Christmas Programs

We have had a couple Christmas programs this year.  It started off with the Sunday School program.  Both Lauren and Ella were in it, Ella in the front row on the end and Lauren behind her to the right.  They did great, singing the songs and doing the actions.  It is crazy how shy these girls can be, but up on stage in front of a church full of people and they are fine.  Ella got a little crazy twirling in her dress, and apparently when she tries to sing REALLY loud, her tongue comes out of her mouth... it was pretty cute actually.  You will see this in the second video.

 

 After the program, downstairs in the church basement.  Luca let Lauren hold him like a baby, that doesn't happen often anymore:)

 

 

 

 Next Lauren had her preschool program.  Again, she did great.

Sorry about the camera movement in this next one... I believe I was trying to wrangle Luca who escaped to the middle aisle!

 

 

Lauren's Dance Performance

Because it is difficult to watch Lauren's weekly dance class (there is only one small viewing window, with lots of eager parents), her teacher plans a few performances throughout the year where we are invited inside the room.  For Christmas she danced to Frosty the Snowman, and they were allowed to wear festive clothes rather than their standard leotards. 

Lots of Updates



Well, I realize I have really neglected this blog, but here is my attempt at getting us back up-to-date.  Usually I would devote a separate post to each of these subjects, but time is not going to allow that!  So, since last time, Luca had a birthday and started to walk!  He has now moved on from walking to running, which makes life pretty hectic.  He is our wanderer, not caring whether we are in sight or not.  We realized this while we were at the pumpkin patch.  It wasn't real busy there, so we thought we would just watch and see how far he decided to wander.  Well, he never looked back and actually went back into the petting zoo barn before Dan decided to retrieve him. 

 

 Lauren started 4-year-old preschool.  We decided to keep her in the Christian preschool she attended last year rather than put her in 4-K.  She loves it there, and has the same teacher and many of the same classmates as last year.  As far as curriculum and hours, it is pretty comparable to 4-K.  She goes 4 days a week, for three hours each morning.

 Lauren also started dance this year!  She is doing very well and insists she likes it just as much as gymnastics when we try to make her choose.  Eventually she will have to pick one or the other, but for now she can enjoy both.  Tuesdays are very busy as we go right from dance to gymnastics practice.

 Ella had her 3rd Birthday!  She is turning into such a big girl.  Every time she eats she asks if she looks bigger, because she is determined to grow up to be like Lauren so that she can do everything Lauren can!

 One thing she can do now is gymnastics!  She started the parent-tot class at the gym in September and LOVES it!  I love the one-on-one time with her.  With three children, I don't get to do much with them individually.  So on Wednesday mornings we leave Luca with Grandma, and drop Lauren off at school.  Then we usually grab a coffee and hot chocolate and do some grocery shopping before gymnastics!

Lastly, we took a family vacation to Disney World!  I will devote a separate post to that because I captured some pretty sweet photos of the girls with princesses, and also some fun times with their cousins!

First Haircut



Luca had his first haircut about a week before his first birthday.  I was putting it off, knowing he would look like such a big boy, but now looking back at pictures, I can see he definitely needed it! Our friend Jackie came over to the house to cut his and Dan's hair, and he sat so nice for her.  I think it helped that we also gave him his first sucker to distract him!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Now announcing....

The Weimert Family has some exciting news to share...

We are pregnant with Baby #4!

We are all very excited and can't wait to see if we will have a baby brother or sister.  Lauren is pulling for a sister, Ella says she wants another brother.  Luca would probably say he would prefer to stay the baby for a little longer, but I think he will thank us in the long run!  I am 13 weeks and due in February.  Hopefully this news will help you forgive me for not updating the blog in so long:)

Tiny Dancer

Lauren took a week-long dance class this week and did great!  They practiced tap and ballet and I was impressed with how well she followed direction.  On the last day the parents were allowed into the studio for a mini-performance.  So cute!  Thanks Lucy for lending us your dance shoes!

Little Monster

See this adorable face?  He is turning into quite the trouble-maker.  In fact, a great portion of my day is spent chasing him around the house, scooping him up from whatever mess he has made, and calling him "my little monster." 

He loves climbing the stairs, and unfortunately we have not found a gate that is compatible with our railing yet.  Whenever he goes missing, I first run to the stairs, and if he isn't there he is usually in the master bathroom trying to climb into the big tub.

 He also loves to get the toilet paper.  He can literally unravel the entire roll in seconds.  We have resorted to using toilet paper off the floor now.

Luckily, this little boy still gets tired out pretty easily.  I love babies sleeping in their food!

Lazy Weekend

Last weekend we had a lot of free time to hang out and enjoy the weather.  Dan mentioned taking his boat out to see if it still ran (we didn't use it at all last year and maybe once the year before).  Well, Lauren and Ella heard and wouldn't let us get by without doing it that day.  I was a little apprehensive because there was a lot I wanted to get done around the house, and the thought of three kids eager to get into a boat that might not start made me nervous (I could already hear the whining and crying).  But, I am so happy we did.  It started right up, and we had a blast.  It started to sprinkle after an hour of cruising around, so we headed back in and Dan rushed the kids to the car while I stayed with the boat, and by the time he came with the trailer it started to downpour.  Luckily i didn't get too wet but Dan was soaked loading the boat! 

 We also planted our pumpkin seeds finally.  Hopefully we will get some to grow.  Also hoping that between the deer and turkey that hang out in our yard, some of the pumpkins survive!

What happens when we're in Vegas...

Dan and I went to Las Vegas for a long weekend, and came home to this!  Lauren fractured her arm on the trampoline while we were gone.  While the pictures Aunt Tina texted from the ER visit looked really sad, everyone assured me that she was doing fine and the cast really wasn't slowing her down.  And they were right.  She is still very self-sufficient, refusing help unless the task is impossible (ie, insisting to try monkey-bars with one hand yesterday).  We were told last week that the temporary cast from the ER was working fine for now, but we go in again today for more x-rays and to reassess the cast's integrity.  Thanks to everyone for watching the kids while we were away.  And no, that isn't sarcastic.... it could just have easily happened on our trampoline.  The kids were all happy and well-taken care of:)

Randomness

Just trying to catch up on what we have been up to around here.  We have been enjoying the beautiful weather so we are outside a lot.  I also ended up having emergency surgery two weeks ago to have my appendix removed.  That was quite a surprise, but it went very quickly and I am almost 100 percent already.  Stay tuned as summer begins next week for us!  Lauren has her last day of school Wednesday, and we have already scheduled gymnastics, swim lessons, dance, and Bible School for the summer!

Looking cute.  I thought the light was perfect when I took these pics, turns out there are terrible shadows.  I should really look into a camera course!

 Lauren loves going for bike rides.

 Luca and Grace

 We celebrated Grandma Bev's 80th Birthday last weekend... too bad Lauren and Ella were down to their underwear by the time we took pictures!

 Luca enjoying Mother's Day brunch

 Luca's first strawberry

 Ella jumping

 And Lauren...

Ear Troubles

Because I have been missing from the blog world for a month now, I am having trouble deciding where to begin....  I suppose this little man has been part of the reason for my absence.  You see, he has been teething for over a month now, averaging one new tooth a week.  And when this guy is teething, he usually has an ear infection to go with it.  Two weeks ago we went in for his nine month appointment and discovered another ear infection.  But this time, he developed a crazy rash after taking amoxicillen.  Back to the doctor we went where he was diagnosed with a drug allergy.  Benadryl was next, but it took three days to clear up those hives.  Poor Luca was itching and miserable.  Back to the doctor today revealed that the one ear still hadn't cleared up and guess what?  An infection in the other ear as well.  I just hope he remembers what a great sleeper he was before all of this, because mama and daddy are VERY tired!  We are trying a new and strong antibiotic now, so hopefully this will bring an end to our ear troubles.  At least until he gets another tooth....

He is happy during the day!

 A sampling of the rash.... it spread over his entire back, neck, and stomach by day 3

Things are looking better already!

Gymnastics Preschool Show

At the end of March, Deutsch's Gym put on a preschool show for all of the 3-5 year old gymnasts. It was so fun to watch, and Lauren did great, considering there was quite an audience.

Warm-up stretches

Landing her jump on the balance beam

Receiving her medal
With her friend Leah

Big Boy Bath

Luca has been taking baths in the regular tub since he could sit up. He has really started enjoying them now, and gets pretty crazy with the splashing! His sisters usually insist on getting in with him, but these pictures were taken before they got in.

Preschool Praise Time

Lauren did a great job singing with her class yesterday. Thanks for coming to see us Grandma Pam!

Professional Pics

Two weeks ago, we headed to Eau Claire to have some pictures taken of the kids. Luca was long overdue, and then I realized it would be a good time to take some of the girls since Lauren was about to turn 4 and Ella 2 1/2. Here are some of my favorites. Swanstrom Photography did an awesome job as usual (they did our wedding pictures six years ago!).