Sleeping Angel

We just had to share this hilarious picture of Cassidy. This was taken last night while she slept the night away peacefully. She lasted all of just a few nights in her big toddler bed. For reasons we do not know she has taken to sleeping on the floor. She will not sleep in her bed and every night and at naptime takes tigger lays her head on him, snuggles in with Mickey and asks to be covered up. She promptly snuggles in and goes to sleep. At least we only paid $10 for the bed she doesn't use. (After telling my mom about Cassidy's new sleeping arrangements, I found out that I too used to sleep on the floor when I was this age. Go figure she doesn't look a thing like me, but has soo many of my traits, boy do we have our work cut out for us!)

Warrior Dash Weekend

This past weekend we went to Minooka, IL so that Mom and Dad could run in the Warrior Dash. Dad did last year and they both decided to do it this year. It was much less muddy for the spectator area this time, which was nice for Becky, my babysitter, and me. Mom and I pre-race. Dad let me wear his Warrior hat, and everyone who saw me thought I was super cute, of course.

The pre-race photo of Mom and Dad, notice how very clean they look here.

Here I am helping Mom stretch out before the race.

Here is Dad getting down the cargo net, it was the third to last obstacle in the race. The entire race was 3.28 miles and included 10 obstacles, most of which were in the second half of the race, or so I was told. Someday I'm going to be in a race like this, and not just be watching. It looks like a lot of fun.

The second to last obstacle was jumping over fire. Mom was very tired and had to go back and get a better running start, because she wasn't sure she would clear the fire. Notice how clean mom still looks here. There is only one obstacle left, and it's the one that makes everyone get dirty.The final obstacle is a huge muddy/water pit that everyone has to get down in because there is barbed wire. So you crawl, swim, etc. Mom refused to put her head under water, but it didn't matter, she was still filthy. She was trying to finish the race strong, but kept sliding on the mud it was very funny to watch.Mom and Dad post-race. Notice how dirty they are compared to that first picture. Doesn't it just make you want to sign up for this race! Dad said the race was twice as hard as last years, and Mom said most of the obstacles were very hard because she is so short and they were made for tall people, Dad actually agreed with her. The majority of obstacles involved climbing up and over something, what a workout.Here I am with my babysitter, aka mom's friend, Becky. She was nice enough to come along so that Mom and Dad could both race at the same time. She is a great babysitter. It was very tiring for Becky and I to watch them race. I mean we sat in th sun while they ran in the shade. It's hard to cheer people on all day.

Here I am with Gretchen waking Dad up for father's day. We woke him up with a gift though so that makes it okay. Then while we snuggled, mom made waffles, what a great day! Later in the day we went out to eat with the Gerken's so I got to see all of them too, which was nice.

I am officially sleeping in my new bed since Friday, June 17. Mom snapped this picture one morning before I woke up, what an angel I am! We kept the crib up for a couple of nights to make sure it went okay, but now the crib is down and packed away. I love my new bed. Mom and Dad can't believe how big I'm getting and how big I look in my new bed.

On a side note this morning I really made mom's week and she wanted me to share why. Dad and I were getting ready to leave and mom thought I yelled back into the house, "where are you," which she was impressed by because it was a full sentence and clear as day. Dad thought it was weird that mom didn't get more excited, because I had actually said, "Mommy, I love you." Man mom has bad ears. Dad told her what I said and then I said it again, and she was over the moon with excitement. You see I'm a bit of a Daddy's girl and don't want mom to help with anything when Dad is around so this was SUPER exciting for her.

Well that's it for now. At our house we're gearing up for our vacation, 4 weeks from today we'll be on the way to Disney! You know Mom she thinks we better start packing now so we don't forget anything, oh boy!

Golf Pro

Mom found this great watering can for me. Now I can help water the plants on my own.

I decided to take a break from watering and prance through Daddy's garden. I love to run circles through it. I decided to post this picture to the blog so you could see his pretty garden too.Dad caught Mom and I relaxing and reading books one night before bed. We LOVE story time at night.
Now that Mom has Fridays off for the summer we get to go garage saling. We saw this cute patio set at one of the first garage sales we went to for $25. Mom is SUPER cheap and talked herself out of it. She then called Dad and Gramma to tell them about it. After several more garage sales and an hour of her debating the purchase with me, we went back and bought it. Luckily it was still there. We put it on our three seasons porch and we all love it! Best $25 spent in a long time at our house.We also bought these slippers and this winter coat for next year. Of course I had to try them on even though it was warm outside. Please don't call DCFS on my parents I wanted to wear this outfit.
Today, Mom, Dad and I went to the driving range so they could get some practice before they went golfing. They brought my stroller, some snacks and some books thinking I would sit and relax while they hit balls. Hello, did they forget who they were dealing with. Of course I wanted to join in. I started by stealing mom's clubs, but then they got me one of my own to borrow.

Daddy tried to help me with my swing
and so did Mommy. The hardest thing for them was showing me left-handed since that's the hand I prefer right now and the club that Daddy grabbed first.
I know, I'm adorable. Tiger Woods watch out. He started golfing when he was three, but I'm not even two yet. Mom and Dad think maybe I could get a college scholarship if I stick with it.
Mom and I found this at the store on Saturday. So now it's one of my early birthday gifts so I can take it on our trip to Disney World. I tried it out in the store so I'd be ready for the airport. I can wheel it or wear it on my back, it's so cool and even has the Disney princesses on it.

Well that's all for now. We'll update sometime next week with pictures of the Warrior Dash, that crazy muddy 5K with obstacles that Mommy and Daddy are running in next weekend.

Mommy's 5K and pool time

Well hello again everyone. Rather than wait a long time to update and have tons of pictures, I'll try and update more often.


Waiting for Mom to start her 5K. I had my snack and milk so I was ready for the festivities. So the other night Mom and Dad decided to try and make my bed into a toddler bed, but found out they didn't have a piece to do that, so my bed got lowered and we're on the search for an inexpensive toddler bed. I helped Daddy take it apart, which really means I lost two important screws and we have searched the house high and low and we can't find them whoops.
This is me helping with the bed.
Mom and her friend Abbey ran the race together. Here we are posing pre-race. They were both very nervous, it was mom's first 5K.
Abbey led us in some pre-race stretching, very important.
Mom finished the race in under 32 minutes, a time she was very excited about. Her official time won't be out for a few days, but she was pleased. The race started at 8:00 a.m. and it was already 86 degrees by that point and the route was entirely in the sun. Needless to say Mom was hot and sweaty when she finished. In two weeks we're heading to the WArrior Dash so Mom and Dad can run another 5K that includes a bunch of obstacles. It was a lot of fun and messy last year when Dad ran it so I'm looking forward to it again.
After the race Dad headed out of town for the night to hang out with friends. Mom and I went out to breakfast with friends and then decided to have a pool party to cool off. Mom sat with her feet in the pool while I played. It was a great way to relax before lunch. I haven't been in the pool since last year so I forgot what a swimming suit was. I tried to take it off because I thought I had to be naked like the bathtub...whoops.

I want to be a runner like Mommy and Daddy so I tried on Mommy's running shoes after we finished in the pool. They look like they fit and I'm ready to go. Mom and Dad say I have to wait a few years for the kids runs, but I'll start training now. We'll update again soon, because now Mom's summer work schedule starts, which means 4 long days, but Fridays off to play with me, yippee!

NOah!

Cassidy has been so busy lately that she has asked me to update the blog for her. In true Cassidy form she is bossing her mother around. So here goes. First and foremost you might be asking why is the title of this blog update, "NOah" well because that is a phrase we hear entirely too often in our house. Apparently noah is much more fun than just plain no. Sometimes Cassidy will have a 10 minute conversation with you and all she says is NOah. Last night after dinner while sitting at the table she said NOah about 25 times and with several different tones and with different gestures. It was quite hilarious. I'm not sure who this NOah character is, but I certainly cannot wait until he leaves. We'll try in the next few days to get some video of her saying it, because it is quite cute.

Cassidy discovered the amazing little thing we call an iPod. She was simply fascinated by this little invention.

Packing to go to Dixon for a long weekend for Ellie's graduation. We thought there was room for Cassidy inside the luggage. She thought it was hilarious.

On Friday we headed to Dixon for Ellie's graduation from 8th grade. We met Jenni, Kim, Jason and the girls for coffee and then headed to school to surprise mom. Boy was she surprised when we all walked in. Isaac, who is in her class, was absolutely horrified to see us all in his classroom. I think he was very embarrassed, as he didn't even acknowledge knowing us. Cassidy had been to Gram's classroom before so she just made herself at home in the kitchen.

Carly took the empty desk and became one of th students just like that. We had trouble getting her to leave because she really liked school. She wanted to go to school again right after we left.

Cassidy was checking out all the kids eating their snack.

We stayed for story and snack time and then headed out to the park.

A lifesize toy, Cassidy really liked this one.

Now Molly is big enough to sit at the little kids table for snack time. Notice Gretchen parked on the floor waiting for food to fall. Amazingly she usually beat the other bigger dogs to the food.

I can't believe that our little Ellie is going to high school. This was her at graduation.

Always a favorite at Gram and Bakka's, playing the piano. The girls are getting so good at now.

Helping Gramma make pancakes one morning.

Sidewalk chalk on the porch. Jason made a nice memorial day picture, and then girls promptly wiped their hands on it so they would have chalk hands to play with.

Such a nice, long weekend to kick back and relax.

Oh where is my pink ball...oh where is my pink ball...oh where oh where....is my pink ball (sing to the tune of "Oh where is my hairbrush" by the veggie tales.) Those silly girls kept losing this ball and insisted on us helping..we found it once..now it permanently resides in the flower bed somewhere, maybe with the lost easter egg from the Easter egg hunt this year.

Helping Gramma pull weeds so they could plant more flowers.

Molly really wanted a banana and she fed herself a whole big chunk. Notice Kim's surprised/nervous face.

More helping Gramma plant flowers.

Cassidy threw her plant in the pot and then proceeded to bury it under dirt. Not sure if she thought this was planting or if she was trying to prove to Gramma that she should not be asked to "help" in the future.

The buried flower.

Who knew this little wall in the Strock house could prove to be so much fun. The kids including Doug and Andrew ran around in circles around it until they all fell down. Their were screams, giggles, and lots of fun for all even the spectators.

Celebrating Carly's 3rd birthday. Boy does she look grown up. She blew the candles out before we even sang, so we had to redo it.

Playtime at Jenni and Brian's on their swingset. The kids loved playing outside there.

Two little peas in a pod, trying to share this super cute chair.

We just might have a little drummer on our hands here. She really likes the drums....not sure how we feel about that.

Everyone was relaxing watching a movie before we had to head back to Gram and Bakka's for bedtime. What a great and comfy movie room the Strocks have.

Notice the different outfit, the next day after planting as we walked by the pot Cassidy grabbed some dirt and threw it on top of her flower again. I guess she really wanted it buried.

Waiting for everyone to get ready to walk down to the Memorial Day parade.

Out for a walk before the parade. Carly is trying to keep her shorts up, though it does look questionable.

Waiting for the parade to come by.

Emily wasn't feeling the best this weekend so we didn't get to see her much, but she did come to the parade and shared her wagon while she was there.