We're finally back... The posts continue

Dear friends,
Well, I offer my sincere apologies that it has been so long since there has been a blog post. With moving to our new home, we've had quite a bit going on. But now the computer is hooked up, the boxes have at least been relegated to the basement and its starting to feel like home. So now its time to catch up on posts. I'll be backdating some updates from July onward, so please go back and check for new posts that might seem old! :)

Thanks for your patience - and please drop us a line when you can...

Love,
Jarod, AnnCatherine, Elizabeth and Roamy

Our first dinner in the new dining room

We were so excited that AnnCatherine's Great Grandma Mary made the trip to Indianapolis from Kenosha to see our new home and spend time with our family. We had a great visit! It was the perfect occasion for the first meal in our new dining room, on Great Grandma's heirloom china, of course!

Blessing of the House

Well, now that we've been in our new house for a few weeks, we wanted to take advantage of the wonderful Catholic custom of house blessings. Our pastor, Fr. Tony, kindly agreed to come and bless our home and we had some of our Catholic friends and family over to celebrate with us. Fr. Tony said a few beautiful prayers and blessed a bowl of Holy Water. Each guest then walked through the house and made the Sign of the Cross on a part of each room with the Holy Water. What a wonderful way to start making new memories here! Thank you so much to all who joined us for the celebration...

A special treat...

Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dave said that a little girl needs a special treat after getting her ears pierced, so Elizabeth got to try her first popsicle. It was definitely a hit and made quite a mess. We had to finally take the stick away and just let her eat the icy part after it melted too far, but Libby didn't seem to mind too much. Looking at the picture, do you think she enjoyed it?

This Baby's Got Bling!

Being that she is AnnCatherine's daughter, jewelry is of course an important consideration for Elizabeth. So, since we love jewelry (and to reduce the number of people who think she is a boy even if she's wearing pink), we decided to have her ears pierced. We found a doctor in our network who would pierce them for us and - lickedy split - they were done. Elizabeth was a trooper! If she could talk, I'm sure she'd say it was easier than shots. So now her ears are ready to be accessorized! Diamond studs anyone? :)

SWING!!!

Thanks to Libby's cousin Connor, she has a spiffy swing in a tree outside our new house. While we have to wipe it down each time we use it since she loves to eat the front bar, it is great fun! Even our new neighbor friend Ellie comes over to push Elizabeth in her swing. Thanks, Connor! We love it...

My Grandpa's Car

We had heard it many times - kids don't need expensive toys to be happy. Well, we can guarantee that to be true. One of Elizabeth's true favorites stemmed from our recent move and her Grandpa Dave's ability to generate great noises. She seemed absolutely enamored by our empty boxes and Grandpa Dave started to play with her in it. This has now resulted in Elizabeth's "car". It is a copier box with a long string looped through it that Grandpa pulls her around the house in. Giggles abound!!! Of course it wouldn't be the same without the 'zoom zooms', screeching breaks and idling noises Grandpa Dave makes which would lead you to believe the 'car' needs new shocks. But - no matter if maintenance is needed - Elizabeth couldn't be happier in it.

Umm... pickles!

As we have crossed the 9 month mark, we are starting to share more and more 'big people' foods with Elizabeth. On the patio the other evening, she had her first pickle which we had to pry from her hands when it got too small to be safe. Of course they were Milwaukee's Midget dill pickles which are undoubtedly the best, but I think she has a new favorite.