Olivia is ONE!

So I must have blinked because that year went by FAST.  I can't believe that Olivia is one already.  We had a little celebration last weekend for her birthday and went to the Maple Maze to play (the boys liked it more than Olivia did), opened presents and had cake.  Olivia gagged (seriously) on the frosting, and spit out the cake.  She has a lot to learn :)  She is a very content and happy baby and so far the easiest of all 3 (don't tell the boys).  She is starting to get curious about things, and likes to dig in cupboards, the pantry (her favorite), and anything that the boys are playing with.  She is very cautious around strangers, and stays close to mommy and daddy for the most part. One of her favorite things to do is cuddle, and she can't go anywhere without her blanket. She LOVES her bottle and is resisting drinking out of a sippy cup;  since she's our last baby, we aren't pushing the issue too much (lucky her!)   She just started pulling herself up on furniture, but won't walk around it yet.  The Dr. said since she is such a good crawler that she probably just doesn't see the benefit of walking quite yet.  She also isn't much of a talker yet, but has started to say 'uh oh' and 'daddeee' recently.  She can wave bye bye and do 'so big' with her arms.  She is a great sleeper and even better eater.  With the exception of cake, she will eat anything that you put in front of her.  I'm not sure where she puts it all (see stats below), she must have a fast metabolism.  Her stats at age one:

Height: 30.25 inches (83%)
Weight: 19 lbs, 13 oz (25%)
Head: 18.25 inches (83%)

Birthday Girl

Finally a PINK cake :) 

Confused that everyone is signing happy birthday to her

Princess Castle!

Not loving the cake

What am I supposed to do with this? 

Made a pretty good mess

The aftermath

Fun at the Maple Maze

Fun at the Maple Maze

Snuggling with daddy

Snuggling with mommy

Cute little tushy :) 

Mommy takes the same picture at all Dr's check-ups...this
one was after shots so we're not very happy :(

Elliot's Preschool Screening

Elliot attended his preschool screening last week, and did very well!  He is the type of kid that won't always let on that he knows things, so we weren't exactly sure what he knew and didn't know.  Turns out he knows quite a lot and got all of his questions/tests correct.  Good job buddy!  The only recommendation they had for him was regarding his speech, which we were aware of, so he gets to attend a special speech class every week to work on his pronunciation before kindergarten starts in a few years.  He will get to ride the bus from Shelli's house, so his is SUPER excited for that :)  Other than that, he is ready for school!

Noah's First day of 1st Grade

Noah's first day of 1st grade was September 8th.  He's getting so big, and I'm not sure where the time goes. He LOVES school, and was very excited for it to start.  He is riding the bus from Shelli's house in the morning again this year, but is attending Edventure Club after school.  So far he likes it, and gets to do a lot of fun stuff.  His teacher is Mrs. Cox, and Noah likes her.  He has a few friends from last year in his class, and continues to make new ones also.

School open house, excited to find his locker

Such a big kid now

Olivia was NOT happy about school starting :) 

Elliot's first day of Shelli's preschool too, he was so proud

The best we could do given the various moods

Daycare kiddos 

Getting on the bus

Ready to learn!

Twins Game

We took the boys to a Twins game in August, and they both had a great time.  Since it was a 7 pm game, Olivia stayed home with a babysitter.  Both boys have been to a game before, but Elliot couldn't remember so this was an exciting experience for him.  We made it to the 7th inning, and then the boys started to get tired so we left. The Twins didn't win, but it was a fun night anyway :)

Ready to go!

Elliot was VERY concerned about how
we would get the car out of the parking ramp

Daddy and his boys

Kirby! 

Elliot's choice for dinner...little stinker
ate almost the whole thing!

                          

Cotton Candy!

Might be time to go...

  

Elliot's first Dentist Visit

This summer it was time for Elliot's first dentist visit, and he was pretty nervous.  The hygienist recommended having Noah go first so Elliot could watch, and that worked out great.  Elliot did a fantastic job and cooperated very well in the chair.  No cavities for either of the boys, good job guys!

Watching Noah get x-rays

I'm ready for this! 

Noah's 6 Year Old Bday Party

This year Noah picked to have his b-day party at Lifetime Fitness.  The kids got to play in the game room and swim in the indoor/outdoor pool.  This was Nick and I's first party without parents that stayed, and it was a little more challenging than we thought.  There were quite a few kiddos that weren't strong swimmers, so it was a challenge to split up the group to keep an eye on them.  With the help of the Lifetime party crew and Grandma Patty to exclusively watch Elliot, it was a successful party!  Ms. Olivia wasn't invited this time around, and got to stay home with a babysitter.  She gave the babysitter quite a hard time (sorry Brittney); I think she wanted to let us know that next time she wants to come with :) Here are some pictures from the fun day:

Noah 6 Year Old Fun

Hi everyone!  I am FINALLY 6 years old (I have been telling people that I was 5 and a half since one day after my 5th birthday, so I've been waiting to turn 6).  On the day of my 6 year old check up, mommy and I got to spend a fun day together.  She took the day off and we went out for lunch and to the pool before my appointment.  The appointment was pretty painless (no shots until I'm 12).  I passed my hearing test, but didn't pass my vision test.  Mommy thought maybe it was because we were out in the sun and my eyes were tired, but Dr. Paulson recommended a follow up with an eye doctor anyway.  Here are my stats at age 6:

Height: 45.5 inches (51th percentile)

Weight: 49 pounds (69th percentile)
Blood Pressure- Normal
BMI-Normal













I'm still a healthy kiddo!  I am very active and love to do all sorts of activities including swimming, hockey, baseball and bike riding.  I also like to play Mario on my Nintendo DS, but only in moderation (per mom and dad's rules).  Here are all of my 'favorites' at 6 years old:

Color: Green
Food: Corn Dogs
TV Show: Spongebob
Move: Spongebob Movie
Fruit: Strawberries
Vegetable: Corn
Song: Roar by Katy Perry
Toy: DS (Mario)
Best Friend: Hudson

Elliot 3 Years Old

Since it was Mommy's first day back at work after maternity leave, Daddy took me to my 3-year check up with Dr. Paulson this time.  I wasn't feeling so hot, and I threw up all over Daddy's car on the way to the Dr.'s office.  Luckily the nice receptionist had some extra clothes for me, but I wasn't in the mood for a check up after that.  Here were my stats at age 3:

Weight- 33 pounds (65th percentile)
Height- 37 inches (40th percentile)
BMI-16.95 (normal)
Blood pressure- good

Dr. Paulson asked me all sorts of questions to test my knowledge (what type of animal this was, what sound does it make, what color is this, etc.).  I also got to do a hearing and eye test, which I did good at.  Overall, I am a healthy 3 year old (just not so healthy that day!)

Mommy also asked me a few questions about my 'favorites' on my birthday this year  Here were my answers:

Color-Blue
Food-Mac and Cheese
TV Show-Cailou
Movie- Frozen
Fruit- Apples
Vege- Corn
Song- I Cry by Flo Rida (I call this song 'Middle')
Toy-any type of car/truck.
Best Friend- Avery

A few other facts about me at age 3...I am working on the potty training thing, but just haven't mastered it quite yet.  I promise to work on it more this year!  I am a very happy boy and like to talk to just about anyone.  I can ride a tricycle and am learning how to get dressed by myself.  I am very curious how things work, and often crawl under things to 'fix' them.  I am fascinated by cars and trucks, and will spend hours playing with them.

Opening presents

Opening presents 

Truck cake (he LOVED it) 

Trip to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate

Daddy's Birthday/New Years

For Daddy's birthday this year, we traveled to Duluth and spent a few nights at the water park hotel.  The hotel was set up perfect for us and had 2 bedrooms (one for the girls so Olivia could sleep in peace) and one for the boys.  The water park was awesome and we had a blast!  It was SUPER cold while we were there, so when we had go outside for dinner, etc. it wasn't very fun (especially for Olivia).  We went to look at the bridge, and daddy wanted to get a picture by the water.  The wind was so cold that it froze our faces almost instantly.  We managed to get one picture, and we are glad we did, but quickly got back into the warm car immediately after.  We headed back home on New Year's Eve to spend Daddy's birthday at home and enjoyed some cake and appetizers while waiting for the ball to drop.

So much to do, where to start? 

Olivia hanging out with daddy by the pool

Waiting for Noah and daddy to get done on the 'big' slide.
He finally went down with mommy and thought it was fun!

Napping by the pool

Having so much fun!

Lilly pads, Noah's favorite

Beautiful view in the morning

Taking a little break in the room with the Ipad

Brr...worth it for the cool picture though

Another nap...pools are boring for babies :) 

On the way home...Duluth tired us out!

"Happy Hour' for New Year's Eve