AJ’s Family Party October 28, 2009

How could we not have a birthday with multiple celebrations?  Given how much AJ loves his birthday, it was a ton of fun to have a second party with out family.  It was really nice to have everyone together. 

AJ was a Lightening McQueen Birthday cake, so that is what we made for him.  When he got up in the morning, I brought him over to the cake to get his response.  And what do you think he said?  ‘Mom, there needs to be more race cars on the race track!’ 

But before we started the singing, everyone enjoyed each others company just catching up. 

But seriously, the kids were ready for the cake, and so was I.  So back to the table where we do all of our birthday cakes.  In fact, this was our 8th kid party in which we have lite the candle in the same spot for each party.  Kaitlyn is even into it now, but I think she was a little surprised that we when we sang Happy Birthday that it was not directed towards her.  And AJ was concerned that mini lightening was cleaned up so that he could use it with his mini Mac truck.  Boy does AJ love his Cars.

But we were able to get AJ to crack a smile…

Next on the agenda, presents.  AJ was really into it this year.  He loved opening everything, so it was really fun to watch.

Kaitlyn enjoyed playing with AJ’s new toys as well as just playing with the boxes.

Thank you to everyone that helped make AJ’s Birthday so special.  He loved his birthday and can’t wait until the next.

A Vander Roest Visit October 27, 2009

 It is not every day that Nate and I care able to get together with family.  So we were thrilled when we found out that we would have some over night guests!  Matt, Heather, Brandon, Justin, Papa Woolley, and Gigi all came into town to help celebrate AJ’s birthday; and everyone stayed with us.  From the minute they got here, the cousins hugged and did not leave each others side. 

Brandon, AJ, Rachael and Justin

To get some energy out, we got the kids dressed and we headed to the park.  With two bikes, two scooters, and a push buggie we successfully got all five kids to the park for some time to run around!

Rachael and Brandon

AJ and Justin

Kaitlyn

Gigi and the kids

But they did not get all of their energy out…. Go figure!  Matt and Nate had a ton of fun wrestling and tossing the kids.  The kids loved it.

Matt, AJ and Justin

But seriously, there were a few minutes when we got everyone to settle down.  Like at story time right before nap time.  It may have only lasted a few minutes, but it did happen!

Looking tired...

After nap time, we had dinner for the eleven of us.  And surprisingly, I had enough food.  It was a fun-filled dinner, having everyone together.  But right after dinner, we headed to the soccer fields at GORC because Rachael had a make-up soccer game under the lights.  It was a little cold and dark, but everyone did enjoy themselves.  And Rachael had her own cheer team.  Surprisingly (haha), they lost the game but at least Rachael tried.

AJ and Brandon

Papa Woolley and Justin

Brandon and Rachael

When we got home it was bed time for the kids, but it was the start of the next project for me.  Pam, Heather, Gigi, Nate, Grandpa and I stayed up late and decorated the birthday cake for AJ’s birthday.  By midnight, Nate and I were doing the final clean up but we were proud of the finished project.

Michelle, Pam and Heather

An extra thanks to Heather and Pam for all of the hard work on the cake! It turned out perfect!!!

 

 

Three Year Update October 26, 2009

It is hard to believe that it was only three years ago that AJ was born.  He now weighs 36  1/2 pounds and is 38 3/4 inches tall.  For the three-year well visit, the pediatrician gave us the thumbs up for AJ.  AJ has a ton to say and is pretty fun.  AJ is a very fun-loving child.  And, his dimples just melt my heart.

I remember the night that we went to the hospital to have AJ.  I think back now at how worried I was that I would never be able to love another baby as much as I loved Rachael.  But the day AJ was born, I realized that I could.  AJ is my sweet, sensitive, loving boy.  He has such a warm heart and he is  by far my biggest cuddler of the kids. 

And Rachael’s love for AJ started as soon as she saw him.  Looking back now, she looked so young.  But Rachael has always taken good care of her baby brother.

It is amazing how much life has changed over the past three years!!  Our kids are such a blessing to us!!!! We cherish all of the time we have together and look forward to all of the years ahead of us!

A Day to Celebrate! October 21, 2009

I cannot believe that AJ is three years old.  To celebrate, we started with breakfast at Bob Evans which the kids were really excited about.  In fact, AJ wanted to go in his PJ’s; so I let him.  He looked really cute in them.  We then came home and hung out. 

I spent some time in the morning putting together the cupcakes for AJ’s party with his friends.  It did not turn out exactly the way that I invisioned, but AJ loved them.  After naps, it was time to get ready to party!!  AJ was very particular about what he was going to wear.  But it all worked out!

Special Times

We headed to Chuck E Cheese with some of our close friends that ventured out on a weeknight to celebrate!  AJ’s face lite up from the minute that we got there until we left.  The kids started out the evening with rides and games.  There was all sorts of different things for the kids to do.

Not too much later, all of the kids were called to the table to eat pizza. And it is amazing that they were all hungry.  All of the kids sat and ate while the adults were able to catch up for a few minutes before Chuck E showed up to celebrate AJ’s Birthday.

Time to bring on the cheese.  Who ever knew that how many smiles (and tears by some) were going to come when Chuck  E Cheese came out to help sing Happy Birthday and celebrate!

Time for Cupcakes!

And of course you have to try and get a group picture.   With there being 10 kids, it was challenging to get a group picture.  But here is what we did get… Unfortunately, Isabella was too scared of Chuck E to sit for a picture, but we did the best we could!

Thanks to everyone for a great time!  AJ talked about it the rest of the day, followed by the next day!  Here are some random pictures from the rest of the evening.

Here is one last family picture celebrating a joyous 3rd birthday for AJ.  Happy Birthday AJ!

So here is a quick recap of the rest of our night.  When we got out to the car, we realized that for some reason our automatic headlights were not so automatic for some reason.  Our car battery was dead.  We attempted to jump start the car but then thought that we all of the corrosion that we could see on the battery that we might as well go and get a new one.  We (Nana and myself) went to Sears Auto, but they were closed (at 7 pm).  So we headed to Advanced Auto Zone.  When we got back, we found out that we did not have all of the tools that we needed to change the battery.  So, we then call AAA.  It took them about 40 minutes to show up and then it took a while to get jumped.  Needless to say, we did not walk into our house until 10 pm.  The kids took it like a champ, but I night to never forget.

Petting Farm October 17, 2009

This past Tuesday had a wonderful forecast, 70 degrees and sunny.  So I decided that it was time to take a trip to Clark’s Elioak Farm.  I called Kelly in the morning to see if she wanted to meet us, and she was in!  We started the visit with a walk through the Enchanted Forest Maze.  This was something that we had never done before, and the kids loved it.

Rachael particularly loved Sleeping Beauty’s house where she lived until she was 16 years old!!  Wow!!

The Turtle and the Hare is the other story that the kids got a kick out of.  Rachael and AJ sat on the turtle and Isabella left goldfish for the hare to eat when he woke up from his nap.

When we finished the maze, we headed over to pet the animals.  We started with the goats, which the kids loved because they were able to fed them.  Kaitlyn hung back and watched.

After feeding the sheep, we headed for the hand washing station so that we could go on a tractor ride.  The kids loved the ride as we went through some woods and fields.  It was a little sunny for AJ,  so he wore my sunglasses.

We then went back to the petting farm and saw the pigs, donkeys, et.  We actually saw a 16 lb bunny as well.  Pretty crazy.  To end the petting farm, we visited with some very friendly goats.

And as it goes, my camera ran out of batteries.  But the kids enjoyed themselves as they each picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.  It was delightful to be outside on such a beautiful day.  The kids cannot wait to go back again soon!

Kaitlyn’s 12 month update October 15, 2009

It is amazing how fast time goes.  Kaitlyn had her one year appointment yesterday.  She is doing great, weighing 21 pounds even (putting her in the 50th percentile) and 30.5 inches long (90th percentile).  Kaitlyn looks great! However, she does not make things easy for the pediatrician.  Cries from the minute that Dr. Jobes walks in until she leaves.  And then, Kaitlyn stops.  DRAMA!!!

 Kaitlyn has really come into her own over the past several months.  Even though she only says Mama, Dada and AJ; she is very verbal.  When we leave the house she carries on until someone picks her up.  As though we would leave without her.  She is now pulling up on everything and walking holding onto things.  She pretend bites. According to the pediatrician her behavior is that of a 15-18 month old.  She will act as though she is going to bit, and then giggles and gives a ridiculous face.  Other times, she really will bite.  Oh, that is the other thing she does.  She can make a billion different faces, and she does.  It can really make anyone smile.  There are also times when someone is talking to her that she will look away intentionally in hopes that the person will go away.  She is a trip.  We love every day with her and look forward to each new thing that she does!

Celebrating Kaitlyn’s First October 13, 2009

Everyone knows how much I love Birthdays!!  So, I was thrilled to have Kaitlyn’s party this past weekend.  The best part of the party was just seeing how much fun Kaitlyn had, from start to finish.   Kaitlyn enjoyed everything from the attention, to the cake, to the birthday gifts!  

To start of the party, Kaitlyn enjoyed hanging out and taking everything in for a little bit…

Michelle, Nate and the Birthday Girl!

Grandpa and Kaitlyn hanging out

Kaitlyn's Fireman Prize

AJ enjoyed having a picnic on the floor with me while Rachael hung out with the Grandparents!

A Smiley Boy

Watching the Action

Here is a little background on the cake.  I picked out the cake idea a long time ago (6 months or so) and I had this grand plan that I was going to make the cake this year. So with Pam’s help, that is what I did!  Hours later (finishing around 12:30 am), we were pretty pleased with ourselves.  See for yourself the final product.

The Finished Product

We then headed for the candle blowing.  Kaitlyn was very interested in what was going on.  Kaitlyn looked around as everyone sang her HAppy Birthday, but she made a very silly face when everyone said ‘Kaitlyn’.  A moment that I will never forget!

Kaitlyn enjoyed the whole thing…

The gang before singing

Blowing out the Candle

Then, of course, comes the cake.  Which was not all that exciting in terms of Kaitlyn eating cake (she has had some many samples in the past three days).  However, Kaitlyn has so many facial expressions that she shared many of them with the crowd watching.

It is worth mentioning what a kick Kaitlyn got out of watching AJ and Nate blow the blow outs at each other. 

Then it was time for presents.  I was expecting Kaitlyn  to be interested in the wrapping paper and bows.  But in actuality, she loved her gifts!  She got so excited over everything that was opened.  In fact she waited patiently as we opened many of her gifts so she could check them out.  She  really got into the Birthday thing.  It was too cute.

We are so thankful for the beautiful children that we have.  Thank you to everyone that made Kaitlyn’s first birthday so special!!!

One!!! October 8, 2009

Kaitlyn is a year old today!! I cannot believe it; it has gone by so fast.   I will start this blog with my favorite two pictures of the day….

1.  Kaitlyn being Kaitlyn…

2.  What has seemed like our family for way longer than only a year…

Today was a great day.  We started our outings with soccer practice for AJ followed by a quick nap for Kaitlyn.  Then we picked up our friend (and babysitter) Kasey and then headed to lunch with Nicole and the boys.  We had a great time at Three Brothers before we headed to Pam’s house for cupcakes.  There is nothing like 13 kids (all 4 and under) singing Happy Birthday.  Nicole made awesome cupcakes that had marshmallow flowers on top.  Then it was nap time. The fun continued after nap time with a hair cut for AJ and then home for dinner.  After Nate got home, Pam and her family were able to join us for cupcake time!!  Nicole (who is headed to Paris) made awesome butterfly cupcakes for all of us to enjoy. 

 Kaitlyn then needed to take a bath (she was wearing most of the cupcake) and went to bed.  Rachael and AJ were jumping out of their skin to go and get Pop Pop Woolley.  And then bed; at least for the kids.  Then I started the getting the cakes ready for Kaitlyn’s birthday party and visited with Pop Pop Woolley before we headed to the airport to get Gigi.

Many times today, I thought of what our day was like only one year ago.  Nate and I headed to the hospital for a midnight induction (good thing I was already having contractions).  And then at 6:52 am, Kaitlyn Rose was born! 

 It is amazing how Rachael and AJ have just welcomed Kaitlyn into our family with open arms.  I am very blessed that our kids have such a special relationship. I have enjoyed all of the time that I have had with Kaitlyn, and her smile melts my heart every time.  I look forward to all of the years to come!   I love you Kaitlyn, Happy Birthday!!!

Pure Exhaustion October 4, 2009

Katilyn is a trooper…  Perhaps that this the role that the third child has to take on.  Wednesday afternoon I took Kaitlyn into the doctors for an ear infection.  Thursday morning we went to AJ’s soccer practice from 9-945; followed by a Target trip.  Kaitlyn fell asleep in the car on the way home.  However, I did not want Kaitlyn to sleep very long because we have soccer for Rachael in the evening so I needed her to take a good afternoon nap.  When we got home she slept on me for about 15 minutes as I walked around the house trying to get some stuff done.  I then decided it was time to put her down so that she would wake up.  She did not wake up though…

Mission Accomplished September 30, 2009

My house… Where do I start?  Yes, Nate and I have three kids and you can tell.  Which does not bother me, except it has gotten carried away.  Nate and I were very excited that Gigi was coming into town this past weekend; we had big plans.  Nicole threw a surprise birthday party for Mike (which was a ton of fun; HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!), we had Karyn’s baby shower (yeah!), and the house (which is always a project).  Here are some pictures of the kids being goofy Sunday morning…

The Girls...

Look at this face!!!

AJ and Kaitlyn look a lot alike!!!

Almost everyone was looking!!!

But we did accomplish our mission.  Keeping busy from literally the minute the plane landed until heading back to the airport, we were doing something.  So here are some pictures of the final result.  Too bad that we still have a ton more rooms to do.   I am sure Gigi can’t wait!!  But seriously, THANK YOU GIGI!!! 

Few things left to return to people, but almost done!

I am still in shock that it looks like this!!!