Our Beatrice is Four Months!!

I cannot believe our beautiful little girl is 4 months already - and what a 4 months it has been. We celebrated this week by going to the zoo, spending time with family, playing in the backyard, and going to the beach!

We have been thinking of things to do everyday to escape the noise coming from the basement, so the zoo is always a winner - I think we go there at least once a week. This week, we went with our friends, the Novotnys. It is one of the last times we will see them before their new adventure begins in Dallas next week. Good luck Novotnys, we will miss you!!

We also ventured up to Dubuque one day to see all of my Aunts and Uncles. Little Blake was there too, so Henry had a buddy during lunch. It was the first time I had seen some of them since I returned home from Germany, which means they had their first meeting with Beatrice as well!! After our lunch we stopped by my sister's for a little more play time, needless to say, Henry was asleep before we were on the highway again.

Our arts and crafts project for the week was tie dying tee shirts at Papa and Nana's. My sister and the kids were down, so all of the kids did one; even Bea managed to do a onesie!! Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the kids modeling them, but they turned out great, especially Carolyn's and Bea's. I will be sure to get a picture for my next blog. Later that day, we headed out to the beach. Henry had not been to a beach in quite some time, so it was like another first for him! After swimming, making sand castles, and having beach races, the kids buried John in the sand (lucky John). After long showers, everyone was exhausted and slept very soundly, despite the horrible storm we got that night!

Below are a few snap shots from the week, enjoy.

This week our basement will be completed to the point where we can move some belongings down there, so our sea shipment is scheduled for delivery on Thursday! We cannot wait to have everything in one place again. Beds, dressers, clothes, toys, pictures - yippee!!

Henry also has a class at the museum this week, Beary Big Fun Camp! He is really looking forward to it.

Until next time - cheers!!

Weekly Update

On Saturday, we traveled to Colfax, WI to celebrate my Great Aunt Ruth's 80th birthday! The weather was wonderful and my Aunt Ruth looked amazingly young (see pictures below). We look forward to celebrating with her again next year!

Earlier in the week we visited our friends in Iowa City, caught up with some good friends who were in town for the John Deere Classic and were able to see another All Star Game. Unfortunately, Will's team did not win this round of "playoffs" (if that it what you call it), so his season is done. The good news is he has the rest of the summer to catch up on his fishing, which he loves to do!! Below is a great picture of him stealing home base. He had an awesome tournament, both defensively and offensively. We are already looking forward to next year.

As for Bea, she is growing up quickly. This Wednesday his her 4 month check up, I am anxious to see how much she has grown.

Below are some pictures from the week, enjoy.

A Visit From Great Friends, the 4th, Fishing and Baseball - Oh My!

Although the weather was a bit chilly for a Midwest summer, we managed to have a great week. You may remember from previous blogs our friends, the Novotny's. They are a great family we met while living in Heidelberg and are originally from IOWA CITY!! I am happy to say they arrived safely back in the U.S. last week and came over for a visit. Henry was so happy to see them, especially his buddy Lucy. We went out for a quick bite to eat and then went to the John Deere Commons to play on the tractors. It was a great afternoon and we look forward to seeing them again next week. We are so lucky they are only an hour away - for now at least, they are relocating to Dallas this fall:(

The 4th was a bit of a bust. The weather was cold and rainy, so we spent the day at the museum. Despite the weather we had a great time. That night we bundled up in blankets (I know - on the 4th!!) and watched fireworks from our deck, which was really cool.

We did get to partake in some 4th of July festivities (a day late) at the pool. Henry loved the bounce house and dunk tank - just like last year. Later that day, there was a fishing derby, so we called in our resident fisherman to help - Papa. John, Henry and Papa fished from a stocked pond and had a ball.

While the boys went fishing, the girls headed over to West Davenport to watch Will play in his first all star game!! He played left field and pitched and did wonderful. We were all so proud of him. Although they lost 12-10 they played their hearts out and head back out on the field tomorrow - GO SOUTH DUBUQUE!

In the meantime, there is still major work going on in the basement. John has been helping out when he has time and Henry is great with a broom!! The other day Henry informed me there should be no girls or babies in construction sites - I guess he is now the foreman of the project.

Next week we have more baseball and swimming lessons for Henry, and then off to Wisconsin to celebrate Aunt Ruth's 80th birthday!!

Below are a few pictures from the week.