Trip to Winamac

Here are some other pictures that are delayed from our trip to Winamac in the beginning of August. The last two years, my mom and I have taken the kids to stay at my Grandma's house for a few days in the summer and take them to Indiana Beach. The kids really look forward to it. We had a great few days this year playing at the park with a friend from high school's children, crossing the swinging bridge, riding the rides at Indiana Beach, riding in the wagon and toys at Grandma's, eating pancakes at Aunt Pam's, and swinging on the porch swing. It was a relaxing few days and was nice to visit everyone. Enjoy the pictures!

State Fair

Ok, so these pictures are very delayed (like over a month), but wanted to share these from our two trip adventure to the state fair. I really always enjoy going, but this year the two trips were pretty abbreviated. Highlights include watching the twins eat their first corndog, Jackson and Mia holding baby chicks in their hands, seeing the hot air balloons get blown up at dust, and seeing Jackson and Mia getting so excited to ride the carnival rides on the midway.

Chuck E Cheez-its

Yesterday we celebrated Jackson's 5th birthday at Chuck E Cheese (or Chuck E Cheez-its as Jackson and Mia call it) and really had a good time. I was skeptical since it was our first destination party, but I really enjoyed the whole not cleaning the house, not cooking part of the party. All of the kids had a total blast playing the games, getting tickets, and feeding the tickets to the chomping ticket monster to redeem them for prizes. I think the adults had a good time too. Mia really liked meeting Chuck E and I have a feeling she will be requesting a Chuck E Cheese party for her birthday in February. He got some excellent gifts including a toy guitar, air drumsticks, children encyclopedias, a new game for his Vsmile system, and a lite brite. I was surprised by how much he enjoyed the lite brite since he has difficulty focusing at times, but he wanted to do each one of the picture sheets that it came with after the party. Think we will be making a trip to get some more picture sheets since all of them are now done! It definitely brought back some memories for Matt and I playing lite brite when we were kids. Jackson had a great birthday. Thanks to all who celebrated with us!

Happy 5th big boy!

Cannot believe we have a 5 year old! He is growing up into such a little man. He starts piano lessons next week, loves to ride on his scooter (courtesy of Mamaw and Papaw), catches on so quickly to computer games and his Vsmile game system, enjoys playing with trains, and spends at least a short amount of time daily writing and coloring with crayons or markers. He is such a smart boy and we love him so much! Happy Birthday Jackson!

Ohio Picnic

Here are some pictures from awhile ago when Kathy and Jim took all the kids to Ohio for a visit. Matt was on a canoe trip with a friend and I had to work. It looks like they had a great time visiting with everyone and didn't miss us a bit! Below is a video of Mia singing "Where is thumbkin?" to GiGi. It isn't the full song, but you get the idea. Love how she is talking about the thumbkin, but putting her first finger up!

It's a girl!!

Had our 20 week ultrasound this morning and found out that there will be a balance to the testosterone in the Steuer house--baby number 5 is a girl! I must admit that I was secretly hoping for a girl, although of course just wanted to be sure everything was growing as it should. She looks perfect so far, everything where it should be and growing appropriately. We are definitely so blessed! She was moving around a bunch and opening and closing her mouth "drinking" during the ultrasound. The last picture is of her with her legs up by her head doing gymnastics already. So excited for little Mia, especially since she and the new baby will have birthdays close together. The hand-me-down clothes will be perfect as well. So glad everything looks good and that she is doing great! More to come!

Apologetic Twins

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a horrible habit of saying "sorry" for totally unnecessary reasons. Why I find the need to constantly apologize is beyond me, but it is something I have done my entire life. It is a hard habit to break and unfortunately, the twins have picked it up. They say "sorry" in their cute little two year old dialect when they fall down, when they drop something or for various other reasons. Funny enough, they are not always quick to say it when it really needs to be said. For example, when they use a toy train to repeatedly hit their brother in the head or when they leave bite marks on their brother's arm for taking a car away. I guess I am sometimes this way also; quick to apologize if it is no big deal, but somewhat stubborn if it is for a legitimate reason. Sometimes having kids makes you see the good and bad in yourself because they imitate so much of what you and your spouse do.