Cute Kiddos {LeRoy MN Children's Photographer}

Ms. HotPants & our Tough Guy - As usual, Kari did an Awesome job!!

Cute Kiddos {LeRoy MN Children's Photographer}

Swimming Lessons

Cale is in his 2nd, and final, week of swimming lessons. Today I was able to work from home and use my lunch break to catch his lesson. He absolutely LOVES it, and I was so happy I got to see it. He's quite the little fish and was overly photogenic when I brought the camera out - why doesn't he always do this great for me?! I also wish I had brought the better zoom lens! I only got pictures of him out of the water because I was too far away when he was in the pool:






I know, I know, you LOVE the orange goggles, don't you?! We had our annual photo shoot with Kari earlier this week, and he picked the goggles out as his "prize" for being good. Maren picked a giant ink pen! :) Next post will probably be a sneak peek from Kari - can't wait!!!

Butterfly Birthday Pics

I'm pretty disappointed in our photography skills, or lack there of, for Maren's birthday party, but here are a few:






We also had great intentions of getting all dolled up for the party, but nap came a little late that day so the guests started to arrive just after she got up. Oh well, she's still pretty darn cute - I might be biased though!

Since her party, she's been telling us that next year she's going to have a T-Rex Party. ROOOAAAR!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Maren!

Our baby girl is three today! Where did one and two go... and how did they sneak by so quickly? I took the day off and we celebrated with birthday muffins for breakfast and a trip to Austin for a new bike, helmet, and lunch at McDonalds. She also got a few fun presents this morning when she woke up: an outfit, nail polish, stickers, and make up brushes - just like Grandma's (No Make-up!! - She's a great pretender!) Grandma also brought over some new clothes for Bitty Baby.



~Maren loves to play make believe, especially with her babies: Clara and Bitty. She is usually the Mom, and Cale is either the Dad or Son. Ryan and I get in on the fun occasionally, too. She cooks food for us in the play kitchen.
~She also loves to color and do stickers. She colored a mothers day card for me this year - it was a beautiful bouqet of flowers in all black! :)
~She loves to be outside on her "park", swinging and going down the slide.
~She'll also get in and play ball whenever she gets the chance. She often plays catcher in baseball. If you ask her brother, she needs a little practice in soccer - she uses her hands too much! ;)
~As I write this, she's finishing up her big day with a tackle football game with Cale.
~She's like a fish in the pool. There is no fear near the water for this girl, and she'll stay in as long as we let her.
~She loves to play games: Memory and Zingo are her two favorites.
~She's a great helper and quite the little Miss Independent. We often hear: "I want to do it by myself!"
~She loves to tell stories and always starts them with: "Listen to me, guys."
~I also think she's going to be somewhat of a class clown. She loves getting a laugh out of us, and she does a great job at it.
~She was fully potty-trained at 2 1/2 and just occasionally has an accident for waiting too long - so it usually happens as she's getting on the potty! ugh! She has never had a night time accident, and that totally amazes me! Girls really ARE easier!!
~She's already mastering her skills of negotiation. Yikes!
~She loves her brother and fights with her brother frequently...she tries to copy everything that he does, and they entertain each other quite easily.
~She loves to sing, and her current favorite is: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.
~And we all love her to pieces!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! Sorry, I mean, Big Girl!



On Saturday, we'll be celebrating more by having a "Butterfly Birthday" with family.

**If you have time to go back, I've finally added pictures to Cale's birthday post!

Phil Mickelson*

We potentially have a future PGA Tour golfer in the family!

Cale sunk a 45 foot putt during his outing at the golf course with Grandpa.

Way to go, Buddy!

*I thought Phil was the better choice. ;)

Last day of Preschool

Today is Cale's last day of Preschool... Kindergarten, here he comes!!

We had a parent/teacher conference last week with Cale's Preschool teacher, Mrs. Reburn. We came away as very proud parents! Everything she said was great...and she had some wonderful keepsakes to take home for our school days scrapbook. It was so nice to hear such great things! Sometimes I worry - does he act this way at school?! Whew! The answer is no, he's pretty perfect, but really... I already knew that! ;)

So, I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon of your last day of Preschool than with your Grandpa! Grandpa Olson is going to pick Cale up, and they're going to have Grandpa's delicious scrambled eggs for lunch. Then they're headed to the golf course to hit some balls on the range, and possibly play a few holes. I'm sure there will be some football and fishing stories somewhere in there, too. Hope the guys have a great day - Can't wait to hear all about it!

**Added**
Since I missed the post about the first day of Preschool, here's the picture - So Proud of you, Cale!

Wow - look at these blondies!

Nice smile, Mar! :)

Fun!

Ryan and I made it out to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday in April. Great times with old friends!!


Tomorrow night we're going to St. Paul with a lot of Ryan's family to see Jason Aldean and Brooks & Dunn in concert. Excited for lots of fun!

Copy Cat

Last night, the kids and I were playing a friendly game of Zingo (fabulous game if you're looking for one). At one point, the competition gets heated and Cale gives Maren a little push....

Maren's reaction: "CALE! That is not necessary!!" - shouted as well as an almost 3 year-old can say, necessary. :)

Ryan and I look at each other and just laugh.

Friends

It's been awhile. Time gets away and I forget to write it down, but this one is too good. I wish I would have gotten the audio....to play back years later.

Last night, Cale was testing his limits - because he's so good at it! He ended up in his room for the night at about 6:45. Then, for the next hour and 15 minutes, we heard, "Mommy is not my friend. Daddy is my friend, and Maren is my friend but not Mommy. Naughty, naughty Mommy."

Then he made his declaration: "Mommy, I'm not going to be your friend until the 3rd Thursday!"

He apologized when it was time for bed. Kissed me goodnight and added a great hug. I'm not sure if we're friends again though! LOL! :)

Happy Birthday, Cale!

Happy 5th Birthday, Buddy!

We had a party with the Olson side of the family on the night of Cale's birthday and another kid party/Wehrenberg family party at the bowling alley on a Saturday. Cale's friends that came were: Andrew, Tanner, Ethan, Ava, Connor, and cousins Jay, Grace, and Kaden and Jenna and Kendall. The theme was Vikings! We had pizza and pop...and ice cream for dessert.

He had Preschool on his birthday and also had the sharing bag that day. He took his best buddy/stuffed tiger "KC" that we got at the Kansas City zoo a few summers ago and his Viking football helmet. He also took fruit snacks for the kids.

Here are pictures from the two birthday parties, in no particular order (Sorry, it's getting late!)

I "heart" My Publisher

I'm not a "scrapbooker". I'm way too obsessive for that - it would take me FOREVER...but I do love how they look. I tried digital scrapbooking a little bit - still too much. So, I searched for the perfect photobook, and that's when I found My Publisher. I've been working on these books since summer, so I'm still working on that obsessive piece (and finding time!), but it was so easy and I'm relieved that we'll finally have some photos in print and organized!

Here are the books I made - Click on the images to view:

The obsession - attempting to recruit.

I received this e-mail from Vanessa (daycare) the other morning:

Cale to Ethan: "Do you want to know what teams I have helmets for?"

Ethan: "Sure."

Cale: "I have....... and, do you know what team I don't have? The Fighting Irish. They are the Fighting Irish, Ethan. Do you know the Fighting Irish?"

Watch out, Vanessa, he's going to try to get that farm boy addicted, too!

Our Football Star

I believe Cale was the Jacksonville Jaguars in this scene:

Of course, they won by 100 touchdowns!

Back on Campus

Inaugural game at TCF Bank Stadium

MN Golden Gophers 20
Air Force 13

The game was great - the atmosphere was Incredible!

Our boy is obsessed....

with FOOTBALL!

When he woke up this morning, he said:
Mom, 2 more days until...."Waitin' all day for Sunday night!"

He's been waiting patiently for his favorite song to come back on TV:


His next favorite song: The Star Spangled Banner

He learned all of the NFL teams from his football card collection and those darn helmets! Yes, our weak hearts caved for the sweet boy that "just wanted to learn all of the teams!"

He's spent countless HOURS looking at his football cards, and showing us his football cards, and asking us questions about his football cards, and asking to see Daddy's old football cards. He loves football, and we love him -- and I can't wait to show him this blog -- I can see him singing and dancing now! Any guesses to how many times we're going to watch that video?!

SuMmEr VaCaTiOn 2009!

We found a deal for a 3 night stay up North, at Chase on the Lake, that we couldn't pass up. One word: AWESOME!

First, we stopped at the MN Zoo with some old friends. Thanks for the fun, Stockdales & Charpentiers!

We arrived at our condotel on Sunday. The accomodations were well above our expectations, and this was the amazing view from our balcony.

While we were there, we enjoyed a morning out on the boat - although it was a bit chilly!

a lot of fishing - Ryan was a bit disappointed with the size, but we did catch quite a bit! Leech Lake is the 3rd largest lake in MN, so it's not real easy to go out on a boat and search for the best fishing spots.....without the fear of getting lost! We stuck pretty close to what we knew, and actually, Ryan's biggest catch was off the docks by the resort - of course, I didn't get a picture of that! Cale's favorite things were casting and throwing the fish back, but nothing is better than checking out Dad's tackle box - he could look in there for hours! I was constantly saying, be careful - those are SHARP!

In this picture, Cale is using Maren's Barbie fishing pole because he could cast that better. Towards the end of the trip, he was casting like a pro with his big SUPERman pole!

The kids had a blast on the beach...

...especially Maren - we made sure she wore her swimming suit after this!

We also enjoyed the indoor pool (the water was so warm!), city park & shops in Walker, and all of the beautiful scenery and wildlife. I especially enjoyed watching and listening to the Loons - a rare experience for this SE Minnesota girl! We hope we're lucky enough to return to Chase on the Lake next year -- and stay for a week!!

It only took 3 years to convince Ryan...,

but we finally have a play set. Cale is at the fair with Vanessa's Daycare, and Maren has been hanging with her Grammies all day. We're going to have some fun tonight!

July

That went fast!!

We had a lot of busy weekends in July - two golf tournaments each and an overnight in Eau Claire for Country Jam. This last weekend was nice and relaxing, minus the epic meltdown Cale displayed in Dick's Sporting Goods on Saturday - over mini NFL football helmets. At least we have an idea for a birthday gift!

I don't have a lot to write, so here are a few recent quotes:

Cale: "I have a lot of good ideas."

Cale: "Halle Berry Ranch?"
Me: "Say, H-i-d-d-e-n."
Cale: "Hidden."
Me: "V-a-l-l-e-y."
Cale: "Valley."
Me: "Ranch."
Cale: "Ranch."
Me: "Hidden Valley Ranch."
Cale: "Hidden Berry Vranch?"
(Giggles ensue.)

Maren: (In the Restroom at Dick's Sporting Goods.) "Mommy, me wipe you?"
Me: "No Thanks, Maren. Mommy will wipe."

August looks pretty clean so far. We're going to attend a Gopher scrimmage at the new stadium on the 22nd and we're planning a mini vacation in the cities during August 28-30. Then, football season will be sneaking upon us.

It's the simple things...

Yesterday I came home with a couple bags of new fall clothes for the kiddies. They are their mother's children - they love new clothes!

So, Cale is digging through the bag on our way home from daycare. First he pulls out the dinosaur sweatshirts - sooo cool. Then, he finds the underwear.... Dinosaur and Baseball underwear!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I heard for the next 7 miles:

"Mom, I really like these underwear."
"This underwear is so cool."
"I have dinosaur underwear."
"Maren, look at my underwear. Aren't they cool?"
"Maren, Maren, Maren." She finally decides to listen, "Do you like my new underwear?"
"Can I wear these to Vanessa's tomorrow?"
"These baseball underwear are so cool."
"Mom, can I get more underwear like this?"
"I'm going to tell Andrew about my dinosaur underwear."
"I really like these, Mom."
"Thank you, Mom. I like my new underwear."

...then we arrived home. Cale walked in the door, dropped trou, and tried on his new dinosaur and baseball underwear -- fit like a glove! We promptly threw them in the washing machine so he could wear his new underwear to Vanessa's today.

Summer Photo Shoot 2009 - added commentary

We went back to Photography by Kari since she did such an awesome job last year! Here are the sneak peaks from her blog:

I added bit of commentary so you can really appreciate the experience along with us...

This picture is so sweet! Yeah? They're fighting. Cale is attempting to open the gate and Maren is pulling back and yelling, "Caaale, NO, Caaaale! No open Gate! NO!"
It would be interesting to see their faces - probably not as sweet!

This picture - well, this one is sweet.

This is our blood, sweat, and tears picture. After Cale catches Maren, Maren trips, Cale follows and nails his two front teeth on Maren's head! Instant tears. Maren's are quickly quieted with the offer of another fruit snack. Cale didn't get off so easily. His gums were bleeding and it hurt to chew - in fact it hurt all day. We had just started adding Cale into the pictures, and I had worries that he would be done. Luckily he pulled it back together, with minimal complaining, and Kari continued to work her magic.

His comment: "I look mad in that picture."
My thought: You're growing up too fast!

Evidence of my attempt at bribery: fruit snack in Maren's hand. She'd take a picture with her "cheese" smile and come back for another.. and another.. and another! I ran out of fruit snacks long before the shoot was over.

Thank you, Kari! And thank you, Paul and Pat, for letting us use your landscape for our pictures!!