8 Girls and 4 Babies...

This past Monday my girls from Taylor came over, along with their new babies...and boy did we have fun!!! The four kiddos had never met each other so it was pretty neat to watch them all interact for the first time.





This is little Joshua. He's almost 10 months old. He and Lucas liked to pinch each other. I think if Becca and Kent lived closer the boys would definitely be best of friends. We've already decided for them that they will be roommates at Taylor... in 2024. :)




Here's sweet little Ollie James. He was born the end of April and is the most content little baby!! He just chilled the whole day and you hardly heard a peep from him. Sara is definitely a proud Mommy!!!




Last but not least, baby Britt. This is Em's little girl. She's the rose between the 3 thorns with all of our little boys. Britt is not quite 2 months old. She's quite the trooper...staying up with us until almost 9 and then she had a 4 hour car ride back home yet!!




We had a great time...it was fun to finally all be together - especially since we almost doubled in number from last summer when we were together! The funny thing about it was all we did was talk for the whole 8 hours we were together...(well, the boys-- Aaron and Eric-- went golfing...and helped out with the grilling for dinner). We had so much to get caught up on, and the kiddos certainly entertained us, too.

A Beach Bum After All

Something must have been different today...because he LOVED the pool!!! YAHOO! He splashed and splashed and the funniest part...if he had his "druthers" he would have DRANK all of the water! You'll notice in the 2nd picture the evidence. He enjoyed himself for a good half hour and then realized that the green pokey things outside of the pool were fun to pick at...and much more interesting than splashing in the water.

All in all, I was pretty excited. I just knew he'd like it!

An unsuccessful "pool party"...

Well, I was all pumped up about getting Lucas into his kiddie pool yesterday. It was a whopping 90 degrees out so it was the perfect set-up...so I thought. I put on his new swimmy diapers and swim suit, covered him in sunscreen, and we headed out. My excitement soon drained because my darling little son did not seem to enjoy his new pool AT ALL!! First, he sat there in the water not moving at all...just staring. Okay, maybe he needs some time to adjust to it, after all-- he loves his baths in the big tub! After a few minutes, still nothing. So...I decided to splash his little toes and tummy with water to get a reaction...and I definitely got a reaction! He started crying at the top of his lungs!! He was NOT a happy swimmer.

Now, I didn't get pictures of the part when he was upset. What Mommy would want to remember moments like that? However, I did get before and after pix. The after part was when I just held him on the edge of the pool and let him still get his toes wet. He didn't seem to mind that.




One final picture... I think Lucas is going to grow up to be a karaoke star. Or at least he'll be the king of Airband!!

School's Out!

Well, it's true! My last day of school was on Friday. Eric will finish up with his kids this Wednesday so the true celebration starts then. We're definitely looking forward to some more time at home, and of course more time with Lucas! With the summer pretty much here we're excited about being outside more. We've already grilled out several times, I just planted some flowers this evening, the veggies in the garden are sprouting, and we purchased a kiddie pool this week for Lucas. What more do we need?!?!

Many of you have asked about what plans we have this summer. Basically Eric will continue working at Orvis, and he's planning on doing some painting jobs here and there throughout the summer. I'm taking a class next week for my teacher re-certification. AND, we can't leave out... 3 weeks from today we'll be out in Montana where we'll be spending about 2 weeks with my family and visiting some friends in Bozemen.

All in all, things are great around here. I am VERY MUCH looking forward to spending my days at home with Lucas. It'll be like the good old times!! Not only is Lucas crawling...he's also a very curious little guy who gets into EVERYTHING so I know I have my work cut out for me. He continues to be such a cheerful, energetic, boy ...rarely complains...even with his teeth poking through. Recently he's started "talking" so much more...lots of squeals and "da!" and "ma!"s. On the verge of his first words perhaps??? Hey, we're not pushing it... he's already growing up too fast!!!

Here are several pictures from the last few weeks. We've fallen behind on the updates because of the busy end of the school year. Hopefully we can keep up better now that we have some more time.

teeth?

mindy and I felt the evidence of tooth #1 last night. It is still covered enough that you cannot really see it, but running your finger on his bottom gum you can feel the little tooth.

hopefully he keeps up his good attitude. it really doesn't seem to have bothered him much yet.

for the record, I fully expect to enjoy the canoe with Lucas once finished. That is why pictures of it made "Lucas' blog"

climber

here's our little man trying to climb anything in sight.

dream boat

not much to say about this beauty. there are many opinions as to the best way to restore this fiberglass canoe to its full glory, depending on which website you are on. I think sometime this summer we'll get to one of the mid-priced options.

You are all welcome to come float the mighty white when it is finished.

Random Pix from the past week...

Here are just a few pictures from the past week. It's gone from being cold and rainy to sunny and warm today (80s!!) so we're hoping to spend some time outside. We just enjoyed lunch out on the deck (steak! Fresh off the grill!!) and Eric's headed in to work so Lucas and I are just going to chill outside the rest of the day...apart from an occasional nap here and there.

6 Months Check-up...

It's crazy...Lucas is already 6 months old!?! Lucas welcomed in his half birthday with an upper respiratory infection, but thankfully we're almost over it. He's quite a trooper...he made it through with a smile on his face.

Lucas got a great report from his doctor on Tuesday. He now weighs 14 lbs 7 oz. and grew 2 inches from his 4 months appt. He also received his final round of the "big 3" shots. We're glad those are over for the time being...

Here's a funny story from a proud mommy... so apparently, yesterday at Tots (daycare) one of the little girls there was crying so Lucas crawled over to her and patted her on the back! She looked at him a bit... then kept crying. Lucas turned around to Miss Lita as if to say, "I tried!"... haha. I cracked up about this for a long time. I'm telling you...this little guy has a big heart...

Oh, and on ANOTHER note, congrats to our friends Jenni and Sara for having their baby boys this week! We're so excited for you and can't wait for Lucas to meet Tanner and Oliver!

Here's some pictures from this week. The first few go in succession as you scroll down. Lucas' new trick is pulling himself up...and his favorite new "toy" is the mirror. Put the two together?

Pictures from Great-Grandma Rupp's

Easter Weekend in Ohio

We had a great time with our family over Easter. Friday night we went to the Home Restaurant downtown Archbold for some batter-dipped fish. MMmmmm. Saturday, despite the cold and snow, we took Lucas to Ned and Sandy Wyse's where we spent a few hours catching up with old friends. Also on Saturday Lucas decided to open his Easter basket early because he just couldn't WAIT until Sunday...or Grandma couldn't wait... Haha. Saturday night my Grandma Rupp came over and we enjoyed a little chocolate fondue together around the table. Lucas, of course, was just watching it in utter amazement. Maybe next year he'll get to join in. Then on Sunday we went to church together. Afterwards the whole Rupp crew got together at Grandma's for some yummy food and bonding time. Lucas showed off his new skills (crawling, climbing, smiling, rolling, babbling, etc.) Everyone really wore him out because he slept most of the trip back to Indy that evening.

What a GREAT weekend. It was so nice to see our family and to share Lucas with them. It had been since Christmas that they had seen him! We hope to get home a little more often now that summer is coming up. Lucas needs to get to know his wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins, and of course, get to know Grandma and Grandpa's house. Here's some pictures from the weekend.