Curt and Amy's annual BBQ

This picture was supposed to go at the end... but kept popping up at the beginning...The LEFT OVERS!!! We visited Amy a couple days later to help her finish off all her delicious food!
My tree-hugging daughter, entertaining herself

Charlie has your phone, Curt!

YUMMY!!

Our Mr. Host... Curt

Mrs. host... Amy (on the left)!

CHLOE: Can I have something for desert?
CHARLIE: I want dirt, too!
MOMMY TO CHARLIE: You want dirt?!?
CHARLIE: Yea!

Charlie's new summer 'do'

Fantastic time in Chi-town

Off to Chicago... Grandma came in town on Saturday (despite crappy flights). We visited over Super Smokers BBQ and turned in early. We were on the road by 6:30 Sunday morning! JUST US GIRLS!As soon as we got to Chicago, we visited the Science Museum. Our favorite exhibit were the baby chicks.

This chickie is about 1 hour old
downtown Chicago

This is where we stayed
The Whitehall

American girl doll brunch, soooo cute!

Chloe had her face painted at the aquarium

We went to Navy Pier Tuesday morning. It was so foggy, you couldn't see much. by lunch, the fog had lifted and we enjoyed lunch overlooking the water.

Chloe loved the beach. She insisted the water was warm... she and I have very different ideas on the definition of warm.

Best pizza in Chicago! http://http//www.pizanoschicago.com/

Unfortunately, our trip had to come to an end :(

But can someone settle our dispute?

... is it pronounced Ch(eye)-town or Cheeee- town?

Field day fun

Chloe and her BFFs. The sky threatened rain all morning, but held off just so our kids could play outside! Summer has officially arrived at our house. Bring on baseball, fireflies, BBQs and swimming!

Back to my own bed!

On Tuesday morning, Charlie started with a nasty cough and was wheezing. I got out the 'ol nebulizer and gave him a couple treatments. He never really cleared up, and in fact got worse as the day went on. By the afternoon, he was really breathing hard so we visited the pediatrician office. I have to give a shout out to the PNPs at the office, Lisa and Nancy- we love you guys! Charlie really sounded junkie when we got there and she put a pulse ox on him. His o2 sats were not acceptable, so she gave him another breathing treatment. His sats never really got above 90, so she sent us to the ER. As you can see in the picture below, he was not his usual, happy self. But, after a couple days of oxygen therapy, frequent breathing treatments, steroids and antibiotics, the 'normal' Charlie was returning. Our nurses, respiratory therapists and of course, recreational therapists at St. John's made our stay very tolerable.
and Chloe gave the cafeteria 2 thumbs up!

My Old Kentucky Home Party

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Charlie's new phrase...

"WATCH THIS!"

Uh oh... usually accompanies something dangerous that he shouldn't be doing.

Busy weekend!

It's time for April Showers... for the Girl Scouts! This weekend, they distributed bags to be filled with personal care supplies. The bags will be collected next weekend. Thank you for your support!

Dinner at Incredible Pizza

and perfect weather for soccer games!

HAAPY EASTER

Chloe: Hey mom, ask me some questions
Mom: okay, what is the capitol of Missouri?
Chloe: um, 'M'?
Mom: well... yes... I guess it is!

Chloe's birthday

For Chloe's 7th birthday (yes, 7) she decided to have a slumber party with her 2 BFFs. They had PaPa John's pizza...
Brownies and ice cream (Chloe has decided that she doesn't like cake... I guess I need to get a DNA test to make sure she is mine)

and opened presents... This was the one thing that she has been asking for since her last b-day. The skin tone turned out to be a little darker than it looked online, but Chloe is happy.

For spring break this year, we decided to stay home and paint. Chloe's room was first:

BEFORE

AFTER

...next we tackle the bathrooms.

American Girl Fashion Show

Enough potty talk!

MOMMY: Charlie, did you poo-poo?

CHARLIE: Daddy did it!

MOMMY: Daddy poo-pooed in your diaper?

CHARLIE: (very matter of factly) Yes!

Charlie has recently been telling us when he has a dirty diaper. Unfortunately, he tells us after the fact. Nevertheless, we thought we would see how he did with a potty chair. Well, he loves to use it as a Barcalounger. He did not appreciate us attempting to make him relieve himself on it, however.
Lastly... A happy belated Valentine's day. hope you enjoyed it with your sweetie!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ST. DREW AND NEW ORLEANS

football, football FOOTBALL!
The kids' eye-black stayed on only a few minutes after this picture was taken
JacobBass
Ally Bass
Nachtrab boys
Jill, Jill, Mel, Michelle and Lori
We had a total of 6 entries for the chili competition.

But in the end, JNach was victorious, with Curt and Amy coming in a very close second.

This morning we awoke to nearly 4 inches of snow. Everyone is home today!

Happy Groundhog's day!

Evil little rodent. He predicts that we will have 6 more weeks of winter. I am tired of the cold and am ready for heat and humidity.

Charlie and I celebrated the day by first going to the pediatrician for his 2 year old well check. After a clean bill of health and a booster H1N1 vaccine, we decided to help the economy at the mall. Found lots of good bargains (and a few splurges). Had a good time, but now it is back to laundry, dishes and gathering trash :(