Labor Day Weekend Party

We ended the summer with a Sunday Labor Day party with the Pitz clan. Almost everyone on Steve's side was able to make it to our home for an end-of summer-cookout. We grilled about 10 pounds of beef tenderloin that turned out really good. Everyone brought a dish to pass and we were all in the mood for wine and beer and an afternoon of socializing. We had great weather and a really nice, relaxing time.

After dinner a group of us went for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful evening. After cleaning up some we all ended up on the back deck enjoying a fire in the chiminea, gabbing and making smores. Steve's nephew Josh played his guitar and it was just a really nice get-together.

Olivia was able to get her afternoon nap in before anyone arrived so she was ready to go for the rest of the day. She chose TJ, one of her cousins, to latch on to this time and wanted to hang around him and his sister Anna all day. They are very nice kids and put up with her all afternoon.

She even spent some time at night cuddling with with Grandma Pitz. The last of the crew left at about 11:00 pm and although we were tired, we really had a fun time getting everyone together again.

Still More FIRSTS....

At three years old it is time to start getting used to seeing the dentist......

Today was Olivia's very first time going to the dentist for her own check-up. She has been there many times before when I'd take Kyle and Jenny but we always stayed in the waiting room. Just the last time they were there I took her back to watch what they did so she would get used to the idea of doing it too. I wasn't sure how she would be in there but I had been preparing her a day or two in advance. We talked about not being shy, answering their questions and doing what the dentist told like opening your mouth real big.

She also asked me if she would get a new toothbrush and that seemed to be the most important task at hand.

When the time finally came she did really well. She said hi to everyone there and when it was her turn she walked back with me and jumped right into the chair. She was real interested in the paper napkin clipped around her neck.



She asked me a lot of questions while we were waiting for the dentist but got quiet once he came over. He was very nice with her and she could not have behaved better. She laid back with the chair, opened her mouth while he made sure all of her teeth had come in and he was even able to clean and floss them.

Of course she didn't like the light shining in her eyes and told me later that her toothpaste at home tastes a lot better than his but all in all she was a very good girl.

The dentist said her teeth look very good and he commented that when they behave this well for the very first check up you probably don't have much to worry about when it comes to future appointments. I was very proud of her.

She was so excited about the new toothbrush. Even though she has two battery powered "Dora" toothbrushes at home now she only wants to use this new, small green brush he gave her. If only the excitement over a new toothbrush from the dentist would last into adulthood......

Happy 50th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!!

Saturday, August 22nd was Grandma and Grandpa's Golden Wedding Anniversary. We all were together to celebrate on Sunday. They treated us all to brunch in Iron Ridge and then went out to their farm afterward. The brunch at the Iron Ridge Inn was really good and everyone enjoyed it. Olivia even ate really well until it was finally time for her to run between tables and flirt with everyone again.
We had a picture frame personalized with all the grandchildren's (12) names around the outside and since we had everyone together at the same time, we went outside to take pictures and we will blow up one with all the grandchildren to be put in the frame.


As usual many of the grandchildren have other things to do and places to go so not everyone was able to come out to the farm but we still had a great afternoon visiting and eating again. Olivia missed her nap but kept going all day. She was really tired at night though and was ready for bed.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for brunch, getting us all together and having a great day! We hope you enjoyed your 50th as much as we did.

Congratulations!!

Milwaukee Zoo Experience

The last time I entered a post was in July, now it already the middle of August. Part of the reason was because my computer caught a virus and was out of commission for about 2 weeks. But, we are back up and running now and our latest new adventure for Olivia was the Milwaukee County Zoo. We went last Friday and she had a great time. The weather was stormy and we had to wait out a rain storm right after lunch but that made the crowds at the Zoo very thin which was nice.

Unfortunately they shut down the train ride before we had a chance to get on it which was disappointing but Olivia did get to ride on a camel and also got in another pony ride.
She liked that a lot and loved seeing all the animals we read about in her books. The monkeys were especially funny and with the glass enclosures you can really get an up-close look at them.

These pony rides were nice because they put a belt around her so I didn't have to walk along with her. This was her first time riding a horse "ALL BY MYYYYY-SELF!"

It takes so long for summer to get here but now I am counting down like everyone else.......three weeks from today is the first day of school!! Yea!!

Olivia will be home with me for another year before she starts any school. Right now the playgroups are enough and a year from now when she is 4 we will be getting her ready for preschool and soccer practices. Time sure flies with a little one around. Stay tuned.....

Two - Three year old beauties

We had a fun day yesterday with Marilyn, Eleanor and Wesley. This time we got together at Grandma and Grandpa Manning's house. The girls are growing up so fast and play together really well. Eleanor is still more petite than Olivia even though they are only a couple weeks apart in age. Eleanor is a few inches shorter and a couple pounds lighter.

Just for my own records....At Olivia's 3 year checkup she weighed in at 31 pounds (50%) and was 38" tall (75%)



Otherwise the girls are pretty equal as far as developing, what they like to eat or don't like to eat. They both love to talk your ears off and have a lot of the same interests.

They had fun playing at Grandma's house and running around outside for a little while. Blazer came along with us and Eleanor and Wesley were very curious about him too. A little shy to go up to pet him but always kept track of where he was.

It's always a lot of fun getting together with them but the time also goes so fast. All three kids still nap in the afternoon so they get tired soon after lunch time. We look forward to the next time we get together which will probably be in August when our adoption agency holds their annual summer picnic.

Don't forget about Eleanor's little brother Wesley! His is now 18 months old, walking around and getting into everything. He is the spitting image of his Dad, loves to eat and loves his big sister. He is also about the same weight as Eleanor and can hold his own pretty well.

Can't wait until we can see them again!

Summer Weekend Fun

It was a beautiful weekend to get outside and that's exactly what we did.

Saturday we decided to see what the Henry Vilas Zoo was all about in Madison.

It turned out to be a lot of fun, hard to believe it is free admission. They have a nice variety of animals and pretty decent facilities. It is not nearly as big as the Milwaukee Zoo but the price is much more reasonable. Olivia really liked the animals and especially liked riding on the carousel. We did that twice, she played on the playground for a little while and then Jenny and I rode the little train with her also.
She couldn't decide what she liked best and when we asked her what her favorite part of the day was she said "eveything!".

We stopped at a restaurant for dinner in Madison on the way home which of course is another one of her favorite things to do.

We were all pretty tired by the time we got home.

On Sunday, another gorgeous summer day, after church we packed some things up and headed out for Pike Lake. There we did some hiking, swimming (but the water was pretty cold), Olivia played on the playground and then we went for pizza and finished up with ice cream.

Again we were all pretty tired by the end of the day but it was good to get out, get some exercise and enjoy the summer weather.

Happy 4th of July 2009!

The 4th of July weekend was our annual camping weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Manning's home. It was a little smaller crowd this year since the kids are all getting older and have jobs, cars, etc. and reasons why they cannot make it or can't stay the whole time. But we had a good time with too much food and drinks again. The weather was perfect all weekend, not too hot and no rain.

We brought some games along this time and even Grandma got in on the whiffle ball game.









Olivia had a great time of course and keeps everyone going. Grandma bought her a little ladybug sand box and she spent a lot of time in that. She still does real well sleeping in the tent and really seems to enjoy it.

The highlight of her weekend was going to the neighbors farm and getting to see a pony they have taken in. Olivia loved "Holly" and even though she was pretty stiff and sore that day her owner let Olivia sit on her back and take a couple slow walks with her. Since then, every day Olivia asks "we going to see the horse now?". Or, "afer my nap we go see horse?". "Maybe we go see horse tomanow?"

Although we had a great weekend it is hard to believe we are into July already. Won't be long and we will have to think about school shopping!