The Pease Family

Last weekend I went to MN...BY MY SELF...and had a great time! My cousin Andrea and her husband Steve live in St Paul. They are expecting their first child in September and I jumped at the chance to spend some quality time with them before our lives change once again. Andrea and I have gone through a lot of changes together good and bad and this one is going to be

THE BEST!

The drive up was L O N G! 4 hours L O N G, but totally worth it. Plus I had Breaking Dawn on CD to listen to so it was not all bad. When I arrived we hugged, chatted, oohhed and awwwed over Sullivan's room (thats the name they picked for their little one) and headed out the door to see Eclipse with her friend Morgan. After the movie we went back to her place and enjoyed pizza with Steve.

Andrea and Steve were married in March of 2009 and even though I have known Steve sense HS it was really nice to spend some time with them as a couple to get to know not just him but them together so much better. Really great people!

On Saturday Andrea I went to IKEA and I think we looked at every inch and corner of that store, but it was really fun. She helped me with jars for my pantry cabinet (that seems to be a forever long process) and I helped her find some fantastic baskets and hooks for the little guy's room. Did I mention how much I love IKEA? LOVE! We were EXHAUSTED after all that shopping and both decided a nap was in order. That night we decided to stay in and watch a movie. Leap Year with Amy Adams...um it was OK. Cute, but predictable...which is totally what I expected but still really wanted to see it. Steve went to the store and bought junk food for the viewing which was an ideal night in my opinion. Steve really took care of Andrea and I all weekend and it brought back all the memories of what its like being pregnant with the special treatment. Except I think that is just who Steve is...total score for Andrea!

Sunday we all got up and they took me to this really cute restaurant for breakfast and it was delicious! After that it was time for me to head back on the road for that L O N G 4 hour L O N G drive back to my family.

Before I show you the pictures (I did not take very many) I just want to say that this weekend was long over due. I love the comfort I feel around Andrea and I really wish we were a tad closer. I was pleasantly surprised that I had the same feelings with Steve around. Never did I ever feel uncomfortable to be around them and in fact I loved it. If we can not be 9 again laughing until our guts hurt well then this was 2nd best.

Alright enough of the loved dovey stuff. Here are the pictures...

Here is Andrea and Steve on their wedding day. I had to post this because I did not get one single picture of them together from the front. What was I thinking?!?

On our way to breakfast...see this is the only picture I have of them together. The skyline coming into St Paul

The Hospital where Sullivan will be born. Its right around the corner from their house.

Andrea and I at breakfast

Steve at breakfast...the news was SHOCKING!

Lastly I was able to get to know Jameson their incredibly smart and sweet dog. He was such a cuddle butt and actually slept with me at night. I really love Jameson and I think we bonded over late night TV. Look at this lovey puppy....he is so soft.

Thanks Steve and Andrea for the fun weekend. I missed Steve's coffee this morning...that guy can brew a Cup O Joe!

Elmo,Big Bird, and Cookie Monster! OH MY!

I made a lot of statements before having a child that I find myself going back on. One of them being that I hated commercialized characters. I never wanted my child to like them outside of watching them on TV. I use to say I will never put my child in character clothes, or buy them character stuffed animals or use them as a theme for a Birthday party.

Well Jacob is 1.5 years old and I have caved on 2 out of the 3. He really has only worn 1 Sesame St. shirt, but he has ELMO Live and a stuffed Cookie Monster (not to mention all the books and videos). The last one on the list I have yet to cave in on, but when all your child says is ELMO, ELMO, ELMO whats a mom to do??!!
The old me wants to run screaming NOOOOOOOOO! The mom of Jacob thinks its the best idea EVER! Look at all this cute stuff I have found if I did a Sesame St theme.

Oh my gosh the possibilities are endless! I could have a ton of fun with this and I know Jacob would just LOVE it!

Alright, so my thinking has changed sense Jacob was born. Before I thought these characters were tacky, and annoying. Which for the record I do still feel that way, but when they bring such a smile to his face how could I not give him what he wants?!?

Jacob is going to be "in" to a lot of things that I may not love myself but that does not make them bad or wrong. I guess if he loves Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird well then I can find a way to like them as well. It could be worse right?
If this little boy is still talking about Elmo in December as much as he does now I think Sesame St it is!

This Post has been brought to you by the letter J and the number 2!

18 Months

Our little guy is growing up so fast! He had his 18 month appt with Dr Harnish and he weighed in at 26 pounds and is 32 inches tall. So he is in the 56 percentile for weight and 99 percentile for height. He is growing SO FAST! I just wish I could freeze time for a bit or maybe invent a rewind button. Arick and I have a lot of fun watching him grow and learn, but sometimes I wish I could go back to when he was itty bitty. When we were in the thick of things (as Lindsay and I like to call it) and Jacob was getting up every 2-3 hours or worse I would wish and pray he would sleep through the night. Now he sleeps through the night and I miss those nights alone in the living room when the entire house was still. It really was the best cuddle time. I guess its true what they say...you always want what you can't have.

THEN! December 30th 2008
NOW! July 5th 2010

No more highchair

We went to TARGET...

And bought THIS!


This makes me happy for so many reasons.

1.) I am so sick of cleaning his highchair. It is just one more thing to clean up and Iam constantly washing the pad that goes over it.

2.) Jacob thinks it is the best thing ever to push his highchair all over the kitchen and down the hall. I know its not a big deal but it still just gets to me sometimes.

3.) My little boy is growing up and becoming such a big boy! He LOVED eating with us tonight in his big boy chair.
Of course we had a lot of great memories in his highchair and of course I captured most of them with pictures and video...so I am so excited to get the space back in my kitchen and make a new home for the highchair in our basement...until next time. Look at this toddler...we have a toddler! CRAZY, FUN, LOVE!

Our FIRST Family Fireworks

OK well let me start by saying I had NO idea how the fireworks were going to go. I was very nervous that Jacob was going to get scared and hide in my lap the entire time. Oh boy was I wrong! Turns out our son LOVES them. He was belly laughing at each and every BOOM and danced all around afterwards. It was a lot of fun to watch and so worth getting him out of his routine and schedule to go and see them.
On Sunday we spent most of the day at the Monona Festival where we saw Grandma and Grandpa Smith, met up with the Krueger's and took a ride on the Carousel. Then we all had lunch at the Tate of Monona. After that it was time to get Jacob home for a nap so we could make it back for the fireworks! SO glad we did...we came back and watched fireworks with the Kruegers, Brian and Kait, The Jaeger's minus Jessica as she is SO ready to have her baby and her feet just could not take the heat and walking. ;) Stacy (Jordon was feeling a little under the weather), Sydney, Taylor and Stephanie were with us as well. Alright so here are the pictures...I just could not pick...we had a GREAT time! Again...HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

4th of July Cupcakes!

I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes, and they turned out just perfect!
I used Confetti cupcake mix, cream cheese frosting and then decorated with blueberries and strawberries. I wish I would of taken a picture of all the kids eating them...little messy but very much enjoyed. ;)
RED, WHITE, and BLUE! Happy Birthday America!!

Happy 4th of July!

What a fantastic weekend we had! Packed full of FUN! We kicked off the weekend at the Geiger's 4th of July party. We had a blast! Jacob loved all the attention from the older girls, and we joke that his feet never touched the ground! He was carried and catered to the entire time. He got a real kick out of them going down the slip N slide, and even got in on the fun a bit too. Another highlight of the party was being able to visit with the Teter's newest addition Colton. What a sweet little boy, and he looks JUST like his Dad. OH and I can not forget that the Theisen's came as well. They had twin boys born 4 days before Jacob, and its been too long sense we got them together. Boy are they ever getting big!!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Enjoy!















Lastly...here is the picture of how Jacob got around that day. Who needs feet when you have sweet girls to carry you?!?!