Mommy and Colin

On Thursday, Tim was invited to a Golf tournament and he decided to take Taylor with him. So that left Colin and I to play. Colin had my undivided attention the whole day....the first for him...at least in a long time! I think he loved it. We played outside most of the day.

Checkin' out the pool and loungin!

running back and forth...

he was blowing on the rocks because they were 'hot'

see mommy!

this is how rocks end up in the house....they go in his pocket and we usually find them everywhere; usually in the washing machine.

Here he is hiding behind the tree, like Taylor does.

collecting rock, acorns, and sticks....

Here is a little video of him counting while he hid by the tree.

Taylor even got to keep her golf ball that she used while out with daddy! She had a great time with him!

Spring Celebration

Last weekend, Tim and I were in Des Moines for Spring Celebration. It was a nice evening! We had social hour, a great meal, consisting of Beef tenderloin, sea bass, veggies and a salad. The entertainment this year was Creedence Clearwater Revisited. They were pretty cool! Lots of good songs. This year we drove up to Cedar Rapids the night before then headed to Des Moines the next day. Last year we left here at 5am just to drive to Cedar Rapids, drop the kids off, then to Des Moines for the evening. I didn't feel as 'rushed' this year. So it was a nice (short) weekend! As always, the company put on a great evening!



See how nice we clean up!!!??


Tim either has is eyes closed or looks like a deer in headlights when he gets his pictures taken!

Happy Easter!

Well, I hope everyone had a great Easter! We did. These pictures won't be the best quality since I had to dig out my 35mm camera to use. On Saturday, Tim had told me that the Easter Bunny was going to be at the mall across from the store. So we went there and saw him! Taylor was so excited. They sat so good on his lap. Colin, on the other hand, while sitting good, he wasn't feeling the best and had a poopy diaper! Which come to find out, he had leaked thru his pants; just hope it didn't leave a mark on the bunny! Hee hee! She was so proud to get the picture.





Here are the kiddos all dressed up for Easter Mass. Colin still wasn't feeling good, so he just stood there! (Still looking really cute!!!)

Taylor finding her Easter basket behind the chair! We just had a hunt in our house. The Easter Bunny hid them on Taylor's desk, in her chair, by the fireplace, on the TV stand, and around the hutch. It was fun to watch her get so excited to find that they were either filled with M&M's or money!

Colin playing with the eggs and his new trucks!

The Easter Bunny even left a trail of M&M's in Taylor and Colin's room. Here, if you look close enough, you can tell he has a mouth full of M&M's...so much for a healthy breakfast today!

Eating more M&M's!

Colin just not feeling good:( (But looking at his Big Surf Waterpark brochure!)

So after Mass, we came home and I started to make lunch for Tim and I. (Yes, I fed the kids!) I just made potato casserole and a ham steak. It was very yummy. After eating, I cleaned up and headed to work. It was a fun day!

Kim's Bridal Shower

Most of my pictures turned out blurry, so here are some that actually turned out. It was a very nice shower! Chelsea made the cupcakes, chocolate covered Strawberries, and a delicious chocolate bundt cake. We also had cheesecakes, punch, and fresh fruit.

Decorations on the mantle. Jenny had brought home these votive holders and we stuck little gem stickers on the outsides of them...they looked to cute!

The set up! Looks yummy doesn't it?

One of the many gifts she received. We played 2 games: Purse Game...where all the guests tallied up points to see what items they had in their purses. The purse that won...Jenny's, with over 250 points. She loaned her purse to a guest since she didn't bring hers. Then we quizzed Kim on how well she knew Nate. This I have to say was funny. She was shocked on alot of the questions, but overall...she knows him! It was priceless to see her reaction to some of the answers! As a gift from us sisters (and sisters, I mean, Jen, Mandy, Chelsea and I) we had wrapped up a bottle of Kim and Nates favorite wine, a couple wine glasses and we ordered personalized Hershey Kisses that read on the tag: "Kim and Nate, May 2nd, 2009".

Her bow bouquet!

Kim and the Stollers

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!"

(sorry mandy, these were the only pictures I had of the four of us and you either had your eyes closed or looked like you were going to kill somebody!)

*****WARNING***** The following pictures are not suitable for children under the age of 18! Just kidding....it's all in good humor!

Furry handcuffs!! oooh la la!

She actually wore the shirt too! How much money did you make Kim?

"Not tonight/Tonight" pillow!

Just some of the yummy snacks we munched on.

Nice luminarias! This was a special craft Taylor helped me with! NOOOOO! I'm just kidding!

This was the infamous blow up guy that scared Mom everytime she looked at him. He doesn't seem to be scaring her now?????!!!! ( Don't be mad mom! You were having a great time and you know it!)

Not sure what was going on here....I think we were dressing the guy up like Kim, then we placed him in their Kim and Nate's bed before we left for the evening.

Dollars please!!!

Taylor's 4th Birthday

Well, another year has come and gone. My baby girl is 4.



How can something so small, become so big, so fast?



Taylor on her 1st Birthday,


Taylor on her 2nd Birthday,

Taylor turning 3,

and now she is 4!!! Holy cow! She is also registered for Pre-school in the fall! Wow! What will Colin and I do when she is gone at school?! He'll probably love the attention!

My mom came down with family friends on the 23rd. Tim's parents came down on the 26th. Their plan was to stay all weekend, since it was spring break. It was no one's fault but mine, that with all plans for the upcoming shower/bacholerette party that I was planning with my sisters, work, Tim working long hours, lack of sleep, leaving my kids for the weekend (which I really hadn't done since moving), and being a stay at home mommy, I became a basket case. I was pushing myself too far and trying to do it all. So I worked myself up into a little bit of an anxiety/stress attack. I couldn't sleep at night, my heart was racing, I couldn't catch my breath, I was shaky, nauseous, and couldn't eat. So Tim took me to the doctor, where blood was drawn, and I was hooked up to an EKG moniter. My heart if fine, I am fine. (Thanks to meds!:) I just wasn't taking care of myself. I am alot better now, and I've gotten my appetite back. I didn't eat for 4-5 days. All is good again! So, mommy's don't burn yourself out and get your sleep! As much as I love to stay up and watch the shows I enjoy, it's not worth it...I've come to realize!

So, during all of this, we were still able to celebrate Taylor's birthday with my mom and Fred and Julie on the 26th. I managed to make cupcakes and decorate them so Taylor would have candles to blow out. She picked out the flower cupcakes. They looked really cute. I wish I would've been able to eat one. I know she had a great time with both G-ma's and Papa Cernin. With crappy weather approaching that weekend, Fred and Julie decided to head back to IA and that I would have mom drive my car with me and the kids to head to b-ton for the weekend. I was so looking forward to spend the weekend with my sisters and having a blast. I really just felt like crap. Kim's shower turned out as perfect as we had planned. Being a sister, you want it to be perfect right? Of course!!! The bacholorette party was a hit also. Long story short, (too late!) the weekend was fun! I feel better and I'm back to work and myself! I guess I'm not as young as I used to be! (I did turn 30 last month!!!!!) Oh well, lesson learned! The only good thing that came about all this, I lost some weight...which wasn't the healthiest way to do it...but I fear I'm gaining it back! HA!

And of course, Colin loved being pushed around on his John Deere tractor. He looks so darn cute on this!

Well, these are the last pictures you'll see for some time. While trying to get a picture of Kim at the Paddlewheel, I dropped the camera and broke the lense, I'm assuming, since it won't open anymore. I am so mad at myself. I wasn't even intoxicated!!! Oh well!