The Boehmer Crew

Dells Trip '09

2009-06-29T17:02:00.003-05:00

Last year while we were at the Dells, we sat through a timeshare seminar, never again! After 3 hours later & four salespeople trying to get us to buy a timeshare we got a free vacation for 2 nights/3 days to be used within the next year. After have two dates previously denied, I didn't get my hopes up about the 3rd but to our surprise we got our confirmation for this past weekend. It was a nice trip but I will never go through that kind of hassles again. Besides everything we had a good time. We took the kids to the water park. Taylor loved the Lazy River, Owen not so much. Owen & Daddy tipped over because Owen was squirming to get off. So I ended up with both kids on my lap, not very comfortable. They had a great kid area where they went down slides & played in a shallow pool. Caylee & Owen rode go-karts by themselves. Our neighbors actually went up the same weekend we did, so we got to hang up with them on Saturday at their campsite.
Good trip but glad to be home.

Look No Training Wheels!!!!

2009-06-15T10:04:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Matt took off Owen's training wheels. After dinner Owen looked at us & stated "I think I can ride it". So I started helping Owen down the road. Than he looked at me and said Mommy I want to do it on my own. He had one big fall, cried for about 10 mins. After that I figured he was done for the day. Nope, mommy was wrong. He kept at it, until he was riding perfectly. This little boy was so determined to do this. You wouldn't believe it. In an hour he was riding his bike & showing us tricks. He can ride with no feet, one hand & standing up. I love my little man & am so proud of him. I can't believe how fast he is growing. Way to go Owen!!!

The 1st couple times on his own

He mastered turning while riding

Taylor's 2!!!!

2009-06-10T18:54:00.003-05:00

This is back when Eric & family visited, love this picture!

Long time no blog....

Busy, busy, busy during the day from babysitting & at night usually trying to wind down from the day.

May 30th we celebrated Taylor's 2nd birthday!! We did the whole Luau theme. My mom made the cake as usual, turned out great! The kids had a blast. She is starting to pronounce her words so much better. Now you can at least understand 80% of what she says. Everything is "momma" this or "momma" that. She can count to 5 & knows some colors & all body parts. She HAS started the terrible twos, much worse than Owen was, but I guess that is the girl attitude for you.
Owen is great, right now he is obsessed with Lego Indiana Jones video game. I pretty much have to yank him off the game.
Caylee finished 1st grade here in Illinois & is doing better as well.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T10:55:00.004-05:00

Caylee's B-day!

Taylor coloring eggs!

Long weekend.......

Taylor & Conner

Caylee

Busy, busy , busy... I now have 4 kids that I babysit, 4 months, 17 month, 5 & a 6 year old PLUS Owen & Taylor (sometimes Caylee), so believe me I have been BUSY! I love doing it but some days are definitely harder than others.
We had a great weekend! Saturday we celebrated with Grandma Debbie, she did a great job hosting the Seder. Sunday we celebrated with our church & than on to Grannies. Aunt Kim set up an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. Taylor didn't really know what to do but Owen was a pro! It was great seeing all the family!

We colored Easter eggs, I figured Taylor would have made a mess. Totally opposite, she was so careful & dainty. Even when she got a little on her hand she had me wipe it off right away. Owen on the other hand, well just look at the picture!
This year Easter happened to fall on Caylee's birthday. She is now 8! Instead of throwing her a party this year, she wants to go to the local water park. So we are planning to go in a few weeks.

Taylor is almost 2, how the time flies! She is very stubborn (just like her daddy)but so luvable. Every day she makes sure to give everyone a hug when she wakes up. She loves baby Conner. Owen also loves helping out.
More updates later naptime is almost over!

Owen wanted to help feed Conner.....

5 minutes later they were both sleeping!! :)

Caylee moved back to Illinois!!!!

2009-03-16T21:29:00.002-05:00

Yes, finally! Caylee has moved back to Illinois! She actually lives a few blocks a way from us for now. So we have her every other weekend & twice a week. So it has been great! Owen loves having her around. I have been babysitting, Taylor has been extremely jealous (hopefully this will pass). Both kids are going through a little cold :( Other than that everything is good!!

Future Chippendale or Video Gamer, you decide!

2009-02-16T07:14:00.007-06:00

Yeah!!!! Owen is finally fully potty trained. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The kids are great. I started babysitting Baby Conner (Keith & Jenny's little one). He has been such a great baby so far. Taylor & Rex (our dog) watches over him so closely. Whenever he takes a nap, Rex has to lay right next to the Pack N Play. Speaking of the Pack n Play, Taylor finally mastered the art of escaping from it while we were in Florida. Luckily it was the last night we were there. We put her down to sleep, I kid you not 20 secs later she was out of it. I found it so funny that I put her back in so I would be able to record it, I know mean mommy. Hopefully she won't master the crib until a few more months.

For some reason I can't upload the pictures, so enjoy these videos until I am able to upload.

Grandpa Jack

2009-02-02T21:26:00.003-06:00

My mom , Me, Owen Grandma & Grandpa Jack Sept 2007

Grandpa Jack

Grandpa & Owen

We had the most devastating news this past week, my grandfather passed away after 92 great years. My mom, my sister , me & the kids took a road trip down to Florida for the service & funeral. It took 22 hours each way, we drove straight through. The kids for the most part, were great. We left Saturday night & arrived Sunday around 7:00pm. We were gone a week & missed daddy terribly. My grandma seems to be doing great. The service was beautiful. He was buried 5 hours north of Miami, so we drove up there Thursday. He was a great man & will be missed. He loved Owen dearly, he really didn't get as chance to bond with Taylor. Owen just started really potting training right before we took this long road trip. He did great. Now it has been almost 2 weeks with him fully potty trained except for wearing a pull up at night. Grandpa, you will always be in a hearts, we love you!

4 Christmas's & 1 New Years Later

2009-01-04T14:09:00.004-06:00

The kids had a great time this year for Christmas. They got to celebrate 4 different times. They all got a lot of cool new toys. Owen wanted a guitar, choo choo train & tools for Christmas, Taylor didn't really now what she wanted :) & Caylee wanted barbies, make up & clothes. They all got what they wanted & more!
Here are a few pictures of the Christmas celebrations. Christmas eve at Grandma Roanne's. Christmas morning at our house, Christmas day @ Grandma Deb's house & Christmas Saturday @ Grandpa Dave's. We stayed home with the kids on New Years & had a little party with our neighbors. Everyone had a good time. I can't believe it is already 2009!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T06:53:00.001-06:00

Pictures courtesy of Grandma

Still no camera. I am getting so frustrated with Best Buy. It has been over 2 months still no camera. Nobody seems to know anything.

We had a great Thanksgving. A lot of running around but it was good. We had Caylee for the whole week so Owen was in 7th heaven. The kids helped me decorate for Christmas on Friday. I was outside retrieving the rest of the CHristmas bins from the outside when I heard Caylee yelling for me. It seems that Owen wanted to be a little mischevious. He was taking the round CHrsitmas tree ornaments & throwing them against the wall & laughing. As I walked in he was already on his 3rd ornament. Boy did he get in trouble for that one. Always after the kids have their timeouts I ask them if they know what they were in trouble for. This time Owen walked out of his room and said "Mommy I love you, Sorry I broke your balls"!

Taylor went for her 18 month visit yesterday. She has had a rash for the past couple of days. THe doctor said all was fine. She is in the 75th percentile for both her weight & her height. She only got one shot, which was her flu shot.

Overall we all had a good week with Caylee here.

Potty Training

2008-11-10T06:23:00.000-06:00

Owen had is 3 year check up. The doctor said he looks great & is even smarter than most 3 year olds she has seen! She wants us to start potty training, ugh. Owen seems to be excited about it but still doesn't seem motivated. So this past weekend, Owen & mommy went out the dollar store. I let him pick out a bunch of little toys. We bought poster board & stickers. So every time that he goes pee in the big boy toilet, he would be able to put a sticker on the poster board. Every time he goes poop, he would get a little toy. I figured a little bribery wouldn't hurt. :) The object is that after a couple of weeks, if he had a n accident than we would take away one of his toys. Well it didn't go quite as well as I had expected it too. After 3 days we only have 1 sticker on the board & all toys still on the shelf. If anyone has any ideas, please help!
Taylor is doing great. She is beginning to talk a little more instead of pointing and screaming. Also no tantrums in awhile!
Daddy is good, he is looking for a new job, so please pray for him.
At the end of this week Mommy will be 30! I don't know why but I am dreading this birthday.

Trick Or Treat

2008-10-27T07:20:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was Owen's birthday & trick or treating! Saturday, my mom & I took the kids to the Fall Festival. The kids had a good time. They had kid games, costume contest & a hay ride for the kids. They also had a chili cook off. There were over 20 different kinds. My favorite was one that had sliced jalapenos in it, yum! We came home & Owen helped me make cupcakes (he wanted cupcakes instead of a birthday cake) & than we carved pumpkins.
Sunday we took the kids trick or treating. Owen had 2 costumes because we had bought him a scarecrow costume but when I showed it to him, he started crying & said he wanted to be Spider-Man, so my mom bought him a Spider-Man costume. So he wore both costumes. The scarecrow for the 1st half & Spider man for the 2nd half. Taylor was the cutest duck I have ever seen! It was really chilly so Taylor stayed in the stroller with a blanket the whole time. Owen had tons of fun saying "Trick Or Treat".
We went to pick up our camera from Best Buy on Friday. The lady called & said it was back from the repair shop. We get there and the camera wasn't even fixed! The store clerk gave the repair shop the wrong number so since they couldn't confirmed repair charges they sent it back. So now we have to wait another 2 weeks before getting it back. I hate not having a camera. I have been using a disposable one.

Kroll's Farm

2008-10-20T10:20:00.000-05:00

We took the kids to Kroll's Farm with Scott & Andrea & their kids this past weekend. (Caylee's mom actually sent her up here for the weekend) We had a good time. We checked out the chickens, the donkey & there was even 2 baby goats. Taylor loved trying to hug the baby goats.

Next we did the corn maze. It was actually pretty cool. There were 12 signs that you had to find throughout the maze & answer the questions about the farm animals. If we win, we could have a "BIG" Pumpkin! It took us about an hour to go through the whole thing. Owen loved running around through it. Taylor started off in the wagon but insisted on being carried through the rest of it.

Caylee and Owen both picked out their own pumpkins. Taylor was more infatuated with the homemade cookies they had there! I got some really great pictures, hopefully. I had to use a disposable camera so we will see when it gets developed. This weekend we are taking the kids to a Fall Festival that one of the members of our church is having.

Owen's 3rd Birthday Party

2008-10-15T20:33:00.000-05:00

What a gorgeous weekend for a dinosaur party! We had a great time. The kids played pin the tail on the dino, did a dino egg treasure hunt & jumped in a big bounce house.

Owen got tons a great stuff. Clothes (which he needed), transformers, cars & even a digital camera!

On a sad note, Caylee didn't come up this weekend as planned. Her mother gave us the run around & finally told us on Saturday (caylee was suppose to be in Thurs.) that Caylee was not coming. This is now the 2nd visitation she has missed. We are looking into what we can do.

Hopefully this weekend we will make it to the pumpkin farm!!

Dinosaur Party

2008-10-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

This week I have been busy planning for Owen's 3rd Birthday party!!! His birthday isn't until the 25th but we have Caylee this weekend, so we are going to celebrate early. He is infatuated with dinosaurs. I found a lot of great dinosaur decorations for half the price on E-bay. My mom is making a dinosaur cake. We will have a blast!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from Florida....

Taylor getting a ride in the laundry cart

Owen & Uncle Rick

The kids & me @ the Sea Aquarium

Grandma & Taylor @ the Sea Aquarium

Owen & Taylor watching the monkey's

Taylor at the ocean

Taylor carrying her inner tube to the pool

Momma Monkey & baby

Great Grandma showing Owen how to slurp spaghetti

Mr. Cool!!

Owen loved the killer whale

Taylor with her princess sunglasses on

Back From Floridia

2008-10-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

We are finally back home after a long vacation week. It started last Wednesday at 4:00 am!! Needless to say both kids were cranky. Taylor threw her biggest fit ever at the airport. We were getting ready to board and she throws herself on the hard floor, kicks her legs, bangs her head, screams at the top of lungs (sounds like she is seriously hurt)in front of everyone that we are flying with. So of course everyone was nervous that they would have to sit by us. In the airplane she only had about 2 more fits that maybe lasted 30 secs. Owen sat by the window and was excited as the plane landed & took off. Owen actually fell asleep on the way down.

The first day we arrived my cellphone was stolen, bummer! In all we had a really good trip. We went to the Miami Aquarium. We saw dolphins, killer whales, crocodiles, sea lions. Owen loved the killer whale, we sat close enough to get splashed when he jumped. We also made it to Monkey Jungle were the humans are the ones caged & the monkeys are running all over the place. We even saw a big gorilla named King. We went to the ocean where Grandma lost her sunglasses to Nemo & Owen lost one of his shoes. We did plenty of swimming. We stayed with my grandma. So Taylor got to meet her for the 1st time & Owen's 2nd. It was nice that the all got to know each other. Daddy wasn't able to make the trip this time so it was a long hard week without him around.

I would be posting tons of pictures (I took over 350) but my camera broke the last day we were there. The lens will not open properly so it automatically shuts off. As soon as we get it fixed I will upload some pictures. Hope everyone is good!

My little angels (sometimes!)

2008-09-22T22:23:00.000-05:00

Even though I have been frustrated with them I still love to post pictures of them. The cake is one that my mom made for my niece's b-day party. If you can't tell it is a volcano. The other 2 me & the kids were fooling around at the house. Everyone is sleeping right now and I am relaxing!! We will post again in about a week!!

Tantrums

2008-09-22T09:44:00.000-05:00

I have been ready to pull my hair out the last couple of weeks. Taylor is going through a stage right now where if she doesn't get what she wants, she throws herself on the ground & kicks & screams at the top of her lungs. She constantly wants to be held and if I am in the middle of doing something she will sit at my feet & scream until I pick her up. I have tried timeouts (a little too young for that), entertaining her with other things (works for about a min.) I have even resorted to a few spanks on her butt, still she keeps throwing these tantrums. Her & Owen have also been fighting for my attention lately. One will be sitting on my lap & than the other one comes from what ever they were doing to sit on my lap. Owen is fine sharing my lap but Taylor hits (even after she is reprimanded) Owen until he gets mad enough and gets off. Her favorite words are, "no", "mine" and "ma", which she screams out when she wants something.

The kids & I are going to Florida with my mom to visit my grandma & grandpa on Wednesday. I am hoping this little break will curb Taylor's tantrums & not stress mommy out!!! We have to be at the airport @ 4:00am, so I am sure the kids are going to be cranky. Matt couldn't take any vacation days so we will be apart from daddy for 1 week, the longest time ever we have all been apart :(

Frustrated

2008-09-10T08:57:00.000-05:00

I don't know why but the link for the block party pictures is not working! I guess I will give up for now. Here is a cute picture of Ashley & Taylor and Grandpa Garry & Owen.

Block Party Pictures!!!!

2008-09-08T12:52:00.002-05:00

I tried to create a slide show but kept having problems. So I posted them on phto bucket. Hopefully this will work!!!

Block Party!!!

2008-09-03T12:23:00.000-05:00

Well I decided to organize a block party over the 3 day weekend. I only had about 2 weeks planning but turned out better than I expected. We had food, music, fireman & fun. I called the Gurnee Fire Dept to see if they would be able to make it out so the kids can take a look at the fire trucks. Not only did they show up but they brought 2 fire trucks & an ambulance. All the kids were so excited. They let them even climb on top of one of the fire trucks. One fireman was such a good sport, he dressed up in the full outfit, it had to be about 89 degrees that day! When they left they turned on there sirens & lights. I was totally impressed. The kids had a water balloon fight, egg toss & tons of fun on the jumper. All the neighbors who participated were great. Everyone brought food, we had brats, corn, salads, fajitas, chicken, fruit trays, vegetable trays, mostaccolli, sloppy joes & tons of desserts. I think everyone had a great time. We will definitely have a 2nd Annual Block Party!!

Taylor went to the DR yesterday. She weighs 26 lbs & is 32 in tall. She had 2 shots & didn't even make a sound. Very brave! She is at the stage where she is trying to repeat stuff that people say, so cute! She is also very stubborn, takes after her daddy! Owen's 3rd birthday is coming up, can't believe he will be 3! I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said "a remote control car, that's it". I said that is all you want? He said yep that's it. Check out the slide show I will post later from the block party.

Ponies & Cake!!

2008-08-12T06:23:00.000-05:00

Owen & Taylor went to our neighbors birthday party this past weekend. They both had a blast. They had pony rides there, Owen must have went about 5 times. He was so excited. The pony guy also let Owen walk the pony which totally made his day. Taylor wasn't as thrilled with the ponies but loved the big jumper they had. After a day a fun they both went to stay the night @ Grandma R, where they made homemade pizza & went to a venetian festival! Taylor is walking all over the place now. Her cute chubby legs are starting to slim out :(

This is Taylor saying CHEESE!!!

Taylor and our dog Rex

Owen & Gracie

Abby, Gracie & Taylor

What a happy boy!!!

Not so happy girl!!!

This last picture is a picture of a bug we saw this weekend. If anybody knows what it is I would be interested in finding out. Thanks!

All About Taylor & Brotherly Love

2008-08-07T06:37:00.001-05:00

Caylee left this week. It has been a little tough on Owen, he hasn't had anybody to boss around! I am not kidding. While Caylee was here, he thought he was the boss. I would tell the kids to go clean their rooms, Owen says, "Caylee, go clean mine too." I would reprimand him, he would say sorry, than it would happen again. The best one, (me & Matt couldn't help but crack up)We were outside & the kids had these new bubble wands, well Owen was being a typical 2 year old, taking Caylee's and throwing hers down the front steps. Caylee told him to go get hers. Without any hesitation Owen's throws his down the steps & looks at Caylee and says "Get mine too". Ah the mind of a 2 year old! Taylor is finally trying to walk everywhere now. I will try to post a video but I have been having problems lately. She is still not very sturdy but at least she is trying! I will also be posting one of her on the slip n slide, trust me she really does like it. Matt would push her down the slip n slide. As soon as it was done she was holding her arms up to Matt so he could do it again. She must of went over a dozen times. She is also talking so much now, the words that are recognizable are: momma or ma (also could be grandma), dada, Owen (pronounced Owie), puppy, hot, no (which she uses a lot), baby, hi, bye & my favorite, uh oh. Caylee will be back Labor Day weekend. Owen & Mommy on the carousel Caylee Owen & Taylor

Trust me she loved it!!!

She kept falling but continued to get up & try to walk

Summer Fairs

2008-07-29T07:08:00.000-05:00

I think the kids had their share of fairs this year! The kids, my sister & I went to Scoop the Loop (Daddy had to work :( ) They had a petting zoo there, Owen was a little hesitant at first but warmed up. He loves jumping in the big bouncy things. He is such a little daredevil.
Then we had the Park City Fair with rides & fireworks! Owen's favorite ride was the cars & motorcycle ride. Caylee's was the big swings. It was a fun but long day!

Caylee goes back to Louisiana on Monday. Owen is going to miss her so much. He won't have anyone to pal around with anymore. She will be back for Labor Day weekend. Please keep her in your prayers. We, as a family, had to confront some issues this summer. She needs all the love & support she can get. Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, cousins & friends, throughout this next year, if you have a moment, please send her a letter or card just so you knows she is loved by all.
Her address:
19115 Taylor Rd.
Livingston, LA 70754

4th Of July Weekend

2008-07-10T07:06:00.001-05:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend. We took it easy on the 4th. We had my family over for a BBQ. Later in the evening we went to the Waukegan fireworks. Taylor even stayed up late to watch the fireworks. Saturday, we had a picnic over at Aunt Rachel's with Matt's family. The kids had a blast. Owen even attempted to play volleyball with Mommy, Caylee attempted with Grandma. Poor Taylor, the mosquitoes just love her skin. Even with bug spray she gets numerous bites & they swell up. The day of the picnic she had 1 under each eye, her face was so puffy.
Caylee & Owen got to see a couple of Nascar cars at the neighborhood grocery store. Owen is infatuated with cars, so he loved it.

Family Vacation

2008-07-07T12:50:00.000-05:00

We had our 1st family vacation since Taylor was born. We headed up to Wisconsin Dells for a long weekend. We stayed @ Mt Olympus Resort & Water park for the first 2 nights, than we stayed @ the Shamrock for the last night. We loved the 2nd hotel. They had a park, outdoor pool & 3 indoor pools. Much less hetic than the resort. At the resort there was an indoor amusement park, indoor water park, outdoor amusement park & outdoor water park. The 1st 2 days the weather was pretty nasty so we stayed inside most of the day. Even though the weather was bad we all still had a good time. The kids had a lot of fun. Owen even went with Mommy on a 3 story water slide. He was a little nervous at first but loved it after it was done. He cried because he wanted to go again. Taylor loved playing in the baby area. Mommy & her must have went down the slide at least a dozen times. I think Caylee enjoyed the water slides the best too! We even went to see Lake Delton. All in all we all had a good time.

Family Picnic

2008-07-03T09:32:00.000-05:00

Uncle Eric, Aunt Heidi, Aedyn & baby to be came to visit this month. We had a family picnic at Aunt Rachel's. It was great to see everyone. Aedyn is getting so big. Taylor and Aedyn are about 3 months apart, it was great to see them interact together. Aunt Heidi & Uncle Eric bought each of the kids something special. Owen got a tractor & a farm book, which he loves.

We just got back from Wisconsin Dells.... will post pictures later.

The Other Boehmers (Heidi, Eric & Aedyn)

Aedyn

Aedyn & Taylor

Mommy & Owen reading the farm book

Taylor sitting at Owen's table in his room. She loves it because it is just her size.

Nostalgia Days

2008-06-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

We took the kids up to Zion for the festivities. All the old cars were so cool. Owen was fascinated. They had a little carnival there. Owen loved it. Taylor was too young to go on any rides but had fun watching Owen. Matt and I had to accompany Owen on the rides so we both look pretty silly on the kid rides. Owen even played a fishing game where he won a stuffed dolphin, which he named "Shark".

Summer Fun!

2008-06-20T09:55:00.001-05:00

Taylor loves the water, she had such a blast. Owen was splashing her & she didn't even care

This was the b-day cake the kids made for Matt on his birthday, what a masterpiece!

Our little monster loves tearing all the books out of the bookshelf

Matt loves fireworks so that is what the kids got him for Father's Day- we also threw in a couple little one's for the kids

Owen in midair- he loves jumping in

Owen hasn't been on this once. I still think he is trying to get used to it.

Update on the kids

2008-06-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

I finally have a minute to update everyone. Taylor went to the doctor last week. She is a healthy little butterball! She weighs 25 lbs 13 oz!! The DR put her on 2% milk & only 24 oz a day. The DR says she is a little overweight and wants to curb it in the beginning. I think she is perfect! She still isn't walking. I think it will only be a matter of days (but I said that a month ago too!) She loves oranges & cantaloupe. She can say Momma, dada, Owen & Rex. She also says a lot of other gibberish that I guess only they understand but it is sill awesome to listen to! She laughs at her brother & sister. She also loves going for walks & swinging at the park.

Owen is 2 years & 8 months. He just got over being sick. The first few days he was throwing up everything & sleeping all day. The next couple days it was coming out the other end. In all he lost about 4 lbs but is back to his normal self again. His appetite is back & we are trying to gain lose 4 lbs back. He loves cars! Every time mommy or daddy goes to the store he gets a matchbox car. He must have hundreds of them. He knows all his colors. His favorite is orange. He knows how to count to 10 and can recognize 2, 4, 5, 6, 9. He has been stuttering quite a bit lately. The DR says there is no need to worry. He said some kids his age stutter & then it goes away. Whenever he starts we have taught him to stop & think. Now when ever he starts, he says it aloud to himself, "Stop and Think". He is definitely a mommy's boy. We finally broke him from not sleeping in our bed but as soon as Matt goes to work in the morning, Owen finds his way back to our bed.

Caylee is 7. I think it has been little rough on Caylee this time around. For those that don't know. Caylee's mom moved to Louisiana & we have a court order with specified dates we get Caylee. We get Caylee all of June & July. I believe our household is ran more orderly so it takes awhile for her to get accustomed to it. I believe we have finally got to the point where everyone is on the same page. All her clothes from last year are too big for her now, so we are trying to pack on the weight before she goes back to LA. Caylee loves High School Musical & Hannah Montana. She loves doing her homework in the summer, which is great! She is a girly girl. I took her with me when I got me nails done, she had a manicure & loved it. She wanted to go back the next day & do it again.

I have some pictures to post but will have to do that later. The kids are getting wild n crazy!

Finally, Pictures!!!

2008-06-04T10:26:00.000-05:00

Owen loved helping his sister open her gifts!

I think Taylor liked the cards more than her presents!
Owen stole his 2nd cupcake in this picture; he only licks the icing & puts it back

She loves jumping on this thing
Our little Princess!!
The Birthday cake that my mom made
Uncle Nate & Taylor
Taylor & Grandma R

On Taylor's actual birthday, we went out to eat @ Giordano's with an old friend of mommies. This picture was taken at daddy's work.

This was my favorite gift, Go Cubs!

Taylor & Grandma D

Taylor's Big Day

2008-06-02T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well we had a beautiful day for Taylor's 1st Birthday. She was surprisingly good all day without a nap. Mommy bought her a princess crown to wear but after about an hour, Aunt Kim realized it was a little tight (it left an indentation on her forehead) so took it off. Poor Taylor. Grandma made a wonderful butterfly cake. She received tons of clothes. She is all set for summer. From shoes to hats to even 3 swimsuits! After she was done opening her presents, she slept for almost 3 hours! One of the things that Mommy & Daddy got her is this Zebra you can sit & bounce on. She loves to bounce, so she LOVED this toy. It was too bad that Caylee didn't show up until 9 pm. I just wanted to Thank everyone who came & sent gifts. It was nice spending the day with family & friends. I will post pictures later. (I forgot the USB cord at Grandma's!)

Our Little Princess

2008-05-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well I don't think Taylor will be walking by her 1st birthday. She loves walking with Owen's Tonka truck but will not even attempt standing by herself. She will walk when you are holding her hands but that is about it. It hit me yesterday, when she received her 1st birthday card from Great Grandma B, that she is growing up so quickly. Caylee will be her Friday to help us celebrate Taylor's birthday. I just pray that we have a beautiful day! Hope all is well with everyone!

A Year in Review

2008-05-19T11:43:00.001-05:00

As the kids are napping, I am sitting here reflecting on the past year of our lives. Our little angel will be turning 1 in 10 days! Some days were easier than others, there were days that I was so frustrated I would feel like crying. (It's hard taking care of 2 children under 2) I would never trade my life for anything in the world. I have a wonderful husband, 3 great children & amazing family & friends. Nothing can compare to the 1st time your child says, "I love you, mommy or how I can comfort my crying daughter with the sound of my voice.

Can't believe Taylor will be 1!!

2008-05-12T11:19:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Taylor was sick for a couple weeks. The DR says that everytime she is sick she must use this nebulizer. She weezes when she is sick, they think she will outgrow it. If not they said it may turn into Asthma. She does really good, smiles through the whole process. I have started planning for Taylor's birthday. The theme I am going with is butterflies. I found some cute stuff at the factory card outlet. I thought she would be walking by now but seems to have no interest in it. She gets along great just crawling. I am convinced her 1st words are going to be "stupid dog". Rex gets into everything and I probably say that at least 5 times a day. So far he has chewed 2 pairs of my shoes. Owen knows all his colors and also knows how to count to 10. He is such a smart little boy. He absorbs everything.

Owen & Grandpa at dinner

We didn't have a crib at Grandma's so we had to make due with

the toy box. Put some pillows in it. She fit perfectly.

Playing Cooties

Park Fun

2008-04-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

The past week Owen has been on and off again with the stomach flu. It was really bad Friday night. 5 loads of laundry later, he finally fell asleep. These pictures were taken a couple days before he was sick. Taylor loved the swings!

Spring is Here!

2008-04-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

We had such a nice weekend. We hung outside most of the time. I took the kids on a bike ride (Taylor's 1st). We spotted the ice cream man, so we had to rush home & get money to chase down the ice cream man. They gave Taylor a free ring pop she wasn't quite sure at first but she loved it. Boy, am I feeling the effects of riding a bike (the 1st time since last summer). Boy, am I sore!

Spring Break

2008-03-31T09:45:00.000-05:00

We had such a good time when Caylee was here. We tried to squeeze as much in as we could. We got Caylee the Friday before Easter. We celebrated Shirley's (Grandpa Dave's fiance) surprise birthday party, celebrated Easter @ Grandma Granny's house. We took the kids bowling, they loved it. This was Owen's 1st time, he was so hyper. He would not sit for a second. He kept asking me when it was his turn. After Daddy & I helped him the first few times, he was adamant to do it on his own. He actually scored a 78! Mommy won overall!

Video of Owen Bowling

Grandma Granny & the Boehmer family!

My mom and I took the kids to the Kenosha Dinosaur Museum, small but very interesting. Owen was scared at first but once he realized that the dinosaurs were not after him he was really interested.

Mommy bought a dinosaur game from the gift shop that we could play at home. Before you start the game you have to dig 6 dinosaurs out of these block of concrete. They included a plastic knife & paint brush. After 15 minutes of using those tools. Mommy broke out the hammer & screwdriver (to act as a chisel). By the time we got all the dinosaurs out, we had to go to bed. So the game was played the next night. Saturday we had another get together at Aunt Sarah's house to celebrate Caylee's 7th birthday (Her birthday is April 12, but she won't be here). It was nice. Caylee got a lot of nice clothes & Hannah Montana barbie dolls! Mommy & Daddy got her the MP3 player which she has wanted. She loved it! It was such a nice week. Owen & Tayor love Caylee so much as does she love them.

Caylee left yesterday. It is so sad. She was crying & asking us not to send her back to Louisiana. I feel so helpless. I have been with Caylee since she has been 2 years old & love her like she is my own. Owen has been so lost without her since she left. 8 more weeks & we get her for the whole summer!!

My Little Blessings!

2008-03-26T08:23:00.002-05:00

It has been very busy around here. Caylee came on Friday. She will be here for 10 days!

Saturday we colored Easter eggs. The kids loved it. Owen attempted to use the egg dipper but considered his hands would do a much better job. By the time he was finished both of his hands looked like two multicolored Easter eggs. Caylee was so delicate & careful. She took over a half an hour to color all her Easter eggs. She was upset when she accidentally broke one. Owen on the other hand broke more than half of his eggs. He would just drop the egg into the dye. After he was done coloring his eggs (within 10 mins) he decided that they all needed to be dipped into another color. Taylor sat back on the sidelines laughing at her big brother & sister!

Easter morning I attempted to take a picture of the kids with their outfits on but Owen was crying & than Taylor started crying, so this is the best I could do!

We went to Grandma's for Easter dinner. She hid a bunch of eggs around her house. I think Caylee & Owen had enough candy to last them for the entire year. Taylor got this big stuffed animal, which she loves.

We all made it to Church, which was great. I found myself thinking & thanking the Lord for my children during the song "Amazing Love".

Before Owen was born, my doctor told me that I would never be able to get pregnant. If by chance I did I would not be able to carry the baby & I would end up miscarrying. By some miracle I did become pregnant a couple months later. We were so excited, we told everyone. When I was 7 weeks along I miscarried. I was devastated. I couldn't help to wonder why God would gave me this miracle & than take it away. I found out a few months later. I was pregnant again with Owen. God gave me the strength to get through my miscarriage & also showed me this amazing love. For God & my children. Not only did he bless me with Owen, not even a year later I was pregnant with Taylor, my third miracle. I still think about the little boy (since day 1 my mom said it was a boy) that didn't get his chance to shine here. I believe he had more important things to do with God & that my grandfather (my mom's dad) is taking care of him for me. My grandfather will never see Owen & Taylor grow. There is so much joy in my heart to know that he is able to be with his 1st great-grandchild. I thank God everyday for all 3 of my miracles. The love that I feel for my children is amazing. Thank you God!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-18T09:30:00.001-05:00

We had our church's annual Easter Egg Hunt over the weekend. It took Owen a little while to get past his shyness and to pick up the eggs himself. So the majority of the eggs, mommy hunted for them. By the time he was in full swing there were no more Easter eggs to collect. After the hunt there was lunch & the kids had to go through there eggs to find prizes. Owen won a firemans hat with fireman bubble bath & a map puzzle. Talor didn't partcipate but she still received a baby lamb.

We caught this horible flu that is going around. Me & the kids have been louging around since Sunday. I hope this nears the end soon!

Me & my sister

Ready, Set, Go!

2008-03-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

The kids are getting anxious to go outside! I can't wait until it is nice enough so they can. I am feeling a little cooped up to! This week Taylor has a little touch of the flu. We were at Aunt Rachel's yesterday & discovered that Tayor had a 102.8 fever. She played so good & didn't act like she was sick. I got a new haircut over the weekend. I was a little scared at first but I love it now. Funny thing, me & Rachel went the same day & have almost the exact same haircut! The kids have their Easter egg hunt @ the church this weekend. Mommy & Daddy have a bachelor & bachelorette party this weekend. Grandma Deb is watching them over night!!

I Love Mashed Potatoes!

2008-03-04T11:42:00.000-06:00

Taylor has discovered that she LOVES mashed potatoes. She doesn't even want you to feed them to her. She would rather scoop them off the high chair my herself.

I never realized what "no privacy" meant until after I had children. This morning we had to rush to get ready to go to Taylor's Dr appt. @ 10:30am. I brought Taylor in the bathroom with me so I could shower. A few seconds go by, Owen & Rex are knocking at the door. So all 4 of us were crammed in the bathroom while I took a shower. And Owen just doesn't bring the dog, he brings a crate full of toys! Ahh.. the joys of motherhood!

After all the rushing around & we were on our way, the Dr's office calls and states that they will have to reschedule the appointment! Just our luck.

Mommy's Big Helper

2008-02-29T08:04:00.000-06:00

Taylor is at the stage now that she can stand up while holding on to things. I had to get out Matt's toolbox so we could lower the crib. Owen insisted on helping. I gave him one of daddy's tools. He was on cloud 9! As soon as Matt came home he had to show his daddy what he did.

Unwanted House Guest

2008-02-27T08:35:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of weeks we have had an unwanted house guest. Let's call him Ralph. Ralph showed up unannounced one night & hasn't left since. Ralph is a skunk & he is made a home for himself underneath our house. Every time he gets frighten throughout the day we experienced a very strong odor of skunk. It comes up threw the vents & circulates through the whole house. I got up the other morning with Rex (our dog) about 4:30am. As we are making our way outside, there is Ralph sitting at the bottom of our stairs. It became a battle of the wills, me unable to move (for the fear of being sprayed) & Ralph not moving (for the fear of Rex). After what seemed like forever Ralph quietly moved back to his home underneath our house.
The neighbors probably think my husband is crazy. He leaves for work between 5:30 - 6:00 am. As soon as he goes outside he states really loud, "I am going to the car now, I hope you are not out here". He is trying to scare Ralph so he doesn't get sprayed. For someone that doesn't know what is going on, it must be quite funny to watch! So if anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of skunks, it would be greatly appreciated. The kids are good. Taylor goes to the doctor on the 5th of March for her 9 month check up!

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot...

2008-02-25T09:44:00.000-06:00

Owen stayed the night at Grandma's this weekend. He brought home some goodies. This was one of them. This is a truck that moves by itself and plays music. He has been dancing since he got home!

Newbie!

2008-02-22T08:17:00.000-06:00

OK, you have to bear with me. I was talking with a new friend who lives out in Oregon. She swears by this. Also my brother-in-law & wife blog on this site too. So here it goes...

I was thinking the other day I created a MySpace page so family & friends can get an idea of how the kids were doing. One major problem... you have to be a member of MySpace to be able to see my page, which would be OK if EVERYONE I knew had a page. I know for sure my Grandma in Florida isn't a frequent myspacer. Every week or so I am emailing dozens of people with pictures & videos, some unable to send because the file was too big, me getting frustrated because now I have to cut out part of the video or delete a picture... This way everyone, near & far can keep track on how the kids are growing. The best part is that you only have to look if you want too!! No more bulk emails from me!! So we will see how this goes. Love to all.

Monkey see, Monkey do!

2008-02-22T06:17:00.001-06:00