Pumpkin Carving and Bath Time

Here are some recent pictures I've taken. My parents complained that I haven't been posting pictures enough (which is true). I always say I am going to blog after I get the kids to bed, but after they're asleep I just want to do nothing. I even go to bed at 9:00 sometimes because I'm so tired. It's not easy taking care of a wild 3-year-old and an insomniac 4-month-old.

Turkey Hunt

About three weeks ago, my good friend Andy and his father invited me to go turkey hunting on a piece of their property in eastern Wisconsin. We had an incredible morning which ended in us taking down two young jakes. I had every intention of posting a play by play of exactly what happened that morning. However, after spending the last three weeks with my nose buried in one book or another preparing for my tests, I lost my motivation. My dad told me that, at the very least, I needed to post the pictures.

This is the view from our blind. That is our decoy on the right side of the field. We had a deer come within 10 feet of us on our right side. While we were distracted, looking at the deer, eight turkeys surprised us from the left. Luckily "Pretty Girl" (that is what Andy so lovingly calls his turkey decoy) kept the turkeys preoccupied while we shouldered our guns and got ready for a shot.

This is the view from the field looking back at our blind. It also gives you a better look at Pretty Girl. Isn't she beautiful? Its no wonder those jakes were so interested in her. You can see us in our blind in the upper left hand side.

A close up of us all decked out in our camo.

We had those same grins on our faces for the next three days.

4 months!

Why do kids have to grow up so fast? Why can't they stay newborns a little bit longer? I can't believe Rydge is four months old already. I took him to the doctor for a check-up today, and he is doing rather well. He's almost too fat--if that's possible. He weighs 16 lbs. 6 oz. and is in the 90th percentile for his weight, and 75th percentile for his height. Kind of opposite of Jaycee, since she's on her own growth chart (below the 3rd percentile). I love Rydge's leg rolls--I could squeeze them all day. He is such a happy baby, and usually very easy-going. I love my little guy. I swap piano lessons for pictures with Danielle Taintor, and she did such a great job taking pictures of Jaycee and Rydge. She's so wonderful. There were so many cute ones, but I had to just post a few. I'm just going to put the rest on my Facebook page, so look there if you want to see more. Don't you just want to squeeze him?

I love Jaycee, too, of course. She is the sweetest girl (most of the time). She's got her own personality that I just have to laugh about instead of being infuriated sometimes. Look at those innocent eyes. There's some definite mischief hiding behind them. Don't let her fool you. It just comes with the age. She's such a good helper and so loving toward her brother. That love is just way too rough sometimes, but he loves it.

If you want to learn a little bit about Jaycee's mischievous ways, here's an example. The other day I was trying to clean the house because we had people coming over. I kept telling her I needed to clean, and she eventually realized that her room needed to be cleaned. When I went in there she said, "Mom, I'm putting my toys in my closet!" By then, she had only put a couple things in there. I tried to tell her that if she put all her toys in the closet, she wouldn't be able to get anything out on the bottom unless she took everything out. I told her she'd get frustrated trying to get her stroller out (as an example) because everything was on top of it. All I wanted her to do was put her toys in the corner of her room so they weren't all over the floor. I went back in the kitchen to make dinner, and tried to listen to see if she obeyed. I seriously didn't hear any sounds to indicate she was shoving things in her closet. That little stink put everything in there so carefully so I wouldn't come in and catch her disobeying me. That is literally all of her toys. I couldn't believe she could lift them so high, and her room was really clean. Better than I clean it most of the time. Now I know what she's capable of, and it's so frustrating when she says it's too hard to pick something up off the floor. Yeah right, Jaycee, you can stuff a closet!

If this doesn't make you smile...nothing will.

This is what the grandparents are missing. Come visit us already!

Rummage sales and basketball

When I was younger, my grandparents (my dad's parents) used to take me and my siblings to yard sales around Montpelier, Idaho. I had fun doing that until I became a teenager and decided I was too cool to buy used stuff. It's funny what stages we go through when we're growing up. I remember my younger brother, Chase, absolutely loving going around to yard sales, and how I thought he was such a weirdo. Looking back now, I regret not taking advantage of the time I had to spend with my grandparents. My grandma passed away when I was 9, and my grandpa passed away when I was 14. They were wonderful grandparents, and I've been told they potty-trained all five of us kids. My parents would just drop us off for a week, and we'd be cured. I think I'm going to tell my parents they need to try out some potty-training for their first grandson when he's old enough (Rydge). I thought I was good at it until my three-year-old decided she doesn't know how to get to the potty in time. We've had a bad regression. Anyway, back to the yard sales, I guess I grew up (or it's in my genes), and now I love going to the rummage sales around our neighborhood. It's the only kind of shopping I get to do with our current budget. It's actually bad because I convince myself I need things, then get home and dread getting the look on Lance's face asking why on earth I bought something. We had to get somewhere today, but we passed three or four rummage signs, and I really had to bite my tongue in fear of blurting out, "Go to that one!" It's just fun seeing what deals they have to offer. Well, I bought this walker for Rydge a while back at a rummage sale, and I'm so glad I did. I just started putting him in it, and he loves it. The video doesn't display his love for it, but you'll get the idea. I didn't think he'd be big enough to fit in it yet, but he's a big boy and his feet even touch the ground.

Another thing that has been awesome is curbing. If you see something out on the curb in front of anyone's house, it means it's free. The other day we were walking home from the park, and there were these two chairs out in front of someone's house. I told Lance that we had to take them, and I'm going to make a cover for them. I don't know how it will turn out, but I'm going to try. I'm not that good at these kinds of projects, but I think I can get help. Anyway, it might take a long time, but I will post before and after pictures when I'm done. It'll be good to have a project during winter.

The other night Lance was debating about going to play basketball, or just staying home. He decided to go, and within the first few minutes of playing he landed on a guy's foot and sprained his ankle. It has gotten really swollen, and he has a major cankle. Apparently, it's a Jacobson thing to have wussy ankles.

Playtime

Lance recently finished up with some tests, and we decided to do a little celebrating. He came home early on Monday after his test and we went to some batting cagess and miniature golfing with his classmates Andy and Omar. I thought I'd throw a picture in of me hitting in the cages since I'm usually behind the camera. Andy was nice enough to snatch my camera and take a picture of my wonderful batting stance. My brothers, and husband as well, will probably cringe when looking at my stance, but I don't claim to be a baseball pro. Hey, at least I hit the ball, right?

I started out mini-golfing, but soon realized it's hard to switch back and forth with Lance holding Rydge. I also found out Lance loves miniature golfing, and I'm not that fond of it. I don't think I have the patience. I just want to hit the ball hard and hope it ends up somewhere close to the hole. That's not my approach for regular golf, though. Anyway, after two holes I gladly let Lance take over my club, and took pictures and walked around to get the baby to sleep. The course was really cool, though, and it took some real skill to get the ball in the hole. This picture is of Lance's celebratory gesture after hitting an amazing hole-in-one.

Jaycee was over by these flowers and gave this scared face when she noticed there were bees. She hasn't been too fond of bees since she got stung twice on the bridge of her nose by some hornets.

Lance came to calm her fears.

Omar was so nice to help her get some water to wash her hands.

The funniest part of golfing was Jaycee's utter disregard for anyone's ball placement. When she saw a ball on the green, she would pick it up, or kick it, or do whatever she wanted with it. I'm sure it was hard for the guys because they were kind of turning it into a little competition, and she wasn't helping them out any. She did have a fun time, though, and eventually figured out how to hit the ball further than a couple inches.

Another part of our playing was going to the Brewers games...wait, the Cubs games. Well, we didn't know who to cheer for (I ended up cheering for the Cubs because the Brewers didn't stand a chance after the Cubs scored 3 runs in the first inning, and the second one as well). The Cubs came to Milwaukee and we found dirt cheap tickets--15 cents each. Too bad they tack on all those extra fees, but it was still cheap considering that in Lance's family it's the trip-of-a-lifetime to go see the Cubs play baseball. We went as a family on Tuesday night, then Lance took Jaycee again the next night with Omar and Andy. I had to take pictures of Rydge's first baseball game, and those are the only pictures I got.

Jaycee wouldn't look at the camera for me.

Wednesday night, when Lance took Jaycee, they went early to watch batting practice before the game. Andy yelled to a young pitcher standing in the outfield that they needed a ball for the little girl. Pretty soon he threw one up to them, and now we have a souvenir. Jaycee was pretty excited, but Lance was more excited. It's funny how we try to make the players throw the ball for a kid, but it's really the parent that wants the ball. The child doesn't know the difference between a major league baseball and a plastic baseball.They're both just balls. Now Jaycee wants to go play with her baseball outside, and Lance won't let her.
Here are some pictures I've taken of the kids lately. Rydge is getting to be quite the smiler and laugher. He's such a good baby.

What a goof!

I had to put this picture in of Jaycee to show you the outfit she chose for the day. She's in a major phase where she is her own outfit chooser. She changes three or four times a day into different outfits, and changes her shoes five or six times a day. She decided she wanted to wear a dress that is way too small for her, and also wear her snow boots. Then she needed her jacket, even though I told her it wasn't very cold outside. After she fell asleep I drove around for a while, and stopped at a store while Meghan went inside (I didn't leave my kids in the car). You might be able to see in the picture above that she is dripping sweat down her forehead. I guess she was a little overdressed. The next picture is to show the double nap we had going on. That's the only time I can get them both to sleep at the same time--driving in the car.

3 months!

I really can't believe how fast time has gone by, but Rydge hit his 3-month mark today. He is such a good little baby, but at the same time I am very sleep-deprived. He's changing every day and smiles more and more. We can get pretty good laughs out of him if we surprise him, but he won't laugh more than once for the same thing.

He is really patient with Jaycee. Sometimes she just has so much love to show him that she can be very abusive. That's the look he gets on his face whenever she comes around. I'm sure he's wondering, "What is she gonna do to me now?"

For Labor Day Lance and his good friend, Andy, tried to fly fish in Wisconsin for trout. They had no clue where they were going, but they ended up having a great time, and caught a couple fish while they were at it. In order to make that fishing trip happen, they naturally had to go to Cabela's to get "vital" supplies. Turns out we spent three hours in the store so they could buy four flies they didn't even use. Taking them to Cabela's is like taking kids to a candy store. Of course we had to get a picture of them in front of the store.
Jaycee found this cool toy to ride on, and was very sad when she found out that she wasn't going to get it. She's just so picked on. She's in the stage where she is always saying, "I really really wish I could have _____. Maybe Santa will bring it for Christmas."
Jaycee is having a lot of fun going to her dance class. I don't know how much she is able to remember of it, but she pulled out this pose when I told her to do a dance pose for the camera.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Well, I wasn't going to do this because I never posted about my mom's birthday a while back, and I didn't want anyone to think I'm playing favorites, but I just want to wish my dad a happy birthday. I know that it's past 9:00 PM, which means there's not much left of his birthday, but that's kind of my style on birthdays and other special days. I'm not very good at thinking of good presents to give, and I'm even worse at remembering everyone's birthdays. I get that from my dad, I guess, because he hasn't done anything special for his birthday today. He went to work, got home, and then went to mow lawns, which is his summer job that carries on into fall until it snows. My mom also went to visit her parents, so she's not even there to celebrate with him. Pretty boring. Anyway, this will be pretty short and sweet, but I want him to know what a great dad he is. He worked so hard to get us things we needed and wanted growing up, and he still works hard. It was a wake-up call for our family when he had his heart attack last year, and I'm just so grateful he's still here. Thanks for everything you do for us. We love you, dad!

Funny kids!

Rydge has started to laugh, and it's the cutest thing, but it takes a long time to get him worked up to it. I got a video of him doing a very short laugh, and it happens right at the first. When I was recording I was waiting for him to do a longer laugh, but it never happened. That's why it's so long. There's really nothing exciting after the first ten seconds except Jaycee whining in the background (who knows what it was about?).

Since we've been back in Wisconsin, things have been pretty busy. It's great to be back, but we definitely miss our families. I really miss the help with the kids. Jaycee has had a hard time adjusting to the long days with just mom and the baby around. It has really brought out some sibling rivalry in her. Here I thought she had transitioned so well to having a new baby around the house...the problems just came late. She really is such a good big sister, though. She loves Rydge, and gives him hugs and kisses all the time...they're just very rough. She also thinks she's strong enough to pick him up by herself...which she's not. Whenever she is laying down by him she says, "Mom, take a picture!" That's why there are so many of her laying down by him. At least she'll take pictures, right?

We're trying to break her of the thumb-sucking habit, but it's going to be a long and trying process. I even told her that I had to get twelve teeth pulled when I was young because I sucked my thumb, but it didn't even phase her. I really did get twelve teeth pulled when it was all said and done--not to mention a couple surgeries--because my teeth were so crooked. That's no lie.
Rydge gave me such a cute smile.

I had to put this picture in to show what a fatty he is. That was at the first of August that I took this picture, and he's only gotten bigger.

Part of our busy life since we've been back is because Jaycee has started preschool and dance lessons. A couple of us are just doing an at-home school for our kids, and she went for the first time on Monday. I was going to take a picture of her first day at preschool, and get a picture with all the kids as well, but I was wrong on the time and showed up a half hour late. That's just par for the course for me right now...my brain isn't firing on all cylinders. It's because of a lack of sleep, I'm sure. So, I took lots of pictures of her first dance lesson. She had a fun time, and wants to wear her dancing outfit around all the time. I have a funny video that I took of the cute little dancers, but don't have time to upload it right now. I will have to do it later, hopefully.