Girton's Chaos Corner

Buffalo Wild Wings Outing

2011-12-07T10:41:00.002-06:00

Nate, Karter and I recently went to MN for me to take a class. One night while we were there we all went out to BWW. Here are Peyton, Olivia and Karter right before we left.

Peyton and Karter immediately reached out to hold hands when we put their chairs together. It was very cute!

First snow this year

2011-12-07T10:38:00.001-06:00

We got our first snow of the year in late November. Noelle was so excited that she snuck out of the house to go play in it. She also had to eat the snow! Of course it didn't stick around very long and that was very upsetting for the kiddos!

Painting Ornaments for Grandpa

2011-12-07T10:34:00.001-06:00

This year the kids decorated ornaments for the Christmas tree for my dad's birthday gift. Here they are painting the ornaments. Yes I even let Karter get crazy with paint!

Trick or Treat

2011-12-07T10:20:00.002-06:00

This year we were the Smurfs for Halloween. Kade was Jokey, Noelle was Smurfette, and Karter was Baby Smurf. I made their costumes this year. They loved being the Smurfs.

Here are Kade and Noelle at the Halloween Parade Penny Carnival in Amboy.

The Smurfs won a prize for their costumes this year. They were very excited.

Noelle and Kade trick or treating at Grandma and Grandpa Stenzel.

Kade, Karter and Noelle trick or treating with Great Grandma Gehant.

Trick or Treat at Grandma and Grandpa Girton's house.

Picking Pumpkins

2011-12-07T10:07:00.003-06:00

Here are Kade, Noelle and Karter getting pumpkins this year for Halloween.

Karter picking his pumpkin.

Kade and Noelle with their pumpkins.

Noelle, Nate and Kade carving pumpkins. The kids wouldn't take the insides out of the pumpkins without gloves...sissies!

Kade with his carved pumpkin.

Noelle with her carved pumpkin.

I can sit up!!

2011-10-22T18:48:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday Karter started sitting up all by himself. He will now sit for a long time and play with his toys. He is very proud of himself.

Kade reading Karter

2011-10-22T18:44:00.002-05:00

The other morning we were getting ready to go and I found Kade and Karter reading the fishing magazines. Kade was showing Karter all the Muskies!

Drinkin' my juice:)

2011-10-16T10:36:00.002-05:00

We have started having Karter drink his juice out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle. He isn't that great at it! I think he spills more than he drinks, but he is trying.

Kade's 5!!!

2011-10-13T19:34:00.005-05:00

Can't believe Kade is 5 already. This year we did the marathon of birthday parties. We had cupcakes on his actual birthday in Amboy after Depot Days Carnival. Then we had a brunch in Amboy while Chris, Kristin, Olivia and Peyton were home. Then finally we finished our tour at Grandma and Grandpa Girton's.
Here's the birthday boy with shark cupcakes.

Birthday brunch at Grandma and Grandpa Stenzel's house. Here are all the cousins-Peyton, Olivia, Kade, Noelle and Karter.

Opening presents at our house.

Kade's birthday breakfast...pancakes, eggs and bacon.

Kade with his shark cake. This cake was all he could talk about for weeks! Wasn't sure I could pull it off, definitely challenged my skills:)

Opening birthday presents at Grandma and Grandpa Girton's.

School Days

2011-10-13T18:55:00.007-05:00

Can't believe it is time for school again. Kade started Kindergarten this year and Noelle started Pre-K.

Here's Kade by his locker at orientation night.

First day of school.

Since he is in Kindergarten this year, the bus comes and picks him up @ 6:40 am. Since we all know what a morning person I am, we all know how fun it is to get up and ready!

First day of Pre-K. She is loving school.

Noelle in class doing her preschool screening.

Busted:)

2011-08-03T13:31:00.003-05:00

Just went in to check on Karter during his nap and found this. OMG!!! Another thumb sucker? Hopefully not. This explains him self-soothing at night without the pacifier!

Karter's eating cereal

2011-08-03T10:31:00.003-05:00

We started cereal with Karter last week. Here he is sitting in his brand new high chair, thank you to everyone at work for that!!! He is not sure what is about to happen.

He was so different from Kade and Noelle. He really didn't want anything to do with the cereal and they were just the opposite! He only ate about 5 bites total.

He kept making the funniest faces like I was feeding him the nastiest tasting stuff ever. The cereal is actually pretty sweet, not sure what the faces were about.

He just wanted to put his fingers in his mouth and play with the "new stuff", so now his hands stay under the tray when he eats!
I did manage to get a smile out of him after A LOT of coaxing. Now he eats a little better, but he still really has no interest in eating, I guess it will be a process with him!

Karter is on the move.

2011-07-22T14:50:00.002-05:00

Karter has started rolling this past week or so. We didn't know he could do this because we never let him play on the floor. Kade and Noelle would bother him. So this past week, we put a big blanket on the floor and no one was allowed on it but Karter. He almost immediately rolled from his belly to his back. And several times he has gone from his back to his belly. Unfortunately he did this 2 times during the night and was not happy about it, so I went in and rescued him!

Catching lightning bugs

2011-07-22T14:25:00.003-05:00

The kid's new favorite summer activity is catching lightning bugs. They ask every night if we can go out and catch them. It is hard to tell what they're doing in the pictures, but they are chasing the lightning bugs.

4th of July Fun:)

2011-07-22T14:04:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend of the 4th we were professional picnickers! We went to the fire station for their annual picnic on the 4th. The kids got to ride in the firetrucks. They have been in the trucks before, but never had a ride.

We went to Nate's Aunt and Uncle's for a picnic on Sunday. The weather was perfect for a pool party! It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too sunny. My kids were in the pool almost all day. They were out for about 20 minutes to eat lunch!
Here we are, even Karter liked the water after awhile.

Karter was a little unsure about the pool at first, but he settled in and had a good time. He was in the pool quite awhile before we took him out. He had fun floating in his raft.

Karter and Granda Girton under the tent. We took our quick up tent to the picnic for Karter to have some shade and it was a hit with everyone.

Noelle, Grandma Girton and Kade about 30 seconds after we got to the picnic!

Karter just chillin' on a blanket that almost matched his swimsuit. He loved being outside and being around all the new sights and sounds at Aunt Sue and Uncle Noel's.

Ashley's Kitties

2011-07-22T13:52:00.003-05:00

Nate's cousin Ashley has been babysitting our kids this summer. She informed us of some new arrivals at their cabin a few weeks ago and we had to go and check them out! Here's Ashley with the four kitties. They are so cute.

Kade likes the 2 dark kitties and Noelle likes the 2 white kitties.

They got to bottle feed the kitties.

Pancakes and Spelling!

2011-06-22T17:57:00.003-05:00

Tonight was pancake night for supper. Nate has basketball on Wednesday nights so we always do something fun for supper. I saw in a magazine instructions for making letters with pancake batter. The kids loved seeing their names in pancakes. Also a little education while we are out of school working on letters!

Loving the jumper!!

2011-06-22T17:54:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend we tried putting Karter in the Jumperoo. Kade loved it, Noelle hated it. The verdict is in and it must be a boy thing. Karter loves is and jumps tons everyday. I think he loves being off the floor the most and out of the line of fire. The thing he really loves is watching Kade and Noelle play while he jumps.

Karter and the girls

2011-06-22T17:52:00.001-05:00

Nate's sister Erica and her family were home over the weekend for a wedding. We went down to Jody and Marsh's for lunch on Father's Day. The girls can't get enough of the newest Girton! Here he is with Sydney, Sammy, Izzy and Noelle.

Karter loves garage sales:)

2011-06-22T17:49:00.002-05:00

My friend Margaret had a garage sale last week. So the kids and I went over to help her set up. Karter was the life of the party! He fell asleep under the tables.

In the big tub

2011-06-22T17:33:00.001-05:00

Karter started taking baths in the big tub. He took his first one with Grandma Stenzel and cried and screamed the whole time. Here he is during the second try and he is much calmer!

Kade's surgery

2011-06-10T09:09:00.005-05:00

Kade had his tonsils out on Thurs morning. We had to be at the hospital very early and as you can see he wasn't very happy to be there! Nice mad face after putting on his hospital PJs.

I finally got a little smile out of him.
This was the bed they had him in. He looked like a caged animal when they put the sides up. Even Kade thought it was funny, he asked if he looked like a tiger!
He got to pick his surgical hat from several different colors. He got to keep his hat and bring it home with him.
Here he is waiting to be taken down to surgery. He kept peeking around the corner watching for them coming to get him.
When they came to get him they took him to surgery in a dragon cart. He thought that was really neat. He did really well as you can see, he just waved and said "See ya later mom"
Here he is just after we got to come back, he was sitting on his bed eating a Popsicle.

When we got home he immediately ate 4 bowls of jell-o and 4 Popsicles. He just kept devouring the jell-o and Popsicles so he now has an almost permanent kool-aid like mustache! He is doing pretty good, the only trouble is getting him to take the medicine. Here he is trying to share his Popsicle with Karter!

Our little cheerleader

2011-06-10T09:03:00.002-05:00

I recently found this cheerleading outfit at a garage sale. The colors are perfect for daddy's team the Hawks. She immediately had to put it on and wear it. She can't wait to wear it to the games next season.

Roasting marshmallows at The 40

2011-05-31T17:44:00.009-05:00

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we headed out to the 40 for dinner and some marshmallow roasting. We were going to make S'Mores, but the store was out of graham crackers! The kids had never roasted marshmallows before and they had a blast!

Here is Kade with Grandpa Stenzel and Uncle Al.

Kim and Noelle, she wasn't so fond of the heat from the fire!

Grandpa Stenzel loading everyone's forks!

Kade and Noelle with Uncle Al

Kim and Noelle

Kade, Noelle and Kim

Noelle eating her marshmallows. She liked the non-roasted more than the roasted! She even took the last ones from the bag and ran into the cabin with them so we wouldn't cook them!

Kade putting his own marshmallows on.

Kade roasting his marshmallows.

Matching outfits

2011-05-31T17:33:00.003-05:00

Here are Karter and Peyton in matching outfits. Kristin's mom found these outfits. It is most likely the ONLY time they will have matching outfits! Karter was the life of the party here with happy, smiley Peyton.

Karter's Baptism

2011-05-31T16:33:00.005-05:00

We had Karter baptized on May 22. My brother, Chris, and Nate's sister, Erica, are his godparents. We had the ceremony at St. Pat's in Amboy where Nate and I were married and the two other kids were baptized.

Kim, Monsignor Bales, Nate and Karter.

Erica, Kim, Karter, Nate and Chris

Last Day of School

2011-05-31T16:18:00.004-05:00

Kade's last day of school was May 20, 2011. He will continue on to Kindergarten in the fall. Can't believe we are already starting school. Here are some pics of their end of the year celebration.

These are some of the kids in his class singing some of their favorite songs.

The boys in the class doing a pinata. Kade is at the back with the plaid shirt and jean shorts.

Kade with his buddies Luke, Jakob and Jack during the class picnic.

Kade and Noelle with Mrs Morrison. Noelle will be in her class next year. She can't wait to go to school next year!

Kade's 1st bike ride

2011-05-31T16:10:00.002-05:00

I took Kade for his first ride on his big boy bike. He rode from our house to the north end of the road and back. I forgot how graded it is, we made it about 100 yards and he said "my legs are killing me" Oops! He did make it all the way which is about 1/2 mile! Here he is leaving the driveway.

Here he is pulling into the driveway when he was done. I could never get in front of his to take a picture!

Playin' in the sprinkler

2011-05-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

Today was really nice here, sunny and 88, so we got the sprinkler out for the kids today when Nate got home from work. They were so excited, but a little hesitant at first. Nobody wanted to be the first one in!

Noelle trying to drink out of the sprinkler.

Daddy and Karter watching Kade and Noelle havin' fun.

Karter's first stroller ride

2011-05-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

Today was a gorgeous day-sunny and 88! So we decided to go for a walk while Kade was at school. Karter looks so small next to Noelle, but he did really well in the big stroller!

Happy Mother's Day:)

2011-05-08T23:37:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there! We had both sets of parents over for a cookout for Mother's Day. My Grandma Gehant was also able to come over as well. Here she is with Karter.

Kade, Grandma Stenzel, Karter, Kim and Noelle

Kade, Noelle, Grandma Girton, Karter and Nate

My Bumbo Seat

2011-05-08T23:27:00.003-05:00

My friend Margaret and I have been sharing this Bumbo seat since Kade was born. It's our turn to use it again!! She was able to bring it by for Karter and he loves it! He has always loved to sit upright and see what is going on. We were both shocked that at 8 weeks he was able to sit and hold himself up, my little strong man! And again he has his little fuzzy from Aunt Kristin!

I'm 2 months old today!

2011-05-07T15:58:00.002-05:00

Karter is 2 months old today! I can't believe it, these last 8 weeks have gone by so fast! Still struggling sleeping, but getting better. Here he is with the small version of a blanket Aunt Kristin made. He loves this version because it fits in the car seat and we take it everywhere. We may need a 2nd one so we are never without even if one is in the wash! Karter has a lot less hair than Kade and Noelle when they were this age, but there is just enough to spike it up!

Easter Weekend

2011-05-07T12:40:00.025-05:00

Here they are at the start of the Easter festivities. Chris, Kristin, Olivia and Peyton were able to come down for Easter this year! So we had a big event filled weekend...We started at the Easter Egg Hunt in Oregon, then everyone came up to our house to color eggs and celebrate Noelle's 3rd birthday, then to end the weekend we went down to my mom and dad's for breakfast and to hunt eggs! Wow, lots to keep everyone busy!

Peyton, in the Twins cover and Karter, in the sports cover, waiting for the egg hunt. Aren't they a lively pair.

Chris, Olivia, Noelle and Kade waiting for the start of the egg hunt in Oregon.

Noelle, in the brown and pink coat, and Kade in the Navy blue with the stripe coat, hunting eggs and other goodies at the egg hunt in Oregon.

Noelle and Kade with the Easter Bunny at the hunt in Oregon.

All the older kiddos decorating eggs with Grandma, who was guilty of spilling the dye this year!

Kade coloring Easter eggs. Did much better this year, no spilling or trying to eat the dye!

Chris "double fisted" with Karter and Peyton.

The kiddy table. They took all the decorations off the island and put them all on their table. Not much room left for them or their plates. It was pretty funny.

Noelle, Olivia and Great Grandma checking out the Disney Princess puzzle.

Opening presents

Noelle wanted a Black Beauty horsey cake and horsey themed party for her 3rd birthday. Here is my attempt at Black Beauty.

Kade, Noelle and Olivia all blowing out the candles on Noelle's cake

The Easter baskets after the Easter Bunny dropped them off.

Kade and Noelle checking out the goodies in their baskets.

Noelle with her new sunglasses that were in her Easter basket.

The Girton Kiddos Karter, Kade and Noelle.

All the kiddos before the Easter egg hunt. Karter, Kade, Noelle, Peyton and Olivia!

Kade hunting eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Stenzel's house.

Noelle hunting eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Stenzel's house.

Chris Peyton and Karter. All these two did all weekend was sleep through all the fun stuff!

Karter with his Easter eggs.

Four Generations

2011-05-07T12:35:00.002-05:00

On Easter weekend we were able to take a four generation picture with my Grandma. Here we are at the cabin Kim, Great Grandma, Karter and Karen.

Making cookies with all 3 kiddos:)

2011-04-17T19:27:00.003-05:00

Kade, Noelle and I were making cookies today and Karter decided he was missing out! He woke up and wanted to be in the action. So we put him in the bouncie seat so he could see what was going on.

Feeding baby Karter

2011-04-17T19:21:00.002-05:00

We started bottle feeding Karter this week, which was a hard decision for me. The only plus is that other people can feed him and free up a few more minutes for me in a day. Kade and Noelle LOVE this new change. They want to feed him all the time now. We have fights about who's turn it is to feed Karter. Here they both are on their first time feeding him.

Our New Park!

2011-04-17T19:05:00.002-05:00

After wanting a "park" of our own for several years, we were blessed with one this week. The kids are very excited. Unfortunately since we put it up, the weather has been very cold. Next week doesn't look any better. They can't wait for the weather to warm up to play at "their park." We still need a baby swing for Karter so he can play at the park!

Random Pictures of Karter

2011-04-11T19:42:00.002-05:00

Karter got several of these outfits with the cute hats. Daddy hates the hats!!Playing with the play mat. Noelle and Karter chillin' in our bed. Karter and Great-Grandma Gehant. "Big K" as Nate calls him. One month old.

The big 3's birthday Noelle is 3 and Mommy is 33!!

2011-04-11T19:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was mine and Noelle's birthdays. Here are some pictures from the 3rd birthday celebrations!!

Noelle got poms poms for her birthday. She is obsessed with cheerleading. We are hoping to get her into tumbling and cheer this summer!

We went to the Girton's for dinner, cake and ice cream. Here are the birthday girls with their cakes!

More hospital pictures

2011-04-11T10:49:00.003-05:00

These are a few more pictures from the hospital.

He's Here...Karter Roland Girton

2011-03-14T13:26:00.004-05:00

Here I am just hours before Karter was born!

Karter Roland was born on 3-12-11 at 5:30 pm weighing 8 lbs and 19 1/4 in long. Here he is after his first bath.

Noelle and Kade came up the following day to meet their new brother. Noelle is in LOVE!!!! She wants to hold him all the time and Kade even shared his silky!

Here we all are, the whole Girton family.

Getting ready for baby

2011-03-14T13:23:00.003-05:00

Karter is on his way and we are almost ready. Here are some pics of Karter's new digs. We re-painted the nursery and got some new bedding for the newest Girton.

Preschool Screening

2010-03-28T13:56:00.002-05:00

I took Kade to preschool screening on Tuesday. I can't believe he is already old enough for school of any kind! He did a great job. He tested out right where he should 3-4 years old. There are a few things we have to work on, but overall he did well. We have to wait now until late June/early July to find out if the Pre-K program will be offered again in our school district. I sure hope so, but we'll see.

Cinderella

2010-03-28T13:51:00.002-05:00

Noelle, Jody-Nate's mom, Sydney-my niece, and I went to the Oregon HS production of Cinderella last weekend. Noelle loved it. By the end of the musical she was singing and dancing when they would. We were cracking up.

After the musical we went back to Nate's mom and dad's house for awhile, and the kids found some musical instruments and thought Nate might like a concert. So they played them for him, right in his face. It was truly hilarious.

Hunting at Granpa's

2010-03-28T13:45:00.002-05:00

Before the snow melted, Kade had "the gun" out at mom and dad's. There are no bee-bees in it, or any other amo, but he thinks he is hunting deer! He finds the tracks and then makes the sound like the gun is firing. Then he will look over and yell "I got him!!" It is really funny. My dad gets a big kick out of this. Then my dad wanted to take them in the wagon. But Kade said he would rather walk, so he could hunt.

My crazy outfit:)

2010-03-28T13:28:00.002-05:00

Not sure what she was trying to say with this outfit. St. Louis Cards batting helmet-GO CARDS, pjs, Kade's shoes and brushing her teeth! Who's kid is she anyway.

Noelle's 1st Donut

2010-03-28T13:23:00.003-05:00

Noelle had her first donut a few weeks ago. Unlike her brother, who didn't like it immediately. She ate 3 little donuts and asked for more!

Noelle's Snow Day

2009-12-29T14:53:00.002-06:00

We had some crazy weather here over Christmas-first rain, then ice, then snow. So after the snow, we took Noelle out to sled for the first time. She loved it. Then I had her get in the snow. She wasn't sure about being in the snow, but loved to sled.

Our crazy Christmas:)

2009-12-29T13:57:00.004-06:00

We started our Christmas stops at Nate's aunt's house on Christmas Eve. I got the kids shirts that said "I ate Santa's Cookies" they looked cute.
Kade left cookies under the tree for Santa and was upset Christmas morning when the note said Santa had eaten them.

Christmas morning after we opened presents at our house, we headed down to Nate's parent's house to spend Christmas with his family.

My brother came home the day after Christmas, so we headed down to the Stenzel's Christmas in the morning then went to my parent's house that night. Here are the kids before they opened presents.

Kade didn't get a nap for 2 days in a row and he was super exhausted so he actually fell asleep at the dinner table at my parent's house.

Noelle and Olivia got super comfy sleeper pjs from my mom and dad. He they were all ready for bed in their new pjs.

The big tub

2009-12-29T11:40:00.002-06:00

Kade and Noelle wanted to take a bath in our bathroom, so I finally gave in. The tub is so deep that Noelle couldn't sit down. They loved it and now they want to use our tub for baths.

Visiting Santa

2009-12-29T11:28:00.003-06:00

We took the kids to see Santa in Franklin Grove in early Dec. Noelle couldn't get her coat off fast enough and ran to Santa. Big improvement from the screaming last year.

Kade was still a little shy. He let Noelle go first and then slowly made his way over to Santa. Once he started talking, we couldn't get him off Santa's lap.

Movie Night

2009-12-29T11:21:00.001-06:00

We had movie night and made popcorn with the popper and watched Shrek the Halls with the kids. They had never seen the popcorn maker. Noelle thought it was hilarious.

First snow of the year

2009-12-29T11:05:00.002-06:00

We got our first snow of the season on Dec 6. It wasn't much, but we took the kids outside and hung up the Christmas lights. It was a good thing we did because we were blasted with almost a foot of snow the next day!

Christmas Stockings

2009-12-29T10:58:00.002-06:00

I made new stockings this year for Christmas. Nate thought we should see if Noelle fit in them, and she did.

Curlers

2009-12-29T10:15:00.006-06:00

We tried curlers in Noelle's hair for Thanksgiving. She loved them. She sat on her chair while I put them in. She left them in for about 4 hours.

Her hair held the curl really well. It stayed super curly for the rest of the day and all the next day until we had to wash her hair in the tub.

Happy Halloween:)

2009-11-07T19:47:00.005-06:00

The kids were Pebbles and Bam Bam for Halloween this year. I actually made both costumes from start to finish this year. The hardest part was finding the full body tights to put under the costumes to keep warm!!

Kade with Great Grandma Gehant

Noelle with Great Grandma Gehant

Kade and Noelle with Grandma and Grandpa Stenzel

Pumpkin Festival 10K

2009-11-07T19:41:00.002-06:00

On Oct 25, I ran in the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival 10K. The weather was beautiful, with little wind.

This was about the 5K mark, I was feeling great and keeping a good pace...but then after the 4 mile mark the course started heading uphill:(

Here I am just before mile 6, I have been running uphill for almost 2 miles, I was struggling!!! I finished in the middle of the pack, just shy of my goal time. I was just glad to finish and know I ran a 10K. I decided that day however, that I am a 5K runner:)

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-07T19:29:00.009-06:00

While we were in Minnesota, we visited a pumpkin patch. It was HUGE. There were tons of things to see. They had playgrounds, a hay ride, petting zoo, and a lot more we didn't see. Then of course there was the pumpkin patch. It was very windy and my two had had enough by the time we got to the pumpkins:)

Olivia's 1st B-Day

2009-11-07T19:19:00.006-06:00

The kids and I ventured up to Chris's early in Oct. for Olivia's 1st Birthday. Liv had a blast at her party. The kids had fun playing together. This was my 1st trip driving by myself since I was in college. I was nervous, but we made it.

Aaron's wedding

2009-11-07T18:36:00.005-06:00

We went to Aaron and Jen's wedding at the end of September. We had a blast. We stayed in a townhouse with Chris, Kristin, Olivia and Kristin's sister Vicki. Vicki bravely volunteered to babysit the kids while we were at the reception! She had our 2, Olivia and 2 of my cousins, WOW:) Here are a few pics from the wedding.
The whole Stenzel family dressed up and ready to party!

The little girls had matching dresses and they were super cute!

Chris, Me, Aaron and Erica. We have taken this foursome picture at all of our weddings now!

Girton Family 5K's

2009-10-11T11:26:00.002-05:00

I ran my first 5K over Depot Days weekend in Amboy. I loved it and immediately found 2 more races to run before the end of the season.
Nate and the kids, and my mom and dad watched. I had to give Kade "knuckles" as I ran by.

Everybody moved and I saw them just before the final turn to the finish!

Last weekend, we all ran a 5K in Oregon. I ran with Noelle and Kade went with Nate. Nate and Kade walked the course and finished well. Noelle and I jogged and finished with a respectable 34 minutes. Pushing her was a lot more challenging than I thought! It was cold, here are the kids in their winter coats and hats bundled up before the race.

The whole family after the race.

Cards V Cubs

2009-10-11T11:16:00.002-05:00

Nate and I went to the Cards game in St Louis at the end of Sep. We had a blast. We sat right behind the Cards dugout and we so close! Here is my favorite player, Molina, coming back from warming up the pitcher pregame.

La Russa and the boys had to talk about a jam we were in, and Carpenter got us out of the inning.

YEAH!!!! CARDS WIN!!!!! A celebration by the boys in red.

Cub fans better luck next year.

Ice cream at Grandma and Grandpa's

2009-10-11T11:11:00.003-05:00

The kids had ice cream cones at Grandma and Grandpa. This was Noelle's first cone. She loved it:)

Kade had his cone and Noelle was so excited about hers that she was dancing and jumping around while Grandma was making her cone.

She loved the ice cream cone. She was a ice cream mess when she was done, but she had fun!

Kade's Birthday Part II

2009-10-11T11:00:00.005-05:00

Here is my version of Busch Stadium. This cake was a nightmare to put together, but Kade loved it.
Nate's sister brought a piniata for the kids. Noelle had fun whacking the piniata.

Kade whacking the piniata.

Noelle found a sucker on the ground and tried to eat it with the wrapper on.

Kade's 1st Dentist Visit

2009-10-11T10:56:00.003-05:00

Kade had his first dentist appointment, he was complaining that his teeth hurt. I was relieved to find out that his teeth were fine and in great condition. He did wonderfully, I was sure he would fight them like he fights me but he was so good.

Kade's birthday part I

2009-10-11T10:49:00.004-05:00

Kade's 3rd birthday was on a Friday this year which is bad for Nate and I during football season. It was also Depot Days weekend in Amboy, which was nice because he thought the carnival was for his birthday. So he finally got to open presents on Sat night at mom and dad's before the fireworks-also for him! From the gifts to the cake it was a baseball birthday.

Depot Days

2009-10-11T10:31:00.003-05:00

We took the kids down to Amboy for Depot Days in Aug. We did a ton of new stuff that weekend. My mom and I took the kids to the old pharmacy in Amboy for an old fashion soda. Then we headed over to the carnival. Kade had a blast, he wanted to ride every ride. Noelle wasn't so sure, she was on the merry-go-round for one revolution and that was it.

Kade caught 2 fish on one hook and was so excited!

Kade fell asleep for about 25 minutes waiting for the parade to start, he woke up just as the parade got to us and had a blast picking up all the candy people were throwing.

Kade and Haleigh had fun dancing to the music of this unique banjo player. He was literally a one man walking band it was neat!

Sorry about the absence of posts.

2009-09-21T23:34:00.001-05:00

I have so many pictures that I need to download off my camera and post. However, we are having issues with the Internet speed here. I will get some pictures up as soon as I can. I definitely want to share pics from our trip to St. Louis for all you loyal Cub fans:)

Chief Girton

2009-08-23T11:34:00.002-05:00

Kade found my dad's dress chief's hat in their closet Sat night and of course had to try it on. It is normally wrapped in plastic, but Grandpa let Kade wear it. Is he crazy? A little boy with a white hat!!!

Ridin' my trike

2009-08-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

We were at mom and dad's on Sat and Kade jumped on the trike and took off. He has been too short to reach the peddles and yesterday he wasn't. I was shocked, we really haven't worked with him that much and off he went.

More weird places Kade falls asleep:)

2009-08-23T11:22:00.002-05:00

Kade has been falling asleep in weird places again. He likes big recliners, here he is at our house shortly after lunch. He also seems to like my dad's recliner, he falls asleep there a lot too!

Not only was Kade sleeping in the middle of the day, so was daddy!!

We couldn't believe that Kade fell asleep on the floor in front of the fridge at mom and dad's so Nate had to get down and check.

As you can see he is out. He had been at a birthday party from noon til 3 which is prime nap time, so he barely mad it in the door and laid down for a nap. He didn't budge when I picked him up and put him in bed.

Corn on the Cob

2009-08-23T11:19:00.001-05:00

We planted a fairly large garden this summer with tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, green beans, strawberries, and sweet corn. Noelle had her 1st corn on the cob and loved it. Straight from the garden!

Jay's Drive-In

2009-08-23T09:35:00.003-05:00

Nate and I took the kids out to eat at Jay's Diner in Oregon. It is an old-time drive-in 50's style. We had eaten their food before, but never eaten inside the restaurant. Kade and Noelle both LOVE music so they were dancin and boppin around the whole time we were there.

The kids meals come in 1950's cars, which Kade loved! He played with that and was mad when we through it in the trash when we left.

Noelle thought she needed to eat with 2 forks!

I use a spoon!

2009-08-23T09:33:00.001-05:00

Noelle just started using a spoon and a fork instead of her fingers. Of course it is much faster to use her hands, so by the end of the meal she is back to using her hands!!

Another park adventure

2009-08-23T09:25:00.003-05:00

We love the park, unfortunately since we don't live in town we don't get there often.

This is Kade on the biggest slide in the park. It took some coaxing, but he finally came down.

I love hats!

2009-08-23T09:19:00.001-05:00

Noelle is a fan of hats. She loves to take Nate's hats and wear them backwards.

Just chillin'

2009-08-05T21:08:00.003-05:00

The weather here has been really mild for summer, but we did finally break out the popsicles. Nate's mom had some for the kids after diner the other night. Noelle had never had them before and she loved them!!! Kade is sitting next to Nate's Grandma Girton.

Back to the zoo

2009-08-05T21:01:00.002-05:00

We bought season passes to the zoo in Milwaukee, WI this summer and they have certain nights that they invite members only to come after hours. We went up and had a blast. The animals are way more active at night, and it is a lot less crowded. Kade, as you can see, loves the lions. Even with the thick glass, I wasn't thrilled with the staring face to face. He, on the other hand, didn't mind one bit!

Noelle loved the tigers. The tiger normally is sleeping when we are there, however, he was up and pacing. She stood right up at the window and giggled when he would come by.

Here Kade is having a really sweet big brother moment.

Noelle's first trip to the park!

2009-08-05T15:57:00.012-05:00

We took Noelle to the park for the first time a few weeks ago. She wasn't sure at first, but then with the help of her brother, she warmed up a little. The park that we always go to is actually being torn down and replaced which makes me sad. The old park was awesome, all wooden. It looked like a huge fortress/castle with all sorts of slides and fun stuff. They are replacing it with your average/everyday park. They say it is safer, but I will miss the old wooden playground.

Fun on the 4th!

2009-08-05T15:05:00.007-05:00

We went up to Chris and Kristin's this year for the 4th and had a blast. Here are the kiddos all in the tub. The tub was almost not big enough. How cute are the girls!

Here are some pics of the kiddos in the pool. Noelle wasn't thrilled that we put her in the pool for the photo op! Kade and Olivia stayed in forever and had a blast.

Uncle Chris and Aunt Kristin bought fireworks and sparklers for us. Kade had never seen fireworks before and he loved them. Uncle Chris also bought the little poppers, that is what he and Kade and Noelle are doing. I was paranoid about the sparklers and Kade did try and hold the burning end, but we escaped without burns!!!

Here is Kade in Olivia's swing. We had to check the capacity to make sure he could swing. Doesn't he look HUGE!!!!!

Noelle adores Olivia. The first thing she did was give hugs and kisses when we got there. Here she is again with the affection. She also called Olivia "baby" all weekend, which is hysterical since she is only 6 months older than Olivia!

My mom made Olivia and Noelle 2 matching outfits. Here they are in their yellow outfits, complete with hats! How cute are they!! Thanks Mom!

New Pool

2009-07-30T22:38:00.001-05:00

We put up the pool for the kids in the back yard and Kade loved it. Noelle as you can see wasn't so sure. She really didn't want in. She will stand at the side and put her hands in, but that is the extent of her swimming. We have killed the grass were the pool sits, after the years it took to actually get grass!!! But it was worth it. We also want to give Grandma Stenzel props for making the cutest summer hat.

Trip to the Zoo

2009-06-14T11:10:00.003-05:00

We went to the zoo yesterday. It was the four of us and my mom, since my dad was in Canada fishing. This was Noelle's first time. Last time we went to the zoo Kade was her age and I was pregnant with Noelle, but didn't know it.
Noelle liked the monkeys and fish the best. Here she is in the aquarium area.

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Kade loved the zoo, he had a blast and can't stop talking about all the animals. He got to feed the goats right off when we got there. He wasn't sure at first, but then he wanted to feed them all! He also loved the aquarium and wants to take his fishing pole next time!

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Kade's also loved the monkeys and the lions. We had to go back to the lions and we were glad we did. They were very active up pacing and playing the second time we went by. They came right up to the window were Kade was standing just as we were leaving. Look at the lion, he was thinking...MMM, Lunch! The last pic is of Kade about 30 sec. after we buckled him in the car, he was OUT!

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Little Mooch

2009-06-14T10:06:00.002-05:00

Noelle is the biggest mooch EVER!!!! If you are eating, even if she has just eaten, she wants what you have. Here she is moochin' off Nate right after she got done eating lunch. Of course in true daddy fashion, he gives in. And it isn't just food, she also wanted his pop. He gave in and gave her the empty can and she knew just what to do with it!! What a MOOCH!!

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Gone Fishin'

2009-06-14T09:36:00.002-05:00

We went to Nate's cousin's cabin for his Grandma's birthday and Kade got to go "fishing" for the first time this year. He really doesn't fish, he has a pole with no line or hook. He just stands at the edge and puts the tip in the water and yells "I caught a big one!!!"

Noelle's Birthday Party

2009-06-03T22:37:00.003-05:00

We had Noelle's 1st birthday party over Memorial Day weekend. We had a beautiful day and a lot of fun. She loves cake as you can see. She is crying in the highchair because she could see the cake and I wanted to take a picture. We had to take her out of the chair and vacuum it out and put her immediately into the sink to wash off the cake. Then she was able to open her presents. She really wasn't interested in opening, but she did freak over this huge soft baby-doll. She started to melt down during present opening, so she had to take a nap during her party!!

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Future Nascar Drivers

2009-06-03T22:31:00.002-05:00

Look out Joey Logano, here are 2 future Nascar Home Depot drivers.

Potty Time Hat

2009-06-03T22:22:00.003-05:00

Kade is potty training. I came into the bathroom to find him with his shorts on his head and he told me "look at my hat mama" what a nerd!

Ridin' My Pony

2009-06-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

Uncle Chris and Aunt Kristin got Noelle little pony for her birthday. She just started to figure out what to do. She is so cute riding it around the house.

Hard Workin' Man

2009-06-03T21:56:00.002-05:00

The weather here is finally starting to warm up. Here is Kade on one of the first days when it was still a little chilly and we were out in the yard working. He has on his Carhart work pants "like Daddy's" and his Cardinal batting helmet. We really don't go anywhere or do anything without onw of his 2 helmets and his baseball glove. He is a huge sports nut!

Holding Hands:)

2009-06-03T21:49:00.002-05:00

This is the new way Kade and Noelle ride in the car. Kade will reach over and say "hold my hand Noelle" and she will reach out. Then all you hear is giggling from the backseat. It is very CUTE:)

Hunting Easter Eggs

2009-06-03T21:07:00.001-05:00

We had a very packed Easter weekend. On Sunday to finish off our weekend, we had egg hunts at both families. Here are pics from the Girton and Stenzel egg hunts.

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Easter Basket Goodies

2009-06-03T20:50:00.003-05:00

The Easter Bunny brought a spongy golf club and ball this year for Kade. He is still a sports nut. As you can see he had to go outside immediately and try it out!!

Olivia and Noelle

2009-06-03T19:53:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pics of Noelle and her cousin Olivia. Aren't they cute in their Easter Dresses. They were VERY tired and Noelle barely made it through pictures before having to take a nap!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-06-03T19:40:00.003-05:00

We decorated Easter eggs on Saturday April 11. Chris and Kristin surprised us with a visit, so Olivia got to decorate eggs with us! This was Kade's 2nd egg coloring that he actually enjoyed. Noelle got very tired and didn't make it to the end, she had to take a nap!

Wagon Ride!

2009-06-02T18:35:00.003-05:00

I got the best birthday present ever, my brother suprised me and came home for my birthday. So here are my kids with their cousin Olivia going on their first family wagon ride with grandpa! We aren't sure who had more fun-the kids or grandpa.

Happy Birthday Kim and Noelle!

2009-06-02T17:28:00.002-05:00

Noelle and I had our birthdays on Good Friday. So here is Noelle at my parent's cabin with her 1st cake. We didn't have her party until Memorial Day weekend so those pics will come later! The last pic is of the birthday girls after Noelle took a bath after the cake!

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It's official, I'm 1!

2009-04-10T10:24:00.003-05:00

Well Noelle is 1 today!! I can't believe how fast that went. Here are pictures from this morning when she woke up and then before breakfast she got to "lick the beaters". I made cupcakes for dinner tonight for her birthday. Kade got to do the same thing when I made his cupcakes. I took a video that I will try and post.

Grandpa's Tool Bench

2009-04-10T10:03:00.002-05:00

OK, Kade's favorite thing at my mom and dad's has got to be the tool bench. My dad lets him climb up and play with whatever he wants. When Chris and I were growing up, there was NO TOUCHING the tools!!! My dad knew when there was one missing or out of place. So how SPOILED is Kade????

Love the 2-seater carts!

2009-04-10T09:57:00.003-05:00

I love it when stores have the double cart seat. Comes in handy when you are all by yourself. Here we are at Sams Club! Kade really doesn't like having to share the cart seat, but he is pushing the max weight capacity, so he won't have to share for long!