So Sleepy

After the Hawks lost, Frederick put on his Wildcat purple, but he wasn't able to stay awake for the game. Sleeping has been a challenge lately, with his cough. But when he's ready to sleep, the boy is ready to sleep. After dinner I sat down on the floor and let Frederick nurse a bit. When he was done he crawled over to Clara's beanbag and put his head down. Then he groggily got back up and crawled over to Pete on the other beanbag, put his head down again and promptly fell asleep. He stayed that way until Pete got up, and then he sort of sank down to the ground. Finally we picked him up and carried him to his bed. I'm sure his diaper is wet, but we're not going to mess with him at this point. 

Other Fun Stuff

We had fun at the zoo with Aunt Joyce last Saturday. Pete wasn't feeling well, so he missed out on the fun. Our weather was lovely. 

 We used our member tickets to enjoy the dolphin show. Frederick really loved watching the dolphins and signed 'more' when the dolphins were jumping.

 We all enjoyed watching the giraffes. They have 2 babies. One is 10 months, the other is just about 3 months old.

 Here are a few more photos from Frederick's birthday party. The kids played trains and used party hats to act like chickens.

Helena enjoyed some time with the birthday boy. 

 And Grandpa got some quality time in, of course.

Monday was picture day for these beautiful children. 

 I stated before that I stayed home from work on Wednesday. I was able to count it as a sick day, since I  was taking Henry to an orthodontist appointment. Surprise! He got his braces off!! We didn't know he was quite ready, so it was a happy surprise! We celebrated with lunch at Little Louie's before I took him back to school.

 I tried to get Frederick to take a birthday nap with me. He was acting pretty tired. But once we laid down he just wanted to play play play! Here he is, checking out a package of diapers.

 Grammie cut up some mango and then let Frederick gnaw on the pit. He loved it.

 Pete and I picked out a toy plane for Frederick's birthday gift. He loves it! He really likes to spin the propeller.

 Here's how I caught the little guy a couple of days ago...blurry, because he was in action. One shoe on, one shoe off and throwing magnets and balls into the washing machine. He also really likes to do recycling. Today he kept throwing his nuk in the recycling container.

 This morning, after scrambled eggs and coffee at home, we grabbed a couple of donuts and went to the Botanic Garden. It was a beautiful morning to be there.

 The big kids found an inside-the-tree hideout. I wanted to play in there too.

 Frederick kicked back for a nice long nap.

 After the garden, the big kids had dentist appointments and then we all went out to Des Plaines for a belated birthday visit to the Choo Choo diner. We couldn't quite remember if we had ever taken Clara there. The last visit we remembered was when we took Henry on the day that he got to make Clara's teddy bear (before she was born). We all enjoyed the cheeseburgers and the train that brought them to us. Frederick did lots of pointing and babbling.

 Pete and I didn't think we'd fit in the little engine ride, but the kids were all able to get their tushies in there.

The baby turns ONE!!!!

We have been celebrating this guy all week. Here are some highlights from his party on Sunday. He was intrigued by the party hats. 

 He wondered if this one was maybe supposed to be a little trumpet.

 The cake was chocolate, with chocolate ganache and white frosting with sprinkle overload.

 Frederick was a bit slow to check out the cake.

 Once he started getting a taste he just kept going until it was all gone.

 Frederick had a lot of fans...who also wanted a piece of cake. Aunt Joyce, Grandma and Bampa, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Kathie and the Huelkes all came to fete our boy.

 Hooray!! Time for presents!!

 Yesterday was Fritz's actual birthday, so we did a little more celebrating. Grammie came to town and made an angel food cake.

 I had taken the day off because I felt badly sending Frederick to baby school for his first birthday. We had a nice day together, even though he wouldn't nap with me.
It was still a school day for the big kids, so there was a little bit of over-tiredness happening by the time we finished dinner and had more cake and presents.

 He liked the angel food too!

Thanks to everyone who came to shower love upon our boy, or who sent special messages and gifts. I'm sure he was feeling the love, and we feel grateful that we have so many loving people in our lives. 

We're still here...

Dad, having not seen a blog update in weeks, became worried and had to actually telephone me the other night to check in on us. Yes, we're a little more busy these days. But life is good and we're doing pretty well. Here are a few pictures from life recently. No major events, just stuff. 

Clara was the lucky first in her class to get to bring home the small toy version of her teacher's real black lab, Valley. Valley got to spend the weekend with us and Clara got to write about their adventures in Valley's journal. We know that the kindergarten's teacher's husband is a Hawkeye, so we took this photo to share with them. Valley got dressed for the Hawkeye game. 

 Somehow, when left to their own devices last weekend, the kids decided a fun activity would be to make a 'train' out of the skateboards and to scoot around on their bums. Dory and Ellie went along for the ride with personalized helmets made from 70's era mini Tupperware bowls.

 Last weekend Clara had a friend over to the house. Henry and I took the opportunity to bike to the library for a little mother-son time. He wanted a snack on the way home. After texting Pete to make sure the girls hadn't destroyed the house or eaten each other, we decided to stop at Starbucks for a cookie and a drink.

 Last Sunday was rainy all day. Frederick and I took a nice nap together. Here's the photo I texted to Pete to show him Fritz was trying to wake up. Clara didn't want to be left out.

And now we're less than a week away from Baby's first birthday! How can that be!?!? 

Wapsie Reunion

The timing was not good, as it was the first weekend after school had started, but I'm so glad we went to the Camp Wapsie staff reunion. The last time we were at camp was for a reunion as well. I was pregnant with Henry at the time. So this is the very first time any of the kids have been to Wapsie. 

 While we were there we had so much fun, just seeing friends and trying out all of the activities. The first thing we did, after saying Hi to folks at the outdoor chapel, was to head down to canoeing. There was a current staff member down there (named Clara!) who brought our some frog catching nets for the kids.

 Henry enjoyed the Burma Bridge. I wouldn't let him go all the way across, though, because we did not have clothes to change into if he fell.

 Looking back on the pictures now, I just feel so full of emotion. I can't think of a way to say it, without sounding really corny. But it just is so amazing to see my children enjoying a place that maybe feels more "home" to me than just about anywhere. Camp is so full of love and happiness and comfort for me. This picture of them eating their banana boats is maybe my favorite.

 Although, this picture is also pretty great. Darcie was in the middle of teaching Henry and Clara how to make warm fuzzies. She was chastising me for the kids not knowing what warm fuzzies were.

 Here we are with Frederick sleeping on my back. I was helping Henry and Clara pound designs into little leather turtles.

Archery was a challenge for Henry. He wanted to be good at it right away, and of course, it's a difficult thing to do! He did eventually get an arrow on the target, but not before his sister did, which did not make him very happy. 

 Here we are, eating in the lodge. We were all hungry enough for several tacos. Mostly I just love how Frederick is peeking up over the table.

 The kids wanted to come up with me when I went up to help with the meal program.

 It was hot in the lodge, which we all agreed we would have handled much better back in the day. It was still fun to be loud and sing our songs. The non-camp spouses may not have thought we were a little crazy....but they knew that when they married us.

 After lunch we went back to the outdoor chapel for a group photo.

 The same old picture lady was there (though I shouldn't say 'old,' she was looking great) and she took some family and group shots for us. She snapped this one with my camera without me even having to ask! I love how Frederick is grabbing his toes, and I just love the photo of my whole family at camp.

 Clara, Kirin and Henry were great pals all day.

 They would have spent more time frogging, but then we found out that the pool was opening up early. Yay Pool!

 We all spent a couple hours just floating around in the pool. Kirin, Henry and Clara found lots of little toads to "rescue." Frederick had a little nap in his stroller after his swim. The big kids and I went to change and find a little treat at the store. After some playing at the teepee village and on the volleyball court it was time for dinner. There was more singing...

 ...and a little kissing.

We didn't stick around for the wish stick fire. I would have really liked to, but it was late and we were worn out. By the time we got back to Mom's, the kids were wiped out. I love this photo, because it looks like they fell asleep holding hands....and that's totally the Wapsie spirit.