8 Years

Hard to believe we have been married 8 years. I know 8 years! Amazing isn't it. We have had our ups and downs as all married couples have, but I love my husband more than you even imagine. He is wonderful man. He is amazing husband, father, and best friend. 8 years ago we had a rainbow on our wedding night as it stopped raining and there was another on the night of anniversary.

We were in Ely for our anniversary and my parents watched the kids so we had a night at the Grand Ely Lodge were our reception was. It was wonderful. We walked the streets in Ely and shopped, had dinner, and relaxed. It was wonderful to just spend time with the man I love (alone)!!

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Ely Vacation

We just got back from our week trip in Ely.It was a fun vacation for us. Andy's mom lives on the lake, even though the weather wasn't great we got to spend some time on the water which the kids loved. We went to the park, brought our bikes and hit the trails in Ely, Kali made cookies with Grandma Merfeld and Cody enjoyed his first Dairy Queen cone. He ate the entire thing himself!

The Hunting Shack

You have heard me talk about the new hunting shack, if you haven't here is the story. Last summer Andy and his three brothers decided to build a shack on their hunting land in Kelliher, MN ( about a hour north of Bemidji). So he has spent many hours building this shack. I have definitely had my moments when I was super frustrated about the whole thing. Why they needed to build it the summer we had a newborn baby and a two year old at home, how much money it is costing, it is 4 hours away...blah blah..he has heard it all. But he loves it. He has put his blood and sweat into building this shack.( It looks like a cabin). Last summer they finished the outside so they could sleep in if for deer hunting last year, now this summer they are trying to finish the inside. It is not done yet, but coming along nicely. I am proud of him, he can fix or build anything and it shows. It is nice to know that our own family will enjoy for many years. I am anxious for him to take the kids there when they are a bit older so I can have the weekend alone!

Picture of the outside



Putting the chimney in. ( Funny picture)



The living room



Another view of the living room



The kitchen




The Dining room



There are 4 small bedrooms in the back for each of the brothers. Pretty nice huh?

Daddy's girl

For of those of you who know my husband well, you know what a wonderful man he is. He not only works hard to provide for our family he loves each of dearly. He helps out around the house, cooks, cleans, and has always helped out in every way with the kids. He is wonderful husband and an amazing father. Kali has always been a daddy's girl. I often tell Andy that it is pathetic, but really it is pretty sweet. I joke with him often and say," I thought you were going to be the tough one Mr. Principal!" But apparently not! All Kali has to say is "Daddy" in her sweet voice and she will get want she wants! If she falls down hurts herself and she cries that she wants daddy (even if he is not there). If he is there and I try to comfort her she screams, " No, I want daddy." Normally I don't care, but every once in awhile it does hurt a little bit. She follows him everywhere, cooks with him, wants him to buckle her car seat, hangs outside when he mowing the lawn, wants him to get her ready in the morning, waits at the top of the stair until he gets home from work, daddy everything. Until bedtime, she wants me to help her brush her teeth, go potty with her, and tuck her in.

So the past few nights Andy has been out of town working on the shack and it always a little lonely around the house for all of us when he is gone. We all really miss him. Kali went to bed a little after 7:00, at 10:00 she woke up crying. I find her standing at the top of the stairs with big tears in her eyes. She looks at me and says," I miss my daddy." I smile down at her and say, " So do I, honey."

Below are some of my favorites of Kali and her daddy...



Kali's first night home from the hospital in the new room Daddy painted for her.



First Christmas for Kali with Riley and Dad.



Cute Santa Suit..chubby Kali!


Daddy and Kali playing, he taught her how to roll over at 3 weeks by practicing everyday.


Daddy and Kali visiting Grandpa Merfed's grave. One of the reasons Andy is such a great father today is because of this man, it is very sad that he never got to hold his grandchildren. We all miss him dearly.


At the zoo last year.


Going on rides, always wants to go with Daddy!


More rides!


Biking on her new bike as Daddy pulls Cody.


Rides with Dad this summer.


Como Zoo this summer.

Naps

They say everything has an ending, and my fear is that that nap time around our house is coming to an ending. Cody is teetering between taking one and two naps. On the days he takes only one he can't make it until after lunch so he usually zonks out before 11:00 and wakes up as Kali is going down before 1:00. Which as a result is no break for me.

As for Kali, some days Kali is great she goes right to bed, lays down, doesn't make a peep and is sound asleep and other days (like today) it is the biggest obstacle of my day. I have been telling her, even if she doesn't sleep she needs to have quiet time in her room because mom needs quiet time too. That might include reading or coloring by herself. She doesn't buy it. She comes out and has to use the bathroom 1000 times in the hour and asks me what I am doing. The first few times I am nice to her, after that I am getting mad, I either just point or say things like " Back to your room, no treat later, you will have to go to bed early, you are going to get in trouble." She usually just says " Why?" If I actually pick her up and carry her,(not saying anything) she will sometimes cry which then wakes up Cody, which makes me more mad. Suggestions?? Some of said let her watch a movie but we aren't really that big on watching TV or movies around here and I don't really want to open that can of worms because then she will never stay in her room and take a nap when she needs to! I remember the days that Kali would nap for 3-4 hours in the afternoon, it was awesome. If you are reading this and your child still does this..enjoy it because I sure miss it.

Kali's First Camp Out

So we decided tonight to set the tent in the backyard for Kali's first camp out and boy was she fired up about it. She kept saying, "WE ARE GOING TO GO CAMPING!!" She wanted all of us to sleep outside, but we told her Cody was too little, she said we could just put his crib in the tent, but we told her when he gets bigger he can sleep in a tent like you. She helped Dad set up the tent and couldn't wait for it to get dark out. We played outside, put Cody to bed, made S'mores, played with the neighbor girls, and then Dad and Kali climbed into the tent about 9:15 for the night.

Playing at the Park

Pretty much every day or night we go to the park. Kali's favorite is the park across the street at the new elementary school. She has always been a daredevil and wants to go down the biggest slide there. Cody is another story, He loves to climb up everything that his sister does, so he has no problem getting up the highest place at the playground, it is getting down that he doesn't quite get yet. He would just walk off the slide or the open areas that you climb up. So needless to say we are chasing him up the stairs, through tunnels, to help him learn to go down these things by himself. I am not sure how some women these days are having babies at 50, it is often exhausting for me at 31 to chase my son. So needless to the say the park can be fun, but also very tiring. So if we get together for a playdate at a park, don't expect me to be chatting with you while the kids play..I will be chasing my son!



Kali climbing at the park.



The big slide



Going down..wild hair.



Cody and Dad with their suckers ( a favorite in our house)



Cody and Dad going down the big slide.



Kali showing off her blue mouth from her sucker!

Toe Nail Polish

For a really long time now Kali has wanted her toe nails polished. I told her when she is a big girl and is 3 she can have them done. She was very excited on her birthday when she opened her new nail polish. I told her we would paint her toe nails before bed. As we were getting ready for bed that night, she said, " No Mommy, remember my toe nails?" Oh, how could I forget.

Wedding

The wedding was a success. Friday night at the rehearsal dinner Kali did great. She was very excited to wear a pretty white dress like Kori (her new aunt) and throw flowers. So it took her a little awhile to wind down Friday night at the hotel, but she did. Saturday she got to go swimming in an awesome pool with daddy, uncles, and grandma while I got my hair and make-up done. Kali then got to get her hair done, which she sat great for (however it just got all flat by the wedding..oh well!). Andy and I headed to the church first to start wedding party pictures and she came later with grandma. She put her dress on, smiled for pictures (some of them at least),and walked down the aisle by herself. When up in front she stood for awhile and she said to me quite loudly. "Mom, I have to go potty!" There was some giggling from others around, I leaned over and whispered, " Kali, we just went potty, you need to wait to until the wedding is over." She then said, " I have to go NOW!" I sort of looked around in a panicked frenzy, " What I am going to do??" Thankfully Andy's aunt heard her, and took her out for a few minutes and then she came back running down the aisle to stand in her spot with me. She then took a seat next to Grandma and had some snacks.
Oh the way out of the church I told her to walk out and she started to meltdown so I picked her up and carried her out. Pretty good for no nap!

At the reception, Dinner was great and then Andy started his best man speech and she wanted him to hold her. I took her off the head table and she started to cry. I went to the back and sat with her until it was over so I could hear his speech ( which was awesome by the way!) Then my mom and dad took both kids back home so we could enjoy the rest of the night. It was great! So many friends and family came to the wedding it was wonderful!

Our little man, Cody was quite the little hit in his adorable tux too. I only have a few pictures of the kids as we were busy being in pictures and didn't have much time to take any of our own. We also have none of all of us. Hopefully the professional ones turn out!

It was a beautiful wedding and we are so excited for Benji and Kori and wish them the best! They are off to the Bahamas on their honeymoon! Congrats!

3 Years Old

I really can't believe it. Kali is 3 today. She is just the most wonderful girl anyone can ask for. She seriously has the best little personality ever. She is funny, kind, sweet, and oh so lovable. Today we had a BBQ and cake with family and she got to open her presents. Her favorite being her BIG GIRL PRINCESS BIKE. She is awesome on it already and we rode to the park tonight. So fun!! :)
Happy 3rd Birthday!