or maybe..."I'm Just awesome?!"

My book club friends will get this shirt. :P This just happens to be Braeden's favorite saying these days. I had to laugh when I saw it in the store and of course he had to have it. It was a hit both at home and school.

Braeden has been losing teeth again. First 2 more on the bottom, then the top front tooth. What he is left with makes us all just cringe. New nicknames he goes by include: Billy Bob, Hill billy bob, Snaggle, and Bucky. We beg him to wiggle that hanger on, and sometimes threaten to smack him in the mouth or tie it to something. I never thought I'd be happy to see him with a hole in his face, but come on this thing has GOT TO GO!

Elton John

Mom and I went to see Elton John at the Covelli Center in Youngstown on May 1st. It was pretty cool to share this experience with my mom.

Elton John is a god!!!!! Seeing and hearing him in person is extraordinary. He really is awesome. We had odd seats, actually behind the stage. We were only about 15 or 20 rows up and had a great view..... of his back. But that being said he pretty much just sits there banging away at the piano so we really didnt miss much.

I saw Elton last year when he came to Cleveland with Billy Joel.(who is also a god.) I have to say this concert was MUCH better. I had a ton of fun, even though I was totally stressed about leaving the baby home with Scott for so long, they both did fine. I got home at about 1am and she waited until then to wake up for her late night feeding.

It was a great time!! Thanks Mom!!

2nd grade show

All of the second graders at Albion Elementary put on a show! It was about how the three little pigs traveled the world. Braeden's class all wore green and their part was about Africa. Please excuse the terrible camera manning, I was holding a baby in one hand and the camera in the other. Braeden did a great job and made me sooo proud. :) He played and instrument called a Suji which I thought was totally cool, and he made it look cool too.

I was very impressed with all of the kids and his music teacher especially.

5 months

Liesl turned 5 months old this month. She really is just growing sooo fast. This month she is continuing to develop her neck and back strength with rolling over and tummy time.

She is getting used to being at daycare and has made some new little friends. This is Jacob. He is 7 months old and enjoys playing footsie, pulling out her bows and tasting her toes.

This is her favorite chair!! She kicks her feet and gets it bouncing super fast. Its like baby tread mill and she will do it for almost an hour at a time. Here she is after FINALLY catching those little guys! Believe me she has been trying for a long time! :)

Wouldn't you just love to know what is so funny.....

This is Braeden proving that he can still get his toes in his mouth. He didn't think this was quite as big of an accomplishment as we did apparently.

Liesl discovered her toes!!! and they fit in her mouth!!!! :) This is her new favorite game and she gets very upset when you put footie jammies an her and she can't get to the toes.

She is still getting up alot in the middle of the night. She had a bad cold for a few weeks and we think that set her back a bit. She couldn't breath let alone sleep. There were a few nights that she slept in the infant chair next to my bed, and those were some of the best nights of sleep she'd had in months. We are almost to the point where we need to lower the crib, we find her in all sorts of funny places in the morning.

She had her first airplane ride and met her Aunt and Uncle and cousins for the first time. She has added several fruits and vegi's to her menu with prunes and bananas topping the list of favorites.
We've had to pack away all of her 3 to 6 months clothes already, but no worries we've also already filled the closet with lots of pretty 6 to 9 months things. (with a little help from the easter bunny and some grandmas!!)

Oregon visit

Liesl and I took a trip with my mom to Oregon to visit my brother and the new baby. This is us at the airport. I like to start my vacations with a small margarita :)


Liesl did very well on the plane. She cried when the air pressure changed and when we had to sit on the tarmack and wait, but slept most of the way.

Oregon has some very beautiful countryside, and is famous for its wineries. My brother took us to a few of his favorites. We sampled lots of wine and sat outside on the balcony for a snack of cheese and meat. It was a gorgeous day, both babies tolerated us and mom got drunk. She was funny.

Look how beautiful! The mountains in the background and a rainstorm.

The entrance to Anne Amie vineyards.

My brother and I.

If I look tired its because I was. The 3 hour time change plus flying over night, plus a baby waking up every three hours will do that to you.

This winery made several excellent wines, Mom and I both had some shipped home. MMMM.

Mema got LOTS of grandbaby time. Ari was just the sweetest baby ever. Not at all "high needs" like someone we know. Look at her smilin away.

Mom and Annalisa played UNO every spare minute. It reminded me of playing with my Gram Hagg, we wore out a few UNO decks.

The little girls liked each other! Ari let Liesl borrow her bed.

This is Dan's neighborhood. We took a walk to see the chickens and have hot cocoa at "the Ross". Annalisa drank hers in about 3 seconds and then moved on to Axels.

Axel was sorry he had grown out of this toy and kept trying it out anyway. Liesl wasn't sure about him, he's quick that one.

We had friday night movie night. I made popcorn and we all snuggled on the couch. Mom fell asleep before the kids and Axel kept telling her "Don't sleep Mema!!"

We really needed a vacation, and it was so nice to visit with everyone. But most of all we learned how much we missed Daddy and our house. It was good to be home.

Happy Easter!

Happy 1st Easter!! I was very excited about my first easter and woke up before my big brother.

But he hopped right to it and found all the eggs and both baskets. The easter bunny was trickier this year!

Look at those BIG baskets!!! This is my family all dressed up for church. The service was beautiful. The bell choir played and Braeden and Liesl were both amazed. One day I am going to join because I just love it. The alter was covered in lillies and looked so pretty. We bought two of them to give to our great grandmas.

I'll admit I have dreamed about the matchy match family outfits since I was a kid. This was totally fun for me and I am lucky that everyone is still willing to oblige me.

I cooked dinner for 15. It turned out great!! I cleaned and got ready for days, and had most of it cleaned up before I had to leave for Oregon on Monday morning. Between Christmas morning and the baptism and easter, I have had my fill of entertaining and will be happy to show up at the next relatives house, appetizer in hand for the next holiday.

march fun and turning 4 months old

Liesl turned 4 months old. She had her first virus which sent us to the doctors. Woke up with an unexplained fever and NO other symptoms. The doctor checked her temp in her bum, did a throat culture, and took a urine sample by putting a sticker w/ a little plastic baggie attached to it over her girl parts inside her diaper (I knew when she had gone because it leaked all down my arm and leg). She was not happy about any of it and we left with instructions to give tylenol and expect a fever for the next 2 days. She had a high fever all that night and most of the next day and then got well as suddenly as she got sick.

This is her "woe is me" pose. No really though this is how she falls asleep every night, with her little hands over her eyes.
This is us before church one sunday. this outfit had the cutest little beret hat.

She started solid foods. Rice cereal was not an instant hit, but after a few tries she likes it and does well. She has also added green beans to her list of foods with Squash to follow next week.

We celebrated lots of family birthdays this month. Great Grandma Zitella turned 85 and we went to Youngstown for dinner and cake and icecream with them. Great Grandpa Nemeth, Aunt Priscilla and Grandpa Eye had birthdays too. I made dinner for Dennis and Debbie on St Patty's day. Dennis would not eat corned beef and cabbage so I made roast beef instead. This is his birthday sugar-free cherry pie. LOL

This is the group party at Great Grandma Nemeths in Kirtland. Liesl was not a fan of the clapping that followed the singing, she screamed.

I am getting started back to work and have had kids over at least part time everyday. It is so nice to have an income of my own again. :) Little by little the basement is becoming functional. I am anxious to have Uncle Bird put in a toilet down there.