Jammie Time

Mark in his baseball Jammies

Makenna in mine and my sisters old Jammies

Here are some pictures from one morning when the kids were still in their Jammies. For some reason they wanted me to take their picture. I was glad I got the one of Makenna though, because the Cabbage Patch Kid Pajamas used to be my sister's, then mine, then Madison's, and now Makenna's. I loved seeing how cute she looks in them. What memories. You can definitely tell they are from the 80's. But I love it.

Face Paint

Becoming Spiderman
All done and ALL SMILES!

Eating her sucker while the woman finished up

Her Rainbow side

We took the kids to the "Party in the Park" held in Chesterton last weekend. They had an absolute blast. It was free through my work and they had so many cool things for Mark and Makenna to do. They had bounce houses, a baseball area (which Mark couldn't get enough of), clowns making balloon animals, hula hoop contests, a DJ, food, and of course face painting. Mark told me at first that I was allowed to pick what face painting he got, which I was so glad because I saw the kid go before him that had his entire face painted and knew I was going to steer clear of that. So when he sat down, I was looking through the book and as soon as he saw the Spiderman, it was all over. He had to have it. I saw a different one with just a small spider web on the cheek, but nooo, not that one...he had to have the one that had RED covering his whole face while he was wearing a WHITE polo. SUPER. But he absolutely loved it and begged me to let him keep it on while he slept so he could wear it to Church the next day and show everyone. I had to explain that his sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, and everything around him would be red and ruined if I let him do that, so he finally agreed to wash it off, but only if he did it himself...wow...wonder where he got that from...a little too much a Makenna shining through...so onto Makenna and her face paint. She picked out a rainbow for her cheek, which I thought was great...not too messy. Then when the woman told her she was done, she said, "No, I want some on my nose too." So the woman was kind enough (there was a LONG line behind Makenna) to keep Makenna there and put a little pink on her nose...but of course it didn't stop there. As soon as she finished that and she told Makenna she was all done, Makenna proceeded with, "No. I need something on the other side too." So the woman patiently asked if a sun would be okay, to which Makenna nodded and said, "Yeah." The whole time sitting still only because she was eating a sucker. Regardless, they both loved their paint and were thrilled with the night!

Packers Game

Matthew and I tailgating before the game
Me, Matt, Tammy, and Tim

Matthew and I went up to Green Bay this past weekend for the Pre Season Packers Game. We had a great time! We went out Friday night with a customer of Matthew's Tim, his wife Tammy and some of their friends. Then on Saturday we went Tailgating with Tim and Tammy before the game and then had a great time watching the Packers beat up on the Bills. It was nice to have a weekend to ourselves, but we were excited to get back to the kids last night. Don't worry eveyone....I know I am wearing a Packers shirt, because I support Matt and the Packers, but I am still a TRUE Hearted Steelers Fan!

Mark Soccer Update

Matt and I are in Green Bay today going to the Packers Pre-Season game so we unfortunately will miss Mark's game. Grandma and Grandpa J have graciously agreed to take him and cheer him on. We are very excited about this. Here are some pictures from his game last weekend. He did a little better, but still is a work in progress. He wouldn't go after the ball when other kids had it and he would never try to score, so Matt decided to tell him that if he scored he would get him a popcicle after the game. Well...he really wasn't interested and it was getting toward the end of the game. Makenna started to get crabby and Matt and I decided it would probably be best if he took her home so she could take a nap. I had spent the whole time trying to get pictures and videos and felt like it was hopeless, so I decided to just watch him for the last couple minutes. OF COURSE, you know what's coming...I missed on film the highlight of the game.... Mark scoring a goal. But not just any goal...a goal for his own team....Here is how it went down... The ball shot out of the massive group of kids right to Mark basically across his goal line...he went to kick it out towards the other goal, when it looked like a light bulb went off in his little head...so he turned around and kicked it in his own goal. He started running back all proud and said, "Daddy, I scored a goal...Do I get a Popcicle now?" All the other parents looked over at me...and of course, Matt was already gone at this point. I kind of just laughed and smiled and told him maybe next time he could score in the other goal. Oh, what a day!

Here is Mark practicing before the game. The coach asked him to dribble up a little bit and then shoot the ball into the goal...I think he at least has this part down! If only he could incorporate that into the game! Oh well...it will come eventually I'm sure.

Sprinklers!

Here is a video of Makenna and Caden running through the sprinklers together. They had the best time!

Let's Go Camping!

I cleaned out my closet the other day and found some sleeping bags that I got two years ago the day after Thanksgiving that I never gave the kids. They came with a water bottle and a flashlight so of course they were a big hit. They loved the fact that they could wear them like a backpack and walk around the house. I had to immediately fill the bottles up with water and put batteries in the flashlights. They were both ready for some camping fun!

The ODD Couple

Here they are...the oddest couple around!
An umbrella, one boot, a hat, and a scarf...what a combo!

Let's get Ghetto-fied Girlfriend! Don't mess with Kenna!

Mark and Makenna love to raid through the downstairs closet everytime it's opened to find things to play with or put on. This particular day, they put together quite the combination of items! They each wore one boot (hey, at least they were sharing!), then a winter hat, an umbrella, and in Mark's case, a scarf too. They were having the best time. I guess dress up is always a sure way to keep them happy!

Action Shots

Here are some action shots of Mark swimming and just a couple more of Makenna looking absolutely adorable. What can I say...I just can't get enough!

Swim Race

Here is a video of Mark and Makenna racing from one side of the pool to the other and back a few times. Mark gets so serious when he is in competition...(I don't know where he gets that from???... okay...both of us...let's be honest...neither one of them have a chance with that) As you can hear Makenna, she is trying to one up him by saying that, "I don't even need goggles." Oh, let the competetion begin!

Swimming Sensation

Heading to the pool. I think her little butt looks so funny now in

her swimsuit since she doesn't wear a swim diaper anymore. Her

butt cheeks seem to always be hanging out somewhere!!!

I had to put her hair up with one clip again!

Makenna just loves to swim in the pool. She has gotten really good at it too. She will float on her back, kick and swim from side to side, and even jump up and fall down letting her head go under water. She truely amazes me. She just has the best time!

Big Girl Now!

So peaceful when they sleep... :)

sleeping in her bed the other night

Her room without her crib...and just her bed
(Yes, of course as you can see everything possible in
her room is pink...Her favorite color!)

Makenna is now sleeping in her big girl bed. We officially took the crib out of her room yesterday even though she has been sleeping in her bed for the past couple weeks I think Matthew and I had a hard time with the fact that our little girl is growing up way too fast. She also decided this week that she needed to wear big girl underwear. She is always dry for us when she is here, but when she goes to other places, she won't always tell them. She was dry at her day care center, Tiny Tim's, but when she went to my friend Carrie's house she pooped and peed in her underwear. She has come a long way though in one week. What happened to my baby girl!!!???

War Paint

Mark walked up to me the other day with two lines across his cheeks...I said, "What did you do!?!?" He replied, "I put on war paint mom, so I could fight." I continued to walk into the other room where my angel daughter was sitting on the floor coloring her cheeks with the same blue Marker Mark had just had. She said, "Look Mommy, fighting paint." At first I could not believe my eyes, then I grabbed my camera of course, and then we wiped the "war paint" off of their faces. Who knows where that one came from!

Makenna Soccer Star

Very Hot in the afternoon...I tried

to pull her hair up, but only had one little clip.

We did the best we could.

Making her move

Kickin' It!

Here are some pictures of Makenna at Mark's game. She was pretty good at kicking the ball. Then it got to hot for her and she got awful crabby. It was definitely nap time!

Soccer Stud!

It was really sunny out. This was the only one I got where his eyes are almost open!

Mark's First Soccer Game

Here are some videos of Mark playing his first soccer game yesterday. He did do better than last year, but still not great yet. That's okay though, it was only the first game. I'm sure each week will get better. He did well when the ball came to him, but he didn't really like getting into the crowd to try and get the ball. I think he did pretty good for it being about 91 degrees outside. Makenna on the other hand...not so much. You can hear her whining and crying throughout the 2nd two videos. She was a nightmare. I thought his game started at 12:30 and that I could still get her home a little after 1 for her nap, which would have been fine...well...no one told me that they practice for almost a half hour before the game, so they didn't even start the game until almost 1 O'clock. She was a mess. Mark had fun though and that's all that matters. He says he really likes it so we will see how the rest of the season goes!

Slip-N-Slide Bump

Mark saw this slip-n-slide at JC Penney one day after his birthday and just had to have it. I told him if he wanted it he could use some of his birthday money to get it so he agreed that that is what he wanted to do. I set it up for him and Makenna yesterday afternoon (b/c we finally had a hot enough day for it) and they had the best time. I was trying to teach him how to run and dive onto his stomach and he started to get it after a while. I just couldn't get enuogh of Makenna. She was cracking me up. Sometimes they just have the most fun together.

No Hands!

Here is a video of Mark riding the motorcycles at the fair with no hands at the end! What a Daredevil!

Porter County Fair

Matt and I took the kids to the Porter County Fair last week and they had a great time. Makenna wasn't able to ride a lot of rides, but she really did like the ones that she could. While Mark was riding one of the bigger rides with Matthew I took her to a little fishing spot so she could catch a "fish." She won a big pink ball and was very happy with that.

Puppy Race

Here is a video of Mark holding a Puppy Race. I thought it was too funny how he lined them all up. He has been all about his puppy's lately. He found everyone that he has and he tries to sleep with all of them every night. I told him he has to pick 2 and the rest can sleep on his toy box next to his bed. And he replied, "Yeah, so they can watch me sleep." The one that he picked to win the race is his favorite right now and he has to have it almost always. Thanks to Aunt Myrna who got it for him for Valentine's Day. He has named him Coco by the way. Don't ask, because I really don't know....

Natural Gymnast

Mark has been doing some crazy stuff lately. He just started doing cartwheels and round-offs one day and I have no idea where he could've learned it. He does really good forward rolls too, but we are still working on the backwards roll. (Only b/c he said he really wants to do it and asked me how...I did not offer the information willingly). But the day I told Matt that he had started this, I told Mark, show Daddy your cartwheel, and when he went to do it, he did a front handspring! Matt was like, what was that! And I said, I have no idea...he's never done that before! Luckily he has gone back to the actual cartwheels and not the front handspring! Sometimes I just look at him and think how natuarally athletic he is. His favorite sport right now is still baseball and then tennis, but he will start soccer again next weekend so we'll see how he does.

Beautiful Makenna

This is her Innocent Look
Her Beautiful Smile

So Cute!

Here are some pictures I took a few weeks ago of Makenna at Matt's Aunt Cebra's house. I just thought she looked so gorgeous in some of these. I know I am bias, but I think she is the most beautiful girl ever!

Mark Headers

Here is a video of Mark practicing headers for soccer. He has his first soccer game next Saturday, August 8th. I am anxious to see how this year differs from last year when he was just 3. We shall see I guess, but he was doing pretty good with his headers!