August

Where did August go? Did I accidentally sleep through it? (No... I would have remembered the extra sleep.) It has flown by which seems to be consistent with how life has been since Wesley was born. I need to put a leash on our days and make them last just a little bit longer or before I know Wesley will be walking, Josh will be eating his third birthday cake and Katelyn will be a kindergartner! I do remember a few things from the last few weeks. We've had some silly moments and some sad moments, but all in all life is treating us well.

"School" Stuff

Practicing writing letters and numbers in a tray full of shaving cream. (Easier to clean-up!)

Practicing upper and lowercase letters with playdough.


Teaching the Important Things

Learning the right way to eat an OREO. (Dipped in milk, of course.)


Showing Wesley how to smile for the camera. (Can you believe he is 5 months old?!)


Free Day at Discovery Place

Playing at the Water Works



What kid can resist beating something with a stick?


Kate's favorite part of the whole day was getting to touch the starfish... :)


The Aquarium


Push-O-War with Ben and Katelyn


Last but not least... the drive home.

We had a great time at Discovery Place. I am pretty sure the kids will be talking about it for quite a while. We saw two 3D movies while we were there. One about a taking care of our oceans and the other was about sharks. Good times!

Sorry!

Wesley at 4 months old!

Weight: 18lb. 13 oz
Height: 25 1/2 inches
Smiles: Immeasurable!

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy having too much fun!

We dance, we play, we have fun!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted any pictures of Wesley recently! He is getting so big! He is almost 3 months old now. He is as cute as ever and weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs! Check him out.

Katelyn had her big end of the year dance recital a few weekends ago. We are so proud of her and how hard she worked all year. Dance wasn't always her favorite class, but she stuck it out and now she is asking to do dance again next year. Check out our little Go Go Girl.

Kate got flowers from us and Papa and Nana Bellinghausen!


Our Cute Kiddos

New Blog

I've started another blog for anyone who may be interested.

Joy in the Journey

Mother's Day

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley



I love my kids.

Josh is TWO!

Our sweet baby boy (the first one) is two today! He has surprised us since the very beginning when he popped out with blue eyes and blonde hair. He is a total ham and loves to make people laugh. He loves his big sister Katelyn so much. He would do just about anything for her. Our favorite thing to hear him say is "I love you" because he gets a really shy, embarrassed look on his face. and he has recently insisted on giving kisses at bedtime (love that!). If he is sad, all you need is an M&M and a hug to cheer him up. He loves Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen and, of course, NASCAR. He would spend all day long outside if we'd let him and he just might with the present his Nana and Grandpa Bellinghausen surprised him with!

The kiddos slept in this morning and when they finally came out of their rooms, Josh found birthday balloons waiting outside their door. He would probably have been just as happy to play with balloons all morning. (He's pretty easy to please!) But we headed downstairs and he discovered all of the birthday decorations and PRESENTS! We thought we'd open presents after breakfast but he dove right in as soon as he saw them. He got a mini tool bench, legos, a slip and slide, and Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen books. Then we had our traditional chocolate chip pancakes. His was in the shape of a two, of course.

Later in the morning, Nana and Grandpa came over and surprised Josh (and Kate) with a new Power Wheels! You have to see the sequence of pictures below, they're great. The kiddos spent he next couple of hours driving the new car and playing on the slip and side. Then it was time to come in and cool off.

We decided to work on Josh's Birthday cake. We let the kids sample as went. Sticky, but very delicious! When Josh wakes up in a bit we'll have Pulled Pork Sliders and Homemade Mac and Cheese and later CAKE! Stay tuned for more pictures.

Nana Comes to Visit and Easter Weekend

Last Sunday, my mom (aka. Nana Freese) flew in from Minnesota to help out since Ben had to go back to work. We had an awesome week together. She planted my garden boxes for me, made a spring wreath for our front porch and took care of Josh and Kate. And she did the dishes, cooked, did laundry, cleaned... the list goes on. I was totally spoiled. Thank you, Mom!


The kids spent an entire morning helping Nana plant strawberries, broccoli, carrots and a few other things. They had a great time playing in the dirt. We can't wait to start eating strawberries!


Nana and Kate spent another morning making sugar cookies and decorating them. Sugar cookies are Grandpa Freese's favorite, so they have become Nana's specialty.

(Check out "Josh's" boots!)

We all attended the Annual Scienski Easter Egg Hunt. There were over 400 eggs hidden in their backyard! The kids had a blast hunting for eggs with all of their friends. Wesley slept through the entire party parked right next to Nana. What a good boy. :)



Saturday we dyed Easter eggs. I'm the less creative, let's get this done parent, whereas Ben will spend 10 minutes decorating one egg. Needless to say, he and Kate created some really cool eggs.



Sunday morning, Easter, the kids woke up and came downstairs to see if the Easter bunny stopped by their house. He sure did!




We had an early Easter dinner and then headed over to Grandpa Bellinghausen's for an Easter egg hunt. The kids had a blast looking for eggs.



Monday morning, Nana headed back to Minnesota. We were sad to see her go, but Grandpa Freese was sure missing her. And it was time for me to take on the kids by myself and start working on some sort of a routine.


Wesley is growing fast. At his appointment last week he was 9lbs. 10 oz. He finally got his first bath this week and he didn't seem to mind it!