Preparing for Baby Rippelmeyer

Not long to go. My sister and brother-in-law are expecting their first baby on April 3rd and we can't wait.

Drew, Owen and Evan are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new cousin. As for me, I can't wait to watch my baby sister become a mother. Few experiences in life can measure up to the reward that parenthood provides and I'm so happy for the adventures they are about to embark on. But I'm also aggravated with her. How come Karen gets to look so cute pregnant? Seriously?????












We showered Karen and TJ and had a great time. I think that baby Rippelmeyer's room is ready to rock and roll.































TJ is ready for this 'Daddy thing.'









We played only one game at the shower. It was called, "My water broke!" The mastermind behind this game was my cousin Shannon who purchased 50 small babies and froze them in ice cubes. Everyone was given an ice cube and was told to yell out loud, "My water broke!" when their cube melted. It was hilarious.







And here is one proud Grandma. Awaiting more happy news.

Valentine's Day, Sesame Street Live and Monster Trucks

The title says it all.

We handmade our Valentines this year. The project went well if it weren't for Drew and Owen's incessant need to eat all of the candy instead of putting in on the cards!



We took the boys to Sesame Street Live in January. Unfortunately, Drew got a fever a few days before the show so he had to stay at home with Grandma Patti and Grandpa Dave, but Owen and Evan had a good time. Fortunately, we were invited by some work friends so we got to watch the show from box seats (and also got invited to a VIP "meet and greet" with the characters). This was great. The box seats allowed us to let the kids move around if they needed to which made for an enjoyable time for everyone. I'm not quite sure how the families on the floor pulled it off. Seems to me that if the kids are still interested in Sesame Street, they are pretty little. And if they are pretty little, it is highly unlikely that they will find it appealing to sit through 2 long halves of Elmo's World . . . .

Note that Owen was too scared to sit on Elmo's lap so Evan showed his big brother the way!



As a reward for good behavior, Dan took Drew to see the Monster Truck Show in St. Louis. Supposedly.

Supposedly what, you ask? Supposedly, Drew actually had good behavior? . . . no, not our Drew . . .it couldn't be. Or supposedly Dan only went as a reward for Drew? . . . no, we all know better . . . Dan couldn't wait to cheer on his favorite monster trucks himself!









And I'll leave you with this sweet picture. Dan and two of his boys decked out in Cowboy gear. It was taken this summer and I noticed that I never blogged about our chance to meet two of the actual Cowboy players in STL (sorry, don't even remember these players' names) . . . .

One Year Old = Big Boy

My baby Evan is ONE. One???!!! I can hardly believe it. My infant baby Evan is walking around like no one's business, is exploding with personality and characteristcs that are uniquely his own, and is already standing his ground in matters where two older brothers and toys are concerned. My baby boy is turning into a toddler and the passage of his baby days makes me sad. There is nothing in the world like having babies to remind you of the preciousness of ordinary life. Every day I am overwhelmed by the desire to capture the flood of moments that could very well pass us by unnoticed if I let them. Before kids, I never used to think much of the past, but having children has made me much more wistful about the passage of time and has given me absolute reason to live fully and thankfully in the present. A quote that I came across recently has resonated with me: "There are times in the lives of most of us when we would have given all the world to be as we were but yesterday, though that yesterday had passed over us unappreciated and unenjoyed."

As you are aware, I am a 'wanna-be' photographer. In the photos below, I have attempted to capture the smiles and the sweet essence of my baby Evan. So while he will continue to grow at the speed of light and the days will pass me by, I will have my treasured photos to transport me back to a day just like today when he stood at my feet with his arms outstretched urging me to hold him, when he sat by himself and giggled hysterically at nothing, when he loved to aggrevate his brothers by hiding their toys, when he practicially jumped out of arms at the sight of 'Gerber Puffs' . . .



































I would be remiss in my documentation of Evan's baby days without drawing attention to his signature position . . . ouchie, if you ask me, . . .

Winter Days

Hi Blog - I have missed you. It has been a long time since we have connected and I am so happy to be back. I'm back just for a moment as there are a series of competing priorities calling my name, but I want (need) to take time for the things that bring me peace of mind and my dear blog is one of them:)

We have a lot going on in our household at the moment. From mommy's busy work schedule to T-ball sign-ups, I feel as though we're planning and coordinating every minute of every day. This is exemplified at the moment because I was out of town for work this week and even though I was gone less than 48 hours, being away from my boys (Dan included) leaves me feeling uneasy. I really don't like it. Traveling away from home without my family makes me feel a bit crazed and somewhat out of control. Even though Dan is very capable of maintaining household order while I'm gone, I just don't like being away. This is a stark contrast to the 'pre-kids' version of myself who was very anxious to hop on a plane and head out to expore a new city. Even though it is not fun to be homesick, it hit me hard this week walking through the Atlanta airport just how lucky I am to be homesick. It is not lost on me how fortunate I am to have such wonderful people waiting at home for me to return to. Not everyone has the luxury of being homesick.

January and February have seemed to me as LONG winter months. Longer than ever before. I'm not sure if they seem longer this year because last year at this time I was at home enjoying my maternity leave with my precious infant Evan where time seemed to evaporate before my eyes, but I find myself longing for sunny weather and fresh air like I've never done before. My work pace has accelerated in 2011 which is also contributing to my cabin fever; thus making our vacation plans for this year ever so exciting. I absolutely cannot wait to have our vacations booked on the calendar. Stay tuned on the details as we excitedly plan our trips for the year for which I intend to stock full with water parks, lots of family time, the boys' first trip on an airplane and private time alone with my incredible husband.

The cold weather brought us snow and with snow came SNOW DAYS! Although I was/am incredibly busy at work and couldn't really afford to be away from the office (even for one day), the ice made it completely unsafe to attempt a trip to work so Dan and I made the most of it. We took turns tending to the kids and worked from home when the ice prevented our normal commutes to work and the kids' preschools were closed.

Drew enjoyed the snow the most. He begged to play outside. Despite my fears of sickness, I agreed that snow is meant to play in and we headed out.











Owen was not as big of a fan of the snow as Drew. After 5 minutes of the cold, Owen was ready to head back inside.















The snow days were lovely family time. We ate every meal together and didn't leave the house once. We sat in front of the fireplace, played games and built a campsite in the living room for our naps together. The boys asked for pancakes and eggs for lunch. With their help, our lunch was delicious.













Through the snowy days, we were spending a lot of time inside which made it hard for the boys to behave. And since Christmas had already passed, we could no longer threaten to call (or text) Santa to let him know that it was unnecessary for him to stop at our house because Drew and Owen should be moved to the naughty list. We resorted to tracking the good and bad visually on the white board for Drew so that he could monitor his progress (or lack thereof) towards enough'good' points for Dan to take him to see the Monster Trucks show in St. Louis! Fortunately for Drew, he earned enough points and Dan took him to the Monster Truck Rally this evening . . . pictures to come!



Check out some more winter fun in the video below!

Playing from Lauren Niebruegge on Vimeo.