Michigan 2009

I can't believe we have been back for almost a week. It seems like we have never stopped going. So here is our Michigan Adventure. We headed out Monday morning, we met up with grandma and grandpa J, Kendra, and Kurt in Oak Creek and were on our way to Michigan. The next stop we made was at the Michigan welcome center. The girls loved being able to get out of the car and stretch their legs on the playground they have there. We drove on- them not being too wild and stopped for lunch. We ended up getting to Hartland, where the camp is around 4pm Michigan time. The girls were real happy to be out of the car and instantly took to Molly and Audrey. Lilly got passed around and Chad and I unloaded the car and got everything set up. She got to meet most of the family right away. We spent the next few days playing, talking, laughing, and having fun. We stayed until Friday morning, there were a few other families there, but most everyone else left on Thursday afternoon. In the evening on Thursday we celebrated Emma's birthday- the Heiden's came out to the camp and so Ben and Chad took Matt, Nick, and Maddie swimming in the lake. Emma got to open a few presents and of course loved all the Barbie stuff.

Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed over to the Tyler's house. Randy and Drue were there and the girls got to swim in the pool with Chad and uncle Ben. Christina and I were just happy to be able to take a shower with hot water since there was none at camp. Christina and Ben headed down to the Tigers game and we headed over to the Heiden's. The kids went right to playing and we then headed out to Red Robin for dinner. We got some ice cream at the Dairy Twist on the way home and then it was home for a little playing and bed. Sarah and I got to talk for awhile and it is always so nice to talk with her and just be relaxed. Saturday morning Ben made pancakes for all the kids and then we were on our way to Lansing to visit with great grandma Janetzke. She took us out to Wendy's for lunch, since it was Chad's 30th birthday and all. We drove out to the new Our Savior Church. We didn't get a chance to go inside, but the girls loved the playground they had and it looks beautiful from the outside. We stopped by grandma Brown's house to say hello and let her see the girls. She was getting ready for two weeks up north with her family and then the celebration of her 97th birthday. We stopped quickly over at grandma and grandpa Bickel's to feed Lilly and get the girls changed. We were on our way back to Milwaukee. We had to make a stop at a rest area in Indiana where the girls still think their toys from the car are in the garbage can there. As soon as we had a little talk and were on our way the girls zonked hard. Maddie didn't wake up until right at the Skyway and Emma was still sleeping when we stopped at the Oasis for dinner. After a quick bite to eat we got our pj's on and finished the last hour of the trip. We were home about 10 and were in bed right away.

Sunday we were planning on taking it easy, but figured the vacation laundry could wait so Chad and I took Maddie and Emma to the Brewers game. Our trip to Michigan was great and I think we will be back Labor Day weekend for Chad's cousin's (on the Janetzke side) wedding. We will hopefully get a chance to meet the new Heiden boy- Aaron James was born on Wednesday.

Camp 09 was great- I got to talk to some cousins who I usually don't get a chance too. Chad did a great job leading the devotions. Grandma and grandpa's anniversary celebration was great- everyone who sang did a great job. I am already looking forward to camp in a couple of years. The girls will be a little older and I think that they will start to enjoy and appreciate it more. It is neat to see everyone get just a little bit older and wiser.

6 Years- 60 Years

UPDATED: With pictures from 4th of July and Summerfest

So today Chad and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, we went to Summerfest with the girls, Amy, Ben, Sam, Alan, Tracie, Kate, Ella, grandpa H, and grandma H. We had some good food to eat and just walked around. When we got home I started packing the car for Little Bickel camp in Michigan tomorrow and Chad was getting ready to go to basketball practice. We are leaving tomorrow around 7am and hoping to make it to Michigan in the early afternoon. We will be there until Friday morning. Wednesday we will be celebrating grandma and grandpa Bickel's 60th wedding anniversary. There will be music and I'm sure lots of laughs. We are going to spend Friday afternoon and evening with the Heidens. They are getting ready for their third little guy to make an appearance. We will go out to Lansing for the night and then make a stop by great grandma J's.

What else has been going on. Last week the 22nd-26th was VBS for Maddie. I thought that that would also be a great time to start potty training Emma. After taking the first couple of days slow, she decided she was going to just go cold turkey. She usually wakes up dry even after sleeping 12 hours. We still put a pull-up on just in case. She got up about an hour ago because she had to go. I think she was still sleeping, but went to the bathroom and crawled back into bed. The same week of VBS- which by the way Maddie just loved. If I could find a VBS for her to go to every week, she would- Chad has basketball camps. He had one in the morning and then another in the afternoon. So there were a couple of long days last week, but it wasn't too bad. We headed to the Brewers game on Friday night- it was Chad, myself, Maddie, grandpa, and Lilly. It was a good game and Maddie was just happy that Bernie got to go down the slide.

This past week we had a pretty normal week. Chad had speed and strength on Monday and Tuesday. Monday the girls, grandpa, and I went down to Summerfest for Kid's Fest. We met up with Carter, Max, and Owen, of course their mommy too. Wednesday Amy, Ben, and Sam came to go to the Brewers game. They spent the night and so we all had some fun that night. We went to go see Ice Age 3 on Thursday morning. We dropped Lilly off by the Jantezke's and then after we went back there and hung out for the evening. Chad got some twilight golf in and then also him and Kurt played 18 on Friday morning. Friday was trying to get some things ready for Michigan. I got to meet up with Barkley who was in town for a strongman competition at Summerfest on Saturday. We watched the fireworks on TV and then I headed home. Saturday morning we went up to Freistadt for their 4th of July service. The girls wanted to stay for the parade and the games, but we would have had to wait about 2 hours. So we grabbed lunch and then it was off to the house for the day and then to watch the Germantown fireworks. We have had some late nights the last few nights, so tonight the girls went to bed early. I am also hoping that they are still catching up with sleep and will nap a little while in the car tomorrow. I can't believe that this weekend was already the 4th of July. When we get back we have something almost every weekend, so I know that it will make the second half of summer go by really quick. Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks.

This past week Michael started at West Point. He had to report on Monday. So right now he is going through all his basic training and what they call Beast. We are thinking about him often and just pray for his safety. Maybe it is me getting older or just being a mom, but it seemed that with him being there- Independence Day meant a whole lot more. It seemed to me that it was a little more special knowing that he was at West Point.

Birthdays and Baseball

The first birthday we celebrated was Maddie's. On the 5th we went to Red Robin for lunch with grandpa, dad, Emma, Lilly, me and Maddie. She picked it and got a little something from us at lunch. She even got the birthday sundae and the waitresses sang to her. I'm pretty sure I was embarrassed enough for everyone at the table.


Aunt Amy, Sam, and Ben joined us on Friday night. It was my cousin's graduation at Martin Luther, so Amy, Sam, Lilly, and myself headed to the ceremony around 6. It started at 7 and was actually done about quarter after 8. They only had 72 kids in their class. After some pictures outside we headed home to feed Lilly. We walked over to Jan and Sharon's for a couple of drinks with other family.

Saturday was the neighborhood rummage sale, so some of us headed out to find some deals. A few were found and all the kids found some toy. The afternoon was spent playing with cousins and then we had some people over for cake for Maddie's birthday. She requested a rock star cake, so we made a guitar cake by tracing the guitar hero guitar and cutting it out from there. It was pretty small, so we just made a big star too. Maddie helped decorate it and so it was her own. We let her open her presents and then we just ate cake. Nothing too involved, but we couldn't let her birthday go by without a little party. Chad and I got her a bike for her birthday. She has been out on it a couple of times, but only rides it for a short period of time because I don't think she is quite sure of herself on it. Sunday we headed out Germantown and spent the day hanging out with aunts and uncles.

I decided that it was time to get some pictures of all three girls since I had requests from great grandma Bickel and Shelly. So I got them in the only matching clothes that they all have- Brewers clothes and started taking some pictures. Some turned out good, others not so good. Speaking of those pictures, I ordered them last week and they still haven't gotten to the Walmart. I will have to put that on my to do list to investigate where they are. So here are a few pictures from that morning.

Last week Wednesday was the Martin Luther golf outing, which meant Chad was gone for most of the day. Maddie and Lilly had doctor appointments in the morning. Maddie is weighing in at a big 48lbs and 44inches, while Lilly is weighing in at 10lbs and 4 oz and 21.75 inches long. She doesn't have any trouble eating as you can tell. We have to go for a renal ultrasound to check her kidneys because of the two vessel cord, but the doctor doesn't think there will be anything abnormal since she is growing more then enough. After our appointments we headed up to Germantown to hang out. I had packed stuff in case anyone decided they wanted to stay- well of course Maddie did and Emma followed suit. It worked out anyways because Thursday they were going up there anyways. Mom, Lilly, and I went up to Oshkosh to go to the American Girl Warehouse sale- one word NUTS. We got there and it was a four hour wait to get in the door. We went over to the outlet mall and found a few deals. Went to lunch at Friar Tuck's where I felt like I was transported back to 1976. Good food and pretty much still 1976 prices. Even the waitresses had little friar uniforms on- they were brown too. Went back over to check the warehouse sale- it was a two hour wait. We decided to call it quits and head home.


The Pownell family arrived Thursday night- we went to the zoo on Friday morning. Friday night we went for a fish fry- it was so good and only $4.99. Saturday was Alex's graduation party. Chad took Maddie to see Up in the later morning, then Amy, Ben, Sam, Emma, and myself met them at the mall to eat lunch. It was to get the noise out of the house for Lilly and Nolan to nap. We headed to the party where the kids just played outside for a good 4 hours. Sunday was Nolan's first birthday party. We tailgated at the Brewers/White Sox game. This was the first time since Lilly was born that the whole Heffelfinger family was together. Some went to the game and others (like us) came home to nap and relax. After the game we let Nolan dive into his Elmo cake. It took him a few minutes to get into it, but he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Monday was a recovery day- we did laundry, hung out, and then headed to the baseball banquest. We cooked out for the third day in a row- it is Wisconsin- how can you not love brats. Grandma and grandpa came and got the girls so we could clean up the cafeteria. Then we decided to grab a drink with Ben, Christina, and Iggy- the other JV coach. Today we ventured to the Central Library for story time. The girls had a good time. Maddie was much more into it them Emma. Emma was alright to start and then when we had to go into the story room- she had her normal break down and telling me she wanted to go home. We went in, she sat on my lap and by the end she even ventured down on the carpet next to Maddie.

Chad has decided that Thursdays and Fridays are days he isn't going to to into school. Last week he was finishing up stuff, so tomorrow we will have to plan something fun. Next week Maddie is going to VBS at Mount Olive since her school isn't having one this year. Chad also has basketball camp all week, so that means that next week he will be gone like a normal school year week. We then have a week to get ready for camp. We leave on the 6th for Michigan and are there for at least 5 days, but maybe until the 12th. We will see.

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures.

School's Out For Summer

Have you ever tried explaining summer vacation to a three year old?? Maddie gets that she doesn't have school, but she doesn't get why everyone gets so excited about summer vacation. She likes school, so why is everyone happy about not having to go- she just can't grasp it. We actually had two days this week, but are now officially on summer vacation. Chad has meetings today and tomorrow (if you can call golfing this afternoon meetings). Graduation is tomorrow and then he has some things to tie up next week. He figures his vacation starts next Friday.

This past weekend Chad was in Texas to give the speech at Concordia's graduation. It was a short trip for him, but he had a good time. He got to see people and catch up with them. Friday before he left he had the first round of regionals and won. He was off on Saturday around 2pm and got back Monday around 2pm.

The girls and I took in the Brewers game on Sunday with grandma and grandpa. We went a little early and took subs and met my aunt and uncle in the parking lot to hang out before the game for a little while. Lilly and grandma spent the game in an armchair in the warm watching the game on television. It was a little chilly in our seats, because the sun is behind us by the time the game starts and even with the roof open we are in the shade. It was a great day in the sun, but everyone in the shade was cold. Maddie spent most the game eating peanuts and then spent a little time up by grandma. Emma actually spent the majority of the game with me in our seats, eating peanuts, watching for Bernie Brewers, laughing at the little Chorizo fall down during the race, and covering her ears while Hell's Bells played.




Tomorrow is Maddie's birthday. We are having a little cake "party" for her on Saturday. She wants a rock star cake, so we are making a guitar cake and then a star cake. We traced the guitar hero guitar and will be using that as our pattern for the cake. Grandpa has off tomorrow and so I told her that we would go for lunch somewhere. I figured she would pick like Chuck E' Cheese, but today she said she wanted to go to Red Robin. We will see if she changes her mind between today and lunch tomorrow.

Since Chad won on Friday they played on Tuesday evening. The game wasn't until 7pm, so just Maddie and I went. We actually rode down there with grandma and grandpa J, uncle Kurt, and aunt Lydia. It was a good game. They lost 7-4, but it was 4-4 going into the 6th. So baseball is officially over now.


The last couple of days have been nice, so we have spent the later morning at the playground. Yesterday we went to Wick Field and played with some other kids that were there and today we went to the playground at Washington Park and had it all to ourselves. When we all go Maddie has to be a big girl and walk because there isn't any room for her in the stroller, but she is doing a great job and only complains a little. It is to be expected since it is usually on the way home from the playground, so she is already tired from playing. I told her that when you are the biggest sometimes you have to do big girl things. Today on the way home Emma was nice and let her sit in the stroller for about 4 blocks and then wanted back in- I thought it was pretty nice for Emma to give Maddie a little break.



So here's to Summer Vacation- even if Maddie isn't quite so sure about it. All she knows is that dad will be home and we get to have fun.

What a Weekend!!!

I know that it is Thursday, but it has taken me two days to get this post finished in between laundry, naps, MOPS, and all the other normal everyday happenings here.


Okay so I will admit that I am getting older, but I have to say that even though I was in bed by about 11pm every night this weekend, it was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time. We had so many laughs and stories to share and time to just hang out. So here is how it went down.

FRIDAY

Maddie had school- I thought that I would be taking her since on Monday and Wednesday she wanted me to take her, but grandma was already taking her, but nope she wanted grandpa to take her to school. So while she was at school I got the bathroom cleaned and then Lilly and I went and ran 2 errands before picking Maddie up. Emma of course, didn't want to leave the house, but more on that later. Grandpa went to play golf in the afternoon, Emma and Lilly napped and Maddie and I waited for Jill and Jay to get here from Minnesota. They got here around 1:30. Maddie played shy for about 5 minutes and then was wrestling with Jay. After the other girls got up from nap we all headed out to ML to get Chad from practice. Since we all know Chad's time management, we ended up running around at school for about an hour. We headed over to Champps for some dinner and then home to put the girls to bed and play some euchre. This was all in the course of lots of laughs because Jay fell of the curb, no one could remember what trump was and Jill kept forgetting about the left bowers. We then decided to call it a night knowing that the next couple of days would be long.

SATURDAY
Chad was off to his game by about 9am and we all kept wondering if it was going to get canceled, because there was some rain, but it ended up not being enough to cancel. Anne and Fritz got dropped off around noon since they spend Friday night with some other friends. We waited for the Chapmans and then it was off to the mall to eat before the game. It seems that the food court is one of Maddie's favorite places to eat. We headed out to Chad's game, not knowing which field they were at, but we took a shot in the dark and headed to Madison Park and they were there. It was a good game, the kids played on the playground, we actually saw most of the game, Lilly got passed around, and it even turned out to be a pretty nice day. They ended up losing by one, but it was a pretty good game. Jay, Jill, Anne, Fritz, Lilly and I headed out to Germantown to drop some stuff off for Sunday and we hung out for just a little while before needing to get back to the house. We played cards, watched the Brewers, and laughed for the rest of the evening. The Chapmans headed down to my aunt and uncles for the evening and mom and dad went with for a little while. Once gain I might have been sleeping by about 11pm, but I still had a great time.

SUNDAY

The big day!! We all were up and ready to go and got to church in a timely fashion. Lilly did great, I don't think she made a peep the whole service. Anne was relieved when uncle Kurt held her for the majority of the service. The other girls were a little loud, but we survived- even being in the front row. After the service we headed up to Germantown for lunch and a day of playing outside. All the kids enjoyed the swing set, the sandbox, and of course grandpa J's pond with the fish in it. Most everyone was on their way around 3pm and we spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting around talking and laughing. If you haven't guessed there is a theme to this weekend, talking and laughing. We got home and the girls weren't quite ready for bed, so we let them stay up for a little while. While Maddie was enjoying her peanut butter sandwich, Anne was enjoying telling her stories. Maddie was laughing and it was just so funny to listen to the two of them. I'm pretty sure Maddie thinks Anne is the coolest, even if she is a Mets fan. Anne and I headed to Kopp's for an after dinner snack, of course everyone else put in an order as well.

MONDAY
We were heading to the Brewers game- it was a 1:05 game. We were planning on tailgating, but decided to just cook the food here and then take it down to the stadium. We didn't have to hassle with a grill and all those things. The girls headed to the grocery store in the morning, but then had to stop at Kohls only because I was making fun of Chad for wearing a CC shirt, since he doesn't play for us anymore. So we all picked up a new Brewers shirt for the boys. Lilly also got some new Brewers gear too. We got the cars loaded up and headed out. We were only in the parking lot for about an hour, but the boys played bean bags, while we just sat and people watched. That is always fun at the stadium. Into the game we went. I knew that I wouldn't see too much of it since we had all three girls. Emma fell asleep in the 2nd inning, Lilly spent most of the game with Jill, and Maddie settled after about the 4th inning. It was a really quick game (2hrs 27min) and it even went into extra innings. The Brewers did end up winning, too bad they lost the next two. We went back out to the parking lot to wait for the traffic and then it was off to the airport to drop Anne and Fritz off. They got home with no problems. Jay and Jill headed back to Minnesota from the game too. We spent the rest of Monday just catching our breath.

The last couple of days we have been cleaning and playing catch up on the laundry. It is nice to think that the week is already almost over. Chad has his last day of classes today, student help day tomorrow, and then finals next Mon, Tues, and Wed. He has his regional baseball game tomorrow. Good thing it is suppose to be sunny and 70. If they win they play Tuesday. He is also heading down to Texas on Saturday afternoon. He is giving the graduation speech down at Concordia. It is a short trip, but I am sure that he will have a good time. I'm sure we will manage while he is gone. We are going to the Brewers game on Sunday with my parents and the girls. Maddie has school Monday and a field trip Tuesday and that is the last day. Then it is her birthday Friday. I think we are just planning on having some cake and giving her her presents on Saturday. Nothing too big, but a little celebration for her. I guess I should get going on that, since it is just about a week away. Any ideas, throw them my way.

Enjoy all the pictures from the weekend.

Anne and uncle Kurt- we will have to photoshop Michael in

The whole Janetzke Clan- all 16 of us

The mini-Janetzke clan (role reversal- Emma in her jeans and Maddie still in her church dress)


The General in his grandpa get-up


The cake picture

Maddie and Ben playing on the swing set


How many kids can fit on the swing set??

Maddie got a sliver and so she was soaking her finger- we finally got the last of it out today (Thursday)

Fritz, Anne, me, Chad, Jill and Jay

Fritz and Lilly
Anne and Lilly tailgating

Fritz and Emma just hanging out

In all our Brewer gear- Maddie doing her pout pout face

Maddie enjoying her cotton candy at the game

How Emma spent the first three innings

Anne, Lilly and I after the game

How Maddie ended up on the way home from the airport

Hell's Bells

So there have been 19 home games for the Brewers and I have been at three of them. Now remember that Hoffman was also out for the beginning of the season, but last Wednesday we went to the game and I got to hear Hell's Bells for the first time in Miller Park and let's just say that it was awesome. The roof was closed because it rained throughout the whole game and so it was even louder and shook even more. It was cool to see what you know will be a future hall of famer do what he does best. He got the job done and I think it was all in about 10 pitches. Thursday was a day game and we actually thought about going, if I would have known how nice it was going to be I would have taken Maddie. Anyways, one of the pastors at mom and dad's church said that he was driving on 41 past the stadium when Hoffman came in to pitch and with his windows closed, he could hear Hell's Bells. Back to Wednseday's game- was so hoping that Weeks would have gotten that double to hit for the cycle. We then wouldn't have to always have the trivia question about Chad Moeller being the last Brewer to hit for the cycle.



You didn't think that I would post and not give a Lilly update. Well she is doing great, the girls still think that she is still pretty cool. I am waiting for the day when the novelty wears off. This past weekend Maddie went with grandma and grandpa Heff to visit the Pownell's in Iowa. They left Saturday morning and got back in the early evening Sunday. Chad had a game in Racine on Saturday. Emma, Lilly, and I headed up to Germantown to hang out and then Chad joined us later in the day. We stayed over there and on Sunday we finally got the swing set up. The boys took care of that while Christina and I did some yard work.

We are getting ready for Lilly's reaffrimation on Sunday. Jay and Jill are coming down on Friday and so I am hoping that we get some good card games in. Then on Saturday Anne and Fritz will be here and so I am sure that we will be heading to Chad's game as long as the weather cooperates, then we are just planning on hanging out since we all don't see each other that much. Monday the Brewers play the Cards and so some of us are going to that. Of course we just swept them down there and so I am hoping that we don't embarass ourselves here.

Maddie has just a couple weeks of school left- we are trying to get her to grasp the concept of summer vacation. She knows that she doesn't have to go to school, but doesn't quite get why it is such a big deal. She is going to VBS at grandma and grandpa's church since ours isn't having one this year. I am also thinking about putting her in tennis lessons through the rec department- she told me she would rather do tennis then t-ball.

Emma is still working on this whole potty thing. She is going every once in awhile, it is usually just a fluke. She is still not so sure about school, but I think it is growing on her. We will see how the summer and this potty thing goes. She has always been afraid of the carwash, but in the last couple of days every time we say that we are going somewhere, she has to make sure that we are NOT going to the carwash. I think she must have dreamt about the carwash or something. She is just so funny sometimes.

Chad has two weeks of school and then finals. Graduation is June 5th. He is going down to Texas on the 30th for graduation there. I know that he is looking forward to it. Baseball is starting to wind down. They have two conference games left, a tournament this weekend and then their regional game on the 29th. They got a 4 seed and so that means that they get a home game that day.

We are getting ready for summer here- just trying to get through the last few days of school without any major problems.

Mother's Day Craziness

So we came home from the hospital on Saturday morning and had some visitors later in the afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa J came over. Grandpa J had been in St. Louis when Lilly was born, so he had to get his time in. Aunt Kendra and uncle Kurt came with them and also Aunt Kathy along with cousins Luke and Ben drove up for the day. The came by and hung out for just a little while, but it was nice to see them and let them meet Lilly. Luke really liked her and just wanted to hold her. Ben wasn't as sure, but still wanted to check her out. The rest of Saturday we just hung out at home eating pizza and watching the Brewers. Ben and Christina came over for a little while in the evening and then it was off to bed (or to see what sleep we would get).

Lilly is actually a champion eater and sleeper. She is a little mixed up, but has been doing great. She eats just about every 4 hours and even sometimes about 5 at night. Chad has been letting me go to bed around 10 and he will feed her around midnight. She will usually sleep soundly until 2/2:30, but then gets a little restless. I can rock her back to sleep and she will sleep for another 2 hours or so. We will feed somewhere between 4 and 5 and then it is back to sleep until about 8am.

We headed to church on Sunday, some of the older ladies around us couldn't believe that she was just 3 days old. It was kind of funny to see their reactions, but she was great and slept the whole time. When we got home the Chapmans and Heffelfingers were already here. So that meant craziness was coming- 7 of 8 cousins were at the house for Mother's Day. We missed having the Pownell family, but will see them in a couple of weeks. Who was going to the Brewers game was still undecided, but eventually dad, Alan, Amy, Chad, and I went. So that meant that mom, Tracie, and Joel took on the 7 kids and no one had anything broken or bloody when we got back. They did great. Tracie cooked some lasagne and pizza for dinner, it was yummy. My aunt, uncle, and cousin Alex stopped over and the kids just went nutso because Alex was entertaining them. Chad, myself and Alex took Kate, Ben, Maddie, Ella, Sam, and Emma to the playground for a little while, while their parents were getting ready to go home. Ben and Christina stopped over again, very briefly, I think they were a little intimidated by all the chaos. Everyone was on their way home and we all just took the rest of the evening to relax.

Monday Chad took the day off and helped by taking Maddie to school in the morning. We had to take Lilly to the doctor to get her Hepatitis B shot- Emma was with us, but didn't want to stay in the room while Lilly got her shot. We picked Maddie up and made sure to let Mrs. Willer see Lilly, since Maddie made sure to let us know that we needed to bring her to pickup. We grabbed some lunch and then headed home for naps. Chad had a game and so he was off to his game. Tuesday it was just us girls and we did just great. It was a nice day and after grandpa got home, we headed out to Chad's game. Well grandpa, Lilly, Maddie, and I did. Emma was all ready to go and then we started walking out the door decided she wanted to stay home with grandma. It was a little windy at the game, but it was actually pretty nice. Today was school again for Maddie- grandma dropped her off on her way to work. She was going on a field trip to Greenfield park to learn about frogs, but then she said that they didn't see any frogs. Oh well, I guess it was a little too cold for the frogs. We are hoping we don't get too much rain this afternoon- we are suppose to be going to the Brewers game tonight, but we will see how the rain goes.

Here are a few pictures from me trying to get a good one for Lilly's birth announcements. Maddie got in on the shoot and even took a few herself.

Lillian Joy

Here she is:

Lillian Joy
5/7/2009
9:09am
7lbs. 14oz
20 1/2 inches

Lilly wanted to wait for her own time to come and also to make quite the entrance. We headed to the hospital about 11:30pm on Wednesday night. I wasn't sure if I would be admitted or if I would get sent home. I was admitted and was in the labor and delivery room around 1am. We had to wait until about 3:45am to get the epidural and then I was able to catch a few Zs. Chad was able to catch a little nap in there also. Around 7:30 am there was a shift change, so that meant a new nurse who has to start all the vitals and checks again. She checked me and I was about 8cm. She had another nurse check just to make sure. Well Lilly didn't like all the poking around at her and decided to slow her heart rate down. A resident came in and put a monitor on her head and after they stopped flipping me from side to side she decided to settle down. My doctor came in a little after 8am and told me to try pushing because her head was still a little high. So I started and about three sets of pushes later she was here. The cord was looped around her neck, not tightly, but still around. We were down in the labor and delivery room for about 2 hours before getting settled in our room for the next couple of days.

The girls came up with Chad in the later afternoon. They weren't so sure about it all right away, but I think there were too many people there. Grandma J, uncle Kurt, aunt Lydia, grandma and grandpa Heff, and I think they were a little intimidated. After the Germantown Janetzkes left and grandma Heff left for her meeting, they were a little bit more curious about Lilly and wanting to hold her. They each took a turn holding her, Maddie was a little more hesitant then Emma.

Friday I missed the Mother's Day celebration at school, but grandma Heff went in my place. After school the girls and Chad came to the hospital. Pasor Schroeder came to baptize Lilly, uncle Kurt who is one of Lilly's godparents got to skip school for a little while to come to the hospital for the baptism. We will be having a ratification on the 24th of May at church for her. Pastor Schroeder added another Janetzke to his baptismal list, he also baptized uncle Ben, aunt Kendra, and aunt Lydia.



The evening was pretty uneventful- uncle Ben and Christina came around 7:45 and stayed until about 9pm. It made the evening go a little quicker for me. I let Lilly go to the nursery again for the night so I could get some sleep, I figure tonight I don't have the option of her going to the nursery. This morning Chad came around 10am and we were on our way around 11:15am. We were waiting for my doctor to come and let me go. The girls were very excited when we got home- and now Lilly is resting with grandma.

I am happy to be home and back in the real world. We will be taking it easy today since tomorrow the Chapmans and Chicago Heffelfingers will be coming for Mother's Day. So that means lots of cousins around tomorrow. Chad is taking Monday off, which will help since Maddie has school and Lilly has a doctor's appointment. His baseball game this morning was canceled, but we are still waiting for word about tonight's game. It would be nice if the game was canceled and we could all just hang out, but I'm not that worried about it. I'm sure more pictures will be to come.

Waiting

That is the game we are playing right now. We are always waiting to see if Chad's baseball games are going to be played because of all the rain we have had lately. Today it is suppose to be close to 65 degrees, but of course there is rain coming down also. Chad played last Friday and hasn't played since. They play the other teams in the conference twice and always in a row. So they play Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. So right now they missed Saturday and Tuesday's game against St. Joe's. The good thing is that usually when they need to be made up they can schedule a double-header with that team and not have to worry about trying to make up two separate games. I have a feeling there are going to be a good number of doubleheaders in the next few weeks. If they miss today's game and Saturday's has already been canceled because of both school's proms, those right there are two double-headers to make up. Okay enough trying to figure out when they are going to get to play those baseball games- they could be playing until the middle of June at this rate.

We are also waiting for baby to make her appearance. I go to the doc today and hoping that there is some progress. If this one decides to be like her sisters, it would be this weekend. It would be great if it was this weekend. Of course, Chad has one of those double-headers scheduled tomorrow down in Kenosha, so I'm sure that is when she is going to decide to come. I am ready for her to come, both myself wanting to be done being pregnant and also just everything is in order for her to come.

Other than waiting, there hasn't been too much going on. Maddie got to spend the night with Christina (uncle Ben's fiance) last Friday. Christina met us at school pick up, we all went to lunch, and then Maddie went home with Christina and spent the night there. We went out to school for the JV baseball game and they were there. She was so excited and that was all she could talk about for about 24hours after she got home. She has about 11 days of school left. She is done on the 29th. She also is going on a field trip this Friday and has been talking about it non-stop for the last few days.

Emma also enjoyed Maddie staying at Christina's because that meant that she got to have the house all to herself. We ran some errands and then spent most of the day at home because that is what she wanted to do. Talk about a homebody, this child would never leave the house if I didn't have to take her with me everywhere.

We will keep you updated on baby news. Maybe the next post will be introducing her to everyone.

Baseball, Easter, Baseball, Zoo, Baseball(do you see a pattern??)

Well we have been busy the last week or so. It seems like lately the time just gets away from me. We left off getting ready for Easter, which has come and gone. As most of you know, church and toddlers don't always mix. Maundy Thursday we decided to go to Mount Olive with grandma and grandpa because Chad had baseball practice and wasn't sure he was going to get to church on time. The girls were not having it and just could not sit still. So communion came and it was at the rail (which happens I think about once a year at MO- on Maundy Thursday). Maddie was with grandma all the way to the right side, which is next to the lectern. Some of you know what I am talking about, if not just try to picture an older church that has a distinct lectern and pulpit. So Maddie decided that she needed to check out what was over in the lectern and good thing she is not a little taller, but we later found out that she wandered over there and popped her little head over the lectern for all to see. Let's just say that we had quite the talking to after we got home from church.

Good Friday we decided that since evening church doesn't always work best for the girls we would go to the afternoon service. Church was at 12:15 and Our Redeemer actually gears is towards working people, so it is only about 30 minutes long. Of course Maddie in that short 30 minutes fell asleep. I think she must have taken lessons from Christian before we left Texas. She is getting real good at falling asleep quickly in the car or while at church. So when we got home we were all excited because not only was it Good Friday, but it was also Brewers Day (aka Opening Day here). So while we were at church, Bernie Brewer had come over to drop off some new Brewers shirts for the girls. Chad also got a new Tigers shirt too. Later in the afternoon- Emma decided she wasn't feeling too well and had a few episodes of throwing up. She was just a little under the weather, but came back strong on Saturday. Mike, Jana, and Nolan got here Friday evening and so we got to hang out with them for a little while before bedtime.

Saturday morning was an egg hunt at Mount Olive. We thought Emma was going to sleep through it, but decided that when she heard us talking about getting ready to go, she was ready to go too. So Emma, Maddie, me, grandma, grandpa, and Jana went up and hunted some eggs outside. They had about 25-30 kids there and 700 eggs, so the girls had lots of fun. They then got to hear the Easter story and hung out for a little while. We headed home and out to Chad's game. It was a nice day and they ended up beating the number 5 team in the city. Emma was still feeling under the weather, so she slept most of the game away in the stroller. The Chapman's met us there and the boys and Maddie had lots of fun running on the track, on the bleachers, and after the game on the field. We hung out the rest of the evening watching the Brewers and just playing.

Easter morning came and Emma was so excited to finally get to wear her big dress. Grandma cooked some pulled pork and other goodies. The boys (Chad, Joel, Mike, Jared, and Sam) went over to the playground to play whiffle ball. Sam was in heaven. He made sure that the game ended in a tie so both teams won. We ate dinner, hung out, and then some of us headed to the Brewers game. Mike, dad, Joel, Chad, and I went along with Kip and Jared. I figured that I better go to a game now, because who knows when I will get to go to another one. Maddie and Emma got to hang out with grandma, Jana, and Nolan. They were helping "babysit" Nolan.

Monday even with no school, it was time to get back into a routine. Chad had practice, I had my non-stress test, and grandma and grandpa were back to work. Chad had away games during the week and then today was at home. Maddie was back to school on Wednesday and Friday. Maddie and grandpa went to the Brewers game on Wednesday. She lasted about 6 innings before wanting to come home. I figured that with getting back into a routine of school that was pretty good. Thursday grandma went down to Chicago to pick up Kate and Ella (Kate had spring break, but Tracie didn't). They got back up here around 10:30 and were all ready to play. That afternoon while I was at the doctor, Maddie and Kate went with uncle Kip and auntie Susie to Wick Field to play. I know Maddie had a blast and wasn't ready to come home. So we all piled into the van to go get grandpa from work. We decided that since it was such a nice day to go out to Jared's baseball game at school. The varsity was playing away, but JV was at home. That also happens to be the team that uncle Ben coaches. The girls played and were enjoying being outside. I think we left about the 4th inning and headed home.

Friday Maddie was back at school. She was all ready to go because she loves Fridays. Not because for most of us it means the weekend, but because it means that it is gym day at school. What a nut. When Maddie was done with school grandpa, me, Emma, Ella, and Kate picked her up and headed to the Zoo. Well we were not the only ones with that idea. The line to get into the parking lot was backed up all the way to HWY. 100 on Bluemound. We decided to park in the neighborhood a few blocks away and just walk. It was a little bit of a hike, but the girls were all troopers. So we enjoyed the sunshine and animals at the zoo for a few hours. Grandma came and met us when we were getting ready to leave because my girls and I were heading up to Germantown for the evening to see other cousins Ben and Luke. We just hung out at the house Friday, playing outside, eating pizza, and talking. Saturday morning Chad was off to his game by 8:15 and the girls and I thought we would just hang out until the game started. Aunt Kendra and uncle Kurt ended up coming too, so we got to Chad's game and once again enjoyed the warm and sunshine for most of the day. Chad didn't quite squeak out the win yesterday, but it was a good game. With having other people there I actually can watch about 50% of the game. We just all took it easy last night and I think doing the same today. Chad has grades he has to get done and I know that there is laundry needing to be done too.

We have just a couple of weeks before baby gets here, so we are just trying to get a few things together. I think we are planning on putting up the swingset at grandma and grandpa J's next weekend. I know that it will make the girls happy to be able to go out and play on that. Other then that, we are just playing the waiting game. We are planning on having the affirmation of baptism on Memorial Day weekend- so doing a little planning for that too while I can. Here are a few pics from the past week. Maddie did not want to have anything to do with pictures on Easter morning, so you will have to pardon her pouts.

Hippity Hoppety- Easter's on it's Way

So every Sunday while getting ready for church Emma asks if it is Easter yet and each week we tell her how many more Sundays until Easter. Why is she so obsessed with Easter? Well the only reason a true princess would be- she gets to wear her big pretty Easter dress. This girl cannot wait for Sunday to be able to wear her Easter dress that hangs up in her room and she looks at longingly every Sunday.

Emma is still up to her mischievous self. You can't leave her alone for too long because you never know what she is getting into. She is known to take anything and everything out of any given drawer or cabinet. She is known to draw and anything with markers, crayons, pens or pencils. Sunday we were up by Chad's parents and we brought home some Easter things for the girls from his mom since they are going to be out of town. They were in some grocery bags and within 5 minutes of being home Emma was digging through the bags knowing that there was something in there. She is very insistent on certain things. There are somethings that you pick your battles with and others that you just let go. Sleeping with sandals on is one of those things you just let go.
We are still trying to get her to like the potty, but no such luck yet. She still wants to go to school next year. We did find out that Mrs. Willer is moving up to 4K afternoons, so she will have a different teacher then Maddie. I was glad to find this out now instead of like a week before school starts, so I can let Emma know and prepare her for the change.

Maddie is done with school for the week and doesn't go back until next Wednesday. She was very upset that there was no school on Friday even though we kept telling her that it is Opening Day she wanted to go to school. We kept asking why she wanted to go to school and she just said she did, finally on Monday she told me she wanted to go to school Friday because that is the day that she goes to the gym. Luckily they went to the gym today and so I think that helped. They also did a little egg hunt on the playground and a few other Easter crafts.

Chad has his first game today. It is actually 50's and sunny and so I think that we may head out there for a little while. It will be weird to watch a game in the daylight and not one starting at 7pm. I guess at least the good thing is is that the game will be over before 10pm and we can be home at a reasonable hour.

I am looking forward to the weekend Jana, Mike, Nolan, Amy, Joel, Ben, and Sam will be here and we will be going to the egg hunt at Mount Olive. Which here is known as grandma and grandpa's church. It is looking like it will be a nice weekend so hopefully we will be able to get some playing outside in. Sunday evening is the Brewers/Cubs game on ESPN. Joel,Mike, Chad, my dad, and I are going. I figure I probably won't get to too many game this summer, so I better go now.

Maddie got to watch the Brewers yesterday with grandpa- granted she would watch, leave, play with something else and repeat. Chad came home just as the game was ending and she made sure she informed him that "they are getting their butts kicked". Monday night Ben and Christina were over for the Michigan State/UNC game and she was bound and determined that she is going to spend the night over at Christina's apartment and watch movies. She then had to recap it for me the next morning because I wasn't here.

Here is a picture I took the other day- Maddie usually wants to wear a Brewers shirt and since when Maddie has one on, Emma wants to put hers on too.

Happy Easter to everyone. I know that I will be taking pictures this weekend so I will make sure to put them up.

Back to the Grind

Well our spring break has ended and the end wasn't very spring like. Saturday into Sunday it decided to snow about 5 inches. Luckily it has been in the 40's and rainy and so most of it should be gone soon.

The rest of the weekend was just hanging out and watching March Madness. Emma had a great time on Thursday night all by herself. She got to watch a movie (that she picked) and ate popcorn and was just loving being the only one here. Amy, Maddie and the boys got here around noon and we all went down to the stadium to Friday's for lunch. We also checked out the Brewers store and reopened that morning. They remodeled and so they had a big opening at like 5am. The boys game back for just a little while to do some playing and then it was back to Woodstock for them. Friday later in the afternoon we headed out to school so dad could help Chad take down the nets in the rummage room and let the girls run around for a little while. We made sure that we got home in time for the Michigan State game which was quite an exciting one.

Saturday Chad did not have practice, so after getting laundry done in the morning, I had a few errands to run. I went while Emma was sleeping and Chad and Maddie went to go see Monsters Vs. Aliens. She loves going to the movies. Usually we just wait for it to come to the budget, but since it was just her and dad and it was the middle of the afternoon- we figured what the heck. The evening was once again spent watching NCAA basketball and waiting for the snow to come.

Sunday was church and then back home to watch the Michigan State game. Uncle Ben and Christina came over too. Grandma and I cleaned up the basement and put together a nice big pile of stuff for Chad to take to the ML rummage sale.

Monday came and I didn't even have to fight with Maddie to get up. She was so ready to go back to school. She kept asking last week if she got to go. She told me yesterday that she wants to go to school in the summer. I guess she likes school or maybe just her time away from her sister.(Good thing for VBS) I had again a non-stress test yesterday and everything is just fine. I think that Chad and I have finally agreed on a name (you'll have to wait to find out).

Today is the last day for tryouts for the kids who were gone over spring break. There was suppose to be a game today, but since the snow and the rain today- he gets to wait until next week to play. I'm sure we will be out there sometime, but I think that we will be waiting until it gets warmer and not so wet out there.

I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures during spring break, but I guess when you don't actually go anywhere, there isn't much to capture. Emma's new thing is to jump off things. She used to just step off and say she jumped, but now she is actually landing on two feet and getting in the air. As I am typing this, she is using the step stool as her jump pad.

Hoping that this week goes by semi-quick and with little disruption. I can't believe that Easter is just about 10 days away. Maddie is more looking forward to that fact that the Brewers are going to be starting. She knows that they start around Easter and so we have made sure to put Opening Day on her calender. She is going to the game on the 15th with grandpa (she got to pick who she goes with since there are only 2 tickets). At least I know that no matter what their record is in September, she will still be wanting to go and be excited to watch them. Oh, to not know how the whole standings thing works.

Spring Break Thus Far

So usually spring breaks are spent with people visiting us in Texas, but as you know that didn't happen this year. We have been enjoying not having to get up, get dressed, and out the door in a timely fashion this week. Although Maddie has told me that she misses school and wants to go back.

Chad actually just had parent/teacher conferences on Friday, so he didn't have any students at school and was home by 2:30. We headed up to Germantown for the evening to hang out and watch some basketball. Chad and I actually went out to dinner just the two of us while the girls stayed at grandma and grandpa's and played with various aunts and uncles. We all watched basketball and I stayed up way to late watching the overtime Wisconsin game- what was I thinking. At least they ended up winning and so it made it a little worth it.

Saturday morning Chad headed down to school for the last of the grade school clinic with Ben and the girls and I hung out a little up there. We were home in time for nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, made it to the playground for awhile since it was so nice outside. Sunday after church Chad took the girls out to school so he could pick up a few things and they ended up playing in the gym for like an hour and a half. He was getting some baseball stuff together and they were just having fun, so it was quiet around here for part of the afternoon.

This week started baseball and so we haven't been able to do too much. Chad's assistant coaches aren't teachers, so they still have normal work schedules which meant that practice is at after school times, not in the mornings this week. So Chad has been spending the mornings with us and then the afternoons are spent at baseball practice. Monday and Tuesday we pretty much hung out at home. Those two days it rained a bit and so everything has been soaking wet.

Wednesday we were all getting cabin fever, so we decided to head out to Chuck E Cheese before practice. We were all having a great time- the girls were playing games and on the slides. Our food came and Maddie wanted to change seats. She wanted to go into the big room where the tvs are and were the mechanic Chuck E Cheese is. Everything was fine until the curtain opened and he started moving and talking/singing. Emma lost it. She wanted nothing to do with it- she just wanted to go home. I got her to sit on my lap while we ate and then as soon as we were done and ready to play more games she made a bee line out of the room. It was sort of amusing, but I did feel bad for her.

Today(Thursday) we had another non-stress test. It is sort of relaxing to just sit in a chair for 45 minutes and either watch tv or read a magazine, but it a little annoying to have to go to the hospital, get all your vitals checked, get hooked up to the machine and just wait. Monday we actually had a follow-up ultrasound from Dr. Carr. She is a specialist because baby here has a two vessel cord. Which means- normally there is a big vein that takes everything to the baby and then 2 arteries that take the waste away. Well this baby decided that she just wanted to have 1 artery to do all the work. There is some worry about growth, but since you all know that we don't have small babies this hasn't been a problem. So we had an ultrasound about 7 weeks ago with the specialist and this was just the follow up. The baby is growing just fine- actually I was 32 weeks 4 days on Monday and baby was measuring 35 weeks. Which would make sense since the other 2 were 2 weeks early too. The tech measured her legs about 5 times, because she couldn't believe how long they were. Back to today- while I was at the hospital the girls and dad went down to Miller Park to play on the playground there. Maddie slid down the slide with the big puddle on the bottom and so her pants were soaked. Emma came home to tell me that Maddie peed on the slide- which was not true, but I had to make sure for myself. After that grandma, the girls, and I got in the car and headed down to Woodstock to see Ben, Sam, and Amy. We played at the house for a little while and then we went to Burger King for lunch and to play on the playland. Maddie is down there now and is spending the night. She has been talking about it all week and was so happy to finally be able to go. I had it on her calender and every day she would count to see how many days until she got to go to their house. Emma wasn't too happy that she had to come home with us, but she got over it pretty quick. She has asked a couple times where Maddie is, but I think is enjoying having everyone to herself. Amy is bringing the boys and Maddie back tomorrow- to pay and hang out for awhile.

Grandpa has the day off again tomorrow- so maybe we can find something to do in the morning with just Emma since Maddie won't be here until later in the day. The rest of the weekend I'm sure will be spent catching up on laundry. Hopefully Maddie won't be too much of a beast getting up on Monday morning, but I won't worry about that until Monday morning.

Let the Madness Begin- Oh Wait, That is Every Day

So today is the start of March Madness- it also happens to be parent teacher conferences and so Chad has to be at school until about 9pm tonight (haha). So we have all filled out our brackets, Maddie's is quite a long shot and so is grandma's, but you never know.

Maddie likes to fill out her's by what mascot she likes better- here is her Final Four:
Robert Morris
CSU Northridge
Xavier
Michigan

Grandma also had quite a method to her picking to- top team, bottom team, middle team- here is her Final Four:
Louisville
Washington
Texas
Akron

Besides the beginning of March Madness, the every day madness is going strong here. Emma has been getting into a lot of sneakiness lately. She likes to draw on everything and I mean everything, including herself.Here she is in the bath after giving herself a mustache and beard with the purple marker.

She does have her good points too here she is reading to her "babies" in the rocking chair and making sure they are nice and warm.
She also really loves her cousin Nolan. Nolan was visiting us again while Mike was in town for the robotics competition. He stayed with us on Wednesday and then Jana came on Thursday. Emma wanted some good drinking time with her cousin so she joined him in his pack and play.


We have been enjoying the nice weather this week. I am sure that since baseball starts next week it will be cold and rainy for the better part of the week. Spring break is next week for Chad and Maddie. Chad as I said has baseball tryouts. Both of his other coaches aren't teachers, so they don't have practice until 3 everyday. I don't know how much stuff we will get to do- or maybe I should say I don't know how much Chad will get to do with us. Tuesday it was 70 degrees, so the girls and I walked down to the park to play. They were just having the best time being outside and running around.



Here is Maddie just showing off for the camera. Notice all the dirt on her face. I am pretty sure that dirt just jumps up on her face the minute we walk outside.

Today I go for my second week of Non-stress testing. Monday it wasn't as bad as last week with the number of phone calls being made to let people know of their STD. I am thinking that I would rather go to the hospital on Mondays also because at the office this is not a normal thing, so they aren't as efficient as they are at the hospital. I will check on their schedule when I go today to see if I can just go there on Mondays and Thursdays.

Maddie is back to loving school- we had about 2 weeks where she didn't want anything to do with school. It was like a switch being turned on and then off two weeks later. Chad has been able to take her a couple of times and I think he will tomorrow too.

I am sure that this weekend will be filled with basketball and the last of the grade school baseball clinic for Chad. We are all looking forward to Brewers baseball starting. Maddie asks about every day when it is going to start- she knows that she has to wait a few more weeks, but that it is getting close.

Well let's see where the Madness takes us this year. As always I am pulling for Duke, but that is just my heart talking. I know that it is a long shot, but what do you have to look forward to if you can't really get into it, right??

We are still at a lose for baby names, but have been polling people- so tell us your opinion about some of the choices we have made:
Olivia
Claire/Clara (not sure which one)
Lillian (Lilly)