She's Crawling!

Kenzie girl is officially on the move.  She is crawling all around the place and nothing is safe from her anymore.  We have re-introduced baby gates into our home and have to have a constant watch on Emma's dog dishes.  Kenzie is so proud of herself as she crawls around trying to keep up with big brother and sister.  She is able to entertain herself for longer periods of time which is nice-as long as she is not getting into trouble.  I still can't get enough of this little girls toothy wide open mouth smile!

Enjoy this short clip!

Thank Heaven For Little Girls.

"Little girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angels wings, scattering gold dust and kisses in our paths."

These two little girls are so special.  They already have a special bond and I am sure it will continue to grow.  There is something amazing about the relationship between sisters; even though it is often times a love-hate relationship.  I know that sometimes with a lot of work and sometimes with no work at all sisters can be the best of friends.  I pray everyday that these two will have that special bond.  

In the mean time I will just keep loving these two little girls like crazy.  The more hair Kenzie gets, the blonder it is.  The more sun Kadence's hair gets, the blonder it is.  I see a lot of similarities in their looks and wonder if Kenzie will look more like her big sister as she grows.  

A side note...This is one of only 2 matching dress outfits my girls own.  I said I would never be one of those mom's who dressed their children alike.  There is just something absolutely adorable about a baby girl who matches her 3 year old big sister...

The Skowlund's Visit.

Kadence (3) Landon (4) Kenzie (8 months) Annabelle (4) AJ (3)

My sister and her family came and stayed with us for a few days and we had a great time.  It is always chaotic when we are all together due to the fact there are 5 children under 5 residing under one roof for a few days.  The kids had fun together playing and us adults had a great time catching up.

Annabelle loved playing with Kenzie and was so excited to feed her a bottle.  Cutest.Picture.Ever.

I absolutely loved how Landon snuggled up with Uncle Curt (usually closer than shown in this photo) to watch him play one of his computer games.  Then he'd excitedly talk to me about it later.  I think there's a very good possibility he could be a gamer just like Uncle Curt.

I love catching these four on camera in the tub together.  It was quite crowded this year although no one minded and I had to force each one of them to get out!

What's a visit with so many little ones without visiting the Cheese?  Annabelle had been to Chuck E. Cheese with us one other time in Sioux Falls and was deathly afraid.  She was just fine this time and all the kids had an absolute blast playing the games.

Even Kenzie was having fun and loved all the stimulation!

It only took me over 3 years, but I finally was able to catch a picture of these four all looking at the camera and smiling.  They were having fun in the pool!

Another great visit gone by too quickly.  It is very fun to get together so the kids can have some fun cousin time!  I remember how fun it was growing up to spend time with my cousins who were close in age.  Hopefully even though these guys live further apart they will have a chance to develop great relationships.  The visit was pretty much perfect aside from Curt getting kidney stones and spending Wednesday in the ER before they left.  I did learn in the time Jill and Curt were at the hospital if I had two sets of twins my older kids' ages plus Kenzie, I would definitely be checked in to a nuthouse!  Love the Skowlunds!

The final rose...

One of the things I absolutely love about being back in Fargo is the time I get to spend with my cousin Christina.  She is such a sweet girl, so easy to have around, and is absolutely adored by my children.  There are 7 years between her and I and although we may not be close in age, we are close at heart.  Christina comes over every Monday night and we have dinner, watch some great Monday night tv, and enjoy some wonderful conversation.  We share a love (or maybe slight addiction) for "The Bachelor(ette)."  We religiously watch the show and there may or may not even be some bio researching done on the side.  We only missed a couple episodes of "The Bachelorette" this entire season and on both occasions Fargo was plagued with terrible storms.  Christina and I also share a deep fear of storms and bad weather.  Therefore, we decided this was a sign that we should spend every possible Monday together especially if there is an episode of "The Bachelorette" on.

We were very excited for the final rose ceremony and even purchased a "final rose" of our own in celebration of the season.  It is so fun to share a passion for bad reality tv.  I only hope that we will continue watching: Bachelor Pad, DWTS, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette for many Monday nights to come!

We even were able to celebrate the last rose with my sister as she was visiting and Holly came over for the last half as well!

Good times.  Much love to Ashley and JP.  Although on the first episode he donned a creepy trench coat, he was our top pick from the beginning!  The big question is, who will be the next Bachelor?  <3

A Special Visit.

Cousin Jessie and Aunty Arin came to Fargo to visit for a few days.  I can't explain the excitement at our house in the days leading up to their arrival and during their entire stay.  We don't get to see the two of them as much as we would like so it was so fun to have them at our house and spend a lot of time with Jack and Auntie Holly as well.  Jessie is absolutely amazing with kids and I would have to say that having her around was a blessing.  She has such great "motherly" instincts and is so good with each of our three children in her own special way.  I was amazed with how much Kenzie adored her, giving her some of the biggest smiles I have seen.  Jessie is one of the sweetest, silliest, prettiest, and most well-mannered little girls I have ever been around.  Just love her.

We had some great weather and were able to do some fun things outside.  This is a cute one of all the kids (minus T who we missed A TON) at the park one day.

 We headed to Detroit Lakes to spend the day at the lake one day.  It was an absolute blast.  The weather was questionable in the morning but turned out to be an awesome day for the beach.

Such a great picture of Jack.  He made a turtle and I wanted his picture with it, it was really good!

 While everyone swam and played, Kenzie spent most of the time napping in the stroller.  This actually turned out to be a good thing since she really did not care for the lake.

I buried Kadence in the sand.  Great idea Mom.  She was a little distraught when she flicked some sand in her eyes when she moved her arms free.  Luckily, she recovered quickly and was back in the lake swimming in no time at all.

Kenzie happy away from the water on Aunty Arin's lap.

Landon attached to Auntie Holly.  He's pretty reluctant when it comes to the lake, actually.

Love this picture of Jack playing with Kadence.  She loves him so much!

And...this is what Kenzie thought of the lake water.  I am not sure if it was bad timing and she was just cranky after she woke up, but she definitely was not liking the lake.  I tried several times and she screamed louder each subsequent time.  Perhaps it was too chilly for my little princess?  Or...maybe she is just like her Aunty Arin!

The lake was a big hit and a great day.  While Jessie was here, we also made a trip to Space Aliens, Ryan took the four kids to a movie one night, had many treats, and just hung out all together.  What a great few days full of great family memories!

T-Ball

Landon had a great first summer playing t-ball.  Unfortunately, he spent 3 weeks of it in a cast.  With that said, this little boy amazes me every day and he sure didn't let a broken hand with a cast on two of his fingers and all the way up to his elbow slow him down.  He went to t-ball, batted, grounded balls, and was even able to throw with his casted hand.

The program itself was a bit chaotic at times (to say the least) and Landon's team was lacking in the good coach department, but it was still fun to see the excitement in Landon's eyes as he played each day.  One of the funny things about 4 year old t-ball is that what one child does, most follow.  This creates a comical heard of players following each ball.  With the help of some cones along with constant redirection throughout the entire season this improved only a little.  I am anxious to see the difference in 5 year old t-ball...

Love this picture of Landon swinging.  It still amazes me that he was even able to hold the bat, let alone swing and hit the ball.

This is Landon and his team.  His coach is absent from the picture which sort of explains his role on the field.

Running, throwing balls, fielding ground balls, playing in the dirt, batting, and chatting with cute little girls.  I think it's safe to say that Landon's first season of ball was a success.  Still, hoping for a more organized program and a more experienced coach next summer.

Cars Man.

This little guy has loved playing with cars since he was a tiny little boy.  He loves racing with them and creating his own scenarios.  Sometimes I enjoy listening to him play with the cars as he recreates the movie "Cars" and now "Cars 2."  He also has a new love of taking pictures with our ipad.  He likes to take pictures using all of the different picture modes.  The rainbow color mode is definitely his favorite.  The other day he was taking pictures of all of his cars.  He would line them up just right, some with just a single car and others had a couple cars in them.  He was so proud of himself and I thought he was absolutely adorable.

He took this picture which I thought actually turned out to be a pretty neat picture.  I think I'll print it for him so he can put it in his room.

I don't even want to think of the day when he thinks playing cars isn't "cool" anymore.  It has been such a big part of his life and who he is.  Love this sweet little guy so much!