Crazy busy!

We have been going non-stop for the last week!  Brad's parents were in town last weekend for our Gage's and Matt's first communions.  We spent Saturday afternoon at Melissa's house and Will and Ady had a great time!  Will disappeared upstairs to Gage's room right when we arrived.  Gage gave him one of his old hats and Will has worn it non-stop since!  He loves getting the hand-me-downs from his cousins!  It makes him feel like such a big boy.  Then, Saturday night we went to a hibachi grill for dinner after the service (we didn't go, the kids aren't really at the age to sit through a Catholic service).  It was a lot of fun, even though the kids were really tired.  Will ate soup for the first time ever, and really enjoyed watching the guy cook right in front of him.  Ady ate everything, but just kept insisting on getting down from her highchair...she was so tired, she didn't want to sit still!  The kids had a blast and it was an enjoyable dinner.  Then after dinner, we went over to Melissa's agian and just hung out for a little while.

On Sunday, we met the family after Matt's service at Culver's for ice cream and cake.  It was fun and then we took the kids to the park after.  They had a blast running around and showing off for their grandparents and cousins!  Ady would go down the slide and then wait for everyone to clap for her....she would get so excited and go up and then come down again.  They were pooped by the time we left!

We took Bill and Barb to the airport on Monday morning and the kids got to say goodbye to them at the airport....Will of course wanted to get out and see the airplanes and go on one, but had to settle for going over to his cousin's house!  We went and saw April, Aleia and Clara after the airport.  It was really fun to get to snuggle baby girl once again!  Ady even got to see her uncle Casey for a few minutes and that made her day!

Tuesday, April and I took the kids to the zoo.  We had a lot of fun and Clara was such a peach!  She was just happy as a clam most of the time (only fussed when she was hungry and had dirty pants!!).  The kids were exhausted by the time we were done and slept like rocks when we got home!

We have been just on the go and now when the kids get dressed in the morning, Will says to me, "mommy, are we going in the car again?"  I think it is time for some serious relaxing at our house!!

Kids say the darndest things...

Ady is starting to talk in sentences already.  She has amazed us from the beginning with her "skills."  Her words are becoming more clear everyday and she is using them more instead of just screaming.  She still gets frustrated pretty easily especially since she can't quite communicate how she wants.  I feel badly for her and have to remember to be patient with her...she is learning!  Her first real sentence was last Sunday morning and she said, "Daddy, will you go get my blanket, please?"  We were shocked!

So Will has been so funny lately with the questions and things he says.  I was making dinner last night and he came in and said he was mad and that Ady needed a timeout.  I asked him why and he said, "Ady went upstairs and I wasn't done playing chase yet.  She needs a timeout for not playing with me."  I just cracked up...and then had the conversation about why they get timeouts and how she can make her own decisions about playing and that he needs to get used to the idea of her making her own decisions just like he does.  I don't think he got it, but it made for a good story!

Crazy spring time fun!

Yesterday we decided to start our visits to Como Zoo....the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE the zoo and it is the perfect size for them to run around and see all of the animals.  It is a small zoo, but still has their favorite animals....they have an primate building with all kinds of monkeys....the gorillas are my favorite...I could just sit and watch them for hours, they are amazing and fascinating animals.  They love to interacte with the people, especially the children.  One time last year, one of the gorillas was sitting right by the glass and Will was standing their looking at him.  Will hands were on the glass and the gorilla put his hand up on the glass on Will's.....it was awesome!  Yesterday, one of the gorillas was giving a "show" to the people....he was pretending he was sleeping and then he would pop up.  It was funny. 

Will appropriately wore his monkey "packpack" as he calls it...(it is the little monkey that you hook on to little kids and has a tail for a leash).  He has worn it for two days straight.  It is so funny how he gets attached to things.  Lately it has been his Thomas watch and now his backpack (he is still wearing the watch as well!).  When we got home the kids ate lunch and took naps and then since it was so nice outside, we decided to go to the park.  Will was so excited to show all of the kids his backpack....there were a group of about 7-8 boys (probably 10 years old) and he was so proud and showing them his backpack.  The boys were so sweet to him and telling him how awesome it was and giving him high fives.  I wanted to tell them to say thank you to their moms and how proud their moms should be to have raised such sweet boys! 

Ady had a great day yesterday!  She didn't have any meltdowns while we were out and she just loved seeing all of the animals....she finally is old enough this year where she "gets" it.  She even got to walk a little bit out of the stroller and she did an awesome job of listening and staying by me.  She loves the park and we spent most of the time in the swings with me pushing her and she saying, "higher, mommy, higher!!"  She has no fear of anything!  When we got home last night the kids were running around and jumping off of the furniture, of course, and I was watching Ady.  She went dive bombing head first off of the couch and did a headstand for about 3 secs and then fell over on her back.  She got up and screamed in excitement and then tried to do it again.  That girl is too much!!  We are thinking we want to encourage her skills and get her in to gymnastics next fall.  I think she has some real talent...she is so strong and coordinated and doesn't fear anything....I think she would be an awesome gymnist!

We are looking forward to many more zoo trips and park trips this spring and summer!  They are great outlets for my little "monkeys!!"

Umm.....where have I been?

So I just went to Omaha and visited some of the most important women in my life......and I realized that I really want to start blogging again....I have so much that I want to talk about and I need a venue to write down some of the crazy happenings in my everyday life....

Today I went and visited my nieces and my sister-in-law.  It was so wonderful holding baby Clara....it is amazing how much she has changed in the last week!  What a sweet little baby.  And Aleia....she is a spit-fire....how I miss her too!  Never a dull moment with Aleia around!  She and Ady are getting to the age of "mine" and didn't leave a minute of "un-girlyness" today! 

After our short visit my kids and I went to IKEA and did some shopping.....oh how I miss shopping for ME!!  I actually got some new curtains for my bedroom and bathroom....I am ready for a sanctuary to retreat to at the end of the day instead of this crazy dumping ground we have now!  I got new artwork, and some random decorations!  It is crazy how changing small things like curtains have such an effect on everyone's mood! 

Will and Ady did so great at the store today!!  I was so proud of them....they were troopers....no meltdowns, no whining, and no fighting!  It was an enjoyable experience for everyone! 

Favorite quote of the day:  "Mommy, does Ady have a weiner?"

Cousin time...

We finally got to Friday and got to watch the new Batman.....it was the Music Meister one and it was totally annoying....but Will LOVED it!  His patience paid off!!  But we are still working on it...

Today, we went down to Casey and April's to visit since we are leaving for NE this week and we wouldn't get to see them for a couple of weeks.  The kids had so much fun playing together!  Will got to see Bumble Bee for the first time as Casey let them him watch Transformers 2.  He was so excited to see bumble bee for real!  He quickly got bored with the dialoge and non bumble bee scenes and went downstairs to do jumps with Aleia in her bouncy.  April was down there with the three kids and I ventured down after a little while.  When I got down there, Will looked at me and said, "mommy, go away...go upstairs, I play with Aleia's mommy."  It was hilarious!  I was told off by my own son!  The kids were exhausted by the time we got home and both sacked out immediately.  It was a fun day spending time with family!

Working on patience....

Ok, so the world of Tivo and DVR's have ruined my children. We were watching a cartoon the other day and a comercial for a new Batman show came on and Will wanted to watch it right then. We had a heck of a time explaining to him that we can't watch it right now, that it isn't on until Friday and that he has to wait for three days. He went over and got the remote for the TV and said, no right now and pointed to the menu button. It is unreal how technology has changed the way we do everything. It is also unreal how it is changing the way our children function.

Will still doesn't quite understand that we can't watch it until Friday, but at least we got him to stop crying. I got a calendar (well, my computer calendar as we no longer own a paper calendar) out and showed him that today was Tuesday, and we counted the days until Friday when the show would be on. It made him feel better, but I still don't think he gets it.

We will see how it goes until Friday.....

I'm Back....

Ok, so I haven't blogged for about 8 months now.....but I have wanted to....the world of Facebook has taken over most of my online time, but I am back!

For the past 8 months life has been a tail spin for the Bollinger household. I have to say, my kids amaze and shock me everyday. I can't believe that Ady is almost 18 months and that Will will be three in January. Life is passing us by!

We had a great summer...lots of swimming in our backyard as well as trips up to the lake to stay with Brad's parents. The kids definitely honed their water skills....Will is swimming on his own in the deep water with his life jacket and can float on his front and back. He learned how to doggy paddle and has no fear of the water. Ady, on the other hand, has no fear, but no skills either. She just takes the water head on, just like everything else in her life! They both rode the jet ski this year and we went on a handful of tub rides.....and not just slow, boring rides, 30 MPH wild rides! I love my water babies! I also got up on a slalom ski for the first time in five years! I was a little sore the first time and had a pretty good spill the second time, but it was a blast none the less! I would have to say, as far as the water this summer, we had a great time!

We also got a lot of our landscaping done. We did it all ourselves and have received numerous compliments. It was a ton of work, but so rewarding! We can't wait to finish the remaining next summer....then maybe on to a deck!

Ady is now talking up a storm....she has at least 100 words and we are currently working on potty training. She knows when she goes potty in her diaper and she sits on the potty a couple of times a day. As soon as we get back from NE at the end of the month, we are going to go in to full on potty training! She is loud, strong willed, fiesty, sassy, and sensitive all at the same time! She definitely has her own will and way about most everything she does! She just makes me laugh all of the time with her craziness!

Will is really starting to verbalize more than just single thoughts and words. He is actually analyzing situations and forming opinions. It is amazing at how quickly their comprehension changes! He is changing from a baby to a little boy. He has found a new love for super heros and pretends he is spider man for most of the day! He is all boy, that is for sure! He loves to get dirty, be aggressive, jump from anything that is three feet off the ground or higher, but is also the most nurturing little man. He loves babies and has ginuine concern for anyone who is crying or hurt. I hope he continues the nurturing but also stays strong and masculine side as well.

Brad has been busy with work. He left his Ham in the Fridge job at the end of July and started working as an independent contractor. He currently has a full time contract and commutes down to Bloomington everyday. It has been an adjustment for the entire family not having him home a couple of days during the week, but he is gaining valuable experience with working in Flex. I am taking on a new role and have been doing his bookwork and taxes for the last couple of months. I am actually enjoying it.....it is challenging my brain again and I actually get to think about more than just my children!

I am excited to be back in the blogging world and can't wait to post more updates! Thanks to Casie for getting the fire lit under my rear!

Toddles.....

Pacifier Fairy

We had a visit from the pacifier fairy on Thursday night before bed. We took all of the pacifiers in the house (Will's and Ady's) and put them in a bag for all of the babies that need them around the world. We told Will that he is a big boy now and he doesn't need his pacifiers anymore (my kids only got their pacifiers when they slept). I put them to bed and Ady went right to sleep with no fuss or fight (she kind of weened herself the week before because she was so sick she couldn't use it). Will didn't really fuss or cry, he just paced around his room saying, "big boy, big boy." I think he was convincing himself that he was a big boy. Brad told him that he could get a new toy if he slept like a big boy. He finally gave in and slept all night without a peep! Both kids did....we were shocked!

The next day, Ady went right down for her morning nap and slept for about an hour with no problems. Then, in the afternoon, neither one of them took a nap. Will had a really hard time soothing himself....he didn't cry, just played and talked the entire time. Ady played and cried it out for about 2 hours and didn't give in. So, neither one got a nap. Then, Friday night, Ady went right to sleep and then woke up about 9:30 for less then 5 fives she fussed and went back to sleep. Will went right to bed, but woke up really early Saturday morning.

He finally took a nap on Saturday afternoon without, but for only about an hour. He hadn't had a nap in three days, so I know he was tired. He then went to bed on Saturday night and it only took about 20 minutes and he was out! He slept until almost 8:00 this morning!! We are hoping this is the end of the fuss and the inability to soothe himself.

We decided to reward him with little matchbox cars every time he goes to sleep on his own without a fuss. He has four cars so far and is begging for more. So I think his want for toys is out-weighing his fight to stay awake!

Walking & Talking.....at nine months!

Ady has crossed some major milestones in the last couple of months. She started crawling right after she turned six months.....from crawling she immediately started pulling herself up on the furniture, toys, chairs....really anything that would support her. She then started taking her first solo steps from the furniture right around 8 months.....and in about a week and half, she was walking. She was just over 8 months old and was walking all over the house. She is now really walking...almost running to keep up with her brother!

She has also started talking....she says "uh-oh" about 100 times a day and can say mamama, dadadad, bahbahbah.....and lots of other babbles.....she is definitely a girl!! Talk, talk, talk, and giggles at everything!

She has her nine month appointment on March 4th (almost at 10 months...her ped couldn't get her in before that and I waited too long to make the appointment). We are anxious to see her stats! She feels like she has gained 15 pounds.....

We are making the change to the big girl carseat this week too. For selfish reasons, I have been keeping her in the carrier....it will make life 10 times more difficult with her in the permanent carseat. I had to buy her a coat, hat, and gloves to make the change.

Forever...

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I will give you the last three months in a nutshell...

November....Will got hand-foot-mouth disease right before Thanksgiving...it started out on his rearend as what looked like chicken pox. It spread all down his legs to his feet, on his elbows, arms, wrists and hands. I then looked in his mouth and he had huge blisters all over his mouth. He was miserable....the doctor told us to give him anything dairy and cold. We tried everything from yogurt to ice cream and he wouldn't eat because he was so miserable. Ady never did get it, thank goodness. They both ended up in the doctor's office with a three week cold....each were on antibiotics and finally got over them.

December....we hosted Christmas at our house...Brad's family this year. His parents came back from AZ...and we all have a great time. Will had his first year with Santa coming to our house. He helped me bake sugar cookies (he more like ate the dough and frosting, but it was a start!). We put cookies and milk out for Santa and left him a note (Will "colored" it for him!). The next morning he came downstairs to a new firetruck...a huge pedal powered firetruck! Ady got a Lotty Ladybird rocker/walker. They had a wonderful Christmas. We then hosted a NYE party at our house and had about 20 people here. It was really nice to stay in and enjoy the company of our friends and neighbors.

January.....we were lucky to ge the chance to have April and Aleia come and stay with us after Christmas through Will's birthday. We had a sledding birthday party with about 12 kids under the age of 4. It was a blast. I made homemade hot chocolate with marshmellow skewers and s'mores for dessert (we skipped the birthday cake this year and just put two candles in a s'mores bar). I am still reeling that Will is two....it seems like yesterday that he was born....I miss him as a baby! He is such a little man now....sniff, sniff! At the end of January, we had an unexpected death in our family. Brad's grandmother, Mary Jean Portwood passed away of a brain anurism. She was an amazing woman and I am sad that she is gone. I admired her greatly and she was my surrogate grandmother (I lost mine at a young age). She had so many wonderful gifts and I learned so much from her in the short time that I knew her. I am so sad that Ady and Will never got the chance to really know her. I do think a little bit of her spirit passed through both of my children the night she died. Neither one of them wake up in the night anymore and they were both up crying right at the time she passed away. We will have many great stories of her and Bob's life to share with our children. They will be missed greatly.

Adalynn 6 month update

Ady is now six months! I can't even believe it. She got her first tooth last week, almost on her six month birthday (she cut it the day after) and just cut another one today!! She had her six month doctor's appointment today and is now 16 lbs and 1/2 ounce, she is 27 inches long and has a head size of 43 inches. She gained almost four pounds in the last two months!! The doctor said she looks great and is doing well!!

She is now eating all of her food groups and likes everything she has tried. Her new favorite food is bitter biscuits! She usually eats two to three meals a day. We tried to take her off of her acid reflux medicine last week and it didn't go so well. She is back on it and the doctor said if we want to try again in a month that we should. Hopefully she will grow out of it, but there is a chance she will has it her entire life (we are crossing our fingers she doesn't!!).

She is now crawling all over the house and is starting to pull herself up on the furniture and bigger toys. We are amazed at how fast she is becoming mobile and how fast she is getting at getting around! She is so much fun to watch and is very determined!

Colors

Today we were putting up our Christmas decorations and Brad was testing lights. He had a new package of LED lights that had big bulbs and had them plugged in. Will was sitting with him and I was standing in the doorway. I said, "Will, show daddy the red light" and he pointed to the red one. I then went through all the colors of the lights and he pointed to each of the them correctly. He did have a little trouble with the pink ones, he kept pointing to the red one. We were totally amazed. I don't really work with him on colors, other than when we are playing or something, I say, "blue car" or "red letter" or whatever. I just can't believe what a sponge he is and look forward to each day's discoveries!!

Daddy's little helper

Will has always been very interested in tools and building things. We recently bought some new furniture from Ikea and Brad was putting it together. Will was quick to come and help daddy. He was putting the screws in the holes and then putting the screwdriver in the heads and wanting to turn the screws. We were amazed at his hand eye coordination and his comprehension of advanced topics, such as a screw and screwdriver. He was also helping his daddy put together his laptop tray and knew where the casters went and where the screws went. I just can't believe how smart he is (I know, every mom thinks their kid is a genius)!

New favorite place to play...

Will has learned that he LOVES the pantry in my kitchen. We were downstairs today and I couldn't find Will anywhere! I was looking all over for him and I walked by the pantry and heard this little giggle. He got inside and closed the door. He has also learned to use various things to stand on. He found a pitcher in bottom of the pantry, turned it over, and stood on it to reach his shelf of snacks. He is a pretty smart little cookie!! I have to do some rearranging now because the other day he was carrying around a very expensive bottle of Olive Oil!!!!

Trip to NE

We just got home this week from another trip to Nebraska. We first stopped in Omaha to visit my friends and family. We stayed with Casie and Vernon and their daughter Sopia. Will and Sopie had so much fun playing. He was pushing her around in the stroller and playing in the dog kennel. We let our friends know that we would be there and they stopped by to see us. It was tons of fun! I also had the pleasure of babysitting my youngest neice Aleia. She is such a doll and loved hanging out with her cousins.

While we were in Omaha, we received some devestating news that Brad's grandfather, whom lived in Hastings, passed away. We then changed our plans slightly and made a stop for three days in Hastings. We loved visiting the entire family, however we wished they were under better circumstances. I finally had the chance to meet the rest of Brad's family, which was fun. Will and Ady had their first hotel room experience....one we do not wish to repeat any time soon! I think I got, maybe, three hours sleep a night....it was exhausting. Will didn't want to have anything to do with staying there and kept pointing to the door saying, "go, go." Ady was going through a growth spurt that week and was super fussy the entire time....

We didn't have the camera with us, so we took pictures of the kids in their costumes when we got home.

We then finally made it to Alliance and spent a whirlwind weekend. Will and Ady got to spend Halloween with grandma and papa Johnston. It was not the best time ever, but one we will remember....Ady slept through it and Will just wanted out of the stroller to run around. Ady got the cutest baby award from everyone and Will wasn't a far second!! We thought they were both the cutest!! I spent the weekend helping my parents run the Quiv Fortner Memorial Master's Tournament (my grandfather's memorial bowling tournament). Will loved being at the bowling alley and is really into bowling. It is one of his favorite words to say! He had the pleasure of having my cousin's little girl, Bethany, watch him while Brad and I helped out at the tournament. Ady spent her time with us down at the bowling alley. She had lots of "grandmas" to cuddle her!!! It was tiring, but great to see everyone!

We finally made it home and again Will played with all of his toys the minute we walked in the house! Both kids slept like rocks the night we got home and then took over four hour naps the next day! I think they were pooped as well!! We love going back to Nebraska, but we are always glad to be back in our own beds!!

New TV...

Ady even likes to watch movies on the new TV!!

Will is watcing his new favorite movie, of course!!

Brad bought a new television for our living room so we could get the big one moved out. It was a huge hazard and we didn't want it falling over on one of the kids. Here are pictures of Will watching the new TV.....he is definitely going to follow his dad's obsession with electronics!!

Ady's new adventures...

Adalynn is getting very mobile. She is up on all fours now and can get across the room in a hurry doing her army crawl. She almost made it over the gate the other day from the living room in to the kitchen.

She is talking more and more everyday and is getting such a great personality. She is smiley most of the time and loves to watch her brother and her puppy. She also likes to be in the excersaucer and play. She likes biting on the elephants ears and sometimes bites so hard that she screams!

Here are some random pictures of her.

Lake Fun!

We went up a couple of weeks ago and helped Bill and Barb close the lake house for the winter. Will had fun playing in the leaves with Gabi. She was wheeling him around in a pile of leaves and he would take them out of the bucket and then put them back in! It kept him busy most of the day!

Ady stayed inside most of the day and played on the floor. Here is a picture of Ady with her Aunt Melissa!

Oh ouch!!

Will and I decided to go outside the other day. Ady was sleeping and Brad was working, so I decided to get Will out and get some fresh air. We were running up and down the sidewalk and then we got Will's car out. He was tired so I was pushing it back home and he was walking in front of me. He then decided that he was going to run up our driveway (a slight incline). He was going too fast and lost his balance and fell. It was a bad fall or hard fall, but the momentum forced him forward and he hit his mouth on the ground. He immediately started screaming and all I could see was blood coming out of his mouth. I ran him inside and set him on the counter and got a wash cloth out and ran cold water on it (it was covered in dirt). I let him suck on the wash cloth and tried to clean up the scrape. I had Brad come in and sit with Will while i went up and got the peroxide. I got a q-tip and was cleaning up the outside. He split his lip on the inside as well. I stuck the q-tip in his mouth and then he wanted to suck on it. I have such a weird kid!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. He got a pretty fat lip and the next morning it was pretty crusty. But all in all, he bounced back and even wanted to go back out side and play!

Fun with Food...

Will has been experimenting with his food lately. He was sticking peas to the side of his head the other night and then calling the balls and throwing them across the room.

He had tomato soup from a cup and straw and I think he had more on him then he ate. We also had grilled cheese with the soup and I cut them in to slices for him and showed him how to dunk them in the soup. He decided that he wanted to just soak all of them in the soup. He kept taking them out and putting them back in. It was a mushy mess!

I gave him a fudge bar after dinner the other night and put it on his plate and gave him a fork to eat it with. He still had some chicken left on his plate and he was dipping the chicken in the chocolate melted mess. He would eat it and say, "yummmmm, gooood!" It was so gross, but so funny!