Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Corinne looked forward to it for quite some time and it was fun to anticipate. She knew from the very beginning that she wanted to be a princess (no surprise to us). Audie doesn't quite fit the princess roll, being rowdy and loud- so I knew I wanted to go a different route with her. I figured this was the last year I would be able to dress her without her wanting to choose what she wanted to be, so I decided a skunk would be cute. I had extra white fur fabric that needed used up, so it worked perfectly.

Corinne knew exactly what the name of the game was. She had no reservations in marching up to the door, and knocking to get her candy.

Audie did a good job. At one point in the evening, a little girl who was dressed as a witch followed them up to a porch. Audie looked up at her, and gave a big grin, almost like she was kinda saying "hey, are you having as much fun as I am?"

We stopped by Trevor and Trina's.. They were camped outside bundled up in blankets...so cute.

Then back home to go through the candy!!

and my belly at 13 weeks! too bad this isn't a costume I can take on and off.

the little bean

At my doctor's appointment last week, they found me to be measuring 12 weeks along instead of 9 weeks. The doctor ordered a sonogram to check dates or check for twins.
As you can see, there is only one little baby in there, and it is exactly the size it should be!
My due date is May 5th. However, I am going to keep my fingers crossed to deliver on Matt's birthday which is April 27th. I know the chances of that are slim, maybe I can be induced :)

Over the weekend

We took a quick trip to Nebraska over the weekend. The 4 (well, technically 5) of us went with my Mom, sister Leslie and Jon and Cameron to see my Aunt and Uncle, cousins and Grandpa. I always like travelling up there, we have a good time laughing and being sarcastic. Matt talks politics with my Uncle John and Leslie and I go back to our childhood and fight with each other.

Friday we went to Omaha's zoo. The weather couldn't have been better, and since we went on a weekday, it wasn't crowded at all. Besides Corinne gagging herself and spitting up due to the smell of poo, the day was a success.

Jon brought his 4 wheeler along...and we all took turns riding it around.
a shout out to my Aunt Suz and Mom who took a turn too!

My aunt and uncle live across the street from an apple orchard. Leslie took these pictures of the kids out front while Matt and I rode the 4 wheeler

This is a picture of the apple orchard. it is so pretty!!

and little Audie who is not afraid of anything, petting a grasshopper.

Corinne said...

Corinne has said some pretty funny things recently.
I'll share a couple with you here-

If any of you have spent enough time with Corinne, you know that she swings her legs. It's a habit she's had since she was about 8 months old. She sits in a chair, holds on to the chair rails or something in front of her, and intently swings her legs back and forth. Matt and I have really been trying to break her of this habit as it completely distracts her and leaves her in a trance. I think Audie has heard us keep telling her to quit swinging her legs a lot, and the other day, Audie took the liberty to tell Corinne to quit swinging her legs.

I'm not sure whether Corinne was really swinging her legs or not, but she reported to me that Audie told her not to do it, and Corinne didn't like that very much.

Corinne came to me and said, "Mom, Audra said I was swinging my legs. She thinks she's a parent!"
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And today we were out for a few errands and I stopped into GAP to return some shirts I bought that didn't fit. We ventured over to GAP kids while we were there, and started doing some browsing. A lady that worked there came up and told us about the sales going on, and of course, tried to get us to apply for a GAP credit card. After her spiel on all of the "great deals" we could take advantage of, she asked Corinne what her name was.

Corinne replied: "Amanda."

What was I supposed to do at that point?! I didn't want to embarrass Corinne by correcting her, so I let it go. But inside I was laughing very hard, and actually had to walk away so I could let out the laughter. She said "Amanda" so confidently. She said it like it has been her name for the last 4 years.

When we walked out of the store, I asked Corinne why she told the lady her name was Amanda. She said that she wished her name was Amanda. I guess everyone at some point has wished they had a different name. And Corinne has every right to want to be an Amanda...the Amanda she knows is a 15 year old girl that is so beautiful and takes time out just for Corinne, why wouldn't she want to be named Amanda?

Tonight I was snuggling with Corinne in our bed and she lovingly said-
"Mom, I wish I was still in your tummy so I could be really warm."

So long....

My VW is gone...

We sold it last night.

I'm really not sure why I held onto it for so long. I guess I thought that one day I'd have some extra cash to put into it and restore it fully.
But I realized that while it just sat there, it was going to it's grave and it was time for it to go.

I loved that bug. I loved the smell inside, and I loved the sound that the door made when it closed.

We put it on Craigslist, and it sold in less than 24 hours. I couldn't be more happy with the buyers. Dalton, a 15 year old kid is going to fix it up with his dad and drive it to school next year. He has wanted a VW for years, read about them, collected them, envied them... (same story as mine!) His mom said this VW was waiting for him. I like that idea. I am happy that it goes to someone who will fix it up and enjoy it!!

I told Corinne I was sad that we were selling it. She replied, "It's ok mom, we still have the Pilot."

4!

Happy 4th Birthday Corinne!

Today has been a pretty good day. We got up and had breakfast as usual. I asked Corinne to get dressed in the new outfit I got her for her birthday, and of course...she didn't like the shorts. So, bribery showed up, and I made deals with her that I would get her ice cream and chocolate if she would wear them and take good birthday pictures. She agreed and did a great job with the pics.
It rained quite hard right before we took the pictures, and then the sun came out! It was perfect! I wish I could have gotten Corinne to keep from squinting in the above pictures, but her little sister was down by the lake trying to talk to the ducks that were in it, and I couldn't concentrate on getting a good picture. I was calling Audie back from the water, and she wasn't doing a good job of obeying. So, needless to say, we gave up on pictures pretty quick, and went to get our chocolate.

Corinne picked out blueberry gelato and a couple pieces of chocolate and we sat down to enjoy it. Angie, Amber, and Kelley at CD were (as always) so good and nice to us, and the gelato and chocolate were on the house.

Corinne picked Sonic for lunch, and then we joined Brenda during her lunch hour.

Tonight, we will go pick out a fish for her birthday present!

Happy Birthday, Corinne! Mom and Dad love you so much, you are so special to us!

xoxoxoxox

2 year old pictures and party

Yesterday couldn't have been better. All day was fun and exciting. Corinne kept a great attitude with the day being about Audra and they were sweet to each other all day. We started out the day taking Aud's 2 year old pictures. The first one is my favorite. It reads the sweetness of her.
After we took some pictures at a park, I took the girls to get a donut.

For dinner, Brenda, Ali, Kamo, and Amanda came. I grilled a few ribeye steaks, and we sliced them thin, topping a salad with "the works" (tomatoes, cheese, avacado, red onion, and black beans) Mom joined us later for some cake and to open presents.

I bought a cake this year, due to time constraints. Epic Fail.
We also couldn't find any candles, so we used matches. No one speak of this to my father.

For her birthday, Audie received a few books, and her donkey (pictured below). Amanda, Ali and Kameron read the books (complete with voices) and then put on a Dora skit for us. :)

Yee-haw!

Happy Birthday Audie!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful and sweet little Audie!

We had a photo shoot this morning for her birthday, but I will save most of the photos for a full post when we have cake and presents later on tonight.
After we took pictures downtown, we stopped for a birthday donut....
(click on photo for a bigger version)

Corinne ended up being the perfect model for me today! I hope she's getting the hang of being my guinea pig for pictures ;). I'm really looking forward to her pictures on her birthday!

New babies, mini golf, and hot air balloons

Our friend Jamie had a baby girl 2 days ago! Little Paige was such a cute little munchkin, I could have held her all day! We went to see her in the hospital this week, and the girls just loved her.

I think I am going to write a book on potty training titled: "Potty train your kids in public places". How is it that kids always want to use the potty while at a restaurant, or the mall, or some other public place? Well, of course Audie saw this potty with "handles" and she had to use it. I suppose I'll take what I can get with potty training, eh?

A few weeks ago, we took Corinne to play mini golf. Unfortunately, we had to dodge a thunderstorm, but I think Corinne had a good time spending one-on-one time with us. Below is a picture of how she got the ball in the hole. Who needs a golf club anyway?

At the sports complex, they also have kids rides. Matt and Corinne took a ride on this mini roller coaster. I'm still not sure if Corinne liked it or not. She says she did, but the picture below, tells a different story. She clenched that handle bar so hard, bowed her head, and closed her eyes tight. She didn't open her eyes until the ride stopped.

And finally, a hot air balloon ride. This ride took her up and down and around in circles. She enjoyed it a lot. She had to ride it twice though, because she said she needed to ride in a pink hot air balloon. Of course.

Due to the thunderstorm that night, they offered us vouchers to return at a later time! We're looking forward to going again!