Big Girl Bed, Part 2

Well, last night went way better than expected. Emily went straight to sleep her first night in the big girl bed. She woke up crying once, but I think it was just due to unfamiliar territory. This morning, she was laying in her bed talking to her doggies and loving life. She wanted to eat her breakfast in bed this morning. We're so happy that she seems to have adjusted ok far.
Naptime today didn't go as well as last night. When I got home from work every book in her room was on the floor in her room and her shelves were cleared off. I did hear that she actually might have slept for an hour though.
Tonight, she was very over tired and cried and cried in bed. She got up for a little while, took some cough medicine and then went back to bed after reading the Rainbow Fish, her favorite book.
I think she might have gone to sleep already. So far, so good.

Emily's Big Girl Bed

Well, the day finally came when our daughter tried something daring, climbing out of her crib. Her attempt didn't go too well, she fell on her head. We thought that it would have scared her enough to not attempt that again. Not so. Today, during her nap she attempted to climb out. This time, not falling on her head. However, I did hear her in her room yelling, "Dan, I stuck!!" over and over. The DAN was getting more and more frantic. She was stuck alright, hanging upside down with her foot stuck between the rails on the outside.

So, we decided to take the big step and get her a toddler bed. Rather than jumping right into a really big girl bed, we opted for the teeny, tiny toddler bed. We made the evening trip to Wal-Mart and picked it up. Emily really had fun watching us put it together and trying to help.
When it finally got moved into her room and we put the mattress on it, then it was all good.
She climbed right on and tried it out.
It's the first night, she's been in her room with the door shut for 30 minutes and there's not a peep coming from her room. I even went outside to listen outside the window. Nothing.
It does seem too good to be true that she could have gone right to sleep??? Tune in tomorrow....

Let's Eat Cake!

The birthday boy, ready for his party to get started! The pictures say it all . . .

The delicious Scandinavian Strawberry Torte - since Dan and I also celebrated out 5th anniversary this week, we had the same cake we served at our wedding for dessert, it was so delicious.

After the cake it was time to open presents. He got trucks, a fun puzzle, a train, a toy chainsaw with safety goggles and hard hat.

Lou was too excited to sleep, after Emily went to bed, he got up and played with all his new toys, all by himself. He had so much fun, driving the trucks around, trying to figure out how to make that truck noise with his mouth. He walked around the house with his chainsaw running too, that's going to be without batteries very soon!

Thanks everyone, I had a really fun party!!!

We all scream for ice cream!

Waiting with money in hand for the truck to arrive. Emily had no idea what the money was for. Finally, it's here!
A delicious rainbow push-up.
Lou didn't like it when his was all gone.

Louie's Birthday!

We had Louie's favorite for breakfast yesterday, scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese, toast and watermelon! He LOVES fruit, especially watermelon.

Emily loves to make Lou laugh when they are at the table eating. She was playing "peek" with him and he was busting up laughing.

Last night, Uncle Joe, and cousins Patrick and Katie stopped over. They were deliverying a couple of tables for Louie's birthday party. Joe and Patrick are going hiking with the Boy Scouts on the Superior Trail and Katie is taking a trip with a friend to the American Girl store in Chicago this weekend. They're going to miss the party. But they brought Louie his first birthday present. We're going to go to Barnes and Noble and get him some books for boys. He loves to read books. He really loves to sit in the chair and read them himself.

Justin Lee Jansen

Here's a couple of pictures of the little bugger. He sure is a cute baby, nice chubby cheeks. I can't even believe the hair that he has. Dan and I are pretty sure that he's got more hair then Emily . . . I wonder if they'll stop for a haircut on the way home from the hospital??

Happy Birthday to Louie!!!

One year ago today, I was recovering from pushing out the 10+ pounder, drug free!
It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year. Time is just flying by.
Louie got a great birthday present today, he has a new baby cousin!
Justin Lee Jansen was born this morning in Orlando! He was 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long. All is well with Auntie Stacy and Justin. Congratulations!
Uncle Mark was very excited to have another set of twig and berries at their house!
Hopefully, we'll see pictures of him soon.

Family pictures

We had pictures taken yesterday. I was hoping that the weather would cool off and the humidity wouldn't be too horrible. After the oppressive humidity on Saturday night, Dan and I were nervous. When I got up with Emily 5am on Sunday morning, it was awesome! No humidity and a fabulous cool breeze. The AC turned off and all windows were open.
Emily and Louie had a great time with Olivia. I think she really got some nice shots of everyone.
Here's a link to see a few of the images that she took:

http://oliviawagnerphoto.blogspot.com/2007/08/emily-and-louie.html

I can't wait to see the rest of them!

Favorites from the 4th of July

Papa brought along his "busy bee" and was playing with the kids. Louie loved the busy bee. This is a cute picture of he and his papa.

I realized that I didn't share these pix of Drew from Larsmont. He is such a funny kid, especially with the purple tongue from his sucker.

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Get In Trouble (times two!)

It's been hot, hot, hot in Minnesota lately. We know what hot weather brings, lots of red, sweet and ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes mean BLT's. Yummy! They are so good and worth every bite. Emily loves the cherry tomatoes. She stands and eats them right off the vine in the backyard. Hopefully, she will continue her love of tomatoes.

Louie figured out how to climb up the slide backwards. The kids never ceases to amaze us with all his new tricks. Everyday is something new.

I realized as I was writing in his baby book last week that he and Emily started walking within the same 12 month period. We're pretty sure that he'll be running faster than she does shortly. He already can get to the top of the stairs faster. He has no fear of anything and Old Lady Pelletier won't even go down one step without turning around and holding on. He just goes head first.

The kids are really enjoying the sandbox this summer. Lou is always thinking that there is something edible. He usually has a big mouthful when he sitting in there.

Look, he's got three teeth now! But already eating corn on the cob. . . On Saturday, we took Emily to Kids Hair and she got her first "real" haircut. I was surprised how she sat in the chair so nicely and let the lady trim up her hair. I usually just give it a trim in the tub, but thought she could use a memorable cut. It was crappy and rainy on Saturday, so we went to Ikea and walked around. About 5,000 other people thought that was a good thing to do as well. We had dinner there too. Emily LOVES the Swedish meatballs. Lou loves the french fries. They both LOVE chocolate milk.