Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Celebrating Jimmy James!

We had a great time celebrating Jimmy this past weekend and having the new house with plenty of space made the party that much better! 


Waiting for our guests to arrive is hard for these two --- Isaac climbed up on the table to help himself to the snacks! 
 

Aren't these two adorable? 
I think they are gonna be trouble! 
 

Kids table --- I think James had a record number of jello jigglers --- made in green, blue and red - thanks again Aunt Amy!  


Buffet in the kitchen --- loving my new dishwasher :) 
 

So much space --- tables inside and outside  :) 


Mommy, James and Daddy --- 
he's improving on the smile for the camera! 
 

Blowing out the candles --- 
 

Another successful cake making experience... Patrick "drew" it out on the cake and I filled it in. 
 

George and Isaac both slept through  the singing and the cake --- I was amazed! 
We have the sucker/ blower vent in the hallway and I turned it on and it was like the crowd wasn't even there! 
 

Opening presents on the deck 
 

Uncle Patrick giving zerberts to Leo 
 

Lots of playtime at the park - so easy to go back and forth! 
There was a small collection of beverages right at the edge of our yard, I guess people decided bringing a drink to the park was not allowed... :) 
 

Buppa and Jack were cleaning up at the end of the teeball game --- Isaac climbed in too! 
 

Jimmy trying out his stretch Leonardo! 
 

Isaac and Grandma eating pretzels :) 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Jimmy James is 3!

Happy birthday to Jimmy James! 


Still not great at smiling AND looking at the camera... excited to see what "school picture day" produces!!!! 
 

Mid-motion --- Patrick says he looks like a sasquatch! 
 

Our sweet Jimmy! 


Getting his blood pressure taken --- he was facinated! 
 

Eye check --- kept winking back at Dr. Drews - pretty funny! 
Also - while we were waiting he was reading me the eye chart behind him... 
Good news, he knows his letters and clearly can see!  


Waiting for his flu shot - nasal spray... 
He was so good and did everything they asked. 
Don't his legs look super long?  I think this kid is gonna be tall --- 
3 yr old stats: 35 lbs and 41 inches tall! 

McFarland kids

Last weekend we had no plans (you know, other than chasing the kids around while still trying to unpack and organize!) so we stayed in town and did some fun local things with some of our favorite locals and enjoyed the beautiful weather together!


Isaac was "helping" Fletcher fall asleep by rocking and singing* to him.  It was a little louder than Fletcher might have liked, but it was pretty adorable! 
(* singing was actually kind of a slightly off-key "aaahhhhh" melody)


We went to a local apple orchard and picked apples. It was perfect with the kids, not too crowded (we were also there 10 minutes after they opened!) with wagons, and plenty of space to run around. 
 

Patrick and the boys were drooling over this cool truck! 
 

Jimmy looking for airplanes 
 

We ALL took turns pulling the wagon! 
 

Isaac wanted to MOVE! 
 

"Jimmy, put your arm around your brother... WITHOUT choking him!!" 
 

Dads, kids and apples! 
 

Family photo! 
 

Knapp family photo! 
 

Can you see the love?!? 
 

Apples that are already on the ground are totally up for grabs, right?!? 
 
 Macey could be a poster child for the orchard --- so cute with her piggies and the apple! 


Sunday was the McFarland Fest parade. We were able to walk to the route from our house --- so fun! 
 

The kids got more candy than I have ever seen at a parade --- and ate a ton of it. 
We figured it was a short parade so just let them eat their way through it. 
Isaac was doing laps around the chairs and every time I saw him, his sucker was a different color - apparently he would drop it on the ground near Patrick, so he (Patrick) would just open another one and trade him for the dirty one. It was hilarious (but glad we were on the same page with our parenting!) 

 

This should have been a video -- Macey was dancing along with the band - so cute! 

My last picture was going to be a picture of the kids with the whole pile of candy in front of them... but we didn't take it when we got home and now I think they have forgotten about the candy, so I don't want to remind them! 

Friday, September 18, 2015

Ironman 2015

Last Sunday Madison was once again overtaken by thousands of amazing athletes and their family and friends for IRONMAN! 
We went down after naptime to cheer on the runners on State Street. 


James was pretty excited about the parade-type atmosphere and enjoyed cheering on the runners. 
We put Isaac in the baby carrier and shockingly he also was entertained enough by the action and the endless supply of peanut butter crackers, popcorn and pizza to stay put for over two hours!  


3 of our favorite IRONMEN and their boys (minus Isaac who was strapped to the camerawoman!) 


Family photo! 
 

I flipped Isaac around to the front when we got Ian's pizza so it was easier to feed him and he was all about giving me kisses.  Connie and I were laughing so hard - she grabbed my phone to capture his excitement :) 
 

Fingers in the mouth, up my nose, slobbery kisses galore! 
 

It was hysterical and a little bit gross all at once! 
(Please note my very tightly pursed lips compared to his open mouth!) 
 

He thought he was pretty funny too!


And in case the still photos weren't enough --- here is a quick video! 





Thrilled that we were able to watch Andy cross the finish line for the 5th year in a row (!) from the comfort of our own bed. 
Way to go IRON ANDY! 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Growing Up too Fast!


 We celebrated Jack's 4th birthday over Labor Day weekend. It was an awesome party complete with a bounce house and slip n slide and big screen outdoor viewing of the Badger game!  


The bigger kids were pretty good about giving the little ones time in the bounce house - but this was a rare moment where it was just Isaac and Leo (can you see Leo peeking his head into the picture?!?) 
 

The slip n slide was a huge hit --- especially with Grandpa Ted running the hose at the top of the hill. 
James loved running up to the slide and then dropping and army crawling down the entire thing. The picture looks like he gets it - but it was much less graceful! 
Isaac on the other hand would run right onto the slide (whether there was a kid coming or not) and just run until he fell on his butt and then slide until he stopped. 
Everyone was pretty impressed he didn't hurt himself! 


Everyone decked out in Badger gear. John and Isaac were playing after dinner  - Isaac was doing his best to get his hands on every empty beer bottle possible. (world's greatest teether!)  


Brother stare down over the cake on Jimmy's lap ---  :) 
 

How cool is this? 

After Labor Day James had his first day of preschool. 
He was pretty excited and super pumped about his backpack! 
 

Daddy getting him ready to walk into the building. 
 

Checking out the sign  - he looks so cute and little! 


Love this picture --- his backpack is HUGE! 
So far he is really enjoying preschool - everyday he asks if it is a preschool day and super pumped to go. When I ask him how his day was his answer this week, "ummmm... it was pretty great!!!!"