The Howards

Today, in order to give Marlene some time to study, Ahow brought Adelaide & Miriam up to Fowler for a visit. The girls started out extremely shy, but quickly got down to business playing with every toy in the house!

We ate some spaghetti out on the screened in porch and the adults watched some (really bad) Colts football. Fortunately, Miriam & Taryn didn't realize that they should be embarrassed to be decked out in Colts gear.

Taryn had some trouble saying both their names. She managed to call Adelaide "Addie", but would hardly take a stab at Miriam. While I was taking these pictures, I told Taryn "Ok, now get with Adelaide." She pointed at Adelaide and said "That one?"

Thanks for the visits Howards! Hopefully next time we get together Marlene will be done with her studies!!

Taryn & Max

Yeah, if you can't tell, I'm way behind on getting some pics up here!

We were able to visit Grant, Ashley & Max at their new house last month. The house looks great! I couldn't believe some of the stories of what it looked like when they first got it.
Taryn and Max were a little shy at first, but they definitely warmed up and had some fun.

I hope we can get these two together again soon! Thanks for your hospitality Goldmans!

Easter 2011

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This year's Easter was a blur of activity. Life is seeming very busy right now, and I was kind of half wishing that this weekend of family and fun could be pushed back a week so I could REALLY enjoy it. What is keeping me so busy? Well, my Purdue class is wrapping up this Friday. (Last Masters Degree class eva! WOOT!) We are closing on our Fowler house a week from today. Lee is finishing up his second grill table for the awesome Primo Grills. Then there is the usual job, house, daughter stuff! I was also a little cranky because had it not been for snow days, we would have had Friday and Monday off of school for a 4-day weekend! That would have been AWESOME.

So, what did we do?

Friday we got to go out for drinks with Jamie & Garret who were up from Nashville for the weekend. It had been way too long and it was great to catch up with them!!

Saturday's Family Pic

Easter dress!
The girls all got a manicure! Taryn thought her painted nails were amazing...

Saturday, we first drove out to Fowler to go to Lee's Grandma's for the HUGE Puetz family celebration (when everyone shows up, it's like 80 people!). After this, Lee's mom wanted the immediate family to have their own celebration, so we drove from Fowler to Monticello to eat with a smaller group of the same people we just saw in Fowler. I will keep my opinions silent about this.

Taryn's Easter basket. She loved the gummy worms!

Sunday we had Easter lunch with my family at my Grandma's house. It is such a change for Taryn to go from Lee's family to mine. At Lee's family, Taryn is the 2nd youngest of 7 grandkids. She has lots of playmates, but not a ton of attention from Mamaw and Papa. Then we go to mine where she is often the ONE AND ONLY kid. There her playmates are adults and she is the center of attention and is adored! For example, she went on an Easter egg hunt in the back yard and literally had 9 adults watching her from the screened porch. Fortunately, we have been having more great-grandkids in our family, so as long as people can show up, the # of kids will be growing!

Family pic!

Mmm-ma's girl!

Cupcake = Heaven!

The usual suspects...

Taryn's Easter egg hunt!

The weekend was a fun one, but now Lee and I are scrambling to finish his grill table and my Purdue class! But, what can you do... Ask Jesus to rise on the 10th day instead of the 3rd???

Happy Easter everyone!!

Growing Like Weeds

Their first meeting!
Tummy time TOGETHER!

Celebrating friends birthdays!

Sharing stories and smiles...

Our little gal pals are growing up before our eyes!

It was so great to make a trip up to Chicago this weekend. If only I could find some feasible way to live near my friends while still living in Indiana near my family... Now that would be heaven! The only thing that can make great times with great friends even better is how fun it is to watch our little ones together. The squeals and the running and the fun... Their laughter is contagious!

Fast Friends

Tonight Monica and Eddie Dragut came over to watch the Bears/Packers game. To borrow a quote from Clint (only he was talking about the Brewers), I'm as big a Bears fan as the next guy who isn't a Bears fan. So I wasn't too devastated by the outcome. I had my devastating weekend last weekend.

However, I did love the Bears Tollhouse cookie that they brought and left... Mmmm.

Anyway, Taryn and their son Nicholas were both quite shy at the beginning of the night. By the end, they were literally running around our house yelling! Monica was hoping Taryn would be a positive influence and get Nicholas to eat his dinner... However, it was the other way around and the two ended up having a couple crackers, cookies and yogurt for dinner.

In the picture here, Taryn had set up her chairs like a train and then ORDERED Nicholas to sit down with her.

It was eye-opening to see what it is like to have a little boy in the house. They are a bit more wild than little girls, that's for sure. AND... Monica & Eddie have a bun in the oven! And it will be arriving soon! She is due at the end of March. Clearly we hadn't hung out in awhile...

Hopefully we can schedule some more play dates in the not-to-distant future.

Happy Birthday Max!

As usual, this blog is a little late. That's just how I blog lately. Sorry.

A couple weeks ago we headed down to Indianapolis to meet Max Goldman and celebrate his 1st birthday. It is so awful that this was our first time meeting Max and their first time meeting Taryn when we only live an hour away from each other.

Quick photo shoot of Taryn before we went. She was sporting her new sweater dress and knew she looked cute.

"No, I didn't eat a cupcake..."

The BIRTHDAY BOY! He's a cute little guy. He's small but mighty. And very very busy! Somehow in my picture all you can see are Purdue logos on his shirt, but he actually had a Purdue and Wisconsin shirt on since his daddy is from West Lafayette and mommy is from Wisconsin (but she was a Purdue grad, so we still like her).

Taryn had fun playing with Jack. I'm not sure Jack was having as much fun... He didn't complain though.

"I love other kids' toys!"

Thanks for having us over Grant & Ashley. Max is awesome! We really need to not let as much time pass before our next visit!!!

Dad & Dani Visit from NJ!

A couple of weeks ago, my dad and half-sister Daniella came to visit us from NJ. My dad hadn't seen Taryn since her 1st birthday party 5 months ago and Dani hadn't seen her since Christmas. So, needless to say, they were amazed by how much she had changed and grown!

We spent a lot of time just chilling around the house and relaxing. Taryn was super shy with her guests at first, but as usual, that only lasts about 15 minutes. She warmed up to Dani first since Dani was a younger girl and had a super sweet cell phone. Yeah, that's what it takes to get T's attention. Soon, she was showing off and immitating and doing all her tricks.

Always have to get a pic of T with my mom & dad. We don't get them together all that often!

Taryn and her Great-Grandma Shirley. I absolutely love this pic!!

Good Weekend

This weekend was a good weekend. It was our one weekend of the month that didn't have anything written in on the calendar. On Friday we had a relaxing (and early) night at home. Saturday Taryn and I spent the day with Grandma and Great-Grandma finishing up her Halloween outfit (sneak preview below) and eating at Spagheddi's.
Saturday night we went over to a friend's house for a fish fry. They love to have people over and cook out which is SO nice because we can bring Taryn and when it is her bedtime just put her to sleep in her pack n play and keep hanging out.

Sunday (today) we went up to Lee's parents' house on the lake. We took advantage of this crazy Indian Summer and took one last pontoon ride of the year. I can't believe it was freaking 90 degrees out today!! I even got all my homework graded on the way up! Awesome!

I hope that my rejuvenated feeling can last me through the next 4 busy weekends...

Sweet Home Chicago

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Last weekend Lee, T and I made the trek back up to Chicago to visit with the Reuter family. I am amazed at how much that city has changed since I left 3 years ago. I guess a lot has changed in our two families as well. We went from two couples of newlyweds to new parents to now, the proud parents of (gulp) toddlers. The last time that the girls met neither was even able to crawl, so this was really the first time they were going to get to PLAY!

When we got there Sam was taking a nap. Taryn was amazed at all the toys lying around. I think she was thinking Michelle and Andy were awfully nice to stock their apartment for her visit. She was pleasantly surprised when Sam woke up. Sam was a little drowsy still. Meanwhile, Taryn tried to break the ice by offering Sam some crackers.
Sam let Taryn try on her new cowboy boots. Taryn couldn't walk in them though. She looked like the tin man.

We took the girls over to the park nearby with some brewski's in the cooler. The park was awesome and I was so impressed with how many kids their age were there. Down here it seems most the kids at the parks are quite a bit older than T and Sam. While I think some of the parents might have questioned our not-so-well-disguised beer cans, I did hear one mom say "Now that's my kind of play group." Awesome!

Andy tested the durability of some of the playground equipment. It survived. On the way back, we nearly got arrested for having open containers... Ok, not really. A cop just looked at us for a long time. I think he was trying to decide whether they were in fact open containers or not. In the long run, I think he figured 5 adults with 2 strollers probably wasn't that much of a threat.

Sam gave Taryn quite a few hugs... Which turned into more of a tackle. Which usually ended up with Taryn falling on Sam. The hug part was adorable though.

Taryn and Sam spent a good 10 minutes comparing bellies. They're both awfully adorable and round.

Sam was a wonderful hostess, as were her parents. It is always nice visiting a house that is already stocked with all the baby necessities!!

Sam even shared her books and her rocking chair with Taryn. And lots of laughs.

They even shared... Whatever this is that they are doing here. It involved wearing random pairs of shoes and hats... And blankets. Goofy little girls!

Thank you to the Reuter's for being such hospitable guests! And thanks to Fubar for drinking with us at the playground!! I'm still cracking up at his phone call with Kari, "I'm here tailgating at the park..."

We had a great time and hope we all can hang out very soon!

There's Only One Place I'd Rather Be, French Lick, IN.

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I probably butchered that quote from Larry Bird. Sorry Larry.

This Sunday my mom, Grandma, Taryn & I went down to French Lick/West Baden, IN. My grandparents have been watching the West Baden Hotel for about as long as I have been alive. They introduced my mom and I to the hotel when I was about 10. The West Baden was originally built in 1901 and was the largest freestanding dome until the Astrodome was built. It was a major place for mobsters like Al Capone to visit back in the day. However, it ended up in ruins and that is where my grandparents discovered it. Even in ruins, though, it was intriguing and amazing. We used to tour it regularly and check on the process. First they fixed up the gardens. Then they fixed up the porch. Then came the tile in the atrium. I must say, though, I NEVER EVER thought I would see the day I would stay the night there as functioning hotel.

On Sunday, we did just that! To say that this place is amazing is an understatement. I am not sure whether it is more powerful to see it now knowing where it came from or not. Either way, though, it is definitely worth seeing! The pricetag on one of these rooms is not cheap, it runs close to $300. My mom and Grandma hemmed and hawwed on whether to dish out the cash and finally decided it was worth it for a night. (And Taryn and I got to come along as mooches.)

I did a TERRIBLE job taking pictures and I hope that my mom has a few more than I got, but they really did a top notch job with everything in the place. They decor, the pictures, the furniture etc. They even do turn down service in the evenings and put giant cookies on your bed. YUM.

This piece of furniture was between the two beds. If you look closely, even this has a picture of the West Baden hotel on it. The detail is amazing.

Of course I did manage to get quite a few pics of someone short and cute. Taryn was quite enthralled with my Grandma's wheelchair. She was confused that an adult would have a stroller. For some reason, in the atrium, Taryn loved the floor. She kept wanting to lay down on the floor. Here I got a picture of her actually standing (for the moment).

For dinner Sunday night, we went to a bar/family restaurant because we couldn't afford the fancy schmancy restaurants at the hotel. Taryn kept trying to make her way from the family section over to the bar section. She is definitely a chip off the old block!

We read books, we explored, we swam. On Monday my mom and Grandma went and played some slots while Taryn and I walked around French Lick Hotel. Taryn borders on TOO sociable, so she loved the opportunity to wave to all the strangers and blow them kisses. Seriously, this girl is going to be trouble when she's like 14! At one point, we bumped into a couple and Taryn gave them a big greeting and the guy goes "Wow, no one has been that happy to see me in years!" I wonder if that was a hint to his wife...

I'm so glad that my mom and Grandma let us tag along on their girls' night in West Baden. Hopefully Taryn brought a few laughs as payment for our stay. It was definitely a day I never thought I would see, but I am so glad that I did!

P.S. We went to Denny's for breakfast on Monday. ($6 for a bowl of cereal in the hotel) I hadn't been to a Denny's in freakin' ever and it was DELICIOUS. My mom even had a Grand Slam!