the new man on campus.

Last week, Ethnie started 3rd grade! She was so excited to go back to school and I am really proud of her. She is still attending J.J. Hill Montessori. Her class is mixed with grades 1-3 so this year she gets to be part of the oldest grade in her class. :) I think she is most excited about this. I am looking forward to seeing the new things she will learn this year and what she will excel in. She is a smart girl!

ready to start the new school year!

 the neighborhood bus stop. love these kids!

little brother has definitely been missing his big sister. a few days before school started Ethnie bought Emmett a new toy so he "wouldn't miss her so much while she's away". so sweet.

Yesterday it was Emmett's turn to experience his first day of school. Preschool! Unfortunately, J.J. Hill does not have the school program Emmett needs, so he is going to a different school. :) He needs to be in a co-taught classroom, which is made up of regular- and special-ed students, along with both a regular- and special-ed teacher. I was sad when we found out the kids couldn't attend the same school, but I know Emmett is where he needs to be at this time. He is attending the Linwood Monroe elementary school. We did quite a bit of prep for Emmett so the adjustment would be easier on him. We visited the school and classroom a few times in August and met with his teachers twice. 

being silly in the car (with a new studly haircut)

Once we got inside and he saw the rest of the kids, he got pretty overwhelmed. We decided to stay with him during breakfast to make sure he was calm and comfortable before leaving him. I kept making excuses too because I was having a hard time leaving him. :( I was kind of a nervous wreck all morning.

when I came to pick him up his teachers said he did really well for his first day!

 day 2. having a good morning!

coloring while the rest of the kids finish their breakfast.

doing well! my cue to exit...

Sigh... Both of my kids are officially in school. Emmett is no longer a little toddler anymore! It's crazy to think about. Are anymore kids in the cards for us?? I'm really not sure. At this point in time I can confidently say that I am not ready for a third. But that could change. I get streaks of baby fever regularly. :)

Have a great week!

august in photos.

Wow, it has been an entire month since I have posted! I guess summer was keeping us nice and busy! Time to catch up.
Here is August in photos. Yes, they are all from a phone camera. I need to be much better about using my nice camera while I'm out. The weather was beautiful and we had some fun things going on. I can't tell you enough how much I love summer, and how sad I am to see it come to a close each year.

twins game
Technically, we were at the game at the end of July, but I forgot to blog about it. So here it is tacked onto August. We were very grateful to Children's Hospital for handing out tickets to families to the game.

 Emmett had a really hard time while we were walking through the stadium to our seats. Big crowds and moving people overwhelm him. But once we got to our seats and everyone was still, he perked up. :)

we had nosebleed seats, but it worked out great because the kids could stand up and walk around without bothering anyone.

matching hats :)

my buddy having fun at his first Twins game.

plenty of swimming/sprinkler time

 Ethnie and her friend Max at Como pool

 we took Emmett to a lake beach once this summer. beaches are very stressful for him because he can't stand the feeling of sand (or much of anything) stuck to his hands or feet. but we pushed him a little. we spread out a large sheet and he played with a bowl of water next to it so he didn't have to move. he seemed to tolerate it fine.

sprinkler time with Olivia

  

national night out

Ethnie's friend Olivia got to join us.

always fun to have dinner and play in the street. :)

in the police car

Ethnie and Olivia were so funny, posing on the fire engine.

Emmett's favorite part of the night

cute kids

weekend at grandpa and grandma's house

Emmett recently graduated to a big-boy booster seat. He really loves it, but sleeping is more of a challenge now.

being silly with a blue sucker tongue and grandpa's jersey during the Vikings game.

boating on Saturday. Emmett loves. the. boat. it is also very calming for him. he falls asleep every time we are on a boat!

passed out after being on the boat 30 min. 

Ethnie had a blast swimming with grandpa

first mates

thanks for the fun weekend grandma and grandpa!

dogsitting

Within one week we were asked to dogsit for two different people. We were happy to do it!

this insanely adorable pup belongs to Ethnie's friend Olivia. her name is Malin and we have watched her before. she got to stay with us overnight.

Ethnie is very responsible with her and made her feel very comfortable.

I can't wait to get one of my own! so freakin' cute.

we went from watching a tiny dog to watching a giant dog. this is Oliver and he belongs to Matt's brother. he got to stay with us for four days. he is such a chill dog and super easy to please.

Emmett had a lot of fun playing with Oliver. I think he tried to ride him at one point.

best news: Ethnie is riding without training wheels!

We have been pushing Ethnie since last summer to ditch her training wheels. Ethnie is a very cautious girl and has been really scared to try it. I had to demonstrate some tough love by taking away her scooter. I told her she couldn't use it again until she was riding on two wheels. Within a week she was riding like a pro and since then she has upgraded to a bigger bike that actually fits her. Boom. And she hasn't even touched her scooter.

so proud of herself! all she wants to do now in her free time is ride her bike.

playgroundin'

my favorite holiday..., I mean going to the state fair

We decided not to bring the kids to the fair this year. Emmett would be miserable and Ethnie would be bored half of the time. We like to go all day! So they spent a fun day with papa and grandma while we went by ourselves.

this picture is horrible, but that's Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods. love him.

by far the best new food I tried and my new favorite: deep fried breakfast sandwich on a stick.

comet corn (gross) and snow ribbons (yum).

deep fried buckeyes. basically reese's peanut butter cups on a stick. super rich.

 

a must for Matt.

peeps.

cute llamas.

with our friends Pat, Melissa and their son Christopher.

friendly little calf.

until next year!

Hope you are all having a great first week back to school! Photos to come!