Rose is *Almost* Sitting Up

She is not quite there yet, but Rose has been working hard lately at sitting up. I think she spends more independent time on the floor than any of our other kids did so this will be useful for her, and us.

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Rose’s Baptism

With Mar-Mar and Be-Bob in town it worked out to have Rose’s baptism today. Megan and Mike Thibodeau are his godparents. She was baptized by Deacon Jim after 4:30 Mass. She cooperated well.

11 Year Anniversary

Yesterday Susan and I celebrated 11 years of marriage! It has hard to believe that it has been that long. The past 11 years really have gone by in a blur.

We got out for a nice date last weekend, so for our anniversary date we went out for dinner with the kids, bought a new bathroom faucet, and then headed to Over the Top, our favorite ice cream shop. Using a fake promotion I put together (which also caused much confusion in the shop) they served us the Liesland Special, with 11 scoops of ice cream in one dish.

After Dinner
After Dinner
The Liesland Special
The Liesland Special

Lucia turns 2!

This afternoon we celebrated Lucia’s second birthday! We had the Reagens and the Liesses over after Lucia’s nap for some cake and presents. It was a fun afternoon. Lucia loved all of the attention, singing, and opening presents. The cake was great as well!

Lucia continues to be an incredibly sweet, cute kid. She loves to say hello and always offers a hug and kiss goodbye. She uses ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ appropriately, which is adorable. It is hard not to give her everything she wants!

She sleeps with Mari now, though I still get her to sleep in the Boba every night. Every time I try something different it just takes too long, so we keep going with the Boba. It is great time together and I get a lot of reading done! She still naps every afternoon and is by far our most consistent sleeper of the 4.

She loves to dance and sing. She loves participating in the Bean Sprout activities, as well. She is in the Parents & Tots class all the time with Susan and will jump in with the Playgarden class whenever she gets the chance. She loves circle time.

At  dinner, usually about 2/3 of the way through the meal, she folds her hands and says ‘pray’, until we pray. Then about a minutes later she folds her hands again and says, “More pray.”

She is not a great eater. She loves noodles and gogurt. She used to eat a lot of cottage cheese, but less so now. She loves rice and for her birthday dinner we had beans and rice.

She loves to go outside and go for walks. The kids do a great job of taking her out and keeping an eye on here when she is outside. She likes stroller rides and bike rides and is always up for an adventure.

If someone gets hurt, she is always there to give them a hug to help them feel better, or she will lightly stroke their leg or back. She understands what sad means, recognizes it, and sometimes imitates it when she is telling a story.

She is a pain to have in church, or anywhere she has to sit down. She likes to keep going.

She still says ‘Eeee’, with an upswing, when she wants to nurse. She calls her pacifier ‘pappy,’ which I think is ‘pacie’.

She loves to join in at the homeschool table when she is not with the Bean Sprout kids. She writes remarkably well (she at least knows how to hold a pencil) and will ask us to write a list of names on her paper, always starting with Hopey and Nate. She loves the Reagens – especially Hope and Nate.

When she sees someone she likes or even knows she says ‘Hi’ and runs to them, Susan gets this treatment all the time.

Lucia Painting
Lucia Painting
Happy Birthday Lucia!
Happy Birthday Lucia!

 

Andrew is 11!

Yesterday we celebrated Andrew’s 11th birthday. It is hard to believe how old he is getting! This past year Andrew has really opened up and is becoming more comfortable interacting with new places and people. He continues to enjoy many activities, including anything involving balls, wheels, or music. His favorite song right now is ‘Hey Ya’, by Outkast. He still likes staying up late and sleeping as late as we will let him. He reads all the time and this year for his birthday one of the things he received was a gift card to Mayhem Collectibles, where he wanted to buy some comic books. While we continue to have Skyline every year on his birthday, his favorite food is ‘Chicken Noodle Soup Bread Bowl’ from Panera.

Singing Happy Birthday
Singing Happy Birthday

Lucia’s First Overnight

This weekend was a big one for Lucia – her first night without Susan! Susan went with Mary, Erin, and Gary to a wedding in Nebraska and I stayed home with all the kids, including Lucia. It was a fun weekend and Lucia did really well, even at night.

Mari’s 9th Birthday

Today we celebrated Mari’s 9th birthday! It was a fun day, with swimming in the afternoon and then the Reagens and Liesses over for some Skyline for dinner.

I was looking back at Mari’s bio from her 8th birthday and not much has changed. She continues to be on a very consistent schedule, waking around 7:30 or 8 and going to bed at 9. Of course, as she gets older there is more variability here. Her favorite food is “I don’t know.” Her favorite color is blue. Her favorite song is Royals.

Mari is going into 3rd grade next year and she likes language arts, which for us means reading stories and then drawing a picture from the story and writing a short summary.

The Revelers
The Revelers, waiting to open presents.
Mari Blowing Out Her Candles
Mari Blowing Out Her Candles

Mari Get Her Ears Pierced!

Today we are back in Des Moines after a busy weekend and it is a big day for Mari! For a few months she has been asking to get her ears pierced for her 9th birthday and this afternoon we went for it! She was definitely a little scared, but she kept telling us that she wanted to do it. In the end she followed through and her ears look great!

We got her ears pierced a the Pink Elephant, which is a tattoo parlor in Ankeny. They do a great job with kids and know what they are doing. It was an interesting experience for the kids as there was a lot to learn about.

Mari's Newly-Pierced Ears
Mari’s Newly-Pierced Ears
A Closer Look
A Closer Look

Big Changes

The blog has  been quiet lately because we have had some very big changes in our life! In December Susan and I decided to sell our house on 33rd St and look for a house with woods in the backyard, water access, and bike trail access. By mid-February our house had sold and we found a house that fit our bill! It even had a finished basement, where Susan could run her program.

A week ago today we closed on both houses. We moved in to the new house last Friday and have been working hard at getting everything unpacked and set up. Our new address is 9555 Lincoln Ave, Clive, IA 50325. The house was built in the 70’s and has been very well taken care of. It backs up to the Greenbelt, with a creek right beyond our property line and bike trail access just 8 houses away.

Over the next few weeks I plan on featuring some posts about the new space and the fun we are having!