Australia's Strange Fruit

One of the benefits of living in a world-class city is the opportunity to witness amazing art. Free. A few weeks ago, we got to see the performance of Australia's Strange Fruit downtown. It was breathtaking, and strange :) Here is a clip to give you an idea of what they do:

More Michigan Photos

Fireworks with sleepy kids. They liked it after the big booms were gone!
An emergency stop at Bass Pro Shops due to fussy kids and horrible traffic. What should have taken 3 hours took 5. Traveling with children is rarely smooth sailing!!!!
Lake Michigan was a BIG hit with our kids...they both just plunged right into the waves and loved it!
Our family on Independence Day

Miss Abigail's First Birthday

Our little Abigail, who came into our lives with a BANG last year, has now made one trip around the sun. We celebrated her birthday in Michigan with Nana and Papa, and horror-of-horrors, even woke her up to see her birthday fireworks! She is a delight, mostly happy (except, understandably, without sleep), and feisty! She just learned to clap and is delighted to do so. We got to the doctor later this week to see how petite she is and to get updated with shots. She's climbing everything and standing independently. My parents gave her a doll for her birthday and boy, does she love it! Its amazing how girls really gravitate towards this kind of thing (not to say that she doesn't like to play with Ben's trucks, too!). Life is crazy and rich and full with these two wonderful, little people. Happiest of birthdays, my sweet, sweet daughter.

Is that a whistle?

As a mother, I am coming to realize that absolutely nothing is private or sacred. This includes the contents of my purse. Never mind that I rarely have anything of my own in my purse other than money and diapers and emergency snacks. Here is Ben and his friend playing with something he found in my purse. I'm a bit embarrassed to post this, but it really makes me smile. I hope it gives you a good laugh, too.

Ben's 3rd Birthday Party

We celebrated Ben's big day with some friends on Monday. We originally had his party scheduled for Saturday, but due to ongoing colds in our family, decided not to pass on the germs to our beloved friends.


The day was perfect, in the 70's, sunny, and wonderful! We had a kiddie pool set up, a sprinkler, pizza, and snacks. The beauty of it was that we were able to be outside. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and there was minimal clean-up. I made a "Bob and Larry" (veggie tales) cake for Ben, and regrettably, did not snap a photo. My friend Sally took some photos, so I'll share them with you once I see them.

I couldn't resist this shot...There were 6 or 7 of Ben's friends, some of them with siblings, a neighbor, and moms. It was great...I am still worn out, and am so glad we all had so much fun.

Ben is 3

Ben's 3rd birthday started out with CHOCOLATE waffles (at his request), followed by a visit to a clinic to diagnose his ear infection and start antibiotics. After that, we headed to...
the Choo Choo restaurant with our friends Karen, Dayton, Anna, and Karen's parents Randy and Norma. It was a blast!!! Ben got a special birthday song sung to him (he is trying to hide from the attention in this photo) and a wonderful cupcake with a train whistle on top.
Here are Ben and Anna enjoying one anothers' company....
In the evening, we celebrated with Auntie Kim. She granted Ben's only birthday wish: a mint-chip, blueberry, M&M, ice cream house cake. WOW!!! She put a lot of work into a splendid cake. You should have seen his eyes light up!
Ben is 3. Wow. Time sure does fly. It really is so hard to believe. He is such a little man now. He is such a talker, an inventor, curious, smart, and delightful. He (still) loves to play with water, assemble things, "buckle things up", be outside, take apart and put together things like flashlights, and asks "why" about everything. He is pretty well potty-trained and like every warm-blooded guy likes to "baptize" things like the wastebasket, the bathtub, or anything outside :) We're still working on "number 2"...I hear that comes later. We're so glad he's in our life, he constantly makes us laugh and occasionally groan in exasperation! Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

Abigail 11 Months

first ice cream (given by daddy) at a local ice cream shop
Our little darlin' is getting dangerously close to a year, and all of a sudden seems less like a baby. She is really developing into her personality: curious, feisty, sweet, and determined. She seems to get into more than Ben did...today I was in the other room for a couple of minutes to change Ben's diaper. When I came back into the kitchen, she was standing on top of our step-stool at the counter as if to chop some vegetables. YIKES! If you asked me last week, I would have said that she probably won't walk at 1 year...now she is showing more interest: standing by herself a walking with less help while holding our hands. She laughs easily and says "dada," "ba-ba"(ben?), "mama." Shes our little organizer and loves to sort and move things into containers. She loves her brother and also loudly expresses her opinion if he is provoking her. I can't believe its already been almost a year (so cliche', I know...).

Why mothers should never wear black

Why mothers should never wear black (3)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Lately my daily accessories consist of graham cracker smarm, green snot, or other appetizing items to decorate my shirt. This photo was taken on one such day where I chose to wear black. Lovely, yes? Its all the rage, I hear...

Kelsy Grace

Kelsy Grace Klobucher (1)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Welcome to baby Kelsy who was born this morning at 6:22 to Paul and Amy. She is beautiful, Mom did an amazing job. I got to assist a bit in the birth, which was wonderful. What a miracle! She weighed 7lbs12oz, 19.5 inches long.

Mr Independent

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Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Independence is the name of the game at almost 3 years old. It is so wonderful and so challenging. Ben is a delight, very talkative, and great at reasoning his way out of any situation...He is excited to do many things "all by myself" including getting dressed, brushing teeth (mostly unsupervised), GOING POTTY (started this week, surprisingly easy), pouring water or milk, etc, etc. In this photo you can see an example of his new skills. Frequently his shoes are on the opposite way...in this photo they aren't even the same shoes. Live and learn, yes?

Visit with Great-Grandma

Cape Cod May 08
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

We had a brief visit with Steven's grandmother before we left town. She made a huge spread for us and was her usual spunky self. We love you so much, Grandma!!!!

Trip out East

Last week, we had the privilege of traveling out East. I attended the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) annual convention for a couple of days in Boston, and we were able to visit Steven's family in Connecticut. We spent much of our time resting in Cape Cod with Steven's parents. It was a wonderful trip, the kids did very well, and we both said it brought our stress level down by about 1/3 (which was much-needed for both of us). Besides the stress of getting out the door and resettling, it was well worth it. Here are some photos of our time....

The stunning Cape Cod sunset. I have a bazillion photos of similar sunsets, yet each one is uniquely beautiful. I cannot get enough...
My sweet girl...
Getting bathed in the sink at Cape Cod
Baby Joshua (3 months old and bigger than Abigail) and Aunt Martha
Campfire on the beach...Ben loved it, especially the S'mores!
Steven's parents who were so dedicated and generous with us. They even watched the kids for 24 hours for us, so we could have a night alone. It was wonderful for us...I think they had a bit of a challenge on their hands. Apparently the cottage got pretty chilly at night and all of them ended up in the same bed for some part of the night. Not much sleep to be had, yet good memories being built! THANK YOU for all that you did!

These are all the cousins on Steven's side: Megan and new baby Joshua, Zachary and Sara, Ben and Abigail. It was chaotic all being together, and wonderful!

We will be going back around Labor Day and cannot wait to see everyone again. We love you all!!!!

10 Months

Abigail 9months 189
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Lets just say I'm WAAAAYYYY behind on blogging. Abigail will be 11 months tomorrow (seriously, I cannot believe she's almost a year!). She is at a delightful age. I really am enjoying her so much right now. Sleep is pretty good (mostly through the night, naps twice for one hour), thankfully! She is truly a delight. She's usually pretty happy, loves her brother, and is really showing her personality. She's a feisty one, which I really like :) She knows how to sign "more" and "all done" as well as "so big." Tonight, Steven and I listened as our two children belly-laughed together in their room before going to sleep. It was music to our ears to hear them enjoying one another so much. I love you, sweet girl!

Tulip Time

Abigail 9months 163
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Growing up in Holland, MI, Tulip Time is a big deal. Tulips and tourists everywhere you look! We went back home to visit my parents and celebrate Mother's Day. Of course, the kids needed to see the Dutch Dancers. I was a Dutch Dancer in high school and loved it. Our group was chosen by the high school to be an exhibition group, we even traveled to Atlanta, GA to dance for the ambassador to the Netherlands. It was a fun "sport" in which to participate. Ben was completely enthralled...wide eyed and serious as he watched.
We took photos of Ben and Abigail in borrowed Dutch costumes. They were a big hit with the tourists :) Abigail was pretty fussy but changed her tune once she was in the limelight. She was really hamming it up for the photos!

Fishing with Papa

Abigail 9months 150
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

Since Ben entered our lives, Papa has wanted to get a fishing pole in his hands. My grandmother lives on a small pond which is loaded with fish. So, Saturday Ben dug up some worms and went for his first fishing trip. They caught fish on every cast...one was even a pretty good size. I tried my hand at it, too! I love fishing...its been a long time for me. I think Ben was equally as excited about throwing rocks in the pond as he was about fishing, and made a great memory.

Go Cubbies!!!

Cubs Game April 08 (4)
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

I'm way behind on entries....
For my 35th birthday (several weeks ago), I got to go to a Cubs game with my husband and son (Abigail stayed home with a friend). It was a rainy day, and the stadium was packed. Ben missed his afternoon nap to go and was a bit mellow as a result. He loved all the sights: the train ride, hotdogs, peanuts, the seventh inning stretch, the fans. It was a great day and so special to have some alone time with just Ben. He needed it and so did we. I love Cubs games!!!!

Heres lookin' at you kid....

Abigail 9months 071
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

My brother took this great shot through our door the other day...I love how it captures the magic of my lovely sons' eyes.

Weird

Abigail 9months 062
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

The other day I checked on Ben as he was napping and this is what I found. Not sure how anyone can sleep with a LAUNDRY BASKET on their head...but whatever works.

Slim and slippery

We need glue or something to keep her pants up :) I love adjustable waist pants...don't think they make them until the older sizes...Ben had this issue, too. He-he!

Abigail 9 months

Abigail 8 months 114
Originally uploaded by steveandamylou

This is a really fun age! Abigail seems to really be developing into a little person. We can more clearly see her personality, she is able to express herself pretty well, and she is getting to be much more mobile. We took her for her well-child visit yesterday, she tipped the scales at 14#6oz. (1st percentile!), 28" (60th percentile). She has a frame similar to Ben's (and Steven's): long and lean. In a one-week period, she began knee-crawling, cruising, and standing for a few seconds unassisted. I have a hunch she may be an early walker. Keeping up with brother is a big motivator! She's eating okay, doesn't want to be fed by us. So, lots of finger foods (avocado, sweet potato, peas, etc.) and cheerios are the fare around here. She's sleeping much better in the last couple weeks, most of the time through the night (12 hours) with 2 short daytime naps of about 1 hour each. She's a sweetie pie! I can't believe its already been 9 months...