Mykaela

If you hang around our family very long, you will most likely get confused by another "M" name that gets mentioned quite often - Mykaela. Mykaela is our neighbor and baby-sitter. But she isn't just any regular old neighbor and baby-sitter she is seriously the best! Our girls love and adore her and Mykaela says the feeling is mutual. I never have to worry about our girls when they're with Mykaela... she does everything as I ask and even better. I always come home to some awesome game they made up or a craft Mykaela concocted with them. She is not a boring baby-sitter that sits on the couch. She actually told me that she gets sad when it's time to put the girls to bed because then it gets boring after that. Outside of babysitting, Mykaela is at our house on a regular basis just hanging out. We've gotten so used to having her around, missing Mykaela is going to be the hardest part of moving this summer. We're thankful she has a car though and it's only one mile away... that way we can still have impromptu sprinkler parties and hour long chat sessions sitting in the driveway!

So a few weeks ago Mykaela went to prom. We were there with camera in hand... we wouldn't miss it! The girls almost got shy around her because she looked so different... we're used to her in basketball shorts, t-shirt and a ponytail! Maya kept saying she looked like a princess! She looked great and I just had to include the sweetest picture of Mykaela with our girls.

Getting So Big!

I had to share these pictures because this is exactly how I'll remember Maya Gracie at age 3! This was an evening this past week when Daddy and sisters were at soccer practice so it was rather quiet in the house. We spent time baking pumpkin bread, colored, did some puzzles and then she resorted to sitting in the corner and cutting one piece of white paper into miniscule shreds :) Oh the things that entertain 3 year olds!

SO pretty! Love that she has curls in the back now!

Maya's cheesy grin! Goes along great with her snort when she laughs :)

Dying Easter Eggs

I was behind on EVERYTHING for Easter this year. I think we dyed eggs 2 days before. Goodies were purchased on Saturday night at 9:00. Never really planned a big meal for the day. Ugh. BUT, we still had a wonderful day celebrating the true meaning for the holiday... the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Here are some pictures of us coloring Easter eggs this year. I absolutely despise the egg kits with dye. Dye gets everywhere and it stains. And if the eggs don't dry properly the dye gets all over everything when you hide them. So this year I found a splendid idea on Pinterest... when the eggs are still slightly warm from boiling them, take crayons (washable) and draw on them. The wax melts onto the crayon and makes very vibrant designs. The girls loved it and had a lot of fun! I think we found a new Budke tradition!

Easter 2012

We celebrated Easter at home this year! It was a very laidback, relaxing day for all of us, which is exactly what we needed in the midst of our crazy, stress-filled lives. The girls enjoyed finding their baskets and eggs in the morning, we went to church and spent the afternoon playing together as a family. It was wonderful! Happy Easter from my three little munchkins! So excited to find their baskets!

Time to start digging through the baskets!

My girls all pretty and ready for church!

Mommy and her girls (and the two little peanuts in my belly that you can't see very well in this picture!)

Dino-Stars

The second grade at Echo Hill put on "Dino-Stars" for this year's music program. So cute! Makenna was Speaker 17 and did a great job! She was very articulate and expressive, not to mention that all of her dance moves rocked :) All the kids were instructed to dress like dinosaurs. I had clear instructions from my 7 year old that she wanted to be a purple and pink dinosaur. Oh boy. It was a challenge for this sewing/craft-challenged mom, but I think the final product was awfully cute and dinosaur-y! My Dino-Star Makenna!

Showing off her costume! I like the claws the best!

Rocking her dance moves up on stage!

Another view of the back of the costume with all the spikes!

Saying her lines on stage!

Double Blessings

In case you haven't heard the big news, we are expecting twins in August! We couldn't be happier to be adding a little sister and a little brother to our family later this summer! It is an understatement to say that our lives have been chaotic since we got the news. We decided to put our house on the market and build a new house all at the same time as well. Thus the lack of blog posts lately. I feel really guilty about it, but this might be the theme for the next year or more as we adjust to life with two new little ones. Here are my belly shots along the way! 8 weeks pregnant with twins... still looking normal but I thought I was starting to show. HA!

Almost 10 weeks... notice the big jump in just 2 weeks

14 weeks

19 weeks

22 weeks

We had our 5th ultrasound today (benefit of having twins is getting to see your babies all the time!). Babies are growing WONDERFULLY! Thank you God! Baby girl measured in at 1 lb 6 oz (which is over the 50% for babies her age) and Baby boy measured in at 1 lb 13 oz (which is over 80% for babies his age). This means that both of them measured further along than we currently are (which is just under 24 weeks). The doctor told me that their weights are "impressive", especially considering the fact that they are twins (which typically means they are smaller). Baby B (the boy) had switched positions from our last ultrasound at 20 weeks. Baby girl is head down and curled up in the lower right hand corner of my belly and Baby boy is lying transverse across my belly... his head by his little sister's feet, back running right under my rib cage and then legs/feet hanging down into sister's face. They were consantly kicking each other during the ultrasound :( Poor peanuts are squished! But of course the boy is hogging all the space and taking up 2/3 of my tummy area! My love for them is already overwhelming me. They are the most amazing little blessings in the world! I'm so glad that God gave us this unexpected journey!

Wrestling Hall of Fame

On February 18th, 2012 Josh was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame. To say we are proud of him is an understatement! He devoted such a large part of his life to this sport that it's nice to see him being recognized for his accomplishments. It is a huge honor and he is humbled to be a part of such an elite group of wrestlers. Thank you to all of our family for being there to celebrate with us!


Waiting for our turn on the mat! The girls were SO good! I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous on how they would react... adults don't like being in front of that many people let alone when you're 2, 5, and 7! But they were perfect! They stood still and smiled and no one even picked their nose or pulled up their dress like mommy was worried about ;)


Standing on the mat listening to all of Josh's accomplishments! Very proud moment! But we look so serious in all the pictures!


The guy was walking towards us with Josh's award... look at the excitement on Maryn's face! Gotta love that kid's enthusiasm!


I'm so glad that I was actually there for a good portion of Josh's wrestling career. Not only do we have awesome memories together, but I think it makes our relationship stronger because I understand a part of him that is hard to explain. I am so blessed to be his wife and best friend.


Our three beautiful girls!!! Who were all so excited for their Daddy! We spent weeks picking out pretty outfits just for this event!


Me, my mom and my sister Jeanne.


The girls eating dinner in our suite after the Hall of Fame. Josh pulled a few strings and was able to get us seats up in a suite (and food!) for the finals of the State Wrestling Tournament.


My favorite picture of the entire weekend! Look at all those smiles!


A huge thank you to my Dad for the pictures! We were so surprised to be standing on the mat waiting for our turn and see Poppy across the mat in the media section! He got some awesome pictures!

Maya's 3rd Birthday Party

Maya picked a Dora theme for her 3rd birthday party! Lots of fun was had by everyone, especially the birthday girl :)


Birthday girl posing with her "cake"!


The Dora cupcake creation that Target made for me with dairy-free topping!


Maya's new Dora dress and Zinkies


Maya's new big sister doll that came with twin little brothers and sisters :) So sweet! Plus a pack n play to put them in!


Gotta love Dora jammies! She insisted on wearing them for clothes a few days later :)


Happy Birthday girl with the Dora cupcakes she picked out!


Blowing out her candles


One of Maya's all-time favorite games is "Just Dance" on the Wii... so of course we had to play with our cousins at the birthday party!


More "Just Dance". Maya is amazingly good at this considering she's only three!