It's beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas (a week before Thanksgiving)

 On Saturday night, we met up with Katie, Josh and family in Rice Park to watch the City light the Christmas tree and light up the park. It was smelly! Not in a good, oh yeah, it's Christmas, kind of smelly. Rather, a sewer/rotten egg/decaying leaf kind of smelly. It stuck with us even as we headed out from the site. Not a good start when you are trying to make memories! But, with this being the week before Thanksgiving, what better activity than to bundle up and head out to watch fireworks and holiday lighting light up the evening sky.

The kids thought the fireworks were fun and it was a short visit outside to get some fresh (smelly) air. All in all, it was a nice night out with friends and we hope to do more winter activities soon. We are heading North for Thanksgiving and looking forward to spending some time at the farm with my family. The snow is on its way and we are hoping for a white Christmas!

Tired children along to indulge mom!

sleepovers

Yesterday, I got a call a little after noon. My friend Jessica was at a week-long convention in Milwaukee and her husband took that to mean that he should allow his body to start producing gallstones (kidding, Matt!). With family nowhere near the cities, we were asked to step in and take the kids for the night so Matt could have his gallbladder removed. No problem, right? Just get the van to the park, shuffle car seats, find a pack and play (thank you Sara!), cook up a dinner that three picky children will eat, grab some diapers and milk from their house for the baby and get all four to bed before 8. Though it was a little bit chaotic, taking care of four kids under 5, it turned out to be a pretty fun night. The kids have known each other nearly all their lives, so they fight like siblings and boss each other around like everyone is in charge. They get a bit sassy when they are all together, but we love their individual personalities and love that they will always have each other to lean on.

That being said, I am quite content with our little family of four and applaud all the momma's out there who take care of a huge brood on a regular basis. You are amazing!

Photos from the night:

Annalee is three!

My baby girl is three years old but it seems like just yesterday we were rushing to the hospital to greet her! It is amazing how fast time is flying. And how quickly she is learning. I think we may not notice how much she picks up, with Jack always showing off the newest things he has learned at school and I hope we aren't missing out on any Annalee milestones because of it!

Anna loves numbers. She can count to 30 and can count by 10s to 100. She can recognize all the letters in the alphabet and her language skills are quite impressive. That might come from all the arguing she does with her older brother!

Anna had a small birthday party over the weekend, with family members and a couple friends. We held it in the backyard and couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Cousins came together and painted pumpkins, ate too much sugar and played. It was a very nice party and we love that we could have everyone over!

All Annalee wanted for her birthday was a bike, so she was gifted a small balance bike, similar to Jack's, to ride around the yard. Along with the bike came a helmet that she refused to take off during the remainder of the party. She insisted on wearing it later that day and most of the next evening too. Such a funny little girl, that one.

We go in for her three year old check up next week, so I will update with stats, as I like having them on here for reference points.

Annalee is a little spitfire who does not like the word no and will fight you tooth and nail for the things she wants. Is she difficult at times? Yes; but I am not willing to break her spirit. I would like her to grow up into a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to fight for it. I want her to be smart and independent and know how to love herself exactly how she is. Most importantly, I need her to know that she will always be loved and have a place to come to if she falls, but that she can own the world if she tries.


With all the sadness in the world, we are incredibly grateful to have been blessed with two healthy, happy kids who get to grow up here, where they are safe and have so many opportunities.We have a wonderful family/friend support system and I know they will be loved for the rest of their lives. We will continue to raise them to understand love, and teach them to grow up to be gentle, kind, strong and intelligent adults who are able to help those who have not had the luxuries we have afforded them. One day, our little wonder woman will change the world!

Thank you to everyone who is along for the ride. Love.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Ryan's men's baseball team won the coveted Championship Game for the "B" League (or something like that) last night! He has really been enjoying playing with this group of guys from Prior Lake this summer, so to watch them achieve something like winning the championship trophy was really special. The kids have both made good friends with a couple of other players children, which makes going to the games and actually watching them kind of fun. I may complain a little about how much time they take up, but we are proud of how hard he has worked to get better this year and are glad he finds something that makes him so happy. Congratulations on your win, Pacers!

Growing up!

Yesterday marked a milestone for Jack: Preschool! I dropped him off at 7:30 and he didn't look back. When I went to pick him up after work, he looked at me and said, "but I'm not ready to go home yet." I love so much that he loves school. I hope to foster that love for the rest of his life. He wouldn't tell me much about his first day, except that he got to eat cereal for breakfast, he played with hundred of toys (that were all his favorites) and that he met a girl named Piper, who was not his cousin Piper. Oh, and he told Grandma Jodie that he learned about bugs and they are not scary (that one I got from eavesdropping on his phone call). His teacher, Ms Chris, also showed me where to look to see how he did for the day. He was one of six kids who got an orange "went above and beyond" card for the day!

When I dropped him off this morning, second day, mind you, he walked in and said, "look mom, there's Tom." He proceeded to quick walk to Tom to say good morning. Tom is the janitor. I couldn't help but have a proud mom moment, that he has already learned to be friends with everyone who works there!

Over the weekend, Jack also learned how to ride a two wheel bike with no training wheels. Milestones, people, milestones! I am watching this little boy grow up so quickly and it is making my heart ache a little bit. I want him to mature enough so that we can eat a quiet dinner without having to tell anyone to sit down, but I also want him to stay the size for cuddling for a little bit longer. I am not sure I am going to know what to do when he stops wanting to sit on my lap and just be for a little bit each day.

Since this week has been so huge for Jack, poor Annalee is feeling a bit jealous of everything. She and I are going to hit up the State Fair on Friday for a girls date and I am going to figure out something nice to do for her to calm those feelings. It is hard feeling like you are being left behind by your bigger brother, I guess! She is learning by leaps and bounds too, though and is just as spunky as ever. We lowered the seat on Jack's glider for her to use yesterday as he was biking, so she felt a little more like the group.

Fulton Fisherama

Every year, the Fulton's get together to celebrate summer. This year, we decided that Jack would get to go with Mom to the Fisherama and Annalee would stay home with Dad and have a bit of a long weekend together. Jack and I headed North on Friday night. After a rough night at the farm, no one knew if we would be heading further north or heading home. It was determined, however, that once Jack had a bit more sleep, that he was feeling well enough to continue our adventure. Thus, we headed to Grand Rapids.

It turned out to be a fabulous weekend on the water. We fished, we swam and we played in the water.  We are so lucky that our family has so much lake property on Lake Pokegama. Though we are selling my grandparents house sometime soon, there are three more houses on the lake that play host to this ever growing event and we really do count our blessings when we go up there.

Jack had a blast playing with his cousins!

We headed over to my grandparent's house to pick up one or two last little items before it sells. I am guessing this is the last time we will ever be there, so I took some memory photos for me.

And, lastly, though she did not come with this year, Annalee loved her shirt! 

Summer is here!

It is summer, people! What a wonderful time of the year to be a kid! Jack's tball season is nearly over, Annalee has started swimming lessons and Ryan's playing tons of baseball and softball. Nighttime activities are keeping us busy!

Jack has been accepted into a full day preschool in the fall, so he is getting pumped for that! Nearly everyday, he asks if he is going to school yet. Not today, little buddy, but soon! I am looking forward to him being in a classroom, learning with kids his own age and gaining some new friendships. I am a little anxious about letting him go, but know it really is the best thing for him. Full day, five days a week is going to fill his brain up with so much knowledge! That being said, the little girl is a little bit jealous that she will not be attending with him. It will be good for both of them, though, to have some time away from one another. My hope is that it makes their love for one another stronger (that happens with siblings, right?!).

We are heading out on a week-long vacation after July 4th, renting a cabin in Wisconsin with some of Ryan's friends from high school. I am looking forward to a summer week away from work, just hanging with my little people. Ryan is looking forward to seeing his old buddies and reminiscing about the old days (they are getting so old!). As soon as we get home from vacation, I am proud to say that Ryan will be starting a new job! He will be working downtown, so will be taking the bus to work most days and it seems like he is looking forward to learning some new tricks and meeting new people.

That's about it. I have tons of things I want to do with the kids this summer, but am being realistic in knowing we probably won't get to them all. We are having a blast just hanging out in the back yard, playing in the littlest pool in the world and throwing the ball for Tippi.

Dancing babe

She has my moves!

Heading North

We headed north this past weekend to celebrate Jack's birthday at the farm. The kids got to feed the lambs, collect eggs, talk to Pumpkin Pie and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa. Not much to report, other than it was a bit cold and everyone was tired much of the weekend.

He's four, people!

As a followup to my last post, here are Jack's four year stats:


3'5.93" (83.9%)
40 lb 9.6 oz (83.9%)


They no longer do head circumference, instead they take blood pressure and check the kid's eye sight and hearing. Jack thought the hearing test was a game, so that was fun!


He had to get a couple shots, but don't worry, he got to go to the grocery store afterwards for a doughnut. This choice of treat after the doctor really solidifies the fact that he is my kid. Because who wouldn't want a doughnut as their treat choice?!?

Jack's birthday

Our little buddy turned 4 on Sunday!  We didn't do anything big for the day, but we played like crazy! He wanted pancakes, so we brought him to Perkins, where he immediately decided he wanted grilled cheese instead...with bacon. That seems like a good breakfast, right? From there, we went to the park, played, opened gifts, played, went for a bike ride on his new bike, played and invited our Oleson cousins over for cake. Then, we played some more. Jack's favorite gift was his bike. He has known for awhile now that it was coming, but when he actually saw it, his reaction was priceless. He stared, made his funny excited kid noises and said "I told you so, momma! I told you I was getting a bike!" Well, buddy, you were right.

We had plans on Saturday night to take the kids to Frozen on Ice, but Jack got sick, so Annalee and I had a date sans boys. She loved it! And listening to the Target Center echo with all the little kid voices singing Let it Go was probably the most adorable thing I have ever heard.

Just for good measure, here is a photo of Annalee being loved up by her daddy. These two are such hams.
Have a great day!

Fulton

My Grandma Anne passed away last week. She died less than a month after my Grandpa Max. Five weeks to the day, the Fulton clan was back at St. Joseph's Catholic Church saying goodbye to another of the family's leaders. I have so many feelings about her passing. Some are thankful that she is where she wants to be; with my grandpa. Some are angry because death has a way of making me feel that way. Most are just sad. In our family, there has been tension for years about things that I was too young to grasp when they were happening. I still do not fully comprehend the pain that the adults in my life were able to cause each other and I don't know if I even care to understand them now that she is gone. The past is in the past and forgiveness and moving on after old feelings were unearthed for some are going to have to be the next steps taken on this journey.That being said, I loved my Grandma and am quite sad that she is no longer around to chat with. I wholeheartedly believe that she, my Grandpa and my dad are watching over us and having a good laugh together about the folly's we find ourselves in down here. I also think my dad might be shaking his fist at his brothers and sister, wondering how he is going to adjust to dealing with both of them with so little time to adjust! Ha! That is a funny thought.
To all who have offered condolences to my family, thank you. Everything is fine and we have some wonderful memories that will keep their memory alive. And this summer, I plan on kicking ass when it comes to finding four-leaf clovers and will dedicate each of those little treasures to Anne Fulton's memory.