Nakey Baby Alert!!!!

Isn't that the cutest butt ever?? These are the pics that Isabelle will kill me for showing when she is older...so I am showing them now before she knows any better!!! :)

Family Portraits

While Shelly and her kids were visiting we attempted to get some family pictures. Trying to get 6 kids to cooperate all at one time is nearly impossible...as we quickly learned. Even trying to get just my 2 kids to cooperate while we visited Grandma Schmidt on Saturday was a complete chore. So here are the best results!! I think the candid ones are more entertaining anyways...and we got PLENTY of them! :)

Cousin Love

Here are some pictures of the cousins happily playing with each other during their visit in Madison. Madison was extra excited to see her 'boyfriend' Mitch. She literally hung on him for the first 5 minutes after his arrival. For the most part they got along very well and have really enjoyed the time together. I know my kids will be very bummed when the visit is over. So then we will start counting down to August when we go and visit them in Tennessee!!

Christmas 2009

Here are some snapshots of everyone opening their gifts at Christmas. The kids were very excited to open all of the pretty wrapped gifts that were left by Santa! The whole process took about 5 minutes and resulted in like 5 bags of garbage and toys flying everywhere!

Christmas is coming!!!!

Here is our Christmas tree. It started out as 9 feet tall (we only have 8 feet ceilings) so Mike had to cut off a chunk. I then quickly decorated it with white and blue lights and silver and blue ornaments. It turned out very nicely! I did realize very quickly though that I had to remove the very bottom layer of ornaments do to one rambuctious toddler and a very playful kitty!! Now we just have to keep watering it so it survives until our visitors arrive in LESS THEN 2 WEEKS!!!! HOORAY!!! :)

Wild Kingdom

This is a picture of Whiskers eagerly watching TV in one of the kids chairs. He actually sat there for some time enjoying an episode of Little Einsteins. It was so cute I of course had to snap a picture!!

Holy Snow!!!!!!

Well...we definitely got dumped on with the most recent storm. As of this morning we had over a foot of snow on the ground. Mike went out at 3AM and came back in at 5:30 and had only been able to get the driveway and sidewalks done....the snoblower couldn't even handle all of it in one go. I am keeping the kids home as long as possible before I take them to daycare and head into work. Hopefully the roads are in better shape then. We now are expecting high winds and extremely cold temparatures in the next couple days....so the fun will continue.

Cacoon Children

Here are som pics of the kids wrapped tightly in their blankets. John asked me to spread his blanket out on the ground and roll him up in it. Of course then Isabelle wanted the same done. Brought back memories of when we used to swaddle them when they were infants....of course trying to carry John now....who is over 40 lbs, is a much harder task!

Wisconsin snow

Here are some pics of our recent snow storm. They predicted 3-5 inches and Mike says we got at least 3. Driving wasn't too bad....now it is just really really cold. we have been in the 20's for the last couple days. We are suppose to get our first 'real' snow storm later this week....so we will keep you posted. So for now...it appears that TN has more snow then WI.....hahahahahaha!!! :-P

Happy Birthday Bunny!!!!!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!! I can hardly believe that you are 2 already!!! Mommy and daddy love you so much!!! :)

My cubicle - My home away from home

I took my camera to work with me one night since I didn't want to leave it in my van while I worked. Alas...it was the perfect opportunity to take some pictures of my cubicle so everyone can see where I work day in and day out. My cubicle is known at 'the jungle' to my peers....thanks to dad who got me a gag gift of a plant 6 years ago. That plant has taken over my cubicle and has spawned many baby plants that are taking over other people's cubicles as we speak. As you can see....I proudly display many pictures of my kids...and update them very frequently. My cubicle is popular because it very 'lived in'....I get compliments on it ALL the time!!! :) I have been in this cubicle for 10 years...and I don't think they will move me anytime soon...unless of course I completely loose my job. Fingers crossed for that not to happen!!! :)

Grandparents are the BEST!!!

Here are some fun pics of the kids and grandma and grandpa from when they were visiting last for Thanksgiving and Isabelle's birthday. As you can see, everyone enjoyed cuddling and cheesing it up for the camera. :)

Whiskers Vs. Johnny

Here is Whiskers on the hunt to try and catch Johnny...the betta fish. Hmmm...the fact that Johnnyis in a tank didn't seem to deter Whiskers one bit....he was diligent and convinced he was going to catch that fish at some point! As expected...Johnny is still swimming happily in his tank and Whiskers is sulking in a corner somewhere. :)

Trying to fill BIG shoes

This is Isabelle doing one of her favorite things...walking around in mommy's shoes. She is actually getting pretty good at it....she just gets tripped up on the baby gates...since they have a bar across the floor as well. Now she is working on her daddy's work boots! :)

Make sure you practice GOOD oral hygiene!!!

This is Little Miss Isabelle showing everyone how to practice good oral hygiene by showing her teeth brushing skills. OK...really she just likes to put the brush under the water and suck it off....but come on she is ONLY 2!!!! :) (ALMOST)

Family Photo

So we were going to have Kendra take pictures of the kids this year, but her family came down with the swine flu the weekend of our session...and we are tight with money. So, instead I busted out our camera and took pictures myself. Now I am certainly not a photographer and there were PLENTY of pictures that looked horrible....but we managed to get a couple that were pretty darn good. This is the one that everyone liked the best. So...this will appear on the Maier holiday card this year! If you would like any copies....I accept cash, check, and money orders. :) lol Just kidding!!

Little Mama

This is Miss Isabelle being our little mama and feeding her bunny a bottle while it is in its car seat. She is so darn cute and the best little mama ever. I see lots of baby care supplies entering our house in the near future!!!! :)

Trick or Treating

Saturday night Mike and I took the kiddos out trick or treating. Isabelle started out with a vengeance, running from house to house but then she got tired. Mike and I had to stuff our pockets with candy to lighten her load. We went about 3 blocks and then headed home. We came back with A LOT of Snickers bars and other various candies. The kids favorite is definitely suckers of any kind. John got one while out trick or treating and insisted on carrying it the entire rest of the way in his hand....it could NOT be placed in his bucket!! It really was a lot of fun!! :)