Tomorrow I'll Be Better

This guy is going to be at the hospital tomorrow morning to get his teeth filled. He's got a few cavities, but doesn't hardly let the dentist take x-rays, none the less drill his teeth. So, he will be put under general anesthesia, and they will just do it all at once.

I'm a little bit nervous. We've done this before, with Jenna's teeth last year, and when Travis was just over one, he had surgery to remove a hernia from his groin. So, I've been in the hospital, done the waiting game, and it's always turned out fine. But I'm still nervous. Must be the mom in me. I'll be glad tomorrow when it's done with and we are back at home.

He knows how to make his mom's day too. I've learned with being a mom, a lot of times it's the little things that make the hard times worth it. As I was tucking him into bed tonight, he looked up at me, smiled and says " I like you mom." I told him " I like you too." And with that, he cozied into the blankets and went to sleep. Tonight I fell in love all over again with my little boy. When he's grown up, and a teenager ( I don't even try to think about that.... ever) I'm going to remember these days, and cherish the moments like this.

Happy Birthday Lia!

This is a bad quality picture, but Happy Belated Birthday Lia Jean Jelly Bean!

- My youngest sister turned nine yesterday. Hope you had a great day Bean! Love you!

Busted

We need a new bird feeder. Something, we aren't sure if it was a bear or a raccoon. ( Aaron thinks it was a bear :( ) Whatever it was it knocked the feeder off of it's perch on top of the clothesline last night when we were sleeping. It was pretty much busted laying on the ground. I was hoping it'd be salvageable, but it wasn't. SO.... I'm wondering if we got a new one, if the same thing would happen again. Guess we'll try it and see what happens. While we're at it, maybe I'll try to find a squirrel proof one. If there is such a thing.

I started a compost pile too, and either it's decomposing quite rapidly, or something is helping itself to our scraps. I'm wondering if that's such a good thing either. Guess this town girl has to get used to the downsides of country living.

More of the Birthday Boy

mmmmmmmmmmm..................

When we gave Logan his cupcake, he looked at us with an "Are you serious?" expression. Then he picked it up, gave a funny little chuckle a few times, and proceeded to have his cake, and eat it too. :)

This is the look on Logan's face when we were singing happy birthday. He wasn't sure what to think of all the attention when everyone was looking at him and singing away. I didn't know if he was going to cry or laugh. He didn't do either. Just sat there holding his birthday balloon watching me.

The Cake

I used pull and peel licorice for the barn, and lots of frosting. The silo is stacked cupcakes.

The cow ( these aren't perfect, but I thought they turned out cute)

The pig- these ones were my favorite

the Chicken

The whole thing put together.

He's ONE!!

My little man is one! That sure came up quick! Here are a few pictures of him in from his actual birthday yesterday. We are having his party tomorrow. I think. He actually got sick last night, and is still a tad under the weather so I'm hoping he wakes up feeling one hundred percent tomorrow.

I'll post more about him turning one, and put up birthday pics after his party. Or maybe Monday. :)

Sisters

This was a sunset at Van Riper. I wish I knew what I did, because they turned out awesome.

Sisters :)

Travis and Teija

For the top picture, I had to bribe them with a cookie to sit for me. :)

Travis and Teija

This little girl is going to be a big sister very soon!

And as always, my Logan. I still can't believe he's going to be one next week. Where oh where did that year go?

Final Semester.......

....of school where Aaron actually has class! It is finally feeling like this school thing might end at some point, instead of never ending! He has been the one doing all the hard work, so I feel kind of like what do I know, but it's a big ordeal on our whole family. I'm glad we had no idea how hard it would be when we started, or we probably would've never done it. But no matter how hard it is now, I know it'll be for the better in the long run. Our kids will benefit from the hard work their dad is doing now, and I'm SO SO SO proud of him.

He's got two more weeks of class, then a week of exams, and he's done til June. He has to take a Microbiology class for six weeks this summer, so I guess technically he's not quite done with classes. But one class is super easy compared to five or six or more. Then next fall he does his internship at MGH and then is hoping to do his ex-ternship at Portage. We are really hoping and crossing all fingers and toes that they will still need Surgical Techs. He has emailed the head of the program, and got a positive response from her. It would be great if we could just move back into our house up in L and sort of pick up right where we left off. I miss having a place to call my own, and after all the work we did to that old house we hardly even got to enjoy it.

I guess I just feel as we've always known there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we just couldn't ever see it. But now, now we can see a glimpse of it. This month is cruising by, and Summer up here always flies with enjoying the weather to it's utmost. Then the fall, and then December graduation! I know we still have to make it there, but I know we will. For now, the weights on the shoulders are still pretty heavy, but they are lifting, bit by bit. Everyone who has gone back to school when they were older and had families said it's hard, but definitely worth it in the end. I hope they are right. :)

Grandma's Tea Party

Samantha

The girl cousins and Grandma had a tea party when we were up there and they had so much fun! Fancy dresses, fancy hats, and finger foods made it special.

Hannah

Isabelle

Alyssa

June

All Fourteen

All fourteen of Pete and Janet's grand kids were in the same town this weekend. That's not so easy to do, with Brian and Katie living in Minnesota, and Aaron and I where we are. We gathered them all together today and took a picture. Missy and Ted have 5, Kevin and Dianne have 4, Aaron and I have 3, and Brian and Katie have 2. Goes in numerical order.
5-4-3-2-1. :)

The kids had a blast. We were at the camp Friday night and enjoyed the first of many sunsets to come this summer, and Saturday, Grandma had a tea party for the girls. They dressed up in dress up dresses, and wore fancy hats. It was cute. I love that Jenna has all these cousins so close in age to her. There are 4 cousins within a year or two of the same age, and they all play together so nice! I never really had cousins that lived close to me when I was growing up. The one cousin I became best friends with is Katie, and she lived over a hundred miles away down-state. But we shared years of letters and precious phone calls that are still to this day very special to me.

But now I'm back home, and after have taking two saunas tonight ( one with the kids and one with the hubby) I'm pooped. And tomorrow is promising to be a busy day with appointments. So.... bye til next time!

More Van Riper

his new favorite thing to do. Logan will walk from one end to the trailer if you hold his hands. Our backs get sore before he's ready to be done!

Van Riper

He learned to crawl over the weekend! He's so proud of himself! Finally! Only three weeks before he turns one. Loretta's Karmyn was walking by now. :) Just goes to show that every kid develops at their own pace. Also, those two front teeth of his are bulging at the gums. I can see a tip of white for each one, so it's probably just a matter of days before they pop through. He's been fussy at night, so that's probably why. I'm sure Logan will look a bit different with two front teeth. Lia Jean, my jelly bean. :) She was such a BIG help when she was down with Emma for three days. She and Jenna played barbies, house, polly pockets, etc. all day every day. It was a nice little break for me to have her entertained by someone else for a change.

He'd just finished off a piece of pizza, hence the dirty face. Travis is my kid who will sit in a swing for an hour if someone will push him.

This water that Jenna is wading in couldn't have been more than 32 or 33 degrees, but the kids kept going in and out. Their legs were red because they were so cold.

I have more pictures from this day, but too many to choose right now. Ill post more of my favorites later. :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

I don't have any pictures of my mom on my computer, but I just wanted to wish her a very happy 46th birthday today! Love you mom! Thanks for being the wonderful mother you are!

Working up a Good Cry

He learned how to fake cry. It's so funny really. :) I just laugh every time he does it. He squinches up that little face, pushes out some big old crocodile tears, and lets loose. After all that effort, this is the result. :)

Just breaks your heart huh? :)

I just get the giggles every time he does this! It's the same look EVERY time! He's got it completly down pat.