Easter 2012

By On · Leave a Comment · In Easter, Family

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We dyed Easter eggs while at Grandpa and Grandma’s house.  Instead of using the egg dyeing kit we made our own dye from water, vinegar, and food coloring.  The colors were so much better than with the egg dyeing kits!  I’m guessing it was probably cheaper as well.  I think we did have to leave the eggs in the dye a little longer, but it was worth it. 

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On Easter Sunday we went to Sharon’s house where we enjoyed a nice meal and chatting. 

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Apparently Grandpa was the center of the pictures this time.

There are a few more pictures here. 

Pictures Around Grandma and Grandpa’s House

By On · Leave a Comment · In Family, Illinois

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Easter weekend we went down to Grandpa and Grandma’s house to spend a little time with them.  More and more Lillian asks to go visit them.  Even when she is upset sometimes, we will ask her what is wrong and she will say “I want my grandma” or “I want my grandpa.”

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Some of the flowers were blooming and in general everything is starting to look like spring.

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We hid eggs twice; the first time with Lillian inside and the second time with her outside.  She cheated the second time even though Mark was trying to distract her when I was hiding them.  There is no fooling her!

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Lillian and Grandpa had to check out the little pond.  She pointed out every leaf, rock, etc. that was in the water.

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It’s so cute to see how little her hand is compared to ours.  In this case, compared to Grandpa’s.  I remember when she was around a year old and putting her hand on Grandpa’s then as well.  The video of it is here.

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Grandma played outside with us as well.

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Lillian kept going around this and peaking through quickly.  It was hard to get a picture of her because she would literally poke her head through and then run off again.

There are more pics here. 

Alex’s Birthday Party

By On · Leave a Comment · In Neighbors

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Our neighbor girl, Alex, celebrated her birthday a few weekends ago so we stopped by for a little while.  Lillian played with the chalk and as you can tell from her pants also scooted through it.  Thank goodness chalk comes out of clothes because we would be spending a lot of money on them otherwise.  She also stole chalk from Riley and wouldn’t give it back.

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Some of the other neighbor kids enjoying the nice weather during the party.

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There of course was cake and presents as well.

Finger Painting

By On · Leave a Comment · In Home, Lillian

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Lillian wanted to finger paint so we got the paints out, along with paper and her “palette” (paper plate).  She was doing a great job, so Mark and I quickly ran outside to take a few pictures of my sewing projects.  We left the screen door open and kept talking to her and looking in. 

Well, apparently even though we were chatting with her we didn’t look in enough because next thing we knew she was painting her arms.  Too bad she mixed all eight colors first because it might have been pretty otherwise.  haha

Oh well, our little artist was having fun and it was washable finger paints so no real harm was done.

Milwaukee Zoo with Friends

By On · Leave a Comment · In Co-Workers, Friends, Milwaukee

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In Mid March we took a trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo with Christie, Bob, and Rayna.  On the way there we were afraid that we might get rained out but it ended up being a gorgeous day.  

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Lillian was so much fun because she really got into watching the animals this time.  I think she had as much fun as we did watching her.

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She especially liked the spider monkeys because they were really rambunctious.  They were wrestling and running all around their cage. 

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She loved pointing at the different animals that she saw and sometimes mocking their sounds.

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We let her walk most of the time, but she also rode on daddy’s shoulders and in the stroller.

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We were pretty lucky this trip because a lot of the animals were in perfect places to get some neat pictures (I originally had shots here and realized that it might sound bad considering I am talking about animals!)

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I don’t know if they were just more active since it wasn’t as hot as it usually is when we visit or maybe they were active because they recently woke up from hibernation…not that all of them hibernate.

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Some of them looked right at us and others walked really close to the glass that we were looking through.

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Lillian hanging from the rail and then insisting that it was too hot for her fleece.  So we put on her lighter jacket and eventually she didn’t need either one.

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We saw the birds….

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and reptiles.  Lillian actually went straight to the snakes and rubbed her finger across the glass.  One of the snakes kept following her finger back and forth.

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We found a picnic table to stop for a lunch break.

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Then it was back to seeing more animals. 

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Here are a few more of those neat pictures that I was talking about earlier.  The cheetah kept coming right by the window so it was like he was next to us.

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Toward the end of the trip Lillian became tired and kind of clingy, but she still wanted to see more animals.

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Mark had to sneak a picture of Rayna because anytime she would see the camera pointed in her direction she would turn her head.  I think Lillian is just so used to having the camera in her face that she rarely notices it anymore and will even ask us to take her picture.

We had a great time and plan on trying out the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum some time.

There are more pictures here. 

Blowing Bubbles

By On · Leave a Comment · In Home, Immediate Family, Lillian

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Lillian has gotten better at blowing bubbles.  She hasn’t had much practice this winter but being almost three must help.

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She still gets the soapy liquid all over the ground but is able to blow a few bubbles.

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I LOVE both of these pictures.  I can’t even really explain why other than the lighting is fantastic and the second one I can see being printed on the cover of a book.

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We went on a walk/run around the block and then we (I mean Mark) untied our tree and got the pole out of the ground.  We figured this was a good time since the ground was still fairly wet.

There are a few more pictures here. 

First Warm Days

By On · 2 Comments · In Home, Immediate Family, Lillian

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For probably a month, Lillian has been asking if she could go outside and blow bubbles.  We kept telling her when it was warmer out.  Anytime we would mention that it was warmer she would say “I can go outside and blow bubbles?!?”  Luckily, it was finally warm enough to go outside to blow bubbles.

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We walked/ran around the block as well.  Lillian would say “one, two, three, go” and she would insist that we run.  Even though we were able to walk just as fast as she was running, she would still keep telling us to run.

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Mark had her walk toward the camera to try to get a few pictures so she then told me to walk toward the camera so he could get pictures of me.

There are more pictures here. 

Grandpa and Grandma’s Backyard

By On · Leave a Comment · In Family

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After the retirement fun, we were able to enjoy the rest of the weekend at Phil and Sue’s house.  It was so gorgeous (especially for March) that we spent some time outside. 

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Everything is still neutral in color (even Hank, even though he won’t change color) but Mark still got some neat pictures.

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All of us are already thinking about the lake, so Mark and Phil cut this trunk so that Phil can make a sign for the lake.

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It took a few tries to get a piece that was straight enough but they succeeded. 

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Lillian wanted to check out their work and quickly got distracted by the saw dust.  Grandpa showed her that it was ok to pick it up.

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Grandpa and Lillian climbed up the old waterfall.  For those that didn’t already know, the pond in the backyard is gone.  sniff sniff  They were going to leave the waterfall, but decided against it.  Lillian and Hank are still two peas in a pod, following each other and playing together.

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Grandpa also helped Lillian to jump off of the ledge.  At first he had to hold her the whole time and then toward the end she was a little braver and leaned toward Grandpa as he picked her up to jump.

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Lillian also climbed on the outside of the gazebo and sat on the bricks.  I think she was just excited to be with Grandpa and Grandma as well as to be outside.

There are more pictures here. 

Retirement Weekend

By On · Leave a Comment · In Family

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After Phil’s retirement party we went to Phil and Sue’s house for the rest of the weekend.  Jeff and Jessie also came but just for the night.  Here is Lillian and Jeff the next morning.

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Lillian and Grandpa had fun doing puzzles while daddy took pictures and Grandma and mommy were out fabric shopping.

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She is becoming quite the character and is always making jokes and silly faces.  She even has a fake laugh that makes all of us start to laugh, including her.

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Hank always finds the sun and this trip was no different.  I think we always tire him out as well.

There are a few more pictures here. 

Phil’s Retirement Party

By On · Leave a Comment · In Family, Friends

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Phil retired at the beginning of March and his friends threw a little party for him.  Dave and Linda were kind enough to open up their house for all of us.  But first we went to a delicious fish fry at the golf course that they live on.  Phil and Sue are pictured on the left and Pam and Lowell on the right.

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Dave and Linda’s granddaughter was nice enough to watch Lillian while we went out to dinner.  Lillian’s favorite part was painting and she was nice enough to give Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Jeff a few pictures.  She used a little more water than she needed to use so the pages were soaking wet, but of course they eventually dried, but with a little extra curl to the page.

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Hans and Cathy were able to attend (Cathy on the left) as well as Jeff and Jessie.

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There was a lot of chatting going on…

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and some gift opening.

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Aubrey even played the piano for everyone.

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Lillian did an excellent job even though it was about an hour after her bedtime.  On the left, Jessie is teaching her to “pop” her cheeks when they have air in them.  And on the right she is telling Grandpa some story.

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There are more pictures here. 

Friends For Everyone

By On · Leave a Comment · In Friends, Home

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Last weekend we had a group of friends over for pizza.  We ended up with eight adults and six kids; with four of them being under 3.  Katelyn is 18 months, her brother, Tyler, is three months older than Lillian, and Sarah was born the day after Lillian. 

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The older two, Raina and Samantha, hit it off pretty quickly and played mainly in Lillian’s room while the little ones hung out in the living room, closer to the mommies and daddies.

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I think they had the most fun following each other around the kitchen pushing the wagons, stroller, and vacuum cleaner.  But they also played with puzzles, blocks, markers, balloons, and anything else they could find.

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Raina liked playing with Lillian’s doll and she and Samantha also liked the play food and puzzles. 

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Even Rob and Dan seemed to have fun playing with the toys and the kids.

There are more pictures here. 

March Snow

By On · Leave a Comment · In Home, Winter

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We have not had a lot of snow this winter and it’s been unseasonably warm but we did get a decent amount on March 3rd.  Mark decided to go outside to try to get a few pictures.  I really like the center picture with the small pop of red from the plant.

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The first picture is of our cherry tree in the back yard.  I love the untouched snow and how perfect it looks.  I also like how quiet it seems outside after a snowfall.  Everything is just so peaceful.

There are more pictures here. 

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