Fun With Andrew and Laura...and Bridget!

Caught in the Act

2010-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Bridget's favorite new hobby: Body Art.

Beach Birthday

2010-07-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

We had a beach birthday party for Andrew yesterday. We played games and had cake inside. Then we headed out for some fun in the sun. Fortunately the weather cooperated. It was hot enough for the sprinkler and slip'n'slide, but not so hot that the moms were uncomfortable standing around outside while the kids played.

After the party, we gave Andrew his birthday present because we don't have room in the car to bring it to the Ozarks. He was incredibly excited, as was Laura because she gets his old bike.

Yes, indeed. This is post 3 this week!!!

2010-07-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

The kids just finished swimming lessons. They were both very excited to pass their levels. I was just happy to be done with the mosquito-infested pool grounds for a while. One thing that cracked me up about the lessons is that the kids' personalities really showed in how they dressed for class. Every day Andrew got on his swim shorts, his swim shirt, and his goggles. Laura, I think, dressed differently every. single. day. Sometimes she would wear a swimshirt over her swimsuit. Sometimes she would wear her swimshirt under her swimsuit. Sometimes she wouldn't wear the swimshirt at all. Sometimes she wore goggles, and sometimes she didn't. And of course she had to rotate her two swimsuits.

Bridget spent her time trying on Laura's shoes and playing with rocks.
And here are two pictures of our new van. We are very happy with it.

Journal of June 2010

2010-07-07T18:06:00.001-07:00

I'm doing a little bit if catch up. :) We had a busy month of June. My college roomate and Andrew's Godmother, Rebecca Niemerg, visited us for about a week at the beginning of June.
Then we headed for El Paso for a college friend's wedding reception followed by a week of VBS with the cousins. They all had a good time.

And I think I wrote in an earlier post that Bridget and Abby are good buds. Well, here are some more pictures to prove it. :) They are so cute together!

After we got back my dad came for a visit. I didn't get any pictures, but we had a very fun weekend with him. We went strawberry picking with him, which was the first time Bridget had a chance to go berry picking (not in a sling). She loved it and came home red from head to tow. We went berry picking again later in the week, and ended up with 26 jars of strawberry jam and I think about 10 gallons of frozen strawberries!

Later that week we went to Chicago. Again, no pictures, but we had a great time. We went to the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, a tour of Soldier Field, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the American Girl Store.

That weekend our good friends from Springfield, the Yeagers, came for a visit. We always enjoy visits with them. The kids had a sleepover in the basement, and then we spent Father's Day at the zoo and beach. Andrew and Laura were sad to see the Yeagers go, and we look forward to seeing them next time we head South or they head North.

We finished off June with Drake family camping, which is always a favorite for the kids. I don't have pictures of that either, which tells me that I need to be little better about bringing my camera places. :)

We had a great time and now we're having a nice, relaxing July. Or at least we're having a nice July.

Summer splashing and goodbye Dodge Caravan!

2010-07-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we pulled out the play pool for the first time this summer. All of the kids had a great time with it and were outside for hours.

Yesterday was also our last day with our Dodge Caravan. John drove it to work yesterday, and came home with our new Honda Odyssey. The kids are very excited about figuring out the secret compartments and fun features of our new van. Laura is especially excited about the automatic doors and wants to open and close them all the time. I'll post pics of that as soon as we get some. So for now, here is our "goodbye van" picture.

Illinois Weekend

2010-05-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we made a last minute decision to visit Springfield. A few weeks ago we had to cancel our visit due to sick kids, and we realized in the middle of the week that this weekend would be a great weekend to reschedule. Originally it was going to be a pretty brief trip with us heading to Illinois late Friday, spending Saturday in Springfield, and then heading back home first thing Sunday, but we ended up in central Illinois for the whole weekend!

John decided to take Friday afternoon off work, so we got to Illinois in time for a delicious dinner at Great Grandma and Grandpa Drake's house with lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. It was a beautiful day and the kids and fun playing out in the yard with cousins.

Saturday we went to Washington Park and O'Charley's with Great Grandma and Grandpa Beagles and Uncle David. Then we spent the afternoon at their house playing cards. Laura and Andrew had fun listening to Uncle David read and picking strawberries from Grandma and Grandpa's garden.

In the evening we visited with some good friends from Springfield, the Yeagers. The kids all had a great time together.

Jim and Maureen's family were staying in El Paso this weekend also, so the kids had some fun times with cousin Audrey cousin Abby. As the two night owls, Bridget and Abby had some good bonding time, and Abby is now one of Bridget's current favorite words.

Instead of an early exit Sunday morning, we stayed to help John's brother Carl move into his new home in Bloomington. Andrew and Laura were excited to see cousin Ben and cousin Ella for the first time since Christmas, and we're all happy that they're going to be so much closer now. Laura was a little disappointed that Ella wasn't moving in next door to us.

First Day of School and a Happy Birthday

2009-08-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we started our school year. I like to start early so we can 1) Take the day off whenever something fun comes up that we would like to do, and 2) Finish the year as soon as the weather gets nice. Since it's still nice here I like to get outside as much as possible with the kids, so we start off the day playing outside, come in for Bridget to take a nap and Andrew & Laura to do schoolwork, then head back outside again in the afternoon. This schedule doesn't leave much time to get housework done, but right now I'm just focusing on the essentials because I can spend hours and hours cleaning once we're in winter hibernation mode. Here are Andrew and Laura's first day of school pictures.

Yesterday was Andrew's birthday party. In the morning his friend Erek, who couldn't make the party because of previous plans, stopped by to play with Andrew for a little while.

Then in the afternoon we had the party. It was a few weeks late because we have had plans the last few weekends, but we have been telling Andrew for a couple of years that he could have a "kid" birthday party for his sixth birthday, so we had to have one. He wanted to have a solar system theme party, and I think he was quite happy with it.

More Vacation Fun

2009-07-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

After my cousin Mandi's wedding, we headed to a Bennett family vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Bennett, Uncle Richard, and Uncle Michael. Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jack came along too. We went to Mohican State Park in Central Ohio. We had a chance to just relax and spend some time with the Bennetts. I'm very thankful for the time with my family, since we don't get a chance to all be together very often.

Boating

Laura the Snakehandler

After we got back, we had a weekend at home before John went back to work. We went to the diocese family picnic on Sunday, and Andrew got to spend some time with his friend Eric.

And finally, a picture of our "big girl" standing!

Catching up on the Summer: July

2009-07-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the Fourth of July and Andrew's birthday party #1 at Grandma and Grandpa Drake's house. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but we all had a great time.

The kids have each been doing a couple of activities through the park district this summer. In the first half of the summer Andrew did t-ball, Laura did ballet, and both kids did swimming lessons.

We have been on vacation in Ohio for the last week. We came down for my cousin Mandi's wedding. It has been great getting a chance to see my Gerber relatives.

The kids have also gotten to spend some time with their second cousins that we don't get to see very often. There was a little baby boom for my generation over the last few years, so all of my kids have second cousins close in age to them. This time they got to visit with Isaiah, Jonah, and Harriet. Since Isaiah and Jonah were busy helping with wedding preparations, they spent a lot of time with Harriet. Andrew is already begging to take a vacation to Virginia so we can have a playdate with Harriet.

At the wedding:

Playing at Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Glenn's:

Swimming at the hotel:

On July 18th, Andrew turned 6! He is growing up too quickly for me. Here are a couple of pictures of the 6 year old on his birthday.

Bridget with Uncle Dan at Andrew's birthday party:

Catching up on the Summer: June

2009-07-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

June started off with a trip to El Paso for VBS with the Drake cousins. Andrew and Laura both loved it and are still singing/signing the music. Thanks so much to Aunt Nico for volunteering at VBS and carting all of the kids back and forth!

After VBS was done, we headed on an Illinois tour, visiting with Andrew's Godmother Sister Theresa-Elizabeth in Effingham, the Moore family in Champaign, and the Schoen family near DeKalb. It was fun to reconnect with college friends. We hope to do it more often! :)

Sister reading to the kids:

At the Schoen's house:

We finished up June with a visit from the Yeagers, good friends of ours from Chatham. Andrew and Laura were so excited that Noah and Makenna got to stay overnight. The kids played at our house, and then we went downtown to the farmer's market.

One of our most exciting events of the summer was not captured on film (ok, memory card). Andrew got a concussion after the Yeagers left, and lost his short term memory for the day. Fortunately, he was fine the next morning, and we all had a reminder of what a blessing our health is.

Catching up on the Summer: May

2009-07-19T20:20:00.001-07:00

I was going to post all of our summer happenings in one post, but it was taking way too long to upload pictures, so I'm just going to do one month at a time. :) I'll start with May.

Andrew and Laura finished their gymnastics classes. Both of them really enjoyed the experience, but we were all ready for a break.

We had a fun time at the Drake Campout. Andrew and Laura both slept out 2 nights at the campground with John. Bridget and I enjoyed the nice, cozy beds at Grandma's house.

The kids had fun swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was Bridget's first time in the pool!

Jump!

2009-05-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, Grandpa Drake came to Sun Prairie to help John set up our new trampoline. The kids have really appreciated all of their effort. It's been sunny all week, and the kids have been on the trampoline every day. Thanks Grandpa!

Early Spring fun in Wisconsin

2009-05-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Bridget decided that she was too big for her bath mat. She wanted to sit up instead. So here is a picture of our big girl sitting and playing with toys in the tub. It has gone way too fast.

Later that day Bridget and I went to a conference. Here's one of her new friends. They had a twenty minute conversation. It was hilarious.

Today's activities made it feel like spring is finally here. We went to a garage sale, headed downtown to farmers' market, and then John mowed the lawn Andrew played in the dirt while Laura snuggled up on John's back. She was glad to have some Daddy time after his trip to California. She'll have plenty of Daddy time for the next week since SWIB is not allowing anyone who travelled anywhere to come into work for 7 days after his/her travel. And they're cancelling all travel for the next two weeks. John had two more business trips planned during that time, so instead of two business trips he has a full week at home.

First Bites

2009-04-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Bridget is 6 months old today! Andrew and Laura have been begging to feed her, so they are ecstactic that Bridget is old enough. So here are Bridget's first bites:

Mommy started the feeding:

Bridget decided it was ok after all:

Laura joins in the fun:

Andrew takes a turn:

Even Daddy gets a chance:

Then we got Bridgy in a new outfit and got some fun 6 month shots. She got to wear one of Laura's old outfits that is one of my favorites. I'm sure Laura was about a year old when she wore it though.

I can not believe Bridget is six months old already. The time has really flown by.

Some fun pics of just Bridget.

Laura always likes to be part of the action.

Go Illini!

2009-03-19T13:23:00.001-07:00

Bridget is 5 months old now, and all ready to cheer for the Illini in the NCAA tournament!

4 Months Old!!!

2009-02-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Bridget is four months old already. Yesterday we went to the doctor because Bridget had really bad croup the night before. The doctor said she didn't hear anything in Bridget's lungs so it was just a cold and croup, which was a relief. Since we went to the doctor, we got to find out her weight, and she's 16 lbs, 7 oz. As you can see, Bridget is feeling much better.

Illinois Weekend

2009-02-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

We have had a fun weekend in Illinois playing with Connor, Lucas, Audrey, and Abby. We thought Grandma Drake especially might appreciate some of these pictures.

"The girls" are finally cooperating for some pictures together.

They found a slinky and were playing with it on the steps for a long time.

There was some wrestling fun.

All of the cousins played Raccoon Solstice together.

And we actually got a picture of all the cousins sitting in one place (except for Ben, who is in nice, warm Florida-we can't wait to see you at Irish Party Ben!).

Laura's first haircut

2009-01-21T12:15:00.001-08:00

Yes, we did it. We had Laura's hair cut for the first time today. She was very excited to get her hair cut. Every time John cuts Andrew's hair, she wants in on the action.

Here's the before:

Now the action shots:

And finally the answer to the big question: Yes, she does still have curls.

Laura loved the certificate they gave her for first haircut.

Weekend at Grandma's

2008-12-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to El Paso to attend the Baptism of our Godson's new little sister. We (ok, I) forgot to get pictures at the Baptism and reception, but we had a great time.

Since we were going down to Illinois, we also took the opportunity to get Christmas pictures done, as well as visit with friends and family.

On Saturday, cousins Connor and Lucas came, and the cousins enjoyed one of their favorite pastimes: running in the hallway.

And now Lucas is big enough to get in on the action.

In the early afternoon, Andrew and Laura's good friends from Chatham, Noah and Makenna arrived.

And they brought their new little brother Aidan.

The seven kids had great fun playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house while Noah and Makenna's mom took Bridget's baby pictures.

To see how cute the pictures of Bridget were, you can visit Michelle's blog: http://michelleyeager.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/bridget.html

The cousins got in every last second of playing they could.

And a few more cute pictures from the weekend:

Thanksgiving and a few recent baby pics

2008-12-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

We had our first Thanksgiving at home this year. Uncle Richard joined us for Thanksgiving week, and all of the kids had a lot of fun with him. We never got a picture of him with Bridget which is surprising since he spent a lot of time holding her. She really enjoyed going to sleep on Uncle Richard's shoulder.

We did get a few pictures of Andrew and Laura enjoying their Thanksgiving feast. Andrew claims he's not a fan of pumpkin pie, but the pictures tell a different story:

And next are a few pictures of our growing baby. Bridget is doing all those exciting baby things. (ok, they're at least really exciting to mommy and daddy) She's holding her head up, smiling, and cooing. We don't have a good picture of her smiling, but hopefully we'll get one soon.

After Bath

Holding her head up

With her big sister

And of course, Sleeping Baby

Introducing Bridget Elinor

2008-10-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Bridget Elinor was born yesterday, October 18th at 2:53 in the morning. She was 8lb 1oz and 19 inches long. She's been eating and sleeping like a newborn and we're looking forward to heading home in the morning. Andrew and Laura are both very excited.

Playing with Cadence

2008-10-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Last night we had dinner with the Wisconsin Drakes. The kids had a lot of fun playing with Cousin Cadence.

"sleeping" in the tent

on the swingset

I also thought I'd include the next one since it shows off our new landscaping in the backyard...it's a little bare back there, but at least we should get less water in the basement!

VBS

2008-06-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

The kids had their first experience with Vacation Bible School this week, and they've both had a lot of fun. Andrew was very upset today when he found out that he didn't get to go back next week! Today's theme was the parable of the kingdom of heaven being like hidden treasure, so the kids had a lot of fun making treasure boxes,

hunting for treasure,

sorting jewels,

and breaking rocks to find the treasure inside.

Any day that involves shattering things with hammers AND glitter glue ranks high for Andrew and Laura.

Strawberry Season

2008-06-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

We spent Father's Day strawberry picking. It was the first day of picking, so the strawberries were a little scarce, but we still had fun. The kids have had a great time this week eating the strawberries, as well as baking with them.

A New Car!

2008-06-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

...and not the battery operated kind. :) This weekend, after a bunch of paperwork and some negotioation by John, we trade in our Grand Prix

for a new Honda Civic.

Andrew enjoyed the process thoroughly, but Laura was a little sad that we weren't going to have the Grand Prix anymore.

We're starting a blog too...

2008-06-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Inspired by "Aunt Kristen's" cool posts about Ben, we've decided to start blogging too. But like our sporadically updated webpage, I doubt that we will be nearly as consistent. :) We'll do our best to keep everyone updated on the "big happenings" in the lives of Andrew and Laura.

Right now our days mostly consist of getting outside and enjoying the warmth and sun after our long, cold Wisconsin winter. Both kids have been biking a lot. Laura can bike all the way to the park, and Andrew can bike a few miles at a time.