Wednesday, May 2, 2012

My "Super" Kids

In our home, we are huge fans of Story Time at the local library.  And today was especially exciting as it was Super Hero Story Time.  What a thrill!

Henry wore his "cape" and t-shirt that said "Mommy's Little Hero".

Those "boulders" were no match for his mighty muscles.

Grandma Rosen was even able to join us this week.

Claire's cape (her pink bath towel) ended up in a corner of the room, but she still had a blast singing songs and reading stories with Miss Kris.

She also made some cool Super Hero crafts.


And now she's off to save the world...

Monday, April 30, 2012

A Good Day

As many of you know, Joe has been working on his Masters of Education, and I'm so happy to say that after taking a 4 month leave of absence from his job to do his Student Teaching, he has essentially completed his degree.  Just a bit of red tape of finish with, and it should all be behind him.  It's been a long, tedious process, especially with balancing all that was required of him at school, work and home.  Not only did he finish; he finished very successfully with a 3.9 GPA -- I just can't help but brag about him :).  I think the following pictures truly capture the excitement of his accomplishment!  
    




Congratulations Joe!
We love you!

Monday, April 23, 2012

A Weekend Away

 A week ago, I had the opportunity to take a quick trip to Neenah, WI to meet my new niece Ruby.  I left with my parents Saturday morning and first drove down to Taylor University (3 1/2 hours) to pick up my younger sister, Kelsey, and her boyfriend, Caleb, who by the way, we were meeting for the first time.  Nothing says "welcome to the family" like a good ol' fashioned road trip!  He was a great sport, though, and it was a perfect chance for us to grill him, I mean, get to know him.  Anyways, we then headed up to Wisconsin (7 hours) to visit with my sister and her family.  It was well worth the drive to see them and of course, to meet this little bundle of love ::  

Miss Ruby Jean Waurio
I just fell in love with that face.

Ruby and Auntie Kelsey

And Caleb too.

Me and Aaliyah

Mom and her girls.

I wanted to make sure I captured this moment on film - yes, that is Ruby's spit up running down my shirt.  Apparently she rarely spits up, but I must hold a special place in her heart.  Henry still spits up on me several times a day, so I'm guessing Ruby just wanted to make sure I felt right at home.

Grandpa in his glory.

After dinner and a nice visit, we sadly said good-bye.  We went to a hotel where we slept for about 4 hours, then woke up early to get back on the road again.   

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Joe was on Daddy Duty for the weekend.  I told him to keep track of everything they did, everywhere they went, and pretty much every new or cute thing the kids said or did.  I didn't want to miss a thing.  So being the wonderful husband that he is, he took lots of pictures to document their weekend activities.

Naturally, the first thing on Joe's list was to take the kids to the Michigan Vietnam Memorial, which really isn't surprising if you know Joe and how much he loves history.  And he was offering his students extra credit to go, so he too, wanted to visit. 

Claire liked all the tanks and army gear.

Here she sits in front of the memorial.

Afterwards they took a quick trip to the park.

Back at home, they played for a bit. 
Claire's been obsessed with the Berenstein Bears lately.

I think Joe took this picture to show that he did, in fact, feed the kids lunch.

And here's Claire feeding Henry, which she often enjoys doing,
though Henry's not always so sure.

I got a kick out of this picture of nap time.

After naps they went out to dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Rosen, and then came back to the house to visit for a bit.  Sorry, no pictures.  I think they must have been too busy playing!

Sunday morning Joe and the kids went to Church.  Here they are getting ready.

And this picture of the clock is Joe's proof that they did indeed make it to the 8:30 service.  That's impressive!

After church, they visited the Puplises.  And Grandpa and Grandma even made them breakfast.

I love this picture of Henry.  He just looks so happy.

And finally, this is the picture Joe snapped of me as I arrived home. 

It was fun to break away for a bit, but it was great to see my husband and kids again.  It's amazing how much I missed them after only 2 short days.  As a stay-at-home mom, it's good for me to have a chance to miss my family.  It rarely happens, but I'm realizing, it's good for all of us!    

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Monthly Milestones

Henry Samuel, you are 11 months old!


You have come a long way these last few months.  What happened to my baby?
You're mostly crawling, but you're also starting to walk around furniture.  You can find your way into all sorts of mischief, but mostly, you just like to follow your sister around.  You also like to stand by the front window, watching the walkers and their doggies. 


You're a great eater.  There's nothing you don't like, and quite frankly, if you keep up this pace, you're going to have to get a job to help contribute to our food fund!  You eat so much, I'm not sure where it all goes.  Now we just need to sleep as well as you eat!  With your 6th tooth getting ready to come through, you haven't been sleeping well lately.  We'll work on that.


You have much to say these days; just nothing coherent yet.  A lot of dada, mama, yaya - and a lot of blowing raspberries. 
In the last month, I've noticed a bit more seperation anxiety when I hand you off to others, which as a Mom, I have to be honest, I kinda like.  It's nice to know you love me, that you notice when I'm not there.  I'm grateful you are such a social child, and that you do notice and love being with people, but I'm glad to know I have a special place in your heart!  As you grow, I'm sure you won't always care about having me close, but for the time being, I'll soak it up. 
We love you Henry!
Daddy, Mama, and Claire 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Welcome

Ruby Jean Waurio
8 Lbs 5oz, 19inches long, born at 5:44pm on April 9th


We love you and can't wait to meet you!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter Sunday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday.  We started our celebration with a beautiful service at Church.  Here are the kids in their Easter outfits: 





After church, we visited my Grandma H.


And then we were off to my parent's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

Grandpa helped Claire find a few hidden eggs.

Even Henry found an Easter treat.


The kids show off their collections.

And while Easter has come and gone...no sign of Baby Waurio. 
Okay Baby, we're ready to meet our new little niece or nephew.  And I'm sure your Mommy is ready, too!  You better come quickly before all the leftover holiday ham is gone.  It goes quickly around here.

Crown Him


Easter Blessings

May 2020

First bike ride of the year! And George's first time without training wheels! Such a champ! Enjoyed lots of bike rides during quarantine...