Big Boy Bed

Cody has been able to climb out of his crib for a long time, he never really did it much until a few weeks ago, he would get out every morning by himself. So this week we took the front of his crib off and turned it into his big boy bed. The first time was pretty terrible, but since then he has been doing pretty good. Right now he is taking his first nap in it. Check it out..



The second night, we were downstairs just ignoring the noise coming from upstairs thinking he would just give up and go to bed. Andy went and checked on him and he had gotten out of bed, taken his diaper off, and was pooping in the potty. ( Another thing we have been working on!) I can't believe he is that old already, however this week after holding 3 newborn babies ( 2 friends had baby girls and then our nephew Cooper) I was relieved it wasn't me!

The Apple Orchard

What a perfect fall day to visit the Apple Orchard. It was a terrific family day which included: the orchard, watching the Vikings game, making chili and apple crisp, and watching the kids play outside with the leaves changing color.
I love fall!




They got play the shakers in the band..they were pumped about this!

Lovin on Cooper..

Need I say more...simply adorable..:)

What A Week..

It has been a crazy week, Andy's mom has been here since Tuesday,( which by the way has been awesome, she is so helpful with our kids and truly loves seeing them and playing with them, I am so blessed to have such an awesome mother-in-law!) Our new nephew Cooper arrived on Wednesday night at 11:52, we went to the hospital to see him t hat night. The next day we took Kali and Cody. They kept saying, "Cooper is so adorable"..he is...don't you think?

Cooper Terrence Merfeld





And Cody Terrence Merfeld( almost 2 and half years ago) don't you think they look similar?




Had a garage sale in the rain Wed-Fri, got strep throat...(oh the joys of being a teacher..) We been watching Benji's crazy 120lb yellow lab while they were in the hospital (I love Riley more every day..) so needless to say this week is crazy! Tomorrow Andy's brother Danny is coming to see the baby and stay with us..looking for to Sunday with just our family. We plan on having a family day before Monday comes!

The Camera

Oh, how our kids love the camera. I don't really mean getting their picture taken, they don't mind that, but what they really love is using it to take their pictures. Our camera isn't anything to brag about so we sometimes let them. Here is a glimpse of the little shoot they did the other day:

Kali's pictures are actually pretty good!




Cody's on the other hand could use some work..


This is suppose to be Kali


And Riley


And Mommy...

Becky

Becky deserves her own post. She is amazing. To give you a little history. Becky used to be a teacher, but has stayed home with her 3 little boys since they were born. Her boys are 5 ,4, and 3. (I know that in itself is worth the post) Anyway, she lives next door to Lisa ( our old daycare) and used to do daycare and loved it, but the one downfall was their was the little flexibility in her schedule. She then stopped doing it. Last year she drove Kali to preschool for us. Well, when Lisa closed last spring, she is the first person I thought about watching our kids. She already knows them and loves them (I think she kind of has a soft spot for Kali because she is girl) and it would be flexible for her because she would only be watching our kids part-time. Well, I asked her and she said yes and I could not be happier. I honestly thought the world was coming to end when Lisa told us she was closing, but it couldn't have turned out any better. The kids love it there and she loves it. The other big plus is she just has our kids and her kids so they are doing preschool projects and writing their names. She had Cody in underwear the other day. Do you think a daycare provider would attempt this if they had to watch 9 other kids? She drives Kali to preschool again. The other day she handed me a calendar of projects she is doing with the kids and a daily schedule. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful she is. They love her and can't wait to go and I don't worry at all about them during the day! Thank you Becky for loving our kids like our own!

Here are some pictures from her house that she sent me!

Here is Apple Day at her house, when they made their own paper apples and studied the letter A. I told you, she rocks!






And when they went in the summer for a few days..

One Tired Girl..

Adjusting back to the routine of getting up early and going to daycare has been exhausting for our kids. When they get home many days they are melting down..today Kali was puddle. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she has afternoon preschool so she has no quiet time or nap time on those days. Tuesdays are the worst because she has to get up early as well, because I work that day. Well, today she was watching TV with Cody and this is what I found when I walked back into the room about 5:30 tonight.



One tired girl..

Family Camp-Out

Last night we had a family camp-out. Made a fire, had smores, and attempted to sleep in the tent. At about 10:00 everyone fell asleep and I woke up at midnight, Kali had knocked her water bottle over and her pillow and pjs were soaking wet. It was also getting cold, so we brought everyone into their beds for the rest of the night. It was a fun night. The kids loved it! Andy scared them by telling them there were bears in the woods behind our house and mice were climbing on the outside the tent. Then he starting making the tent rustle back and forth, their eyes were HUGE...it was funny...he of course then told them he was kidding, I told him if anyone starts having nightmares he was the one that would be dealing with it!


What a beautiful weekend!

A Breath of Hope 5K

There a million different runs/walks out there to raise money for different groups. This morning I did the Breath of Hope 5K to help raise awareness and support for lung cancer. The run was around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. My friend Samara gets a team together every year to walk in memory of her mother who died a few years ago of this awful disease. A few others I wanted to run in memory or honor of are my dear friend Rosemarie who is suffering right now with the effects of lung cancer. My grandpa Eino also died years ago and so did my friend Jenny's mom.

So this morning as I ran around this beautiful lake on this incredible fall day I thanked God for my health, my family, and all of those who have passed away.

Next year, you should do it with me. :)

On the back of the shirt are all of those names of those we were all walking or running for:



A group shot of the people Samara got together for the walk. Not all of them are in the picture, about 20 people were missing.



Me after the race..I have never claimed to be a fast runner, The top finisher ran it in just over 15 minutes! (REALLY!!) I did it in 25 minutes, which I thought was pretty good for 3.1 miles.

The First Day of School

The first day of school is always a little crazy around here. With one principal, one teacher, and one preschool girl in the house it is always a crazy day. I know it is will continue to get crazier when the kids get older. Everyone had a great first day.
Here are a couple of Kali's first day of preschool pictures. She is going to preschool with a bunch of boys that live in the same cul-de-sac as Becky's ( daycare). So she knows a bunch of kids already! She was VERY EXCITED!

Free Date

Andy and I had the best free date on Sunday. Some good friends of ours offered to watch our kids while we went on a date, which was awesome for the kids to play with their kids and great for us because we didn't have to pay for sitter.

So we dropped them off ran a couple of errands, got two free coffees at Starbucks. Did you know that if you buy Starbucks coffee you can turn in the empty bag for a free coffee? Well, we had 2 so we both got free ones!

We then headed to Minnehaha Park. We had never been there before so we walked to the Minnehaha Falls. It was beautiful! We then hiked through the woods on this awesome trail. At one point we were following another couple and they came to a large muddy part on the trail and the woman looked at her husband said, " No way". They turned around...Andy laughed and said, " Must be city folks!" We just hopped across the rocks and made it over the muddy path!

After hiking the trail we went to Chipotle because I had a gift card from a student in class. Here we enjoyed massive burritos and chips and salsa! YUM!

After that we got back in the car and stopped at the DQ where I again had a gift card from another student (thanks kids!) and a coupon for a buy one get one free blizzard. Again no money spent!!

We had been gone for about 4 hours and it felt like 8! When we picked the kids up, they were happy and had a blast with their friends. It was a wonderful free date! :)

Sweet Little Boy

Cody can be one of the sweetest little boys ever. He also has a very determined side to him as well..which I will touch on another day! Today whenever I would say something he would say, " Okay Mommy, Thank you Mommy,!" He is always giving big hugs and has recently starting blowing kisses at bedtime after I tuck him in. It is just precious. I can't even begin to tell you the joy he brings to our lives.