Little Hawkeye Fans!

A Little Bit of News

We put our house for sale simply because we ran out of room. We needed 3 bedrooms on one floor so the kids could have their own rooms. I did not think now was the best time to put the house up with the terrible economy and a newborn, but Brian really wanted to so I supported him. It was really hard dealing with it all when Lucie was so young and I really did not have much hope of it selling, but I was wrong. It sold and we had to find a new home and very quickly. We have found our new home and we are thrilled with it. We will have so much more room- 4 bedrooms and a basement, unfinshed but still a basement. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, I am sad to leave the home we started our lives in, brought our babies home to, met wonderful people, but I am so excited to see what will come.

Moving boxes make excellent toys for make believe. I love how Lucie looks so thrilled to be included in the play.

Sweet Six months

Our sweet girl is 6 months old, she has been with us now for half a year. She fits into our family so perfectly. She is still such a happy baby and curious about everything. She examines everything carefully and will then reward you with a beautiful smile. She adores her brother, avocadoes, and swaddle blankets. She is now eating solids and we have finally figured out the nursing thing. Lucie is sitting up very well and playing with toys. In this picture she is wearing one of the dresses from my babyhood. I am hopeful that her hair is growing back in but it looks like it will be reddish brown like Finns not dark like mine. I am so happy that God has blessed our family with this bitty girl.

Late Summer Evening

We do not have a beautiful ocean beach and with selling out house it is just not in the budget to travel to one right now, but we made do with a lake beach. I am not usually a fan of lakes, but we had a great time. The weather was beautiful, the beach was quiet, and the sun setting over the lake was gorgeous. Lucie looked adorable in the swimsuit I wore as a baby. There is just something about babies in ruffled butts that makes my heart skip a beat. Finn had a great time building sand castles, wading and playing chase with Daddy. We had a relaxing fun time admist all the stress in our lives right now just being together.

I love how in this picture you can see how hard he is working to carry his buckets back to make a mote for his castle. His little tongue is sticking out like he always does when he is especially concentrating.

Something Special

My children have something special, a Great Grandpa. My Grandpa has 6 grandchildren and 3 (soon to be 4) great-grandchildren and was are all so very fortunate. Both of my kids adore him. I just love these pictures.

The long awaited event of the summer

Toy Story 3!!!!!!

Finn was so excited waiting for Toy Story 3 to come up. He is a Toy Story fanatic resulting in the last two years of birthday parties being Toy Story themed, as well as, two years of Halloween costumes. The first two were so good and he has watched them so many times. Now, I am not saying the TS3 was not good, it was, in fact it was great, but....it was also really scary and sad. Finn thought so too. He went the first time with Daddy to the theater and at the part where you see Woodie, Buzz and all the gang grasp hands to face their death by blazing inferno, he turned to Brian and said it was time to go home. Brian convinced him to stay by having him sit in his lap and hide his face. I really wanted to go so we decided to go to the drive in. The Drive In is wonderful because you can take preschoolers who talk constantly and infants who cry. This was Lucille's first movie. We had a great time but once again Finn hid from the fire scene. He is still a huge Toy Story fan and plays with all the TS3 toys, dresses regulary like Buzz complete with inflatable wings and Woody goes many places with us, but he prefers the first two movies. When it came out on video a couple days ago, I tried to buy it and he said, "No, thank you", I don't like that incinerator part.

Happy 5th Birthday Finn!

From the excitement of the 4th to the excitement of the 5th. This year was Finn's golden birthday, turning 5 on the 5th. I can't even begin to believe that this sweet boy has already turned 5 years old. The age that I used to teach. The last 5 years have been wonderful and I have loved being his Mommy, more so than I ever thought possible. I loved teaching and enjoyed my days in the classroom, but my days as a Mommy and being at home with my little ones has made me feel so blessed.

When we first had Finn we would just hold him and stare, hardly able to believe that he was ours. I still fill that way when I hold his sweaty always busy little body. He has been an adventure and keeps us on our toes. I look at him now and see my little baby but I also am beginning to see the amazing man that he will become. I especially see this when I observe him teaching his little sister something or concentrating on getting a drawing or puzzle just right. I am careful to cherish those impulsive kisses and squeezes and the times I hold him in my lap, because I know all too soon he will be too big for snuggling while watching Little Bear.

For his birthday party this year he was so excited to have his party at the Partee Zone, which he calls the "Fun Slide". He had friends from the neighborhood and some preschool friends to help him celebrate. It was his first kid only party and it went great.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a wonderful old fashioned 4th of July full of parades, picnics, concerts and fireworks. We started the Holiday off with the concert and carnival rides. This year the concert was The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and it was really good. Finn loved it and has been singing "Fishing in the Dark" for months after. We also went to the annual parade, which both Finn and Lucie liked. Finn is still scared of fireworks so unfortunately he sat in the car with me watching from outside the car. Little LuLu on the other hand loved them. It was a fun Holiday, it always wonderful to celebrate our country. Finn can know sing God Bless America perfectly, which makes my heart happy.

I knew they would love each other......

I knew that my children would love each other, because I know how much I love my little brothers. I did not realize how profoundly it would touch me as their mother watching their bond develop. Finn gets so excited when LuLu does something new, just like Brian and I do. He will watch her do the same thing over and over and get excited about it everytime. He is so happy in his new role as big brother. He is exceeding every expectation I had. Lucie adores him. She watches everything he does and everywhere he goes. I know that this may change a little as she gets bigger and is in his things or when they may argue, but right now it is such an enjoyable part of my life. We know that we will love our babies and they will change our lives. I do not know if I realized how much they would also enrich each others.

Have you ever tried to teach a 4 year old a 3 point turn?

Finn received an early birthday present and he is in love with it. He (and Brian) has wanted one of these since before he could talk and would just point at them and say "vroom". I have always said absolutely not because I think when children are outside they should be running and playing and not sitting in a car. Plus, they are beyond ridiculously expensive. One day we were playing at the park and a woman was setting up a garage sale for the next morning and she had this car sitting out front ready to sell. I actually stopped interested in a play house but Finn saw this and was in love. I did not plan to get it, but when we went home and he told Brian about it, I guess I got outvoted. So, Finn got his "big black truck" for his birthday. Trying to teach him to drive was interesting because the thing goes really fast, but he has actually caught on really quickly. He now takes the kids in the neighborhood for rides. I am happy to say that he still loves his bike and big wheel too.

It always tastes better outdoor.

Finns seems to always eat better when we are outside. Well, I take that back if we are picnicing at a park he does not eat so well with the lure of the playground. When we are at home though, the fresh air and sunshine make him eat great. We have been eating a lot of picnics out front and dinners on the back deck. Another plus is that the mess can be sprayed away with the hose. Lucie also seems to enjoy our picnics. Today after our lunch we played with some sidewalk chalk and made people. Finn thought it was hilarious that I laid Lucie down and traced her when he asked me to.

4 Months

Miss Lucille is now 4 months old! At her 4 month check up she weighed 14.5 pounds and was 24.5 inches long, which is just perfect. At her 2 month appointment she was in the 25% and now has moved up to the 50%. Her favorite things this month are her binky, taggy blankies, smiling at her big brother and watching new toys. She is sleeping pretty well when swaddled and sometimes makes it from about midnight to 7, but right when I think she is sleeping through the night she proves otherwise. Lucie smiles all the time now and is developing her own little personality. She is still a very happy and easy baby. We all adore her and can't imagine our lives without her.

See how serious he can be?

For Father's Day this year Finn wanted to make something special for his Daddy so we headed to a place where you can paint and fire your own ceramics items. He was so serious about making his cup and so very proud of it. He is so excited to give it to Brian and wants him to take it to his work. I know Brian will love it.

Perfect Little Piggies!

Last Day of Preschool

Finn has finished his first year of preschool, it is so hard for me to believe that he could be this old. He was very scared at the beginning of the year of starting school and told me that he just wanted to stay at home with me forever. He was so worried about it, but when the year started he walked in there so brave. It about broke my heart having him stand at the window and watch me leave. He always had to give me one more big hug before I left, but he really did enjoy school. He made some new friends and finally found some little boys to play with. For the last day of school his class went to the park for a picnic and playtime. Finn especially loved the big parachute they got to play with. I am actually looking forward to having my little boy all to myself again this summer.

Swim, swim, swim

This summer Finn begs me everyday to get out the pool, the sprinklers, the slip and slide or even just the hose. He loves the water and always has. When he was a tiny baby he would try and slurp up the water in his bath. We spend many days filling the pool and watching him swim around, blow bubbles, and play he is a shark. Lucie loves to wear her swimsuit and watch Finn play. She even puts her feet in to try it out. I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time in the water this summer.

When did this happen?

When did my baby become this little boy. Not even that little of a boy, this big boy. This climbing, jumping, running, swimming, splashing, sliding, loving boy. I love this little guy!

Morton Arboretum in Naperville

Brian and I decided it was time to venture out on a little vacation with our new family of four. We went to Chicago and had a great time. It was actually much easier then we were expecting and Lucie was a champ. Finn had always been a good little traveller so it is a relief to see that Lucie did well too. She was getting a cold and slept most of the trip. We decided our first stop would be at the Morton Arboretum and it was fantastic. I had never been there before but we loved it.

There was so much to do and the park is huge, but we mainly stayed in The Children's Garden, which was 4 acres of nature dedicated to catpturing children's interests and teaching them to love nature. There were playgrounds and climbing structures, Finn loved the hanging bridges.

Love this shot of Finn peering into this huge gazing ball.

Lucie enjoyed being outside in the beautiful day.

Finn was amazed that he could walk through the streams, climb on the rocks, Get his pants soaked, catch tadpoles, play in the ponds, and basically do all the things that we tell him not to do when we are hiking. That what was so great about this place, kids could do all things that kids want to do, without parents constantly restricting their curiousities.

Building a dam our of rocks in a stream.

Taking a break to share a spot with his little sister.

Catching tadpoles.

Anyone know what kind of tree this is? I love it!

Overall it was just a great day. Relaxing, pretty, and exactly what we needed. We will be going back. It was Finn's favorite part of the trip though I think he is a little confused. Instead of The Children's Garden, he thinks he went to kindergarten.