Twins?

I can't count how many times I've been asked, "how old are your twins", or "what are your twins' names" in the past two weeks while we've been at Ryan's games.  I don't get it, Ellie and Colton look nothing alike (to me at least).  Ellie crawls all over the place while Colt just sits there and doesn't move (other than the occasional tip over), and Ellie is considerably bigger than Colt while in the stroller (her legs hang over the edge while his just barely touch the edge).  Even with all that evidence that clearly shows they are not twins, people still "ooh and aah" over my precious twin babies - whatever, I guess now I have a little insight into what it feels like to be a mother of twins (other than the sleepless nights and never ending crying that I'm sure comes with multiples) - thank god I just have "fake" twins.  Here are the "twins" doing what they do best, shoving food in their mouth as fast as they can so the other one can't have any.  Oh my God, maybe they really are twins - that sounds like sibling rivalry at its best!

She walks!!!

Apparently Ellie read my last post about her lack of walking because this morning when she woke up, walking was the only thing she wanted to do - yay!  I knew this morning might be the start of something when she didn't cry and fall down the instant I let go of her (usually she falls down, throws her head back, and cries - such a drama queen).  Anyway, this morning we were walking around the living room when I decided to gently pry her fingers off of my finger, instead of the usual fit, she just stood there (this is a good sign).  So I inch back a little and hold out my arms and say, "come here El."  Her usual response would be to reach out as far as possible towards me until she does one of two things; either tip over, or cry - neither is a great option.  But today, she moved her little legs, and to everyone's amazement (mostly hers though), she walked!!  She looks like a baby Frankenstein, and isn't super stable, but at least she is doing it.  Of course when she made it the four or five steps to me, we all had to cheer and clap for her (she also claps for herself) like crazy people so she would do it again, and wouldn't you know it, that is exactly what she did!  Here is a quick clip of the little girl in action - go Ellie!

I'm thinking with a little more practice over the long weekend, she'll be up and at 'em full speed ahead by next week - guess that means it's time to buy her her first pair of real "walking shoes" (unfortunately for me, none of Lauren's "fat-footed" shoes fit Ellie's skinny little foot - no surprise there, that would have just been too easy!).

Safety first

So it's been pretty nice weather lately . . . the upside; we've been outside a lot enjoying it, the downside; Ellie wants to play with all the big kids but is still not walking.  My solution . . .

. . . a helmet (safety first is the motto at this house), a stroller (made for little ones learning to walk), and a baby (so Ellie has someone to push).  Thankfully this little idea has made our lives a whole lot easier - no more hunching over while Ellie walks in constant circles and then cries the minute you let go of her, no more sore backs, and most importantly, we're free to pay attention to the other kids - hallelujah!  Now, if she could just figure out the walking thing in general, I'm sure she'd be amazed at all the new things the world has to offer - we'll just keep waiting . . . (a little side note, Ryan didn't walk until he was almost 15 months so I'd just be happy if Ellie figured it out before then, if not, she'll have the wheels on that stroller worn out before summer is over).

When Ellie isn't walking, she's also taken an interest in all of the kids' riding and push toys.  Her favorite one lately is the Big Wheels - you'll notice she has her helmet on in this picture too.  Good news - she has never fallen while on a riding toy, bad news - she has fallen several times while walking with her stroller.  I'm hoping this will change in the future, it would really stink to have to wear a bike helmet on a daily basis just for walking.

And finally, here are a couple of pictures of the big kids.  Ryan has been enjoying soccer and t-ball.  We just had his name and number printed on his shirts tonight (we didn't do it last year because I was too cheap, then when I discovered it only cost $6, I went ahead and popped for it).  He choose to be number "6" because that is how old he is, and just wanted "Ryan" for the name because as he says, "what other name would I put on there, my name is Ryan."  He is pretty excited to wear the "new" shirts on Thursday for his first official games (they have just had practices the past two weeks).  And then there's Lauren.  She is my little helper this summer.  The poor girl gets dragged around to all of Ryan's events and other than a few little "tough" periods, she's done great!  She helps me keep the babies in line, doles out snacks when the babies are hungry, and is just an over all good sport about things.  I know she'd rather be playing soccer or t-ball, or climbing around at the park, but when that can't happen, she just hangs out and talks about how she'll get to do all these fun things when she is 5 - oh what a great year that will be for her!

She can never just take a "normal" picture - such a crazy little girl, I love it!

Another adventure!

I think (I hate to even write this because I am sure I'm jinxing myself), I have mastered the art of taking 2 babies and 2 kids on an adventure - yay!  This past Friday the kids and I met up with an old friend and her two kids to check out the local arboretum.  The place is gorgeous and most importantly, there is lots of room to run and play.  We  visited a coy pond (this was our first stop and I nearly had a heart attack every time one of the kids got to close to the edge), stopped to smell some pretty flowers, threw a couple of coins in a fountain, and ended the visit with a stroll through the maze made out of bushes and small trees - talk about fun, and exhausting!  In all, we were there for about 3 hours and other than a few minor fits, it was pretty smooth sailing.  The kids all got along well and Jen and I had a chance to catch up - all in all, a great day with great friends (new friends for the kids, an old friend for me).  Here are a couple of pictures of the kids taking a break to have a snack.

Mall of America

It was another crumby day yesterday and with Ryan's soccer canceled, we didn't have much to do.  So, on a spur of the moment thought (I just needed to get out of the house), I packed the kids and headed out to the mall.  As we were driving, I suddenly remembered that Tuesdays are "Toddler Tuesday" days at the MOA so instead of going to our normal indoor "mall playground", we kept on driving and made it all the way to the big guy (aka "The Mall of America).  The last time I was here was when it was still just Ryan, Lauren, and myself on a normal day - so it has been at least 2 years.  This trip, it was Ryan, Lauren, Ellie, Colton, and myself.  To say I was a little worried would be an understatement.  The mall is huge, the kids like to run, and unfortunately, it was just me to keep them in order.  So off we went to check out the "Kiddie Karnival" in the mall's rotunda.  It took me about 2 seconds of seeing massive lines before I decided that we would not be attending the "karnival" (imagine strollers and kids everywhere - it was crazy and it was packed).  After that, I was a little discouraged and had to push back my thoughts of wanting to get back in the van and head out to our "safe" mall playground.  But because Ryan and Lauren were being great and wanted to stay, I came up with option two . . . RIDES!!  Part of "Toddler Tuesday" is a discounted wrist band for all the kid rides.  I wasn't a hundred percent sure on this option, but not wanting to disappoint, we went for it.  We had a rough start - Ryan wanted to go on the kiddie coaster, but Lauren wasn't tell enough to go without a chaperon.  I thought Lauren would be sad and start throwing a fit, but to my surprise, she just stepped out of line and watched from the side with myself and the babies - such a mature little 3 year old, too bad it doesn't always go that smooth.  After that hiccup, we hit our stride and the kids made it through 7 more rides before the babies let me know it was time to go.  By this time it was 12:30pm though and they had been in the stroller for a  hour and a half so there was no complaints from anyone.  It is amazing how content they were to just sit and watch all that was going on around (granted, the place was a zoo so there was lots to do and see!).  After that, we packed up, grabbed some lunch, and took long afternoon naps - a great wrap to a great day!  This little adventure proves that I'm still able to get out of the house and enjoy an occasional field trip with the kids - sure it takes a little more work and a lot more planning, but it is all worth it if the kids have fun!  We're planning another outing on Friday (assuming the weather cooperates) - hoping this one goes just as smooth as this one did!

Colton, Ellie, and her best friend (her thumb) hanging out - they were little troopers!

Happy Father's Day! (a little late)

Here is our "Happy Dad" on Father's Day (actually the picture was taken on Saturday, but he was still this happy on Father's Day).

Thanks for being such a good dad to our kids - they love you and so do I!

One more birthday party

We spent a nice, quiet weekend at the lake with Grandpa Doug and Grandma Connie this past weekend.  Our main reasoning for the visit was to celebrate Ryan's 6th birthday again.  It seems like Ryan, more than the girls, always has multiple celebrations for his birthday - lucky kid!  Anyway, the visit was great.  The kids had a blast playing with their "lake" friends and showing me all their tricks on the new trampoline Grandpa Doug bought for them.  A quick summary . . . presents, sparklers, and bouncing - what a great way to spend the weekend!  Here is the "quick summary" in pictures . . .

World travelers??

The kids now consider themselves "world travelers" which is justified if you are 6 and 3 and visited Duluth (Daloof in their words), Wisconsin (Osconsin to them - their teacher from the Y just moved to Ohio so I'm pretty sure they are just combining the states), and South Dakota (this one they actually say correctly) in a matter of a week.  Duluth was a trip with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Donna, Wisconsin was a few steps into the state while on the Duluth trip, and the South Dakota trip was with me.  On our way out to South Dakota the kids were talking about all the places they had been lately when Ryan casually says to me, "Mom, I think we should drive to Texas next, I'd like to see all the cowboys there and ride some horses."  Once Lauren heard, "ride the horses", she was in, too bad it wasn't that easy to convince me.  When I told them that Texas was too long to drive, they just said, "it's okay, we can do it."  So I guess we're off to Texas next! Until then, here are some pictures from their adventures . . .

Children's Museum of South Dakota pictures - really cool, hard to believe it is in Brookings, SD!  We could have spent an entire day there.

This is a picture of Lauren and I going to get our nails done before our travels started. What can I say, the girl likes to look good when she's got some place to go!

Speaking of traveling, my blogging has been lacking lately because I'm spending all my free time trying to put together the perfect "10 year anniversary" trip for Trav and I.  10 years!  Man, this trip is really going to have to be a good one!

Happy 6th Birthday Ryan!!

Our little boy is 6!!!  How crazy it that?  What happens when you turn six?  Well, according to Ryan, you grow taller and get a lot faster - amazing how that can happen overnight.  But, if you need proof, just ask him.  He'll show you just how much faster he really is, and even point out that some of his old clothes no longer fit him (that actually is true, but unfortunately that has happened over the past few months, not overnight).  We had a little celebration at our house for him and all was good until I asked him if he had a good birthday and he said, "yeah, I'm just a little sad because I wish some of my friends could have come over."  Jeez, why doesn't he just stick a knife in my heart.  He said all he wanted was a party just like last year with the same friends - sounds easy enough, but it's not.  The party last year was on a Wednesday afternoon and Ash was here to help me keep tabs on the party kids and the girls.  This year, it would have been just me, my three kids, Colton, and five birthday guests - I think that's never going to happen.  Anyway, now that I know how extremely important it is to Ryan to have his "friend party", I will make every effort I can to make sure that always happens for him in the future.  To end the night on a good note though, as I was tucking Ryan into bed, he was telling me that he is indeed the same Ryan he was yesterday, just a new 6 year old version.  Then, as I was walking out of his room, he says, "I love you Mom, thanks for the gift and the best birthday ever" - my heart was officially melting.  God I love that kid!

South Dakota, here we come!

I had a bit of a homecoming this past weekend when we visited the SDSU campus for the first time in a long time. Although, there were two main differences with me this time compared my to college years spent out there, and there names are Ryan and Lauren! That's right, I packed up the kids (just the older two, Ellie isn't "ready" for heavy traveling yet), and headed back to see how much the campus and the facilities have changed in the past ten years (yes, I said 10 years, that means I'm really getting old).  Let's just say, it's changed A LOT! The best part about the trip is that we had our own personal tour guide in AJ, my old basketball coach. He, along with his wife, Laurie, and newborn son, Dylan, showed us just how much the "college world" has changed in the past decade. We started in Frost Arena (which is where all of our basketball games were played) - that place alone was amazing. There were murals, pictures, and paintings of different athletes all over the place - it certainly wasn't the cement walls, and crappy paint jobs I remembered from my days there. And then there were the new basketball rooms . . . a team lounge, a team room (used before and during games instead of running all the way back to the locker room) and the actual locker room itself - they were all amazing. We're talking drop down movie screens (to watch game film), leather chairs (each player has their own chair they use for their entire four years), a lounge with a flat screen, Mac computers, WiFi and a Wii (Ryan of course wanted to sit down and play a few games) - all of this is just for the Women's Basketball team - it's crazy! After the team room and lounge, we headed back to the locker room (which is in a new addition they added onto the building). This locker room was BIG, and it even had individual shower stalls (with water that actually came out of the shower heads). Back in the day, we all used to have to huddle naked around one big shower in the middle of the room and try to get lucky and have a few ice cold drops of water fall on our soapy bodies (trust me guys - if there are any male readers - this might sound like every man's dream . . . 10 female athletes splashing around naked in the shower together, but it wasn't, it was terrible). After the tour of Frost, we hit up the rest of campus. It was hard to even remember what it looked like before because so much has changed, but once AJ would point out something new and then tell me how it used to be, it all came back to me. It's actually amazing that this is even the same campus I remember, that is how different it is. There are coffee shops, a full restaurant, and "dorms" that look more like apartments in the city - definitely not the college life I remember. After the tour, we headed back to Frost where the kids got a chance to run around and shoot some baskets. I must say, it was pretty cool to have my kids playing out on the court when just 10 years ago, I was out there running around like crazy and not thinking about what life would be like now - amazing how much change can happen in what I used to think of as a relatively short period of time. When it was all said and done, I'm still not really sure the kids get the complete idea that this is where I used to live, go to school, and play basketball (nor do they probably really care at this point), but it was still a great trip and hopefully will be a great memory for them for a long time to come.

Thanks again to AJ and family for showing us the new and improved SDSU campus. And to all of the fellow Jackrabbits out there who haven't been back to campus in a while, it's time to pack your bags and head out - you'll certainly be surprised (and very impressed!).

Here all a couple of pictures I snapped while we were out there.  I was clearly too amazed by the things I was seeing to even get my camera out.  It wasn't until we were back at Frost for the second time that I realized I carried my camera with the entire time, but never actually took a picture - oh well.

Monday, Fun Day

Is it possible that a Monday could be a fun day?  Well, usually not, but in our case, today was.  It was also HOT!  And I'm not just talking a little hot, I'm taking extremely hot and humid (the last reading in my car said 94 degrees).  When it's that hot, there is little to nothing to do outside with two kids and two babies, except maybe hang out at Grandpa and Grandma's pool - yay for having a pool!  So that is just what we did.  I packed up the kids this morning and headed south to spend the day in the pool and help Grandpa Jim celebrate his 40th (I might be stretching a little with that number) birthday today - how perfect.  And in honor of Grandpa's birthday, Grandma Donna managed to get out of work a little early too - apparently she didn't want to miss out on the fun.  Here are a couple of pictures from the day.  As you can tell, my attempt at taking a picture of the four grandkids and the grandparents didn't work out so great . . . Colt is too busy chillin' in his floatie to care about what I'm trying to do, Grandma has her hands full trying to hold both girls, and Ryan is being a typical boy and giving people "bunny ears"  - oh well, at least the Birthday Boy looks good. 

Oh, if ever Monday could be like this! 

In other news, I have lots of catching up to do . . . there was a dance party, a trip to Duluth, and lots of home improvements.  So much to write about, so little time to do it (at least not right now, I'm too tired).

School's out for summer!

Yesterday was Lauren's last day of speech school, and today was Ryan's last day of kindergarten - yay!  Not only does this mean Lauren is now almost a preschooler and Ryan is officially a 1st grader, but it also means no more rushing around like a crazy woman in the morning trying to get kids up, dressed, fed, and out the door by a certain time all while trying to keep Ellie and Colton happy - breathing a huge sigh of relief!  Of course this down time will be short lived because soccer and t-ball start in a little over a week, but I'll enjoy while I have it.  I regrettably forgot to get a picture of Lauren yesterday (just chalk it up as another "bad" mom moment), so I made sure I got the camera out today for Ryan's picture (although, if I am being completely honest, I have to admit that I did forget to take the picture before school so I had to take it after - oops!).  Here is the boy today and in September at the start of the year.  He grew a little taller, lost his tan, and cut his hair, but the one thing that didn't change was his skinny little legs!