Lauren's 1st day of Pre-K!

Lauren started Pre-K last week and she is loving it! You can't tell from this picture, but she has a Tinkerbell backpack. Kevin and I let her pick it out :) The other day when I went to pick her up, I peeked into her classroom, but no one was in there. Then, coming around the corner were the kids, all holding the same string and walking in a line back to their classroom. It was nice enough weather that they were able to go outside and play! It is so cute seeing all the little kids in school. Sometimes, it doesn't seem that long ago when I was just a little kid in school myself. Now here I am driving my little cutie to her preschool.

Lauren and Emma

Emma and Lauren love snuggling together! Someday when Emma is older, I will definitely let them go "nite nite" together. :)

Halloween at the Westerhaus home :)

A big sisterly squeeze! Lauren had quite the full bucket of candy, books, other gadgets again this year!

A handsome hubby with the girls

A very beautiful Cinderella, and an adorable little black cat.

Jump around, jump around, jump up jump up and get down!

Another jumper in the house! What a cute smile hidden behind the Nuk too! I laugh at this picture because behind Emma is Kevin and I's very SMALL closet. Also, the mess of mine on the floor was due to losing an earring one day, in which I proceeded to pick up clothes and toss them out of the closet in a mini-rage...I grabbed them and just threw them back onto the floor. LOL! Eh, most of it is maternity stuff anyway that doesn't even fit - who cares right?! Oh, and yes, I did find the earring. And yes, the pile o' crap will be picked up soon.

Halloween is near!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty! I love that I came across this cute fleece Halloween costume for Emma. It will be nice and toasty to wear when we hit the streets next weekend and take big sister Lauren trick-or-treating!

Emma...7 months old

Woah! Where has the time gone? My baby will be 8 months in just a few days (sniff sniff). She scored a new toy (enough of the hand-me-downs Mama!) - it's a little rock band set, which actually surprised me because it's the cutest toy. The sounds and songs are pleasant, and the instruments are adorable. Needless to say, Lauren and I also enjoy playing with it as well.

Watch out world! Emma was belting out a tune into the microphone.

Yay! Thanks Mama for the new fun toy!

Emma Krumbees

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day to visit the orchard and hang out with my 2 favorite girls. Lauren LOVED climbing on the straw. She asked politely, "Mommy, can I climb on that?" Which I responded, "OF COURSE!" I'm lucky I have a polite 2 year old! She's such a sweetie.

Taking a ride in the train with friend Addie!

Tire swings are fun! Especially when they are horseys!

Overall we had a wonderful time. Not the most family friendly place - they didn't allow strollers in their buildings. K, how am I supposed to help my 2 year old in the restroom while holding my 7 month old? Seriously.

Are you ready for some football?!

It's that time of year again! Nope, not Fall. FOOTBALL. I guess I'll just have to get used to the fact that my laptop will now be hijacked every Sunday.

Newest Westerhaus Family Photo

At Joe & Lisa's wedding - what a beautiful place! We had a great time!

I'm a dancer!

Lauren started a Ballet, Tap & Tumbling class a few weeks ago. She LOVES it (and so do I)! I snapped a few pictures of her before her very first class. Here she is practicing her ballet moves, and practicing "heel, toe" tap moves!

Lauren's class. All the girls are checking themselves out in the mirrors!

Ballet time!

Tumbling!

Lauren and Emma

It is so hard to believe that Lauren will be turning 3 years old very soon. I'm just amazed at how she can be so active the entire day. Would love to inject some of her energy into my veins! She is sweet enough to let Mama snap some pictures of her every now and again between playing! "I'm trying to sit up Mama!" Funny this picture was taken about 2 weeks ago, and Emma has come a long way since then. She can sit up nice and tall and unsupported. Next up on her list is crawling. She is scooting around quite a bit and can move herself backward and sideways. It won't be long before she figures out how to go forward, and then look out world!

I really need to keep in mind where I am taking pictures of the girls! I have to laugh, because SO many of these pictures are in bedrooms - you'd think this is the only place we hang out! I guess I just seem to have my camera most handy when we are in the girls' rooms or in our bedroom.

Just for Tara...

Emma was chillin' with her jungle friends today, and she is also sporting a cool blue band-aid after getting her flu shot. Look at that smile; I just love it!I love my sister. She is going to make sure this blog stays updated by reminding me to post more pictures! Love you T!

State Fair '09

Lauren's first bus ride! Auntie Tara, Lauren and I headed back to the fair and had such a great time. Here's Lauren (holding on for dear life...LOL!) getting ready to go!

Lauren would not stop talking about the merry-go-round. She just loves picking out her very own horse and going for a ride!

A look at what's to come...

A little blurry (oops!). This is Lauren at her dance class open house. She'll be starting Ballet, Tap, & Tumbling next week! This of course is during the Tumbling portion of the class, where they danced with pom-poms.

"Wow! Really Em?"

I'd love a video to go along with this photo! Kevin took this while I was at work. Obviously the girls were having a good time!

Ok, a few days late, but HAPPY 6 MOS EMMA!

Lauren just loves her little sister SO much. It is adorable!

I can hardly believe little Emme Ann is 6 months! Wow! You are a bright shining light in our world and we love you to pieces.

Resurrection of the blog

~ Lauren on the "truck ride" with her friends Katie & Will ~

I got annoyed with this darn "blogging" thing last fall, but I'm back again to give it another go. Wow - look at my baby girl, Lauren, who isn't a baby girl anymore. It is so amazing how fast she has grown since her 2nd birthday. Today we went to the Carver County Fair with my friend Deb and her kids. It was such a great time! I think Lauren had a bit too much fun, as she had a hard time settling down this evening for bed. Oh well, it only comes around once a year so I'm glad she enjoyed it again. Next year Emma will be walking and trying to keep up with her big sister Lauren ~ there is so much joy in watching these two grow up.