Sleeping Bear Dunes

Camping at Hoffmaster

New things:

New way for Calli to roll.... New way for daddy to get work done...

New animal hanging around our house....

everyone at our house likes the new kitty-cat that starting hanging out here on Mon, EXCEPT the old grumpy man Ernie (our old cat). We do not know where the kitty came from or anything but if it leaves I am sure Calli will cry! She loves to pick it up and rock it like a baby and tell us "ssshhh..bbby kikky-cat is seepppin " (SHhh baby kitty cat is sleeping)

Zoo

The girl won't touch animals at the fair but look who wanted to pet the Sting Rays!!

She absolutley loves fish, this is how she looks when we look at the fish at Meijer too!

Playing in the rain (and in the pool in the rain)

I only dance in front of my kids and now you see why:

Passed out in her big girl bed

These are our friends Becca and Adam's boys. Landon is 4 months younger than Calli and Tate Jackson is 4 months younger than Andi. And for those of you that don't know remember who Becca is, she is my friend who has BIG boys, both of them were 10.5 lbs at birth!!

Our Summer

You can see why Granpda Rottier is a favorite: Cotton candy for everyone even 3.5month old

just pictures

daddy's version of healthy breakfast! Miranda's Park Party with Ginacs, Aunt Annie and Sutherlins

3 years and 2 kids later

It is our 3rd anniversary today. I am a pretty goal-orientated or need to have a plan kinda person, and looking back over the last few years---WE PLANNED NONE OF IT. We love our lives so much right now it is hard to even think about how we had our lives planned.

Our plan was:

I would go to grad school the fall following my bach. degree, and then work for a few years before having kids. Then I would enjoy staying home with the kids and go back to work after our 2 boys were in kindregarten. Yes boys, we thought we would be better parents to 2 boys because we are pretty athletic-natured and neither of us are good at the whole girly-girl thing.

God's Plan:

MArried, then 3.5 months later, 2 days prior to me turning in my application for grad school I took a pregnancy test at the urging of my husband and found out we were pregnant. SHOCK and our plan became obsolete!!! Now we have 2 beautiful GIRLS!!

We absolutley have relied on God our entire marriage and let Him lead us. His plan has worked out sooo much better than our plan could have. We are so incredibly happy and grateful that we have our girls. They both seem to like us too!

My husband has been such a great husband and I want to take a moment to publicly recognize him and how much I appreciate all he does.

HE IS :

FAITHFUL- first of all to God. Even on the Sundays that it is his only day to sleep in, and I am almost begging him to just stay home and enjoy a morning as a family but he gets up and gets ready for church. He then persuades me to get up by starting a pot of coffee-even though he hates the smell. He is also so good at remembering to pray and do devotionals with both girls before bed and at meals (something I sometimes forget in the hecticness of the day and nighttime routines).

He is also faithful to his family. He seems to not feel "held back" by his family. He also comes home after work, calls from work just to see how our day is going, and plans on spending his weekends with us. I also do admire that we (his family) were his top reason for not applying for a fulltime high school wrestling coach position this year, I told him he should apply if it was what he felt God wanted him to do and I know it has been a lifetime dream of his. He prayed about it and was conflicted about it but in the end decided not too. (These may seem like small things but I hear about awful things from people about what their husbands choose to do instead of being with their family)

DISCIPLINED- He always goes to work- Year Round! I complain about having to get up 3 days in a row, and he teaches in the school year and goes to work at 6 days a week at 6 am in the summer when most teachers get time off. I try to persuade him to take days of during the summer just to rest and stay home but he doesn't. He jokes that I make him work but in order to pay for his tuition one of us has to work fulltime in the summers and he lets me stay home and hang out with the kids.

A GREAT DAD- he is always ready to play with the kids. He is so good at relating to Calli and playing with her. He understands her language which is a huge help! He is also great with Andi. He rarely complains about either kid for any reason. He doesn't mind changing diapers, giving Andi a bottle, or feeding Calli. Lets be honest there is nothing better than seeing a dad talk to his baby in a baby voice and watch the baby smile and giggle back.

He also is a great help around the house, he does dishes so much faster than I do, he does the laundry most weeks (and I fold it), he helps pick up the house, he seems to almost always suprise me when I work a 2nd shift and clean the house after the kids go to bed. I don't know how he does it. Also he never ever complains about how trashed the house is when he gets home from work. He seems to understand that having 2 under 2 is not exactly easy during the hours of 8-4. Their naps don't even line up yet!

There were a couple days earlier this year when I was working 1st shift and he stayed home with the girls. I got home from work and he was like "i completly understand why you can't get anything done--there is no downtime!" I think it takes a real man to admit that a stay-at-home mom works very hard! I really don't even know how fulltime stay at home moms do it. I pick up shifts at work to not only get a little money but because I need a break from the repeative pickup/cleaning/diaper changing/Sesame Street watching/ non-intstantly rewarding work. I know staying at home with the kids is VERY important and rewarding in the long run and i wouldn't trade it for anything but...it is a lot more work and it doesn't pay very well :)

OK well in conclusion: I LOVE YOU DAN! and the girls and I appreciate all you do for us!

Calli is in a big girl bed!!

In the begining if July we decided Calli was close enough to 2yrs old which we wanted before making the switch. Now Calli is in my old twin bed with a new mattress (which got a new paint job by our friend Chris). She seems to love it. We only had a 2 days of no napping because of the switch. She reads a few books, sometimes gets out of bed to get more off the shelf, and if she is feeling really awake she plays with her shoes, and after at most a 1/2 hour we find her asleep in her bed. Dan has found her asleep UNDER her bed one time. We think it is a little annoying and a little funny how she puts her self to sleep in that process. Since moving to a big girl bed she has had a much easier time sleeping at other peoples homes. Alright I think that is it...

Updates finally...

I feel like the first few weeks of summer were summerish (relaxing, warm, full of good times), and the last few weeks (the entire month of July) have been crazy!!! I have been working a ton (fulltime plus overtime), we went camping for a couple days, Dan took a masters class on Tues and Thurs nights and Dan has been working fulltime! Our kids have loved spending time with all the different babysitters (Aunt Annie, Booshie, Amy Ginac, and Aunt Holly). A big thanks too all those who have helped us out, apparently summertime is a time that I have to work a lot being an "on-call" employee.

Anyway...

The girls are fabulous!! They get along great, they sleep through eachother screaming, they both laugh at eachother...it is such a cool thing to watch. Calli is turning from a 'young toddler' into a full blown kid in front of our eyes!! Her vocabulary grows all the time, she constantly asks "what's that, who's that, etc." She is also testing her boundaries everyday, but that is just a stage right??

Andi or Chumbawumba as we call her... is also doing great! For her 4month appointment she weighed 15lbs 4oz (80%), 25in long (75%), her head was 15.75in (30%). SHe is really not as bog as her name lets on, but the name just fits her. She is still about the same size bigger than her sis. She is rolling over, blowing bubbles, drooling, grabbing things, puts her binkie in her mouth and pulls it out.

Alright well i guess that is it. Thanks Aunt Holly for the pic updates.