Our baby GIRL is here!!

Just a quick post to share that we have our newest addition to the family. I will post more pictures and details later. But for now, we have a baby GIRL!! I was quite surprised to say the least. I think it took a day for me to really grasp it. We are all so excited! Her name is Emmaline Grace, she was born at 10:47am on Dec. 12th. She weighed 7lbs 4oz, 20.5 inches long.

 My kiddos!! Love em to pieces!!

Our little family!!

Baby's new crib

Brandon and I decided that we weren't ready to take Preston out of his crib and put him a toddler bed yet. The thought of him being able to get out of bed on his own whenever he wanted to was a little unnerving!! With that being said it also means we had to get a new crib for our newest child. After careful searching, we decided on one. We had to have it shipped to our house, since it was only available online. It arrived a week or so later and boy was I excited to put it together. That evening after dinner, Brandon and I set to work putting it together. Of course we had to make it a family affair!! I think the kids were more of a hindrance than a help but they were just as excited and wanted to be part of it too. Thankfully it didn't last forever and they moved on to other things, with a little encouragement from me. ;)

 Preston really enjoyed trying to "help." He would try and pick up everything, tools, screws, etc.

 It really frustrated Brandon, but eventually with a little guidance I was able to get him to be a little more helpful. We would have him put the screws into the holes as you can see here.

 Lillian would help by holding sections of the crib for us.

 The kids really enjoyed posing for the camera but it was really difficult to get them to both look at me.

 I think Preston actually did a better job smiling for me than Lillian. She kept looking sideways to see if he was looking at me. Frustrated me, because I must of taken the same picture another 3 or 4 times trying to get her look at the camera. These were the best ones.

 Daddy with the kids and our finished crib, which could of taken half the time without our little "helpers" but it wouldn't have been as memorable! Thanks kids for your help and Brandon for your patience!!

 We are officially ready for BABY to come!!

Pretend City

Friday Nov. 12th was a holiday for me. Yipee!! Anyway, I decided to take the kids to Pretend City because my friend Aracely had informed me of this great deal, 2 for 1. So I could get both kids and myself in for $9 each!! It was a terrific deal, unfortunately so did everyone else that reads her blog!! Needless to say, we had to stand in line outside for about 30 - 40 minutes before we got in. We even got there right when they were opening and to make matters worse, I had left my phone in the car. So I couldn't call my friend to have her come and get me in, which she could have. I was pretty sure she was there but I didn't want to get out of line and lose my spot, which was relatively close to the front door considering the increasingly growing line behind me, to get my phone if she wasn't there. So we stood there and patiently waited. Thankfully the kids were REALLY well behaved. I was surprised how patient they were. Once we got inside, there were things for them to do right by the line, so I could still keep my eyes on them. The  line inside only took a few minutes, and then they were off!! Well at least Lillian was, Preston stays pretty close to me most of the time. Although, there was a time when for some reason he didn't think that the women he was standing next to was his mom and he took off to find me. I saw him take off and immediately went looking for him and found him a minute or so later with a staff member crying!! The lady was just calling for assistance to help find his "lost mommy!" LOL I still can't really figure out what made him to do that, but oh well at least everything turned out okay. Pretend City is really a great place to take your kids, everything is inside and there's only one exit. The staff there are excellent and there is quite a lot of them too.
The kids had a great time and really enjoyed playing with each other. I love going here because there is so much for them to do, you could literally spend all day there. Just bring a lunch, which we did, and there are tables and chairs for you to eat at. There's even a microwave too!! They do have some nice vending machines with snacks in them, but I don't buy stuff from there.

 Playing in the little house. There's a living room, kitchen, bathroom, a child's room and a parent's room. They are playing in the child's room. There was a little bed, which I found made a great place to sit LOL, a little crib, toy box and this chalk board complete with chalk and eraser. As you can see Lillian was having fun playing with it and Preston was investigating it. She also likes posing for the camera!!

 My little car, truck, ball boy found the fire truck!! To say he loved it would be an understatement!! Lillian got all dressed up for the part while Preston just enjoyed siting inside and pushing all the buttons.

 My son's other favorite thing to play with! Once inside, you can forget about ever getting him out of it. LOL

 Love that smile, so stinking precious!!

 Both the kids loved playing with this truck and had even more fun driving each other around in it.

 As usual it is really hard to get both kids to look at me and smile. (sigh)!!

Lillian was better at driving both of them around, since she is stronger, but Preston liked driving better than being a passenger!!

Getting their energy out

A few days ago, while waiting for Brandon, and after my chiropractor appt., we were hanging out at my parents house. It was a windy cool day and the kids both had a lot of extra energy. They were driving me crazy!! So let them run around and play in my parents front yard. After awhile they came up with this clear idea. I though it was so cute. I love when they can play together and get along.
Here's a video that Brandon took of them "in action!!"

Our newest cousin!!

On Wednesday November 3rd, my brother, Scott and his wife Jen, welcomed their first child into the world. She was born at 12:46pm, weighing 7lbs 13 ounces and 20 inches long. She was exactly 2 weeks early. Her name is Holly Mickelsen. No middle name, since Jen doesn't have one either. I went to see her on my way home from work that day. The kids saw her later, when she was a week old. Brandon didn't get to see her till she was 2 1/2 weeks old. Anyway, here are a few pictures of her taken that night. My parents arrived a short time later too see their third grand baby!! I think my dad was really excited to be a grandpa again.
Scott and Jen as of that night had still not decided on a name for their little girl, although they had narrowed it down to three. They weren't expecting her this early! By the next afternoon, though, they had decided on the name. Below Grandma Anne is holding her.

I took the kids over when Holly was a week old so they could see her. Lillian was super excited to see Holly and of course Uncle Scott and Aunt Jen!! Preston seemed somewhat interested but once he found the ball that became more important. Lillian played with Scott for a few minutes and then she wanted to hold Holly.  Preston came over and wanted to see Holly too. I decided that was the perfect opportunity to get a picture. I believe it was the only one we were able to take before Preston wanted down. Thankfully it turned out pretty good!!

 I am sure, Jen would think this was an awful picture of her. But I am going to blame it on the florescent lighting!!
 
 Proud Auntie!!

 Talking to her a little. I got to change her diaper and put a little top on her because the nurse came in and wanted her to try nursing.

 Scott took this picture of his wife pretending to eat the rest of her dinner.

Mommy holding baby Holly. Congrats, you two!!