first arrived) we got on the last carriage ride of the day. The experience for me was so, so, but Ryan thought it was just great. I guess that means standing in the cold and playing red light, green light for an hour was worth it. Here he is in front of the horses one of the million times they passed by us before we actually got on.After all the fun, we spent Saturday night relaxing and playing some Wii - turns out Ryan is becoming somewhat of a pro at that thing - not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Sunday the kids got to spend some more quality time with the grandparents while I spent the day catching up with an old friend and doing some early Christmas shopping - had to seize the opportunity to pick up a few things while I could!

Happy "Half Birthday"

Ryan celebrated his "half birthday" today at preschool and considering it was just pretend, he still really enjoyed it. The teachers do a great job of making the day special for the birthday kid regardless if it is a "real" or "pretend" birthday. Ryan was the teacher's helper, the class leader, and a one-man show and tell act. After class his teacher came up to me and told me that Ryan spent his entire special show and tell session telling the class about how he was going to be a big brother to a baby named Braxton. Apparently Ryan knows more than the rest of us about the baby's sex, but one thing for sure, we will not be naming the baby Braxton. Sorry if anyone out there named their kid that, but it is just not for me - hopefully Ryan wouldn't be too crushed. Here are a couple of pictures of the "birthday"boy on his special day.

Busy weekend

We had a rather busy couple of days this past weekend - busy, but very fun! We started our fun on Saturday morning by heading out to the zoo. The weather was beautiful and the kids were very excited as this was the first time Trav has ever been there with us - needless to say, Ryan had lots to teach him. I swear the kid has the best memory ever. He literally recited pretty much everything he has ever heard about the animals to Travis. He told him what foods the grizzly bears liked best, he told him that the real big turtles like to eat lettuce, and he always knew what animal was coming up next - maybe we've been to the zoo one too many times? Anyway, we ended up spending a good three hours checking everything. By then it was close to lunch time so we heading back to the car and off to get some good food. It took Lauren all of two minutes before she was sleeping - poor little girl did a lot of walking that day and it isn't easy to keep up when your legs are not even half the size as mom and dad's. Here are some pictures from the day - the first two are in the zoo play area, the last three are in the dinosaur bone digging area. I wish I had taken more, but I was too busy enjoying watching Ryan tell Trav all the in's and out's of the zoo - he does love to put on a show.

After lunch we headed home for some much deserved rest. When everyone woke up, we went outside to help Trav who was hard at work raking leaves. I'm not sure having two kids running in and out of leave piles actually qualifies as help, but at least they tried. It was getting dark by the time Trav was finishing up so I had an idea to help him out. We got Ryan's monster truck out, gave him a "headlight" (literally, the light was on his helmet), and put the kids to work hauling the full bags of leaves into the garage. Here they are on their final trip to pick up the remaining bag - such good little workers.With the bags put away nicely in the garage, the kids cruised around a little longer then it was time to eat again. we grilled up some brats, recounted the events of the day, and had a little play time and then it was back to sleep - at least for the girls. Trav and Ryan headed outside to join in on a neighborhood campfire while Lauren and I opted to get some more sleep - you can never have too much! With Saturday behind us, Ryan had yet another big day to look forward to. He had a friend's birthday party that evening at an indoor bounce house play area. I wasn't sure how it would go considering he only knew the birthday boy and no one else, but as usual with Ryan, he had no trouble making new friends. After watching him for about fifteen minutes, I left and he was happy. When I went back to pick him up later, he was sweaty and full (pizza, cake, and ice cream) - the perfect combination for a little boy. He told me all about the fun stuff they did on the ride home, then recapped it all again for Trav. By this time it was getting close to bedtime so we showered up and hit the sack. It was a great family weekend topped off by gorgeous weather and lots of fun!

On a completely different note, I had another doctor's appointment today. Two great things happened. First, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat - always a reassuring sound. He/she had a heartbeat in the 150's - right on pace with where it should be. Second, I received my H1N1 vaccine, and because I had Lauren with, they agreed to not only give her one, but also let me bring Ryan back in later in the day to get his as well! I'm happy we finally got it, that just means there is one less thing to worry about and maybe, just maybe, I'll start letting the kids do some of the stuff I haven't been lately just because I didn't want to expose them anymore than I had to - we'll see.

Playing in the leaves

Nice weather means we spend as much time outside as we can so that is exactly what we did today. After a quick stop at the library to pick up some new books, we spent the majority of the morning outside riding bikes, pushing each other on various riding toys, and just enjoying being able to be outside again. Apparently the fresh air took its toll on the kids as both of them took extra long naps - always a bonus. Once they finally did get up (around 3:30pm), we had a quick snack and headed back outside. This time we brought out the rakes and decided to play in the leaves. Surprisingly Ryan did a great job raking. Last year he could hardly pull the rake around, this year, he actually helped. With the two of us raking away, Lauren did her best to ruin our hard work. She could hardly wait to get in there and jump, throw, and laugh - it was pretty fun to watch and she was certainly having a good time. Ryan got a little frustrated with her constantly barreling through the leaves before he got a chance, but in the end, we made sure he got in there first a few times too. All in all, it was a great day. The kids burned off lots of energy, the day seemed to fly by, and now, everyone is sound asleep and I'm watching Grey's - not a bad night. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids in the leaves - so great that they can have this much fun with a pile of dead leaves!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween was a blast this year! The fun started on Friday with Ryan's preschool Halloween party. The parents were invited to watch a Halloween parade during the last part of class. Each kid was called to the stage where they told everyone what they were dressed as, and then what their real name was. Lucky for everyone, Ryan took it a step farther (with the encouragement of his teacher). After announcing who he was, he went into a 30 second display of some of his ninja moves. This produced lots of laughs from the parents, "oohs and aahs" from the kids, and a huge smile from Ryan - I was the proud mom who stood in back and took it all in.On Saturday (Halloween), Grandma and Grandpa Quast came up to visit for the afternoon - it is always a big thrill for the kids to have company. Grandma brought some special Halloween treats for the kids and after that we just spent the day having fun before the grandparents had to head home and get ready for their trick-or-treaters. Shortly after Grandma and Grandpa left, we got a phone call from Uncle Troy saying that he and his friend, Nicole would be coming for a visit as well. Ryan could hardly believe his good fortune - four visitors in one day - what could be better? To top off the night, our neighbors and their two kids also came over to join in the festivities. Check out the ninja, puppy, dalmatian, and princess right before we headed out for some tricks and treats.
We did our usual 8-10 stops at the neighbors in the cul-de-sac and down the street and then we headed home to check out the loot. Think lots and lots of sugar! After that the kids spent their time digging through their candy and running to the door to see all of the trick-or-treaters who visited us. Ryan was quite the candy-hander-outer. He would run to the door, say something like, "and what do we have here?" (something he apparently heard one of us say earlier in the night), then give the kids a huge handful of candy while sending them off with a, "have fun kid", or "your welcome little guy" (apparently once you become the giver of candy, you also become the more mature, adult figure). Around 9:00pm the kids' sugar highs were finally wearing off and we were able to put them to bed. Then we had a little adult time before everyone packed up and headed home. Thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa Quast and Troy and Nicole for the visiting - it helped make the day that much more special for the kids.