10 months

Lake, or Lakester Lu as his family affectionately calls him, turned ten months old. I am probably biased, but he is the best baby in the world. He is all smiles and giggles. Recently he has been pulling up on everything and has several bruises to show for it. He is all over the place and constantly on the go. He has decided that he loves the stairs. With the girls we didn't have to worry much about them putting things in their mouth, but Lake always has something in his mouth. Grass, leaves, dog food and Barbie toys are just a few things I have removed recently. He has pretty much given up his pacifier and quit nursing. He still drinks from a bottle, but also uses a sippy cup for juice. Lake eats table food now and has no interest in being spoon fed anything. He can often be caught clapping as this is his favorite thing to do. We think it is because he lives at the ball fields. Lake enjoys the pool. His sisters continue to love on him and are finding that he can hold his own with them. Lake consistently has a handful of his sisters' hair. Today we decided to take his saucer to a friend since he has decided to make a game out of crawling out of it. Lake's hair has a reddish tint to it as of now and his curls are becoming more evident everyday. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

First Day of Summer

Today is the first day of summer and we are slowly making progress on our list of things to do. We are trying to keep busy and have fun at the same time. A pool pass has been a blessing since we can just go for an hour and not worry about wasting money by not staying. Recently I recovered my kitchen chairs and made new curtains (pictures soon) and took down some outdated blinds. I have been meaning to do this for over a year, so it felt good to get it done. I am lucky to have a mother-in-law who can and is willing to talk me through all of the steps. I love sewing, but just lack confidence. We have lots of trips planned for July and August, so it is time to buckle down and get the house cleaned up. The girls both have swim lessons starting next week and Hannah has tennis and dance. Amazing how fast the summer can fly by. We haven't even been out on the boat or camping yet because it won't quit raining. Hopefully after today we will see more sunshine. The kids got Josh a double gazebo for Father's Day and are excited to get to use it when we go camping. Lake turned 10 months on Friday. He is such an easy going child. It is hard to imagine that he is going to be a year old soon. He is quite busy compared to girls. I will do an update post on him tomorrow with pictures. Here are some pictures of the summer to date.

The grandkids are helping Grandma Lysle turn an old shed into a playhouse.

Lake checking out the grass. There is little point in using a blanket.

Meredith likes painting rocks and it keeps her busy.

Hannah is actually really good about helping out when I need her to.

Sometimes you do what you have to do. I don't think this area has been cleaned since we moved here four years ago.

Beginning of Summer Break

I decided not to work summer school this year so that I could get some things done arond the house and spend some time with the kids doing activities that we normally don't get to do. It's already week two and I have to admit there have been a few wrenches thrown in to my great plan. We did manage to get the yard cleaned up and planted the herbs and tomatoes. Monday night we had an unusual amount of rain which caused the sewers on our block to become overwhelmed. The water backed up into our basement and created quite a mess. Fortunately for us, we had already removed the furniture from the basement. We still had to have a company come in and suck out the water, disinfect everything and remove the carpet and drywall. Hannah and I have spent the last three days sorting though boxes of clothes and pictures that got wet. She is also becomming quite the dry wall remover. We helped a friend remove her drywall and insulation last week, so she had plenty of experience. I might start hiring her out :) I'l try to post some of our fun activities planned for the summer.

Lake has become quite the active little boy. He is all over the place and can't seem to be happy unless he is moving.
Here is our street after Monday night's rain.

Hannah has a cupcake maker and Meredith has a snow cone maker. Miracle of all miracles, they each made the other a treat to share for dessert.

Is this considered child labor?

Jodi and David's Wedding-Memorial Day Weekend

My sister Jodi got married this past weekend to David Diebold. They are a lovely couple and just fit each other perfectly. Their wedding was held at the Chase and was absolutely beautiful. Hannah was a junior bridesmaid, Meredith the flower girl and I was a bridesmaid. We all had a great time, despite some stress in getting everyone organized. Jodi and David were very low key, which set the mood for the entire weekend. The events started on Friday with a dinner out with just the girls, followed by the rehearsal on Saturday with a BBQ dinner, wedding and reception on Sunday and a couple brunch on Monday. It was great to see family and friends, especially my parents from Florida. My parents were excited to see the grandkids, especially Lake who they saw for the first time. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Hannah as a junior bridesmaid. She looked so pretty with her make-up and hair done. My mother-in-law made this dress from one of ours. Hannah wasn't thrilled about wearing a dress, but didn't make too big of a deal out of it.

The three of us before the wedding.

The family minus Julie and Jane.

Aunt Jamie and Meredith. She was such a beautiful, little flower girl. I was really nervous that she wouldn't walk down the aisle, but she did it without hesitation.

Jodi's Family

Jodi and David with our parents.

Life Updated

Sorry that it has been a while since the last post, but time has just gotten away from me with all of the activities, end of the school year routine and life's adventures. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done, let alone get organized for the next day. Laundry is piled up, trash needs to be emptied and don't even look at the dusting that needs to be done. Then once you get one thing finished, you have to start all over again. I always reflect on this at dinner time. By the time you cook dinner, clean up the dishes, sweep the floor and wipe everything down, another meal needs to be made. I hate seeing the kitchens in the different magazines that always show everything so neat and organized. Don't they eat in their kitchens? Do their kids do their homework at the kitchen table and leave their papers everywhere? What about the crumbs that seem to fall from everything your children touch?? Enough complaining. Here's celebrating our children and how they are doing:



Hannah-I would love to say Hannah is growing into such a young lady, but that would be so far from the truth (the lady part, she is certainly growing). She is going through a stage where nothing can have ruffles or "puffy sleeves", no skirts or dresses and her hair has to always be in a ponytail. I was fighting it at first, but have sort of thrown in the towel. She is really athletic and so that is what we are embracing. She is currently playing softball and really enjoys it. Softball is very competitive in Kirksville, so I am glad that she is actually pretty good at it. Especially since we will spend our whole summer at the ball fields. Hannah will be entering third grade in the fall and seems to enjoy school. She has a busy summer planned with swimming lessons, softball and hopefully horseriding lessons.



Meredith-Our little diva! Meredith is at the stage where she thinks everything should be her way and watch out when it isn't. I feel like we are constantly having to threaten her to do anything. We were trying time out, but now when she doesn't want to do something we ask, she puts herself in time out. So much for that method supper nanny. She played soccer for the first time this Spring and only cried through the first two games. I quit having to go on the field with her after about the third game. Thank goodness for a rainy season with lots of cancelled practices and games. Meredith loves to be in dresses and doesn't mind me fixing her hair at all. I think she is probably going to be a singer or dancer much to her dad's dismay. She acts like some broadway actress and everything is drama filled from putting on her shoes to brushing her teeth. She enjoys attempting to do everything her sister does, which doesn't always work out. Sometimes her and Hannah can be such good sisters to each other and then the next minute they are fighting over something so trivial. I have to say that there are times I can't help but smile remembering how I fought with my sisters too. I love when Meredith calls Hannah her bestest friend and when she asks Hannah if she likes her.

Meredith and her friend Camryn before the Daddy Daughter Dance.

Meredith at her first soccer game. This is completely posed after the game when she stopped crying long enough to have her picture taken.

Lake-He turned 9 months old today and is still as cute as ever, but is really turning into all boy. I can tell we might have our hands full. I am already starting to miss the cuddling. He is constantly on the go and always moving around when you are trying to hold him. He enjoys playing with his toys and lately spending time outside. He isn't formally crawling, instead he likes to army crawl or do a push up type of move where he jumps to get where he wants to go. This move has landed him on his face several times. His sisters continue to entertain him and he is beginning to entertain them right back.

Well, that's about it for now. We have my sister's wedding this weekend, in which all three of us girls are in, so there will be lots of pictures to post.

Easter 2009

Lake's first Easter consisted of three Easter Egg Hunts. Of course, he couldn't have any of the candy, but he was content playing with the empty eggs. We had an Easter Egg Hunt at Josh's work on Friday. On Saturday, Truman had their Egg Hunt and then there is always one at Josh's Aunt's house on Sunday. It was a very relaxing weekend since it was a four day holiday. I finally got caught up on most of the laundry and went grocery shopping which was really needed. The girls enjoyed all of the things in their Easter baskets. We have learned that less is more!

Happy Birthday Hannah and Meredith (just a bit late)!

Hannah and Meredith both had birthdays the same weekend. Hannah turned eight and Meredith turned four. Hannah celebrated with a roller skating party and Meredith had a swimming party. Hannah had a Hannah Montana theme (like there was ever any other option) and Meredith partied with Tinkerbell. Fun was had by all and the girls loved all of their gifts from family and friends. They were blessed with so many things, that most haven't even been played with yet.

Meredith's Tinkerbell cake.
Meredith taking a swim break.

Hannah is actually pretty good on roller skates. One of the few girls I didn't have to hold up the entire time. Thanks to my friend Mandy, I think we had everyone at least standing on their skates by the end of the party.

Lake-7 Months Old

Lake turned seven months old recently. I haven't changed my mind about him being the best baby ever. Even through a double ear infection and a horrible cough, he has been a good baby. He is always smiling and has started to laugh at his sisters when they act silly. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but I think it is because he doesn't nurse all day and wants that bonding time during the night. He eats baby food at lunch and dinner and has learned to feed himself the baby puffs that dissolve in your mouth. Lake can sit up unattended and rocks back and forth as if he wants to start crawling. We would actually have to put him down though for that to happen. He recently bagan saying "da, da, da" over and over, which of course Josh takes as him saying his name first. We are learning that we can't put him down anywhere that he could roll off of and not to leave little items laying around. He loves to grab anything he can get his hands on: hair, the girls' filled drink cups, your plate when you are eating, etc. We have had several messes the last couple of weeks due to this new found need to have whatever we have. Did I mention that he is the biggest drooler you have ever met? He is always soaking wet. Surely his teeth have to come in soon, although Meredith was almost 12 months old before she got hers. When I took him to the doctor, the nurse thought I had given him Kool-Aid. So great, I probably look like some white trash mom who puts Kool-Aid in her baby's bottle. We have tried all types of ointments to treat it, but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions? Enjoy some pictures!

Spring Break

Spring Break was last week and I took the kids and two of their cousins to Fun City in Burlington, Iowa. It's a great place for kids, with an indoor waterpark, arcade, bowling alley, go carts and laser tag. For the grown-ups, there is a casino and spa. It's a pretty reasonable trip and extremely kid friendly. We had a great time and everyone had lots of fun. Lake loved the water and never cried once. Meredith got sick the last day, so that was a downer. She wound up having strep throat and had a really difficult time getting over it. Lake started running a fever after that and it turned out that he had a double ear infection. What a way to finish of a vacation. Two kids on antibiotics can put parents over the edge. Everyone is well now though!

Check out Meredith eating her sundae while talking on the phone.
Not really sure why Hannah isn't holding on here.

Air hockey is Meredith's favorite arcade game.

The week before the trip, all Hannah and Meredith talked about was taking Lake down the Slide. I don't think he really cared either way.

Our little fish!

Grade School Reunion

Two weeks ago I was fortunate to be able to attend a grade school reunion in St. Louis. I attended grade school at Epiphany of Our Lord from K-8th grade. We mostly all went on to different high schools, as is common in St. Louis. This was such a great night as I had not seen many of my former classmates for twenty years. It was so cool to see how much and how little people had changed. The conversation was easy since we all had spent our childhoods growing up together. I think we all agreed that it was a shame so many of us have lost touch over the years. Thanks to technology and Facebook, we were all able to reconnect. Now there is talk of making this a yearly event. I was kind of taken by surprise that some of my old classmates didn't recognize me. In my eyes, I don't feel like I have changed much. Check out the pictures below to see what you think.

In case you can't see it that well, I am the second one down. Did you read my goals? Such ambition!

2nd one from the right on the bottom row. These were my skate or die days. I think I used a can of hair spray each week.

2nd row, 2nd from right.

Saving the best for last. Here is my 8th grade graduation. I didn't get the memo that said wear pastels. That would be me in the royal blue dress and dyed shoes to match.

So what's the verdict? I think I look practically the same!