Lauren's first COO!

We heard you cooing, Lauren!

Lauren's Weight Check

Lauren-You weighed 7#15ozs at your 1 month check up! That's a pound heavier in 2 weeks!!

Lauren comes home!

Lauren-You are home today! All of your grandparents were at our house and we had a nice barbecue! You seem to like your car seat and your brothers love you! Will points at you, laughs, and says, "BABY"! His new favorite word. Will tries to get in your swing and bouncy seat (and is successful). Christian wanted to hold you alot! Grammy is staying with us all week and Daddy will be home for the 2 weeks after that!

Lauren Ann is here!

Lauren Ann is here! I have not blogged about you yet because we needed to meet you! I had a great pregnancy with you and you arrived at 11:07am on September 18, 2009 weighing 6 # 12 ozs., 19.5 inches. What a sweetheart you are. You definitely look like you are related to Christian and Will but with more hair and it's dark!! You have mommy's lips we think. Your delivery started at 6am with Pitocin getting started at 7am, water AROM at 8am by Dr. Alvarez, Epidural at 9:30a and Epidural failure starting around 10:30a. Whoa, Mommy felt everything. What an experience! Ouch! But low and behold you are perfect and Dr. Alvarez was there! Daddy is the best labor coach and thank goodness your labor was not as long as the boys! Grammy and Gabbo were home with Christian and Will and Nonni and Ga came a little while after you were born to meet you! Your big brothers and all of your grandparents and Aunt Jen came in the afternoon to meet you!!! Your are a little sprout but you started eating great from the get go!

Christian starts skating lessons!

Thornton Park-Snow Plow Sam I class begins! The night before baby sister is supposed to arrive (she is due the 24th but I will be induced tomorrow at 6 am!  Mommy and Daddy took you and Gabbo came, too! You did a great job with the help of a construction cone!! Miss Ryan is your teacher and there are a few other assistants! You learned how to fall and get up! 5 more weeks to go and we will see if you move on to Snow Plow Sam II!

New Hockey Skates for Chris!

Took you to Cleveand Hockey Supply tonight, Christian and got you some new hockey skates for Snow Plow Sam 1 class starting on Thursday! You wanted to sleep in them!

Baby girl coming soon!

Baby girl-no posts about you yet! Because....you have been pretty easy on mommy this pregnancy and we will have lots to write about you soon! You are coming on Friday the 18th! Be nice to mommy!!

Walking Man

William-this past week you are an official walking man ! You have your shoulders hiked up and a Frankenstein gait you are starting to really move. You are now walking more than you crawl!

First official day of preschool

Christian-today mommy took you, without Will, to Carol Nursery School with Miss Holly! you did great! You didn't want to go at first but you were great! No big deal!

Blueberry picking

So mommy wanted to go blueberry picking and we had a blast! We went to Pick n' Save Farm in Medina and not only did we get blueberries but we picked Lodi and Paula Red apples. We bought a dozen brown and green eggs from their chickens and used them in our brunch with the Kramer's the next day!

Burger Seeds.....

So, Christian gets a burger every week or so to keep his weight up and today we had a Burger King cheese burger. Christian, you said, " look mommy-there are seeds on top for more burgers to grow from...." That's one of the funniest things you have ever said....burgers grow from seeds.

"The Perfect Summer"...says Daddy!! He's Right!

Daddy asked me to blog tonight about the best summer that we are having! Lots of time outside! Christian, you have become such an althlete. you are so good at ALL playground equipment! You had a great weekend staying with us at Grammy Gabbo's! We had a blast at Dickie and Dava's muddy party- there going away party from Buffalo. You played so much and got so muddy! We met baby Josie! You got to play with Ryan!  Will- you are such a cool dude. You are so happy and easy to please. You make everyone smile just looking at you....we love you guys so much!

Will has a new crib!

Will- you have a new crib and are now in the same room with big bro Christian! TOO cute!!!

Zoo in the rain!

So mommy, Christian, and Will went to the Cleveland Zoo today with Cassidy, Hannah, and Chrissy in the POORING rain! We were there for more than 3 hours and we had a blast! We had our raincoats and Willie was in the Bugaboo with the rain cover-dry and happy as a camper! We saw the dinosaurs and they were so neat in the rain with the mist! Great day!

William poops on the potty!

Will- you pooped and tinkled on the potty tonight! Mommy put you on before tubby time and you grabbed those handles and leaned over and you went! Tinkle, too!!

Christian goes to Camp - Children's School at the Chautauqua Institution

Christian...the first 4 days of camp were a little rough-you didn't want to go and you wet your pants a lot there but Friday of the first week was great! Ga took you and you had a good day! The next went well, too! Tomorrow is open house so we can't wait to visit you!

Will takes 4 steps AND tinkles on the potty in the same day!

So we are in Chautauqua and Will, you took 4 steps from Daddy to Ga in the living room at Willowtree! Mommy was sleeping (because I am almost 30 weeks with your sister but saw it later) and we are all so proud of you! You topped the day off when daddy put you on the potty seat at bath time (because you ALWAYS tinkle in the tubby) and you tinkled!....and then you still tinkled in the tubby!! You are too cute!

Christian's First Book Club!

The Shaker Library has a summer reading program starting at age 2, so now every time we go there you can tell them how many books you have read and you get a sticker for your "reading log!" You wanted to pick out books about George Washington, the weather, and Dinosaurs this week! You also picked one out about Woolly Mammoths which has been your favorite!

Christian is on his way to reading!

Christian-yesterday you started using a new website www.starfall.com and we think you are on your way to reading! You love doing the activities and have gotten so good at the mouse! We also went to the Natural History Museum with Mary Abigail and baby Charlie this morning! We had fun! 

No more naps for Christian?

Christian-I thought I would put this in here for laughs in the future (although it wasn't that funny at first!). You stopped taking  naps this week. You informed me that you were tired but you didn't want to sleep in your bed for nap time anymore. So, your solution (since you still get tired during the day) is to sleep whenever we go somewhere in the car. Just like Daddy, you wake up refreshed after even just 10 minutes of a snooze! Right now, in fact, I am doing something I never thought I would do. I am sitting in the Odyssey in our driveway while you and Will are sleeping in the car after a morning of errands. I am eating lunch and enjoying watching you catch a few Zzzzzz's to refresh yourself!

The Boy's Share a Room!

 Last night we thought we would try having you guys share a room together since that is what you are bound for when your sister arrives! We set up the Pack 'n Play in Christian's room and you guys went to sleep pretty fast! There was some laughing from Will and a little rearranging of decorations by Christian but you guys did great! You both woke up in the middle of the night when Peanut went into the room and couldn't get out but you were out fast again! Christian, I think WILL woke you up in the morning around 7:45am. You both woke up so happy!

William's Second Step

You took another step today, Will! Keep going! You also started standing from a crouched position without holding on to something! And.... you say "woof-woof-woof" like a dog when you hear Peanut barking!

William's First Step!!

Little Buddy- you took a step today!!

The Odyssey!

The Odyssey is here! A beautiful black with tan interior 2009 Honda Odyssey mini-van! We can now fit A LOT of people in there....ok, mainly the soon-to-be 5 of us plus a few friends and family along the way! Rob said it was his "first gift to his future daughter." Because...we wouldn't have gotten one if not for her impending arrival!

Christian goes to Dr. Sperduto....

Christian, you have been complaining that you are tired a lot so you saw Dr. Sperduto. Much to your dismay you had to have bloodwork done. You kept crying in the waiting room-I don't like my blood, I don't like my blood....You also tinkled in a cup and thought that was funny! We will see! You went from 28-32 pounds since January 28th!

William's 1 year check-up!

Willie- You are a little pipsqueak! How do you have such chubby little legs but weigh only 18# 4ozs?  You were a doll for Dr. Sperduto but we need to put more weight on you! You eat a lot but keep going! You had 2 shots today and a blood draw for lead and an HCT. 

Christian's Last day of Carol Nursery School-moving on up program

Christian-today was your last day with Miss Haley and Miss Kim! Johnny, Ian, Jack, Charlie, Ella, Charlotte, and Cassidy will be missed! You especially liked Charlie and Johnny! You liked it at Carol and especially enjoyed seeing the snails every week....love you buddy...

William Turns 1!

William-you are now 1 year old! We remember the day you were born! How fast this year has gone! We celebrated by taking you to Dewey's Pizza and to Mitchell's Ice cream! You got a monkey stuffed animal from NonniGa for your birthday and you wanted to take him with you in the car. You call him Bop-Bop!  We got you a onesie from Mitchell's (you ate almost the whole bowl of ice cream) your Radio Flyer turtle car and a little sprinkler pool!  Christian-you didn't want to let Will ride the car....

William Stands alone!

Will- we were visiting baby Renee again and you stood alone for almost 10 seconds in Aunt Andrea and Uncle Dave's Family Room! We all saw it and you looked so proud!

William's First Birthday Party

WIll had his FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY TODAY!!  You were surrounded by everyone who loves you, little guy! It was a jungle theme and you had a blast! There was a pinata and lots of jungle decorations. You LOVE balloons and the toucan one was tied to your high chair-you held onto it while you ate your pizza, fruit, and cake!!!  We love you!! See the Flickr pictures! 

Christian's last day of PDO for the year!

Christian-today was your last day at PDO school and you have come a long way since last September! You like to go now, no tears, you have friends there, and you eat your lunch! You like to do the projects and Miss Melissa is your favorite! You gave Melissa, Jean, Judy, and Yvette flowers and a thank you notes and gave them all big hugs! And you stayed dry...sort of :).

Christian and the Weber

Christian-You and daddy assembled the new Weber Grill tonight! You were so excited!

William can climb stairs!

Will-you can climb up stairs! I also heard you say book today!!

Christian loves to work in the garden!

Christian-you are Mr. Outdoors. You love to be outside and are most happy when you are digging dirt with your shovel and using your wheelbarrow. We went to Eagle Creek nursery to get our annuals today and you were so excited to plant everything when we got home. You were very tired today. At dinner we made hot dogs and you were so upset because you "don't like hot dogs." you finally took a bite of one and said it was good...but no more bites....we love you buddy. 3 is harder than 2 though....:).

William-Milestones Catch-up Post!

Ok, Will. Mommy is behind on documenting your milestones so here I go: December 24, 2008 you started to sit by yourself. March 14, 2009 you started crawling! May 7,2009 you started cruising! You wave, sign "more", sign "milk". Gabbo taught you to blow kisses May 1st. You give high fives and you smile and wave to everyone. You say, dog, ball, mama, dada, more milk! You also roll onto your back when you want to be tickled. on May 24, 2009 you started to use a cup with a straw!

Will's 4th Tooth!

Lo and behold, William finally got a tooth on top! Your left upper central incisor is poking through! It looks like a big one!

Meeting Baby Renee for the first time!

Christian, William, and Mommy went to meet baby Renee! We visited 5/21-5/23. Daddy went to Vancouver for a conference so he will meet her next week!  Christian loved her and said that she was "little." Baby Will isn't the baby anymore! We took the boys on a wagon ride to Missippi Mudds for ice cream!

Will's 3rd tooth!

William! How is it that you are almost 1 years old and you only have 2 teeth! Well today you got your 3rd! Your right lower lateral incisor is peeking through!! You are still as happy as can be!

Baby Renee Genevieve is Here!

Baby Renee Genevieve was born tonight at 8:07pm! She is 7 pounds 1 ounce and is doing great! We will go to meet her this week!

Yesterday, Mommy went to Carol Nursery School for Christian's "parent-teacher conference" with Miss Kim. She said that Christian played well with the other kids, was very cooperative, self-directed, and talkative. Just like at home....:). Mommy and William went to the St. Dominic play group while Christian was at school and we had fun! 

Christian, William, and your future Baby Sister! Today is the first day of the blog that will document all of the big moments, milestones, and all the little stuff that makes up who we are as a family! We will try to update this every few days so you can see all of the fun you are having as you grow up!