Thursday, June 30, 2011

Our Zoe took some steps!



Zoe is a very laid back child. She is very content to just be. She is a happy, delightful child! So that meant she didn't bother to roll over, sit up, crawl as early as some babies.



 And that is all OK with us.



She turned a year old in February and started crawling about a month after that. She now crawls at lightning speed!



She pulls herself up and furniture walks.


She will reach for our hands to walk, even will walk holding one hand although she feels unsure about that.

We have been encouraging her to take steps unassisted. But she just sinks to the floor like a boulder was placed on her head! Or she would stand there and fuss like we were asking her to walk on water!

Last evening she took her first steps! Daddy was here to witness it but not Mommy. (Mommy was at work...so sorry, Mommy!) And I didn't get any pictures =(  She really wasn't all that thrilled but she did it! She stood unassisted for awhile then took 2 steps towards me.......then realized that Greta was not touching her and left out a squeal! She did a step or 2 later again. She also popped up many times from the floor without holding on to anything. I do believe that walking will  be her preferred mode of travel in the very near future!

Oh boy! Nana will be in trouble....she already is a climber. Guess I will need to put up a baby gate again to help contain my toddler!

Loving it!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Last Baseball Game

Challenger Baseball is now over for the year. Sad! It all went by so fast! Ellen asked when cheering starts....she was hoping it was soon but it's not till September.

Our Sunday was as usual....church, back home for lunch then to the baseball game.

Getting ready for a hit.
She had 3 good ones in this game!

At 3rd ....
waiting to run home.

Corey, Aidan and Zoe watch the game.

Oh, Zoe.....you are just toooo cute!

Aidan was being shy.

Sweet dreams, Zoe

After the game, it was time for awards.
Ellen got the the 'Most Coach-shy' award!!
For some reason she is shy around the Coach......
even though he is her friend Elizabeth's' Dad!

Lance got the Coach in the face with a whipped cream pie!
He was loving it!
Coach was too =)

Lances' parents own 2 Rita's shops.
They treated the team and families with some Mango ice...
Yum, Yum!!

I didn't get a picture of Paityn (or Scott or Lynn, for that matter. Marcy stayed at our house to rest and Christy had to work) at the game. She made friends with the little sister of one of Ellen's team mates. Paityn likes to be friendly! Of course, the kids needed a little time to play on the play equipment too during the game. It was a warm day, but not humid which was so nice. After the game, it was back to the homestead for more food and fun. Kim and Andrew had arrived while we were gone. Later Hubs grilled some hot dogs and I warmed up some beef BBQ. We had some Ice Cream too. While the adults watched a funny movie on TV, the Littles found some fun....

Three little Artists

They were having a blast!


Now it's Monday. Aidan and Zoe are here. I hope Aidan is soon ready for a nap. Zoe already had one so she may not be tired again for awhile. I will make some chicken for dinner. The rest of the meal is a mystery....even to the cook at this point!!


Friday, June 24, 2011

To Timbuktu and Beyond - almost ;o)

I have been on the road a lot yesterday and today. I'm not one who loves to drive....did you know that about me? I never did enjoy driving. I do like my little Buick, though, so it could be worse!

Well, I wasn't to Timbuktu. I'm sure you knew that =)

 Ellen had two appointments this week. One was in York to see Dr. B. I always count on 45 min. to an hour to get there. Got behind a s.l.o.w truck on the way to Rt. 30. Took all of 45 min. this time. After the appointment, Ellen was starving (!) so we headed to the York Galleria Mall. She got some food at Mc D's. I wasn't hungry but couldn't turn down a sugar free vanilla Iced Coffee! We also looked for another swimsuit for Ellen....found one at Sears.

This morning it was to Hershey for an appointment to pick up the night splints Lawall Orthotics had made for her. She will wear them at night to help stretch muscles in the back of her ankles/legs. Ellen slept late this morning and didn't eat before we left. Yes, she was starving again! I knew there were some fast food places near Hershey Park at the Outlets so we headed in that direction. Sure enough, there was a Wendy's. I was sorta hungry this time so I had a half salad (isn't it nice to have that choice)....the new berry one. It had strawberries and blueberries in it. Was sooooo good! We sat at a table where Ellen could see one of the roller coasters as she ate. She loved that!

We drove around the outlet center after eating but didn't stop at any stores. Ellen was concerned about the darkening skies and wanted to get home. She does not like storms. We did drive in very heavy rain on the way home. She asked me if I could see the road. I assured her that I could. As soon as we got close to the mountain that separates Lebanon and Lancaster Counties, the rain slowed and was sunny in Lancaster Co! I don't think we got any rain at home!

Now Zoe and Aidan are here. Before they came, I went to the store to buy some milk and decided to make a stop at the hardware store too. I had promised Aidan that we would get some little chairs to put on the front porch. I had bought 2 lavender plastic Adirondack (adult) chairs earlier this spring.....thought little chairs would be nice for our Littles,  too. It was a good thing I made the effort today...they only had 5 left! I got an orange one and a lime green one. Aidan is thrilled. He had a snack outside then played with chalk and ran on the walks while Zoe sat in one chair then wrote with chalk too. We also had to blow some bubbles too, of course.

 Aidan is now resting....maybe will sleep?? Zoe is laying beside me on the sofa. Not sure if she is sleepy enough to sleep yet. We will see. I have the Gaithers on INSP....she just loves to hear them! On the way to the ball game the other evening, she was fussing and fussing. Christy said " You don't by any chance have a Gaither CD with you, do you" !! No, unfortunately, I don't even own one....I guess we should, just for such an occasion!

Have a great day, my friends!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Family Fun at a Ball Game

Christy (my DIL) had some free tickets, which she got at work, for a Reading Phillies game. It used to be that if you wanted to go to a minor league game, this is where you went. We now have leagues in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg. Maybe that's why the Stadium wasn't full last night. The park is old....which was kinda neat. Anyway, we had a great time!

Hubs chauffeured us (Corey, Christy, Aidan, Zoe, Ellen and me) in his van. Even though this was a first for us at this park, it was really easy to find. Enjoy some pictures....

Aidan is ready for the game -
Glove, sunglasses and the ticket,
of course!


Ellen is excited for the game too!

Our little short stop =)

Zoe says......
Don't forget about me....
I'm ready for some fun too!

What's this?
Oh, Nana has an umbrella...always prepared.
(thank God it wasn't needed!)

Zoe wasn't so sure about this guy at first.
But she made up to him and even
gave him a kiss!
Can you even imagine how hot it must have been in that dog suit???


It was a very humid evening.
I thought I was going to melt into a puddle of fat....hehe.
Ice Cream to the rescue!
Looks like that hits the spot on a hot night!
(I had some water....worked for me)

Hubs and Ellen share some ice cream too!

Don't I always notice a pretty sky??


Night Time at the Ball Park...
Summertime at it's best!

Aidan got a balloon hat made for him.
He loved it!


Unfortunately the Home Team lost. Zoe had enough of baseball towards the end of the game and went to sleep. Aidan was so excited and was still awake when we got  home.....what kid doesn't fall asleep at night during a car ride??

I almost forgot an exciting thing. Before the game started, they were playing some upbeat music. Christy had Zoe standing on her lap and was moving her to the music. We were watching the pictures on the big screen scoreboard and THERE WAS ZOE! They kept her up there for quite awhile. We were sooo excited....and I never thought to grab my camera!

And another neat thing. As we were going into the park, one of the attendants struck up a conversation about Aidan bringing his glove. He told Aidan to open up his glove and he put a baseball in it. Aidan was thrilled! Later when he was getting his balloon made, he was given another baseball. Wow! He said right away that he was going to give it to Ellen and he did. What a generous little fella!

Take me out to the Ballgame, Take me out to the [Park]. Buy me some peanuts and cracker......................=))

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Not much....

Not much happening around here to blog about. Aidan and Zoe were here yesterday and will be here today too.

Aidan and I made cupcakes yesterday. Aidan was standing on a chair in front of the batter in the pans. Not sure what happened but the chair started tipping backwards and he put his hand on the table to steady himself.....but the cupcakes were right in front of him. His hand went right in them! He had chocolate all over his hand and arm and the pan of unbaked cupcakes =(   Sweet boy that he is said "Sorry, Nana" as I was cleaning him up =) Awwww

Besides having the kids today, I will work at a  few exciting projects too. Such as -  clip coupons, wash dishes, prepare a dinner, wash dishes, throw in a load of laundry.....exciting stuff!  (hehe)

Better get this day rolling....hope your day is exciting too!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Remembering a great Dad on Father's Day

Paul Milton Witmer, my Dad, grew up on a farm. After he married, he became a farmer too. He also had a heart that longed after God. When I was very young, he was ordained to the ministry in the Mennonite church. I loved hearing him preach! He sold the farm in the 60's and worked as an auto mechanic and a preacher.

 We never had much in the way of material things.  But one thing for sure, I never doubted that I was loved.....ever! 

Daddy has been enjoying heaven since Oct. 1, 2009. I miss him. But, what wonderful memories he has left with us!

Dad at Corey and Christy's wedding rehearsal dinner

Grandpa and Grandma Witmer meet Paityn Lily

Aidan entertains Grandpa Witmer

My brother shares a picture with Dad.



Treasures are not always things. Today I hold in my heart many treasures.....my memories.


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Aidan, the Carpenter Man

Wednesday was a day for being outdoors. Zoe and I sat on the big swing while Aidan enjoyed the baby little swing.

Then Aidan thought a change would be good.  He climbed the stairs to the slide and Zoe wanted to swing in the baby swing.

Zoe loves to swing

Aidan got to the top of the slide, turned around and came down again.
Aidan, the Carpenter Man,  said he needed his
 tool box.
I looked to see what caused this need.
Sure enough....

A nail was sticking out and could be a problem.
(sorry the pic is on it's side)

Aidan, the Carpenter Man, returned with his hammer.
He hammered and he hammered.

The Carpenter Man was workin hard.
He climbed down the stairs again.....

He needed a different tool, the Carpenter Man said.

Back to his tool box he went.

There was much grunting coming from
the Carpenter Man.

The grunting stopped.
Nana, the hard workin' Carpenter man said,
I think Pop Pop needs to use his tools.
Nana said that sounded like a wise idea.
So the Carpenter Man hung up his tool on the nail and......

and had some fun!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Beautiful Days

Today is another beautiful day.

Look at that blue sky!

Our temps have been in the low 70's yesterday and today. Yesterday Aidan thought it felt cold outside! I even turned off the air conditioners and opened the windows.  Oh so nice =)

I think I will be spending some time here this summer....

Last evening after the kids left, I took my Kindle
and stretched out on the swing.
I read, listened to the cars going by, heard the birds sing.
What do you call that??
Relaxing
Refreshing
Renewing
All of the above and more.
There was a time in my life that I needed this but I thought I didn't have time.
Even though I'm not working outside the home,
I still find that I need to be intentional about being good to myself .
I must find time to relax and enjoy my days.



May you also find time today to relax your body, refresh your soul and  renew your mind.
                          
                         Want to come and sit on my swing?  =)

Monday, June 13, 2011

And it's over in a flash....

What is over in a flash, you may ask? Well, our busy week-end, for one thing. And a baseball game too!

Our week-end was really busy. They usually are. On Friday I did some extra cleaning that I have been putting off for too long. Felt good to do it even though it was soooo hot! I went to bed that night exhausted. Around 4 or so in the morning I woke to hear some rumbling in the distance. I kind of hoped the storm that was brewing would pass us by. But it didn't. I got up to turn off the fan in Ellen's bedroom because it was raining. Before long the storm was on our doorstep and I knew Ellen would be awake. She does not like thunderstorms. Her bed was empty when I went to check on her. She was already downstairs! It rained hard but the storm wasn't too bad, thank God. Ellen didn't go back to bed so I stayed up too. An early start to my Saturday!

Saturday always includes some cleaning. I hurriedly put away some nail polish which ended up in an oops. It wasn't shut! Needless to say, I had pink nail polish flung on the carpet in the family room! Why didn't I shut the bottle when I finished painting my toe nails?? I didn't realize I hadn't! Greta looked on line to see what to do. I wiped with water, sprayed it with hair spray and used nail polish remover. It mostly worked.... but the smell! Oh my! Plus, I knew Zoe was not going to crawl over that stuff. I needed to run the carpet cleaner over it too. But first Dale and I had a purchase to make and Ellen and I had to head to the mall to get her glasses fixed.

 Hubs and I took off in the van to make a very special purchase. We have been wanting to buy a porch swing for years to replace the 2 old rusty swings in our swing set. We got a call on Friday that the fellow had two styles for us to look at. I sat on one and thought it was fine, sat on the other and.....LOVED IT! Guess which one we came home with ;o)

To the mall it was after I got some more cleaning done. Christy was busy so we walked to some stores to look around. We have a store that sells tea - Teavana. Ever hear of it? They were having a special promotion so I tried lots of tea. Oh my goodness, it was all so good! Had I been able to spend the money, I would have bought some. Ellen got her glasses fixed and after 3 more stops we were home.

I made a big dish of mac and cheese and a pot of pulled chicken for our family lunch the next day. Then cleaned the carpet. Doesn't look too bad....again, Thank God! Whew, what a day!

Sunday it was to church early because it was my Sunday to sing with the worship team. The kids came for lunch. Ellen had a baseball game at 3. Dale took her and the rest of us planned to go a little later. The sky was really getting dark. I took Christy and her kids  (Corey needed to go home to clean up their basement that had water in it from the heavy rain we got on Saturday night) and Paityn who wanted to go with us too! We got there with the ever darkening skies, unloaded the kids, found places to sit on wooden benches, cheered each hitter....then a flash! Lightening! EVERYBODY cleared the field.....Game over! So we packed up the kids and came home again!

Scott was in the mood for a game. I pulled out Parcheesi. Christy, Scott, Lynn and I got all competitive and we had ourselves a fun time!

Christy is calculating her best move.

Aidan watches Lynn count out his move.


Aidan helps his Mommy by shaking the dice.
Paityn helped her Daddy too.
When they got tired of helping,
off they went to do something more exciting.
But they came back at times to be sure we were doing it correctly =)

 Looked like Lynn might win, then I thought I may have a chance but in the end it was Christy who did the fancy moves to pull out the win....

Christy says,Yeah Me!
Look at Zoe's face!

These guys look like they had fun even though they didn't win!

Dinner was leftovers from lunch and BLT's. Ice cream too....always gotta have Ice Cream on a Sunday!

It may have been a busy one that went by in a flash but it was Great!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Is it summer yet? and other random stuff......

  1. Is it summer yet? Feels like it's July but no, it's  June. Poor kids that are still in school! Ellen has half days though next Wednesday. The last day is Thursday which lets out at 10....why bother going??
  2. Yesterday was soooo hot! Greta suggested having tacos for dinner. That sounded yummy and wasn't much effort to put it together =) I made sausage sandwiches for Hubby who does not care for tacos. For dessert we had strawberry smoothies that I made with vanilla ice cream and frozen strawberries. Perfect for the ending of a hot day!
  3. There were storms around our area but we didn't get more than a few rumbles of thunder and some drops of rain. A 13 yr.old Amish boy was struck by lightning and killed while working with his father in a field in the southern end of the county. So sad! Our neighbor's daughter and her husband had a tree branch fall on their vehicle while driving. It broke the windshield but they were ok. These storms this year seem so wild!
  4. We are feeling some relief from the intense the heat today. 80's instead of high 90's. It's still humid, though.
  5. So Meridith left the Today show and Anne is now co-anchor. OK (I said this was random!!) My kids wondered what planet I was on when I didn't even know it was in the works!
  6. Got my locks cut yesterday......my head feels clearer this morning. hehe!
  7. Got a notice in the mail yesterday that we owe the health insurance company that ended on April 30 $276.83 for Ellen's meds that were billed to them on May 15. WHAT ??? (I think my blood pressure went up a few notches) I gave the pharmacy the new card when I got there to pick up the meds that day. How did I know they didn't run it on that card? Called the pharmacy. They said to bring in the old card and they could try to fix it.....no guarantee it would work. I took it in right away (even though it was dinner time) I sat there waiting thinking that I would probably be making a phone call the next day to argue my case....I did the correct thing by giving the new card.....unknown to me, the Pharmacy already ran it through the old insurance before I got there and it went through WITH a conformation #. And they think I need to pay this?? In the letter it stated that we surely knew it had ended on April 30. Yup, I knew but it seems they didn't! Well, the pharmacist was able to reverse it and charge the new insurance. Whew!    But it still bugs me!
  8. Remember that our daughter Marcy is expecting a baby in November?

    They found out this week that it's  a GIRL!!!!
    Paityn will have a sister =)
    They, and us, are all excited.....
    really, really excited!
    On that happy note, it's time to get this Friday moving. Normal stuff to accomplish, nothing too exciting. 
    Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Spending time with more Family

On Monday evening, we had the privilege of spending some time with my niece Lisa and her hubby George, their sweet daughter Sophie and their cute doggy Nilla Bean. They live in Florida and have been traveling North, visiting family all along the way! They were staying with my step Mother Mary on Monday night.

George, Lisa and Nilla Bean
visiting in Grandma Mary's wonderful living room

Sophie loved Zoe
but Zoe wanted to be on the move!

Nilla Bean
Lisa said she sleeps all the time at home but
on this trip she doesn't seem to want to miss any thing!
I said she must be related to my sister, Lisa's Mom =)
Jeanie never wants to miss anything either...
when we are together and she has to use the ladies room,
she instructs us not to say anything important while she is gone...
hahaha!

Marcy, Scott and Paityn came too
Jenn and Sam were there .
Grandma Mary next to Sam.
Corey came too...
we had his kids with us!
My sister Mary Ellen was there too.

Aidan was being shy when we sang
Happy Birthday to him!

We had a wonderful time! Lisa and her family are now at her Mother and Dad's home where they will spend several days together. I know my sister is enjoying every moment!

Today is a busy day......

This should be a clue as to why I'm having a busy day =)


My silly Aidan.....

and this sweet puddin' Zoe......

are keeping me on my toes today!
It will soon be nap time.
Aidan will try to sleep and
 Zoe will surely be tired enough to sleep.

Nana has her Kindle ready and waiting for some quiet time =)

Hope you are enjoying your Wednesday!


P.S. Just in case you are wondering about where I shopped yesterday.....I stayed in town. CVS, Amelia's (discount store) and Weis. Used coupons at CVS - spent $13 and saved $21.....2 transactions so I could use the extra bucks coupons I got from the frist one.