The Great Minnesota Winter

Time is flying and winter is will under way. I was definately ready for the snow but the cold weather stinks. Ben hates to get into his carseat with his coat on and it's too cold old to not put it on - even to just run into daycare.

Well the day finally came that Jake and Curt got to put the snow plow on the pickup. We bought a new 2nd hand pickup the first week of November so we wouldn't have to put the plow on our good truck. Well we've had nothing but trouble with the truck since. I think it has been back in Cokato more than in our garage. It's getting more than frustrating. The last time we got it back Curt put the plow on anyway. Jake was thrilled! He's been waiting since the end of the last snow season (that's when we bought the plow) to start plowing snow. I answered the question, "When will it snow?" many times throughout the summer.

Ben is as busy as ever. He's trying to take more. Other than Mama and Dada, most of his words aren't clear yet. We can tell what he's trying to say, but a little creativity is needed. He's trying dog, Jake, cat, Grandma, Grandpa, Papa and maybe a few others. He is really into copying Jake. It is pretty fun to watch. Jake doesn't mind either - it seems to be the times that they play together the best. Tonight he crawled in the tub with his clothes on and played for a bit, well pretty soon he was turning the water on - he thought it was the best thing ever.

Jake had preschool screening today - he did quite well. I didn't have any concerns that he couldn't do most of the skills it was more about it he WOULD DO the skills. A few he refused but overall it went great. No concerns. Since fall he's been on a "I'm never going to school" kick, I don't know why but I thought it would be a problem today. Curt was along and I think that helped, he was more willing to cooperate for him than for me.

We are very excited for Santa to come. Jake is putting it all together this year and I think it will be great fun. He asks every once in a while if I think Santa saw him do something, both good and bad. He did ask the other day how he can see - he's a kid who needs concrete answers and I must say I don't think he liked, "he just can." The day that he pushed Ben down the steps (I think just to see what would happen) I reminded him that Santa knew about that. Didn't seem to matter, although he hasn't tried it again.

Ryan is coming in this Saturday and Mike on the 23rd. It is always nice to have everyone home for a few days together. Ryan's girlfriend Amanda is also going to come for a visit. We are very excited to meet her.

We enjoyed some time in the snow on Sunday before it turned brutally cold out. It was fun. Everyone got bundled up and we walk along the river to the shop. Curt and Jake took a few runs on the sled down a hill and had a blast. Jake was waiting in the sled for me and it took off on him. It was a pretty fast hill but he made it safely to the bottom and I think was kind of proud of himself. He was still talking about it at bedtime. He and I took a turn together after that and that was the end of sledding for the day. I guess I'm not as good at it! I had snow up the back of my coat, up my sleve and in my boots. It was still fun though!

I got our Christmas cards ordered - so look for one sometime around Christmas or the New Year (I didn't get them done as soon as I should have!)

Take care..

Ben and Jake helping Dad do some shoveling.

Jake has been wanting to make cut outs for at least a month. I finally found a good recipe online so we gave it a whirl on Sunday afternoon. I must say it went pretty good - even with both Ben and Jake helping.

Question of the Day

Today's question of the day, "Mom what if there is a fire and a tornado?"

Nothing like a simple question for bedtime.

Kid's Day

Every now and then we have Kid's Day at our house. Sometimes we don't do much of anything out of the ordinary, sometimes we do, but Jake always thinks it's fun. Jake has been working really hard going to sleep by himself and has been doing a great job at it, so he was granted a Kid's Day. This particular day was way more special than normal. My sister and Gabe were looking for some time out of the house so we spent the whole day in St. Cloud with them on Saturday.

We started at the library. The new library is quite nice; we read a few books, played some Legos, and visited. From there it was off to Space Aliens for lunch. Gabe had been there many times but it was Jake's first visit, and oh what a visit it was. He loved it! He loved the ceiling that looked like space, he loved the man in the Alien costume that walks around, he loved the games and thought it was awesome that he won the jackpot on one of the games - 462 tickets! I wish I would have had my camera, he was pretty excited.

After Space Aliens we went to the mall for a short visit. Amy wanted to use the family room and Gabe and Jake played in their small play area. It was great there too! We've never used it before but Jake thoroughly enjoyed himself jumping from one thing to the next. The floor is squishy so falling isn't quite so bad. I'm still trying to figure out how to construct something similar in our basement.

The last event of the day was the movie theatre. We saw the movie Bolt. It was only Jake's second movie and he really enjoyed it. It might have been a little long, but it was a pretty long day for him. He asked the whole way home when we could watch it again and actually asked last night again when the movie theatre would be open. I'd have to say it was a pretty successful Kid's Day. Jake even got out of a haircut (which I really wanted him to get) because he reminded me we were just supposed to do things he wanted to do.

Ben stayed home with Grandma Linda while we were out bumming. His news of the weekend is that he cut a molar through. He's working on quite a few new teeth and that was the first new one to show its face. He's been doing pretty well with teething, I haven't given him anything for it and he isn't too crabby out it.

Last night Curt picked up the boys from daycare while I got supper ready. I got a phone call from Melissa. She was going on and on about Jake cutting out hearts, working with the scissors, "she was only gone for a minute", I tell you, I was starting to think that he stabbed himself or someone else. Nothing nearly so serious....He cut his hair. I guess he was really proud of himself for doing it. He wanted to cut more when he got home. I don't really know what to tell him, of course I said he couldn't, but he thinks it is such an accomplishment and I can imagine that since he goes to get his haircut that he knows it is OK to cut hair. Hopefully he doesn't try it on Paige's hair (she has long blonde hair), she probably won't forgive him until they graduate from high school.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Be thankful for all the wonderful things in your life and give all your kids an extra hug.

Almost Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone.

I thought now that it is getting cold, things would slow down - haven't seen those days yet.

Birthday wishes to my little brother!

I'm heading off to get some shut eye - I'll write more another time. Here's some pics...

Jake doing what he does best - jumping. He's always jumping on the couch, off the couch, on the couch cushions, etc.











Here's Ben - first day in snowpants. He's smiling here but outside he wasn't quite as happy. He couldn't get up when he would fall over.
















Smiling - this is not always the case but he does like to show off.











This is Ben's new activity. He LOVES to wear everyone else's shoes.

My tow boys. Everyone says that Jake looks more like me and Ben more like Curt - but it sure seems like they look a lot alike to me......

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!


Happy 40th Birthday Uncle Mike!!


Halloween was great. First off the weather on Friday was awesome, what a perfect day. I spent all morning mowing and bagging our lawn. It wasn't the most fun but I got to be outside and it looked great when I was finished. The shop lawn is still waiting - I think I'll get it finished up on Sunday. Jake spent the morning in the field and Ben went to daycare.


Our Halloween night started in Albany at the hospital. Grandma was working late and we didn't want to miss seeing her. Jake went as BumbleBee the AutoBot and Ben was a bat. They both really had a good time at every place we stopped. Before we could leave we had to play for a while in the park by the hospital. It is really a nice park and both boys had a great time. From Albany we went to visit Grandpa Ken (and Jake snuck to Nathe's to get a few extra treats). From there to Grandma Linda's. That was really the end of Trick-or-Treating but we enjoyed a little Pizza Party at Poepping's after that. By the time 8pm rolled around Jake had had enough and we had to go home. He needed a little relaxing time and all was well again.


This afternoon we went to Grandpa Ken's again for a fish fry. Uncle Mike and buddy came up to go fishing and to help Dad take the dock and boat lift out in the morning. Since Mom was on call we joined the party so someone would be around for Gabe. Amy stayed home with Will. Good thing we were there because right after the boat took off, the phone was already ringing. Funny how that happens. Mom was gone the whole night - wasn't even back when we headed home. It was a lot of fun - the boys were great.



Jake waiting to get into the hospital. We went in the back door and they already had it locked for the night.




Jake, Grandma and Ben all enjoying Halloween.


At the Nurses' Station - they had all sorts of goodies for the boys.


Getting treats at Grandpa Ken's - Ben even had it figured out by then.

Meeting William

I finally got to meet William. Amy, Mike, Gabe and William came up for a weekend visit. He sure is sweet! Ben thought he was the best thing ever - he kept wanting to pet him, hit him, poke him, bring him his blanket, put his nuke in his mouth, and on and on. He would smile from ear to ear when he got close and scream and holler when we tried to keep him away. Jake held him too, I guess since he isn't his little brother, he thinks he's pretty cool.


Grandma, Amy, Gabe and William came to play on Saturday morning. Gabe wanted to see the semis and it worked out that he got to ride along for a bit. I'm not certain if he enjoyed the semi ride or if it was watching the DVD in the bunk with Jake. Either way - they both had a good time.


Ben rode along in the combine today. I think it was probably his first time. I can't imagine that we had him out there last year. He loves all of that stuff already. He sat pretty well but he'd much rather be driving. Jake loves it as well. He's been a long in the combine and the tractors a few times already this fall. He'd ride along all day if we let him. Curt keeps saying that I should go out in the field and help - my response is only if Jake can drive! I don't think I'd mind combing but digging isn't for me.


Well, the weather is turning and winter is definately on its way. I can't say that I am totally disappointed, I'm ready for a little more quiet time and a lot less running.


I booked our flights to Jamacia (a good thing to do as the weather turns cold) - we are going along with Brian and Jen for their wedding on April 2nd, 2009. It should be a blast - I'm pretty excited to get away. The last vacation that Curt and I were on was to California when Kim and Kyle got married. It will be a little long to be away from the boys but I'm sure everyone will survive.

Ben trying as hard as he can to get to Will.

Jake and William.



Our first pumking of the year - Jake just couldn't wait any longer.




Watching a movie in the sleeper.


Gabe and Jake in the semi.

Middle of October Already?

Wow - I can't believe it is half way through October already. We've been pretty busy - work has been busy for me and Curt's is full swing of Fall Craziness (even without hunting). We did enjoy a beautiful fall day at Nelson's pumpkin patch by Litchfield. We went with Pam, Amiah, Amelia, Linda, Heidi, Brent & Carly. The weather was perfect, last year it was about 85 degrees, this year it was wonderful.


Ben and Jake are doing great. We've had our first round of colds but everyone has faired through it pretty well. Ben loves being outside, begs to get out the door everyday. Jake is still learning how to tolerate his brother's presence. One minute he's trying to help Ben and the next he's pushing him out of the way, hitting him over the head or yelling at him. I can only hope that the older they get they might find a peaceful way of playing together.


Here's some pictures.



Brent, Carly & Jake



Amelia & Jake



Ben checking out the goats.



Jake coming down the big tube slide (I even gave it a try!).



Ben, Grandma Linda & Jake

Ben relaxing when Jake wasn't home.

Wrestling...

Welcome William Michael!

My sweet new beautiful nephew, William Michael, was born on October 3rd. Everyone is doing great (I guess, I haven't gotten to see them myself!!). Hopefully I'll be able to go and visit soon and I'll share some more photos. These are courtesy of Amy.

October

It has been a very long time since I updated. Lots of fun stuff has happened.

First off, I got away for a weekend with my girlfriends the second weekend of September. It was great to have some time away and to see the girls. The weather was gloomy but the company was awesome, as was the resort. We stayed at Ludlow's Resort on Lake Vermillion. I'd certainly recommend it if someone is looking for a peaceful get-away.

While I was off enjoying myself, my sister was taking care of Jake and Ben. It was the first time they have ever stayed at her house. Everyone did great. Jake had a little homesick moment but a talk on the phone with his Dad cleared it up. Dad was busy working at home and setting up Jake's new bunkbeds. He was pretty excited about them when we got home!

Everyday Ben continues to change. He's interested in a doing everything that a 3 year old might want to do. Needless to say, he's often frustrated. Jake and Ben have been finding moments of real play between them. It's a lot of effort on Jake's part and he's been doing a wonderful job.

I'm including a picture of Ben wearing his new shoes. He's never had actual shoes on his feet before and I was starting to get worried that it would be a battle. Well, he surprised me once again. He absolutely loved them. He sat patiently while I put them on and then giggled the minute he started walking in them. He must have run up and down the hallway a dozen time, stopping occassionally to check out his feet and have a little giggle.

The weekend after the boys stayed with the Evenochecks we headed back to Cambridge for Gabe's 4th Birthday party. Everyone had a great time. Jake still can't figure out why they want to live sooooo far away from us. The drive is torture for him. He thinks that they could easily build a house right next to Grandpa Ken's garage.

This picture is of Gabe opening his gift from Jake. It is R2-D2 - I guess he has taken a liking to Star Wars.
While Gabe was opening presents Grandpa Ken and Ben were bonding in the living room...

The Celebration

The big birthday bash for our 1 year old was a success! I think everyone had a nice time - Ben actually loved all the excitement. All day long he was following grandma and me around the house complaining but as soon as the festivities started, he was awesome. He really is a complainer - you should hear him sometimes. It gets to be kind of funny. I can about imagine what he'll all have to say when the words start coming out.

Friday was also dentist day for Jake. He's been to the dentist a few times but this time he had to have 2 cavities filled. He really did great. I wasn't sure how it was going to go because he was getting skiddish the closer we got to the dentist. I had to coax him in the chair but after that all went well. Of course the gas that they gave him helped out a bit! Even after the appt he was a champ - sleeping lips and cheeks and all! We went grocery shopping and birthday gift shopping for Ben. It helped that he had a stressful appt right before - it was pretty easy to convince his mother to buy him something too!

My mom was over today making homemade chili - I have so many tomatoes that we had to do something with some of them. She helped me make a huge batch so we could freeze a bunch. It turned out great. If anyone is up for canning pears - let me know. I have 50 lbs of them. I don't know what I was thinking when I ordered them!

I'm going to post a bunch of new pictures - I'm still a believer that they are more fun than words.


Grandpa Ken and Ben playing at the birthday party.


Jake helping Ben - or something like that!


Grandma Linda gave Ben a new sippy - as you can see
he liked it right away. It was his favorite.


Having a bit of cake...

Happy Birthday

Benjamin Turns 1!

Oh yes, it was a grand day. I can't believe he's 1 already, where does the time go? We really didn't do anything special for the day, other than go for a drive so Ben could experience what it was like to see where we are going in the car rather than where we've been. He thinks that having his carseat face foward is the coolest thing ever. Whenever I sneak a peak at him he gets a great big smile on his face. He has always hated getting into his carseat and now he hardly protests (though I'm sure this is short term - the fun will wear off).

We had planned to have cake after supper but both boys were too tuckered out. Jake fell asleep running an errand with Curt at 7pm and Ben was asleep shorter after. We'll celebrate Friday night with some family and a 'smash' cake.

Jake was busy over Labor Day weekend. He and Curt went to the I-94 raceway for some father-son fun. They had a blast. It wasn't just the typical races, they had all sorts of other things (rollover contest, tag team races, skid cars, monster truck, etc.). If you want to know what any of those things are or how it went, just give Jake a call. He also got to spend some time at Lake Maria playing, he spent a whole day with G & G Bergmann at Amy's house, then got to spend the night at the Lake and the whole next day with grandma. I think that might have been why he was soooo tired on Wednesday!

Next weekend I get to spend some much needed time with some girlfriends. Amber, Jo, Kim and I are heading to Lake Vermillion for a few days. The boys are staying with Amy. I can't wait!

Not a whole lot of other news. The busy season is starting for Curt so if anyone is looking to do something one night, let me know -- we'll be all alone most of the time.

I apologize for not updating. We've been busy, not sure doing what, just busy.



Well Jake has yet another friend. This time a salamander. We came home from the Kandiyohi County Fair and it was just waiting right on our cement pad. Just like it was looking for a nice boy to take care of it. Well, maybe not, but Jake thought it was awesome. This was the hardest one to convince him to let go. He had it for quite a few days.





Speaking of the fair - the guys go every year to Willmar to pull their semis at the County Fair. This year we took Jake along. Waiting for the semis was a bit long so Jake and I spent some time walking around checking out the animals and watching some of a horse show. Jake actually sat better for the horse show than the tractor pull! Curt told Jake that he could ride along in the semi while he was pulling - after that promise he wished he hadn't mentioned it, but Jake certainly didn't forget the promise. In the end I think he was good luck - Curt took 1st, beating Cory, which is very unusual. Jake was thrilled - he fell asleep holding the trophy on the way home. I wish I would have had a picture of that. Jake looks crabby on this picture, but he wasn't - just didn't want to smile for me!



Ben is as busy as ever. He's walking quite a bit now. Crawling is still much faster but he often chooses to walk instead. He's still busy trying to climb on everything. I'm not sure how we're going to keep tabs on him because he manages to open the doors and get outside already. We'll be having his 1st birthday soon - I can't believe that it has been that long already.

Our in-house sitter will be finishing up this week since school is starting soon. I'll miss that. The boys will be starting daycare at the Funny Farm Day Nursery - Melissa Poepping. They've already spent some time there and they both seem to enjoy it.

Curt, his brother and dad spent some time cleaning out their manure pit at the farm. They are going to close it up. This picture is of Jake and Brent playing on one side of the pit wall. The boys think it is a great place to play!

The next few weekends will be pretty busy. This coming weekend Johnny Holm is playing in New Munich on Friday night and Hairball on Saturday night. Lots more stuff planned too. Jake asked me again today if we could go camping before it gets cold out. We'll have to see!



Ben is starting to self feed - here he is trying a bit of yogurt.

Camping with the Budde's

We spent 3 days last week camping with Mike, Jolene, Carter, Taylor, Katelyn & Jack. It was a blast. We borrowed Cory's camper and met the Budde gang at Canary Beach Resort in Villard. Curt wasn't so sure about it on Wednesday but by Thursday afternoon he was into the camping routine. It is easy to enjoy it when the kids are having such a good time. I don't really know if Ben had a good time but he sure was a trooper through all of it. We got to do some fishing off the pontoon, fishing off the dock, swimming, paddling in some small boats, biking and lots of visiting. Now Jake not only thinks we should buy a camper but he'd like a pontoon as well.

Saturday we visited Gabe at G & G Bergmann's and did some more fishing off the dock. Early afternoon we headed to my aunt Joanie's house on Little Birch Lake for a Bergmann get together. It has been a very long time since we've had one. Once again the boys did awesome - played in the sand and water and had a blast. I was suffering a little due to the fact that I burnt my back terribly while fishing with Jake earlier that day. Dumb -- it is still as red as ever today and hurts like a bear. It was my refresher course to not do that again for the next 15 years.

Sunday Curt and Jake went back to the lake to catch more fish. Jake really likes to fish and it getting quite good at it. By the time they were finished they had enough to bring home and clean. We had them for supper tonight.

Wednesday we plan to spend some more time at the lake with the Middendorf's at Jeske's cabin. I think Jake might spend the night at Grandma Marilyn's after that. Mom is off this week because she had knee surgery last week. She's doing pretty well but it is still a bit stiff.

This week is the Stearns County Fair. We might go on Friday for Kid's day and I think Jake and Curt are planning to go to the demo Friday night.

Can't believe we are on the downslide of summer -- it went way too fast!!
By the way - I don't miss my long hair even a little bit.



Jo's Taylor enjoying the paddle boats.


The 'old' camping buddies.


Jo's Katelyn - she's supposed to be looking for frogs.


Jake and Mom paddling the boats (this is after the first attempt in which I sunk the boat)


Finally getting to roast marshmellows - don't let the face fool you - he was having a grand time.