More trouble....

I got my haircut this morning, I get home and Hannah walks outside with Murphy. I say "Hi Hannah, did you guys have fun?". Mom she says "Drew is a maniac, he is into everything taking all my toys banging them everywhere... what are we going to do?". Totally cute, and totally true. A Happy little maniac he is...

Trouble....

Todd took this video last Friday night. Drew was starting to take a few wobbly steps. To my surprise, I walked into school today to pick Drew up. There he was, giggling, laughing and walking right towards me all by his little self.... quite a distance too. Unsteady, wobbly, arms in airplane mode for balance, mouth wide open withe the proudest smile you have ever seen, our little guy was walking. I got so excited, I shrieked with excitement and starting clapping for him, I scared him half to death and he dove straight to the ground. I will get better control over myself next time so he isn't scared of walking :) I can't believe our little guy is taking his first steps right into toddler hood. The house is not prepped, we are not prepared, but Drew is going for it and Hannah better make sure he hides her favorite toys from him better than she already does today :)

Happy 4th of July 2010

Happy 4th of July Everyone!! 4th of July is one of the best holidays of the year, the celebration of independence coincides nicely with sunshine, hotdogs, swimming pools and fun with friends. This year is no exception. On Saturday we spent the day with Kim, Jason and Eleanor at the Edina parade and then back to their house for some good ol'e fried chicken and play time in the pool for the girls. I can't help but to reflect how 3 years ago we spend the 4th together when Hannah and Eleanor were splashing in a baby pool only 6 months and 1 year old. Amazing how different life is today. Today we have these giggly little girls that have become best of friends. It is so much fun to watch then grow up together. And to think, Drew has been added to the fun, and Baby Boy Kourkoules arrives this September. So much to look forward to.

Hannah and Eleanor loved watching the parade and collecting as much possible candy as they could find. We were all proud parents knowing their morning snack consisted of tootsie rolls, potato chips and juice boxes.

And today, we met up with our friend the Voves family at the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Kids Parade. Hannah and Daddy worked so hard last night decorating the stroller. We went last year and felt a little pathetic with just a wagon and a flag while every kids there had their scooters, bikes and wagons fully decorated. I can honestly say we have the coolest stroller there. After the parade we headed to the Twins game where Drew did not cry when the crowd cheered, he had a nice 30 second delay to the crowd and would clap his hands, it was super cute.

And finally tonight, Dad took Hannah to the Lake Minnetonka firework display as promised, while Mom stayed back with Drew so he could sleep. We are hoping by next year we can go as a family again and watch fireworks.

A great weekend, and an exhausting one. Mom finally got her voice back after being sick and is happy to be talking again :) Happy 4th of July everyone. We hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend!! Until Next year!

Drew is 9 Months Old!

I can honestly say this has been by far the fastest 9 months of my life. Yes, the fastest, busiest, most tired and the most rewarding 9 months of my life. It has been an amazing collaboration of both excitement and exhaustion. I can't help but to fall more and more in love with my kids each day, each day I am in awe of the things they do, the things they say, and the way they make me feel as a parent. I love that Todd and I look at eachother at least 10 times a day with a look with no words required, just a smile of "did you hear that, did you see what Hannah just did, did you see that Drew just took 4 steps all by his little self? No words are needed, just the glance in eachother's direction, knowing full well, we are beaming with pride and embracing the new things they do each day.

Little Drew melts my heart in so many unimaginiative way that I could not had predicted only 9 short months ago. He is this amazingly happy adorable little boy. I could watch his smile grin from ear to ear all day long. I could watch him watch Hannah all day long. He studies her, watches her every move, and inserts himself into her world as much as he can figure out how to. I look forward to the discovery of little boy hood. The new adventure that lies in front of us.

Drew has had a rough 8th month. Poor little fellow has struggled with one ear infection after another. We had his 9 mos check up today and we are thinking tubes might be the best solve at this point. Through his high fevers, colds, coughs, and ear infections ( what a great June) he has stayed happy and giggly. Imagine what he is like on a good day? We are looking forward to month 9 being a healthier month, less doctors visits, less missed work and school and less fevers. Wish us luck. Beyond the ears, he is strong and growing. He weighs 20 lbs, 3 oz... a little less than Hannah at the same age. He is in the 50 percentile for both height and weight. He has not taken a liking to solids just yet. He has quite the gag reflex which has made eating even little gerber puffs hard. I don't think he will be going to college eating gerber purees, but would like to see him try a few things pretty soon to make me feel a little better :) We are pretty sure Drew will be walking by the time I publish his 10 month update. He stands all by himself for a good minute or more, and will take 3 to 4 steps on his own before diving head first to the ground. He is trying so hard to walk, while we aren't quite ready for it at home, I think Drew is. Wish us luck. I am sure I will be posting pictures of bumps and bruises in no time.

Happy 9 months Baby Drew! We love you! Thank you for the endless smiles you bring us each day.

Tinkerbell, Princess Tiana & Superman

Everyone seems to want to be someone else these day. Miss Eleanor is a Tinker Fairy, Hannah as Princess Tiana, and Drew none other than Superman himself!

This evening Kim, Jason, and Eleanor came over for dinner. Todd made his traditional southern BBQ and Kim brought some pretty comical little pink desserts... all in good fun. It was a beautiful evening and as always, the girls had a great time.

Litte Drew man as superman this morning. This guy is finally feeling better and back to his giggly old self. He has been on the go this weekend, few naps, long days makes for a tired little fellow around 7pm vs his ordinary 8pm. I think I like the 8pm version with a few longer naps in the day better. I think Mom and Dad need those nap breaks more than Drew needs his sleep:) One busy guy. And, little Drew has 3 teeth now! His top right tooth came through today, and the left is not far behind. Our little chipmunk is growing up!

I did not take a break.

After a busy, stressful and ordinarily irritating day at work, we pick up the kids, get into the car and head home. I'm in a bad mood after a long frustrating day. Todd is pumping gas, Hannah and Drew are in the back seat. I look back at them and realize I quickly need to shake off the bad mood and leave it downtown, because I am sure to return to it tomorrow. Time to focus on my family, the hugs, giggles and smiles that get me through each day. So, I turn to Hannah and ask her how her day was, the conversation goes like this.

Hannah: Mommy, I did not have to take a break at school today ( take a break means time out)

Mom: Oh, ok... do you normally have to take a break each day?

Hannah: No

Mom: Hannah, are you telling the truth?

Hannah: Yes

Mom: Hannah, lets just talk about it, I won't be mad. Did you take a break today?

Hannah: Yes, I was lying earlier ( I am trying not to laugh)

Mom: Well, what happened?

Hannah: I kicked Elle. My teachers said it did look like an accident, and it wasn't

Mom: ( I am just starring at Hannah, not sure what I am going to say next).......

Hannah: Mom, are you listening, what is your problem, why aren't you saying anything?

Mom: ( I continue to stare... OMG, my 3 yr old just asked me what my problem was?)

Hannah: Mom... hello? (is she 3 going on 13?)

Mom: Hannah, it is not nice to kick friends. Did you say you were sorry?

Hannah: Yes, then we played again. She is still my friend.

And finally, Dad gets back into the car with the full tank of gas. I can't help but to immediately fill him in on the conversation. I crack up that Hannah starts out a conversation with "I did not take a break"... it is like she didn't want me to know but could't quite keep it inside. Funny how kids do that.. I love this funny little stage where they don't quite 100% understand lying or keeping secrets. The things that come up are hilarious each day.

Happy Father's Day 2010!!

Happy Father's Day to Dad!!! We tried to make sure Dad had a great Father's Day. Hannah was super excited to pick him out a gift this year. We went shopping and she picked out Margaritaville Flip Flops! She saw them and said "hey, daddy loves flip flops and loves Jimmy Buffet, lets go those!" Cute. And with the theme of Dad's favorites, Drew picked out some southern style foods and sauces from Williams Sonoma. We are all ready to BBQ at our house. And Mom.. she went all out this year and treated Dad to a new ipad. After all, he is a great Dad, and deserves a new toy.

All Dad wanted to do today was go to the pool and relax. It was a sunny morning that soon became grey, so Dad and Hannah decided to go see the movie Toy Story 3 while I took Drew to the doctor. While they were in a movie and I was at the doctor, the sky seem to clear and it ended up being a gorgeous day. They rushed home and we made it to the pool for a an hour or so.. the kids had a great time and Dad was able to relax a little.. a success.

Happy Father's Day Dad! Thank you for being silly and always making the kids giggle and laugh. Thanks for always putting perspective to what really matters. We hope you had a great day!

Weekend Fun

We had a busy weekend. Despite Drew being sick yet again.. Started Thursday with a horrible cough, temperature and runny nose, has now turned into a double ear infection.... the little guy is still able to pull off a smile here and there. We brought out a few new toys to Drew, old toys of Hannah's that had been packed away. The best part of that is that Hannah thinks they are new all over again. We got out the tunnel which Drew loved. Hannah was always scared of it, but not Drew. I didn't even have the first part of the tunnel unwrapped before he was already in the middle of it giggling and laughing. Hannah and Drew had a great time chasing eachother through the tunnel.

We also went to Eleanors 4th Birthday party this weekend. We didn't do a great job with pictures this time, but did manage to squeeze in a picture of the kids and dad. We can't believe Eleanor is already 4!! She is so grown up, she seemed to love her bowling butterfly themed party, super cute! Thanks for having us!

We did manage to stop by the Hennepin County Fair this weekend. It was a first for us, and maybe a last. I think we were one of maybe 30 families there. We did manage to eat some cheese curds, feed some goats and see the "world's largest pig" weighing over 1000 lbs while we were there though, it wasn't a total loss.

Hannah was able to ride a few rides, and shocking, she picked the "pink" car to ride..

Even with two sick kids, we tried to make the most of a summer weekend. Darn summer colds, never fun.

Drew's new Do..

My little tough guy, the teachers are school today that is was only appropriate that if he was sporting a little short with a bulldog that read "tough guy" that he should look the part. I picked him up from school today and he had a mohawk. 15 Years from now, if Drew comes home with a Mohawk, I won't be a happy parent, and will probably make him shave his whole head so I don't have to look at it. I see it now... it won't go down pretty. However, his little mohawk on his chubby little 8 month body is pretty cute. I had to admit, all night, he looked "tough" :>)

It has been and incredibly busy week. Todd has been in LA since Sunday morning. I have been trying to hold down the fort by myself here. Hannah and Drew have both been awesome. They take it easy on me. They have been healthy, happy, giggling, playing and having fun. What they have not been doing is sleeping. We have been trying to make Drew "cry it out" at night. Sleep training. He is awesome about putting himself to sleep at night and nap time, however, between 8pm and 6am he seems to require constant cuddles and hugs. So Night #1.... Drew cried for 45 minutes, more like whining, and went back to sleep.. not bad. Night #2... Drew woke up at 3am for 5 minutes, cried... went back to sleep.. in mind that is a success. I had big hopes last night. Drew was going to make it all night and I was going to slip into a state of REM sleep which I have not gotten in over a year and a half. I was psyched. Little did I know nothing would go as planned... Night #3... Drew wakes up at 11am cries for 45 minutes. I lay there wide awake yet to go to sleep. Thinking he is a really slow learner. Come on Drew.. sleep! Murphy wakes up at 2 am to go bathroom. Hannah wakes up at 2:45am after wetting her bed for the second time ever in a year since she stopped wearing pull ups ( why last night?) The comotion wakes up Drew at 3am, he cries until 4am. It is 4am, I am finally going to bed for the night. Only to be woken up at 5am from Drew whining/ crying. I lay there, defeated, exhausted, thinking about my presentation at work I am fully not prepared for. Wondering if I will get my words out with out slurring. 6am, Drew is still crying.. If I go in there and "soothe" him it defeats my entire nights purpose. I shower, he falls back asleep at 6:30am just in time for me to wake him up for school. After his 5 minutes of sleep he wakes up with the biggest smile on his face I have ever seen. I melted, I felt horrible about the night. We hugged, we cuddled, he was covered in kisses. I try to tell him it is for both for our own good. A good nights sleep means that mom will be a better, happier mommy and Drew will be healthier, stronger and happier too. I wish he could understand. I wish he knew it is harder on me than him. There is nothing I love more than snuggling and cuddling my little guy in the middle of the night, I love him nuzzled up in my neck, feeling his soft skin, listening to his light breathing and sighs. But I also need sleep to function. We'll see... Night # 4... stay tuned and wish me luck.

O-H-I-O Trip to see the Dice Family

This weekend we went to Ohio to visit our friends and family. It was truly a great trip. It started on Thursday with a quick trip to Columbus to see my friends from Ohio State. It was long over due, I forgot how much I missed those guys. I love the feeling of knowing nothing has changed between all of us, even though everything has changed. I must had driven back and forth from Dayton to Columbus 100 times in college, but this time I had a husband and two kids in tote. It seemed surreal. I loved meeting everyone's kids, knowing they are just like their mom and dad's. I love that conversations pick right up where they left off, and it didn't take long for all of us to be laughing with eachother again and planning next years vacation together. I miss them. I am already looking forward to this fall, when we meet again for cheer for the Buckeyes..... Of course, with all the little kids running around, we forgot to take pictures which I am kicking myself for.....!!!

Hannah & Drew got to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa which they both loved. Hannah loves with Grandpa is silly, and loves to play with Grandma. She was so sad to leave, but we reassured her we would see them again soon.

They also had a lot of fun playing with cousins Jacob and Lucas. I can't believe how much the boys have grown up since I have seem them last. Jacob is reading really big words all by himself, and Lucas is talking up a storm, and is all little boy. They are both adorable, and Hannah loved playing with them. She said her favorite part of the trip was riding bikes with them.

We went to Kings Island one evening to let the kids ride the little kiddie rides, they all had fun, and we left Drew behind with Grandma and Grandpa so Hannah could play a little more. I think Drew gave them both a run for their money. It was a pleasant evening for the adults and Kings Island too.... thanks Jeff and Nikki for a great time!!

Thanks everyone, we had tons of fun!! We miss you and can't wait to see everyone again soon!