Bloomsday 2012

I have done Bloomsday for the last 5 years so when my dad suggested we walk it together I was like "sure, why not?!"  Well maybe because I am 31+ weeks pregnant and haven't been going to the gym regularly:)  He assured me we would mosey and enjoy the sights.  That was good enough for me!  Not my best time but we did it and had a lot of fun!  It was cool to not worry about time (which was 2:43) and if I had to go to the bathroom (which I did).  We had an Otter Pop after Doomsday hill and chatted like two old ladies:)  I had a blast this year with my daddy!  xo

Happy 6th Birthday Matthew!

Man, time flies!  I can't believe he is 6!  It seems like only yesterday we were living in Ohio and I felt like I was the last person on the planet who needed to have their baby.  I was 10 days past due and begging my doctor to induce me.  I went in Monday morning May 1st all ready to have the baby (I really had no birth plan but really just to have him) and 17 hours later I was so tired and mad because not only was he 10 days late, he couldn't even come on his induction date!  He was quickly encroaching on MY birthday so c-section it was!  At 12:57 am on May 2nd, 2006 Matthew Christopher Herzog came into the world weighing 8lbs 5oz.  He was the perfect baby (he really was!) and I thought "I got this motherhood thing!" :)  Well, maybe not quite down pat but I continually work at it!  He really is the sweetest, most loving boy and this morning I woke up to find him nestled between me and Chris.  Now that I know him, it really doesn't surprise me that it took surgery to get him out.  He is so independent but loves to be near us.  I am so lucky to be his mother and so happy for him on his birthday!

May 2nd, 2006

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

4th birthday

5th birthday

6th birthday

Busy yet very fun weekend!

Where do I begin!?  It seems like a whirlwind weekend:)  It started on Saturday with a double header soccer game (which the black bats played really well in) followed by a birthday party of a good friend.  By the time I got home on Saturday night I was pooped (exacerbated by the fact that I have been fighting this stupid cold for over a week:() But sure enough we woke up Sunday bright and early to go trout fishing with some friends...yes you read correctly, trout fishing.  I know doesn't seem like a Herzog thing to do but we are trying to broaden our horizons!!  Matthew caught a couple (I am sure with some close guidance), then it was time to go to Liv's first communion followed by baseball practice and then out to dinner with Liv's family and friends to celebrate!  She was adorable and was beaming all day!!  We managed to capture a couple of pictures of Matthew and his trout!  The crazy thing is that this week doesn't slow a bit!  We have two VIP birthdays and my parents are visiting! 

There are days when they love each other...

...and days when I question bringing a third child into this family because my other two fight so much!  I know it is just sibling stuff but man I can't stand to listen to them bicker!!  Anyway, luckily this post is about the first: them loving each other.  Last night as I was making dinner, I was watching them play outside in the gorgeous weather we have been having.  Then I noticed they were both swinging on the swing set.  Matthew had somehow linked the swings together so that they could both swing and he could pump for the both of them.  (Maggie isn't quite there yet...so hurry up and get here Mimi so you can teach her how!)  I thought I was going to cry because it was one of the cutest things I had ever seen!  I had to take photographic proof so in the future I can show them that there were days that they loved each other.  I was also proud at the problem solving skills Matthew had in thinking up a solution! 

Homemade Donuts...YUM

I made homemade donuts on Sunday and boy were they delicious!  I tad bit of work but worth every minute waiting for them to double rise.  I have always wanted to try and make donuts but what really made me do it was our friend/neighbor is very allergic to peanuts and can't eat at bakeries because there could be contamination:(  Poor guy...no 4 year old should have to deal with Hostess donuts his whole life so I was bound and determined to make the guy some safe donuts that were delicious!  I decided to try three different toppings and settled on glazed, cinnamon/sugar, and chocolate.  Chris wants me to try maple next time and I may try to fill some next time too.  They were all pretty decadent but my favorite was the glazed! Obviously not something you can do often but I figure whenever I get an order from the neighbor (and friend)...that is when I will make them!  FYI: I was told they were a hit in the Lofstedt household!  YAY!

Now It's Matthew's Turn...

I think because I spend so much time with Maggie I could go on and on about her but I can't forget my first born:)  It amazes me how much he has grown up this year.  I was looking at pictures of him from last year and he looks like such a young man now.  This is definitely bittersweet for me.  Of course I love seeing him grow into a young man but he is my first baby boy:(  He is currently playing soccer and baseball right now which is so great for him.  Thank god he inherited his father's genes because I have no sport coordination!  He loves it which is really all that matters.  And for a boy that seriously has boundless energy it is so good for him.  I do love this time of year for the vitamin D but also because Matthew could literally play outside all day and be happy.  He has always been super independent like that and I love that about him.  He told me the other day that I didn't need to wait for him in the school because he knew what our car looked like!  Haha I told him it was about me chatting with the other moms so there!!  Also, he is a reading machine!  He is at that point where he tries to read everything whether it is billboards or the TV.  Obviously Chris and I are very excited for him but now we have to be careful what we spell in front of him because he is catching on quick!  Much to Chris' delight he now asks to watch sports in the morning before school instead of cartoons and is obsessed with all things Messy (the soccer player).  He recently had a huge growth spurt and the size 6 jeans that I bought him are all high waters and he is growing out of his shoes like mad!  All glimpses of what it is going to be like to have a teenage boy.  I got some pictures of him at his last soccer game.  He has such a funny personality and loves to be silly.  I can't believe that he will be 6 in just a week...oh Lord:(

Maggie and her Hee Hiles

***Before I write about Maggie...I just want to let you know Miss Amy that there will be no minivans in the Herzog household!  Sorry to disappoint but I just cannot do it!  I know people who love them and I am sorry if it is any of my readers but nope not going to do it!  :)  I love my Expedition and this is as big as it gets before I start to downsize...***

Ok back to Maggie.  This girl seriously cracks me up on a daily basis.  Lately, she is ALL about princesses and dress up and spells and anything that is girly.  And she wants to do everything Matthew does (soccer, baseball, play in the dirt) as long as she can do it in her princess clothes.  I was at Michael's the other day and saw these dress up shoes.  I brought them home and you have thought I bought her a diamond necklace!  She loves them and wears them around everywhere.  She calls them her hee hiles (instead of high heels)!  It is awesome.  Yesterday, we rode bikes with the neighbors after school and she insisted on wearing her full princess get up while riding her trike.  She couldn't pedal really well but man she wasn't giving up! 

She is getting to be quite the little tap dancer.  She talks about it all the time and she dances around all the time.  Her balance has improved dramatically and she can do 90% of what the teacher asks.  I think her glasses have helped a lot too but watching her is really exciting!

The most recent development is that she no longer needs pull ups at night.  I am going to admit that I was a bed wetter so I was very careful not to make a big deal out of the at night potty thing.  Matthew told me about 6 months after he was fully trained that he didn't need pull ups at night and he was great.  Well Maggie has been trained for about a year (granted she was a whole year younger than Matthew when she was trained) and she still woke up with a wet pull up.  Then I started to notice that in the time we put them on after bath and went to bed (which is about an hour in between) she would have had peed in them...I asked her one time and she was like "yeah, I peed in my pull up!"  This is when I realized that she was just lazy and why not pee in them right?!  So I cut her off cold turkey and amazingly enough we haven't had an accident in 5 nights!   I figured I wasn't sleeping that well at night and getting up 14 times to pee anyway so why not try and see what happened to her.  Well she is my cold turkey kid.  So different than Matthew!  I am very proud of her though being 3 1/2 and not only potty trained but at night too.  She seems like such a big girl now and we have come so far with her.  She is so independent and says the funniest things.   The other day we were walking hand and hand and she said "Mom, isn't it great that we are best friends"  Seriously she melts my heart!