Happy Mother's Day!

I love Mother's Day! This year, not only did I get to celebrate my own amazing momma, and be with my little sis (who is an expecting momma) but it was my 2nd Mother's Day so I got to enjoy being a momma with my beautiful daughter too. My dad took all of us out to a delicious Mother's Day brunch at the Baker Hotel in St. Charles. It was all-you-can-eat and let me tell you .. I can eat a LOT! Last year, we had Isabel's baby dedication over Mother's Day weekend and she was just a little peanut- only about 8 weeks old then. This year, she was a crazy toddler running around the restaurant with a mouth full of teeth, babling and waving to waitresses. What a difference a year makes!

             Bel made me a present this year (I think she may have had a little help from her Grandma)

She made me this beautiful stone for the garden and on the back it has her handprints!

I just love it and I love my family too. Thank you for the special day everyone. Being a mom is hard work but by far the best thing I have ever done with my life. Happy Mother's Day all!

Our Crazy Kid!

Isabel is developing quite a little personality! She loves to make people laugh (like her daddy) and plays jokes on people. Her fave thing right now is tickling our feet (or her own feet) and saying "tickle. tickle" She also likes dancing, yelling, babbling, and her newest trick? Finding mom's sports bras and wearing them around the house. (What?!) Yep-- she picks them out of the laundry pile, puts them around her neck, laughs and runs around. Don't try to take them away or she will yell and cry.....

This is quite a look! The girl has a way with accesories...

She also has discovered Lucky's "house" and takes it upon herself to try to free him. She goes to his cage - shakes it- yells and tries to drag it around.

What a sweetie- so funny! We love watching her little personality develop. I can't wait to see what other changes are in store.

Springfest 2010

More like... Winterfest! Brrr... it was cold this morning when we headed out to our church, Christ Community, at 7:30 am so I could run the 5K. I haven't run a race in a few years so I was a little nervous. I have been jogging 2 times a week for the past couple of months but I can never seem to push myself past 2 1/2 miles. But this morning I did it! I ran the whole way, no walking (which was my goal) and came in at 31 minutes and 18 seconds. I was pretty psyched. It is so much easier to stay motivated when you have a big crowd of runners with you. I prayed the whole time to distract my mind and tried not to think about how cold it was. The best part was my hubby, mom, and Bel were there to support me. I wish we could have hung around longer afterward but Bel was losing steam (and we forgot the stroller - oops)Here are some pics- enjoy!

Wishing me luck!

Stretch!

On your mark- get set- go!

I'm off!

The finish line...

My cheerleaders

Bel at the petting zoo

Time to go---- tooo chilly!!

How does your garden grow?

Just so you know- I am NOT a green thumb and I know pretty much next to nothing about gardening, but Jason and I inherited a little garden in our yard when we moved into our condo. Now last year we let it completely become overgrown with weeds (I used the excuse that I had a newborn baby) but this year we figured we better get on top of it before it got out of control. So this weekend we weeded (and weeded and weeded) and then my hubby planted and mulched. Once something actually starts to grow (fingers crossed) I will post an "after" pic. However, here are some shots from our fun outdoors. Isabel was not really into planting or playing in the dirt. She didn't want to get messy I guess. Mostly she just walked around in her dress and sat in our neighbors chair. (Reminds me of someone)

Yum.... lilacs taste good

 I think I'll just push my stroller- you two seem to have the gardening under control

Baby Brunch 2010

It is always fun to see my girlfriends but now that we have kids it is getting harder and harder to plan a time to all get together. Suprisingly, mornings are becoming the most convenient time for us to meet up. (Ugh.... moms who have kids think nothing of being somewhere to hang out by 9 am on a Saturday morning) Anyway, the special occasion this time was our dear friend Megan moving HOME from Denmark after two long years of living abroad. (Actually home is Iowa now- but she was passing through town for a day and we wanted to see her.) Megan gave birth to her second child last Spring while living away, and always had great stories on her blog about the differences between raising kids in the Denmark vs. the U.S. (I mean seriously, babies sleeping in strollers outdoors?) Anyway- it was a once in a lifetime experience for her and we are glad she is back.

We're here!

Thanks for hosting Colleen- your house is awesome and perfect for lots of kiddos!

Girls... girls... girls...

Pretty girl Anika- welcome home!

Megan and Anika

Kylie and Emelia

Playing means taking each others toys...

Jacqueline thought brunch was yummy

Kari ran the daycare...

Ava only wanted me to take a picture when she was jumping

Poor Dylan.... the lone boy in the group

This was the best we could do for a group pic. It was so fun to see my girls! Let's do it again soon.

My Sunshine

In her church clothes.... what a sweetheart.
I think my Bel is looking more and more grown up!

Happy Birthday Pop!

I love my daddy so much! I call him or text him almost every day just to say hey and check in- we have the same lame sense of humor and stubborn personality. No one can argue politics like us. When I was a teenager we used to butt heads a lot, but now I consider him one of my closest friends. He has been retired for a few years now but in that time he has lost both of his parents, dealt with a myriad of health issues and helped take care of my little one- so... so much for RELAXING and retiring. My birthday wish for him this year is to rest, relax, and spend some quality time with my mom. Happy 50 something birthday Dad- O!

What?! We are two peas in a pod. J doesn't like it when I wear the same color as him :)

Grandpa needed help opening his birthday present.

Mandy and I created this Mosaic frame... It was our first try at it. We used one of my Grandma's plates that we remember eating on every single time we went to visit my grandparents. I saved this plate when my Grandpa's house was being cleaned out with this idea in mind. I think I like how it turned out.

Mandy and Zack's wedding anniversary is the same day as my Dad's birthday- April 26th so we celebrated their 2nd year together.

Of course I wanted a pic of new niece or nephew too. He is still pretty teeny. I told my sister to feed him or her more pizza, Egg Mcmuffins, and brownies. That's what I did!

Dinner was so good and I gained at least 9 pounds. Thanks Mom! Hope you had a Happy Birthday Dad!