Swinging!

Eli's big enough to swing now too!
He thinks it's pretty cool :)
Grace and Eli swinging together...
So sweet!
Our big two year old!
Getting sand out of shoes...

(Happy Baptism Birthday Gracie! :)

5th Anniversary

Five years ago...

I had fun looking through all our old wedding photos today...

Remember these?

The guys...

The gals...

Our adorable little flower girl, godchild, and niece...

Can't believe how tiny she was!

The "Just Married" sign and Mountain Dew cans being pulled by the wagon...was a cute little surprise at the end...

One of my favorite pictures of us from that day...

Awesome dancing at the reception...

Surprise serenade and synchronized dance by the guys...

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day...

(Thanks for bearing with me as I reminisced about our wedding day! :)

7 Months!

Our baby boy is already 7 month old!

He's grabbing everything in sight...

Eats cereal, fruits, veggies, and puffs now too...

Has become a pro at sitting...

Is fascinated by his big sister...

Loves splashing in the water..

His favorite toys are Grace's musical puppy and his little toy piano...

He puts everything he can get a hold of in his mouth...

Has his two bottom teeth...

Rolls over and prefers to sleep on his belly...

Sleeps a solid 7-8 hrs. during the night... (I love my sleep...so this makes me very very happy! :)
Takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap...

He's very mellow and easy going...just like his big sister...

So thankful for our happy and healthy little boy!

A Day with Cousins

We started our fun-filled day with Auntie Kim and Cousins Carson and Ryan with a picnic and playtime at the park!

Carson finding creative ways to swing!

Peek-a-Boo!

Kim and the boys...

Carson and Eli!
Walking hand in hand to the car...

(Ryan didn't so much like that idea though... :)

Heritage Days Parade

The kiddos and I headed to my hometown to see their Heritage Days Parade. Wish Daddy could have made it too...but he had a busy busy weekend!

My family went to this parade every year while growing up!

It was fun to take Grace! (And Eli too! :)

Cousin Carson watching as the parade started...

Ryan covering his ears from the loud sirens!

Watching for his daddy to come by in the firetruck too! (He's a volunteer firefighter...)

Here come the firetrucks!

Flags...

Eli enjoyed his first parade too!

Lots of smiles from our little guy! :)
Giant Turkey!
Grace watching closely...
Crazy Clowns...


Dog Catcher...

Auntie Kim and Uncle Chad...

Trying New Things

Eli tried puffs for the first time today!

He mostly got them everywhere...but his mouth...

but once he got the hang of it...he loved them! :)

He has a sippy cup now too!

(But, mostly just uses that as a chew toy :)

Lovin' Summer!

We go outside to play as often as we can... Whether it's playing at the park, in the backyard, or going for walks...we love it!

Eli sitting and playing with his toys... Running through the sprinkler...

(Next summer...they'll both be running! Yikes! :)

Almost got a smile!

Helwig Wedding Weekend!

This weekend we traveled to Indiana to attend our dear friend Bethany's wedding!

I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in her wedding...
Bethany and I were classmates at Concordia together and also had the wonderful opportunity of living in the same town while on our vicarage in Indiana!

The wedding was in a small country church just outside of the town we lived in during our vicarage. We were able to see some of the wonderful people we knew and loved while on vicarage. We were able to spend time with Concordia friends too!

Shortly after we moved away after our vicarage year, Bethany met the man of her dreams...Matt! :)

Here's Bethany! The absolutely stunning bride... :)

Getting ready for her BIG day!

BEAUTIFUL!
Such a little stinker! :)

Sisters...
The blushing bride...

Bethany and Matt!

...so in love. :)

More pics of the beautiful bride!

Congratulations

Mr. & Mrs. Helwig! :)

The Reception

The toast...

First dance as Mr. & Mrs.

Our little family... :)

Bouquet toss...

Matt searching for the garter...

A Buchinger family/German tradition??

The bride and groom were lifted in the air...

All while chanting a German song...
Grace watching in awe... :)
The happy couple were brought down to the ground...
And lifted up once again...
Sporting lovely hats tied with pacifiers... :)

Dancin' with Daddy!

She loved it!

Dancin' Away...

Here's Grace trying to do a somersault... (No idea where she learned that from and it was the first time we've ever seen her try to do one! :)

Concordia Girls

(Eli too! :)

These two were worn out by the end of the night!

But I still managed to get a smile from Dave... :)