First Tooth

Elsie got her first tooth while we were in Wisconsin. She is getting big too fast!
We had a great trip. We ate pizza, shopped, visited with cousins and grandparents. It was a wonderful time. I seriously love Joey's family.

Joey and Hayden met us in Dubuque on our way home. They spent the day in Dyersville checking out a John Deere tractor store. They went to see the Shot Tower in Dubuque and rode the trolly up the hill. They even ventured into Wisconsin to pick up some fireworks. They had a great time hanging out for the 4 days. They are 2 peas in a pod and have a lot of fun together.

Wisconsin

Tomorrow Elsie and I are headed to Wisconsin with Joey's mom to attend a bridal shower. We are staying for 4 days. I am looking forward to hanging out with his family and eating some yummy food. It will be nice to hang out with Joey's grandmas. Grandma Paricka hasn't met Elsie yet. She is looking forward to it.
Hopefully Elsie handles the long car ride well and loves the girl time she is going to get. :)

Joey and Hayden are going to hang out with Grandpa P for a while tomorrow. I am sure they will find something exciting to do while we are away.

Mastitis......

Ouch...ouch...very painful......ouch.....

Fun 4th

We had a great time at the farm for the 4th. We enjoyed great food and lots of activity. We swam, rode the gator, dirt bikes, 4 wheeler, horses, watched Faith and Noah in a parade, got massages, and fished. It was a blast!Joey had Monday and Tuesday off as well. He worked mainly on leveling the bathroom floor upstairs (nothing in this old house is level) so I can have a nice flat surface to lay some tile. Joey has to build the walls up in the bathroom and build in the shower. Then electrical. We will hire out the insulation and drywall. Maybe we will be finished by the end of the year?!?!? We are cramped but managing. Hayden and Elsie are sharing a room. We managed to get a bed, crib, and 2 dressers in his small room. Our basement is overflowing....the thing we need the most surprisingly enough is book storage. I am so excited to have tons of bookshelves in the upstairs. Oh and a new bedroom and bathroom as well. :)
Thursday we had a birthday party for Theo. Once Theo's hits every year I know that Hayden's is just around the corner. I can't believe he is going to be 4. Yikes. Tomorrow we have a baptism class for Elsie. Hayden is having his first ever hired babysitter at our house. It is long overdue and we have the perfect setup. Our neighbors from El Salvador have a daughter that is starting to babysit. She is going to help me out a couple of times a week also so I can run errands with just Elsie. I think Hayden will enjoy the break as well.

We have a rollover!

Elsie rolled over from her back to belly yesterday to get closer to me in bed...I thought it was a fluke because I thought I was providing momentum laying next to her. She proved today that she can do it. She did it once for me and once for Hayden. She gets on her side...kicks her leg like she is starting a motorcycle.....and flips her hip. Exciting!

We have been BUSY lately. This week seemed to fly by. We played with friends....went to the zoo.....played more with friends......had sports camp....and prepared for our holiday weekend away.

Today I got caught up on laundry and started my baking marathon for our trip to De Witt this weekend. I made 2 pans of scotcharoos, a double batch of oriental salad, a double batch of Jennie's potatoes, and a buster bar dessert thingy. We are looking forward to spending a couple of days at Joey's sisters house in the country. They have plenty to keep us busy and plan to attend a parade and fireworks (praying the weather holds out)

I have zoo pics to post, but need to find the camera. I will catch up after we return Monday. Joey has Monday and Tuesday off. Hope everyone has a great 4th!!!!

More.....

This pretty much sums up Hayden. Gun in one hand...broom in the other.

Matt and Michelle

Welcome Elsie Faye

Family of 4

Well......I am hoping my blogging sabbatical is over. It has been almost 5 months since we welcomed sweet Elsie Faye into our lives and I must say this past 5 months have flown by!!!!
So...I need to start blogging again because I am going to kick myself a year from now if I don't. Time flies and life flies by too quickly. I love looking back at my old posts...and am looking forward to continuing to chronicle our lives. Hopefully without another 6 month sabbatical. :)
Without further ado here is what has been happening:

• Elsie Faye arrived January 22 weighing in at 7lbs 9oz and 20 inches long.
• Hayden is a great big brother who lovingly refers to his sister as "sweet honey"
• Hayden is a big ball of energy who loves loves loves to test limits and boundaries
• He loves John Deere still
  
• Hayden also loves to watch videos on youtube of tractors, rockets, garbage trucks, snowplows, rc tractors, rc monster trucks
• Joey invented "something" at work and was awarded a trade secret. It has to do with lasers so Hayden and I lovingly refer to him as Dr. Evil. (Austin Powers) "laser" get it? :)
  
• We decided to gut our upstairs and transform it into a bedroom, bathroom, and small living area. It was quite the gut job. Thanks to Joe and John who helped with the demo.
• Our 3rd dumpster from upstairs was just picked up yesterday. We have the bathroom plumbed in and I am soo happy I figured out how to get a small shower in as well as reusing the old clawfoot tub.
  
• Joey has taught himself framing and is doing an amazing job. He moved a couple of knee-walls back, built a walk in linen closet, and built a walk in closet. His next task is to frame in a wall for the shower and build some bookshelves and built in shelves in the bathroom. Then electrical etc. We are hiring out the drywall and insulation.
  
• Joey went to AZ for 2 weeks over Easter. He worked on a project with the military in the desert by the Mexican border. They were training the military on corneal recognition machines they developed to ship to Afghanistan to be used at military checkpoints. He had to have armed guards with him the whole time because of the threat of bears and the are he was in is a high crossover point on the border and lots of drug/gang activity. He loved it. Only my husband. We managed very well while he was gone. It went by fast.
• Elsie Faye is growing and talking and eating well and playing and giggling (mostly at her brother) and smiling. She is such a joy.