Loving Life

8/30/10

Naughty!

Grandpa Ron and Grandma JoJo sent this sweet little desk for Harrison's birthday (still can't believe he is turning TWO!) And look what the little monkey did- climbed it like a dang tree.

8/12/10

Since Brian has been relatively free the last 2 weeks, we have been taking advantage of all the extra "daddy time" we can get. Yesterday we thought we would try out a little place called Monkey Joe's here in Indy. It's a kid's wonderland, full of jumphouses and slides. It seemed like a great idea, kinda like the fair was a great idea. Major FAIL.

Parents-0, Harrison-2.

Harrison was terrified. He climbed into the first jump house and laid down, sort of like a scared little puppy, and would not move. So it looks like the Monkey Joe's wonderland was not what our little "Alice" had in mind.

Crawling in. 2 minutes later, he was curled into the

fetal position.

This picture pretty much sums up the day

We did manage to snap one decent pic

8/8/10

Ludwig's do the State Fair

A beautiful Saturday, two happy boys, and two parents who were itching to get out of the house= a trip to the Indiana State Fair. Uhmm bad idea. The day started off with Brian getting reprimanded by a State Trooper for making a left-hand turn where he wasn't supposed to and the day ended with some random bozo dumping his mustard all down the back of me. In between, there was incessant crying, temper tantrums and whining galore. Oh and let's not forget the horrid smell of farm animals.

There was, of course, some GREAT people watching. See I CAN find the positive in every situation!

Llama, llama... you are NOT my momma!

Harrison adored the pigs

Terrified of the carousel

Chocolate covered bacon anyone?

One cashed out toddler

8/4/10

Fat & Fabulous at 5 months!

It's hard to believe that baby Brooks is 5 months old today. While it's a little bittersweet that my cuddly newborn is now a nosy and chatty baby, I am loving his little personality. He is rolling over belly to back, but hasn't quite mastered the back to belly (but we're working on it!) He is a drooling dude and must sport a bib at all times (although no teeth have popped through yet) He coos and smiles at total strangers, loves his paci and fingers, but most of all, he loves Harrison. It melts my heart watching my two boys interact. The first thing Harrison says in the morning is "Brus" (Brooks) and I often find him peering into Brooks' crib, just watching him.

Tipping the scales at nearly 20 pounds, here is our fat

and fab 5 month old!

Sweet cheeks

Ready for an evening out! Watching a little

Baby Einstein before we go.

And this is how Brooks rolls... Sophie the giraffe

(which I highly recommend to any moms out there),

paci and lovey.

7/20/10

US Weekly (a bit dated)

We've been busy, B-U-S-Y! We made it to Indianapolis, moved all of our stuff into our fab little townhouse and hauled all the necessary stuff to my parents' house, where we've settled in for the last 3 weeks. I started orientation for my new job the Tuesday after we got in. Oh and should I mention here that I had some Gawd awful GI virus that left me bedridden the day before I started? Lovely.

Harrison is mostly daytime potty-trained and Brooks is as big as ever, loving him some cereal and applesauce! And the boy is FINALLY taking a pacifier and a bottle, which makes my life a tad more manageable.

So we're here and loving being back with family and friends. Brian will be here for good at the end of July. This will be a short little blog update for now. Here are a few pics from the last few weeks...

Our littlest dude

Brian and the boys on his short visit to Indy

Harrison adores the swimming pool

Mmm... cereal

SOOOOO big!

6/23/10

Storytime and Swimming Holes

We went to our last storytime today at the local library. The kiddos had a blast singing "Beanbag Rock" and "Wheels on the Bus." Harrison thoroughly enjoyed the goldfish snack and bubbles that Miss Kat (the librarian) was so kind to give them. We will definitely miss our Wednesday library visits!

We also ventured to the swimming hole. The temps have been in mid-90s (nearly 100 with the heat index) and just plain miserable. So on went the swim diapers and adorable swim trunks and we were off. Harrison loves to splish splash in the pool and Brooks enjoyed getting his toes dipped. We only lasted about an hour before the coinciding meltdowns occurred... which was my cue to get the heck out of dodge. I was happy to get some cute pics before we left.

Addie, Harrison, and Charlotte

Harrison in a Hat

My child came across his baptismal outfit, including his bonnet. So he was off running throughout the house without anything on except a bonnet. Thank goodness the blinds were closed! I can only imagine what the neighbors would have said!

6/19/10

My Daddy, M.D.

Whenever Daddy signs his name

he always signs "M.D."

so everyone will know

that he belongs to me.

For M.D. means "My Daddy"

or something just the same.

And that is why he always

puts these letters in his name.

Some letters in his name are small,

but these are not, you see.

He always makes them big like that

because he's so proud of me.

Happy Father's Day Brian! We love you!

With Harrison 9/08

Christmas '08

Spring '09

Christmas '09

Winter '09

With Brooks 3/10

'10

Spring '10

6/18/10

Gardendale Splash Park!

We headed out to "G-dale" as the Birminghamians call it with our good buds, the Campbell's.

The backseat of the car full o' tots!

Addie, Harrison and Charlotte making a splash

Keeping cool

Momma and her boys!

6/16/10

So long Alabama

Our adventure in Alabama is quickly coming to a close and what better way to celebrate than to have a good 'ol fashioned barbecue! Our 'Bama buddies, the Sytsma's, hosted a fabulous dinner on Saturday. The men entertained the sweaty kids outdoors with bubbles and popsicles while the mommas enjoyed adult convos and a bottle of vino.

The crew (Brooks is hiding behind Katie's head)

While the men have been galavanting around the country, enjoying steak dinners and attending National Championship football games, us wifeys have had some great playdates and made some incredible friendships along the way. I never thought in a million years I would say this, but I *think* I might miss it here.

My Bama buddy, Jen (who saved me from insanity)

6/11/10

Packing Up and Heading Out

Lots of news to report in the latest issue of the Ludwig Times.

I got a job! After staying home with the boys this year, I realized that I really did miss working. Some mommas are meant to be stay-at-home moms. Me... not so much. I love my sweet babies, but I also love adult conversation and having "me" time, even if that means having "me" time at work. So I hunted for the perfect job and I actually found it (or so I hope). I will be working full-time days (in nurse speak that is 3 12 hours days a week) at a Level II NICU at IU Hospital in Indy. I start July 6th. Ahh! I must admit I am a little intimidated. I mean, I haven't worked in over a year. And I haven't worked in a NICU in a couple of years. I'm sure once I get in there with those sweet little preemies, I will feel right at home again.

So with a new job starting in less than a month, that means I am in full packing mode. The house is full of boxes (with naked toddlers crawling in them!) It is REALLY hard to pack up your house when there are 4 people living in it. We found a wonderful townhome on Indy's southside that will work perfectly for us for the one year we plan on renting. 3 bedrooms, a loft, 3 bathrooms and an attached 2 car garage... awesome. The boys and I are moving June 28th (umm that is 17 days) Brian is not finished with his fellowship until the end of July. Thankfully I will have my parents' help with the kiddos and my sanity.

And lastly, Brian is almost finished with his training! 5 years of undergrad (Iowa), 4 years of med school (Iowa), 5 years of residency (Wisconsin) and 1 fellowship year (Alabama) and now at the ripe old age of 33, he will get his first real job (Indiana)! He is pretty psyched and a little nervous, which is to be expected. He has already been assigned a high school team to cover and hopefully the patients will come running to him. :)

Crazy toddler in a box

Crazy toddler in my shoes

And the reason why I have a crazy toddler:

Potty Training! (He actually has been

quite successful so far!)

Love this one: he insists on wearing these darn

boots inside the house- and on the wrong feet.

Two tuckered out boys

6/4/10

Brooks:3 months

Good Morning Sunshine!

Smiley Boy

6/2/10

Say it's SNOT so...

Thursday afternoon we headed north to Indianapolis. From the moment we left Bama, it was chaos. Both boys had colds. They both cried for a majority of the 8 hour car trip. And lucky momma got to sit in between the carseats for about 5 hours of that trip.

Friday was filled with interviews, house-hunting, pictures for Brian and snot and coughing.We had hoped to see more friends and family, but the boys had other plans. Sunday the snot and coughing was worse for baby Brooks so we scoped out a childrens' ER while in Indy. Bronchiolitis. Lovely. We are now home and hopefully will be on the mend soon.

Lunch at GiGi and Grandpa's