Some recent pics

Enjoying zoolights - It was a COLD night, but a good time was had by all. (above - the kids trying to stay warm in the stroller with many layers and hoping for hot cocoa. below - Poppa is testing out his glasses)
Sitting on Santa's lap - Amazing to finally have 2 kids smiling in the picture:)
Mom and I found these hats in Grandpa Pal's basement and couldn't resist having all the boys wear them for present time on Christmas Day. And yes - they are packed up and ready for next Christmas.
Building a snowman with Geepa while Nettie was sledding down the hill.
Nettie loved sledding - Thanks to Geema and Geepa for the fun sleds for Christmas!

Geema taking a run down the hill

Finally an update...

I think I am getting better at updating, but it has still be over a month, although I am going to have to send the link out to family and friends again to welcome in the new year - Yes, Julie Kay Marie I am talking about you:)

Happy New Year to everyone! It is nice to be in another new year although I tend to not make resolutions anymore, at least not once a year. I am working on continually improving myself - organization, working out, etc... Nettie learned about resolutions this year and had a list of about 10, all of which seem to have gone by the wayside, except watch less TV, we have control over that one!
This is going to be another busy year in the Wismer household. Nettie has been attending private kindergarten this year at her daycare. We have noticed some changes in her writing, and she is trying to read more. She enjoys going to school most days, but we think that most days it is more day care that school, so we have decided that she will attend kindergarten again in the fall at our home school. She should be starting kindergarten next year anyway, so the last year has been good preparation and will hopefully only help her to succeed. We attended an open house and learned about what she will be doing and thanks to the stimulus package we have free full day kindergarten, which we believe is a big plus for Nettie. It gives her additional time in the classroom and will allow her to have more time to learn the basics.
John is doing great, he is getting ready to turn 3 next month, and we are remembering how much fun a 3 year old can be. There are moments that Ben and I both have to stop, count to 10, and remember we survived one 3 year old, we can survive another. John will be going to potty training boot camp in the next few weeks, he seems to be ready. He can tell us when he needs to change his diaper, wants to put on his own underwear and seems interested, so why not try? John has been talking more and now loves to be able to tell us what he wants, thinks or needs. He is also turning into quite the negotiator. He loves playing with cars and trucks and trains and keeps us laughing when his guys are driving the trucks.
John has been talking more as well, but a disadvantage of more talking, is more talking back. So, John is also learning what time out is, and how much it stinks to lose toys. I am still trying to figure out how to get to him and so far the main thing is closing his bedroom door. He HATES that, so when he is really in trouble the door gets closed. He learns his lesson for about an hour.
Hope all is well with everyone. Pictures to be posted soon!

First but probably not last

While it has been almost 2 months since the last post, we have been busy here in the Wismer household. Tiffany has be semi-training (as much as she could) for a 1/2 marathon in Las Vegas over the last weekend. I ran with a friend from Colorado Springs, Nicole and her friend, Selena. I also had college friends that ran as well, but did not get to see them as much as I would have liked, it was a CRAZY weekend.
We flew in Saturday morning and spent the day picking up packets and getting ready for the race. The race was Sunday morning, and we all happily finished the race. While not a record breaking time, I was happy with my 2 hour 45 minute time since I probably could have trained harder than I did. My original goal was 2 hours 30 minutes, so I was not that far off. I think next time my time should improve at least a little:) It was a chilly morning, but once the running started it was perfect! Here is a pic of the 3 of us after the race
Ben and Jeremy (Nicole's husband) met up with us after the race, it was fun to have them there to support us, knowing they were waiting for us helped a lot. Ben as always is the best husband ever supporting me through the process and being my biggest cheerleader, which I needed at the end.
We spent the rest of the day lounging around and taking it easy. We had WONDERFUL Indian food for dinner, saw Penn and Teller and the crashed. What a great day with great friends!
The rest of the time over the last 2 months has been busy with Thanksgiving, a fun day at Susan and Brian's with both our families. We had the kids Christmas programs and zoolights. We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, the house is decorated and Ben and I are going shopping on Monday, so that will be done.
I will post video and pics from the last couple months soon, but I have to go get a massage!
Happy Holidays!

An honorable Mention

Nettie and her Poppa at her 5th birthday party....

Nettie Turns 5!

It is hard for me to believe that our "little" girl turned 5 yesterday. She has bee counting down the days since about June, so she was ultra excited for the day. Even better, she woke to SNOW! We only got about an inch on the grass, but she was so excited to see the first real snow of the year.
Overall, it was a great birthday with family and friends. We started the celebration on Friday night with a party at McDonald's for all her school friends. Here are some quick pictures of all the festivities

Time for an update

Time flies! August was a busy month for us. We celebrated Ben's birthday and our 8th anniversary. Both were fun celebrations, with family and friends. In mid-August, Nettie started the official kindergarten class at her day care. They have an accredited private kindergarten so we will have a choice next year whether she repeats kindergarten or goes into first grade. So far she is enjoying class, and loves her teacher Ms. Bekah. John is talking up a storm. He repeats everything and is now learning how to ask for things nicely. It is funny how Mommie and Daddy don't hear when you don't say please! We are starting to work with him on using the potty, hoping that by the time he is 3 he will be potty trained. He isn't a fan of it yet, but he will get there. We also got to go to the farmer's market at Belmar where the kids got to ride in the train, that is something that we will definitely do more of next summer.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Boulder with Ben's entire family to celebrate Brian and Susan's birthday. It was a fun weeknd with aunts uncles and cousins. The kids had a great time with all their cousins, running all over the house, and over to the park. We have been celebrating birthday's including cousin Paige, Asher and Uncle Joe.

We are looking forward to celebrating Nettie's birthday next month, Cousin Lily turing 1 and cousin Luke turning 4.

What????

So after writing the LONG post about how my baby is no longer a baby, I go upstairs and find this......I have been cleaning out the house and getting rid of the baby stuff and John apparently doesn't want me to get rid of the Boppy.