May 2011

Yaaay! It's Spring, lets get outside.

Izzy and her little friend Maddie. They would rather play witht the dog toys than their toys.

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Izzy over seeing Mommy's planting abilities.

My petunias to plant for the year.

Izzy enjoying her fudgecicle.

Izzy tailgaiting before the Nebraska vs. Creighton game. Love the chilled look on  her face.

Daddy and Izzy eating at the game. You can't go to a baseball game without getting a hotdog.

Prayer before the game.

She is getting to be such a big girl.

The deer at the safari.

The black bear.

The Elk were amazing.

Izzy enjoying the ride throught the safari.

Daddy and Izzy on the trail to the wolf and bear.

Well this month will go in the history of one of the worst months ever. I am feeling really sick from being pregnant. I just can't seem to kick it. Also, the Lord decided to take my Grandma to reunite with my Grandpa. I can't believe I lost both of them in such a short amount of time. It definitely leaves a void in your heart. My grandmother's passing was unexpected and has been very hard to wrap my brain around. It's definitely going to take a lot of time to get over. I miss you Grandma. Give Grandpa a hug for me.

Since the weather has been slightly nicer we have gotten out in the yard a little more. Izzy had her friend Maddie Rosipol over to play for a bit. Izzy is such a tomboy. She loves the dirt and being outdoors looking at all the bugs. We also enjoyed hte weather of the Nebraska vs. Creighton game. Mark Izzy and I went downtown to the new TD Ameritrade stadium to watch the close game between the two teams. Unfortunately Nebraska lost by 2 points, coming up from behind. Izzy did so well just hanging out with us.

A couple of weeks later we decided to experience the safari of Nebraska out on I-80. It was actually a neat experience and Izzy enjoyed the ride. The pelicans really tried to back up traffic.

This year was an awesome Mother's Day. We went and picked out all our flowers for the summer and got them planted to give our house a splash of color. So far so good......they are still alive. I enjoy planting the pretty flowers, but I get so frustrated when you do all you can and they just don't make it. We have little catepillers that eat the flowers in mid July. My goal this year is to treat the flowers so they last a little longer. I had a fun end to the day enjoying a fudgecicle with my daughter. What a GREAT day!

Talk soon, hope everyone is doing well.

April 2011

Dying Easter Eggs at Great Grandma and Grandpa Brown's.

After finding all the gifts the Easter Bunny left at Gamma and PopPop's.

Easter Egg hunt at Great Grandma and Grandpa Brown's.

Izzy and PopPop on Easter.

My cousin Heather, myself and all the great grand children.

Cletus hanging out at Gamma and PopPop's.

Izzy and PopPop after we surprised them that Izzy was going to be a big sister.

Izzy's special shirt. She will live up to the name in December.

Izzy and I after a day of paintingt toe nails.

Izzy's favorite back yard past time. She could spend hours in the sand box.

My cousin Kash getting ready to take the field at a Husker game. He is one of this year's big hitters.

Izzy cheering on Kash at his game. Go Hugers!

Kashy upn to bat.

Izzy and Gamma enjoying a hot dog at the game.

I have been neglecting the blog for a while. So bare with me as I don't remember what happened yesterday, let alone two months ago. At the end of March, Mark and I found out we are having baby number two. Boy did I have "mommy guilt" when I first found out. How am I going to divide my time between the two children. I talked to my good friend Sarah and she said the best thing I could ever give Izzy is a sibling. You know she is absolutely correct. I am really excited now and can't wait to meet the new little one.

At the beginning of April we went to watch my cousin Kash play baseball in Lincoln. He plays for the Huskers and is one of their big hitters this year. We are sure proud of him. Lots of friends and family came because they were celebrating Grand Island and featured Kash. It was great to get my Grandma K. there since my Grandpa has passed away.

A week later we all went back to GI because Mark and I were the sponsors for his niece and nephew's confirmation. We put Izzy in a shirt that said "Big Sister" and waited to see how long it took for my parents to notice her shirt. Of course when we got home no one was there. When my mom got home she noticed right away. My dad was down at the shop cleaning things up so we all went there to show him. I had told him that we had a surprise for him. When we got there we talked and talked and he didn't even notice. We finally had to tell him to look at Izzy's shirt. He was really excited. He thought that we had bought a new car and that was our surprise. He wasn't expecting the baby news at all. Then my dad took Izzy to my Grandma K's apartment. She didn't notice either and when we told her to read Izzy's shirt, her response was "Really?". She had the biggest smile on her face.

Izzy and I came back to GI the following week for Easter. My cousins and uncle came to visit from Wichita. We had Easter dinner and died eggs on Saturday and then had the hunt on Sunday. Then Izzy and I headed out to Mark's aunt's house for Easter lunch. It was nice to finally get home and see Mark.

Well, until next month. I am behind on May too. I'll try to get to it soon.

March 2011

We went to the horse races at Fonner Park in GI for my birthday. Mark put a little message on the electronic board.

Horses going off the track after a race.

Izzy and Grandma D at the races.

Lindsay, Me, and Lisabeth at the races for my birthday.

Every year we go back to GI and my hubby puts on a fun day at the races for my birthday.

The Zweiner and Mulligan clan. Heather and her husband live in Omaha.She is from Pleasanton and came to the races with her husband Ryan, sister Melissa, and brother Gabriel.

This is my cool baby girl. She wanted to put on boots, hat and eyes.

Izzy in her shades and messy face after dinner.

 This is on St. Patrick's Day in GI.

We were in the yard taking pictures at my parents' house. My grandfather was cremated so we were in GI to say our good-byes before he was gone.

Gamma and Izzy

The Peace Lily I got from my Grandpa's funeral that I am trying hard to keep alive. I was taught that the chlorine in our city water can damage this flower so I have to buy distilled water to water my flower!

Izzy and Gamma at my Grandparents' house the day of the visitation.

Izzy and Gamma going for a walk to pass the time. It was a beautiful day the day of visitation but the funeral was freezing.

My little cookie monster.

Passsing time on the potty.

Izzy has been singing her little heart out. She walks around the house singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star non-stop. Other favorites are Old McDonald, Wheels on the Bus, and Little Monkeys Jumping on the bed. She has also been counting to ten with a little help. We still struggle with our ABC's.

Potty training is still a work in progress. We go in the mornings when mommy puts her on the potty and she asks for her M&M's when she's done. Gotta love a smart child.

We went to Grand Island for my birthday and bet our money at the horse races. We didn't get any big wins but I don't think we lost too much either. My friends the Mulligans, Lindsay and Lisabeth, and the Petersens came out to help celebrate. We also had some friends from Hastings, the Osbornes and Hermes join us too.

A week later we had a great loss in our family. My Grandpa Kalkowski decided it was time to go home to Heaven. He had been sick for about a year after suffering a stroke. He would be recovering very well and then have a set back. He finally decided he was tired. He will be greatly missed. He was a very successful carpenter and owned Kalkowski construction. It was a business started by my great-grandfather that came to the states from Poland. My grandpa was very intelligent and was always genuinely interested in what you were up to. I will miss the long conversations and his no nonsence approach to life.

I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. I will write next month to keep you updated. Give your families an extra squeeze and tell them you love them.



Ariann

February 2011

This is Izzy reading to her little lamb.

Playing in the front yard after school one day. Izzy loves the neighbor's dog and that is what she is so focused on.

Mommy bought Izzy a new had for hanging around the pool this summer. Had to get a picture of it. She looks thrilled huh?

My little model.

This is Izzy saying "Cheeese."

This is Izzy in her Valentine's Day outfit. She is tuckered out from a big party at school. We ordered in Chinese and ate Valentine's dinner at home together.

                                                                         Izzy's little red outfit.


February has been a pretty uneventful month. Izzy had her 18 month check up (a little late) and everything is great. She now weighs 25 lbs. and is 33 inches long. My baby is growing so fast. She's actually not a baby anymore, but a full blown toddler. Her hair is thickening up and growing longer, though she is still often called a little boy. I try to keep bows in as much as possible.

In the middle of February, I had a conference in KC and Mark came with me. We had a great time seeing the girls from St. Louis. Izzy stayed with Gamma and they had a good time. Time out was only used once or twice. Time out gets used quite often in our house for standing on the couch, hitting, and doing the complete opposite of what mommy asks her to do.

Izzy's vocabulary is growing everyday. It is amazing at all the things she knows. I have been starting to work on her ABC's but she doesn't quite get it yet. A she calls an "O"  and she can say B, but for some reason they just don't stick. Oh well, it will come in due time.

We are back on the potty again. She took a number 2 and then suddenly got scared of the potty and wouldn't sit on it anymore. She is starting to warm up to the idea again. I hope to have her potty trained shortly after her 2nd birthday. Everyone tells me she will do it when she is ready so we won't push the issue too much.

Hope everyone is doing well and we'll talk soon.

Ari