That Little Boy of Mine

One of the coffee klatch ladies wrote this up in her congratulations card for Erik...so sweet.  They sang it for us while I was still expecting!

That Little Boy of Mine
(Bonnie Owens)

A tiny turned up nose,
Two cheeks just like a rose,
So sweet from head to toe,
That little boy of mine.

Two eyes that shine so bright,
Two arms that hold me tight,
Two lips that kiss goodnight,
That little boy of mine.

No one will ever know
Just what his coming has meant
Because we love him so,
He's something heaven sent.

He's all the world to me,
He climbs upon my knee,
To me he'll always be,
That little boy of mine.

A Trip to the National Mississippi Museum and Aquarium aka An Attempt to Walk the Baby Out

Friends of ours from Gym and Art had the great idea that since there was an extra week between our next G&A get together we could meet today at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium for the morning.  If you've never been, I must give it a big recommendation!  Come visit us and we'll go with you!  It is a must see if you're spending any time in the Dubuque Area for kids and adults alike. 

 

Anyway, I thought, I'd attempt to walk the baby out before my OB appointment this afternoon and I brought my camera!

 

Katie holding a snail in the Discovery Lab.  She was all about it!

All the kids in our group from the four families that met today waiting for me to return from the bathroom. ;-)

Katie in the piranha tank!  The current featured exhibit is one Voyage to the Amazon.  It was the first time I got to see it.  There will be a new exhibit featured beginning in March I believe.

Girls in the belly of a catfish!

H is for Hawk (it is H week here)!

IF you're still reading...my OB apt. went fine.  The baby was not walked out though I'm rather tired from the day!  I'll have to go in again next Tuesday for a stress test if baby hasn't appeared outside before then.  Now though, I'm crossing my legs til after I vote tomorrow. ;-)  I figure if I vote early I could have this child before all the results are in...the way things are sounding that might be the case if I wait a few days, too!

Halloween and the Holy Ones!

Tinkerbell and Captain Hook on Halloween- it was also Green day at the library so we got to wear our costumes.

Both Kurt and I took the girls trick or treating around one of our blocks here.  It was a great night for a walk and we got to visit with some of our neigbors and limit the houses we hit.

St. Bernadette of Lourdes and St. George ready for our All Saints' Party hosted at our home Thursday.

Here, Katie got one of me- St. Felicity.  Hopefully my labor will not be under such dramatic circumstances as hers.

Crafting up some puppets with our Moms' group for All Saints. Recognize any? 

St. George and St. George

The bigger kids at the party with their puppets- we're missing 4 kiddos from this shot but that's the best we could do.
St. Bernadette, St. Lawerence, St. Elizabeth, St. George, St. Kateri, Angel, St. Therese, St. Rose

Some of my favorite saints all in on spot for a picture!

If you haven't placed your Baby Bets you'd best do that soon! It's November!!!   ;-)

Yes, Lord! VBS 2012

This year our parish didn't host a Vacation Bible School (we'd gone every summer since Katie's birth!) and I was totally bummed.  It didn't work out on our calendar to go elsewhere and the closest parish ended up not doing theirs either. :-(  So, my dear friend Rachael and I decided to do our own.  We took inspiration from other mothers who've done the same and from our years in Totus Tuus and thus VBS 2012 Yes, Lord!

Our week having preschool age children in mind was three mornings of Vacation Bible School rather than the whole week/day long.  We decided to focus on three Old Testament Bible Stories (Noah, Moses, David) and three coinciding mysteries of the Rosary (the first three Joyful Mysteries).  The day consisted of songs, prayer, lessons about each story and mystery, craft, snack and game.  It was enough for our crowd (5 yr. old, 4 yr. old, and two 2 yr. olds, plus a newborn and mom and a pregnant mom) who had occasional meltdowns or moments of being uncooperative (no, I didn't have the meltdown!).  The kids however had a BLAST!  And there were moments of great joy for us moms, too in seeing cooperation, learning and excitement about our faith!

We didn't take many pictures but here are a few off of my phone to share.  I wish we could have had video of the game station- what a hoot!  Especially the Crossing of the Red Sea!  I think we crossed it at least a dozen times before it got old and they wanted to play it again the next day!  If you're interested in our outline or anything like that I'd be happy to share.  Nothing too time consuming!

The stage was set!  Day one- Noah

Snack Time!

The big girls showing off their work!

Crafts!

Our smallest and cutest helper!

The attendees sporting their VBS 2012 T-shirts and smiles.

A Work and Play Weekend

One thing I love is company!  And we were so excited to host friends of ours from up north here last weekend.  They're not new to Environs- through their parents friendships our kids have chummed around quite a bit.  Since my only camera these days is the smart phone- and that usually sits on the counter at home I was so excited to be sent pictures from our visit to post here. 

There aren't any pictures of the work that was accomplished in their extended weekend stay so I'll just mention that first.  Here are the things I know of-- I'm sure there are things I'm missing that were on the 'guys' list.

-Trimmed Pine Grove

-Processed produce- a batch of marinara

-Worked on refurbishing the cider press

-Put up ceiling fan, and two can lights in the living room (and completed electrical)

-Weed whipped

-Ran to Menard's

-Rearranged master bedroom to accommodate baby's arrival

And now for the FUN!

-Played for numerous hours- toys, playdoh, swimming, scooters, 'mom and dad', flashlights etc.

-Went on a date (just the adults!) to the Potosi Brewery and Red Top

- Cooked and ate like royalty!

We wrapped up their stay with a little touring for the kiddos-

1- Put our feet in the Mississippi!  Visited O'Leary's Landing and Lock and Dam 11.  We saw a dead snake, a dead fish, a heron, a family of ducks and of course, put our toes in the muddy Miss!

JuJu and I at the Lock and Dam

Our friends getting their feet wet!

Climbing rocks to get to the water!

The kids and I- you can almost see our house in this picture!

2- Checked out John Deere though next time we'll have to stop at the construction dealer for some backhoe pictures.  The guide messed up but the kids didn't seem to mind!

 3-Learned a bit about Dubuque's history and the nature of the area.  Made a stop at the Mines of Spain and the newly remodeled Nature Center.  Took a hike on the trails and had a little picnic, too!

Interactive bird calls for local birds!

The Fox tribe were the native settlers of this area.

Finding 'treasure' in a lead mine exhibit!  You had to crawl through a cave to get in here- that was a laugh for me anyway!

Listening to animal sounds- our favorite, the badger.  It kinda sounded like a mutant pig.  Katie thought it was hilarious!

More sounds and JuJu bird watching. 

It was a wonderful weekend!  We're already looking forward to more company in August- are you on our calendar yet?!?!

The Week of the Fourth of July

Along with swimming lessons, this past week was a full one at our home.  Kurt's immediate family (his five siblings and most of their kids) was all here for the air show fireworks over the river on the 3rd along with quite a few other friends who came down to watch in our yard, on our deck and in our house with the a/c on.  We had company from the 2nd until just this morning.  It was a great time for the girls- cousins, cousins, cousins and Kurt and I appreciated all the help in the kitchen, working on the basement, in the garden and with other projects.  Here are a few pictures--wish I'd have taken more but oh well.

Cutting up smoked pork for the fireworks party! Yum!

Corn on the cob!!

Playing with cousins!!

Waiting for the fireworks- Julia asked to go to bed shortly after this picture.

Daddy's little baker

Homemade pretzels!

Playing with water balloons and swimming in the stock tank pool.

This week we'll wrap up swimming lessons (so far she's only had one day we went where it wasn't 90 degrees already at 9 a.m.) and work on processing some foods from the garden.  I've already got some peppers in the freezer (waiting for the tomatoes to ripen for salsa) and one batch of green beans to freeze.  Sounds like we'll be processing corn and some potatoes before the week is out for sure.  I'll have to get a picture of all the work Kurt and his brothers did in the basement this weekend! WOW!  And I've also got baby pictures to post from this week as I had an ultrasound and OB appointment, too. 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Take me out to the ball game...

Take me out to the park...

Buy me some peanuts...

And Cracker Jacks...

I don't care if I ever get back...

'Cause its root, root, root for the home team (or Brewers)...

A rain delay is a shame...

For its one!

Two!

Three strikes you're out...

At the 'ol ball game!  Play ball!

T Party! Tea Party!

Well, I neglected to take any pictures of the 12 of us (plus babies) sitting around the table this morning drinking tea and munching on tarts, tangerines and Treasures cereal.  I am really disappointed I didn't think to take any till too late.  This and a full dishwasher are all that remain. 

It was quite a treat of a T party to mark T week.  Kate was the utmost party planner and helper, together we dug out a full tea service from the basement, trays, teapots, and tablecloth, too.  We even went out and picked some of our lilacs for centerpieces.  This morning she polished the chairs, vacuumed the floor, helped set the table (cups, saucers, napkins) while I made some 'tarts' (glorified pie dough- dairy and egg free!)  Our friends came dressed in their best (one young gentleman even sported a tie!) and the scene was temporarily idyllic as the manners came out and tea and treats were enjoyed.  Of course, in due time there were tears and tantrums, too.  (But we had to have them, as they begin with T!)  This we moms decided was a party to be repeated as it was such fun!  Perhaps with the kids a bit older next time the tantrums and tears would be less and we might endeavor to try a treasure hunt!

Ta-ta and Tootle-loo!

'C' is for Creek (My 200th post!)

For 'C' week we invited our friends to join us for a field trip with the intention of going to a nearby creek.  The creek we planned on really wasn't child or mud boot friendly so we continued up  the road with a plan B.  My dear husband suggested the night before that if the creek was a washout try heading to a place on the river.  And so our creek was the Mississippi!  Kinda big for creek status but the outcome was just what I was hoping when it came to exploring.    

As you can see from this last shot we were right below the Lock & Dam.  It was one of the last BEAUTIFUL Indian summer days that we had and the picnic following our exploration filled the kiddos and settled them down a bit.  We enjoyed the story Let's Explore a River a great choice with many of the things our kids got to do the children in the book did, too! This thus far was one of my favorite days on the Alphabet Path with Kate (and friends).