Where did my baby go?

Okay - really - where did my little baby go? Because all I see at this house is Big Kids! It's official. We have a crawler and a big boy that can pull himself up. And the biggest news - it happened all within a weekend really. Chase has been on the verge of crawling for a Long time now - and this weekend he took off. He'd been rocking and crawling just far enough to reach things for months now - but now we crawl from room to room and can reach any of Emma's toys he wants. Emma is not so thrilled about this of course!

Tonight I actually caught Chase pull himself up for the very first time on video!

Emma is getting bigger by the minute - and her latest news is that she now sleeps under the crib - Yes - Under the crib. I'm not really sure why - but it started about 2 weeks ago and almost every night we find her under the crib with a pillow, blanket and George. We do move her to her bed later - but she also has found it necessary to get up EVERY morning at 5:00 AM. Yes - 5:00 AM. Boy I can't wait for this stage to end! It is nice to cuddle in our bed in the morning - but I'd be a little happier if it were 6 instead of 5!

Her other big news is that she has decided to potty train herself. She now refuses to wear cloth diapers and tonight even refused to wear a diaper to bed. I was able to talk her into a pull-up for bedtime tonight, but that was it. No diapers! Tomorrow she'll start wearing training pants to school (since she decided to wear her Elmo underwear over her diaper today I think that will be an improvement!). We'll see how it goes. I really think if we hadn't had Chase to take up so much time she would have been potty trained months ago - but I'm excited that she's making these decisions on her own and we haven't pushed her to be ready.

(This doesn't do the crib sleeping justice - but I guess she likes it under there where it's all dark or something! Who knows - we're just riding this one out to see how it goes!)

We've all been very busy so I haven't taken too many photos lately - but I will try to be a better blogger as the summer begins. We can't wait for our zoo trips, waterpark fun and swimming time!!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Kentucky Derby 2010

Right before the Biggest 2 minutes in sport!

Emma in Derby Fashion!



As they rounded the 1st turn - go baby go!!!

That is the horse that should have won - Darn it!!!

Me and Brad

The big Derby horse parade - it was so muddy! If you look close you can see many barefoot women in that parade - squishy!

The boys!

Naomi, Zach and Brad

Brad and Naomi

Me and Zach

That's Right - It's our Favorite time of year once again - the Kentucky Derby is Here!!!

We had a GREAT time (as usual) at the Derby this year. The weather was RAIN, RAIN AND RAIN! But in true Derby fashion - it quit and the sun came out for the race. It has NEVER rained on the Derby race itself!

Brad has been down from KC helping Zach with the arena so he got to go with Zach to Oaks on Friday and then to Derby with us on Saturday. We had a great time and ate, drank and gambled all day. I did not cash a single ticket all day :-( The boys each won a little - but nothing to write about!

While we were at Derby, Jessica (our favorite sitter who also works at our daycare) watched the kids. They went to her aunt's Derby party and played with all the kids in her family. Emma apparently inheritied my luck - her Derby horse, Backtalk, came in dead last. Poor girl!

Congratulations Daddy!

We Love our Daddy and We're So Proud of him. Zach completed the Tripple Crown this year and competed in the Derbyfestival Mini Marathon this year. He did AMAZING and ran it about 8 minutes faster than we had even hoped. His time was 1 hour and 37 minutes for the mini!

Congrats Zach - You're amazing!!!!

We Love You!!!

Thunder 2010

Sorry these pictures and events are a little out of order - blogger is not cooperating with my arranging today! Enjoy!!!

The Balloon Glimmer

Eating Ice Cream while covering her ears because the balloons are "too loud"

Who says a 7 month old can't have ice cream! HA

"Too loud mama!"

This is the best that family pics get these days -

not everyone can be happy or looking at the same time!

Another Thunder has come and gone and it was Wonderful!!! Grandma Denise and Papa Knute came down on Friday and we played with the kids and relaxed Friday night. Saturday we headed downtown to Slugger Field. We watched the Bats game - which I'm so glad to say my daughter still loves baseball. And she now even cheers for the Bats instead of the other team most of the time! She had a great time and we heard "Where's Buddy - where'd he go" over and over again (the mascot). Grandma, Papa Emma (and a sleeping Chase) even were on TV here during the game. Emma was a little unsure of the loud airplanes during the air show - but enjoyed seeing them. She has been running outside everyday since then saying "Airplane? Where airplane? Pretty airplanes." After the air show we headed over to my office party for a while and took in the sights from the 16th floor of the Waterfront Plaza - Great view for indoor viewing of Thunder I might add! Then we walked around downtown and headed back to Slugger to relax before the big fireworks.

Grandma and Chase having a little fun before Fireworks!

Chase was happy all day - what a cutie pie!!!

Emma hanging out trying on sunglasses on the deck.

Each year I wonder if it's really worth the Very long day to see an hour of fireworks - and then after the show - YES - TOTALLY WORTH IT! They were AMAZING!!! And the view from Slugger is one of the best in the city! We have our own seats that we don't have to fight to keep all day, we have the inside club area to sit in comfy chairs and relax and play with the kids. Just an all around great day. We didn't have even one meltdown from either of the kids and I think they really enjoyed it.

Now each year - right after the fire works I say - Yes - it's worth it. But the drive home is a different story. I live a little over 20 mintues from Slugger Field. It took us almost 3 Hours to get home. UGH! And Chase was Not happy about getting into the car to sit in traffic at midnight! Oh well - it still was a great day.

Sunday we hung out with Grandma and Papa. Emma got a fever Sunday afternoon that wiped her out - so she spent most of the night just cuddling with Papa and Grandma. She was up most of the night that night and then I stayed home with her on Monday. She was pitiful and watched movies all day. Tuesday we were home again - but feeling much better.

The following 2 weeks brought many Derbyfestival events and we took the kids down twice - once to see the Balloon Glimmer. Emma loved running around, eating corndogs and watching the balloons blow up - but wasn't so happy when they started making noise to keep that hot air going! All in all - we had 2 wonderful nights down at the waterfront and hanging out with the kids and a busy 2 weeks getting ready for Derby!!!

A Look Back at Thunder!

Okay - so I was remembering all the years of Thunder earlier today and decided to to a blog post on a look back at Thunder Over Louisville since Emma was born. This is her 3rd Thunder this year and it's amazing how it seems like just yesterday was her 1st!

So if you don't know - Thunder Over Louisville is an all day event followed by a 2 week long event called Derbyfestival which ends in the Kentucky Derby! It's huge here - and a TON of fun. Thunder takes place down on the river at the Waterfront and Hundreds of Thousands of poeple show up and spend the day watching an air show and eating and drinking all day. That night there is a fireworks show - which is the nations largest fireworks display. It is pretty amazing to tell the truth.

Emma was not even 2 months old when she beared the cold of her first Thunder. she was bundled in a snow suit (which was huge on her!) and 2 sleepers and a hat under her hood. On top of that she was placed in her stroller with blankets on her and completely enclosed in her stroller so no wind could get to her. It was COLD!!! We only decided to go down because Zach's hotel room faced the waterfront and the fireworks. So we went in and out all day to keep warm. It was a lot of fun.

Me, Zach and Emma braving the cold - you can barely see that little thing in there all bundled up! I had soo many stares saying "Really - you brought a newborn out in the cold weather???" I won the "Bad Parent of the Year" award from many passer-byers!

Here she is sleeping - we had to open her up when we got inside because she was sweating!!!

All Smiles with Grandma and Grandpa - all warm and ready for fireworks - we had a GREAT view in the hotel!

Emma's second Thunder was last year and we took her buddy Collin with us as well. (When I say we - I mean my mom and dad and I - Zach has worked every Thunder since 2005.) Collin was around 5 months old and Emma was a little over a year. They had a great time and we had GREAT weather. We watched the baseball game - which Em loved, but the air show - not so much! And she cried through most of the fireworks unless inside where the noise wasn't so loud!

You'd think this was after - but no - it was actually right Before we left to head downtown for Thunder!!! Notice she's got her shoes in her hands all ready to go!

What a big girl! She's such a cutie!

And Big Boy Collin!!! He did great all day that day!

So this year - Mom and Dad are headed back down for the third year. I'm so excited, but a little nervous about how cold it is going to be (it's goign to be in the 50's and 60's). Hopefully we'll have a great time and have more pictures of another wonderful Thunder. Check back next week!

Happy Easter

She's an amazing Easter Egg Hunter!

Mommy and her babies!

Daddy and Crazy Girl Emma!

We had the best Easter and all around best day I could have asked for yesterday! We got up and went to church at Christ Lutheran in Louisville. We really have found a "home" here and enjoy going to this church. After church we went to Starbucks and had coffe and chocolate milk and then headed home to see if the Easter Bunny had come. Emma is a Rock Star Easter egg hunter - she loves Easter! Then we had a light lunch, naps and Zach and I got some yard work done. We had an AMAZING Easter dinner and then played outside in the beautiful 80 degree weather until bedtime. Oh - on a funnier note - Chase got a Zhu Zhu hampster for Easter - if you have kids and don't have one of these - get one! It is too cute. Emma is scared to death of it - she wants to watch it but won't get near it and runs to be held when it comes near her. Chase loves it though and gets a kick out of trying to catch it as it zooms by!

Dying Easter Eggs

Gotta love those Peeps!

This one is Just for Grandma Debi!

Lots has happened since our last post. The kids are back in daycare full-time and LOVING it! Grandma Donna, Grandpa Randy and Aunt Grace came and visited for a long weekend. We had a great visit and the kids got some cool new toys - Emma might be the next Tiger (the golf part - not the scandal side!) after a little more practice with her new clubs. And oh - the bubbles. We're all about bubbles again this summer! Unfortunately - we got everyone sick with our stomach bug - sorry guys!

Grandma Randy, Grandma Donna and Aunt Grace and us - we had a great time with you guys - can't wait to see you again!

Zach's been running a lot lately. He just finished the 3rd leg of the Tripple Crown of Racing here in Louisville. He ran each one in less time than his goal and is on a great pace to run the Derbyfestival Mini-Marathon here in a few more weeks. His dedication is amazing and running has been a great outlet to his crazy work and home life right now.

Our biggest news comes in the form of new jobs for both of us. Zach is officially the GM of the new downtown arena that is being built. He has been working on this project for quite some time now and we'll hopefully see it open early in October - 10-10-10 they're saying...but officially it's a November opening. He's VERY busy running Slugger as well as taking over the arena, but hopefully he'll soon only have to worry about the arena. I have fallen right back into the working world with my new job and am loving being back. I work for a CPA firm called Strothman & Company in downtown Louisville. I'm loving being back at work and really like my new company. It's a very good place to work with wonderful people. I'm doing thier HR and Marketing and have hit the ground running. With it being tax time - we are at our "most productive" time of the year and things are really hectic there. I'm loving it!

Big Boy and his Tractor book! Thanks Grandpa Knute!!!

Chase is Such a big boy these days. He is growing like crazy and doing something new every day. He sits up like a big boy and is SOOO close to crawling! He is also getting very good at push-ups while trying to figure out how to crawl! He's eating more and more new things every day and is all around a happier baby now that he can sit up.

Chase playing outside - in his death trap as Naomi and Peter call it! And Yes - we've blocked all stairs so there is no chance of falling (being pushed) off of them!

How can you resist a cutie pie like this!

Emma is loving being back at daycare and every day she comes home and tells us she took a nap at school. Now I don't know what they do differently - but good for them! She is learning new things every day. She now even includes "7" after 6 when counting to 10 - but now 14 comes after 10...we're working on it! And did you know "Twinkle Twinkle" is a 30 minute song! She is amazing in every way. She still really knows what she wants but is getting better at reasoning instead of throwing a tantrum.

Emma on her new motorcycle! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Aren't they cute! They love to play together...or should I say Emma loves to play with Chase. Chase is a little hesitant when she hurls him across the deck!

That's enough for one post - sorry it's been so long. It took us a while to get settled into our new roles with two working parents again and as soon as we did our computer crashed. And I mean it wouldn't even turn on! So thankfully - I have some very wonderful techs at work. I owe them! Now we have a brand new computer since they had to completely re-do the entire thing! (I'm pretty sure the guy had never seen what happend before!)

Hope everyone had a good Easter! Check back in the next few weeks for more great photos - it's almost May and that means Thunder, Derbyfestival and Derby for all of us here in Louisville! We can't Wait!!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

So there is a TON going on these days. Most importantly - Miss Emma turned 2! We had a Great Valentines Day and Birthday. We started the birthday weekend off by Grandma Debi arriving on Friday morning. We picked her up at the airport and then went out to lunch with Zach. The rest of the day we spent at home playing. On Saturday Zach headed out early for another race - he did great even with the snow and ice and ran a 4 mile race (which was cut down to 3.6 because of the ice in the park). Then we went to lunch and then split up to do a little more birthday shopping. On Saturday night, Grandma Debi, Emma and Chase had heart shaped pizza and watched a movie while Zach and I went out for a Valentines dinner alone. It was GREAT and much needed time away. Sunday - Valentines Day and Birthday day - we woke up and ate pink heart shaped pancakes (thanks Daddy) and then got all ready for the big party!

She loves books!

How exciting - a new water and sand toy!

Emma with her boyfriend Collin!

Blowing out the big candle

Yum - Cake!!!

Dakota, Amber and Emma eating cake and ice cream

Grandma Debi and Emma doing new puzzles

Chase and Daddy cuddling

Balloons - the Best gift Ever!

Grandma Debi and the kids (my flash is no longer working - ugh)

Emma got some great presents including a swing, her 1st barbie, books, puzzles, a marker board and much more. But I think we all should have saved our money and just got her balloons. They have been the big hit so far! We had a huge cupcake cake, cupcakes and a heart shaped cake for her birthday. Emma had a great time playing with her boyfriend Collin and Amber and Dakota and loved opening up all her gifts and eating cake and ice cream.

It's hard to believe that she's 2. Time has gone by so quickly. She's such a big girl these days and I can't imagine life without her. Hope you enjoy the pictures from our weekend and thanks to everyone for the gifts and making her birthday special. We love you all. We'll update more later after her 2 year old visit and let you all know how big she is (or little). We're suposed to go in today - but with the snow we're getting it might be postponed. We'll see!!! Enjoy!

Emma playing with Playdough - one of our new favorite activities!