Lola's Dedication

The weather was just OKAY, but we made it to church for Lola's dedication. I think there's something with having my kids dedicated and bad weather since it was the same type of weather for Teague's dedication 2 years ago. We had a nice service, dedication and wonderful brunch put on by my mother in law (YUMMY FOOD)!!

The "Mohr" Family

The Dusha Family

Grandparents


Godparents & us

The Table of 4

Lola's beautiful cake

Lola's Dedication Gown - the same one I wore a few years ago...my mom made it and my grandma Sigri (whom Lola is named after) bought the material - so lots of meaning in this gown!

This is what happens when Mommy's home alone with the kids and is busy feeding Lola - Teague gets into Lola's diaper cream....

Try to sum it up...

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all were able to celebrate with your families like we were able to do. We especially cherished this Christmas, it's just too bad that sad news makes you realize how fortunate we all are. We had a great time, my kids got too many presents and I am ready to take down all the decorations and hunker in for the long rest of the cold winter. BRRRR!

So to summarize our life for the past month:
* Lola is working on getting two teeth. Yes, that's right, TWO teeth and she is JUST 3 months old. I am super sad about this as this is just another reminder of how old she is getting TOO quickly. Teague didn't get teeth until 6 months...
* Lola still does amazingly well sleeping all night. Sometimes up to 12 hours a stretch. CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT SLEEP HERE THIS TIME AROUND!! WOO HOO!
* Teague is so smart (we aren't being biased at all I don't think)!! He can count up to 15 (maybe higher, we don't know as he does these types of things - counting- when he wants and not when prompted. He counted all the fish tanks at Walmart and there just happened to be 15 of them. Ryan and I looked at each other wondering who taught him that - Tina of course. He also can do the whole alphabet - again, Tina. He uses phrases and words that we can't believe he knows or even knows the correct context to use them in, like me: "Teague, should we go eat at Pizza Ranch?", Teague: "THAT'S a GREAT idea!"
*So we are super proud and smug of our kids.

My dad has started his cancer treatments and he has started to feel the negative effects of them all. That's very hard for me to see, I don't want my dad to be in ANY pain. He is so brave and strong. What a guy.

I am happy to have Ryan home for the next week (well sort of, bball tournament takes precedence of course). We have a wedding on New Year's Eve, so that will be my first night away from Lola.

Tomorrow Lola gets dedicated at church. We hope the weather stays nice enough for it! Have a great week and a Happy New Year!

Eating breakfast on Christmas morning - with Papa's silly hat!

Lola trying to lick Nana's hand on Christmas morning - wants any and everything in her mouth to comfort her sore gums! =(

Teague loves his new fleece blanket!

Lola playing Baby Jesus in the kids' program - she looks so happy!

The 3 "wise men" - or 1 Shepard, Mary and Joseph??

Chase showing Teague Baby Jesus. The youngest person is to put Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve - Lola is just a bit too young for that!

Teague placing Baby Jesus in the manger.

The Table of 4!

The best I can get of my kids together these days. The novelty of holding/hugging/kissing his sister has wore off!

Celebrating at home with the 4 of us. This is my attempt at getting a picture of the family (I don't really count).

Listen closely, she actually giggles!

Lola just jabbering away instead of being tired for bed!

Sad News

I know I haven't updated much and I swore I would be good about that being I am home more now, but I have some sad news to share. My dad (my kids' Papa) was diagnosed with Stage III Esophageal Cancer on Monday. It's been some tough news to take in and honestly it hasn't really hit me yet. I think as adults we (at least I) feel the need to reverse roles with my parents at times and be the caretaker that they have always been for me. I just want to be there for my dad - but also my mom. They are both such strong individuals so hearing/seeing them crying is difficult right now. But most of all I can't help but to worry about the impact of this on my kids. My dad and Teague have a bond you don't see everyday between a grandson and Papa. Teague doesn't understand and I just pray that we never have to explain it to him because my dad is going to beat this. Please pray for our family and especially the medical team assigned to him as he is to see the oncology surgeon on Friday. In the meantime, please keep up to date with the Caringbridge website I have started for him: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/vernmohr

I hope to get some pictures on here soon and hope to feel back to bragging up my kids again in the near future.

...the most wonderful time of the year...

She just loves to smile at Daddy!

Papa's idea of a funny prank to play on Daddy!

Getting lots of "help" from Chase, Skylar and Teague decorating the tree in the basement!

Teague wearing Skylar's Jonas Brothers hat and reading the instructions to putting the mega blocks castle together!

Here is a picture of what I heard Teague yelling up the stairs to me while he and Lola were downstairs... "Mommy I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T CHANGE YOYA'S DIPE DIPE! TOO HEAVY!" So I ran downstairs to her sleeper unzipped and a diaper laying next to her.

Teague's favorite thing to do is "play on Teague's bed" - I think it's because it's the place where we keep his "guk guks" and he's not supposed to have one unless he is in bed (which happens about 50% of the time) and so I think that's why he likes to "play" there. He also loves looking at the pictures on my camera so we took one while "playing" on his bed. He thought it was great!

This is such a fun time of the year, especially with kids! We are having a good time getting the yard (me anyway) decorated and most of the house for Christmas! I thought Teague would be good about leaving Christmas ornaments, etc. alone since he was very disinterested in them last year, but he can't keep his hands off of anything "new" or "unusual" in the house. He takes the fake candy canes off of the tree and bites them and proclaims "yummy!" and they are again, fake.

Ryan has started bball and we are adjusting to our new normal now. You'd think I would get the hang of it year after year, but adding another kid to the mix has changed it for me again! Lola is doing AWESOME. She is like a new baby with the zantac. The chiropractor seemed to work, but only for a day or two and then she was back to fussing and crying. Within a day or two she was a new baby on the zantac! She is taking great naps and her night sleep is wonderful. I think I can count on one hand the number of times she has gotten up more than once and more and more she is sleeping all night and she is not even 3 months! God is totally paying me back after getting up NUMEROUS times a night with Teague for nearly a year!

I am running a 5K on Saturday, should be interesting just 10 weeks post-partum. I am worried I am going to slow my friend, Beth, down! I told her this summer I was signing up to do it to motivate myself to get back into shape post-baby. It's the only way I can stay "honest" to my goals is if I sign up for a race - if I pay for it I better get my money worth! ha!

Some new videos are below! In the meantime we hope you are enjoying this wonderful time of the year.

When asked, this is what Teague thinks his name is...

He has been hanging around his big cousin Chase too much, he copies EVERYTHING Chase says. Here are the newest things he has learned from Chase...

Lola's 1st Tea Party!

Lola went to her first of I am sure many tea parties on Saturday! It was a lot of fun and I might add that she looked so adorable! It was a Christmas Tea that they have every year at the Anne Bickle House in Glenwood. We went with my mom, sister, niece Skylar, and my Aunt Rita and all her children and grandchildren. It was such a special time with special ladies! I am, however, a bit disappointed as I gave this lady my camera to take a picture of ALL of us there (around 15) and it's not there, so the picture must not have "taken". =(

So happy and excited for her first tea party!

Before we left...

Lookin' classy, ladies!

When we were in Morris this past week they had a "mini holidazzle" parade. It was a gorgeous night and Teague loved it - the candy at least and even Lola was a happy girl!

Look at that happy girl in her too big snowsuit and Teague can't concentrate long enough to look at the camera for the picture!

Excited to see Santa? Nope, more interested in what kind of candy he had to offer!

Lola had her 2 month check up this past Wednesday and the dr. reported her as "perfect"! We couldn't agree MORE! She is pretty dang wonderful. She weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz (95th percentile) and was 24" (also 95th percentile)! Hooray, she has almost doubled her weight! Again, perfect.

The big basketball season begins tomorrow. Oye. I am a little nervous, I won't lie. I did, however, have a last hurrah of shopping today/evening alone. I can say now that I am done, except for ONE person, with Christmas shopping.

Tonight we also spent the evening at Ryan's parents home for a nice pre-Thanksgiving meal as Esther will be gone to visit Dana, et al for Thanksgiving. We are planning to go to Morris for the annual "Mohr Thanksgiving" which to date has approximately 50 people attending!

Teague being silly! He has my phone up to his ear and the charger in his mouth...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

My Cute Kids - A Pictorial Narration!

There isn't much to report (except that Lola has slept through the night a few times - Teague did that once at 6 months and not consistently until 10 months)! We can celebrate the small victories, right?! Both kids are doing exceptionally great and Lola has her 2 month appt on Wednesday so we will be sure to report what our little chunk of adorable-ness weighs in at! In the meantime here are some pictures from Ryan's phone that I uploaded and some other cute ones from the camera. Have a great week!

Shouldn't this be on a postcard or a picture hanging in our house?! This is Teague running through the fieldgrass on our property (on the way to see the cows I am sure)!

Cousins....ADORABLE! Chase and Teague looking in the water after a boat ride with Papa!

Lola in the hospital with her CSB/SJU hat. She even received a CSB (College of St Benedict) shirt in the mail from the alumni association as a subtle reminder that they hope she will enroll there in 18 years!

Teague actually thought his trick and treat bucket was a hat! We just about peed our pants laughing when we turned around to check on him. He was actually just looking out the window with this on his head. It was so CUTE!

My baby Lola as a duck!

BROBEE!!!! We got this costume for Teague to wear next year at Halloween for $4 (clearanced deal) and I don't think that this 4T costume will fit my big boy next year. In the meantime he loves to dress up in it though!

Wrestling with mama!

Lola's pouting lip (she still gets a little scared about certain noises!)

....but she can get happy just as quickly!

Hi sweet baby girl!

If you can ignore my singing this is a pretty sweet video of pretty girl Lola!

Warm Weather and it's November!

I am so glad to report that it is nearly 60 degrees outside...and it's November! I don't think it was ever this warm in October, was it!

We had a quick trick or treat - we went to the mall in St. Cloud with my sister and her family. It was a ZOO! It made me a bit panicked to know if I took my eyes/hands off of Teague for one minute he could get lost in that crowd! He got plenty of candy that he has enjoyed all week long. Lola slept the whole time in her little duck costume unphased by her first halloween adventure!

We have been spending about one or two days a week in Morris visiting my parents, playing with friends and Lola has been seeing a chiropractor a couple times a week. We aren't sure if she has reflux or colic, but I wanted to try something alternative to starting her on meds. It seems to be helping. She's a great night sleeper, many nights sleeping until 4:30 a.m. and sometimes later. I hope it continues, but I also know better than to think that it will always continue! ha!

Have a nice weekend!

Gabriella (HSM), The Werewolf (minus mask) and frog

Lola the adorable little sleeping duck

Enough trick or treating?

Pretty girl Lola smiling up a storm!

Teague swimming with Nana at the RFC

Teague lovin' the noodles more than swimming!

On the up and up

Well I am not feeling the best. I came down with influenza symptoms out of nowhere on Monday, went to the clinic on Tuesday and tested negative, etc. etc....it's just been a long, tiring, fever filled week for me. And let me tell you, it isn't fun when you are taking care of a baby in the middle of the night. Ugh. But I am hoping that I have turned the corner and hopefully the worst of it is over for me this season?! I can hope.

My dad came today to help me with the kids as Tina is closed for illness and I got a little weepy and overwhelmed last night thinking of taking care of both kids today while I had a fever. My dad took pity on me, came over so I could sleep the morning away, made us dinner and took Teague home with him tonight. Thanks Dad! I did take Teague to get his flu shot, I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to get it myself (due to fever), but Teague was so brave about it! After the shot he looked at me, frowned and said "she pinched"! He wasn't impressed by her "naughty" behavior I guess! So it is really quiet here now as Ryan took Lola to the volleyball game and Teague is at my parent's. I am actually leaving tomorrow afternoon for my parent's for the weekend as Ryan is gone to another basketball clinic. He is getting excited for the season to start, but I am feeling a bit indifferent about that!

Last night we took the kids to JCP to get some pics of Lola for her since she is 6 weeks. I wanted a good pic of the two kids together since Teague was less than cooperative at her newborn pics. There were some great pics taken and both kids were so smiley! I can't wait to get them back and post them. It's amazing how much Lola looks like I did as a baby!

Here are a ton of pics...Happy Halloween to all!

Hi there pretty girl!

My dad said that she gets a look of being petrified when Teague comes around, this wouldn't be the look, would it?!

Carving pumpkins while Daddy went to the football game. He liked it better than last year, but it was hard since I was holding Lola in the sling.

Lola hanging in the sling while carving pumpkins.

Teague with the finished product.

Finished product, try not to be TOO concerned about the two year old next to the butcher knife, okay?!

Hard to get the true look with the flash, but it will have to work I guess!

First bath both kids together (daddy was still at the football game, he's trying to prep me for basketball season). Teague loved it, Lola....hmmm you decide by the next two pics...

Yep, here I am busy taking pics and I catch this pic just in time. Look at how hilarious Teague thinks he is....

....and how petrified he is when Lola starts screaming her head off. Good, good times.