March...

...March. I guess that's a thing of the past. Really the past 10 weeks have been interesting. It's been one illness for the kids after another. Jeremy and I realized we haven't had 1 normal week of work in 10 weeks...that just seems wrong, don't you think? Ear infections, RSV, asthma, flu....oh the flu (less than fun). But thankfully, we were able to escape MN for a quick trip to FL, in hopes it would rid us of all the germs. FLORIDA Yes, a quick trip to FL occurred last week. Traveling as a family of 5 is no small adventure really. Especially when one of the members is 6 months old and more dependent on us all the time versus the older ones. The trip was great. We visited grandma and grandpa Kiefer, went swimming, spent a day at the beach, visited alligator alley, went fishing and just played outside. It was great! The kids said they want to live there because there wasn't any snow....apparently winter has worn on them as well. The only hiccup of the trip was Maddie and Luke both getting ear infections. Thankfully, they had a few days of swimming in prior, so they were content playing outside, going to the beach and just having fun. Speaking of swimming, Maddie swam from one end of the pool to the other on her own. We were all very proud since she's been working hard on this skill for some time. Luke floated on his back all by himself for 20 seconds. They are both coming along and doing great. 6 Months Yes, our little lady is 6 months old as of yesterday and doing great. She is enjoying the exploration into "real" food and thus far loves squash, sweet potatoes and green beans. She's a good little eater. All smiles, all the time. I don't care if it's 3a.m., a smile from her lights up my world. Dislikes? apparently she is not a big fan of stroller rides. This started in FL and still happens at home some. I attribute this to her not being in a stroller outside over the winter, so she's uncertain what's going on now. Adventures Luke and Maddie are back in gymnastics to help burn off their energy from winter in MN and hibernation mode. They are loving it. This is Luke's first experience in a class free of parents and he feels like such a big kid. It's been great.

Mountain living

Well, it wasn't a mountain but we did our best to pretend. Maddie loved it and is still begging to return. 

Protector

Little man loves his sister. There is truly no shortage of love really.  Luke has taken the term joyride to a whole new level. 

Sitting up

There is no laying down on the job here.  In no time at all she will be wLking, so I better not blink.  She has mastered the inch worm scoot. 

Little things

It seems like yesterday we were excited Maddie had cut her first tooth. Tonight...we prepared for the tooth fairy to visit. 

There is one very excited little girl.  She is growing up all to fast. 

Little adventures

As they say, when the cats away, the mice will play.  

Jeremy had to travel this week, so I had the 3 kiddos and dog to tend to. Sounds simple, right?   That's what I thought until luke got sick and Maddie had a cold.  So, Amy, Bailey andI held down the fort like champs. We Watched cartoons and played games to pass the time.  

Thankfully me assistants did great.  

2015

Wow, I guess maternity leave flew by faster than the previous two. Usually I'm a bit more prompt in updating the blog, but trust me when I say that life happened. For example, 2 weeks ago daycare was closed so we had planned to use ticket vouchers to visit family in FL...that is until Maddie caught the flu which lasted for 6 days. So, we delayed that trip. Thankfully Southwest does this FREE of charge. I knew there was a reason we only fly Southwest when the kids are involved. This past weekend Amy caught something, which lead to 2 doctors appointments and owning our very own nebulizer machine. Yes, she will be a child with asthma apparently...no surprise as this runs in the family. Then Tuesday, just when Amy was on the tail end of her illness, Luke caught the stomach flu. Yes, we are beyond ready for a break. Overall, things are going well. The adjustment back to work has been a bit interesting with the reorganization. I wasn't worried if I had a job, in fact I got a promotion. The process of getting this wasn't the best experience though. I am going to chalk this up to a learning experience. Maddie and Luke had a great Christmas and Amy was along for the ride...in fact, she slept through most of it. Speaking of Amy, she was on such a roll by sleeping 6-7 hr. at a time during the night. Then I went back to work and everything changed. I like to think she is wanting to maximize her parent bonding time. To put it simply, we stay up late and start early (4:30 a.m.). Jeremy and I have become fans of coffee. Given our love for winter and cold weather...which is a non-existent love....we are happy to report this year has been a bit more mild than last year. Don't mistake this to mean it hasn't been cold, it has. In fact this morning it was -11 in Lakeville...without the windchill. However, a few weeks ago it was 35 degrees so I made the entire family go to the kite festival. It's literally a big kite festival on a frozen lake. It was a first for the kids and us to walk on the lake and see 100's of kites being flown all over. Maddie and I tried snow shoeing and we all watched ice fishing. The line was a bit long, so we didn't wait for that. It was a short lived event for us because we were standing on ice and it still was chilly, but we had Amy as well. Miss Amy is doing great and growing like a weed. She is a very happy baby and smiles all the time. She also started rolling over a few weeks ago. It's funny. I had just made a comment to Jeremy about her being a bit lazy and having no interest in rolling from back to front and literally within 1 hr, she rolled over. I think she's stubborn like me apparently. Jeremy and I are doing well. Trying to figure out what balance means for work-life-family now, but I think that's to be expected. Things we have learned over the past 3.5 years are going to allow us be better parents as well going forward. While I don't think either of us expect to be in MN long term, this experience has been very valuable. Okay - that's all for now.

Sneak peak at newborn pics.

Here is a glimpse at a real photo shoot this fall. There is a first for everything I guess. 

Story time

Story time with big brother Luke is a common theme.  Daily Luke and Maddie are reading stories to the little lady.  We love our books.  

Smile

Sometimes it's the little things that make up for a long night.  Happy smiles!!

Happy camper?

Is Amy always a happy camper?  I will let you decide.  Apparently joking about a milk shortage with a baby isn't the best idea...wrong audience perhaps.  

Living the dream

I have to say, this little lady is loved by all...especially her siblings and sometimes too much. 

Fashion sense?

Very questionable, very questionable.  Maddie selected her clothes today.  Oye!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

..wait, it's not thanksgiving yet. It can't look and feel like Christmas.  Can it?  In MN anything is possible.  

The first snow and cold temps hot this week.  We are breaking records, yes again, for cold weather.  I guess Jeremy and I are good at breaking records. Ha 

Here are some fun pictures and smiles.  

November

Wow time flies when you have inconsistent sleep!  

Everyone is doing great. Honestly, Amy sleeps very well and typically wakes up every 3-4 hrs at night to eat and goes back down.  It's beautiful.  We joke saying she's a better sleeper than her big brother. 

Maddie and Luke have adjusted well to their new roles.  Maddie wakes up early to cuddle and burp Amy. She's so proud to be big enough to hold her sister and "help."   Luke is her protector making sure no one is overly aggressive. 

Halloween was a big hit to the kids this year.  Amy didn't go anywhere but the big kids stormed the neighborhood as Elsa and a monkey.  It was the coldest day this fall so they were bundled up   It didn't stop them though.  I do believe they had more fun handing out candy when they got home. 

Okay here are some new pictures 

Bath time

Maddie and Luke assisted with Amys first bath.  Looks like it went well and she liked it, huh?