It's been an exciting 24 hours here at our house! James figured out how to crawl last night. It was honest to goodness knees/hands crawling. And he can get to sitting up from laying on his belly and tonight he was in the early beginning stages of pulling up on me. He crawled over to my feet as I sat in a chair and started grabbing up on my pants legs. This is all happening so fast! If I remember correctly, Annika started crawling when she was a little over six months old. James will be six months a week from Sunday. And Annika took her first steps a week or two before she turned nine months old. I wonder if James will beat her to that too!

And James has teeth now! Not just a tooth, but he has teeth! His bottom two teeth both poked through today. I thought they were getting close so I've been sticking my finger in his mouth daily for a month now. And today I felt two little pokey things on his lower gums. Turns out both is bottom center teeth are coming through! Kris has remarked that James has been crabby during the day the past few days but otherwise his eating and sleeping have been fairly normal. And he's been a happy baby for me in the evenings. I guess this teething thing hasn't been too terribly bad for him. Let's hope that continues as they fully break through!

And Cinderella, I mean Annika (girl LOVES the Disney princesses, especially Cinderella - maybe we should do a princess theme for her birthday this year), is doing just fine too. She got chased around the driveway tonight by her favorite neighbor, Andrew. And then she pretended she was a dog when the neighbor dogs (Gustie to our west and Hypno to our east) were outside visiting with us. Right now she's downstairs watching a cartoon while I put James to bed. In ten minutes or so it will be her bed time too.

I must say the kids and I have really had a good week this week. Sometimes is stressful at night trying to get them both to bed and entertaining them both and keeping anyone from crying or having tantrums. This week though things have gone so smoothly. I have no idea how, but I hope I can get this to continue!

Once again it has been over a week since I last posted. How does that happen? And do not worry. Gramme has already yelled at me about the not posting. OK she didn't yell at me exactly. Or at all really. She politely e-mailed me to see if I was going to post soon. And then she in all caps yelled (Mom - did you know that all caps in an e-mail means yelling?) WHAT ABOUT PICTURES! She's funny, that Gramme. So, here is a post. And I will try to update pictures yet this week.

Last Friday was our five year wedding anniversary. Yay us! I took the day off so that Kris could go to work during the day and we could go out that evening together. As it was, I didn't see him most of the day! He spent most of the morning outside getting things ready for our BBQ we were hosting the next day. And then after lunch he headed to work for 5 hours and got home just in time to change his clothes and get ready to go out. We didn't have big plans for that evening. We ended up going out for dinner and then went shopping for a little while. It was really nice to walk around Target gathering items we needed, stopping to browse once in a while, etc. without having one or two kids getting antsy. And then we headed home to play some Wii (which we got last Wednesday - how fun!). Grandpa and Marcia came over to take care of Annika and James. Annika had a great time, getting to go to the park, eating ice cream and staying up late. James gave them a bit of a rough time at bed time but otherwise was his usual charming self.

Saturday was our annual BBQ. We had roughly 40 people over for a great big party. It was a great day for a party. It was warm and sunny but not too hot. We had three couples (Grandpa and Marcia, Dale and Shelly and Michelle and Bart) come over early to join us on a motorcycle ride. Nana and Papa came over early too to stay with the kids. The ride was so nice! We were a little over an hour and it was perfect. Then Kris joined our guests outside to grill and have fun and I stayed inside to keep the food filled and guests entertained there. We didn't get to see too much of each other but I think our guests all had a good time. There were lots of little kids for Annika to play with which made her immensely happy. James was a pretty happy baby too, spending most of the afternoon with Uncle Dale. And he went down for the night so easily and slept through all the noise in the house. That's my wonder baby!

James is so close to crawling. Sunday we saw him get up on his hands and knees, move his knees forward and then one hand forward to reach a toy. And he's done it consistently since. One of these days it's going to click that he can move his hands and knees and get to where he wants to go without flopping down on his belly or face. He is such a happy baby too and much more independent than Annika was. Annika didn't much enjoy the exersaucer or walker. She always wanted you there playing with her or holding her. James is much more content to be on the floor chewing on toys or in his walker playing with toys. He has his crabby moments, like all babies do, when he only wants to be held though too. And he's excellent at bed time. He is so much easier to put down than Annika was. He is just such a great little guy. How did I get so lucky to have two spectacular kids?

Annika is so goofy lately. Last night as she was playing everything she did was finished with a "Ta-da!" She would draw herself or mommy or daddy on her Aquadoodle mat and then exclaim "ta-da!" when she was finished. And she made me take pictures of her drawings before they dried up and went away. She's actually pretty good, drawing a circle for the face, four lines for arms and legs, dots for eyes and a line for a smile. She even drew hair on her people last night. Usually she even draws little lines for fingers and toes. Last night as she was eating I asked if I could take some pictures of her. She looked at me and smiled for three cheesy pictures and then said "OK mommy. That's enough pictures." I listened and put the camera away. What a goofball!

This morning at 2am I woke up to James playing with a toy attached to his crib. I started to get out of bed to go to him and stepped right on Annika! This is what I think happened - some time during the night after Kris went to bed Annika woke up needing to go potty. She turned on the light in her room as well as her lamp (it was like the sun in there at 2am!) and then went potty. Usually she calls to me from the bathroom but last night I must not have heard her so she got up and walked over to my side of the bed. There she usually doesn't say anything, she just stares at me, willing me with her mind to wake up. I didn't, she got tired and laid down next to the bed and went to sleep - with her underwear still around her ankles! See? Goofball! Anyway, I went and got James and with a couple minutes of rocking and a quick milk snack, he was out again. I put him back in his crib, turned off all of Annika's lights, went to pick her up and noticed the underwear situation, pulled those up, picked her up and put her back to bed before returning to bed myself 15 minutes after getting out of it.

Annika did roughly the same thing the night before last. James woke up around 4:30am so I went and got him and fed him and rocked him until we both fell asleep in the chair. Around 5:15am Annika woke up and came into our room. I told her to go crawl into bed by Daddy and then fell asleep again in the chair (I was tired!). Instead of doing that though, Annika laid down between the chair and the wall and went to sleep. Eventually I crawled back into bed with James and when he, Daddy and I woke up at 6:45am, Annika was still sleeping on the floor. She woke up a few minutes after us and crawled into bed with us then for our morning snuggles.

This past weekend found us in Iowa visiting Auntie Carrie. (Uncle Adam is currently in Honduras so we were visiting a lonely Auntie Carrie only.) It was our first road trip with the kids, a nice four hour jaunt down there. It actually wasn't too bad either. We borrowed Uncle Mathias' portable DVD player so Annika was happy to watch movies the whole time (Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Peter Pan). And James took a couple naps. We had to stop once so I could feed him but other than that we just loaded him up with toys to play with (meaning chew on). I took off Friday and Monday and that was perfect. Kris was able to work Friday morning and Monday evening and didn't have to use any of his limited vacation time. And our weekend was perfect too! Friday evening we got there in time to have yummy homemade pizza and relax before bed time. Saturday morning we got up, relaxed and walked to the park near Auntie Carrie's house. What a cute little neighborhood park too! It had three different slides for Annika to play on plus swings. Annika LOVES the swings She had to ride on three of the four swings. Apparently each swing needed it's turn. James was in the fourth one, trying to chew on it of course. (Side note: James is a chewing machine! Monday on our drive home I was inspecting his mouth and I swear I can see two little teeth on his lower gum. Maybe he'll get some teeth soon?) After lunch and some down time we took a drive to Auntie Carrie's new school. She's going to be a professor this fall (having just gotten her PhD - so proud!) and we were excited to see her new digs. We were going to walk around campus a bit but Annika fell asleep in the truck. Instead we took a driving tour and then headed back. Sunday we played outside for a while. Kris and I helped Auntie Carrie with some gardening and outside chores while James and Annika played. Annika was soaking wet by the time we went in for lunch. We were watering flowers and such and Annika was using it as her own personal sprinkler instead! James was content to play on a blanket with toys in the shade. Sunday night after the kids went to bed Auntie Carrie was nice enough to keep watch over them so Kris and I could go on a date. We headed out to see Knocked Up (Funny!). James woke up once while we were gone but eventually went back to sleep after some rocking/bouncing by Auntie Carrie. Monday we packed up, said our good-byes and headed home. It is so nice to have Auntie Carrie within driving distance! I'm excited to see her a whole lot more now!

Today we are the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii! Kris and Annika went out to pick one up and when they came back in the house Annika proudly told me that she was going to play tennis on the tv. After Kris got it set up he made a little Annika Mii and they played tennis and some Rayman Raving Rabbits for a while. I think we're going to enjoy the Wii. I think there will be games that all of us will enjoy. And I'm not much of a gamer. However, I am coveting the new Wii Fit that was announced last week at the E3 conference. It's supposed to be out this year yet I think and I told Kris that I want it for Christmas!

I just uploaded 144 pictures in 2 new albums: 6-3-07 to 6-25-07 and 6-27-07 to 7-10-07. Enjoy! I'm sleepy so I'm going to bed instead!

Today James had his first taste of baby oatmeal. And he seemed to really like it! He kept diving back towards the spoon for more and was a little upset when it was all gone. I may have to start making him more to eat. He's finished every bowl, as in I'm scraping the bowl out for the last little bits, for the past week or so.

And tonight James got up on his hands and knees, something he does with alarming regularity, and started rocking back and forth. Within ten minutes he was moving his knees forward! He wouldn't move his hands though so his center of gravity would shift forward and he would nose dive to the carpet. Then he would push back up, move his knees again and face plant again. He did this repeatedly for a good five minutes or so before getting angry at continually smashing his face into the carpet. After I cried (my maybe last baby is getting so big already!) I grabbed the camera to take some pictures of him up on his hands and knees. I got some really good ones of both the kids. I'll have to upload pictures again soon.

Wow! It's been a great week! I had this whole week off and we had lots and lots of great family time. Monday we just hung out at home and played. Tuesday we went to the Como Zoo. We had a great time looking at all the animals. One of the great things about the Como Zoo is how close you can get to the animals. We were literally just a foot or so from two lions. Annika also loved the orangutans. One was sitting on top of a post and Annika was so worried he was going to fall down. She kept telling him to be careful. Tuesday night we went to our neighbors Andrew and Katie. They invited us over for pie and ice cream. Yummy! Annika had a super time and didn't want to leave. She and Andrew were playing like crazy while Katie and I chatted. It was such a nice time. We are so lucky to have such great neighbors. I worry a little bit about how we will get along some times since they are super conservative and Kris is ultra liberal. But, as long as we keep the political talk to a minimum, we'll always get along great.

Wednesday was the 4th, of course. We went to Amanda and Dean's for a BBQ. Dean made us the most wonderful pork chops on the grill. John and Jeanette were there too. I don't get to see them very often so that was a really nice treat! After lunch, we were sitting on the grass in the front, drinking in the wonderful day. Amanda and Annika were playing hide and go seek. When it was time to leave, I told Annika to thank Amanda for having us over. Annika told Amanda thank you for having us over, thank you for playing hide and seek, thank you for helping her find the kitties, etc. I think she was still thanking her for things as we walked out the door. Sometimes Annika is such a little doll. Other times, well, other times she is a typical two year old (see Como Zoo and me carrying her through much of it because if I put her down she would run away - naughty!).

Thursday was another chill day at home. We had a special treat that afternoon though when Uncle Mathias came over to visit us! We don't get to see him very often because he lives a few hours away. He chased Annika around the house, visited with me and generally just hung out for a couple hours. I showed him my garden (I'm so proud of it! It's still growing like mad!) and we walked over and stood in Krystle and Pierce's dirt. Heh.

Friday was a super fun day. Our town has a small water park with a sand-bottomed zero entry "pool." It also has one large slide and three small ones that go into the pool. We spent about three hours there Friday afternoon. Annika had such an excellent time. She splashed and played and made a few different friends. James wasn't such a fan of the water. I think it was a little too cold for him. He spent most of his time in the shade, with mom or dad, sleeping. It was really fun though. I think we'll try to go back this summer some time. It's definitely a two adult outing though. Kris won't be attempting that on his own this summer. There are life guards on duty, but I wouldn't trust Annika out there without one of us nearby. A couple times she would go a little too far out where the water was up to her chin. And when I would tell her to come back to the side, she would walk/swim away from me (See typical two year old behavior). And of course the day ended in tears for her as three and a half hours was just not long enough at the pool and she didn't want to go home. That and she was tired and needed a nap! All that exercise and sun exposure wore her out.

Saturday we went to Kris' family reunion. It was so fun to hear all the family stories of his maternal grandfather's family. It was also really cool how people traveled from all over to be there (California x2, England, Iowa, etc.) Of the 19 cousins, 17 were there I think Great Nana said. That's excellent! They have their history traced back to the 1860's in Sweden and are compiling stories of their relatives. I'm so glad they are doing this. I'll be so excited to pass those stories on to Annika and James some day. I'd love to trace my paternal history back over to Germany. So far I have us traced back to the 1860's in the same area of Minnesota where my father currently lives. It's from there that I don't know if we came from somewhere else in the states (there's a large population of my family's name in Pennsylvania) or from Germany. I need to ask my Aunt Diane and my Uncle David if they know more. I think they have both worked on it. My maternal side has their history traced back to Ireland (I'm 75% German, ~25% Irish with a little Dutch thrown in too.) I'm not sure if my maternal German roots are traced back to Germany or not. I'll have to ask my mom for her genealogical book so I can make a copy of it!

And today was another lazy, play around the house, day. It was just too hot outside to play much out there. Instead we played with play dough, took naps, read books, danced and chased each other around.

James has really been chomping down his rice cereal. I've been making it thicker and thicker and he doesn't mind it a bit. Tonight he was even lunging for the spoon. I think tomorrow we'll start feeding him two bowls a day of cereal (a bowl being 1 ounce of breast milk combined with enough cereal to make a paste). I bought oatmeal cereal tonight at the store so he can have one bowl of rice cereal and one bowl of oatmeal a day. A few weeks of that and then we can start him on some fruits and vegetables! I can't believe he's 5 months old already! Time is just flying right by! He's already up on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth. And he scoots around in his walker too. He usually pushes himself backwards in that but every once in a while he'll get the hang of it and take a few steps forward. Basically though it's just another place for us to put him to play with toys while we make dinner, go to the bathroom, play with Annika or do other tasks. We rotate him through a blanket with toys on the floor, the exersaucer, the walker and the high chair with toys. He doesn't much care for the swing or the vibrating seat. Of course he gets held a lot too. I can't get too much holding of my sweet baby boy!

Tomorrow it's back to work for me. I wouldn't say I'm exactly looking forward to it. We all know that I would be a stay at home mom if the finances allowed. However, working is easier in some ways than staying home is. Kris has a tough job all day. It's hard to take care of an infant and a two year old! I understand why some days he practically throws the kids at me and runs out the door to work. They take a whole lot of energy! But they are my babies and I miss them so much when I'm gone. And I know that work will always be there and can always be done the next day, but my babies? My babies will only be little for so long. I want to spend as much time with them as I can. Before I know it they will be school age and no longer want Mommy around that much. And then they will be teenagers and really not want Mommy around. And then they will be grown and all I'll have during the day is work. Blech. What a downer of a thought! I'm just going to enjoy my family as it is. I am so lucky!

First - some really exciting news. Krystle and Pierce are building a townhouse 1 (1!!) block away from us! I am so excited! I cried (as in shoulders shaking, eyes leaking tears, cried) when they stopped over to tell us. I can not wait to have them so close to us. Since they are building, they won't be moving in until October. It seems far away now, but it will be here before we know it! Congratulations on your first home you guys!

I waited to blog about that until I knew our parents had been told! I didn't want them finding out about it on the internet!

Saturday our town had a festival and new city park grand opening. We headed down to the riverfront to partake and it was such a fun time! First was the kiddie parade, then there was children's entertainment (a live musical act that included singing, dancing and games with the kids- so fun!). Annika was right in the middle of the group of kids, dancing her heart out and enjoying herself. It was a bit too loud there for James so I took him across the park where he promptly fell asleep. What a good kid! After that we headed to the new park so Annika could play for a while. They were having lunch for everyone shortly and we wanted to stay for that. It took a while to get our food, but then again they were feeding the whole town! After lunch we headed back home so the kids (and I!) could get in a nap. That afternoon we met Gramme over at Great Grandma and Grandpa's townhouse for a visit. I don't think I've ever had a nicer visit with them - at least not in recent history! It was so much fun. Annika charmed Great Grandma like you wouldn't believe. And Great Grandma spoiled her rotten in return. Annika got away with whatever she wanted there and Great Grandma just kept saying "Oh, I could spoil that one." Um, yeah Grandma - you already are! Hee! At one point Great Grandma even threw her head back, put her arms in the air and let out a great big belly laugh. Grandpa was enjoying himself too. He was watching the kids and telling us about the neighbors. We were there over three hours and boy did that time go fast!

After that visit we headed out to see Nana and Papa quickly before the evening was over. They got a new car on Saturday and we wanted to check it out! We had a small appetizer with them while they ate dinner and then said our good-byes. Bedtime comes early around here and we needed to get home.

Sunday morning Grandpa Dan called. Kris's eyes lit up as he handed the phone to me. Grandpa and Marcia were inviting us out on their boat for the day. They recently purchased a brand new Bayliner boat - only in the water for the 4th time on Saturday! It was a scramble that morning to get everyone ready. I needed to purchase a new swimming suit (I have three and yet not one of them fits my 4 months postpartum body, ya know?). We needed life jackets for the kids and a few other essentials. We finally made it out to the lake at 1pm. It was a gorgeous day! It was in the low '80s with a slight breeze - perfect to be on the lake. We cruised around, we took in the sights of the other boaters and the development of the town and we anchored at one point too. Annika and I jumped in the lake and splashed around for a little while. She thought she was so cool in her life jacket, floating on her back, kicking her legs and being goofy. I, well, I was having fun too but I kept her very, very close to me too. I was so nervous something was going to happen to her! Yes, she had her life jacket securely fastened but I was nervous anyway! She had a ball though and didn't want to get back in the boat. Then we cruised around again and when we went really fast, her eyes lit up and she giggled like crazy. James thought it was all pretty cool too. Whenever we would cruise around he would fall asleep and then when we would stop, he would wake up. Silly boy. He looked so uncomfortable though in his life jacket. It was always up around his head and neck so he could barely reach his fingers to get them in his mouth. He was a pretty happy baby the whole time we were out though. After being on the water for three hours, we packed up and headed to town for some dinner. It was just a great family weekend.

And wouldn't you know that I forgot my camera for everything except the visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa! I can't believe I don't have pictures of their first time on the boat! I sure hope we can go out again some time this summer. I will definitely have my camera with me next time!

Today we've been home all day. We did some chores, we ran some errands and we generally just hung out as a family. Those are good days too.