Christmas Crafts

The big kids brought home crafts they did in school over the past few days. Sam's tree wasn't much of a surprise since I helped her class paint them. It was fun being at school to participate in her activities.

Seth made a gingerbread house which didn't last very long. The kids started eating it for breakfast the very next day.

I wish I was more crafty so we could do fun stuff like this at home. I'm sure a quick stop at Michaels would be a great starting point.

Googly Eyes

With Jenna and her kids living with us (since September, in case I don't catch up on my blogs) we have two elves. Harley returned and Cupcake joined our house to report back on Jenna's kids.

Harley put googly eyes on pictures of Seth, Sam and Adelynn. Noah escaped the silly eyes since his picture hasn't joined our wall yet. 

Cheyann, Mason and Zoey (Big Addy) didn't have pictures up so Cupcake did the next best thing. She put the eyes on their forehead. It was quite comical seeing the kids reaction.

Pie Times

It's time for our annual Cub Scout Pack Holiday Potluck. What else does that mean? It's Pie Time!

Each den's top seller earns a chance to pie one of the leaders. Seth has an advantage because he's the only scout in his den. All of the kids love to go after Matt because of his long beard. 

A few new faces were welcomed, like Luke and Rob

Mary has avoided being hit with pie by using the girl card. No luck this time thanks to Seth and the following of other scouts who pulled her to center stage.

Last but not least was Brian. Seth got him last year and had a little follow through on his contact. Now a different scout picked him and yet again, he was provided an additional push as the scout wanted to ensure he did a good job.

Look Who's Two

Two Years has passed since Adelynn June was born. She has grown so much and is so bright for her age. Potty training hasn't been a success yet, although I'm sure it doesn't help that we aren't always diligent on reminding her about sitting on the potty.

Her vocabulary is pretty impressive and quite easy to understand. She repeats a lot of sentences that she hears others say. She loves doing FaceTime with her grandparents.

She likes to do puzzles, read books, help cook, make messes and snuggle with her brothers and sister.

She scores!!

Sam had her first game today. She played The Lakers from Prior Lake. During warm-ups Sam skated up to the boards to wave to me. As she turned away it dawned on me. She stopped... Without hitting the boards. I shared the news with Linda in excitement. That wasn't all. She was skating backwards, and kept up with the team when they took off forward. I wanted to run out there, pick her up and twirl her around. She did it!

The game was a good one. Our team has a handful of things to work on but all in all it was a great game. Score isvr kept at this age and they only play half rink due to their size. I believe it ended somewhere around 5-9, Lakers. Sam even scored a goal for her team. I can't wait to watch many more of her games. At time time she said she's done with Girl Scouts and The Randolph Dance Team. She just wants to play hockey.

I am so proud of my #7!

Kickin' It

Sam joined the Randolph Danceline team this fall. Parents aren't allowed to watch the team's weekly practices so we wait three months to see the final show. Tonight Sam performed at halftime of the Varsity Basketball game. She had such a big smile on her face during the performance. A lot of the girls still relied on ques from the coach but overall did pretty good.

Movie Night

Tonight we met up with Sommer abs her family to watch Disney's movie Frozen. Afterwards we hung out at the Mall of America to watch the "spectacular" light show. Ya, it wasn't spectacular. We brought Jenna's daughter, Adelynn, and left Noah home with Jenna. Our Addy, or "Little Addie" as she is called, sat there and watched her first movie in the theatre  while munching on popcorn. We'll be bringing her back again.

You can always tell when the kids had a fun night. It's when they all pass out on the way home.  

Half a Year

Six months ago today I had my last baby. Noah is getting so big, so fast. He just started rolling over yesterday but doesn't quite have rolling back to his back or rolling over his right shoulder-just his left.

His favorite thing right now is his noisy exersaucer and his Johnny Jump Up. He's drinking 6 ounces of formula at a time. He is definitely a snacker and doesn't finish his bottle in one or two shots.  Noah sleeps 10-12 hours at night, naps often throughout the day and still favors his nuk.

Noah laughs when he is tickled anywhere but especially on his neck. He jibbers to anyone who will listen. 

Overall he is a happy and mellow baby boy. We all adore him. It looks like he might be our one brown hair and brown eye boy. I can't wait to see where he lands.

All was quiet

...and this was why. 

"Baby Noah Bounce"

Noah loves his jumper. He spins around to play with the toys but usually ends up facing the teething ring. Adelynn walks up and encourages him to make more noise by bouncing some more. She laughs, he laughs and we wait until he finishes his bouncing to continue talking.

Try Hockey for Free

This is the second Try Hockey for Free event Sam has attended and once again she loved it. 

I grew up at the hockey rink and always enjoyed going. Granted my home rink had two sheets of ice and lots of things to keep myself busy in comparison to the Northfield rink, which has one sheet and not much to do besides watch the players.

Sam's friend JoHanna plays all the time and Sam would go with to watch. She loaded up on extra equipment that they had around. Big cost savings there. Since hockey associations are always trying to recruit more players, they practically gave it away free to us. Can't beat that.

She practices most Saturday and Sundays. Mondays are 3 on 3 plays to put to use the skills they learn, Tuesdays are dry-land nights where they practice off the ice and Wednesdays are on & off practices too. Hockey is a big commitment but if this is what she wants to try, I'm not going to stand in her way. She even opted to sacrifice some overnights with her dad to play. I'm hoping she likes it better than soccer, which she didn't seem to enjoy.

She did FaceTime with her Grandma & Grandpa Loken right before she hit the ice and they were so thrilled.

Basketball

Seth started basketball today. He practices twice a week and will be in four tournaments through March. This should be fun.

Bye Bye Mommy

When it was time to leave Grandma & Grandpa Schiller's house one of us wasn't ready. She said "Bye Bye Mommy, bye bye Dahdee, bye bye Sef, bye bye Sam". Grandpa didn't think she was serious so we showed him just how serious she was. We loaded up, she took her coat off and we said goodbye. I came back in the house and gabe Adelynn a pull-up. She hopped off the couch, walked over to me, grabbed it, said "Tank you mommy" and returned to the couch. "Night Night mommy" as she rolled into her side.

After about 15 minutes I convinced her she needed to come home because Grandpa needed to go night night.

Halloween

We were trying to be theme based this Halloween but it didn't turn out too well. Sam and Adelynn went as bumble bees and Seth was going to be a beehive. I picked up a snow blanket and we wrapped it around a tomato cage. We then abandoned that idea once we realized it wasn't going to look like a beehive so we switched our path to a tornado. Unfortunately, Seth would have overdosed on fumes from all of the spray paint.

Nick worked his magic and turned Seth into a soldier. He looked great.

When we were ready to head to Hampton to go see family, Seth insisted he wear his tornado costume. We took his pail and hooked it to the costume along with farm animals, trucks, semis. combines, pallets and fencing. Josh even came with us.

Noah dressed up as Frankenstein. 

Little Adelynn had so much fun. She was proud of herself for walking and made sure to tell everyone Thank You, even if Trick or Treat did t come first.

Hold My Hand

Typically there is a large space between Noah and Adelynn so they can't reach one another. We had to put them next to each other so everyone could fit in one vehicle. I looked over in the darkness and saw this.

How sweet that Adelynn wanted to hold Noah's hand. He liked it too, and soon they both fell asleep.

"Baby Tawkin"

Adelynn just loves her baby Noah. She likes to tell us what he is doing.

Baby tawkin

Baby cryin

Baby peeoooh (stinky)

If Noah drops his nuk you can count on Adelynn noticing it first and putting it back in his mouth.

 

When it's time for her to go to bed she will hop in her toddler bed and lineup all of her baby dolls in a row on her pillow.  Then I have to give each of them hugs and kisses and have each of them give her a kiss good night. Once she finishes her baby lineup then she moves on to hollering out each one of her family members name for a hug and kiss.

I hope their love for one another continues where they get along and enjoy each other's company.

Getting Treed

Who doesn't like climbing trees? Sam is always up a tree. She is like a little monkey, and always has been. This past year Seth has been becoming a little more adventurous. Ethan found the ground to be a little safer.

That or Ethan was the dog and he chased some bears up a tree.

Spa Day

Jenna and I loaded up her kids, and my littles to go get a much needed pedicure. It was almost 7pm so Noah was sure to sleep the whe time; Adelynn would be my only concern. She passed out on the way there as did Cheyann, Jenna's oldest. We were able to start our pedicures right away which was great. Jenna's two daughters got their 20 nails painted blue and orange for their patriotic pride of homecoming week.

 

Adelynn sat on my lap with her shoes off and pants rolled up. She didn't appreciate me dipping her does in the water. She pointed to her nails and said "I wan naohs." How can I say no. I asked the lady painting my toes and asked if they'd paint her nails too.

She was so thrilled. It was a little muted by how tired she was. But it's there.

My First Football Game

There is something special about a small town football game. You go there to see your friends in town and to cheer on a team where you may not even know one boy playing. Our high school football team doesn't win many games, but that doesn't stop the stands from filling up and crowds of people filling the sidelines to cheer them on.

We loaded up our family and walked the three blocks to the field. Sam was already at school practicing her cheers, Seth took off im search of his friends the moment he got through the gate, Adelynn met her friend, Brooklynn, and they played for a while. Noah and his dad sat in the stands  and watched the plays. Adelynn joined a short time later to chow on some popcorn.

Cheer Clinic

Cheer Clinic is back! Sam stayed after school and learned a new cheer with the high school cheerleaders. There were about 50 girls this year. They cheer on the sideline of the varsity football game and at halftime they take center field, the music blasts and the girls take off. It is so fun watching her. She seemed a lot more involved than when she participated in dance at Northfield Dance Acadamey.

(She's in a black jacket with a pink stripe down the arm.)

10 point buck and a future hunter

It was late in the evening when we got a call from a friend's wife who needed Nick's help with a 10 point buck. Immediately, Seth was in my face. "Can I go with?! Please?! Mom... Can I?!" Yes, go.

When he got home from Jake's house, his wife apologized that he was watching it be cleaned. No worries, this kid has seen animals getting skinned at Grandpa Jim's. Gutting a deer is right up his ally of interests.

He jumped in the shower, brushed his teeth and put himself to bed. Huh?! What just happened? I couldn't believe he took the responsibility of getting himself to bed without needing guidance.

Jake is selling his old bow so I see Seth and Nick starting up the sport of bow hunting and bow fishing pretty soon. 

Passenger Seat

No matter which vehicle I drive one of my kids needs to sit in the front. My Fusion recognizes Seth isn't heavy enough and turns off the passenger airbag. In the truck there isn't a center airbag.

Plus, I've begun to enjoy my time with him in the front.

Tell Me More

In the past two weeks Noah has started smiling and laughing. Today, he started talking my ear off while I was feeding him. He had so much to say to me. I think he was saving up all of the neat things he has experienced in life so far to tell me all at once. I love this boy!!

Phone Thief

Adelynn got a hold of my phone and learned how to take screen shots.

Siri started talking to her so she began to mumble something to Siri. When Siri admitted she couldn't understand, Adelynn would giggle.

3rd & 4th

It's the start of another school year. Seth is now in fourth grade with Mrs. Donna Lindahl. (2nd grade was Jen Lindahl). Sam started third grade and has Mrs. Andrews. The first day went great. They had a lot of fun and can't wait for tomorrow.

Adelynn invited herself into the picture. 

We celebrated their first day by going to Applebee's. Afterwards we stopped at the Otte farm to search for monarch caterpillars for Seth's class. No luck. Adelynn was all about the cows while Seth and Sam helped feed them.

Food Fight

Just another fun day at daycare!

Little Farm Helper

She's so cute. Friends, family and even strangers adore her. You just have to point a camera in her face to hear her say "cheeeeeeeeeeeese". She's even cute when she is crabby and giving dirty looks.

Here she was helping out at the state fair pretend farm where kids learn the purpose of farming and raising livestock. At the end she sold her wool, milk, eggs, and vegetables, earned money and bought herself a stuffed sheep.

Four to six

It's been a long and eventful summer. There haven't been too many days where all six of us have been together. On the weeks I have my big kids, I really don't. They are usually up in Nisswa, at camp, sleeping over at friends houses or elsewhere, then back with their dad as soon as they come back home. It's hard to blog about them when my time with them goes so quick.

 

Tomorrow they come home, have a good nights sleep and are off to school for the first day of 3rd and 4th grade.

I can't wait to have my family back together for some much needed normalcy.

So sad...

We were at school for Open House and running the Cub Scout table. Around 7pm the kids and I started to walk home. Adelynn wanted to stay where the "party" was. She wanted nothing to do with walking home so she just stopped, started crying and covered her face. As we'd walk closer to her she'd turn and walk further away. If we turned our back to walk home she'd follow a few steps and stop in the spot she liked to pout in. 

Another parent enjoyed watching Adelynn's cute little fit. Actually, quite a few stopped just to watch. She got a handful of "so cute" comments as she pouted with her hands over her face.

After three minutes or so I picked her up, Noah in my arm, and we started to walk. As soon as we crossed the road she followed right along with us as if her episode never took place.

12 weeks

Noah is 12 weeks and that means my summer vacation must come to an end. 

Am I ready to go back to work?

No. I'm not. 

I really enjoyed my summer off and being with my kids. We visited my parents a couple times, went to the zoo, walks, Ely, Nickelodeon Universe, and just enjoyed the quiet times. I didn't have to drive 45 minutes one way to work. I didn't have to rush from one place to another. In a nutshell, these past 12 weeks were simple.

So why don't I just stay home with the kids?

I'd love to but there are bills to be paid.

I enjoy what I do and the challenges I'm

given. It would be nicer if I didn't work so far from home. I chose to move this far away. I love the horse and cattle farms that surround me. Yes, even the smell.

Back to Noah...

Sam was the first one to get Noah to laugh. He smiles and stares at his mobile. Has been sleeping through the night for the past four weeks. He has even had two ear infections. Poor guy! Amidst it all, he's still pretty mellow and happy.

Noah started with Jenna last Monday and he has adjusted quite well. He comes home and insists on going right to bed. Once he gets used to the noises of daycare I'm sure he'll be more awake in the evening.

Show Day

I had such a hard time leaving camp last year, so naturally I was expecting another hard year. Surprisingly, it was a lot easier.  It was so fun seeing our friends from last year and hearing that they'll be coming back again in 2014.

Sam got 1st Place for Tacking and Grooming, a few ribbons for placing within the top six for games she played on show day; like balancing an egg on a spoon while walking, trotting and cantering.

Sam struggled with Aimee in the beginning questioning her ability to handle such a big horse. She overcame her fears and succeeded. Aimee was still on the stubborn side but she was always gentle with Sam. I'm so proud of how great Sam did with her.

The camp isn't the cleanest or run with the most efficiency but it surely sends us home with some pretty amazing experiences.

Dance Night

Last full day of camp and the moms are heading to the bar. Twice. Once on horseback in the afternoon and once after dark for our annual karaoke night.

Sam got all dolled up in her new dress. Of course she wasn't interested in smiling.

What a change in her since last year. She was eager for me to leave and was off and dancing and singing karaoke without any nudging from me. She sang "22" and "December" by Taylor Swift.