Trip to Peoria

This past weekend we said goodbye to Charlie, loaded up everything but the kitchen sink, and drove to Peoria, Illinois to visit Bryant & Molly. This trip was long overdue, but worth the wait.

Marie with her "Baa." Thank you Bryant and Molly!

We all had a great time enjoying a lot of firsts: Marie's first french fries, Marie & Andy's first time in Illinois (minus the airport), Kelly's first time doing Wii Fit Yoga poses, and our first time in a long time staying up past midnight with friends and not a sick baby - much more enjoyable. Thanks for all the fun!

Signs of Spring

Ahhhh Spring. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy winter. We like the freshly fallen snow, sledding, hot chocolate, etc., but there is a time and place for that. This week was the perfect week for Spring to arrive. Marie has yet another ear infection along with a fever, cold/cough and mattered eyes. (ENT appointment in April) So, Andy & I have been juggling our time with Marie and school making a very interesting week. On Wednesday afternoon, the kids and I decided to soak in some Vitamin D and enjoy the fresh air. It was just what we all needed.

Charlie is the only one who could get Marie to really smile this week.
He was very patient with her.

What a good buddy - enjoying his time in the sun.I wanted her to look at me but the tree was much more interesting.

Happy 9 month Birthday, Marie!

4 days old

2 months old

9 months old

It's hard to believe, but our Marie Beth is 9 months old already! She is so busy and already has a sense of humor. She is such a blessing to us.
Happy Birthday Marie!

Another weekend at home

We didn't have much planned for this weekend. Andy has tests this week, I have conferences and a class, and Marie must have had a busy week at daycare because this is what she was doing on Friday afternoon:

So tired we didn't even wait for the coat and hat to come off. She is also going through yet another ear infection.
The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, but busy all the same...Cute outfit from Aunt Mindy - I couldn't believe Marie was wearing a skirt.

Marie 'reading' her magazine. Which seems to be tasty, too!

I don't know why she looks so scared in this picture, but we really were having fun crawling around the floor together.

Marie was enjoying crawling around Andy's feet and the table & chairs.

Another magazine moment.

Pheasants, puppies, flu, teeth....oh my!

This past weekend definitely had its ups and downs. It started on an "up." On Friday night, Andy & I took Marie to Pheasant Fest to see all the puppies and hunting dogs. I know, an entire Fest dedicated to Pheasants? You better believe it. We knew she liked dogs, but this was just ridiculous. Dogs of all ages were there to try to eat her cereal out of her stroller and of course give kisses. Another "up" - Grandpa & Grandma Mueting and Chris, Mindy, Alissa, & Abby came to visit us! No matter how much we try, Andy & I will never get Marie to laugh as hard as these two girls make her laugh. They just smile at her and she cracks up.

Ok, our "down" - Andy & I got sick on Saturday morning and couldn't enjoy our visitors. After only a little time together, our visitors left so we could recover. Not how we planned our weekend to go, but what do you do. Grandpa & Grandma Mueting stuck around and took Marie for awhile so Andy & I could rest.

"Up" - Marie got her 2nd tooth!
Plus, she is getting pretty good at playing "sooo big" - thanks Grandma Nel

Date Night

Andy & I experienced a much needed night out on Saturday night. DMU had the annual Winter Gala. Liz came to babysit Marie so we could fully enjoy our evening. We had a great dinner at Bravo which included eating SLOWLY, good conversation, and some delicious wine. Next we went to the Gala to devour the dessert bar and share some good times with good friends. So, here is a rare picture of just the two of us getting ready to head out for our big date!

too cute...

Marie with her dog and reading her favorite dog book.

Marie & Char share a quick hug before bed.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Most of you all know how important our dog Charlie is to us. He had a difficult start to life - roaming the ditches of N'West Iowa. Thanks to a family friend, he came to live with us in May of 2005. Because we don't know his birthday exactly, we gave him the birthday of February 15th. So he is now officially 5 years old! I can't believe he has been with us that long. He was our first kid - that is for sure. Since the addition of Marie, he has had to take a back seat on several occasions. When we announced we were pregnant, there were several concerned that Charlie would have a difficult time being a big brother...well, I will just let the following pictures do the talking....

Happy Birthday Charlie - we love you so much!