Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Last Two Days

Here are just a few pictures that can tell the story of the last couple of days. Monday was a pretty normal day in our house. The girls and I hung out and got to play outside in the near 80 degrees. That evening I went to a Pampered Chef thing with Christa. It really wasn't a party. It was like a thank you to people who had hosted a party and you could bring guests with you. Since Christa had hosted a party she got an invitation and then asked if I wanted to go. So her and I went for a couple of hours and it was fun. Yesterday Chad had a baseball game, so we took him to school in the morning and then had a pretty normal day at home. We headed up to school at about 3:30 and got to play again, in the warm sun and weather. Hannah (one of the boys' sisters) loves to play with Maddie, so we always make sure we have a ball for them to play with. They had lots of fun playing and Emma just watched and crawled around them. Michael Heiden (Ben's brother) and his girlfriend (who actually graduated from CLHS) came to the game so we could hang out. They headed home during the game, but then came over after for some pizza at our place. Not too much going on the rest of the week. Chad has another tournament this weekend. The last one, so depending on how they do will determine when they play. Tomorrow they play at 10am, so today is really his last day of school for the week, because Friday is an in-service day. He has just next week of school and then spring break. No big plans for the break, but I think on Monday the 12th we are heading to Texas Lutheran for their baseball game because they are playing Concordia Seward. Here are those pictures. Enjoy!!

Note: if anyone has been trying to call us, our cell phones have been out of commission for whatever reason, so hopefully that will be resolved either later today or early tomorrow.


Here is Maddie doing what she does best- take off her clothes.(she is even getting the hang of taking off her shirt.) I have figured out that if she has shorts on, she leaves those on, but not pants.


Maddie playing with the ball at dad's baseball game


What Maddie took home from the baseball game. She didn't cry, just got back up and started playing again.



Emma just hanging out on the floor.



Trying to get close to the camera- most likely trying to eat it.



Another look at those skinned knees.




Emma pulling herself up- she can even do it one handed.


Emma watching Maddie and Hannah playing at the baseball game.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Four-Wheelers, Waco, A New Bike and Badminton

THE FOUR WHEELER



















So here is Maddie and "uncle" Phill on the four-wheeler at school. Friday and Saturday was a baseball tournament at school. They played their games on Friday and we were even home before 10pm. So Saturday morning we awoke to a steady rain and headed to school to check on the field. We got there and the field was doing pretty good. Chad, Phill, and Steve started to rake and turn over the dry dirt from underneath and that is when the big guy upstairs thought it would be funny to just let it down pour. It continued to pour on and off for awhile and so Chad decided to call the tournament for Saturday. While waiting to see what they were going to do, Maddie got to take a ride on the four-wheeler around the baseball field. I think she had more fun just sitting on it and listening to the engine rev. So with the baseball tournament canceled it was off to...

WACO
I don't have any pictures from Waco. Even if I would have taken any, the camera would have probably blown out of my hands. We (Chad, me, the girls, and Steve) headed up to Waco to wat
ch the boys soccer team in the state championship. The game was at 1:30, so we had to quickly get ourselves together and get ready to leave. We were on the road by 9:50, which was pretty good. The drive to Waco is about 3 hours. We grabbed lunch on the way, got to Baylor and got to the soccer field- it was the wrong one. Luckily the one we needed to be at was just a couple of blocks away. So we piled back into the car and got to the game as the National Anthem was ending. It was really windy. There were even a few times that Isaac and Maddie got blown over. So we spent the first half playing ball with Isaac. The soccer team ended up losing 4-0. The refs were consistent in their calls, mostly bad, but at least they were consistent. I don't think that the other team was a 4-0 better team than us, but it was fun anyways. We then got back into the car where both Maddie and Emma soon fell asleep. We got home, Steve stayed for dinner, watched the MSU game and then played some Phase 10.

A NEW BIKE
After church on Sunday we came home and cleaned up the backyard. I had been pulling bushes and such all last week. The most being the 7, yes 7, rose bushes I had to clip and dig up. So then after that we went to the mall to try to find some shoes for Maddie, no luck. We headed home- the girls of course fell asleep, so we stopped at Sonic for a Cherry Limeade. When we got home Chad got to put together his first bike. (note- see Chad's blog about it) So after Emma ate her dinner we all went outside in the driveway and Maddie got to test out her new bike. We ended up taking out every ball in the garage, the wagon, and anything else Maddie could find. Emma just sat and watched as Maddie was doing this all. I swear she was taking mental notes on how to make a complete mess of everything. We also have a driveway "net", if you call a volleyball net that. So one of the things she took out was the volleyball/badminton set we received as a wedding present.

BADMINTON




















Maddie just thought everything about badminton was just so funny. She would laugh every time the shuttlecock would fly in the air. She would laugh whenever she would try to hit it and miss. She would laugh when it would fall off her racket after one of us put it on. She was just having a fun time out there. It was a lot of fun to watch her.




















Then we started to play a game actually over the net and she couldn't decide what team she wanted to be on. She kept switching sides. She was trying to get the hang of it and was having fun at the same time.



















Meanwhile, Emma just took the opportunity to crawl all around. She decided to try to see what leaves taste like. I don't think she enjoyed them too much. She was giggling right along with Maddie when Maddie would start giggling.

So all in all, we had a really fun weekend, with some really nice weather. I heard that there was snow up in Milwaukee and other areas of the Midwest. It would have been just as fun if we could have gone sledding. But we wouldn't have gotten any of our yard work done.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007




































Here are just a few pictures of the girls from this week. The one of Emma is her pulling herself up. She has gotten up to her feet a few times, but that is a whole lot harder than just going to her knees. The first one of Maddie is with her first haircut. I had to cut her bangs since they were hanging in her eyes. Now she actually looks like a little person. She now has a hairstyle and her curls are back after taking a leave of absence while we were in Wisconsin. The bottom one of Maddie is at Chad's game last Saturday. She decided that she wanted to bat. This was after the game was over and she was going around picking up equipment and putting it on.

This week has been so nice out. Right now it is 80 degrees outside. The sun is totally out too. So that means that we have gotten outside everyday this week. I have even got some yard work done in the back too. Chad had a game last night. That's all I'll say about it. We didn't go, but I got the run down this morning before he left for school. This weekend is the Concordia Tournament. Each year it seems to get rained out on Saturday, so we will see if that is a trend that continues. There is only about a 30% chance of rain for Saturday. It is suppose to stay in the 70's for awhile. I have a feeling that our cold weather is behind us.

We have a couple of weeks until Spring Break. Since Jana and Mike aren't able to come down now, it looks like we will just be hanging out at home. Maybe that will give us a chance to get some things done around the house, especially the yard.

Now that baseball is here, it makes my life seem so boring. We spend a lot of time at home just playing. We have been going to the park more now that it is warmer and Maddie seems to love the swings even more than before. Maddie also loves to take off her clothes. It will be no more than about a half hour before she is pantless. She usually keeps her shirt on, but I think that is because it usually gets stuck on her head when she tries to take it off. She can put her pants back on all by herself, but prefers to keep them off. She will still be out daredevil and risk taker. You can already tell that between the two of them. We are hoping that Emma is getting another tooth, otherwise there needs to be an explanation of all the extra drool and crabbiness.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Doubleheader Today

That's right, not only is it the first game, but it is a doubleheader. The JV game is actually going on now and the varsity is playing two up in The Woodlands at 1 and 3. I am thinking that we will head up for the 3pm game. I figure if we leave at 3, that will be good. Nothing too exciting has gone on this week. Just a pretty plain week here. It has been cool, but is suppose to start warming up. I think that by the middle of next week we are suppose to be in the 70's. Emma and Maddie are doing great. Emma is crawling all over the place. She has figured out that she can do laps through the kitchen. She is getting a little more adventurous. She is pulling herself up to her knees and with help from someone to her feet. She is also starting to follow you around. When I go to change Maddie's diaper and come out of the room, Emma is usually in the hall waiting for us.

Maddie is starting to realize that Emma isn't breakable. They are starting to "play" together. Usually it is Emma trying to crawl on Maddie or take her nuk. Maddie is getting the hang of her sit and spin (thanks uncle Joel and Aunt Amy). She loves the music it makes. She still will use her foot to get herself going, but then can use her hands to keep her spinning.

With us, it is nothing too new. Baseball is taking up most of the time around here. We will have tournaments or games on Saturdays for the next three weekends. At least after that there are no more Saturday games, just the three each week. Chad was suppose to have off of school on Monday, but when the freezing weather hit and they had off for two days they need to make one of those days up. I have been doing some spring cleaning around here. I have been going through closets and drawers trying to get rid of stuff we don't use. I have a felling that our garage is going to become our storage area sooner than Chad would like. That is the update from here. We have visitors coming in three weeks- I'm hoping that it will be warm then and we can spend a lot of time outside.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY





Maddie wasn't into smiling for the camera that day





















Here are the girls in their opposite form, usually Emma is the serious one













Emma wasn't sure what was going on, but did enjoy having her picture taken




















I caught this one as they were both rolling away, it is one of my favorite of the two of them













I thought I would just throw this one in for confusion, here is Maddie's valentine from last year. It is amazing at how much they look alike.

Happy Birthday Ben

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Ben during the last 3 years. Of course there are a ton more, but I could fill up my whole blog with them all. We miss you lots and hope you have a great 3rd birthday. We love you.
















upper left: here is Ben about 2 months old
upper right: Ben is taking in the Brewers/Twins game up in Minnesota
left: in grandma and grandpa's backyard




























upper left: Ben in the bathtub(you always have to have a tub picture)
upper right: eating at grandma and grandpa's
left: just Ben in his room

Monday, February 12, 2007

Just the 4 of us

We have made it out of the cold and back to Texas. We flew home on Saturday from Chicago. The flight was pretty uneventful. Maddie never slept, but she watched Nemo the whole way. Emma fell asleep for a bit, but then just wanted to be up and seeing what was going on. We also hit a little turbulence and so the pilot lowered the plane a little bit and was hoverign in that area where your ears can't pop. I think that Emma's ears were bothering her and so while we were avoiding turbulence it was making her ears worse. We then headed home and both the girls fell asleep. We picked up some dinner and went home. I was surprised that Maddie didn't have to take every toy out. Yesterday was church and grocery shopping.

To round out the rest of the week we were in Wisconsin, we went to my cousin Alex's basketball game, she was carrying on the Heffelfinger tradition and fouled out. We went to Southridge with Katie and then I got to go to eat with just her (grandma and grandpa took the girls). We went to uncle Kurt's tournament game, it was a very exciting game. They lost in overtime. We got to hang out with cousin Luke on Friday. Aunt Kathy made these cool shirts for the girls and Luke to wear to Kurt's game. Then before we left on Saturday we went to Chicago and got to play with Kate, Ella, Ben and Sam. Chad met us at the end of the security and when I saw him, I let Maddie get out of the stroller and she just ran and ran with her arms out to go get him. All the TSA people were oohing and ahhing. It was very cute. Chad said that at least he knew that one of his daughters missed him.

Not too much going on this week. Chad has his first game on Saturday. It is also a doubleheader. Depending on the weather, maybe we will go for the second game. We have about a month before any visitors are coming. The Dallas crowd is coming on March 10th for the weekend. Jana and Mike are also coming in on the 10th, later in the evening and then staying until the 14th. That is also Chad's spring break, so I'm sure he is looking forward to some playstation with Mike.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Ben tomorrow!!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

A Day In Woodstock




Well we are still surviving the cold weather. There was no school for everyone around here again. At least tomorrow the high is suppose to be 12 degrees. Yesterday we headed to Woodstock to play with Ben and Sam. The boys were watching out the window waiting for us. Ben was so excited for Maddie to be there, he had made her a present. They played and played and played some more. It looked like a tornado went through the house, but we did manage to get things picked up. We had fun and I was glad we got the chance to see them. Ben didn't want Maddie to leave. He didn't even want to give a hug to her- it was cute. I told Ben that next time we see him, he would be at our house in Texas. Sam was very into Emma. He tried giving her kisses all afternoon. We ate dinner with them and then headed home. Grandma had to be at the sleep center for some research. Today we are playing inside again. It is a shame the the snow is going to waste.

Other news: Emma has a tooth coming in. Maddie waited 14 months and now Emma is half that time. It is kind of funny because Maddie has another tooth coming in too. She is up to 6.

Have a great rest of the week. I'm not sure if I'll post again before we leave. For sure when we get home I will.

Monday, February 05, 2007

What Was I Thinking??

I am in the arctic north, called Wisconsin, where it is -10 degrees and -30 with the wind chill, while Chad is at home in the warm 65 degree weather. We are talking a 75 degree difference. What in the world was I thinking? Besides the cold weathers, we are having lots of fun. It is just to bad that it is cold because there actually is snow, but it is to cold to let Maddie go play in it. We got in last Thursday, it was a pretty uneventful flight. Both Maddie and Emma slept for about 1/3 of it, right in the beginning too, so that helped. Friday we were suppose to all go down to Chicago, but with the wind chill and weather, the girls stayed with grandma and grandpa here and I went by myself. I had an awesome dinner at Flat Top Grill with Renee and then got to meet up with Anne and throw some darts with her. It was so much fun. Saturday morning grandma and grandpa brought the girls down and we played for a little while with Kate and Ella. Then we headed over to River Forest for the alumni game. There were 8 of us oldies and then some girls who still go to school there, but aren't on the team, for various reasons. We were having just a good old time, but the other team was taking it a little too serious. The girls left after the game and I stayed to watch the RF girls, just wipe the floor with Maranatha Bible College. Sunday was church and then we headed up to the Janetzke's. We just hung out and Maddie played with the dog and cats, I think she even fed the fish. Josh and I made a trip to Wal-Mart. We "watched" the Superbowl. Most of their house was rooting for the Colts, I was hoping the Bears won, but we know how that ended. Today we are heading down to Woodstock to play with Ben and Sam. Grandma is working until 11 and then we are leaving when she gets home. The rest of the week looks pretty low key. There are a couple a basketball games that we might catch. One of my cousin's plays on Wednesday, another on Thursday and then Kurt plays on Friday. Hopefully the games won't be canceled because of the cold.

I am hoping that the warm weather is still at home when we get back on Saturday. When we get back baseball starts full swing with games and practices. It sounds like Chad has been surviving without me- he did have a few people over last night for the game and he even told me he was doing a load of laundry. He says that at least now he knows what he isn't missing being a bachelor. Haha. We have a few pictures so far, but maybe after we play today I'll post some of those. Have a great, warm week.