Stuck Like Glue

I took a break from blogging...for lots of reasons. One of which is that we need a new computer. We haven't figured out what we want yet....Mac or PC, that is the debate.
Anyway, I'm back, at least for today. Since I last posted, lots of things have been happening-- Luke turned one. He's walking, talking (some words) and getting into and climbing on everything. Lauren turned 4 and joined the ranks of the oldest kids in school at Junior Kindergarten (sniff! Sniff!). She starts gymnastics this week. I showed her some videos of Shawn Johnson and she said, "Hey Dad! Do you know Shawn Johnson is better at gymnastics than I am?". No self esteem issues in our house.
I'll try to do a full summer update later but I wanted to share this adorable video with you.
I took this this morning in the car when I was getting ready to drop them both off at daycare. Lauren loves music and often gets to choose the morning music selection on the iPod. Today was Sugarland's Stuck Like Glue. She was singing away to her little brother. She loves him so much and I think the feeling is mutual! I love watching them together!

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Oh Say Can You Say

Everynight we read stories to Lauren before bed...one of my favorite moments of the day.  Dr. Seuss is one of our favorite authors.  We love to read his books over and over again.  Our flavor of the month now is "Oh Say Can You Say"...I have to say, one that I was unfamiliar with.  Lauren loves all the silliness that is Dr. Seuss' tongue twisters.  In fact, she has most of the book memorized.  She always amazes me with how quickly she picks things up, but especially books. 

She's also very into letters, words and their spellings now.  Everywhere we go, she is always wondering what different words are that she sees.  I think she'll be reading very soon.  In honor of Dr. Seuss, here's Lauren's version of "The Fudnuddler Brothers."  Enjoy!

Thanks for checking in on us.

Until next time--

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lauren was very excited for Valentine's Day! She picked out Tinker Bell Valentines for her friends as school. She even wrote her name on each of them by herself! Of course, she was excited to find special valentines at her breakfast place this morning...chocolates, a giant lollipop and a new dress! What a great way to start her day.

I made a special Valentine's dinner tonight...filet mignon with a red wine reduction, parmesean mashed potatoes, asparagus and homemade chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert! Yum!!! (and surprisingly waist-slimming as well) We enjoyed our dinner by candlelight...all four of us. Oh how Valentine's day celebrations change with kids. But it changes for the better. I wouldn't want to spend Valentine's Day any other way than with my three favorite Valentines.















Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for checking in on us. Pictures of Luke at 9 months and the big snow to come.
Until next time-


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Crivitz SnowFest 2011!

Last weekend we spent the weekend in Crivitz for a fun weekend of sledding and snowmobiling. We had a great weekend. Crivitz received about 6 inches of snow after we arrived Friday night so it was a perfect weekend for snow activities. Enjoy a few pictures.






Lauren and Nonny.






Mike and Ashley testing out the hill.






Megan and Caroline.






Wheeeeeeee!!!!!






Nonny and the little girls enjoying a movie.






Luke and McCabe getting to know each other better.

Thanks for a fun weekend Nonny and Boppa!

Until next time....

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Location:Crivitz Snow Fest 2011!

Bear Down!

Our house is getting ready for the big Bears v. Packer game this weekend. Lauren loves the Bears, especially Devin Hester. She thinks the only person faster than Devin Hester is Vidia (one of Tinker Belle's Fairy friends). She also loves the Super Bowl Shuffle. We have to listen to it everyday in the car on the way to school. Her favorite is LA Mike.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!

Until next time--

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Luke is 6 months old....Already!!

 It's so hard to believe that this sweet baby boy is 6 months old already!  Time sure flies (that makes me sound old, but it's so true!)  At his 6 month checkup he:
Weighed 18 lbs, 6 oz (67th percentile)
Measured 27 7/8 inches long (91st percentile! Holy cow!)

He's wearing mostly 12 month clothes now.  The 9 month clothes seem to be too short.

He's rolling over both ways and is just starting to sit up on his own.  He's also moving around on his tummy reaching for toys.  He loves to pull hair and grab your cheeks.  

He is eating solid foods now.  I've been making all of his baby food and freezing it.  It's really been fun.  He loves fruits...apples, pears, peaches and bananas.  He also loves orange vegetables (sweet potatoes and squash are his favorite).  He's not so sure about peas and definitely doesn't like green beans yet.  I'm not sure what I'll do if we have a picky eater on our hands.  Lauren was always so easy with food (and she still is!) 

He is also communicating.  He loves to "talk".  He is just starting to say "gaga" and I'm sure it will soon be followed by "dada".  Why can't "Mama" be first?  He is definitely a Mama's boy, so maybe I'll get lucky.  He loves to snuggle and is really just a sweet, sweet baby.  Even his sister thinks so.  She loves to hold him and read to him.  If he's crying, she's the first to sing to him or try to entertain him. 

We are definitely seeing the daycare illness effects already.  Ugh.  Luke has pretty much been sick since the beginning of October.  He started with an ear infection at the beginning of October and since then we've had a second ear infection, broncilitis, nebulizer treatments for wheezing, a trip to the ER and he now has a second round of a cold.  When will it end?

Thanks for checking in on us!

Until next time--

Long Overdue!

No, we haven't disappeared.  Yes, this blog is still active.  Yes, I'm still here!!  So sorry for the long delay between posts.  Life with two kids is BUSY.  That's my only excuse...that and I'm avoiding this blog since I've had to gather pictures from three different devices before I could post.  But alas, finally an update on the Mead Family.

 

July was a busy month for us.  We decided to stay in Wheaton for the 4th of July.  We enjoyed the fireworks at the middle school on the evening of the 3rd.  Lauren loved them and Luke slept right through them.  So nice having a newborn.  Wheaton has a nice parade (2 hours long! yikes!) which we watched with the Rommichs and the Zorns.  Thanks to our friend Stacy, we had a prime viewing location in the shade.  She had to put our chairs out the morning before the parade.  In Grandview, you can get a great spot about 30 minutes before showtime.  We hosted a barbeque that day to celebrate Megan and Mike Mead's birthdays.  The weather was great, as was the food and company. 

Teeth cleaning.



All done!



Lauren had a few firsts this month.  She has her first dentist appoint and did great.  I was a little nervous but she climbed right up in the chair and let them clean her teeth.  It helped that they had princess toothbrushes and stickers.  It's hard to believe she's old enough for the dentist. 

Lauren also had her first professional manicure and pedicure.  It was too cute!  We had a Mommy/Daughter day and Lauren loved getting her nails painted.  She chose purple polish and sat so still until her nails dried.  Hopefully I didn't start something.


I'm not sure where the rest of the month went (or the summer for that matter!)  August went just as quickly.  We managed some time at the pool, had several barbeques with friends and families and mostly just enjoyed our summer.  Luke started laughing, which is hysterical.

  
Lauren keeps us on our toes as well.  She started a combination tap/jazz/ballet class on Saturday mornings.  She loves it so far.  The recital is in June, which I'm sure will be so cute.  She tells me she loves tap the most...like mother, like daughter.

I do have to share one more video.  We may have a mini-Tiger Woods on our hands.  Her golf game is pretty good.  I think we're going to have to invest in some real clubs soon.  Hey, Tiger started at 3, right?  Lauren and Justin were hitting some plastic balls in our backyard and she hit the ball so hard that it went over our fence and bounced off the neighbors house.  Who knew?  Guess we'll be practicing on the course (or at least in the park) from now on.

Thanks for checking in on us.  Look for September pictures soon!

Until next time--