Kyle, Jessica, & Mikayla

Monkeys

2012-02-04T15:16:00.006-06:00

Barnes & Noble had a Curious George storytime this morning. Mikayla loved it! She gave him a high five and said, "he's so soft!" :) Then she just stood by him looking at him, smiling, and waving.

We don't really need the big diaper bag for meeting anymore, so I made this bag for Mikayla's meeting stuff.

Have a good Saturday!

Phone pictures

2012-02-01T11:52:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blog posts! Here are some phone pictures of what Mikayla's been up to.

Barnes & Noble is becoming a favorite hang out for us...M loves the trains.

Wearing some big snow boots :)

The Children's Museum...playing in the water. Next time I will bring her a change of clothes, she was soaked!

Painting the window at the Children's Museum

More playing at the Children's Museum

Helping Mom make brownies. I am so happy to have someone else in the house that likes them too!

2 year stats

2012-01-22T13:32:00.003-06:00

Mikayla had her 2 year check up a few weeks ago. Here are her stats and what she is up to. :)

Height: 2 ft 11 in. (76th percentile)

Weight: 26 lbs (49th percentile)

This was by far, the worst dr appt. She cried, no wait, screamed the entire time! I think she remembers being there for shots in the past. She didn't even need shots this time. I am glad we have a whole year to prepare her for the next dr visit (hopefully!)

Sleeps in a big girl bed! Still 8pm-8am. She still takes a great nap too, about 3 hours.

Can count to 10....but not if you ask her to. :)

She is not too picky of an eater, but definately loves sweets!

Talks in 4-5 word sentences. We have a jabberbox on our hands ha!

She is not too interested in potty training and we aren't pushing it. She loves to sit on the potty chair and read books but won't actually go.

Here she is today, in her birthday outfit from Great Gma Carol. Thanks for the cute outfit!

Snow

2012-01-12T14:02:00.004-06:00

Wow, this weather is crazy! Yesterday was 50 degrees out and we were playing at the park. Today it's snowing and freezing. We bundled up and went outside for a bit after lunch. Mikayla liked the snow, except when I was shoveling...she thought I should be playing with her. :)

She had fun using her sand shovels and buckets :)

This kid drinks sooo much hot cocoa

Watching the snow plow

"toefake" shirt :)

Last week in pictures

2012-01-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mikayla got some birthday money from Auntie Tiff & Uncle Conor, so she bought a mini ball pit and some mega blocks, thank you!

Daddy and Mikayla before Special Meeting

While we were in MN, Tyler and Jonna had some fun markers for coloring on windows. We bought some and Mikayla loves them! Something new and fun to do while we are stuck inside this winter. :)

After her bath Mikayla was trying on her hats...she is all about hats these days!

Toddler Bed

2012-01-05T22:34:00.002-06:00

Mikayla's crib converts to a toddler bed, so we decided to let her try it out. The first night she cried a little, but hasn't since then. She also fell out of bed during the night the first 2 nights. It is very close to the ground so I don't think it hurt her and she barely woke up. Naps are going well too. What is very surprising to me is that she does not get out of bed on her own at all. She waits until we come into her room. I just figured she would try climbing out of bed and roaming around the house at 2 am. :) She also likes to call it her "cute little bed" haha. Definately not a baby anymore!

2011 (Year in Review)

2011-12-31T19:50:00.006-06:00

January

We went on a cruise with the Olsen side of the family!

February

We visited Great Gma and went for a ride in her walker :)

March

We went to Arizona to see Grandma & Grandpa!

April

Special Meeting

May

Mikayla got a fun new car!

June

A visit to the Milwaukee Zoo with Grandma & Grandpa!

July

Auntie Kaylyn & Uncle Greg's Wedding!

August

We went to Minnesota and went to Mall of America

September

Auntie Tiff & Uncle Conor got married!

October

First time trick or treating

November

Lots of hot cocoa :)

December

Happy 2nd Birthday Mikayla!

Mikayla's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-12-19T19:41:00.007-06:00

Mikayla's party was a lot of fun, thanks to everyone that was able to come and for all of the presents!

My little sweetie & I

Birthday Food!

Drinks
Eating supper

Presents!

Time for cake!

The ice cream cone was part of a gift...she would not let go of it!

Nice Grandma, Aunt, & Uncle putting together presents :)

Trying out the new doll stroller and backpack

Aunt Kaylyn was nice enough to make many laps around the house haha

Happy Birthday Mikayla!

2011-12-14T22:28:00.003-06:00

She was so excited to see balloons & presents this morning!

A new doll high chair from Grandma & Grandpa!

And a fun Dora tent too!

Had to have some hot cocoa after all that playing :)

Trying out the new broom from Mom & Dad

We went out to lunch at Red Robin...she was more interested in the balloons than the ice cream :)

Our mtg stayed after bible study for a cupcake!

While Daddy's Away...

2011-12-07T15:45:00.003-06:00

Kyle has been in California for a week now (comes home tomorrow...yippee!!) so here's what Mikayla & I have been up to.

A picnic with her stuffed animals/dolls. She gave them all some play food.

We made some treats...

This "popcorn madness" was really good! Mikayla didn't really like it, she kept holding up her fingers and saying "sticky sticky!"

Milo came over to play!

For Mikayla's birthday, we got her a small table and chairs. They came in the mail on Monday so I just had to put them together. (We got her a few little presents she can open on her birthday too). This pictures is pretty typical....buy kids new stuff and they just like the box it comes in! Once the box was gone she liked the table more... :)

This morning she was playing with all the hats and mittens and decided to climb in the basket. Which was fine...until she got stuck! Haha poor kid, her Mom taking pictures while she screamed. :)

And one week from today she will be 2!! How can that be???? She is pretty excited, talks about her birthday all the time!

Hot cocoa & dressing herself

2011-11-22T19:49:00.003-06:00

Sadly, these are the only pictures I have of November so far. Kyle says I will make up for it this weekend. :)

Mikayla tried hot (warmish) cocoa for the first time a few weeks ago and now she can't get enough! Yes, she drinks the kind with the bright colored nasty looking marshmellows haha!

Auntie Tiff sent a new shirt for Mikayla from Hawaii...she was determined to get it on by herself. First it was on her legs which I really wish I had been quick enough to get a picture of!

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving!!!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Mikayla LOVED trick or treating. I was worried she would be too shy and would only last for a couple of houses. She did great though! She said "trick or treat", "thank you", and "bye bye" at all the houses. We went around about 1/2 of our neighborhood. A lot of houses had dogs or cats and I think she thought she was going to stay and play with them haha. (The first couple pictures are blurry because my camera was on the wrong setting...sorry!)

Pre-trick or treating sucker

All set to go!

Cutest puppy I've ever seen :)

Checking out all her candy

Time for another sucker!

Halloween Weekend

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Grandpa Ray and Grandma Karen came to visit us on Halloween weekend! Belleville's "UFO Day" was Saturday. We had never gone before, and I thought Mikayla might like the parade this year.

Friday night M painted her pumpkin! She did not like how messy it was. ;)

My Mother in law was sweet enough to carve pumpkins with me...I was pretty excited about it!

Watching the parade on Saturday.

She got soooo much candy!! Had to try some of it while watching from Daddy's shoulders.

She loved the llamas. (And we are still hearing about them a week later!)

Weekend in MN

2011-11-05T17:10:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago we went up to Minnesota for Tiffany & Conor's reception. It was a lot of fun to see everyone again! I didn't get many pictures because I was chasing my kid around most of the time! :)

2 cuties playing one morning

Reception setting, before everyone arrived

More getting ready...

Gift table

Dessert table! This was before all the cheesecakes were put out.

Tiff & Conor leaving

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T20:32:00.004-05:00

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch...lots of fun for Mikayla!

When she saw the "punkees" she took off running!

Eating her doughnut

She was very concerned about her messy/sugary hands ha!

Apple Orchard, Farmer's Market, & The Zoo!

2011-10-10T21:01:00.002-05:00

We've had a lot of fun the past few weeks! Grandma Marcie came to visit and we went to the Apple Orchard. It was a little cold, but still fun. The goats were a big hit, pretty much every day we hear this from Mikayla..."I see goats apple orch!" :)

"Hiiiii goat!"

We also went to the Farmer's Market in downtown Madison with Grandma. She bought M a yummy cookie.

Last Thursday we went to the zoo with some friends, it was about 80 degrees out! You can't see Mikayla in either of these pictures...oops!

Just words...

2011-09-26T16:48:00.002-05:00

No pictures, sorry!

Mikayla has started calling me "Jess". A few weeks ago I noticed she was calling me "mom" instead of "mommy" and now this?? Wahh!

My car keys got locked in the car...with M in it. We were in a mall parking lot so the nice security guard called a locksmith and she was probably only in there by herself for 30 mins. But she was MAD! She was kicking her leg all over the door, but couldn't unlock it with her foot. Poor thing...the security guard gave her a sucker and we were on our way, but I felt terrible!

M is getting to be quite the little backseat driver. At stoplights or stop signs she says "Go Dis(this)" and points. She knows exactly how to get to the parks by our house too.

We went in for flu shots last week. She would point to her leg, where she got the shot, and say "doctor". Now whenever she sees an owie, she says "doctor" like he caused that owie too!

Any little kid we see M stetches out her arms and says "I carry?". She wanted to carry the neighbor girl the other day who is the same size....didn't work out so well. :)

Tiffany's Bridal Shower

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Tiffany's bridal shower was on Sept. 10th. Congratulations Tiff! :)

Tyler's 5th Birthday Party

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Pictures from Tyler's Birthday Party. Shannon did an awesome job!

Cookie dough & Dora Jeep

2011-09-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

Mikayla had her first beater of cookie dough....you know she LOVED it! :)

Mikayla's very nice cousins gave her this Dora jeep, thank you!

Just because...

2011-08-11T21:20:00.003-05:00

I know in the dead of winter I am going to want to look at pictures of Mikayla playing outside in her cute summer outfit! :) These were from a few Saturdays ago.

*Other updates*

Mikayla had her 18 mo. check up the other day. She weighs 25 lbs(60th %) and is 34 inches tall(90th%) She hasn't gained any weight since March but she has grown 3 inches.

She had her first sleepover at her cousins! Jon and Shannon took her for 2 nights last weekend. I know she LOVED all the attention!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T21:20:00.003-05:00

Red, white, and blue chocolate covered strawberries I made for the picnic today.

Mikayla ready to go!

This morning Mikayla and I found bunnies under the rosebush...they were so cute!

We put a carrot under there for them to eat and checked later and it was half gone haha!

Just some pictures

2011-06-30T23:01:00.002-05:00

Random pics from June...

She really likes coloring now!

Go Twins!

Mikayla drinks out of a big kid cup now. She does really well with it!

Her latest thing when she wakes up from nap/in the morning is putting her animals on the crib railing, she can get all but one of the dogs up there. :)

Milwaukee Zoo

2011-06-28T22:03:00.005-05:00

Pictures of our fun day at the zoo with Grandpa and Grandma!

Our day with Grandma Karen

2011-06-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

We had planned on going to the Milwaukee Zoo with Grandma but the weather did not cooperate! Instead, we went out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, visited the animals at the Humane Society, went to see Great Grandma Helen, and visited Auntie Kaylyn at her school. We had a very fun day! Thanks Grandma!

Mikayla sharing a snack with her Great Grandma. (Actually she shoved all her fruit snacks in her mouth so Great Gma wouldn't eat any ha!)

Mikayla LOVED the lockers at Kaylyn's school!

18 Months!!

2011-06-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, a year and a half. I can't believe it! Here is what Mikayla is up to...

Not sure on her height/weight. (We couldn't get in for her 18 mo. check up until Aug.)

She says a ton of words! Or maybe I just understand her language better now? :)

She is sleeping 8pm-8am.

Takes 1 nap for about 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon.

Fruit is still her favorite! Right now she is loving raspberries especially.

She would spend all day outside if she could.

She can tell you what cats, dogs, horses, and cows say.

Loves to sing! Any book is a hymnbook. :)

And some pics from today when we were playing on the deck...

Kit & Sharon's Wedding

2011-06-12T20:51:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to a wedding for Kyle's friends from work. It was in the Dells at the Wilderness.

It was HOT so we hung out in the shade in the back before the wedding started.

The ceremony.

Kyle's friend Josh, with one of the bridesmaids.

Mikayla playing before the reception.

Our table was back in the corner, with most of the other little kids. It worked out pretty nice because they would all play on the floor together.

Brat Fest

2011-06-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

We finally made it to Brat Fest this year. It is in Madison, basically like a fair, lots of brats, hot dogs, rides for the kids, and music. We had a great time!

This girl loves her corn on the cob....she barely touched her hot dog!

And of course we had to get some cotton candy for the drive home. (Her Daddy might have some competition...)

Mikayla's new ride

2011-06-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I spent most of the spring looking for one of these...garage sales/craigslist. They must be popular because I never saw a single one. Good thing we have Target. :)

Trying it out in the morning after Daddy put it together.

You mean you don't drive around in your swimsuit?!

Summer??!!

2011-05-31T22:28:00.003-05:00

We've finally had some warm weather the past few weeks and we are soooo glad! Here are some pictures...

Watching Daddy mow

We eat every single meal outside when it's nice!

Taking a break from swimming for a snack. (Kyle thinks that hat is ridiculous but I just couldn't resist haha!)

It doesn't get much better than this! :)

Mother's Day '11

2011-05-09T22:31:00.004-05:00

Keeping it real... haha. She obviously did NOT want her picture taken!

Mother's Day I woke up to the cutest little girl climbing up into my bed with a card for me, then there was a gift card to the spa, flowers, and breakfast in bed! We went to our new Sunday mtg and stayed after for a potluck. They have dogs, cats, chickens, a fish pond, a bunny, a swingset, and a fun playhouse. Mikayla was on cloud nine. :) When we got home it was naps and more time outside. What a fun day and what a lucky mommy!

The Mikayla Dictionary

2011-05-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

Mikayla is starting to say more! I've been meaning to start writing down the words she can say.

Mama

Dada

Ahhh done= All done

Hop a pop= Hop on pop, her favorite book (and she actually will sit thru us reading the WHOLE book!)

Ba= Bye and ball

Ma= More

Hi

Eah= Ear and eye (and can point to them sometimes getting them mixed up tho!)

Car

Pa= Grandpa

Hop hop= What she says if you ask her what a bunny does

Cup

Up

Ka-Ka= Ketchup. She goes crazy for this stuff! The other day she had some to go with her chicken nuggets and I caught her eating it with a spoon!

Ka= Catch. And yes, she already throws better than me. :)

Appa= Apple

Weekend with Jonna!

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great time with Jonna while her parents were in Chicago! Friday we went to the zoo, had pizza, and went to the park. (Forgot to take pictures..oops!) Saturday Jonna requested McDonalds for breakfast and her and Mikayla played there too!

In the tunnel (at McD's)

Jonna and M playing at McDonalds

We made cookies too!

I wanted to get their picture Sunday before mtg...this is as good as I was able to get haha!

Sunday afternoon...jumping on pillows and making forts!

Thanks for coming to visit Jonna!

Daddy's Work

2011-05-01T16:55:00.002-05:00

Thursday we went up to Kyle's work for "Take your kid to work" day. They had snacks, coloring, prizes, and even a scavanger hunt that went through all the buildings!

M trying on her new sunglasses

She loved this monkey statue and was trying to eat the banana!

Another monkey! This one was swinging.

Sitting next to the lady on the subway. She mostly liked her jewlery haha!

Just her size!

Cradles and Krispie Kremes

2011-04-19T14:58:00.004-05:00

I used to play with this cradle at my Grandma Carol's house when I was a kid. I love seeing Mikayla play with it now!

Sweetly tucking her bear in

This is a little more realistic...then she decided it was something new to climb on haha!

M and I went to the new Krispie Kreme! She had one this morning and loved it of course!

Sunday

2011-04-11T21:55:00.003-05:00

I took these on Sunday morning before meeting. It is finally warming up so we can break out Mikayla's spring wardrobe! I LOVE little girl clothes, soooo cute! And I LOVE this little munchkin!

Her stuffed animals get lots of hugs these days :)

Our week in pictures

2011-04-09T14:13:00.004-05:00

Sunday

Special Meeting!

Monday

Playing at the library

Tuesday

This water makes a good chair!

Wednesday

Taco bell for lunch (I know, not very healthy!) That blur is her cheese roll up that she LOVES!

Kyle was setting up chairs for bible study but she found her toys!

Thursday

Wagon ride around the neighborhood...she would point at all the puppies

Friday

Grocery shopping! Whoever invented these things made shopping with a toddler SO much easier haha!

Saturday

Looking out her window. We put the bed back in the basement(see previous post) and she now uses her stool to spy on the neighbors!

Our little monkey

2011-04-09T14:06:00.003-05:00

This girl loves to climb now! We put the twin bed in her room while the workers were here and she figured out she could climb up onto the bed, then up onto the windowsill, yikes!

Auntie Kaylyn

2011-03-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Mikayla had just woken up from her nap and she only wanted her Auntie. Now you all know Mikayla and how she is constantly on the go...well she sat with Kaylyn for the longest time. So sweet! (We were trying on her hat before we went to Arizona).

Jonna's Birthday Party

2011-03-28T20:43:00.003-05:00

We made a quick trip to Jon & Shannon's last weekend for Jonna's 7th birthday party!

Birthday girl with her cake

Tyler and his cousin Carter

Opening her presesnts!

Tiffany and Conor on Sunday

All of us (minus Gma Carol and Gpa Jack)

AZ Day 9

2011-03-17T20:38:00.007-05:00

Tuesday was our last day in Arizona. Mom and I took Mikayla to a park, Sonic for lunch, then to a petting zoo. They had everything from zebras to kangaroos to deer haha. When we went back to their house, M went down for a nap, and I went in the pool one last time. The Sno Cone truck was in their neighborhood so we had to get one. :) Then we went to Liberty Market for supper and got some dessert at another restuarant nearby. Our flight was at 11:59 pm so it was nice to have to whole day to do stuff. Mikayla slept for the whole flight home. We had a great trip! Thanks Mom and Dad!

The goats

Llama

Turtle

She did not like this deer!

M and I on the little train that we rode around the petting zoo in

Lovin' it!

With Gma Marcie

Sno cones!

At Liberty Market...sitting at the coffee bar! Everyone tells me about this place and I finally got to go!

Eating supper

This girl loves her food :)

There were some water fountains by the restaurant that M loved!

AZ Day 8

2011-03-17T17:24:00.002-05:00

Monday morning we walked to a park, had lunch and then we took Kyle to the airport. We went shopping again and out to eat for supper. After supper we had some ice cream at Coldstone!

Playing outside

Mikayla hated the sand at the playground haha

Eating a lemon!

Where we ate supper

AZ Days 6 & 7

2011-03-17T15:19:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning Grandpa made us some yummy waffles. After breakfast, we swam for a little bit then went to another Brewers spring training game. When we came home Mom and I went shopping, we ate supper, and after M went to bed we went in the hot tub!

Waffles!

Somebody wanted to go outside!

Prince Fielder

Having some ice cream (pretty sure we had ice cream every single day haha)

Our family at the game

Mikayla wearing Gpa's socks...hilarious!

Sunday we went to Mtg, then to Mike and Lois Kramer's for lunch, then to Gospel mtg. After that we went to some more friends' house for supper. I accidently had my camera on video mode so all my pictures from this day are videos. I am still trying to convert them...

AZ Days 4 & 5

2011-03-17T15:01:00.004-05:00

Thursday we spent most of the day at Grandma and Grandpa's! We played outside, swam in their pool, and ate lunch outside. That night we went to some of the friends' house for supper. They had a cute little dog that Mikayla loved!

Mikayla's favorite toy at Gma's...a small salt shaker haha!

Eating lunch outside

Sunbathing

Having some ice cream with Gpa

Friday we swam some more and relaxed during the day. Friday night we went out for Mexican with Gpa (Gma was visiting a friend) and then picked up Kyle from the airport!

Not a good picture of M, but the only one I took while we were out to eat with Gpa.

AZ Day 3

2011-03-10T01:31:00.003-06:00

Today we played outside at the park again, then headed to Salt River Fields for a spring training game, Diamondbacks VS Brewers! Then Gma and Gpa took us out for ice cream. We came back to their house, had supper, and went to meeting.

M was fast asleep when we first got to the baseball game!

Really nice, new stadium!

Eating some cotton candy :)

Gpa and M sharing a banana split!

AZ Day 2

2011-03-10T01:17:00.003-06:00

Tuesday morning Mikayla ran around in Gma and Gpa's backyard and we went on a walk to the park. We had some lunch, M took a nap then it was time for a treat and some shopping! We went to a really nice outdoor mall. Then we went to one of the friends' house to see her dogs. We had supper and I took Mikayla on a nice long walk. Then we went to pick up Gpa from the airport!

Playing outside in her jammies :)

Can't believe we are going on a walk OUTSIDE!

At the park

At the play area in the mall

This puppy was so cute!

Arizona Day 1

2011-03-10T01:06:00.003-06:00

Mikayla & I got into AZ around noon on Monday. We had a great flight. She slept for about an hour and a half, ate snacks, and then played with the nice older man next to us. Grandma took us to In-N-Out for burgers, fries, and a chocolate shake. We took naps, ate supper, then Mom turned the hot tub temp. down so M could go for a swim!

Playing at the Milwaukee airport

Having a snack in Gma's kitchen

Swimming!

Cupcakes!

2011-03-03T21:06:00.005-06:00

Today Mikayla and I went on a fun outing to Gigi's Cupcakes. Oh my word. YUM!

Yeah, we got 2 cupcakes because I was not going to share mine haha! I got the chocolate salted caramel cupcake and Mikayla got the wedding cake cupcake. Look at the size of the frosting on M's cupcake!

She was pretty excited about this haha

We barely made a dent in those RICH cupcakes...had to save some for Daddy! =)

Random

2011-02-25T20:07:00.004-06:00

Mikayla likes to pretend she is writing...this day she was using a toothbrush and a hymn book. I thought she might be ready for coloring with crayons, nope...she still just wanted to eat them!

Grandma and Grandpa had a little doll with a bottle that M loved. So we used her Toys R Us gift card to get her one of her own. She is so cute with it!

She likes to run around the house carrying bags =)

Reading some books on the big chair!

Sharing some ice cream!

This is what we were eating...it's so good! They also make the girl scout thin mint kind too.

Fun at Grandpa & Grandma's

2011-02-20T23:19:00.006-06:00

We had a fun weekend in Milwaukee! We were all very spoiled....thanks for all the yummy food, help with Mikayla, and cool toys to play with!

Mikayla checking out Gma's toys

What to play with first???

Visiting Great Gma Helen

M went for a little ride on Great Gma's walker!

Playing some more on Sunday after meeting

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:30:00.006-06:00

I'm not sure what it is about having a kid that makes you go all out for a silly holiday like Valentine's Day...

Mikayla with her new Valentine's puppy and book this morning

Pretty Valentine's Day hair bow

Cupcakes!

Mikayla's Valentine's Day shirt

Our Valentine's Day Dinner

Mikayla enjoying her cupcake

It looks like it was a fun day right? Umm...actually this is what Mikayla looked like the entire day. She was just not a happy camper today. Oh well! Haha!

Snow ice cream!

2011-02-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we made snow ice cream! Yummy!

Of course you have to add some sprinkles!

Snow ice cream

4-5 cups snow

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix and EAT!

Cutie

2011-02-09T22:44:00.004-06:00

Tonight I told Mikayla I wanted some pictures of her cute little outfit before meeting. This is what I got. =)

This one cracks me up...the stare-down

Aren't those striped tights the cutest?!

Goof!

Milo & Mikayla

2011-02-02T10:11:00.003-06:00

Milo came over one day last week while his mom was working. He and Mikayla had a great time playing!

Eating

They were throwing things over the gate down into the basement....this game lasted a very long time!

Playing with the grocery cart

Happy Birthday Auntie Tiff!

2011-01-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mmmmmm

2011-01-25T08:00:00.003-06:00

Chocolate pudding is the BEST!

Quick trip to MN

2011-01-22T20:56:00.004-06:00

Kyle went out to Virginia for work Wednesday to Friday so Mikayla and I went to MN to celebrate Tiffany's (early) Birthday! Mikayla did great with both of the 5 hour car rides. She slept, ate snacks, and I would toss her back some toys.

Didn't take her long to find the toys!

"I know this tiara goes somewhere up there..."

Tiff thought M looked like the Tin Man with this on her head haha

Playing the piano so nicely!

She thinks she has to stand up while doing everything!

Out to eat at Noodles with Auntie Tiff

Mikayla loved her donut with sprinkles!

Sun. 1/9 and Mon. 1/10 Back to San Juan!

2011-01-22T20:46:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning we got back to San Juan. We were some of the last people to get off the ship. We checked into our hotel, got some lunch then walked around Old San Juan for awhile. Then we ate at Senor Frogs for supper. Some of us got Coldstone too! Our hotel was right by the port so we could see the ship sitting there with all of it's new passengers onboard. As Shannon said, they were going to be sleeping in OUR beds! Wahhh! Anyway, we said goodbye to the Gunnarsons because they had an early morning flight back home, and went to bed.
Monday, Mom and Dad picked up M and took her on a Starbucks run. When Kyle and I were up and ready to go we went to Starbucks too. We took a cab to a beach where Mikayla slept the entire time! So it was very relaxing for the rest of us! We had our lunch grilled for us right at the beach too! (And we didn't even get sick!) We went back to our hotel for naps, then met up again for supper at The Hard Rock Cafe. We got some ice cream from Coldstone again, then said goodbye to Mom and Dad because we had to fly out the next morning. We got home on Tuesday afternoon. What a great trip!! Lots of fun memories!

Sat. 1/8 St. Maarten

2011-01-17T13:16:00.004-06:00

Chilled mango soup

Two appetizers this night! Fruit!

Cappucino pie...wow this was good!

Since it was our last night, we ordered a "Happy Anniversary" cake for Mom and Dad. The waiters sang "Happy Anniversary" to them too!

(Mikayla was not cooperating!)

Fri. 1/7 St. Kitts

2011-01-15T14:53:00.004-06:00

Mikayla checking out St. Kitts from our room

No baby today!! (Thanks to my parents!)

Atlantic ocean on the right, Caribbean on the left (hope I got that right)

There were wild monkeys at the beach!

Found this sign that had Green Bay on it!

You never know when a big wave might come in

This was probably my favorite dessert- warm chocolate melting cake

Matching dresses!

Mr. Frog

Thurs. 1/6 St. Lucia

2011-01-15T14:37:00.003-06:00

Some of the Gunnarsons were sick this day so we didn't do too much. Kyle, Mikayla, Jonna, and I got off the ship for a little while to do some shopping.

Cutie

We came back to the ship and Kyle and Mikayla took naps. Jonna and I went swimming/ate ice cream for the rest of the afternoon!

Yummy fruit at dinner

Penne

Baked Alaska

Our 2nd formal night

Gpa Rick teaching M how to ride a motorcycle

A rabbit!

Wed. 1/5 Barbados

2011-01-13T20:28:00.006-06:00

Mikayla eating her morning croissant

This beach was awesome!

M liked this beach way better, no waves!

Tyler back on the ship

More entertainment from the waiters/waitresses this night...Jonna was very good too!

Salad

Can't even remember what this was haha!

This was actually a diet lemon cake, sure didn't taste diet!

More wheelchair rides for Mikayla!

Dad placing his order at the coffee bar

We found the candy store on the ship haha

Jonna and Mikayla playing in the octopus

Kyle took Mikayla to bed, and the rest of us went to a hypnotist show....crazy! No pictures of that and also forgot to take a picture of our towel animal.

Tues. 1/4 Sea Day

2011-01-13T18:40:00.009-06:00

The ship didn't go to any islands this day but we definately weren't bored staying on the ship! Lots to do! In the morning I took Mikayla to Camp Carnival (which was like a day care for the older kids, but under 2 years old could play in there for free if a parent was with them). She had lots of fun there! Tiff and I laid out all morning then we met up with the others at the pool.

Ty being goofy

This vacation stuff is hard work!

Peyton at dinner

My appetizer- salad

Pasta

My dessert- an apple cream thing

It was also Formal Night! Here's our whole family

She thought the wheelchairs were pretty cool

M in her fancy outfit

Not sure what this one was! =)

Mon. 1/3 St. Thomas

2011-01-13T09:57:00.006-06:00

M eating a pear for breakfast

View of the ocean during taxi ride to the beach

Playing in the sand with Gma Marcie

This is what she thought of the water haha

Enjoying a banana at the beach

Jonna was so excited to get her hair braided

Beautiful!

My dinner appetizer- fried mozzerella

My main course- enchiladas

My dessert

Jonna with our waiter and waitress. Some of the nights they would dance and sing for us and they wanted Jonna to join in!

More of the dancing/singing

Our family

Gunnarsons

Every night while we were at dinner, the cleaning guys would turn down our sheets, leave chocolates, and make an animal out of towels. This looks like a puppy???

Sun. 1/2 Getting on the ship!

2011-01-13T09:00:00.007-06:00

Sunday morning was Union Mtg and it was pretty far away so we didn't make it there. We checked out of the hotel and went to the ship. Our rooms weren't ready yet so we ate lunch and walked around.

This was one of the pools

The waterslide

Another pool

M fast asleep

We went to a presentation/show about the cruise and Jonna & Jon won a plastic ship on a stick haha

Eating dinner

My dinner- steak, peas, and macaroni and cheese

Mikayla's ice cream and my dessert!

Pools at night

Waving goodbye to San Juan!

Had to order room service the very first night- chocolate cake with chocolate mousse!

Fri. 12/31 and Sat. 1/1 San Juan

2011-01-13T08:50:00.003-06:00

Friday afternoon we arrived in San Juan. Mom and Dad were already there so we hung out for a little bit, then went out for dinner. We came back to our hotel and were all way too tired to stay up until midnight. (No pictures from this day.)
Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, then moved on to our next hotel.

Mikayla getting a ride from Peyton

Our next hotel had an awesome pool and was right on the beach!

Eating lunch

M testing out the water

Yummy!

The boys watching a game

After we swam in the pool and checked out the beach we took naps then ordered some pizza. Some of us weren't feeling too great so we went to bed early again. =)

Random pics from Dec.

2010-12-25T21:22:00.003-06:00

Mikayla's cousins keeping her company one morning

Sippy cups aren't just for babies!

She is getting very good at walking

She loves playing with her grocery cart, she must taste every piece of food!

Mikayla's Birthday Party!

2010-12-20T15:53:00.005-06:00

Mikayla's ladybug party!

Mikayla's 1st Birthday!

2010-12-14T20:45:00.005-06:00

The Grandmas & Grandpas were here tonight to help us celebrate Mikayla's Birthday!

Happy 8th Birthday Peyton!!

2010-12-09T08:00:00.002-06:00

We love you!

Bubbles & Pigtails

2010-12-08T10:28:00.002-06:00

Mikayla's first bubble bath and first pigtails!

For the Aunties

2010-12-01T14:14:00.002-06:00

(yes, that is her lunch she's wearing on her shirt)

Play Gym

2010-11-27T16:54:00.003-06:00

We took Mikayla to the play gym this morning...had to check it out while she is still free(until she is one!) She had a good time swinging, climbing, and shrieking at all the other kids.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T16:46:00.002-06:00

Pretty Thanksgiving Flowers

Thanksgiving banner

Cousins & Spouses

Riemersmas

Garners

*I forgot to get a picture of Mikayla enjoying her first Thanksgiving dinner...oops...but she did seem to think everything was pretty tastey, especially the pies!

Today

2010-11-22T23:37:00.003-06:00

Wow! I'm posting 2 days in a row! I just thought these were too cute not to share. =)

Mikayla's favorite place to play is the fridge. If she hears the fridge door open, she makes a beeline for it. If she's quick enough, she always goes for the can of reddi-whip haha! Anyway, today I was cleaning the fridge out when she woke up from her nap. Here she is soooo excited to be able to play in the fridge!

Tonight we were playing in the living room when she decided to climb into her book basket....so much easier to get at the toys that way!

Tonight

2010-11-21T19:03:00.001-06:00

Showing off her fancy gold teeth

She LOVES reading her books!

Spaghetti Baby

2010-11-14T21:01:00.002-06:00

She loved it! (I'm still finding noodles in her rolls haha)

Then & Now

2010-11-09T13:15:00.002-06:00

Then

And now!
Looks like I've converted her!!

Our trip to MN

2010-11-06T15:21:00.004-05:00

Kyle had to go out of town for work so Mikayla and I got to spend a week in Minnesota. We did some fun things and loved seeing everyone!

Tiffany watches this cute little dog so Mikayla got to play with her too!

She loved playing the piano

One day we walked up to the park by my parent's house to play (she looks mad here, but she was just making faces)

She liked watching all the kids playing around her

We went out to lunch with Auntie Tiff!

Another lunch date with Auntie Tiff, this time to Cupcake...here is Mikayla devouring my cupcake haha

I took her to a fun little indoor water park/swimming pool too!

Little Pink Cat

2010-10-28T20:08:00.007-05:00

Tonight some of our neighbors had a pumpkin carving party. All the kids wore their Halloween costumes too! Mikayla had a great time with her friends!(She was only slightly hyper when we got home haha)

My cute little pink cat before we left

I had to include this one too because you can see the cat's tail haha

Playing

Daddy and Mikayla with the pumpkin when we got home

Cousin time!

2010-10-24T19:26:00.004-05:00

Snuggles with Auntie Shannon

Tyler and Peyton playing Yatzee

Jonna entertaining us

We went to the Children's Museum on Friday and had lots of fun!

Mikayla (kind of) walks!

2010-10-16T13:13:00.002-05:00

Appleberry Farm

2010-10-09T15:37:00.005-05:00

This morning we went to the Appleberry Farm and had so much fun! We picked out some pumpkins and got some apples too. We had donuts, apple cider, caramel apples, and cider brats. Woah, we sound like pigs!! It was sooo yummy and it was a beautiful day to be outside. Wish this weather would hang around for awhile!

(She would not let go of that gourd for anything!)

9 Months!

2010-09-25T08:29:00.003-05:00

Mikayla is 9 months old now! Her stats are:
20 lbs 15 oz (80th percentile)
29 inches (90th percentile)

She crawls everywhere, pulls herself up on everything, and has taken a few steps while pushing her walker!

Tyler's Birthday Weekend

2010-09-25T08:24:00.003-05:00

The big 4 year old!

What a cool cake!
Kids playing on Labor Day

M loved this little pink chair

Children's Museum

2010-09-25T08:21:00.003-05:00

Avery and Mikayla at the Children's Museum. They had a blast!

Playing in Mom's closet

2010-08-31T22:24:00.003-05:00

I'm sure I won't always think that it is cute when Mikayla digs through my closet and makes a mess, but today she saw the closet doors were open and crawled over and played in there for a long time and I thought it was super cute. She is so happy to be able to get to wherever she wants to go!

Same baby??? Vol. 2

2010-08-31T22:17:00.004-05:00

Bath time is so much more exciting now....I pretty much just swipe with a washcloth any part of her that I can catch as she rolls/crawls around the tub.

State Fair

2010-08-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

We went to the State Fair last weekend with Ray and Karen. We ate yummy fair food and checked out the animals.

Grandpa and Mikayla looking at the cows

Mikayla loved the goats!
Mikayla and I thoroughly enjoyed our cream puff!

Mom & Dad's Surprise Party!

2010-08-20T06:37:00.004-05:00

We had a surprise party for Mom and Dad to celebrate their 50th birthdays and 30th anniversary this year. We actually pulled off the surprise and we all had a great time!

Here is Mom right when she spotted us girls hiding out in the car

Their wedding picture on the cake
Tiffany made a depends cake!

Our family

Us 3

Mom and Dad with their grandchildren

Us girls and Mom

Jonna after eating ribs on Sunday

Yummmm

Mom and Mikayla

Our week in MN

2010-08-01T22:04:00.004-05:00

Mikayla and I got to go up to MN for a week to see Mom, Dad, and Tiff. Jonna was able to come along too! Thanks so much for everything! We miss you guys!

Jonna washing my car

Playing in the pool
We went out for tea....like Mikayla's feathery hat?!

Pretty niece in a pretty hat

We had a picnic at the park with my Grandparents, Aunt Laurie, and cousins Marissa and Alaya

We went over to my Grandma Shirley's house one night

Mom and Dad brought Jonna and Mikayla these dresses from China!

More Summer Pics

2010-08-01T22:00:00.001-05:00

A day in the life of Mikayla

2010-07-12T21:02:00.010-05:00

I don't babysit on Mondays, so it's just me and Mikayla. I LOVE our Mondays together!

Mikayla wakes up at 6:00! (Check out that bedhead!)

Time for a bottle...then back to the crib so Mom and Dad get some more sleep

At 8:00 Mikayla decides she's ready to play! She plays with her new blocks!

Breakfast time! Baby food and some watermelon... yummm. Then it's nap time.

Mikayla sleeps until 10:30, then it's time to get dressed

Then we go on a looooooong walk. We end up at the library! Mikayla with the books she checked out

When we get home Mikayla is very thirsty of course!

Then she plays in the exersaucer while Mom eats lunch

At 12:30 it's time for lunch! More baby food, she loves her squash! Then it's naptime again!

Mikayla wakes up at 3:00 and is very happy!

Then it's time to run some errands!

We go to the bank, the mall, and Mikayla's favorite store, Babies R Us! We got formula, a new toy, a new outfit (clearance $6.00!) and some spoons!

Since Daddy is playing baseball tonight Mikayla and Mom go out to eat. Mikayla chooses Panera. While we eat she stares at the LARGE cowboy sitting across from us with the LARGE cowboy hat on. He comes over to visit and says Mikayla is a "cute kid". She LOVES that and has lots to say to him!

Then it is time to go home. Mikayla sleeps the whole way home. We put on her pajamas and she reads some books before having a bottle.

At 8:30 it's bedtime. Goodnight sweet baby girl!

Father's Day Weekend

2010-06-29T21:15:00.003-05:00

We had everyone out here for Father's Day weekend. We had a great time eating, swimming, golfing, and shopping!

Jonna and Mikayla playing in the water

Thirsty Mikayla

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids Sunday morning

Getting Gpa with silly string!!

Kyle's first Father's Day!

Weekend in MN

2010-06-29T21:10:00.005-05:00

Mikayla and Grandpa Rick

Eating lunch

Tyler making faces at Ikea

6 Months!

2010-06-14T21:39:00.003-05:00

Today our baby turned 6 months old! At her doctors appointment she weighed 17 lbs 13 oz (84th %) and her height was 26.5 in. (78th %).
A couple things about Mikayla at 6 months...

She is just starting to wear 6-9 and 6-12 month clothes
She is still drinking formula but also eats some rice cereal, baby fruits/veggies, and anything else her Grandma Marcie lets her try haha!
She can roll over but still doesn't do it very often*
She is sleeping on average 9-10 hours per night
She has 2 teeth

At the clinic today I was talking to a lady who was bringing in her baby for a 1 week check up...seems like that was us just yesterday! It goes by so fast! =) We love you Mikayla!

*EDIT* Now she is rolling over like crazy! She rolled halfway across the room today and has been rolling over in her sleep too.

Thanks for coming to visit Grandma!

2010-06-02T21:17:00.001-05:00

How Mikayla and Grandma shop =)

Eating supper on the deck

Swinging at the park

Random pics

2010-06-02T21:09:00.002-05:00

Peyton trying out Mikayla's bumbo

Kelsey jammin'

Mikayla playing on Sunday

Mikayla jumping

2010-05-24T21:56:00.002-05:00

One of the perks of having a bunch of neighbors with little kids is that you get cool hand me downs. Mikayla loves this thing....even funnier is when she gets really mad, she jumps like crazy!

Whew...

2010-05-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Check out the updates! FINALLY!