Charlie eating Cereal :)

Charlie is now 4 months old...my where did the time go?

I cannot believe how fast the last few months have gone. How can my baby be so big all ready? To celebrate, Charlie got to start eating cereal. He was so happy and he ate every bit of it. The first bite went right into his mouth and he knew exactly what to do with it. He loves sitting down with us and eating. He gets super smiley!!
Here are a few pictures.


Charlie getting ready to eat. All Smiles!!


Messy Face!


Rubbing it all in :)


"Mom...this is delicious"


Dad and Charlie checking out Vintage Sleds...with a full belly.

Leaves, Leaves, and More Leaves!!

This past weekend Max and Melanie were over. Jesse was taking care of the yard and made a huge leaf pile. The kids had a blast. The leaf pile was taller than Max.




Olivia liked swinging on her swing and flying off into the leaves.


Melanie raking away.


I love this pic :)


Max coming up for air!


Olivia falling into the leaves.

Twins Game!!

Last week Jesse and I had the opportunity to go the Twin's Game. We had a blast...it is too bad that the Twins had to lose, but it was amazing. We had front
row seats right off of first base. I couldn't have been closer to my favorite player...Michael Cuddyer. He even hit a home run for me :) It was awesome. Before the game, Jesse and I got to hang out with "Wally the Beer Man" at Sneaky Pete's. It was so much fun!!


Me and Wally...sorry it is a little blurry :) I was also on Channel 9 News with Wally!!



This one is for Olivia...her favorite is T.C.


Her Second favorite is Danny Valencia. I think she just likes saying his name.


Getting ready for the anthem


Yep...this was my view the whole night...I was in heaven!!


Our friend Steve sitting in the front row with his binoculars...had to take a picture of that.

Fun Day at Kordiak Park!!

Today we had a little family get together with my mom and her cousins at Kordiak Park in Columbia Heights. What a beautiful park on such a beautiful day. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. Jesse, the kids, and I have been so busy that it was nice being able to spend such an awesome day together. Here are some pics :)



Charlie and Olivia!!



Charlie, Evan, Olivia, Holden, Max, and Melanie (we missed you Reed)




Grandma Jo and Charlie



Olivia and Evan



Olivia, Evan (Hiding behind elbows), Melanie and Max



Our Family
(Ryan, Michelle, Ronn, and Reed we missed you)

What a crummy week!!

We have had quite the week in the Babler house. Last Friday night Olivia woke up in the middle of the night to the "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad STOMACH FLU." The poor girl (and I) were up all night. We knew it was inevitable, being that almost all the other kids at daycare had it, but we were keeping our fingers crossed.

Saturday Olivia had good spirits, but a mild temperature. Then Saturday afternoon she started complaining, and we ended up having to bring her in to the ER due to a UTI. She had never had one before, so I called the nurse line and they said to bring her in right away. We spent three hours there waiting for a doctor, and finally we had her prescription and we were on our way. By the time we got home, she went straight to bed and slept great :)

Sunday she woke up complaining about her neck. A couple hours later she fell asleep and she woke up screaming. I ended up having to take her back to the ER (screaming the whole way...until, of course, we got there), because the doctors wanted to make sure that she did not have meningitis. Thankfully they said that it was just a "stiff" neck and it would only take a couple of days and she should be back to her normal self . So...once again we were home, had a great supper that Jesse prepared while we were gone, and went to bed.

2:00 am Monday morning...I woke up with the stomach flu...it was HORRIBLE!! So I was up all night sick and trying to write lesson plans for the sub I was going to have to have. Finally I fell asleep and then of course it was time for Jesse to get up for work. He thankfully fed Charlie and called his dad to take Charlie to daycare. I was so weak, I could hardly lift him. So just a few minutes before John was coming to get him and take him to daycare, Charlie threw up all over me and the kitchen. I finally called Jesse and told him he had to come home, because there was absolutely no way I could possibly take care of him, while I felt so horrible. Jesse was home for an hour and guess what???? He also got sick. By Monday night we were all feeling so much better, and we were even able to have a little Chicken Noodle Soup before bed.

Tuesday we went on with our normal schedules (Thank Goodness). After school Olivia and I had dentists appointments. Poor Olivia has a cavity. The dentist explained that it was very very little, she won't even need Novocaine (what a relief). Apparently, Olivia has a small mouth and her teeth are really scrunched together, making it easy to develop cavities. I think they must have known how bad her week was going, so they just needed to add to it. After the dentist, I decided to take Olivia to the doctor, because her neck was just not getting any better and they told us to follow up if not better in a few days. She was walking around with her head cocked to the one side constantly. So we waited at the clinic and the doctor decided that he was going to test her for mono (she had been pretty sleepy the last week) and a few other things. He also did a strep test. She hates getting the swab in her throat and on top of that she had to get her finger pricked...ouch!!! Sure enough she had Strep. So on top of everything else that had happen to her, she had one more thing. Of course the antibiotic that she was on for her UTI was not going to work for Strep, so we had to get a new one.

We have been free and clear for the past few days, and we are hoping that it stays that way. Hopefully we never have a week like this again.

Last night we took Olivia to the football game, and she had a blast. We painted her face and gave her sparkly hair. She made me take pictures of her so here they are...she was pretty excited.

Olivia's First Day of School!!

Olivia had a great first day of preschool!!

Last night Olivia went to bed really early. She was so excited. I went into her bedroom shortly after putting her to bed and she had her flashlight on and was reading a book to her stuffed animals. She told me she was practicing school.

This morning she woke up early, ate breakfast, and I had to curl her hair. I dropped the kids off at daycare and she got on the bus with Thomas. Thanks to Karla, our daycare provider, we have a great picture of her getting on the bus.



I was able to see her get off the bus at school and snap a quick picture.
Her bus driver is the same driver I had.



Her school is over during one of my preps, so I was able to run down and see how the day went. She loved it. Her teacher even told me that she got a little chatty with some of her friends from last year. Which last year it took her almost the entire year to speak up. She also told me that she had a lot of fun on the bus and that she was sliding on the seats. Hopefully she wasn't too silly. Apparently she is already comfortable with school.



She must have really had a great time. When I picked her up from daycare the first words out of her mouth were "Mom...do I have school tomorrow?." She had lots to tell me like "mom yellow and blue make green" and "I drew a picture of a fence" and "mom, I have lots of homework for you (newsletter, etc.)"

We love our little girl so much...it is so hard to believe that she is riding the school bus and becoming so independent. One more year and she will be a kindergartner :)

Sorry...It has been a very busy few weeks.

I know that it has been a LONG time since I last posted. Since work started, life in the Babler house has been just a little busy. We have been trying to adjust our crazy schedules and get the kids used to being in daycare. Charlie and Olivia are doing really well at their new daycare. Olivia had a really hard time wanting to go in the first week. She really missed me by about the third day. Charlie just pretty much goes with the flow.

A few updates on Charlie...we did have his appt. with the heart doctor. His murmur is still present, but the doctor feels that he will be ok. We do have to go back for a follow up appt. in November or December. The type of murmur that he has is typically found in older children, not usually babies. They want to monitor it and think there might be a possibility that there is a small hole in his heart. It sounds scary, but the doctor feels it is something that he will grow out of. If this is the case there is really nothing they can do about it now. As long as he continues to eat and grow well, all should be good. He has his next appt. with his regular doctor is in about three weeks.

Another highlight in our household is Charlie is sleeping through the night (and is breathing much better too). He started sleeping all night two nights before I went back to work. The funny thing is that is exactly what Olivia did. She slept all night just before I went back to work and they were both 11 weeks old. Charlie usually goes to sleep between 7:30 and 8:00 and sleeps until about 5:30. It is so nice to get an entire night of sleep again. He has also moved into his crib at night. Olivia actually loves sharing her room. She doesn't like it if she has to go to bed before Charlie. She wants him to be in there with him all the time.

He is getting so big. It is crazy that he is already 3 months old :) He such an awesome little guy that smiles constantly. He is so happy!!

Olivia will be starting School Readiness next Tuesday and she couldn't be happier. She is so excited to ride the school bus and go to Ms. Melissa's class. She has really started to take off on her reading and sounding out words. It is so exciting for me to watch her become a reader. I love watching the kids at school learn to read and watching Olivia makes me such a proud mama.

Jesse is still pretty busy with his work and soon it will be that dreaded time of year full of unpredictable hours and working nights :(

As far as me...I have two great groups of kids this year and am so excited to get beyond the tiring first few weeks of school and get into a routine.

A few weeks ago, Jesse surprised me by arranging an all day long date for us. It was such a fantastic day. Troy (Charlie's Godfather) and Pam took the kids for the day, so we could get a much needed mom and dad break. We dropped the kids off in the morning and took the Northstar to Minneapolis (I would highly recommend this...very quick and easy). We then walked to J.D. Hoyts for a wonderful brunch, we took a walk on the Riverwalk and then went to Boom Island to catch the River Cruise. It was a lot of fun. After that we met up with some great friends (Jesse and Dayna) and topped the night off with an awesome game at Target Field with 3rd row seats (thanks to Jesse's work). It was a great night...and a great surprise.

Well...take care and hopefully it won't be another month before the next post.

Here are some pictures of the kids.


Enjoying the Johnny Jumper!


Holding his head up so strong!!


"Really mom...another picture"


Olivia telling me that she is a soccer player and in her soccer hair


Charlie's Heart Doctor gave him this cute puppy!


And of course Olivia had to find a puppy of hers so she could be like Charlie.


Olivia with her crazy hair and her face painted at Lisa Bruska's benefit.