oh what do you do in the....??

never ending wintertime? when it wont stop snowing or being windy everyday?

ok. its not that bad. but i seriously feel like we still live in saskatoon sometimes, this winter has been SO long for me for some reason. anyways. here's some pics of how we've been spending the (hopefully) last few- stuck inside- days of almost spring:)

playing spiderman and island girl

jumping off the bed onto every blanket/pillow we own

ozzie is getting some sweet air in this one

okay last one- the split jump

modelling new gumboots

dreaming of days we can wear them outside

drink in unison from matching sippy cups while making stare faces

horsey rides when daddy comes home

clearly a really soggy diaper makes this way more fun

We also took a spontaneous trip to Great falls this past weekend to get the grump out of me mostly. We stayed at a new Holiday inn express with a sweet indoor waterslide and kid area. oh and don't be fooled by ozzie's sad face in this pic, he was beyond thrilled the entire time, he was just mad i was blocking the tv. We also found a restaurant called Salad Creations, and fell in love, our whole family loves salad! and of course we got in some shopping, mostly stuff for the kids room, but a few trinkets for the baby and some yummy new fabric for me to dive into. All in all, Good hotel, good food, good shopping, it was a much needed get- the heck out of lethbridge- away!

other than that, i'm DYING for some spring weather so i can get on with the my 90 projects i have planned between now and the baby coming. the list goes like this:

a) finish sanding and painting the kids 10 dollar beds that i got and put them together so ozzie can finally get out of his crib

b) paint and decorate the kids room and the babys room

c) sand and paint the awesome vintage dresser i found

d) finally hang our family pictures in the Living room before we have to change the pictures in the frames

e)make a baby quilt and maybe a new nursing cover( yikes, i'm not a sewer) but i have good instructions on the tutorial so we'll see how it goes

f) if time and my sanity allows-potty train the ozzie

oh and here's the first and potentially last pic of my prego belly@ 25 weeks. i'm not counting down yet, but it ain't gonna get pretty from here on in. i'm predicting biggest baby yet....shudder.

disney mania

*** WARNING- SUPER long Travel log- if you don't read any of this, no worries.***

so we took off last monday for Disneyland and let me just say what a FUN trip it was! First of all, my mom had 19 billion ( or something like that) airmiles saved up and so as our Christmas gift she was able to fly my whole family (us, my bro and his kids, and her) all to California for free! plus she decided to use even more airmiles to pay for our hotel accommodations too for the whole week! it was amazing! our hotel alone would have been $299 a night, plus it was right across the street from California adventure(the other half of Disneyland) so the location was the best! We could have never afforded to go without that huge help, so thanks again mom a million times over!

We had so much fun, we did 3 days at Disneyland/ California adventure, and one day down at sea world, and a couple days shopping and such!

Our first day i was in heaven, from the warm temperatures, to actually hearing birds chirping outside our window the day started out perfect! I'm positive the kids didn't know what to expect, and as soon as we all saw Mickey it started to come to life!

greta was so happy to see the castle, she wanted to go in the minute we got there

It was so fun how random characters would just stroll down the street totally in character like they had somewhere to go, it was fun for the kids to be surprised of who was gonna show up next. like Cruella Deville for example, or Mr. Incredible.



We started off the rides with a huge hit, the Buzz lightyear ride, where you get to shoot Zurg and all his alien guys. The Buzz was really cool and animated, and actually moved and talked and gave us our mission, Ozzie's eyes were huge, the whole time it was so cute! then he got to shoot buzz guns, so needless to say it was his favorite ride for sure.

i love his little face in this one, he was SO happy!

later that day greta got to fulfill her dream of meeting tinkerbell at pixie hollow. this was so fun for us, Ozzie was asleep in the stroller with grandma and so we just waited in line with greta. she was so excited and believing about all of the fairy stuff she saw, and she was convinced that the closer we got to tinkerbell the smaller we were getting from all the pixie dust. all of the grass and flowers were getting so big! It was cute, such a fun age to take her there when she still believes it!

we spent the rest of that first day at toontown with goofys house and such, and fantasy land. and then by about 6:30 called it a great day, and headed for The Cheescake Factory for dinner. For anyone that hasn't been there, it is a MUST. So good, and so much better than the cheesecake cafe...sorry. We ate so much but had to to get cheesecake of course, so we brought it back to our room and had peanut butter chocolate heaven cheesecake for breakfast the next day. Doesn't get much better than that for a prego i don't think:)

The next day we wanted to take advantage of the decent weather because we were expecting rain so we decided to go to the California Adventure park which is right beside Disneyland. It was fantastic! i may have even liked it better. They had a whole world dedicated to "a Bugs life" and the line ups were way shorter everywhere, and it just seemed easier to get around and not so crowded. Ozzie's highlight was seeing "McQueen and Mater" in the flesh, very cool.

Chip and dale! Greta asked them if they were Alvin's cousins:)

A bugs life- land, so cute and fun!

Ozzie HAD to drive everything he could get his hands on, which made for a bumpy ride, and even a bit of whiplash i think, but he loved it!

This was one of many classic spinny rides, but the kids never got sick of it. love greta's face, she had so much fun with her cousins!
Don't know what we would have done without grandma on this trip! she babysat, took turns on rides, paid for too many things, and made it all possible! It was so fun to see the kids get to spend so much time with her, thanks again momma SO much!!

SULLY!! Greta was sad he was too big to sign her book, but went in for a hug anyways!

The Tower of Terror. I just had to show that the kids and Daddys actually went on this ride. It is super spooky, and drops from very high heights, i couldn't believe greta didn't spaz. Dick said she was laughing the whole time.

We decided to stay late this night until the world of color show was on, and it was totally worth being cold and waiting an hour for it to start. I can't even describe how awesome it was, but if you ever go to Disneyland it is a MUST SEE!!!

The giant Mickey ferris wheel that ozzie affectionately called the "Rainbow Ride" was really awesome at night!

We took a disneyland break the next few days, did some shopping, went to Midevil Times for dinner one night which (again) is hard to explain, but was quite the experience, and then headed to Sea World.

lego-land

We loved midevil times, even though ozzie had to sit on my lap the whole time and peed through his diaper on me. It was awesome. Lots of great food, no cutlery, lots of choreographed violence, horses, cheesy music, and cheering! The kids, and Dick were REALLY into it. my poor mom sitting right beside him. I think Kaiya actually was the loudest one in our whole section! good times.

The kids and the sleeping polar bears

SHAMU?? I actually missed the first part of the show, so i dont know if this is really shamu or not? Whomever it was, it was great! Seaworld was really cool. About an hour and half beautiful drive to Sandiego but totally worth it and a nice break. The highlights were the emperor penguins, ginormous walrus', dolphin show and shamu show. The kids got to feed some bat rays which was awesome, and they loved watching the sea lions eat too.

We had a lot planned for our last day at Disneyland so we started out early. The kids loved the Toy Story mania. they saw Jesse, and Woody, and Mr. Potatoe head and all sorts.

Matching Cheesy Grins

Cousins in a box for sale!

We had planned to take just the girls to "Ariel's Grotto" which is a special lunch where you get to meet at least 4 of the princesses. Greta and Kaiya were really excited, and i was happy to sit and eat, instead of waiting in 2 hour line ups just to meet one or two of them. It was fantastic! But before i show a few pictures from our lunch, i wanted to show what Dick and Ozzie did while we were in there. Daddy bought one of these:
And let Ozzie have free reign.
There is hilarious video of ozzie eating it, but for some reason its not uploading right, but i'll put it on here one of these days. priceless. he is such a savage.

Back to our Princess Lunch... Ariel was waiting at the front to greet everyone, and Greta asked her why she wasn't wearing her tail and sea shells?

It was seriously so awesome to sit and relax and have the princesses go from table to table visiting everyone, instead of the line ups. Not to mention the food was really good! gretas favorite was belle for sure. she loved her dress and hair the most. And the only one we didnt see was jasmine, whom greta said was probably out with Aladdin somewhere:)

the girls were so cute, and had so much fun together!

Before we left we had one more run in with a few Characters like Stitch, whom my kids really love, and of course a picture in front of the Castle! The fireworks that night were by far the best ones i've ever seen live. All done to music and such, it was a great way to leave Disneyland!

We left one last day to pack and shop, and Greta really wanted to go to the beach. We picked Newport because it was the closest to our hotel, and it was gorgeous! Greta could have stayed and picked shells all day. All in all, a great time. And it was SO much fun to go with my Brother and his family and my mom. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without them! Till next time.

greta joy- unplugged

some background. sometime last year Greta discovered the movie "The Chipmunks the Squeakual" or whatever it's called. She. Loves. It. In the show i guess they sing quite a few "pop" songs in chipmunk fashion( i've never really watched it). So in the summer last year she would frequently, (and not quietly) present the whole neighborhood her "Shows."

You may recognize the songs even though not entirely accurate lyric wise:) These make me giggle, i love my little star!

gems

i found a few little gems stashed on the camera roll on my hand me down i-phone. they needed to be blogged about.

greta joy. this picture is so her. Hair tossled and un-done, wearing a shirt that i've tried to pack away a million times because it is too short, and yet it somehow manages to find its way back into her wardrobe. big beautiful brown eyes that never seem to look at the camera, and the sweetest smile possible.

i'm really hard on greta i think. not too sure why? i have to constantly remind myself she's only 4 because sometimes she does NOT act like it...at all. maybe it's because she's the oldest, or a girl, but i see so many similar characteristics in our personalities, that i know that is why we butt heads often. I expect a lot from her, and 99% of the time she delivers. but i know i need to ease up and really give her more credit for being a good sister, an obedient daughter, and a very spiritually in-tune little child of God. she says the most meaningful prayers every day. like - blow me away- exactly what needs to be said- kind of prayers. i'm so grateful for her, and even though we're both excited for her to start school in the fall, i will miss her at home so much. and i love being her mommy every day.


Oz. or what i like to refer to as the cutest non-little boy in the world. he's my baby(for now) what can i say? I have the hugest soft spot for him, and if he does something bad(which he rarely does) he usually gets away with it in an instant. due to his adorable talking, slight lisp, huge snowman belly, and those eyes. oh man, those eyes get me every time.
i love this pic because he's a) in my bathroom and most likely just pulled one square of toilet paper off the roll and threw it in the toilet and flushed b) he's wearing a shirt that guaranteed he picked out for the day because he never lets me pick out his clothes anymore, and c) he's wearing one of the many toques daddy has made for him, and he LOVES them and wears them around the house all day until he gets sweaty.
if i could freeze ozzie at this moment in his life i would. i love how excited he gets about anything green, or how independent he wants to be, or how he's quick to say i'm sorry first and give greta a hug, even when she has been the one in the wrong. love him. 2 and a half. prally about 40 pounds. still my baby for a few more months:)

Daddy Hartmut Jahn. ( as Greta calls him) I still don't think she gets that we have other real first names. anyways, this pic is a gem to me because it shows dick's healthy addiction to Monavie, his lovely overgrown McDreamy hair doo, and his devotion in going to church meetings after almost 12 hours of work, in the late hours of the day. I'm not gonna get all mooshy here. but sometimes i feel like we're still in university and just first dating. i really get those excited feelings to see him, and laugh at all of his ridiculous jokes, and even try and get out of jammies by the time he comes home from work:) seriously though, he. is. the. best.

now, neither he or I will ever claim that he's a romantic. but he is thoughtful, and brought down 2 glasses of sparkling apple juice (champagne) for the rose ceremony on the bachelor the other night. and he lets me sleep in on his one day of the week that he gets the chance to sleep in.
i could go on.

needless to say. i'm feeling very blessed today. and i can't leave out this little baby in my belly either, who just tonite i believe made his/her presence known with the first kick that i could feel. life is flying by, and i'm so grateful for the moments i get to remember how blessed i truly am.

3 strikes

Strike one: Greta made it all the way into the library bathroom stall, and then pee'd her pants standing right in front of the toilet.

Strike two: Ozzie ran excitedly down the drive-way to show me an icicle he found. Before i could slow him down he face planted on the cement, and broke his icicle.

Strike three: I just became fully aware that the only jeans i like and that fit me these days, have a growing hole right in the front of the crotch.

time for bed. i'm so out.

i forgot...

the 3 things i always seem to forget about being pregnant, that never cease to amaze me:

3. How stupid you get

2. How itchy you feel

1. How annoying it is to have to go pee so bad and then....trickle.


:)

Fooky

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile cause everyday there is something new. But lately, Ozzie is hilarious. His words and sentences kill me. seriously. I forgot how stinkin cute this phase is. maybe cause Greta was talking so clearly at an early age, it seems like a million years ago. ANYWAYS, back to me little ozzie.

Some of our favorites over the past bit are:

"Fooky, Fooky, Haoween fuff" - Spooky, spooky halloween stuff

"I come, Ba-yeah"- I come , Ballet. He says this anytime i take greta to pre-school or lessons. so cute.

" Carry you"- Whenever he wants you to pick him up, or carry him somewhere

" Greda, eat it"- If i ever give him anything to eat that he's not into, or doesnt want to finish, he very convincingly says, "greda, eat it." over, and over again.


Also, he is 100% obsessed with the color green. Like i dont even know how he knows his colors already, but he knows green, and blue. but asks for green EVERYTHING. if its not in a green bowl, with a green spoon, and a green cup, he wont touch it. He only plays with he green marbles, green blocks, green choo choos etc. so weird and cute.

also, hes been so sick this past month. He had the flu when i was in NY. then he got croup a few days after i got home and its been non-stop. but whenever he's so sick he says, " Medice. mommy. better." meaning, give me some medicine already woman so i can get better. haha. what kid asks for medicine? I had to take him to the ER one night cause his croup was really bad, and he acted like it was Christmas morning the whole time we were there, running around, playing peek a boo, dancing. it was ridiculous. i'm sure thats why it took us 3 hours to get some steroids for him and be on our way.

one more ozzie moment, he was this adorable hamburger for halloween, and now he thinks it is a coat substitute. anytime we go out he says, "hamburger?" cause thats the coat he wants to wear. i give in sometimes, just cause he's adorable.