Santa Picture success & fail

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Anxiously Awaiting

Ok so I feel like a kid this year when it comes to Christmas. I am so excited. I count the days everyday. No I am not ready and yes I know the closer it gets the more hectic it will become, but I am still excited.

Just thought I would let you guys know.

Happy Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for...

Health and Happiness
Solid Marriage
Beautiful, healthy children
Church I love
Family that I adore
Great friendships
Part time job that allows me to be a full time mom.
My home

Thank you God, for the blessings in my life.

Super proud of my little guy!

http://www.lukesworld.me/2011/11/climbing-with-gideon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LukesWorld+%28Luke%27s+World%29&m=1




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Recycled Christmas part 2

Part two-

Doing Shopping this way is not always easy and trust me I have learned that you have to weigh in your time & gas to even know if it's worth the deal.

But sometimes a little work and determination pays off. I love Pottery Barn stuff especially their kids stuff. I have received their catalogs for years even before I had kids. About 5 years ago they came out with a stainless steel kitchen that mirrored the Viking set. It sold for over a $1000 and was a limited edition. I found one on Cl earlier this year and they wanted 500.00 for it with a ton of accessories. So I thought if I bought it I could sell the accessories and only end up paying half that. Wrong. The set ended up getting in a bidding war and went for over a thousand dollars.

About two months after that I found the pink kidkraft set with a Pottery Barn dishwasher for 140.00. So we stowed it away for Christmas.

A couple months passed and we went to my sisters and G loved playing with their set so I told Josh that we should really start looking for a more gender neutral set.

So about a month later I found another set. She had just posted the listing but had included no pictures so I called her and she said that she would send pictures and that I we could pick it up that night. I about died when I saw the pictures and it was the limited edition for 300.00 plus dishes!




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So then we decided to sell the pink set we ended up getting 275.00 for the pb pink dishwasher alone and 100.00 for the sink set. Needless to say we paid less than 75.00 for this set !! It took some work, but I guarantee it would be worth all of it Christmas morning when they see it. FYI- the refrigerator & oven both have a light in them, dishwasher makes a running sound and stove burners light up! Yes I have been playing
with it :-)

Recycled Christmas

Our children have been blessed to have many people in their lives that love them. We both come from big families and have lots of "adoptive" grandparents and Aunts/Uncles, with this being said they have been given lots of things, add having dual income parents, and a mom that loves bargains and the goodwill and garage sales... do I need to say more.

So they want for very little.

This year I wanted to keep Christmas on a budget, a tight budget, this is so simple to do when you are creative and plan ahead. I have a mental list of things we wanted to get them so I have been doing a ton of shopping on CL. I am happy to say that with the exception of a couple things that you cant find recycled, it have been a success. It has taken some work, Josh didnt necessary want to drive to Belleville after work to pick up some things, but when it saves you money my motto is you drive.

Needless to say I am super excited about Christmas. I cannot wait to see the looks on both of their faces.

We have several close friends having major health issues so the more we can save, the more we can help :-) One thing I have been reminded of lately is that life is really short and I never want to take things for granted.

Happy Halloween!

"I liked trick or treating. It makes me super super super happy. It was very cool. I liked saying trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat. You get to say Trick or treat, Happy Halloween, Thank youuu!" -Gideon



Our Strawberry Fairy



Our Spooooky Ghost!

Happy Halloween!

We love fall!

We have been busy but wanted to post some recent pictures.




-So it didn't turn out like the picture, but it was so much fun making.




Tonight while daddy was gaming we has a dinner party! It was a great night.




Today G woke up early from his nap I thought it was a great time to make the pumpkin cake while sissy was sleeping, while I was getting everything ready he disappeared apparently he wasn't quite ready!




Grandma got new chairs! Perfect!

Cooling down

At last the hot summer heat wave broke this week, and we have taken full advantage of it. On Wednesday I turned the air conditioning over to heater. Nothing says fall like the smell of the dust and spider webs burning off of the heater.
On Thursday we built a fire in the fireplace. Sylvie was very interested in that, but I'm glad to say her instincts are functional. She came up close with me sitting there, and as she climbed up on the hearth to get closer, she felt the heat and backed right off.
On Friday, we were going to hit the balloon glow, but changed our minds due to weather, then changed plans again and decided to have dinner at Red Lobster, then buy marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers, and head home to use our fire pit. What a perfect night for it.
Then on Saturday we went to the balloon race, and had a great day. We saw the parachuters, and had a front row spot for our blanket. Gideon and Sylvie loved the balloons. I'll post some pictures later.

It's been a great week, and while our lives might be crazy busy, we wouldn't want it any other way.

Happy Birthday Sylvie!!!

It's hard to believe an entire year has gone by, but today you are one year old!!! You've been walking everywhere without help for two weeks now, which also means Mommy has been putting you in some very cute dresses (crawling in dresses is hard work). You are a very happy baby, and you are quick to cheer up even if things aren't going your way. You have four teeth now, all on the bottom, and you love French toast, pancakes, little mandarin orange slices, red or white pasta, hot dogs, peas, carrots, rice, corn, and whipped yogurt. You don't like broccoli much. You sleep most nights almost all of the way through, except for a half-bottle occasionally around 4AM. You love animals, sometimes even climbing up on our giant black cat, Cole, using his fur. He is a very good cat and just says mrrrooowwwlll until someone saves him. You love to play in water, although you don't like bath time lately, but I think that's just from getting water in your eyes a couple of times. You love bath time if Gideon is there too. You splash him a lot. You giggle when you eat something you like, just a little. You've started really played with dolls and your dollhouse, and some pink race cars too. You're stacking foam blocks, nesting toys, and pointing at things you want. You really like playing your little pink piano, the xylophone, and the drums, so I'm thinking you'll be musically inclined. You've also started grabbing dishtowels and carrying them around like security blankets, which is pretty cute. You say mama, dada, and baba, and sometimes you've even said Gideon, and recently, you started saying meow and pointing at Cole. Daddy carries you all over the place still, just because. You love to snuggle up to us, and climb in our laps when you want to take a break, just leaning back against us.

With all of these things you do, you still find time to be so cute that you make everyone smile when they see you, and to melt our hearts all day long. So Happy Birthday Sylvie, we love you so much, and if you want that car when you turn sixteen, keep being Daddy's Girl and I'll see what I can do.

My First Year

My First Year

I entered the world on the 2nd of September
One week early, 8 pounds 3 ounces, a day my parents will always remember.

Those first few months I didn't do much at all
My parents were told, “Enjoy this time while she is small.”

Once I discovered I could scoot around by my own might,
It’s been non-stop action morning ‘till night.

At 10 months, my first tooth finally broke through,
And it did not put me in a good mood.

In June, I took off crawling across the floor,
With in a few weeks I was pulling up and finally off all fours.

The first time I tried putting one foot in front of the other,
I was 10 1/2 months old, and I walked to my mother.

I practiced walking all day and into the night,
And by August I had at last got it right!

“Mom-mom”, “Daddy”, "Barba" "Pa" & “Gid” are words I now can say,
But “Mom-mom” is what you will hear most of the day.

As you can see I’ve had a busy year
Hard to believe my 1st birthday is already here.

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl.

So I know this post is early, but I wanted to be able to do it when I had time before your weekend events started.

To My Sweet Silverbell -

You turn one in 3 days and I cannot explain the joy you have brought to my/our lives. When I first found out you were a girl, I had every emotion go through me, I was scared, nervous, excited and worried. I had experience raising boys and had felt like I had succeeded, but a girl, what was I going to do a with a girl.

And then you arrived. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I fell in love. You were my "pretty girl". This past year you have melted my heart in ways I could not even imagine. Your sweetness makes my heart grow everyday and your cuteness makes me smile. I cannot imagine my life without you. You make our family perfect.

I have so many hopes and dreams for you and I look forward to sharing every moment of them with you.

Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy

My pretty girl and handsome boy!

Thanks to a our friend Matthew for the wonderful pictures of our children. He truly captured their sweetness and cuteness.

Little steps!

She took two steps this week!! And has been progressing every day, I think we are going to have a walker by her first birthday.

I fall more in love with my family every day, if that is possible.

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Playground

So it's 10PM and I'm exhausted. Tammy went to bed an hour ago. It's been a very long but excellent day, thanks to a great offer of a playground from a good friend, and the help of three other good friends. I woke up at 6AM with Sylvie, and then at 8:30 headed out to begin the day. I got the Trailblazer from Terry's house, drove back here, rented a trailer, and up we went to St. Peters, to get our playground. Mike C, Tim O, and Terry W all showed up to help take it apart, bring it here and put it back together. Tammy also brought Gideon along to supervise. After 3 hours we had it in several big pieces, loaded on the trailer and a truck, and tied down tightly. Meanwhile Tammy headed on home after grabbing us lunch, and got both kids in bed for naps.

We got the whole thing back together after another 2 and a half hours of working in the full sun, then I returned the trailer. When I got home Tammy woke Gideon up, and he and Sylvie came outside to play. He was very surprised to discover the playground was totally set up while he was napping, and we proceeded to have a neighborhood test drive of our new playground.












Then Tammy grilled up some dinner, and we sat outside eating and relaxing for a while before bath and bedtime. Now everyone is asleep but me, and exhausted though I am, I just wanted to say that when you kids read this in 10 years, I hope it is with fond memories of days playing on the playground we put together today.

Love, Daddy.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a crazy, fun weekend!
Hope you did too!




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Money well spent

G is 100% boy, now that we can go out side it's all about monster trucks and tonka tractors, etc. May I insert Daddy is thrilled! One of the main things he has been wanting was Grave Digger, one of the biggest baddest, monster trucks.

He was so excited when Dandy & GranDawn sent him a gift card for his birthday so he was able to go buy the small one.

Yesterday we spent the day with Barba going to garage sales, the first one we went to was the win of the year. We found a motorized Grave Digger! I saw it upon driving up but parked where he couldn't see it and had Mom stay in the car with Gid, while I checked it out.

The seller didn't have a price on it which usually means they want too much for it, when I asked him he said make an offer. I hate making offers and so told him to name me a fair price. I about hugged him when he said $30.

As you can see by the pictures it was a win! Sylvie likes it as much as Gid does!

Happy Father's Day to Daddy!

When it comes to being a dad, Josh scores everytime. He plays with Gideon and Sylvie has melted his heart and has became quite the daddy's girl the past week.



Thank you Josh for being a wonderful father. Here are some of my favorite Daddy's pictures.

She is mobile!!

Sylvie had a big day, we had her 9 month check up today and happy to say she is doing great. She had to get her shots today, she wasnt able to get them at 6 months because she was sick and has been ever time we tried to reschedule.

She thought she would celebrate tonight by taking a few steps... could some one please stop time!

I have a wonderful husband!

We just recently sold our dining room set and bought a new one off of Craigslist. It was a pretty sweet deal, we got a new set and a hutch for about 100.00 more than what we sold our old set for. Our old set was great but too big for the room and not really my style. I love our new one, the only bad thing was that the chairs need to be recovered, well thanks to my wonderful husband 6 of them are done (the other two are still at my friends house). Dont they look great!.





I will post more pictures when I finish decorating the room.

Busy Weekend

We had a busy birthday weekend, it started off Thursday going over to Nanna & Joe's (Josh's godparents) to celebrate G's bday, Friday was spent getting everything ready for the party and Saturday was his party and Saturday evening we let Gideon have his friend Alex over to play with all his new toys.... So by the time Sunday arrived I was exhausted unlike Daddy and Gid.

So we decided to take a lazy day and check out the pool close to our house. It was a win! Both kids came home totally exhausted from playing, Sylvie even crashed at the pool.




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Something tells me we will be spending our Sunday afternoon there :-)

Happy Birthday! Gideon

3 years ago today you made Mommy & Daddy a family. You have been the highlight of our lives, not a day goes by that you don't make us smile or cause our hearts to fall more in love with you. Mommy loved you to the moon and back!

Daddy loves you to the sun and front ( according to you )




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Just Between Friends

So I participated in the JBF Sale this past weekend and I can say I was pretty impressed. I tagged about 100 things to take and ended up selling 30 and made about $90 after they took their portion and fees. I was a little hesitant thinking it wouldn't be worth my time, but then realized that you only have to tag it once and can actually participate in any sale they have. I think I am hooked, getting old clothes out of the house and making money at it. As Gideon would say "SCORE"

Friends!

Sunday was a great day to play outside, even better when your friend joins you!




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First tooth for Sylvie!

Just a note that Sylvie's first tooth just broke through this morning!

SITTING, STANDING & STAIRS - all in one day!

So Baby Girl is on the move. In one day she sat up by herself, pulled up to stand by the couch and climbed two stairs unassisted. Each time I walked out of the room and came back and found her doing one of these. She had one busy day!

Underroos!!

Gideon is house broken or should I say potty trained! Thanks to the iPad or as G says the big phone. Josh used the bribing factor to get Gid's attention, he could only play on the big phone if he had a no accident day and I am happy to say it worked!!




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She is 8 months old!

Sylvie turned 8 months yesterday! She has mastered crawling, says momma & daddy, eats out of a spoon, loves finger snacks and has no teeth :-)

She is a total sweetie !

Happy 8 months, Pretty Girl!




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Easter

So we had an excellent Easter here. First we got up and brought the kids downstairs to see their Easter baskets. Tammy says the Easter Bunny used to hide her baskets somewhere in her house, but he always snuck mine into my room and left it by the bed. I guess we will see what tradition the bunny settles on eventually, but for now, he left them downstairs by the fireplace.


The kids were both very excited about the candy:


Sylvie enjoyed chewing on it, even though she didn't really get it opened...



They also got some bunny ears :)


Then we all got dressed up for church.


I think the best picture was this one, even though I'm only in it as a reflection:


Here's a good one of me with Sylvia:


And a great one of her with Tammy:


Since it has been raining for a week, they decided to have the church Easter egg hunt indoors, so here are some pictures of that constrained chaos:





Gideon managed to find 8 eggs this year, which is pretty good as there were 12 other kids hunting in that classroom!
Then we went to lunch with Tammy's parents' church, which reserves the Bascom House pavilion at the Shaw Nature Reserve's Wildflower garden each year. It was beautiful, despite the rain, and Gideon and I made several forays out into the garden with our umbrellas (his has Spiderman). We went out and hid in the gazebo several times. Also, Papa helped a little girl get strawberries all over her clothes. She apparently likes them. Tammy says, "more like craves them."

After that, we went to see Great Grandma Diekmann, who is recovering from knee replacement surgery. She is doing very well, and plans to have the other knee replaced after this heals up. Sylvie really likes her.

After that, we came home, had some naps, and chilled out for the rest of the evening. Here are some bonus shots from last weekend's egg hunt:



(above, left to right: Gracie, Gideon, Claire, Levi, Alex, Hunter, Tyler, Alyce, Luke)
(below, left to right: Isaac, Levi, Sylvie, Alyce, Gideon, Hunter, Claire, Alex, Tyler)


The hunt lasted about 3 minutes, and everyone had a great time.

HAPPY EASTER!!!