Rock-a-Bye Baby...

So remember when I said Carl likes to climb into the rocking chair to help him wake up?

Last night, Jon and I heard Carl make a little noise about an hour after we put him down for bed. Now my internal dialogue at this point was, "Oh great. He's not asleep yet. We're in for a fun night. That 4 HOUR nap was maybe a little much for him and now he's going to have a hard time sleeping tonight." Turns out...

He was just trying to get comfortable! I moved him to his bed and he laid right down. At 1 am, when I heard him next, I checked on him and he was back in the rocking chair. What a cutie! Maybe I should have just reclined the chair a little bit and left him alone?!

Palm Trees to Bare Trees

More to come from our visit to Hawaii but first...

Daddy was kind enough to keep some leaves on the ground for us to play in when we got back to the mainland. We kinda missed peak colors in our yard while we were gone, but playing in leaves is just about as fun. He did a lot of raking while we were gone, but we have a big yard with lots of leaves so it worked out well. Both Brianna and Carl were excited about the piles, Brianna a little more so, as you can tell she just wanted to be buried. They played a long while and didn't want to come in the house when it was time. They were so used to their Auntie Laura's house in Hawaii, where they just let themselves in and out to the backyard all day long. It's a good thing for meal times to coax them back in!

B even got into the spirit of raking and started to help. She has a small wheelbarrow too that she tried putting leaves into before her brother would come and knock it over. I think next year we'll have to look for a child sized rake because the pooper scooper rake, a manageable size for a child, is not meant for leaves (plus it's kinda gross if you think about it - oh well!).

Freedom From Crib Walls

Carl has made a huge leap in growing up since getting back from Hawaii; he no longer sleeps in a crib! We removed the outside railing and put on the guard rail, so he is now in a big boy bed. I wasn't sure if he was ready or not, but while we were in Hawaii, it seemed he would have rather slept on the air mattress that I was on, rather than the pack and play that we set up for him. It seems crazy that I've just switched his world around after all the craziness that has been going on, but he loves it. It's amazing how you just seem to know, and how they seem to "tell" you that they are ready for something more. It's fun to reach milestones in their lives! Most mornings he just hangs out on his bed till I open his door. He doesn't really cry anymore in the morning, just talks and laughs until I get in there. A few times now I've found him on the floor curled up but he looks so cozy so I don't bother moving him!

One morning I thought I heard him, but he wasn't crying or anything, so I went in and found him rocking himself in the rocking chair in his room. He just looked at me and smiled as if to say, "I'm awake, but I'm still waking up. I'll come out when I'm ready." Sure enough, I left him and he came out in something like 4 minutes. Too cute!

We've also discovered that this little guy is a climber. He climbs in his bed just fine, but for an added challenge he goes over the guard rail. Plus, his sister sleeps on a twin mattress with a box spring and a bed frame, then there's the guard rail on her bed - he climbs up and over that. If it's accessible, he'll climb it!

Second Star to the Right and Straight On Till Morning

Last year for Halloween, my 2 local sisters and I thought it would be fun to coordinate and do themed costumes for the kids. It was so much fun to see them all together that we thought to do it again! This year's theme for Halloween were characters from Peter Pan. But since I was in Hawaii right before Halloween and my sister there helped me with Brianna and Carl's costumes, AND she said it wouldn't be too much to do a couple more costumes... All 7 cousins got in on the adventure this year! We were able to capture Wendy and Tiger Lily for a photo while we were still in Hawaii and caught Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Smee back in Minnesota. 

Every year since Brianna was born, we dress up and go into to Jon's work for a little in door trick-or-treating. People who want to participate in seeing trick-or-treaters puts up a little pumpkin on their cubicle wall and bring in treats for all the kids that come by. It's so nice to be able to walk around in the warmth and see all the other fun costumes that other kids wear. People were a little confused about who Carl was, but that was just fine, he still looked cute! One person said, "Oh, what a cute little monster!"(play on words intended) 

After that fun ended, we went home, grabbed some dinner, and decided to walk around our block. We already had plenty of candy, but since we skipped out on our neighborhood the last few years, we thought it would be fun to see our neighbors and show off our cuties. Enjoy the fun!

My precious Tinker Bell and Crocodile! 

A classic duo, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell! 

Here's Wendy, Tiger Lily, Crocodile, and Tink! 

Never mind the person behind the crocodile... you don't see anything...

The rivalry continues!

Check out more pictures of the Pirates on my sister's blog.

Transformation Complete

I know the anticipation has been killing some of you, but thanks for being patient. After a crazy summer, with so many things happening all at once, our family can now relax - that is until all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays! One thing is certain, even though the process was intense at times, we are enjoying going from this...

to this!

Check out our previous post to find out more about the timeline of the project, but here are some before and after shots from the:

Front Door:

We opened it completely up. No more walls barricading the kitchen from view.

Family Room: 

This has been so fun already. We love the bar height counter and stools. I'm going to love this even more as the kids get a little older and can sit by themselves and we can do breakfasts together. The cubbies above are great too, now just to keep them free of too many knick-knacks.

Different views from the Dining Room

The added counter top and cupboards on the opposite wall are awesome. So excited to have people over and make this our buffet line. It's perfect. We even planned ahead and put outlets so we can plug in the crockpots! Party anyone?

This is a good shot! Look how messy our counter tops are before. My goal is to keep them clear as best as I can!

Now, just stop on by and see it in person. We'd love to have you!

Aunt Shelley You Make Me Smile!

If this picture doesn't make you smile...drive to your closest urgent care and have the healthcare professionals check your pulse.

Both B & C love their Aunt Shelley!

North Shore

End of July

While Betsy and Justin were still in town, we took a weekend trip to the North Shore and taking in all of God's beautiful creation.

Brianna is so cute putting her arm around Uncle Jeff's shoulders

We stopped by Split Rock Lighthouse on our way back home to enjoy excellent early 20th century craftsmanship and architecture.

This was at the Mississippi Headwaters, but I came across it when looking at other photos and had to put it in. Aunt Shelley and Brianna are both so cute pointing to Africa on the globe.

Fun in the Fall Sun

It appears as though B & C are having a good time on their vacation. Don't worry about Daddy...I had fun raking leaves in the Indian Summer sun in Minnesota!

Can't wait for you 3 to get home!!

Brother-Sister Buds

B & C are pretty sweet (coming from a completely biased father)! They, along with Eme, are currently on a trip visiting Aunt Laura and Uncle John, and I can't wait for them to come home! Since I miss them so much I was perusing through photos on the computer and came across these couple of gems. It's funny how they mimic each other without even knowing it yet. Eme and I love it when we can capture these precious moments...our kiddos are growing up so fast!

These are on 2 separate days. It's pretty funny how they are doing the same thing as each other in both photos.

Open Floor Plan

When the city building inspector came to inspect the LVL (the green beam supporting the ceiling load in lieu of the stud wall that used to be there), his first reaction was "Wow! This is going to create a nice open floor plan. You know, if this house was being built today it would probably have everything open like this in the first place."

You got it inspector. Go go gadget REVAMP!

The progress continues...

Deconstructing the "Box"

The pre-planning was complete, the pictures were taken down, cabinets cleaned out, and demolition was ready to begin.

Brianna is so sweet! She pulled the cleaning wipes from the cupboard and began cleaning the dusty floor. Turns out, she likes clean things and kept saying, "uh oh, uh oh. Floor dirty. Mommy wha' happen? Uh oh."What a cuite...and a big helper!! She loves to help!