Christmas Evening 2009

Can you tell Dru is so tired she can't even smile? :)

Reed and Dru were having a blast with the beads.

Christmas evening we went to the Bloom's (my aunt, uncle and cousins) house for dinner and family time. Our annual $2 gift game increased to $3 due to inflation. The food was delicious and the company was perfect. The day surely doesn't seem long enough to fit everything in.

Christmas Morning 2009

This was Dru's first Christmas that she began to understand about Santa. She seemed to put the together the concept of seeing Santa and that he brought her and Leo the gifts she asked for. Dru got a baby doll stroller with a new baby doll and Leo got a dump truck and bus. We opened Santa's gifts then went to my parent's house for breakfast and to open presents with my family. Dru and Leo took naps during present opening so we were able to focus in Reed. He is at the perfect age to enjoy Christmas!

I added the pic of our backyard, notice the pine trees sagging terribly with the heavy snow!!

Christmas Eve 2009

We spent Christmas Eve with Julie's family. We enjoyed Cossetta's pizza and appetizers. It was a low key evening which is refreshing in the stress of the holidays. Dru and Leo are sitting with their cousins Jake (15), Zach (12), and Nick (8).

Christmas Storm 2009

The snow storm over Christmas gave us many inches of very heavy snow. We shoveled off the deck and Dru decided she wanted to "help". She would try to push the snow but eventually figured out throwing snow chunks around to see them break apart was more fun.

More photos of our house

Family room
Living Room

From Kitchen into Dining Room and Living Room

These were taken before the Christmas decorations were put up.
We wish all of you following our blog a Merry Christmas!

Leo 7 months

Leo is 7 months already!! He is a big boy weighing in at over 22 lbs! He hasn't mastered rolling over yet though is very close to getting all the way from back to tummy. He loves to sleep on his left side. He was sick just before Thanksgiving with the flu (possible H1N1 but they don't test anymore) which turned into pneumonia. It was very sad to hear him wheezing and not feel well. He now is being treated for an ear and eye infection. Through everything he hasn't lost his wonderful personality. He is an easy audience, he laughs all the time. Now his biggest interests are his hands and feet.

We are looking forward to his first Christmas. He met Santa for the first time yesterday and did really well, as did Dru. He is still chatting a lot but it is getting quite a bit louder! He doesn't like to be left alone in a room and lets us know it. He will soon have his first haircut, I'm not ready because I know he'll lose his baby look. He isn't sleeping through the night yet, but does sleep 8 hours.

I hope you all enjoy your time with family and friends this week!

Dru's 2nd Birthday!!!!

It's hard to imagine our precious Sweet Pea is now a two year old. She can talk in 2-3 word sentences, has definite opinions and is becoming more a girl and less of a baby every second! We celebrated her birthday with family and had cake and ice cream. She was a bit shy when we sang Happy Birthday to her but secretly enjoyed it :) Thank you everyone who celebrated with us, who sent birthday wishes and for all the wonderful gifts!

Apple Orchard in October

Getting ready to find the best apple tree...

Picking from one of the few remaining apples...

and the ride back to the car, aren't they adorable!

Just had to share these pics, Leo didn't really get to enjoy it this year though he was a very good boy while just hanging in the stroller.

Our Peanut

5 months





6 months

Leo has grown so fast with all the chaos going on with, getting our house ready to sell, having it on the market, packing then moving! He has 2 teeth already, both on the bottom. He is also rolling over! He can consistently do it from his tummy to his back but not quite the other way. He is not sitting up by himself but is getting stronger everyday. He LOVES to laugh at his big sister (who also LOVES to make him laugh). Leo also is a talker. He is chatting to whoever will listen especially right after a bottle.

Dru is a concerned and caring big sister. While at the doctor for their well child visit, Dru had already had her shot and finger poke (without a tear) and was in the waiting room with Mama. Leo then had his 4 shots and was crying quite hard when Dru stopped what she was doing, with big eyes said, "Leo!" and came bursting back into the exam room to see what was wrong with him. She also is a great helper and will give Leo his pacifier if he drops it or is crying. Very sweet!

Our New House!

walkout rambler, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1/2 acre lot

We have officially moved in! It was a monumentous few weeks but are now settling in. We seem to be functioning better and getting into a rhythm now. We really enjoy our new space. Dru and Leo have their own rooms, we have a MUCH bigger dining room and a very spacious yard. Here are a few outside pics, will post some inside when I can take some in the daylight.

Catching up!

at the park 23 months

Swimming lessons


Bath Time

Leo's Baptism

Leo was baptized today. He was wearing the same baptismal gown that Dru wore, with just a few masculine alterations. Leo was such a good baby during the service. He even laughed while being blessed. When they ask the children of the congregation to come forward and greet the newly baptized it is really emotional. They are usually allowed to touch the babies but now can only say "Welcome" or "Jesus Loves You" because of the H1N1 flu. It is still really sweet. Julie's brother and wife, Mike and Vicki, are Leo's god parents.

Family and friends came to celebrate after the service for lunch and cake.

Though he won't remember today , I hope he will always know how much he is loved.

Goodbye to 3438

After only 19 days on the market, we sold our townhome (it was priced to sell). Julie and I moved in Labor Day weekend of 2000. We have had so many memories here, it will be sad to leave. Because it only has 2 bedrooms we have now outgrown the space and are excited to be moving. We have spent the last 9 years making this place our own. I can only hope the new owner will take good care of our house. We close on our new house October 30th. I don't plan to post pictures of the new house until after we close, just to be safe.

Leo's Adoption

Today was Julie's adoption of Leo. It went smoothly and now both kids have 2 "legal" parents! Though this was a momentous day our feelings of our family dynamics haven't changed. I am glad to finally have the adoption behind us and no longer have worries about whether or not it would be granted. We want to thank everyone for your kind thoughts and words.

Dru at the table

Dru is now a big girl and is eating at the table!

Road Trips

We went to Des Moines for a pool party with our friends, Andrea and Lynn. Dru is walking around the yard looking at the beautiful flowers with Andrea. Lynn is feeding Leo. We have known them for almost 10 years!





The following weekend we took another 4 hour trip to Bemidji for our friends wedding reception. Heather and Brent were wed that afternoon in an outdoor ceremony on the shore of Lake Bemidji. The reception included a walleye fish fry and delicious cake! It lightly rained but not enough to damper the festivities. We wish them many years of peace and fulfillment!

This picture of Leo is also at the reception, and if you notice, Dru is in background. She spent the afternoon in the rain running around the yard with the other kids in attendance. She was quite wet but had a great time! :)

First Visit to the Zoo

Dru, Leo and I went to the zoo in July. The big exhibit was called "Africa" so we were able to get pretty close to this giraffe. The platform we were on was where people could pay to feed them. It was CRAZY with people so we just watched for a bit then moved on. The kids did great, we were there for about 5 hours! We hope to go back this fall.


We hung out for a while watching the fish, so we could be in the shade and I could feed Leo. It kept Dru occupied and she met another girl her age so they watched together :)

Dru: 20 months

Dru is a busy girl!! She keeps us chasing her, repeating ourselves and singing songs over and over :) Her favorite is Itsy Bitsy Spider. She makes us laugh a lot and has great facial expressions. Her vocabulary is growing quickly and can get her point across most of the time. She continues to go to daycare 2 days a week to get social time with her peers. She enjoys her brother and is a great helper. She has improved her aim at putting his pacifier in his mouth :)

Leo: 2 months

Our Handsome Boy!!

Leo is growing like a weed and is such a sweetheart. He is still struggling with reflux and we expect he will for awhile. His tear ducts remain closed unfortunately. I have taken him to my chiropractor to see if they can work any magic for the reflux, sleeping and a stiff shoulder/neck. So far the sleeping is better, the reflux is worse and I'm not quite sure about the shoulder.

I only have 2 weeks left of maternity leave! I can't believe it. I don't feel I've been able to enjoy him as much as I did Dru. Most likely I think it's because we've been so busy getting our house ready to sell. We hope to have it on the market by the end of the month...wish us luck!

Julie starts her maternity leave next Monday, so we'll have a week together. Her work is going through a major transition so she's a bit concerned about being gone during such an important time.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Summer Fun

At the Pride parade in downtown Minneapolis. Delta Airlines gave out these sun hats :)

At daycare, a big bouncing and sliding thing... Dru had a great time!
You can't see her face because she took out her pony tail holder, UGH!

Mariah and Leo on the 4th of July

The kids on the 4th of July