Fun in the Sun

Well Summer is officially here in North Dakota! Yesterday it was in the 80's and today in the 90's!!! Brandon has been working a TON and so I have had to come up with other ideas to keep the kids cool other then the traditional swimming pool..two kids who can't swim and one mom, not a good combination.Anyways I bought a little kid pool from target the other day and the kids LOVED it! They splashed and splashed and stayed nice and cool. It was such a huge success that today I bought a bigger one that they can really play in( the bigger one was half the price too..hmmm). Here are some pictures from our last couple days enjoying the sunshine but first one more complaint. Why is it that they make adult sunscreen up to 150 SPF but the highest kid sunscreen I can find is 75!!With the rate we apply and reapply we will be going through a TON of sunscreen this summer. OK now here are some pictures.

 Elias checking out his new pool, it sprays water from its mouth but my little sensory boy doesn't like that so we just used it as a pool.

 Annie...so she would splash her foot in the water and run away screaming and giggling. I have about 15 pictures like this because she kept doing it and I couldn't resist trying to capture it all on camera.

 Why drink mommy's water when you have yucky pool water?

 Elias practicing his irish step dancing in the water

 Annie and Elias played so nice together...well if you consider Elias splashing Annie in the face every time she bent down nice, good thing she loved it!

 Chillin

 Some sibling time in the pool

 Ahhhh a bigger better pool!

 Getting used to the cold water and running around

 Annie again with the splashing and screaming, only now she covers her mouth when she screams...so silly

Uncle Jordan came over to play with the kids(and give mommy some adult company since Brandon has been working so much). They love their Uncle Jordan so much, he plays fun games with them!

Good Friends make for Good Times

A couple weekends ago our friend Graf ( Ryan, as most of the world calls him, but to his friends he will always be graf) was in town for his sisters wedding. Graf lives out in Washington D.C(oddly enough with my parents) and we dont' get to see him much. We took this opportunity to have a BBQ and hang out. The weather was beautiful and we had a blast. Most of my pictures are of the kids since pictures of adults are just boring.

Brandon and Jordan doing a little grilling

Probably the only time Kellie and I got to sit down, apparently when you are the only 2 females at a all male BBQ you are in charge of babies!

Elias showing us Wall-E on Uncle Jordans car

Graf and soon to be Mrs Graf

Elias wanted to eat outside with the big boys

I think he is getting way to big for this...he is so dang tall

haha...ooo Annie

Annie decided she wanted a grilled chicken breast on a fork AFTER she had already eaten her burger..she ate almost all of it too!

Playing on the board covering the "mud pit" golf club and fork-of-chicken in hand of course

Good boys get ice cream!

Cleaning the grill off for Daddy

When Mom's Away....

So recently the weather was nice enough to get out the old sprinkler. I stayed outside for about 30 minuets watching the kids play and having fun, then I went to lay down (apparently running 3 miles pregnant isn't as easy as it was prepregnancy!) After I went inside a mess insued. Kellie stopped over before she went to a wedding, she walked in and  said " um you better look outside". I looked outside to see Elias with the hose spraying Annie and both of them splashing in a giant mud puddle. There was mud all over the kids, all over the house, all over everything!!! We had pulled up a old flower barrel in front of our house and the grass hadn't grown in yet so it was just a bunch of dirt, Brandon thought it would be fun to let the kids play in it. After some pictures and video I insisted the kids get cleaned and inside. Elias wiped down pretty easy but we had to strip Annie naked and hose her down. The kids had a ton of fun but it took Brandon almost 20 minuets of cleaning to get the outside looking normal again. Have fun looking at these pictures!

 Brandon thought he was cool because he could jump over the sprinkler...this is the man I married folks!

 Elias having fun running throught the sprinkler

 Doing a little lawn bowling

 So. Messy.

 enjoying a nice mud bath

Getting dirty is tiring!

Feeling Good!

(This post was written on June 8th)

Well I am now almost 10 weeks pregnant and I am feeling much better these days. I have resumed my duties as cook, cleaning lady, and of course mommy. Brandon almost jumped in excitement when he came home the other day and dinner was actually made for him.( On a side note I am a vegetarian, he is on Atkins and the kids eat meat and carbs! So most nights I make 3 meals one for me, one for the kids and then one for  Brandon. I have managed to get the kids food made but Brandon has pretty much been making both our dinners, poor guy.) Brandon has also been in charge of the house and all the laundry and cleaning since I am not kidding you I was so sick I used every ounce of energy to take the kids to the park or do a art project that I had zero strength to lift a vacuum. I will say he took it all very well he did it all and he did a pretty good job! He knows a clean house always makes me feel better, so he tried to keep up, what a sweetie! I think he is finally excited to be able to come home to a nice dinner, happy kids and a clean house. He gets to just kick back and play with the kids or watch a twins game at night now, happy is a understatement. I am not sure why I have been so sick, I wasn't this bad with either of my previous pregnancies, I joke I am having twins! I actually think it has more to do with when I was pregnant before. When I was pregnant with Elias I had just quit my full time job to go back to get my engineering degree, so I just went to school and slept..all day. I got pregnant with Annie when Elias was only 8 months old so he was still napping a lot plus Brandon was on the afternoon shift which meant he was awake from 11-3:30 on work days so basically I was able to sleep all day. NOW I have 2 toddlers to chase and entertain..uffda! The good news is they knew something was up and have been pretty good for the most part. If I was having a particullary rough day Elias would come and kiss my head and say" Is that better Mommy?" Then he would turn to Annie and say "C'mon Annie, Mommy sick" and he would take her off to play. Crazy how observant these little ones are. I have also been lucky enough to have Grandma Mim, Uncle Jordan and Kellie able to help out on those really rough days. I am so happy the rough "morning" sickness days are behind me. I can't wait for the 2nd trimester, I LOVE being pregnant SO MUCH! The process is such a miracle and a huge blessing and I love every second of it...even the sick times because they mean I still have a little miracle growing inside of me.

Now thats what I call morning sickness

(This post was origionally written on May 10th)

Well I am about 5 weeks pregnant now and just had probably the worst three days of my life. Brandon was off Friday, Saturday and Sunday( Mothers Day) which was a very good thing since this is when morning sickness decided to hit me and boy did it hit me hard. I slept until almost 10 every day then staggered my way down to the couch where I curled in missory until I took a nap with Elias and then back to the couch...you get the point. Brandon was so incredibaly kind and supportive. He did everything for the kids, made me toast, got me water and cleaned the house. All I did was lay around and be miserable. Brandon was scheduled to go back to work on Monday and there was no way I could take care of my kids in this condition so we decided it was best to head into the ER. I was feeling very weak and decided to see if I had lost any weight the last 3 days since I wasn't keeping anything in my system...6 pounds in 3 days eek!!!! Off to the ER I went. 2 Liters of fluids and some anti-neausa medicine later I was sent home. I was still weak and tired but I felt much better. I managed to make it to L'Bistro for mothers day dinner which was very nice. I turned in at 7:30 that night and slept the whole night without getting up to throw up!! Since my litte trip to the ER I have been feeling a little better, I still have my anti-neasua meds just in case it gets really bad again though. Here is to hoping I never have to experience that again!!

Another Eberhardt Blessing!

( This post was written on April 28th)

Well now you know the big secret: We are expecting!! Brandon and I are SO excited to be adding a 3rd child to our family, due January 6th 2012! It is so crazy to think that in a few short months I will be a mom of 3..eek!!! Right away I already had some pretty clear signs that I may be pregnant. Sign #1: I considered eating meat again, I have been a vegitarian for 16 years and nothing sounded better then some MEAT. As of the day this post was written I haven't had any yet. Sign 2: I craved carrots. I hate carrots I mean hate hate hate them but boy I can't get enought of them .That right there did me in I knew I was pregnant I just had to wait to take the test. Sign 3: I took naps with Elias and Annie, I haven't done that in probably over a year but the last week those 2 hours cat naps were my saving grace. So sure enough this morning when I woke up I took a test and it instantly turned positive. I was in the bathroom jumping up and down I was so excited. We wanted to get pregnant by the end of the summer so we definitly got our wish! I told Brandon and he started to cry. Then he looked at me and said just as things were starting to get easy then we both laughed. Isn't that the way it seems that just as things get easy with your kids...bam along comes another one...I love it! I have to admit I am excited to bring home and snuggle another baby but I am equally excited about being pregnant again. Some women hate it but I love being pregnant so much , I would be 6 months pregnant always if I could. Nine months and counting!!

Art Fest

This past weekend Uncle Jordan and I took the kids downtown for the Grand Cities Art Fest. OK I am not much of a artistic person but it was advertised that there was kids activities and lots of food, music, fun ect. Um....no. The kids activities consisted of coloring a large white sheet of paper with crayola markers...that's it. The music was a guy playing the xylophone on the main stage...weird and the food was good but really expensive and not the "wide variety" that was advertised. With all of that being said we still had a good time. We pushed the kids through the booths taking time to laugh at anyone who would be willing to pay $500 for a small painting of a mallard( I don't get art, I don't get why it is so dang expensive and I sure as heck don't get modern art!) We had a free sample of real kettle corn and I was hooked!! It was SO GOOD. Jordan and I both bought bags. We stopped for a bit at the playground in the town square then it was over to East Grand Forks for some food. We did lots of yummy junk food: chicken strips, fries, cheese curds, and cheesy fries it was all very yummy. While we ate we were being blown away by the "breeze" coming off the river. The kids didn't seem to mind and we even got to listen to two alternative looking young guys singing blue grass twangy music..it was actually pretty good. After all of that is was time for a quick ice cream cone then home. The poor kids were so exhausted that they both fell asleep in the car on the way home. I heard people who enjoy art really had a good time shopping but I think its safe to say the Eberhardts just went for the food:)

Doing a little sliding at the playground

Elias practicing saying CHEESE!!! for the camera

Annie eating with Uncle Jorday...and trying not to get blown away

Elias eating with Mommy...also trying not to get blown away

Poor Annie...so tired. Her hair is pretty tragic too,I guess that is what the ND wind will do to you

Elias all tuckered out

Down by the River

We are always looking for ways to get the kids out of the house and explore nature. One of our favorite things to do recently is to go down by the river and hop on the walking/bike trails on the green way. It lets the kids run off some energy plus they get to learn about nature. Elias is learning alot about water and what kind of animals live in what kind of water...he is still a little confused since the last two times we have gone walking by the river he has pointed to it and said" MOMMY dolphins!" I am pretty sure there are no dolphins in the Red River but hey you never know right:) Anyways I enjoy walking along the paths but Brandon and Grandma Mim are more adventurous. Before I knew it Annie and Daddy were running along the top of the dyke and Grandma and Elias were down next to the river. After our walk we decided to play at the park right by the green way. The kids had a great time, got to run off some energy and enjoy the fresh air. Good thing too because the weather has sucked since then!! Anyways here are some pictures of some of our wide open spaces here in ND.

Grandma and Elias looking at all the neat stuff on the way down to the river

Daddy and Annie walking on the Dyke

Phew, here come Elias and Grandma. Nice and safe( I worry..alot OK!)weeeeeee Annie and Daddy ran down the dyke. Annie loved it! She was giggling the whole time

Our busy week

Well this past week was one of the most hectic week in recent Eberhardt history. Elias started preschool, he had his regular OT appointment on M and W, we ( by we I mean Brandon's mom and brother) took down wallpaper in our dining room and painted it along with the bathroom, the kids' bunk beds came in,we re did Elias's room to accommodate the new beds, we had softball and to top it all off we were in the middle of getting ready for our garage sale. Uffda! So on Tuesday morning Mim came over and along with Jordans help took down our wallpaper that the cats had destroyed down, and painted the living room. Meanwhile Brandon and I took Elias to preschool and picked out new blinds(because the cats also destroyed those) out. Right after we picked up Elias, the kids' new bunk beds were delivered. They had them set up before I could even finish my delicious subway sandwich. As a side note, we are not bunking them for a while since the kids are not big enough for that, right now they are just set up as 2 separate twin beds. Anyways after nap time the first coat of paint was finished in the dining room. After the kids woke up Brandon took them to his mom's while she finished up the painting in the evening. By bed time we had our dining room back, I couldn't believe how fast and awesome her and Jordan got that project done. On Wednesday is was much of the same only this time with the bathroom. Throw in there Elias' OT appointment and softball in the evening and we had one busy day. Paradiso sponsors the cop softball team so after the game whoever can goes there for free chips and queso. Um hello why was I not informed of this sooner! After persuading Uncle Jordan to babysit Brandon and I headed to eat a TON of free queso. Don't tell Jordan but this will become a regular Wednesday ritual, I don't care that I was the only wife at a table full of male cops, I LOVE queso, even better that its free!!!!! Ok enough about that... Thursday we spent all day getting ready for the garage sale while Grandma Mim took the kids. I should mention that I took a 4 hour nap and Uncle Jordan and Brandon did all the work :) It was truly glorious! Friday and Saturday were our garage sale which went pretty good, a couple hundred dollars and a less cluttered house, worked out great! Uncle Jordan and Grandma helped watch babies/sit outside at the sale since Brandon was back at work. Its Sunday today and I am glad to just sit back and enjoy a day with my babies that doesn't involve driving to preschool,appointments,lowes or anywhere else! Here are some pictures from this week.

The wonderful cats handy work
Annie helping Grandma vaccum before painting

Annie helping Uncle Jordan take down wall paper

The new beds! The kids love them, they run and jump on one then go and play on the other one.

First Day of School!!

Elias was recently approved for special needs preschool due to his delayed speech as well as his sensory issues. For 4 days in the fall and 3 days in the summer for 3 hours a day he gets to go to pre school with other special needs kids and gets free speech and occupational therapy!! Since Elias has never been in day care we were really nervous as to how he would react with mom leaving him. Much to my disappointment he walked into class took one look around waved bye and was off. I stood by his locker until a teacher( who I think could tell I was upset due to his lack of meltdown) said to me" I think he is going to be fine, he seems to have adjusted pretty well" In other words, get out you crazy lady your kid is fine. So I sadly walked back to the car.... Don't get me wrong I am thrilled he wasn't stressed about the new situation but my I expect my son to need me and never want to leave my side until he is at least 15. I can't believe he is so independent already. All you guys who send your kids to daycare probably think I am crazy since your kids do just fine without you all day long but I was just expecting a meltdown OK, let me be delusional. So anyways Elias is now our little preschool boy with his big boy backpack and he just seems all grown up! He loves school and talks about it often! Here are a couple of pictures from his first day of school.

Pratically running out of the door to get to school

Elias saying bye to Daddy,he was so excited Brandon had to beg him to come back to give kisses

Elias walking into Pheonix Elementary, what a big boy!!