Andrew's Bachelor Party

This weekend we headed up to Iowa for my brother's bachelor party. It wasn't really just a party it was more of an event since it seemed to last all weekend. From the few details that were shared it sounds like it was a good time. Andrew has a good group of friends. 7-11-09 will be here before you know it!

The evening started off at the Airliner, a local IC bar that we've hung out for years during our college days. Even sisters got to attend this part, probably the latest evening I've had for about 15 months!



The Papke kids back together again. You can probably figure out which one is Andrew and which one is Tony. I remember when I used to be taller than them both....

Had to have a family photo with Dad. He was hanging out with the boys as well. My mom stayed home with the girls for me so I could go hang out a little bit.

The "Outlaws" hanging out. This is Andrew's fiance Rebekah Knight, and of course Tim.

Then of course an Abby picture. On Saturday during the bachelor golf/BBQ/gambling/bar activities we had a very nice girls day. We went to the mall since it was really too hot to be outside with Megan until it cooled down later that afternoon. Abby of course found the rides, we also took a ride on the carousel. She got to go swimming in a little wading pool later that afternoon and we had a very nice girls night out dinner at Monica's.

This weekend is time at the Lake with my GBS girls. Everyone is coming in to town, we'll have people from Wichita, Denver, Chicago, Raleigh, and Hoboken! We are looking at a total of 12 adults and 8 kids (3 and under if you can believe it), it should be a little crazy but fun. I'm looking forward to a weekend relaxing and catching up with the girls.

DJ' Birthday Party

Just another weekend for the Schmidt Family - busy as usual. This weekend was our neighborhood garage sale. Our neighbors Barb & Frank were kind enough to put some of our "treasures" in their sale and we probably made $30. It's out of the house though so that makes me happy. However now I'm finding more things I wish I would have tried to sell. Maybe next time...

Saturday was DJ's 3rd birthday party. She goes to the same daycare as Abby and Megan so Saturday afternoon I trucked the girls out to Auxvasse for the sprinkler party.

Here is Abby splashing Nell and Claire.


DJ is in the t-shirt and she is adding to the fun. Thankfully the sun came out and warmed things up, however for as much as the girls were running around I doubt they could get cold.

They had a slip and slide as well. The girls didn't quite figure this one out. They wouldn't play on it when the water was running either. They still had fun either way.
Here's DJ blowing out her cupcakes. Her friend Carmen is next to her. Our babysitter attended the party as well so that is where Megan was. She snatched her up as soon as we got there, which helped me out a lot so I could play with the girls. Of course I didn't get any pictures of Megan, again...

Saturday evening was our neighborhood block party. Good food + good neighbors = Good Time.

Sunday was Tim and my 6th Wedding Anniversary if you can believe that. We didn't celebrate with much. Went to church and there was a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary and they renewed their vows during mass so that was kind of a nice thing for us. Tim got to go fishing, we took the kids to the park, and watched our wedding video with Abby. She was very good at pointing out all the people, but wanted to know where Megan and her were, and her friend Ashley since her Mom was in the wedding.

On a sad note. Alicia Weiman's son Ethan lost his battle with cancer on Friday. He was 4 years old and had been fighting neuroblastoma for the last 2 years. Alicia attended UMR with Tim and I and was a member of my sorority Gamma Beta Sigma. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Weiman family.

Megan's Baptism Weekend

This weekend was pack full of activities just like every other we have it seems. However, this time we didn't travel!! That was a first for a couple of weeks it seemed. Instead everyone came to us for Megan's Baptism on Sunday.

It wouldn't be a Schmidt weekend if we wouldn't have tried to shove a couple other items in so here are the girls with Tim at the Bass Pro - "Reel" Time for kids. They do this yearly and Abby had fun with it last year so we attended again, plus Tim will take any chance for fishing he can get, even if it's with a Sponge Bob fishing pole.

Here's Megan, not quite the fishing queen that Abby is. We hung out behind them and watched the fun.


Here is Abby and Tim working on casting. Abby has a problem leaving the bobber out there to sit. She likes to reel it in as soon as it's cast out.
Patiently waiting......
Success!


Abby was holding the fish all by herself. The MO DNR guys said it was a 7" Hybrid Sunfish. It is now back in the pond by Bass Pro.


That afternoon, the Papke's arrived. My parents and my brother Tony and his wife Colleen (pictured with Megan) showed up in the afternoon.
My brother Andrew (The Godfather), flew in from Texas around 4. It was a beautiful day to hand out on the deck and we were out there until about 1030 just talking. It was the first time the whole Papke family had been together for almost 2 years. With our distance and alternating holidays it's hard to get us all in one place. So I think everyone enjoyed our time together.
Here is Uncle Tony with Megan. She was just hanging out.
Here we are at Our Lady of Lourdes church for Megan's baptism. She is wearing the same christening gown that Tim and Abby wore.



Here is Megan being baptized with the Holy Water. She didn't cry at all, she enjoys baths so it probably didn't bother her.

A little action from the Godparents. You can't see Colleen, but she's helping Andrew light the candle.
The Schmidt Family
The Papke Family
A little photo I thought was cute. We all went to brunch after mass and this was Tim, Abby, and my Mom walking back to the truck after we had ate. Abby had a great time with all her aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

This weekend we are home AGAIN! Hard to believe, I know. We have our neighborhood garage sale on Friday/Saturday so we'll see if we can make a couple bucks, Saturday night is our block party, and then on Sunday it is Tim and my 6 year anniversary. Hard to believe that 6 years have gone by that quickly. We don't have any plans really yet, I'm just hoping for a nap :).

Carrollton Party Weekend

This weekend we headed up to Carrollton, IL for a graduation party and wedding. Friday night was Matthew Schmidt's graduation party. He's the last son for Sarah and Dan Schmidt to wrap up high school so they'll have an empty nest this coming fall when he heads up to college. They shared the hall with some other graduates and there was a DJ. I posted a video of Abby dancing at the end. She likes to party to say the least.


Here's a picture of Katelyn with Megan. She had the touch and Megan fell asleep in her arms despite being next to a speaker. Megan can sleep through about anything thankfully.


The next evening was Phil Schmidt and Tracey Young's wedding. For some reason I did not get any photos of the bride or wedding party. Tracey's dress was beautiful and she made a lovely bride. The bridesmaids dresses were also beautiful along with the flowers. It rained a little in the morning but then turned in to a nice sunny, warm day for the afternoon wedding.

Here's a photo of Abby, Aunt Betsy, and Grandma Schmidt. They are trying to teach her how to do the chicken dance. I think she was wearing down for the evening though.


Here's Great Aunt Janet and Megan. Megan did really well being passed around all night and was a really good baby. Janet is looking forward to her first granddaughter - who should be arriving in a couple of weeks.
Abby, as usual, giving out some kisses, and yes, they are in matching outfits. I unfortunately didn't get a better picture of them together so show off the dresses.
Megan has been pretty hungry in the evenings so we decided to try cereal a couple weeks early. She wasn't too keen on it but mostly was crying when she didn't have cereal in her mouth to play with. Overall I think she did pretty well and wasn't that messy.
Here she is a little more content. She'll figure it out eventually. Abby was there to help as well showing her how to open her mouth. Such a good coach.



Here is Abby dancing at Matthew's graduation. Imagin "Pour some sugar on me" playing in the background. The video is much darker on the computer than on my camera but you can kind of see her.

This weekend is Megan's baptism and we will have the whole Papke and Schmidt families together on Sunday to celebrate it. We're looking forward to having a full house and our families together.

Memorial Day Weekend - Chicago

This weekend we packed up and headed to Chicago to visit my brother Tony and his wife Colleen. They have a lovely home in Wrigleyville and are within walking distance to many things. We ate great food, played at some fun parks, and enjoyed the sites and of course time with them. We'll definitely be back again.


Here is Abby and Megan (in the car seat) with Tony and Colleen on the train. This is Abby's second time to Chicago so she's been on the train before, but this was Megan's first trip.

Here is Abby at Millennium Park playing in the water. This is while she was still dry. By the end she was soaked in water.
Here we are at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Abby is in to the Lion King lately so we were visiting "Simba". The lions and tigers were one of her favorites.
Here was one of my favorites. This polar bear was swimming right up to the glass wall. He just kept doing circles. It was pretty cool to watch.
What trip to Chicago wouldn't be complete without paying homage to the Cubs and Wrigley Field. We walked down here on Monday morning to grab some Cubs gear and brunch then headed back to the Papke's house to pack up and head home. The girls traveled very well, however we were all ready to get out of the truck by the time we got home. This weekend is a trip to Carrollton for a wedding so we'll be on the road again. It seems like all we do is pack and unpack! As for Megan - she is working on rolling over so I'll get some video of that when she gets a little closer. Right now she scoots in circles a lot and pushes herself around with her feet.

Megan is 3 Months old!

Well the 12 weeks of maternity leave finally ended unfortunately. They went by too quickly and it always seems when you are having the most fun with your newborn it's time to go back to work. Megan is now 3 months and is doing well at daycare (it's only day 2 so far). She is still busy blowing bubbles, lots of smiles and cooing, plus now drooling. Her hands are grabbing everything and most things go in to her mouth. You can catch her toss the pacifier and put her hand in her mouth quite a bit more lately so we'll see how that turns out. Here are some pictures I had taken of the girls at Sears. They turned out great so we're happy with them as well.

Megan @ 3 months old

My girls: Megan 3 months, Abby 2-1/2

Sisterly love

Abby cheesing for the camera as usual.

Of course Abby needed her own photo and had to have flowers.
You'll notice that is a theme in all her photos to date pretty much.

Abby did this pose all by herself and the photographer snapped it.

All is well in the Schmidt house - busy but always a good time. Tim's new job is in Memphis, TN so he's been there often but enjoys the 2 less hours in a plane that he had to fly when going to Houston. Maybe we'll get a trip in to Biel Street yet. This weekend we head to Chicago for the weekend so we'll have an update after that trip is recovered from.

10 weeks and counting....plus the newest Schmidt Family member

Megan is now 10 weeks old and has mastered blowing bubbles and scooting 90 degrees with her feet while on her back. She is starting to sleep longer at night so hopefully the 8 hours will stretch more to 10 hours. Tim and I are hoping someday to get to bed before 10 pm like the good ol' days. My return to work is creeping up on us. Megan has been working on sitting up a little bit and will sit in her Bumbo seat and lean up against you on the floor quite well. You just have to hold her up or she'll nose dive on you.

Hanging out in the Bumbo.
Having some floor time. She has definitely discovered her hands and is grabbing things left and right along with shoving her fists in her mouth and sucking on them. Looks like we might have another thumb sucker on our hands.

Our little cutie.
Working on some tummy time and blowing bubbles.
This weekend there was also a carnival in town with rides so of course we went. Here is Abby and Tim on the rug slide.
And with any carnival there are games. We played the game where you win a goldfish if you can throw a ping pong ball in the little bowl. We were 0/35 but they gave us the fish anyway. So Abby now has a fish in her room, named Nemo of course. She has been doing really well potty training so we didn't have a problem with getting her a little reward. It will be nice to have only 1 in diapers hopefully soon.

Introducing Nemo Schmidt.