23 months

 Our baby boy is growing up right before our eyes. Today marks 23 months since his birth and he sure is closer to a 2 year old in all aspects. He continues to pick up on words each and every day. Tonight as I played at the park with he and Regan, she tried getting him to say "mom, more please". The look of sheer surprise/excitement on her face when he repeated the sentence back to her was picture worthy. It's so much fun that the girls love each stage as much as we do. 

He is ALL BOY! I mean really. This kid cracks me up! He just walks like a boy, strangers tell us this daily. It's hilarious! 

And the way he plays with his cars and trucks and trains every second of every day. Last weekend at the softball tournament, we walked through the parking lot towards the fields, he with a truck in hand. He took the opportunity to use each SUV bumper as a track and drove his truck along their edge. I promise he didn't scuff any of them, but my efforts to distract him were pointless!

My friend walking with us just laughed "but mom!, it's the perfect height!"

And sometimes ,so is daddy's head....

His food allergies continue to cause us anxiety, but we are muddling through these murky waters like the best of them. Sometimes our best efforts are met with a reaction, but thankfully, nothing has been scary enough to warrant an ER visit. I cringed at the fields with all of the peanuts around. And my heart breaks when we visit the girls' school for lunch and I wonder where he will eat when he goes off to kindergarten (I'm staying optimistic that he'll outgrow at least some of them).

For now, we are doing the best that we can, and he's been incredible along the journey. I've spent hours upon hours reading and researching and praying. If it's not the obvious like "milk" listed in a product", it's the secret "egg white" listed in tiny print in chicken noodle soup that we missed twice. 

As for snow cones....we shall consider that a food group :) 

As he grows, he still snuggles into our laps for cuddles and a hug. He says "I love you" and it makes me melt and give in to almost any request. Almost. 

We have been spending so much time out and about this summer, yet he still takes comfort in finding a spot on my lap to nestle in and relax. This boy has a thing for his mama and I sure don't mind one bit. 

We are so in love with his sweet face, big brown eyes and most adorable curls. He is sweet and feisty, loving and independent. 

At 23 months: he weighs roughly 27 lbs and wears mostly 24 mo clothing

He sits on the toilet (refuses his potty seat or modified toilet seat) but has yet to produce any results. 

He's ready to be potty trained, with all the signs pointing to NOW! Not sure I'm ready for that task :) 

He loves loves loves when one or both of his sisters will play with him. He feels so special! 

Favorite toys are trains, trucks, books, lawn mower and above all else-his "BIKA" (aka: bike)

He is a complete dare devil on his beloved "bika" and takes a scary spill at least weekly; he should wear a helmet. 

He can run (not fast unless he's running downhill) and just learned how to jump where his feet actually leave the ground. I love the toddler jump: so much concentration and effort, so little result! 

Naptime is typically 3 hours, with overnights 8pm-7am. 

Still eats mostly fruit, toss in a little protein here and there and call it healthy. Oh, and when he's done eating, look out because that plate goes flying. Like a frisbee across the dining room. Yea, that's not so fun and has created a mess.  Not to mention the introduction of time-outs! 

Oh he's lucky that he's cute :) 

Love you Lincoln!

Playing their hearts out-Fall ball 2015

This weekend wraps up 2015 Fall Ball for our family. It was a full weekend of state tournaments for the girls, and we couldn't be more proud of the both of them! 

First up was Regan. Her team landed a spot in the Tier playing in Lakeville, which was a much better location compared to Ham Lake or St. Cloud like some of our fellow teams! 

The girls got off to a great start and won 13-0! Regan was fielding and hitting and having a great morning. 

Sadly, the second game was a bit more of a nail biter and in the end, we couldn't pull off the win and lost 9-7. Darn it. So they wrapped up their season with that loss but we still think it was a win of a year. This was a great opening to 10U for Regan, where she has learned so much about the game and has a much better understanding of all the rules (8U has a modified rule set and she made the jump to 10U this fall). She is well prepared for next summer. 

Day 2 of our weekend was Sidney's day to shine. All 8U teams play in Bloomington which is awesome for not only us, but all of the fans too! Like these cuties who cheered on their sisters (and sisters of the friends!).

Sidney spent her entire fastpitch debut year without a hit. 6 games and not one hit (in a game). So Ryan made her a deal...."you get a hit, and I'll give you $60". 

Well, let's just say that if he had to pay her for every hit during state, he'd be out of well over $1000.
That girl hit, and hit, and hit!! She was unstoppable! And oh my goodness proud of herself. Coach even declared her MVP with her hitting skills today!

And only our sweet Sidney would ask for a salad between games instead of a burger or hot dog. It was 10 hours at the fields today and this girl still just wanted fruit and salad (along with a few snow cones to get through the heat)!

The day prior, we managed to get Lincoln to take a super short nap in the stroller.

Parenting fail. 

 I didn't want the same problem today, so I scooped him up and he fell right to sleep in my arms. He laid on my chest for an hour and a half and snoozed in the sun. I relished in the fact that our little man will still sleep in his mama's arms, even though he felt like a heating blanket. 

And when he wasn't sleeping, he played with trucks and bears and anything else he could find stowed away in the bag. As long as I kept him out of the peanut shells laying in the ground, I feel successful. 

These girls won game after game and suddenly, we found ourselves sitting at the championship game.
Say what!? 

Reflecting back tonight, we chuckled at how far this team has come; how we would never imagine being in the state championship during any of their first games. 

But these girls....today they came to play ball and to have fun. 

And in the end, they walked away with a first place medal!!! I'm pretty sure Sidney fell asleep tonight with base running on her mind with her sun kissed cheeks :) 

Our hearts are full with pride for these two ball players of ours. 

Congratulations Sidney and Regan on such a great fall ball season! 

Heritage Days Parade

Sidney got to be in the local Heritage Days Parade this year with her dance studio. It took a lot of rearranging schedules for her to participate in the practices, but she was determined and really wanted to do it. So we obliged, figured out how to get her to the practices and then, Heritage Days landed on the same day as Regan's state qualifier games for fall ball. Darn it. So with more rearranging of our schedules, we decided that Lincoln and I would take Sid to the parade, while Ryan got Regan to her games and we would meet up for her second round of games later in the day (minus Sidney who then got invited to a birthday party!). As timing would require, I opted to park my car at the very end of the parade route, which meant I had to walk Sidney all the way to the beginning of the parade route to meet up with her group (there was far too much congestion to try to drive there and they don't let you drive anywhere near), and then race back to the end to watch the parade go by. Lincoln got real into the excitement, watching the trucks and waiting for a costumed animal or real animal. 

He couldn't eat much of the candy, which was fine since there were a million kids eager to take his share of it anyway. He sat patiently next to me, until disaster hit. He got stung by a bee; his second bee sting in just 2 weeks. Poor buddy was screaming in pain, the stinger still in his tiny finger, which later made his entire hand swell (24 hours later and it's still swollen). 

Sidney was at the end of the parade, so I did a quick video job and had to pack up so we could snatch her at the end and take off for her bday party (and Regan's games). She did a great job and was so happy to be dancing in a parade; click HERE for a short video. She loses her footing and stumbles while squatting; her poor body was pretty tired by that point :) Way to go Sid!

Rainy days

This week, we are knee deep into the 2 week overlap of activities. And it's been chaotic to say the least. Both Ryan and I were running in separate directions every night. Work was stressful for the both of us, making it challenging to get out on time to get the kids to their necessary activities. Dinners were leftover or "picnics" (fancy way of saying we were eating on the sideline of a field, or in the car between activities). I kept telling myself that it was only two weeks, but on Wednesday, when Lincoln cried "no!, no!" as I tried to buckle him in for the 400th time already this week, I collapsed in tears on the floor of the car. I felt the same way he did---no more! 

So when it started raining late Wednesday night, and kept raining into Thursday, the city closed the softball fields for practice Thursday afternoon. And I could just feel the weight that was lifted off my shoulders. It was a huge relief. I picked up the kids after work, got a text from Ryan that he was leaving early so we could all sit down and eat dinner together. It was just what we all needed. Lincoln couldn't have been more happy to come home and stay home! He rode his bike, pushed his car and eventually got drenched in another rain storm that came through. But it didn't matter, we weren't going anywhere! 

Sometimes, I'm thankful for rainy days :) 

Sidney's 7th birthday

When it comes to birthdays, we try to make a big deal and celebrate all day long. Poor Sidney had to share her 7th birthday on Thursday with school and later Regan's softball so we ended up drawing out her birthday in a week long celebration. The weekend prior, we celebrated at the lake with my side of the family, and then she picked a dinner out to Red Cow and a trolley ride at Lake Harriet once we got back into town. 

I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her on her actual birthday, though keep in mind it was 7am. She was up and at 'em bright and early, just waiting to see what was inside of those gifts!

I got a kick out of her expressions. She opened the Silly String first (our kids go nuts over that stuff....partially because we only give it to them once a year or so) and her face just lit up! On to a few more gifts with the same outcome. She saved the biggest for last (that large box pictured below)...far too big to wrap so a bow got slapped on the front and I called it good. She swore there would be a unicorn living inside. Yes folks, she insisted all week that there was a living/breathing unicorn in that box. I tried to tell her otherwise, but she wouldn't have it. 

As everyone is aware, there was no living unicorn in that box. And the expression of defeat swooped across her face. Thankfully it didn't last long and she perked up when she realized it was the overpriced Barbie limo she has been asking for for months. 

I got to spend lunch with her at school and we enjoyed Subway and some tasty chips that are otherwise off-limits (because they have cheese all over them). She and I were in chip heaven! I loved getting to know some of her new friends at school as they all chatted off my ears about life as a First Grader.

And finally, the day she had been waiting for finally arrived: her unicorn party!

She only came up with this theme a few weeks ago, prior to that, she has some fun cake that she wanted me to make! Bummer, she changed her mind and we were off in unicorn la-la-land. 

Oh, but this cake was pretty darn cute (clearly not made by me!).

She got all dolled up and told me exactly what she wanted for her decorations, down to where I was to hang balloons! This girl knows what she wants. 

But I love er to pieces and I simply wouldn't have it any other way. Some day she will move mountains, and it all starts with a unicorn party!

Lincoln didn't know what was all happening, still trying to get a grasp on this whole birthday party stuff. And unfortunately for him, he didn't get to eat any of that cute cake pictured above. Instead, I spent the day prior to her party making safe cookies and cake just for him. Uff-dah, talk about extra work!

She was thrilled to open all of her presents, which included books, toys, money and gift cards. She scored another wallet and that money is just burning a hole in it! 

Since the girls don't have any actual first cousins, they consider these 3 cuties as close as it gets. It's sure fun to have them all fairly close in age. I'm dreading the day, though, that Lincoln starts running around causing trouble with those two cute boys!

Goodness does she love the spot light. 

It wasn't all roses though, holy buckets did she have a few meltdowns! 

And all I could keep thinking was the silly song "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!". Sorry Sid, but you became a bit emotional with all of the craziness. We love you just the same and are so proud of you.  

Happy 7th birthday sweet Sidney! 

We're not done celebrating yet, she'll have a friend party in another few weeks. 

Birthday eve

There's a saying that goes something like: the days are long but the years are short. And though sometimes it feels like the days just fly by, it certainly always feels like the years are short. 

I'm just so surprised that our sweet Sidney will turn another year older when she wakes tomorrow morning. 

Seven. 

How in the world did she go from this......

to this. In what feels like a blink of an eye. 

She is the sweetest, most full-of-energy little girl around. She is spunky and emotional, tender and loving. I love her with every ounce of my body and am so lucky to be her mom. As she went to bed tonight, with a twinkle in her eye and a sly smile, she beamed with delight that tomorrow is her BIRTHDAY! 

We love you sweet Sidney! Happy birthday eve! 

Labor Day-Idelwilde

Every year, we look forward to spending Labor Day weekend at the lake. We pack up our entire house and make our way to Osakis/Alexandria area. We've moved resorts once or twice and I suspect we will move again in the near future, trying to check off a few more amenity boxes from all of the 21 of us that make the trek. 

We are happy as pie with whatever amenities are available, and just grateful to my parents for taking us along for the ride each year! Looking forward to the lake, the girls were excited to see some extended cousins, play with my brother's dogs and fish. Lincoln was super excited for the "boat" and spent two days prior saying "boat" non-stop. Every time we left the house, he thought we were finally going to see the boat. 

Jon and Ben brought their two fur-babies all the way from DC, and boy, those two puppies sure got a lot of loving from our crew. They were pet, played with and walked countless times throughout the weekend. When the heat got too bad outside, the girls would retreat inside and have some fun with the dogs. Lincoln impressed us all with his patience and politeness around the dogs. He's cautious with animals (and I think this is a big bonus), never ever touching until he's gotten a good look and the definite go-ahead from a nearby adult. 

Regan tried displaying her responsibility trait....man does that girl want a dog!

Given that Sidney's birthday tends to fall close to Labor Day, we always take the opportunity to celebrate her big day. My mom made a cake safe for Lincoln too and Sidney enjoyed decorating each piece with sprinkles as she served them. After we sang her a quick "Happy Birthday", Lincoln was fussy and asked to be held. I couldn't get him to stop whining (Jon thought there was a teradactyl in the house with his screams!) and finally, I realized he wanted me to sing to HIM! That sure made him giggle with delight :)

Regan is our little fisher-woman. She baits her own hook and casts away. Unfortunately, despite fishing many times, both off the dock and in the boat, she caught one measly tiny fish all weekend long. Poor kiddo, she didn't get frustrated though and was always the first to ask "can we go fishing!". 

Hope took up residence for the weekend on one of the couches in my parents cabin. With all of the bedrooms full, she didn't mind one bit sleeping on the couch (a true college student!). We were thrilled that she came along for the fun, and I think Lookie enjoyed napping all morning long beside her. 

I had found a fun idea to write wishes and fears on rocks and toss them into the lake. Sidney was nearby and looking for a change in play-time so her and I had some fun as she wrote out her 'wishes' (ie, a unicorn!) and 'fears' (ie some dogs). 

We took them down to the dock, and one by one she tossed them in. And now she keeps asking when her wish will come true...meaning that darn unicorn! Oh brother. 

In a fleeting thought moment as I packed up the truck on Friday, I grabbed Lincoln's trike and hoped it would fit. My goodness was that a bright idea! He cruised around on that thing each and every day! He loves his "bike-a" and willingly went for a daily walk, even when the temps and humidity made it oppressive to be outside and the bugs could've carried us away. 

His little sandals are pretty beat up because he drags them with every push, but I'm holding out that this weather isn't going to stick around long and we'll be packing up all of the sandals for the season.

I just love the lake. For so many reasons. It gives us time to sit back and relax and just take in all of the scenery around us. Don't get me wrong, I don't get to actually sit much because I had to chase Lincoln all over the resort, play at the playground and keep him out of harms way. But it's a fun busy, instead of a clean/cook/chauffer the kids to activities kind of busy.

On Saturday, while my mom and Ryan met up with a buddy from home for a round of golf, I took the 3 kids to meet up with his wife and their 3 kiddos at a nearby apple orchard. This airplane ride was an enormous hit. Tyler (the oldest) would make an exaggerated THUD every time the teeter totter went his way and the kids started giggling. As they giggled, he grew louder, and eventually, Lincoln was laughing so hard I'm certain he peed himself at that very moment :) 

They played King of the Mountain (not really!) and got out their wiggles for a couple of hours. 

There was a corn pit and a slide and although we were all sweating, the kids didn't seem to mind and had a great time tossing the dusty corn around and later picking it out of their clothes. 

When we weren't fishing or boating, we found some fun on land playing catch or chasing bubbles. The bees made it mighty difficult to enjoy being outside at times, but if we kept moving, they couldn't keep up. 

Lincoln was a complete ham when I perched him upon the picnic table and asked for some pictures. He now says "cheeese" and tilts his head to the side with a semi-fake smile (side note: we should find a different word, because he always thinks we'll give him real cheese for the picture and he can't even eat cheese!). 

We climbed these steps at least 2 dozen times over the course of the weekend. They led from the cabins to the docks and he adored going near the water. The docks on the other hand, he could've done without. They're a bit unstable and wobbly and he always requested to be carried, especially on the long fishing dock. 

He was pretty upset when we went on our first boat ride. The boy wants nothing to do with a life jacket. Never has. But it's the law and so I insisted. I even donned one myself in hopes it would brighten his mood. He got ticked at first, but then as soon as the boat started moving, he giggled and was in love. By his second boat ride, he climbed aboard and pointed to his life jacket knowing he needed to put it on or we couldn't move. Every time Ben would slow down the boat, Lincoln would sign "more" and he would speed up again :) 

His hair turned into a complete fluff and we all got a good laugh out of how puffy it was. Hope had to snap a few pictures but they just don't do it justice! 

Every year we take a few pictures on this picnic table just before we head back home. This was the most beautiful morning out of all of them, we were all incredibly sad to leave. 

Hope and I didn't climb up on the picnic table but we snuggled up tight and smiled for the camera. I'm so happy that she took some time out of her busy work schedule, just before her junior year of college was to begin, and joined us for the long weekend. 

We all will spend the next 364 days looking forward to what next year's lake experience has to offer! Thanks a million mom and dad (and the rest of the fam) for helping to build these memories!

Hope you all had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!