Branson family vacation

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Almost the entire family met down in Branson, my dad rented a gorgeous house so we could all stay at the same place. Sunday we rented a pontoon boat and Leah thought that was a lot of fun. Monday we stopped by Silver Dollar City before heading home, everyone else is staying until Wednesday.

It was great to see all the cousins together, playing and interacting. And of course it was wonderful to have everyone together & let the craziness ensue. We are a big group, there is no doubt about that. There were 9 adults, 2 teenagers, and 5 under 4.

Pit stop in Rolla on our way down.

Pete with Katie, Anna, Elaine, Cooper & Leah.

Crissie with Anna and Leah.

My parents & all their grandchildren.

From the left: Crissie holding Elaine, Steve, Jake, Jenni, Katie, my mom, my dad holding Anna, Joe holding Leah, me, Alex, Pete holding Cooper, and Melissa. The picture is missing Jenni's husband Matt and my sister Emma.

Leah's Baptism

Ready for her big day!

Leah with mom & dad

Leah with her God parents, Jenni and Tim

Leah was baptized on Saturday! She did such a great job. The first time the pastor reached for her she didn't want to go, but the second time she let me hand her over. He put water on her head three times and she did not cry. At the end she wanted back in my arms, but even then she just had that look on her face and that was all. My sister Jenni and Joe's brother Tim are Leah's God parents. After the service we had a meal back at the house with everyone from the family and it was nice to catch up. Joe's mom came in from California for this but somehow she got away without having her picture taken.

Thanks to everyone who attended Leah's baptism. We really appreciate it!

Sorry I haven't written much lately. Sometimes I don't have much to say, sometimes it seems like our lives are pretty mundane.

Last week Crissie and the girls were here for a visit and this weekend we went up to Chicago to see them. Joe had his annual boy's weekend so Leah and I hung out with them. It was a lot of fun and we did a lot. Elaine was baptized on Sunday. One fun thing about being with Leah, Katie, Anna and Elaine is you can address them all as "girls". Ok girls, we're going to... I had fun with that. :) Leah is worn out, though! It was a big week for her.

Wednesday morning Leah woke up with drainage from her ear, which isn't supposed to be a big deal for a kid with tubes. It was really causing her a lot of pain and this is the first time she's ever communicated pain because of her ears. She was saying "owie" & touching her ear. We went to the doctor but Leah had so much drainage she couldn't see anything. All she could say is it is possible the tube had already fallen out, her eardrum had healed and now it had burst. When we go in for a check up we will find out if the tube is still in there. Poor girl.

Our biggest project lately has been planting our first garden. It is no Burns garden, but it is a confidence builder. If we can sustain all these plants maybe next year we will turn the entire yard into a mini-farm. I started with seeds inside and planted my seedlings, but when I saw the vegetables at the store and saw how much bigger they were, I ended up buying larger seedlings. And most of mine didn't survive being transplanted anyways.

This year we planted rosemary, dill, cilantro, jalapeno, parsley, oregano, basil, green beans, peas, squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, green and red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and large tomatoes. We will see how it goes. A woman at work told me if I planted things close together I wouldn't have to do as much (if any) weeding, so we crammed them in there.

Grant's Farm

Anna's Party

It has been an interesting couple of weeks. We found out last Tuesday that our division is merging with another. We manufacture similar products and in some areas we actually compete against each other, so over all it should be a good thing. The division headquarters are staying here and I would expect our jobs to stay relatively the same. Joe's position now falls under global business development but we hope that doesn't mean more travel & more time away from home for him.

Leah is a riot, that about sums it up. She is such a character & a real chatter box. Most of her phrases are small, two or three words but every now & then we get a big sentence like, "Muffin - cut it - with knife." She wanted me to cut up the rest of her muffin. Instead of counting two-four-ten she says one-two-three now, and counted to ten by herself the other day only missing number five.

Jenni watched Leah on Saturday night so Joe & I could go out for our anniversary (4 years on April 3oth). We had a nice meal and then went to see Wolverine. That was the first time we've been to a theater since two weeks before Leah was born. Jenni & Jake took Leah to the zoo on Sunday and it sounds like they had a good time. Leah really loves animals.

I could talk all day about how much fun Leah is but I will spare you. She is at such a fun age & we are really enjoying it.

Purina Farms

Well, we had a great Friday before the rain settled in for the rest of the weekend. Leah loved it, she loved all of the animals and wasn't afraid to pet any of them. She didn't know what to think of the rabbit at first but once he stopped moving around she pet him. She did a great job of being gentle, too which is a little surprising for her age. I think the sheep were her favorite.

Joe & I really thought she would like the dog show because she is dog crazy but it actually upset her. The dog trainer had a dog come out & the first dog was catching Frisbees. Leah just scowled at him and shook her head. Then she started saying no while shaking her head. Then she pulled out her finger & the no's started to fly. So - we went and watched the fish. I don't think she understood he was doing tricks and not stealing the dog trainer's toy. I don't know. Leah did like the other dogs there.

And just when I thought I couldn't love Leah any more than I already do, she has been sleeping until 8 or 8:30 on the weekends! And she will still take a 2+ hour nap in the afternoon. Those late mornings are the best though, after a long week it is nice to sleep in a little even if I wake up before she does.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Sorry, no cute pictures of Leah in a little dress. It was cold & windy on Sunday. We had a great time dying eggs though and Leah loved finding them in the morning. The Easter Bunny also paid us a visit and left her a little bit of candy, stickers, a coloring book, and a high chair for her babies. She's only tried to sit in the high chair 4 times. :)

On Saturday we took Leah to her first Cardinals baseball game. They were playing the Houston Astros. She did pretty good and we stayed for almost the entire game. It was a high scoring game with lots of cheering & even some fireworks. And of course we spoiled we with lots of good things you only get at the ballpark.

Joe & I have off again this Friday & we plan to go to Purina Farms. We are really looking forward to this because Leah is so dog crazy, it should be a good time.