waiting

the beginning of my pregnancies have been carbon copies of each other.  frankly, I could do without the first twenty weeks or so.  but the last twenty?  they are a precious gift that I will always treasure.

the growing belly

the love

we are waiting sweet baby...

superbowl 2012

lifelong friendships are hard to come by.  when you meet a special group of people, you find time in your busy schedules to get together and catch up.  this task becomes more challenging as the number of mini-vans and car seats multiplies, but we will continue to come together at least twice a year as a group.  there are memories to be made, babies to meet, and lifelong friendships to nurture.
welcome to the crew lukas matthew!

this year's rendezvous was at chateau maio in their new home just outside of milwaukee.  we are always so grateful that someone steps up to the plate and agrees to host this growing bunch each year!  hats off to you, matt and sarah, for taking on the biggest crowd to date.  thanks to anna for the jumbo sticker/coloring books.

gone are the days when our biggest decision was whether or not to head to the bars on saturday night before the big game on sunday.  now it's "what kid-friendly activity can we plan for saturday morning that will burn off as much kiddo energy as possible?"  this year's pick?  a huge indoor playground.  just what the doctor ordered for 3 two year olds, 2 three year olds, and a four year old.

the daddies were able to slip away to the bar on sunday night for a little good ol' fashioned male bonding time.  just like their college days...well, sort of.  okay, not at all.  they were home, in bed, and hang-over free by midnight.  so yeah, nothing like college. 
we planned a movie night for the littles while their dads were out on the town.  miles and henry delivered valentines (a.k.a. sugary snacks that aide in capturing the coveted group photo). 
the kids made the tough decision to watch beauty and the beast, and all were snuggled up on the couch in their pjs by 7pm.

trade: one dads night out for one moms day out
the mommies slipped away on sunday for some much needed girl time.  we hit up the mall and then scooted over to a yummy yogurt shop in wauwatosa.  with two preggos in tow...a trip to some sort of ice cream parlor was inevitable!

we made it home in time to prep food for the big game on sunday.  the kids are at such a fun age right now.  they can play together well and enjoy laughing and make-believing together.  they have sort of come in sets of three.  ethan, gg, and miles (the big kids) - addison, alana, and henry (the 2 year olds), and lukas, baby harms (due april 5th), and our baby (due april 21st).  so far, there is always 2 of one gender in each trio.  we'll see if that continues!

21st century make-believe

thank goodness the maios had an abundance of little tables around for lunch time! 
while "the superbowl" acts as the source of our get-togethers, interest in the game itself has waned over the years.  unless, of course, the superbowl involves the packers.  this year it was all about the food and the half-time show.  and let's be honest, isn't that what it's always about?!

oh, I almost forgot...the superbowl party is also prime time for the little ones to exchange their christmas gifts. as the babies started to multiply exponentially, the parents got smart. we draw names. here miles is confirming that he bought for gg.

all that action calls for a nap. so, until next time...and two additional little ones...

all aboard!

I don't try to hide it.  I love planning birthday parties for my children.  I realize that they are still so little and many of the details that I love so much will mostly go unnoticed.  but that's beside the point.  I enjoy it and seeing their little faces light up when they walk into their birthday party makes it all worth it.  so without further ado...here is our little shin-dig for our mini-conductor.

we are blessed to have both sides of our families living near us and love that we can all celebrate together. the little cousins are growing up and starting to enjoy party favors. that makes me happy!

I tried to plan the party to coincide with the end of nap time. while that was the case, henry did not wake up in the best mood. he spent the first half an hour curled up on nana's lap.

just leave it to the presents and cake to bring him out of his shell a little bit. he has definitely figured out what presents are and that they are for him.  lucky for miles, he does a fairly decent job of sharing.

although we see quite a bit of this around our house too!

cake!

daddy decided that forks were optional and let little buggy dive in head first. after a good pound of butter cream frosting, we decided to pry him away.

thank you to everyone for coming and loving up on our precious little boy.

he is certainly a gift and we treasure every moment with him!

birthday boy

today was the day to celebrate our precious two year old. henry bug is a sweet, curious, quiet, loving, relaxed, yet spunky and active little boy. he loves cars, trains, babies, his big brother, cuddling, reading books, eating, climbing, jumping, running, puzzles, and coloring. he is definitely a daddy's boy and managed to wrap daddy around his little finger quite easily. he talks up a storm and has the most adorable little lisp. he can count and recognize numbers up to 10, knows all of his letters, and is working hard on colors. we are always entertained by his goofy antics and funny one-liners. he brings a smile to everyone's face.

we love candles and singing happy birthday around here and so we did that twice today.
once at breakfast:

and once at dinner:

this weekend we will have a party to celebrate all things henry.
for today we say, happy birthday little bug. we love you to the moon...and back.