Good times in Florida

(Naomi pointing to the birds, Mikey making his move for the sand and Grandpa all bundled up)

In the start of February I packed up the kids and we were off to visit my side of the family in Florida. The kids hadn't seen Grandpa Mike since Naomi's birthday in October and poor Nancy hadn't seen them since Naomi was born. We were lucky that Grandma Robin and Great-Grandma Connie were able to come to Jax and spend the last few days with us. Plus, we were surprised by a visit from Uncle Stu, Aunt Tanya, Maximus and Apolonia! I still can't believe they drove all the way up to Jax to spend an evening with us, it was a treat. Living up here in Wisconsin is wonderful but we are missing out on seeing family on a regular basis. I think we made the right decision to go to Florida, it was a lot of work traveling with the kids by myself. We survived and they were truly terrific.

This is great! It's even better for throwing!!

I love the expression on Michal's face, hands on his hips... Mr. Mom. ;-)

Aren't they sweet?

The two were holding hands and my heart melted...

Home sweet home. Cool kids.

On another note, I should have posted this a while ago but things have been down right crazy here. Poor Daddy fractured a rib at hockey almost two weeks ago. It has made for interesting times around here. It was the first time I ever had to take care of him, I realized he's the one always taking care of me. It was strange but nice (taking care of him)... and busy. I say was as even though there is not much you can do for a fractured rib, other than rest, Mike is not doing much resting. He only took one day off work, which I think is crazy as he is still coming home in a good bit of pain on a daily basis. I tell you nothing will keep that man down. Anyhow, we are all sick of this crazy winter and looking forward to spring. Michal is super excited for his birthday and is busy planning his party, which the plans change hourly. I haven't started planning yet as he can't make up his mind... poor kid. Naomi is into everything. Naomi is a very busy girl and she takes 100% of my attention when she is awake. Lucky for me she sleeps beautifully all through the night... so do I.

The perks...

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!

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

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...

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

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!