Easter 2008

Can I take these ears off now, Mom?

Kate's First Easter!

Mom, Dad, and the kids.

Papa Gene, Gaga, and the Grandkids.

We spent Easter morning at home opening the kids Easter baskets and hunting for Easter eggs around the house.  After getting Jack all hopped up on candy we somehow managed to get him down for a nap.  After nap time we headed over to my parents house for Easter dinner.  Everyone took turns wearing the bunny ears that the Easter Bunny brought my kids...even the dog.  A good time was had by all.

March 23, 2008

Jacks New Room

Gaga, Jack, Becky, and Kate at Underwater Adventures.

It has been a big week.  Kate finally rolled over on Friday!  Now she is a pro.  She rolls from her back to her front.  Once she is on her belly, she doesn't really know what to do with herself.  But she seems proud to be able to do it.  

Last weekend we converted Jack's bedroom into a big boy room.  He now has a full sized bed.  He really likes it but we are still having trouble keeping him in it at bedtime.  I guess that will come with time.  He loves his big boy sheets with fire trucks on them and his sheets with trucks on them.  

Monday night John and I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese.  It was a lot of fun.  Jack loved it.  We had pizza for dinner and played a lot of games.  It was like Las Vegas for kids.  Jack loves seeing all of the other kids.  It was a lot of fun watching him figure out the games and collecting his tickets.  It took forever to cash in all of his tickets for prizes.  It was a big decision but we ended up getting a Chuck E Cheese balloon and and a ton of tootsie rolls.  He was happy.  Kate just hung out in the Baby Bjorn and took in the sights.  She was quite happy to watch her brother.

Wednesday my mom and I took the kids to Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America.  Jack loved it there!  One of his favorite things is sharks (right now, anyway).  He really enjoyed seeing all of the fish and sharks swimming around.  It is still amazing to me that he can identify so many different animals all by himself.  He was pointing out Hammerhead sharks and stingray.  I was shocked and surprised.  His memory is like a steel trap!  After walking thru the aquarium  Jack played in a sand box with some other kids for a while.  He had a great time.  After Underwater Adventures we walked thru Nickelodeon Adventures Park (formerly Camp Snoopy).  Jack loves to watch all of the rides and people watch.  He isn't really big enough to do much there but he sure loves to look around.  When it was time to go home he threw a world class tantrum.  One of the worst ones I have ever seen.  He was screaming and crying, his body went all limp, he was swinging his arms and legs.  It was awful.  It takes a lot as a parent not to loose it in those situations.  Somehow I held it together and got him strapped in the car seat.  He was way over tired and it was passed his nap time.  He fell asleep on the way home but only slept for about 20 minutes.  so, needless to say he was very pleasant that evening too!  To make matters worse, John was out of town so I had to handle it all alone!  Oh well, we got thru it.  John got home Thursday night and Jack was very happy to see him.  We got some snow so we all went out and played in it on Friday and Saturday.   All things considered it was a very fun week.  

Mexico Pictures

At X Caret.  This is a Tapir. 

Dad and John Golfing at Mayakoba

Becky walking on the beach in Cancun

Sitting in the sun wondering what the kids are doing.

I love it here, I have the best seat in the house!

Mom and I having pineapple head drinks!  Yum.

Dad and John emerging from the sea!  Looks like they are holding hands, doesn't it?

So here we are in Mexico.  Ole!  Notice John with his Crackberry!  I almost threw it in the ocean a few times.  But I think his firm would frown upon that.  At least he is sending emails while having a beer.  We had a fantastic time.  The weather was great even though they forecasted rain most of the time.  It only rained once for about 10 minutes.  Not bad if you ask me.  

March 14th, 2008

BOTH KIDS ARE SLEEPING AT THE SAME TIME!!!  Those of you with more than one child know what a rare treat this is.  So I thought I would sit down and write a bit.  Let's see...whats new?  Kate just had her 4 month check up.  She is a whopping 14 pounds 11 ounces.  She is our little piglet!  She ranks in the 50-75% in weight among children her age, which is big considering that Jack has always been small (10-25%).  Other than that she had some shots.  They always seem to hurt me more than the kids, but Kate did cry this time.  She is on the cusp of rolling over.  There is a bit of controversy surrounding if she has actually rolled over yet.  While John and I were in Mexico Grandma Arlene laid Kate on her back and when she came back Kate was on her stomach.  She didn't actually see her roll over, so we don't know if Jack rolled her over or what.  I am betting that my little genius did it all by herself.  Even though I wasn't there to see it, I am very proud of my little peanut!  Speaking of Grandma and Papa John Waldock, they are enjoying a 2 week cruise.  No doubt they really needed it after watching my kids for 10 days!  It goes without saying that we are very grateful for the babysitting services!  

Last weekend we had a little incident with Jack.  He was running wildly and happily around the kitchen and he wiped out...big!  He was wearing pants that were too big in the waist and too long in the legs and he slipped on the hardwood floor and did a face plant.  His front tooth went into his bottom lip.  It landed us in the emergency room at Children's Hospital.  Luckily the wound didn't need any stitches.  John and I were so happy to get the heck out of that ER.  There were way too many sick people there. Imagine that!!?   A kid sitting across from us had a really bad stomach flu and was vomiting right there in the waiting room.  Others were coughing and who knows what else was floating around in the air there!  I wanted to get his lip checked out, but I really didn't want my kids to catch anything from anyone else!  So, we held our breath and didn't let Jack touch anything there until we were called.  They looked at him and told us to give him some ibuprofen and a Popsicle.  That is what we did and he is doing well.  All of his teeth are in tact and the lip is healing well.  He is all too happy to show off his OWEE.  He says, " My fell in the kitchen and bumped my lip and it bleeded."  

Jack is now in his big boy bed full time now.  But we are having a really hard time keeping him there at night.  Nap time is fine.  He actually tells me when he is tired and ready for his nap.  Bed time is a whole other beast.  At night he thinks it is funny to get out of bed over and over.  He just doesn't want to stay in bed.  So we wrestle with him until about 11 pm on a nightly basis.  It is getting pretty old.  So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to stop the madness, we are all ears!  Jacks latest favorite thing is playing in the sink.  He is now able to drag a chair around and climb up and turn on the water and make a mess!  He loves it!  He is also now getting into the fridge.  He is very busy and I can't turn my back on him.  Kates favorite thing is still eating and pooping.  

Mexico!!!

John and I had a great time in Mexico!  We spent 9 days between Mayakoba (near Playa del Carmen) and Cancun.  In Mayakoba we stayed at the Fairmont.  It was beautiful.  John and my dad golfed every day while mom and I sat in the sun and went to the spa.  They guys were in seventh heaven because the course they played at held a PGA event days earlier, so the course was in PGA shape.  It was the Mayakoba Classic played at El Camaleon Golf Club.  The link to the website is www.mayakobagolfclassic.com.  My mom and I pampered ourselves with 90 massages and facials daily...it was great!  One day we went to X-Caret.  It is an ecological park that is very hard to explain.  We swam with dolphins, sat on the beach, snorkeled, and saw many animals in their zoo.  It was a great day.  

After 5 days in Mayakoba we packed up and headed to Cancun.  There we stayed at a hotel called Me by Melia.  It is a very modern and hip hotel smack dab in the middle of the hotel zone in Cancun.  There we laid by the pool and walked on the beach.  We took it pretty easy in Cancun.  We met up with my sister Sara and her new husband Jason (they were honeymooning in Cancun) 2 nights for dinner and drinks.  It was a great vacation.  We rested, shopped, ate, drank, rested, golfed, drank, and then rested some more.  It was a lot of fun to have a nine day date with my husband!  It was a nice break from wiping baby butts and 4 am feedings.  I must mention that I did wake up at 4 am out of habit every night.  I will probably write more about the trip when I have time...but the kids are sleeping now, so I have to get some things done around here.  

I am having trouble posting pictures right now, so I will add them later.

The Wedding

Well, my sister Sara's wedding went off without a hitch!  She was absolutely beautiful and I have never seen her happier!  She married a great guy named Jason and they are a great match.  The ceremony and reception were at Jax Cafe in Minneapolis.  The ceremony was short, sweet, and very touching.  I cried...I always cry at weddings.  I couldn't be happier for them.  We had a great time that night!  There was dinner, dancing, a photo machine, and cocktails for everyone.  It was a blast!  

Jack and Kate looked so cute all dressed up!  John's parents were great and they took the kids home after dinner so John and I could stay and enjoy the reception without chasing the kids.  A good time was had by all!

Sara and Jason went to Cancun for a week long honeymoon.  We took them to dinner while we were there and they looked happy and relaxed.  Now they are enjoying another week off after the honeymoon to settle into married life.  Good for them!