Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title explanation later but first... The weather was a little bit better this weekend than it has been. It was in the mid 30's instead of the 20's today!! So what does that mean to the die hard bikers in this area?....yep, you ride. This is our friend Tom (I will not vouch for his sanity)who stopped by on the start of his ride.

BRRRRR...

While we were outside I saw this little pest invading the owl box. Won't be long and he will have to be REALLY brave to play here. He did go in and stay.

And with that as incentive we come to the title of the blog!! Finally, we got the new camera in the box. Now, I know I may have mentioned a few times before that this was going to happen.

But, baby it's cold out there!!!!

I have to be honest and say I can't blame Dave for putting it off. We knew we were running out of time though as we are seeing and hearing the owls more often now. So up he climbed in the cold.

To replace this tiny camera.....careful don't drop the screws!!

So once the owls decide to make an appearance I can sit in a nice warm house and see this on my TV screen. (OK, so I am really hoping to see the owls not Dave's hand.)

When all the hard work is done what is there better to do than come inside and watch the Vikings annihilate the Cowboy's :) and do a puzzle!!.

So Finally!!! the camera is up and running!!!

Thank you Honey!!

33

It is hard to believe but it has been 33 years since these two adorable, youngsters said "I Do".

We had a very informal wedding with the mayor of Kentwood doing the honors, and Dave's brother Tom and my sister Nancy standing by.

In the day of the BIG glasses and leisure suits, with the support of our parents....this pic happens to be with my parents.

We made it legal.

Over the years we added our two awesome children and a wonderful daughter-in-law.

Just under a year ago we were blessed with our first grandchild, and little love, Lukas.

They say you marry your best friend, and I can honestly say......33 years later I did!!!

Looking forward to at least 33 more......

Happy Anniversary honey....LOVE YA!!!

Bad Blogger!!

Okay, so I am a bad blogger. I should make sure to update on a more regular basis. It isn't like I have nothing to talk about. What I really need to resign myself to is that I CAN write a blog even though I don't have pics to post. I sometimes wonder if I bore you all with the everyday mundane things? Should I be more open with my thoughts and share more of my opinions....watch out I am thinking again!!!

Well, until I figure it out I will continue with the life we live and the fun we have!!!

So, we headed to Sarah's so that Dave could work on his daddy do list!! He made some good progress. Installed a new doorbell and shower head ( Sarah was going to try it herself but found she didn't have a crescent wrench) Guess what she will be getting for her birthday!!!

Again I digress.........the next project on the list was the Ikea dresser she got a couple months ago. Let the unpacking begin.

Sarah was right in there with her dad pitching in. At least this wasn't as much work as the deck was!!!

And the finished product. She has wanted a new dresser that matched her bed for awhile and she was very happy with her choice. Then we moved the red armourer out of the living room into the bedroom. Things are starting to come together. Next on the agenda some painting.

We got to have our favorite little man for an overnight visit this weekend. Believe it or not I only took a very few pictures. We were having too much fun playing to take pics. I think the difference is that at his house he is a little more confined. He is learning so many things so fast these days. He is seriously walking everywhere, and can stand up so fast. If you ask him for something he goes and gets it and will carry it to you. He will stack the cups when you hand them to him. Don't you love the matching outfit g-ma is wearing!!

And like I told you before he loves things on the ceiling!!!

We had our friends Tom and Ann and the kids for dinner in the evening so that we could plan the big summer camp trip and biking adventure. While they were here Sarah was letting Lukas play with the owl we keep on Ed the head. He got ahold of one of Ed's horns and would not let go........luckily with a little help she was able to pry those fingers loose!! One of the other things that I thought was cute was when you would ask Lukas where was g-pa he would turn and look towards Dave's throne !!! He does love his g-pa!!!

I will try to be better at this blog thing.

Been awhile!!

Peek-a-boo I see you!!! I know you're surprised aren't you?? It has been a long time since G-ma has let me work on my blog!! It has been a really busy time with my first holiday season. I had soooo much fun and I got a lot of really cool new things. Thank you to everyone!!

Hopefully soon things will all be back to a regular schedule...I have been a doing a lot of running around. Besides that I have also had an ear infection and I finally got one of my top teeth. Man that was a real pain..hope the next one comes in a little easier!!! If you look closely you can just see it. This was taken during lunch yesterday when g-ma finally came down to watch me. I was showing off my awesome spoon drumming skills.

So besides the holidays what have I been up to you ask!!??

Well, lets see. I have decided that the best way to make it around is walking. I can stand up from the middle of the floor and I am figuring out how to step over and around things.

I am trying really hard to master some new sounds. G-ma is very sure that I say hi.....hey, let her have her moment will ya!!! And now that I have the gaaa sound down she is POSITIVE that I am saying hi g-ma...........oooookay then!!!! G-ma says you can be the judge.

Mommy is happy to see that the back of my hair seems to be a little bit curly!!!

It can also get REALLY out of control after I have a hat on or after I just wake up!! This was while mommy, daddy and I were making Christmas cookies for Santa and they finally let me take the santa hat off!!

This is just one of the cool toys I got for Christmas. It makes all sorts of real truck noises and I can walk around behind it all around the room. Thank you great grandma and grandpa.

When daddy came home he brought g-ma a frappichino from McDonald's and she was nice enough to share a little with me. I did get a little ice cream headache, but it was soooooo worth it. That whipped cream stuff is really yummy!!!!

Now you may think this is a little weird but I am absolutely fascinated with all kinds of things, but especially things on the ceiling. At my child care place they say I am their little fire inspector, because I have to check out all the smoke alarms. It is no different at home....I just love them here too!!! This was me in baby jail while g-ma helped make dinner, what.. she thinks I might try to get into things while she isn't looking???

Funny g-ma!!

Here I am at lunch time. G-ma and I were having a lot of fun. She was making some funny noises and if you look closely she says you can see my top tooth in this video!!




So what was it that g-ma was making for dinner?? Ohhh it was stuffed manicotti!!

Can I just say......YUMMY!!!

Mommy was trying to help me with my eating skills. It is really too bad that g-ma stopped filming when she did because....yes that noodle did go up my nose. It was really neat how it would go in and out when I took a breath. Too bad g-ma maybe next time!!!

Anyways, that is what is new with me. It won't be long and I will be one year old. I keep hearing talk about something called a party!!?? Not sure what that is but it sounds like it will be a lot of fun. I have never seen the show before but g-ma says it was called the Carol Burnett show and when she signed off she always tugged on her ear......Well, okay here goes......Lukas signing off!!

Again a big thanks to Lukas for filling in the blanks by the pictures. He is such a joy to us all. Who would have believed how much he is doing. Walking everywhere, making all sorts of new sounds and when you ask him where something is he points to it. When I would tell him to get his new owl for me he went right to the toy box and got it out and held it up for me. I was VERY impressed. He points to noses when asked and eyes also......except with my glasses he finds those more interesting than the eyes.....and boy does he have a grip!!!

On the home front I thought you would like to see what was eating ALL my suet the other day.

He is one big bird.

On Sunday it was 7 degrees when we woke up. Dave was out and noticed Hootie sitting in a tree across the drive. She was sunning herself and was puffed up trying to stay warm. This morning before it was light out I heard them right behind the house "monkey chatting" with one another.

Sorry it took so long to get a new blog up. Hope you enjoyed it!!!

Christmas Part 2

Sunday brought about another Christmas celebration. Another chance to spend time with family. It started out with a visit to Sarah's for an afternoon of felting. As one of the gifts she gave Amy and me, her BFF, Renee knitted us a pair of slippers. Here they are in there pre-felted form. Seriously they are HUGE at this stage.

So while Lukas gave aunt Sarah a lesson in ottoman drumming we shrunk the slippers.

Here they are in there finished form. I can't wait for them to dry so I can wear them warm and snugly on my feet. Thank you so much Ren!!!! You rock.

Then is was off to Brian, Rhonda and Sami's for a family gathering. The whole gang was there and as the shoes can attest there were a few of us!!! There was an essential member of the family missing as whatever bug was making it's rounds last week decided to rear it's ugly head again and hit Dave. We missed you honey.

Here are a few of the family patiently waiting dinner. There was all kinds of food. That is one thing you have to love about the holidays.....the abundance of good food. I did think it was time for Lukas to try sauerkraut, but for some reason this was frowned on!!!???

What would you expect!!! After dinner Jesse and Michael found a spot next to the treat table!!


Lukas showing off his walking skills. He was all over the place today. Seems that crawling is no longer the preferred mode of transportation.

Here he is just before gift opening telling uncle Jay, aunt Nancy and Travis all about the Christmas celebration the other night at g-ma's.

A few years ago as the family was growing my mom came up with a plan for gift giving. Throughout the year she gathers gifts and then they are all put into red bags. If they won't fit there are #'s in the bags. Your name is drawn and you can choose. It is always fun to see what she has come up with!!! My sister Janet is the super shopper and she helps mom with the gift gathering.

Here is Michael looking very sad because the clock he got didn't have pictures of his favorite aunt Mary in it!!! That's OK I will get you some pics....now cheer up!!

And yes, the hat and scarf were part of the gifts but unfortunately they were not his!!!

Nancy scored a hat, scarf and glove set.....and as it says....shine!!

So she did!!!!

I ended up with a water bottle for Dave....couldn't leave him out....and a craftsman tape measure for me. After all the gifts were distributed there were extra gifts for the taking. Jay could hardly wait to get his hands on this hat!!!!

Look how happy he is!!

There is always the opportunity to trade with someone else. It was kind of surprising but I think the only one that traded was Mike T. Why he didn't want to keep his crystal glass I will never know!!! Lukas decided to try and eat a bowl, so Amy and Jesse took that too......hey, who's hand is that on the red blanket??? I think Jay took the leopard blanket, Sarah took the other bowls and the red blanket made it to Vicksburg.

A GREAT time was had by all!!

What a pleasure to be able to spend time together. As the family grows it is always a challenge to find room for everyone and it was so nice for Brian and Rhonda to open there house to the clan.......and I know they look forward to next year...wink wink!!!

And with that Lukas was over all the Christmas celebrations and ready for a nap!!

Said it before and I will say it again......man I LOVE this family!!!

Christmas! Part 1

Wow...all I can say is that we had a awesome Christmas this year. I wasn't sure because leading into it with everyone sick and the whole "in the spirit thing" not being there I wasn't too optimistic. Dave and I had the pleasure of Sarah's company on the Eve and the day. It is always fun when she is here. We just hung out all day while Dave cleared the driveway...for 3 hours!!! He was determined to rid it of the ice!

We got a nice phone call from family in Oregon....miss you guys!!!

Then in the afternoon we got a great visit from Santa and Santa Jr.

Santa Jr. wants to thank uncle Tom, aunt Lynette and family for the awesome snowy owl. Owls are his favorite thing right now.

He was more interested in the owl ornament than the pile of presents spread around the room. He is standing up from the middle of the floor now and walking everywhere.....he doesn't care to crawl when he

can walk!!

Aunt Sarah assisted in the unwrapping starting with a bear from Great Grandma and Grandpa Ward. I am not sure what he liked best, the gifts or the paper! He had a long day and was so tired when he got here so he was only interested for a little while..after that he was most content to carry a few toys around...and around....and around the living room.

We got Jesse a weight set and I was wondering how to wrap it.....Santa Dave said he would take care of it. When Jesse opened his package he found a straw and 2 round cardboard discs.....well worth the look on his face!!! Dave informed him it was a kit and assembly was required. Soon after he figured out the puzzle........way to go Dave!! Too cute!

I put together a photo album for Amy of Lukas's first year.......surprise, I had some pictures!!! I was very gratified that she loved it, with a few tears around the room. I was able to sneak the disc out of their camera and onto my flash-drive so I was able to include a lot of photos of the times when I am not there to (over) document his life!!!! I had such a great time working on it and remembering.

Every year Dave has done a little shopping of his own. I am not even sure when he does it, but he always has one gift hidden away for everyone.

This year he had this for Lukas.

He was so excited to bring it out and show him.

As you can see it was a HUGE hit with someone!!!!

Faster aunt Sarah faster!!!!

Lukas took a break from the action for a little snooze and after that a little chat with grandpa. I am sure he was wishing him a Happy Birthday. Grandpa shares his B-day with Christmas.

At the end of the end of the day it is the time with family that makes all the difference. We get to spend tomorrow with my side of the family and we look forward to the fun , food and camaraderie. Wishing we could spend time with the rest of the family. You live so far away, but know you are always in our hearts and minds. It was great to at least be able to talk over the phone for a few. We shall see you soon.

Stay tuned for more!!!