Emma's four months!

Hello All.

Emma turned four months yesterday!! We had another big doctor's appointment. Emma came in weighing 12 lbs. 3 oz. and 24 inches. She's a growing girl! She also had to get 3 more shots, but she did pretty good!

Emma has been giving us lots of smiles and giggles lately. We are all very happy, because we have finally discovered that she is a SOY baby! She has been so fussy for the first four months of her life. Why we didn't try soy formula earlier.... I HAVE NO IDEA! But I'm sure glad we discovered it now, because we all are in such better spirits these days! YAY!

And Emma started eating some rice cereal two nights ago, and she loves it!! TWO BOWLS last night she ate! Plus her bottle! :)

She is getting really good at holding toys and loves to chew on them too! She also loves her swing and watching her sister be silly.

Here's a cute little picture of her from this past week. All ready for Christmas! :)

And Maria has been a good little girl too. Ask her who's watching her, and she'll be sure to say in her sweet little voice..."elf." There is a small elf who has made his way to our house. He reports to Santa every night whether Maria has been a good girl. And she sure has been good. We just need to remind her every once in awhile that he's watching.... :)

Hope you're all having a great week!

It's a Shutterfly Christmas!

The first time I learned how to upload my digital pictures, I did so on Shutterfly.com. It was so simple! I could order all my prints right off the website and get them sent straight to my house! For our wedding, I even used the website to make my picture thank yous! It was great, especially for those who couldn't make it to the wedding, because they got to see pictures of our big day right away. I love using Shutterfly!

Christmas is just around the corner, and that means thoughts of Christmas cards are on my mind. Have you checked out their new line of Christmas cards? SOOO CUTE! I am seriously having a hard time deciding which one I like the best because there are SO many cute ones. Some of my favorites are the Joy Christmas, Merry Stripes, & Puzzle Pieces.

And if you still have someone on your list to buy for, you might want to check out the picture calandars, picture books or other gift items from their website! There are so many great ideas for gifts that are unique and special and can be used all year long.

Hurry & shop before December 1st and get extra savings during the Cyber Week Sale!

Are you a blogger? Shutterfly is offering 50 free Holiday Cards when you post! Simply visit this Shutterfly form and fill it out! If you still can’t get enough Shutterfly then be sure to follow them via Facebook & Twitter! Hope you enjoy Shutterfly as much as I do! :)

Winter is in the air!

As we look out the window at the beautiful snow falling today,we hope that this winter brings us lots of snow and nice weather! Especially since Joe bought a new snowmobile! Christmas shopping in this house has barely begun, but we hope that within the next few weeks it will be complete and we can enjoy the Christmas season. I especially look forward to decorating the house this weekend after chopping down our Christmas tree on Saturday.

Emma had an appointment last week, and now weighs 12.3 pounds! That is much larger than Maria was at this time. Emma was just three months old and she is already in 6 month clothing! She is doing great too! She loves to give us big smiles and talk like crazy. Although, she does have her crabby moments too, but that is ok! :) She decided she doesn't like sleeping through the night anymore, but hopefully she changes her mind again soon because Joe and I would much appreciate it.

Maria is being such a great big sister. Whenever she hears Emma start to cry, she says her name and runs over to her. She rubs her head and gives her kisses! So sweet! :)

Here are a few pictures of Emma's three month pictures taken by Joe's aunt Jill!Thanks Jill! They turned out great!

My Little Monsters

So... I know we are beyond Halloween and on to the better days of fall, deer hunting, and thoughts of an upcoming Thanksgiving. But, I have to post some pictures of my sweet little monsters all dressed up for Halloween as well as my amazing cupcakes and Halloween themed food from our Halloween party. Although I can't take credit for ALL the food, I did work extra hard on those cupcakes and mummy pizas! Enjoy! :)

Hope you all are ready for Halloween on Sunday! We sure are. Our family costumes will make their debut tomorrow at our Halloween Party that we are having, and then again on Sunday as we go out and about for Trick or Treating! Maria has gotten quite good at the phrase... She will be happy when she realizes that if she says it on Halloween, she gets treats! :)

Emma is of course getting bigger! She is such a simily girl too! (when she isn't screaming! which unfortunetly is too often) But when she's not crabby, she's smiling like crazy. And she has gotten to be quite the talker this week! She has found her voice! And the best news for us anyways, is that she is sleeping through the night! We are on a three day streak, so let's hope it continues!

We have had a busy month working on the house, but also having some fun! We had an annual hayride, a surprise party, a Vikings party, and visits from friends.








Other than that, we now have a retaining way and almost have the garage done!! YAY!! This week I already had to scrape snow and frost off... ish! So I can't wait until it's complete. The garage doors went in yesterday, and hopefully before Monday, it'll be completely insulated!

~Week of Fun~

First of all, I just have to say, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEEK! I love fall, and this weather is just right to spend some time outside! It's been an eventful week.

We had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday for Emma. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. The appointment went well except for those darn shots she had to get! THREE shots to be exact. :( Poor baby. Good thing daddy was there to hold her so I didn't have to watch!



Wednesday night we headed to a friends house for a nice supper and listened to the Twins lose. And Thrusday we had a friend come over to watch the Twins lose yet again. But here is Emma in her Twins gear! (yes, I know she looks like a boy in all that blue, but she had to cheer on the Twins!)



Last night Maria also had her first haircut. She was getting quite the mullet. That was fixed last night, and Maria was a little angel while getting it cut. She sat so nice!! and even got her hair curled for the first time. What a cutie!





And other than that, nothing else too exciting. Emma is eating and eating and growing and growing and she is starting to sleep better at night! She has only been getting up one time! :) The girls have been spending their time playing outside and hanging out with grandma while mom and dad are at work. How fun! And now we look forward to another beautiful weekend filled with pouring cement in our garage, a family hayride, and a party! Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Pumpkin Time!

It's fall and the cousins Oliva, Noah, Maria & Emma had a fun time in the great pumkin patch (also known as our garden :) picking out pumkins for Halloween! I can't believe it's almost October!

We survived!

Yes, we survived our weekend trip to Duluth. Terry, Joe, Carrie & Hannah survived their big Rollerblade marathon, and I survived the weekend with hardly a wink of sleep (along with Maria) :) But all in all, it was a beautiful weekend to spend in Duluth. We stayed in a nice cabin in the woods north of Duluth. The rollerbladers took off Saturday morning and we waited at the finish line to watch them go by. We spent that afternoon relaxing at the cabin. Sunday, we spent the day at Canal Park enjoying the weather and the ships at the harbor. We also spent some time at the aquarium. Maria loved seeing the fish and even got to pet one along with a stingray in the petting tanks. Then we enjoyed a nice supper followed by (my favorite) COLD STONE!!!! Maria and Olivia had a good time at Cold Stone too. They were the entertainment for the evening. They were dancing to the oldies music playing. I think we should have set out a tip cup for them. They were drawing the passerbys! haha







In other news, Emma rolled over multiple times this week from her stomach to her back! She is getting strong and able to hold her head up much better! She also is eating like crazy and growing like crazy! She's already out of her newborn clothes (which impresses us because Maria was in them until she was three months old! She is a smiley thing too! Also this week, Maria moved into her NEW room down in the basement! She seems to be doing just great in it!




And the roof is up on our garage finally! Yay!! One step closer to having a place to store the cars this winter!

Birthday Time!

With September comes lots of birthdays...which means lots of parties...and lots of cake! :) Last week we celebrated my uncle's, dad's and Joseph's birthdays. We had a celebration at our cabin. It was a good time because in attendance was my twin cousins from Germany. We have missed them, and it was good to have them back in the U.S. for a short time. It's been two years since they last visited us. Here is a picture of us cousins!



Then we celebrated Joe's birthday with a yummy steak dinner. Joe's presents this year consisted of many shirts and ties. That's what happens when you get a new job and don't have the right clothes to wear! haha Here's Maria helping to blow out the candles!



This past weekend we also celebrated a friends wedding. It was Emma's first wedding and she was quite an angel. Maria was pretty good too... (except her small fit during the VOWS at the ceremony)But she had a great time dancing at the reception. Check out this video :)And this was before she even hit the dance floor!



After all that fun, it was back to school for me today! The first day went well. Can't wait for a great school year!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!

Sisterly Love

This week was much less exciting than last. We have been just hanging out here at our house. And by that I mean Maria, Emma and I. Joe is in the cities for training this week for his new job! We can't wait until he comes home tomorrow night!

On Tuesday, the girls both had doctor appointments. Emma is doing well. She has gained back her birth weight and then some! She now weighs 7 lbs. 2 oz. She has been awake more this week which is more exciting than watching her sleep all the time! She has been sleeping pretty good at night (except last night when she was up ALL night!)

Maria went in for her 18 month checkup and has officially fallen off the charts for her size. Yes, she is so little that she is below the 1st percentile. She weighed just over 19 lbs. No wonder she still doesn't fit in those 18 month clothes! :) But we aren't worried about her size since she doesn't come from a very big family. Maria has been having fun with Emma this week. She wraps her up in her blanket, helps feed her a bottle, pushes her in her swing and reads her books. (look below)



Here are a few more pictures from the week!






Now I'm off to start my first day of work this Friday, and Joe is starting his new job on Monday! There is a lot to be thankful for! :)

A busy week!

It has been quite the busy week around here. Emma is just over a week old and doing very well. She pretty much just sleeps all day and night, but is quite the sweetie when she opens her eyes for the little time she does each day. Maria is still doing very well being the big sister! She helps pick up and brings us diapers for Emma. She gives Emma her blanket and other toys, and she loves giving kisses to her. Joe was home all last week too and it was very nice to have some family time. Now for his last week of work before starting a new job! :)

We got a lot of work done on our house this week compared to the previous many weeks. Maria's room in the basement got some fresh, bright paint for one! There is a lot to do down there before she moves in, but we are getting closer!



And the garage is getting closer to having a roof. As long as it happens before the snow flies, that's all that matters to me.

This past weekend brought out many fun activities. Friday, Joe and I took the kids to the fair in town. It was very wet because of all the storms from the night before, but Maria enjoyed seeing all the animals!



Friday night, Joe and his family took Maria to a Beetles Baseball game. She had lots of fun and especially liked her new tattoo of the team's mascot on her arm. Saturday was a busy day of Dragon Boat racing. Our team the "Hot Shots" won the team spirit award!



Saturday night was a fun night at the cabin with the family to celebrate my cousin and my birthday. And on the way home... a beautiful double rainbow filled the sky. SOO PRETTY!



Sunday, we celebrated the baptism of Emma. We had a wonderful service followed by rolls and coffee. It was a very nice morning followed by a family reunion in the park. What a great week of celebrations!



Hope you had a good week!

Welcome Home Emma Jo

Friday, August 6th, our beautiful baby girl was born! Emma Jo She came in weighing 6 lbs. 14 oz. and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of wavy, dark hair and big bright eyes. Maria is very excited to be a big sister and has been taking the change well. She runs over to her all the time and says "baby"! And pats her head and gives kisses. What a nice big sister! We couldn't be happier! Here's a picture of her for the few minutes today that she was actually awake!

Go Stars!

Joe came home with the Pope County Tribune the other day, very excited that he made the front page for Stars Baseball! Yes, that's him WAAAAY back in the outfield.



The Stars have had a great season and now have made it to the regional playoffs which will take place this weekend. Their first game is on Saturday in Greenwald. I'm not sure if Joe is going to be able to make it to these games yet... There isn't a baby yet, so chances are no. But we will have to see how it plays out. Good luck Stars!

Dear Baby...

You can arrive anytime now. We are ready for you. Your mother is feeling your very strong kicks and thinking that you are getting to big and strong for in there. She also had to sleep sitting upright last night for comfort, even though she still didn't sleep that well. So again, feel free to come anytime, preferably before August 7th because that's when your doctor is going on vacation for a week! And your mother might throw a fit if her doctor isn't around.

Can't wait to meet you!

Love,

Your family

A Glimpse of our Summer

The Beginning of Blogging...

This blog began as a project for one of my classes in college and it hasn't been used since. However, I have decided to begin writing again for anyone who is interested in knowing what is happening in our house these days.

When Maria was born just over a year ago, we created a Babysite for people to keep tabs on her. However, our space on the site filled up really fast and in order to continue writing, I had to keep deleting old passages. I shouldn't have that problem on this blog.

Please feel free to follow along on our everyday journey, especially as we wait for the arrival of our new baby in the upcoming month. We ask for your prayers for a safe delivery.