Parties and Rehersal Dinner

So one of the things that has been keeping us busy is Aunt Terri's wedding. Matt is one of seven Beffa kids and little (and only) sister Terri got married this past weekend. For those of you who may not know, Terri lives in Germany with her new husband. He is a German professional basketball player (notice the height) and teacher. Here are pics from the bachelorette/bachelor baseball game and Rehearsal.

The bride and I!

Matt and I at the Bachelorette/Bachelor Cardinal game - thanks to Nonna for watching the kids so we could go out without them!

The bride and 4 of her brothers (left to right: Tim, Matt, Patrick and Todd)

The bride and groom with the boys (left to right: Tim, Matt, Patrick, Todd, Matze, Terri)
The boys were trying to be tall and Matze was trying to be shorter.. LOL


The girls (left to right) Terri (bride), Kim (MOH), Me, Michelle (SIL)

Some of the gang at the game. I have to say that bleacher seats are the best and I had no idea they even existed! The front two people are Matze's mom and dad that came in from Germany for the festivities.

Some of the 16 Beffa grandchildren at the rehearsal - Notice Jacob trying to escape the pictures - this became the theme of the weekend!

Me and my sister-in-law DeAnna at the rehearsal dinner. Matt's family has owned a bar for 113 years and it closed for good the last weekend in May. However, they agreed to hold one last Beffa family event there and of course only Terri could pull that off. This was our last time in the restaurant and bar and it was very sad :(

Jacob had SO much fun in Brenna's stroller that night. He got pushed around by all his cousins and was living the life. He didn't get to bed before 11 any night but enjoyed spending time with his cousins.

Aunt Michelle, Rachel and Brenna - this was probably 10:30 and WAY past B's bedtime!

The Europeans with Baby Colin (Colin is Terri and Matze's baby boy that was born in January). There were lots of people in from Europe for the wedding - it made it even more fun but I have to say that Europeans like to stay out REALLY late!! I was so tired by the end of the weekend and I didn't even make it to the end of most nights!!

Last time we see the Beffa's fine food sign lit up.. so very sad. It's odd to think that the tradition of my kids going there is now lost. However, we obviously wanted what was best for the family and wish everyone the best as the bar closes turns out the lights for the last time!

Pics of the wedding and some of the family pictures the day after the wedding will be posted soon!

Random May Pics

So for all of you who are e-mailing, calling and asking... I have not forgotten about the blog. It's been a crazy few weeks and I am just getting around to posting things.

The kids have been really healthy (and now I'm knocking on wood)! Brenna is still apx 8 weeks delayed developmentally due to her setbacks early on but generally is on track. She has started to sit up and is rolling everywhere. She is even army crawling and can get just about anywhere she wants. I used to wish for her to be more mobile and independent but now I'm thinking I've gotten what I asked for and I want to go back!! Generally speaking she is an awesome little girl. She is so laid back and is very rarely upset. Her sleeping habits could use some work but I have to admit that with out schedule these days she's lucky to be in any sort of a routine.

Jacob is doing very well too. He is talking like crazy and some things are adorable and some things make me cringe. He's putting more and more together and at least once a day I think he is the smartest little boy ever. Just today he ran up and gave me a big hug and told me he loved me (totally unprompted).. however then he proceeded to shake his cup so milk went flying everywhere. He's a little phobic about germs and dirt but who could blame him considering everything he's gone through. He is amazing with Brenna and will do just about anything for his sister. He's very gentle and protective of her as well. He's also developed a huge fear of thunder (and now fireworks) which has proven very awful as St. Louis has had lots of bad weather these days. I'm hoping it's a phase he is quick to grow out of.

Brenna at 8 months old playing with the remote

Here is Jacob at 8 months old playing with the remote.. now I'm thinking they do not look a like?

Brenna did get her ears pierced - here's a pic of her bling. By the way, this was ALL Matt's idea. I was a nervous wreck but she did awesome and doesn't both them at all. Look at those cheeks!

Can't forget Jacob.. here he is hamming it up for the camera

Vegas...

I recently returned from a quick trip to Las Vegas to visit my brother, Ryan, at Nellis Air Force Base. My mom went too. We had a great time and saw an entirely different side of Vegas. Again, I wasn't the best at taking pictures but here are a few.

The kids stayed home with Matt on this trip. However, we would love to plan another trip this fall and bring them with us.

This is at the Hoover Dam - you can see how high the water was at one time.

Kayaking the Colorado River! This was my first time kayaking but we had a great time. I could have used some detailed instructions but made do.. it wasn't until the way back that I actually got the hang of it. This was my view most of the time.. Ryan way ahead of me and my mom wondering if we would ever catch up :)

Mom and Me Kayaking for the first time.. not sure if this is even out of the cover where we put in. The water was so clear you could see to the bottom even if it was 20-40 ft deep.

Taking a break...

Me and Mom at a sand bar (at least that's what we call them on the muddy Mississippi)

How beautiful is that?

Taking a break on the way back.. trying to get a tan. Lord knows we haven't seen the sun in St. Louis for weeks!

Ryan and my mom @ the strip (we spent a whole 3 hours on the strip)

Up in the mountains..

Hoppy Easter!

Here are the long awaited Easter pictures that everyone has been asking about. As I looked back through my pictures I realized I am not very good at taking posed pictures of the kids. Perhaps it's because it's becoming increasingly difficult to get Jacob to sit still long enough. Anyway, that's something I will definitely try to do better in the future.


Getting ready to dye eggs!!

Jacob was very excited to "paint"

Brenna's new to the high chair but is doing well

Jacob's favorite color - GREEN!!

Look how pretty all his eggs are!

The kids Easter baskets from the bunny. Jacob was very confused by the Easter Bunny. He recently was visited by the Binky Fairy and thought the Easter Bunny was going to take something else. He was very happy when he learned the Easter Bunny really does bring presents!


Rounding the corner and looking for his basket!

He came!!

The clothes were not a huge hit (surprise, surprise) but he loved the shovel, buckets and toys! He was putting the bucket and shovel to good use with all the eggs he found.

At Uncle Tim and Aunt DeAnna's.. skyping with Aunt Terri, Uncle Matze and Colin in Germany!

Brenna's Easter dress... poor girl is so small her dress was 3 months and I had to sew it shut and her sweater was newborn. Yes, she is going to be 7 months old this month! She is finally rolling over though and is slowly starting to hold herself in the sitting position for a few seconds.

The only picture where I managed to get both kids!

Easter Egg hunt at Nonna's. They sure did hide those eggs well.

Jacob with Great Grandma Bayerl and all his eggs.

Exhausted but not wanting to let those eggs out of his sight!

Brenna's ready for the water

Brenna's getting SO big.. 10% weight and 95% height at her 6 month check-up. Here are a few pictures of our little girl in her new swimming suit. (Yes, I'm addicted to embroidery)

Practicing her back-stroke

Lovin' it!

Legacy Park...

The weather in St. Louis has been showing signs of spring so we have been spending lots of time outdoors. Jacob loves being outside and we have trouble getting him inside every night. We are really enjoying our new neighborhood and all the friends that Jacob has here. Almost nightly there are kids are our driveway as we pull up wanting Jacob to play with them.

Brenna has been doing better in general. However, she is struggling with allergy induced asthma but the breathing treatments seem to be helping a lot.

We visited our local park with Jacob this past weekend and here are a few pictures...


Swinging away!

So much fun...

The best part was gathering sticks on our walk, the more the better

Looking at the water with Daddy

It was a long walk back..

Jacob's new toy

Jacob got a new toy from Nonna a few weeks ago. Yep, his very own John Deere Gator. Here's a few pictures of him riding it. For the record, I know he should be wearing a helmet!

Already has stuff in the back - the more to haul the better !