Video

From 2009-11-15

Sesame Street Live

On Nov. 15th Aaron and I took Owen to see Sesame Street 1-2-3 imagine that was playing in Madison. I made the mistake one day when we were out running errands to tell Owen that Dad got the tickets and we were going to see the Sesame characters. Every store we went in he thought they were going to be there. So, the day Owen and I were heading up to Madison to go get Dad and see the show I told him, "Today were are going". The whole car ride all I heard was, "Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Count. I so excited!!" It was SO cute, wish I would have had a tape recorder.
Once the show started I don't think he knew what to think but as soon as he saw Big Bird he got it and started waving and saying "Hi, Big Bird". He couldn't take his eyes of the stage!! During the second half of the show he was dancing in the aisle!! Aaron and I had a good time watching parents interact with their children and laughing at the $10 balloons that many of them got suckered into buying only for the kids to let go and float to the top of the collusiem, seeing the look on the kids faces was priceless!! We got a lot of comments and looks of envy from parents around us after we decided to indulge and grab some beers. Overall it was a real blast seeing Owen SO excited and they put on a great show!!

Sesame Street 1-2-3 Imagine

2009-11-15

Fun times

This photo album below has some pics of Grace helping Owen make a robot out of a paper bag. They named him Robot Bob. Owen go such a kick out of it. Grace is such a great big sister!! He still talks about Robot Bob every time he sees a paper bag. just today at lunch he was putting his placemat on his head and pretending he was Robot Bob. There are pics at the end of the train that Owen made today all by himself while I was busy on the computer. He was so proud and it was so cute with the people on it. He was having fun running it around the living room and running over his blankie bear!!

2009-Nov-1

Halloween

Halloween is one of our families favorite holidays!! I contribute it partly to our wonderful neighborhood that we are in. For the past 3 years we have been joining forces with our good neighbor friends the Jazdzewski's and the Pizzurro's and hitting the pavement to trick or treat. This year we had another family join in the Brown's. All of our kids are various ages ranging from 2-9. This year it was a wee bit more challenging with the little ones hitting the pavement. The older kids were a little impatient with the little ones slower pace but we still managed to hit 90% of the houses in our neighborhood which I would guess may have been 50+? Owen went as a monkey this year and really enjoyed himself till his hands got too cold. His costume was a hand me down from the Pizzurro's. Grace decided to be a Vampire. Anyway, we had a blast even though it was a little cold this year compared with years past. We stayed out till about 7:30 and then came home and enjoyed a little party here with cards and Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii!! Couldn't have asked for a better night!! CLICK ON THE PHOTO BELOW TO VIEW MY ALBUM!! LET ME KNOW IF IT WORKS I DID IT THROUGH ANOTHER WEB SITE!

Halloween

Door County

Door County

Hello there! Once again it has been too long since I have done an update to our blog!! Time just goes by SO fast these days!! Fall started out with a wonderful family vacation to Door County for my good preschool through to high school friend Carol Koch. Aaron had never been to Door Co. before and I hadn't been back since high school. Ironically the last time I was there Carol was along too. Both of us went on many camping trips there throughout our high school years with my friend Teresa and her dad. So, needless to say rolling back into the Door brought back some really wonderful childhood memories. We found a great place to stay where we got a two room suite so we weren't obligated to go to bed when the kids went down. Being right in the center of the Door we managed to cram in a lot of fun activities along with wedding duties too. Friday night when we arrived we had 7:30 reservations for the fish boil at the Old Post Office Restaurant. I was counting my blessings that the kids were angels with it being so late and just getting out of the car after a 5 hour drive. The next day I woke up with a nasty cold/flu but I was determined not to let it slow us down. That morning we ventured into Fish Creek checking out all the wonderful shopping. This was a town that I spent a lot of summers visiting with my Dad, Holly and G&G Kurtz probably when I was younger than or about Grace's age. I was still able to find the big hill that led to where we stayed as well as the public beach that looked a whole lot smaller than I remember! For lunch we went over to P.C. Junction where they have a train that circles the bar area and delivers all of your food and drinks. Owen LOVED this and got such a kick out of it. Out back from the restaurant we also enjoyed the pedal cars and RC racing track. The evening was spent at the rehearsal dinner where the wedding was held on Clarks Lake just outside Sturgeon Bay. Also while we were there that weekend we enjoyed lunch and ice cream at Wilson's Ice Cream shop, a drive through all the little towns on the door all the way to Gill's Rock, Swedish pancake breakfast at Al Johnson's where the goats roam on the roof!! We also made a scenic drive through Peninsula State Park where we enjoyed a climb to the top of Eagle Tower. You also can't get out of Door without a stop at a local apple/cherry orchard for some much needed yummy gifts to bring home. I was even able to make a quick run in to pick up a case of Door County wine before leaving town!!! Of course we enjoyed Carol and Patrick's beautiful wedding on Sunday. Grace was a flower girl and I was her personal attendant. I have to say I felt very special that day taking care of Carol's needs and happy to say I wasn't a bridesmaid!! It was really a great honor to me to make sure everything was running smoothly and to be there alongside Carol for her much awaited day!!! What a wonderful trip with many memories to look back on!!

Out of the mouth of babes

This mornings conversation with Owen while changing his diaper,
Mom: Did you sleep in your big boy bed last night?
Owen: Uh, huh
Mom: Daddy said you were a naughty boy and kept getting out, you need to stay in your bed when Daddy puts you there.
Owen: Daddy spank my bottom.....
Owen: I cry like this, whhhaaaaa..... (owen squints his eyes and makes a crying noise)
I couldn't believe my ears it was SO funny and I was trying so hard to be sympathetic and not burst out in laughter!!!
Needless to say after I told Aaron about our conversation we have both decided that spanking really isn't effective. Seeing as how he just laughs and thinks its funny there really is no point!

This afternoon while I am sitting at the table making out a grocery list Owen walks over and says,
"You done with your homework Mama?"
Mom: Yes, Owen I am done with my homework!!!
HAAAAA!!
This kid is something else!!

Ore to shore Mountain Bike Race & other Summer fun!!

Last Month of Summer Fun!!

Well, August was another fun filled month for the King Family!! We started off the last week of July to the 1st week of August up in the North woods!! The first stop, Winchester WI where my Mom and Tom are living. As usual the weather was cool there so unfortunately we weren't able to advantage of the lake as much as we would have liked to. We did get a fast ride, 60mph in Grandpa Tom's new bass fishing boat!! We also celebrated Grace's bday with the Ghiloni family which was a first and a wonderful time. I was so happy Grace got the chance to celebrate with my extended family!!
That Sunday, Aaron headed back home and myself and the kids stayed through the week. On Sunday night my Step Brother Mark and his family arrived. Owen and Grace adored my older nephews Matt and Phil. They were so good with both of them and I think the kids may have wore them out! On Tues. Mark took us all on a canoeing expedition on the Manotowish River that ended up to be quite the adventure. What was supposed to be a 4 hr. tour ended up to be a 7 hr. tour by missing our turn on another river. We didn't set foot on dry land until almost 8:30pm when Tom came to rescue us at a boat landing on the Turtle Flambeau flowage!!! It was a really fun trip despite the numerous nightmares running through my head at about the 5-6hr. mark! Grace rode in the canoe with Matt and Phil. This provided us with at least 3-4hrs of entertainment with the boys portaging the canoe over a big tree and tipping the canoe with Grace hanging in for dear life, quite funny I have to say!!! This will sure to be a story that will be told for many years to come. Poor Mark isn't going to hear the end of it!!
Wednesday we attended Loon Days in Mercer and had a good time checking out all the unique crafts and enjoying some great treats!! The kids got to swim at the little beach by the house in the afternoon that has been there for decades. It was SO cold but the still enjoyed splashing around. It reminded me a lot of my days at the cottage as a kid. It is so wonderful to be able to bring my kids there to experience the same joy!
The week went by fast and before we knew it Thurs was upon us and Dad was coming to pick us up to head to the U.P. of MI. We couldn't leave though without a little more fun added in by Mark. Late that afternoon we set out for a quick fishing expedition onto N. Turtle lake. Mark had rigged up cane fishing poles for Grace and Owen to teach them a thing or two about how to catch a fish. Well, they didn't need much help. The minute the bobber hit the water they were pulling in fish faster than we could get them off the hooks. Turned out to be one of the best fishing expeditions I have ever been on! The kids loved it and Owen was SO excited and amazed by the whole thing!! What a wonderful experience!!
The next weekend was spent at my Dad and Holly's cottage on Little Lake in the U.P. We go here every year with Nate and Nicole for the guys and kids to ride the Ore to Shore Mountain Bike race. Friday we took a drive over to Marquette to play at the Children's Museum and had lunch at a neat old soda fountain shop. Sat. was race day. Nicole and I headed in late morning to see the guys cross the finish line. We were starting to worry when it was going on 2 hours since start time and we hadn't seen any of them cross the finish including Nate that is the fastest rider and wanted to finish in 1:30. Aaron was the first to cross at about 2:20. We all raced over to find out where Nate was. Come to find out he endured 2 flat tires!! Aaron had a good race finishing just a little faster than last year. Later that day they did the kids races. Grace rode in the 4 mile race where she once again beat her older friend Grace Suiter by a couple of seconds! Owen did the Littlest rock 50 yd. dash on his new Strider bike which was a huge hit with the crowd and he had a blast!!
Sunday we got to stay and finally enjoy a late afternoon on the water with a little swimming. Later that evening we had a fun spaghetti dinner with some of my Dad and Holly's friends!
So.... the rest of the month..... we tried to sneak in some home time and fun time. We actually had a couple of weekends home with odd trips here and there. After our jaunt up north we dropped Grace in Rapids for a little horsing around with my Aunt Linda, Cousin Kay and Abby. They own 3 Ponies of America horses that they show around the country each summer. Grace was invited to come and experience the fun this summer. She spent the week with my teenage cousin taking horse back riding lessons and playing around. On the weekend they attended a show where Grace competed in a variety of events. She ended up coming home with 4 1st place trophies, 2 2nd place ribbons and 1 4th place ribbon!! She was SO excited and didn't want to come home, surprise:) So, I guess now a trophy case is in order, ha!!
The Sunday after the horse show I came to town to pick Grace up and attend a bridal shower for my longtime school friend Carol Koch. It was a great time seeing her and a few other good friends from high school!
The next weekend we enjoyed our Sunday at Noah's Ark with passes Aaron got in a silent auction package he won. We did a kid swap with my friend Kim and took her daughter Becca who is also Grace's friend and dropped Owen with her. We had a great day of water park fun and rode the Jet Boat which was a blast!!! Great way to wrap up the summer!! School starts next week, YAY!!!

Owen Antics

I just wanted to write with some of the silly and creative things that Owen has been doing and saying over the last couple of days!
Today Owen was going around the house saying "bucket". Soon I found him in my bedroom taking my dirty laundry out of a clothes basket and saying "lay in bucket with Thomas". In other words he wanted to lay in the laundry basket with his Thomas pillow!

Earlier in the week on a night I had to work Dad told Owen as I was leaving that they were going to have dinner then go outside to fix the lawn tractor. Aaron said after dinner Owen went right over to his toy tools, put them in the tool box and said "Owen fix tractor"!!

This last week we have been traveling quite a bit. Everytime we go by water Owen says "Owen swimmin now"!

Owen is starting to really put sentences together in the last couple weeks and it is so fun to hear him trying so hard to find the right words!!

Erica's wedding and weekend in Milwaukee

American Girl Place

On June 28th Grandma Marilee took Grace, Taryn, Amy and I to downtown Chicago for a trip to American Girl Place. As a present for Grace and Taryn's birthday we were treated to an afternoon of shopping with a personal shopper and lunch at the cafe'. Both Taryn and Grace also got to pick out a new doll. We started off first with help from the personal shopper choosing a doll for Taryn and Grace. Taryn chose Gwen a friend of the Girl of the Year Charissa. Grace chose Julia one of the historical dolls from the 1970's, despite Mom's coaxing to have her get Charissa. Gma Marilee even tried to help with saying that Taryn's doll was Charissa's friend in the book and they could have dolls that were best friends. But, despite the opposition Grace had her mind made up on Julie. All in all as long as she is happy that's all that matters!!
After we chose our dolls Grace picked out the skating outfit she had wanted along with a yoga outfit, doll carrier and some hair accessories. Next up we dropped Nicki, Grace's other doll off at the beauty shop to have her ears pierced. The ladies said Nicki was very brave and she came complete with a collection of tiny silver earrings!! After our hour and a half of shopping we headed to the cafe for lunch. It was so cute with amazing decor just perfect for an afternoon luncheon for both dolls and girls!! We had a 3 course lunch complete with appetizers, choice of entree and dessert!! Marilee told them we were celebrating Grace and Taryn's birthdays so the each got a candle in their cupcakes and sung Happy Birthday.
After our lunch we met up with the guys who had been down the road at Lego Land. The little guys and I think big guys all had a blast! Owen got a mailman set that came with a motorcycle from Dad and a digger set from Gpa.
It sure was a nice treat and a very special day had by all! Thanks Gma and Gpa!! Thanks for making more great memories for us to cherish!

Camping with good friends!

This weekend we had the pleasure of a wonderful camping trip with 4 great families that we are friends with. We had 10 adults and 12 kids!! Rich, Kim, Becca, Kristi, Addie and Ella Jazdzewski our friends and neighbors. Brody, Chrisy, Xander, Carson and Sawyer Kapellen our friends and neighbors. Andy, Jaymie, Allie, Jared, Avery and Jessica Brown, friends. Nate and Nicole with Annabelle, friends. We camped at Govenor Dodge State Park just outside Dodgeville. It was a beautiful campground and park with very private wooded sites. We shared a huge double site with Brody and Christy and we all congregated there for meals and fun. Grace loved having all of her girlfriends there to hang out with. Owen LOVED the beach and followed new buddy Carson everywhere! Carson even convinced him to try some leaves off a tree and Owen did it! We enjoyed just hanging out Friday night star gazing after the rain passed by. Saturday we hit the beach for the day followed by ice cream and showers. Rich the camp chef showed us all how to make pizza's over the campfire which the kids loved!! It was a really great, wish it could have been longer but just hoping we get to do it again another time!!

Camping Trip

What a day!!!

What a day I say with great relief and happiness!! Grace had her first communion and 2 dance performances yesterday and I couldn't have asked for a smoother day!! I was very anxious to say the least about how our busy day would play out. We started off with being to church way too early but worked out well to get some pics taken. Grace shared her first communion along with who she calls "her best friend" Carly from her 2nd grade class. They also had CRE classes together and her teacher was Carly's Mom. It was a very nice service and Grace really enjoyed it. I have to say she looked quite beautiful. I was so proud of myself that I was able to her tiara to stay put on her head and her hair cooperated with me nicely on Sunday, ha!
After we left church we went home to change out of her communion dress and redo her hair and put on makeup for the recital. The show went really great and Grace's group for her competiton routine was a hit! The group really looked like they were having a blast and playing it up for the crowd. Of course I cried seeing her up there as I usually do. It is just so empowering to see her up there with no fear and such stage presence. I can't wait for you all to see the video! Her tap dance went very well even though they surprised her class at rehersal by adding on another 6 dancers from the Beloit studio that were also doing the same dance. It turned out to be just fine.
After the first performance we had a nice late lunch at an Italian restaurant in Beloit. Grace and I then headed back to the school for the second leg of the recital. This time she just had to do the competition dance. I got to have fun helping backstage lining all the dancers up! We ended our day heading home from Beloit at 7:30 that evening. Whew, what a day! What a special day I should say!!

Grace's Big Day

Grace has a big day to look forward to this coming Sunday! She will have her first communion! Along with that her much awaited dance recital!! Not sure which she is more excited about. She is so excited to have her family there to support her and show off her dance skills! I tend to get a little sad though during theses times when I know my family is not able to be there with Grace and us as a family. I understand it is a day of travel from a ways away but it makes me sad that they aren't here to be a part of these big days in Graces life.
Grace is so proud of all of her hard work in dance and can't wait to show it off. As for her communion. I am really happy with how far she has come to understanding her faith. She had a meeting with Father a couple of weeks ago where he asked her some questions about reconciliation and communion and she blew me away with her faith and understanding. I just hope that some day I can accomplish the same. Needless to say I am still struggling to find my direction of faith.
Well, Grace I wish you the best of luck in the start of your relationship with god and can only hope you continue your path of great talent and interest for the art of dance. I love you baby girl!!

Whats new?!?!

Well, busy as usual around the King household these days and its only just beginning with the summer months kicking into gear. The last month has been full of soccer practice, games, dance practice and another competition last weekend. Ohh and of course Mother's Day!! I had a great day with the family starting out with brunch at Rotary Gardens here in Janesville. We enjoyed an enormous spread of food and then were able to walk around the beautiful Gardens and take some great photos of the kids. I swear Grace gets more photogenic every year. She looked so beautiful today! I spent the rest of the afternoon getting my flowers planted while Dad re-dug our landscape blocks, lucky him!
On Saturday Grace and I took the day and went down to St. Charles IL for a competition by Midwest Stars. It was a real fun and relaxed competition. Before the awards they put on some music and let the kids dance on stage to Macarena and other such songs with incorporated dance moves, what a hoot to see they all up there just a groovin! Grace's group did really well and earned a gold award with a trophy for the team and individual ribbons. It was a long day waiting around for the awards. Afterwards Grace and I stopped at Gino's East for pizza on the way out of town and didn't arrive home till about 9:30pm.

This last Wednesday had her reconciliation for her first communion with Father Jim and she seemed to take it in stride. She had to answer a couple of questions to make sure she understood what she has been learning then Mom and Dad stepped out of the room for her to do her confession. She is so excited to have her first communion and will have the oppurtunity to do it along with a good friend and classmate!
This Saturday Mom and Grace attended High School Musical on stage at the Fireside Theatre in Ft. Atkinson thanks in part to Grandma Holly and Grandpa Jack, part of Grace's Christmas gift. It was a really nice Mommy Daughter night with dinner, shopping and the show. I have never seen Grace so wide eyed in my life!! She was so mesmerized by how close the actors were at the performance and was on the edge of her seat the whole time! The Fireside has a small intimate setting where the stage is in the middle of the theatre and there isn't a bad seat in the house. We were up in the balcony first row and it was perfect! Afterwards Grace got to meet some of the actors and got signed autographed photos!
So now going into summer we have a lot of fun times to look forward to including a camping trip with 4 other couple friends and 15 KIDS, yikes!! We are also getting a season pass to the Ft. Atkinson pool to enjoy this summers nice weather. Owen will start swimming lessons in June. Grace will have summer school and swimming lessons. Whew, it should be another summer to remember!!

Update

Well, I just wanted to put together a little archive for myself down the road to try and remember these great days with my toddler boy, seeing as how I have to worst memory in the world!! What a little toddler he is truly becoming! I can't believe my baby will be 2 and a true toddler in just a couple of months. To me he still seems like such a baby. Just the other day he fell asleep in my arms before his nap and he hasn't done that in months. His toddler volcabulary is exploding. Just about every word you say he is repeating in his own little pronuciation. He is now just starting to form two words together. Today he was saying "bye car"! It just blows my mind the things he understands right now but yet can't express himself. I think he listens better than Grace a lot of the time!! He is good at picking up his toys when you ask but then of course he likes to dump them out once they are put away! He understands when I say we are going bye bye and if you say it too early you have to drag him away from the door screaming. He knows when I say its nap time and asks for his blankie, I lay him down in the crib and he says "bye" and waves. He says hi and bye over and over again to people wherever we go and everyone eats it up, even strangers. Gosh I could go on and on, he is just a little smarty pants. Of course the terrible twos rear their ugly head every once in a while but we have seemed to know how to manage it a little bit. I find myself having to try and remember Grace's toddler days and all the little things we had to be sure to do to avoid meltdowns ahead of time! Wow, I feel like Im going way back!! I remember mastering the art of warnings ahead of time if we were leaving somewhere fun and then just trying to think one step ahead of their actions!!
Anyway, I just wanted to journal the essence of now to be able to take a look back in the future and remember these wonderful times!

Competition Weekend!!

Grace competed in the Showstopper Regional dance competition this weekend in Middleton, what an exciting time for her! Her group was in the small mini recreational division, which is a group that practices less than 3 hours a week, ages 7 and under and less than 12 dancers. She had 4 girls and 1 boy in her group and they did a routine to "Your the one that I want" from Grease!! She has had a blast practicing and was SO excited for this competition day to come!! They did a wonderful job and all looked adorable in their costumes complete with poodle skirts, neck scarves and saddle shoes! More importantly they walked away with the highest honor of Double Platinum and received a nice trophy for the group and medals for each member!! The scoring works this way, Double Platinum, Platinum 1st Place, Gold 1st Place, and Silver Awards will be decided by a predetermined range of points for each place. They also placed 4th overall in their group, which was even more exciting!! The top nine receive recognition ribbons and 1st of course gets a trophy. They did get to go up and announce their names and where they were from while they replayed clips of their dance on the screens!!
I have to say it was a very exciting day for all of us who attended! It was so much fun to see her up there and cheer her on! Congratulations Grace, your our star!!

Falling down day!

Well, Owen and I had quite the trip, literally at the gym today. Within the first 10 minutes of my class the daycare lady came in with Owen in her arms and he's crying from tripping and hitting his head on the play fridge. He has quite the bump but went down a little after we iced it. Then when we were leaving it was horribly icy in the parking lot and even though I was careful I ended up slipping next to the car and down we go, both of us. I was carrying Owen but the poor fella fell down with me and bumped the back of his head. He was crying pretty good but Im not sure if that was more over his head or the popcorn he managed o spill. I on the otherhand fell right on my knee and had quite the bruise. What a bummer way to start the day!
We are all doing much better. Owen is enjoying a granola with the "peel" on, just the way he likes it! He sure does crack me up when he says "peel", HA!!! What a sweetheart!!

ghiloni Christmas

Christmas in February

This last weekend we ventured up north to Tom's cabin for your Ghiloni Family Christmas! I always love going up there to play in the snow and see the family. We arrived Friday night and stayed till Sunday. Owen and Grace both had a great time. Owen loved playing outside in all the snow and wandering around on the lake. Grace enjoyed spending time with her cousin Cameron. Those girls spent countless hours out skating on the ice. Watching them from the house out on the ice I started to have visions and memories of myself out there at the very same age. I loved ice skating on the lake when I was a kid and to see Grace out there it was such a sureal moment.
Owen was a charmer all weekend saying hi and bye to everyone as they came and went and playing the "hi" game with Connie after dinner Saturday night. (see video)
We always have a big gathering Saturday night with my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Connie, cousin Randy, Step Brother's Mark and his family and Nick, Angie and Cam. This year my Cousin Corey his wife Liz were able to make it from Colorado. We had a great dinner prepared by Tom and then enjoyed the rest of the evening with a gift stealing exchange which is always a hoot. We then played our annual pictionary competition boys against girls. We always laugh so hard, this year the big laugh was on Phillip with his word unwind, which he mixed up for "wind" like a breeze, not "wind" the toy. We were all rolling, the poor kid will never live that one down! Guess, you had to be there! We did miss Tracy and Matt this year who were home sick. Its just not the same with missing members!
Anyway, it was a good time had by all with playing in the snow, snowmobiling and good old fashioned family time! I sure do love you Ghiloni's you truly are my family and I thank you for adopting me in for all these years!

Grace's Busy Day

Let the race begin!! Grace had gotten 4 birthday invites over the last 2 wks, all for this Saturday and Sunday! Plus her and Dad had plans to go to the Home Depot kids workshop Saturday morning! Whew, this all makes for a very busy and exhausting weekend! We decided to bow out on the last b-day invite that she received at the beginning of the week. It was a 24hr. party with bowling on Sat. morning and then going back to her friends for a sleepover. We had already RSVP'd to 3 parties so I thought we had better skip this one! So, needless to say she still has a very busy weekend. We started this am with Dad and Grace going to Home Depot, room cleaning to follow, dance in Beloit at 12:30 then the first party at 2pm. Tomorrow she will have a bowling party for her good friend Brandon and his twin Mitchell from 12-3 and then ice skating with our neighbor Becca at 5:45!! Its sure to be a fun filled weekend!!

The many faces of Owen

Update

Well, its been a while so I thought I should probably get in a quick update on the kiddos! Grace starts her dance team practice this Saturday and is really excited about it. She wasn't even too bummed when she learned she would have to miss a b-day party because of it!! A ice skating party none the less! So, I will keep you posted!

Owen has just been a doll the last week or so. He loves playing with his car garage and kitchen set and will play for a good hour by himself without any fuss! His language skills are exploding and he is starting to put two and two together. Aaron said he came up to him the other night with his snack cup saying "more", then later went to the fridge with his milk cup saying "more". This afternoon when I went to lay him down for his nap I noticed he had taken his shoes and set them in front of his dresser to put them away, we keep them in his top dresser drawer! He loves to put things away, lets hope it sticks! He is getting the hang of saying please and thank you. Just the other day I gave him some snacks and when I walked away he says, "ank u", in this little boy voice, TOO CUTE. He really enjoys helping Grace get dressed into her snow clothes before school in the morning getting out her boots, gloves and hat for her. Those two have such a wonderful way with one another. Grace is so nurturing and loving and will sit down and play with him for hours. Owen eats it up and constantly wants to be by her. Poor Grace can't get a break sometimes. She will go in her room to read and Owen will go up to the gate on her door and rattle and bang on it to get her attention. What a wonderful gift these children are to me, I am treasuring every moment!!

Congrats Grace!!

Well, we've had a big decision to make over the last week. Grace was recently invited to join the competition dance troupe for her dance school. Why a big decision you may ask? Well, first there is the cost then the commitment. I know that Grace really enjoys her dance classes but she is still a little young to know if it is something that she is serious about and will continue to stick with. After receiving the appropriate information and finding out all details about this journey it started to sound like something we could slowly work ourselves into this year. I guess they start them out on a trial team for the first year which means she will start practice soon to compete in March at the Showstoppers competition in Madison. They will only do one competition for this year to get the feel for it. She will also perform the same dance for the recital in the spring. The cost was considerably less expensive this year since there is only one competition. However, if she decides to stick with it the commitment and expenses get bigger. I am glad we can try it out to get a taste of what is in store. I decided to go to her dance classes the other night and stay to watch the whole 1 1/2 hours that she does Tap, ballet and Jazz to see how she is doing and if she takes it seriously. I have to say I was quite impressed. She really gets into what she is doing and puts 100% into every class. Might I also add that she certainly does seem to have the talent there also. She was right in time to her tap music and instruction and seemed to be building some poise in ballet with nice turnout with her feet during her ballet positions which is uncommon at this young of age. Seeing her in class I know now she is in her element. That gives me the confidence and eagerness to bring this opportunity to the table for her. I know it will be quite a bit of money to put out if she decides to stick with it but as long as she shows the commitment and eagerness to put forth the effort its worth every bit! She will have to understand that there may be some compromise and decisions to make with all of this, so this will really test how committed she truly is. I think if she is serious about dance that this will be great for her to get the chance to use her talent a little more than just once a year in a recital and will establish a goal for her to attain. I am looking forward to her having something out there to excel at and work hard for. So... let the competition begin!!!

ER visit

Well, there is a first time for everything I suppose. Last night ended up being our first visit to the ER with a child. Who, you ask? Well, of course the boy in the family. Aaron reassured me it won't be the last! Anyway, Owen decided to crawl from his crib last night and ended up breaking his arm. Not a bad break but enough that we noticed he was favoring it and cried when he tried to pick things up with it. That is what prompted us to take him in. Of course when we got there he was playing around, lifting it and grabbing things. After 2 hrs. they took us in for Xrays and we saw the doctor who put a brace on and bandaged it up. He was such a brave little man and only cried when they had to position it for the Xray. We got home about 12:30 pm, Jeremy and his girlfriend Maria were in town visiting and stayed home with Grace while we took him in. When we got home Owen teased them by swinging his club arm and hitting them with it, SO hilarious. I think he was trying to tell us not to worry and that he was ok by giving us all a good laugh.
The next step is to follow up with an Orthopedist on Monday to see weather he will just get a brace or a cast. That may be a hard visit for me because we are assuming they will have to set it, ahhgg. I will keep you posted!

Christmas 2008

What a fun time of year! We had a great holiday with Owen and Grace at the most fun ages ever! Owen really got excited to rip the paper off the presents this year and I even found him under the tree a couple of times the day before trying to unwrap some gifts, one of them being his!! As you know our Christmas was a little spread out this year, which really makes it more fun and relaxing I think. We celebrated with Adam and Amy in Penn. over Thanksgiving. Then the weekend before Christmas Kay and Mike came to our house and we celebrated on that Saturday. Owen got a Little People car garage that was a huge hit. Grandpa couldn't get it together fast enough! Owen helped by bringing him all of the parts which was adorable! Grace's big gift was a new MP3 player with a screen. We had a really wonderful day with them. The next day we headed to Monroe for the Bystry Christmas once again in awful weather.
On Christmas Eve Day Bill and Marilee came up to celebrate and stayed 2 nights with us. We enjoyed our favorite Roast Beef and ghardinera pizza and opened gifts with them that evening. Grace received new bedding for her new bed and Owen got Elmo Live that talks and sings. He didn't know what to think of it at first but after a while warmed up to it. He would just sit motionless and stare at it, not knowing what to think. I can only imagine what thoughts were going through his little brain! Aaron and I received a huge beautiful wall clock which just happened to be the same gift Aaron had bought for me that I picked out. Bill and Marilee won, I love it!!! In the morning G. Marilee said her and Grace woke up at 3am and had a hard time falling back asleep. Grace did not get up to get us till 7:32! Owen woke not to long after. Our big Santa gift was the Wii for the whole family. Grace was so excited! Grace also received some books and HSMusical dishes and Owen Cars dishes and books. From us Grace got a 84 pc. Barbie furniture set that I got a screaming deal on the day after Thanksgiving along with Barbie car and HSM Barbie. Owen got a Little People Eddie's boulder work site and some new Nerf balls. Dad got Guitar Hero Aerosmith. I returned my clock for Dance Dance revolution for the Wii. We had a fun day spending half of it in our Jammie's and the other half in sweats, playing wii and just hanging out in the coziness of our home. Doesn't get much better than that!
Friday morning we headed out to my parents for the weekend. We spent Friday afternoon and evening with my Mom enjoying snacks, opening gifts and a little Wii.
Grace's big gifts from my Mom were a digital camera and a moon chair for her room. Owen got a kitchen that we still have to put together, the one in the pic was my Mom's! We had a great evening hanging out!!
The next day we hunkered down with my Dad and Holly and actually opened gifts in the morning thanks to Holly! Usually we are tortured to wait until the evening, ha! Holly is getting Grace tickets to High School Musical at the Fireside in Ft. Atkinson. Grace asks every day when we are going! Owen got a race track that once again he couldn't wait for to be put together! We enjoyed another night of pizza but this time it was Holly's homemade pizza that was outstanding!! Helen, Holly's mom joined us for dinner and we had a really nice evening. Later on that night we played the Wii. My Dad and Holly got a kick out of it and we were laughing so hard while battling each other in boxing!! What a hoot!!
Anyways, it was a really nice and relaxing holiday with a lot of quality time spent with our parents, which is always priceless!