Uncle Patrick came home!

After what the kids say was "a really, long time," Uncle Patrick made it back to Mid-Missouri for a 9 day long visit.  The kids were living it up and kept Patrick hopping.  He went to Brown Bag Lunch at school with Brendan, came for show-and-tell at preschool with Emma, Owen, and Claire (see pic), came over for Shakespeare's pizza and some Guitar Hero World Tour action, cheered all the kids on during their soccer games, taught Brendan some chess, found "skunky" for Emma and the list goes on.  What a good sport!  It was a great visit and it was sad to see him go.

Of course, while he was here, he started to get them excited about wanting to go visit him in NYC.  It's hard to believe that Brendan was the same age as the triplets are now when we took him to the Big Apple. I guess we better start saving asap.  Brendan did so great though, that I hate to tempt fate a second time with triple the trouble:-)  However, it is also amazing at how much Brendan remembers from that trip.  Darran is considering trying to run the NY Marathon.  It's a lottery, so we not sure if he would be selected this year or not, but it would definitely be a good excuse to go.  I guess the trip is at least officially on the radar!

And the Tigers Win!!

Darran and I took the kids to see the MU vs. KU game on Monday night.  We went in expecting to make it to half-time but were pleasantly surprised that they made it through the entire game! Considering they are usually going to bed when the game actually started, this was no small feat.  Of course, who could sleep with all the noise going on in that arena?  Wow!  What a game! We've never seen the new arena filled with such energy.  It was a little difficult to explain the MIZ-F#$! KU expletives being chanted by the college kids (ugh!) but a small price to pay considering they made it until 11pm.  The girls were decked out in their cheerleader outfits and I heard several comments about how cute they were.  I thought they were going to bust when the cheerleaders started doing their flips.  The boys wore their football jerseys and were actually following the game most of the time.  We had to explain that not every game they will see is quite as exciting as this one was.  They are Tiger Fans through and through!

A New Cousin!

Welcome Evelyn Elizabeth!  As you can see, we have some very excited cousins who have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new baby cousin.  We finally got word after a long day of labor...a girl!  Congrats to Kelly and Greg.  She is absolutely beautiful!  Unfortunately, with cold and flu season upon us we didn't want to be responsible for getting the new baby or mom sick, so after some careful planning we decided best to see Evelyn for the first time at the hospital behind the nursery glass.  It was probably good for the kids.  This way they realize how fragile and precious a new baby is.  But it was sure hard for us!  Who doesn't love to hold a new baby?  Seeing Kelly and Greg as new parents brought back so many wonderful memories.  It's hard to believe it has been over 8 years since we first felt the joys of parenthood!  What a great club to be a part of:-)

Brendan's first 5K

Brendan and his dad recently ran the Resolution Run 5k.  Woo hoo!  This was Brendan's first 5k (3.1 miles for you non-runners!) and he did it in 36:06.  Wow!  That beat my first and second 5k run times.  He got "the bug" from his Dad who has run a 1/2 and full marathon.  All the kids did a cumulative marathon this past summer, where you run the total distance of a marathon (26.2 miles) over the course of the summer (some more grudgingly than others).  It's been a great motivation to stay fit and healthy.

Way to go Brendan!

Cloth Diapers 101

The Alberty family is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Della Rocca.  We've had a lot of experience in diapering (36 diapers a day!).  However, Kelly and Greg have decided to used cloth diapers...which we know nothing about.  Hence our Cloth Diaper 101 class.  

So, the girls broke out their baby dolls (yes we have that many) and Kelly brought the training supplies and we made a night of it.  Who knew cloth diapers could be so cute?  Boy, have they come a long way!  I remember those old cloth diapers...you know, that we now only use for burp cloths.  And how many times babysitting did I stick myself with those monster pins?  Fret not!  Those are no longer used...it is all velcro and snaps.  They make the diaper covers in adorable leopard print, cow prints, polka-dots, stripes, you-name-it.  And, as you can see by the pics, even a five year old can do it now!  

It was a lot of fun, mostly because we are all excited to have a new baby in the family.  We can't wait to try out our skills on a real baby!

Blaine, Brendan and Ann

Owen