What a great surprise!

"Giddy up Daddy"

Gwenie just loves to bring out the best in us.  We just can't help but be all smiles and get in the silliest of moods; which usually ends up with Brad and I doing pretty goofy things.  Here Brad was taking her for a ride around the house before dinner.  We have been decently busy these last couple weeks, but never too busy to stop and watch the world pass by from the front porch...

"What is going to drive, walk, or ride by today I wonder?"

Gwen loves sitting in her rocking chair out front and watch everything.  Nothing can be happening and yet it is still part of the afternoon she can't live without.  She will go the front door and knock on it to go outside and runs to her chair and sits.  I can't really argue because it gives me a chance to sit as well.

"Mommy, these windows are filthy!" 

Gwen, as always, is my little helper.  She was inside while I finished watering my plants and Brad checked the grill.  No sooner did he leave and come outside, Gwen came running to the door.  She first licked the door (side to side) to wash it and then she cleaned it for me.  Not the greatest wash, but she sure tries!

Other activities that have been going on here at the Tempel House have been the landscaping, me finishing school for the year, and a surprise.  Gwen and I, and sometimes Brad when he can, have been working hard redoing the landscaping of our yard.  We are moving rose bushes, changing layouts of flower beds, planting flowers, and laying new mulch.  All very exciting jobs when you have a 1 year-old helping you!  Gwen has been a great help... throwing dirt and mulch for me.  I am still needing to do some work, but I will take picture when I am done (for this year).  May 22 was my last day of school for the year.  It was great because I actually was done with everything I needed to do Thursday morning so I took a personal day Thursday afternoon and Friday.  Gwen and I have loved our time together already and are making big plans!  We are making a list of things we will do around home, planning our schedule for when we will go to Holiday World and go to the pool, and just hanging out.  It is fabulous!  The last thing happening around here was a great surprise!  Brad came home Friday night and announced that he was off Saturday and Monday!  His idea for the weekend..."Let's take a road trip!"  My place of choice was Chicago of course!  So, very early Saturday morning we packed up the car and Gwenie and headed north to see the Caseys and McKenzies!

It was so nice to see everyone again, even if it has only been a couple weeks since our last visit.  Here are some highlights from the weekend:

"Grandpa smell this! "

Gwen and Grandpa checked out all the plants in the backyard and ran around with Buzz and Pooka (yes, she came too).

"Look what I can do!"

Gwen showed off her new trick of drinking through a straw.

"I need a pool!  I'm improvising!"

No matter what it is like outside or inside, Gwen will find the water and want to play in it.  No dog dish is safe!  This picture was taken after she dumped the water on her clothes and stepped in it with her shoes on... we finally got smart.

"Ready, set, jump!"

Daddy and Gwenie playing with the Wii.  Who knew a toddler was just what the ski jump needed.

"Mmmmmmmm!  I love this stuff!"

Not her first bite of the season, but the first time she had a slice and not pieces.  Gwen loved having a chance to eat the watermelon all by herself.  I think she ate 4 slices for breakfast and 2 for lunch!

"Check out my bed head!  It was a lot of hard work achieving this look!"

Auntie Erin and was helping Gwen show off her fabulous new look Monday morning.

"Woowooowooo"

Gwen was finally caught on tape barking!  She does it all the time, but I never seem to be fast enough with the camera.  She started this after seeing Buzz in March for Spring Break and has kept it up with Pooka.  It is hysterical!

"There's a monkey on my back!"

Gwen is getting ready for her big trip to Miami.  Gammy and Grandpa got her a plane to play with and I bought her a monkey harness for the airport.  We tried it on this morning to test it out and get her used to it.  So far, so good.  She wore it for about 10 minutes and kept turning in circles to see the monkey at first.  She then sat down and started playing and was just fine.  We will keep practicing so it isn't a huge surprise when she has to wear it for the big adventure.

Dr. Tempel?

What Gwen's future interests and eventual occupation will be is unknown at this point...or is it?  Watch the clip and decide for yourself, but Brad and I think she already knows!  She wants to be Dr. Tempel, D.D.S. maybe like Grandpa!   With 12 teeth now, she knows what they are all about.  (She has been doing the drill thing all by herself, we only started prompting yesterday)

Other exciting Gwen milestones/activities from the last couple of weeks:  kick cups across a room like a soccer ball, walk sideways, open drawers, rock her own rocking chair, play copycat, show you her tummy, make her Little Tikes car move backwards, pick family out in pictures, chase her pets, attempt to put her shoes back on, drink through a straw, blow kisses, and (my personal favorite) give kisses!

Happy Mother's Day!

Gwen, and I, wanted to wish all the Mother's a very Happy Mother's Day!  

"Yeah for Mommies!"

Although we both have been battling being sick again this week (somehow Brad keeps missing it all), our mood was great yesterday and we had tons of fun.  We went over to Brad's Grandmother's house and did our annual Clean-up/Spring Cleaning Day.  Every year all her children and their families come back and help her around the house and yard.  Things get fixed, cleaned, painted, and planted all in a day!  It was a lot of work and a lot of fun!  Gwen made sure to give me plenty of hugs and kisses throughout the day and even applauded me last night before bed.  How sweet is that?

The last 2 weeks have been very eventful.  Gammy and Grandpa came for a quick weekend visit from the big city.  Gwen loved showing off all her toys and tricks!  She even received her first haircut!  Just the bangs, and I did them a bit shorter than I wanted to, however she was a trooper and even smiled for a picture.

"Check out my new doo!"

Gwen helped with some yard work too!  We planted flowers in some pots around the yard and later she sat on a real tractor!  She wasn't too sure about the tractor, but she really liked messing with the volume on the radio.

"I don't know about this Poppy.  Are you sure it isn't in gear?"

With the weather getting warmer, Gwen is running off naked every chance she gets.  She has also discovered joking.  She will run around the house with her shapes in her mouth, and sometimes will throw them at you if you get too close!  It is all fun and always gets her laughing.

"I'm gonna get you!"

We also went to the Tempel Genetics Farm for a party and Gwen met some real piglets!  She petted and chased them and had a blast.  The piglets were only 3 days old!

"Kennedy, you are so much fun!"

"You won't believe what Gwen did today..."

In our house, this phrase is a common one, however, whenever it is the first greeting Brad gets when he arrives home from work...he knows it is something. That is exactly how it was last night. After a kinda busy day at work, I picked up Gwen from Carolyn. Carolyn has been working with her sister-in-law flipping a couple houses in the area and Gwen has been their personal assistant. Monday's job was sanding down the floors. I already knew the Gwen was feeling much better based on how she looked when I walked in the door. She was covered in dust (from rolling in it apparently), barefoot (she has figured out velcro and how to take off her shoes), and she was eating cookies. As we drove home I decided that we would go for a walk and get some fresh air during the afternoon. I quickly changed my clothes, and we headed out. No sooner did we get to the post office and it started to sprinkle. So much for our walk, so we headed home. No sooner did we get home and it stopped. Instead of heading in, I then decided to work on putting together a fountain while we were outside. Gwen was being really good, at first, and helping by bringing me rocks from the driveway and flowers from the grass. I was in the mud dumping sand down when Gwen noticed something much more fun than rocks and flowers....sand! She dove into my pile (I was going to flatten it and use it to level the pond) and started rolling around in it. Then she was picking up handfuls and in the mouth they went! YUCK! It didn't stop her though. She continued playing in the sand, and mud, and I continued to try to make the fountain. I finally got her out of the sand, was able to put the pond tub down and in came Gwen and sand! I even had put a little water in the pond to check to make sure I was making it level! So now Gwen has floor dust, sand, mud, and water on her! This wasn't enough fun though. I cleaned her off with the water faucet outside (we haven't bothered to hook up a hose yet) and I found something for her to do. She was on ground level playing fine and I turned to get the watering can. When I turned around Gwen was on the deck! Fast little bugger! I walked over to get her and was at the bottom step reaching for her and she took a log roll down the stairs! She went down only 2 steps (thank goodness!) and somehow only bit her lip! Of course she was wailing, but it could have been soooo much worse. Needless to say at this point I gave up on the fountain, stripped Gwen of her clothes, and put her in the bath. This is where Brad found us when he came home...much happier and cleaner :-). I did get to finish the fountain last night and it looks great! Brad and Gwen got some quality time together too!