Turner Family Xmas 2010

We celebrated Christmas with the Turner side of the family last weekend. Brian, Val, and Tyson are heading to Wisconsin, so we celebrated early with everyone. It was a good time and the boys had lots of fun playing with their cousins. All of their new toys are currently spread out over the living room floor. The cats do not like the R/C T-Rex that Noah got. Which I had to torture them with today for fun. LOL! :D

More holiday fun is just around the corner for us!

Happy Holidays From Our Crazy Clan To Yours!

With Love,

Shawn, Faith, Noah, Brandon,

Tank, Ginger, & Jasmine

Cookie Decorating & Snowmobiling!

We've had some fun during all of the snowstorms that we've gotten this month. Shawn took Noah out on the snowmobile around the neighborhood the day after his birthday party. It was a bit too cold for B so I kept him inside, but man was the lil B itching to go! Noah had a lot of fun and Shawn can't show him he's going now without a fit ensuing from said 3 year old. B even throws one, especially if you take him off said snowmobile after he cimbs on it. SIGH... I don't think I'll ever get to move to warmer state now. :(

The day before Blizzard 2010 as it shall be called in our house, I decided to pick up some cookie making supplies to try making xmas cookies with the boys. B had more fun eating the cookies then decorating them. Noah as you can see was decorating, but then got annoyed at Momma for taking too many pictures. Two words for that "Tough Cookies". Momma takes pictures, deal with it. LOL!

Captain Noah's 3rd Birthday!

How did our little baby boy turn 3 already? I know I say this every year, but I really don't understand where the time has gone. Is it always gonna go this fast? Thank goodness I take lots of pictures!

His birthday party was a pirate theme this year. I must say it was a hit. There was sword fighting abound that day! Thank you Mom & Dad for bringing the foam swords & eye patches. The kids (and adults) loved them!

E - AH!!!!!!!!

A Recap in Pictures

Collages of our adventures from the summer through the fall.

Brandon's birthday

Como Zoo

4th of July Weekend

MN Zoo and September Fun

October Disney Trip

Halloween Weekend

November

Musings of a 3 Year Old Boy....

I SWEAR I have nothing to do with any of these fun new things Noah likes to say. NOTHING at ALL....

"Mommy you get back jack"

"Daddy, I need to talk to you"

"Brandon, get back here! I need to talk to you!"

Noah: "I want something!" Mommy: "what do you want Noah?" Noah: "Something!"

When asked to eat his tortilla: "I can't Daddy, it's too big" OR "I can't Mommy, it's too small"

"Mommy, you stay here." As he puts me in the kitchen and closes the gate we use to keep Tank out while we eat.

"Mommy!!! Brandon spilled on the ground!" When Brandon threw up.

"E-AH!!!" While sword fighting

"No... That's silly..."

And the list will go on....

Happy Friday!

Cough cough....

Man is this thing dusty!! Yes, I know I'm a slacker with this blog... Yes, I know I s*ck. But life has been so busy we are lucky to know which way is up! I think things are finally calming down a bit here which is wonderful. I could not tell you where the summer or fall has gone. It has literally blown by! I'm finally catching up on pictures of our family now that I've gotten all my client ones done. Which reminds me I need to update my photography blog too. Jeez...

So here's a quick synopsis of life since our last post...

Noah keeps on amazing us with his vocabulary and his fascination with "reading" letters, numbers, drawing, dancing, etc... He started a gymnastics class last week and seemed to really like it! So we'll see what happens with that. We've got his 3rd birthday party this weekend and I'm sitting here thinking to myself "How is my baby 3 already?"


Brandon FINALLY started walking! And now there is no stopping that boy! We found out he is far-sighted and he got glasses at the end of September. He looks like a little scholar in them it's so cute! He also thinks he's a comedian and will not stop if you laugh along with him. His latest thing that he started last night is to "jump". Which means he bends his knees and pops up, but never leaves the ground. Then he giggles and claps his hands. It's pretty darn cute!

As for Shawn & I, we are doing fine. Work has been so busy this year, that we took a kid free vacation to our favorite place in October. It was some R & R that was greatly needed. We hung out with some friends and also just us! It was heaven! We missed the boys terribly though. Since we've been home it's been crazy! Between work, photography, and the boys we seem to not have enough time in the day. But now at work we're heading into the year end freeze for technology so our jobs are lightening up for the rest of the year. Which is really really really nice.

I'm working on getting the rest of the summer & fall pictures up on the web album. But I've gotten some of October and most of November done already so make sure to check them out!

Till next time! (which will NOT be 4 months from now... LOL!)

Updates #2 - June!

June

June was filled with a trip to TX, Lil B's birthday, graduation parties, B's birthday party, Noah's first movie theater experience, and a trip to the zoo. Quite a lot! So let's get started!

Texas!!!

Mom and I headed down for what hopes to be a yearly girls weekend trip with Jaime. :) We had a ton of fun just being together. There was a lot of drinking involved, plus some evil torture of making me workout in the extreme heat & humidity by Jaime, the beach in Galveston for the sandcastle competition, lots of outdoor music, Sex and the City 2 party & movie, and more drinking.... MMMMM white sangria in a juice box! :D Did I mention we did a lot of drinking??? LOL!

Pics are in the June album!

One of my favorites from the weekend... The three of us drenched at the Friendswood Music in the Park on Friday night!


I also took some updated photos of Jaime, Charlie, and the girls. They haven't gotten a chance to get a picture of the 4 of them together. Just the 3 of them when they got Kirby so we needed to get one with Sammers in it too. Here's my favorite of the day. It was kind of dreary, but we got it to work!



Can't wait to do that again! It was such a fun weekend!! :)

More to come on the rest of June. But this lady is tiiiirrrreeeeddddd.

Updates #1 - May!

It's been 2 months since I updated. EEK! So here is the first of the monthly updates.

May

May was another busy month for us. Mother's Day weekend we were lucky to have Jaime & Charlie visit us! It was so nice to be able to see them and as an added bonus Mom & I were heading down the first weekend in June so it was even better to be able to know I would be seeing my sister shortly after this visit. :)

We did our annual Race for the Cure 5k on Mother's Day morning. It was a bit chilly, but we bundled up the boys and made it through!

The four of us at the starting line


The whole gang with Grandma after the race


At breakfast with the others


The rest of the month was a rather blur. We spent Memorial weekend at home and it was nice to do that.





Up Next... June & Our Little B turns 1!!

FT Photo Blog!

Is now up and running!!! I've been meaning to get this going for a while now and I finally did. The first post is of a 3 month old little boy I shot recently. I've been photographing this family for a year and a half now. J is their recent addition.

http://www.faithturnerphotography.blogspot.com

Share it with your friends!!! I love referrals!! :)

Blast from the Past!

A package showed up on our doorstep yesterday. It was our Magic Kingdom Bridal Portrait session pictures! We waited the 3 years to buy them because if we bought them before that it was $1000 for the high resolution disc. Yep, you read that right. But if you wait 3 years (or rather 3 yrs 9 mo for us LOL!) you can get it for $100. Um it was worth the wait! We have enlargements of our wedding day pictures that our awesome photographer Randy took. But we never did any of the Magic Kingdom ones. Because let's face it... As much as we love Disney, they can be thieves! So now, I shall be getting some of these printed for our bedroom. :)

In honor of that day here is a slideshow of the pictures! Man I love my dress. SIGH. Was I really that skinny? LOL!

Park Time!

It was a beautiful evening today so we decided to take advantage before the next bout of rain comes upon us and head to the park. So we had an early dinner and dashed on over to the park in the new development in Cologne. It was Brandon's first time on the swings and such so I made sure to bring the big dog with.

See Brandon this is what you do!


Uh, I think I get it...


This is fun!


Static head after the slide


Playing in the tunnel


Stick that hand in here again lady and I'll bite your fingers off!


Cheese!!!!


Riding the Toucan


It's been another busy week so far! This weekend will be plenty busy as well. Next weekend we get to see Jaime & Charlie for a wee bit on their whirlwind tour of MN for Mother's Day. Oh and we are running in the Race for the Cure 5k on Mom's Day morning. Boys will be "running" this year too. Well if you call chilling in the stroller and going "Weeeeeeeeeeee" as Mommy & Daddy push the stroller at our lightning fast speed. LOL!

Lots of fun coming up!

TTFN!

Fun in the Sun!

Well we've been back for almost 3 weeks now from Florida! 'bout time I updated eh? We had a really nice time with the fam. The weather was perfect, crowds were huge at the parks, and there were a lot of laughs to be had. I've only made it through a few of our pictures, but we did get our family pics back from our wedding photographer Randy Chapman already. So those are uploaded in the web album! We had over 1000 pics to look at and I uploaded some of our faves from first glance.

Since we've been back it's like we were never gone from work. It got crazy again on day 1. SIGH. Shawn & I are both ready for another vacation. LOL! At least the weather has been really nice here so we can enjoy that a bit in the evenings with the boys and on the weekends. Which we've been running every weekend too, almost every day of it. We finally got a day to just stay home last Sunday and it was great! We got stuff done around the house and were able to enjoy the weather outside too with the boys. Just what the doctor ordered!

Brandon turned 10 months last week. It's so hard to believe he's almost 1 already. It really does not feel like it should be that close. Time flies when you are having fun! He's now pulling himself up on everything and walking around the furniture too. He's an army crawler just like his brother, but sometimes he gets on his knees and crawls. I think he just prefers the army crawl. And he is a big talker! Or baby babble, whatever you'd like to call it. Either way, the kid won't be quiet. He's definitely taking after his big brother.

Noah's vocabulary has also blossomed lately too. It's amazing how much he is saying now and how much we can actually understand. He's also starting to try and write some letters. Which is a new development in the last week. Him and I took a walk last night after dinner. It was only slightly delayed by a pit stop at Mike & Jo's for some playtime with Colby & Brookie. :) I think he would stay outside all night if we let him. LOL! Yesterday morning after we got him ready he ran to the patio door to the deck and opened it because he wanted to go play with his house. His playhouse is on the deck, and he LOVES it. Really looking forward to a fun adventurous summer with our two little wildmen!

TTFN!

The Amazing Tumble Bee!

A little story for you all...

Once upon a time there was a little prince named Brandon. He was a very precocious little boy. He loved to explore his surroundings while he traveled on his belly. One day he decided he wanted to stand. So stand up he did! He grabbed the top of the toy box while at his caretakers house and pulled himself up to a standing position. Ah! But that was not enough for him! He also wanted to be just like his big brother prince Noah and follow in his footsteps. So he started to remove the toys from the toy box. Then he found one that was just a bit out of his reach so he leaned in and reached as far as he could!! Lady Barb turned around and the next thing she heard was a tumble... And then she turned around and saw little legs flailing in the air with the head in the toy box. Oh no! She raced over and pulled the little prince out, only to find him smiling at his little endeavor. Who can resist a smile from a cute little tumble Bee? All was forgiven and he lived happily ever after still chasing kitties & puppies until they got too far away from him.

The End

Thus ends our little story time for today! But not without a little picture taken by Shawn of B on his blackberry. He pulled himself up and was so proud!

Spring Where Art Thou????

This girl has SPRING FEVER!!! And in true Minnesota tradition our weather is teasing me, Shawn, the boys, and the critters. I love how we go from 60's for 2 days back to a high of 37. SIGH... Thankfully we are heading to the House of Mouse in less than a week. And the weather is beautiful down there right now! Yahoo!!!!

On to more important things that are coming up. My birthday! :D The big 3-2! LOL! I bring this up for one reason mainly. Presents. I got an early birthday present from my sister yesterday. A new cookbook! Most of you know that one of the ways to my heart is through food/kitchen related items. I have a slight problem with them. And now for a plug for this awesome cookbook I just received!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks
By Ree Drummond

I've already read (yes I read them cover to cover) the entire thing. Not only does this book have good rib sticking down home recipes in it, but she adds in stories, photographs, and little quips. I chuckled a few times aloud while reading it. All of the photography in this book is her own and she is very good. Best thing about this, is that Jaime had it signed by Ree when she went to the book signing in Houston. :) I'm also known for waiting in line for famous chefs to sign my cookbooks.... Giada, Bobby......

So thank you Jaime for introducing me to the Pioneer Woman. I can't wait to cook some of her recipes! I love you!

Love Faith

p.s. The Pioneer Woman started out as a blogger... Check her out! www.thepioneerwoman.com

On the mend

Just a quick note to update you all on our House of Sickness. LOL! The boys are doing much better. Neither of them are coughing anymore. So that's awesome! Brandon's finally back to eating solids, but we think his tummy is hurting from the medicine. So we are taking it easy. Yogurt works miracles for those who didn't know that. If you're taking antibiotics add some yogurt to your diet as the probiotics really help.

I on the other hand have managed to obtain the crud from the boys in a lesser degree. But it's still annoying the snot out of me. Literally. :(

We have a busy weekend ahead so hopefully we can still get some relaxation time in too. Shawn's super busy at work, so he really needs it.

TTFN!

House of Sickness 2010

Well when we knocked on wood it didn't do us any good. SIGH... We came home from Michigan to find 2 sick little boys and a sick grandma & great aunt (who caught it from our little boys). 1 ER visit, IV fluids, xray, catheter up his wee wee to get a sample later, Brandon was diagnosed with pneumonia. But at least this time we didn't have to stay at the hospital like we did with Noah. We caught it early enough to be sent home with meds. He has been doing really well since he's been on them. Noah still has a cough from his cold, but that seems to be doing ok too. We spent the entire week trying to get these boys better. I'm pooped, Shawn's pooped, the dog & cats are even pooped. But we seem to be mending!

As you can see, the meds have definitely kicked in for our little B!




Noah is feeling much better too, so he decided to show me Mickey!


Here's hoping for a better week this week! This Momma needs it!

Michigan Snowmobiling Trip 2010

Last weekend Shawn & I along with our good friends Jim & Jennifer made the 7 1/2 hour trek up to the upper peninsula of Michigan for 3 1/2 fun filled days of riding our snowmobiles (aka sleds). 500 miles later we had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back next year! Here are the pictures from this month so far which includes this trip. :)

dust dust cough cough...

Man this thing is dusty!! Well I think a few updates are in order as it's been a month and a half since I posted. Where to begin???

Noah's birthday party was a lot of fun! I just love watching his reactions and seeing him enjoy new things!

So Christmas was a snowy whirlwind! We had a lovely holiday with our families as usual. It was great to see people we haven't seen in a long time!

The Turner Cousins: Brandon (6 mo), Ashley (4), Noah (2), Hallie (7), and Tyson (9 mo).

Look! Santa ate the cookies & drank the milk!

Brandon opening gifts

Noah dancing to the Jackson 5 in his new apron & sunglasses.

After we got back to work in January it has been a work frenzy for both Shawn & I. We managed to get out on the snowmobiles on MLK Jr. day since we had it off from work and daycare was open. We put 70 miles on that day and had a lot of fun. :D

The boys are doing great! Noah's vocabulary grows every day. He knows all of his letters now and can count to 10. Eating can still be a challenge, but we make it through. He now starting to get interested in the potty, so we may be starting full blown potty training soon. But we'll see, we are letting him drive that one on when he is ready. Brandon is getting bigger by the minute! He's eating lots of veggies & fruits now. He's very interested in what we are eating which I hope means he'll be a better eater than his brother. LOL! I can wish right?

Shawn & I are heading up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this weekend with our good friends the Barnes'. We will be on our sleds the whole weekend and we can't wait! It'll be nice get away for a few days and have some fun. The boys are going to be spoiled rotten this weekend by Grandma Kathy & Auntie Lisa. I'm sure they will be pooped out and sleep lots when we get home from having so much fun.

Hopefully I'll remember to update this more often now and not be a slacker!

As usual you can see more pictures (which is fully updated!) in the Our Pictures link on the right.

TTFN!