Twins vs. KC

Last weekend we drove down to KC to watch the Twins play in Kansas City (and to see my family of course...more on that later since I'm still waiting for some pictures).  Friday night we took the kids and went with my mom, Becca, & Brian.  Saturday night we went with Becca and MK (no kids...they hung out with nana and papa).  Both nights were gorgeous and we go to see blowout wins!  It's a beautiful stadium...they've done so much work on it since I was there last.

on our way down we stopped at Mike's grandma's house and spent the night.  It was nice to break up the drive!

the gorgeous fountains...you used to not be able to go behind them but they've opened it all up and added seats in front of them (which is where we sat)

becca & brian

3 Royals fans + 1 Twins fan

I was trying to get a cute picture of Sophie standing in front of the fountains (they change colors randomly) but she wasn't really into pictures (as you will continue to see through the rest of them!)

they had this whole kids section behind the fountains...playground, merry-go-round, mini-field, etc.

waiting in line for Sophie to get to bat in the little field (which after waiting forever in line she got up there and refused to wear the batting helmet so we left...)

becca and her nephew

enjoying the merry-go-round again with the tickets we did not use in the mini-field

check out the scoreboard!!! It's HUGE! Sophie thought the fountains were loud...she spent most of the night with her hands over her ears

silly times

When Jackson and Sophie woke up from their naps yesterday they were both being very silly.  When Jackson and I walked into Sophie's room he started laughing and wouldn't stop. I have NO idea what he was laughing about.  So, I laid him down on Sophie's bed and they just had a case of the giggles. It was so fun to watch them really interacting.  Well, until Jackson pulled Sophie's hair that is...

Finishing up Sophie's birthday weekend...

We had a busy weekend celebrating Sophie.  My mom and sister came into town for the weekend so we started off letting her open their presents (and a couple from us).  She's so funny when opening presents. She wouldn't even look at the gift until every single piece of wrapping paper was off of it.  It was painfully slow at times but so funny to watch!

Jackson was enjoying the fun too...Sophie just kept throwing the paper on the floor and Jackson was there to quickly take care of it for her!

Enjoying Sophie's princess "fishing" game..

On Saturday we had a girls day at the Gopher game.  It was warm and sunny but fun to show off the new stadium. Sophie enjoyed getting all the attention and was beyond excited when I bought her a little Goldy.  She wouldn't put the thing down!

That same evening we had Sophie's birthday party.  Maybe next year we'll have a "kids party" but we like having an excuse to have everyone over.  So we grilled, hung out, & had cake and ice cream. Sophie knows our friends all by name and loves having people over so she was in her element.  Jackson had some fun too (:

the birthday girl posing with her cake

enjoying everyone singing happy birthday to her

LOVING her new "princess" clothes from uncle matt & aunt sarah

showing off her completed princess puzzle from MK..she was so excited and proud!

She did not want to wear her new princess stuff to bed but when I went upstairs to turn off her light she had put it on before falling asleep.  Notice her wand laying nicely on the pillow next to her (:

And just a few more random fun ones from the weekend...

he literally has mouth open almost all the time!

making necklaces with aunt becca (a fun present from nana)

and one ore shot with her precious Goldy

first day of preschool

I have A LOT Of catching up to do, so here it goes!  Sophie's birthday was a big day as it was also her first day of preschool.  We were excited to find on that would take Sophie as she obviously isn't 3 before Sept. 1 and our good friends' daughter is also attending there.  She is enjoying it and learning a lot.  Her teacher keeps telling us that she can't believe Sophie has just turned 3 as she seems more mature than that.  Makes us parents proud (:

this was actually taken the day before school started at the meet your teacher meeting...Ava and Sophie showed up wearing the same dress!

She was SO excited!

the obligatory "first day of school standing on the front steps" picture (:

outside of school with Ava and her sister Lauren

found her bin with her name and picture...she loves that she can find this by herself every morning

showing off the princess birthday crown the teachers made her for her birthday...she got to wear it all day and was the classroom helper for the day

weird.

While cleaning ALL of these tomatoes that I picked today from our garden (this does not include the bazillion I threw away because they were already opened!),

I found this...

yep, Siamese tomatoes. I found them pretty funny...

9 months old

Last week Jackson turned 9 months old.  He is all over the place and quickly learned how to climb up the stairs. He has 6 teeth and a couple more working there way through.  He's happy almost all of the time and has the best laugh I think I have ever heard.  He eats EVERYTHING and baby food is a thing of the past.  He adores his big sister still and when the 2 of them get laughing it's a site to see.  We still can't believe our little guy is already 9 months!

happy birthday baby girl!

***her birthday was yesterday....I have no idea why this didn't post, but oh well!


Somehow 3 years have passed since Sophie arrived.  It's unbelievable, but it sure is fun watching this little girl grow up.  We couldn't be prouder to be her parents.  She's smart, funny, beautiful, imaginative, and friendly.  She loves being around people and gets bored pretty easily at home!  She's a great big sister and instantly wants to comfort Jackson when he starts crying.  She's not a fan of him playing with her things but we're working on the whole sharing thing.  As we start this next year of her life, we can't wait to see all the things that she learns.  We know one thing, she'll definitely keep us laughing!

Happy birthday sweets...we love you!

who knew...

...that a slinky could be so fun!

first Gopher game in the new stadium

Last Saturday was the first game the Gophers played in their new stadium.  We headed over there plenty early to enjoy all the pre-game stuff they had going on.  We got to see the Victory Walk where the players, coaches, cheerleaders, and band all walk down the street and into the stadium.  The atmosphere was fantastic and you actually felt like you were going to a "real" college football game! We had a great afternoon and evening.  Sophie apparently really likes football as she watched most of the game and cheered a lot.  She barely had time to eat her hotdog! She cried again when we left.  I'm still amazed that we can take a 3 year old to a football game and not have to bring things for her to do!  Jackson was great too.  He's teething right now so not quite himself but he was a trooper!  And, in case you were wondering, the Gophers did win!

waiting for the victory walk to start

Victory Walk...Sophie watching the cheerleaders go by...she was clapping the whole time.  She LOVED It.

Sophie's favorite!

ready to go home

NOT ready to go home

reading the sports' pages the next morning