Happy 30th Alicia!

This weekend we had a mini surprise party for my best friend Alicia who turned 30. Last but not least for turning the big 3-0. We met at The Foshay downtown Minneapolis and then headed out for a night on the town. Ben and I even got to spend a night downtown at The Radisson. So Cheers to Alicia (whose actual b-day is today!!)

Kara, Me, Alicia

Ben and I.

The Group.

Wrapping up August

Wrapping up August. I've been a little behind in my blog posts for this month so I am just going to sum up the rest of August here and be on with September. September...yikes!! It's already State Fair time which storta means the end of Summer. It makes me want to go shopping for Fall attire and go to the Pumpkin Patch. Kids already have their Halloween costumes picked out so we are almost there.
So Ben spent 2 weekends this month working the Famous Anoka Game Fair. Last year he worked and came home,walked in the door to my water breaking 5 minutes later. Off to the hospital we went to have baby boy.  Awwww, memories. Luckily we won't be experiencing that this year.
So the kids and I were home free and spent one of the weekends going to the Amaze N Farm. This place is so cool!! Tayah is having her birthday party this year and I can't wait to go back. The weekend after that we headed to the zoo with my friend Alicia and her little girl Hayden. It was a great day for the zoo and the kids (and moms) had fun.

Amaze N Farm

MN Zoo

Collin had his 1 year checkup last night. As usual things are going great!! We were scheduled to have 3 shots but went for just one. Nervous mom syndrome and is waiting until he is a little older to get the other ones. Who knows??? Anyways Collin is now 20 lbs 11oz. and 30.5 inches. Long and lean. He is finally caught up to Tayah's weight when she was one. She was almost 20 lbs at her 1 year checkup. Collin has always been a couple lbs. lighter than she was at all of his checkups. He is starting to fill out some. He's a pretty good eater so that helps. 

Collin this morning with his band-aid from the little poke.

Now That I am ONE!!

1. I  can brush my teeth because I actually have teeth now. I was a late bloomer in that dept. but I have 3 and a 1/2 teethers and more on their way. 
2. I am climbing on top of things. Fun until I get stuck and can't get down.
3. I eat anything and everything. No more baby food for me.
4. I am starting to pull myself up on things but not quite walking yet. Mom's okay with that at this point.
5. I say Mama, dada, papa, meow, Bella. 
6. I shake my head "No" when you tell me No. 
7. I drink whole milk now.
8. I'm still a mama's boy but really starting to form an attachment to dada. 
9. I LOVE bananas and any fruit in general.
10. Down to just one nap during the day now....most of the time.
11. Still taking a bottle but working on a sippy cup so mom can throw those bottles away. Taking 2-3 bottles a day rather than one every 2-3 hours. 
12. I really like Elmo and Sesame Street. Calms me down during my "crabby time"
13. I love bath time and splashing with my big sister Tayah.
14. I like looking at duck and geese magazines with my dad. 
15. I like going for walks and looking and pointing at everything. 
16. I still love my taggie blankie.
17. I wave bye-bye, Play SO BIG, and Pat-a-cake.
18. I like pizza. 
19. I like to cuddle.
20. I have the best laugh.

Happy Birthday!!

My youngest is ONE today!! Happy Birthday Collin. We love you.  We had a great party with family and friends on Sunday. Yesterday we spent the evening at a fun park. Today we will finish off the rest of the cake and top off the celebrating.

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Golden Hair

So, a mommy friend (Thanks Tiffany Erdall!!) had posted a picture on Facebook of a Rapunzel wig that she made for her daughter. Tayah caught eye of it and asked if she could have Rapunzel hair. It was easy enough even for myself to put together so I gathered the materials and put it together yesterday afternoon. And, voila we have Rapunzel hair!
Here are some pictures of the final product.

Baked Kale Chips:
So, I am sure many of you have already tried these but this was a first for me. I made some baked Kale chips last week. They are actually really yummy.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.