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!

Tiki Party

Just had to share a funny story. Went to my sister-in-law's End of Summer Tiki Party and had a really fun time. Got to see my nieces and nephew and two great-nieces. This is where it gets funny.
I was holding Katie (10 months old) and she apparently loves to eat. So, I gave her a cracker. In the meantime some people came up to me and we were talking and I wasn't really paying attention to Katie because she was being so good and I was just holding her. I left the party and thought, "gee the bugs were really out tonight, I am itching all over, especially my boobs!" When I got in the car on the drive home (and thank heaven I was alone!) I realized that I could finally scratch the itchy spots. This is when I found a cracker, broken up, chewed on and pretty much just crumbs in my bra!
I laughed out loud as I was driving along the highway, pulling crumbs out of my bra and throwing them out the window.
I think next time I hold Katie, I'll wear a turtleneck!

What will it be?

Kate went to the doctor's yesterday for her first ultrasound. Doc said everything looks great. Big kudos to Dave because he didn't even try to find out what sex the baby is. If you guys know Dave, you have to know what a huge accomplishment that was for him. He is certainly one of the most excited Dads to be that I have ever met! At Kate's dinner on Sunday, the opinions were certainly mixed. Initially everyone thought she would have a girl. Now, it's about 50/50. I am still sticking with a girl and I will most certainly keep you posted! My excitement level is pretty much right behind Dave's!

Here's a couple of pictures of Kate.

Kate's Birthday dinner

I have yet again been told I am not keeping up with my blog. I am beginning to think I just lead a boring life or really just have nothing to say. Since I have never shut up since birth, I think I am just boring!

In any event, we had Kate's last birthday dinner before the big "30!" She is still in her twenties but it is the LAST year. (In case she is reading this, I thought I'd just mention that a few hundred times or so).

There are lots of pictures attached but I wanted to add a couple of the buzzards that swarm our house. NOT because Kate is getting so old or anything (did I mention she is one year away from 30?). I just happen to like them and when they spread their wings, it makes me feel like Batman is just around the corner.

I have included a couple of pictures of Nicholas (what a surprise!) after he got the frosting spatula. He later came back for both beaters. Great breakfast at Nana's. I also added some pictures of Nicholas playing with PopPop. Not sure who had more fun.

I especially loved the picture of Claire and her "peace sign" message to the world. I am beginning to think she is getting tired of me taking pictures of her so she is starting to make faces at me. At least I hope it's because she's tired of me taking pictures.

Anyway, here are some pics.

The Reunion

Tom and I decided to have a Hageman family reunion. Kind of a last minute thing but almost everyone made it. Turned out to be a pretty good time. Lots of food, LOTS of beer and cornhole games. Luckily, the UFC fight was on Pay Per View so of course we had to get that! Everyone sat around and watched the fights and all in all it was a really good time. Here are some pictures.

Also, Aaron, Kristy and the kids stayed over on Sunday and we took the kids to the Medina County Fair. Nicholas loved it although, didn't enjoy the animal noises. Every time I took him into an animal barn he would look at the animals and if one would make a noise he would look at me and say, "hear that?" Turns out he is NOT a fan of sheep. He did, however, like the horses. We got him a pony ride and he was not at all sure he really wanted to do it. But, once the ponies started to move he said, "she likes me!" And then he pointed to each of the other ponies and said, "she likes me. And she likes me and she likes me." Well, you get the idea. Claire just enjoyed the ride in the stroller and was just the best baby ever. By the time we got them in the car and about a block away from the fair, they were both out. We came back to the house and the parents (and Nana) went out as well. After all, naps are good for you! I have also put some great pictures of the kids on the blog as well.

The new stairway is here.

On Friday the guys came to install the new stairway. Took about 10 1/2 hours and they still have to come back on Monday to finish the woodworking part of the stairs. It is absolutely amazing. We just love it. It changes the whole look of the house. Here are some pictures.

Heading to C-Town!

Have a great week planned. Heading out to Columbus for the Billy Joel/Elton John concert. Can't wait! Get to spend the night with Sher Bear and am looking forward to that.

Taking the old furniture to Jack and Tara's and hope that they are happy with it. We finally got furniture that fit in the family room and am very glad we finally did it. It was time!

Tom and the boys are going golfing and I have a job in Columbus so we will meet up afterwards and head on back home.

The stairway should be coming this week or early next week. They came out and fitted all the pieces and are now making the final adjustments and powder coating the metal and then it's ready to go. I think it will make a huge difference in the house. Definitely will have pictures to share as soon as it's in.

Thought I'd throw in some pictures that have nothing to do with anything but I just like them.

Day at the Zoo!

What a great 4th of July weekend. Had fun at our friend's house on the 4th and had a cookout at our house on the 5th and Aaron, Kristy and the kids came home on Monday and Tuesday. We went to the zoo and had a really wonderful day. The kids were great!

Nicholas LOVED the dinosaur exhibit and wanted Daddy to bring one home. Took some great pictures.

Claire was so good for it being a long day outdoors. Poor Kristy, pretty much held her the whole time. The girl must have a back made of iron!

Aaron and Nicholas rode a camel, fed the birds and all in all had a great time.

I have also included pictures of Nicholas and PopPop riding the tractor. Nicholas has a real fixation about PopPop's tractor. So much so that when he says his prayers, he always asks God to bless PopPop's tractor!

Here are some pictures of all of us having a great time at the zoo.

Early Father's Day at Sher Bear's

Went to Sher's house for an early Father's Day celebration on Sunday. She, as usual, outdid herself with TONS of food, games and good spirits. We really had a great time. Got to see 4 out of the 5 grandkids and enjoyed that very much. Nikki was in from Chicago and Johnny, Nicholas and Claire were there. Lots of fun.

Here are some new pictures.

One Happy Granny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just had to share the news! Kate and Dave are expecting a baby! Tom and I couldn't be happier. Her due date is January 16th. They went to the doctor's today and had an ultrasound and heard the heartbeat. Everything looks great.

We are so excited. Tom and I both just keep saying, "keep em coming"!

Needless to say, I'll be posting pictures as soon as there are pictures to post!

Look at this smile!!!!!!

Had Nicholas' 2nd birthday party and Claire's baptism on Sunday. Here are some pictures from both events. Pay particular attention to the smile on Claire's face! She is sooooooooo beautiful when she smiles! She's beautiful anyway but the smile just melts your heart!

Nicholas was a hoot. LOVES presents (must take after his Aunt Sherry!). We got him an inch worm riding toy (which was his Aunt Sherry's favorite thing in the whole world - probably still is and she's 42!).

The party was fun, the cake Kristy made was absolutely adorable! Nicholas is into trains and she made a train cake that was so cute!

I need to blog more but just got the camera fixed and don't really use it except when we see the kids. So, I need to see the kids more and take more pictures!

Shopping for Claire!

Had soooooo much fun today. Went shopping for Clarie and found so many cute things. I can't wait to see her in them. Her Christening is in a week and I will be taking loads of pictures. In the meantime, here is a really cute picture of her.

Now I ask you, have you ever seen such big blue eyes? I think not! Cute as a button and did I mention she has dimples. From her Nana by the way.