Turkeys?

I just had to post these pictures! Tom and I were out on the patio and we saw a flock of wild turkeys walk into our yard, then cross our driveway and walk past us to the back yard. Couldn't believe it! But, here's the proof!

The grandkids.

What a great week. Got to spend time with Nicholas, Claire and Olivia. Can't get much better than that. Claire is walking all over the place and Nicholas just runs Tom ragged. He likes to play "can't get me" with Tom. Needless to say, after a few hours of running around and "finding" him, Tom pretty much is ready for a nap when Nicholas is. Claire is really a cuddler so I got to hold her and snuggle. I really enjoyed that. Spent the next day with Ms. Olivia and Kate. Had a lot of fun. Picked out her Easter outfit and had a serious flashback to when Kate was little. Everything had to match or she wouldn't wear it! So, we made sure everything matched for Ms. Olivia. Here are some pictures of the kids and Tom.

Ms. Olivia

Ms. Olivia made her debut on Janary 12th at 10:06 a.m. Mom, Dad and Baby all doing great! I was so fortunate to be in the birthing suite when Olivia was born. Truly the most amazing thing I have ever been a party to.

Needless to say, I went immediately to Babies R Us and bought out their newborn section. Had a blast! She is so tiny, only 6 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches long. However, I would note that after only one week she has gained 1 lb. 4 ozs. Apparently she has the Hageman appetite.

Here are two pictures of her and there will be more to come shortly.

I am back!

Okay, I have no idea what happened but I couldn't open my blog page for quite a while but now it seems to be working so -- here we go.

I am attaching some pictures from Thanksgiving (I know, we're going back a bit here!). Kerri, Matt and the girls game for Thanksgiving and talk about bonding! Anne and Nicholas were like an old married couple. She had her hands on her hips and told him to come here, "RIGHT NOW!" While he, like an old married husband, ran the other way! Way too funny.

I am also attaching a picture of our Claire Bear in her kitty kat hat!

Kate is due in about 2 weeks and we are all anxiously awaiting the delivery. We have no idea what it will be and the family seems pretty much divided in half with the whole boy/girl thing. So, we'll see.

Jack and Tara are due in May and I am attaching a picture of both Kate and Tara, bellies out!

Hope this will continue to work - I am trying - REALLY!

Another Hageman baby on the way!

Just found out that Jack and Tara are expecting a baby in May! We are thrilled to say the least! We've been waiting for these two to start producing and our prayers have been answered. Needless to say, we love having all these wonderful babies (and grown grandchildren) to play with. We now have Nikki, Anthony, Johnny, Nicholas, Claire, baby Abraham (still don't know what it is yet but we'll find out in January) and now the new baby from Jack and Tara.
I just love it! A new crop of babies every year - keep em coming!

Back from Italy

Back from Italy. Well we got back from Italy on Tuesday. What a trip it was. Had a really wonderful time. Spent three days in Venice, three days in Florence and then ended up in Rome for 3 days. Loved Venice, even if it had the worst food I've ever tasted in my life! Awful to say the least! Kate and I had decided we would try the fish, thinking how could we go wrong with that in a City built on water! Well, surprise surprise, we went really wrong!!!!! Ordered cuttlefish. Thought we would get a nice filet with some polenta. What we got was squid in squid ink. Looked like a blob of black goop on the plate. We even thought we'd give it a try. After three bites, we decided we didn't care what it cost, there was no way we were going to eat it. Stopped at a stand and got a pizza roll up. Turned out to be the best food we ate while we were there.The city is amazing. No cars at all and you get everywhere by condola. Had a real blast!On to Florence. It was the general concensus that after you saw the Uffizi museum and the Musea Accademia (where the real David is) and climbed to the top of the Duomo (463 steps!), you can pretty much leave the city. It is really expensive and the people, no so friendly.On to Rome. Loved it, loved it, loved it! What a beautiful, amazing city. We did a crypts and catacombs tour which was very long, very informative and ended on a really creepy note. It ended with a tour of the Cappucine Monk's display of over 4,000 human skeletal remains made into designs in three rooms. Flowers, stars, angels, etc. All made with human bones. Creepy to say the least! But, we saved the best for last and took an after hours tour of the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. Expensive but worth every penny. We were a group of 18 which got split into two groups and we toured the facilities by ourselves with a guide. No one else was there. Took LOTS of pictures (over 400) and just walked around in amazement. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.I have attached some pictures.Came home, got sick for two days and now pretty much back to normal. I'll write more later.

Claire's first solid meal!

Just had to share these pictures. Claire had her first solid meal and apparently, judging from the pictures, seemed to like it quite a bit.

There is just nothing like a smiling, well fed baby!