Happy Anniversary!

WOW - 6 years together already!! Happy Anniversary Eric and I am loving every minute of it. We had a great memory of our wedding from 6 years ago this past weekend, October 9th. We were celebrating our friends' wedding and reliving our day in many of the same ways. Father Lieser did the wedding mass, the entire wedding party and guests took a bus to the local tavern, Scooters, for some drinks, then off to the Greenwald Pub for great food, drinks and dancing. Like I said, reliving our wedding day in so many ways...Congratulations Kayla and Eric Meyer!

Pumpkins AND Pizza

Today we went to Hwy 101 Market to the Pumpkin Farm in Elk River. There was lots to do and Taylor loved every minute and wanted to stay longer. They had tons of pumpkins of all sorts: big ones and little ones, smooth ones and bumpy ones, orange ones and white ones. At the end Taylor picked a tiny baby one!! Taylor played in the corn pit for a long time, she was jumping and swimming, laying and walking in the corn...she had it everywhere! Then we wanted to try the Corn Maze, so Taylor started by leading us through the maze. Eric and I didn't really know what to expect, once we were in the maze for awhile we looked at a map and say how BIG the maze really was. We also decided we would help Taylor in deciding which way to go a little more. We did find our way out, but it took some time and some shortcuts! At the end of the maze was the giant Jumpy Pumpkin...of course Taylor wanted to do that too. She finally came out because she was hungry!!

We went to Broadway for some Pizza....we were at the right spot at the right time. Our table was by the pull tabs. As we were waiting for our pizza, some random guy playing pull tabs dropped off a 20 dollar bill at our table. We gratefully said thank you and also asked WHY? He said I once had a family too. Within 10 minutes, another trip to the pull tab box and another $20 on our table. As we were eating he made one last trip to the box, dropped off $10 and said he wanted to make it an even $50!! Must have been our lucky day :)

Taylor leading the way

Taylor AND Daddy leading the way

Corn Pit

No More PULL-UPS

Taylor threw away her pull-ups last Friday morning...she has been dry for a number of mornings so we told her she could start wearing underwear this weekend. She could also pick out a new comforter for her bedroom, she insisted on Dora but I convinced her to go the Princess route since she has so much other Dora stuff. There is a big fuzzy blanket that is Dora that she would really like - I told her maybe Santa would bring it for Christmas.

Friday night we tried big girl underwear for bedtime, Eric and I didn't have a lot of faith since we were at the neighbors, she had more to drink late into the night than usual, and she went to bed later than normal....BUT in the morning she was DRY and so proud of it. Saturday night we went back to our normal routine and bedtime, but she had one little accident. Sunday night she was DRY, so we are 2 for 3 and we will see how she does this week.

She is getting to be our big girl. She is so fun to hang out with, play games with and teach grownup things. Sometimes she is really interested and others she could care less. I guess that is why kids are kids.

She is anxiously awaiting Halloween, her costume is ready to go and so is she...too bad she has to wait 4 more weeks. I am happy Halloween falls on a weekend this year, I think we will be able to take her more places because of it. I know all the grandparents and great-grandparents enjoy seeing the little ones.

Fall FUN

FALL is here...I just love the smell of the leaves and the air this time of the year. Hopefully this weather will stick around for a while, this is one season that I think is too short.

We started celebrating fall a few weekends ago at mom's with the kids. Mom and I took Taylor, Drew, and Raegan to Nelson Farm by Litchfield. They had a day of fun planned for everyone....the kids were petting all kinds of animals (chicks, sheep, goats, turkeys, and more), going on lawn tractor train rides, eating mini doughnuts and had their faces painted. There was HUGE playset with a long tunnel slide that Taylor and Drew absolutely LOVED. I lost count of how many times they raced up the ladder, only to stand in line patiently, then zoom down the slide and run around to do it all over again. They laughed so much. Raegan was busy on the slides that were her size, altho she would have done this big one too if someone would have brought her to the top! Next year...
We went on a tractor ride where we rode in the hay trailer, through the corn field and the pumpkin patch, the kids thought we were going to get stuck! I cannot forget about the wagon ride Taylor, Drew and I did...down a big hill and I had to steer...again the kids just laughed! At the end of the day we all had to pick out a pumpkin to bring to grandmas for painting.
No more than 5 minutes into the car ride home, all 3 kiddos were sleeping!!




Running through the corn tunnels

Raegan turned 2 last week, we celebrated this weekend with a party at their house. She is becoming such a big girl, so independent and follows her big brother's every move. Taylor loves playing with her every time they get together. The weather was so nice we were able to run off some energy outside. The kids played baseball while the male adults shot some bow and arrow and pellet guns!! We ended the day with gifts, a meal, and birthday cake. Happy Birthday Raegan - I am so happy to be your godmother!

We've had a busy fall so far....we went to our 2nd Twins game in earlier in September also, the outdoor baseball is just so much fun and the stadium is amazing!! That same weekend we were at the Vikings game, even though they lost the game was still lots of fun and the atmosphere was just great. We went with Rick and Brooke and we had so much fun people watching more so than watching the game!! Thanks to both our companies for getting us tickets to these games.

Fun Photo Shoot

We had so much fun shooting these photos...thanks Erin!!

Happy Birthday Taylor

Taylor is 3 Already!!!

We celebrated with a birthday party on Saturday...most of our family was able to make it and some friends!

Tuesday, July 20 - her actual birthday, we celebrated again with our neighbors.

Sunday we went to the Sherburne County Fair in Elk River. Taylor really enjoyed all the animals and loved most of the rides.

Happy Birthday America!

Making mud pancakes for daddy

We celebrated July 4th, wishing Happy Birthday to America. Taylor thought it was so fun to have a party for America.

We spent some time at the lake in Alexandria with G&G Spanier. The day was gorgeous, lots of sun, lots of water time! Taylor had so much fun with everyone, including the dog - Belle! We ended the night with a campfire, fireworks, smores and one big slumber party in the living room of the cabin....all 5 of us. Taylor thought it was pretty neat to sleep with everyone together!
Sunday we came back to Elk River to spend the day with our neighbors. The girls had a blast playing in the sprinklers, on the wet slide, making smores, and doing fireworks!
Monday we played outside all day, set up the pool and enjoyed the sun and weather...what a great weekend!

Taylor loved the slide at the park.

At the park at the lake with the cousins

WOW Fireworks!!!

Spring is here....

It has been a busy spring for us, we've been working on a lot of house/yard projects. Things seem to be coming along just fine. We put a fence up on one side of our yard, by the swamp. Eric also built a garden for me earlier in April. Taylor and I have planted a few things, potatoes, strawberries, carrots, onions, radishes, kolrhabi....so far the radishes have pushed through and the strawberries are doing wonderful. Taylor had lots of fun helping me plant, Eric even learned a few things about gardening and how it all works. Her favorite part was stepping the potatoes in and covering them up with dirt, then pushing the onion bulbs in and covering them up with dirt. She likes to go check on the garden each night to see what has popped through the ground! We have flowers, cucumbers, sweet corn, tomatoes, and peppers still to plant....just need another nice day and some warm weather that will stay.

Taylor is becoming such a big girl...she is now in PreSchool at daycare and LOVES it. She has been re-united with some of her "older" friends and does really well with all the other kids. She and her best friend Kacie are back together again. There isn't as much detail with the reports we get from PreSchool but I assume she is doing great with all the important things otherwise they would tell me. We are still working on the potty and naptime and bedtime routine. Some days she gets it and other days she gets wet!

With the weather being so nice we've been enjoying lots of time outside. Taylor has been busy with the neighbor kids, Allie and Zander. Allie is the same age as Taylor and they play really well together. They run over to each other's houses and back, have snacks and juice boxes at either house and just have a great time! We have also been able to have a few campfires with our neighbors. It is fun for all of us, enjoying smores and a few beers.

Taylor is busy planning her birthday party. She has been asking for a Barbie jeep for a couple of weeks now. We told her for her birthday maybe! We also said she would be able to get it early if she conquered this potty at naptime and bedtime time issue. She has a good understanding....when I pick her up from daycare, if she had an accident she tells me - no Barbie jeep today. Allie just got a jeep which she is sharing with Taylor, but of course she wants her own. Maybe this will help with the training.

The girls had a lot of fun driving the jeep around but they need driving lessons. As usual they just sit in the jeep, play the radio, and not worry about paying attention or steering. It is quite funny actually.

Bella the Bunny

This past weekend, Taylor was able to take pictures with Bella the bunny! She had a great time and was even brave enough to touch her. Thanks Erin, you did great work!

Happy Easter!

Potty Training

We have been busy working on potty and poopy training AND for the most part we have succeeded!!! It has been a long road, one thing at a time, but Taylor is potty and poop trained, except for naps at home and bedtime! It is so nice not to have to worry about packing diapers, pullup, or even extra clothes for her if we go out and about. Just need to worry about her!

Taylor was very good about the poopy training, once she was interested she had it conquered in a week. She then got to pick out a toy and her request was the pink vacuum at Target!! It really sucks up some dirt - gotta love a little girl who is willing to clean for her mommy. She really loves it and has been doing really good ever since!

Eventually we will be brave enough to let her do naps at home with no pullup, then go all night - for now, she likes her pull up!