Shedd Aquarium

We are here and Emma is excited.

First Taxi Ride

Emma is taking the taxi in. She seems overwhelmed that we just jumped in a car and a stranger drove us.

Daddy/Daughter Day...in Chicago

Emma and I are spending the day in Chicago. Big stops are the American Girl store and Shedd Aquarium. Emma keeps asking to go to Wrigley Field. When I tell her the Cubs aren't playing, she asks about the Bears.

We are having a lot of fun.

Great Christmas

Thank you to all who helped us celebrate Christmas. We really enjoyed it.

Sleeping on Christmas Eve

We told Emma she needed to leave Noni's house and get to sleep so Santa will come.

9:13 pull out of Noni's
9:14 Emma is sleeping

Meet Crinkle

This is a picture of the elf on the shelf we have just received. Emma named him Crinkle. We read the story of the elf and what he does. He sits on the shelf watching you all day. When you sleep, he goes back to Santa and rats on you. When you wake up, you will find this guy has moved to another spot in the house to get another view of spying on you. As the story goes, if a child touches him, he could lose his magic. It makes it sound like he will die, but they do not come out and say it. Needless to say that after reading the story of the elf on the shelf, Emma quickly made her way to the stairs to cry asking me to throw him away. After a while, I was finally able to convince her that Crinkle will tell Santa all the good things she does as well. Emma is now use to him and says she loves him.

The Girls

Emma with Noni, Emily and Hannah.

Santa

Emma has made it a point to sit on Santa's lap at every chance. This
is her third time. I think he's got the point.

New Evelyn Pics

Santa's Message to Emma

You can click here to watch a message that Santa made for Emma.

Truffle Time

Emma is eating a truffle and getting it everywhere.

Christmas Baby

Evelyn has no idea Christmas is coming. But that does not stop us from shoving her in as many Christmas poses as possible. Enjoy.

A Tale of Three Photos

Good

Better

Best

My Toot

While playing tonight, Emma spread out on the floor and ripped a very loud toot. Emma then said, "There you go Daddy. That is the perfect toot for you."

Good thing Emma did not see the faces of Kelley and me because we were having a hard time holding back laughter.

Photoshop

I'm trying to teach myself Photoshop. This is my first cut and paste attempt. Brother in-laws should now be afraid of where their photo will show up.

Happy Baby

Evelyn is still doing well and is a very good baby.

First Bath

Evelyn had her first bath. She liked it and was warm and cozy
afterwards.

Happy Baby

Evelyn has been a happy baby today.

Big Papa

Big Papa stopped by to see Evelyn for the first time. He was suddenly the most popular person in the world. Kelley went to help Evelyn and I got Emma's lunch ready. Emma and our dog Lucy were all over him.

Our Morning

My Girls

Concentrated Sleeping

Sleepy Baby

Evelyn slept for five and a half straight hours last night. So far, all is going well.

Evelyn is Born

Evelyn Meets Mommy

Evelyn Meets Emma

Evelyn Marie DeBaene. 8lbs, 21.2". She is doing well and so is mom.
I'll send more pics soon.

Baby Update

We are at Iowa City going through labor for our second child. Here is a current update...

10:20 water broke. 5cm
12:30 9cm
1:00 epidural given just in time

Kelley is resting well right now. So far, the process has been good. If anyone is thinking about seeing us in Iowa City, please do not. Due to the flu, only siblings and grandparents are allowed to visit.

Spider-Emma

Captain Emma

Emma's First Dentist Appointment

Kelley just sent me a text with this imagine. Emma is having her first dentist appointment today. We've heard horror stories of scared kids once the tools enter their mouths. Emma is laying there happy as a clam. I'm really proud of her. She did the same thing with stitches. She is a tough cookie.

Superhero Butterfly

Emma decided to go as a superhero butterfly for Halloween. It was a cute outfit but several people couldn't figure it out. To Emma, it made perfect sense.

Kelley's Doctor Appointment

We took Emma with to the doctor appointment today. Emma got into anything she could.

Our Little Skeleton

Emma loves her new pajamas...and yes, they glow in the dark.

Open House

Hard to believe it, but last night we attended Emma's first open house to see her classroom and meet her teachers. Emma's preschool teachers said she was doing very well and playing with others (good thing for Emma or should would have been in some trouble). We got to see some of Emma's artwork and even got to meet one of Emma's best friends at school, London. Emma talks about London a lot and we were anxious to meet her. London was a very nice little girl and her parents seemed very nice as well. Turns out that London goes home and talks about Emma just as much.

Emma loves preschool and has no problem leaving us for school. We're proud of her and enjoy hearing what she learns.

Keith Van Horne

We got to meet former Bear Keith Van Horne before the game.

Bears!!!

We are tailgating for the Bears vs. Lions game. We found rooftop tailgating. Very cool.

Update...We're Stil Here

Sorry we have not been updating our blog in a while. It has been a very busy month. To begin with, I started back to work. The start of the school year has gone well and we are now back in full swing. It was nice to get to normal full days instead of the short, odd start of the school days during the first week.

Emma has started preschool and loves it. She has no problem leaving her mom to go to school. Emma has already found friends and talks about them when she gets home. Although she cannot remember the names of most of her friends, she can tell you what they are wearing. Emma has also just taken up her dance classes. They work on ballet and tap. Same as preschool, Emma loves it and runs to the instructor.

Kelley is doing well in her third trimester. We are getting ready for the new baby. Emma's new room is painted, her bedding is purchased, and carpets are cleaned. Now we are in the process of moving furniture around.

Hopefully things will slow down soon and I can send you more posts and photos. Take care.

Hole in 2!

We took Emma mini golfing tonight. She did it one other time and had a lot of fun. When we pulled up to the course, Emma said she wanted to try this time. We laughed and told her this time we will tell her how to hit the ball. On the 4th hole, Emma got the ball in the hole in 2
shots by herself!

Pumpkin Porter

I'm brewing a pumpkin porter in time for the fall. By far the darkest beer I've brewed. It really smelled like pumpkin pie...and unrefined beer.

Post Race Crash Part 2

I have a feeling I'll do the same thing after running the Bix.

Post Race Crash

Emma is very tired after the race. She wants to sleep at the restaurant.

Jr. Bix

After running the last race, Emma wanted to run another. She just ran the Jr. Bix and loved the hot dogs and popsicles afterwards.

Our New Tractor

After fighting our old tractor since moving to our home, it finally died. We got our new tractor and can finally mow the lawn without breaking to fix it.

More Race Video

I've posted a couple more race videos to our YouTube channel. You can access our YouTube channel by going to http://www.youtube.com/wiu992000.

To see Emma with her friends before the race, click here.

To see Emma running the race, click here.

Emma's Race

Emma ran her first race today and did a great job. She ran with her two friends named Nate and Nile. Once she got done running her race (about two blocks of running), she wanted to hop in the race with the next age group. Emma got a race t-shirt and a medal.

Kelly participated and did the one mile walk with Lucy. I did the 5K and was happy running it in under 28 minutes. But, Emma was the only one to get a medal...what a superstar.

You can check out Emma's post race comments at our YouTube Channel by clicking here.

Fishing

Tonight was the first night of the summer that we were able to go fishing. The bulk of my time was spent fixing fishing lines, but we still had a great time.

It's a Girl!

Kelley and I found out that we are having a girl. Both mom and baby are doing well. The due date is still November 19th.

Sugar + Emma = Crazy

After letting Emma eat some ice cream and some candy today, she is now running around the house yelling. Check this out.

Emma's Treat

Today I took Emma to Largomarchino's for an ice cream sundae. Needless to say, she loved it.

Snoqualmie Falls

This morning we are at the falls. It is spectacular. The ride here was beautiful.

Safeco

After hitting local baseball bars, we are now at Safeco. 20 rows up 3rd base. Beautiful seats. Griffey just walked and Kelley is eating a combination of cheddar and carmel popcorn. Life is good.

Pyramid Brewing Company

We are drinking beer at the Pyramid Brewing Co. beer garden before the day. Kelley reminded us we sucked when she saw IPA on tap.

The Pike Brewery

We are at our first Seattle brewery, The Pike. Excellent beer and they have an ale on cask.

Off to Seattle

Kelley and I are continuing our ballpark tour this summer by going to Seattle. We are waiting in the Moline airport right now. Going through security I was randomly pulled for further searching. Then, my shoes were pulled for further inspection. I'm just glad they skipped the
cavity search.