All smiles

Friday was actual football weather and Emma took advantage of it

On Cloud Nine

Well at least Chad is for now. He has been "celebrating" the Tigers winning the ALCS for the last 20 hours. Being excited and happy doesn't even begin to explain how he feels. I am happy for them and will be cheering for them. Now the problem comes in if the Mets would win the NLCS and the trash talking between Anne and Chad could start. There are also a few Cardinal fans at school and of course Scott our brother-in-law is a diehard Cards fan. So we have already committed to having the first World Series party here on Sunday. We would love to do it on Saturday, but Concordia has their annual auction that night. I have a feeling that Chad may be sneaking away every so often to check on the game.

So you may be wondering what else is going on here besides baseball. Well actually the last two weekends have been spent up at school to supervise the Tomball College club team games. Chad has to get the field ready and then just make sure that everything is cleaned up after and they pay him to do that. So we went up with him and got to run around in the gym and on the football field. Maddie was in heaven. It finally cooled down a bit. It has only been in the high 70's, it is suppose to warm up this week and then cool back down by the weekend. I hope that it is cool, I can't tell you how much I would like to wear something other than shorts and a t-shirt. I know I shouldn't be complaining since I heard that there were some flurries this week up north.

Maddie news: She is doing great. Talking more and more everyday. There are some words that anyone could make out and then there are some that I think Chad and I at least know what they mean. We did have a minor accident last week. We tripped over our own two feet and fell smack into the entertainment center. She had smacked her nose pretty good. We had the trainer at school look at it and there isn't much you can do for a nose, but she had faint black eyes and it bled a little. That still hasn't stopped her. She is also getting some more teeth. The two up top are coming in. You can feel them popping through.

Emma News: She is growing and growing. She is pretty consistent about sleeping at night. She usually is sleeping by 8:30/9ish and has been getting up about 7:30. She is also rolling from her stomach to back. She is getting used to being awake more during the day and can just sit and watch her sister run circles around her. We have a half thumb sucker. She still hasn't got the complete hang of it and so she is still using the nuk every now and then. She is real good about her thumb when she is in bed, so that helps with naps and bedtime.

Us news: Besides the Tigers there isn't too much else to report. Grandma Heff and Aunt Jana come on Friday. We can't wait. I know that Maddie will be ready to put on a show for them both. We are planning on going to the pumpkin farm on Saturday, then grandma gets to babysit while we go to the auction. It will be quick visit, but I think a good one. School is going well for Chad first quarter actually just ended on Friday. Basketball starts next week. It will be weird for neither of us to be coaching. I'm sure we'll be at the games, we also have Christian's games to go to also. We then will be home in just 4 weeks. We can't believe that it is coming up so soon. We are looking forward to Maddie and her cousins getting to hang out for the weekend. Make sure you all keep nice and warm up there.

And Yet Another Baby Born

This morning at 7:35am Faith Emelie Ruth Keiper was born. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. She joins big brother Isaac. I don't have a picture, but when I get one I'll post one. Both mom and baby are doing well. Now both Maddie and Emma will have a Keiper to play with.

Another Baby Born

We want to congratulate Greg and Jaime on the birth of their daughter Naomi Lynn. She was born this past Sunday and it seems that all three are doing well. We are getting the chance to meet her on our drive up to Wisconsin for Christmas. We wish you all of God's Blessings on the start of another new walk of life. Congratulations!!

A full night's sleep

Now I don't want to jinx it, but Emma has slept the entire night for the last three nights. When I say entire night, I mean the entire night. She has been eating between 8 and 8:30 at night and not getting up until 7:30ish. I am hoping that this continues and we are out of our once a night feedings. I have a feeling that some of this is due to the fact that she has found her thumb and I think she is going to be our thumbsucker. She still will take a nuk when we are rocking her to sleep, but by the time she gets put down, her thumb is in her mouth.












It has been over a week since the last post- I can't remember everything that has gone on, but we have had our taste of fall weather and now this week we are back to summer (90's and humid) While the weather was nice, we did venture to the park one evening along with about 100 other kids. Maddie likes to climb on everything, but she also loves to people watch. She also is a very friendly kid and was hugging other children. We will have to have that stranger danger talk in the near future. We also took in a Blue Knights football game. Christian plays on the team and it was their "Homecoming" game. I think it was the 8th graders last home game too, because they had their special recognition at halftime.









Maddie has been running a low temp, along with having allergies, and also a cold. We think she is getting some more teeth. So maybe we will go to Wisconsin in November with more than two teeth. This past weekend Chad's aunt, uncle and two cousins came down from Dallas. They got here on Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon. They had already met Emma about a month ago while we were up there, but they wanted to see the house and us, so they came down for a short visit. There wasn't too much excitement- boys watched some football, us girls did some shopping, we played cards and just visited. On Sunday we went to Resurrection for church, which is one of the association churches for CLHS. One of the pastors there used to be at their church up in Carrollton. We then had lunch in Old Town Spring, they took off for home and we headed for home to relax.


Here is just a hodge-podge of pictures from this weekend and before:














As you can see Emma and Maddie are both growing. Emma is starting to become her own person. You can definitely tell that they are sisters, but they are not carbon copies of each other. Emma is smiling all the time, especially when you talk to her or play with her. She is starting to sit for very short times by herself. She loves just watching what is going on around her.

The next few weeks are pretty low key until Grandma Heff and Aunt Jana come. We have no football this week, but next week is a home game. Then we have a just 5 weeks until we are in Wisconsin for the weekend. At the end of the month myself and one of the teachers at school are hosting a girls' night in to support breast cancer. We are having all the female staff members or wives come over to Kim's house and just have a night in. Instead of spending money on a night out, we are asking for everyone to donate that money that they would spend on a night out to breast cancer research. It should be a good time and just a nice night not at home.

There isn't too much else to report. Chad gets to go golfing for the Athletics Golf Outing on Monday. I know that he doesn't play as much golf as he would like, but at least he gets out every once in a while. He also got permission to wear his Tigers shirt to school today. He knows that he will probably get some comments, but he is very happy that the Tigers made the playoffs. We also have a deal with the Wilke's about the World Series. If the Tigers make it there, we have to have a party here and if they don't, then they will have a party at their house. So I'm sure that the next few weeks will be filled with baseball-not that our house isn't usually, but by this time most years, both our teams have been out of it for about a month.

Hope all is well with everyone. We can't wait for our visitors and then for our trip home. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and hopefully meeting Luke. Maddie is getting ready to dance the night away at the wedding and also to get a chance to play with cousin Ben. Have a great week. Go Tigers!!

that maddie, she's so funny

don't they look so thirlled to pose for the picture

Tickle, tickle

How many stuffed animals can you hold all at once?

Say ahhh!!!

Potatoes everywhere

Football, Football, Football

If I needed to sum up last weekend, it would be with one word-Football. It started Friday night at school where I thought it was going to be a tough game for the Crusaders, but instead they won 36-0. Maddie was happy that Isaac came for a little while to play, there were also some other kids there to play. We actually made it until the end of the game. Friday before football both girls had doctor's appointments. Both of them are growing like weeds. Emma is a healthy 5 month old. She weighs 14lbs .5 oz. and is 24.25 inches. Maddie is 29lbs and is 33 inches. Can you believe that she is almost three feet tall. Emma had to get some shots, I think Maddie was just happy it wasn't her. Maddie did get put back on her Zyrtec for allergies. It seems to be working better this time. Then us girls ran some errands after we dropped Chad back at school. We then went back to get him about 5:15 and we went out to eat before the game. Chad was on supervision again. It must be hard to play gameboy in the parking lot. Saturday came sooner than some of us would have liked, but Chad had to mow, I had to grocery shop and clean, since Kim and Andrew were coming over to watch what else? Football. They came over in the afternoon to watch the Michigan game. Maddie was of course their entertainment inbetween plays. They stayed for dinner and along with them, the Wilkes, Keipers, and Steve and his roommate came over too. It was almost like we had a actual party. Sunday was our hang out kind of day. We watched football, baseball, and just stayed cool. It was about 95 with a feeling of 110 on Sunday. So none of really wanted to go outside anyways. We did manage to venture out to Kohl's, so Chad could get some new running shoes. His were getting pretty beat up from the lawn and field at school. The last few days, we have been getting back to normal. Today Isaac is coming over to play. This weekend looks like there isn't too much going on and that sounds like the best thing right now.

Emma had been sleeping wonderfully and now the last few days, she has been getting up every few hours and isn't really wanting to to eat, but just be put back to sleep. We will see how things go for the rest of the week, before I get to worried. Maddie is just Maddie. She is doing great. Besides being a little tired, I'm doing good. I have been working on all our plans for Christmas and trying to work everything out. Well I better get to the laundry and to the girls. We also are going to get outside, since it is such a nice day and the humidity isn't suppose to come back until tomorrow.

Just Mom and the Girls

Well I survived the night alone while Chad was on the Freshmen retreat. He left on Sunday at 3pm and we didn't see him until after school on Monday. I think Chad was more worried about us than I was. Both girls cooperated great. Maddie has been feeling under the weather, so she wasn't as wild and crazy as she normally is. This weekend has been hectic and now things are starting to slow down. Friday was the first home football game, Chad had supervision and we went for awhile. We lasted about a quarter and a half (we ended up winning 56-0), so leaving early wasn't all that bad. We probably could have made it longer, but Maddie decided to take a dive off the picnic table and so she lost it because she was also tired. So that was when I decided that we needed to pack ourselves up and go home. Saturday was Isaac's birthday party. It was a good time. I know that Maddie had fun playing with Isaac and helping him open his presents. Sunday we went to Salem for church, that is always an experience. I know that Maddie enjoyed it because of all the praise music they play, she could just dance and clap as much as she wanted. Monday was a long day with us being gone most of the day. We headed out to the park to play at about 10:30am, I got my walk in, Maddie got to play, we ate lunch and then we headed to the retreat center to go swimming with Chad. Maddie loves the pool and trying to figure it all out. She also was entertaining some of the freshmen as they were getting ready to go home. She got some sun Monday, but had a great time all day. The rest of this week looks pretty low-key, which is nice.

Maddie: She is getting more adventurous everyday. She now has figured out how to climb onto the changing table. I am just waiting for her to start climbing out of her crib. She still just has the two teeth, we are hoping she will get some more soon.

Emma: She is growing more and more everyday. Somedays she looks like Maddie and other days she looks like Emma. You can definitely tell that they are sisters. She is starting to become more of a person now. She is trying to roll over. She can get up to her side from her back and so we will see how long it takes her to get all the way over. She is sleeping great. She has been sleeping from about 9:30-6am, we will see how long that lasts.

They both have doctor's appointments on Friday- so we will see how much they have both grown in the last couple of months.

That is our review of things down here. We hope that everyone is back into the swing of things, since most everyone has to get back into a school routine.

Just Another Week

Okay- so in our house it is never just another week. There is always something to report, no matter how small. This past week has been a whirlwind. I had some girls over on Friday night while I sent Chad and the girls over to one of the other husbands' house. It sounded like they had a good time with the other kids. We just hung out here and talked and just relaxed. It was nice to have some people over and not having to worry about the girls running all over the place. Saturday morning we headed up to Dallas to spend the rest of the weekend with Chad's aunt and uncle. We just played some cards and hung out some more. We did get to see Adam while we were there. He is still the same old Adam. We came back in the afternoon on Monday. Tuesday it was back to school for Chad and we had a playdate with Noah. Wednesday brought Isaac over while Christa was at the doctor. She has just 6 weeks left. She doesn't think that she will go the whole six weeks, so we will see. Today was actually a pretty quiet day around here. Tomorrow starts football and Chad is on supervision, so I'm thinking that we will be skipping tomorrow's game since he has to be there an hour early and has to be there until the end. Saturday is Isaac's second birthday. It is also my sister Amy's birthday. Happy Birthday. Sunday is the Freshman retreat and also rededication of teachers. So that means we will be going to Salem for church and then Chad will be around for a little while in the afternoon until he has to go to the retreat. I'm sure that it will we will survive, but it is just going to be a long next week. We have some visitors coming the last weekend of September. Chad's aunt and uncle are coming to see the house and just spend some time down here. Well that is the wrap-up of our week. Here are some pictures from the last week to enjoy.



















Emma in her rallyhead band. Just always wanting to be like her big sis.















Maddie In Space














Emma just hanging out (we were trying to catch a smile)















Maddie and Isaac spinning in the glider

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Just wanted to give a great big birthday wish to my mom, who is celebrating today. In our house that usually means it is just another day where you get to choose what is eaten for dinner. We wish we were there to help you celebrate. I hope you enjoyed Maddie's present for you. She worked real hard on it. We can't wait for your visit in October-I'm sure Maddie will have new things to show you. Have a great day- you even only have to work a half day today. Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Here is that picture I promised. This is Luke Arthur.

This Weekend

Melissa's Birthday Party( l to r- Jacob(Melissa's next door neighbor, Melissa, Maddie, and Gabe)



















Maddie taking a nap on her couch





















Emma taking a nap (do you see a trend here?)
















Maddie and her warpaint(she got to fingerpaint for the first time)

The Newest Cousin

Well we have added one to our cousin list. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Scott finally had their baby after waiting an extra week. Luke Arthur was born on Saturday August 26th at 5:55am. He was 8lbs 10 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. That puts him in the same weight class as Emma. Scott had started school last week, but they are giving him three days to stay home with the new mom and baby. They got to go home from the hospital yesterday and are settled at home and hopefully enjoying their new addition.

We are hoping we get a chance to meet Luke when we are in Wisconsin in November, otherwise it might not be until Christmas.

When we get a picture of the little guy we will post one.

So congrats to the new family of three.

Maddie with "brothers" Michael and Christian

Grandma, Grandpa, and the girls

Katy Mills took the wind out of both of their sails

Maddie and her "boyfriend" Isaac

Maddie with the "stupid hat" on

Diving into her orange at the Blue Knights game

Back to Reality...

That's right, it is back to reality for us. Grandma and Grandpa left on Tuesday, which means it is just the girls at home. We aren't sure when we will have visitors back here. Maybe in October- if Grandma feels so inclined to come for a weekend. We had a great visit with them. They got in late Friday night- only 2 hours late after some genius threw a plastic cup in the airplane toilet and made it overflow. Saturday brought a football scrimmage that we managed to get out to and then it never happened, since it was lightening outside. So we ended up going to lunch with the Wilkes and then coming home and watching the Brewers/Astros game. Sundayw as church and getting Chad off to Senior Retreat. Grandma, Grandpa, Maddie, Emma, and I headed out to dinner. We went to Pappasitto's Mexican Cantina (both Grandma and I were not impressed). Monday we decided to conquer Katy Mills (like Gurnee Mills) We got there about 10:15 and left at 3:30. Maddie managed to walk the whole thing and thensome. Maddie got some new clothes for fall and grandpa felt the need to make sure she had some new vans(shoes). (pink checked ones) We then headed back to pick up Chad who had a long night at the retreat. With just the normal things of having to stay up with 80 Seniors, he got thrown in the pool with his cell phone in his pocket. It was out of commission until yesterday when he got a new one. Tuesday we ventured for breakfast and then did some grocery shopping. Grandma and Grandpa left Tuesday late afternoon. We headed to school for the volleyball game and then home. Wednesday I think Chad just needed to still recover from the weekend. Thursday we went to dinner with the Sommermeyers and Straubs. Then went over to school to watch Christian's Blue Knight game (Blue Knights is the feeder football program at school). Yesterday was just a slow day at home and some relaxing in the evening. This weekend is not too much of anything. Today we have a birthday party to go to, but that looks like it is it. Next week is a short week for school, they have a half day on Friday. Some of the other ladies and wives from school are coming over on Friday for a night in, but free from kids. Then on Saturday we are going to head up to Dallas for the long weekend.

Maddie Update: She is still just as much as a monkey as before. She is getting taller everyday. She had a playdate with Isaac this week and they just had so much fun. They also got to play at the volleyball game and they were dancing like it was going out of style. She is great helper with Emma, she is starting to get the concept of being gentle and that Emma isn't a toy. She has also been going to sleep by herself the last few nights. We are hoping this continues.

Emma Update: She is growing everyday too. She looks a little more like Maddie, but not too much. She has been getting up on her side from her belly and so we will see how long it takes for her to roll herself to her back. She loves to watch Maddie run and be crazy. She has also been sleeping great. The last two nights she has slept from 11pm-7am.

We are already gearing up for our trip in November. We can't wait to see everyone. We are planning on driving for Christmas, so I have started to do some planning for that. Other than just getting back into a routine and going to school functions, things have been pretty quiet around here.

Welcome To The World Nora

This isn't the cousin we are still waiting for, but our friends Nathan and Katherine had little Nora Katherine join their family this past Saturday. I was a little surprised to see that posted on their blog since Katherine wasn't due until September 11th.

Nora was 5lbs 10oz and 19 inches long. We also then have to welcome Nathan and Katherine into the parents club. They are home now and doing great. So here she is.















We are still waiting on any word from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Scott on the arrival of their new one, I'm sure that once we hear the word, we will post it on here.

At the playground

Her clubhouse, our entertainment center