Catching up...

WARNING!

There are LARGE number of pictures to follow.  This is a recollection of what we have been up to for the past 25 days.  In that time, we've been in 4 different states, 3 family birthdays (Shelli - 30!, Grandpa Gary, and Grandma Karen), undergone kitchen reconstruction, had GI bug for a week (only S & D), worked (Sarah helped to open 6 school based health centers in the Omaha area and Derek is busy at work with money received for the Activate Omaha Initiatives), Hannah has been without a pacifier for 3 days straight, and Eli has started to crawling...no more commando...nothing is or will ever stop him again....  Enjoy!

Car Seats and Preschool

Baby E is over 20 pounds and 30 inches...thus at 10 months needed a different car seat.  So Miss Hannah got her Big Girl Car Seat - check out those cup holders.  She is just a touch excited!

TV is serious business...

Hannah's 3rd day of preschool.  Preschool meant no more pacifier.  Note to those mom's out there...18 months or prior...seriously...it has been a bit painful, but we are all makin' it.  Here are two goof balls...

Mischief...with a capital M!

Spaghetti and Mashed Potatoes!

Can I just say that it is an understatement that Eli LOVES food.  Gerber can go by the wayside as far as he is concerned. Here is his first adventure with homemade spaghetti sauce (thanks Mel for the recipe) and noodles.  Needless to say, he LOVED it!

YUM!

Mashed potato face!!!

Grandma Karen's Birthday Party

Eli sportin' a pink bow and Hannah getting kisses!

A great time had by all!  Great surprise Papa!

My Studs...

Bet you thought you'd see Derek and Eli...not so much when the kitchen is on overhaul...

Yeah, June 28, 1951...the first stud!

The 1951 origin...

Mommy loves drywall...  Hannah woke up the next day after Derek fixed this wall and said, "Thank you Daddy for fixin' my wall!  It is nice!"

Baby E testing out the new floor...

Sweeping the floor...I mean crawling...

More studs...

No countertops...eeeeeee!

Almost the finished product...new countertops and backsplash...

To be continued...

Hangin' with Grandma Kathy...

After Chicago, daddy stayed home to work on the kitchen while mommy and the kids went the Lawrence with Grandma Kathy.  It was a few days packed in with running through sprinklers and watering Grandma's flowers, helping at Grandma's school, shopping and ice cream on Mass Street, and a sweltering trip to Deanna Rose.

Sly guy at the piano...still crawling like he is a commando...but pulling himself up EVERYWHERE!

Coloring at Grandma's is a SERIOUS job...

The toystore...

Silis and Maddy's...

Helping Grandma at school...so glad she is ok with messes!

More serious coloring...

The truth of the helpers...so good and patient while mommy and grandma worked...

Then Hannah's first horse ride "all by myself" on a horse she named "Hannah."  Not an inckling of fear in this girl.  Pure joy!

Feeding the goats...when they are bigger (May vrs August) they are much more aggressive...

Just checkin' him out...

Swingin' with Grandma...

Good students...

Showing my work to the actual teacher in the room...

So excited to work at school...

The Dunce Cap...

Peek-a-boo in the ABC and 123 Flower Garden...

First Hay Ride...

Hay...

Our sweet girl among the flowers...

More Chi-town

We then got to go to the Art Institute...Monet is my favorite...

Frank Lloyd Wright for Derek...

Next lunch and pictures at Millenium Park...

The Bean...

The fountain...

And finally a river boat tour and Lake Michigan...here's a bit of the landscape...

and us...

Anniversary Surprise

For our 5th Wedding Anniversary, Derek decided to SURPRISE me with a QUICK trip to Chicago.  What a treat and sooo fun!  Here's a little glimpse of what we did with our time...

My first taste of Chicago-style pizza!  They're not kidding that it is worth the wait!

A Cubs game...

We had AMAZING seats and it was a great atmosphere even though the Cubs lost 16-1...painful to watch unless you are Brewers fans...

Ice Cream!

Hannah LOVES ice cream - this is one of the many reasons she and her THIRTY YEAR OLD aunt Shelli get along so well!

This is Hannah at Silis and Maddy's Ice Cream Palor in Lawrence.  

Notice the GIANT cup of ice cream...

Lip-smacken' good - eat your heart out KFC!

And yes folks - she ate THE WHOLE THING - 1/4 teaspoon at a time (45 min later!)