dunkin' worms

LJ and I were planing mums and as we were digging we found lots of worms. This soon became his new favorite outdoor activity. So when he asked daddy to dig with him the other night daddy suggested going fishing with the worms. So they rounded up the gear and headed down the street. They weren't there for more than a minute before LJ had thrown the handful of worms into the pond. I guess thats what we get for telling him the fish like to eat the worms. So we dug up some more and tried again.

AZ Trip

It was our last evening in Phoenix and I was taking the kids to my friends for dinner b/c Blake had a dinner meeting. Driving on the freeway when suddenly a huge piece of metal hits the windshield and busts through it. Thank God I had my sunglasses on and no glass got in my eyes. I was able to merge and pull over on an exit ramp. We were totally protected by God... both kids were fine and I barely had a scratch on me. There was glass everywhere... tiny pieces and shavings, it looked like I was covered in body glitter. I made my first 911 call and Blake was able to get a ride to come rescue us ;) It's pretty scary to think how bad it could have been had the metal went through just a little higher on the windshield. We are so grateful for God's protection.

Here's a pic I took w/w my phone of the metal object.

Other than that incident our time in AZ was nice. We enjoyed visiting with old friends and were instantly reminded of how hot the summers really are there. One day the temp. on the car read 118 degrees! We were very glad to get back to the mild OH summer weather.

Wish I could post more photos of the trip, but unfortunately our camera is on the d-l.

Summer in the Country

Looking at Uncle Andrew's fish.
"Put it back in the water"-Logan

Ready to catch some fish.

Helping Grandma tend the garden.
He really enjoyed the job of breaking up the clumps.

Logan and Tuesday

Nadia enjoying the fresh air.

4 months

Nadia is one healthy 4 months old, weighing in at 15lbs 2ounces at her check up. She's our little songbird. She especially likes to sing to us as soon as the sun shines in her windows in the morning. She's almost ready to sit up without support and is still figuring out how to roll over. She loves to watch her big brother. We've been putting her in the highchair for dinner and its really sweet to watch them interact. I keep telling LJ that Nadia is getting bigger, but he always disagrees and insists that she is little and he is big. Come to think of it... he pretty much disagrees with me on every topic lately, must be in an independent thinking stage. :)

This past month I braved a trip to IL alone with the kiddos on an airplane. We made it there and back so I guess it was a success, however going there went much better. On the way home the flight was completely full and LJ was having a complete meltdown. Thank goodness it was only an hour flight. Anyway, it was great to be with my family for a week, so I'm sure I'll brave the air again soon to revisit

We also had a fun weekend with Blake's family visiting us here. We took them to the zoo; it was LJ's cousin's first trip to a zoo so that was exciting.

On Mother's day we had Nadia dedicated to the Lord at our church. She wore the dress that my mom and then I wore when we were christened as infants. She looked so precious, like a little doll.

4 months old

Our new double stroller. We picked it up in StL.


E's first trip to the zoo.


LJ, up close and personal with the tiger.


Nadia and her vintage dress.


Blake introducing our family.


What a perfect Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday!

LJ turned 2 on Sunday. We gave him a Handy Manny birthday party at Grandpa and Grandma's house. They really made it a special day for him. He loved every minute of it. It was neat to see him realize everyone was celebrating him. His eyes were so big when we all sang Happy Birthday to him and he wanted to keep singing it over and over. So here's a clip of his rendition. :)

Thanks for the cool poster Pappa!


It took him a while to figure out how to do the blowout. But once he did, he had a blast with it. It was Stretch (the tape measure).

More Handy Manny gifts than what we know what to do with! Even got some Manny band-aids.

Coloring some of the tools with Great Grandma.

3 months

Nadia is three months old. Growing so fast... I think she weighs somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds. Some of her latest accomplishments are...
*holding/shaking rattles and links
*rolling over from tummy to back (2 times)
*playing in her pack-n-play contently
*first trip to the zoo
*mastering the bouncy chair
*discovering new (loud) sounds she can make
*eating every 3 to 3 1/2 hours, and still once at night.

tool time

LJ is fascinated with Handy Manny and has a set of his "tools" that he loves to play with. I was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine and listening (off and on) to him play with his tools, which all have their own name I might add. I look up to see him over by the front door playing with the boxes we have stacked from the UPS deliveries. Usually he is climbing the boxes but today he was using his tools to try to open them. Now, I'm thinking there's no way he'll be able to get the box open... it has (had) three sturdy strips of tape on it. Well I was way wrong. I look up at him about 5 minutes later after hearing something fall on the floor. Oh my goodness how did he accomplish this! I walk over to see loads of paper envelopes scattered on the floor. He says "Mommy, I got Daddy mail!" Yes you did son and now we'll get it back in the box. Guess he's learning some useful things from watching Handy Manny after all.

the mess

the accomplices -Turner and Felipe

the culprit

"On Top of Spaghetti..."

Spaghetti used to be almost a weekly meal at our house... that was before we ate with an almost 2 year old who is still mastering the art of using utensils and before we lived in this condo with a silly carpeted dining room floor. The builder obviously did not have young families in mind when carpeting nearly the entire floor plan. But we love spaghetti and this is the best way I've found to let LJ enjoy it. I just make sure I don't vacuum the floor that day until after dinner.

What's Yours is Mine

Since Nadia has arrived, Logan has insisted on trying out all of her baby things. He's been in the bouncy chair, the swing, the crib (figured out how to climb in on his own, although he doesn't try this on his own crib), the pack-n-play and her travel bed. I constantly remind him that he is too big but his fascination still lingers. He's even curious about the nasal aspirator and asks me to do his nose as well, which he finds very funny.

Here are a few examples:

1 Month and Then Some

Nadia is 5 weeks old now. So it was time for her first monthly photo on the famous lion chair. I had to plead with Logan to share his chair with his sister for a photo. Thankfully they both cooperated. What a happy girl she is! She smiles at us when we talk to her and Logan especially gets a kick out of her attempts to talk to us. He then imitates her sounds... so cute.Nadia - 1 Month

Logan - 22 Months


Here's a short clip of her coos.

life with four seasons

We had our first decent snowfall a few days ago so Logan was able to ride in his new sled. He had a blast and was not ready to come in, even if his fingers were cold.