Kieran's Big Day (Tons of Pictures)

 Kieran started his big day by waking up pretty early and had some breakfast in his high chair although he doesn't eat very much.  He either has the stomach the size of a pea or he's just picky:)

 After breakfast he got to open a few of his presents!  (Sorry for the feminine wrapping paper little dude/we're not up to speed yet on our blue)

 Oh!!!  Showing some interest as Dad helped him figure out how to rip the paper.  He got some brand new bath toys!

 Check it out sister!  These are cool!

 Kieran loves sitting in the kids' new plastic chairs!  We'll eventually have them outside, but for now they are a hit indoors.  I'm really impressed with how well he turns himself around and gets out of it safely.

 Then it was time to play "books" in his diaper.  He loves to crawl over to the corner in the living room where all of the books are and pull them out.  He especially likes the ones that light up or make noises.

 We played all morning inside since it was a cold and rainy day.  Right before lunch Jackie stopped by to visit and Kieran got very excited to see her!  I was organizing toys all morning and Kieran followed me from room to room playing with 35459 different types of toys.  It wore him out!  Here is is at the end of his lunch.  Again, he barely ate anything:)  A few peas, couple Cheerios, and a cracker:)

 The little stinker only napped for 40 minutes (he hasn't done that in over 3 months), but he had messed his diaper so that made sense.  He got up while Svea was sleeping and we played some more.  After she got up we played outside and went on a walk.

 When Daddy came home we had supper and then sang Happy Birthday to Kieran and enjoyed cupcakes.  Kieran, as you can see, was somewhat interested, had a taste, enjoyed a few bites, and then....

 proceeded to grab it all and throw it on the floor!  Not a huge fan, but we're pretty sure that will eventually change:)

 Happy Birthday to Me!

Then, Dad made him laugh...a lot!

 We threw both kids into the bathtub together (Svea PROMISED to share and did!).  After playing with the new toys we let him open his remaining presents of new jammies, a cookie monster stuffed animal, and a new pool!  Here he is talking to Jaylee in the window!

 Such a handsome birthday boy!

 Then we went for a short walk (Riker's foot is really getting bad and he can't go very far anymore) and headed home!

I think if he could talk he'd say he had a great 1st year birthday:)  I'm so thankful I got to be home with him all day! Happy Birthday Kieran....we're so glad you are with us!  We can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I can't believe we have another one year old.  The year went SO fast and I'm so sad to give up my baby...no scratch that, he will always be my baby and when he reads this post some day I want him to call me and come over so I can give him a big hug.  We love our little guy SO much.  His personality is silly, happy, cuddly, and inquisitive.  Today we are going to celebrate as a family.  His party is later this month (Cookie Monster theme). We'll have cupcakes and it will be Kieran's first taste of sugar! We'll give him extra hugs and snuggle and laugh.  We'll sing him happy birthday numerous times and celebrate the gift that he is!  We love you Kieran....God blessed us tremendously the day you were born and we love you just the way you are!

12 Month post and birthday festivities coming soon!

While Daddy Was Away....

 We read to our baby in our underwear:)

 We played the drums on the Cheerios box!

 Oh, so much fun!

 My Mom only had to work one day while we were there and this was the day that she did and came home for lunch:)  We stayed busy so the day went quickly.  We visited an old classmate of mine who has FOUR little girls!  Wowzers!  At first when we got there Svea wouldn't even look at any of them and when it came time to leave I had to drag her away:)  Amber is the one that the high school secretaries would confuse us in high school and TWICE Svea went running into Amber's legs for a hug thinking it was me...ha!

 Our little ham!

 One of my favorite parts of Mom and Ron's house is the yard.  Tons of shade, nice grass, and sun when you want it.  We played out in the grass for many hours while we were there!

 Caught them off guard!

 I was trying to get a cute picture of Svea on the front porch in her pretty summer dress, but she was too tired:)  I love their front porch!

Can I talk to you a minute about frozen yogurt?  Jamestown has a new place called Tutti Frutti.  Maybe you have heard of it before?  Well I am just short of obsessed and have to talk myself out of having EVERY DAY while I am there.  Out of eight days I believe I talked myself INTO it four times.  Ok, so it gets worse.  Then, I found out that they also have a Cherry Berry.  Have you heard of that one?  Ok, double obsessed!  Then I was checking both of their facebook pages daily to see which flavors I liked better and that helped make my decision on which place to try that day.  arhghghg......My new criteria for any new town we ever move to is one of those and a Target. I've got to stop talking about it now or else I may drive up to St. Cloud right now to get some since we have a Cherry Berry:)

Mission Trip Complete

 Thunder Bay was a hit!  Dan said it was THE best Youth Works experience on the books and he's been to thirteen of them.  The work was great, the kids were awesome, spending time with his brother was fun, and even the food was the best he's had so far:)

 He had lots of stories to share when he got home and is still pumped up about some of the experiences.  These two pictures just about sums it up how much fun they had!  He said our kids were great, but Stuart's kids from his church were just awesome people and he was so impressed with them all.  I'm so happy it was a great experience!!!  We got to skype with Dad twice while he was away and the first time Svea told him she wanted him to come here.  I think she wanted a hug.  Thank goodness for skype since we couldn't talk on the phone or text. I could text him, but he couldn't text back, but we could facebook message.  Anyway...creative communication.

 I was so thankful we went to Jamestown for the duration of Dad's time away.  We had a great and relaxing time in North Dakota.  My Mom and Step-Dad help me out SO much with the kids and I am able to sneak away and go on a walk here and there with an old friend or run to Wal-mart for supplies alone.  An old classmate of mine, Megan, lives a couple doors down and one night after putting the baby to bed I hopped out the door and we walked the half a block to the park and did the loop twice, which is a mile around one time.  I should have took a picture of the park.  It's my favorite one in Jamestown.

Anyway, we ate WAY too much ice cream, cookies, and snacks, but they all tasted so good.  We swam in the backyard, went on walks to the park to play, visited the buffalo (of course), finger painted in our underwear and diaper (the kids:), and had quality dinners and time together.  In this picture Svea had found a puddle from the sprinkler and said on top of giggles and squeals, "This is so much fun....come in here with me"! 

Thank you to Larry and Darcy (our neighbors) and Jackie/Kayla for taking care of our animals and mowing! Thank you Gaga and Grandpa Ron for having us and putting up with our mess for a whole week.  We loved making memories with you!!!  Thank you for keeping me sane while Dan was away.  I'll never stay home alone when Dan is gone on a long trip ever again.  This was 100% easier than two years ago!

While away Kieran walked for the first time!  He took two steps and was waving bye!  More to come.....

Updates on Svea and Kieran

Svea is fully potty trained and has been since the end of June!  It's great and it's very apparent that she is super proud of herself as well.  She had an accident the other day and she literally cried and was angry at her pee.  "No, pee...stop pee.  No come out"! The accidents are few and far between and soon we'll transition her to no diapers at nap time since she won't be able to have one on at daycare.

Kieran is climbing everywhere.  He climbs into his sister's bed, on top of the ottoman (super scary), and just the other day crawled right up onto the couch.  We are SO not ready for this!  Are you ever I guess?  He is also into shaking his head no.  It doesn't even matter what you ask him he'll sometimes just shake his head no.  He's also been loving this horse.  He likes to sit on it and tries to rock, but he can't quite get the hang of it so he hops up and down.  He also said "bye" the other day when we were saying good-bye to his paci.  Four words now big guy! I have a video of him on my phone shaking his head no to everything you ask him.  I will be posting it to facebook soon if you'd like to see it:)

It's Mission Trip Season....

.....and that means Dad is off on an adventure!  This year Dan is headed to Thunder Bay Canada with a group of students and adults from our church. He'll be gone the 18th-26th and so will we.  Two years ago I stayed home on my own with an 8 month old and by the time Dan got home I was talking to the walls...only they didn't talk back.  I am headed back to ND with the kids so we all don't get too lonely without Daddy at home:) It also keeps me sane so I'm not doing everything on my own for that many days in a row.

Dan gets to join up with his brother Stuart again this year.  It's been two years since they've gone somewhere together and I know Dan is excited. We won't have any contact with him for basically the whole time so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and update him when he gets home.  Praying they all have a great trip!

Quick Visit From Papa and Lynn

My Dad and Lynn stopped by on their way through to Wisconsin this week!  Never mind how crabby our kids look right now.  I should have waited until after nap to take a picture:)  The highlight was probably watching the kids play in the pool and water table outside.  (Svea in her underwear and Kieran in his diaper and clothes).  They had a blast:)

 They brought birthday presents for Kieran.  He loves this Thomas the Train car and is a magnet for it.  We pushed him on it and he was pumping his legs in excitement!

 Hanging out with Papa...he looks so old.  I just want my baby to stay a baby....arghgh:)

 He got a winter hat with mittens and they were still attached to the hat with tags.  I thought this was so funny him trying to see:)

Don't you love this "old" toy.  I love it. I remember I used to have one just like.  The animal sounds and the voice of the "farmer" is the same too.  You know what I'm talking about right? Svea sat for quite awhile checking it out after they left today.  Thank you Papa and Lynn for coming.  We had a fun time with you and thank you for the birthday presents for Kieran!!!

Braving the Outdoors (Mosquitos)

These mosquitoes are seriously cramping our style.  There were barely any out in North Dakota and when we got home it was like a sea of them only flying around in the air.  I hate being inside when it's so nice outside so the other day we basically at on the driveway in the shade to try and escape them since you can't even be in the grass at certain times of the day.

Svea did sidewalk chalk (thanks Grandma and Grandpa D) and Kieran and I hung out on our big beach tarp. 

Each time we do chalk Svea wants my help to draw the "Big Bad Wolf" and a house for the pigs.  We haven't read this story to her in forever so it must be something she read with Jackie/Kayla.

I wanted Kieran to stay on the tarp and not go off on to the concrete.  He listened to me! We are surprised that he listens so well.  We'll say no to him and he listens every time.  We are going to soak that up because when he turns 2 1/2 he'll just blatantly say NO to everything we ask:)  Ha!  It's been a whirlwind with Svea the last week.  I am hoping that it's because of her very last molar coming in and not a long phase.

Jill's Baby Shower

While I helped host a shower for Jill's and her baby boy Dan and Kieran went to church at Calvary, which is the Bjork's church.  He didn't see them since they were up at their lake, but my Aunt Connie and Uncle Scott switched to that church about two years ago so he sat with them.  I guess Kieran sat for the whole 1.5 hour service, napped for 20 minutes, drank two ounces of milk all day, and played like a champ while away from Mom.  I'm very proud of him.  By the time I saw him he was ready to sleep and slept the whole way home.

 Me, Jill, and our other cousin Katie.  We have one other female cousin Amy on our Carter side:) She has dark hair like me and make me feel like I belong a little bit better amongst all of the blond hair people:)  Ha!

 You Are My Sunshine was the theme for the shower since this is a sign Jill already has for the baby's room.

 Jill with her winning "child".  We cut out pictures of Jill and Matt to combine to make our guess as to what the baby will look like.  It's meant to be funny and it did get lots of laughs!

 Jill with a handful of her friends.  Most of these ladies went to Las Vegas and it was fun to see them all again. 

 Aunt Connie and her youngest...having a baby!

 We all hosted the shower...my cousin Katie, Joe's wife Andrea, myself, and Josh's wife Cindy.  I love these guys.  I am so thankful I grew up with all of them and they feel like sisters.

 Fun with baby Lydia and Quinn!

 Kieran "horsing around"!

a little more...

 This was such a good picture of Dan I had to post it.  Never mind that Kieran is crying and angry:)

 When my Mom was wrapping her gift for Jill, Svea wanted to wrap a present for Auntie Jill too.  Remember, she is obsessed with Jill and was so proud of her present.  I showed her this picture of Jill holding her present and she got a huge smile on her face.  It's just the invitation wrapped up with a scrap of tape in there somewhere.  Fun stuff!

Kieran having a blast flying through the balloons...he cashed about 12 seconds later;)

Congratulations Jill and Matt, we can't wait to meet baby boy come September!