our kids being cute

sleeps just like her big brother did when he was a newborn....but she prefers her tummy!

he just loves his "bebe"

betsy was trying to take a nap and kept fussing - i realized it was because she was pulling on her own hair!

my little ham saying "cheeeeeese!"...you can see his teeth coming in - and his fat upper lip that he got falling down grandma's stairs today

the bubbles grandma bought were a big hit! check out the video here!

loves blowing bubbles

he came in from playing outside, saw his "bebe" lying on the ground and snuggled up right next to her!

betsy's welcome party

grandma and grandpa nannen hosted a happy birth-day party for betsy for their hometown friends who are like family.  we very much enjoyed catching up with them all and all of her "aunties" certainly enjoyed a cuddle with the little lady bug.  much of our conversation circulated toward reid and how the boys were holding up "over there"....they all wanted to know so much and i was sad i didn't have more answers to their questions. however, i know this: my husband will not be lacking in care packages during his time away. thank you, friends!

betsy's aunt "nana"and momma

"aunt" linda and "uncle" gordy with betsy

mary ann said, and i quote, "the real cake decorator had the day off"....we all enjoyed a chuckle over this one!

the men enjoying sitting outside...notice not a single one of them is sitting on the beautiful new patio area they worked so hard to prepare in time for the party.

"aunt" lynda and betsy

grandma, "aunt" susie, momma and petey

 "aunt" susie and betsy

shot right after petey told grandpa he wanted "more!" oh dear.

petey on the move

here's a new movie of petey movin and groovin during our trip to the midwest :)

adventures in the country

we made it to grandma and grandpa's house in the country and we're enjoying the slower pace, no schedules to keep and lots of space to run and play. one of the highlights of the day was crossing the street to meet the horsies. we had to wait for thunderstorms to pass to get outside but certainly enjoyed the time we did get out in the wide open spaces!  petey was totally mesmerized by these guys and i am positive if he could have gotten on the other side of the fencing he would have just roamed around in the mud amongst these guys without a hint of fear in his mind.

miss betsy is enjoying the laying around and snuggling. this morning she snuggled with her aunt bethany. she particularly enjoyed a lovely nap with her grandma this afternoon. and this evening she had a quick visit and bath with her aunt briana. :)

 there are plenty of next-generation bikes and trikes and tractors and trucks to enjoy and petey is giving them each a turn.

the day culimated in a tractor ride with grandpa. petey thought that was the best!  he appeared to be concentrating very carefully at holding the steering wheel with an extremely serious look fixed on his little face as the tractor moved along at a snail's pace. finally he turned to look at me with a smile and a wave before turning his full attention back to the task at hand of "steering" the tractor with grandpa.  i'm so grateful we have the opportunity to get away and spend such quality time with our family!

sister's fabulous reception

the gorgeous "blue ladies" and bridesmaid - they are ellyn's best gals and they were her something blue in their blue dresses. she's blessed with some wonderful friends!

the mom's attempting to bustle the dress....the dress bustle actually had a MAP for accomplishing this task. somewhere along the line they determined that a vital component of the bustle system was missing after the maui wedding but they managed to get the job done and she looked just fabulous!

my little sister and i at the head table during the reception. isn't she stunning????

easily my favorite "little" detail of the night....a pineapple ice sculpture. it was lit from below with a lime green light that gave it fabulous coloring. sadly the camera didn't pick up on the lighting but how cool is it?!?!?!?

grandma dee-dee with my sweet betsy slow dancing on the dance floor.  betsy was a champion and slept most of the evening.  poor pete was pretty nervous he was going to get lost or left behind and was super-clingy to me prior to the reception and the super-nannen-grandparents swooped in and saved the day entertaining him for awhile and then taking him home for bedtime. thanks so much for giving me the chance to celebrate the wedding without worrying about my little one - sorry you missed out on a grand party!

my "little" cousin jeremy and i.  it was so much fun having all the cousins in one place for an evening of fun. but my goodness, when did my cousins grow up and get so handsome?

more of my favorite family - aunt kathy and virginia! these ladies are always so much fun!

from the dance floor i spied my cousin doug holding betsy and dropped everything to come snap a picture of the moment.

the new mr. and mrs.  tearing up the dance floor, looking totally fabulous and having a blast.  sis changed out of her wedding dress to a more party-friendly dress so she was able to dance the night away in comfort. don't you just love those green shoes???  my favorite quote of the night was when one of my cousins asked me "so, do they always look like they should be in a music video???" yes, yes they do.

blue ladies caught mid-limbo

me and my poppa. my poppa who popped on his dancing shoes just as the song "i like bit butts" came on. so hilarious. way to go, dad.

what a fabulous night we all enjoyed! congratulations to the bride and groom!

weekend in blo-no

this past weekend we enjoyed some serious family time with my mom's side of the family. :) the hot and humid weather lent it self to enjoying a lot of time playing outside, particularly at the splash park.  i and the other supervisors really enjoyed the splash park but petey decided he was a little bit frightened by the large purple elephant spitting water at top speed.  luckily there was a normal, regular-old playground right next to the splash park that he toddled around at top speed. digging in the dirt with an empty water bottle he found was his favorite memory of the day.   my aunts and uncles were around to provide comic relief and supervision throughout the weekend so i didn't have to be watching both kids non-stop which was fun to see them interacting with pete.  annie had a sweet little bike that was quite a hit and book-reading galore too.  and of course miss betsy got endless cuddles from everyone throughout the weekend.  thanks to you all, we had such a wonderful time and made great memories with you all!

we made it

thanks to a major assist from aunt briana, we made it to milwaukee with as much ease as you can traveling with two under 2. a 4:15 am wake-up call made for a long day but the kids were troopers.  petey was woken up an hour earlier than normal and tossed in the car in his pj's with a bottle, took no nap and managed to have only a couple minor melt-downs over the course of the day (all of which took place on the airplanes which i too was sick of being on so i don't blame him!).  grandma simpson met us at the airport, we picked up the rental and loaded our gear and went home to a yummy dinner of taco salad and a lazy night around the house.  pete went to bed at 6:15 and didn't get up until 7:45 today so he was a tuckered out little man from our journey!

today aunt briana left and we all headed to the lakefront in milwaukee for some sandy play and a yummy burger and custard snack.  this afternoon grandma took the kids for a long walk while mommy enjoyed 3 mile run around the neighborhood (in 30:08 minutes!).

sox, slippers and sunglasses

sporting his white sox gear from grandpa nannen while teasing baxter with a treat.

ready to go to the pool. the flip-flops were quite the experiment. he wasn't sure what to do with them and the walking was an interesting sight.  it looks like he is making a model face (blue steel, reid???) but he's actually just mid-pout over the fact that he can't walk properly in the shoes.

enjoying a splash at the poway community pool which is about a 10 minute walk from our house!

swimming with aunt briana at the pool

modeling this years fashionable sunglasses...
and just because i love my man, another fun video of kids doing random things. :)