Our German friends visit the Hoosier state!

Julia, Florian and Marlene (Lenie) came to the US for Florian's cousin's wedding in Illinois. However, they made time to visit their additional family in the Hoosier state. We met up with them at Pam's house and had a great time catching up. It was super to meet Lenie who will be one on Halloween. She is such a sweet little thing and mommy and daddy are so proud! Great to see your friends become first-time parents and the joy it brings.

I literally felt like I stepped back in time...15 years prior to our high school days gathered around Pam's kitchen, joking, teasing Nichole and chatting for hours. It was fun for the kids to play too. Vivi went with me Friday afternoon and Audrey stayed with Pappaw to help him mow out by his pond. She loves her pappaw time.

The next morning, we all met at Pam's restaurant in Pennville for breakfast. It was yummy!! Jason even met us there and Audrey really, really liked him. At first she was scared of him because we told her he was a policeman and he was watching her to make sure she was being good. But, then she figured out he was a nice guy and she wouldn't leave him alone. She still talks about her police friend! ha!

The Arndt's brought the girls lots of goodies from Germany, too. A very nice book for Audrey all about Munich where they live. We need to study up so we can go see them there someday. Vivi got a t-shirt with the Munich skyline and they both got German candy. So sweet!! Thanks again guys!

Saturday afternoon, Kari went back to Pam's with me without the girls and she felt like she was back in high school too. So fun!

Lenie - so cute!

Vivi thinks she can climb on Florian like a monkey



Nichole and Brody

Winding down with Pappaw Friday night.

Breakfast at IDC in Pennville. Audrey wanted to hold Lenie and did a great job!

Audrey and her new friend, Jason!

Vivi getting some good pappaw time in!

Cute little Ellah and Nichole!

More pappaw time!

21 week bump

Still growing and feeling great! Halfway there now...this is going so fast!!

The Zoo and an Indians Baseball Game

Mommy's company had a picnic at an Indianapolis Indians baseball game so we went to check it out. We got downtown early though so that we could go to the zoo first. It was SOOOOO hot out but we made the most of it. We had to show daddy the cool bird exhibit that we loved so much last time we visited. This time Vivi fed them too but none landed on her head!

Connor's Birthday Party

My preschool friend Connor, turned 3 so we celebrated at his birthday party and it was awesome!! He loves bugs so the theme was bugs and creepy crawlies with a pinata full of candy, cupcakes, pizza and candy! His baby brother Cooper was still a little tiny guy but it was great that he was at the party too. Our other fun preschool friends were there also....Matthew and brother Bennett, Noah and brother Owen and everyone's mommy.

We made quite a few attempts to get a good group picture but were pretty unsuccessful! Oh well! ;)

A couple cousin days and nasty mosquito bites

Jackie starts school next week but came to spend the day with us before she went back. We went to the mall so she could show mommy things she likes for her upcoming birthday. We had a great time. We even got to ride on the train and Aunt Luann met us for lunch in the food court!

I got bit by a mosquito in three places...between the eyes was one of them. I had a bad reaction to them and had to get an antibiotic because of the blisters and swelling. Yuck!

 Austin's grandma Ellen was going to be out of town and she usually has him on Tuesday's. So, he got to spend a couple Tuesday's with us instead. We had fun playing!

blowing bubbles

hanging around

helping ride bikes and walking around the neighborhood

building the tallest tower



Vivi is 22 months old

Vivian is 22 months old today! She is so much fun at this stage as her personality continues to shine and her sweetness gets sweeter! We spent the day at the park on a beautiful day and enjoyed playing on everything after a picnic.

Love this picture! Vivi had so much fun peeking out at mommy through the holes and cracks in the play equipment.

Both girls LOVE swinging!

Just showing off some of her other skills. When she dances she automatically goes for this position...sommersault!

We were playing with locust shells. After picking this one off the tree, she wore it on her forehead for a bit. Ha!

No more pull-ups at night!!

We are so proud of our Audrey!! With the third baby on the way, we definitely didn't want to be buying diapers for each child! YIKES! Audrey was dry a few nights in a row and I decided to take advantage of it. I knew there would be some accidents at first but wasn't going to go back. She never has anything to drink after dinner and even then doesn't drink a lot with dinner. I knew she was ready and now was the time to get rid of the pull-ups before the bunk beds are finished and the baby arrives.

So, her reward for keeping her panties dry all night was to go see a movie at the movie theater. After a couple nights of accidents, she made it through one whole night and was rewarded immediately. She took daddy to the IMAX theater and watched an Ice Age movie in 3D. They had a great time!!

Then, off and on a few more nights there were and were not accidents. Only a week later, she was rid of her pull-ups forever feeling like a big girl and so proud of herself!! SO ARE WE!!! She even helped me "give" her pull-ups away since she didn't need them anymore...(I really just saved them for Vivi for the distant future) ;).

These pics don't go with this post but who doesn't enjoy a beater?