Arts Festival

When Papa, Oma, and Uncle Dustin came to visit we went to the Des Moines Arts Festival. It is a big arts festival that invites local artists to come and sell their work. They block off many blocks around Western Gateway Park and have lots of stuff going on. This year they had a whole section for kids but I was a little too young for the arts and crafts but maybe next year. Mommy found a neat piece of art for our house but then decided no when she saw the price tag, $5,500! It was fun to see so many people out and see some very talented artists.

I was taking it all in!

Daddy and I taking a break. We didn't realize just how many blocks the Arts Festival was. We had lost Papa and Oma so we were waiting for them to catch up!



A family photo op at the Arts Festival. I didn't know who to look at since Uncle Dustin and Papa were both trying to get me to smile!



Posing with Mommy during our lunch break!

Hanging out with Uncle Dustin in the air conditioning after spending the morning at the Des Moines Arts Festival.

Planting a Tree

When we moved into our house Oma and Papa said they wanted to buy a tree for us and plant it in our yard. They wanted to get it planted while I was still little so we could watch it grow as I grow. Well we had to wait until winter was over, then until we had sod, and now the weather was finally perfect so we went out and bought a Blazing Autumn Maple tree. It is nine and a half feet tall so it is a pretty big tree already. We decided to put it in our front yard. Oma, Papa, and Uncle Dustin came to visit so we could finally plant it. Oma and Papa helped plant it but Uncle Dustin got the best job. He got to play with me while everyone else worked out in the heat! It makes a great addition to our home!

Yep I think that looks like a good spot. Now how many people does it take to plant a tree?

Daddy are you helping or just making sure Papa is digging the whole deep enough? He was actually working because I saw him go empty the wheelbarrow.

Silly Oma, you are suppose to water the tree to help it grow, not me! The water did help cool me off though because it was a warm day out!

Hey its my family in front of our tree!

Thanks Oma, Papa, and Uncle Dustin for helping us to plant our first tree.

Happy Anniversary

On Tuesday my Mommy and Daddy celebrated their second wedding anniversary. Mommy told me all about their wedding day and how they got all dressed up and had a big party in Algona where they both grew up. We have pictures up in our house from that day so I have seen how nice my mommy and daddy both looked. Daddy had to work that day but he came home for lunch because we got some new furniture and it was being delivered that day. What a great day for that delivery huh! It is nice and comfy. I told Mommy and Daddy I would be very careful not to spit up on it since it is new. That afternoon Daddy went back to work but we had a special visitor stop by. It was a special delivery for my mommy from a floral shop. She was very surprised to see a big bouquet of flowers that Daddy had sent to her. He doesn't have a very good memory but every year (well the last 2 anyways) he has gotten my mommy the same flowers that she had in her wedding bouquet. They are red roses and stargazer lillies. This bouquet was huge and very beautiful. That night we went out to eat to celebrate. I was even nice enough to sleep through dinner so they were able to enjoy each others company. Mommy got Daddy a funny gift. She said that on your second anniversary the gift is supposed to be cotton so she bought Daddy some new undershirts! How practical huh, but he actually was very excited about them because he said he needed some new ones! They had a wonderful anniversary and I can't wait to celebrate the next one with them. Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy.

Here we are enjoying the new loveseat. It was perfect for the 3 of us!

Look at Mommy's pretty flowers. When they all finally bloomed there were 12 stargazers plus 10 roses!

Daddy wanted to lay back and relax but I wanted to check out the new couch too! It was pretty comfy though!

Daddy's Surprise

My Daddy's surprise finally arrived in the mail. He had been getting the mail for the last few days waiting for his package and it finally got here. Mommy and I made him a book with pictures of him and me in it. Mommy has always said that we take the cutest pictures so she wanted to use as many of them as she could and she put them into a book so Daddy could always remember the fun times we have had together. He opened it and was very surprised. When he opened it I thought it was a book for me so I tried to chew on the covers but Daddy told me that this was a special book that we couldn't chew on. Mommy took some pictures of it to show you what it looks like. Sorry the pictures aren't very good but you will get the point.

The cover of my Daddy's book. That picture was taken on my 1st day of life. The title of the book is Me and My Daddy.


This page has a picture of me and Daddy when we were in the hospital with Mommy.



These are some recent pictures of me and Daddy and the caption says ' The greatest gift I ever had came from God, and I call him Dad'. Daddy loved his book and I know we will look at it for many days to come!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy ever! I love you Dada!

Last weekend we got to celebrate another holiday! It seems like we are always celebrating something but this time it was my Daddy's special day. While Daddy was at work we worked on two surprises for Daddy. One of which was custom made so unfortunately Daddy hasn't gotten it yet. The other present we made was a painting for Daddy's office. I know some of you probably think my mommy is crazy to let an 8 month old paint but I had a lot of fun. I used some of Mommy's finger paint from when she was a teacher. There are pictures below of my artwork. Daddy was very proud of it he took it to work and hung it up in his office. I think it is safe to say I am the budding artist in the family. We also bought Daddy a couple of new shirts to wear. We will update you on his last surprise when it finally arrives. We had a great day on Sunday and we were able to hang out all day together. I love those kinds of days with both my mommy and daddy.

Hmm, maybe I should paint my Bumbo tray instead of that plain white color...

Hey Mom, do you think Daddy will love it?

I think he likes it! I never put the paint in my mouth but I did try to eat my painting. Don't worry Daddy told me that was not to eat and gave me a toy to put in my mouth instead. Those darn teeth are a pain.

Here is Daddy with his new shirts and the card we got him. We got him a card that plays music.

That's My Boy

I decided to start taking matters into my own hands for the first time. Since mommy and daddy weren't going to give me the TV remote, I will find my own way of getting it. I started doing this last week and the more practice I get the better, I mean faster I become. Mommy and Daddy beware I am about to get into anything within reach.

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Visit to Tic Toc Oma's

A couple weekends ago, I got to go to Tic Toc Oma's house in Charles City for the first time to celebrate her 75th birthday. She has such a big yard, I can't wait until I can walk so I can go all over. We played outside around the flowers for awhile, went out for lunch, stopped at the greenhouse where I picked up some new animal friends, and then we surprised Tic Toc Oma with her own ice cream birthday cake. Oh yeah, I also couldn't stop laughing when the water bottle kept falling down. I can't wait to go back to your house Tic Toc Oma!

I don't know why, but I thought it was hilarious.

Happy Birthday Tic Toc Oma!

Smile for the camera.

I had fun playing outside.

Me and my Oma's.

Mommy, Daddy, Me, and Tic Toc Oma in her beautiful yard.

Family Fun

A couple of weeks ago my Mommy and Grandma took me to the flat land, I mean Nebraska to meet family I had never met before. On the way there we stopped at Underwood to see Great Great Aunt Sandi, or Nan as I like to call her and Great Great Uncle Paul. They live in a log cabin in the country. They have a beautiful house. Nan gave me some very good snuggles but unfortunately Mommy forgot to bring in her camera so she didn't get any pictures!

My Grandma Becky grew up in Fremont so she was able to show me the ropes. We first went to the nursing home to see Great Grandma Nancy. While we were there we went to visit my Grandpa Bob's brother Fred. They were right down the hall from each other. While we were Grandma Becky's brother Brian showed up before he went to work. I just want to make a point to say that I have more hair then Brian so I must not have the Wennstedt hair genes, well at least I hope not!

After leaving the nursing home we went to Grandma Becky's cousin Kathy's house. My mom's other cousin Connie was there from Florida. She made sure to bring the nice weather with her as it was rather warm out that day. My Great Aunt Paula showed up to see me too! We hung out at Kathy's house before heading to see Great Great Auntie Ethel. It was fun to meet everyone.

I was so warn out that I was asleep by the time we got to the end of Kathy's street. Here are some pictures from our visits.

Here is Grandma Nancy and I in her room.



Grandma Becky, her brother Brian, and me posing outside of the nursing home. I have an Uncle Brian and a Great Uncle Brian! How confusing huh.

I was sitting on Auntie Ethel's lap enjoying her room. I was being pretty funny and we were all enjoying each others company. Auntie Ethel even has a picture of me up in her room.

Hey Kathy, it was nice to finally meet you. Kathy had a big living room area where I was able to play.

Connie was in Nebraska visiting for a wedding. She has her own Grandkids so she knew lots of songs and finger plays.

Giraffes are Fun!