Vacation in Wisconsin

There is nothing like reliving some of your best childhood memories all over again with your own children. Perfect.

Wisconsin Vacation

Dinner time with Stella

Sometimes...this is what we have to "deal" with during supper time. In the middle you'll see Stella looking around thinking that I'm playing peekaboo with her. When in reality I had to leave the room because we were trying to be stern with her and I couldn't hold back my smile. This is one video where you have to listen rather carefully to Erin and I to get the full affect of Stella's reactions.

Hey look...a new post!!!

Well, with limited camera use comes limited updates. The girls are loving the beautiful weather we've been having (although, not as much as Erin has been). It's been amazingly crazy watching them grow as girls and as sisters. Caroline, the ever loving one (for the most part), can make Stella laugh more then anyone, but can also make her show her "attitude" more then anyone else. Stella is getting more "conversational" these days (something she picked up from her sister), although you can only make out a few words as she talks to you. They are SO much fun!!
As any parent can attest, when you see brand new babies and look at your own children, it is NUTS to realize how much they've changed and grown. Yet it also hard to picture them a few years from now. I believe the ol' saying "Time flies when you're having fun" was first spoken by a parent looking at their grown child. Because it is never more true then when you watch your children play, grow and learn. The Lord is GOOD!!!

Happy Easter!!

lately

Happy Birthday Stella!!

That's right folks...it's already been a year!!! Doesn't seem like that long ago Erin and were wondering what type of personality Stella would have. Now we look at newborns (especially Olivia Engstrom) and are amazed that our "big" girl used to be that small!! This past month has brought some of the biggest changes for Stella. All at once she decided that she could walk and was motoring around the house like it was nobodies business. Then came the teeth. Caroline got her first teeth around 4 1\2 months...so comparably Stella was a late bloomer. But once they started coming...they REALLY came. In the past month she's had to deal with 8 popping through. She's also learning to do more things. She can give kisses now so if you see her coming at you with mouth wide open and saying "AHHHHHH!" that's what she's doing. And just in the past few days she's started giving hugs!
Before Stella was born, Erin and I wondered (like many parents who are expecting their second child do I'm sure) how the heck we could love another child like we did Caroline...but once Stella came there was never doubt that we did. God has truly blessed us with these girls!!!

Pancakes anyone?!

As Erin took this picture of Stella she realized that we gave Caroline pancakes for the first time around the same age. So we dug up an ol' picture for a little comparison. They're for sure sisters...but the also look pretty different!!

Typical Day

Hey Caroline...how old are you????

That's right folks....our big girl is now 3!!!! Crazy how time flies. Doesn't seem that long ago that Erin and I became parent's (and in the scheme of things it wasn't THAT long ago). But at 12:15 on Oct. 11th 2005 Caroline Olivia was born. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways through this girl...so much joy. And as Milton Vincent said "I deserve wrath, yet instead God gives me them. Wow!" Amen to that!!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!!

A fish called Caroline and Stella's gets some teeth in!

Giggiling Girls

Ol' Truck

We made our now annual trip to the apple orchard this past weekend. We decided to stay a bit more local then last year and went to one just outside of Morton. The girls are getting bigger all the time...especially Stella. She's speeding around on her hands and knees and is trying hard to get herself to stand up. The fall season unofficially starts this week in Morton with the Pumpkin Festival. For those of you who may not know...Morton is the "Pumpkin Capital of the World." So of course we have to have a festival to celebrate.
We hope this finds you all doing well. Maybe we'll actually try to post on a more regular basis.....we'll see :)

Stella gets the giggles

The Girls!!!

Messin' around

starting the week off right

a weekend outside

Our trumpet player

So let me explain the title. As many of you know Caroline loves the show Little Einsteins. In that show, Quincy plays the trumpet and sometimes asks the kids watching to "play" their trumpet. Well Stella has this thing where she puts her hands together and pulls them up to her mouth and as Caroline pointed out one day "plays her trumpet."
Stella got her first shots yesterday...and daddy had to watch for the first time....not cool!!! She is in the 95% for weight and 90% for height!!! Caroline was always tall but relatively skinny....not this one!

spring training