yuck.

Emmett went poo in the bathtub for the first time today. So gross! I know this is the first of many times, but I still hate dealing with it. As soon as it happened I tried draining the water and getting him out, but he had already started "discovering" the squished substance that sat beneath him. I won't go into detail. Needless to say, it was a messier job to clean up than I expected!

emmett turns 11 months old.

My sweet little boy is already 11 months old. Sigh... He used to be so small and light. Now, he is fitting into 18 month-sized clothes, wants to walk and makes my arms hurt after carrying him for 5 minutes. Although seeing him grow bigger makes me sad, I am really looking forward to watching him play this summer. Seeing him discover the outdoors and getting wet at the pool will be so fun! I know I will need to keep a close eye on him because he seems pretty fearless. I am already thinking about what I want to do for his first birthday. Any ideas?

amish grace.

Matt and I watched a movie last night called Amish Grace. It's based on the Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania from 2007. It has a couple of well-known actors too. This movie really affected Matt and I. It is such a powerful story and will change the way you look at forgiveness. The story is so sad, but it opens your heart and helps you to understand the power of love for one another. I would encourage everyone to watch this movie. It's a great one to watch with your family on a Sunday.  

best part of spring.

My favorite part about spring is all of the new life that takes place, especially baby animals! Over the weekend we took the kids to a hobby farm in Lake Elmo. This hobby farm has free range chickens and turkeys. They had just gotten in a load of chicks so we took advantage. I was just as excited to see them as Ethnie was. They are SO cute......

ethnie's biggest fan.

This video is just an example of what happens multiple time a day. Ethnie does anything around Emmett, and he smiles, laughs and looks at her in adoration. Here, Ethnie is taking a bath and Emmett is laughing at her every move. She doesn't even have to try! He loves her so much and is, without a doubt, her biggest fan.

happiness.

This mother's day was my first as a mother of two. It was really special for me. The weather cleared up late in the afternoon so we took a walk around Como Lake. It was breezy but warm. Ethnie rode her scooter and HAD to be the leader the whole time. We stopped along the shore to watch the ducks and take some pictures. Ethnie loves throwing rocks into the water and Emmett loved feeling the sand for the first time. We had a great day as a family.
I am so blessed to be a mother. I love my children more than I could ever express. They bring pure joy to my life and make it complete. I also feel very lucky to have a girl and a boy. I am excited to raise them both and to discover their individual uniqueness. Being a mother may be the hardest job, but it is definitely the most rewarding. I admire all mothers and hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!

sorcerer's apprentice.

Ethnie was in her third ballet last week, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, at the Fitzgerald. She was a potion creature that the sorcerer's brings to life at the beginning of the ballet. She did great! Her part was very short again, but she was very proud of herself and so was I. I volunteered backstage again and got to see all the action. I also was the one who helped all the pre-ballet dancers into their costumes, and on and off stage. Can't wait for the next one!

practice makes perfect.

Ethnie has been doing very well in ballet and she loves it. She has a lesson once a week. Now, she is gearing up for her next part in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", where she will be playing a lizard. The longest video I have posted is her class rehearsing their role. It's pretty short; only a minute or so, but still a big deal! I am volunteering backstage and can't wait to watch her. Look for performance pictures next week! 

emmett's friend, ox.

I have to give my brother- and sister-in-law, Franz and Jules, huge props for having brilliant taste for picking out toys for my kids! You all know who Ethnie's dolly is (it's basically sewn onto her). Well, Franz and Jules bought that little stuffed doll for her before she was born. It's nothing special, but Ethnie revolves her existence around it. She has carried it with her everywhere since she's been able to hold things.

Now, Emmett is beginning to do the same thing with his gift from them! Franz and Jules bought him one of those 'Uglydolls' from Creative Kidstuff when he was born. He loves it (Ox is his name) and snuggles with it every time he goes to bed. He gets so excited when he sees Ox. It is the cutest thing. I think we may have another 'dolly' in our household....

send in the clowns.

Ethnie attends pre-k at J. J. Hill Montessori in St. Paul and loves it. Last week, the school had a "circus" performance of the circus-like skills they had been working on. Ethnie's class learned how to juggle with scarves and how to act like a real clown performer. Here is a video of one of her skills. The kids were asked to wear bright, mismatched clothes to enhance the feel of the theme! Ethnie is wearing a flowered jumper with striped leggings underneath and mismatched socks. She was very proud of herself and Matt and I loved watching her.

my favorite video. ever.

This video was taken of Emmett one random Sunday night in March. I wanted to post it because it is my favorite video of all time. Emmett was discovering his vocal cords and was yelling/screaming like this for a couple minutes straight. The look on his face and the way you can tell he is putting so much effort into being loud is priceless. Ethnie is in the background laughing at him and trying to mimic him. What a cute boy! Love you, pup!

mn horse expo.

Ethnie is very interested in horses lately. All she wanted from Santa was a black toy horse. Well, Santa brought her a nice variety of horses. ;) Last Saturday, my mother-in-law, Meg took Ethnie and I to the horse show at the state fair grounds. Meg has a friend who gives riding lessons and we wanted to see how comfortable Ethnie would be around the large horses before we set up her riding lesson. For about an hour, she wanted nothing to do with them except watch from afar. Then we saw several miniature horses and ponies and she warmed up to them quickly. She started petting them and eventually was giving a huge donkey a hug! We tried to get her to ride a pony, but she was too scared. Hopefully, the riding lesson will be a success.

emmett turns 10 months.

That's right, another month has flown by and Emmett is now 10 months old! I can actually watch him getting bigger and it scares me. He is 30 1/2 inches long and weighs 23 pounds. He has two bottom teeth and is babbling like crazy. He is also starting to eat chunkier solids and loves to suck on pretzels as a snack. He doesn't nurse much anymore; just 2-3 times a day on one side. I wish he was more interested in trying to crawl, but he wants nothing to do with it! All he wants to do is stand up and try cruising around furniture. I keep working on him every day on his belly. I would much rather have him crawl first because I don't want him to grow up so fast!

steve and alison are married!

On March 26th, Steve and Alison tied the knot! I couldn't be more happy for them. They both looked fabulous and their wedding was lovely. They are very happy together and I believe they are perfect for each other. Alison looked very elegant and Steve was definitely a sharply-dressed man.
I must admit, it was a bitter-sweet day for me. I knew I would be emotional, but I didn't think I would cry as many times as I did! I realized that my little brother is all grown up and now has a lady of his own. In a way, I felt like I was giving my brother away. All of a sudden, I wanted to be 10 years old again swimming at our lake home or playing in the yard with him. Something started to hurt and I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
It's interesting; tears of joy followed by some tears of sadness can be exhausting! The emotion and energy it takes to cry is tiring enough, but then to throw those happy emotions in there at the same time takes it to a whole new level. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster for awhile.
Before dinner was served, I gave a toast. I wasn't planning on giving one; it just happened. I started to cry towards the end of my toast and made Alison tear up as well. I am grateful to have her as my sister-in-law. It was a great weekend!