The Bartel's Est. 2004: Sept 2011

Once again, its been too long since I last posted about the Bartel household happenings. It's becoming harder with each passing moment to set aside time for reflection and preserve these wonderful memories. I can say that Facebook and Pinterest have not helped with my lack of time and distraction either.

I will pick up where I left off...

September, which always seems to be my favorite month, crept in again this year with much anticipation. McKenna started first grade.

While Zander started his very first day of Kindergarten!

They were both so excited for school to start. Zander didn't seem nervous in the slightest bit...completely opposite of McKenna's first day. He walked into his classroom, found his "spot", and started to color with a few of the other kids. He didn't even care to look up to see if I had left. (tear) I often think it's way harder on the parents than it is for the kids. This meant only one left in the nest at home...Gage.

We celebrated a successful first few days of school by driving to Stevens Point for the annual Pacelli Panacea Carnival. As usual, the kids had a blast. Thankfully we didn't bring home any more Goldfish, as the 2 from last year are still alive. Any takers??

My three "boys" on the Ferris Wheel

Daddy and Kenna enjoying a beautiful, relaxing September evening on the deck.

Being a first grader means more vocabulary words to study. McKenna struggles with her homework, but thankfully, she's determined to get through it instead of giving up. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."...not McKenna. Her teacher even complimented her regarding this asset. I will admit, I have been known to give rewards for being good and studying hard. Some (Daddy) might call it bribery, I prefer to call it progress. One of the rewards McKenna just loved was when I told her I would get my wedding dress out for her to try on if she studied all of her words AND got them ALL right. It took over an hour, but in the end, it was all worth it...for both of us.

McKenna in her glory wearing my wedding gown and a kool aid mustache.

October was a busy and beautiful month. Last year it was super cold, this year it was chilly, yet nice enough to be outside for a long period of time and still be able to feel your toes. The kids have a crazy obsession...AnGrY BiRdS! As soon as we purchased our iPad Angry Birds was immediately installed, and it's all the kids played...even to this day. It's pretty sad when a 3yr old had to teach me how to download an app. They must have downloaded 5 different versions already and conquered multiple levels on each version. So, when Halloween came around it was no surprise that they ALL wanted to be an Angry Bird. I went on eBay to look for costumes, but they were all way too pricey. I decided to make them. I think they turned out pretty darn cute!

(I ended up taking the blue feathers off since they constantly left a trail.)

November was a great month! It's usually the time when the Winter blues start to peek its weary head, but not this year! This month was a dream come true for the kids...and me! With a little persuasiveness, and a bit/ton of whining from the kids, Jason okay'd us adding to our family! Our neighbor had a litter of Pug puppies and I would see them everywhere. One afternoon she brought them over. We've never had a little puppy before, and the last time we adopted a dog, it turned out to be heartache. After spending some time with the little Pugs, McKenna picked out her favorite. We named her Mesa, since Mesa, AZ is where our family started.

Christmas came early for the kids this year!

On day one, Jason said that we should get TWO! I was so excited! By day two, I thought there is no way in hell I can handle TWO of these little munchkins! Wow, puppies are hard work!! I love every second of our snoring, cuddly Pug. She has definitely brought so much love and joy (and a bit of frustration) to our family. She's constantly at my toes. I can't even get up to go to the bathroom without her following me, even if she's in a deep sleep. It's crazy how much she loves me. The kid in me adores this trait in her, but the adult in me gets frustrated at times. She's my little leach.

(Literally, on my toes!)

December came and went in the blink of an eye, yet again. I tried to stretch out Christmas 2011 by putting the Christmas decor up pretty much after Halloween. I loved it at first, until we decided to get our new addition. It's a bit hard to potty train a little puppy with a tree in the middle of your living room! Thankfully I had just purchased a steam carpet cleaner only weeks prior to welcoming our little "mess maker". I must say I've put it to good use! After boxing off the bottom of the Christmas tree with presents, Mesa finally figured out that leaving her little turds under the tree was not acceptable. All in all, she's a great puppy. She loves to play and rough house with the kids. She also doesn't mind it when McKenna dresses her up in her Build-a-Bear costumes and gets carried around like a baby.

We had a countdown on our table for Christmas. The kids were SO excited! Gage especially was a maniac about it. He would circle, then re-circle ALL of the toy catalogs, to the point where almost every single item was chosen. We constantly had to remind him that Christmas was Jesus' Birthday and these presents were to him, from Santa, for Jesus...needless to say he was a bit confused.

In any event, Christmas 2011 was a hit!

Some favorite gifts included:

McKenna: Big blue stuffed Angry Bird, makeup, LOTS of shoes and of course, a puppy!

Zander: Big red stuffed Angry Bird, Nerf archery set, guns and super hero stuff.

Gage: Big black stuffed Angry Bird, super hero stuff, tool stand and more tools.

Mom and Dad: A new camera! Finally! OK, this is more for Mom, but Dad will love the pics I take.

2011 Bartel Christmas Tree

Gage passed out with a death grip on one of his new presents.

Gage's Pre-School Christmas Concert

McKenna and Zander's Christmas Concert

January 2012! Another year down in the books! It's just another reminder to reflect on the years past and recognize how fast life goes by. I just say to myself "This year, will be better than the last."...and then I try to make it happen. This January broke records for the high temps we were able to enjoy. The weather was just beautiful in January...in Wisconsin! I had a tulip that even started to sprout back up! This meant playing at the park and walks with Mesa, which was pretty funny at first. Let's just say she wasn't used to being a leash and tangled herself often.

Gage enjoyed playing at the park, while I enjoyed watching him.

It was only 24hrs after this fifty one degree picture was taken, that we had a reality check and a snow storm came through with freezing temps. Goodbye to an extra long Fall and Hello to Winter! (I'm so not a fan of snow!)

Back to playing indoors! Speaking of playing indoors, check out this picture of my super coordinated boys playing catch in our living room.

(Ha ha)

February has been a good month so far. Zander lost both of his top front teeth, while McKenna continues to grow hers back. Z is now in size 6 clothes, and size 1 shoes! He's grown so much in this past year! He's already bigger than his big sister too! He's 54lbs and Mckenna is 52lbs. McKenna is in size 6x, but fastly approaching into 7. She's in a size 13/1 shoe. My littlest of them all is in a size 4/5 already! He's in size 12 for shoes too! I just can't keep up with his growth spurts! There was a period where I would put away Z's clothes and bring them out a year or so later to put in Gage's closet. Not the case anymore. The clothes that Zander doesn't fit into anymore get hung up in Gage's closet right away...and Gage wears them right away! Gage is 40lbs already too! In no time at all he's going to catch up to his older siblings.

Jason turned 34 Feb 20th! He and I decided to put weekly "Date Night" back on the calender for us. What's that saying..."Happy Wife, Happy Life." We've also decided to join a local gym in the area. Oh how I've missed my "me time". As I write this I can feel my sore abs and legs...and I love it! Hopefully I can tone up a bit before Summer comes back!

In the meantime, we are just enjoying life. The kids continue to get bigger and the dog continues to chew through the bottom of ALL our furniture.