Luke's 3rd Birthday

Playing musical chairs at Luke's 3rd birthday party. This party was a piece of cake. That's because Luke was the youngest besides Marie. We played this one game and they were all entertained by playing with toys the rest of the time. Other people's toys are so fun.
Luke was very careful to only lick the candle and not eat it like he did Marie's.

Marie is learning this swiping business... "hmmmm, what's he opening over there and how do I get that?"

When you are the biggest, youngest kid at your party that requires twice as much food as everyone else and you were super goofy while everyone else was eating nicely, then you're stuck trying to get un-hungry all by yourself.

Marie, Eva, Cadee, Bridgette, Kaleb, Luke, Travis and Harry

Holding up "THREE'S."

I'm not sure where we were going, but Luke was ready.

Marie loves dressing up in other people's clothes.

Uncle Scott gave Travis this lego kit for Christmas. We didn't see Travis, or Grandpa Gerry because Travis held him hostage, after Luke's party for a few hours.

Christmas

Travis was so excited to open presents, but he wanted to be polite and not interupt adults. So, he made notes and was passing them to us that said "go to the living room" and "DAD, COME ON!" Marie didn't know what to think?

Luke opening his Lightning McQueen computer for the 2nd time. Marie sitting in her perch. Laps are like a nest to this gal.

Watching the Santa present opening with Grandpa Gerry.

The kids asked Santa to bring Marie "a little horsie like her friend's, Svea." She got it! She was too excited to finish getting dressed I guess. One of those things that you forget you are taking pictures of.

Eva got an American Girl Doll look-a-like. I have yet to see her play with it. She says she needs other friends with dolls to play with her?

Travis is the lego man. He got a lego organizer (which made mom very happy!) and these legos from Santa and a lego shirt from Santa.

Marie crying at Santa...

Luke crying at Santa...

Luke seemed nervous about being naughty for about 1 minute while talking to santa, then he walked over and grabbed 5 cookies and spilled hot chocolate everywhere.

The zoo is the best place to see Santa. Kind of spendy (not if you buy a family pass in the summer, then it's free.) But, no lines or crowds, you take your coats off and get a table and do arts and crafts and ride the carousel, etc. So calm and nice.

Eva and Travis on the sleigh: 2006.

Eva looking like she's going to cry any second: 2005. Travis, sweet little boy, I don't have a crying picture of him with Santa? I didn't even take Eva before this year because I know she'd scream!

Eva and Travis with Liv, who endured my crabbiness of making gingerbread houses. Making gingerbread houses is right up there with rolling out and baking sugar cookies to frost and going to the circus as one of the "top 10 things I hate doing with kids." I'll have to narrow down the other 7. Do you see that open drawer behind Travis? It is always, always, always open because it is where the kids cups are and Marie takes them out and leaves them all over the house and tries to get water out of the fridge, and Luke's been doing that since we moved in. It drives Chris so crazy that Santa put cups in his stocking one year.

marie hums while she eats- 1 year old

Luke talking 2 years 11 mos

For my speech therapist friends, what do you think of this kid? He sounds like a blur and I feel like a translator.

Thank you messy big kids!

"Ha, ha, ha! I found Nerds! Thanks big kids!"

I am not so sad about having no bushes and landscaping around the house because cleaning out the window wells will be enough! I guess this is what happens with ND wind and a cornfield in the backyard?

Halloween/ Marie's 1 year photos

We had Marie's one year pictures taken at the Depot downtown.

Yummy baby with a cute little tongue...

Yummier baby on her tippy toes with those little baby leggies....this is my last baby. So if there's anyone that doesn't know this about me, you will now: I think that baby toes smell great. Intoxicating. Especially if they've been in little shoes and are kind of sweaty. Just writing this is gross, but it's true. Especially when Travis was a baby. I'd pull his socks off and sniff 'em like some kind of addict; I just couldn't get enough baby.

Mmmmmmm..... more baby.......

This is a very cool picture she took of us watching the train go by. It'd be even cooler if we were cool, city people instead of suburbanites.... and if Travis looked like he had 2 legs instead of one.

Eva and Marie: Funny Eva story...So, the directions on the paper said: "Add words to make this sentence longer and better. IT WAS ABOUT TIME FOR THE SHOW TO START. THEN____________." She needed to fill in the line. Here's what she wrote: "Then, It sprouted wings and flew far far far far far far far far far away till it starded on fire! ha, ha, he, he, ho, ho, ho."

Travis and Luke

Pretending we ARE cool city people that are in downtown Fargo all the time. (Once a year, usually at the Holiday Lights Parade.)

Look at Travis.... not happy about wearing a coat under the Police Man costume that the neighbor borrowed him. He did later admit that he was wrong and that it would've been way too cold without it.

Tough to tell which one is Eva and which one is Marie.... I'd look at Marie and it was just like dejavu.

Spiderman Luke ran to every house to say trick-or-treat and never forgot a thank you. He went to the scary houses for Travis.

Found this funny picture of Luke in my brother's, dog's kennel with Toni. We really should've just kept that at the lake this summer and I may have been able to relax.

Why isn't Eva in the earlier pictures? Because she did not want to trick-or-treat with us slow people. Liv and her went with the cool neighbor girl, Allison, instead and sprinted to 2 streets worth of houses to our one street.

If you look in the above picture off to your right, you'll see what Chris was doing during getting all these people ready to go trick-or-treating. Kids are knocking on the door, everyone's outside, trying to take pictures, Marie wants to go so getting the stroller, etc, etc. I asked him "Could you change Marie's diaper so she doesn't get too cold while WE (not him) are out?" He points to the TV and says "Erika. You are not serious. Do you see what's going on here?" Ummmmm, yes. The Vikings are playing and I'm pretty sure they are not going to put YOU in for Brett Favre? He did offer to take the kids trick-or-treating after the game ended and I was ready to walk away. I told him "no thanks" because he'd be all crabby and left him to clean up the mess instead. AND, I'll get him back with this HILARIOUS picture. hee, hee, ho, ho. Nice hair. Eva was almost 2 and was bringing him things; a purse, a puzzle, a popcorn popper, etc. I just think it's so funny, as he has the look of "this is what my life is now?" on his face. Oh no honey, it gets much lamer than this!

Officer Travis says "Why do you take so many pictures of the little kids?" Well, because you look this cute in taking one photo and I have to take 20 of them to get one where they are not running away.

Another thing that happened since I last posted on here was that I went on girls weekend to Florida with Sue Evens and Karen Kanthack (who is Kevin Hoffman's sister, for those of you who know him.) It was so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so great (as Eva would make a sentence longer.) One of Eva's friends says "you are so much taller than them in this picture?" And in every picture of my life since I could stand next to friends. Thanks for rubbing salt in my 34 year old wounds little girl. Hee, hee.

Annie, from the Little Einstein's, accompanied us on the trip to Florida. She was checking out what was so important about these glasses because it seemed to solve all the world's problems for us!

Luke's poor mouth

This was the best picture he'd let me take. What a night! I come home at 5:30 from an appt, Luke is screaming and the kids tell me he's crying because there is blood all over. Poor kid was playing a kazoo, turned with it in his mouth and tripped over the rug. Chipped the tooth and jammed the 2 front teeth back about 1/8". Travis' head had done this to the poor neighbor boy's mouth, Harry, last year. So, getting her opinion and the dentist hotline I use (Jamie Evans), we called the dentist and he had us bring him in. He (Mr. Hot) and his even hotter wife were on their way out the door for date night. So, they met us at the clinic and pulled them HARD to get them back in place. He thinks all the bone is broken, that they will maybe abcess and have to be pulled, etc. Harry's teeth made it and they looked just as bad, so I'm hoping. Yeah, I'm not nervous at all to leave for 4 days now.......Poor buddy was so hungry and he kept getting food out and then just looking at it and crying. Gotta get all "positive and uplifting" on ya: I honestly feel lucky that I just keep getting to post accidents on this blog that are not that big of a deal in the long run. Poor Luke:(