Big Brother Class

Tonight Will attended Big Brother Class (with his Cabbage Patch Baby, Acab) at our hospital. He learned how to put on a diaper and swaddle a baby and watched a movie about having a sibling. He got to see what a hospital room looks like and even got to see a real baby in the nursery! We were just so glad that after two long years, Will finally got to go to Big Brother class!

Crazy Uncle Kevin!

They say parents get a little more laid back with each child...Here is Kevin enjoying a beer at the Diamondbacks game! Okay, it is actually a staged picture, but you can't help but laugh!!

Jesus Jams

Will spent the week at Vacation Bible School at our church, People of Hope. http://www.peopleofhope.com/

He had so much fun with friends he already knew, Sean and Carter from our neighborhood and Hanna and Ella, but he made new friends, too. One of the teachers commented that he was very well behaved and very sweet! We're so proud!

Tonight we were treated to a program and ice cream social where Will sang some of what our friend Ruth would refer to as "Jesus Jams." This is my first attempt at posting video so keep your fingers crossed it works!

Edited to add: When I picked Will up today the report from one of the counselors was that they were drawing pictures of their talents and when she asked Will to tell her about his picture he said "Oh, it's just me and Barack Obama." I wonder where he gets this stuff!

6 weeks left (or 4...or 8...)

I'm 34 weeks pregnant today! The panic has set in! We're really hoping this little guy stays put for the next 6 weeks because we aren't nearly as organized this time around as we were with Will. Mike is in the process of building Will a captain's bed. His current dresser was his changing table and it needs to be cleared out and turned back into the changing table, but until the bed is done we have no where for Will's clothes to go! I've been sorting through all of the baby stuff that has been sitting in Rubbermaid totes in the garage for 5 years, but it has only gone from the totes into the crib! While I don't want him to be too late, after all it is summer and Will was 10lbs 4 oz three days BEFORE his due date, we aren't quite ready for him to make his appearance just yet!

Shane Malloy

Shane Matthew Malloy

July 17, 2008

8lbs 50z 20.5in

My cousin Amy and her family welcomed their newest member, Shane, last Thursday in Walnut Creek, California. What a cutie!! Reports are that everyone is doing well. Amy was about as far along as I am now when we were in California at the end of May. It is crazy to think that we are weeks away from having a baby brother at our house, too!

Shane and his big sister Megan



Shane, Jim, Megan and Amy Malloy

Life on the Farm

After several summers of planting annuals that were crunchy by the 4th of July, I got really brave this year and tried a container vegtable garden. We can't take all the credit for their success; while we were in Chicago the plants spent a long weekend with our neighbors, The Sztajnkrycers, where they received lots of TLC and a little Miracle Grow!
Here are the cucumbers-we had one with dinner tonight! (Yes, that is my belly in the bottom left corner of the picture! Yikes!)
These are the tomatoes. We have two varieties-a larger tomato and a cherry tomato. Will picked and ate a few the other day!

I've been a little nervous about them. Mike built a rain barrel this spring to collect rainwater from the gutter. He built it out of a recycled car wax barrel and I'm a little concerned we've been watering the vegtables with car wax, but Mike doesn't seem concerned.

Tennis

Will (in the white shirt) in ready position with his Sponge Bob tennis raquet

During the month of July I'm teaching summer school 4 mornings/week. We have Will signed up for a number of camps and activities so he has something to do while I'm working. The first week was a camp at his preschool, this past week he had tennis lessons and a day camp at the gym (Next week is vacation bible school-9am to 3pm-AMEN!). Since I don't teach on Fridays I was able to watch his lesson and take some pictures for Grandma Sharpe. He really enjoyed it and tennis seems to be more his style than track. He told me one day during day camp they played a game with bean bags where the kids lined up and then raced to get the bean bags, but he didn't get any bean bags. Poor kid. I was telling someone that story and they said "Just wait 'til they start picking teams in gym class!"

I'm just so thankful that he is such an independent kid! Mike would drop him off at tennis lessons and then someone from the kids care at the gym would walk him from tennis lessons to day camp. I was freaked out about it and went so far as to type and laminate a tag for his backpack with all the information about where he was supposed to be when and our cell numbers, work numbers, etc . I suppose things like that aren't going to help his cause when it comes to picking those teams in gym class! Of course I was much more worried than he ever was and everything went fine. Maybe once I have two kids to worry about, I'll lighten up a little!!

Good Neighbor Days

Will waits for the parade (candy distribution) to start!

Here in Southest Minnesota every small town has an annual weekend festival. This weeked is Good Neighbor Days in Byron, a small town to the west of us.

View Larger Map

On Friday night we were invited to watch the parade from the driveway of some friends who live along the route. Will had a blast watching the parade and collecting candy. He also really enjoyed playing with his friends and watching the fireworks. The irony of Good Neighbor Days is reason we were there-our good friends and former neighbors, The Winters, now live in Byron! We had "Good Neighbors" until they moved to Byron!!

Here is a shot of Andrew Winters riding in his dad's squad car during the parade.

A Funny One

I get some good political email, but this one was so funny I just had to share.

Thanks Aunt Franny!

Our kind of town...

We had a fabulous Forth of July with the Repedes in Chicagoland! It was quite the action packed weekend! We left Rochester on Thursday morning and made a detour through New Glarus, Wisconsin for some cloth diaper shopping at Nicki's Diapers. http://www.nickisdiapers.com/ I know, we barely recognize us, either, but we're hoping to be a little greener and the rumor is that it saves a little green as well-we'll see!

Thursday night we saw the fireworks at Arlington Park. Will had lots of energy after spending 7 hours in the car and was fueled further by an enormous popsicle!

Grandma Kim, Will and Grandpa Repede

Will and Grandpa Repede with their blue popsicle tongues! (or Grandpa Repede is sticking his tongue out at Will's Obama shirt!)

We started Friday at the Arlington Heights parade featuring Grandpa Repede "marching" with his tuba in the Arlington Heights Community Band. http://www.arlingtonheightsband.org/

Grandpa Repede on the right

After the parade we saw his concert at Frontier Days with Grandma Kim's family, the Sweeneys. They were in town for her nephew Ryan's graduation from the Naval Academy.

We visited with Great Grandma Repede on Saturday morning and then drove into the city with the Repedes and Sweeneys and spent the afternoon on Navy Pier. We went to the Children's Museum http://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/, rode the Ferris Wheel and had dinner at Gino's East.

Will plays guitar at the Children's Museum

Climbing in the pirate ship

Ferris Wheel on Navy Pier

Will and Grandpa Repede on the ferris wheel

Mike and Meg on the ferris wheel

On Sunday morning we enjoyed a wonderful brunch at the Leverenz's in Grayslake with my friend Michele and headed home!!

Meghan Leverenz, Meg and Michele Lengerman

Our Little McSpeedy

Last night Mike took Will to the Rochester Track Club's All Comers Track Meet. Our little McSpeedy (the Grey's Anatomy inspired nickname given to Will and Mike by our good friend Sue for their "fast-paced" approach to life) ran in FOUR events for a total mileage over 3/4 of a mile. While he wasn't the fastest kid on the track (must be the Sharpe genes) he was excited to run in all the events and can't wait to run again next week (NOT the Sharpe genes!)

Will sizes up the competition

Our little racerWill with his participant ribbon

Reflecting on his races...