Milbrandt Moments

The Pictures Before The Pictures

2010-09-07T19:11:00.000-06:00

Here are a few shots we snapped in the front yard before heading to our family photo shoot. Mom is excited to see the "real" pictures when they come back, but thought that we would share these in the meantime!

Happy Birthday Ada - for the THIRD time!!

2010-09-07T19:02:00.000-06:00

Can you believe Ada is 3 already?

I certainly can't!!

At our house we always let the birthday person pick what is for dinner on their special day so the four of us can celebrate together. After weeks of insisting that she wanted McDonalds ("they have toys there mom!") Ada finally decided that Dairy Queen sounded like a good idea.

Ice cream out in the sunshine and some goofy pictures with the carved bears outside made for the perfect family evening!

Happy Birthday Ada!!

Sailing, Bayfield Style

2010-09-07T18:52:00.000-06:00

Dan and I had the honor of attending our friend Mary's 70th Birthday Bash up in Bayfield, WI. Among the FOUR fun filled days of activities around the town of Bayfield (more pictures and stories to come) we had the opportunity to go sailing. Neither Dan or I had ever been, so we jumped at the chance to check it out. In Mary's fathers sailboat the Mara we were "taught" the basics of sailing by one of the local sailors named Ted. We must have been good students (haha) because he even gave us each the chance to steer the craft. We had a beautiful afternoon and both really enjoyed our time out on the water with him. I snapped a few shots of Dan playing captain, and I have to say he looks mighty handsome doing so!!

Surprise GG!

2010-09-07T18:36:00.000-06:00

Great Grandma (GG) Dixie turned the big 7-0 this year and the family was quite pleased with ourselves that we managed to pull off an afternoon surprise picnic party for her. Complete with more good food than you could shake a stick at, lots of laughs and even some yard games the afternoon was a success! GG was surprised, which is a feat within itself, and everyone left with bellys aching. I'm not sure if it was from overeating or too much laughing, but either way it was a wonderful day!!

Happy Birthday Gram - We love you bunches!!

Sweet Dreams

2010-09-07T18:25:00.000-06:00

Ada snuggled in tight with a baby doll.

I couldn't resist snapping a picture since she had her tv couch up on her bed and that is what she was snoozing in!

It's a what?!?

2010-07-07T12:17:00.001-06:00

Dan was grocery shopping Friday afternoon with the girls. Moms list had a cucumber on it for adding to a pasta salad I was going to make. That night when I started making my salad and getting all my needed ingredients out I realized that Dan mistakenly brought home a Zucchini instead of the needed Cucumber.

Tehya, who was standing near by hoping to be asked to help with the pasta salad making, piped in "For the record mom, I told dad that wasn't a cucumber. I know that is a zucchini. He didn't believe me."

HILARIOUS in mom's opinion! I guess all that time out in the garden with mom has paid off!

Justin Who???

2010-06-16T12:15:00.001-06:00

Tehya and Ada both love music. They love to sing along with the radio, dance along with music videos, make up their own songs with each other, you name it.... they love the tunes!

Recently Tehya has become very aware of "popular" music for her age group. The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cirus, Justin Bieber, the list goes on and on for pre-teen rock sensations.

A few weeks ago when Justin Bieber had his new CD released, that was all Tehya could talk about:

"Can I have that new Justin Beaver CD mom?"

"Tehya, his name is Justin Bieber. With a B."

"Mom, I really like Justin Beaver. Can I buy the CD?"

"Tehya, you need to say his name correctly. It is Justin Bieber...with a B."

And on........

And on........

And on........

And, well you get the picture. I cannot count how many times I had this conversation with Tehya! So many times in fact that I finally told her I would not allow her to buy the CD until she said his name correctly. I was determined to have her learn the correct way to say his name.

Fast forward to a car ride with all four of us.

Dan was flipping through radio stations and low and behold guess who comes over the airwaves?

"MOM!!!!! It's Justin Beaver!!!!! I LOVE this song!!!!!"

Before I could even open my mouth to correct her yet again, Miss Ada stepped in without missing a beat and said to Tehya,

"It's BIEBER Tehya. With a B!"

Tehya, obviously not liking her little sister correcting her just like mom does, replied:

"How would you know Ada, your just a BABY!"

Ada says:

"No, I'm a Big Girl. With a B. Just like BIEBER!"

2010-06-16T10:53:00.000-06:00

I received a text message from Dan today:

"Need anything from Target?"

Apparently the toy aisle was quite enticing for him and Ada on their shopping trip today...

What a bunch of goof balls!

More Carnival Fun

2010-06-15T11:38:00.000-06:00

Face painting fun at the Carnival!!

Good Neighbor Days Carnival

2010-06-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

We had SO much fun at the carnival this weekend! Mom was the designated tall person to ride with the kiddos that couldn't go by themselves, and oh my goodness ride she did! Tilt-a-Whirl, Dizzy Dragons, Ferris Wheel, Zipper, The Giant Slide, and much much more! Ada went on every ride that Tehya did and amazed us all even further when we were on the Tornado Twister. Mid-way in the air tilted and spinning around she let go of the safety bar and lifted both of her arms up above her head....I think we have a fearless ride warrior on our hands!! Tehya had a great time with her friends Leah and Mercedes and had a blast running into school friends all over the place. We all had a great family day having fun together!

Hugo Good Neighbor Days Parade

2010-06-14T21:04:00.000-06:00

Hugo Good Neighbor Days

2010 Parade

Hugo celebrates Good Neighbor Days each year, and each year as the town grows so does the parade. We had over an hour of fire trucks, tractors, cool cars, dancers, and much much more to watch go by. The amount of candy our girls managed to get into their bags was astronomical and we were grateful that Mother Nature held off the rain until right after the parade was finished.

Graduating Kindergarten

2010-06-14T20:52:00.000-06:00

Tehya's classmates Murphy and Matilda hosted a Kindergarten graduation party at their house last week. Dan and Tehya both enjoyed the magician and the fun times with her classmates and some other parents. We can't believe that she is already out of kindergarten!!!

Tehya's new Hair-do

2010-06-14T20:44:00.000-06:00

Before and after pictures of Tehya's new haircut

Bubbles!!!

2010-06-14T20:33:00.000-06:00

Ada has discovered the relaxing properties of a bubble bath at an early age! After being a little concerned at the lack of splashing coming from the tub the other day I checked in to make sure Ada was ok.....I found that she was more than ok! She was kicked back relaxing in the bubbles with a big smile on her face. I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures - too cute to pass up!

Dance Recital

2010-06-14T20:26:00.000-06:00

Tehya tapped, shuffled and shimmied her way through another season of dance and had a great time on recital day. Here is a picture of Tehya and her dance buddy Elizabeth in their lion costumes. They were adorable, even though they didn't really care for their itchy head pieces. I will post Tehya's posed shots as soon as I get them scanned in so you can see more of the glittery cuteness!!

Tehya wins a bike!!

2010-06-14T20:18:00.001-06:00

Tehya won a bike at school!

Oneka Elementary had a program this year they called the Marvin and Jessie assemblies. They held monthly all-school assemblies to watch skits about using good life skills. Teachers and school staff that saw students using these life skills during their school day filled out Core Value cards explaining the behavior they witnessed and these cards were sent home for the parents to see. Tehya came home with several of these cards throughout the year, which made us very proud. Some examples of these core values are Honesty, Friendship, Courtesy and Respect - all things that as a parent you hope your child knows and uses throughout the day.

I got a phone call from school a few weeks ago asking to speak about Tehya's behavior at school. Needless to say my heart jumped into my throat and I instantly thought to myself that she must be in trouble. I can't tell you how happy (and relieved) I was when they told me that Tehya's name had been drawn out of all the Core Value cards that had been given out to win a new bike!!

They had Dan and I sneak into the back of the school gym after the students were all seated so that Tehya wouldn't see us and have her surprise ruined. We were so proud when they announced her name as the winner! Not only did Tehya get cheers from the whole school and a brand new bike - Ms. Dahlem her principal even let her take it for a spin around the gym!!

Twins Game

2010-06-14T19:51:00.001-06:00

Our friends Dan and Molly invited us to join them for the Twins vs. White Sox game and we were so excited! This was our first game at the new ballpark and we had a blast!!

Birthday Treats for Mommy!

2010-06-14T19:41:00.000-06:00

Aunt Jeanne surprised mom with a basket of decorated cookies for her birthday - what a nice treat!

Family Pictures

2010-06-14T19:38:00.000-06:00

Some shots of the Milbrandt's at Ryan and Missy's wedding

Egg-actly!

2010-06-14T19:33:00.000-06:00

Ada loves to help cook!

Dan and Ada were making breakfast for the family and Ada decided that the eggs just weren't getting the attention they needed. She sped up the process a little bit with her own version of egg cracking - which consisted of standing on the counter and dropping the eggs down!

Dan couldn't resist snapping these pictures!!

Happy Birthday Cubicle Style

2010-06-14T19:22:00.000-06:00

I turned 30 on May 3rd, and my co-worker Katie thought it would be fun to make sure everyone knew it!

I was so surprised when I came in to work for the day and turned the corner to see my cubicle completely decked out with streamers, balloons and Happy Birthday signs! Later in the afternoon a chocolate cake with fudge cream frosting was served and I was having a happy day indeed!

Easter 2010

2010-06-14T19:12:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Easter this year at Uncle Jake's house. A ton of fantastic food, an Easter egg hunt inside and out and lots of laughs with everyone made for a wonderful day and lots of fun pictures. Mom even got to take in a little sunshine while enjoying the hammock!

Captain Ada

2010-06-14T18:25:00.000-06:00

The toy buckets in Ada's room became a lake full of "boats" during playtime!!

Painting the Snow Away

2010-06-14T18:18:00.000-06:00

February 2010

Painting play date with Leah, Tehya and Ada

Such Language!

2010-02-21T20:26:00.000-06:00

I just realized that during my tiny break from blogging that I neglected to document my current favorite Ada story.......lets flash back to about a month ago:

Tehya and Ada were playing in their room, and I overheard some bickering starting. Tehya has recently taken to telling Ada "Stop talking to me" when she is frustrated or has decided that she has had enough little sister time, so I thought it was particularly funny to hear Ada copy-cat her sister and say to Tehya "Stop talking Sissy!"

What happened next surprised us though. She came out of their bedroom with one hand on her hip and a very exasperated look on her face. She sighed a bit dramatically and said "My sissy PISSIN me off!!"

Such language for a little lady!!!

Is Honesty really the best policy?

2010-02-14T12:41:00.000-06:00

WARNING!!
Cute Kid Story Ahead......

I caught Tehya in a small fib. When she decided to stick with her story of innocence, I asked her "Do you think I'm stupid"?

Her response was "Mom, I don't think you want me to answer that honestly".

Priceless.

House Plants

2010-02-14T12:37:00.000-06:00

Aloe

Lots of little babies have sprouted over the winter, a larger pot will be needed soon

Pregnant Onion

Sprouting some babies of her own, how fitting!!

Joseph L. Krisnik, Grandpa and Papa

2010-02-14T12:31:00.000-06:00

Age 83, of Eagan Died on February 4, 2010 Preceded in death by son, Joseph. Survived by loving wife of 55 years, Yvonne; children, Jeanne (Mike) Smith, Anne Krisnik, John Krisnik, Jay (Anita) Krisnik; daughter-in-law, Sue Krisnik; grandchildren, Tiffany (Dan) Milbrandt, Jacob Krisnik, Matt and Emily Smith, Joe, Daniel and Ben Kalla, and Mitchell, Colton, and Keren Krisnik; great-grandchildren, Teyha and Ada Milbrandt. Mass of Christian Burial 5PM Monday, February 8 at ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 4030 Pilot Knob Rd., Eagan. Visitation 3:30-5PM Monday at the church. Private Interment at Resurrection Cemetery. Joe loved God, his family and friends, history, nature, and the Minnesota Twins. Special thanks to all who have supported Joe and his family.

Grandpa Joe will be dearly missed, and remembered by all with many fond memories.

Stories about the old homestead, tales of the aunts and uncles growing up, pockets full of treats at the baseball games, nature lessons on countless walks through the woods and affectionate kisses on our foreheads are just some of the things that will always come to mind when thinking about him. Tehya put it best in saying "I have another grandpa angel to watch over me now".

A plant basket given by Dave, Becky, Lauren, Katherine and Diane Milbrandt

Nana had us take this home with us to care for and grow in memory of Papa.

Lollipop Mania!

2010-02-14T11:16:00.000-06:00

The girls both enjoyed the giant lollipops that Santa left in their stockings this year. They lasted forever!!

Back in the Saddle Again....

2010-02-14T10:13:00.000-06:00

Hello! I have been away from the blog for a while now and have decided it is time to get this back on track and up to date. The winter months have started to take their toll on our household and cabin fever has reared its ugly head. We have been busy with small projects around the house to keep us from dwelling on the cold weather.
Mom is itching to get in the gardens and has been repotting, moving and adding to the houseplant collection. Tehya's bedroom has been moved downstairs and she loves having her own space away from her little sister. Ada will be moving downstairs into her own room as well, however mom and dad have to get the room cleaned out and painted for her before that can happen.
Dan has been busy patching and painting some spots on the walls to freshen things up, and I have been tossing around the idea of repainting the livingroom with a brighter color. Spring fever indeed!!
More posts to follow shortly with some things from the last couple of months...

Go Figure...

2009-12-18T07:38:00.002-06:00

I have a bunch of new pictures to post, but I can't find my camera cord!

The couch cushions have been scoured, the toy box dug through. Drawers, cabinets and the usual "hiding places" have all been checked.

The gnome of missing items must have paid us a visit.
I wonder if he is related to the monster of missing socks in the dryer?

A trip to Best Buy is on the agenda for tomorrow....Let the Blogging Resume!!

Kindergarten Love

2009-11-08T20:54:00.002-06:00

While cleaning out Tehya's backpack from school this weekend I found these notes in the front pocket. Love notes from FOUR different boys!

I asked Tehya, "What does your teacher say about all these notes?"

She told me that one of the activity stations in her classroom is a card-making table. I'm not so sure this is what her teacher had in mind!

To make this story even cuter, I have to reveal the fact that Tehya has been talking non-stop about Conner lately. Conner this, Conner that, Guess what Conner did, Do you know what Conner said, Conner...Conner...Conner!!! I think my little girl has a crush. I almost want to cry a little bit.

Halloween Recovery

2009-11-01T18:47:00.001-06:00

Halloween must have really worn Ada out.

She was playing in her room this afternoon and when she got quiet and I went to check on her this is what I found...she was sound asleep under her bed!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T18:38:00.003-06:00

Tehya and Ada invited their friends Leah and Jonah to go trick or treating with us. We also had Mercedes and Dominick from across the street join the party. Six kids in the yard trailer pulled by a four wheeler - now how come I didn't get that luxury when I was a kid?
Ada was thrilled with her Elmo costume. She was an absolute hoot all night saying "I Elmo Mom!" Tehya chose to be a witch this year, and decided that a pillow case is a way better way to collect candy than a plastic pumpkin!

I Elmo.

Elmo like Candy.

Mom got dressed up again this year too. Some of us adult ladies celebrated Chantel's birthday after trick or treating and had a blast! All in costume for dinner at Chino Latinos in uptown, and then the local bar crawl through Hugo. Good times!

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-01T18:28:00.002-06:00

Pumpkin carving was a blast at our house this year!

Ada thought the pumpkin guts were hilarious, so for about a half hour straight she just giggled non stop! It made carving very fun. At one point Tehya got a case of the giggles too because Ada was taking the guts out of her pumpkin and putting them into Tehya's! Tehya designed her own face again this year and it turned out great.

Wheelin'

2009-11-01T17:59:00.001-06:00

Dylan and Alicia gave Ada a super cool four-wheeler for her birthday. She loves the thing! She was showing us her tricky wheelin' skills in the living room the other day. Fancy stuff!

Club Just Jump

2009-10-18T17:53:00.002-06:00

We had a party to celebrate Tehya and Ada's birthdays this weekend. We rented out Club Just Jump in Woodbury for a couple of hours and had a blast! We are so glad that so many friends were able to come jump around with us!
The birthday girls both got to go in the cash cube. Good thing it wasn't real money because it was blowing around so fast they could hardly grab a piece!

Everything at Club Just Jump is an inflatable, and they are all so much fun! There are jumpers, slides, and obstacle courses. We explored every inch of that place!

Everyone had fun playing today, even the adults. We were all laughing because the only injuries from the day were on the grownups! Dan ended up with a skinned up knee, and I have some pretty good rubber burn on my elbow. We were all exhausted too!

Tehya liked the idea of sharing a birthday celebration with Ada, but she insisted on having her own birthday cake. Dan and I thought that was a reasonable request, so we did in fact have two birthday cakes at the party!

Tehya had a funky Hannah Montana themed cake, and Ada had a super cute Hello Kitty one. What a fabulous day!

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-10-11T12:30:00.002-06:00

Nana Yvonne just celebrated her 80th Birthday!

The Krisnik family gathered for brunch and had a wonderful time sharing stories, jokes and lots of great food! Nana asked that we not buy her any gifts, so the family all pitched in and bought tons of socks and underwear for little boys and girls that Nana could donate to her favorite charity, Josephs Coat. What a wonderful feeling to help those in need and celebrate a wonderful event with family all in the same day!

Happy Birthday Nana, we love you!

Mischevious Monkey

2009-10-11T12:11:00.003-06:00

As a mom sometimes I make mistakes. I think this is normal, but I still feel badly when it happens. Tehya had gotten in trouble a few weeks ago for peeling pieces of the wall paper border off of the wall in the girls' room. Well, a few days later it was discovered that Miss Ada has learned how to climb! Apparently she has been going on to Tehya's bed and peeling "pretty stickers" off. As cute as this is, I am not pleased that she has ruined the border that Grandma Sue and I worked so hard to get up (lots of uneven edges and shapes made it very dificult to get the border straight on the wall). I had to apologize to Tehya for blaming her for something that wasn't her fault, and then reprimand Ada for doing something naughty. Oh what a day!

The plan is to move both of the girls downstairs into rooms of their own soon, so I will be redecorating the upstairs bedroom anyway, but this wasn't the way I envisioned my plan happening! Oh the joys of parenthood....

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2009-09-25T19:14:00.002-06:00

September 17th, 2005

Dan and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week!

We started a tradition on our first anniversary that we don't buy eachother gifts for our anniversary, we instead take turns each year planning a special day together. This year was Dan's year to plan and he did a fantastic job!

On our anniversary fell on a Thursday and Dan surprised me at work with 2 dozen long stem roses. They were absolutely gorgeous - and made me the most envied girl in the office for a few days! I am drying them to add to my vase of flower petals from special occassions.

Friday when I came home from dropping off the girls at Grandma Sue's for the weekend I was surprised by a completely clean house, which was absolutely wonderful. I was given my itinerary for the next day which read as follows:

Be ready to leave by 9:30 am. Dress comfy.

When we get home you need to be ready to leave by 6:00pm. Dress fancy.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was so excited! I had no idea what we were doing for the day and couldn't wait to get started! We headed to Stillwater where we ate breakfast and then spent the day wandering around exploring the town. Bless Dan's heart I think we went in every single antique store, jewlery shop and botique! On our way out of town we stopped at Nelson's for some of the best ice cream around. We then headed to the salon for pedicures, which was great after being on our feet all day walking around. Then there was still the evening to get ready for! It was fun getting dolled up for a surprise night! Dan had made reservations at Forepaughs resteraunt where we enjoyed a very romantic dinner.

We had such a wonderful day together!
I think sometimes when you are married, and have kids, and have jobs, and have a house to take care of and all those other things that life throws at you it is easy to forget how nice it is to just have a day to spend together.

Happy Anniversary honey, here's to many more!

2009 Krisnik Family Reunion

2009-09-25T19:03:00.002-06:00

We recently had our annual Krisnik family reunion. Ada and Nana Yvonne had fun reading books.
Tehya and Uncle John were being very silly together

Ada had some lap time with Grandma Sue too

Nana Yvonne and Aunt Donna were both celebrating their 80th birthdays! They were both surprised with the cards, pictures and fun memories that we all shared with them. What a great day!

Ada waiting for Tehya to come home

2009-09-21T19:57:00.003-06:00

Daddy took some really cute pictures of Ada while they waited anxiously for Tehya to come home from her first day of school. Ada didn't quite understand the importance of the moment, she liked the pine cone she found in the neighbors yard!

Tehya made it home in one piece from her first day of school. She was all smiles too! She told us later over dinner that she had an AWESOME day and that she LOVES her classroom! She told us all about the kids in her class, about Mrs. St Martin and about how they got to sing songs the first day! She said Kindergarten was a cool place, so we are very happy she likes it so much already!

Heading Off to School

2009-09-21T19:49:00.002-06:00

Grandma Diane joined us for seeing off Tehya the first day of Kindergarten. Grandma and Ada got some special time together too.

Tehya was very excited while we waited for the bus to come pick her up.

Mommy was a little sad (and nervous) while we waited for the bus. Mom was very thankful that Ada still wanted to cuddle!

Well that was until Ada said "School Me Too!"

Tehya hopped right on the bus when it came with no hesitation. We didn't even get a wave out the window once she sat down - she was too busy talking to her friends from the neighborhood! Oh how our little girl has grown up!

Getting Ready for the First Day of School

2009-09-21T19:45:00.003-06:00

Tehya was very excited for her first day at school all by herself.

Grandma Diane had taken her shopping for a special first day outfit so she was looking spiffy!

Ada thought she should look pretty too and picked out a cute sundress with a hankerchief hat.

Parent Day at School

2009-09-21T19:34:00.003-06:00

Mom and Dad got to go to school with Tehya on the first day! This is Tehya's teacher Mrs. St Martin asking who is going to be having hot lunch today.

This is Tehya sitting in her spot. She even has a name tag that Mrs. St Martin decorated with stickers for her! Tehya sits at the yellow table.

This is a view of part of Tehya's classroom. It is very big and has a lot of really neat stuff in it! Tehya gets her own desk, her own cupboard and her own cubby drawer in this room. She even gets her own locker just outside the door!

Her classroom has a goldfish, an art center, a lot of really neat toys and tons of books! Tehya was most excited to learn how to use the Smart Board - oh how chalkboards have come a long way! The Board runs off of a computer and is touch activated. Mom and Dad were pretty interested in this as well!

Ada in a Box

2009-09-21T19:28:00.003-06:00

Ada has recently decided that the toy box Papa Charlie made makes a better nap spot than a toy box. She likes to put all the stuffed animals she can find in the bottom (throwing all the non stuffed items on the floor of course) and then puts her pillow and blanket in there to lay on. She thinks it is hilarious!

Jack-o-lantern in September?!?

2009-09-07T14:55:00.002-06:00

Tehya has had a wiggly tooth for a few weeks now, and last nights corn on the cob feast showed us that it was much looser than we had thought!

Tehya finished eating her corn (which can be seen on her cheeks in the pictures!) and discovered that her wiggly tooth was missing. After a slightly frantic search of her dinner plate and the corn cob, it was decided that she had most likely swallowed it. She was a little upset that the tooth fairy wouldn't know that she had lost a tooth, so daddy sent the tooth fairy an email right away to tell her the news. Thank goodness for today's technology because Tehya's tooth jar had a dollar bill in it this morning!

Date Night - A new Dining Experience

2009-09-07T14:42:00.002-06:00

Fogo de Chao

Dan and I joined some friends for dinner Saturday night at a restaurant named Fogo de Chao. For those of you who have not been, we highly recommend it!

This was our first time dining here, and we have decided that without a doubt we will be going back to this meat lovers paradise! It is a little on the pricey side (about $45 a head before drinks) but well worth every penny. They explain the dining experience as follows:

Step 1: Sit down, relax, and enjoy a drink while we explain the Fogo® dining experience.
Step 2: Visit our gourmet salad and sides bar. Enjoy over 30 items including fresh cut vegetables, imported cheeses, cured meats and Brazilian side dishes.
Step 3: Turn your card green side up, signaling that you are ready for our gaucho chefs to begin tableside service.
Step 4: Choose from the 15 cuts of delectable fire roasted meats that are brought to your table, sliced, and served by our gaucho chefs.
Step 5: When you are satisfied, flip the disc to the red side until you are ready for more offerings.
Step 6: If you wish, end the meal with one of our delicious desserts.

When they say the green side signals that you are ready for the meat to come, oh boy do they mean it! Within seconds several gaucho chefs are at your side each with a different delectable choice of meat. Dan and I were in heaven watching the well orchastrated ballet of butcher knives travel around the table!

New Grill

2009-09-07T14:34:00.002-06:00

We bought a new grill! Dan was quite excited about the purchase and of course we grilled some yummy steaks the first night we had it home!

Mani-Pedi Time!

2009-09-06T19:47:00.002-06:00

Dan left the girls in the house alone for a few minutes while he went out to the garage the other day, and came back in the house to find this.

Tehya had Ada up on the bathroom sink giving her "spa time"!

An entire bottle of hand soap and a very wet bathroom later, Ada had the best smelling hands and feet around!

Happy Birthday Great Grandpa Jim!

2009-09-06T19:32:00.003-06:00

Great Grandpa Jim celebrated his 75th birthday and Ada got to share in the celebrations. We all had a great time at the farm and hope that there are many more celebrations to come!

Ada in a Suitcase

2009-09-06T19:27:00.001-06:00

While mom and dad were cleaning the house, Ada found one of our suitcases and decided it was going to be a boat!

Ada and her pretty hair do

2009-09-06T19:21:00.002-06:00

Ada LOVES to have ponys in her hair. Typically she is content with one or two little pig tails, but this day she just kept asking for more. She looked so cute with her little ponytails all over her head!

Ada turns 2 and #4 is back on TV!

2009-09-06T19:13:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Ada!

You are 2 years old now!

We can't believe how quickly this time has gone,

and what a big girl you have become. We love you very much!

And in other news on August 21st, Brett Farve wears #4 in Purple and Gold for the first time!

Off to the Races

2009-09-06T19:01:00.002-06:00

NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway

This year the whole family went to the races. We slept in the tent, drove the fourwheelers all over the place and enjoyed 4 straight days of skin tingling, ear numbing full throttle racing.

Tehya's favorite driver is still Ashley Force.

Ada liked yelling "Ready, Set, Go!" each time a set of cars sat at the starting line.

Mom and Dad again reminisced about how this is where they met, and how even after all these years it is just as fun as the first time!

Sleepy Day

2009-09-06T18:53:00.001-06:00

Ada and Daddy must have both had a busy day, I caught them snoozing in the recliner together!

Feulner/Milbrandt Annual Cabin Weekend

2009-08-06T19:15:00.003-06:00

Each summer the Feulner family invites the Milbrandt clan up for a weekend at the cabin with them. Everyone had a wonderful time as always! Grandma Diane got plenty of rides in the paddle boat,
and Uncle Dave and Lauren were the first to successfully dump over the jet ski! (Yes this did start a trend!)

Ada and Grandma Diane playing in the sand

The big boys warming up out of the water

Ada on a jet ski for the first time!

Cabin Weekend Part 2

2009-08-06T19:11:00.003-06:00

Mom and Tehya took a few turns making waves too!

Dan without a doubt had the most fun on the jet skis! This did nothing to stop the talk of purchasing a set for our family!

Boys and their toys....

Ada had a lot of fun playing in the lake

She even liked seeing how far she could walk out in the water!

Cabin Weekend Part 3

2009-08-06T19:00:00.001-06:00

Ada thought it was really fun to play in the blow up raft
Tehya showing of her ballerina tubing skills! Look at that toe point!

Mom even decided to prove Dad wrong by attempting to get up on water skis! After ten years of not being behind a boat, and several humorous attempts...

Success! (even if it was brief!)

This is one of Mom's favorite pictures of the weekend. Ada was completely content sitting in the sand playing with toys for hours while everyone was taking turns on the jet skis and behind the boat. She filled buckets, made mud pies and even decorated a castle with shells her cousins found for her. I think Ada may have inherited a bit of Mom's beach bum trait!

Body Art Ada Style

2009-07-28T20:32:00.002-06:00

And once again, Ada found a way to do body art...oh the joys of markers!

Ada's Curls

2009-07-21T17:32:00.002-06:00

Being aware that my opinion is probably a little bit biased, I have to share that I think Ada has the most beautiful ringlet curls I have ever seen. I took these pictures the other night after her hair had dried from her bath. I love that they go all curly on their own!

Playing with Socks

2009-07-21T17:27:00.002-06:00

Ever since Ada was a baby she has been obsessed with feet...and with the things that go on them. She steals shoes, slippers and socks from everyone in the house and loves to wear them. She thinks it is very funny! She put on a pair of Dan's socks the other night and was dancing around the living room with them. It was very cute...albeit a bit strange!

Shopping for Jet Skis

2009-07-18T19:13:00.002-06:00

Dad has hat Jet Skis on the brain for months, and to be very honest Mom is surprised she has held off a purchase this long! He has been shopping craigslist, the classified ads and of course our local motor sports showroom.

Today he took the girls to check out the showroom and they both seemed right at home on the stand-up water bikes. Dad captured these pictures with his cell phone and then told mom "See, they would know exactly what to do if we bought these!" Mom has the feeling she is going to get outnumbered on this decision too.....

More Photo Shoot Pictures

2009-07-18T19:05:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple more headshot pictures from my photo shoot with Paul at Blackbird Portraits. I had a really good time taking a couple of hours for "me time" and am very pleased with the results of the shoot. Thanks again Paul!

Sleepy Sisters

2009-07-18T18:58:00.002-06:00

Dan got these pictures in his truck the other day with his cell phone....both girls were completely passed out! They must have had a long day of play at Mary Jeans!

Dads Gamer Girls

2009-07-05T20:24:00.003-06:00

Today Dad and both of his girls had some Xbox time together. Ada took her turn with the controller too and did a really good job. Tehya was very nice and helped her little sister with the buttons when it was her turn. Mom is for sure out numbered with this deal - three against one in favor of video games!

Grandma Diane has Brain Surgery

2009-07-05T20:11:00.002-06:00

Grandma Diane stopped by for a visit Saturday afternoon and the girls had her go downstairs to play right away. Mom went down to switch a load of laundry and found that Tehya was performing "brain surgery" on Grandma. She said that half of Grandma's brain needed to come out for fixing and that it would only be 700 weeks of recovery. Ada was Tehya's assistant and did a great job of handing the pretend medical tools to surgeon Tehya.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GG!! WE LOVE YOU!!

2009-07-03T20:18:00.003-06:00

Today is GG's Birthday!
We hope that she has a wonderful day!

Our whole family worked on a special Happy Birthday sign

Happy Birthday Gram! We all love you very, very much!

We hope you had a wonderful day.

We were thinking about you and wishing that we could be in person to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY GG!

"Finger" Painting

2009-07-03T20:06:00.005-06:00

This afternoon while Mom was grocery shopping and Dad was cleaning upstairs the girls decided to play downstairs. They were apparently feeling a bit on the creative side because Tehya climbed up the bookshelf in their playroom (scary!) and got the finger paints down. The girls did more than paint us a picture though - they painted the futon, the end table and some of the floor too! We couldn't help but smile...Tehya painted a beautiful picture and Ada painted most of her face! We also had to giggle when we saw the little Ada footprints painted on the floor!

Photo Shoot

2009-06-30T16:19:00.002-06:00

I had a photo shoot with a local photographer last weekend for "funsies". Paul is a friend of Chantel's and owns Blackbird Portraits (www.blackbirdportraits.com).

This is one of my favorite shots of the day. I think Paul does amazing work!

Ada- Bada - Bo - Bada, Banana Fana....

2009-06-30T16:01:00.002-06:00

It seems like overnight Ada has really started talking a lot and putting words together into little broken sentences.

A couple of her new catch phrases are:
-Me Doot! (me do-it)
-Du Noooo (Don't know and she shrugs her shoulders when she says it!)
-Ok Daddy/Mommy
-Hey You!

Some of the words she uses very clearly are:
-Please
-No
-More
-Puppy
-Kitty
-Sissy
-Momma
-Mommy
-Daddy
-Fishy
-Snack
-Water
-outside
-shoes
-Potty
-naughty (she usually uses this when Tehya is being told to do something!)
-Sorry
-Ouchie
-Ellie (our cat)

Ada has also recently started to do the following things:
-opening doors
-get ice cubes and water from the fridge door
-putting pants on by herself
-climbing up on and jumping off of everything! The girl is a monkey with no fear!

I will probably have to come back and add more a bit later as they come to me!

Sunday Yard Day

2009-06-28T18:19:00.003-06:00

Dan mulched around a couple of our front yard trees and our new big rock from the farm today. Now I am having huge urges to go buy more plants and flowers to fill in with. Maybe this planting project will wait until next spring.
Sorry for the tree shadow! This is a picture of the newly updated front rock wall. Dan added some larger stones to the wall we had started last year and I think it looks great. We will be filling in this area with a bunch of dirt and more mulch. The plan is to have a sitting area with a small table and a couple of chairs in this area along with the large cedar trellis I found and of course a bunch more plants and flowers!

The sidewalk garden is overflowing with blooms this year. I love the smell of them all as you walk towards our front door!

A new shot of the upfront garden. The plants in this garden are doing really well this year too. I only lost one from winter to spring! I mulched it in a couple of weekends ago and I am loving the way it looks.

One of the front sides of our house. Dan and I are very excited that once we finish the area around the corner that this section of the yard will be complete!

Milbrandt Castle (aka the Fort)

2009-06-28T18:10:00.002-06:00

Saturday night Dad and Tehya thought they would build a fort in the kitchen. The dining room table was the base of the structure, and then chair backs and couches helped to build on additional wings.
Here is the breezeway between the main fort and the addition off back

Mom even got invited into the fort to check things out

Ada didn't think that Mom should be in the fort. She said "Momma out!"

The fort experience became even better when Dad gave the girls snacks. Tehya even slept in the fort overnight! (Ada decided that her bed was more comfortable than the kitchen floor!)

Closet Camp Out

2009-06-28T18:02:00.002-06:00

Tehya had a great idea the other night - she wanted to have a camp out in her closet! Of course this meant that Ada was going to sleep there too, so out came the blankets and stuffed animals!
It took quite some time to get the girls settled down for sleep. Neither Mom or Dad were very surprised by that, but we were surprised that the girls kept trying to close the closet doors on themselves!

Eventually both of the girls settled down and some sleep did happen. Well that is until Ada rolled over and hit her head on the wall!

Grandma's make the best wagon pullers

2009-06-14T21:16:00.002-06:00

Grandma Diane came over for a visit after work one night to play with the girls. She got roped into wagon pullin' duty right away!

Poor grandma really got a work out this night - the girls rode around the backyard for a really long time!

After wagon time a game of hide and seek broke out. Ada tried really hard to play, but she just didn't understand that she wasn't supposed to tell where people were hiding!

Whirly Skirts

2009-06-14T21:08:00.002-06:00

Tehya made my heart sing when she said she wanted a picture of just her and her mommy together! What a great feeling.
Dan told the girls to twirl their skirts. Ada promptly fell on her butt and giggled.

Tehya is a master skirt whirler and twirler. She showed us how to do it the right way!

Ada making a goofy face....which I love and which she does a lot!

More twirls!

John Deere Girls Part 2

2009-06-14T20:54:00.003-06:00

I love this picture of Dan and the girls - they look like they just did something very silly together!
Tehya was very excited to model the second John Deere dress Aunt Shari made for her.

Ada thought it was pretty fun too!

This is one of my new favorite pictures of Ada. I think she looks so sweet and innocent here!

Tehya showing that she is taller than our lilacs. I told her to wait just a couple of years and she wont be able to say that anymore! Thank goodness they will grow faster than she will, I'm already nostalgic looking at what a little lady she is now!

2009-05-30T18:31:00.002-06:00

Dan played paintball today and decided to let the girls try out his new gun when he got home.
Tehya thought it was really cool that she could shoot paint at our garden trailer!

Ada got a kick out of shooting the gun too. She giggled everytime a paint ball splatted!

I think Daddy had fun sharing his new toy too....He always gets a silly grin when he gets to show his girls something new!

Our John Deere Girls

2009-05-30T18:21:00.002-06:00

Aunt Shari made both of the girls pretty sundresses.

Tehya always asks when we are going to the farm next and calls herself a John Deere girl, so the denim Deere print material is perfect! Shari made the girls a second set of dresses in another summer John Deere print, which I will post pictures of soon.

Thank you Shari!

Employment Update

2009-05-10T20:11:00.002-06:00

I am a bit behind in posting this update, but I figure better late than never!

I started my new job on April 13th, exactly six months after being laid off. I am working for another local printing company as an Account Manager and I absolutely love it so far!

The people are wonderful, the environment is professional and it appears to have quite a bit of opportunity for advancement, which is always wonderful. Plus I have to mention that the commute is only 12 minutes away from the girls' daycare, so I am loving it!

Thank you to everyone who was so supportive while I was unemployed, you kept my spirits up and reminded me that every time a door closes another one somewhere opens up.....and I am really liking this new door!

Fun in the Sun

2009-05-03T19:22:00.001-06:00

Yippee we finally had a sunshiney day!

More Easter Fun

2009-05-03T19:14:00.002-06:00

Easter Sunday at GG and Papa Charlie's house.

We had another egg hunt, lots of yummy food and even a couple of sets of rabbit ears!

Hunting for Eggs...the Golden kind

2009-04-25T22:57:00.003-06:00

Mom woke up not feeling very good on Saturday and had to miss Milbrandt Easter. Dad took the girls to the Hudson egg hunt to play Grandma Diane and their cousins and they both had a great time. Ada was the master of candy finding, and Tehya found a Golden Egg to turn in for a new Barbie doll prize! What a fun event!

Egg-cellent

2009-04-25T22:40:00.005-06:00

Daddy helped Ada 'gently' put her eggs in the dye...

Ada seemed to want to 'ker-plunk' them more.
Tehya took her egg dying this year very seriously.
She planned out each color combination...and they turned out beautifully!

Silly Spring!

2009-04-25T22:35:00.002-06:00

Dan and the girls headed outside with some Silly String Tehya has been saving since winter. Can you tell we all have spring fever? Bring on the sun-shiny days!

Present Time!

2009-04-25T22:30:00.003-06:00

"Gramma" Jean bought each of the girls a pretty new Easter dress.

What a great way to start a weekend!

Sneaky Snack

2009-04-25T22:25:00.003-06:00

Ada decided to find a snack the other day while mom was busy downstairs doing laundry. Push-ups anyone?

Snooooooooo!

2009-04-01T19:09:00.003-06:00

We woke up this morning to snow...on April 1st! Yuck!

Tehya and I were both pretty bummed out to see what was going on outside, but Ada rushed to the living room window and yelled excitedly "snooooooooooo!!!!!"
I guess Dan isnt the only snowbird in our house!

Our Greenhouse experiment

2009-04-01T18:59:00.003-06:00

Tehya and I have decided to try something new this year. We are starting some flower seeds in an indoor "greenhouse" container. Tehya is my garden helper, so she really enjoyed filling the cubes with dirt and deciding which section got what type of seeds. We are trying to germinate black eyed susans, coneflowers, 2 different kinds of poppies, snapdragons and a couple of others that we thought looked pretty on the seed packages!

Stuck!

2009-04-01T18:52:00.004-06:00

Before he passed away Grandpa Dick made doll cribs for his granddaughters. Our girls have theirs down in their playroom. Typically it holds their dolls, but this day Ada decided that she wanted to try out the crib.
It was all fun and games until she decided that she wanted to get out and couldnt figure out how to get out on her own. She was stuck!

She was hollering quite loudly when I left her in the crib to go get the camera instead of taking her out like she wanted!

House Plant Update

2009-04-01T18:48:00.003-06:00

My peace lilly is currently blooming, and the rubber plant and african violet love there new spots on our kitchen counter by the window
My other violets that used to be at my office are doing beautifully by our other kitchen window. They seem to like being at home more than at work.....I think I agree with them!

Ketchup goes where?!?

2009-04-01T18:44:00.002-06:00

After eating a hot dog Ada had ketchup ALL over her! She even had it in her hair!
She looked pretty pleased with herself as mommy was thinking she needed a bath right away!

And then she ate just ketchup off her plate. She loves her "dippy"!

Daddy Makes Mommy's Day!

2009-03-27T09:23:00.002-06:00

Dan came home a couple of days ago with a wonderful surprise for me....2 bunches of flowers! What a way to make my day! He said he saw them at the store and thought I would like them, and boy was he right!

(And yes, I did make sure that he didn't make any large purchases that I wasnt aware of!)

Ada is Potty Training

2009-03-26T19:50:00.004-06:00

Ada has recently been showing a lot of interest in potty training, so this week I have been bringing her to sit on the big potty a few times a day to see what happens. I am well aware that these are the types of photos that she will yell at me for years down the road, but I just couldnt resist sharing them. I think she is so cute as she sits and reads a book and tries to go potty!

Play Dough Playtime!

2009-03-26T19:36:00.005-06:00

Today was Ada's first time playing with Play Dough!
She wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first, but after watching Tehya dig in she caught on pretty quickly.

Before I knew it she was up on the table squishing and squashing the rolled up balls of Play Dough thatTehya would make her

I love this picture. Tehya was zoned out watching the cartoons that were on the TV, and I think Ada was trying to figure out what was wrong with her!

Club Jump

2009-03-26T19:22:00.002-06:00

Tehya and Ada were very excited when they got invited to their friends Brittany and Ella's birthday party. The party was held at Club Jump in Woodbury, and according to Tehya "That place is totally awesome!"

Daddy went with the girls for the party, and I think he had just as much fun as the kids did!

Ada Goes Biking Too!

2009-03-25T14:52:00.002-06:00

Not one to be outdone by her big sister, Ada thought it was a good day to go bike riding as well. She started out on the scooter getting pushed by dad, and then graduated to her new trike that Chantel handed down to us. She did great learning how to pedal!

Tehya Gets a New Bike....Again

2009-03-25T14:43:00.002-06:00

As you may remember, Tehya got a two-wheeler bike for her birthday this year. Well, the bike was a little too big for her (and for training wheels) so mom and dad went out this weekend and got her another one to use until she grows a bit taller.

The new Barbie themed bike was a hit - especially seeing as it has a clip on the handle bars for one of your Barbie dolls to ride with you!

The Music of the Milbrandt's

2009-03-20T20:16:00.006-06:00

So I have discovered that you can have music play on your blog!

This discovery got me excited....and the next hour that it took me to figure it out got me mad!

I hope you enjoy the background tunes that I have chosen...just a few songs that have sentimental meaning to Dan and I. I am sure I will change them periodically, but for now I like my playlist creation!

Leave your comments if you have any suggestions!

Moo-mey!

2009-03-20T17:40:00.004-06:00

This morning Ada came up to me with open hand and showed me two dimes and a nickle. She said "Moomey!" I said "No Ada, that is MONEY." "Moomey!" she replied. So I told her to follow me to her room and I had her put it in her piggy bank. She clapped after the coins clinked to the bottom.

About ten minutes later Ada came up to me, again with open hand, and showed me five pennies and a quarter. She said "Moomey!" I said "No Ada, that is MONEY, lets go put it in your piggy bank." She put the coins in her bank and clapped as they clinked to the bottom.

About five minutes later Ada came up to me again, this time with two open hands FULL of change! "Moomey!" she exclaimed quite excitedly. I led her to her piggy bank once again, and giggled to myself as she clapped again as the last coin clinked to the bottom.

Now at this point I have realized that these coins probably aren't coming from the cushions in the couches or even from a pocket in a pair of jeans laying on the floor, so I decide to spy on her to see where she is getting her loot from.

I followed her into Dan and my bedroom and catch her on her tiptoes reaching into his dresser valet and blindly reaching for anything she can find. Good thing I followed her this time because the change was all gone and she came up with a $100 bill!!!

The picture is poor quality, but all I could grab fast enough was my cell phone...

Good job finding Daddys stash Ada!