Holiday World 2017

It has been 2 yrs since we traveled down to Holiday World to spend the Labor Day weekend with the Erwin family. We had so enjoyed the little tradition we had begun, so this year we decided to start it back up again! And we are so glad we did! The kids had a ball together and are already looking forward to next year. :) Our first day we stayed around the cabin and went fishing, played on the playground, went swimming, grilled out and made smores by the campfire. And the second day we headed to Holiday World where we spent the entire day from open to close! We were able to ride a ton of rides in the park AND play at the water park too! It was SO fun!! And then today we headed to Santa's Candy Shop to pick up a few favorites before heading home. Thank you Brian, Amy, Ian, Clare & Eryn for making this such a fun tradition we all enjoy, we love you guys!!

Posing for a pic in front of the cabin together before we left

Wheeeeee!!!

Even Luke enjoyed the blue ice cream!

The girls had SO much fun playing together!

This was Emmy's1st roller coaster!!!!

Emmy-almost 5 yrs old!

Emmy-almost 3 yrs old!

The "Fishies" was Emmy's 1st ride ever, here she is at almost 2yrs old!!!

The gang w/ Santa

Luke actually loved Santa, or maybe just his white beard!! He just kept staring at him!

So cute!!

This one just might make the Christmas card, stay tuned!!! :)

Luke-14 months!!

Here are a few things our little man is doing at 14 months....

-Walking!! He started taking steps not long after his birthday but is now walking everywhere! (And he has mastered going up and down the stairs too) I absolutely love watching him "find his feet" as he toddles along, his cute belly leading the way :)

-Teeth!! He has 12 or 13 now and 4 or 5 of those are coming in all at once, poor guy! Speaking of teeth, Luke absolutely loves getting his teeth brushed! He opens his mouth wide and laughs, every time

-Still such a good eater!! He loves meat, peas, green beans, cheese, and all berries!!

-He has such a fun personality! I love heading in to his room in the morning or after a nap....he always has the biggest grin on his face and is completely excited to see us. It is precious. He also loves to wave and say "bye bye" especially to Daddy :)

-He loves to play! And when you get down on the floor on his level, watch out....he loves to attack!

-He still absolutely loves Emmy Jane! It is so fun to watch the two of them play, they truly enjoy being together.

This was Luke's 1st day at Miss Ashley's, she will be watching Luke on the days I work now that Carol has retired. Seeing those smiles made my day!!!

Playing in the playroom with Big Sis

Luke & Bridgette, don't they look adorable?!

Now that Emmy is in school, Luke and I have had lots of fun being silly, just the two of us! 

He looks like such a little man!

Red Robin.....YUM! 

(What you don't see on his tray is the mac n' cheese, he gobbled that down first!)

He loves trying to feed himself too....sometimes he makes it to his mouth, but most of the time he ends up wearing it!!! :)

"How did I grow so fast?"

Today was Emmy's first day of school....and she loved it!! Josh and I knew she was ready for Pre-K, but still, it's all day, every day, and at the elementary school!! Ahhhh!!! How is our baby going to school already?!?! Last night as we were walking home from "Meet the Teacher" night, she looked back at me said, "How did I grow so fast?!" I laughed and then stopped right there on the sidewalk and just hugged her and said, "I don't know hunny, but you sure have!" I couldn't help it, but my tears had officially begun! And then they came again before bed as we read the book her teacher had given her, "The Night Before Preschool" But thankfully this morning as we walked out the door, the Kemerly's happened to be walking by on their way to school too. Emmy was so excited to walk with Ashlynne and can you believe they even had the same outfit on?! Just their shirts were different colors, but the same skirt!! Haha, they looked adorable. Being the first day, we got to walk Emmy all the way to her class. She was such a big girl as she told Luke she loved him, gave me a kiss and sat down in the seat marked especially for her. I was so glad to have Gabbi to walk home with, or I know I would've bawled the whole way! And when Luke and I anxiously met her after school, she ran in to my arms and yelled, "Mommy, I had the best first day of school ever!!!" I was so proud and of course started crying again!! Emmy Jane, Daddy and I are so proud of you as you begin this new chapter in your life, we love you sweet girl and will always remember this special day!!

Emmy right after school today!!! Yay for a GREAT first day!!!!!

Daddy and his girl :)

Can you see how red my face was? Josh and I both were trying to hide our tears!

For the first time ever in his life, Luke didn't want to eat his breakfast this morning...almost like he knew something was going on!!!

Ready for her first big day!

So stinkin' cute, and we totally didn't plan it!

Could her smile be any bigger?? So precious!!

Happy Birthday Papa!!

Over the weekend we got to surprise my dad for his birthday. It was GREAT to see how surprised he was and to see how excited Emmy was to pull off the surprise! By the way, the necklace my dad is wearing in the picture was made especially for him by Emmy :) Happy Birthday Papa, we love you!!!

Grandma Baker

Today we said goodbye to Grandma Baker. She went to be with the Lord on Aug 1, at 96 years of age. Josh did a wonderful job honoring his grandma at her funeral. The speech he gave was simply beautiful, we were all so proud. And Grandma would've been too :)

Below is a picture taken of Josh, Emmy, Sue and Grandma on her 92nd birthday and then a few family pics from today.

June 2013, Emmy was 8 months old

The Baker Clan :)

Strange Summer :)

This summer has gone so fast and has been so much fun!! It's hard to believe that in just 2 short weeks Josh (and now Emmy!) will start school. But we have been able to do so much! Here are some of the fun things we were up to this summer!

-Day trip to New Buffalo, Michigan with Grace, Mary and the Atkinson family to play at the beach and eat cheeseburgers at Redamaks, yum!

-My cousin Melody's wedding in Minneapolis, and getting to vist w/ family we rarely get to see

-Celebrating Josh's 40th birthday on our 1st trip to Wisconsin Dells with the Kemerley family

-Play dates with Ashlynne and swimming in their pool

-Sleepovers with Colt at Grammy & Gramps' house

-Having a special "date day" with Emmy where just the three of us went to lunch and then out to a movie

-Visiting Papa & Grandma at the farm   

-Weekends at the Lake fishing, tubing, etc

-Numerous trips to the park, zoo, children's museum, and splash pad

-Outside fun in the backyard/neighborhood, running in the sprinkler, playing in the playhouse, swinging on the swingset, riding bikes and going for walks

And last but not least, the days Emmy & Luke got to spend with Daddy while I was at work, playing dress up in the playroom, going to ice cream plus for a treat and just spending time together.....priceless. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haha, can you tell how impossible it was to get all 6 of the kids to look?

 

 

 

Emmy absolutely loves water slides so she couldn't wait to try all the ones she was tall enough for (even the scary ones!) Josh and I were so proud of her!!