blog revamp.

Welcome to my blog's new facelift. I haven't been a regular blogger for very long so I'm still learning how to create it through trial and error. I changed the layout a bit and added some new gadgets so feel free to explore! If you see toward the top I now have more than one page to my blog; just click on the word to view that page. There is not much to them yet; it's still a work in progress. I promise to update them as things happen! It's been a frustrating process...

getting her feet wet.

Last night, Ethnie had her first official swimming lesson. You are probably thinking, why wait so long? Ethnie has had a hard time with water since she was born. She has always been pretty scared of the water. As an infant, baths were torture for her (and for me). Up until this past summer, she wouldn't let the pool or lake water go past her knees. She didn't try putting her face in the water until she was five. Now, at six, she has started swimming lessons. Wheew....

As soon as she saw the pool she was terrified. Clinging to me, shaking, and on the verge of tears. I assured her that I would be watching the entire time and that the instructors would not make her go in the deep water or go under the water. I signed her up for Level 1 swimming: introduction to the water. Sounds pretty basic, right? The first thing they wanted these kids to do was get into the deep end of the pool and go under the water! I was shocked that they literally wanted these kids to "dive right in" to swimming.

For the first half hour of the lesson, Ethnie would only sit on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. She was so scared and I felt bad for her. She kept trying to get up and sit by me, but I made her stay by the water and told her she at least had to try it. A few minutes later, she let one of the instructors hold her in the water so she could hang onto the wall like the other kids. She hung out there for awhile and watched the other kids dunk their heads and practice kicking. She started smiling and having a good time. By the end of the lesson, she was out with the instructor floating on her back! Clinging, but floating on her back. I was so proud of her for doing her best and getting into the water. She told me she wants to keep coming. I'm planning on keeping her in lessons through the summer so she'll be brave enough to go tubing!  

friends.

I mentioned in my last post that Ethnie has been reading books to Emmett almost every day for the past two weeks. Just wanted to post a few pictures of them together! Have a great day!

january catch-up.

It's been some time since my last post; it's been rough-going here in the Vogl household. The kids and I were very sick last week. It started with them throwing up in the middle of the night and following with diarrhea. I felt so bad for them and wished there was something I could do. Two days later, I got the same flu, except mine was much worse. Needless to say, I was camped out by the toilet for 12 hours and in bed for the next 24 hours. I haven't been that sick in a long time. I was so weak and tired. Thankfully, Matt never caught it and he stayed home to take care of us! Since then, the house has been fumigated and we are all healthy.

Matt is getting ready to go back to class next Monday. He had a nice winter break and is ready to hit the books hard this semester. Less than a year left! The countdown is on.

We are still fostering Jackson! It has been about 3 months since we got him and he's doing great. Last Friday, a family came over to have a 'meet and greet' with him and potentially adopt. It did not go well at all! He was super nervous, was barking at them, and tried to nip! I had no idea what to do because he never does that. It was as if he knew exactly what was going on and he didn't want to go anywhere. The family was pretty bummed because they thought he would be a great fit for their family, but they got a bad impression. Maybe next time will be more successful.

Within the past week, Ethnie and Emmett have been bonding in a new way. Ethnie has been reading Emmett books and he loves it. He gets a book and brings it up to her and says, "book, a book, a book." It's so cute and she feels pretty cool that she can read it to him. Ethnie has also been giving him more hugs. Things are going really well between them!

party time.

I told Ethnie that she could have a little birthday party with some of her friends from school, but that it couldn't be on her exact birth date because of how busy it is during that time. So, she had it Saturday. She had a few friends from school over and they watched the movie Rio (super cute by the way), ate homemade kettle corn and cupcakes, and played around a bit. She had a great time and got some really nice gifts. It was a pretty simple party, but I think that's what Ethnie wanted. I snapped off a few:

Ethnie was very specific about what kind of cupcakes she wanted.

happy girl

8 years ago i married my best friend.

Today is our anniversary! I always love this day because I love to go through our wedding day and remember how happy I was that day. I always look through our pictures. It was sunny, but a freezing 13 degrees. Luckily, there was no wind. I remember holding our breath during pictures. Running between the car and buildings. Brrrr! Sometimes, I wonder why we got married in the winter. Anyway, I wanted to post some of my favorites from that day. Enjoy! 

St. Paul MN Temple

St. Paul College Club mansion

favorite

our honeymoon in Manzanillo, Mexico

I love you Matt! Happy Anniversary.

ethnie turns 6.

On Friday, Ethnie turned 6 years old. We had a pretty busy day. While Matt was at work, I took the kids to the Children's Museum. It was PACKED. Almost too packed. Ethnie still had fun though. After Matt got off work, we went to Red Robin for dinner. Ethnie's choice. We then took her to the Science Museum to see dinosaur bones. She loved it and had a great time! She is very interested in dinosaurs and dragons lately. It was a pretty educational birthday, I guess! Happy Birthday to my little sweet girl!

christmas 2011.

We had a lovely Christmas this year and have felt especially blessed for all the many things we have. I really focused on the true meaning of Christmas this year and it made it so much more special and warm. I felt the love of Christ in our home. That feeling made me realize how much I really love my family.

We were able to have both my mom and dad and step-parents come visit us for Christmas! It was so great having quality one-on-one time with them! We got such wonderful gifts this year and had fun exchanging.

playing with new gifts from grandpa and grandma.

hanging out with grandpa.

puzzle time

finished! beautiful.

Christmas Eve morning

sneaking m&m's

opening gifts

love this picture

new ugly doll for Emmett!

Christmas morning. All ready for church.

so dapper!

Christmas beauty

quality time with nana

***We also had a nice New Year's Eve. Our plans suddenly changed, but we still had a nice evening. We were planning on going to a neighborhood block party to ring in the new year, but Emmett's cold took a turn for the worse so he was super grumpy and tired. Teething has not helped either. Poor buddy. He has been miserable for the past week. It's hard to keep him happy. Anyway, we had a semi-quiet night at home eating pizza and watching a movie together. Emmett woke up at around 11:00 needing more Tylenol so we were up late!