September updates.

So much has happened in the month of September. Addison turned 4! I took her for her 4 year appointment and found out she gained 6 lbs in the past year!!! She now weighs 34.5 lbs (50th percentile) and is 40.25 inches tall (60th percentile). She has grown so much!

On labor day we took the kids to a park, had a picnic and then went on a hike (a kid friendly hike that is). Here are the kids with their walking sticks!

And I actually got a decent picture of me and Bob!


Another big thing that happened this month is that Addison finally wrote her name for the first time by herself. It has been a battle since she basically had no interest but she finally gave in and is now thrilled that she can do it!

On to more big things....Addison started preschool. She did go to school last year but it was not technically preschool...it was just an introduction to school really and just one day a week. Addison is kind of unlucky that she has a birthday right after the July 31st cut off date. It seems like we had been waiting forever for her to finally start school. She goes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:15-11:45. She loves it so far. I have been enjoying some one-on-one time with Lucas and taking one kid to the grocery store is amazing! She also started dance class again and hopefully we will have more success with it this year (last year was kind of a bust).

Some big things for Bob too....he completed his first triathlon (800m swim, 15 mile bike, 4 mile run). He trained very hard for 7 weeks and did so well. He finished in 1 hour and 42 minutes which is a very respectful time especially since it was his first one. He also got a new road bike (he got it used off of ebay) and is very happy to have it.

Getting ready for the swim.

He is out there somewhere.

Done with his swim (his least favorite part).

Done with the bike.

The finish line!!!

He did it...and I think he is going to want to do it a lot more!

The other day I took advantage of a nice day and took the kids to the zoo. Here is Lucas....the kid is obsessed with jumping off everything.

Loving the children's zoo.

This was great...we loved watching the baby elephants play in the water!

I just love when they hold hands!

Posing by the penguins.

This past weekend we went to the Forest Park hot air balloon race.

Lucas was checking out the balloons with daddy's help.

And the last update of the month....Bob now completed his first biathlon (5 mile run/22 mile bike). The kids came along and cheered on Bob as he crossed the finish line in 79th place out of 215...not too bad!!! Next up we are both running a 5K, 10K and the big race....our first half marathon on November 1st!!!

Congrats Bob....Addison always says that Daddy never gives up!

"Pretend" Pajama Party!

Addison is almost 4 years old!!! We had her birthday party on Saturday and this time we had a pretend pajama party and I think it was a hit. All the kids came in their pj's and brought their sleeping bags. We ordered pizza and popped popcorn.

Singing to Addison

Making a wish

She loved that her lips were turning pink.

Mackenzie and Tommy


This was great...Papa was feeding Lucas and then he didn't make a big mess.

Their cousins enjoying their cupcakes.

It is funny how the kids always get the seats at the table and the adults stand.

For favors I got the kids some flashlights (and some candy).

Presents!!!

She doesn't need help anymore.

Lucas really loves his sleeping bag that nana got him.

Most of them actually laid down in their sleeping bags and watched a movie (the popcorn helped too).

Lucas didn't even care that it was a Barbie movie.

The birthday girl enjoying the evening.

Professional pictures.

My AMAZING friend Becky took some last minute pictures for me a few weekends ago while she was in town. Becky is my professional photographer (even though she only does it on the side). I hope to never have to take the kids to a studio again....Becky is so talented.

Summer trip to the Ozarks.

We took our annual trip to the lake of the ozarks and had a great time as usual. We spent 4 nights and the weather was pretty great...finally warm enough to swim. We went on a ton of rides, had a great time tubing, had fun at a small beach and the kids really enjoyed watching Bob water ski. It was great to get away like that. Thanks to Bob's parents...it is so nice to have a place to vacation!

Our lake family picture....we take a picture like this every year.

Loving the boat ride on the "giant lake."

Bob water skiing. It is amazing how good he is for not getting a chance to ski much.

The really loved watching him.

Me and Addison relaxing on the boat.

Lucas and Addison both napped about 90 minutes one day on the boat. It was GREAT. I was able to just get in the water and relax on a raft. It was nice.

And here are just 2 cute new pictures of the kids at home one day......

Random summer updates!

It's been awhile since I updated and that is because we have been enjoying the summer (and cool weather) and have just been really busy. Not a whole lot is new. Bob is busy at work, work is going just fine for me. Bob is training for his first triathlon and I am NOT going to join him. I do plan on running a 10K in October though. We have been busy with lots of bbq's, birthday parties, going to playgrounds, getting together with friends for playdates and going to the lake whenever we get a chance. Here are some highlights from the last few weeks......

Our friends Tre and Julie came down to my parents lake one day with us in July. Here are the 4 kids enjoying the boat.

Addison and Mackenzie (best friends).

Our new found love this summer is the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I never realized what an amazing children's garden it has and how affordable it is to visit. We have gone twice so far this summer and plan on going back as soon as next weekend.

Here are just a few pictures of the kids (along with Avery) enjoying the children's garden.

In jail!!!

The 3 cousins.

My favorite of the kids by the fountain.

Here are the kids at our niece's 5th birthday party on Saturday.

Molly...the Birthday Girl!

Lastly, here is a picture from the kids tonight before bed.

4th of July

Our 4th of July was pretty good this year. It would have been better if we didn't get any rain though! We started off our weekend by going down to my parents lake house on Friday. We had a great time going out on the boat, swimming and going tubing. We woke up to rain on Saturday and instead of staying for the day, we headed back home.

Going back home was not so bad because our cul de sac was having a party outside and the rain pretty much stopped by then. The kids loved all the fireworks that our neighbors were setting off. The also really loved staying up so late and playing outside in the dark. Lucas finally had a chance to check out the lightening bugs. The also were thrilled when the ice cream man (or what our kids call the Music Truck) came by at 9pm. They enjoyed their ice cream and then went to bed at 9:30 and then Bob and I got to spend the rest of the night outside with our neighbors.

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July weekend.......