Happy Birthday Rachel...and Trey...and Grammy!

What a busy weekend!! We helped Scott's nephew and his mom celebrate their birthdays on Saturday and we had Rachel's 5th Birthday party on Sunday. Thankfully the severe weather held out until after the party. It didn't rain but it was VERY humid out. Rachel didn't care, she had so much fun with her friends. She got a lot of wonderful gifts and we had a great time with our friends and family. I took tomorrow off for her actual birthday and we plan on taking her out for breakfast and spend the rest of the day at the farm...weather permitting. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate on Sunday, Rachel had so much fun!!


Ready to eat


Rachel's Barbie Cake


Modeling their new visors


Rachel & Ellyse


Funny Faces

Relaxing Evening

Just a few new pictures of the girls from last night. It was so warm out when we got home from work so we spent most of night outside talking to the neighbors, washing the cars and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Scott and I are really loving our new house and new neighborhood. It's great living on a dead end street and Rachel especially likes having a little girl her age right next door to play with.

Preschool Graduation

Well, Rachel is officially done with preschool and ready to start kindergarten! She had her preschool graduation on Friday and Scott and I both took the day off to celebrate. All the grandparents came too and we took Rachel out for lunch afterwards. They had a small program at school and the kids were given their "diplomas". I gotta say, I did get a little teary when they called her name. Rachel really enjoyed her two years at St Paul's and it was sad to realize that was the last time she would be there as a student. We especially had a tough time telling her teacher from last year, Mrs. Stacy, goodbye. Rachel thinks the world of Mrs Stacy and so do we. It's wonderful to meet a teacher that enjoys your child as much as you do. She does an amazing job as a teacher and we only wish we could take her with to kindergarten next year. I'm confident Rachel will work her charm on more teachers down the road but Mrs. Stacy will always hold a special place in our hearts. Thank YOU!!!!


Rachel & Mrs. Stacy


Rachel & Shay


The Graduate


Rachel & Elysse

Happy Mothers Day Weekend

Happy Mothers Day to ALL moms!! I never realized how special this day was until I became a mother. I never realized how tough my mom's job was until I became a mother. And I also didn't realize how completely rewarding it is to be a mom, until I became one. My two little girls are the greatest blessings in my life. They always find a way to make me laugh AND want to pull my hair out and amazingly all within the same day. I love seeing Annie's HUGE smile when I open the door to her room in the morning and she's standing in her crib, waiting for me. I love laying with Rachel before bedtime so I can scratch her back and she tells me how much she loves me and how I'm the best mommy in the world. Being a mom doesn't pay well but it does have the BEST benefits in the world!

Here are just a few (and I mean few because I'm usually the one behind the camera!) of my favorite 'mom' photos.


My Girls


My first early morning feeding w/ Annabelle


My Rachel

Dance Class

Rachel's friend, Quinn, asked her to attend a dance class with her on Monday night. Rachel was SO excited and we were anxious to see if she would enjoy it so we could sign her up in the fall. She really enjoyed it and asked the next day if she could go back. This video is of her and Quinn doing I'm a Little Teapot. Oh, and Happy 5th Birthday Quinn!!!!

Hopscotch!

What a Beautiful Day!

We had a great Sunday and finally had a chance to enjoy the outdoors. We met up with Dave, Kelly & Molly for lunch. Annie LOVED watching Molly and they enjoyed playing together. Later in the afternoon we took the girls for a walk so Rachel could ride her bike. We stopped and had some ice cream and spent the rest of the evening outside with our neighbors. A perfect way to end the weekend! Of course the forecast calls for rain much of next week so I'm happy we got to enjoy at least one day of nice weather!

New pictures for the week

Here are new pictures from this week. Annie was busy keeping up with her sister by trying some "poses" of her own. The other photo is Rachel's fort that she built with pillows and blankets in the basement. She intended on sleeping in her fort overnight but only lasted about an hour before she crawled into bed with us.

New Moves

Annie picked up some new moves the other night during dinner. Not exactly sure what she's doing but we laugh everytime she does it!

Another cold Saturday

Of course this means we'll spend another day indoors. We should be OUTSIDE working on the yard or the garage! I hope this is the last winter-like day because we are ready for spring. Annie is taking a nap so I thought I'd post a few pictures I took this morning. Annie took a bath and we decided to go "punk rock" with her hair and try a mohawk. Pretty sweet huh? Of course Rachel decided she should have her picture taken too and she wanted hers to be with Ruby. As you can see Ruby was less than thrilled with this idea!

She's officially on the move!

She's officially CRAWLING and we have video to prove it! Rachel had a bowl on the floor and Annie decided she wanted it...badly. She took off like she was shot out of a cannon and I think she actually surprised herself! Thankfully Rachel was there to cheer her on! We spent the rest of the night in wonder, watching our little peanut move around on her own. Hooray for Miss Annabelle!!!

Abe

This is Grandma & Grandpa Strang's new puppy, Abe. As soon as I told Rachel they got a new puppy we HAD to come back home to meet him. He's part lab, part Blackmouth Cur. He's missing his 8 other brothers and sisters but he enjoyed playing outside with Jena and Rachel today. He LOVES a warm lap and enjoyed a few naps inside. Abe has some pretty big paws so he won't stay little for long!

10 Questions for Rachel...

1. What is your favorite color? brown

2. What is your favorite movie? Horton Hears a Who

3. What are you going to do this summer? play outside on my bike

4. What do you want for your birthday? a baby doggy, a REAL one!

5. What does Mom say when your in trouble? RACHEL IRENE!!!!

6. Why does dad put you in time-out? because I'm being bad

7. What is your favorite food? pudding...and ice cream

8. What is your favorite toy? my big bear

9. What is your favorite book at bedtime? the Barbie book, the one with the velet dress.

10. Best day so far? Christmas! When I told Santa I wanted the Bratz house and he brought me my favorite make-up instead.

Spring Photos

I just got back from taking Annie to get her spring pictures taken and she looked so cute in her dress. I just couldn't resist taking more of her before I changed her clothes!

Add your own caption....

First Communion

This weekend our goddaughter, Jena, made her First Communion in Cascade. Jena looked so beautiful in her white dress and Rachel was convinced she was getting married! Both of our girls were awesome during mass, not easy considering it was over an hour long AND it was Annie's nap time. I included a few pictures from today. I also included a pic of Annie in her new, sparkly pink shoes. SO cute!!!

Happy Easter

I was going to post some pictures from Easter weekend and realized, I didn't take any pictures over the weekend! No easter egg hunt because it was too cold out. No pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses. So, while looking for recent photos I came across some pictures of Rachel taken at the farm when she was just over a year old. Doesn't summer look nice?? I'm so ready to skip spring and go right for summer! Everytime Rachel sees a green plant or bug, she says, "Look Mom...I found some summer!!!"

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's ANNIE!

Grandma Strang took this picture of Annie while we are in Florida. She looks like a plane, ready for take-off! She loves to play on her belly and she's loves to sit up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. She is so close to crawling, she is so ready...I just wish we were too!

We're Back!!!

We had an MAGICAL time at Disney World! The weather was beautiful and the girls had a great time. Rachel's favorite part of the trip was dancing with Prince Charming and Jena loved flying and swimming in our huge pool. We were anxious to get home and see Annie but I miss the warm temps already! Hurry up and get here spring!!! If you have an hour to spare and want to view the 238 pictures I posted on Shutterfly just click on the following link....

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDlk0bs2LFsA&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5

Sunny Weather...here we come!!

We leave for Orlando bright and early tomorrow morning. Our flight leaves Cedar Rapids at 6AM and we arrive in FL at around 11am. I'm looking forward to some much needed sun, and hopefully some relaxation too! Rachel is so excited to see Cinderella again and spend time with her cousin Jena. See you when we get back!!!