New addition to the Bartelt family

We have expanded our family! No...not another baby! Another kitty! We adopted a 8 month old black kitten we named Raven. We got her this past Sunday July 17 from the Door County Humane Society. Shes going to be a long haired cat we are guessing.

So far its going as well as we expected and it can go with introducing Dakota to a new cat. Dakota has been alone since we got her when she was 3 months old (shes now 5) Raven tends to do the hissing at Dakota but that's because Dakota pretty much corners her and Raven has no way of getting around her. Dakota for the first couple days hid in our bedroom and barely came out. We think that was due to her vaccines we had to get updated and they were kicking in. Dakotas been coming out of our room a lot more now. But they still are getting used to each other.

Now...Alexis and Raven are best buddies! Raven lets Alexis pet her, stick toys in her face, Alexis shares her kid toys with Raven also. Every day during nap time Alexis sleeps on the couch and Raven is right next to her sleeping until Alexis wakes up. As I type this now they are sleeping next to each other. Its nice having an animal that will grow up with Alexis and tolerates her alittle more then Dakota does. Dakotas never mean towards Alexis just Dakota runs away when Alexis comes towards her.

Raven has been pretty good around here for being a kitten. She plays with hair ties mostly and then sleeps for 3 hours. So in all its going as well as it can with the two cats!

here are pictures of our new baby!


She doesn't have blue eyes..there green. She's going to be my Halloween kitty!



Dakota and Raven meeting for the first time



This picture has nothing to do with Raven but its just a cute picture of Alexis and me. We wore some what matching summer dresses last Sunday. This picture shows how she is becoming a goof when Daddy tells her to say cheese!


Alexis playing with Raven. This is a little cat toy with some feathers on the top. Alexis was pretty much just shoving the toy in her face but she didn't mind!

Just like Dakota, Raven loves to sit on Kevin's lap while he plays Playstation.

This is how they love to take naps together! Adorable!

Update

Hi all!

Its been a busy few weeks here! I now have some free time to quick write a new post.

In the time since my last post we had Kevins 26th birthday on Thurs. May 26th. He worked but during the day Alexis and I made a cake for him....his favorite..strawberry! That night the whole gang went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I do believe Kevins favorite gift was Alexis taking her FIRST STEPS on his birthday! We were getting her ready and she took her first 2 steps all by herself! (as of now..she is taking about 5 or 6 steps by herself and standing alone very well. She also will some times now walk with one of us only hold one of her hands)


Our family in Twins shirts and jeans! :)


The gang that came out for Kevins birthday.


Silly, silly Alexis!



That weekend was the weekend Chad graduated from high school. Feels like yesterday he just started! I did take a lot of pictures but here are just some of the high lights.

Alexis and Joe playing together at grandma and grandpas house.

The whole Bartelt gang at Chads graduation party!



This picture is so Alexis. Her famous look!

Memorial weekend was a nice weekend. We stayed an extra night and that was nice to just sit and catch up with the family. Its now great seeing Alexis, Emily and Joe all play together now that Alexis is older. All 3 of them are growing so fast and each of them have such amazing personalities you can't help but just love and soak up every minute with them!
We will be going back to La Crosse June 24-26th and I promise a picture of the kids together.


That next week my mom had vacation all week. I just did a lot of unpacking their new house since Kevin and I were gone for the big move. That Wednesday my mom did come with Alexis and I to our Little Gym class and she took some pictures....
An action shot of her forward roll. I start singing the song...it goes...hands down, touch the ground, smell your belly and roll!! She loves it!

The class playing with the parachute.

Now this past Wednesday June 8th was our last class and it was show week. Kevin and my dad came along to see all of Alexis favorite things she learned there.

Just crawling around



This was her walking a few steps on the beam then doing a forward roll.



She was very tired by the end of class but here she is with her medal and certificate! Way to go Alexis!!!


I do believe I mentioned in a post awhile back that Kevin had made Alexis a toy box/book shelf and I painted it..well here is the finished project all set in her room. Turned out just how we imagined!


Kevin had off this past tuesday (the 7th) we went to Bay Beach for the first time! It was hot! but a nice breeze off of the bay. Us 3 went on the train then I went on the marry go round and helicopters with Alexis.

Her first time on the merry go round! She loved it! She is getting so big!


Us on the helicopters. She was looking up and smiling at me

The next day (wed 8th) Alexis and I played in her new baby pool. We set it up on our deck with a little water and just played for awhile. Our deck is all shade in the afternoon and that is really nice!

I do believe Alexis saw a bird and was "talking" to it in this picture.


That is it for new pictures for right now.
In other news...Kevin has now started his new shift last Monday (the 6th) he now works 1-9:30pm. He doesn't mind it but it's taking me a little bit to get used to him working at night again since he hasn't since we lived in Milwaukee. At least we spend time together in the morning with Alexis and she's usually happier in the morning then after supper when shes getting tired. I now have started doing the paper route I used to do again. I only do it about 4 days a week though this time. Just a little money to save up.

Yesterday we got a "new" truck! It's going to be Kevins. It's a 1993 Chevy S-10. Dark green with a gold trim..Packer colors! It was my moms friends truck..only she owned it but it has been sitting outside not used to quiet some time so it does need a little work but nothing major. For it being on the older side it looks very nice!! No rust, dents, or anything. Kevin really likes it and is very excited to fix up his new truck! I am very excited that the Trailblazer is now mine! :) We have really missed having 2 cars and will never do that again! haha.

This weekend we are going camping!! Very excited for this camping trip..even though its now Alexis first camping trip this year she is older and will have much more fun! Go swimming, play at the park, lots of walks! Very excited! :)


Wellllll I think this is long enough for now :) Hope every one is doing well and I will try to keep up with this as much as I can this summer

May = month of birthdays!

In the month of May, between both our families, we have 8 birthdays! Yikes!

Monday May 9th was my brothers 20th birthday. We had a little party at my house for him. My mom made supper, I made the cake! It was a nice little birthday party. Here are a couple pictures...


Evan and the cake I made him. He was lucky enough to get the left over pink frosting and candles from the cake I made for Alexis' birthday :)


I still had the birthday banner from Alexis' birthday party and instead of taking it down I just decorated it for Evan! I found some pictures of his past birthdays and taped them up. In a lot of Evans baby pictures it is amazing how Alexis looks like her Uncle Evan!


This past Sunday May 15th was my birthday. Thank you all for the cards you sent me! :)
This was the first birthday of mine that Kevin did NOT have to work! It was so nice! We had a nice lunch at Noodles & Company (its amazing how on your birthday you end up doing things that makes your child happy..which she loves Mac N Cheese so we had that) then while Alexis napped in the afternoon I finished painting her toy box that Kevin made for her. Took me awhile to paint it but its finally done! (I will get pictures of that soon) For dinner we went to Krohls with my parents, brother,Brandon, Abby, Aunt Annette. It was a nice time!
Here are a few pictures...


Alexis now is in the stage of not sitting still while out to eat! She is so into walking around but not by herself yet. So most the time one of us was walking her around. She loves all the attention she gets from people aww-ing at her and just smiles back!



This picture is a very good at showing off her beautiful bright blue eyes! Absolutely amazing!!


Family picture with the birthday cake

My Aunt Annette, me and my mom


Just a sweet family picture. I made she we all matched and wore yellow for my birthday. Kevin says he wants us all to wear Twins gear on his birthday!



This was taken this week (just wearing a Valentines day bib) her first time eating grape jelly toast. She LOVED it! Alexis is very into rubbing her dirty hands all over her face and playing with her hair. Mommy loves to clean it up! :) But its adorable so I don't mind

This week Alexis and I have been loving the nicer weather and been walking to the park a lot. She likes to walk of course all the way there (the park is pretty much in our back yard!) She loves to swing and climb up the steps to the play ground. I was surprised at how well she crawled up the steps seeing as how we don't have any steps and the only ones she plays on is at The Little Gym. The Little Gym sure is paying off!!! Yesterday Alexis discovered wood chips. We sat and played with them for 30 mins! She only tried twice putting them in her mouth.


Tomorrow and next week my parents are moving. Just 4 houses down! Hopefully this makes it a easier move...we are just carrying stuff down the road instead of a U-Haul. Hard to believe their moving but this is a much nicer place with a decent landlord. On Sunday my mom and I are going to Madison's dance recital. She is in 7 dances this year and 1 of them being a solo!! I am so excited to see her dance up on stage all by herself!! So this shall be a busy weekend!!

Tattoo and my second mothers day

I now have my first tattoo! I got it done this past Saturday (May 7th) I got a Gerbera Daisy and Sweet Pea flower along with Alexis's name on my left ankle. Gerbera Daisys and Sweet Peas are the flowers for the month of April which I got because Alexis was born in April (as every one knows! hehe)
It hurt but not like I thought it would which is good. Always expect the worse!
Here is a picture of it.


I love it! It turned out better then I was expecting which is always a good thing.



On Mothers day my parents, and Kevin, Alexis and I went to the N.E.W Zoo. It was such a beautiful day out and moms got in for free!! Alexis loves all the animals and had a blast talking to all of them.

Alexis and Mommy! I was singing her favorite song "if your happy and you know it" but her smile is adorable and you can see her 2 bottom teeth!

A nice family picture after walking around the zoo.




These next pictures are just of her recently on random days.



This is Dakota in between the glass patio door and the screen door. It has become her new place to sit when she wants to be in the sun but away from the goofy baby. Its so funny because Dakota is such a hairy cat her hair sticks all over the place. Tomorrow (Sat. May 14th) is Dakotas birthday...she'll be 5 years old!


This is how Alexis likes to chill while watching her favorite movies while Mommy gets stuff done.

Alexis is 1!!!!

Our little girl is already 1! I don't know where the time went?!?!?!?!

She had such a good birthday on Thursday April 21st and then an awesome 1st birthday party on Saturday April 23rd!

Thank you to everyone you came, sent cards, gifts!! You have all spoiled my daughter! :) She has been loving all her new toys!

Thursday her and I just spent a lot of time playing together (a little more than usual! :) ) and waited for every one to get off of work. After work Kevin went to Rocky Rococo's and picked up 2 large pizzas since that pizza is Alexis's favorite! We had over my parents, brother and Brandon and his girlfriend Abby. We had a lot of fun and Alexis loved the cake I made for her!

Here are pictures of her actual birthday.


This is the toy box Kevin made for Alexis. On top is a book shelve for all her books. Right now I am in the works of painting it pink and purple then putting a felt board on the front for her to play with and make pictures.

Alexis and me with the cake I made for every one. I made Alexis her own little cake to eat/smash.

Yes, I did get bangs!! I also cut it a lot shorter then I have in a while and dyed it a redish brown. I did this a week before her birthday. It took me a few days to get used to dealing with bangs but I am loving them!


Here is Alexis's 1st birthday cake! Yummy!

On Thursday my parents got her a Little People Animal Sounds barn. She was loving the box and pointing to the animals


Uncle Evan got her a cup that says Alexis, a telephone that she can walk around with (right now she pushes it around) and he also got her Laugh and Learn Love to Play Puppy.



Brandon and Abby got her My Pal Violet puppy. Its such a neat little dog, you can hook it up to the computer and it will learn her name and I can put on different songs.


I made her this piggy bank. It says Happy 1st Birthday and on the other side says Alexis and 4-21-2010



This is the "big" gift from Mommy & Daddy! Its an outside toy. Right now it has rails around her and a handle so I can push her around in it. When she gets older you can take the rails off and the handle. It's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which is her favorite (other then Elmo) We've only gotten to go on it once because the weather has been so yucky but she did pretty good in it!
After Daddy and Uncle Evan set it all up for her she was set to go and honking the horn like crazy!


A family picture with our birthday girl! :)
Happy Birthday to you!!! :) :) :)

Dig in Alexis!!!


This is just about the messiest she ended up getting because she was to busy concentrating on eating the cake then being messy.



So here are her birthday pictures!! I will post ones from her birthday party next. I'm sure you all have been anxious to see her birthday pictures but she has been teething super bad and just a super duper crabby baby so it has been hard for me to get on the computer. BUT she is slowly feeling better. She is getting her 2 bottom ones in right now. Her first teeth!!!

Pregnant Flash Mob for the March of Dimes

This past Saturday I did the March for Babies walk for March of Dimes. A lot of people helped me raise my goal of $200.00 for March of Dimes and I thank every one who did!! Your money is going to a wonderful cause!! Unfortunately I didn't take along my little princess as she has been not feeling so good with her 2 bottom teeth coming in. Plus the weather was very windy. My mom did walk with me so I wasn't alone but next year and years to come I hope Alexis will walk with me. This is such a wonderful cause, helping little babies get healthy! I am so blessed that Alexis has always been healthy and we pray for the ones who have had struggles.

This video was just posted by the March of Dimes and for every time it is viewed on YouTube Becoming Mom is donating a dime to the March of Dimes so please view it and share with every one you know! Thanks!!

April 7th Update

Hi all!

Its been a busy few weeks here so I haven't had much extra free time to post anything.

Kevin started his job about a week and a half ago. It's going really well! He is really enjoying working for a company that offers so much. He took his first assisment test Tuesday and got a 100%!! So proud of him! He will be training until early June then he switches hours to night. Kind of a bummer working nights but #1 its more pay #2 it's not as late as a news hours.


Now on to Alexis! She doesn't walk by herself just yet but I hold her hands and we walk every where. She is so proud of herself which makes me beyond happy! She's very good at it and we are guessing is just a matter of short time before shes walking by herself.
She is such a smart girl! She waves bye-bye,Peek-a-boo, does "So big" She has this book with Elmo called So Big. She flips the pages then at the end there is a pop up of Elmo reaching up doing so big and then she reaches and does so big. Alexis loves books! We have a hole pile of them in the living room that are hers and she just flips the pages over and over. Her favorites are the Elmo So Big, Barney's Easter and Backyardigans Alphabet. Alexis is really into the song Happy and You know it. The minute you start singing it she claps her hands and goes "clap clap"
Every morning we watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and The Never-Land Pirates on Disney Jr. Of course she just pays attention to the music but its so cute when the shows start..she looks at us like Mom, Dad! Look!
She loves Dakota but sadly Dakota is always like oh boy, not her again! Dakota is good and puts up with everything Alexis does to her but when Dakota walks away Alexis gets very mad and cry's. We've taught Alexis to be very nice to Dakota and pet her nice and on her back and Alexis is very good with doing just that.
Little princess is pretty picky when it comes to eating her vegetables. She will only eat peas, and well all her greens out of a jar. She won't eat the ones I make in the food processor. Other wise she will eat off our plates. I share just about everything I eat with her and she is very good about eating what ever Mommy is eating.

This Monday we started classes at The Little Gym. It was a free trial and went very very well!
She right away did all the activities, crawled by herself and everything. The Little Gym is this wonderful place to help teach socializing, gymnastics, and a wide variety of things. We shook bells, walked,jumped,twisted, played in inflatable things, sang songs, played with balls (which she is very good at rolling back to Mommy!) crawled under tunnels, blew bubbles. Just all sorts of fun things! I switched the days to Wednesdays but it is a 10 week class and then the last class they do special tumbles, songs, and they all get medals! We joined half way through the semester but we figure this 10 weeks she will learn a lot. Which after 2 classes she is! If we really feel like she enjoys it and want to keep going back we of course can go back for summer. But in summer we are going to take a Mommy & Me swimming class at one of the De Pere outdoor swimming pools. So maybe we will start classes again in fall. But until then we are so excited to see what more she is going to learn!
We've already came home and showed Daddy what we learned! Summer salts, hand stands and fun songs!

Alexis 1st birthday is in 2 weeks from today! It's so bitter sweet! I am going to be very busy now getting ready for her party! We get her 1 year old pictures done this Saturday.

It seems like it is very nice outside today so were going to go eat lunch and go for a walk and then I'm going to take her out of the stroller and have her walk around outside. It seems like spring just doesn't want to start! Finally though this week is better.


I apologize ahead of time if I don't post anything for a while. I think you all understand how busy I'll be! :) So until next time...hope ya'll are doing well!