Pizza Party and Sleepover

Friday after I left work I stopped and picked up pizza and went to Dawn & Adams house. Well Alli decided that we should have a pizza party and wanted me to sit at her little table. (Thank goodness I lost weight because it would have been like Goldilocks and the 3 bears "someones been sitting in my chair and broke it all to pieces.") Anyway we ended up sitting at her table and Curious George had to join us and so did Fluffy the bear. They both HAD to have a piece of pizza and had to have crushed peppers and parmesan cheese on it. Actually I think George and Fluffy ate more than she did! Fluffy was very good and got a chocolate bar too. Alli was just so darn cute.

I'm so glad that she started playing with her dolls and animals because until the past 6 months she didn't play with them and now she plays house and really shows her imagination. It's too adorable.

On Saturday I had to work and Alli had a birthday party in Noblesville. They got finished with the B-day party about the same time I finished at work so we went to Chilli's for some Cajun Chicken pasta (yum yum my favorite). When we left Chili's Alli wanted to ride home with me and she asked if she could spend the night and I told her that we were going back to her house to watch a movie and if she didn't fall asleep she could come home with me after the movie. By the time we started watching the movie it was about 9:00 and we were laying on the couch and I have to admit that I dozed off a couple of times - which is what I always do when I sit still for very long - anyway I looked over at Alli and she was rubbing her eyes and said "I have to stay awake so that I can spend the night with you". She was so cute - I thought she had forgotten about it, but even at 11:00 at night she still remembered. She said "Mama I need to go pack up I'll be right back". With that she ran to her room and came back about 5 minutes later with her suitcase which she proceeded to open to show me what she "packed up". I thought I would die laughing when she opened the suitcase because inside was a suitcase full of random toys! She had barbies, tea party plates, cars, a frosty the snowman, baking items, play food, play makeup, bath toys, Lucky the lion, Flucky the rabbit and Sara the bull dog (and Sara's leash so that we could take her out to potty), and a lot of other miscellaneous toys. One thing was missing however - CLOTHES! I asked her about it and she said that she didn't have room for that, all she needed was her toys. She couldn't wait to leave. She said that she loved my house and wished that she could live there but she couldn't because if you grow in someones tummy then you need to live with them and since she grew in her mommy's tummy she had to live with her. She said if she had grown in my tummy then she could live with me. She said that if she had grown on a tree then she would be like a woodpecker and could live in the tree - where do kids come up with this stuff? She was just reasoning it all out and decided that we should just all live together and that would be much better. She was just so darn cute all weekend and we had another Alli and Mama weekend. I love it when that happens because you just never know what kind of mood she is going to be in so I take them whenever I can get them!

Happy 1 month B-Day Drew!

I just can't believe that our little guy is already 1 month old! Time really goes by so quickly. He is still a very good baby. He is starting to stay awake a little more now and when you hold him he will just look at you with his big beautiful eyes. He has such a good disposition and is starting to make sounds that sometimes surprises even him. He had his 4 week checkup on Tuesday and he is now 9 pounds 14 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long so he is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He has already gained 2 pounds and 3 ounces and has grown 1 inch. What a big boy he is! Dawn took Drew up to Crystal's new studio in Greenwood and so Aunt Crys got to take his 1 month picture. Following are a few of the shots she took.

Happy 1 month - Love ya Drew!

Artists in the making

Easter Sunday after we had eaten dinner we did what we always do when we get together - Play Texas Hold'Em. Well Nick and Alli decided that they were going to decorate Uncle Jeff's (aka Uncle honey) shirt. They had so much fun and thought that Uncle Jeff had no clue as to what they were doing. Uncle Jeff was such a good sport and let them do what they wanted to do.









They were so proud of their finished art work and Uncle Jeff thought it was pretty cool as well.
After Nick and Alli got finished with their artwork they decided to take Tipsy (Crystal dog) for a walk. They were so cute! And of course little Mr. Andrew had a good time also just sitting around being cute. I love his little shirt!

Happy Easter

We colored Easter Eggs last night and Alli was so excited. She didn't want to wait for the eggs to boil because she was ready. She did a pretty good job and even Andrew helped color eggs.

Today we had Easter dinner at our house so that we could spend time with both Ron's side of the family and my side. I believe we had 22 people for dinner and had a really good time. Every body pitched in and we had ham, roast, mashed potatoes, noodles, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, broccoli salad, green beans, corn, deviled eggs, fruit tray with some delicious fruit dip, chips and salsa, cheese ball and crackers, chocolate torte, banana pudding, cookies, and I'm not sure what else. As you can tell it was not a weight watcher day. All of the food was absolutely wonderful, I think better than it has ever been. I'm not sure if it is because I haven't had a lot of this type of food lately or what but everyone said the food was great. Maybe it was the company that went along with the food that made it so good!

It is so nice that my family and Ron's family get along so well together. If anyone would see us all together they would think that we were all one great big family (which we are). Thanks Dwenger's and Graham's for such a wonderful day!!!!

Alli's Dream Come True

Alli absolutely loves High School Musical (HSM) and Thursday morning my sister-in-law Cathy called and said that she had seen in the paper that WZPL had a special where you could get tickets for half price and she knew that I was wanting to take Alli so she said that she could go pick up the tickets if we wanted to go. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and was so excited and couldn't wait to go. Cathy and I went over to pick up Dawn & Alli and tell her about her surprise and Alli was being a pill and said she didn't want to go. She got over that pretty quickly and she just wasn't sure what to expect so the whole way to the Murat Shrine she kept asking "are we almost there", "how many miles 'till we get there", "can we get popcorn", "is it almost time for it to start". She jabbered the whole way there.
We had great seats. We were in the Orchestra section, center stage, row K , which was just about dead center. Once the show started I think she was in awe. She would clap her hands and sing some of the songs. Halfway through the second half she asked her mommy if after school the next day if they could come back and see it again. It was a really great show and I think that Dawn, Cathy and myself enjoyed it as much if not more than Alli did!

While we were at the play Adam got his first chance to stay home with Andrew by himself. I think he was very nervous at first but they got along just fine. We left the house about 6:00 and I think he fed Drew about 6:30 or 7:00 and then Drew slept until we got home at about 10:15. He was a very good boy for Daddy so maybe Mommy can get out a little more!

WillPower Run & Walk

Saturday, March 15, 2008 marked a first for Ron and myself. We participated in the WillPower Run/Walk to benefit the "Kids Caring & Sharing" program of Riley Hospital for Children. Meijer was a major sponsor of the event so we were part of a team of 10 people that walked for Meijer. Since Meijer was a sponsor we had to be at Warren at 7:45 for a TV spot for channel 8. Not sure how that turned out but all I know is we were freezing our hinnies off because it was about 34 degrees and we stood outside for about 1/2 an hour (without coats because we couldn't cover up our Meijer shirts) waiting for our TV spot. The 5K started at 9:50 and we were off to the races. I thought I was just going to walk the entire route but I don't know what overcame me but I took off running (okay maybe it was a slow jog but it was much faster than just walking). It might have been because I needed to warm up because it was so very very cold! When we first started, Ron took off running with me but very quickly dropped back and went back with the other walkers from Meijer. I "ran" part of the time and walked part of the time but for my first time I was pretty happy with what I did. I crossed the finish line at 36 minutes 10 seconds, which was an 11:38 minutes per mile, and then waited and waited for Ron to cross.

I was getting ready to send out the search party but finally saw Ron coming around the corner and he crossed the finish line at 57 minutes 18 seconds (not nearly as winded as I was). I finished 109 out of 255 and Ron finished 233 out of 255. Not bad for our first time out. It was a lot of fun and I do plan on doing more walks this year because not only is it good exercise but it is for a very good cause.

Just the two of us

Yesterday afternoon we went to the dollar store and I bought some foam animal stickers and foam art pads and when we got home Alli and I had an art and craft session. The family was coming over to play Texas Hold'Em later that evening so Alli thought that everyone should have a present when they came over so she made everyone something. It is amazing that $2 could create so much fun and create so many presents. While we were playing cards at our house last night Nick and Alli decided they wanted to have a sleep over at my house. They were so cute and were so excited when I said they could. They ran around the house jumping up and down and then they cleaned my front room to prove that they could be good. They actually did a really good job (even though the mess that was in there was the mess they created but hey they cleaned it up!). As the night went on Nick decided that he didn't want to sleep over and Alli just cried because it ruined the sleep over, however Alli ended up spending the night anyway. I woke up this morning to her tapping on my face and whispering "mama, are you awake" of course I pretended like I was asleep just so she would keep doing it because it was so sweet. We laid in bed for a little bit and watched cartoons and she just kept giving me hugs. We got up and ate breakfast and then went to the grocery store. Alli was so good at the grocery store and stayed in the TV cart (which is a godsend-but she usually won't stay in it the entire trip but she actually did this time!) When we checked out she "helped me" sack groceries - okay so the grapes got smashed a little bit but they were smashed with love.










We bought some cookie dough and came home and made some cookies to take to the bowling alley tonight because Alli was sure that everyone wants some. She did say that if anyone touches a cookie they have to eat it because we can share our toys but we don't want to share our germs. These kids are so smart these days. After lunch and baking cookies Alli was tired and laid down on the couch and watched i-robots and fell asleep. Dawn called wanting to know when Alli was coming home but we were having such a good day I didn't want to take her home. She was definitely Grandma's girl this weekend. Thanks Alli for such a great day!

Back in the Saddle again

Okay, Okay, I know it has been a while since I posted and I'm very sorry. I have been a little under the weather and so at night I have been tired and not spent much time on the computer so sorry but hopefully I will get back with it. Last Wednesday Ron was off work so he went over to Dawn & Adams to spend some time with them and see Alli & Drew. Well he was in for more than he bargained for. For a change Alli wanted him to play with her and he was holding Drew (do you think that is why Alli wanted attention?) Well since Grandpa Ron was there Mommy took advantage and took a little nap so Grandpa was holding Drew and trying to play playdough with Alli. He actually surprised himself and Dawn that he could do both. Where was he when Dawn & Crystal were that age???? Well Drew is now 2 weeks old and it doesn't seem possible that he has been here that long. He is still a very good baby and staying awake a little bit more but not a whole lot. He wakes up about every 3 hours at night and eats and usually goes back to sleep. He is such a little sweet heart.

Alli must be getting worried about where her little brother is going to stay when her mommy goes back to work because she asked her mommy about it the other day. Then she said "hey - I have a great idea! - how about if Mama Jean watches him because she watched me when I was a little baby." Well mama Jean you must have made an impression on Alli!

Welcome Home Drew

Drew got to come home on Friday and everyone was happy to be home. Drew is such a good little guy and doesn't make much of a fuss at all. He sleeps alot and the few times he is awake he is usually very quiet. He is so unlike Alli as a baby. When Alli was little she was very vocal and was up all night. Andrew only wakes up a couple of times a night to eat and goes right back to sleep. Hopefully this will continue and he will let mom and dad get some well needed rest. Grandma Cheryl and Papa Butch (Adam's parents) came up from Wisconsin and Uncle Jim (Adam's brother), Aunt Ranee, and cousin Griffin came up from Tennessee to visit. Griffin is 19 months old and when I think back about when Crystal was born Dawn was only 19 months old and I just can't imagine how I did it with a 19 month old and a newborn.

Alli is glad to have her little brother home and is wanting to know if he can crawl yet. She is a big helper and helps with diaper changes and getting things for her baby brother.

I think I have only taken about a blue million pictures and I think Andrew is only pretending to sleep so he doesn't see the flash. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. As you can see we have been playing with the settings on the camera.