Something to do

If you're in the area and looking for something to see, drive to Crooks. Check out the website: www.crookschristmas.com

Happy 18 months Sweetheart!

On December 14th Adriana turned 1 1/2 years old. She is just growing up too fast! She went to the Dr. on the 15th for her well-check and these were her measurements. Weight 23lbs 1oz (25%), Height 34 1/4" (95%) Head Circumference 18 1/4" (50%). She went down from 50% to 25% in weight, but the Dr. said that is the matter of one pound. She runs around and dances so much that the Dr. was not concerned. Doc also said she is cutting teeth on top. She had one shot at this appt. Now according to my Development class, an interesting rule of thumb is that boys achieve half their adult height by 2 years, and girls by 18 months. So Adriana will be 5 feet 8 1/2 inches!! I don't think so.
I haven't taken any pics recently, bad mom!! This one is from Thanksgiving weekend. Excuse her dirty face.

Thanksgiving

I'm finally getting back to my blog. Last Friday I finished my first semester of Grad School! This week is finals week for Rob anyway, not for me, Hooray! I get to spend more time with the kids while he studies. It was a great semester and Christmas break will go by way too fast! Anyway, here are some pics from Thanksgiving Day. Adriana loving her dessert after dinner!

This is my cousin's daughter Takenric.

Here's Dantae playing foosball.

Justus was playing pool with my cousin Byron.

Adriana wanted a ride in the grocery cart. The wheels were about to give out!

Adriana & Santa

Here's the best we could get of Adriana with Santa, candycane and all. It obviously wasn't meant to be a perfect photo since we didn't plan on seeing Santa that day. I hope the color doesn't look too bad.

I LOVE YOU ONNA!!

Yesterday Adriana and I had a mother/daughter day. We went to Sioux Falls shopping, lunch, and playtime. She took a turn or two on some of the cars and trucks. It was great seeing her have some fun! She even got a picture with Santa, but I can't include it since my scanner is broke. Maybe I'll get it posted in a couple days. You may be thinking what about the boys? Don't worry I plan on having a special day with each of them too! I can't wait!

Onna's buckle hat

Last year I wanted to get Adriana one of those knitted hats with a flower on it, but didn't. So this year I made sure to get her a special crocheted hat. Thank You so much Jessi!

Justus being fearless

Justus shows how much he trusts his Dad by crawling up on his back and standing on his shoulders. It's hard to believe he will be 3 in a couple months. I wish he would show some interest in potty training, but if he potty trains like his brother then it'll be worth the wait!

Beautiful Fall Leaves = Fun for Kids

This weekend the weather was so beautiful that I decided to rake up some leaves. I figured that Justus and Adriana would play away while I worked away, but they tried to help rake too. Finally, Justus said "All done" and put his rake in the shed and decided it was time to play. Onna wasn't quite as excited as Justus.

Even Lincoln got to come out and play!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween! This year my 2 little brother-in-laws from Pierre went trick-or-treating with us. Star Wars was the theme this year. Rob was Darth Vader, Dantae - Luke Skywalker, Justus - Yoda, Adriana - Princess Leia, and I was Queen Amidala. Everyone loved that our whole family dressed up, but they especially loved Justus and Adriana! Justus and Adriana were not quite sure how this whole process worked, but once they figured it out, they had a blast. We went to the Sanford Care Center, dorms and this year we even did the door-to-door thing. We got more candy than we know what to do with. Dantae also went to a Halloween party on Thursday night where he got to play games, so I think we are Halloweened out. I hope everyone else had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Here's my little Yoda. This was taken after we were done, so his face paint doesn't look as nice.

The Star Wars Family. The best picture we could get.(not bad for an 8 year old photographer)
Wyatt, Trey, Justus, Dantae & Adriana
Some of the treats.

Random Pics

My ever so cute Redsox fan!
Adriana absolutely loves her big brother. Sometimes I wonder about the spacing between my children, but then sometimes you just don't have a choice. I'm so lucky to have them!

Justus getting ready for the next powerlifting competition.

I thought this picture was so cute. Justus is telling Adriana to say "Cheese"

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Michelle visited this weekend.

Adriana snuggling with Grandma Michelle. It was getting close to nap time.

Onna's well check

I took Adriana to the Dr. today for her 15 month well check. She is actually 16 months 10 days old though. She weighed 22 lbs 6 oz (50%) and measured 32 1/2 inches (90%)! She actually slept through the whole exam. She cried when she got her shots but as soon as I picked her up she went silent. I think that was the easiest well check I've been to. She is so different than my boys, it's amazing!

Potatoes

In a previous post I had talked about Dantae and his gardening skills. Well here are a couple of the potatoes from his garden at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Conference

Last weekend I presented at the Great Plains Conference on the Teaching of Psychology. Our presentation was "Integrating Research and Teaching: A Teacher and Student Perspective." We were the very first ones to present and I'm very happy to say "I Survived!" Rob was able to attend and we both had a very good time.

This is Dr. Newland and I at the conference.

Little news here

I don't have too much news. Last weekend Dantae had his last soccer game for the season. He did an excellent job and couldn't have made his mom any more proud! He had a great coach that gave them all awards and gift certificates to Dairy Queen for all their hard work. Grandma and Grandpa Smith came to watch his game. After lunch I took Dantae and a friend over to Yankton to drive go-karts. They had a blast!

Dantae and Adriana. Don't grow up so fast.

Name Creations

While we were in Boston we came across this little shop that made t-shirts, caps, etc. using the letters in your name. They were a little pricey but I just couldn't resist getting one for Justus and Adriana. If you're interested in them just let me know and I'll find their website for you.

Lincoln's growing up

Our "Ragdoll" Lincoln will be a year old next month. He's grown so much and his markings have gotten darker as you can see in the pictures.
I hope no one is offended by him all sprawled out in this picture. :D

Dantae

I haven't posted many pictures of Dantae on here so this morning I begged him to let me take a picture of him to post on the blog.

Here's my giggly girl. I forgot to post this the other day.

A little bit of everything

Hello everyone! Time seems to be flying by since starting school. Justus officially got his 2nd haircut a couple weeks ago. He also got a special surprise. He loves Wow wow wubbzy and Max & Ruby so I got him a Disco Dancin' Wubbzy and a Max & Ruby Halloween video.







This is a picture of Adriana eating some gummy lobsters we got in Boston.


We also celebrated Rob's birthday this weekend. Here is the cake I had made for him. For those of you who don't know, the symbol is the Greek letter Psi for Psychology.

School

We've had lots of changes in our household this month. Rob and I both started school. Yep, I was accepted into Grad School just days before classes began. It was a stressful week I must say. So, Justus and Adriana also started "school". Justus is adjusting slowly while Adriana seems to love it! Trust me, I've never seen a little girl get as dirty or dusty as she does from playing outside. Justus...well I have noticed a little collection of rocks in his jacket pockets. Dantae is starting to enjoy 1st grade and we are so proud of the improvements he's had. He is playing soccer again this year too.

Omaha Zoo

We finally fit our trip to the Omaha zoo in this year. It was not the weekend to go I must admit. Everyone decided to go on Labor Day weekend. Rob, Justus and Adriana were suffering from allergies which didn't help. Then one of our stroller tires blew. Good thing, we were on our way out. Hopefully, things will turn around for us. I forgot to mention in my Boston post that when we were driving to Sioux Falls our check engine light came on and we couldn't drive more than 65mph on our way to the airport. So we arrived at the airport at 4:33am and our plane started loading at 4:46am. It's a good thing the airport is small.
We did get to meet up with an old neighbor of ours from when we lived in Brookings. It was great to see you guys, Kathi and Alexis! Hope to see you again soon!


Justus, Dantae and Alexis looking at the penguins.
They're all holding hands, how cute.
Dantae and Alexis - love you two!

D's 6th Birthday Party

Since we didn't get to have a birthday party for Dantae close to his birthday, we decided to have one after he started school. This way he could invite his classmates and get to know them a little more. There aren't very many options in Vermillion so we decided to have it at the bowling alley. It was quite an experience for Rob and I, but it was a good time. My mom watched Justus and Adriana for us so we could focus on Dantae and his friends. Thanks Mom! I'm so glad Dantae got the party he deserved!



Here's a group picture. Two girls are missing since they had already left.

Our Trip to Boston

We didn't have alot of time for sightseeing in Boston, but one of the things you must do is to take a Duck Tour. It takes you through the historic streets of Boston and up the scenic Charles River. The vehicle is a two and a half ton GMC six-wheel drive truck with the body stripped off, and an added steel hull, propeller and gearbox to drive the propeller shaft. Although the vehicle was officially named DUKW, soldiers always called them "Ducks". Our particular "duck" was named Molly Molasses. I unfortunately didn't get a picture of it. Here is a picture of our ConDUCKtor, Captain Supersize. Sorry about the glaring sun.

This is the Massachusetts State House. The dome is covered in real gold.


This is a piece of the Berlin Wall protected by plexi-glass.


Fenway Park. My first time to a professional baseball game! We had excellent seats!

This is the Finish Line to the Boston Marathon. Sorry it's not a better picture but we were driving over it.


As part of Rob's APA convention there was a 5K race that I took part in. I got to run with Olympian Runner Bill Rodgers, Winner of Boston and New York Marathons.


I ran across Ben Franklin at Quincy Market!

Some other highlights of our tour were: Boston Common, Citgo Sign(which is 60 by 60 feet), Sam Adams & Paul Revere's gravesites, Swan Boats, U.S.S. Constitution, Back Bay, Boston Public Library, Bunker Hill Monument, Copley Square, and Faneuil Hall. We also heard about The Great Molasses Flood that killed 21 people.