Berries!

We did our annual berry picking on Tuesday.  This time, we had company.  It seems like everywhere I go lately I have a professional photographer following me!!!   Monica is getting SO awesome at her photography.  I may be her biggest fan!  Pretty soon, she is going to be charging me for these awesome shots she takes of my children.  I will be forever grateful for all of them I will have forever.  (I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten any shots myself with my little berry monster running around!)  We had a fun time with our bff's that day...Monica and I are planning a Sat. morning, mommy-only, garage sale/berry picking outing soon! 

Kaden's best buddy!

A raspberry picking injury!   He said, "it feels SO much better when you kiss it mommy"

My busy girl!

Time for the weigh-in!  Monica and I joked they should have weighed my kids before and then after.  For every one berry picked, Kaden ate two.  Needless to say, I paid them a little extra!

Hudsen's 5th birthday

Star Wars cake was requested (from Walmart, which I may add, it was GOOD!)

Hudsen (a.k.a. Toad Commander) was awarded two toads from his Grandpa B

Inflatable waterslide, a pinata and snowcones...what else could a little boy ask for?

Pinata time!

Simon, Hudsen, Gillian, Avery, Carter, and Josh

The aftermath

Jefferson Joggers/Med-City Marathon

Kaden is involved in a club called the "Jefferson Joggers" at school.  This group runs every Tuesday morning in the spring to prepare for the Med-City Marathon on Memorial Day weekend.  The goal is to keep track of their miles for about 6 weeks and have almost 26 miles (marathon distance) by the time they run the race.  They run a mile at their race and that is supposed to be their 26th mile.  Kaden loves this.  He did it last year, too.  One of the reasons he loves it is because Mrs. Holcomb, his favorite 1st grade teacher, coordinates it and did such an awesome job this year!

They had lots of give-aways!  Kaden won two t-shirts this year!

And they are off to Silver Lake and back!

Getting a medal from the principal, Mrs. Wichman.

Look how embarrassed he is of me!  That's already starting.   Ha, ha...it's going to get a lot worse Kaden!

His medal!

His Parkwood Hills buddies, Henry and Aaron

The reason I was at the Jefferson Joggers awards is because after that Kaden had a field trip to the Rec center.  Kaden has never ice skated in his life, but that is what he picked to do out of three choices.  After about an hour, I think he was really wishing he would have picked something else! 

He seemed to be in this position a lot!  I just hope he isn't scarred from the experience and try again someday!  It was a SUPER hot day, so if anything else, it felt really good to be inside the rink!

Not an ordinary haircut.  The next day at school was the day the kids wait for all year long...crazy hair day!  So...Kaden talked us into giving him a mohawk.  He has SO much hair that grows SO fast, I thought, what the heck?!?   

Of course, we had to put colored gel in it too!  

Here is the actual race.  These are the 2nd graders.  The dust was literally flying!  

my day '10

I love Mother's Day.  Mom's day and my birthday are the two days I really feel like I can take the day "off"!  I'm SO lucky and blessed that I get to be called "mommy".

  

Adalyn posing downtown after brunch.  

Hudsen was in awe of the escalators in the Galleria (yes, I still call it that) so we were lagging behind and I came around the corner and saw Kaden and Jeremy helping Adalyn walking.  TOO CUTE!  It melted my heart.  

Kaden wrote this at school.  

 I love this.

Hudsen's letter to me.  

I was really feelin' the love!

Another masterpiece by Kaden.

A few days after this, Addie really took off walking on her own.  Now she is unstoppable!  

Huddy always lends a helping hand to his baby sis!  What a special bond they have!  

We took a hike at Quarry Hill after brunch.   I love this shot. 

What a perfect day!!!  

Just like big brother...

OK, so Sat. night we called (actually texted...weird, I know) a babysitter.  One of our favorites, Maddie decided she was up for the challenge of watching our three little monsters.  It was 15 minutes before she arrived and I was just about to go down the stairs to get ready to leave when I noticed the door shut in the boys' upstairs bathroom.  I thought that was weird since the only two that shuts the bathroom door were both downstairs.  That leaves Hudsen.  I opened the door to see what he was doing and found this:

I, of course, yelled just because I was shocked.  It was colored hair gel.  Kaden had gotten it in his stocking at Christmas and just applied some to his hair.  Well, Hudsen applied A LOT.  He started crying (probably because of my initial reaction) and kept saying, "I just wanted to be like Kaden..."  Poor little guy!  So, in the bathtub he went.
Needless to say, after that incident, the night involved a few of these:

Spring in Minnesota

"If you give up when its winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your autumn." - writer unknown

Tomboy?

OK, for some reason I was thinking that when I would finally get my girl after two rough and tough boys she would be super girlie-girl.  Kind of like this:

 After witnessing my 13-month-old daughter climbing everything she can possibly climb (stairs, lego table, fireplace seat/ledge, etc.), destroying anything she can possibly destroy (think books torn in pieces, cupboards and drawers torn apart and emptied, etc.),

and (this is a major one, pay attention!) putting everything she comes in contact with in her mouth (in this picture she is eating dirt.  She kept going after more).

Adalyn definitely isn't in the running for a girlie-girl award.

The grossest (that's not a word, is it?) two things so far have been a cigarette butt at the park and her own poop in the bathtub.  I know, no mother of the year award for me.  Seriously GROSS.  I am pretty sure, in my recollection, that my two boys didn't do anything like that, ever.  Is it just because this is my third child and I am busy keeping track of the other two?  I am really hoping that is it.  Or maybe it's just typical baby stuff.  I just don't remember going through some of this.  She is SO busy!  Am I complaining?  No, absolutely not.  I think a mother tends to, even though we aren't supposed to, compare our children to each other.  You can't help but to do it.  Jeremy and I have been saying this for the last few months: "I don't remember the boys doing that".  We will stop as soon as she understands us so we don't do lasting damage!  She is, however, still a fabulous sleeper and eater, happy and healthy. They always say that God gives you no more than you can handle and I believe that with all of my heart.  I'm happy to have had a lower maintenance newborn this time around and absolutely cannot wait to see what the future and toddlerhood holds for her.  As for now, I will keep pushing the baby dolls and dressing her in adorable dresses!