One Week Old

Avery is one week old today and is doing very well. She is a very happy baby. Her two older brothers are doing quite well too.

Here are some more photos:

Avery Elise

Mom and Sam

Avery, pretty in pink

Cousin Kaiden and Charlie

Avery Elise--with official birth information

Avery Elise Fitzgerald: TheNewest Family Member Has Arrived

She arrived early the morning of September 23, 2010, on her big brother, Charlie's 4th birthday. Of course she is adorable, and perfect in every way. More to come! The big brothers have met her and Charlie wanted to hold her. Sam didn't know what to think.

Sam is One--The Cake and Blowing out the Candle

Sam had his first birthday party on Saturday. Family gathered for the usual birthday party activities: eating, opening presents, the cake ceremony and just general fun and chaos. :)






Waiting for the candle blowing ceremony
and the CAKE!




The big cake was a Cubs theme. The special cake for the birthday boy had lots of fun colors on it. Charlie helped Sam with the candle blowing part. Sam did his own thing with the little cake.

Spring!

Happy Easter Week-end! April has arrived in Iowa with some nice sunshine and warmer temperatures--one day it hovered around 80. That was too warm. I like the in-between temps--60-low 70's. It should be a delightful Easter Sunday for spending time with family. What are your plans for the day?

Michelle and her Aunt Brenda are in St. Thomas and will be returning to reality tomorrow. Sarah, Michael, Kristi, Kalub and us--the parents/grandparents will meet at the sunrise service and then have breakfast at church to help support the youth group activities. Then, later in the afternoon, we will get together with Nancy, the girls (Emily and Kirsten), Nikki, Matt, Charlie, Sam, Sarah, at the House and grill with Michael, Kristi, and Kalub. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and we can have some play time outside.

The next time we get together will be for Sam's birthday  which is on August 16. He will be a year old--hard to believe. And he is walking around like he has done it all his life. He is so quick too. You should see him go up stairs! He is a very happy child. Charlie and Sam were over last night while Mom and Dad took some time together and did some things to get ready for the Easter bunny. Both boys had a great time and were constantly showing us how "smart" they are with the things they can do. At least Grandpa and Grandma think they are very smart. Kalub is also right up there with all the things he knows and can do too. I can't wait to see him tomorrow. Kalub came over last week and we dyed some Easter eggs--something this Grandma loves to do and would probably do even if there were no grandchildren as an excuse for it. One of these days I will get some more pictures of the boys posted.

I have been busy with little projects. I am making 30 cloth napkins and some cloth treat bags for a friend who is having a 90th birthday party for her mother. The party is this summer, but I have to get started on it now. Of course I always have pillowcase dresses to make. Does anyone have any more pillowcases to donate to me??? Please???? I need them desperately.

Have a hoppy, Easter!

March Has Arrived

I think we have turned the corner--weather wise that is. Although, you can never tell--it is Iowa after all. The Girl's State Basketball tournament just finished and typically we have bad weather during that tournament, but NOT this year. We got some light rain yesterday which helped to melt some of the snow. We still have about 12 or so more inches to melt. Now everything is just dirty looking and messy!

It is birthday week-end for the Miller girls. Emily turned 10 last Wednesday and Kirsten turned 10 on Saturday. We are having a little family get-together this afternoon. They got to have a "friend" party last week-end.

The Dress a Girl Around the World is exploding! There are lots of wonderful people sewing dresses all over the country. It is very exciting. A group is currently in India and they have distributed dresses there as well. You can read about their experiences on the Dress a Girl Around the World website at:
http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/
They have charmed snakes and ridden on elephants. Some of their stories are heartbreaking.

Have a good week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Once again it is snowing here. It is very pretty, coming down softly and silently, but we have had enough! How will you be spending this Valentine's Day? Watching the Winter Olympics? Shovleing snow? Taking your sweetie out for dinner? We haven't made any specific plans.

I am excited about the sewing possibilities of using T-shirts and men's dress shirts to make dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World. Check out the web site for Dress a Girl Around the World-Lake Charles, IA. The dresses are very cute! It adds more possibilities when we run out of donated pillowcases. The sleeves could be used for belts, headbands, extra pockets on the dresses, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Maybe I will spend the day sewing. Hmmmm.

The grandsons are still a major focus in my life. I love seeing them, being with them, playing with them. And now there is going to be another grandchild. Yes--you read that correctly. Nikki and Matt will add one more to their crew of Charlie and Sam. This baby is due in the middle of September, just a few days before Charlie's fourth birthday. How exciting! Sam will be 10 months old this Tuesday. He is so adorable, very active and eager to walk. He is walking around the furniture and is curious about everything. Charlie's reaction to the news of another baby was great--he doesn't want to talk about a sister though--wants another brother. Kalub will love having another cousin to play with. He likes being with his cousins. He sent us the cutest postcard valentine. We got it in the mail yesterday--just in time for Valentine's Day. It made my day!

Gotta go get busy on my sewing.
Have a great sweetheart day!

Happy New Year!

The new year is upon us--day 3 that is. I didn't make any specific new year's resolutions--that way I can't break any of them. I do have a lot I want to do this year, but I always have a lot I want to do. We spent New Year's Eve at home. My brother and his wife joined us. So did Nikki, Matt and sons, Sarah and Tyler and Nancy and the girls. We ate, played cards and just spent time together. It was pretty quiet. Sam and Charlie spent the night with us so their parents could go spend time with some friends. Sarah left early too. In fact, our party was over by 11:00 p.m. No hangovers for us.

I have been catching up on some of my knitting. It is too cold to go out and do anything, so sitting at home with my knitting is very nice. I finished some socks and am working on the second sock of another pair I started a while ago.

Tomorrow it is back to work--I dread the walk from my car to my building. It is very cold and it isn't likely to warm up any time soon. You can bet I will dress for the weather--lots of layers too.

So, here is wishing you a

Happy New Year

with health, happiness,

and lots of family and friends

to surround you in

2010!