Wolter Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with G&G Wolter, Uncle Keith, Aunt Leslie, and Brooke on Christmas Eve.  The kids were of course spoiled too much!  The highlights were muck boots for Bradley, pampered chef stuff for Kimberly, Taylor Swift calendar for Lauren, and a hand made work bench for Blake.  Grandpa put many hours into his work bench and it turned our fabulous.  It was truly a labor of love! 

After Christmas eve service we took some official Christmas pictures of everyone dressed up.  Then enjoyed eating delicious food and then off to bed for Santa's arrival.  I had to laugh at Lauren because on our drive home (the whole 3 miles) she said she was just so tired she had to go straight to bed.  She didn't even bother to leave out cookies and milk for Santa!  Good thing her mom took care of that for her! 

Gingerbread House

Our first experience with making a Gingerbread house!  The kids had so much fun.  Notice our version compared to the professionally made one that was sent to us as a Christmas gift!

A Very Buggy Christmas

Lauren's school Christmas concert was a bug theme this year.  It was so good!  It was very obvious how much time and effort the music director and the kids had put in the production.  Lauren was a bee and did a great job of singing! 

Voss Christmas

Breakfast with Santa

This year we tried something new and had breakfast with Santa with kids.  Bradley was out of town so the kids and I went with the Gaines' family.  We went to Eckerts and had a great time.  The kids got to spend a lot of one on one time with Santa telling him their wishes.  Then they got to decorate sugar cookies and have their hands or faces painted.  The meal was awesome too!  I think this may become a new tradition for us! 

Christmas Cookies

One of our Christmas traditions is to make sugar cookies.  This is always a big project that I could not do without the patience of my mother in law.  The kids and her cut them all out, while I work on decorating.  Lauren is the chief sprinkle applicator and Blake is the chief icing tester.....

Blake's Christmas Concert

 

Blake's first Christmas concert was so cute.  He was in tears when I dropped him off because he was nervous.  However by the time it came to perform he did really good.  I had to chuckle because when the boys walked to the front of the church all of them had their shirts untucked.  Of course that was not the way I left him!  I think they all were playing too hard before the concert to keep their shirts tucked in.  Blake did a great job! 

Polar Express

We celebrated Thanksgiving but as usual I have no pictures of it.  Maybe because pictures of people stuffing themselves to complete misery do not make good pictures!  Well that's my excuse.....  Anyways, Thanksgiving came and went.  We are very thankful for the many blessings we have, more than I can ever count or express gratitude for. 

The highlight of Thanksgiving weekend for us was riding the Polar Express.  We had to purchase the tickets back in June!  The kids got geared up in the pjs and we boarded the train in Monticello.  It was so much fun and really got us excited for Christmas! 

Needless to say, the movie was played more times than I can count this Christmas season. 

Outstanding Young Alumni

Bradley was honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the College of ACES at the U of I.  He was honored at a reception and ceremony on November 18th.  Bradley's parents attended with us and it was a great event.  The next day we attended the ACES tailgate where he was recognized again as an award winner.  Aaron, Brekin and the kids joined us for the tailgate and game following. 

It was really nice to see Bradley be recognized for his accomplishments and to spend the weekend at our alma mater.  The only thing that would have made it better was an Illini victory!



Reunion

Last Wednesday, a few of my pledge class sisters and I got together at Bethany's house.  Leann, my first college roommate at 4H House was home from Michigan for Thanksgiving and had her new baby Izzy with her.  Since it had been several years since we had gotten together and four kids added to the mix!  It was great fun to catch up with Leah, Leann, and Bethany.  It really makes me appreciate the wonderful friends I made in college and the special bond we all still share.  Blake loved playing with Leah's little boy Austin and has talked about him everyday since!

Santa Pictures

We took our Santa pictures a couple weeks ago.  Lauren is a pro by now at sitting on Santa's lap and giving him her wishes.  Blake took a bit to warm up and never did crack a smile but it was a huge improvement from last year.  He did have a meltdown however when Santa did not give him his sand digger.  He couldn't figure out why he did get what he asked for.  After a candy cane, he calmed down and I think finally realized he has to wait until Christmas.  We'll have a couple more encounters with Santa before Christmas gets here so we'll see how things go. 

The Zoo

Lauren had Veteren's Day off school so we took advantage of the fabulous weather and headed to the zoo.  We met my friend Julie there and her two kids.  The kids loved it! 

We are thankful....

In celebration of Thanksgiving, I've had Lauren write each day what she is thankful for.  We've been adding a feather each day to our turkey and it's starting to look better every day.  I've been proud of her for what she's come up with so far. 

Farmers
Food
Home
Bugs  (seriously???)
Jesus
Mommy
Daddy
Sadie
Aunts
Uncles
Grandma
Grandpa
Water

And here is what Blake told me everyday I asked him what he was thankful for:
Grandpa

I pledge allegiance....

I walked into Blake's room the other night and caught him saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  I was in shock because I didn't know that he knew it!  I guess he is learning stuff at school!  What amazed me even more was that he was triggered to sing it because he had picked up Lauren's book Duck for President that is decorated with stars on the cover and is red, white, and blue.  He put together the stars and colors and decided he need to say his pledge! 

Girls Day

The girls at Pottery Hollow

Lauren and I had a fun girls day on Saturday.  We met her friends and painted pottery at Pottery Hollow and then headed to the mall.  Lauren had earned a trip to Build a Bear for her good report card, no cavities at the dentist appt. last week, and being very helpful with Blake potty training.  She picked out a bunny named Anna and is so proud of it!

I think we have it now!!!! (knock on wood)

Last week was a milestone week for Blake.  He finally agreed to being potty trained!!!!  Monday and Tuesday were rough but by Wednesday he had it figured out.  He did great the rest of the week only having one accident in five days! I'm so proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween Parade

We took the kids to the childrens Halloween parade in Breese on Sunday.  The kids had lots of fun walking down the streets and then enjoyed getting some goodies at the park.  They also competed in the costume contest and both came home winners!  Blake won 2nd place for his tractor costume in the 2-3 age category and Lauren got 2nd place for her 50s waitress costume in the 4-6 category.  They both have really enjoyed Halloween this year and dressing up! 

Final Soccer Game

Lauren wrapped up her soccer season on Saturday morning.  She made a lot of improvement this season and I was very proud of her.  Her team did really well this year! 

Trick or Treating 2011

Halloween was lots of fun this year and of course very busy as usual!  We trick or treated on Friday night in Albers since that's where we used to live and G & G Wolter live there still. 

Lauren dressed up as a 50s waitress which was an easy costume to make thanks to assistance from Grandma Marcia with the sewing parts!  Her outfit turned out really cute and she was super excited to wear it. 

Blake dressed up as a tractor and was really into it this year.  He loved his working lights and was quite happy to declare to everyone he was a proud farmer! 

A Rough Couple Weeks

Poor Blake had a rough couple weeks with illness.  Two weeks ago he had been getting sick during the night but was fine during the day.  I dismissed it as a weird viruses since he never had a high fever and was fine during the day.  Then on Sunday he told me his throat hurt.  Then I knew, we were in trouble.  So I got him in the doctor right away on Monday and confirmed he had strep throat.  We started him on antibiotic and by Tuesday he was doing great.  Bradley and I left for Quebec Thursday with the kids in the careful care of their grandparents.  On Saturday while in Quebec, I got a call that Blake had a 105 fever, the highest it had been all day and with motrin in his system.  So I called our Doc who requested Blake go to the ER to see what was up.  F & V took him and after a 4.5 hour wait finally got a diagnosis that the strep was not responding and to switch antibiotics.  On Sunday when I got home he still wasn't better.  Monday we headed back to the doctor and decided he needed the dreaded shot.  Finally he got some relief! Within a couple hours Blake was back to normal!  Yeah!  

Then on Thursday night Blake had an accident with the counter in his bathroom.  He was throwing a tantrum jumping up and down and hit the corner of his eye on the counter.  He cut it just enough that I thought we better get it checked out.  So back to the ER we went, Blake's second trip in 5 days!  Lucky for us, we only had a 10 minute stay this time with the doc deciding he did not need stitches or glue that it would heal on its own. A nasty black eye has resulted but it too will pass. 

Hopefully the saying "things happen in threes" will not happen to us this time around!

Quebec City, Canada

Bradley and I had a weekend getaway to Quebec City last weekend.  He does some genetic business with a company up there and had a meeting on Friday.  So he invited me to tag along and then we stayed for the weekend.  The city is beautiful and so much better than I expected it to be! 

While he attended his meeting on Friday I explored with my friend Carrie who's husband was at the same meeting as Bradley.  When the guys returned we went to a great dinner at a French restaurant.  Then on Saturday we did more exploring of the quaint city taking in a ferry ride, exploring the castle, viewing the battle fields, and of course shopping.  The food was great, wine was good, and friends we were with, made for a wonderful weekend! 

Although I loved getting away, I loved even more coming home to these guys! 

 

Our Little Orphans

Our neighbor's momma cat got hit by a car so we ended up taking the three orphan kittens.  After a week or milk replacer and a visit to the vet they are doing great! Our dog Sadie has taken to mothering the kittens as well giving them baths and cleaning up after them. 

Now three weeks later, they are doing great and are on soft food making my life easier.  They are all using the litter box now too which is wonderful!  It's so much fun to see the kids play with them and love them.  They have grown so much in three weeks! 

 

 

Eckerts Fun Farm

Since Lauren had Monday off from school we went to Eckerts Millstadt Fun Farm.  It was a perfect day, great weather and hardly any crowd at all, a big surprise to me.  We went with Kaylee, Hannah, and Selena which made it an even better day!  The kids all had so much fun!

Lauren picked the winning pig in the pig race so she won a pooping pig key chain.  Which resulted in us buying three more so all the kiddos could have it.  I never new how much fun kids could have with a pooping pig!  Her daddy was so proud....  I asked Lauren her favorite part of the day and she proclaimed apple picking.  The goldrush apples we picked are heavenly! 

Blake told me his favorite part of the day was watching the pumpkin lobber which is a cannon like thing that shoots pumpkins really far and hten splatters them in a million pieces.  I have to admit, I like to watch it too! 

Overall, a great way to spend a fall day! 

Blake's 3 Year Check-up

Blake had his three year check up this week.  Summary of the docs comments, "he's going to be a big boy!"

Weight 39 lbs  97th percentile
Height 39 3/4 inches 95th percentile

I took him for new shoes today, they are big too!  A size 10 1/2 extra wide at age 3! 

Farming wore him out.....

Fall Harvest

One of my favorite things about fall is spending time at my parents house enjoying harvest.  We were there last weekend and enjoyed awesome weather.  Blake spent the entire day Saturday and half the day Sunday between the TJ and grain cart, semi, and combine.  Lauren got to spend quality time with her cousins and Grandma Marcia.  I can't wait to go back in a few weekends!

Soccer Season

Soccer season is in full swing!  Lauren is doing much better this season than last being more agressive and getting to the ball more.  Its still fun to watch young kids play as they don't understand field spacing at all.  It's just a heard of kids going after the ball.  

Reagle Eagle

On the 17th, our school sponsored a 5K and 1mile walk/run contest.  Lauren, Grandma Vernitta and I participated in it.  I tried to get Lauren to practice running a few weeks before this so she was prepared.  Well, she refused.  Then the day of she said, "mom, we should have been practicing for this!"  What a novel idea dear daughter!  So the race started and Lauren took off and a great surprise to me she didn't stop running! She ran the whole mile!  I was very proud of her and had to chuckle when she said her heart was pounding in her chest.  Great job Lauren!  

Blake is 3!

Blake turned three on September 10th.  We celebrated with a party for Blake and Delaney on the 11th.  A tractor theme for Blake (he couldn't decide between a Ford tractor cake or John Deere tractor cake so Grandma M made both!)  and a Super Why theme for Delaney. 

Blake's main concern the few days leading up to his party was whether or not I was going to make him take his shirt off to eat his cake.  I reassured him that was only when he turned one and he was entitled to eat a whole cake with his hands, now he only gets a piece and eats with a fork.  He also didn't want us to sing Happy Birthday to him, only Delaney.  As you might have guessed, when the time came to sing, he was quite happy to have him sing to him also!  He got lots of very nice gifts from his family which he is happily showing in the picture below. 

September 7, 2002

 

Bradley and I celebrated nine years of marriage on the 7th.  The time has flown by and gotten better everyday! 

Farm Progress Show 2011

Bradley and I took Blake to the Farm Progress Show on Tuesday this week.  Since we had taken Lauren to the Taylor Swift concert we thought it would be great to take him to something that he loved and have some quality time with mom and dad.  Needless to say, it was a good choice.  He loved the show and especially the field demonstrations.  He climbed on lots of equipment, shopped for new toys and just had a great time.  My mom, dad, and brothers were there too so it was great!  Bradley and I also enjoyed catching up with old college friends.  Notice the picture of Blake with his new Magnum tractor, he was so excited! 

Ozark Weekend

We went to the Ozarks last weekend to have some fun at Bradley's bosses house.  They recently put in a three level infinity pool complete with an inground water slide at their home.  The kids had a blast!  They must have gone down the slide a 100 times.  We also went out on their boat and jet skis.  Unfortunately the kids were not a fan of the jet skis because the water was really rough.  It was a great final hurrah of the summer and possibly the last swimming we'll get to do. 

Blake's 1st Day of Preschool

Blake started preschool on August 23rd.  He is attending Rainbox Preschool two mornings a week for a total of six hours.  He was so excited to have a big boy backpack in John Deere colors.  When we arrived at school, we discovered there is another Blake in his class and he has the same back pack.  How ironic! 

Although he is younger than I started Lauren in preschool, I decided to start him so he could get some socialization skills.  Although he has cried every day that he has gone, it is getting better.  He says he likes school, he just doesn't like me to leave him. 

Fence Building

We recently put in a vinyl fence in our backyard to divide between our yard and the cattle pasture.  It was a very difficult process due to the drought we've had making the ground like concrete.  Bradley and his dad worked so hard!  The kids got in on the action some and helped move posts and rails. 

Nanny McPhee

Take a look at that dangling front tooth!  She looks like Nanny McPhee!  Since I'm behind on blogging, I'm happy to report she finally lost this tooth the next day!  Now she has four teeth missing in the front and has lost a total of six teeth. 

Thresherman's Show and Tractor Pull

This year was the first in the last five that I have not had to help the youth group from our church with their food stand at the Balloon Festival.  So we went as a FAMILY to the thresherman's show in Pinckneyville.  It is a tractor paradise for Blake who had lots of fun sitting on various tractors and shopping for toy tractors.  Then we went to the tractor pull.  While everyone enjoyed it, Lauren really surprised me with how much she enjoyed it.  She must get that from Grandma Vernitta who also loves tractor pulls. 

Lauren's 1st Day of 1st Grade

Lauren started school on August 18th.  Although she was not excited about going back to school beforehand, it all changed after we went to open house on the 17th.  After she saw her friends, met her teachers (she has a sub for the first 6 weeks while Mrs. Lampe is on maternity leave) and saw her classroom she was excited again.  What a difference a year makes because there were no tears for mom this year as she boarded the bus. 

Illinois State Fair

The kids and I went to the IL State Fair on August 16th.  We watched the Angus open show where our friends were showing their heifers.  My parents met us there which was really nice.  The kids had lots of fun seeing the butter cow, playing games in the dairy exhibit, milking a cow,exploring the farm exhibit, climbing the rock wall in conservation world, riding bikes in the kids zone, and seeing the antique tractors on display, just to name a few.  Grandma Marcia taught Lauren the art of getting freebies at the various exhibits which Lauren thought was great.  She brought lots of new treasures home :) 

Taylor Swift

August 13th couldn't come fast enough for Lauren.  We had purchased tickets for the Taylor Swift concert back in March and she was so excited.  The day of she took time to make a poster declaring her love for Taylor.  Unfortunately our seats were so high up that there was no way for Taylor to see her poster which disappointed Lauren.  Nonetheless, we had an amazing time!  Bradley and I both agree it was the best concert we've ever been to.  It was very theatrical and high energy.  Taylor is very sincere in her appreciation of her fans and honestly very humbled by the attention she gets.  It was really a great night!  I've included a small clip of the concert of Lauren's current favorite song of Taylor's Haunted. 

Six Flags

We went to Six Flags in August with Lauren's friend Kaylee and her mom Selena.  The girls had earned free tickets for reading at school.  The kids all had a great time riding the rides.  Lauren's favorite was the log flume (she must get that from me)!