Great Grandpa's Birthday

While we were back in Iowa over Labor Day weekend we were able to celebrate Great Grandpa Jim's birthday on September 7th.  Kevin's family and the four of us went over to his grandparent's house for supper.  We had an assortment of different pizzas.  Kevin and I very much enjoyed being able to be home to celebrate with his grandpa.  These are family events we don't normally get to do living further away.  I think his grandpa thought it was a nice treat too to have the twins there to help him party! ;)  Here are some pictures from our evening.

Happy Birthday, Great Grandpa Jim!!  We're glad you had a wonderful birthday.  Thanks for letting us spend the evening with you!

Great Grandpa Jim loves to play around with the twins.  He's great at getting them to smile and laugh, and I think the twins have the same effect on him.

Grandpa 's balancing act.  I think Matt and Kate look a lot alike in this picture.  

Don't you love Kate's wet shirt...she is a drooling machine!

Awesome Aunt B and Matthew (a.k.a. lil' peanut head)

Grandma and Katers.  She loves to smile and put her hand in her mouth.

Such a cute picture with Grandma!

Lots of hugs and kisses for Kate from Grandma and Great Aunt Mary.

We definitely had a great time being back with our families.  We miss you already!

Labor Day Weekend

The four of us were back in Iowa with our families over Labor Day weekend.  We arrived Thursday afternoon because Kevin's work, PwC, was doing a night golf recruiting event at UNI.  Coming back early allowed us to have a nice, not rushed weekend to see our family.  Friday, Kevin and I spent relaxing with the kids - getting some naps in - and hanging out with his grandma and grandpa Bernhardt.  That night we went to my parent's house to see my sister and family.

Cousins

Allie, Matthew, and Aunt Kelly

Allie got to help feeding Kate with Grandma's help.  She loves helping out with the babies.  She says Kate is her baby and Matthew is Andrew's (her brother).  It melts my heart when she gives Matt and Kate kisses.

The weekend also involved some storms. Friday night we ended up getting a windy thunderstorm which knocked down many tree limbs around town.  Kevin's parents' house had a limb get knocked down in their backyard that luckily missed the house.  Their street seemed to get hit the worst.  So Saturday morning many people from around the town were helping their neighbors clean up tree limbs from yards.  Makes you appreciate being in a small town!  Saturday afternoon I also got a chance to visit my good friend, Annie (we've been friends since high school).  She had just had a baby baby, Gavin, on August 19th.  I had fun catching up with her and meeting Mr. Gavin.

Then on Sunday we went to my cousin Jordan and Tonya's wedding.  Kevin and I were able to take the twins for the big Dufel family picture and then to a little bit of the reception.  I wanted some of my extended relatives to meet Kate and Matt.  Grandma and Grandpa Willms babysat the twins for us during the wedding and then came and got them at the reception for us.  You were great babysitters and we appreciate you running around picking up the kids, dropping them back off to us, and then picking them up again to head home.  A lot of running around for you - so thanks so much!!  Plus, I think Matt and Kate liked hanging out with grandma and grandpa!  The wedding was filled with great family, a wonderful couple, beautiful weather, and a fun time!  My sister got this wonderful idea after the dance that we as a family should all go to V.I. (Village Inn) for breakfast.  Bad idea...but still fun.  My 3 year old niece and 9 year old nephew were falling asleep at the table along with all of the adults, too.  I guess we are a group of old farts who were up way past our bedtime.  Here are some pictures from the wedding.

The Larry Dufel Family

The Willms Four

Matty and Mommy

Miss Kate will Daddy

My sister and her family

My parents looking sharp!

Katers and Mommy

Grandma and Grandpa Dufel with all 6 grand kids.  The first picture with all of the grand kids.

Funny picture time!  In order to get the "nice smiles picture" we had to make a deal to this crazy face picture. 

Grandpa and his buddy.

Love Matt's jean shorts - they look like pants on his short legs.  Such handsome boys!

Grandma and Allie B's

Great Aunt Sharon and Kate

My dad (Left) and his brothers - Donald and Garry (my dad's twin)

The beautiful bride and groom - Mr. and Mrs. Gaffney

My uncle Tom and his grand-daughter, Ashlyn

Dad and my sister Kelly

My sister-in-law, Melissa and me

Nephew Evan and my brother Michael

The Dufel Four

Also over Labor Day weekend, Kevin and I were able to get away for a night together.  We took off on Monday and went to Dubuque, IA and Galena, IL.  My mom and great grandma Ilene volunteered to watch the twins for us on Tuesday so we could have a night away.  My first night away in the 6 months!!  I definitely enjoyed my full night of sleep and sleeping in!  While in Dubuque we went to the Mississippi River Museum.  Then that night we headed to Galena and had supper, walked around, and spent the night.  The next morning we headed off to the shops in historic Galena, had lunch, did some scenic driving, and then headed back home.  It was a quick trip, but a trip well worth it.  We were glad we could get some time for just the two of us. 

We ended up staying until September 7th - Great Grandpa Jim's birthday, but I'll save those pictures for the next post. 

Big Kid Eaters

Such a big girl now that I can sit and eat my baby food in my highchair!

But Beware!  Here's the Kater Gator in action.  I was feeding her breakfast, apple-yogurt-oatmeal, and apparently she was really liking it.  You can see how this little gator chomper got her nickname.

Before I could even get the spoon to her she was ready with her mouth open diving to find the spoon. I guess mommy wasn't going fast enough for this gator!

I love how cute Matthew looks sitting in his highchair.  He looks like a grown boy sitting there, yet still so small in the chair. (If that makes sense)  This guy will get impatient if you don't feed him spoon fulls fast enough.  Makes it hard to feed him and Kate at the same time.

"Hi!"

Matt has been putting his hands on his bottle for awhile now.  Like he's trying to help you hold it.  Well today, this little man was able to hold it and feed himself part of his bottle.  I think it was just a fluke, but the proud look on his face was priceless!

It's so much fun to see the two of them learning new things everyday!

Matching Monday

Daddy

The first two weeks of September Kevin was able to take vacation, finally, and spend the days with the kids and me.  It was great having his help, and I think the kids enjoyed daddy being goofy! 

We look forward to more vacation days with you, dad.  You're so much more fun than mom! :)

Foto Friday