Annie Turns 4!

I guess I am a little behind on this post! Annie Bananie turned 4 last week. Man, how time flies. It has been an incredible year of growth for Annie and we are so proud of her. She had many firsts...first time being a big sister (she is awesome!), first haircut (yes, hard to believe!), first swimming lessons (she is a natural!), first soccer practices (again, a natural!), first monkey bars all by herself, and of course her first kid birthday party! This last one was of course very exciting for Annie. She even wrote 26 birthday invitations all by herself. She didn't even take a break when she had to go to the bathroom or eat her strawberries! She chose to have her party at IGM where the kids got to do fun gymnastics games. Every time I told her we got another RSVP Yes to the party her eyes lit up and she would yell "YAY!" She was especially excited when her "boyfriend" Teagie showed up to the party as we thought he couldn't make it. This was truly a special day for her. Brian and I have really enjoyed watching Annie's personality develop this past year. Some of the words I would use to describe her are: silly, loving, independent, brave, mischievous, and of course adorable! Happy Birthday Annie Frances, we love you so very much and you bring smiles and laughter to our lives every day! xoxox


She picked out a Princess Dairy Queen cake.


Annies FAVORITE gift...a gumball machine!


Annie and Kate in Annie's new Barbie Jeep!


Annie and Teagie!


Annie running with her friends at her party!


My little monkey!


Looking so happy!

Growing up so fast!

It was a big day today for Kate. She had her pre-school graduation ceremony this morning. She walked out in her shiny blue gown and cap and it was hard to believe that my little girl is going to be in kindergarten next year. I can't imagine seeing her walk down the aisle for high school graduation...luckily I am getting a little ahead of myself with that thought :) We were so proud of her as should stood in the front row with a huge grin on her face and as she belted out the two songs they sang. She was definitely the loudest one! It was truly a very special day for us all. Oh, and we celebrated tonight by going to Bucca for dinner (Kate's pick!).

You better share or else...

Annie has been a little less than willing to share some of her new toys she got for her birthday this past weekend. While we always encourage sharing in our house, we also have to realize that these are Annie's new toys and at least for a while she should get first dibbs on playing with them. Trying to explain this to Kate has not been easy, especially since she is very good with sharing and letting Annie have her way. Tonight we discovered that Kate may have found a way to guarantee some play time with Annie's new toys. Hide Them!!!! Tonight after the girls were in bed we found a grocery cart filled with some of Kate's favorite new toys that Annie got hiding under our dining room table! We got a kick out of this and have to give Kate some credit for creative problem solving ;)

Pooped Out!

Well unfortunately the Clemens' family just can't shake the winter sickies yet :( My head cold I have been battling for weeks turned into strep throat earlier this week. I was down for the count for a good 24 hours straight in bed! Since then I have spent 2 hours at urgent care with James confirming strep throat and an ear infection and another hour with the girls confirming an ear infection for Kate (no strep yet though for either girls!). I would really love it if we could catch a break with all the illness soon. The other night I got home from work and found James sleeping in the high chair! He was so exhausted from eating he fell fast asleep. Then this morning I was getting his breakfast ready and I came over to the chair to find him asleep again! Clearly the little man needs some rest to get his body better. The picture was just too cute to pass up sharing!

Another Weekend Passes By...

Finally today it felt like spring! The weather was gorgeous and perfect for being outside all day doing yard work. I made some decent progress planting some pots and garden beds. Still more to go but it felt good to get some accomplished. The girls even got their gloves on and enjoyed helping me plant. Brian mowed the lawn for the first time this season. Luckily James took a 3 hour nap which helped us greatly! Then the girls and Bri took me to The Cheesecake Factory for a belated Mother's Day dinner. Yum! James stayed home with Lexi so we could have a dinner without juggling the little man. Yesterday the girls had soccer in the morning (Annie scored three goals!) and attended a friend's birthday party in the afternoon. I got to spend some time shopping. Unfortunately I was shopping because I can no longer fit into any of my spring/summer clothes and the trip was less than successful. I decided to go to a movie and relax instead. Day 1 of my new diet today and it wasn't too bad. I am motivated now! Friday night Kate and Brian attended a Twins game with some neighborhood friends and even though it was cold and rainy, they had a good time. Annie, James and I went to visit the Madsons for some play time. All in all it was a fun weekend but it went too fast. This coming week will be busy, busy as we have Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Larry in town visiting all week and we will be getting ready for Annie's birthday parties on the weekend! Fun times!

Rock Star Divas

Tonight the girls and I went to the mall to buy them some new Crocs for school. We stopped into Old Navy to get Kate some capris since she is growing like a weed! While we were there the girls decided they needed some new sun glasses. They also tried talking me into additional pairs of shoes, dresses and much more! What fashionistas they are and already love clothes...man, we are in trouble! Here is a pic of them modeling their new shades!

Oh, and I had to post this silly pic of James. I wanted to get a photo of him in his "Super Love Bug" pjs but he was not happy!

Mother's Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend! We couldn't have asked for a better day on Saturday. Brian and the girls were literally outside ALL day!!! It started with juggling Kate's soccer game and Annie's first soccer practice. Kate got to play against her neighborhood friends which was fun. Unfortunately, the Rock Stars lost again which did not please Kate. She definitely has her mom's competitiveness in her :) Annie's first practice started out a little rocky with some shyness and tears but that only lasted about 2 minutes and then she was off. For her first time in an organized sport she did a good job. Definitely not as much of a hustler as Kate but still managed to play for almost the entire hour. I spent the afternoon cleaning out the girls' closet which was not fun but felt good to get done. Brian worked on the yard all day and it looks much better. James even got to enjoy some time outside!

Today was Mother's Day. I enjoyed it by sleeping in and waking up to Brueggers Bagels in bed! Unfortunately for most of the day I suffered from a migraine so I ended up lying in bed off and on until 3. Then we decided to head out and do some shopping and grab dinner. Little did we know how busy restaurants would be so we ended up at a staple...Chipotle! I am so blessed to have three wonderful, silly, happy and healthy kids as well as an amazing and supportive husband. I am thankful for this every day. I am also blessed with a loving mother who is always there for me when I need her and ready to help (which is often!), a kind step-mother who treats me and my kids like her own, and a mother-in-law who although is far away in miles is always close in our hearts. I can't forget to give a shout-out to my crazy Grammy Myrt who in her 90's still has the wit of a teenager! And last but not least, Happy Mother's Day to all my dear friends! I hope you had as wonderful of a day/weekend as I did.

Annie dribbling the ball.

Running with the pack!

Giving a thumbs-up after she scored!

Kate, a true Rock Star!

Jamesy, enjoying the outdoors.

Sweet Katelin

My Dad recently quit his job and I was telling the girls that I couldn't believe Grandpa David quit his job. Katelin started to get real sad and I asked her why she was so sad. She said, "I want him to still spend money and Dad said you have to work to spend money". Goes to show that even though you think they may not be listening...they are! :) We were talking about it again today and I thought it was especially sweet that she told me she offered to share her money with Grandpa! Seriously, how cute is that! That is my sweet Katelin.

Model Time

It is hard to believe but the time already came to have to switch James' closet again! He has officially moved from 3-6 mo. to 6-9 mo. clothes! My little man is growing so fast. While I love that he is becoming his own little person, it makes me sad to see him get so big. Cleaning the closet is never a fun task, especially when you love to shop :) so I decided to make it more fun by having James participate in a little fashion show. While he may not have been so amused, I had a blast trying on some of his summer hats! Who would have thought shopping for little boys could be so fun!

What a Date Night!

Bri and I were lucky enough to get tickets to see Paul Simon at First Avenue last night! We hadn't been to a concert where we bought tickets in probably like 5 years so it felt great to get back into the music scene. We couldn't have picked a better show to see! We stood in line for a few hours before the show so we got a pretty good spot near the front of the stage. Listening to him in person was amazing!!! Way better than when I listen to him on all of our road trips! He has soooo many good songs that it was impossible for him to play all of our favorites. I was just really glad that he played 50 Ways to Lose Your Lover and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes! And his band was spectacular! What a talented group of guys and super fun to listen to. All in all the night was a blast. A special thanks to Grandpa David and Grandma Nancy for watching the kiddos so we could enjoy this special night. (Stay tuned for some pics of Paul...they are on Bri's phone.)

Easter

I realized that in all the craziness going on, I forgot to post something about the wonderful Easter we had. We had a jam packed day of fun and family! It started with Annie waking up at 6 and ready for the egg hunt! Amazingly she laid in bed until almost 7 waiting patiently for everyone else to wake. The girls had a blast looking for their eggs and seeing what the Bunny brought them. Then we went to a beautiful service at Hosanna where we celebrated the true meaning of the day. After that we had lunch at Grandma Sharon and Scott's house where there was another egg hunt! We ended the day at Grandpa David and Grandma Nancy's house for dinner. We were blessed to spend some time with Bapsi and Grandma Myrt on the day as well. Sadly as I sit and type this, over two weeks later, I am looking at our fireplace mantel that still contains bags of Easter candy and goodies that have yet to be put away...doh!