Overhead

"You're bovering me." Micah's most often used phrase these days. Including last night when my hair apparently got in his way when I was trying to get him back to sleep...in my bed!

Gopher?

My brother, Tyler, bought Noah a Nebraska football uniform a couple of years ago and it has gotten a lot of use. The last few weeks it has also led to too much fighting between the boys. One football helmet and two boys equals much unhappiness. So, Shawn and I started the hunt for a set for Micah, it took many calls to track one down. Thankfully we live in Minnesota because that M on the helmet is for Micah just like the N is for Noah. He was so excited to get this helmet. I want to burn that smile into my memory forever, it was so sweet.

Terrible pictures (my camera battery charger is currently missing!) but here are the Wagoner football players. Aren't they intimidating!?

Birthday Party Fun

I was cleaning out my phone gallery and came across these from a birthday party we attended for our friend, Jack, who turned four. We have been to so many fun birthday parties but I think our favorites have been at fire stations. The firefighters are so nice and really let the kids get involved. We have never had a friend party for our kids but Noah is asking for one so we may celebrate 5 years kiddie style.

Family Photos

My high school friend, Brooke, took photos of our family during a summer trip to Wood River. We did the shoot at almost 8pm and my kids were really struggling. It was extremely hot, humid and mosquitoes everywhere. At one point I asked Shawn if it was child abuse because the bugs were so bad. We ended up with some great shots though. Here are my favorites.

Noah Says

Noah gave a performance tonight teaching us a few songs from school. Shawn and I were both singing along with him and I asked, "Noah, who is the better singer, me or dad?" Without missing a beat he replied, "Mom is better but dad is funnier." Brilliant answer I say!

Back to the Books

Well not exactly the books but we are back in the school routine. Noah started preschool on Sept. 13th. The night before his school hosts a potluck so the parents can mingle and the kids can see their classroom and play together. I got a sitter because Shawn was traveling for work. It was pretty great to spend some time with Noah alone. Then we came home and I had to decorate his bag with the patches he choose earlier that week with Shawn. Unfortunately one of the big patches had to be sewn on. Ack. Shawn took this photo of me, I told him, "this is love." See how dark it was! :)

First Day

Movin' on up to room 102. I told him I wanted to take his picture and he said, "Only 1 Mom, ok?!!"

The whole crew took him on the first day. This year Micah says, "I want to go to school."

The second day of school Noah's teacher told me he really enjoyed a project they did. Early in the day they were discussing shapes and she told them to be thinking about something they would like to make with their shapes later in the day. When they sat down to do the art project she looked around and the kids were trying to think of something to do with the shapes and then she saw Noah and he constructed an elaborate train already. She was impressed and of course we are too. Shawn beamed with pride saying Noah has focus and Granmda Jane said, "Yep, that's Noah." I think she is right. :) Here's to a great year.

6 months

Our sweet baby girl turned another month older.

So, we had to start feeding her in the high chair. As this photo shows, she is not sure what to make of the experience so far.

She also got a tooth, is sitting up and can get all over on the floor. Her favorite target...her brothers' toys.

Shawn predicts she will torture Micah but as least this brother takes it in stride for now.

photog

Noah is very interested in cameras and taking photos right now. Here is a shot he took which I must admit is pretty darn cute.

Family Vacation

We had wood floors installed in our upstairs hallway and the stairs refinished which meant we had to be out of the house for a week. First we thought about a trip to Nebraska but had been back twice recently and I wasn't up for the drive. I was craving some family time away from our house and our never ending to do list. So, we started checking out rentals cabins on the lake around here. Then Shawn came home and announced that the perfect place for us to stay fell in his lap. The CEO of his company offered for us to stay at his cottage in Wisconsin. The drive was four hours, but for a nice place to stay for free we gladly accepted! It could not have been more perfect. The house was beautiful and they have five kids so it is family friendly. We had the best time soaking up the last bits of summer. We had a movie night, played at the park, swam, ate out, ate in, had s'mores, read, went on a boat road, played board games and tennis and overall relaxed. The trip left me dreaming of a second home, which is hilarious considering we have just started making a dent in our first. Ha!

The boy room sleeps four and my boys were thrilled to play on the top bunks every moment we were inside. The second day we were there I heard an unusual cry out of Micah so I ran up to check on him. He was dangling from the top bunk. Good thing he is a strong kid.

The boys were big fans of the jetted bathtub. Multiple hour plus baths and the cutest rosy cheeks to follow.

A park for the neighborhood couldn't have been better suited for our construction workers, Martin and Douglas. They were building me a new house the whole week. One morning Noah was hauling "concrete and bricks" up the ladder and asked if I was okay with Restoration Hardware bricks. He later said that they ran out and would Walgreens bricks be okay. I think he's been to Walgreens once in his life. Love that kid. :)

As usual Celia spent most of her outside time snuggled up.

Ken and Sue Clark have the cottage next door and were the sweetest couple and our boys adored them, especially Noah. They took us for a boat road, Mr. Clark showed Noah how to fish with a net and oatmeal flakes, and they helped us get prepared after a storm left us without water and electricity for a day and a half.

The trip was exactly what we needed. Sigh.

The last weekend in August Grandma Jane and Grandpa Dennis came to visit. We are always excited to see them. They helped us SO much with house projects, babysitting, cooking, etc. They even babysat our friends' three kids so we could all go out. They are pretty darn terrific. THANK YOU!!!