With each passing day, I've gotten more and more behind on the blog! I have tried to capture each fleeting moment with my precious kids and husband, but at the end of a tiring day, the blog has once again gotten shifted to the "I'll get to it tomorrow" pile. However, the next day is busier than the last and here we are in November, updating from last Christmas! My vow is that this will not happen again! My goal is to update every couple of weeks once I catch up our last few posts and that way, it won't be a large, time consuming task that takes months to do! :-)
Back in December, Phil surprised me for my birthday and made Rudolph cupcakes with the kids! We had just gotten The Big Book of Cupcakes by Betty Crocker and Phil let John pick out the one he wanted to make for me! Being that Rudolph was on the brain with Christmas only a week away, Rudolph it was! (Just this once, I didn't mind the combination of Christmas with my birthday!) Emma was a great helper too, as you can tell!
So cute!!! John did a GREAT job!
Christmas truly is the best time of the year! Emma loved the Christmas lights last year! At 5 months old, she was a very happy, smiley, little girl who was already totally in love with her big brother (and he with her as well!)
Emma loved the Christmas tree! She would lie under it and gently pull at the branches and the watch the ornaments move as the tree swayed back and forth upon her release of the branch. She loved to coo and "talk" to the tree and there were always smiles to give as well!
We were blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas with both sides of the family and John was thrilled when he opened his fire truck tent/tunnel Uncle Tim and Auntie Crystal had sent him! He and Emma have LOVED playing in it and it is always sure to give uncontrollable giggles!
Christmas Tree 2011!
Emma loved sitting in her Bumbo to be part of the fun!
John loves playing with Mack (from Cars) and his new Lightning McQueen car! SO fun!
A kitchen from Papa and Nana was an amazing gift!! John was SO excited because then he could "cook food just like mom!" Once it was all set up, John was found many nights cooking alongside me as I made dinner. His favorite part is still the stove burner that "boils" water and makes things "sizzle" in the saute pan! Emma is found cooking daily now as well!
Merry Christmas from the Singewald Family!
Little girl clothes are so CUTE and this sweater from Tim and Crystal was no different! Even though it was a little bulky, Emma still loved it and certainly was adorable in it!
Cute holiday moments....
with Uncle Steve!
Dancing in front of the Christmas tree!
A tool set, just like Daddy's!!
and markers and a new coloring pad!! YES!
"Hey, Aunt Katie, check out my amazing ice cream cones I can make with my new play doh maker!"
"Uncle Mike does a great job feeding me! YUM!"
We were thrilled to be able to spend Christmas Eve with my parents and go to Mass with them that night!
Next up, Christmas morning! Santa knew that it had been quite a year for John, between Daddy's surgeries, Mommy having Emma, and well, just learning how to live as the big brother of the house! John was so excited when he woke up Christmas morning and found this note....
So after reading our directions from Santa to head downstairs, that's exactly what we did! I tried to run down early ahead of John so I could capture his reaction, since I had gotten a sneak peak of what Santa had left! Santa was SO smart! Just like he thought, John was thrilled beyond words at his new train table! (Santa had given Emma a Fisher Price musical animal toy with balls that go down a ramp and sings songs, which she thought was amazing too!)
LOVE this face!
Emma all dressed and ready for her Christmas Day fun!
The day after Christmas.... too much partying!!
Patty Cake fun with Emma! I love that giggle!
Last spring, my dad, brothers and I were supposed to jet away on a crazy 48 hr trip to Orlando to head to Kennedy Space Center to see the last launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. However, the launch was delayed about a month and when it was finally rescheduled, it was an early morning launch which meant an all-nighter to fly in and then get to the space center on time. I was also 5 weeks more pregnant than the original launch date and was nearing the point I had been put on bed rest with John. Because my doctor wasn't totally comfortable with me flying and Phil was only a couple weeks away from surgery as well, I chose not to partake in the launch. However, being that we had already purchased our flights, I now had a flight to use by the beginning of March... which also meant it would expire just prior to our spring break! So, on December 28, Phil and I were able to take a few days to get away and see the gorgeous mountains of Denver, CO. We stayed just outside of Boulder and were able to travel to Breckenridge for a day trip as well. It was a wonderful trip full of beautiful scenery and much-needed relaxation!
The Omni Interlaken where we stayed, just outside of Boulder...
We had a great trip of driving through the mountains and drinking MANY kinds of tea at the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder, but sadly, our trip ended with the news that my Grandpa had passed away and that we'd be coming home to his funeral later in the week.
Upon our arrival home, life went back to it's fast pace as we prepared to return to school after Christmas break and also get unpacked, to repack, for our trip to Hibbing to say good-bye to Grandpa. His funeral was a wonderful celebration of his life, but was a little harder personally because this was the first funeral John attended where he was more aware of what had happened and that Grandpa Jerry was in Heaven. We tried to answer his questions as truthfully as possible, but on a 3 year-old level. He did fairly well with everything, but struggled most when we first saw Grandpa at the wake and at the burial, as he was not ok walking away and leaving Grandpa Jerry "all by himself and in the ground." He still brings up Grandpa Jerry often and we talk about how we think he is in Heaven having so much fun with all those we love that are also there, as well bowling with the angels during a thunderstorm (which suddenly made thunderstorms ok) and watching over all of us from heaven every day.
We had to try on Emma's dress to make sure there wouldn't be any surprises of it not fitting later in the week for the funeral... It was perfect!
We had to try on Emma's dress to make sure there wouldn't be any surprises of it not fitting later in the week for the funeral... It was perfect!
Emma was peeking through her blanket at the hotel in Hibbing before Grandpa's funeral.
I promise her blanket was only over her face for about 3 seconds, but she was giggling so hard as she did it, we couldn't pass up the picture op! Peek!
Like all life changes, as soon as we returned home, life took off at it's normal, overly fast pace! At 5.5 - 6 months old, Emma LOVED her time bouncing! She was particularly fond of the frog and mirror, as well as the music she could jump to the beat on, but squeals of delight were sure to be heard!
It was hard to believe Emma was 6 months old!! While always full of smiles, she explored everything around her and did her best to keep up with her big brother. She loved to eat her cereal, oatmeal, pears, fruit smoothie, applesauce, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes and peas. Emma was not a picky eater, and still isn't today!
Check it out, Uncle Steve... This guitar makes music AND is great to chew on!
Mmmm... I know where this spoon goes!
We had seen an ad for Sesame Street Live! and knew that John would love it, and we didn't think Emma would mind it either. After debating if this was the right year or not and whether or not the kids were at the right ages to fully enjoy it, we decided to go and try it out. Both Emma and John were THRILLED to be there! We had gotten some great seats that we hoped weren't too far off to the side, but they were perfect! They were elevated just enough to see everything and yet close enough to feel like you could reach out and give Elmo a big hug! John was so excited when a few of the characters even walked off the stage and past us! When we listen to songs from Sesame Street now, John will still ask where Elmo is now and when he's coming back to be able to visit him again!
Trying on Emma's new swimsuits... what a cute little lady!
Gosh, I love those thighs! Too bad, they're gone now that she's started walking!
So tired....
One of the new fundraisers for St. Hubert's was a trivia night, where each table of 10 people created their own theme for the table and did their own costumes, decorations, etc. We did a "wedding gone bad" with a 70's theme, so Phil and I were able to dig up these awesome outfits and had a great night! Sadly, we missed the $100/couple prize money by 1 point for the highest scoring table. However, we're excited for this year and have started studying already!
Yes, that really is all my hair! My mom relived the glory days and ratted it for me. Getting it out was quite a challenge though!
Our awesome table, compete with the Christmas light adorned arch, pizza delivery, chicken wings and a twinkie/hoho cake. Everything a classy wedding has, right?
The middle of January, as soon as the chaos of Christmas was over, Phil and I started to discuss putting our house back on the market. We knew it would be stressful to do so, especially when we were both working full time, I was still coaching dance team and we now had two kids, but we thought with the market on the upswing, it may move this time. So, we began the fury of activity to pack up, depersonalize, and rent a storage unit in hopes of getting it on the market at the beginning of February.
Here is the last glimpse of "normal" around our first house together...
And the more disheveled parts of our house that are already on their way to being packed up!!
Notice John is in every picture... He had to have one in each room of his first house!
After a lot of hard work and not a lot of sleep, our house was on the market February 7. We had about 30 showings, and while most had positive things to say about the house, many did not like that it was on Hwy 284, even with the privacy fence. However, on Holy Saturday, April 6, we received an offer only a few hours after a showing. We negotiated that night and on Easter morning, we got word just after Mass that the Easter bunny was bringing a SOLD sign to our house! We were thrilled! However, we were still cautiously optimistic until the word came back from the appraisal, but being that we had just put on a brand new roof, we hoped all would turn out. We finally had word that the appraisal had gone through and we were set to close on June 1!
Ok, back to February now, after that brief preview of the fun to come.... During the chaos of house showings, we still found time to have those precious moments with the kids! John asked often where some of his toys were, and just as often shared his dismay for having many of them in storage!
Conductor John!
John loves wearing the hat and boots that were Phil's when he was little.
John had a random eye infection and he was such a trooper about it! At first we thought it was pink eye, but it ended up just being an infection. Slowly it went away, but John didn't let it slow him down!
Grilling up a good meal!
Peek with Uncle Steve!
"Hey Mom... I'll help you do laundry! Does this work if I sit on it for you?"
Happy Valentine's Day! I have to say, we had the cutest Valentine's around!
I LOVE this picture of the kids! They were so in-tune with one another and had such a great "conversation"!
I can't get enough of those cheeks!
After 6 years of coaching dance team for the Waconia Lakettes, it became apparent last season that my time and energy was being spread too thin and something needed to change in order to bring sanity back to my own life! While I still enjoyed coaching, it was becoming difficult to do so, as more and more of my time was away from our kids. I had cut back on hours with the team, but things came up and I knew I just wasn't completely happy. As I walked on to the State Competition floor last year, I knew in my heart it would be the last time I would be on it. While that saddened me, I knew it was the right choice and that I would be able to fondly look back on my time coaching as one that allowed me continued involvement in my passion and one where new friendships were born!
John wanted to prove he still fits in the baby car seat.... What a goofball!
This is the fun he had while Phil and Emma napped!
We were all smiles the morning we found out we had a snow day together on February 28th! We loved every moment at home, but with the ice coating on everything, the day didn't lend itself to sledding or being outside, but we were all content just having an unexpected day together.
At 7.5 months old, Emma sat up on her own for the first time. After that point, there was no stopping her!! At 8 months old, she was getting up on all 4's and rocking back and forth, getting ready to enter the crawling world! She also started to scoot backwards around the house until she figured out how to project herself forward! Sadly, at 8 months old, Emma also had her first ear infection as well. It wasn't her last either, but we're definitely becoming proficient at Emma's signs of having one! Emma's personality also started coming through even more at 8 months old as she was becoming more active. She loved to chew on her bottle cover and talk while it was in her mouth! She also said "ma ma ma", moved to her convertible car seat, woke up and called out "ma ma ma" when she was ready to get out of her crib one morning, and became incredibly skilled at the army crawl, pushed up on all 4's, and went from lying on her stomach, to all 4's, to sitting as well! At 8 months, Emma still didn't have any teeth, but was working hard on having them come in!
Look! I can do "snuffy face" just like John did when he was my size!
Emma had a hard time falling asleep one day, so I put her in her car seat... and she instantly fell asleep! I didn't dare move her, but she was so cute, it was definitely picture-worthy!
Emma was an early riser every once in a while and on this morning, she beat the rooster up by a long shot! She went from singing, happy, playing one second....
to tipped over and completely asleep the next!!
Thankfully, she figured out how to sleep in since then!
On the night of our dance team banquet, Phil had the kids on his own. He took the opportunity to try feeding Emma her first cereal puff. You'll see she wasn't so thrilled and tried to figure out what to do with this "thing" in her mouth!
Later that night, Phil was in the bathroom and John decided to bring
Emma for a visit. He pushed her highchair through the kitchen and
living room and parked it right in front of the bathroom door! How he
didn't run into something or tip her over, I'll never know!
One of Emma's favorite games is peek-a-boo! She loved to be in her crib and push the bumper down (to the point there were "squish" marks in the pad) so she could peek at people in the room with her!
John's newspaper path...
The end of March we had spring break and because the weather was beautiful, we decided to take the kids to the zoo. Emma was very excited about seeing all the animals on the drive there....
John loved watching the tiger in front of him...
Peek!
At almost 8.5 months old, Emma still struggled at times to sit up without tipping over. She loved to sit in the rocking chair at my mom and dad's house, so one day my dad decided to help her work on her core strength. When she sat in the rocking chair, he would gently rock it, so she had to pull herself up straighter, so as to not tip out! She loved it and thought it was a great game and within a few days, her sitting ability was much improved! I have to admit, I thought at first my dad's idea was ridiculous, but it was quite smart!
Movies of her "game" with Grandpa!
Fun in the jumper!
Playing with her bottle cover and making songs!
Bedtime fun after tubbie! (No, the little tub wasn't used that night, but yes, Emma has John's old jammies on in this picture, so she looks a little boyish!)
As the snow melted, it was clean-up time around our house! With it still being on the market, it was a daily process to make sure that it was impeccably cleaned and staged at all times, inside and out... and make it look like a family with 2 kiddos didn't live there!
Random cuteness!
March 19 - good-bye baby carseat!
Good-bye convertible car seat!
More cute fun!
John loves being outside and helping with any project around the house! We knew there would be a fair amount of gardening clean-up, so John got a new pair of work gloves and trowel to help outside! He did a great job.... even with the occasional playing with and moving of the landscaping rocks!
Blanket play time!
Emma loved to watch her mobile, but soon realized she could make the bears dance by pushing and pulling on them! The mobile would soon find it's way back to the box to be safe and sound!
At the end of March, John came to check out what life at school would be like with a visit to his preschool room! He loved school and was able to spend a few minutes with Daddy in his office, so while he was there, John decided he had some "work" to do too!
More cuteness!
Emma loves snuggles with her elephant!
The week before Easter, we enjoyed some time at Phil's aunt and uncle's house (Amy and Steve) for an early Easter celebration. The kids went for a walk with "the guys" and then came back and had an Easter egg hunt in the house, since the weather had gotten very cold! The kids all had a great time together, and so did all the adults!
Searching, searching, searching for those eggs!!
Time for a walk in the fresh spring air!
Just before Emma turned 9 months old, she pulled herself up to half standing in her crib, learned that banging 2 toys together
made an incredibly fun noise, and began feeding herself puff cereal and
yogurt melts. She missed her mouth a few times, but overall, was
fairly accurate! A week later, Emma easily stood up in her crib and squealed with delight at her accomplishment!
On April 5, Emma started to crawl and found her own shadow! It was a great day!
The next day, Emma's first tooth popped trough (her bottom right middle tooth) and we hoped others would follow close behind! We couldn't believe Emma was 2 days shy of 9 months old and just getting her first tooth (although we were told that as long as she didn't have any teeth when she was born and 2 by the time she was 15 months, all was well)!
The nice weather was finally arriving and we couldn't wait to enjoy it! We were lucky enough to have several parks close by our house, so we set off on a family walk to have some fun!
John has always loved to dance and many nights can be found having a dance party! Here are some fun videos of his moves!
The day before Easter, April 6, it was time to color some Easter eggs. John loved every moment of it and was especially thrilled watching the color tabs fizz and dissolve in the water. He enjoyed coloring on the eggs with white crayon before he dipped the egg in SEVERAL colors! After all the eggs were colored, he and Grandpa played a game with a few of the damaged ones. They tapped them against another until one cracked and the other person won. John loved it!
Emma hanging out during the egg coloring festivities!
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard who have been living in my parent's back yard for years! John is now obsessed with them as well after learning all about ducks from Daddy!
Happy Easter! (and our House SOLD.... YIPPEEE!)
Emma has always thought her big brother was quite funny! As she has gotten bigger, John has found numerous ways to make her laugh and had funny sayings that instantly send her into giggles...even when it was "serious business".....
Emma turned 9 months old and at was great at her 9 month appointment! She was 18 lbs. 3 oz and was 28 inches tall with a head that was 17 1/2 cm. She was getting so big, so fast!
John has always loved watching "Mommy's dancing girls" and would ask to go to practice with me. Our high kick song was "Livin' on a Prayer" and John quickly became obsessed with the song, to the point where he could open iTunes, find the song within the large playlist and he would start to dance to it. Here's a clip of his singing and dancing!
As part of the sale on our house, we needed to put on a new roof. Because the Singewalds/Gunvilles aren't ones to hire out on jobs we can do ourselves, we gathered a crew of our brothers, dads, Phil's friend, Adam and ourselves (Yes, I was even on the roof to help too! I have to admit, I wasn't totally impressed with the height but once I got my "roofing legs," I was ok!) to complete our roof. We gave it a valiant effort and completed all the tear-off and put on about half of the new roof, but with major rain and storms on the horizon (after already having major storms pop up with tarps on the roof) we decided to hire out the last half to a crew that had it done and all cleaned up in a day! Our family and friend's work was amazing and we were so grateful to all of them!
We finally caught "snuffy face" on camera! But don't blink... it's a short clip!
John found a love for ping pong, kid size, and Emma realized she loved it too, if she could just lean up against the table long enough without falling over!
On April 20, Emma's bottom left middle tooth popped through! Our little cutie had two little teeth poking out and we loved her little toothy smile!
Crawling fun with John! They are like two peas in a pod!
Ready, Set.... GO!
Ahhhh!! Here she comes!!!
Attack!! I will wrestle you!
(and notice John just lies there and takes it! He's such a great big brother!)
Yes, Emma is biting John's foot! (Don't worry, John was laughing hysterically!)
Contained play time!
John started watching the show Doc McStuffin's and thought that Daddy needed some help. He is very good at diagnosing someone's "itis" ailments! He said Emma was his nurse, but she seemed to do well at diagnosing herself too!
Mother's Day was around the corner and John wanted to make something special for Grandma and Nana, so he decided to paint picture frames and put a picture of he and Emma in it. They turned out so well!
After finding the letters for "Grandma" and "Nana," John found his own letters too!
As we started packing up the house, it became apparent that in order to make strides, Emma was going to need to be contained! Thankfully, she liked her pack-n-play and didn't mind playing in it while I packed up as quickly as I could!
Emma loved watching out the windows, especially if birds were making themselves comfortable on our deck!
Sibling snuggles!
More contained fun during packing! The crunch was on as we were only a couple of weeks from moving!
"Can I help with the laundry too, Mom?"
"I promise I'll help with the sorting so it will go faster!"
"Uh-oh!! You caught me!"
And still more contained fun...and pushing her cheeks against the mesh and giggling!!
Peek!!
On Mother's Day weekend, Phil needed a break from the packing and John wanted to go fishing, so Phil headed up north with John for the weekend and then made it home for dinner on Mother's Day so I could have some time with both of my kiddos. It wasn't the most relaxing day because I was packing all day, but with the amount of work to be done, I couldn't just sit back and do nothing either! I don't relax very well when I know there are things to be done!
All tuckered out from fishing!
Happy Mother's Day!
My kids are the joy of my life and without them, I wouldn't have realized what it truly means to completely give of myself. Because of my kids, I don't always sleep through the night and just about never sleep in like I used to do. I rarely find the amount of "Ann time" that I probably should and I multi-task in every aspect of my day so I can squeeze out the maximum amount of time with them in the evenings and weekends, but because of them, I am able to read stories, sing songs, have dance parties and snuggle into their soft, warm, and big cheeks and hear infectious giggles when the tickle monster comes to visit or when the crabbies need to be gotten rid of! Because of my kids, I am a mom and I can't think of anything that could be better!
Other cute moments....
We always tease Emma that she is trouble!
The middle of April following lunch one day, I became violently ill and had severe pain on my upper right side. Phil didn't give me an option later that evening when I was still in pain and didn't feel well and he took me to the ER, as he was concerned that it may be my appendix. After a few tests in the ER, they found that it was not my appendix, but thought that it may be gallstones in my gallbladder and sent me for an ultrasound the next day. Following the ultrasound, they said all was fine and to continue normal activity, but after another week, I ended up in the ER again with horrible pain. This time, they ordered a HIDA scan, since they wondered about the functionality of my gallbladder. After having the test run, it was found that my gallbladder was functioning at less than 10% and anything under 30% was considered to be concerning. I was sent to see a surgeon and we decided that the best option was to have my gallbladder removed as soon as possible. The following week, on May 18 (and with only 2 weeks until moving day), my gallbladder was removed and none too soon! Because my gallbladder was so swollen, it looked like I was 3-4 months pregnant! When the surgeon saw me before I went into the OR, she was concerned that she wasn't going to be able to complete the surgery laproscopically because it was so swollen. Thankfully, she was able to make it work! My recovery was a little harder than expected because she struggled to get it out, and after returning to work a few days after surgery, I ended up in the ER that evening because my body was so taxed and became violently ill. With some fluids, anti-nausea meds and lots of rest for a few more days, I was finally on the mend!
When Emma wanted attention, she would make a fake cough and then giggle. Of course, we thought it was funny too and would ask her if she had a horrible cough, to which she would follow it up by making her fake cough. We tried several times to get it on video and finally did!
With only 2 days left before moving day, the race was on! It took me longer to pack because of having to take breaks after surgery and I had lost extra days with my extended recovery. It all worked out though and on June 1, we were ready to start the next stage of our life!
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