Keeping busy...

August...you are approaching much too quickly.  Your uncomfortable closeness has sent me into a tizzy of emotions and frantically trying to get the most out of every single day that remains in this fantastic summer vacation.  Never before have I fantasized so much about the delights of being a "stay at home" mother.  The endless days spent watching my Vinnie and future little ones grow.  Alas, there are bills to be paid, and more importantly, young adults that need to be guided into adulthood.  For now, I have three months to get a taste of the good life, and I plan to get every last drop out of those three months!  So...Vinnie has been buckled into that carseat and we have taken to the road, seeking out adventures!  Enjoy as we recap...

Blueberry Picking...

This may be my favorite activity of the summertime.  Blueberries are a Vinnie favorite (although he is not quite sure what to call them) and he enjoyed every last minute of our picking by devouring berry after berry right off the bush.  In the midst of reminding Vinnie to put his berries in the bucket, and making sure the berries he was eating weren't coming off the ground, we managed to pick just over two pounds of the delicious fruit.  I have yet to figure out the best way to enjoy them...muffins or other sweet treats, or freezing them and saving them for winter.  Upon returning home, we read a classic, "Blueberries for Sal" and giggled at the similarities between our sweet Vinnie and little Sal in the book!

Birthday Fun...

Birthdays are special days and to make Vinnie's 2nd birthday extra special we traveled to the Quad Cities to visit the Naibi Zoo.  While this was no where near the Omaha Zoo fun we experienced in March, it provided its own adventures, including pony rides.  After two years of cowboy hats and boots and rides on Pepe, our little cowboy finally got to ride a real horse.  And boy did he love it!  We also enjoyed new animals including elephants and a bald eagle before a picnic lunch by the Mississippi River.  Squeezing in a nap on the ride home, Vinnie was able to open his presents in the early afternoon before enjoying burgers, corn and fruit pizza for dinner!

We are also just wrapping up a weekend of visitors and the fun that brings.  Yesterday morning, we bundled up to enjoy the sliver of fall weather in July and traveled to our NewBo City Market where we feasted on breakfast delights and enjoyed the sunshine and breeze.  Yesterday evening we showed Grandma Jeanne and Papa Pat what Kernels baseball is all about and even got to enjoy fireworks at the end of the game.  We are so blessed to have wonderful family who are willing to travel 5 hours through construction and wind to spend time with us in CR!  You are all too kind! 

In the week ahead, more days of summertime business...and we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

TWO Years!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Vinnie!  Jon and I were talking today, if you want time to fly...have kids!  We just cannot believe how quickly the last two years have passed.  And we have loved every moment!  To celebrate Vinnie's birthday we traveled to the Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities and enjoyed lunch by the Mississippi River.  This was the THIRD zoo Vinnie has visited in the last year, and he enjoyed all the animals.  We even saw some animals for the first time...like elephants and a bald eagle!  We head to the doctor tomorrow for Vinnie's 2 year well visit...I'm anxious to see how much he has grown!  Surprisingly it has been quite a while since we visited the doctors office...and we are happy to be returning healthy and well! 

We will travel to Minnesota next weekend to celebrate Vinnie's birthday with family and friends in a joint party with Vinnie's birthday buddy Olivia.  We will post a slew of pictures after that.  But...to hold you over until then, I am including the second annual Birthday Video for Vinnie below.  Thanks to some professional development, I have gotten pretty savvy at iMovie over the last year, and have even managed to include some video from Vinnie's second year of life...including his first steps!

Thank you to every friend and family who has made our transition to parenthood smooth and enjoyable.  We all feel so blessed to have such supportive people around us who love us and are willing to travel to be a part of Vinnie's life.

Enjoy... (click on the link below)


Vinnie's 2nd Year

"Hoppy Dah 'Merca"

This is how Vinnie wishes the United States of America a very happy birthday..."Hoppy Dah 'Merca!"  And a very Hoppy Dah it was!  We started our morning in Mount Vernon in search of the best deal and the most unique Antiques.  We didn't find much, but the few things we found we're pretty excited about!  We returned home just in time for lunch.  After lunch Vinnie napped and mom and dad enjoyed the sunshine while playing a few games of Cribbage on the deck.  Our eventful evening was spent at the ballpark where we took in a Kernels win, made our way on the big screen, ran the bases and played catch in the outfield, and enjoyed the fireworks.  Whew!  Vinnie is still trying to catch up from all the excitement!  Happy Birthday America!

On the Big Screen at the Kernels Game...

First fireworks adventure...by the looks of this I was worried...moments later he was smiling!

Mom and Vinnie

Driving Mr. Vinnie

Well...it can be done.  One 5 hour drive to Minnesota, one toddler, one mama, and one VERY hot car.  I feel like I have crossed this line from mom to super mom, just by making that trip alone.  Now, I know there are moms out there who tackle a whole lot on their own every day and probably wouldn't break a sweat over such an adventure...but for me it was one MAJOR accomplishment!  I do have to give some credit to the beloved iPad for smoothing things over just as they started to get hairy.

On top of accomplishing a rather daunting drive, what made the trip all worthwhile was the time Vinnie got to spend with Ella and Olivia.  Staying at Meghan's, Vinnie got to see his cousins first thing when he woke up and last thing before he went to bed each night.  Together they enjoyed coloring, books, music in the park, happy meals, popsicles, the sandbox, splashing in the pool, and time with Grandma and Papa.  And I enjoyed sitting back and watching it all! :)

Olivia and Vinnie painting with Water...a favorite activity!

Movie time with Grandma and Papa

Walking to the park with Ella.

Vinnie continues to deepen his love (or obsession) with Baseball...or "b-ball" as it is referred to in our house.  During a recent visit in Cedar Rapids with Grandma Barb, Vinnie attended his 6th Cedar Rapids Kernels game.  While most people would not dream of bringing an almost two year old to more than a few innings of a game, our little man, contently watches the game, most times with his glove in hand ready for the next fly ball.  His most recent favorite past time is batting practice where he lines up in his batters stance and swings at every ball you throw his way.  I can't even begin to tell you how much time has been spent in this game.  Jon made a comment the other night, that he never thought he would be irritated by having a son THIS obsessed with sports.  Its not that we don't love it, its just that we'd love a break... :)  It could be worse...much worse.  For now we will continue to toss pitches his way.  Maybe one day it will "pay" off!

Now we are taking in every moment of summer before it slips away.  Two weeks ago, the new school year started creeping in with school supplies at Target and back to school ads on TV.  I may even make my first trip up to school this next week.  Hello again, nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach...  Its not that I don't like my job, its just that I absolutely love and adore my little Vinnie and all the time I get to spend and adventures I get to have with him over the summer.  And this summer has been truly amazing!  From trips out west and up north, to music class and story time, Vinnie has been so eager to try everything and the perfect companion every day!  (Big Sigh)...It had to come to an end at some point...we will just have to live it up while it lasts! :)

...Before I wrap this up I have to give a big Birthday shout out to our little niece Olivia Grace Gibas.  Today she turns two!  One week older than Vinnie (to the hour), she has paved the way with her spunk and fearlessness.  We can't wait to watch the two of them grow up together and get the biggest kick out of her every move!

Stay cool!

Life goes on...

The Keimig family is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after our week long vacation.  At first I just thought we were recovering from the long drive through the night, or perhaps it was that our bodies had not adjusted to leaving Mountain time.  Since vacation, Vinnie sleeps almost 12 hours each night and takes a 2-3 hour nap each day.  I wish he did that during the school year!  Today, I had to force myself to get up and start my day at a reasonable time.  I set my alarm, got up and ran (which was brutal by the way), and decided to come down and blog.  If I had not set my alarm...I am sure I would still be sleeping.  As wonderful as our vacation was, life must  go on, and it must be back to reality.  Briefly anyways...before the 4th of July holiday hits!  And boy do we have some great plans for the 4th.  Which I'm sure I will share in days to come.

I realized that in the excitement of sharing our family vacation, Vinnie's summer swimming lessons got lost.  We must share about Vinnie's swimming lessons!  It was his second year as a puddle jumper.  We were excited about giving it another go this year, as he is actually walking and able to do more on his own.  Again, our main goal was to acquaint him and get him comfortable with the water and swimming.  It took him a little while to warm up to it (our cool June weather didn't help the cause) but by the second week he was squealing and laughing and having a great time.  I'm not sure now what we will do next summer...but I know he is well on his way to being a little fish and swimming in his Grandparents pool!

Vinnie also enjoyed his first Icee Pop this past week.  Nothing screams a hot summer day like an Icee Pop.  He needed a little help figuring out exactly how to eat it, and towards the end he decided it was much easier if he had dad do it for him...but he enjoyed it nonetheless!

We will be sticking around here for the upcoming holiday.  Tonight they are playing the Sandlot at our local ball park, so we will give that a try.  On the 4th we are heading out to our old stopping ground in Mt. Vernon to find some great Antique deals at the annual Old Lincoln Hwy Antique festival, then its Kernels baseball and fireworks in the evening.  Here is Vinnie's 4th of July shirt that he made (with a little help from mom).  That Pinte
rest...so many great ideas!!! 

Next week, I am attempting to brave the 5 hour drive to Minnesota by myself with my little toddler for some much needed cousin time!  I am aiming to leave around nap time...but say your prayers.  We survived the treck to Colorado, we can handle this right?!?


Happy 4th!