Friday, September 26, 2008

Catching up again...

I know if I don't do a quick post now I'll have too much to keep up with...so...
Here's a quick look at Henry's excitement last week. Pete took him to a Cubs game, with some last-minute tickets. The Cubs lost, but Henry had a great time. The last shot is of him waving goodbye to all the fans as they file out early. That night he slept with his big foam bear claw right on top of his covers in his bed.






And here's a little video of Clara doing her new trick- clapping.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Plum Pooped

I apologize to those of you who rely on photos of my kids as if they were oxygen. I know you love my deep thoughts and witty words. How have you been surviving these last several days? I just really have not been in a blogging frame of mind. Mostly I've been in a sleeping frame of mind. I've been spending lots of time here:
And when I get home I am plum pooped. So after cooking dinner and getting the kids to bed I pretty much cash out myself.
But, sorry Dear Reader, the reason I blog is not so much to share news with you. That is merely a side advantage. It has really turned into more of a scrapbook and journal about our life. So when I don't blog I feel guilty that I'm letting things slide without recording them for posterity. One of these days I am going to use one of those book programs to turn the posts into something a little more stable.
Anyhoo....
Here's what we've actually been up to. New floor:
Clara is queen of the measuring spoons.
Last Friday I took the kids and went to Iowa. New Dad Will was in town just for the game. We went to Pagliai's- just Carrie, Rob, Will and I. We tried hard not to talk too much about politics. We missed Sandy and Pete, but we had a great time. The next morning we went to the Hamburg, pre-game. It was pouring and packed.
And they were out of chocolate chips for our pancakes! WTF? We enjoyed our breakfast none-the-less. Except for Rob who had to take a tired and cranky Eleanor home to nap.
Henry got to experience his first visit to Kinnick with Grammie. Pete and I were a little jealous, as we haven't even been able to go to a game yet this season....but we were happy for Henry. And he and his Grammie had a blast. Here they are pre-game.
Here's a shot Rob took after the game. The Hawks beat the Cyclones. Yay.
And even after a rainy game, during which Henry reportedly napped for an hour on her lap, Mom was still all smiles.
The next morning Joyce came up to celebrate her birthday. We just hung around Rob and Carrie's house and ate bagels. Russell was in town for the game too, so he came over for a bit. He's studying architecture (right?) at Iowa State and has a lot of drawing and design type classes right now. He drew Henry a picture of a robot, which I was pretty impressed by.
By 2:00 the kids and I finally hit the road back to Illinois. Henry really wanted to not be tired. He wanted to see the Mississippi again, and kept asking when we would cross it. As soon as we were across I looked back and saw this:
Sorry for the odd photo- I was taking the picture backwards while trying to keep my eyes on the road and my hands upon the wheel.
And stay tuned for more photos later. Henry and his Papa are at Wrigley Field as we speak. Pete got some tickets for today's game and took the boy down. The weather is perfect for it. The Cubs seem to be kind of stinking it up against the Cardinals, but I'm sure they're having fun anyway. Henry had been promised some Crackerjack.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

So I guess I'll blog...

So...I guess I got it out of my system with that last pity blog. Now I'll catch up a little bit...
Starting a week and a half ago....Pete went to Berlin for work, so Mom and Joyce came in town to visit and help out a bit. Here's Henry and Franklin playing train.
Mom decided to take some pictures while I made blueberry muffins. It might have been more helpful if she had just taken the baby...
Clara has started to enjoy Henry's piano. She is very musical.
Rob, Carrie and Eleanor came to visit for a bit. Henry convinced them to play Box.
Then I worked for several days. Then Pete came home. Meanwhile the RNC happened and gave me a stomach ache. Friday the kids and I went to the library to meet up with our new friends from across the street . Helena and I chatted quite a bit and the kids played until they got too rowdy for the library. Then we took them to the park. Clara likes swinging much more than Henry ever has!
That night we ate up some of our fresh tomatoes on BLTs.
Saturday night Liz stopped over to show us her shiny new ring and tell us the story of her engagement. Hooray! We're fans of Van.
Liz also asked Henry if he would like to be her ring bearer. He's SO excited. She also left him her rose corsage- (she had just finished singing at a wedding).
Here's a picture of Henry and Clara, enjoying each other's company.
Saturday night Henry and I baked a cake and Sunday morning we decorated it for Grandma Mary. It was her birthday on Sunday and she was coming over to spend the day with the kids while Pete and I went off to a wedding. Henry chose the colors and the decorations....I think he did a lovely job!
The wedding was on an organic farm and the food was awesome! Here is a simple, but delicious salad that was served as a second course.
Here are Pete and I- happy to be out with grown-ups and grown-up drinks.
And here I am with Shannon, a high-school friend of Pete's and a former Wiggleworms teacher of Henry's. We wish she and the family didn't live all the way out in Oak Park.
And finally....here is a "before" picture of our dining/living room. This is last night, as we had just started to pick up the living room to prepare for the flooring people coming this morning.
Here is Clara, all dressed for her day...We were pretty pleased with her cute little outfit- a second-hand corduroy dress and matching shirt, with her leg-warmers from Ellen and her knit sweater from Samantha. The rock and roll shoes don't exactly match, but she didn't seem to care. She was busy playing with her second-favorite toy.
Here's the living/dining room earlier this morning, with the surprise tiles. We should have known they would find something unexpected....it just wouldn't be our house otherwise.
And here it is again, just a little bit ago, with the fake wood floor partially installed. It's getting exciting!!!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Woe is me...

I know I haven't been blogging....being back at school is kind of kicking my butt. Days like today are especially hard. We had a very busy day yesterday- ending with a wedding and getting home late. Then today I had to work. Both kids were fussy from less sleep and (on Henry's part) more sugar than they're used to. Then, while I was making dinner, Henry discovered a half-dead mouse on the living room floor. One of the pets must have gotten to it. And Franklin pooped on the rug (that we're not replacing) because he didn't want to go outside in the rain. Then I realized there was msg in the soup I used in the tuna noodle casserole, so now I have an awful headache and just want to go to bed. But I have lots of school planning to do for the week, plus packing bags so the kids are ready in the morning. Tomorrow is picture day for me at school so I'll need extra time to get ready. We also need to pack up our china cabinet and bookshelf in the next two nights because the people come to install laminate floor in our living/dining room on Wednesday.
So. Poor me. But now you know why I'm not blogging-or, for that matter, responding to your emails, probably. (How about that sentence formation?)
But the exciting news in the family is that Liz got engaged to Van (sparkly ring photos to come) and our new nephew finally has a name. Anders Wilson (insert last name here). We love him. His name fits his little towhead perfectly. Click on Sandy and Will's link for excess amounts of adorableness.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Hooray!!!

Henry was right....it's a boy! Just now, looking at the picture he said "Aw. Isn't he sweet?" We very much agree!!! We are very proud of our new little nephew AND his mom and it sounds like his dad held up his end of the deal pretty well too. More pictures can be found at Will and Sandy's blog.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Soon....

Send some good vibes for smooth and easy labor and a healthy baby and mom!!!
We should have news very soon!!!