Vroom - Vroom

Madison is at the best age - she is SOOOO much fun - I love taking her everywhere with me - she's my new best friend! haha She and Kobe went to the store with me tonight and had so much fun in the car - cart.

The Boys...

Baby Jackson is growing so much every day and changing tons - just this week he started smiling in response to my voice and even started cooing a little bit. He is getting so much bigger and of course is still completely adorable.
Kobe has been sleepwalking the past few nights and it is driving Matt and I crazy! As if we weren't losing enough sleep before with the baby - now Kobe has woken us up the last 2 nights with crazy stunts - 2 nights ago he walked in Maddies room at midnight and flipped on the light - thus causing a chain reaction of tears from the babies - and last night was less than pleasant as well - we are hoping tonight he stays in bed all night so we can get some much needed rest!!
I got to do a shoot this morning for 2 little kids that are almost 2 and almost 3 - they are also 14 months apart like Maddie and Jax. They were so adorable and I had so much fun doing it - it is going to be so fun to watch them grow up together.

Mom has way too much free time...

I wish I was little bit taller, I wish I was a baller...

Wagon Rides

This morning Madison and Jackson got to go on Boppa's famous wagon rides - he started doing them with Kobe nearly 8 years ago! Even Great Grandma Batt took them on a ride. G&G Batt had to leave this afternoon - we had such a great time seeing them and the babies absolutely stole grandma's heart. She said to me at one point "what am I going to do without them!" They live up in Wisconsin and so we only get to see them a couple times a year and it always hard to say goodbye.

The walls are up!

We went by our new house today and they have the drywall up! I love my loft and can't wait to get it set up for Bosley Creative!!

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson got baptized this morning. His Godparents are Aunt Stephie (my best friend), Aunt Jessie and Uncle Nick. Aunt Stephie wasn't able to make it back from Michigan for the baptism - but she did call this morning and we are sure she will make a wonderful long distance Godmother! Aunt Smuff and Uncle Nick did get to come and celebrate Nick's big 3-2 birthday- by doing his favorite thing - going to church...
We had lunch at our house afterwards and the kids all got to spend some QT with their grandparents. They had 3 of their great grandparents here even! My grandparents came down from Wisconsin to be with us for this event. It's been a great day and I really couldn't ben any happier to have such a wonderful family to share these times with.

Mommy's Little Girl

Madison has really taken to some girly things and likes to follow me around in everything I do. She was putting on makeup with me the other day while I was getting ready - it was so cute. She also loves her babies and loves to rock and take care of them - although at some point in Von Maur today she stopped taking care of Princess and dropped her on the ground... it was a great time scouring the floors of Von Maur listening to Jackson scream as we searched for her. No worries though - everyone was happy - Mommy found her and Daddy was happy 'cause I didn't get to spend a dime.

Happy Birthday to Me...

My birthday was on Monday the 20th and so on Saturday Matt and I got away from the kids and spent the day out together all day and night and had a blast. Then on Monday night we went out to my parents house to have dinner and the storm hit knocking the power out - so we took cover in the basement for a while and then hung out upstairs by candlelight - the picture of matt isn't very clear - but he had a flashlight strapped to his head trying to get the garage door open - he's such a nerd... All in all it was a good time and a birthday to remember.

And She SCORES!!!

So I have been reluctant to brave the trip to the grocery store with all 3 kids. First off I hadn't figured out how physically I was going to get Madison and Jackson in the cart - but today we had a revolution. It's Matt's last day of golf league so he wasn't around and on our way home from Kobe's football practice I realized we were completely out of formula for Jackson and so I had no choice but to go - and it was then that the lightbulb went off... HyVee has those fantastic carts that have the cars of the front leaving me just enough room for the kids in the front car part, Jackson in the regular cart area and just enough room for about 2-1/2 groceries. Writing this I am realizing that no one is going to truly understand the extreme pride I was feeling as I wheeled around HyVee and checked out without so much as a whimper from any of them - but trust me - it was a very defining moment. Now that you are all truly bored out of your minds from reading this - check out some pics of our new place! The outside is so close to being done - sort of... But it gives you an idea.

First Day of 2nd Grade!!!

We took Kobe to his 1st day of 2nd Grade this morning! He was so excited!! He even got to show off his new baby brother who he was pretty proud of!

Tummy Time!

Jackson is getting so big and strong! Unlike his his big sister - he actually really enjoys tummy time...

'Boji

We spent all day Saturday up in Okoboji with Matt's family at his aunt and uncles lake house. We had an absolute blast seeing everyone. Matt's cousins who live up in Wisconsin have a little boy just a couple of months older than Madison - he is such a cutie and just seems like a little man. Matt's other cousin Mike came in from California and every time Kobe gets to see him he is just suctioned to his side - he always has so much fun with him. Mike even convinced Kobe to jump off the dock and drive the speedboat - so he was on cloud 9 the whole day. Gama used her magic touch with both babies and got them to sleep in her arms. Uncle Nick and Kobe threw around the football quite a bit too. All in all it was a great day - we are so lucky that Katie and Jim do this for us every year!

Look Dad!

Even little Madison understands the joy that credit cards can bring...

Kobe's Last Week of Summer...

This was Kobe's last week of summer vacation. He spent it swimming at Spencer's, doing a football camp, and we had open house on Thursday night. His teacher is Mrs. Limongi who we found out happens to be a former Elkhorn grad! She seems really nice and Kobe has just a few friends in his class this year - he is so excited for school to start!

Why I LOVE being a mommy...

There is never a day that goes by that these guys don't make me laugh. I love being home with them...

Gone Campin'...

Well we spent the last few days out at Two Rivers Cabins camping with our 3 kids and a few others too! We went out on Wednesday night and Kobe's friends Spencer, Madelyn and Kaitlyn all came out and stayed the night - despite the rain they kept themselves entertained with hide and seek, and board games. Nana and Boppa came out and picked up Jax and Maddie to stay the night with them and brought them back the next morning to us. On Thursday the kids played all morning and then my friend Kyla brought out her 4 kids and they went swimming and fishing, rode bikes and played catch all day long, we grilled out and played some more at night - and of course made Smores!! Jackson and Madison both stayed on Thursday night with us along with Kyla's oldest - Jadyn. The kids/babies were all awesome and we had such a great time and we got up and packed up Friday morning and came home.
I do have to say that despite the fact that Matt hates outdoor activities - especially camping - he was such an awesome sport. He took all of the kids swimming and taught them all how to fish too. Not to mention grilling dinner for everyone and then sleeping on the WAY TOO SMALL bunk beds 2 nights in a row. To give you a little picture - the beds were about a foot too short for Matt and they were about as wide as his shoulders - and due to the fact that Madison took over my bed on Thursday - we had to share a bed on the 2nd night! All in all - he definitely earned his father of the year award over the last few days!