1st Visit to the Dentist

Monday came time for Kayden's first visit to the dentist. I was REALLY nervous about how he was going to handle it since his last doctor's visit didn't go so well. We really talked about the dentist a lot in the few weeks before and we talked about the dentist counting his teeth and making them shiny. To my surprise he did awesome! He sat in the chair for a few minutes (which the hygenist assured me is better than a lot of kids his age), but then they had him sit in my lap and lay on the hygenist's lap for his exam. He let them count his teeth, floss, clean and paint on flouride! I couldn't believe it! That definitly deserved some McDonald's and a run to the dollar section at Target--where he chose some army men and a foam sword for himself, and one for Tyler of course! Sorry, no pictures =(

Hempkers Zoo

Sunday we didn't have much planned, so we decided to take the kids to Hemker's Zoo near Freeport. For a little zoo-kind-of-place it is very nice. Lots of animals. We spent about 2 hours there. Some of the animals come right up to you for petting, others you wouldn't want to pet! They had everything from cows to zebras! The price was a little more than I would have expected, but we also saved on gas by not having to drive to a bigger zoo, farther away.

After the zoo, we headed back to my parent's house to grill for their 29th anniversary!

Our Little Dancing Machine!

Kayden and Grammy

Kayden and Mylie dancing. Notice: there is NO ONE else on the dance floor, but they could care less!

Yes, this IS dancing!

Saturday evening we had a wedding reception for my good friend Jackie who got married this Spring in Florida. All three of the boys were invited, but we decided to take just Kayden and leave Tyler and Tyson home with Amazih. Kayden's friend Mylie was also at the reception. They spent their time before dinner coloring and eating fruit snacks. After they ate, the music started, and the didn't stop moving! Those two spent at least 2 hours on the dance floor, only stopping when they were thirsty, or to look for an adult to join them! They had so much fun!

Sick baby, Birthday Dinner and Splash Pad!

Tyson relaxing at the Splash Pad

Tyler trying his best to enjoy the water even though he wasn't feeling 100%

Kayden is into checking out his shadow lately...

Tyler relaxing at home on his "sick day"

This is how Tyler spent most of his day on Friday

I picked Tyler and Kayden up from daycare on Thursday and I thought Tyler felt a little warm. I took his temp when we got to my mom's house and it was 101. So, Kayden and I headed to the Drug Store to pick up some Tylenol for Tyler. One dose of Tylenol and he went down for a late afternoon nap. They boys spent the evening at Grammy and Grandpas while Mike and I went out to eat with Pat and Leah for his 30th birthday. We went to the new Fuji Steakhouse in St. Cloud. The food was very good, and we had a really good, kid-free time (which is rare). By the time we got back to pick up the boys, Tyler was still warm and had thrown up once. So, I called in to work for Friday and Tyler and Tyson and I spent the day at home.

Friday afternoon, Tyler seemed to be feeling better, so we packed up and met Grammy, Tammy and Emma, and Auntie Ruthie who had all of Holli's boys (Zach, Brady, Ben and Ryan) at the Splash Pad in Waite Park. It took a while for the younger kids to warm up to the idea of getting wet. I think the randomness of the sprinklers and the number of kids there was a little intimidating at first. After a while though, they started to really have fun. Enjoy the pictures!

Tyson's 3 month pictures

I took Tyson to JCPenney this morning for his 3 month pictures. He did awesome! He was really smiley, and cooperated no matter what position we put him in. They even asked me to sign a waiver so that they could possibly hang some of his pictures in the studio. Maybe they do this a lot, but I like to think that he was just that cute! Since there are so many pictures, I am just adding the link to the website. Click here. Enjoy the pics....

Brainerd

Kayden insisted on sitting on this rock for his picture---lovely angle!

Boats!

Eating lunch

Tyson spent the day snoozing in his stroller....

The airplanes were a favorite from last year

Tyler and Kayden on the Merry-go-round.

Kayden feeding the donkeys (or, in his mind, the horses)

Tyler and Daddy feeding the donkeys

Kayden and Sydney cautiously listening to the big Paul Bunyan welcome them.

This past weekend, we took our camper and headed to Brainerd to spend the weekend with Mike's brother Pat and his wife Leah, and their girls, Sydney and Karsyn. By the time we got there Friday night, the kids had just a short time to play outside and then it was time for a quick bonfire for them and to bed. We put Tyler to sleep in a pack and play in the house and thought we'd be able to move him to the camper once he was sleeping without waking him up---we were WRONG! He woke up when we brought him to the camper. This was a LONG night! We put Tyler to sleep in our bed (I think we finally had him sleeping again by about 1:00 a.m), Kayden fell asleep on Tyler's bed (the bottom bunk). At about 1:30, I heard Kayden fall out of Tyler's bed, which he does not remember =), so, I put him on the top bunk, moved Tyler into the bottom bunk and went to sleep. By 4:00, Tyson was awake and ready for a bottle. I fed him, got him back to sleep, and by 6:15, Tyler was awake for the day. Needless to say, Tyler took a 4 1/2 hour nap on Saturday, and was still in bed at his normal time Saturday night! Saturday night went MUCH better, thank God!

Saturday during the day, Mike and Pat went fishing while Leah and I entertained the kids for a few hours. Right around lunch time, the sky got pretty dark, so we quickly cleaned up all our toys and headed inside. The rest of the day was spent indoors!

Sunday we packed up all the kiddos and headed to Paul Bunyan Land. Last year we went, and since it was free for kids 2 and under, it was cheap entertainment. This year, since Kayden and Sydney are 3, it cost 14.95 for each of them, plus 12.95 per adult! We may skip this next year...

For that price we could take them to Valleyfair! They did have fun though, and Tyson did really well. He slept in his stroller all afternoon, except for waking up to eat one time.

We got home Sunday night in time to check the yard for storm damage, only to find just one tree down. We were expecting much worse based on the information we'd gotten from other people in our area.

Monday I was able to sneak away for a day of shopping at Albertville with some girlfriends. Tuesday night we were at home, and Kayden and Mike took care of the broken tree and some other "chainsaw" work in the yard. Wednesday night we headed to The Landing in St. Anna for tacos for Mike's birthday. Thursday Mike turns 30, and our plan is to go out to eat with Pat and Leah. This weekend we have nothing much planned other than a wedding reception for a good friend of mine.

Camping again...

Tyler sleeping with Auntie Rhonda on his first pontoon ride

Tyson sleeping on his first pontoon ride

Kayden and Daddy checking out the water

Tyson on his first pontoon ride

Tyson hanging out in the camper while Mommy does the dishes

This past weekend we had yet another camping trip planned. This time we headed to Sauk Centre with a much smaller group than the previous weekend. The weekend was spent relaxing, preparing for a storm that never hit, pontoon rides, and chasing kids. Tyler and Tyson had their first pontoon ride (they both fell asleep). There wasn't a lot of excitement, but it was nice and relaxing.

4th of July Weekend

Tyson with Mommy and Daddy

Tyson with his grandparents and Mommy and Daddy

Tyson with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Eickhoff

Tyson and his Godparents, Uncle Matt and Auntie "Mazih" (Amazih)

*Tyson wore the Baptismal outfit that Matt was baptized in

Kayden and Daddy testing out the water at El Rancho

Kayden playing at the beach (this is the spot where he later decided to pee!)

Tyler digging at the beach

We spent our 4th of July weekend camping at El Rancho this year. There was a total of 7 campers and 14 kids 4 years old and younger! Needless to say, we all stayed busy! The kids had a blast. It's so fun to see them all play together. We had a nice grassy area for them to play in and we set up a bigger pool for the bigger kids and a little pool for the littler kids. Since they also have a beach we were able to really wear them out! During one of our trips to the beach, Kayden was playing in the sand when he decided he REALLY had to go potty. Before any of us could stop him, he dropped his swim trunks to his knees and peed right in the sand! I was a little embarassed!
Sunday, we also had Tyson's baptism. I was a little worried about how Tyler would behave in church since he is always so busy, and never sits still. Luckily he fell asleep on the way there, and Amazih was willing to stay in the truck with him. I knew if we took him in, he'd wake up right away. So, he slept through most of Mass and woke up just in time for Amazih to bring him in for the baptism. We decided to keep Kayden and Sydney seperated during church. So, Sydney, Karsyn, Pat, Leah, Grandma and Grandpa and Rhonda and Troy sat on one side of the church, while Mike and I and Kayden and Tyler and Grandpa and Grammy and Matt sat clear across the building. This worked out much better than other times when we are too close together and Kayden and Sydney just want to play!
After Baptism we headed back to the campground for lunch, cake, presents and naptime! It was nice that we were staying there until Monday, so we didn't have to rush to get things packed up, and the kids were able to take good naps, and we made another trip to the beach, etc. Lots of fun had by all!