Haley's 4th Birthday

I still can't believe I have a 4 year old but it is true. Time flies when you have kids. I took it upon myself to make Haley's cake. She wanted a chocolate cake so I made one. It was from a box but I did make the icing! We were going to get a cake from Costco but not as many people were able to come so making a cake was the next best thing. She wanted a princess cake and since my frosting skills are super limited I just put a crown on top and decorated with M&M's. It was really good!

I just like this picture of the kiddos together. They fight a lot right now but for the most part they get along pretty well.

Haley got some cool gifts for her birthday. Among them were a princess dress, princess domino's, chapstick, a long sleeve shirt, an American Girl outfit, tons of shoes, a tea party set and a bike. She is scared to ride the bike but we keep trying to get her back on it.
Oh and just a side note, today it was 93 degrees. Haley "insisted' she wear her beautiful new long sleeve shirt.

She is ready to dive into that cake! Happy Birthday Haley! We hope you had a great day! We love you!

Bathroom Remodel

We have lived in our house for about 3 years now and we finally had the funds to remodel the bathroom! Hooray! We took only a few pictures before the demo because we couldn't stand to look at it anymore. Even demolishing the bathroom made vast improvements in the way it looked :) This is where the toilet used to sit. The sub-floor beneath was rotted through. We knew that buying the house and our contractor said he could've shoved his foot through the floor it was so weak. Could you imagine the floor giving away while Haley was sitting on the pot?! She would never go to the bathroom again!

As most of you know Zac spent a total of 3 months in Libby, MT. His company is being contracted out with EPA to help test levels of Asbestos in peoples homes and on their property. Well, with the kind of knowledge Zac has in this area he knows that the black tile flooring you see above in this pic and the one before probably contains Asbestos. We found a bunch of it in the basement when we moved in. We had to be really careful with the flooring and not disturb it. So, for the time being we put vinyl on top of it. When Zac removed the flooring during demo he had on 2 Tyvex suits, a Full Face Respirator and gloves with duct tape wrapped around the wrists. He also took big sheets of plastic and covered up all the doors leading into the girls rooms and our room with duct tape. Call us crazy but you don't want to mess with Asbestos and we are not taking any chances.

Don't ask me why they put a huge toilet in a tiny bathroom next to 30 inch vanity. For any of our friends and family who have used our bathroom you know what we are talking about. The vanity was right on top of you when you would use the toilet. There just wasn't enough room with that big old Vanity in there.

A picture of the hideous vanity from above. Zac took out that tile and the wall down to the studs so we could put in real wood "BEAD BOARD". YEAH!!

Like I said before it is a small bathroom and very hard to get pictures of but here is a shot looking out from Haley's doorway. As you can see we put in real tile floors, we found an awesome Vanity and matching Medicine Cabinet at are very favorite store "Costco". The Vanity is about 24 inches long so we gained six inches back but a couple of those is empty space between the wall and the Vanity. We special ordered a toilet that would be a little smaller and would leave space between the wall and it. You can see the new Bead Board wall in the background along with our awesome shade of green I picked out. Zac said we should do green and I matched it to the hints of green that were in our floor tile. It turned out great!

My Girls

I love that Kori will keep a hat on! Even if it is a witches hat!

The girls showing off their hats and goofing around!

Learning to walk is tough on the face!

I love this picture of the girls sitting together on the couch! I am so glad they have each other! Check out those thighs!

Winter activities indoors

Living where you get the change of seasons is great! You really get to experience Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. It's great but...in the dead of Winter you really start to get a little nuts with having to keep the kids cooped up inside all the time. So, I allowed Haley to ride her tricycle around the house.

The kids loved it! Kori gained more confidence with walking from holding onto the back of the tricycle while Haley peddled around the house. When they would hit the kitchen Haley picked up speed and Kori ran as fast as her chubby little legs could carry her. Then when she couldn't keep up any longer and Haley was about to slow down into a turn, Kori would drop to her knees and slide/drag along behind the trike! It was a sight to see! So funny!

My baby was sick for the better part of a month during the winter. One week it was teeth coming. Then next it was a cold. The next week it was more teeth coming in. Then she would still be having some lingering flu like symptoms. I took her to the Dr. on this particular day and after I told him how she'd been feeling he examined her thoroughly to find nothing wrong with her. He gave her antibiotics for a sinus infection b/c with her having a runny nose in between getting teeth he figured she probably had one but couldn't prove it. I let her lay down in the early evening but got her up around 7pm so she would be up for a while before bed. She hadn't been sleeping well for the past month either and I was desperate to get this kid sleeping through the night. Well, she felt miserable and was medicated. She didn't want to be up she just wanted to lay down and rest. She rested on Zac and this became a Kodak moment for us. She never just hangs out like this. Especially with Zac! She's a momma's girl. Well, about an hour after I got her up I took her and put her right back to bed. She was grateful to go back to sleep and she slept through the night for the first time in a long time.

It was at this particular Dr's appt. that I realized Kori is going to hate going to the Dr.'s. She screamed when the nurse entered the room to say "Hi." and ask what we were there for that day. Then she screamed through the weigh-in and measuring. Finally she calmed down while we were waiting for the Dr. to come in and when he started examining her she all but flipped out for whole time he looked at her. It was an absolute nightmare! Haley was great and still is great when we go to the Dr.'s. She only cried when she got shots and that's it! Kori will be my dramatic child when it comes to Dr.'s visits I guess. They all can't be cool and calm at the Dr.'s.

Haley wrote her name in order for the very first time! That was really exciting! She has yet to do it again on a more frequent basis but that's fine. She gets concerned about fitting it on the line the letters end up all over the place. As a former pre-school teacher I am of course not concerned and just enjoying teaching her at home for pre-school.

What we've been up to...Snowstorm #1

I know it's mid-June and I am posting winter pics but I am trying to catch up. This was storm one of "Snowmagedon". We got about 18 inches + with this storm.

We were well prepared for this storm and had plenty of food and milk to get us by for days. Thankfully we didn't lose power during the storm and enjoyed having daddy home for the day.

Our neighbor has a snowblower and took the liberty of clearing a pathway for us in the morning. Too bad by mid-afternoon Zac was back out there shoveling the walk way again and helping the neighbors dig their cars out for work tomorrow.

The snow was up to about Haley's waist. It was fun watching her get stuck in the snow trying to walk everywhere.

Here is Zac and Haley in their snow gear! Ready to have some fun in the backyard!

Haley Started Dance Class

At the beginning of January Haley started dance class. She goes once a week for a 45 min. session. They do ballet and gymnastics. It is held at the Community Recreation Center in our very own neighborhood! I took her to go and get the leotard and she was so excited about starting up her classes! It is pretty laid back and perfect for a 3 year old who doesn't know what she wants to do yet as far as sports and activities.

I took these pictures of her before dance class because there is no way I would be able to take any when I am there. Kori is all over the place when we go and is hard to keep under control. I love this picture of her. She is just so cheesy! When I see this picture of her I think she looks like my friend April when she was a little girl :) I would probably go as far as to say she looks like April's daughter Ellie in some of these pics.

The kids are learning a routine to a very rock and roll version of Zippty-Do-Da. She is so cute trying to follow along with her teacher and the other kids. I just sit back and smile watching her. I don't know if she will want to keep dancing because she is half Zac's and we all know Zac was a great soccer player so maybe she will want to run and kick a ball more than dance. I just want her to be happy and enjoy an active lifestyle.

Happy 1st Birthday Kori

Happy Birthday baby Kor-Kor! You are one year old today! I can't believe a whole year has gone by since you were born. It seems just like yesterday I was at the hospital delivering you. You are an absolute joy to have around and we love you so much! You make us laugh all the time and we can already tell you are going to be a character! Daddy and I hoped and prayed to have a chunky baby this time around and you have delivered! You are over 20lbs and we couldn't be happier! We are still waiting for you to get the courage to walk on your own but you are hesitant like your sister was and we will just have to keep on encouraging you. I picked a few of my favorite pictures from this last year and included one of my Mid-wife Cherri holding you. I figured it would be appropriate since she helped bring you into this world! We love you Kori! Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Love Mommy, Daddy, and Haley