A Giggle Giggle Here and a Dance Dance There

Potty Time

We are so proud of Mr. Jack, he has been working on potty training for the past month and proudly sports his big boy underwear on a regular basis now. He has been doing great and looks so cute in his little briefs.

Growin'

Our baby girl is growing up. Stella had her first rice cereal this week and downed it like a champ - guess she was ready! Hopefully it will help her to sleep through the night, we're still working on that one - arghh!

This and That

O Christmas Tree

The house is quiet with some peaceful holiday music in the background, the only light on in the house is the glow of the Christmas tree.......aaaahhhhhhh! Every once in a while I have to sacrifice sleep and stay up later to have these moments to myself. Although our weekend didn't turn out as planned because of a stomach bug making it's way around our house, in a weird way it was a great weekend. We were forced to stay home together all weekend long and watch the blizzard going on outside. We had some really great moments together hanging out in mom & dad's bed watching Frosty the Snowman as a family, and luckily the illness passed pretty quickly and hopefully is gone for good now. I found the blizzard to pretty exciting and Jack & Stella loved watching it all!

Stella is 5 months old already!


She just admires and loves her big brother


she also loves her jumper........


......I mean REALLY loves her jumper!




Cuddles with Daddy

Jack playing with his holiday Cheerios book

Stella and her sheepyand to think they used to be about the same size!

Bedtime Stories With Daddy

Cozy flannel pajamas and all snuggled up reading bedtime stories together in Jack's bed. Jack likes everyone to crawl in with him each night at bedtime, hopefully his toddler bed can withstand this ritual of ours :)

La Crosse Here we Come

So I finally had the sense to bring along my camera for the last visit to the house. As you can see by the pictures things are moving along and should be done in December! We're very much looking forward to being in the new house and living right in the heart of La Crosse where much of our everday life in centered around.

Whew!

Finally, I am all caught up here, it's been a crazy busy fall for us. House decisions & meetings, work,and the two kids have been keeping us very busy. Thankfully we're starting to turn the corner now, I'm back down to working part-time and the house will be done in about a month or so! So here is my attempt at giving you a quick view of our fall, sit back and relax, there are many slideshows below!

We had a fun weekend this fall spending some time at my parents for some family time and also a very fun night out with some great friends of mine from my Gap working college days that I had not seen in way too long!

Jack and Dennis ventured down to Madison for Jack's first Badger football game, they met up with Grandpa & Grandma Vogel and Auntie Heather and had a great time - Jack made it through the whole game!

Pictures from yet another fun weekend here, we took a trip to Manitowoc early on this fall, Stella's first trip across the state. The trip went surprisingly well and we had a fun time visiting family and took the kids to the Manitowoc Zoo.

And finally here are the rest of the pictures from our Halloween festivities!

Stella 4 Months

Stella's 4 month check-up went well, she healthy and growing, weighing in at 14lbs 10oz (64%) and 24inches (53%). I had to look back to compare her size to Jack, and he was already 14lbs7oz and 24inches at his two month appointment - such a big boy! It's hard to believe Stella is already four going on five months old already, it's going so fast. My goal for this holiday season is to slow down and enjoy the little moments with the kids more, remember what's important.......worry less about the gifts and shopping and hustle and bustle and focus more on starting fun little family traditions of our own with the kids, afterall these moments will not last forever. So wish me luck with this as I know it's easier said than done!

Updates

Happy Halloween

We had a great time taking Jack out for his first trick-or-treating adventure this evening. Jack aka "Lightning McQueen" was an old pro by the end of the night, even braving going up to a few doors all by himself. Stella the little lamb had a fun time watching all the action.

We've had a whirlwind busy fall and have lot's to catch up on on our blog, so check back later this week for many new pictures and recent happenings of our family.

Bathtime Buds

We got this little bath seat for Stella so she could take a bath with her big brother. Jack loves having Stella take a bath with him, Stella loves watching her big brother splash around, and mom & dad love doing both kids bathes at once! Plus it's too cute watching both of them in the tub together.

A Day at Home

Jack prefers to wear his helmet while eating breakfast.

Stella keeping busy in her johnny jumper.

Stella

Stella at 3 months
Stella and her sheepy
Stella is doing great, we'll have her 4 month check-up in a couple weeks so we can see how she's been growing. She's doing well with me being back at work and going to daycare & she's becoming more happy and full of coos every day!

Laughter is Contageous

A baby's first little laughs and giggles are just so precious and Stella has been gracing us with hers for the past couple of weeks now. She's already ticklish and has the best little giggle, in the mornings when I'm getting her dressed she's full of big grins. She's really mellowed out and gotten out of her newborn haze, and her personality is starting to emerge more and more. She hit 3 months old last week, which unfortunately coincides with me returning to work. I was thrilled to be the first to witness her first laugh the day before I returned to work, as this would assure me I had indeed been the first to hear it. Stella also, miraculously, started sleeping through the night(8+ hours straight!) the night before my first day back and has been keeping it up for two weeks now. I had a very difficult time leaving Jack as a baby and returning to work, so I was prepared for the worst this time around, but to my surprise it hasn't been so bad. There's even a part of me that feels good to be back in the workforce again. I have cut back in my hours since Jack was a baby which I'm sure is a big part of it, what also helps is having a trusted care-giver that has been taking care of Jack for two years now, and lastly I think I'm a lot more laid back about everything the second time around. Anyhow, whatever the reason, I'll take it and hopefully we will continue to find the right balance as a family. It is a hectic time in our lives with me being back at work, Dennis' bank being busy as always, building our new house and house showings to try and sell our current place (never try to stage your house with a new baby and a two year old, Never!) When it's all said and done though, as long as we've got the sound of two beautiful children's laughter in our home we'll be doin' alright :)

because why wouldn't you want to play matchbox cars in your diaper in a laundry basket
cutie pie
good big brother
Stella could stare at this toy parrot for hours, she just loves it
very proud of his "BIG block tower"