Happy 3rd Birthday Nolan!

Happy 3rd birthday Nolan!  We love you so, so, so much and love the little guy you are growing up to be.  Thinking back three years ago today tugs at our hearts thinking of all the worrying that we did about you.  We can't imagine our life any other way and we are so thankful that everything turned out just as we had hoped.  Love you baby boy. 

 

 

 Love the first time I held him after being taken to the NICU...I'll never forget that.

 

Kindergarten here we come!

Tessa's in Kindergarten!  Here's her pic from the first day of school.  She was so excited, smiling from ear to ear.  I don't know what she was most excited about.  It was a toss up between riding the bus from daddy's school, riding with Brady, being in her classroom with her friends, recess, having hot lunch, meeting Mas after school to go to Jess, to finally see Mitchell at the end of the day to hear about how his day was, or to be reunited with Marah and Nolan after her first day not being at grandma's on a "Grandma Day".  Tessa is loving school.  We hope that her love for learning and that spark in her eye stays for the next twelve years of school. 



 

Back to Stephie's!

Here is pic of Tessa and Nolan the first day of daycare when summer break came to an end :(  We had such a great summer, soooo much fun.  It definitely makes it a lot easier to head back to work when the kids are this excited to head back to Stephie's.  Tessa was lucky enough to spend a few full days there before her year of kindergarten began.  We know how lucky we are to have such special people in our life caring for our kids while we are away at work.  Stephie...we are ready to come back to you but the real question is, are you ready for us?!?

 

Tessa's first dance recital

Tessa's first dance recital!  She's been in dance since July and has looked forward to this day since she first started.  I can't blame her...look at that glitter and sparkles on that costume!!  They had a rehearsal on Saturday and the show was on Sunday.  She showed no signs of being nervous, only pure excitement.  All the girls were so cute and it was very fun to watch.  Miss Erica put on a great show and we are so lucky that she shared her talent with us.  Tessa looked forward to going to dance every week to see her friends and to see Miss Erica.  I don't think it's the end of being on stage for Miss Tessaroo.  She LOVES getting up there in front of people.  She must get that from her daddy.  The thought of that makes be stomach turn upside down!  Videos to come after we load them on the computer.  It was pure cuteness.

 Marah and Tessa on rehearsal day.  Both girls were super excited and loved being all dressed up.

 Alright, here they go to the stage. 

Tessa doing her new little head tilt and Miss Marah showing her little attitude that she's ready to conquer this dance.

 Tessa and Addison...another reason she was so excited to get to dance every week :)

 Here they come...

 Wish I could have gotten more pics but here she is with her props...the towel :)

Here she is loving this new thing called "dance".  Vickie made Tessa and Marah these adorable dance bags.  Tessa LOVES her :)

Nolan's potty trained!

And we are officially potty trained.  Good job Nolan, we are so proud of you!  I love your little dance move while i was trying to take your pic :)

Trip to Tennessee

This past week we packed up the car and headed to Sharps Chapel, TN to stay at Mike and Cindy's.  What a fun weekend!  Last minute we decided to head out on Tuesday morning and drive to Louisville for a one night stay at a hotel.  The kids were soooo excited.  Nolan asked for days and days when we were leaving for our vacation.  The funny part is that he doesn't even really know what vacation means.  He knows that mommy, daddy, and Tessa were excited about vacation so it must be something good.


Tuesday night we stayed over in Louisville and Wednesday we spent the morning packing everything up to head to Tennessee.  We arrived to Mike and Cindy's that evening.  We were greeted by Mike, Cindy, Summer, Jason, and two of their cuties.  Shortly after arriving all three boys were up from their naps and we were able to see just how cute 'the triplets' really are.  We've seen so many pictures but I needed to get my hands on them.  Oh my goodness...their cuteness is something that I can't explain.  Their eyes and smiles make you melt.  Summer and Jason are going to have their hands full when those boys get older!  Cuties.


By Wednesday evening we were all there.  The first pic below shows the whole crew...ten adults and eight kiddos.  That makes for a whole lot of fun, food, and craziness.  Thursday and Saturday we woke up and had a lake day.  I'm not one to normally thinking swimming in a lake is super appealing but this lake is amazing!  Crystal clear and super warm, just my type.  The kids all had a blast.  On Friday, Mike, Cindy, mom, and dad stayed back with the little boys so we could head on a cave tour.  Okay, I've been to Cave of the Mounds but I've never been to anything like this.  It was really neat.  Nice job J, loved this!


After two lake days and a day of exploring, Sunday came upon us quickly.  Before we knew it we were packing it up and getting ready to head home.  Sunday morning at 4:30am we were in the car pulling out of their driveway (which may I add is steeper than any driveway I've ever seen in my life!!) to head home.  Ten miles away from Mike and Cindy's house a deer decided to walk right out in front of us.  There was nothing we could do to avoid hitting it.  What a great start to the trip home!  We pulled over and checked out the damage.  By the sound of the deer I was expecting much worse but we'll need to have some bodywork done on it.  We were just thankful that it didn't prevent us from being able to go home.  The next four hours after that when downhill quickly but the last eight hours of the trip were perfect.  The kids did so well and had so much fun.


Mike and Cindy, your place is so beautiful and your generosity is out of this world.  You opened up your house to our family and we couldn't have had more fun.  Tessa and Nolan both have been talking nonstop about all the fun we had.  Summer and Jason, so great to see you guys and the boys.  It was great that you could take off of work for a few days to spend at the lakehouse with us.  We can't wait to get our hands on those boys again, hope the wait isn't too long!

Once again it's times like this that make us realize just how lucky we are.

 The crew. :)

Nolan swimming in the hotel pool in Louisville.  He's getting to be a pretty good swimmer.

 Tessa, Nolan, and Derek just being goofy.

 The kids on a little stroll around the hotel before settling in for the night.

 Day #1 in the lake...here she goes!

 Skyler, Asker, and Nolan relaxing after nap time.

 Ryder says, "CHEESE!"

 Asher lounging on the pool before tipping over into the water :)

 The toys...Nolan and Tessa were in toy heaven.  Look at that tractor...Nolan is in love!

 Nolan and Asher snuggling.

 Bye boys, drive safe!  You have four different color minivans to choose from :)

Tessa and Marah before the hike into the cave.  Both girls did a great job hiking on the trail and in the cave. 

 Tessa and Mitchell all ready with their flashlights.

 Too cute, love how they are holding hands. 

 Inside the cave.  Mason and Mitchell were eating up everything the tour guide said.

 "CHEESE!"  Tessa has this new little head tilt thing going on for pictures.  Not sure when it started but if she keeps this up we'll be seeing a chiropractor!

 Derek and I after the hike in the cave.

 Nolan and Derek on the boat ride.  Thanks J!

Tessa and I.  She was so super excited to be able to go on the boat.  It was everything she hoped for :)

 Derek blowing bubbles with Asher, Ryder, Skyler, and Nolan.

 "Row, row, row your boat..."

 Arts and crafts time.  Your supplies were amazing Cindy, thank you!

 Nice jump Tessa.  Love the intertube.

 Loved swimming with my babygirl.

Don't you just want to eat them up?  Love them.  Skyler, Ryder, and Asher.  Can't wait to see them again.

Fair weekend 2012

The kids couldn't get enough of the fair this year! They were so excited for the weekend to begin.  Living so close to the fair grounds we were able to see the daily, okay hourly, updates on the progress of the rides being put together.  The anticipation of the weekend was the most exciting yet because Nolan was all about it too.  They both loved all of the rides that they went on.  Nolan actually helped to make Tessa brave on a few of them that she was slightly hesitant about.  Great weekend.  The kids get to spend time with family and friends.  Derek and I also get to spend some time with our friends. We both played in the softball tournament all weekend and hung out with our friends all weeekend.  We are so lucky and always have such a great weekend.  All around our family all had a great, fun-filled weekend :)  The kids are already looking forward to next year and have been asking when the fair is coming back to town...