The Bartel's Est. 2004

A Year of Reflection

2011-08-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

It's been SO long since I've actually typed out a real post, that an ENTIRE year has managed to squeeze by! It's been a WHOLE year since I've told you about my precious babies and showed you pictures of our daily adventures. I will try to some it up with a picture or 2 of each month. I left off in August of 2010.
Zander turned FOUR and Gage turned TWO!

That was a great month, despite Jason's injury. That month ended the summer's adventures and brought on Fall's festivities. In August of 2010, Zander discovered his LOVE for fishing.

He just beamed when he caught his very 1st fish. It probably didn't even register at 2 inches, but Z's heart swelled with pride.

Zander also "caught" a very strange looking insect, and of course had to bring it in the house to show me. I had no idea what this weird alien looking bug was until I posted a pic of it on facebook.

Turns out it was a Cicada, and these things live underground for 10+ years, then come up for the last year or 2 of their life. It was like no other bug I've seen before. Zander carried the thing around for days in his bug box. Still not sure if it was alive or dead when Zander found it...

September...probably my most favorite month, was the month my beautiful Godchild Gavin was born! He's a spitting image of my brother!...(If you're reading his Brian, don't get a big head and think that I think you're beautiful.) ;o)
The Lepak name continues for our family!

It also marked Zander's first day of Pre-K. I am just thrilled that he LOVES school! (I'll remind him of this when he's older!)

October we ventured out to my first home away from home...Arizona!

I love that place!

McKenna especially loved reconnecting with her cousins Jersie and Sydnee.

I loved reconnecting with the SUN (and of course my brother and his family)! We drove up, around and thru the mountains to get to get to Heaven's playground, Apache Lake. It was well worth every heart palpitation to get there. It's been the most beautiful, peaceful and scenic place I have ever been. I literally felt God there. We flew back just in time for Halloween.
Trick-or-Treating consisted of a Funky Witch, Elmo and a Dragon.

Here's another (scanned) gorgeous pic of the kiddos taken by my BFF Sarah Gwidt.

If you haven't checked out her website, DO IT!! I love that her pictures grace the walls of our house!
November was the month of Elway....the most BEAUTIFUL, BEST dog ever! That's right, we adopted a 4yr old small Alaskan Husky from the shelter! This meant brisk morning walks, playtime, and SO MUCH love in our house!

Elway gave out kisses faster than he received them.

I'm SO SAD that Elway was with us for only 3 weeks before he passed away from complications of being hit by a car. Although he loved us, he also LOVED to run away. To this day, we still talk about our beautiful loving dog, who will always hold a special place in our hearts.

In late November, I also managed to sneak away for another Canadian Tenors Concert. Angelic voices!!...not to mention looks. HELLO FRASER!

December marked another year down in the books! If I was posting regularly at this time, I would have probably been complaining about the snow and cold already. I'm not a fan of Winter...at all. All of the grand kids received another pair of homemade PJ's from Grandma Bartel. Looks like this might be a tradition for her.

Here's a look at the Bartel Fam on Christmas Eve.

My "four" babies

January marked the end of McKenna's homeschooling, and her 1st day of "REAL" school! Needless to say she was quite hesitant when I dropped her off...tears were even shed.

Once I picked her up, she couldn't stop talking about how "cool" school was. Being the social butterfly that she is, she can't wait for school to start again. I'm so proud of her transition,...and mine. Mckenna lost her 1st tooth this month too!! My baby is growing!

February the Packers kicked some SUPERBOWL butt!! What a great game that was to watch! Everyone was decked out in their Packer gear!

Seeing the snow kept falling, the kids made many snowmen. This one in particular was pretty goofy. From the front, he was a nice, happy lookin' guy, but when we looked out the window, our view was him mooning us. The kids thought it was just hilarious.

We took the kids to their 1st hockey game. Zander was in awe. He didn't really know how to pronounce it, because he kept calling it "hawky".

Even now, he has his little "Zanderisms", like hangurber (hamburger), mazagine (magazine), hostaple (hospital), shelth (shelf). He can talk perfectly fine, it's just funny when he says these words, because he just can't seem to get them right. I suppose it would help if I corrected him instead of smiling at him because it's still a little part of toddler left in him that I don't want to see taken away just yet. Gage's funny thing, besides his adorable lisp, is when he talks about Boys and Grills.

He's a boy, and I'm a Grill.
Zander also lost his 1st tooth!

March my little baby, my first born, turned SIX! One of her gifts was a Karaoke machine. If you you're my friend on fb, check out her version of Celine's "All By Myself". HILARIOUS! I can't get over what a beautiful soul this girl has! All she talks about is being a Mommy and a Teacher when she grows up. Little does she know that she's taught THIS Mommy SO much!!

April was the month of our beloved cat Tanqueray aka "Tanq"! (okay, I thought her name was cool when I was in college) I've posted about Tanq before, as she's been my first true love. After all, I've known her before I even knew Jason! When I first bought her I took her to my Grandma Lepak's house and my Grandma fell in love with her too. My heart smiles when I think about it, because my Grandma could NEVER get her name right. Even before my Grandma passed away, she would ask how "Tangerine" was doing. I remember missing class, just to sit and watch Tanqueray play with a candy wrapper. She had the most beautiful BIG blue eyes I've ever seen on a cat.

I couldn't look at her without going up to her and petting or snuggling her. I loved how she laid on her back to sleep too...just like a dog.

Once I had babies, I would measure their growth by laying them next to her.

McKenna

Gagers

Our blue eyed beauty is now buried in our backyard, with a blue solar light, among other things, marking her grave.

What I would give for one more snuggle and chin-nudge from her...

Easter Family Pic

Our beautiful niece Emery was born in April!

May flew by! Probably from the anticipation of Summer's arrival. I don't even have many pictures taken from May. McKenna and Zander continue to lose teeth and grow them just as fast. McKenna has now lost her 2 top and 2 bottom teeth, and Zander is catching up with 2 bottom. The Tooth fairy knows her way to this house!

I did manage to see another Canadian Tenors Concert too! (insert drool bucket)

I think I've got my CT fix for the rest of the year...maybe.

June marked the end of the school year for McKenna and Zander! Kenners graduated from Kindergarten and Zander proudly accepted his Pre-school graduation diploma.

When receiving his diploma, his teacher asked him what he would like to be when he grew up. He looked up and stared at his Daddy for a bit, then turned to the teacher and said, "CHEF!" Huh? I didn't even know he knew what that meant. I was expecting a response like "Spiderman or a Fire Chief, like some of his other classmates.

June was a bit chilly this year. During a windy day, we found a robins nest that was knocked down. 2 of the 3 didn't make it, and I couldn't stand to watch the 3rd just freeze to death...so naturally I scooped up the little fella and wrapped it up in some warm towels and fed it some syringed worms. Zander loved my request for him to dig up some worms!

Within an hour the little guy was feeling better. I can't believe how much these things eat and POOP! Every 20 min from Sun UP to Sun DOWN!

FEED ME!...which Zander did! Z LOVED this responsibility!

We named him Harry. By the evening we made a nest and put him back outside. HE SURVIVED! His parents came back! I felt such a sense of accomplishment and purpose that day.

ALL 3 kiddos played T-Ball this year!

Gage was SUPER excited! Their cousin Brecken was on the Sliders Team again this year too. Jason even coached! Here's some pics from the TBall season.

The kids just had a BLAST!!

My awesome Mom turned the BIG 6-0 too!

LOTS of family bdays during the summer!

July meant my youngest babe of them all, turned another year older. Tissue please!

Gage turned THREE!!!

Since every summer seems to be booked with festivities, this one being no exception, we managed to celebrate Gage's birthday while camping "Up North" with the Bartel side for our annual camping trip. This year he picked out a Buzz Lightyear theme.

We celebrated his birthday again last week at Bay Beach with Zander and his cousin Shannon. I'll post pics from that next!

The kids also started their annual swimming lessons at Marble Park. This meant splish-splashing, water slides, jumping off the dock, and loving EVERY SECOND of it! Zander can officially float now! McKenna's almost there. Gage, well, he just enjoyed playing in the water trying to catch the tiny minnows.

The kids loved their swimming instructor Megan!

Well, I'm sure I missed a couple of things, but that about catches me up to this month, August! Whew!

I'm never waiting THAT long to post again!

Procrastination

2011-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know....

I'm such a sLaCkEr when it comes to updating my blog!!

Well, that and it's hard to keep up with these little monkeys.

SO many memories and "moments" have been captured on my camera and in my brain that I don't want to lose them! (months worth!!)

Stay tuned...I WILL update soon!!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas & a Happy & Healthy New Year!

2010-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

I know it's been some time since I last posted. So much has happened it will take me a few posts just to catch up. Hopefully I will have some time to post this week. Until then, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did. Here's to a prosperous 2011!! Since I'm SO on top of things, I didn't even send out my Christmas cards until today. (Yes, I realize it's 2 days after Christmas.) I didn't even mail out that many, so we're sorry if you didn't receive one. I'm posting a pic of our Christmas card here to share with everyone. Once again, my BFF took another awesome photo of the kiddos. Enjoy!

2010-08-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's August already! Where does the time go? I'm already seeing the "Back to School" commericals on TV and getting that queezy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Summer T-Ball has come to an end. We really enjoyed watching McKenna and Zander every Thursday night. Every game they got a little better.

The kids were just tickeled when they received their very first trophy after the last game. The trophies are proudly displayed in their rooms. Well, at least Zander's is. McKenna's trophy is in our vehicle right now so she can show it off to people wherever she goes.

Jason is finally out of his cast and doesn't have to wear his "moon boot" anymore either. We were watching Twilight the other night and noticed Bella had the same walking cast on as Jason. The kids were all excited about it...Jason, not so much. Dr's orders, he can only be on his feet a maximum of 2hrs per day.

(Shyah right!)

I was in WalMart the other day and noticed a good lookin' crippled man trying to decide which beer to put in his scooter. Of course I couldn't resist snapping this photo. I just might tag him on this so he can use this as his new fb profile pic. Ha! I was literally laughing outloud.

Gage's new thing is to spend 80% of his day with his chubby little finger up his nose. Seriously, it's gotten to the point where it's not even embarrassing anymore when we go out in public and my child says, "Wook mommy, I gotta booogie!", and repeats the process over and over and over. He gets seriously pissed off when I tell him to stop or take his finger out of his nose. When we've tried to stop him he immediately sticks his finger up his nostril, not even searching for a booger, and intentionally walks around looking at me with that "oh no you didn't!" stare.

We went up north 2 weeks ago and had a really nice time with the Bartel side. Gage didn't like the boat too much, but McKenna and Zander loved it. We saw an eagle swoop up a fish, and on the way back to the cottage we even saw a big black bear running across the road. Besides completely freaking out, I thought it was pretty neat to see. I also hope I never have to see one again.

It's Tornado Weather here in Wisconsin. The other evening the storms were pretty intense. The sky turned to a calm, ire shade of orangish red before round 2 of lightning, rain and tornado warnings came, lasting the entire night and into the next day.

Since it's been hot and muggy outside, the kids are constantly outside swimming and having a blast. When it's hot it makes for a better day at the beach.

Which also means the kiddos are practically passed out come 8 o'clock.

Happy Birthday to my litte boys!

Gagers turned 2 yrs old July 25th and Z will turn 4yrs old on August 9th!

I can't believe life is passing by so quickly.

Buzzzzz on Over for a ROARIN' good time!

2010-07-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of the year again, where I say good bye to a little bit more of "baby" in my babies. Zander, my little man will be turning FOUR...and Gage is close behind turning TWO!

I was thinking the other day that I will never again be able to say I have a one year old. Cry. I have 3 more days to tell everyone I know that this little giant toddler of mine is, "only one year old."

Because my life revolves around my crazy kiddos, I was left with no time to send out bday invites yet.

BIG Surprise, I know.

So, for those of you who have not received an invite by either email or in conversation, here ya go...

You can click on the picture to enlarge.

We're still undecided if this will be a Dinosaur party or a Creepy crawly bug party, seeing the two are obsessed with both. Either way, stop on over to help us celebrate another year with these crazy beautiful boys and eat some "grub". Kiddos don't forget to bring your swimming suites!

Red White & Bruise, Happy 4th!

2010-07-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful couple of weeks to say the least. Another update from the past post: Jason's MRI showed that he does NOT need surgery on his Achilles tendon after all. His tear was higher in the Achilles and according to the Dr. should heal up after 2 months in a cast. This was great news for us.

Now it's a summer filled with no splish-splashing around for Jason and our niece Shannon, who broke her arm last month.

We received some very bitter sweet news the same day this picture was taken. My Grandma Lepak passed away June 20th. I can't say enough about how wonderful of a person she was. She died less than 3 months shy of her 98th birthday. I would marvel at the pictures taken with her and my kids thinking about the 90+ year age difference. She lived a very full life and had a very sharp mind, pretty much until hours before she reunited with my Grandpa Lepak. I have the most amazing memories with her. For our wedding rehearsal dinner we had a luau. Of course she showed up with coconut shells on.

Her humor and laugh were contagious.

Me and my Grandma at my bridal shower.

She will be missed more than she could have ever imagined.

And so life goes on...

Summer swimming lessons and T-Ball continue at the Bartel household. McKenna and Zander are doing so well this summer compared to last summer's swimming lessons. In no time at all they will be swimming on their own, ...and then driving, graduating and getting married...sob.

Gagers loves hangin' at the beach too.

Best Buds

McKenna's first bikini. She struts her stuff in it. It may be her last bikini.

Look at these princesses faces! They are NOT liking this pre-game warm-up.

After a great day of swimming and t-ball, the night couldn't be completed until Gage took a digger on the garage step after tripping on a shoe.

Poor little guy. As if cutting teeth isn't enough.

Hope you all have a nice 4th of July.

Hello Summer!

2010-06-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

So it seems that summer is finally here! Boy did that take forever. This summer will be busy and crazy as ever. Lots of FuN fUn FuN!

We've signed McKenna and Zander up for T-Ball. It's been a work in progress for both. Last week Zander wasn't paying attention during "batting" practice. He didn't have a helmet on and was too close to a little girl swinging her bat. Needless to say he had a pretty good goose-egg after a good 15 min of crying.

By the time the game started he was back to his normal self, which then gave McKenna the go-ahead to be a drama queen and start crying for no reason at all.

Gage can't wait to partake in the fun next summer, even though he won't quite be 3. He's already got mad skills for a 22 month old.

He impatiently stands on the sidelines just waiting for me to take my eyes off him so he can run on the field and try to steal the other little players gloves and ball.

Check out the hilarious team photo of "The Sliders". McKenna was still a Drama Queen at the time the team photo was taken, so naturally she refused to take part.

Once again, Jason had his annual Neenah Street Ball tourney this weekend. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! It seems like I was just posting about this from last year. I would love to say Jason kicked butt and his team took 1st, however; I can't. (sigh) Jason ended up getting hurt in the 2nd game, which may result in a couple of weeks (hopefully not months!) off work and me taking care of a 4th "kid". He goes to the Dr. tomorrow but we're pretty sure he tore his Achilles tendon or calf muscle. BuMmEr x 10!

The kiddos start their summer swimming lessons tomorrow. They are really excited. This summer should be extra interesting, seeing Gage can now make a mad dash into the water vs. "drunk baby walking" to the shore like last summer.

Seeing Zander and Gage will be celebrating their birthday's soon, we decided to get them an early present.

We may have spoiled them just a bit.

All I had when I was their age was one of those Banana sprayers. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Ghetto. I think we might have had a slip-n-slide too. My parents finally came to their senses when I was in 5th grade and put in a pool, which brought me many years of summer fun. Maybe once the 3 musketeers master their swimming skills we could do the same. I would love for them to experience that. Until then, it's the outdoor lake at Marble Park and the new water toy.

GUESS WHAT!? 3 of the 4 Canadian Tenors accepted my friend request on facebook! (Go ahead, rip on me all you want.) I'm still holding out for my fave...C'Mon Fraser!!

Just press accept!

His voice ~~eyes, mouth, teeth, hair, body, clothes, everything about him~~ is just AMAZING!

On a serious note: Prayers for Stephanie (click on her name). She is such an inspiration to me and many others. And prayers for my almost 98 year old grandma Lepak who is getting ready to be with my Grandpa. I pray the Lord welcomes her peacefully without suffering. She's the best grandma/great-grandma/wife/mother/everything in the whole world.

Update: Jason went to the hospital today and it's confirmed that he DID tear his Achilles Tendon and he WILL be needing surgery in the next week. Because of this he will be off work for about 5 months. Not sure what the future holds but I guess it involves me dusting off my resume to bring in some income. Say a prayer for him (and us) too!

A Mothers Day to Remember

2010-05-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

I hope all you mothers out there had a Mother's Day filled with *LoVe* and relaxation! You deserve it! Okay, who am I kidding. If you are so blessed to have 3 little beautiful tErDs like I me, relaxation only comes when I am passed out on the couch after an exhausting day....uNnLeSs....my awesome mom (thank you!) comes over to watch my 3 little beautiful TeRdS while me and the hubster are off duty for the weekend to see an A*M*A*Z*I*N*G Canadian Tenors Concert!! (click on name)

(Victor, Remigio and ~~my future husband if I wasn't already married~~ Fraser)

Don't know who they are? See here, here, or even here and here!!!. WARNING, before you attempt to press the "here" links,scroll to the bottom and pause my music playlist, THEN, grab yourself a drool bucket and a blanket to cover your goosebumps because you will need them! I first saw the Canadian Tenors on Oprah in February singing with Celine Dion. Instant goose-bumps. THEN....by sheer coincidence, they were on Dr. Phil a day or 2 later AND I just happened to have the TV on. (Note: I RARELY watch Dr. Crazy Texan Phil!) If you have been to my house in the last 3 months, you have seen the Canadian Tenors performance on Oprah,....because I've made you watch it. :)

Bless the person who invented the DVR!

Needless to say I am now an addict and I just got my best fix ever!!

JEALOUS?

Gotta LOVE Canada, EH?

These pictures don't do the Fraunthal Auditorium justice. Just beautiful.

I do have to add that I've never seen that many old people in one place my entire 31yrs of life. Maybe I have a mature taste in music? (sure, we'll go with that....better than I'm just a dork who likes "Popera") The lady behind me (see her with the glasses on?) was having what I referred to as "grandma orgasms" throughout the concert, because every time the song would be a l m o s t done, she would let out a deep "Mmmmmm" moan. I was dying inside of laughter.

On a side note: Jason finally joined the "guys can wear pink too" bandwagon (better late than never??), as he wore a pink shirt to the concert ...

AND he wore a different pink shirt on the drive home. Not even half way through the ride back I dubbed him "stinky pinky". I'm sure you can figure out why. :)

We even stopped by IKEA on the way to MI and home. LOTS of cool decor for the learning room! I'll post a pic later.

You can check out my facebook page for VIDEO CLIPS OF THE CONCERT!! You might even hear the "grandma O's". :)

Gold Canyon Monthly Promotion

2010-05-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

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Spring

2010-04-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been some time since I've last posted, so I figured it's due-time. I'm always procrastinating updating the blog, until I realize I could write a novel with all of the happenings going on at the Bartel household.

February was a busy busy month for me. It was the start up of my Gold Canyon business, which is going wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you to those that supported me and continue to do so. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just LOVE Gold Canyon, and I know that I've gotten some of you addicted to their products as well. I'd like say I'm sorry,....but, that was my goal. :)

I've mentioned before that we live next to an Elementary school. It's not just any elementary school, it was ranked 15th in the state. That's pretty impressive. The small school was the only reason we purchased our house. I am so sad to say that our school board has voted 4-3 to close our school the very same year McKenna was going to attend kindergarten. I am just devastated. Seeing that we practically live on top of the school, we have become the "poster family" for Winchester school closing and all of the local News media. I've been on the news about a dozen times in the past 2 months trying to get the public involved in our feverish efforts to keep the school open. Seeing that our community's attempts have failed thus far, I have decided to do something I'd never thought I was capable of.....homeschooling. Yep, you read that right, I am going to teach my child. My first thought on this was, "NO WAY! I'm not crazy." then I was like, "Well, I guess it wouldn't be that bad, after all, it's better than sending her on a bus for a 2hr commute per day to get to a school almost eight times the size of our beloved elementary school next door." now, after extensive research, I'm like "LET'S DO THIS!" I'm super excited, and I'll admit, a bit scared too. After all, I don't want to screw up my kid. This is only a temporary set-up. My goal is to get through this year and we'll see how things go. If they go exceptionally well, then I will home school both McKenna and Zander the following year. If McKenna decides she's ready for the "big" school and to ride the bus to "far-away land", then I know at least she will have her brother Zander with her. Because of this decision, we are turning our playroom into a Learning center, and the storage space under the stairs will be the new "cool" kids room. I'll post some pictures of the new set-up.

March was a BIG month. It was McKenna's birthday! My little baby girl, my first born, continues to get bigger, stronger and smarter. It was 5 years ago on March 26th that I left the Mesa, AZ hospital with my beautiful baby in my arms and experienced this life with a whole new outlook. I had a little person that depended on me for everything, literally. It was the most AMAZING and scariest thing ever. Here I am, my heart swelling with pride, to know that my daughter is five years old.

McKenna continues to bring our family joy and animation. She is still a princess and loves anything princess related. She still acts like a little mommy to her two "little" brothers. Gage is too much of a chunkeroo for her to lift up and tote around, but that doesn't stop McKenna from trying. It was no surprise that the theme for her birthday party was her favorite princess, Ariel. Once again Grandma Bartel made the delicious cake.

The kids had a blast. I cherish these moments when they are still so young and have their little high pitched cute as ever voices.

April came, I blinked, and now it's practically over. Within a couple of days we went from almost 80 degree weather, to LOTS of snow, and then 2 weeks later, the kids were running through the sprinklers.

Only in Wisconsin do you get to experience all four seasons within one months time.

I can't believe it will be May soon! Swimming lessons start in only a month. Just unbelievable how fast time is passing.

Zander has officially passed up McKenna in weight. They were at 45.4lbs for the longest time, and all of a sudden Z shot up to 47lbs! He's still a good two inches shorter. They both wear the same size (5T) in clothing and fit into each others shoes. (12-13 for McKenna and 11-12 for Z) Zander is into worms, snakes and dinosaurs now. He's also getting Gagers into it. Last week I heard a McKenna scream, "MOM, THERE'S A WORM IN MY ROOM!".....and I knew exactly how it got there.

(Z & G with a worm)

(Zander passed out with his worms)

Because Gage has older siblings to look up to he is starting to grow up even faster than the others did. His vocabulary is so extensive. It amazes me how much he is able to comprehend at his age. I think because of this he is more capable of being a little stinker. Gage is going through a biting, hitting and pinching phase. It's seriously driving me bonkers. I've tried ignoring him, giving him time-outs, even biting him back, and NOTHING works. I'm embarrassed when my friends bring over their kiddos for play dates because Gage will always end up making one or all of them cry. The other day he bit my parents 4yr old neighbor girl in the BUTT! Just a little devil. I've never had a child that challenges me so much. Gagers gets into EVERYTHING too!

If it weren't for his big hugs & super cute dimples.....

(SO big!)

Hopefully summer will bring new distractions and this phase of his will disappear.

Well, I know there is so much more to include, but I will have to write in a later post. I will make it a point to post more frequently. I know, I've said that before, but I'm going to really make the effort. These kiddos are growing up way too fast for me not to appreciate & document it. As crazy as my life is right now, I wouldn't change it. I am so blessed.

How does that Jon & Kate saying go?...."It might be a crazy life, but it's OUR life".

(pathetic I know, I just couldn't resist!)

(My little devils!)

(couldn't resist...now THAT is a grundy!)

(Yep, Kenna still pretends she has a sister....and Z goes right along with it)

(Z refused to take his shark PJ's off for McKenna's B-day party)

(Gagers checking out his Easter eggs.)

(The kiddos helping make our Easter Lamb cake. A Lepak tradition.)

(Priceless expression to her Ariel card)

(I had to include this one,...just so I can look at it when it doesn't look this clean....which is almost ALWAYS!)

My Debut!

2010-02-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

I am having my debut party as a Gold Canyon Demonstrator! When you ask? This Thursday, March 4th at 6pm. Where? My lovely abode of course. If you're interested, please email me at kristi.bartel@goldcanyon.us and I'll give you details and directions. This stuff is pretty awesome, plus it will be a fun time!!

I am so excited to share my new business with you!

Current Promotion thru March 31st: Strike it GOLD! If you find a gold coin inside, you could win $5,000! I'm burning my 26oz Pomegranate candle now! Every 26 oz Heritage candle also has instant bonus offers including free shipping, discounts and more valued over 2.5 million!!

There is no better way to rid those winter blues but by lighting a candle and getting together with friends and family!

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Gold Canyon Demonstrator

2010-02-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

Gold Canyon provides the Worlds Finest Candles, Candle Scents, Home Decor, and Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products.

I've finally done it! After years of ordering these fantastic candles, I've finally become a Gold Canyon Demonstrator. I've been a candle junkie as long as I can recall. I remember in college when our heat went out in our apartment, and I lit up every candle in hopes to have a little heat.I had SO many candles that our apartment actually warmed up! After graduating I moved to Arizona (leaving all my "crappy" candles behind), and my sister-in-law Tracy introduced me to Gold Canyon and their wonderful products. Seeing that I've tried practically every kind of candle out there I was suprised that I became hooked from first "scent". My personal favorite since day one is Pomegranate.

I'm so excited to start this new adventure. I love that I can have flexible hours, bring in some income, stay home with the crazy kiddos..... and hopefully I can share these awesome products with my friends and family here in Wisconsin. PLEASE let me know if your interested in having a Gold Canyon candle party. I have ALL 90 (yes, 90!) candle samples. It's always a fun time to get friends and family together, PLUS, I guarantee you'll get hooked at first "scent" too.

Have doubts?...let me prove it to you! I'm having a party next week. If your reading this, please come! More information to follow. This is also an amazing fund-raising opprotunity, as we donate 40% of each purchase to your cause.

Check out my website here.

Happy Birthday Jason!

2010-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

I love you SO much! You're the best daddy, husband and friend!Happy Birthday!

xxooxxoo

Bribes, they're not beneath me....

2010-02-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

Of course I love it when I ask my children to do something & they so kindly oblige my request.....but the reality is that doesn't always happen. Sooooo, the occassional bribe gets tossed in. My youngest son is teething & getting ALL of his 1yr molars plus a 4th bottom tooth in & he just loves to have popsicles. On top of tasting delicious he probably gets some pain relief from them. Seeing that Valentines Day is nearing, I bought some Valentine suckers, which Gage thinks are popsicles as well.

When Gage woke up yesterday I could immediatley smell poop. I swear it was smeared on the walls & up my nose it was that strong. When I noticed his soiled pants, & brown on his ANKELS I soon realized the next step was bathtime. I stripped him of his clothing & turned on the bath. He usually loves bathtime, but of course, not now. Instead, his cute smelly little jiggly butt & ankels take him as fast as they can to the freezer where he struggles with all his might for it to budge & screams "pockaple! pockaple!" Now, I know, & he knows, that if I make a run for him he will run away onto the carpet. As I approach him like a wild animal ready to pounce on their prey, I look to the right of me & see the bag of suckers on the counter. I decide to lure him in...."Gage, look what mommy has...popsicles!"........

As you can see, I lured the little beast into his "trap" & carpets remained clean,... while the beast became clean.

Sometimes bribes are just the way to go....

Purpose

2010-01-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

My son's new thing is to ask, "Who made this/that?".....

so I always tell him...and body parts are no exception.

Z: Mommy,.. who made the table?"
M: "The Amish."

Z: "Who made the sky?"
M: "God."

Z: "Mommy, who made this?" (pointing to his face)
Me: "Definitely your daddy." (he's a spitting image of Jason)

Z: "Who made this?" (pointing to his eyes)
Me: "Mmm. They look more like mine, so I made them."

Z: "Who made this?" (pointing to his nipple)
M: "That's all Daddy." (chuckle)

So it appears that he knows he came from Mommy & Daddy, so I wonder if he can put it together who made me....

M: "Zander, who made Mommy?"
Z: (Looking at me thinking real hard) "I DID!!"
M: (Me, thinking real hard) "You know what......you sure did!"

It was only when I had children, that I realized why I was made...

Wintertime Blues...

2010-01-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today it's cold. Yesterday was cold.....& tomorrow.... it will be cold.

In fact, here in WI it's probably going to be cold for another 4 months. (shiver)

I hate cold, & I hate winter. I still can't believe that we moved back here from beautiful, sun-loving Arizona.

Today I really miss what I used to call home. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful to live in a place where we don't have hurricanes, earth-quakes, monsoons, etc... and I know that wherever my family is, will always be home, no matter where....

but today, right now, I'm sad, & I just miss Arizona.

I miss the drives in the mountains to Canyon Lake and finding peace in God's beauty, stopping by Ghost town on the way back and picking up some fresh fugde.

I miss hiking at Pinnacle Peak and the view of it from our bedroom window...or driving home past the McDowell Mountains, & seeing the gorgeous Superstition Mountains.

I miss going to Carrabas, PF Changs, Rubios, & Sonic with my brother, Tracy & Jersie. I miss the Cheescake Factory too.

(03' Christmas dinner taken at Cheesecake Factory, yum)

I miss wearing flip-flops and driving in my Audi TT with the windows down on the 101.

(Goodbye Audi, Hello Mini-Van)

I miss taking road trips to Vegas with my beautiful,crazy friends...whom I miss too.

(Their motto: suck in and stick out! Oh those crazy girls!)

I miss going to "our spot" at Sedona and again, looking at God's amazing creation.

I miss the smell of the orange blossoms, the palm trees and cacti, and most of all, the mountains.

Oh how I miss those mountains!

Now, I'm going to find a nice cozy blanket, or child, and snuggle.

Maybe a road-trip is in store....

Thanks Santa!

2010-01-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

Once again, Christmas came & went in the blink of an eye! McKenna & Zander had a great time making cookies for Santa & decorating the tree. The previous years they were still too little to partake in all of the festivities. Gagers managed to get into EVERYTHING, & the ornaments were no exception. I should have taken a before & after picture of our tree.

Before: Breakable ornaments hung delicately on the tree.

After: Broken ornaments thrown all over the ground.

We ended up having a tree that was bare for the first 3 feet that Gage could get his little hands on. The majority of the glass ornaments were taken down....at least the ones I was able to salvage, & replaced with Princess ornaments. There was no denying that a princess lived at the Bartel household.

I think that next year McKenna will have a tree of her own, seeing she has SO many princess ornaments of her very own.

The kids top 3 gifts :

McKenna: Barbie Townhouse, Kid Tough Digital Camera, Ariel Umbrella (which she actually used on Christmas because it was raining!)

Zander: Dinosaurs (& anything related), Box of Rocks (supposed to be a joke but he loved them!), Zhu-Zhu Pet

Gage: Huge bag of balls, Building Blocks, Playing with Daddy & his remote control helicopter.

Here's some pics from our Christmas Morning:

(Grandma Bartel made all the grand kids some PJ's)
Here's a pic of the "aftermath"....Jason putting the Barbie house together, while Gager's & McKenna helped out, Z playing with his Dinosaurs....& of course, me, taking pictures & videoing it all.

It's been really cold out lately, so we haven't been outside as much as we'd like to be. Yesterday it snowed the entire day (& previous night), so the kids & I went outside to play while Jason plowed the driveway. He plowed a path in the back yard to the swing set too. Snow suites made for a fun & fast ride down the slide!

Hopefully the weather will get at least tolerable to make a snow man....& I will post it then too!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to You!!

2009-12-23T11:52:00.001-08:00

Here's one of our many Holiday cards that were sent out this year.

Snow Angels

2009-12-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

THIS is what I woke up to after the 1st real snow fall of the year....

I thought maybe this winter won't be so bad afterall....

Then,... a few days later we got dumped on. Yuck. 12" of snow & frigid temps do not make a fun winter. It was even too cold to make Frosty.

I think a tropical vacation is already needed.

Team Edward or Team Jacob...

2009-11-18T21:06:00.001-08:00

Yum...

Yes, I am a "Twilight Mom!"

Fairwell to Summer

2009-10-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

I am so sad to say goodbye to yet another summer.

It continually amazes me how fast time can fly. I posted previously that I would try to post more frequently....obviously that plan back-fired. So, here I am again, preparing to write another novel about our summer family happenings and post a million and one pictures. Most of the pictures will have to wait, due to the fact that we just bought a new computer and I don't have access to them as of yet.

The kids had an absolute blast this summer. McKenna & Zander didn't want swimming lessons to come to an end. Gage was lovin' the beach as well. The water, sun, splish-splashing around....it really was an awesome summer. It took McKenna and Z the full 8 weeks to jump off the dock by themselves as they were so timid. I'm so proud of how far they've come! Hopefully by next summer they will really know how to swim. I can't even imagine missing "this" and being at work. I am so lucky to be at home with them.

McKenna never lets me forget how happy she is that I'm her mommy. She just melts my heart. She's learning her ABC's and starting to write them as well. I really need to work on this with her, seeing she starts school next year. CRAZY! She is such a girly girl. I don't see a spec of baby or toddler in her anymore. (cry) Her obsession with Ariel and the other Princesses continues. She's getting so tall too! She's already in a size 5. Stop getting bigger and stay my snuggle bunny forever McKenna! I was talking with my friend last week and we were saying that theoretically McKenna could be off and married in 15 years.....that thought made my stomach turn. Could it be that someday I would actually have to "give up" my little girl so she could go on and start a family of her own? How do parents do this? With the rate kids are growing up these days, I may send the kids off to a secluded island so they can stay innocent and protected for a VERY LONG time. McKenna is such a caring little girl. If someone is ill she will always remember to to add them into her prayers at night. Such a gentle and nurturing spirit she has.

Zander, like McKenna is growing up so fast too. He only has a spec of toddler left in him, and I'm not sure how long it's going to hang around. He has always been my "wittle wover", but now he has his "L's" down pat, so he's now my little lover. He's also extended his love to all insects, bugs and any other creepy, crawly, furry thing he can get his little hands on. (Ahh!)

Over the summer we've adopted the worlds HUGEST butterfly (aka Alien Butterfly), worms, countless baby frogs, one of which got lost in our vehicle (RIP really tiny frog). I'm not sure if it was a raisin I tossed out that day, or something else....hmmm. One day he just walked into the house with a baby bird in his hands. He was so gentle with it. (Yes, eventually the mommy bird came back for it.) Our latest pets were 3 furry caterpillars he brought back from "the farm". Holy crap those things are worse than our fish. I never knew how much caterpillars ate and pooped....a lot! They eventually turned into butterflies and flew away one night while he slept over at grandma's house. (or at least that's what we told him...don't worry, no caterpillar murdering going on in this household...they were put on a tree in our backyard. Lord only knows how they're going to survive this winter, but that is not weighing in on my conscious.) Zander has reached a HUGE milestone. No more pull-ups at night! YEAH!!! Only big boy undies for this little man. 2 down 1 to go.

Z and Kenna had their 1st Dentist appointments this past month. I had them watch an episode of Loser and Kate plus Eight (Booo on you Jon!) when the kids went to the dentist to prepare them. I must say they did amazing! They might have even liked it. They handed their "ticket" to the Dentist for their 1 free ride on the Dentist's chair. Before getting on McKenna looked at Z at told him it was going to be like riding on a roller-coaster.....okay, so I may have pumped her up a bit too much, but she still thought is was a pretty cool chair. No cavities for both....YEAH for great dental hygiene!

Gage also experienced a first of his own. His very first haircut! He didn't seem to mind it too much. I swear he looked so much older when he was done. He went from mullet baby to fro hawk baby. Soooo cute! (he's already due for another!) Gage went in for his 1 year well-baby check-up. He measured in at 32.25" and 25.8 lbs. Seeing that was over 2 months ago, he's grown even more. He's transitioning into size 4 diapers and 2T clothing. All of my kids had chubby patties, so it's no surprise that Gage is already in a size 6 for shoes. He still only has 4 top teeth, but a third bottom left tooth poked through 2 weeks ago, so I'm assuming the bottom right will follow. I swear Zander had a full set of chompers by this age. (His 1st tooth poked through at 3 mos.) Gage knows so much more in just the past couple of months. His 1st word was ball, which he has graduated to "backaball" (basketball) and "bolball" (for football). He is a sports fanatic already! Gage plays catch constantly. We're thinking he might be a lefty. He and Zander now share a room. Gage wakes up every morning at 7 am (or earlier) and yells for me. He can see our room from his crib. It's so cute when I look over and see his chubby little cheeky grin smiling back at me just waiting for me to pick him up. It doesn't even phase Z that his little brother is yelling "MOM!" I laugh because he's sort of dropped the mama thing and I'm already just mom. As for the baby in him, it's quickly being replaced with "toddler". I swear I was just preggers and here I am getting rid of all baby items already. Just unbelievable how precious life is and how truly fast it goes by. Patrick Swazey's wife Lisa Niemi was on Oprah this past week & she mentioned that we tend to forget that our life is on loan to us. It's so true. We just go through life on auto pilot to get supper made, cleaning done or whatever it is, and just like that the day has gone by. I'm really trying to make an effort to live in the moment and really soak up this time I have staying at home with the kids and Jason. It is so worth the sacrifices made.

Because the kids are growing up so fast we decided to invest in some family portraits from a professional photographer, Sarah Gwidt Photography. (click on name) Besides the fact that she's an awesome friend of mine, she also happens to be an A.MAZING photographer! I highly recommend her if you are thinking about getting portraits done. It was only 43 degrees out when these shots were taken and you can't even tell!!

I can't forget to include Halloween pics! Gage HATED his froggy costume!

McKenna was again, an array of things. She started off as The Little Mermaid, and ended up as Snow White.

Zander went from Optimus Prime (Transformer) to Nemo (of course).

( I have to add that my mom made the Snow White dress)

(Here's a picture with my 97yr old grandma & the kids.)

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY GAGERS! 7/25/08

2009-07-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

To our sweet baby Gage, I can't believe you are ONE! It seems like it was only yesterday I felt your kicks from the womb, & here we are today chasing you all over the place. It's amazing what you've accomplished in one short year. You are almost ready to walk,...taking FIVE steps already! You certainly let it be known when you want something or are mad. You get a pout face & immediately put your head to the ground. It's almost comical. McKenna & Zander just adore you. Z still kisses you all over, & Kenna still tries to tote her little (chunkeroo) baby brother around the house. You've made this family complete & we love you so much!

Happy FIRST Birthday to our Lil' Squirt!

Zander & Gage had a joint birthday party this year. Seeing that Gage can't quite talk yet, Z declared this to be a Nemo party. Of course this meant Nemo themed food, cake, decor & more!

Zander's Nemo cake was made by Grandma Bartel & Gage's Squirt cake was made by Auntie Tina. What AMAZING cakes they were!!

Gage especially loved diving into his very own cake. I think everyone took turns helping him eat it too!

The kids had a blast hanging out together.

Thank you to those who were able to share in the celebration. It was a beautiful day & we all had a blast! The squirt guns & Nemo water toys came into good use!

Sticking with the "fish" theme, there were lots of Nemo gifts received. Zander even received a REAL fishy of his own from Cousin Kelly....which of course, he named... Nemo. The kids especially had fun with the pinata. If you watch the video at the end, you can even see there was a cat fight. They were all eager to get the candy out of the pinata & into their bellies!

It's just amazing how this summer is just flying by! Here we are ready for August & for my little man Zander to turn THREE in just 9 short days! I am so glad I am able to be home & watch my children grow. It's so funny to hear the things they come up with. I'll share a little "McKennaism" with you.....Just last week as we were leaving the beach from Kenna & Z's swimming lessons, the young life guard went to hold the door open for us to exit. While exiting, McKenna was just staring at the life guards stomach. Once McKenna finally passed her, she came running up to me & says, "Mommy! There's an earring stuck on that girls belly!" Seeing that I didn't feel like corrupting my 4 year olds mind quite yet & tell her that people get other parts of their body pierced besides their ears,.. I simply told her that it must have fallen out of her ear & landed on her belly. :)

Here'a a clip of Z blowing out the candles for his baby brother.

It's candy time! The girls went from cheering to fighting. Oh what candy will do to a toddler!

Dive in for some FUN!

2009-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

For all of you fishies out there that know where we live, we hope to see you there!

(click on picture for larger view)

Summer Lovin'!

2009-06-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

The kiddos started their 1st day of swimming lessons today. They "swam" at an outdoor beach where Jason spent many summers as a child. It wasn't even 9am & the temp was already reaching towards the 90's! Ugh, just humid & not 1 cloud in the sky.

Once we arrived, Zander was scared to actually go into the water because of the "sharks." He's watched Nemo 1 too many times & is convinced there are sharks in the little lake.

Speaking of Nemo, when I went to register the kids yesterday, of course they were so excited that they had to pee. Once we went into the bathroom, Z pulls his shorts down & instead of going tinkles in the toilet, his little Nemo fish which he carries around everywhere (kinda like Flounder, remember Tracy?) plopped into the toilet. McKenna told Z that it was just like the movie & Nemo was trying to escape from him. Instead of letting Nemo escape into the sewer, Zander MADE me fish out his fish from the public toilet. (no pun intended, yeah right) Surprisingly the toilets were immaculate, & after I washed my hands 5 times, so were my hands (& Nemo). Oh the things we do for our children! Once the kids finally made their way to the "sea" as McKenna called it, they had a blast splashing in the water & making their mud pies.

I love these pictures below.

Here they are patiently waiting for their swim class to begin.

Gage didn't mind the beach so much either. I wasn't sure what he would make of the sand, seeing he hated the feel of grass. Look at him just checking out the sand on his little fingers wondering what to make of it.

Surprisingly, he just loved it. (Yes, he tried tasting it as well.) He loved the water even more. The day prior we went to the Meyer's household (Jason's sister's family) & the kids had a blast splish-splashing around in the kiddie pools. I swear Gage just gravitates towards Karlee. I think he loves that someone else is little like him (Well, even though she makes him look like a giant).

This past weekend I attended a wedding in Madison for a friend of mine from high school. It was an outdoor wedding at the Overture Center for the Arts. Unfortunately, Jason had to work, but I had so much fun hanging out with my high-school friends & reminiscing about the good ol' days. I must be getting too old to have as much fun as we did, because here I am 3 days later & I'm still sore!! (lots of walking & there might have been a glass or two of wine) Our hotel was right across from the Capitol. It was a beautiful wedding, with a beautiful bride & groom, beautiful company & beautiful weather.

Thank you for the beautiful time & congrats Taylor & Sarah!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad 36yrs! (23rd) , Happy B-Day to my brothers Kevin (24th) & Brian (26th), my Mom (27th) & my Father-in-Law Lee (21st)!

Whoah, that's a lot of occassions in 1 month for 1 family!

Growing up too fast

2009-06-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I said I would try to post more frequently...

I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks. Wow, this summer is just flying by.

Speaking of flying, the family we bought our house from stopped by last week & "Mr. Seller " had his air glider thingy with him. The kids thought it was really neat & couldn't resist getting in it for a photo opp. Well, a couple of days ago as we were eating lunch, I heard a noise that sounded much like an airplane. When we looked outside, we saw "Mr. Seller" flying above our house. There is an Elementary School next to us & his kindergartner was having her recess. He flew above & waived to her while she was playing, then cruised on over to us. It was really neat.

Last week we also went to visit my Grandma Lepak. The kids love visiting her because she always treats them with her candy stash from her bingo winnings. She was so happy to see Jason too. (I think she secretly has a crush on him) I can't believe she's almost 97yrs old!

The kids were so good that we decided to take them shopping when we came back to Appleton. Mental note, rewarding kids with chocolate covered frozen bananas in the car is not a good idea.

When the kids are not good they are little devils. They were getting into the pens yet again & when I took the pens away I couldn't resist. Having a red pen in my hand didn't help the situation.....Jason got a kick out of it when they woke up in the morning & his little demons greeted him.

Gage has been full of surprises lately. We brought out an old toy that McKenna & Zander used to help them with walking. I wasn't even sure if Gage would know what to do with it.....well.....he does! Watch the videos at the end of this post. My little baby is almost ready to walk! He cruises all over the floor with it. He's also a master at going up the stairs AND crawling ON TOP of tables! Such a little stinker he is, & he's only 10 months old! I took him to the Dr's yesterday because I thought he had pink eye (again). Turns out my little 24.2lb chunky monkey has really bad allergies. Poor thing wouldn't stop rubbing his red glossy eyes for the past month now. I hope whatever it is he is allergic to will go away soon. Gage loves mimicking Kenna & Z. He will yell at them already if he feels he needs to be heard. It is SO funny! Oh how they are growing up too fast! Updates: Gage has 4 top teeth coming in to add to his 2 little sharp bottom teeth!

He also gave in & now crawls on the grass.

Gage is also officially sleeping through the night! Amen!

Jason had his annual Neenah Street Ball this past weekend. I started my blog around this same time last year. I can't believe it's been a year already.

The kids had a blast. This year they played on a different court section & it was right by the water. It reminded me of when Zander was born, because the hospital was right across the way. I remembered walking the hallways & hanging out in my hospital room just waiting for Z's debut. I would look out the window across the river & there was a fountain that kids would gather throughout the day to splash around in. Little did I know,...fast-forward 2 years & I would be on the other side of the river watching my little one splash around in that same fountain.

(See the hospital in the background?)

There were also some blow up jumping "toys" to play on as well.

(Grandpa Bartel & Gage with Z looking out the window)

Seeing that my mind was on giving birth to Z, I couldn't help but think of just that when I took this picture. (see what I'm saying here? LOL!)

(My little man)

(Zander & Brecken always have fun together.)

Lastly, guess who made their annual appearance? Our frog! When we moved into the house last year, we were outside & noticed a frog on the deck. The kids were just in awe. It came to visit again & the kids just loved it! Of course I had to run & get my camera. I wonder if McKenna knows the story about the frog who turned into a prince......Hopefully next year I will post about it again.

Check out Gage's latest moves....

My little stinker!

Almost walking!

The Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland!

2009-05-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

As usual, this post is long overdue. The heading for this post should actually be called pictures, pictures & more pictures!!!
If you are my friend on facebook, you will notice that I wrote "thoughts & prayers" for what I am thinking. My uncle Jeff Kulas, (who is also my Godfather) 49, died unexpectedly last month. He was a great dad, uncle, brother, husband, son, ect... & he is surely missed. My thoughts & prayers go out to his family. He has 4 children, 2 of which are still in high-school. After a long month of "thinking", I was then notified that a girl I went to high-school with, Krisee Gollon also died unexpectedly, as well as her 3 yr old girl & 2 year old boy. I graduated from a small private school with a graduating class of 50 something. So basically everyone sort of "knows" everyone. She was killed by her long-time boyfriend who is also the father of her 3 children. After killing the 3, he then attempted to kill their 7 month old baby girl & himself. Thankfully the police showed up before that could happen. Just horrific & unimaginable.....so I think I'm going to keep my quote as "thoughts & prayers" for what I am thinking. I've been dreading this post, not only because it's hard to show such joy at a sad time, but also because I have a million & one pictures I want to share, & if you are a blogger, you know how long it takes to upload pics!
On a much happier note, the beginning of last months happenings were quite an adventure. As posted about previously, we had planned to visit my brother & his family in AZ & then head to Disneyland. We flew in to AZ on a Saturday afternoon (4/4), & woke up about 1am on Sunday to drive the kids to Anaheim, CA. The kids slept most of the way, which was great. As you can see the sun is just about to rise.

Once rested & ready to have some fun, the girls put their princess ears on & we arrived at Disneyland.

It really is the happiest place on Earth!

The 1st person McKenna saw when we walked in was Alice. McKenna was in awe.

We started off with "It's a Small World",....& McKenna hasn't stopped singing that song since! (& that was over 1 month ago!) It was just an amazing time. To see my kids so excited was just awesome. Zander saw Sullie! (from Monsters Inc),

(Z didn't take his eyes off the furry big monster. McKenna had to wear the stretched elastic Snow White skirt because she was soaked from running through the water. They fell to her ankles at least twice while we were walking, bearing all!)

McKenna saw Ariel

(McKenna's dream came true when she met her favorite princess in person. She was just in her glory.)

& I saw vitamin D!!

We were all in our glory!

(Did I mention I had my pants on inside out!?)

It was at least 80 degrees out & gorgeous!

We decided to let the kids run through the water park to cool off. Here's some more pictures from the great time.

(McKenna standing in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.)

(Such neat things to see! )

(Lovin' the Tea Cups ride!)

(Z couldn't believe he was standing next to Mader & Lighting McQueen!)

(C'mon Z, show me those muscles!)

(I've never seen so many strollers in my life!)

(The kids crashed hard after a long 13hr day without leaving the park)

(Isn't my niece Sydnee just the cutest!?)

(The Disney Pixar Parade was SO neat!! Z especially loved it!)

(Who can resist Krispee Kreme Donuts?)

(My brother said Z just stared at Jasmine's boobs. When we left he told Kenna that Jasmine was his girlfriend.)

(McKenna posing with Z's girlfriend Jasmine.)

(Can't you just tell that Zander is completely not impressed with Ariel & wanted to see Jasmine again?)

(As we were leaving Aurora was coming in. I think McKenna was in heaven. (We saw Snow White in passing as well.)

( Jersie was also in her glory when Sleeping Beauty appeared.)

(The 2 beauties whom eventually became beasts as the night progressed.)

(Posing after the Winnie the Pooh ride.)

(Yes, there was a pooping incident. Luckily we were able to make it to the bathroom in time.)

(Seriously, what cute cousins!)

(The kids thought Disneyland was the happiest place on Earth as well!)

(I had to take this picture for the beautiful background of windmills & snow capped mountain.)

(This is what happened after Z asked to use my chap stick! He ate it!)

Once we made our way back to AZ, Gage experienced grass for the first time. (hmm, that sounds bad, doesn't it?)

Let's just say he hates the feel of grass anywhere on his body. It was so funny! He just curled up his toes & shivered. Even now, as I lower him to the ground outside, he lifts his little legs as they get closer to the grass. I even tried him in the excer-saucer thinking he might enjoy that better & not realize the grass is touching his toes....not the case.

Since we were in Scottsdale, my sister-in-law Tracy & I decided to stop & have a Sprinkles cupcake. (if that sounds familiar, it's because Katie Holmes & Suri Cruz are often photographed there, at least the one in CA)

As we were driving to Sprinkles, we talked about how the celebreties often make their appearances at places like this. Afterall, one cupcake is practically four dollars! (we must have forgotten about recsession!) While waiting in line I took this picture.

Little did I know that standing right next to us was Kelly Rowen from Destinys Child,...breathing the same air us! I snapped this shot of her.

Not the best I know, but still, neat being that close to someone that I bought Summer Fest Concert Tickets to see in 2002!! If you talk to my sister-in-law Tracy, & she tells you that I ran after Kelly to get this picture, I didn't,...well, not exactly. :)

Later in the week, I took McKenna to see another Disney on Ice with some fellow princesses. (Jersie's cousins) I think her favorite part was wearing her beautiful Belle dress, which she was also able to wear for Easter.

Looks like McKenna might move to AZ when she's older to become a Phoenix Suns cheerleader!

Gage had his 9 mos well baby check-up last week.

He's 31 1/2 " & 22lbs. Dr. said he's off the charts for length & in the 68th percentile for height. If you see him in person though, you would definitly think he was off the charts in weight as well. He is now officially in 12 mos clothes & still in size 3 diapers. He still only has 2 bottom teeth. I feel & look for those top toothers everyday, & nothing. With the other kids, once the bottom teeth came, the top teeth followed after about 2 weeks....we're going on almost 2 months! I'm starting to grind food up for him & he's loving it!

(Notice he rips his bibs off so I have to immediatlely wash his clothes after he eats.)

Gage crawls like a mad man everywhere! (ok, everywhere except for the grass. ha!) I also found him crying in the crib a couple of weeks ago (yes folks, I've started to put him in the crib!) & he was standing!! He had pulled himself up & started to cry when he wanted to get down. He must have not figured out how to plop his butt down, which he has no problem doing now. He pulls himself up on everything now. He says "da da", "ma ma", nenna (I think for McKenna), no no, ba ba & some other jibberish. Although he can say this stuff, he's just babbeling. I don't think he quite gets it yet, because he will say these things whenever (like at 3 am really loud, & then go back to sleep once he's awoken us up). He loves patty-cake & the feel of daddy's whiskers on his chubby thighs sends him right into big giggles. Depending on when he gets his last bottle, he usually still wakes up once a night. He's slept completely through the night (about 10-11hrs or so) 3 times for me. People say just let him cry, but honestly, I CAN'T! Maybe it's because this is my last baby (that I know of), maybe it's because I can't stand to hear my little one cry, or maybe because I don't want to wake up my entire house & neighborhood with his furocious loud screams..... whichever it is, Gage gets picked up, snuggled, fed & if he's lucky, he gets to sleep the rest of the night by his mommy. At least he wakes up a happy babbling baby.

(Yes, he's got a little faux-hawk going on as well.)

( Athough we didn't see Cinderella at Disney, Gage gave it a good try.)
Zander is still my "wittle wover", although he's starting to become really defiant. He's in a time-out at least 5 times a day for sticking his tongue out at me or saying "whatever mommy!" to me. I gave him a mohawk a few weeks ago & not only does he look like a little punk, he plays the part really well.

I was going to shave it off after a few days, but it's really grown on me. PLUS, his "twin" Brecken is sporting a mohawk as welll, & who can resist 2 little mohawked men?

Oh, & I can't forget to mention that he goes #1 & #2 all by himself! In fact, he's decided to be one with nature & take the whole bathroom experience outside!! Luckily there was no recess at the time (we live next to an elementary school) Before our yard starts to look like we have a dog we need to pick up after, we put an end to it. I think it all started with Nana,....we were all packed & ready to go back home after visiting Nana & Papa's house, when Z declared he had to go tinkels!! My mom let him "go" outside & ever since, he thinks it's the neatest thing to "water" the grass. I guess with the watering came pooping. Not cool. He seriously begs to go potty outside. WTH?
McKenna is still singing the days away. Besides singing "It's a Small World", she belts out the Beauty & the Beast song & Aladdin's "A Whole New World" 24/7. Apparantly the Little Mermaids "Part of Your World" is done with. It was the ONLY song she would sing last summer...from the moment she awoke, until the moment the little princess shut her eyes. She has become increasingly obsessed with Gage.

She tries to lift the little chunk & move him all over, all of the time! She ends up plopping him down really hard, or makes him really mad that he starts screaming. I can tell his cries apart, & one of them is definitely a "McKenna cry".

We went for brunch last week for Mothers Day at "The Farm". The kids had a blast playing with the 101 kitties running around. McKenna really took to a particular kitten. She carried Peaches & Cream around everywhere in a sweatshirt & begged for us to take it home. (Ok, fine, I named it.)

(Notice the blue nail polish. She had to have blue, because the girl in Mama Mia has blue. Seriously, she is all about detail!)

Of course, Zander just had to sit in the tractor.

Well, that's a wrap. Hopefully I will start to blog more frequently so when I have a post it isn't like reading a novel & looking at a whole photo album! Seeing this is a journal of my family, I don't want to forget a thing! Take care!

Happy 4th Birthday to our Sweet Princess!

2009-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe you are four years old already Miss McKenna Mae! The day we brought you home from the hospital is so vivid in my mind. We snuggled the whole day. (Actually, we've been snuggling for the past 4 years.) We're so proud to be your parents. You are so smart, beautiful, talented & just an amazing little girl. We love you more than you could ever imagine. xoxo

McKenna had her Princess Party this weekend.

She & the other little royal guests had a blast! It was so cute to see all of the little princesses running around the house. (We wish you could have joined us Jersie & Sydnee!)

Of Course, Z tried to get in the fun, but the princesses weren't having any of Prince Charming.

We munched on princess cookies compliments of Cheryl.....Thank you!!

McKenna received many neat gifts. The grandest of them all, being from Grandma Bartel. Besides making the amazing chocolate raspberry Beauty & the Beast cake,...

she also sewed McKenna her very own hand-made Belle dress that she can take with her to meet the "real" Belle at Disneyland! McKenna was in her glory when she tried it on yesterday.

Gage is also delighting in the many gifts McKenna received.

(Do you see the bottom tooth poking through?)

My little man is also starting to crawl! (well, Army crawl)

He squirms his way across the floor to me. Once he gets to me he lays his head down & just smiles.

Oh I can just eat him up!

I have mentioned a couple of times that we have a cat.

She's almost 10 years old.

The kids harass the poor thing non-stop, & I always tell them to "Knock it off or she will get mad & come after you!" Well, today she did (or at least tried) to do just that. After many attempts of trying to walk through the hallway to our bedroom, Zander comes running to me crying telling me the cat won't let him walk through the hallway without going after his legs.

You can see from the pictures the little guy was seriously disturbed about it. Maybe next time he will reconsider before he tries to pounce on her. (I was dying inside with laughter)

FIVE days and counting!! Sunshine here we come!!!

March Madness

2009-03-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it's already been a month,.....
I will blame my BFF Sarah for the neglecting of my blog, house, children, etc... as she has introduced me to a new Internet Social Network. You may have heard of it...It's called Facebook. FB for all you Facebook virgins out there. (not sure if there are any left out there, as I may have been the last one) I'm starting to wonder if they have FB Rehab?

We are still cooped up like chickens. I think this darn winter will hang around as long as it possibly can. Of course I woke up to a snow filled yard yesterday morning,.....& why wouldn't have I, since I just made the comment 2 days prior (when it was 65 degrees) "I am so glad we're done with snow!"

Ughh...will summer ever get here? After being teased with beautiful weather it makes me want to hop on a plane & head to AZ. Oh, wait.....WE ARE!! Yes, we are headed to our old stomping grounds. It will be so nice to get some Vitamin D the good ol' fashion way. I am so excited. Seeing that it's McKenna's 4th Birthday this week, we thought we'd give her the greatest birthday present every little girl dreams of,....meeting Cinderella (& the other princesses) in person!! We are headed to Disneyland as well. I will post a million & one pictures for everyone to see her awe struck expressions. (she lives, breathes & dreams princesses)
It's official! Gage's first tooth made it's debut yesterday afternoon!! (bottom left) He has been chewing on everything & anything he can get his little fingers on. (the cat's tail is no exception)

He as also become aware of food. It doesn't matter what it is, if he sees you eating something, or about too, the fight is on. He will reach for it (to the point of falling out of my arms), grab for it (to the point of falling on his face) & stare you down (quite funny) until he gets to taste it. I made these awesome teething biscuits & he just loves them. I will post the recipe at the end.

They are great & don't fall apart like the other teething biscuits we've tried.

Gage also had his first competition. Who does Gagers prefer? Blondes, Brunettes or Red Heads?

After much thought,

analyzing,

of course taste testing

....& a little bit of teasing us....

The winner is............

BLONDES! (I always said Blondes have more fun!)

Gage sits up on his own & he's almost ready to crawl. Jason made the comment that he should be crawling by now. Then I realized I would need to put him down in order for him to be able to do that. :0) So we're working on that as well as sleeping in the crib. I'm still awaken by a beautiful little baby grabbing at his toes rolling over onto me & slobbering in my face every morning. (ok, some mornings he just wakes up screaming & grunting until we get up with him so he can do his thing. Like clock-work, he poops EVERY morning at about 7 am.....never fails.) We said our goodbyes to the baby bath that we've used to bathe all of our little ones. Now that Gage is good at sitting, he's in the tub! He thinks it's pretty neat splashing & is seriously wondering how he can get the drain into his mouth. (sorry honey, it doesn't lift up......he'll figure it out after a couple more baths)

Besides being the cutest baby ever, he just likes to hang out with the family.

He's such a content little guy.

Zander went from a toddler bed to a big bed! He just loves it. Now that he's higher, he's taken notice of the Winnie the Pooh border that's on the wall. He went down for a nap & when I went in to check on him, I noticed he tore a bunch of the border off. I gasped when I saw what he did, but then I remembered I hated the border & it made him less of a stinker. (plus he was asleep when I noticed it, & who can get mad a little sleeping boy?) Sorry to all you Winnie the Pooh lovers out there, I just think it's over-rated. So, after removing the remaining border from the walls yesterday (it became a ritual for him to tear some off before he went down for his naps) I am going to re-decorate the boys room, which I am really excited about.

(Remember that kid from Jerry McGuire? It's Zander!)

Zander continues to work on his "L's". A couple of nights ago he proceeded to tell me "I wuv you mommy. You wook wike Cinderwewwa (that's Cinderella, for all you non toddler translators). You have beautiful horns."....Umm, thanks? (he was sticking my hair out on both sides, so I'm thinking those are the beautiful horns he's referring to?) Oh he is such a "wittle wover" too. He has been since birth. Zander is a snuggler a hugger & a kisser. Just a mellow kid. He's going to make a great daddy/husband some day. Yes, (sigh) McKenna still tries to make him a fellow princess. It's a daily struggle I have with her (& him). I ask Zander, "Are you a boy or a girl?" He says "Boy!" (most of the time). I later hear McKenna telling him that he's actually a girl & should wear her dress so he can be in her wedding. Within two minutes of explaining he's a boy & boy's don't wear dresses, there's an instant bridal party in my living room, with Zander as the made of honor.

(I actually wore the pink dress in my Aunt's wedding when I was 4)

Oh those kids crack me up!
McKenna, as mentioned earlier, is such a princess. Just last week she told Jason she wanted to be Belle (from Beauty & the Beast) when she grows up. (Who knows, there's always that possibility she will be....I mean, somebody has to be Belle at Disneyland, right?) We went to Disney on Ice last month & the kids just loved it! There were a bunch of little girls dressed up as princesses too. It was really cute. I didn't even think of dressing her up, seeing we parked at Lambeau Field & walked to the Resch Center (about 3 or 4 blocks) in SUB ZERO weather!! Brrr!
About 3 weeks ago I had a little fight with McKenna (well, as much of a fight that can be had with an almost 4 year old) & when I told her what she did was wrong & asked her if she understood, she just looked at me, rolled her eyes, & said, " Whatever Mom." Umm, what! I can almost feel the contractions from my uterus shrinking from just giving birth to this beautiful little baby girl, & did she just look at me like she was a high-schooler & tell me whatever?!? And what's with the whole mom thing? I'm MOMMY, or Mama,...not MOM!!

Can I press the pause button on her & let her be little for just a bit longer? I don't even know when she stopped being a toddler & turned into a little girl. (Can I get some Kleenex over here please?!)

(When she's not a Drama Queen she's a little goof ball!)
Jason, well, is sitting on the couch watching what most of the men today are watching.....basketball.

(Twins much?)

The dreaded March Madness has begun. I saw a funny commercial on TV yesterday about a dad commenting on how he couldn't believe his little girl was going to be 6 yrs old. He stated how he remembered the day she was born perfectly, it then showed a flashback of which teams won & which teams lost. (she was born during March Madness) It was quite funny, until I realized, "Hey, I wonder if Jason thinks this too?" (McKenna was also born during the NCAA Tourney) Jason continues to work hard to support our family & allowing me to not miss a moment in the kids lives. Thank you honey!
I myself, am working on a bunch of projects. When we moved into the house, I was almost 8 mos pregnant, so not much could be done as far as decorating. Once the baby was born, well, I was pretty much tied up nursing or tending to the other little rascals. Now that I am done with nursing, & McKenna & Zander are off having their weddings (j/k) I have some time to get my list checked off. Besides preparing to plant a garden, I bought some fabric to make curtains for McKenna's room as well as a beautiful canopy for her bed. I'm also making curtains for various rooms throughout the house. (just to clarify: by "I'm making them", I am really referring to my mother-in-law making them) I'm not sure when my favorite store went from Abercrombie & Fitch to HOBBY LOBBY!!?? (Probably when I became pregnant & can no longer fit into nor afford A&F?) Once the projects are completed, including the re-decorating of the boys room, I will post the before & after pictures.

Jason & I managed to find time to go out with some friends from college TWICE this month. It was much needed & much fun. Anyone remember Landon from "The Real World Philidelphia"? (on MTV) He was part of our entorage. Check him out on The Real World vs Road Rules Challange debuing in April on MTV.

Hopefully by the time we come back from AZ there won't be a spec of snow on the ground or on the sun windows & we can finally start to enjoy this country living again!

We hope all is well with everyone & I will post some pics of McKenna's Princess Party this next weekend. For all you Princesses who know where we live, we hope to see you there!!

Click on picture for larger view. Let me know if you want me to email the recipe.

And we moved back because...??

2009-02-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

Mom & Dad, you might want to postpone your return......unless you want to come back to THIS!

DID I MENTION I AM JEALOUS OF ALL YOU ARIZONIANS!?

As Mckenna stated, "Mommy, it's snowing fast!"..just when we were starting to see the baby squirrels come out to play we get dumped on.

Happy Birthday Honey!

2009-02-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the most loving Daddy, kind Husband & Best Friend EVA! Wow, you're OLD! We love you SO much!

xoxo

Blink

2009-02-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Blink,...
2005....It's a GIRL!
Blink.
2006....It's a BOY!
Blink.
Dec 2nd, 2007...."Jason, I don't feel good, can you go to the store & get me some TheraFlu, either that or a Pregnancy test?" 20 minutes later, "Here, you go. I couldn't find the TheraFlu, but here's a pregnancy test." (the most generic kind) 2 minutes later..."What the heck does this mean?" One vertical line. It's supposed to be a negative sign or a plus sign. Let's try the other one......"What the HECK does this mean!!??" ANOTHER vertical line.

"Jason, go back & get the one that says Pregnant or not pregnant!!!" Another 20 minutes later, "Here you go." 2 minutes later.

GULP. "Jason, good thing you didn't get the TheraFlu, it wouldn't be good for a baby." From that day on our lives were changed. Not that they didn't change with McKenna & Zander, it's just that we weren't planning on a 3rd one sooo soon if at all. We went from a family of 4 to expecting our 3rd baby. So much more changes with a 3rd child. It meant we had to trade in our Avalanche for the dreaded Mini Van which can hold 3 car seats, look for a 4 bedroom house instead of a 3 bedroom, & I became a stay at home mom because Lord knows day care expenses would be astronomical for 3 kids 3yrs & younger. Not to mention all of the worries I had about the baby being healthy. I swore "this time" something was bound to go wrong. I mean, we already had 2 beautiful healthy kids, there's no way we could have another.....
Blink.

July 2008...It's a BOY! A healthy beautiful baby boy. "Thank you Lord, thank you!"
Blink.
Here we are, 6 months later.

I cannot believe my beautiful baby boy is 6 months old already! Wow does time fly! He still has his adorable gummy toothless smile. For sure next month at least one of his bottom teethers will pop through.

He's 18lbs4oz & 30" long. Gage is in size 2-3 diapers, can wear 12 mos clothing & getting ready for number 2 foods already! He loves to chew on his Nuk,

or anything in the vicinity (fingers, my hair, McKenna's pretty painted toes, etc...).

He says "da da da da" & just squeals in delight. He loves bath time, as do McKenna & Zander.

(& immediately grabs for his little weener....so funny, until he pinches it so hard he cries, & even then it's funny). The biggest thing for me right now is saying good-bye to the infant car seat & hello to a stationary car-seat.

This is one of the last pictures of him in his baby car seat. He's not an infant anymore & in the blink of an eye he will be my little toddler. (cry) McKenna can make Gage giggle with one look. Gage is such a good baby.

He's SO happy. I cannot get enough of those dimples either!! Yes, he does still stick out his tongue,

& yes, he does still wake me about 3 times a night, 2 of those to eat, but knowing how fast McKenna & Zander grew out of that, I really don't mind.

I can already see a strong brotherly bond developing between Zander & Gage.

I am soaking every moment of these times, because in a blink of an eye, they will be distant memories.
I have the most beautiful children in the world. Ok, I know I am biased, but I'm the mommy, so I reserve the right. We are so blessed. Looking back 5 years ago I wouldn't have thought in a million years "this" would be my life. It's amazing in God's great design what he has planned for us. I can only imagine what 5 years from now holds.

Update: Zander is potty-trained during the day! As he puts it, " I go tinkles like Daddy!"

This is a HUGE deal for us! (diaper at night)...we're still working on getting his undies on by himself though. :) I love his little buns!

Blink.

Brain freeze!!

2009-01-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

IT'S FREEKING COLD OUTSIDE!!!
Too cold to even think of a decent post!!
(with wind chill it could get down to forty BELOW!!)
SO jealous of all you Arizonians!

Dear Blog...

2008-12-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog:

My apologies to you, as I have been neglecting to update you. You see, this month (as every month), has kept me quite busy. Instead of having time to sit at the computer posting, we've been practicing with Gage on eating rice cereal, potty training with Zander, practicing the alphabet with McKenna so she can read all of her Princess books & of course, decorating for this beautiful holiday, which is almost over.

Let me take you back to the end of November, when I said I would update more later, then, well,... life got in the way. Gage went in for his 4 month check-up. His stats: 16lbs 10oz & almost 27" tall. Dr. said he was just perfect. (for a butter-ball)

The Dr. said that I should try giving him some rice cereal, since he is such a big boy. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but he now opens his mouth when he sees that spoon coming....and yes, he's grown even more.

Thanksgiving week was spent at my parents house, where I met my 7 month old A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E niece Sydnee for the first time.

It was so nice to get all of the grand-kids together.

McKenna & Jersie picked up where they left off over 1 year ago.

The girls had a blast dressing up like princesses, dancing ALL OVER the house (Jersie even showed me a couple new moves) & baking some yummy snacks.

I wish we still lived in AZ. Those 2 would be best buds. (even though they can fight like their married) Here's some pictures of the cousins in action.

Oooh how we miss them already!

I'll have to start planning an AZ get-away soon, especially if this snow continues! Aunt Tracy also gave McKenna her very first real much needed haircut.

Even though the picture shows otherwise, she really did love it.

Thank you for cutting & coloring my hair too Tracy!!

December, well, is much of a blur. I can't believe it's almost over!

Most of this month was a winter wonderland.

There was snow, snow & more snow! I think we've already had 3 snow days this month. The kids enjoyed sledding & trudging through the snow,...when it wasn't blistery cold outside. (like -10)

Our sun windows which always allowed the light to pour through, went covered in a thick dark snow.

I can totally see how people can get seasonal depression. UUGH!

The kids went swimming at Brecken's Birthday party!

Happy Birthday little man!

It was sooo much fun! Me seeing myself in a swimming suit....not so much fun. Time to lose this baby weight!!

The Bartel/Meyer grandkids also went to the mall to get their picture taken & swing by to say hi to Santa & the HUGE line that followed. McKenna didn't mind performing her version of Swan Lake for all of the last minute Christmas shoppers either.

I guess I assumed that if you work at a place where TONS of children get their picture taken, you would know how to take a freekin' good picture of multiple children. Not the case. After 2 hours of waiting, we settled for this.

Not bad, but not what I had in mind either.

I managed to get the Christmas tree up in time,....

But not the Christmas cards out on time! (If you know me, this is not a surprise.) So, for all of our friends & family out there that didn't get our Christmas card yet, here it is. Click on the picture to enlarge. (Kev & Tracy,..it's in the mail)

Santa came to visit the kids at the Bartel Christmas party! Zander was so freaked out at first. It wasn't until he saw that Santa had candy that he went remotely near the big jolly ol' man. By the end of the visit he was smooching Santa on the lips. It was so funny.

McKenna pretty much received all princess things, after all, it was her only request.

Zander delighted in all of his Spiderman toys & HUGE Monsters Inc stuffed animal, Sully. He's a Monsters Inc. addict. The MI DVD is played at least 2x a day at the Bartel household. (that & Nemo & Kung Fu Panda,...not to mention all of the Barbie DVD's on the other TV) Oh, & I can't forget the mega huge electric four wheeler he's trying to climb on & drive (in our family room) as I write this. Summer will be SO much fun riding that! (I would attach a pic but my camera died)

And Gage, well, what can I say....he's our 3rd child in 3 years, so he got a BOOK. Boring I know, but seriously, the kid doesn't need anything. He did get some cute toys & bedding from relatives. When he can enjoy it more next year, he'll get more. He didn't seem to mind.

Gagers has this new thing where he constantly needs to stick his tongue out. It's so darn cute I want to eat him up!

It also poses a problem when trying to feed him.

He now rolls over to his back from his tummy. He chews on anything & everything he can get his hands on to soothe his inflamed gums. I bet by next month he will have 2 bottom teeth. Despite the fact that Gage awakes 3-4 times throughout the night, he is still that happiest baby.

Zander goes potty on the toilet...well, almost. He's doing such a good job going to the bathroom & wearing his undies vs. a diaper. Sure, there's an accident or two a day, but he's trying.

Like I said,...almost. (at least he got it in the bathroom)

Yes, McKenna still dresses him up as a fellow princess now & then. (we're working on that)

McKenna is 16 yrs old already....or at least she acts like it. I cannot believe how fast my first born, only girl, is turning into a little woman. I posted before when I could barely see the baby in her, well, now I can barely see the toddler in her!! (wiping tears from my eyes)

Daddy & McKenna went on a date yesterday. (to a wedding)

Jason doesn't go back to work until January 5th!! I don't think I've been this excited in a long time!! It will be so nice to soak up some quality family time. He also deserves a rest from working so hard.

So you see blog, I've been much to busy to update you. Can you blane me? Now,...back to enjoying my life with my hubby & adorable kiddies.

The Meaning of Christmas

2008-12-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am an avid reader of "A Daily Scoop", a blog written by a wonderful writer & parent. I loved the last post so much that I've decided to "borrow" it so it can be shared with others. Here it goes....

The Meaning of Christmas
Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room, and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask him.
The words choked in my throat, as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement, TEACH THE CHILDREN!
I was puzzled: What did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.
As I stood there bewildered, Santa said, Teach the Children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that a now-a-day Christmas has forgotten!
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it on the mantle. Teach the Children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.
He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. Teach the Children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of that promise.
He then reached into the bag and pulled out a CANDLE. Teach the Children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.
Once again he reached into his bag and then removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree.
Teach the Children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.
He then pulled out from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF. Teach the Children that Santa Claus symbolizes the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.
He reached in again and pulled out a HOLLY LEAF. Teach the Children the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent blood shed by Him.
Next he pulled out a GIFT from the bag and said, "Teach the Children that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. Teach the Children that the wise men bowed before the holy babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We should give gifts in the same spirit as the wise men."
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. Teach the Children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the shepherd's staff helps bring back strayed sheep from the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper.
He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. Teach the Children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good will.'
Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. Teach the Children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of a bell, it should bring people to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.
Santa looked at the tree and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the Children the true meaning of Christmas, and not to put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One who is, and I bow down and worship Him, our Lord, our God."

Having small children, I want to instill in them the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about that Cinderella Doll or Monster Truck that makes Christmas so wonderful. (Granted it sure doesn't hurt) It's about Faith, Family & Friends. (Yes, just like my front door mat states....Faith Family & Friends, Welcome) As a grown adult & parent it's nice to get this reminder as well. Let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas this year! Merry Christmas to all!!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

2008-11-27T08:59:00.001-08:00

LOTS to be Thankful for...

Enjoy your little turkeys & sippy cups!...we will!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2008-11-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

My brother Kevin, sister-in-law Tracy & edible nieces Jersie & Sydnee are visiting from sunny AZ. I will post more later, but I wanted to summarize this past week with an adorable picture of Syd.

BRRR!!

Here's a picture from my parents front window.

Naked Truth

2008-11-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

The NAKED TRUTH about me is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my precious babes! (Ok, so McKenna & Zander aren't exactly "babies" to the NAKED eye, but they will always be my Babies forever.) Here's some of Gage's latest cover shots for "Baby GQ." Note that my little one has the most adorable dimples & cutest grin, however; he did not feel the lovely high-school Sears Photographer was deserving of them that day.

TRICK-or-TREAT! McKenna was an array of things this Halloween...from a Beautiful Bride to Barbie Island Princess, to a cozy Bumble Bee. Zander was of course, SPIDER MAN! The kids & their sometimes Suri Cruz look alike cuz Shannon stopped by (Great) Grandma Lepak's new pad to show off their pretty/super-hero selves. My little Princess/Bee & Spidey raked in a ton of candy, & they loved every moment of it. (even though it dropped into the 40's that night) Gage was too little to enjoy the festivities, but he sure looked adorable in his pumpkin gear. Don't worry Gage, being a nursing baby you will enjoy plenty of Candy from moi.

(Below: The Bartel/Meyer Grand kids. Zander kept calling Brecken a chicken)

(The Pumpkin the kids decorated was refaced with more decor)

(Who can resist a picture of a sleeping baby with a funky hat on?)
Here's some pics of the goofy girl herself...this is pretty much how she is every day....a total GOOF BALL!!

It's been an absolutely beautiful week! We've been setting record high temps here in Appleton. Yesterday & the day prior were in the 70's!! Today appears to be the last gorgeous day we'll see that the kids can play outside in short-sleves, so we are really going to soak it up. Zander can't get enough of the "Wadybugs." (aka Stinky Asian Beetles) All I hear from him is his squealing in delight,"Wook Mommy!! Wadybugs!!" & this gross crunchy sound. (RIP stinky gross bugs) Poor Gage has a bad cough he can't seem to shake, so we're off to the Dr's today as well.

(Shannon, Kenna & Z enjoying the fall leaves at Nana & Papa's house)

Oh, and GUESS What?!

Did you?

Lastly, Happy Birthday to me! The BIG 30!!

Stuff

2008-10-20T11:03:00.001-07:00

October has been busy, busy, busy. SO busy that I've had no time to post about my precious little monsters. I figured it was about time.

I left off with Gage going to his 2 month appointment. His stats...(drum roll please),...he's a chunk, & a tall chunk at that. 2 months old & he weighed in at just under 14lbs, & 24" long. (98th percentile) Seeing those were his measurements 4 weeks ago, I can only assume he's grown that much more. (he can already wear 9 mos clothing & size 2 diapers) He now giggles up a storm & I just LOVE it!!

We made another trip to "The Farm", & stopped by (Great) Grandma & Grandpa Kulas's house. It was about 83 degrees that day. After visiting the cows, the adorable kittens & Winston (the little Yorkshire), the kids picked a bunch of raspberries, & rested on the big pumpkins in their huge garden.

The kids met cousin Karlee for the 1st time. She makes Gage look HUGE! She wasn't even 7lbs in the picture. Here's the Bartel/Meyer grandkids.

Gage was baptized on October 5th. His Godparents are Sarah & Matt (our Maid of Honor & Best Man) Click on her name to see additional pics.

Poor Zander had a rough time pooping that day. He tried pushing for so long that he fell asleep on Nana. Jason made a run to the store to buy something to help out the little guy & get him feeling better.

McKenna & Zander had a blast painting Nana & Papa's big pumpkin. Again, it was a gorgeous day, about 80 degrees in mid October! Unfortunately, those warm days have been replaced with 50 degree days. More realistic for WI. Goodbye shorts & tank-tops, hello hats & mittens.

We went to the Children's Museum Friday (Gage stayed at home) with my cousins Kelly & Jen & Jen's 2 little boys. Carson was born on July 4th, with practically the same measurements of Gage. (Gage is 3 weeks younger) McKenna enjoyed dressing up in all of the "princess" dresses.

I saw this butterfly mural there & thought of Wyatt. (a beautiful baby & touching blog)

The kids are still adorable, crazy as ever & growing up way too fast.

I will end with my conversation with McKenna & Zander yesterday on our way home to Appleton from LaCrosse.

Me: (Looking at Zander) "What's your full name?"

Z: (Looking up thinking) "2!"

Me: "No, not how old you are, What's your name?"

Z: (Looking up thinking) "Uh, Sander!" (he hasn't got the Z's down quite yet.

Me: "Zander what?

Z: "Sander!"

Me: "What's your middle name?

Z: "Sander!"

Me: "That's your first name, what's your middle name?

Z: "Sander!"

Me: "No, your middle name is Jason." (Zander laughs) "What's your middle name?"

Z: "Sander!"

Me: "No, your middle name is Jason. It's Jason. Zander Jason Bartel"

Z: "Noooo, dats Daddy! (looking at Jason)

Me: "No, your middle name is Jason. It's Jason. Zander Jason Bartel"

Z: "Noooo, dats Daddy! (looking & pointing at Jason)

Me: (Ok, I think to myself, we need to work on this, let's try McKenna) "McKenna, what's your middle name?

M: "Five!" (holding up all fingers)

Me: "No, you're 3, not 5....I asked what's your middle name?"

M: "Geniveve!" (as in Genevieve from "Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses")

Me: "No, you're middle name is Mae. McKenna Mae."

M: "No, my name is Geniveve!"

Me: (Ok, whatever, let's see if Zander gets it now. Looking at Zander) "What's your name?"

Z: "Genevive!"

Me: "I give up."

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY LUCY!

You did WHAT?! WHY?!

2008-10-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is gum stuck in my daughters nose. And to think I only worried about her swallowing it. Not sure what possessed McKenna to do such a thing. I should have known though, since last week I found some gum in her panties. When I asked why it was there, the answer was simple, "I was hiding it." Huh. After many failed attempts with tweezering it out (while her Nana & Papa were holding her down because we were trying to kill her, or at least I think that's what she thought by her screams) & using the suction bulb (no restraints necessary for that), it was time for Dr. Clam (yes, there is a Dr. Clam out there) to extract the Trident, extra lasting gum out of her nose. His first words to McKenna when her saw her, "I bet you're dreading this as much as I am right now." Apparently after the successful extraction, (which she had to be restrained for, because this time the nurse & Daddy were trying to kill her, again, according to her screams) the Dr. told Jason that his daughter got a pearl stuck up her nose, & had to be sedated to get it out. Huh.

I can't leave out that it was only 48 hrs prior that I was on the phone with Poison Control because Gage's new 1oz bottle of Infant Milicon (anti-gas relief) ended up in the little hands of McKenna & Zander. Turns out Milicon is non-toxic, & when swallowed in large amounts, produces erratic bowel movements....also referred to as "McKenna going from dancing... to stopping suddenly with a dreadful look on her face... to pooping in the pajamas". (And here I thought it was Zander who drank it.) The first time I had to call Poison Control was because she came to me holding Nana's "M&M's" (aka my mom's Thyroid Pills) while chewing on some. She then proceeded to tell me that she didn't like Nana's "M&M's" & spit them out (Thank God!) I called Poison Control just to make sure.

Now, you may be thinking, does she (me) ever watch her kids? Yes, I do, but these little stinkers will get into anything & everything in the blink of an eye. Our house is pretty much child safe (or at least I know what they are capable of at our place)....now, everyone else's home is a different story, & they completely take advantage of that. (sidenote: all of these incidents happened at my parents house, a not so child friendly environment) Soooo, next time we see you at your place....beware.

I will post more on her "McKenna-isms" later. She comes up with some pretty interesting things....

What is that girl thinking lately?

September

2008-09-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Oh where to start...it's been an eventful month for the Bartel household. I am going to try to sum it up in this post with a synopsis of the months happenings.

We traveled to Nana & Papa's house in Stevens Point so the kids could go to the carnival. (Pacelli Panacea). McKenna just loved it, while Z was "scared" (as he says lately around crowds). She even went on this dragon roller coaster & squealed in delight at all of the whips & turns, with her arms in the air! ( I just screamed with no delight...I know I'm getting old when kiddie rides make me squeamish)

"GG" (Great Grandma, aka Jason's Grandma) was re-married on September 7th. (Grandpa Bartel passed away 4 years ago) Congrats "GG" & Ken! We also had our 1st picture taken as a family of 5.

McKenna apparently married "Ba". This love affair has been going on since they laid eyes on eachother when Kenna was 2 mos old.

Great Grandma Lepak (aka my Grandma) celebrated her 96th B-Day on September 10th. She also met Gage for the 1st time. It was a wonderful visit & I wish we lived closer so I could see her more. Papa also celebrated his B-Day on September 11th. Happy B-Day to you!

McKenna & Lucy are officially declared best friends. (Ok, so what if the declaration was made by their mom's. Afterall, we've been best friends since Day Care. Zander & Brecken have been chumming it up a bit lately as well. (what gorgeous little men!)

Kenna & Z continue to imitate their Mommy...(what else is new) They will make wonderful parents someday.

I've been experimenting with some neat effects I've discovered on my camera. I'm also dabbling with the idea of photography. I've been getting some insight from my best friend Sarah Gwidt (aka Lucy's Mommy) Check out her photography blog in the column to the right.

We said goodbye to our beloved Chevy Avalanche which we purchased in Arizona, & welcomed a brand new Town & Country Van for our expanding family. We are officially "not cool"....I'm still teary eyed over this trade. (it's a whole other post)

Welcome to the World Karlee Kay Meyer! Our 4th niece was born at 1:58 p.m. on Saturday Sept 20th. Weighing in at 6lbs and 5 oz. 18 1/2 " long. Congratulations Chad, Tania & BIG Brother Brecken!

We are continuing to enjoy every moment with our fun & crazy life. I'm making sure to take time to "smell the flowers" this time around, knowing they grow up all too fast. Our little pumpkin is already turning over to his left side from his back, smiling, cooing, & he's even batting at his dangling toy from his carseat. We go in for his 2 month appt tomorrow (yucky, shots!). I will post his stats later.

Where did the summer go?

Real Smiles

2008-09-15T13:34:00.001-07:00

September 11th was a day to remember what we, as a nation, have been through in the past seven years (it was also my dad's b-day)....on a less somber note, it was also the day my precious baby Gage gave me his First Gummy smiles and I LOVED it! All opened-mouthed, gummy, dimply & absolutely ADORABLE!

(below: "Hey mom, just press the button like this!)

(below: "I love being a photo Ham!)

(below: "Alrighty, this photo session is making me tired.")

(below: "Um, alright mom, I've had enough of that thing in my face.")

(I couldn't resist)

Happy Anniversary 9/05/04

2008-09-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!
I cannot believe it has been 4 years already!
Didn’t we just graduate from college & move across the country to do something adventurous & start a new life for ourselves?

Didn’t we just get engaged & married?

Didn’t we just have a baby girl & were crazy, sleep deprived, nervous & excited 1st time parents?

Didn’t we just move back from across the country to do something adventurous & start another new life for ourselves?

Didn’t we just have a baby boy & were crazy, sleep deprived, nervous & excited 2nd time parents?..& another baby boy to make us 3rd time parents?

Somewhere in the mix there was a wedding, 3 Anniversary’s, 3 of the most beautiful miracles I’ve ever seen, our 1st new house, many ups, many downs, & now, our 4th Wedding Anniversary! It just amazes me how in God’s grand design, what we have accomplished together.

I thought I would share some things about us….
How long have we been together:
We have been together for 7 and a 1/2 years! It doesn’t even seem that long!

How long did we date:
We dated about 4 years before we married. We broke it off 2 or 3 times,…basically every time we went to Vegas. You know the saying, “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”. (Nothing happened, we were just sleep deprived from having too much fun, & I let my emotions get the best of me) We were engaged 2 of those years.

How old is Jason:
Oh my goodness. . . he is the BIG 30!. . . . He is very secure for his age, because just last week he was sporting a slight Mohawk with the middle bleached platinum blond. I will be the BIG 30 this year. (yikes)

Who eats more:
If this was July, probably me. What can I say? A pregnant woman needs to eat!
More ice cream: Probably Jason.
Pizza: Probably Jason
Sweets: Hands down, me.

Who said I love you first:
Jason said it first. It was 2 days before Valentines Day 2001. But he said it in a safe way. He said, "I think I am falling in love with you." Just knowing that he thought he was falling in love was good enough for me. After all, I went head over heals for him after our first time meeting. I replied, "I think I love you too".

Who is taller:
Jason, by about 7 inches. I am 5’7”, Jason is 6’3”. According to the child height predictor, Zander will be 6’2” & poor McKenna will end up at 5’11” by age 18.

Who is smarter:
When it comes to what? Jason is definitely smarter in math, electronics & numbers. I am definitely smarter with a camera and babies.

Who does the laundry:
98% me. 2% him. I am good at getting it washed; he's good at putting it in the dryer because I’ve forgotten about it. (my momnesia) I do the follow up and get it put away.

Who does the dishes:
I'd say 95% me, 5% him. It depends on the week, my emotions, his work load, my sleep deprivation & crying babies.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed:
If you are looking at the bed, me. It's closer to the changing table so I can get up at night & change Gage. The co-sleeper is also on that side of the bed. The alarm is on the left side of the bed, where Jason sleeps….seeing that he uses it. (my alarm is a crying baby).

Who pays the bills:
Hands down Jason! I wouldn’t mind it, but I barely have enough time to get the things I do in a day done, so that is not a task I want at the moment.
Who mows the lawn:
I actually LOVE mowing the lawn; however; I haven’t mowed a lawn since high-school! Jason mows, or his dad comes over with the riding lawn mower to speed things up. Shoveling the snow is the same story. Jason does it all. Last time I tried to help out, I ended up straining my neck so bad I was off work for 2 days & ended up at the chiropractor.

Who cooks dinner:
I would say it’s been Jason. .. . . unless we want cereal for dinner. I am getting better though.

Who is more stubborn:
I would say we’re equally stubborn. Jason insists that I always get my way. I make it a point to show him when I don't.

Who kissed who first:
Jason kissed me first. Such soft lips he has. ;0)

Who asked who out:
Nobody really asked anybody out. A mutual friend introduced us at a college party, only after I inquired about him. I had noticed him 3 weeks prior, playing basketball. Girls Intramural’s played 1st, & the Guys Intramural’s would play after us. He was so good on the court I couldn’t help but notice him. Oh yes, he also had platinum blond hair too. (Some things never change) His friend's started referring to me as "The Wife" only a few short weeks later. (little did they know!)

How he proposed:
After a wonderful Christmas Eve, we went back to our college apartment. Within minutes of opening the door, he just asked me if I would marry him. I thought he was joking, so I started laughing. He pulled the ring out of his pocket & I think I practically jumped into his arms saying "YES!" He told me he was going to propose the next day at a scenic overlook, but just couldn’t wait. When I called my family to tell them, little did I know that they all already saw the ring & knew the proposal was coming.

Who is more sensitive:
Do you know me? I cry at everything lately, & Jason barely talks. Jason and I are on complete opposite sides of the spectrum on this one. (or at least he hides his emotions all too well)

Who has more friends:
Used to be both. Now, he does. My life has been put on pause in the “get out & make friends” dept; seeing that I’ve had 3 kids in the past 3 years, & nursed them all as well. It only leaves me a couple hour block, at best, to get out & do something for myself or with others.

Who has more siblings:
I have 2 older brothers, Kevin (lives in AZ) & Brian. Jason has 1 older sister Tania.

Who wears the pants in the relationship:
Uh....we share a really large pair. He walks in one leg, I walk in the other.
Things are so hectic now with a new baby & 2 toddlers. It’s funny, because Jason will “ask” if he can go out with the guys or go golfing, but he already knows the answer. I don’t even have to ask,…remember, I gave up my life when I had 3 kids in the past 3 years.

Jason is more than my other half; sometimes I feel that he's my other whole. I feel as if we have meshed together to become one person. Without him, I think I would cease to be. He has loved me so much & has given me so much. He works so hard which allows me to be able to stay home with our 3 beautiful children, whom are all spitting images of him. We’ve had many struggles & times have been tough, but we get through it together. We’ve laughed, loved, lived & learned…..learned so much. We’ve learned that when life gives us something unexpected, we make the best of it. We’ve learned to be patient. We’ve learned to put our own needs aside. We’ve learned that we are a team. We’ve learned that when sleep deprived, some things are just funnier (OR NOT). We’ve learned that no matter what happens, we have each other, & that is a blessing.
I am looking forward to the day when we can get away (kid-free) & take that tropical vacation we’ve always been talking about. Jason, thank you for being the wonderful person that you are. Thank you for being an amazing father. Thank you for being a true friend. Just thank you…for everything words cannot express. Happy 4th Anniversary!

(2000, the month we met at college. Nice hair Vanilla Ice.)

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

(I'm waiting to lose the pregnancy weight before I take an 08' pic)

"Momnesia"

2008-09-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ah ha!! Finally a diagnosis, from a Real Dr!,....Dr. Phil of course. Between picking up the house, trying to eat some lunch lunch before Gage wakes up (& wants his lunch, aka "me"!), & walking my little sleeping man in my arms, I was listening to the Dr. Phil Show. It was a variety of topics, but one stuck out. It was regarding new moms,..."Hey, this could pertain to me!", I thought. Little did I know, I found the diagnosis I've been looking for, & it's real! When I was pregnant, I'd always joke that I had CRC Syndrome (can't remember crap), or Placenta Brain, or Pregnancy Brain,..you get the picture. Well, I never had a name for my forgetfulness after I had the baby,.. that is until now! "Momnesia"! (You know, like amnesia) Apparently this occurs from the stress of having the baby, the wacky hormones screwing with my brain, oh, I can't forget the Sleep Deprivation (or can I?) & a couple of other things that I would love to share with you, but seriously, I already forgot. This can last from 6 mos to a whole year!! I must have an extreme case, as I've had "Momnesia" going on 3 years now. I can't wait to tell Jason that there really is an explanation for my actions! Next time I do something stupid or forgetful, I am so pulling out the Momnesia card. ;0)

Visine anyone?

Apparently I forgot (now I know it was the "Momnesia") that I am allergic to the "Country" when looking for houses to buy. Good thing we just bought a house in the country!! I could barely sleep last night because my eyes itched like crazy! When I woke up they were bright red. I had to practically peel them open, it wasn't pretty. This picture was taken about an hr after I awoke. (they were actually worse!)I even thought I had pink eye, but that theory was shot down when I couldn't stop sneezing & couldn't breath out of my drippy nose. I guess Good Ol' Country Living comes with a price. Seeing that I've rarely left my air-conditioned house, I'm sure it didn't help that we spent the entire evening at Jason's parents house, outside, in the country. It was nice getting out though.

(Jason with his Godson Brecken having some fun yesterday evening)

Random Pics, Blank Thoughts

2008-08-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

So I've been a lazy blogger lately. Let's be honest, my head hasn't hatched an original thought all week. I haven't really left my house either. And I've yet to feel completely comfortable nursing my hatchling in public, not to mention all while trying to contain a 2 & 3 year old. So we take things outside some days, sit on the deck & watch McKenna & Zander run around the yard, take a walk in the Baby Bjorn (thank you Sarah, world's best invention besides the Boppy) & nap (the little guy, not me) in the shade and look at the clouds. Plus, I don't have to dress chez moi. Okay, some more honesty, even IF I wanted to dress up, I can only fit into 2 pairs of jeans right now. I gained a whopping 60lbs with Gage, & I still have a very stubborn 20 something to go (as of last week, seeing that I'm doing my best to avoid the scale this week). I swear, wouldn't life be so much easier if togas were more accepted socially? Or better yet, nudity,...umm scratch that.
Anyways, seeing that I am all too sleep deprived to come up with a decent post, I will just show off some random pics of my precious babes.

(I just ADORE those dimples on Gage!)

(Looks like he does too!)

(What a perfect day for a snack outside. Can you tell McKenna dressed herself that day?)

(Of Course it's bath time after having so much fun getting dirty outside. Is Zander gently hugging his big sis, or getting ready to push her in?)

(Did I ever mention I love little bald guys with barely-there mohawks & super cute double chins?)

(My little Princess)

(Another great use for a Boppy)

(Z is such a little lover, with little shark teeth!)

(The 3 men in my life, ...yes, that's Jason sporting a "skunk" do. It's shaved off now, thankfully)

(It's going to be so hard to let this little guy grow up)

Real Tears

2008-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Gage is officially 4 weeks old today. It seems like we just brought him home from the hospital. He, along with the rest of the family, have had a rough week. We were all sick. Poor baby Gage can't breathe out of his nose, which makes nursing a nightmare. He's been pretty irritable. Just yesterday he was crying, & he had real tears already! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Zander has a really bad cough again, which we are hoping the medications for his Asthma will help out with. I pray Gage has a good night tonight & we are all able to get some sleep.