Tropical Smoochie

The perks...

2012-01-19T13:57:00.002-06:00

of being too little to go to school...

you get to sample Mommy's sweet creations

Yummy!

Welcome Dexter:

this is our new kitty...

he's 11 months old and super sweet

the kids LOVE him...

Misiu is even starting to come around, which is huge!

Fun in the snow!

2012-01-14T13:00:00.003-06:00

Wheee!

Are we ready yet?

Who wants to go sledding?

Good times

Poor Naomi didn't enjoy the sleigh ride as much as the rest...

maybe next year will be more fun for her.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-09T11:45:00.012-06:00

This pic was supposed to be the last pic but I'm having user difficulties with blogger tonight. I guess you'll just have to imagine it as the last pic. ;-)

Daddy caught Santa sneaking into the fireplace...

and leaving presents... THANK YOU SANTA!

Merry Christmas Daddy

Wow!

It took us a while to get through all of these. Mikey's favorite gift this year was his Batman Cave. Naomi's favorite was her air popper (a hit with both kids).

New socks are a X-mas must!

Mikey took this picture of Naomi. He gets some of the best pictures...

I think this skill of his just might be worth while cultivating.

After the holidays we went for a weekend to Minneapolis and sure there is great food and shopping but, our favorite was by far the Aquarium in the Mall of America.

Who know... in the basement of the mall is such a wonderful place.

Checking out the jelly fish... cool Mom.

Beautiful

Happy kids= Happy parents

They built the aquarium around you so these

giant manta rays would swim right over your head. Crazy cool!

look out behind you Mikey...

Look Mama!

Shark!

Mesmerized

Take a picture of that Mom... QUICK!

sharks, sharks and more sharks.

Happy New Year!

I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year.

These kids...

2011-12-19T09:20:00.006-06:00

Michal is learning to skate and he's doing great. Sure, he falls a good bit but every time he gets out there, it is significantly less falling than the last time. I find it amazing how fast kids learn new things. Way to go buddy, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you for trying new things and your perseverance! You are doing fantastic!

Giving Naomi a ride, wheeeeee!

Want a ride?

Sweet girl...

This video was taken 2 weekends ago... Mikey is doing so much better now than he is on this one.

So, there are two noteworthy things this weekend that I must simply document so I don't forget.

First:

I unfortunately had the stomach flu (again and not the noteworthy part) this Saturday. Sunday we went to church and it has become a ritual that after church we stop on the way home to pick up some fresh, hot ham and rolls. We get home and I'm feeling really hungry after not eating anything for the past 36 hrs. I eat and it was delicious. My tummy, however, was not ready and I had horrible stomach cramps. Mikey and I are talking and this is how our conversation goes:

Me: I'm in a lot of pain... this is no good.

Michal: What's pain Mommy?

Me: it means that I hurt, my tummy hurts, you know... ouch.

Michal: hmmmm, (thinking) who's going to make us dinner then Mommy?

This kid is too funny!

Second:

Misiu still gets himself in a good bit of trouble around here as he likes to steal food. When Misiu gets in trouble we say "Bad dog! Go to your bed Misiu!" Then Misiu knows that if he knows what is good for him he quickly goes to his bed in the laundry room or he'll get locked in there on doggy timeout. So, yesterday Misiu of course couldn't help himself and tried to steal food off a plate and he got caught. I say "Bad dog! Go to your bed Misiu!" Then Naomi proceeds to chase after him pointing her finger repeatedly saying "Ba! Ba! Ba!" Naomi goes into the laundry room where she stands over him pointing her finger and saying"Ba! Ba! Ba!" over and over for the next couple of minutes until we said ok Naomi... that's enough. We think Misiu gets it. This is her new routine anytime Misiu gets in trouble which as I said before is frequent. It's really cute and quite funny. I'm going to see if I can catch it on film next time she does it. ;-)

This kid is too funny!

St Nicks Day

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On the eve on St. Nick's Day Santa sent us an elf. The elf on the shelf (click on the link if you don't know about this little helper of Santa). Michal named him Frisbee which Daddy and I agreed was a perfect name for our little elf friend. Frisbee has been a wonderful little helper. He listens to what Michal wants for Christmas and passes the message along to Santa. He is a wonderful reminder to behave because he sees everything that goes on in our home. I have a slight crush on Frisbee simply because he has gotten my kids to behave so beautiful... well how can you not love the elf that can do that? If you look on top of the family picture you will see Frisbee hanging out, in the best spot to watch the St. Nick's Day festivities.

December 6, 2011

What's going on Mama?

Michal was so excited... poor guy looks a little overwhelmed here.

Naomi's new vacuum to help Mama clean. ;-)

Daddy's new jammy pants. Go UW!

Milk and cookies for Santa... Coffee for Mama.

Hope you all have a wonderful St. Nick's Day!

4K Christmas Concert!

2011-12-05T08:53:00.003-06:00

I absolutely love Mikey's counting technique. They sang two songs and silly me I didn't turn the video on until the second. The focus is a little wobbly as we were sitting VERY far back. I think these kids are all fantastic!

Just because...

2011-11-16T09:02:00.004-06:00

Just because...

you have a cold doesn't mean you can't still smile a little.

Just because...

you spill a little milk on your last pair of clean pants for school

doesn't mean you can't still smile a little.

Kids, why must you stand so close to watch tv?

Just because Mom.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-06T06:42:00.003-06:00

and a happy day it was!

We went to Madison to spend some time with our previous next door neighbors and took the kids trick-or-treating in Middleton. We had bumblebee, a fireman, the blue power ranger and a fairy... a pretty fantastic crew!

I love these kids!

Mikey: Can I eat 1 more Mom, pleeeaaaassssse!!!

Me: Go for it but, your tummy is going to hurt honey.

Wow! Look at those kids Mom!

Trying to keep up or actually she really wasn't... she had the best time exploring and doing her own thing. It was not easy to keep up with the big kids with this little fairy.

Bumblebee and Blue Power Ranger!

The sweetest fairy ever!

So these were actually the kids trick-or-treating a few days before Halloween. On Halloween night we dressed up and despite our best efforts to take them trick-or-treating Michal was more interested in handing out candy. Mike would just round the corner with the kids and Michal would see some trick-or-treaters coming and he'd turn and book it back to the house as fast as he could screaming at the top of his lungs "kids Mom, kids are coming, get the candy!" So we ultimately went to 4 or 5 houses and we had the most fun just passing out candy. We'd already went trick-or-treating a few nights back anyhow. It was the perfect Halloween.

The kids had a blast and that's what it's all about.

Happy 1st Birthday Naomi!

2011-10-19T19:46:00.016-05:00

Dear Naomi,

October 8, 2010 at 12:23 am you came into our lives and from that moment on I knew life would never be the same. Naomi Tamara you have this grace about you that is simply amazing. Stubborn as an ox, smart as a whip, determination to rival anyone I've ever met, fiercely independent yet so loving and snugly it seems like such a contradiction to your other traits. As soon as you could walk on your own, you no longer wanted to hold my hand. That is unless going down stairs. When your brother was little he perfected sliding down the stairs. You have no desire to slide down the stairs. You want someone to hold your hand so you can walk down the stairs like a big girl. You love animals and are drawn to them. It's something to watch how gentle you are with animals. Your favorite book is an animal book and you sit and flip thru the pages all by yourself because you simply prefer to look at it yourself. While I read to your brother every night you sit and look at your animal book, happily entertaining yourself. Mikey is by far your favorite person to play with. While you have fun with Mommy and Daddy you definitely prefer to play with him than us. I don't blame you, he's a really fun little boy! I have a feeling you are going to keep us on our toes as you aren't afraid of much. I'm always pulling you off things that you are climbing on. In the bath tub you stick your entire head in the water and blow bubbles, happily doing this over and over. I have watched you grow this past year and every day you simply amaze me. I am, we are, so lucky to have you in our lives.

Our sweet little Nay-nay.

7lbs 15 oz of pure love

It seems everyone in the family wanted to be a part of your 1st birthday.

Great-Grandma Connie and Grandma Robin drove up from Florida to watch you turn 1.

1st stroller from Grandma Robin. Great gift!

Naomi loves anything she can push around.

Big brother giving his little sister a gift

What is it?

What's in there already?

Oh a pretty butterfly hair clip, thanks big brother and Babcia!

Naomi and Babcia

Birthday fun! We had some friends over to help celebrate. It was crazy warm on her birthday, which was strange weather for October in Wisconsin. No one was complaining though.

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Robin. Grandpa manned the grill for us as Mike was on call and was stuck at work for the first part of her party. Thank heavens for good Grandpas! I must say that all the Grandparents really stepped up and helped me get all the final details together for her party. Mike was completely out of commission between the stomach flu and being on-call. I would also like that thank my Mom who helped me do a ton of the prep work for the party, I really appreciate all of your help.

I made these bad boys all on my own. Let me tell you (not to brag or anything) but, these puppies not only looked good but they were pretty tasty too. So much fun! (see I said that I was done with store bought cakes and I meant it) ; )

Blowing out her candle. She was really cute and was really trying to blow it out herself. I found this pretty phenomenal as I hadn't worked with her at all on blowing out the candles.

Yummy!

After the guests left, the kids had a blast playing in the ice in the cooler.

It was pretty freakishly hot or else I would not have let them do this.

I love these candid moments I get of them, sweet.

Mikey and Grandpa Mike

Two peas in a pod

Grandpa was only here for a couple days and the entire time Mikey would NOT leave his Grandpas side. This relationship is something special.

Opening the birthday gifts. Let the fun begin!

New clothes, new toys...

new hats...

new embroidered bath towels, frames, and wall plates.

(Thank you so much Uncle Stu, Aunt Tanya, and cousins Maximus and Apolonia. They were not able to come and be with us but, they were with us in spirit and did they ever spoil Naomi! )

playing together

sweet Naomi

Halloween... already?

There are a lot of fun activities around town for the kids to give them a chance to wear their halloween costumes. Fun!

The Marshfield Zoo had trick or treating this past Saturday so we went with some of our good friends and did the kids ever have a blast!

The only bummer was Mikey's costume had not arrived yet so he had to be spiderman from last year. It was a little small and of course he let me know about a 100x's that it was too small. He was bound and determined to get that candy at any cost though.

As you can see by the layers, we are back to our typical chilly October temps.

That didn't slow these kids down one bit.

Naomi the 'fairy of animals' quickly found a bee to pet. ; )

Having fun with the boys!

I'm sorry but there is just nothing better than a big pile of leaves!

Now: 25 lbs and 32 inches

99th percentile in height!

Well, there you have it. Our daughter is one year old. The only slight hiccup of her birthday was the horrible stomach flu that swept through our house leaving no one un-touched. Mikey had it a week before her b-day, Mike got it the morning of her b-day, Naomi got it the evening of her b-day and I got it the next day. As if that wasn't bad enough my poor in-laws got it on their drive home! It seems the only ones that escaped we're my parents and Grandmother who were smart enough to get the flu shot. Was it coincidence that they didn't get it and they got the flu shot? I don't think so. Anyhow, we are all better and despite having a case of the yucks it was a wonderful first birthday. Thank you to all the Grandma's, Grandpa's and Great-Grandma that traveled so far to share her birthday with us. It was a wonderful day that I hope to never forget.

Sunday fun

2011-09-12T08:50:00.011-05:00

This Sunday we went for a bike ride to the zoo

It has become a ritual that we bring a big bag of corn and feed the ducks and geese.

However, this was the first time Naomi was big enough to help.

Did she ever enjoy it!

Naomi also taught us something... she reached out and pet the ducks. I couldn't believe it, pet the ducks? Hmmm, they actually let her pet them. I couldn't believe we had never tried it before. They were so soft and what a cool experience for the kids.

(followed by a thorough hand washing)

As usual, with our family nothing is ever that simple. Naomi got a little brave and decided she was going to grab a duck by the wing! This girl is crazy. The duck started flapping it wings like crazy, trying desperately to get away from this pint sized human. Lucky for the duck she let go and it quickly retreated to its fellow ducks. Unlucky for Naomi, the next duck she tried to "pet" wasn't so willing and gave her a quick nip to let her know that that was NOT going to happen twice... no skin was broke and she was fine as soon as I scooped her up in my arms. Never a dull moment!

At that point there is no place better than in the safety of Daddy's arms.

Most likely pondering if she'll pet the ducks again. I vote yes, she will try again.

No ducks were harmed in the making of this blog.

Bunnies!

How do I pet them?

Mikey was curious as to what they eat and then tried offer them anything he could find. He was very excited that the bunny anxiously hurried over when he offer a long piece of grass but once the bunny tasted it he wanted nothing to do with it. Bummer.

Mikey's favorite thinking spot.

The first time we came to the zoo Mikey found this rock, he was just a little over 2 yrs old. Now, every single time we go to the zoo he runs over to "his rock" and sits here and plays for a few minutes. No trip to the zoo is complete without a visit to "his rock".

Elk, poor guy has only half his antler.

Daddy trying to get this snapping turtle to make good on his name... no luck.

Afternoon play time!

Swinging, always a fun activity for a few minutes. It's rare that these kids want to swing longer than a couple minutes. Yet, they must swing at least a little bit or they aren't happy.

behind the wheel again!

Naomi is 11 months and...

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Walking!!!

Photos to come tomorrow.

We are so proud of you Babycakes!

Poland... Polska!

2011-09-06T10:55:00.037-05:00

And we're off... at the airport getting everything together to check in.

watching planes take off and land...

We made it, we're in Poland kids!

Mike and his cousin Marcin. The main purpose of the trip to

Poland was so Mike could be Marcin's daughters godfather.

The kids playing with their Pra-Babcia and Babcia

After a LONG day of travel play time is just what these kids needed.

So sweet...

Anytime these two fight I think I'll just pull out these photos

to remind them of how sweet they can be.

Mikey waiting for the service to start

Sweet little Iga slept through most of her baptism... a girls gotta sleep.

The kids and their Daddy at the lunch afterwards.

Naomi playing with her Dzia-Dzia

Krakow!

All the restuarants around the square have these beautiful "beer gardens" and I can only imagine what fun it would be to sit there and socialize, drink beer and eat delicious food.

The kids aren't exactly up for letting Mommy and Daddy rest much, if at all!

Too cool, huh!

Pra-Babcia learning how to play angry birds! ; )

Some very good friends of Mike's parents joined us for a drink and to catch up,

meet the children. They are such nice people...

they brought this stuffed dragon for Naomi and it's still a favorite with both kids.

Naomi loves the birds as much as Mikey did at her age...

Love , love, love the birds.

Now Mikey has graduated for a love of computer birds, aka angry birds.

Want a ride anyone.

Pra-Babcia loved pushing her great-granddaughter around in the stroller.

The time difference between WI and Poland is 7 hrs, which made for many rough nights. Mikey actually acclimated pretty quick. Naomi, however took about 5 nights. It was miserable, every night she would wake up from 1-4 am... the poor girl just couldn't sleep.

Still in Krakow...

Getting ready to take a horse ride to the Wawal Castle.

Pretty cool if I do say so...

Naomi really enjoyed it, she seemed to take in all the scenery.

Mikey was typical Mikey...

concerned about when he would get his next ice cream cone. Hehehe!

Kosciuszko, a polish & american hero.

Beautiful

Hungry and sassy

sweet and tired

These two are seriously two peas in a pod.

More food... more restaurants. My favorite part of travel.

Strike a pose baby girl.

Miedzybrodzie Zywieckie: The town where the

famous Michal Nawalany spent the first part of his childhood.

Mike's Dad helped build this place where are standing...

once again, pretty cool.

Naomi LOVES dogs... she's so giggly around them. We just need to teach her

that not all dogs are friendly to keep our little sweetness out of trouble.

Mikey took this picture... I love it!

another great photo... in my book anyhow.

Mike's childhood friends parents had us over.. what a beautiful night,

great food, better company. Thank you for your hospitality.

Baby-cakes wasn't feeling well this day...

Mike's friend Sebastian and his Dad

Later that night we drove back to Mike's cousins house and Mikey got to play with his 2nd or 3rd cousins ( I can't keep it straight). It was amazing, there was a language barrier but it didn't stop them one bit from having a great time together. Children are amazing.

Naomi and Iga even bonded and played together.

love it!

Iga loving on her god-daddy.

In Poland they do everything at an early age... drinking age is 18,

driving age... well in this case 10 months!

Peek-a-boo!

Warsaw!

A sign from a pierogi place we went to... yummy!

Mike's cousin and his wife, Anna, got us these super cool shirts. In Polish they say Mama is always right (so true) Daddy is always right (mostly true) Naomi's said born optimist and Mikey's said there's only one king (so so true)! They are awesome and so much fun!

Yummy pierogi's!

Going for a stroll.

Our first family bus ride...

It was freaking hot... but kinda neat. I'll keep my minivan.

I love you so much babe...

Being with you made my 33rd birthday special.

Heck, being with you makes everyday special.

We gave Mikey the camera while we were waiting for our food to arrive. Mikey took some very interesting pictures. I think it's super cool to see things from his perspective.

Yummm....

I really enjoyed walking around downtown Warsaw.. it was incredibly beautiful.

So Naomi got her very own ice cream cone. I got one to share with her and she kept pawing at it so I figured ahh why not? I'll give her the cone to hold. Well, that was the last I saw of it. She started getting pretty messy so I tried to take it from her to clean her up and did she ever cry some crocadile tears... needless to say she got the cone back.

All done!

Statue of the Little Insurgent: this statue commemorates the

children who lost their lives in the Warsaw Rising.

Our last morning in Poland some good friends drove over 2 hours to see us before we got on our flight back home. It was so nice to see them and so incredibly nice of them to drive all that way to see us for such a short time.

Heading home... 11 hour flight.

10 hours of angry birds...

Mikey taking more pictures...

The kids playing together in the aisles trying to do anything to keep sane.

After over 24 hrs of travel, 1 missed flight, 1 rental car and about 4 driver changes between Mike and I (we were beyond exhausted) we made it home.

Home sweet home!

Daddy's big race!

2011-08-24T08:30:00.005-05:00

Mike has fallen in love with biking. Mike has a tendency to get hooked on sports, not a bad thing to get hooked on. When we first meet and actually for the first 3 years or so he was all about soccer. He still loves soccer but I'd say it has fallen second to road biking. I know that when he's at work and dreaming about what he's going to do when he gets home, if he could do anything it would be go for a long bike ride. Well, that doesn't work so well when you have little ones and all day while you're at work, they are dreaming and longing for their Daddy to come home and play with them. I keep telling him to enjoy the fact that his kids actually want to play with him because before we know it they are going to prefer their friends to us and this time is going to be gone. Anyhow, I'm getting side tracked. Mike really wanted to do this bike race, the Dairyland Dare. So we made it happen. It was a lot of fun. We drove to Madison the night before and went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants so he could carb up.

The kids had no problem helping Daddy eat carbs...

this pasta was delicious!

After dinner we decided to go for a stroll around the Capitol

and a couple was kind enough to get a picture of us.

Naomi really enjoyed the scenery

The kids helped Daddy get ready for his big race the morning of...

Mikey even took this picture of Daddy before getting on his bike.

Let the race begin!

The the waiting part. Luckily we have really great friends that lived not too far away and we went to their house to eat some breakfast and let the kids play while Daddy got the majority of his bike race done. It took him a little over 3 hrs... we waited for about 30 minutes which probably felt like 3 hrs to the kids.

This blue stuff looks yummy!

Here he comes!

Yeah! Congrats Daddy!!!!

Another nice family took a pic for us.

We are so proud of you Daddy!

100K is no joke, I couldn't bike 62 miles.

Turning in his timing chip.

All cleaned up. Way to go Daddy!

Last weekend I ran the Madison Mini-marathon. Which is a half marathon, 13.1 miles. I don't have any pics as Daddy was on call so I didn't have a photographer. It was a lot of fun, even more work and it feels even better knowing that I can do something like that. This is what I hope we teach our kids. No matter how hard something is... if you really want it and work at it, you can do it! There is no better sense if accomplishment then setting a goal and making it happen. No pain, no gain.

Just in time

2011-08-10T08:57:00.004-05:00

We've spent the good majority of this summer at the pool, any pool really. I've been trying to get Mikey in as many swim lessons as possible and to reinforce what he's learning by going to the pool regularly. Can he swim? No. Is he much better than at the start of the summer? Yes. So is it a success, probably not. However, it is a step or stroke in the right direction. There are still a couple weeks left and we are supposed to go to the pool with friends today. Yet the temp has dropped... drastically. Yesterday we only made it to 71 and last night we got down to a whopping 50 degrees! As much as I love these temps, I really do... they just aren't conducive to playing in the pool. So, we'll see if he'll get in the water today or if our fun at the pool has ended for yet another year. Lucky for us there are a lot of great indoor pools around, it's just not the same though. At least we can continue on with our swim progress and hopefully be swimming like a champ by next summer.

We did go to a aquatic center last weekend, all 4 of us and what fun did we have. We were just in time as I think last weekend was probably the last really warm one we're going to see this year. So, lucky for us that we got that time because was it ever nice. The kids LOVED it and well, we really enjoyed having two happy kids! The pics are actually from when I went there a few days prior with a friend. Good times!!

A mid-day nap for our sweet baby.

A gorgeous rainbow to put the frosting on our day with Daddy

I want...

2011-08-08T13:53:00.002-05:00

to post some new pictures but my darn camera has a dead battery again!

(I'm beginning to think perhaps something is wrong with it)

The Birthday week

2011-07-25T08:57:00.012-05:00

We had a very nice and quiet b-day dinner with Daddy at a local restaurant, just the 4 of us.

We went to a Japanese restaurant and surprisingly Naomi wasn't bothered by the fire at all.

Friday evening we had some friends over to help us celebrate Daddy's b-day. For those of you who don't know, my husband has become an avid bike rider and if he's not at work he's scheming ways to sneak off and go for a bike ride. I really wanted to get him a cake with a bike on it and, of course, the bakery didn't have anything like that. So I got him this tractor cake as a bit of a joke but more so Mikey could play with the tractor and have a keepsake from Daddy's party. Well, I have decided that I'm going to attempt the next cake. That's right... no more store bought cakes. I can surely come up with something equally good if not better than this. Right?

Well, this was my cake I made for Smoochie...

it was yummy but not very kid friendly with espresso cream frosting

Happy 38th Birthday !!!!

He looks pretty freakin' awesome for 38 if I do say so myself. We love ya babe!

Yummy

Nothing will get these kids out of the water faster than cake.

This is great!

Naomi is our little frog. She loves water, she immediately starts kicking just like a frog, so darn cute I tell ya. It's just scary because she has to be watched at all times near water,

there is zero fear!

Unfortunately, Mikey was moving way to fast to catch a photo of him. Literally every photo I have of him is blurry because he was running and I didn't have the camera set right. : (

Mikey has been taking tennis lessons

These kids are so cute, and very talented.

Naomi watching big brother play some tennis

All in all it has been a great week... now we're are off to go to today's tennis lesson.

Happy summer all!

Happy Birthday my love, my hubby and Dad extraordinaire!

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Happy Birthday Smoochie, aka Daddy. I (we) love you more than words. I'm pretty sure you know this as you get a daily reminder of this when you walk in the door from work. These kids (and myself) are just so happy when you come home. Actually, when you're not here, there is always something missing. We just aren't complete without you. So, today I am extra thankful for you and I can't help but think back of our time together and just how we got to where we are today. What better way than to take a little photo journey back in time. I usually like to do these in chronological order but, today I want to look back from today to the beginning. These are just a few of the moments that make up our lives. I could have put so many more but I think these definitely convey the essence of us... more YOU. We love you and wish you the Happiest Birthday possible!

Go UW!

You've got to love a man that isn't afraid to wear his daughters hair clip.

Proud Daddy of two!

Meeting his daughter for the first time.

We waited so long and shed so many tears for this baby.

Was she ever worth the wait!

The last picture with Mikey before he had to go home to bed.

Naomi came too late in the night for big brother to wait up.

Yeah! I can ride a bike!

Daddy teaching Mikey how to ride a bike

My hubby loves me... he wanted to put the biggest American flag up in the

neighborhood to show me how much he loves me. I love you too.

Waiting for our daughter.

I just love a man that's not afraid to get dirty.

Lucky for me, neither of them are.

I do believe this was a first for all of us... meeting Pooh!

Finally, taking our son home from the hospital, just 17 days in the NICU!

Father and son.

Always my light. He tried to lighten my spirits in the scariest of days, my water broke 8 wks early and it could have been one of the worst moments of my life. Thanks for not letting it (me) get there. You really are my rock, or I like to think my soft spot... I know if I fall I'll always have a safe place to land if you're near.

Christmas 2006... our last one just the two of us.

Baby Mikey...

Good times, good friends.

The early days

My man.

I love you. We love you! Happy Birthday Smoochie!!!

Visitors!

2011-07-17T08:25:00.002-05:00

We have been so lucky around here. We had Babcia and Dzia-Dzia surprise us with an unexpected weekend visit. The kids (and us) really enjoyed getting to see them. Daddy has been working like crazy and it was nice to have a little extra help with the kids. The Grandparents always come armed with gifts (which we keep trying to tell ALL of them it's NOT necessary) which the kids enjoyed. Mikey really enjoys maps and asking where he lives, where Grandpa Mike lives, where Babcia lives, where Grandma Robin lives... well, you get the point. It's beyond amazing watching these kids grow up and their curiosity grow with them. So, this globe was a perfect choice for Mikey.

Peek-a-boo! (still a favorite game with Naomi)

Mikey also enjoyed playing doctor with Babcia and Dzia-Dzia...

who knows maybe he'll follow in Daddy's footsteps.

Cheese!

Grandma Robin came and spent a few days with us as well before she went off to her next job. Mikey enjoyed playing games with her and I enjoyed being able to go for my morning runs knowing the kids were in good hands.

This is a favorite game around here now, another favorite is Jenga and I must say Mikey is really good! The kid has some crazy steady hands.

After the Grandparents left we had our good friends from Madison with their two boys here for 3 days. It was really nice and I can honestly say that even at such a young age these kids are showing signs that they'll be friends for life. I suck though as I didn't get any pictures from their visit. My camera was dead and instead of charging the battery (which I still need to do) I just keep thinking about it. Yeah, I know. I'm going to get on that.

Anyhow, I'm really glad we had company when we did. Naomi came down with a 48 hr fever which made her so lethargic and sad. Just when she was getting better poor Mikey got it. He is starting to look better but still a low grade fever hanging around today. As if that wasn't enough, I woke up with pink eye again yesterday. What the heck!

The joys of being a Mom I guess. ; )

Fun in the sun!

2011-06-30T08:03:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit disappointed in myself. We spent 2 weeks in Florida and I have very few photos to show for our time there. Apparently I wasn't thinking. Note to self: don't ever do that again. The only redeeming part is the few pictures I did get are cute and capture the mood of the trip. Naomi went to the beach for the first time and her main objective (at 8 mos of age) was to eat sand! I expected this. Mikey had a blast spending his time playing in the sand, building sandcastles. Lucky for me Aunt Yvonne was there to help him (and me) as we had to keep Naomi out of the sand to keep minimal amounts of sand from entering her mouth. Thus requiring two adults. All in all we had a great trip, spent some quality time with the Grandparents and came back a few shade darker. Great success!

Changing times

2011-06-22T15:14:00.003-05:00

Let's just say that the baby proofing has ~~begun~~ got me freaking out. I left for vacation to Florida with a baby who was rolling but not very mobile by any means. I brought back a baby who is mobile! Let me tell you this girl is checking everything out. Which is good, no fantastic… just scary. I’m so nervous she’s going to hurt herself. We’ve put up a gate blocking the stairs to the basement and did all your standard baby proofing. However, the questions remains… is it enough? I’m adding to my daily prayers.

This video was taken at Grandpa’s house… of course Naomi crawled for the first time after Daddy had to leave to get back to work. Thank heavens for videos.

Busy as a bee

2011-06-01T22:01:00.005-05:00

I wanted to send out a picture of Naomi in her thank you notes for her baptism so I decided to try and take the photo myself. We had so much fun. I loved getting her to smile for me and she had the best time trying to eat her gown! That was all she was interested in... little stinker. Anyhow, the above picture is the one I sent to everyone.

I think for an amateur I did pretty good.

Besides, when your subject is this cute how can you really go wrong?

Let me tell you, you can't. I loved every single picture I got.

Even got this handsome little guy to sit for me. Lately, he refuses to let me take his picture. That's fine, it just means pretty much any photo we get is very candid.

Brotherly love

These two melt my heart.

Now: of to pack for Florida! Woo-hoo!!!!

Exploring

2011-05-14T06:55:00.003-05:00

Now that Naomi is on the move, she loves to get to this air vent. Her hair blows wildly and she giggles... it's really something to watch her explore with her new found freedom.

Hmmm, how does that happen?

Big brother is always right there to make sure she's not hurting herself. Mikey will call for me and ask if what she's doing is OK. Then once I say sure, she's fine he's right in there with her exploring. They are really funny.

Just to clarify~ Naomi is rolling and scooting, no crawling yet. She gets up on all four and rocks. I know it's right around the corner. She's plenty fast as she is right now though. Naomi has 3 teeth.. working on 4 and it seems as if nothing will slow her down.

Mikey is getting big and talking all the time. He loves school, so much so that I'm really sad for him that the school year is coming to an end. He's going to be so upset. I'm sure that our trip to Florida will help ease and post-school blues. We can't wait... just a few more weeks and we'll be at the beach and pool every day!!!

Fun in MN!

2011-05-10T10:07:00.004-05:00

We went to Mall of America this weekend, and as always it was fun!

I love this picture of them... what a riot!!!

Daddy got to relax with Naomi while she napped.

Mikey and I took this on our way to the Ferris wheel.

Lucky me... I'm such a nervous wreak that anytime the

poor kid even moved I kept reminding him to sit still.

I'm sitting still Mom...

What if I move just a little?

Ok, ok...

I guess I'll just nap if I can't move.

We took Mikey and Naomi on Naomi's first train ride

She seemed to get a kick out of it.

Actually she just likes doing anything big brother does.

It's really sweet.

A little downtime at home

Parallel play anyone?

Happy kids = Happy Mom!

catching up

2011-04-30T10:39:00.013-05:00

I can't keep up with posting lately. We are very busy with school, soccer and swim classes. So much so, that I think the only way to "catch up" is to do it with photos. This is what we've been up to. I've had the best time taking pictures of my family lately. There is nothing better than some beautiful pictures of your kids to brighten the day. At least for me...

HAPPY EASTER!

Birthday post amendment...

2011-04-19T15:10:00.003-05:00

I apologize that I didn't make any mention of the fact that Mikey's and Naomi's Grandma Robin and Great-Grandma Connie drove all the way up to Wisconsin from Florida so they could be here for Mikey's birthday and so Great-Grandma could meet Naomi. I've been so behind on getting things posted that the obvious was over looked! It was so nice and what a surprise.

Mikey genuinely loved seeing his Grandma's and having them here to share his birthday with. Thank you for making a very long drive to see us. We appreciate it more than you know. I think it's safe to say that Naomi really enjoyed her time with them too.

Baptism... our princess.

2011-04-16T09:26:00.018-05:00

April 2, 2011 Naomi Tamara was baptised

and what a baptism it was...

God Bless YOU Baby Girl!

We had Naomi's baptism in Toronto at the St. Stanislaw Catholic Church

These pictures crack me up. We don't have one photo where every one is looking at the camera and smiling. They are very candid... which is wonderful. Just like the day was. Wonderful.

Tommy (Naomi's Godfather), Kinga (Naomi's Godmother), the Priest, Naomi (attacking the flowers~ anything that pretty should be edible), Mom, Dad and Big brother Mikey.

Grandpa Mike, Grandma Robin, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Kinga, the Priest, Mommy & Naomi, Daddy & Mikey, Babcia Ania and Dzia-Dzia Andrew

Tommy & Naomi before the ceremony

Tommy and Yvonne helping me keep the kids occupied until things got moving.

The Grandparents patiently waiting. They sure clean up nice don't they?

At the reception after the baptism.

Every Princess needs to have at least one outfit change.

I tell you, no one makes this girl smile like her brother. NO ONE.

The trip wasn't just baptism, we got to enjoy Toronto

and the fantastic shopping, time with family and great food.

We got a lot of great pictures. Here we go!

Naomi helping Mama & Daddy shop for a new rug.

You're right Naomi, this rug is really soft... and cool to boot!

Nice, but not quite what we're looking for. Beautiful though.

A girl's gotta keep up with the internet...

Chillin' with big brother

Quality time with Dzia-Dzia

Is my food ready yet Mom?

This giraffe is only so good for so long.

Naomi and Aunt Kinga... meeting for the first time.

Good times.

Mikey is always better to look at than the camera!

My little guy... getting to be not so little.

Naomi loves to pick at the ties in this babies hair...

it keeps her occupied for a long time.

loving Daddy

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Robin enjoying some time with their Granddaughter.

Cheese!

My in-laws wanted to take my family to CN Tower to see the view and eat some fantastic food. Mikey fell asleep on the way there... he would NOT wake up. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he's been like this his whole life. He can sleep wherever and won't wake up being moved, changed... you name it. Crazy! Naomi... the exact opposite.

Lovin' my hubby

I miss my Dad... I wish we lived closer.

Yup, still sleeping... in the restaurant now.

What a view, huh?

Good times, great memories.

This was a great idea... we need to all get together more often.

Aunt Yvonne flew in for the occasion...

Thanks so much to everyone for making Naomi's baptism such a special day. Really and truly it was so special and will be something I carry in my heart always. We went above and beyond for her baptism but, why not? We waited a long time for this baby and I would give my kids the entire World if I could. It was a wonderful day that I can't wait to tell her all about when she gets older. Thanks again to my in-laws for hosting and all your help pulling it off. Thanks to my family and Yvonne for flying in to be there. Yvonne seriously went above and beyond to be there and it is so special to us. Thanks again everyone! We love you all.

Birthday... 4 years old!

2011-04-13T12:38:00.007-05:00

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE LITTLE BOY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

Okay, we've been busy. This is the first year (and I hope last) that it's taken me 2 weeks to get the birthday tribute posted. I feel horrible... Mama is very sorry. I hope the party made up for it. We had a party of all parties... at least we thought so. We had balloons, a bouncy house (in my living room), ice cream cake, cupcakes and most important of all about 20 of Mikey's friends over to help him celebrate! What a day. I think the morning after made it all worth it. Mikey comes up to me and says, "Mama, can we do that again today"?

It was Spiderman everything.

Spiderman ice cream cake and spiderman cupcakes.

I can't believe it, 4 years old.

The boys made this their lunch table... it was really cute. When I walked over to see what all the giggling was about, you'll never believe what happened. A friend of Mikey's says to me, "do you know what it means to pop you in the pills"? Followed by and eruption of laughter. Already?

This bouncy house took up my entire formal living room.

It was so worth it... it was super cool! After all the kids left Daddy, Mikey and I got in and bounced and played just the 3 of us. I must admit it, it was a lot of fun! Those fifteen or so minutes with my boys were by far the best of the entire day. At least for me.

Naomi can party with the best. Naomi would not close her eyes until ALL the kids left.

This baby doesn't want to miss a thing.

Enjoying some time with Bea, watching the big kids bounce.

What party would be complete without a pinata?

Apparently not ours! This was one of Mikey's requests, a pinata.

The kid's onto something. It was a blast!

Claire taking a whack at it.

Isabel...

The birthday boy!!!

What a day and what a phenomenal 4 years. Mikey you have turned our World upside down and right side up. Wow! You are one of the sweetest little guys, you blow us away daily. I'll never forget the day your sister was born. Of course you were so excited to meet her but you were so gentle. As you left the room for the first time you gave her a kiss and said, "good-bye sweetheart". You melt my heart again and again. To this day you still call her sweetheart and there is just something so special about it. It's not a name anyone else calls her... it's your thing. It's just another example of how sweet you can be.

You have a huge heart and truly enjoy helping others. If I need your help making your sister happy so I can finish cooking dinner, you do it with pride. No one can make her giggle like you. You really enjoy helping us from helping Mama clear the dinner dishes to helping Daddy pull weeds or wash the car. It truly makes you glow to help others. Sure you can be more stubborn than an ox but your charm makes up for that. It's just amazing to watch you grow up. I know you are going to do something amazing with your life. You have charm, you're charismatic, witty and determined. It's a combination that will only lead to great things. We love you so much and are so proud of you. Happy Birthday Love!

Beautiful

2011-03-21T13:29:00.001-05:00

It's beautiful to see how much these kids love each other already.

Oh my love

2011-03-14T16:39:00.004-05:00

This is how I find Naomi after every nap... all smiles!

This is the first thing Naomi does when she's on the changing table,

try and get those toes in her mouth.

This is the second thing she does on the changing table,

when all else fails put the curtain in your mouth.

Mikey knows that winter is coming to an end and he's excited for spring. Yet, he's been having so much fun playing in the snow lately. I guess it's more fun when you know it's only gonna be around a little while longer.

Fun!

Nothing like your Daddy to keep you warm.

Our family... my loves.

Creating

2011-03-12T09:39:00.002-06:00

Finally! Mikey has been wanting to build a snowman ALL winter.

Finally, the snow was just right for their snowman.

I think you guys did great!

I didn't do to bad myself... zucchini quiche. Yum!

Birthdays

2011-03-08T15:37:00.009-06:00

Birthdays seem to be on our minds today. Today is Tamara's b-day. Tamara is my late sister-in-law. I was not fortunate enough to get to meet her. Tamara is also who we named Naomi Tamara after. I must admit, I often think of how nice it would be to have her around. I never had a sister and it would have been so nice to have a relationship with her. I know my husband misses his sister so much. How could you not? I love the stories I hear about her. She was one of those people that draw other people in... a magnetic personality. Everyone loved her. I've never blogged about her before as for fear of getting something wrong or hurting someone. So, I hope I don't do either. I can say for sure, that 39 years ago today a beautiful soul entered the lives of our family and today she still lives on in our hearts, even those hearts she didn't meet in person she remains a very big part of. We love you and miss you.

Happy Birthday Aunt Tamara!

5 months ago today... can you believe it? I can't!

Naomi has figured rolling out. She can roll from side to side... with great speed. She also can sit up on her own, that is until something catches her attention. Then she forgets what she's doing and she's like the leaning tower of pisa. At least she's catching herself with her elbows. She has also discovered her feet and spends a great deal of time trying to get her toes in her mouth. It's the cutest thing to watch. Crawling... no not yet. She still needs to work on her upper body strength. When on her tummy she gets her butt up in the air and pushes, thus scooting herself forward. Ultimately not very affective however as her little face ends up red and usually covered in drool. Thus a very unhappy and annoyed baby girl.

Playing with the camera is always fun for Mama.

Got it! Apparently Naomi wants to dabble in photography as well.

Birthdays. It seems to be the topic of choice for Mikey. All he can talk about is his upcoming b-day party he wants to have. Of course he's going to have a party... once he decides what kind of theme that is. One moment it's spiderman themed and the next it's pirate themed. When I ask if he wants both he says no. Well, that's a start I guess. We are going to Toronto the week of his b-day for Naomi's baptism so we decided it would be nice to have a b-day party for Mikey before we go so he can have something that is just his. A day all about Mikey, where he can have all his friends over and just have fun. And a spiderman cake too! (That much he knows for sure, we must have a spiderman cake)

Feeding... well let's just say I back tracked and stopped feeding her anything for a while. I don't know why I keep second guessing myself. I think I'm afraid she'll be a picky eater like her brother. Ultimately after thinking about it way too much I really feel that I did not make him a picky eater. Daddy was a picky eater. I was a picky eater. Am I surprised Mikey is a picky eater? No. He had me fooled though. As a baby I started with baby food and quickly switched over to giving him soft food he could gum off our plates. He ate fantastic! I mean this kid would eat anything I put in front of him. I remember bragging to other Mom friends of mine how lucky we were that Mikey was such a great eater. Then, he turned 2. It seemed that day by day, week by week he started refusing to eat things one by one. Now his diet is very limited. It's very frustrating. He is very hard to feed. So of course you want to try and prevent this if at all possible. I just don't think I'm buying it that you can.

Anyhow, I've started feeding her pureed food. I'm making her baby food. I love it and so far she loves it. If I give her some jar baby food, it's a chore to get her to eat. If I give her the baby food I made, she gobbles it up. This week she's eating butternut squash I made for her. I think it's her favorite. It is delish and it's beautiful too.

Yum!

Happy eating everyone... picky eaters and all.

For Babcia Ania

2011-02-21T09:29:00.006-06:00

These two are the sweetest, snuggliest little creatures.

Snuggle/ snuggly:

verb

(usually intr; usually foll by down, up, or together) to nestle into or draw close to (somebody or something) for warmth or from affection

noun

the act of snuggling

snuggle

vi to snuggle up to sb przytulać się (przytulić się perf ) do kogoś to snuggle down (in bed) opatulać się (opatulić się perf ) kołdrą

Don't you just want to snuggle them!

Again!

2011-02-17T07:13:00.008-06:00

Thank you Smooch for my beautiful tulips. I love them! I must admit that when I'm covered in throw up and snot and feel just absolutely gross.. these catch my eye and brighten my day.

So we were healthy for about 3 days and then we were hit again! I swear we can not win around here. It's been a very rough season for colds, stomach flu, and just plain yuckiness. You name it, we've had it. I'm constantly picking up tissues and reminding Mikey to cover his mouth when he sneezes and coughs. Mikey has been home from school all week and I have no intention of sending him back until next week. Mikey has it BAD. On Tuesday his fever reached a record high of 105.5! That was freakin' scary. Lucky for Daddy he got home just in time to help me clean up the mess from Mikey throwing up due to his HIGH temp. Daddy has a knack for showing up just when I need him the most. I don't know what I'd do without him. Mikey appears to be on the mend now. We are mostly wiping runny noses with a lingering cough.

No matter how many times I pick up tissues... they magically pile up again.

Poor Naomi has become a casualty of Mikey's sickness. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried to shield her from his germs it seems the germs got their way. I'm praying that she will not get it as bad as her brother. I'll freak out. I'm watching her like a hawk and giving her lots of love. It's the worst when your sweet little baby gets sick. It's bad when the older child gets it but you can talk to him and he can express how he feels. The baby isn't able to communicate how she feels so it's so difficult.... and heart breaking.

Mikey would not let me take his picture. This is the best we're gonna get.

On another note: Naomi started eating cereal last week. I wasn't going to start her on solids yet but she started nursing every 2 hours. I couldn't tell if she was doing so because I had the stomach flu and my milk took a hit or if she was just still hungry. Either way... she was still hungry so we started cereal. At first she didn't seem to like it too much but now she seems to really like it. I've introduced apples and sweet potatoes as well. Her favorite is still just plain rice cereal and breast milk.

sweet potatoes...

My fingers are definitely the best!

Last weekend (before sickness erupted) we spent time with our good friends.

Mikey's all time best bud, Joe-Joe.

Fun!

Sick = fun?

2011-02-03T08:08:00.005-06:00

So, my poor children have had the stomach bug for what seems like again and again. Well this means that we spend a lot of time indoors finding ways to pass time until we have the energy to conquer the outside World again. There has been a lot of play time which is fun even when you are sick.

There is a ferocious black beast that has come to take over... with an even more ferocious appetite.

Never fear, the green dragon will save the day. All the animals jump on the dragons back for a lifesaving flight just in time from the black beast!

Come on mouse, jump on, QUICK!

It's the mighty mouse and toothless up against once good, now turned evil green dragon ...

who will win?

Endless hours of fun, just what the doctor ordered when your tummy is in knots.

Most of you (actually probably anyone who checks my blog regularly) knows what I went through to have this beautiful baby. I had surgery Dec 2009 at the Wisconsin Fertility Institute, which is the reason we are blessed with this sweet baby. Anyhow, I sent the doctors that performed the surgery a birth announcement and a heartfelt thank you note. Yet a thank you note just doesn't seem to do it for the gift of a healthy pregnancy and a healthy, happy baby. Does it? They responded with this onesie that Naomi is wearing and asked if they could put her on their website. Of course, we didn't have to think twice about that. So I put her in it with a cute little skirt and we took some pictures for them. What fun! These are just a few of the images and I thought it would be fun to share. I will put the link to the website up once Naomi is on it. In the meantime, I have to mail the release form before they can do anything.

She's so much fun!

I could NOT have asked for a happier, sweeter baby than her.

Thank you Dr. Pritts and Dr. Olive.

The two of you will forever have a place in my heart.

What's different?

2011-01-29T09:22:00.004-06:00

Naomi got her ears pierced. I thought about this for a long time. I mean a long time, way before I ever knew I was going to have a little girl. I read all sorts of forums and asked the opinions of other Moms out there. I had my mind made up that she was going to get her ears pierced... and then I held her in my arms for the first time. This really screwed things up. The idea of piercing this beautiful little babies ears all of the sudden seemed like something I could NOT do. How could I hurt my little baby?

So, pretty much since her birth I had changed my mind. There was no way I could do it. Yet, there was one slight problem. Every single time I saw a little baby with her ears pierced I just loved it! So I would ask the Mom how it went and would she do it again. Do you know what? I got the same answer from all of them. A resounding, yes! Yes, they would do it again and they are really happy with it. When I asked Moms who waited until their daughters were older (almost all) said they wished they had done it when their daughter was smaller. The problem is when you wait until the child is older the child will mess with it and it inevitably gets infected. I'm not saying that this will happen all the time, it's just what I have personally been told by friends (other Moms who I trust and I know love their children as much as I love mine). So I made the choice for my daughter and I hope she will thank me when she gets older. Who knows... she could decide she hates them and decide not to wear earrings. If she does, it won't hurt her one bit to take them out and simply not wear them. If she does like them, well she can give me a big kiss and say, thanks Mom... that didn't hurt a bit (at least not that I can remember).

Did she cry? Yes she did, for a minute.

Did her brother cry (when he saw his sister cry)? Yes he did, for a minute.

Did I cry? Yes I did, for a minute.

Then I gave both my kids a big hug and an even bigger kiss.

Would I do it again? Yes.

Brrrr...

2011-01-24T09:36:00.007-06:00

The weather has been downright cold here this winter. This fall I was out shopping and ran into a local farmer who told me that we were going to have a very cold, very long winter. I thought, ok we'll see. Well, he was right. This is my 4th winter in Wisconsin and it has been by far the coldest and snowiest. When it's -20 out with a windchill of 36 below you just have to find ways to pass time indoors. That is exactly what my kids have been doing. Mikey loves his leapfrog game and I love it because he is actually learning things, like his letters and numbers. Which is fantastic. Naomi is working on mastering how to work those beautiful little hands of hers. She is always reaching and trying to grab at everything lately. It's just fun to watch her.

Thank you for this soft and beautiful jumper Babcia.

Naomi not only looks great in it, it's super comfy soft cotton.

On the thank you list is a big thank you to my dear friend Becca. Last weekend we received a package in the mail from Omaha. It was filled with some super cute clothes for Naomi and some art supplies for Mikey, which is also helpful when you are spending as much time indoors as we are. I realized that if I didn't get Naomi in this adorable little number than she would never have the chance to wear it as it's going to be too small very soon. In an effort to get some cute pictures I thought this outfit was perfect. It's so, so cute! So I turned the heat up, put out a soft blanket and turned the camera on.

Playing with big brother.

Cheese!

Looking at big brother, which is her favorite thing to do. Naomi tracks Mikey all around the room. She loves to watch him... who can blame her, he's very entertaining.

Daddy love.

Mama love.

When life gives you snow,

2011-01-17T12:16:00.006-06:00

make snow ice cream!

It's been snowing like crazy here, so what better way to make use of ALL this snow. It was my first time making this and it sure is yummy! I think it will be a new tradition. Just a little milk, vanilla, sugar and of course snow and you're set. Delicious!

Can I have some now Mom?

Dig in!!!

We took a family trip to Minneapolis this weekend. It was a great trip. The kids were very good for the 3 hours each way. We had some wonderful food (man I miss restaurants... Marshfield lacks in that area). We stayed at a nice hotel and got some good old family snuggling in.

The Mall of America!

Naomi had a great time watching everyone and everything at the Mall of America.

I can already tell we're gonna be great shopping buddies.

Mikey rode every single ride... and did he ever have fun.

He slept in his room all night that night for the first time in a VERY LONG TIME.

The fly boat!

I thought for sure some of these rides would scare him (like they used to).

I guess he 's growing up because nothing scared him this time.

Bumper cars with Daddy...

Good times.

Happy 3 months!

2011-01-08T18:54:00.002-06:00

Naomi and her giraffe Sophie... she's been consumed with trying to hold onto Sophie and chew on her. I do believe her first tooth is in the near future. Crazy, I can't believe that 3 months ago today she came into our lives. She is really and truly as sweet as they come.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-05T18:44:00.006-06:00

We all went on a horse drawn sleigh ride and it was a magical X-Mas Eve!

Mikey's class had a play called The first Christmas and he was a King

and Naomi guest starred as baby Jesus.

Happy New Year!

Snow storm

2010-12-12T08:44:00.005-06:00

So I don't know the exact total from yesterday but, I would say we got at least 20 inches yesterday. This is the view of the balcony on our upper lever. I've never seen snow accumulate on our balcony like this. Just to give it perspective, look at the next 2 pics.

Mikey and I tried our hardest to go out and play yesterday but the winds were pretty strong (35 mph wind gusts) resulting in quickly coming back inside. At least we have enough snow to go sledding now!!!

Naomi is 24 inches so you do the math. The poor girl would sink out there. Actually, that reminds me of a funny thing Mikey sad to me yesterday. We were tired of being stuck inside all day and I was missing an ingredient for dinner so I bundled Mikey up and we went on an adventure to the grocery store. Luckily, my car is 4WD because cars were getting stuck everywhere... but we weren't. Anyhow, on the way home I asked Mikey what he thought of our adventure driving in so much snow and he said, "it feels like we're sinking Mama". Funny guy.

At Naomi's doctors appointment I was told that I could go ahead and try to put her in her bouncer as this little girl is sooo tall. So, I took it out and cleaned it up. That was a project. After 3 yrs in storage this thing was nasty.

I didn't get a picture unfortunately but, Mikey of course had to try and climb in it. That was a sight to see. Although he had to have some emotions surface when he saw this. I think this was one of his all time favorite ways to spend time when he was little. He LOVED this thing.

Naomi looked like she enjoyed checking things out, she certainly didn't fuss at all.

A little help from Grandma is always welcome.

Look at those feet touching already!

Lovin' my baby-cakes.

2 months

2010-12-09T14:48:00.009-06:00

Happy 2 months!

14 lbs and 24 inches of pure love.

Naomi got her first set of vaccinations yesterday.

I was too tired yesterday evening to post, sorry everyone.

A nice warm bath is always in order after getting shots. Although she sure doesn't look like a baby that just received 3 shots, does she? That a girl!

Pictures from our trip to Madison:

This was the first time I put her in a dress. Mikey wanted his picture with his sister.
Mikey said, "she looks beautiful Mama"!

I think you're right son, she is beautiful.

Beautiful and smiley.

Isn't it amazing how tiny she is.

Tracking Mama. She watches my every move.
I better be very careful what I do. ;-)

Love you baby girl!

For the Grandparents

2010-11-23T09:25:00.006-06:00

SNOW!

Mother and son

love

Naomi has outgrown the baby tub already and Daddy doesn't like the idea of giving his little girl a bath in the kitchen sink. So, the start of bathing with big brother (and many backaches).

Father and daughter...

these pictures make me miss my Dad.

Just look at those beautiful chubby little legs! I love it!

Big brother is always admiring little sister. (And asking when she's gonna wake up) ;-)

Sibling love

2010-11-19T12:56:00.005-06:00

6 weeks ago today you entered our World

As I type right now, you sit in my arms staring at me with your beautiful blue eyes. Naomi is the perfect second child. All day long Naomi is quiet and patiently waits while I tend to Mikey. The moment Mikey closes his eyes for the day she makes sure we know she is here. That seems to be when she is happiest and the fussiest... borderline colicky. Naomi is either cooing and saying her a-goo's or crying from about 8:30 til 10:30-11. Mostly crying, which has made me cut out dairy to see if that could help. I think she's been better, not as fussy... but still her fussiest time of day by far. All I know is, I miss my cows milk. I'm thinking (hoping) it's not the culprit as she has still been fussy in the pm. Oh the joys of parenthood. Besides, all the smiles we've been getting from our little girl make it worth any amount of tears shed. It has been getting better so hopefully she's growing out of it. Fingers crossed.

Big brother love

playing with little sis

Mikey has become our growling boy. He growls and roars.... and it drives me bonkers. At first it wasn't so bad but it's gotten to the point where he is actually going to time out for too much growling. We are trying to teach him to use his words to express himself. Everyone keeps telling me that by the time he's 4 it will get better. I hope so... but I know that by the time he's 4 he'll have sat on time out so many times for growling that it won't have much to do with age, as fear of time out again. Once again, the joys of parenthood.

Hi there sister!

My blue-eyed beauties.

Speaking of which Mikey thinks it's so cool that Naomi, him and Daddy all have blue eyes. However, he's very confused as to why Mommy has a different color eyes. Now that's a fun one to explain. ;-)

1 month old

2010-11-08T12:56:00.005-06:00

Naomi, 1 month old

Big brother, Mikey, 1 month old

I can't belive it. A month already, really?

I can't take my eyes off of you, you're just amazing.

Our world is brighter with you in it. Having a baby makes you fall in love with everything.

It's simply wonderful.

Just for fun... some of the MANY Naomi faces:

Huh?

Really... I do need more kisses.

This is one of my favorite faces she makes... a little blue steel?

The most beautiful smile, she makes the world brighter.

Naomi and Grandma Robin

The kiddos

Good snuggling with Daddy

A little snooze with Grandpa Mike

The first bath, all the better with your big brothers help.

The day we brought you home.

Meeting Babcia Ania for the first time

Naomi, Dzia-dzia Diesel and the dashing Mikey.

I love....

2010-10-21T11:45:00.002-05:00

Me too!

(in response to her shirt)

Naomi~ you have the coolest hair! Mommy is a little envious. ; )

The start of many wonderful memories for these two.

Even big brothers need a nap now and then.

Man I LOVE these two!!!

2010-10-19T15:53:00.002-05:00

Our beautiful daughter.

We all love, love, LOVE you!

Look Mommy, she's smaller than the pumkin!

Mikey loves his little Naomi so much. It's so wonderful to see him in the role as a big brother. Mikey is always concerned where she is and what she's doing. He wants to constantly check on her. I'm so thankful she can sleep through him always kissing and hugging her.

Naomi is one loved little girl, Mikey makes sure of that.

1 week

2010-10-15T22:08:00.003-05:00

1 (beautiful & amazing) week old

1 very proud big brother and his baby sister

Welcome Naomi

2010-10-10T14:46:00.003-05:00

October 8, 2010 at 12:23 am

7 lbs, 14.9 oz

19.5 inches

We love you so much already

Big brother, Mikey, can't stop giving you kisses and calling you Sweetheart.

You are calm and quiet and steal our hearts with each little smile.

Yes, you smile already... you are simply amazing.

You make all our lives better with your grace.

Hayride

2010-09-30T11:28:00.007-05:00

Watch out! Mikey's driving.
Mommy and Spiderman

Boys just know how to have fun

Silly guys

Mommas and sons

hold up... time for a pit stop!

look at that sky, nature is just amazing.

Every kid should get to go on a hayride like this.

It was so much fun!

Mikey's daycare lady, Terri and her husband Todd, organized this event. It was so much fun and we can't wait to go again next year. This is the crew of Mikey's friends.

9 Months pregnant and Mikey's 3 1/2 years old today

2010-09-23T11:38:00.011-05:00

36 weeks... 9 months!!!

I can't believe it. I'm 9 months pregnant. I've never been 9 months pregnant before. When pregnant with Mikey I had him at 8 months, 6 days. After that ordeal, him being in the NICU and everything else to goes with having a preemie I just prayed for a full term pregnancy. Well, I can now tell you that I am aware of the fact that I wasn't missing out on too much. My body aches and doing the simplest of things (getting out of bed for an ex) is extremely difficult. Although I may feel like a whale, I must say it is such a relief to know that from this point on the chance of my daughter having the same fate as my son is slim. Thank goodness! So every time I feel like complaining (which is a lot) I remind myself how lucky and blessed I am that I've been able to carry her thus far. Now, I just can't wait to meet her and look into her beautiful little eyes to tell her, face to face, just how much I love her (and cover her with kisses of course)!

Things have been busy around our house. We've been so lucky to have Babcia Ania come visit for a weekend to share in my baby shower. I currently have Grandma Robin staying here to help me with Mikey in my last month of pregnancy. We also had the pleasure of having Mikey's Godmama Yvonne visit for a few days. It's been busy but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good times as a local Japanese restaurant.

It may not look like it by the covered ears but, Mikey loved watching the guy create fire volcanoes out of onions and any other fire the guy could create.

Playing with Auntie Yvonne

The three amigos.... soon to be four.

Mikey got his first pair of Adidas shoes.

He walks around saying he's wearing his Daddy shoes.

I think Mikey would sleep in them if we would let him. He LOVES his shoes!

A few weeks ago we went to the Marshfield Fair. The boys had to ride the bumper cars (of course). What is it with boys and crashing into things? I don't get it but did they ever have fun.

Just look at those faces... love it!

Go Daddy, go!

Mr. Conductor

Mikey rode this same train last year and loved it just as much this year. I have a feeling that by next year he's going to want to ride the big boy rides instead.

Mikey and Daddy watching the tractor races. Yup, I said tractor.

Remember we're in central Wisconsin.

You know you're in Marshfield when...

you see skunk fur hanging out of someones pocket.

A fair would not be complete without the petting zoo.

Mikey had so much fun feeding the animals.

Anyone know what animal this is?

An otter.

So freaking cute. Poor little guy wore himself out going

around and around in his little pool and needed a nap.

Filling the cows tummy and giving him some lovin'.

Goats, hungry goats.

Love my little guy

Some good old morning snuggling.

Mikey is beyond excited for Halloween this year. He asks everyday, "is it Halloween yet Mama"? No, I'm sorry honey... not yet. Well then, we must get dressed in our costume to make sure everything is perfect so when Halloween arrives we are ready to go!

This is one excited skeleton!

Boo!

Even Daddy's getting prepared for some good old trick or treating.

1st day of pre-school

2010-08-30T08:18:00.007-05:00

A glimpse into the future... I had to wake him up so we could get him there on time.

Pre-school starts at 7:45 and this is him blissfully content in slumber land at 6:30.

I took one for the team here.
It's important to start your day with breakfast and a big hug.

Heading out the door, Mikey was definitely nervous. Our child is a creature of habit and this is a new thing. Once he gets used to this he will love it. I'm sure.

Walking into school.

Daddy took the morning off so he could be there for Mikey's first day of pre-school. Unfortunately, he ended up being the photographer. When I got home to look at the pictures I realized that we didn't get any Daddy and son pictures. I'm so sorry. I should have grabbed the camera from Daddy.

So it's teddy bear week at Mikey's school where the kids bring their teddy bear with them. Mikey does not have a teddy bear that he likes so he brought Goofy (and seal of course, who has been going everywhere with us lately).

Mommy explaining that I will be back. I always come back.

Mikey checking in to his classroom.

One last picture outside of school.

So, Mikey did have a meltdown. Mikey held onto our legs and when we took his little hands off our legs so walk out, he came chasing behind us. Luckily, there was another teacher there who was able to take him back (sobbing) into his classroom. Once I got outside I realized that I had left my purse (I am extremely forgetful while pregnant... it's bad) inside Mikey's classroom. I got lucky and another Mom saw me standing at a distance outside Mikey's classroom and was able to retrieve my purse for me without Mikey seeing me. In the 2 minutes we were gone Mikey had stopped crying. Thank heavens. I hope that when I pick him up he will tell me that he had fun. I'm optimistic that he will.

Pre-school has not been the only "first" thing to happen around here.

Mikey learned to ride his big boy bike this weekend!

(The pictures are in reverse order, sorry)

Moments like these are what I hope to never forget.

It's just so amazing and scary how fast kids grow up.

The look of shear joy.

This is determination. His little muscles are memorizing this motion they must make to turn the wheels of the bike. Once this happens, the joy of bike riding has begun. I believe he's about there. Yesterday evening we went out back and he went around and around in circles on the tennis court with the biggest most beautiful smile on his face.

You can do it!

OK I got this, you just push your feet in a circular motion and off you go. Pretty cool!

Daddy giving him that first push. Sending Mikey forward, feeling the breeze on his face and feeling the power of his bike.

We've had so many beautiful moments around this house lately. The kind where you stop and say to yourself, "please don't forget this image and feeling". I know I'm very emotional from all the pregnancy hormones but I just feel so much love for these two people that make my life so wonderful and complete. I want to say thank you to my parents as I know I wouldn't truly appreciate all these moments with my husband and child like I do if you two hadn't taught to love like l do.

30th week

2010-08-17T12:12:00.005-05:00

Feeling good!

30 weeks, 5 days

My baby girl is getting so big and I'm getting big right along with her.

I must say that with this pregnancy I feel as though this is how it should have been with my sweet little Mikey. This pregnancy is showing me that pregnancy can truly be a wonderful thing.

Mommy and big brother to be.
Mikey is so excited. He is always giving her kisses and telling her that he loves her....
he is going to be a fantastic big brother.

I am so blessed.

Mikey, the puppy sitter extaordinaire:

We are watching little Cleo for the day and Mikey is loving every minute of it. We went for a walk and while he was holding her leash he was saying to her, "it's ok sweetie, it's ok".

Princess Cleo

Pouting Misiu... I still won't let him on the couch even though I let her.

(She is a guest after all) I'm so unfair, I know. Whatcha gonna do.