Lucia and Rose celebrated the sacrament of First Communion this morning at St. Francis. Lucia is in 3rd grade and Rose is in 1st grade, but the church allowed them to attend Faith Formation together this year.
Lucia and Rose First Communion
Graduation Party
I started working on my MBA back in the spring of 2017. I took some time off because of our trip and finished up a couple of weeks ago. There was a slight delay in officially celebrating my graduation because I was waiting on a final grade. We had the Reagens and Mimi and Papa over to celebrate and Susan and the girls put together a mini graduation ceremony for me. I probably spent about 3-5 hours each week working on my MBA work and it will be nice to have that time back.
Rose Riding Her Bike
Rose has been working on riding her bike.
Mari Driving
Mari got her instructional permit a couple of weeks ago and today we got out for her first drive.
Andrew’s First Driving Lesson
Highlights included:
- Andrew driving
- Accidentally running into a snow bank
- Driving down a small, inter-parking lot road with another car behind him.
The Pacifier Fairy
A few weeks ago Rose moved on from diapers, and today the Pacifier Fairy paid our house a visit, to exchange all of Rose’s pacifiers for a stuffed animal that she can snuggle with when she needs to. I think we were all ready and Rose was excited. Both of these milestones were nice to reach, but also a little sad (yet still exciting) knowing that we won’t experience these stages again.
The Pox is Upon Us!
Lucia and Rose have Chicken Pox! They were exposed a couple of weeks ago, and we noticed the first pox on Monday night. Tuesday was OK, but things have gone downhill since then. Lucia has a ton, and quite a few on her face. Rose has about half as many as Lucia, but also some in some uncomfortable places. They are doing better now and we hope to see some improvement over the weekend.
Winthrop Washington
After a crazy week where I ended up traveling to Cincinnati and having to drive back because my flight was canceled, Susan and the kids packed up at the Case Haubs’ this morning and we moved to our new house. That is actually not the biggest news of the day.
The biggest news is that we got a puppy! We drove a couple of hours to Barnum, IA to pick up Winthrop “Winnie” Washington Liesland. He is a 50/50 Golden Doodle, whose parents are both reddish and just under 50 pounds. So far, so good.
Lucia loses her first tooth
Today Lucia lost her first tooth! It has been wiggly for a while and I think Mari helped her get it out. Lucia handled it like a pro and can’t wait for the tooth fairy.
Niagara Falls, Canada Edition
Today we made our first visit to Niagara Falls. We parked by American Falls and then walked across the bridge to Canada. It was actually my first time ever leaving the country! We enjoyed the evening.
Lucia’s 5th Birthday!
Lucia turned 5 over the weekend. It was a bit of a crazy time because on her actual birthday we spent most of the day in San Francisco with the Liess clan. We still tried to make it a special day and then on Monday night we had cake and ice cream.
Lucia at 5 continues to be an angel. She is smart, sweet, and enthusiastic. She loves life and socializing with other people. She is showing an interest in learning her letters this year, even though it is not something we encourage. She shares a bed with Rose in the RV and helps out when Rose needs it, either helping her find her pacifier or cuddling in the morning.
She loves to bike with all of the kids and she is a master with her two-wheeler. It would be awesome to be back in Des Moines to try out some of the single track trails.
Favorite song: Victor Vito
Favorite color: Purple
Favorite food: Noodles
Favorite book: Thumbelina
Rose’s First Haircut
Rose’s hair was beginning to look a little ragged, so Susan decided it was time for a haircut.
