Pictures because, well, it's been a while ;)

Movie Time

So yesterday while Andy finished up some Christmas shopping the kids and I went to see Tangled. It was such a cute movie and a fun treat for us! This is the 3rd movie we've seen at the theater. The first was Toy Story 3 this summer with daddy too and they did great! The second was with Andy's niece and nephew (Despicable Me) but it was in 3D so it was a little harder for them to sit the whole time, but Tangled was great and with me by myself they couldn't have been two better kiddos! So proud of them!
Also, we've been using the potty for 4 days now, even Emma! So we're on the right track to being potty trained, not sure how much longer it will take, but so glad we're starting! =)
The kids are super excited for Christmas and really want presents. I've told them the presents under the tree are for Christmas, and they don't touch them, but they sure are ready for some to be for them! ;)
They sure are growing up quickly. So glad we're spending this fun time together before I start student teaching in a couple of weeks.

Andy's Deer from Bow Season

Ups and Downs

So, we got some new furniture which was awesome, except that they had to replace the couch because the first had a bad frame, but all is good with it now. Just waiting on the new recliner... that has been an experience I could write a major blog about, but as they say if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So I'll opt to just say I love our new couch and tv.
On another note, I've been home all week with two sick kiddos. They both have been very sick and it's been a rough week so far with very little sleep. I think we are finally turning a corner though and I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day. Before all the sickness set in though on Sunday I was able to enjoy hunting with my husband and shot a doe opening day. Would have preferred a buck, but hey it was better than nothing and I still have 2 tags! =)
So now I'm sitting here watching Cinderella because Emma wanted to watch it, then tomorrow night it'll probably be Toy Story as that was Weston's pick and we won't have time for both this evening, I'm hoping for an early bedtime! =)

What's Going On

So, it's been a crazy busy semester. I actually am barely able to get anything done and feel like I'm being pulled in a million directions, which is why I'm ecstatic to say I only have 2.5 weeks left! I still commute to Jeff City one day next week, but the last week and a half only to Columbia! Yay! I am so ready to be done with classes and ready to move on to student teaching. Even though that part makes me nervous, I know it will be my energy going in one direction, rather than student, teaching assistant, assistantship work hours and extra problems hours work on top of being a mother of two and wife. I thought this semester would be my easiest, hahaha, not so much.
Okay, that's enough venting about school. So we had some mice in the house, ended up needing a new dresser! But we went shopping last week and Andy will be bringing home the new dresser, couch and recliner tomorrow! I'm very excited for new furniture.
I've been trying to upload some pictures from this fall but it is taking a long time for some reason, so hopefully I'll get a couple more blogs up and be fairly caught up on life blogging wise for a couple of weeks any way! =)
Saturday is opening day of rifle season and I'm super excited. I love deer hunting! I just hope my buck fever is somewhat reduced and I can actually get a shot on something this year! There is also a craft type show going on in Shelbina Saturday morning so I'm hoping I can work it to swing over there, I don't want to miss out on scentsy and miche bags and all the fun things in store there!
I know, I know, I may be the only one to say this, but I can't wait to decorate for Christmas. It is my favorite time of year and knowing it's only about 2 weeks away form Thanksgiving is sooo exciting! I actually have bought a few things already so I think I'll be in great shape for Christmas this year and get done well ahead of time.
I'm taking a break from facebook until December 8th. Hopefully that will mean more time to get some blogging done as I slack here and getting all my school stuff finished I am done on December 8th with the exception of one final on the 13th. I can't believe how often I was checking it and on there, really a good thing to break for a while.
Emma and Weston have been doing very well. Still no success on potty training, but I'm hoping once we're home and not driving every week we can get that lined out. I sure am ready to be done with that! Weston was said when I took down the halloween decorations and wanted his pumpkins, but he's looking forward to Christmas decorating I think. I cannot believe my kids are going to be 3 years old in a couple of months. Time really has gone by quickly. I am anxiously awaiting May and the end of my master's program, even though I've enjoyed my time at MU and all the wonderful people I've met these last 2.5 years. I hope the new year will be less stressful for myself and will present a job opportunity so we can finally start putting down plans on a house. But, I must say, not having a house has been well worth all the time I've had at home with my kids, they really amaze me even though they do make me want to pull my hair out some days, they always make a day so much better. Well, I better get to bed, long day tomorrow as we are headed to the pediatric allergy specialist all afternoon. Check-up for Weston and initial appointment for Emma!

Raggady Ann and Andy

This year for Halloween I had my mother-in-law make Raggady Ann and Raggady Andy costumes for Emma and Weston. I think they turned out great and they enjoyed wearing them! We had a much better time trick or treating this year and still have lots of candy! =)

The Zoo and City Museum

Emma didn't like standing next to any of the statues, I guess they scared her. But we got a few pics, none of the whole family though. =( Oh well, I guess the gorilla is taking my place in this one! hehe!

Emma and Weston LOVE carousels!!

Seeing the animals was a blast! The kids really enjoyed the zoo! Especially the train and the carousel!

Daddy and I had fun too!

City Museum

Weston checking out the turtles at the City Museum in St. Louis. We decided to have a short weekend getaway a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were supposed to go to Grant's Farm instead of the City Museum, but it was closed to the public the day we planned to go. We did go on to the zoo and petted the stingrays and saw animals, despite some misty rain and cooler temperatures. I think the kids had the most fun swimming in the hotel pool!

Potty Training

Today I broke down and bought pullups that came in a special Toy Story and Disney Princess boxes and prizes in an effort to get the kids to go potty on the potty. I'm not sure if it will work but I am so ready to quit buying diapers/pullups for these two. So, lets keep our fingers crossed for me that this will work! =)

~Updates~

So this summer was crazy. Weston fell and ended up with a large hole in his tongue where he bit through it. He then developed impetigo, which caused his mouth to look horrible. Luckily once we got out of the emergency room and then into the pediatrician, it didn't take long for him to get back to normal. Although he did receive two stitches in his tongue, which was a traumatic experience for all of us to say the least. I am going to post the pictures but they aren't for the faint of heart as they are rather yucky. They go backwards in order from when he was getting better to the first morning after he got stitches. If you think it was weird of me to take pictures, well it was a good way to show his dad who was at work how he was doing and also we could send them to the pediatrician so she could see what was going on, not always easy to describe over the phone....


Following Weston's accident, we had a great rest of the summer. We enjoyed going to the Cole County Fair to watch Tyler show his pigs and spent several nights enjoying rides! We also spent one evening at the Miller County Fair, although we only were able to ride a couple rides there.

We also enjoyed participating in parades in support of Amy at both Clarence Homecoming and Old Settlers.



Andy and I took the kids to their first movie at the theater back in June and saw Toy Story 3. It was great and the kids loved it so I decided to take them and Si and Savanna to watch Despicable Me. It was a cute film as well, but I wish we wouldn't have gone to 3D as Emma and Weston didn't really want to leave their glasses on (they are pretty uncomfortable). I got this picture of Weston in the lobby with the Woody and Buzz Lightyear cut-outs he liked so much.
Although I didn't take pictures, we went to the Landing two days this summer with Elizabeth and her kids and had a blast! Can't wait for next year!
We also just enjoyed lots of time at home together swimming in grandma's pool, swinging, playing outside and doing some crafty things indoors. This was an absolutely great summer for us and I hated having to return back to school. However, the semester is going by fairly quickly and I'm nearly done with my massive amounts of driving to Columbia and Jefferson City, so I'm thrilled for that!
Since returning to school, I was invited to join Amy, Si and Savanna to MU's home opener game against McNeese State. I had a great time and only took one picture from my blackberry, but will share our view from the stands! It was a special 4-H function and we got t-shirts and walked around the field before the game, which was pretty awesome!
Also, I should be blogging far more often as we finally upgraded our internet and I can actually do things at home such as upload pictures! =)
Last weekend we made a trip to St. Louis which included going to the zoo and City Museum. That blog is to come this weekend!
We also are going to have new family photos taken in the near future, so hopefully I'll get some of those posted and we are going to the MU homecoming game (which I bought Weston and Emma some cute new MU apparel for) which will posted as well in a few weeks! =)

I've Been a Bad Blogger....

Well, the combination of only having dial-up internet and just plain staying off the computer this summer have made me a bad blogger! But, I do plan to get caught up with everything soon, once I start back to school and can upload pictures quickly either on campus or at my mom's!
Just a quick preview of things to come include a trip to the ER, county fairs, parades, water parks, play dates, and other summertime fun!!

Fishin' Fun

What an exciting time the last few weeks!

School ended for me on May 5 and I spent the next few days with my mom traveling to Shreveport, LA, to help my sister get settled in to her new home. It was an exciting and long trip! We came back on mother's day and I arrived home finally at about 6 that evening! Andy had a wonderful card for me and the kids each made a card for me, too cute!

The weekend prior to my trip with all the rain the kids got to spend time playing in their first mud puddle and they were covered in mud but had a fantastic time! We all had fun watching them! =) Weston had already gotten pretty muddy when Daddy got the Rhino stuck in the mud and flung it all over them, so Emma might as well have gotten dirty too!

This past weekend was super exciting! We found worms and the kids gave them to Grandpa Ted who used them as bait on his jugs and caught a 2 1/2 lb. catfish. When the kids when to see the fish their worms caught, we let them fish and Emma and Weston both caught their first fish!!!! SO EXCITING! But, it was difficult to get pictures with them and the fish as they didn't want to get too close to the flopping creatures! Hopefully they'll be used to fish by the end of the summer! ;)

We also began potty training last week and Weston pooped on the potty for the first time this weekend which was super exciting for us. Emma still refuses to use the potty, but will gladly just sit on it! =) Hopefully they'll both decide to be done with diaper/pullups in the near future!

The last bit of excitement for the weekend was a new colt born. We are expecting two so the arrival of the first little guy was great news and fun to see!

Other than that, we are just waiting for dryer, warmer weather to begin enjoying our summertime! We don't have anything too big planned this summer. May take a trip back down to Louisiana with Andy and the kids, but we'll see what happens!

Weston and Emma are talking more everyday and doing so well. They are really growing and changing all the time. I can't believe we're potty training, it seems like the last big step from babies to toddlers for us and in many ways make me want to have another baby, but for now we're just going to enjoy these two precious kiddos!

I am super excited that I only have one semester left of classes, so after the fall no more driving to Columbia! Next spring I will be student teaching and should be closer to home! =) Then I will finally have must master's and my teaching certification under my belt and can return to work! I am not necessarily excited about leaving the kids to go to work, but we are ready to move on to building a house and possibly having another baby, but will need more room first! =)

The lsat few weeks and the weeks ahead have been pretty busy and marked some pretty big mile stones. My niece, Casey, turned 18 and will graduate from Helias next week. She then is planning to attend Southeast Missouri State University in the fall. I can still remember giving her rides in her Barbie jeep when she was 2-years-old!

My youngest older brother turned 40 May 5!

My oldest nephew turns 16 today and will start to drive!

Andy's birthday is next week as well as my sister-in-law, Sanae's.

Andy's oldest niece, Savanna, will turn 13 June 12 and his youngest nephew will turn 5 on June 3!

Ted and Marilyn's Anniversary is May 31st and so is my goddaughter's, Samantha's, birthday!

So many events and milestones this year. We are so fortunate to have wonderful friends and family to share these events and milestones!

Volley For a Cure

Saturday Andy and I played on my sister-in-law's team for Volley for a Cure held at North Shelby. We had a blast but I realized I am out of shape so I began my pilates work outs with Denise Austin on dvd. Needless to say I am extremely sore, but if I can get back into shape it will be worth it!

The Volley for a Cure was a blast, even though we lost our first two games I really enjoyed it and plan to attend next year's event! Wish we did this in the spring and fall!! They also had very good food so if you haven't gone before you should plan to attend next time!

Tomorrow I am having surgery bright and early in Columbia to remove a lump on my back. They said it's just a lipoma but it will go to pathology after it's removed. I'm a little nervous but ready to just get it over with and I'm hoping that recovery isn't too laid back so I can spend lots of time outside with the kids this week and continue my working out. (Yep, despite my soreness I did pilates again this afternoon!)

My kids are doing pretty good, Emma's cough is still hanging on so I hope she will get better soon. Emma and Weston have been doing pretty good with their toddler beds overall, nap time is the hardest so far so I'm hoping as we move toward summer they will e more tired and more willing to take a nap! =)

Big Boy/Big Girl Beds & Our 4 Year Anniversary

Well, Friday Weston finally received his master climber award as he flawlessly climbed out of his crib and did so at least two more times on Saturday. In an effort to try to keep accidents down, we switched their cribs to toddler beds today. I can say I'm less than thrilled that they can get up whenever they want and I'm nervous as to what the night will bring. I knew it had to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for later.

Nap time today went okay, Emma ended up going to sleep on her own in bed which didn't really surprise me, she fights going to sleep less than Weston. Weston had to lay with me and then I put him in his own bed, so I'm hoping this will all work out alright!

Thursday marked mine and Andy's 4 year wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything to celebrate until Saturday night, we went out to Kobe's in Columbia for a wonderful dinner and went to the new Cody's for a short time to enjoy playing pool and some dancing. It was an absolutely wonderful evening! We had even went out Friday night as well to celebrate Andy's cousin, Jared, surprise 30th Birthday Party so it was an eventful weekend!

I'm glad to see the snow is gone and hoping it will stay that way until next Christmas. I'm looking forward to spring and especially summer as I'll be home with the kids everyday and we can just enjoy the great outdoors! Spring break is only a couple of weeks away which is so exciting. Once we get back school will nearly be over for the semester, then only one semester of driving back and forth to Columbia!!

I cannot believe how quickly my children have grown. They are amazing! Some days are trying more than others, mostly days when they fight a lot, but other days have less fighting and are really good days. They are ready to be able to go outside and burn energy that they just can't seem to get rid of when they're indoors! I'm so excited that they are older and will be able to do more this summer, I think they'll have so much fun!

Well, I suppose I should go, it's later than I thought thanks to daylight savings time so in the words of the Truman show in case I don't see you later, good morning, good afternoon and good night!

Family Pictures

Anyone who thinks it's easy to get two two-year-olds to smile pretty for camera may be crazy, but nevertheless, the kids did a good job and we ended up with some good pictures after all.

It seemed that if one of the kids was doing good the other was not, and when we were trying to get individual pictures they were too busy trying to figure out what the other one was doing to

want to do what we asked of them. Whew, I hope this gets easier as they get older! Haha!