2018 :: 34/52

Tova is finally eating well from a spoon and has had oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes, she constantly wants to sit up if she's leaned back at all but still topples over but i'm so excited for her to be sitting up!


Tuesday thru Friday I watched Camdyn, Chloe and baby Carsyn while Jodi had preseason volleyball. it went better than I expected. I had them 8a to about 1230/1p; and Tuesday cam & chloe were exhausted from camping the whole weekend. so the big kids just watched a movie for most of the morning. wed & thurs I was able to send them outside for about a half hour each day before lunch (it was chilly in the mornings) and they played well together. Friday was rainy and trevor was really tired so there was a little more conflict but not bad. the babies were good; they were on opposite schedules but that actually worked so neither one was wanting to be fed while I fed the other. Carsyn took her bottles like a champ once I figured out I couldn't hold her close to my chest/milk. :) they're both pretty easy going and only cry/fuss when they're tired or hungry.

Tuesday after the kids were gone, Al was off so we all went up to Irvine park for our annual trip to see bob the donkey and the other farm animals that are only there in the summer. we saw all the animals and played at both parks; tova had her first time on a park swing and loved it! then we stopped at Olson's ice cream and Al and trevor went into a meat shop.

Thursday I was able to get out garage saling to a couple kids ones but didn't find much. Friday started Al's 7 days off in a row!! Friday was my longest day with kids from 7a-130p and it wasn't quite as easy as the other days but still went well & fast. we just played and had pizza night.

Saturday we had no plans so we got lots done around the house. Al ran to menards to get wood and built my bench I've been wanting, within a couple of hours! now we just need to sand and stain it and get the hooks for trevors back pack to go on and that area will be finished! trevor and I played outside some while Al sawed.

sunday morning we all packed up and drove up to the cities. we stopped at mom's house for a little bit then drove with mom too over to papa's house for the woodbury days parade. papa was still in rehab and dad was sleeping, but we met unc-o and my cousin aryn, her husband tyler, and their little guy Camden there. then we walked the half a block to the parade route. Camden and tova are 5 weeks apart and they loved sitting next to each other, and both did great during the parade. afterwards, I fed tova at papa's house and we went back to mom's for naps and lunch. Al grilled burgers for supper and we played softball at 7&8. we have a throw together team and it was super humid, so it wasn't a great night but I did burn an outfielder for a double.

Monday morning after mom went to work, the 4 of us packed up all our stuff and went to the Minnesota zoo. it was SO humid but not sunny. we did a quick loop through the animals, trevor got to play on the playground he likes, we got our cotton candy we'd been wanting, then we did the inside stuff: the fish area, monkeys and penguins. then we headed to the car, changed both kids as they were wet (trevor from the splash pad, tova from drool), fed tova, and then picked up some lunch to eat on the drive home. tova didn't nap at all in the morning and only slept 30 minutes in the car, so she took 2 long naps once we were home. both kids slept 130-3p once we were home (trevor hadn't napped in a while) then trevor and Al went outside for a bit before the storm came in. we bathed both kids, had supper, and just relaxed.

 babies! tova and Carsyn

 exhausted big kids on a chilly morning

 sleeping hyena

 first park swing was a hit!

 twins; chloe and carsyn

 all the kiddos

 "gotta do some work"

 smiley carsyn

my first successful carrot growing!

these 2!!!

water painting

water tummy time mat

tova & Camden; 5 weeks apart

 parade

 Vulcan "v"

 Minnesota zoo

 trevor took this picture of the leopard

at the parade

2018 :: 33/52

Tova sat up and played for the first time, she tried sweet potatoes but still doesn't care to eat too much via spoon feeding, tried cereal a couple more times too but didn't eat much, first time in the outdoor swing,




Tuesday I got lots of stuff done around the house, and trevor and I played together lots! it was still really hot out so we didn't go outside until after supper. we set up the sprinkler over the garden since we've had no rain for a while, and of course trevor had to run through it! :) tova and I watched him for a bit then we went inside and had their first bath together. they liked it ok but tova's tub took up so much room, soon we'll be able to have her in her little bath seat once she can sit up.

Wednesday Al was off and he and I had dentist appointments in bloomer in the afternoon. during tova's first nap, trevor and I ran to the farmer's market quick for cucumbers and flowers, then we came home and made our fridge pickles. after that, we all packed up in the car and drove to bloomer. I had my appt first at 1 so Al took his kids to his co-worker's house to play (they have little tyler, a year younger than trevor, and McKenzie who is 3 months older than tova but a peanut.) then we switched and Al had his appointment at 2. I took the kids to the elementary school to play, change tova's diaper, and eat the lunch I packed for trevor. then we went back to get Al and drove home.

Thursday it was still hot, we're on a long hot & humid streak and i'm not a fan. we all went garage saling a bit in the morning but didn't find much, then while the kids napped Al and I worked downstairs finally getting the freezer and mini fridge in place, and we ended up cleaning/organizing/vacuuming/sweeping the whole finished side of the basement. the kids came down once they were awake too. it was a great job done!

Friday morning, the kids and I hopped in the car and drove up to maren's house. once there, the kids ate a bit, fed and changed tova, got kids into their swimsuits, and then we went to the waterfall splash pad by their house. it was fun, not too hot or sunny and the kids loved it. then we went back to maren's for lunch, naps for the babies, and then a movie for trevor & tula. once the babies were awake, we packed up and headed to woodbury; we stopped to see my papa at his rehab place. when we got in there, my aunt Debbie, uncle munk, aunt juli, and uncle tom were there. shortly after we got there, my dad came too. we hung out for a bit (they all loved seeing/playing with the kids) until papa was falling asleep in his wheel chair. dad left with us so he could give us some veggies from his garden and so we could go potty and feed tova at his house. then we grabbed some supper for the drive home and hit the Friday rush hour traffic.

Saturday and sunday were spent mostly at home; it was still hot out, Al worked 3p-3a, and we were tired from a busy Friday. Saturday trevor and I made lots of veggies including sweet potato and zucchini baby food (zucchinis from grandpa neil's garden) for tova and delicious zucchini lemon muffins. sunday I cleaned and put things away. Also, on sunday I thought I'd give tova a shot at sitting on her own so I put her in the middle of the boppy pillow and she sat. like it was nothing; she sat for over 5 minutes and played.

Monday Al was off and we got the house ready for having kids the rest of the week. Al mowed the lawn, I got to the grocery store, and we played with dadda.

first bath together

 farmer's market flowers

 watching brother play pinball in the basement

 waterfall splash pad

 etta, tula, trevor

 etta & tova; almost a year apart, almost the same size :)

 visiting papa with auntie Debbie and uncle munk

 sweet potatoes

 sitting up like a big girl

lego car races :)