2008 Homecoming weekend

One of our favorite alumni Iowa players and Indianapolis Colt (Dallas Clark).

A look toward the main University of Iowa campus and Old Capitol.

Even though the Hawkeyes are off to another crappy season, we still love them and attending football games when we have the opportunity. We have seats right behind the Iowa bench and so I find myself checking out the "behind the scenes" action sometimes more then paying attention to the game. Can you blame me???? Thanks Grandma and Aunt Jamie for watching the girls and keeping Allie from having a separation anxiety attack.

A glimpse of Isabelle's weekend at the farm...

Playing soccer with her cousins.

Loves her cousin Dayton.


Isabelle loves the farm, baby animals, playing with her cousins and being outdoors.

A glimpse of Allie's weekend...

Not a big fan of pop, Grandpa.


Allie loves to "talk", meow and make animal noises, keys, goldfish, m&m's, and is obsessed with Dora the Explorer and Diego.

This Sunday afternoon...

Jamie and I recently purchased some new bicycles for ourselves and a bike trailer for the girls. It is something that we have been wanting to do for some time now. Our neighborhood is very bike friendly and can easily bike to the Monon trail (a long extensive bike/run/rollerblade path through Indianapolis and Carmel) and Broad Ripple. It gives me quite a workout hauling the girls and the trailer behind me...especially on the hills (thank goodness there aren't too many). Isabelle and Allie both enjoy the ride but Allie detests her helmet. She is really good at wriggling out of it, but at least isn't screaming like she did the first few times we went biking.

Yummy cookies

Isabelle and Allie helped me make a batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday. Isabelle was being very sneaky when they came out of the oven and I found her shoveling a very warm cookie in her mouth until she realized that they were way too hot to eat. Apparently she didn't listen to my warnings...(I have found that her ears are purely decoration). But to her delight (and her daddy's too when he came home), they were eventually cool enough to eat.

Outdoor fun

Weather permitting, the girls and I usually are found outside at local playgrounds and parks.

A Children's Museum playdate

Isabelle and Allie had a great time closing down the museum with their friends, Kirsten and Maddie and their mom, Dawn.

Bathtime

I practically have to drag Isabelle out of the bathtub every evening. She could entertain herself until she is a prune and has taken to blowing bubbles and floating on her back while poor Allie is shoved in a corner.

Tumbletime

I have recently joined the YMCA in Indianapolis and although I don't completely understand why something that is good for you (exercise) should be so painful, I am trying to get control of my love handles and chubby belly...oh and get healthy. I know how much Allie will miss kneading my mid-section like play-dough, but it is time for me to get fit. The YMCA has a ton of classes for the little ones, and so Isabelle is attending a tumbling class on Thursday nights and swimming on Monday mornings. Allie and I are also in the pool at the same time on Monday doing a "Mommy and Me" class (which she hates by the way). Isabelle had a great time doing somersaults and learning how to do a cart-wheel. She had alot of fun.

Allie's love affair with Oreos...

Like her sister and father, Allie loves chocolate...but when it comes to oreos she does prefer the cream filling and will leave mounds of the discarded chocolate cookies sans the middle scattered all around her.

Allie had her 18 month check-up last week and tipped the scales at 20 pounds and 1 oz and was 30 1/2 inches tall. She finally crept back on the growth chart and is now 5th percentile for weight and 10th for height. We have had some concerns about her size for months now, but the pediatrician felt she wasn't on the radar for a growth hormone deficiency. Whew! She is a little whiffer but she has quite a big personality and doesn't hesitate to push someone twice her size around at the playground.

A fine day for an ice cream cone

Alexandria Dianne

My silly, dramatic, adorable little girl.

Isabelle Lee

My sweet, sensitive, beautiful girl.

My favorite pictures are the unassuming looks, the unstructured poses, and being able to get a glimpse into their everyday faces that show their true personality.

Even though Erwin acts a little bit aloof with the girls, I know that he basks in their attention. And they are a bit excessive with the adoration.

Uncle Forest, Aunt Jo, Cousin Nancy and us at our favorite restaurant for breakfast, Cafe Patachou.


Isabelle and Allie's great-great uncle and aunt from Colorado were visiting their daughter in Lafayette and they were all able to come down to Indy for a very nice visit and breakfast. It was wonderful to see them...although it was too short of a time for us.