First Week Back...

This week was WAY harder than I thought.  I only had two days, but they were long and I really missed the kids.  Wednesday was the worst since we had our "Meet the Teacher" so I was gone all day and didn't get home till 7! YIKES... I can't imagine doing that everyday, no thank you!

The kids did great and had fun running my errands with Doe.  Each day I gave Jacob a special errand to do for me (for example Wednesday they went to Costco to get milk & strawberries for vacation).  He loved that! 

As anticipated this week the kids started sleeping in really late.  I figured as soon as I went back to work they'd go back to sleeping in! These next few weeks are going to be hectic with my work schedule and Jacob going to school... let alone all the little errands and trying to get our house ready to sell.  UGH... well in any case we are headed up north for our last HURRAH in Caseville.  

One week left...

I'm really getting bummed.  I start back this coming week... only 2 days but I'm REALLY going to miss the kids.  This weekend we headed up north again.  We went up Friday... it was so HOT!  Greg came up Friday night.  Saturday was beautiful.  We played on the beach and in the water all day.  Saturday night it rained so we took a "field trip" to see the wind turbines in Pigeon/Elkton.  It was very neat to see them so close up.  Jacob and Grace got to enjoy some superman ice cream when they got back... YUMMY.  On Sunday we came home and we also got to go to Tete's work picnic.  It was alot of fun for the kids.  Jacob and Grace had so much fun in the bounce house, eating cookies, playing in the sand, and eating! Jacob even got to try to whack a pinata... he was so sweet at how gently he hit it!! It was a nice weekend... I was sad to see it end.  I'll get pictures up soon... we have a bunch from the last few weeks (cheeseburger, caseville, the park, etc).

Park & Parisian...

Well first things first!! This morning we took some pictures of Jacob with his backpack... note his new haircut!! We also HAD to take pictures of his new shoes he got yesterday that he doesn't want to take off!! We took him to a local shoe store and got him a pair of GEOX... he picked out the color (which was perfect since we were also getting him a pair of khaki colored fleece lined crocs so I wanted something that wasn't too bright but also not brown). He really loves the GEOX, they are nice shoes. Anything for my boy!!

The SHOES...

My boy... pointing out his new shoes!

Then I decided to take the kids to the park. Jacob was so excited when we pulled up he told me that it was the same park Tete had taken him too!! (He remembered!) They both had fun climbing up and sliding down, swinging and running! We even got a visit from Bets, Cam & Doe. We were there nearly 2 hours... the kids were totally wiped by the time we were done.

After dinner Doe & I went to Parisian... and I caught the kids kissing in the cart! So this one's for Mary Jo!! I NEVER go anywhere without my camera!!

Then we stopped by Uncle Tim's to see his new chameleon's and to sit on his tractor (of course!).... we topped our night off with a wagon ride. What a nice day!

School Shopping...

Today I took both kids with me to school so I could get some things in order... they did great! Jacob loved helping me. He helped put my posters up by putting the sticky tack on the back... he loved that job! The kids also got to play with Ryan & Olivia (my teaching partner's children). At one point we decided to take a break and go to the playground... the kids loved that! Grace was the first one climbing up the steps to go down the slide which made Jacob feel like it was OK. After naps my Mom & I were planning on heading over to the mall... I had some things to get and I wanted Jacob to pick out a backpack for school. I am not a huge fan of character type things... especially with clothing and backpacks. SO... we decided to let him pick at either Gymboree or Children's Place. After seeing his options at Children's Place he picked out the camo one immediately... which I thought was pretty cute as well. We got him the mini one, since he really is only 2 still!! He tried it on and was so excited! It almost made me cry to think he is going to school this year! My baby is growing up WAY too fast! We also ran to Stride Right to double check shoe sizes... and boy these kids have big feet! They suggested a 10 wide for Jacob and a 6 for Gracie. I currently have her in a 5 (for sandals) and 6 for tennis shoes so I was dead on for her! Jacob I also had right... I am now on the hunt for wide shoes for him for school, but I may just have to head back there since I know they have a "wide"er (lol) selection! I also got Grace's halloween costume, but I'm not telling what it is!! (I may change my mind but it was cute so I decided to get it and if I find something I like better we can return it!)

Jacob with his backpack... & In his JAMMIES!

Lily's First Birthday PARTY!!

So today I decided to make it a Grace day. We got invited to Lily's (my friend Heather's daughter) first birthday party, so just Grace & I went... leaving the boys at home. We had so much fun... it was a nice get together. Grace was a little crabby (I think she is getting her I-teeth) but nonetheless she enjoyed eating mostacolli, bread, and CAKE! Lily looked so cute... her and Grace are pretty much the same size, I can't wait to see them actually play together.

Towards the end of our visit Grace took a nasty spill off the steps right onto the cement. She cried pretty hard but came away with just a small goose egg and bruise! Thanks to Heather's Mom we had lots of TLC after our fall!!

Me, Grace, Heather, Lily & Heather's Cousin with her baby

Grace really warmed up to Dave... she got right up in his lap and was playing with his collar. SO cute!

Oh... and CONGRATS to Heather... she is going to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune!! I'm so excited for her!! :)

Some Things I've Learned...

The other day I was at the craft show in Caseville with both kids & my Mom.  Jacob & Grace were staked out in their stroller and doing what they do best... EATING.  A older woman came up to me and commented on how good the kids were.  I thanked her... she went on to say how "smart" I was for keeping them busy (with food :)), she was amazed that more mom's don't do that type of thing... which surprises me too.  I never leave home without food and milk for a small army.  :) That got me thinking... so I started to think about some things my kids have taught me! Here's my top 1o in no real order (it was too hard to order them!)...

10.  Even on the worst of day... a smile or hug from YOUR child can brighten your whole day. 

9. 1 is easy... what was I thinking when I thought just having Jacob was HARD! UGH... two is a bit more challenging and that's all I can say since I have no experience with more than 2.  They tag-team and usually when one is quiet the other is misbehaving.  They both copy the bad behaviors from one another... yet they also copy the good.

8. Trips require a full car load no matter if your going for the night or for the week one child or both.  Either way they require the same amount of "stuff".  

7. You really learn how much your parents loved and cared for you.  Thus... making you want to love and care for  your parents even more! On this same line you also realize that how important it is to treat them fairly.. no favorites.  Each child should feel as loved and as cared for as the next.

6.  Public restrooms really are disgusting.... especially when you have little hands that don't realize they shouldn't be touching everything! 

5. Pack FOOD anywhere and everywhere you go... you can never have enough and kids always get hungry when they are "out and about".

4.  Take your camera everywhere you go... it never fails that my kids do something cute when I've left the camera in the car or at home! 

3.  Earrings are a must for little girls.... that bows and bracelets.  Do it as soon as possible so they learn to keep them in/on! :)

2.  It's harder to be a good parent and teach your child the "right" way than it is to be a bad parent and let your child "have" their way and get whatever they want... right mom?

1. You can hurt me... but please don't hurt my child or their feelings.  When someone hurts my child's feelings it seems to be really hard to forgive them.  Labor is nothing compared to the heartache you feel when your child is sad or upset. 

Just my perspective on parenthood...

Cheesburger In Caseville

The kids on our way up... check out Jacob's 2 sets of sunglasses!! :)
After our exciting WIGGLES concert We headed back to Doe's to get Gracie & Doe and head up to CASEVILLE for CHEESEBURGER weekend! Wednesday is the parade day so we didn't want to miss that... Doe, the kids & I were the only ones able to head up that week since everyone else had to work but we had an action packed exciting week none-the-less. Here is a run down of what we did each day!!

Wednesday 13th: Parade... the parade starts at 6 pm but we actually had to put our chairs out the night before. The parade has about 50,000 people that attend. It is called the PARADE OF TROPICAL FOOLS... it is a blast. We arrived about 4 to check out our seats. From there they had little mini cars parked in front of us which the kids got to check out and sit in. I fed them some snacks and Doe to Gracie for a walk to see some friends that were at the end of the parade route (we were at the beginning). Jacob was wearing his fish shorts, a yellow cheeseburger shirt, a lei and flamingo head bobbers (Greg would kill me for that!) Grace wore her grass skirt a lei, and a flamingo (or flanino as Jakey calls them) shirt. The kids got freezer pops, beach balls, beads & leis, candy, and frisbees. The parade lasted about 2 hours... it was sooo much fun!

On a sad note we found out just before our visit to the parade that Uncle & Aunt Cathy's little puppy had died. We are so sad for them... she was such an adorable little puppy. Keep them in your thoughts... although we know Pops is probably taking great care of little Sophie!

Thursday 14th: Thursday both the kids slept in really late... so once they finally got up we went to the fire station. They were giving out free bicycle helmets and tours of a medical helicopter. We got the kids fitted for their helmets and then Jacob hopped into the helicopter. He didn't want to take off his helmet... he loved it. After that we walked through town to check out the little shops set up for cheeseburger weekend. Then we headed back for lunch and naps... when we got up we played on the beach. Jacob got to go down Lucas' slide and they did some digging (their usual!)

Grace got her bottom left I tooth today as well!

Friday 15th: On Friday we got up early stopped at some stores in Caseville (I wanted to get Jacob a shirt and it wasn't going to be in till Friday... and I also bought him a giant cheeseburger hat (he wore it the rest of the weekend... I thought Greg would hate it but he thinks its pretty cool... check back soon for more pictures they are on my Mom's camera) and then we headed out to Port Austin to go swimming in Mr. Gary & Mrs. Beth's pool at the motel. We were the only ones there and we had a nice time. We came back to have lunch... Jacob played with Lucas outside for a bit (squirting eachother with squirt guns) and then we took naps. When we got up Jacob and Lucas had Mr. Bob dig them a BIG hole on the beach and they made a pool. Jacob kept telling me to get in!! The boys play so nice together... as does Grace. They played for quite a while until we had dinner. After dinner we headed back to Port Austin to visit with the Dillons. Jacob & Grace had fun with the kids playing in the sand.

Saturday 16th: On Saturday we went shopping in town and went to the craft sale. We headed back that night and stopped at Gigi's on the way home.

I would HIGHLY recommend Cheeseburger weekend, there is so much to do... and it is a beautiful town. I can't wait till next year!! Greg is coming too, which will be fun. He doesn't believe us about how many people are there!

The only downfall to the weekend was that both kids had horrible allergies... I had to call the pediatrician to see what they could take and they said the ragweed is really bad now.  Poor kids!

The WIGGLES!!

Today was a "Jacob" day!! This morning I took Jacob to Target... we attempted to look for a backpack for school but we found nothing we liked. Then after Target we went to Gramma Doe's to have lunch and drop Grace off. Before we left Gramma Doe shot a quick picture of us on our "date".

Jacob & I cruised to the Palace blaring our Wiggles CD the whole way. When we finally got there we had a slight problem that involved Mommy not having any CASH (anyone who really knows me knows I never have cash) to park. Needless to say they let me park for free... they must have felt bad for us!

Since we saved 10 bucks in the parking lot I decided to buy Jacob a BIG RED CAR light wand... which he loved. His little face just lit up when he saw it. We had to go in the MONSTER long gift shop line since... you guessed it... we didn't have CASH! AHHHH so since we were in the line I decided we'd also get him a cute little shirt with the Wiggles, Dorothy, Wags, Captain Feathersword, & Henry! He wanted to put it on right away... it was worth every penny. I wanted him to feel really special since he has brightened so many of my days.

We trotted in and to our seats... when I ordered online I didn't think our seats were that bad but when we got in I realized we were the second row from the top aka the nosebleeds. It really didn't matter and we had a blast even up there!

Before the concert I told Jacob we were going to take a picture to show Daddy how happy we were at the WIGGLES... I took the picture myself and this was the end result! (I think he definitely has a little BUBBA in him)

I showed him on my camera what his little face looked like and started laughing so we took another one... MUCH BETTER!

When the concert to start I decided to snap a couple of pictures as Jacob stared at the stage in excitement!

The Wiggles were awesome... we both really enjoyed the show. They really got the crowd going... it was so adorable because at the end Jacob kept saying "Mom, The Wiggles are waving to me!" He was so excited...

What goes around comes around...

So last week on Wednesday morning Jacob & Grace were playing when Grace hit Jacob in the face with a shape from their little play house... his eye was all red, scratched and almost looked like he had a slight black eye. Well today I took the kids to school with me to set up (they did do really well.. Grace rocked herself in the baby cradle, they had snacks, Jacob unstacked EVERY chair, and they played in the kitchen and train table area) I heard Grace crying looked over and her eye appeared to look the exact same as his... red, scratched and purple. I don't know if Jacob did it or if she did it to herself, but all I could think of is... what goes around comes around. The only difference was it was her left eye... his right!

Jacob's Right Eye (One Day Later)

Grace's Left Eye (The Same Day)

Shocker... 2 Words!

Well aside from sticking her finger in the light socket yesterday (8/9) and getting SHOCKED (poor girl, luckily she was just fine although a little scared)... Grace also said her first two word phrase!! While we were up north I was holding Grace and told my Mom & Greg to "Get Up", their naptime was OVER! Well when we went in to wake up Gigi Jacob was telling her "Get Up Gigi" when I heard Gracie say "GEUP"... yup her first little two word phrse! YEAH GRACE!

More Body Parts

Grace continued on to point and say NOSE & MOUTH today!! 

Gigi got to see Grace walking today... she is really doing well walking on the cement and grass!!

EYES & First BOO-BOO!!

Grace pointed and said EYES today!!  She also took her first tumble on the cement and got her very first boo-boo!! Jacob was so compassionate and gave her alot of love and kisses!!

Our NEW Cousin... SOPHIE!!

Ok... so Sophie is a dog, but don't tell her parents! Tonight we visited Uncle Tim & Aunt Cathy and their new ADORABLE puppy Sophie.  :)  Jacob absolutely loved her and Grace kept saying "dog" the whole time we were there.  Here are a couple cute pictures of us with Sophie! 

Sophie Giving Jacob KISSES!

Grace, Tracy, Jacob & Sophie

Doe, Jacob & Sophie!

Grace is...16 Months!!

This month has been HUGE for Grace… not only has she started to walk but she is also getting quite good at it! From the get go she was going across rooms... its funny because she occasionally still scoots and crawls, but she is really loving the walking!! (And Jacob loves seeing and helping her walk... she likes to grab onto his back and they do the train, lol!) Gramma Doe bought her very first pair of pink Nikes (a tradition…. Jacob had the same ones in blue!). She is also gaining more vocabulary… she now calls for Doe, Mama, Dada, and brother. She is saying and waving Hi & Bye all the time… she also says ball, dog, wee, cheese (for the food and when she sees the camera), no, yea, more, and what sounds like ma for milk. I’m sure there are some more words I’m forgetting!! I was starting to get a little worried about her and her vocabulary but thanks to Mary Jo, I’m feeling better and just remembering what I can do to help! I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s talking our ears off like Jacob does!!
Grace has been having a blast at the cottage both in the water and in the sand… she is a little daredevil and gets into pretty much anything and everything, which is so different than Jacob! We really have to keep an eye on her, since we are really not use to that!
Grace eats pretty much anything… some of her favorites include: grilled cheese, pizza, chicken brats, pretzels, waffles, muffins, cheese, cookies, and anything JACOB has… go figure!
This summer Grace's hair has really lightened up, it quite possibly could get darker over the winter but it sure looks pretty light now! Maybe she's taking after DOE! Her eyes are still a greenish/brownish color which is really unique looking, and although I'm hoping they stay like this... who knows!
This little girl has quite the diva personality, she is a little sassy but nonetheless very ADORABLE! She likes to scrunch her little face and say “NOOOOO” at you when she wants to do something that you don’t want her too, I think we may have our hands full!
Grace has been such a joy to us... she is so very lovable. Each time we get her up from bed she puts her head down on your shoulder and just loves on you. She is always trying to hug and kiss on her brother and on Cam! She is just a little lover... I think that is by far one of her best qualities. I have honestly never seen such a loveable girl... Jacob was pretty lovey but nothing like this. Such a cuddler and so sweet... a kiss for everyone!

LAKE, LAKE!!

So Doe & I have been trying our hardest to get a video clip of Jacob going up north... each time our cameras either were not charged or we didn't have them! So last Thursday (7.31.08) we FINALLY got a good video of him. As soon as we turn onto Port Austin Road and he starts to see the lake he does this... sometimes its louder... but you'll get the idea. Sorry if its a little bumpy looking... I was videoing from the front seat. That would also explain the beeping... my seatbelt was off so I could manage both cameras! One for our video camera and the regular camera so you would have it for your viewing pleasure!

I've been going crazy with the postings... :)

Gracie is WALKING!!

Well our little girl has FINALLY done it, she's WALKING!! Tonight we were at Gramma Doe's for some of her yummy fried eggplant. Grace wanted Mommy's cell phone so badly... Greg threw it to me and I went to catch it. Well Grace was by the coffee table, she turned around and walked right to me. I was in TOTAL shock!! I thought it might be a fluke, well it wasn't!! She walked numerous times the rest of the night. It was so very exciting, I think even more so since we've waited so long for this special moment! It just really made my day... even more so since it happened on my Dad's birthday. We caught some awesome video of it with the video camera and decided to try to catch a little more with our regular camera so we could upload it for everyone else to see by then she was getting a little tired! Jacob is so cute in it too... walking and saying "walk, walk, walk, lady"... just love it!

Those of you who said 16 months in the poll... WIN!! Although she is still technically 15 months until tomorrow... lol!!

Jacob On His Bobcat!

Tonight when we got home from the cottage Jacob kept telling us he wanted to ride his bobcat... well usually when he "RIDES" it that means he just sits on it and makes the cutest little noise with his mouth getting his lips ALL wet. Well tonight he actually rode it... he drove it ROUND and ROUND the driveway with Grace not far behind in her little cozy coupe being pushed by Daddy. I just thought it was so cute how he was waving at me as I taped. So... ENJOY!

Grace Grinding Her Teeth & Free Eats!

Today I noticed Grace was grinding her teeth... ughhhhh. This girl just gives me one worry after another.
We also had Free Eats in Caseville today. It always is so much fun to have friends and family up north with us. We were a bit worried that the weather might not cooperate but it did pull through in the afternoon. The kids had a blast playing in the sand, in the water, and riding the four wheeler... while the adults ate, talked, swam and lounged in the sun. I can't wait to see what next year will bring! We have pictures that will be posted soon, so be sure to check the link on the side.