The BIG 3 0

That's right....Rob turned the BIG 30 on June 16th! I wasn't able to be home to celebrate with him, as I had to be at a conference for a couple of days. Luckily his mom, sister, and youngest brother were here to celebrate along with the boys. I did make sure that he had a cake to eat that night and requested that pictures be taken :) They did a great job of decorating the house with balloons and beautiful Happy Birthday sign!

Happy 30th Birthday to the most wonderful and loving father and husband! I'll be following closely behind you :)

Welcome Mollie Olivia

On June 8th, Rob and I became a proud aunt and uncle to Miss Mollie Olivia! We are so very excited, as this is the first time we are the aunt and uncle! Congratulations to Andy and Janelle! She is so absolutley precious...I know I am going to love being an auntie :)

Happy Anniversary

Three agos from June 14th I married my best friend! It has been an amazing three years. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. We have been blessed with two beautiful children, and our dog Jordi :) I look forward to many, many more years to come. Happy Anniversary honey!

Big Day

Tomorrow is a big day for Rob...he starts his new job with United Health Care as an underwriter. He made a descision this past school year that it was time for him to explore other avenues, and leave the teaching field. We had a mini surprise celebration this evening to commemerate this big event! Rob was surprised with a banner that Owen made, a balloon, and a yummy Coldstone Cake.

Owen worked hard on painting this banner for daddy

Rob excited about his new job!

We are excited for this new path that Rob is on, and we are so proud of him. I have no doubt that he will fit right in this new career filled with Excel spreadsheets and data anaylsis :) Congratulations again!! We love you!!

9 months

Owen at 9 months

Adam at 9 months

I feel like I say this at every month, and it's so clesia, but honestly...where does the time go?!? I remember when I was pregnant with Adam, and everyone emphasized how if I just could get through the first six months with two little ones, it would get better. But that never seemed to be the case with us. I was lucky that Owen took on the role of big brother head on, and that Adam was so laid back. I don't feel like I ever wished for him to get older and it to "get better". However, even without me wishing it away, it is going by way too fast.

We had Adam's nine month appointment yesterday, and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 22lb 13oz (80th%)
Height: 29 1/4 inches (80th%)
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 inches (50th%)

Here is what Adam is up to at 9 months:

-He continues to be on the move ALL OF THE TIME. We can not take our eyes off of him for one minute, because he always seems to get himself into some sort of mischief. He is cruising around furniture, crawling up the stairs, and starting to take steps behind a push toy.

-He has decided he is DONE with baby food. He is all about the table food, though can be rather picky at times. He eats basically what we eat, and is doing really well with this.

-He still takes two bottles (one in the morning and one at night) but drinks out a sippy cup during the day...he did awesome with this transition!

-He is starting to babble "mama" when I walk in a room and "dada" when Rob walks in. He is a talker, and loves to babble to us.

-We are trying to introduce to signing "more", but he is not having it...though he definitley knows what it means :)

-He really enjoys being outdoors...if he starts to get fussy, we can take him outside and he is just like new again.

-He loves the water - bath time, swimming pools, sprinklers...it doesn't matter, he just loves to splash around.

- Two of his favorite games are peek-a-boo and rolling the ball back and forth with people.

-Still sleeps great - about 7:30pm to 6 - 6:30am, and takes two solid naps.

-He is starting to understand some words such as ball, bottle, bath, mom, dad, Owen, and Jordi. It's fun to see the connections being made.

-He continues to be full of smiles, squeals, and laughs!

The other thing that Rob and I have really noticed in the last couple weeks, is how Adam and Owen's relationship is changing. It is so fun to see them beginning to "play" together. Adam watches Owen very closely, and tries so hard to keep up with his older brother. The other day Owen ran outside and went up the ladder on his playset. Seconds later, Adam went crawling right after him. He stood up next to the ladder, and looked up at him while babbling away as if to say "I wanna play too!"

And Owen continues to be such a great older brother to Adam. It melts my heart when Owen just randomly walks up to Adam and kisses him on the top of the head :)

We are so blessed to have two happy, healthy, and adorable little boys!

The Great Outdoors

This past weekend Rob and I decided to finally put one of our wedding gifts to use...yes, a little late I know, but it's been a busy couple of years :) We took the boys on their first camping trip! We didn't got far from home, just in case it didn't work out. We went to a KOA in Jordan, MN, about 10 minutes from our home. Given that it was our first attempt, and a bit of an experiment, we decided to just go from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning. We picked a great weekend and were blessed with beautiful weather! I was a little nervous about how Adam would sleep, but I couldn't have asked for him to do better. We were in the absolute perfect location...our site was right across from a huge playground, and right next to the swimming pool and bathrooms. Both boys loved playing in the tent...I wish I would have had my video camera to capture all the squealing, laughing, and playing that they were doing. Adam didn't make it for the campfire, but Owen loved roasting marshmellows and hanging out with mom and dad by the fire. He fell asleep in Rob's lap as we chatted by the fire.

Rob's one complaint...it took us almost as long to pack as we were gone camping...the joys of vacationing with two little ones. :)

Rob was embarrased by how much we had to pack - the only thing we forgot were pillows (it was a little uncomfortable)

Our enourmous seven person tent...we can have a big family with these tent :)

Happy Camper #1Happy Camper #2
Favorite part of camping...just like his mom

Rob did an awesome job on the fire
Beautiful night!!!

Everyone woke up happy the next morning
Wrestling in the tent (yes..it has already begun)
They are sooo much fun to watch play
A family that camps together, stays together:)

A nice lady walking by us in the morning commented on how brave we were to take the two boys camping. Brave, crazy, daring...call it what you like, it was a perfect weekend! I am already looking forward to our next camping trip!!

Projects

We had a busy Memorial weekend. It started that Thursday when the boys' Aunt Jennifer came to stay with us for a couple nights. She stayed with the boys on Friday when Rob and I were at work. The boys loved having her come to play with them, and they were sad to see her go. It was also nice to have someone to watch some of my girly wedding shows with :) Thanks again Jennifer!!

Then on Saturday my parents, my brother Tony, and his fiance Erika came up to celebrate Memorial Day with us. We enjoyed drinks, good food, bean bags, a bon fire, and smores on Saturday.

On Sunday we put my parents to work and did some landscaping around our backyard. This is a project that I have wanted to tackle since Rob bought the house, and finally we got it done!!! We definitley hit our fair share of bumps along the way, Rob had a few choice words for the sprinkler system, and we had to make SEVERAL trips to Lowe's on Sunday, but it in the end all the pieces came together. We are really happy with how it looks! Now comes the the most difficult task...keeping my new plants and shrubs alive :)

the digging begins...

Owen loved helping with this project

And here's how Adam helped :)

Now we can start laying the brick

a small look at the finished product