Quick little update

Today was a good day. I had a list of to-do's and things I wanted to accomplish but most of that was pushed aside when my mom called and said she felt the need to go walking. We went walking with my baby girl who had her first forward facing stroller ride (out of the backward facing car-seat set up) which she completely adored! I noticed Wausau's version of 'Central Park' was a mess with broken trees and storm damage as we strolled through the paths but it was still a nice walk.

 I'm making a note that riding the train in the park is a MUST with my little 'Short Pants' as soon as he gets home from his dads house next week! He loves his train set so much and gets more than excited even when we just ride over train tracks in the car! I forget about the park's little red train and how much he would love to go for rides and to the splash pad :) 

Anyhow, my mom then offered to take us to a late lunch and shopping date where we taught 'Little Miss' how to be a girly girl; 

Lunch was refreshing, being able to chat about anything and everything... the happiness in our life, the daily struggles we face, and how we're glad that in the end we have each other. My mom spoiled the kids with new clothes and accessories and she bought me a beautiful rose bracelet that happened to catch my eye today. Thank you Mom! We love you very much :) 

Here's to family and the joy our children bring us! 

"Help a Momma Out Tuesdays" - Link up with J&M's Eye Candy!

Glad to be a part of the link party started by J&M's Eye Candy! 

For the new readers, THANK YOU for visiting! 

My blog is a place to share what my kidlets are up to for all our family, friends, and any reader who would like to share stories of parenting and the challenges it brings. I'm open to hearing your comments and new ideas any day! I've been blessed to know many people who have shared their stories and advice with me along the way and I couldn't be more grateful for it! 

I will continue to post about our daily adventures with my wonderful 2 year old boy and 6 month old girl :) 

Yay for blogging! ;-)

~Lunch with Short Pants~

If you know him, you know he basically refuses to eat meat unless it's a chicken nugget! Short Pants is a finicky eater to say the least. So I'm always trying to think of ways to make food appear appealing. It's crazy how you could put the same foods in a different order and all of the sudden, PRESTO! It looks delicious! :)

Today I wanted to use up our lunch meat and cheese so automatically you'd think, "let's make a sandwich". Wrong... Short Pants will take one look at a sandwich and say, "DONE!" without even putting it to his mouth. So instead, since he loves racing, we added a little flare to sandwich fix-ins!

Racing Roll Ups!

A simple lunch of smoked deli ham, string cheese, wheat bread, salad {with ranch dressing of course} and corn, with a few racing flags, made all the difference for my boy. 

{Had to add in the above picture for our fellow 'James Gang Racing' Family} 

LOVE YOU GUYS!

Have fun at the street drags!!

I think one of the most important things (that I often forget to do myself), is to try to get the kids involved in making their meal. This creates a sense of accomplishment and also makes him aware that the complex meal that sits in front of him came from all the ingredients he enjoys! He is such a good helper :)

Short Pants loves to cut the cheese... (Que immature laughter)  ;-)

Letting Short Pants have choices is also a BIG help in getting him to cooperate, like asking if he wants ham or turkey? Yellow or white cheese? A pickle added or on the side? (and of course he wanted to eat pickles before they could make it to the roll up) :)

Finally he was able to enjoy his lunch! At first I wasn't sure if he'd really eat the Racing Roll-Ups, but ...

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Proudly showing off his creation :) Messy face and all!

Thanks for stopping by!

Make sure to comment and share your tips and tricks on how to keep your kids excited about eating balanced nutritious meals :) 

Love to all our family and friends!

Little Miss - Spoon-fed Pro!

I have to share some of the cutest pictures of Little Miss loving her rice cereal! She really gets excited when she sees the spoon and is just about ready to start trying stage 1 vegetables! We made the transition from soy formula back to milk-based and her stomach seems to be tolerating it much better than in January. Another week or so and I'd say it's time to start a nice green veggie! I'm thinking green beans but we'll see what Daddy thinks.  :)

Here we are in the dining room feeding Little Miss her rice cereal off of a spoon. This is the first time she actually ate it all instead of spitting half of it out with every spoonful! Go Addie Go!!!

It looks at first like she's unsure of the taste, but then...

Now she's SO interested that she can't even take her eyes off of the spoon! ...being a little cross-eyed never really hurt anyone right? 

Today I even added in a little pear juice with her cereal and she definitely loved that! Any time there's food or drink around this baby girl wants it! My bet is that she'll be a good eater :) At least I hope so!

Our Little Miss is growing up so fast! Soon she'll be feeding herself, then dressing herself, and before you know it, Daddy will be meeting boyfriends at the front door with his trusty shotgun by his side... *sigh* 

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day Weekend!! 

Please take time to remember those who have served.

A 'trip' to Grandma and Grandpa's!

By 'trip' I mean a drive across town, but it's not every day we get to have dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's where there are a plethora of amazing "new" toys! Short Pants LOVES going to see them and spending time playing in the sandbox mostly, but recently Grandma picked up a bunch of toys at a rummage sale for the kids. Now there's a TON to do!

Grandma's latest find is this awesome play tent she got from the school book sale! My favorite picture is the one directly above where you can see that Grandpa jumped right in to all the play time fun! Short Pants made his way through with all of his trucks and toys, making sure to carry his juice wherever he went (since I'm such a mean mommy who only gives him juice once in a blue moon haha).

For those of you who don't know, Short Pants is like many toddlers who seem to be addicted to anything sweet and will demand it complete with whining and the "why momma, why!!!?" when you explain he shouldn't drink it constantly.... Juice is one of many addictions such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, anything Thomas the Train, Cars, and Cha-chalk... which would be his way of saying chocolate. :) During potty training it worked very well to give two chocolate chips after going # 2 as incentive. He has been doing tremendously well and not having accidents nearly at all these past couple of weeks!

*Does happy dance*

Back to Grandma and Grandpa's visit... oh yes, the tunnel was fun, however I think the classic Short Pants favorite would have to be the sand box!

What kid doesn't love the sand?! 

We SO need a sandbox... He could spend hours being content with sand toys, shovels, and trucks :) 

Another rummage sale find that we loved was this Craftsman tool bench complete with lots of little plastic pieces to keep track of :) Thanks Grandma!! 

I love that when I asked Short Pants if he wanted the safety goggles on he very seriously replied, "Yes momma, glasses on top"...where he then placed them on the top of his head like they were serving this great purpose there. He's my little goof :) 

If you're wondering where Little Miss was during all of this fun, she normally naps during dinner time... conveniently for us! So she was in the house snoozing, until she got crabby and had to sit on Daddy's lap for a while.

It's not very often that she gets crabby but I think this face says a lot. "Mom, stop taking pictures and get me my Nuk!" ...of course she'd never speak to her mother THAT way! 

Overall we had a nice dinner and the kids enjoyed playtime. I'm looking forward to more "cookouts" and gatherings in the near future! 

Bring on the summer!!

Little Miss - Birth to Present Day

Now that I'm caught up in Short Pants' world, I would like to share pictures of Little Miss from birth to now. This one however will be much shorter since she is of course only 5 months old :) BUT that doesn't mean she hasn't changed tremendously since December!

DECEMBER 2010 ~ Little Miss (a.k.a. Addelyn May) was born December 8th - She is one day old in this picture, taken in the hospital's little "studio" which I think is a wonderful perk for parents who deliver there! It even looks like she's waving hello as if to say "HI Nice to meet you!"

The first week with Little Miss was quite the roller coaster, as we had a short stay in the NICU after only having her home a couple of days. Her Jaundice levels were too high and her weight had dropped too much since birth. I had also gotten sick which wasn't helping the breastfeeding end of things so Little Miss was under a high powered light and bili-blanket in the hospital until her Jaundice levels were back to normal and we made sure she was gaining after each feeding with lots of weigh ins and some supplementing. As scary as it was for Daddy and I, we were blessed to have these issues resolved in a short amount of time and got to go back home to settle in with our little family of four.

JANUARY 2011 ~  One month - HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is one of my most favorite pictures ever! Such a Daddy's girl already, Little Miss made it a habit of falling asleep on Daddy... one of the cutest things to witness. She started to become more of a routine follower as we got into the swing of things this month.

FEBRUARY 2011 ~ Two months - Our amazing little girl already grew so fast in such a short time. She was starting to really fill out her clothes instead of them hanging on her so much. What a little 'pee-wee' as my Dad would call her! :) She had been trying to stand and put pressure on her legs since day one, but really started to get the hang of it this month. Her first real smiles based on recognition happened this month as well :)))

MARCH 2011 ~ Three months - I had to choose this picture to illustrate just how much she looks like her daddy. If this isn't a little Bradley, I don't know who is!!!!  She has had so much character right from the start. A feisty and strong baby girl, even stubborn you might say at this early age. haha :) She really started batting at her toys and reaching/grabbing on to everything in site and of course trying to put everything in her mouth even though she couldn't quite control her movements yet. At this point she also started rolling on her side, holding onto her own bottles during feedings, sleeping through the night, and "talking" to us much more often!

APRIL 2011 ~ Four months - HAPPY FIRST EASTER! She looked so adorable in her dress coat and little pink Easter dress! Little Miss enjoyed a wonderful day of family and getting passed around :) At four months Little Miss has also transitioned into her own room upstairs near her big brother, closely examines anything near her with much concentration, and enjoyed her FIRST outdoor walk! She also has a little stranger anxiety with people she isn't as familiar with.
Addie also has an adorable little 2nd cousin named Chelsey Mae who was born only 4 weeks earlier than she was! Here's a picture of Chelsey below at Easter;

CHELSEY MAE - EASTER 2011^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

MAY 2011 ~ Five months - Little Miss in her Bumbo chair! She loves to sit here like such a big girl, and is even now trying to escape the Bumbo... She can almost get herself arched back just enough to pop her chubby little thighs right out and topple backwards all on her own! She has not achieved this yet (thank goodness) but I need to make sure I don't leave her side if she's ever spending time in her Bumbo chair... that's for sure! She also, babbles to everyone, drools tremendous amounts, will belly laugh when tickled, smiles about 90% of the time, and likes to keep us up at night as of this week, otherwise sleeping isn't a problem. (We're guessing it's the change in formula) Oh and Little Miss is on the verge of saying "Momma" ... I can feel it ;-)

From here on out I'll be posting our latest and greatest events and accomplishments to share with our family and friends who we wish were near.

We love you!!
Visit again soon :)

Short Pants - Birth to Present continued... (year three as of now)

The third and final edition of Short Pants' Birth to Present is here! Since he turned two he has accomplished so much, from knowing his letters/numbers/colors to, becoming a BIG brother, and conquering potty training! This year is so far a spectacular year of achievement for my boy. Here are the collection of pictures each month starting right after he turned 2 (which was his Golden Birthday) to present day. I'm so excited to see what the rest of his year brings!

OCTOBER 2010 ~ A friend of Brad's took some amazing family photos of us at the Eau Claire Dells. Here it looks as though Braedyn is thinking, "Some day, I'm gonna BE somebody!!". Such purpose in his eyes as he plays with the pine needles :)

NOVEMBER 2010 ~ Short Pants running around the park... having a ball :) Until of course he throws a fit! Terrible two's anyone? haha

DECEMBER 2010 ~ On December 8th, Short Pants became a BIG BROTHER!! ...and a great one he is!

JANUARY 2011 ~ We introduced "potty training" in January but let him come and go as he pleased for a couple of months until a few months later when we tried the "3 Day Potty Training" method! It was a good fit for Short Pants, although it was NOT an easy process I'm proud to say he is now potty trained before the age of three!

FEBRUARY 2011 ~ Lunch time with mini-"pizzies" and salad! ...don't forget the cheese!!

MARCH 2011 ~ Short Pants must always know where his Thomas the Train is! He plays for hours with his wooden tracks and train cars all over the house. During story time he usually asks to read his two big Thomas books (that I know by heart now) and each time he gets SO excited during the story like we've never read it before!

APRIL 2011 ~ HAPPY EASTER! Another Short Pants favorite around our house is Disney Cars and racing which is his room theme. So the Easter bunny brought him this Lightening McQueen race car full of treasures that he loved!

MAY 2011 ~ I can't believe how big he is now and how "grown up" he seems to be getting every day. My little Short Pants keeps me on my toes for sure, brings us all so much joy, and has such a bright future ahead!

I hope this blog helps share just how amazing he is. This journey of motherhood has been more than a blessing to me and such a ride! I don't know what I would have done without all the generosity that has come from so many of our family and friends along the way. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for ALL you do for us every day!!

Short Pants - Birth to Present Day continued... (Year Two)

Choosing only one photo for each month of Braedyn's life so far has proven to be very difficult! However I will fight the urge to post a million and a half photos of my kids and make this a little easier to follow... now where were we? Oh yes! Year TWO! Here is the continuation of pictures starting after the first birthday of Short Pants :) Enjoy!

OCTOBER 2009 ~ 13 months - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Braedyn was a "Grumpy Old Man" and played the part very well! Thanks to Auntie Cait for the idea :) We even drew in wrinkles and chest hair! haha

NOVEMBER 2009 ~ 14 months - Stubborn as stubborn can be... not walking yet! 

DECEMBER 2009 ~ 15 months - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Grandpa Kallin tried to get him to walk toward his presents but alas, Short Pants wasn't having it... 

JANUARY 2010 ~ 16 months - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Short Pants sporting funny glasses from the Dollar Tree (another phone pic)

FEBRUARY 2010 ~ 17 months - Loving Ravioli (which he will not touch now!) This is FINALLY the month he started to WALK :) YAY!! haha

MARCH 2010 ~ 18 months - Running in his new racing room! Have I mentioned Short Pants is known for his accessories? Cool dude!

APRIL 2010 ~ 19 months - HAPPY EASTER! He had so much fun dying eggs for the first time! 

MAY 2010 ~ 20 months - Riding in the car to go camping for the weekend! 

JUNE 2010 ~ 21 months - Short Pants in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's house! He loves to splash :)

JULY 2010 ~ 22 months - Eating his cake and celebrating Landyn and Auntie Cait's birthdays after playing with the slip n' slide! Loving the tummy :) This picture also demonstrates the Short Pants nickname. hehe

AUGUST 2010 ~ 23 months - What better thing to do on a rainy day than to jam to music on the iPod?! 

SEPTEMBER 2010 ~ HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY SHORT PANTS!! 

This concludes the second year! Stay tuned for the third edition of "Short Pants - Birth to Present"! 

TO BE CONTINUED...