Is July almost over ALREADY???????

Wow, where to start.....This month has gone by so fast; we have had a whirlwind of a month, but so much fun. We got Colby baptised the last weekend of June and then went up to Sioux City for the 4th of July to see my parents and other family members. Got to see Counting Crows on the 4th as well, so that was a lot of fun.

We then had a week where my sister-in-law Dana and my neices Steph and Lizzie and nephew Adam came to visit. The kids went to Vacation Bible school at our church with Maddy in the mornings and we got to do some fun stuff in the afternoons (Science Center, Adventureland, park, etc...)

This past week Jeremy's sister Tami and Dad and Tami's 2 girls came for a visit. Another awesome week of Adventureland, pool, movies, lake, ice cream, nails and lots of princess dress-up parties!

Today I met up with an old friend and her kids for lunch and we got to catch up which was very nice. And then to top it off, tonight went to a surprise b-day party for my brother Josh's wife Missy. It was a great time and she was definately surprised!!

I will be posting pics of all of the activities in the next week or so. It's been a crazy July in our house, but so much fun for us to be able to see family and friends and enjoy the summer so much!! We are so blessed to have such great families and friends that we get to see and spend time with!!!! What an awesome summer!

2 more Princess camp songs

So here are 2 more songs Maddy learned at Princess camp that she has been singing the past week. I thought they were pretty cute, so had to get them on video!! Enjoy!!!

Colby Laughing

There's nothing better than a baby laughing......no matter how tired I am or how long the day has been, this never fails to bring a smile to my face!! I think God had a plan when he created babies and all the different stages they go through ;-) With the hard work, there is always something good that comes with it.



The newborn stage when they are up throughout the night and you are exhausted, the baby will sleep during the day and seems to sleep so good when laying next to you. I appreciated this so much more the 2nd time around as I know how short of a time the newborn stage is.



The stage we are at now at 4 1/2 months, Colby is sleeping all night and starting to fall into somewhat of a better nap routine during the day. He is smiling and laughing all the time and loves looking around at everything. He is so easy to entertain!! I even catch Maddy reading him books and playing with him w/out prompting, so I know she is starting to enjoy him even more now as well.



I definately need to make sure I'm getting my rest at night, so I can stay energized throughout the day, but watching Colby grow and change has been really neat. It has also been really cool to see how much Maddy loves him and how good she is with him. She is very proud that he is her brother.

Happy Father's Day Jeremy!!!!

At the hospital with Maddy after she was born.........



At the hospital with Colby after he was born.....

Happy Father's Day to my awesome husband and outstanding father to Maddy and Colby!!!!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and are grateful for all of your support each and every day!!!!

Jeremy works very hard so I can stay at home with our kids and I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity. I do not take forgranted the fact that staying home is difficult financially for many families in this day and age. I truly am blessed to be able to do this. I also realize the stress that Jeremy must feel at times as being the sole financial provider of the family. He never really mentions this, but I can imagine how this must be a heavy load to carry at times, especially since he's in sales and has quotas to meet each month.

These past 3 years that I've been at home have been wonderful and I am so thankful that my husband is so supportive and helpful even when he doesn't have to. He will come home for lunch and help get lunch ready for Maddy or watch the kids so I can shower if I haven't had a chance to yet. He will also drop Maddy off at preschool on his way back to work from lunch or pick her up from camp, etc....just to give me a little extra time. He'll always helps out if I have an appt., etc...also and this is a big reason that staying home has gone so smoothly for us these past few years. I am very lucky to have such a great husband!!!! It's all the little things each and every day that mean so much to me and my kids!!!!!

Fun at Princess Camp!

Maddy went to Princess camp this past week with her cousin Cara. It was everyday from 9-12. They had a great time! They got to dress up, get their hair done, nails done, make-up, play in a bounce house, do crafts, songs, dance, you name it!! Cinderella and Snow White also made a visit to the camp. They had a water day the last day and had a blast! It was a great week!! I uploaded a video of Maddy singing one of the new songs she learned as well. Enjoy!!

Colby is 4 months!

Colby turned 4 months old last week on the 16th and had his 4 month check-up on Thursday. He weighs 17 lbs. 9 oz. and is 25 inches long. He is in the 80th percentile for weight and the 60th for height. He also got his immunizations and didn't feel too well on Thursday and Friday from that, but is doing better now. I felt bad for him as he pretty much laid on Jeremy's shoulder most of the night (see picture) until he went to bed. He is starting to laugh and smiles all the time, so is really getting to be fun. His favorite things are watching the ceiling fan and listening to his favorite song, 'This Old Man' ...... ;-) He loves listening to it in the van when we're driving and will stop crying almost instantly when I turn it on!

Fun in Kansas City

Maddy, Colby and I headed to Kansas City last weekend to visit Sarah, Roy, John, Jolyn, Jackie and Angie (Joe was out of town). Jeremy had a bachelor party Saturday in Des Moines, so wasn't able to make the trip down. After a pretty eventful road trip Friday we made it to Kansas City after 6 1/2 hours and were pretty wiped out! Let's just say there was an incident with diesel gas and the van and Jeremy had to drive an hour to switch cars with us so we could continue on our trip.

We had a great time and went to a petting zoo on Saturday with John, Jolyn, Sarah and Jackie. We also went out to eat Saturday night at Red Robin with Sarah and Roy and Angie. Maddy had fun staying at Sarah and Roy's place and swimming in their pool.