Our Liddybug

 Once there was a little girl, named Lydia Grace, who was turning one.  She had a lady bug themed party and had a blast.  (Really got into that cake)!  Only this little girl didn't stay little.  She grew and grew and grew.  She still liked lady bugs and decided since she had no memories of her first birthday, she wanted to have another lady bug themed party.  And so it was planned...

 The birthday girl with 10 fabulous friends, 1 splendid sister, and 1 cute cousin!

 Grandma K was the party plannin' queen.  She had such fun decorations and games planned.  Aunt Amy was in town and made things run very smoothly with her help.  Thanks to two pretty cool peeps!

 There was the "guess how many lady bug M&M's were in the jar" game.  A true labor of love was that Grandma painstakingly painted the lady bugs on each M&M!  Some one in relation to Lyd may have eaten most of them had a few.

 Pin the Lady Bug on the wall game.

 Then, there was a hot potato type of game where lady bugs were passed around.

 Sorry Mom...couldn't resist.  Here Grandma is demonstrating the next game, where one was supposed to hop to designated area with lady bug between the knees.

 And finally, there was a game where the girls had to throw a lady bug threw a swinging hula hoop.  All had fun, but I think...

 Anna-girl had the most fun watching!

 Time for cake...Lyd had a fun time directing her singing party guests in their musical endeavor.

 Most of the menfolk wanted nothing to do with this scene and had celebrated on an earlier occasion with Lyd.  Uncle Matt decided to take his chances and brave the wave of squeals and girly delight (might have had something to do with the fact that he wasn't going to leave his beautimus, due-any-day wife).  We were glad to have him!  Then this guy showed up and we weren't too sure.

Ok...it was Daddy in disguise.  He showed up to wow the crowd with his hula hoop skills!

The End

Where To Begin

I've been a slacker in terms of blogging, I know.  Summer has been full. Vacation Bible School, swim team practice and meets, days at the pool, basketball camp for Jake, trips to Indy to visit family, skating, creeking, a family trip to Columbus last weekend...these are a few of the things we have been doing.  And alas...the kids have one day left.  Jake and Lydia start school Tuesday and Claire starts kindergarten on Friday.  They are all excited.  Claire was disappointed when she found out she wouldn't be eating lunch at school, but quickly regained her happiness when I told her I would pack her lunch in her Hello Kitty lunchbox every morning and she'd eat out of it at home.  Oh, how the simple things bring pleasure to a 5 year old.  The Olympics have been fun to watch as a family, but I'm glad they are done since the late nights don't mix well with getting up early for school.

While we've certainly had our fun over the summer, I was not so great about pics.  Have a few to share later on, but I def need to be more on top of bringing my camera along.  And I still have Lydia's 9th b-day pics to post.  Poor girl...I really did slack on that one.

One thing before this tired girl heads to bed...
Please pray for my nephew, Jonathon.  Yesterday, he took a spill off his scooter and injured himself pretty badly.  He suffered a broken wrist and damage to his two front teeth.  He sees an orthopedic tomorrow, but I am sure he and his family would appreciate the prayer.

Parties and Parks, Anna Style!

I'm working backward now to catch up on the month of March.  Let me tell you, it is a happening month!  From what I can remember (ha!), of our loved ones and close friends, there are 9 birthdays and 2 anniversaries celebrated! 

Anna turned 1 just six days before her little brother arrived!  Sadly, my camera battery died before she dug into her cake.  Although, there was not too much digging in...maybe due to her not feeling 100% or maybe due to the mess all over her hands?  Here are the few pics I snapped prior to that.

We had some pretty unbelievable (unseasonal) HOT weather in March.  Almost to the point that we turned our air on, but we held out.  On one of those beautiful days, we met at the park with Anna and Sarah Beth. 

 This is standard with my kids and Anna.  They have a tendency to swarm her.  They adore her!  In fact, this morning,  Claire announced that she wished we could keep Anna (we are watching her today)!

 Hmmm...what to do next?

 Lyd's hand is essential in this pic.  You see, Anna was bound and determined to eat rocks.  Not too out of character for her.  After all, the girl thrives on a diet of fuzz from anything that is fuzzy and she can get to...stuffed animals, coats, etc...  So really, what's a rock or two?

And this girl will make a superb babysitter some day.  She's already trained in rock retrieving!

Meet Samuel David!

I am so happy to announce that I am aunt to another Sam!  Samuel David Rickert was born on Monday, March 26, 2012 at 5:57pm.  Sammy surprised us all by his size, weighing in at a whoppin' 10 lbs. 8.4 oz. and 22 1/2 inches long.  I declared that my sis deserves an award (which ended up being some of Sam's great-grandma Kanost's chocolate chip cookies).  What a gift and honor it was to be there to witness the birth of this precious little guy.  I love him so very much and am excited to get to spend some more time with him once my kids go back to school next week (this week was spring break).  Here are finally some pictures...sorry it took so long.

Big News!

My sister, Sarah Beth and her husband, Matthew are welcoming baby boy into the family today!  Yay!!!  Got the call this morning at 7am.  Now it is 8:20.  I am patiently trying to hold off on trying for babysitters since it is spring break for many and they may be sleeping in.  Will be excited to post birthday pictures for baby boy!

Some Phone Pics

This was Claire at the eye doctor last month (quite dilated).  She had failed her depth perception eye test at school and it was recommended to do a follow up with an opthamologist.  My hunch was right about the fact that her age has to do with why she failed it.  She passed it at the office using a different testing method.  Her vision was tested as well and she was 20/30.  The doctor said this is "normal" for kids her age as well and to bring her back in a couple years or earlier if we have reason to believe she is having trouble seeing.  My journey with glasses started in the 5th grade.  We shall see if the kids have more of my eye genetics or their daddy's!

This pic shows better the *big change* with Claire.  Notice her "Repundle" hair is gone!  Ten inches cut and sent to Locks of Love!  Would've done more of a post on this, but my friend, Nancy, who cut her hair took the pictures and I haven't gotten them from her yet.  Oh, it is soooo easy to take care of!

Notice anything strange in this pic?  How about a closer look...

See the tape?  Jake's earphones were too big so he figured out a solution!  Silly boy!

I used my Kitchen Aid for the first time to make icing for a cake for my Sarah Beth's diaper shower.  I love that it is so much easier than using my little hand mixer.  Claire wanted to help and asked if she could turn it on.

Turn it on, she did!  It was a little hard for her to switch it on and she bypassed the lower speeds.  Powdered sugar was everywhere!  Which made me think of the story my parent's told me of when I was a toddler.  We'd gone over to an elderly neighbors house and I managed to disappear for a few moments.  They found me quickly.  I had gone to her back porch were she had a big bag of flour that I had gotten into.  Apparently, they were able to zero in on my location when they saw clouds of white appearing around back.  I'm sure I was having the time of my little life!

Happy Birthday, Anna Jane!

Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, Anna!

Dear Anna,

Wow, you are 1 already!  How fun it has been to watch you grow this past year.  I have enjoyed taking care of you once a week and treasure the memories. You certainly have captured the heart of your cousins, that's for sure.  They love you so, so much!  And while the squeals of delight between you and Claire are ear-piercing, it is so precious to watch the two of you entertain each other.  Of course, Lydia is like another mommy to you...always watching out for you and not wanting you to get hurt.  And Jake has been enamored with you, even as a brand new baby.  It's so fun to watch the smile light across your face when you see one of them.  I hope there will always be a cousin-bond between all of you.  My prayer for you, Anna girl, is that you grow up to love the Lord and be a blessing to those around you.  The Lord knows He gave you lots and lots of determination and it will be exciting to watch His plans for your life!  We love you much, Anners!  Happy, Happy Birthday!  Love, Aunt Gwen