Pumpkin Patch with friends

Jovie's friend Griffin and Mommy's friend Sarah came to visit from Indiana a few weekends ago and wow was it fun!  Aside from the chaos of 1 18 month old and 1 16 month old, it was a fun, exhausting weekend!  Sarah and Griffin arrived late Friday night and Jovie was already fast asleep.  But she woke up Saturday morning to having to learn to share her toys.  THAT WENT WELL :)  She had a few territorial issues, but we managed.  Only had to hide 4 toys all weekend that they couldn't stop fighting over! :) After getting the kiddos ready for the day, the 4 of us ventured out for breakfast to our favorite spot, The Skillet.  As always, eating in public with a toddler is challenging, but we always manage!  After breakfast we strolled the streets of Mt. Vernon and then hit Krouls Pumpkin Patch.  It was a bit chilly, but the kids had a blast!  They were both sound asleep before we hit Mt. Vernon on the way home and continued their naps when we returned home.  The rain dampened the rest of Saturday and we had to manage by playing inside.  Saturday night Sarah and I got to watch an old school favorite - the movie Crossroads.  We crashed early and Sunday morning it was time for them to pack up.  We sent them off on their way and were so glad they came to visit!  What a fun weekend!

Play... Play... Play...

Jovie LOVES playing with her blocks.  She has gotten very good at stacking them by size.  It's quite impressive.  I think one of her favorite things about the blocks is getting to dump them out of the bag and making a huge mess!  One thing she has learned is how to help pick up.  When it's time to pick up the blocks (which she calls bloooooo) she will help you put them back in the bag.  It's pretty cute!

Last week I had to travel to OKC for work, so Jov got to hang out with sissy and daddy a few days.  I had a tough time leaving, but was okay once I was gone.  I was SOOO happy to come back and Jovie was too.  She ran to me -- yelling MAMA! Too cute!  She even helped me pack!

We are constantly on the move, playing inside, playing outside, reading books, chasing Jov around the house, watching Lib's volleyball games, visiting friends, spending time with the Nana's and Papa's... time is just flying by! Jovie is getting so big and it's happening so fast it makes me a little bit sad!  At the same time, I enjoy it because she gets more enjoyable by the day! She has taken on the role of CLIMBER - and I mean, she climbs on EVERYTHING!  We had a small climbing accident at daycare and you'll see the results below.  She just can't be stopped!

We are trying to get as much playing outside done as we can in the next few weeks as we know chilly weather is right around the corner.  Here are a few more photos to enjoy of our little girl!

Go Hawks!

Teaching her young all about purses!

Snuggling with Daddy

All smiles :)

Go Hawks!

Go HAWKS!

Well the football season has begun, so Jovie of couse, had to wear her new Hawkeye shirt Saturday for the game!  She looked adorable sporting the pig tails, pink hawk shirt and black leggings.  Jovie now knows how to fist pump and yell - HAWKS! It's pretty hilarious.  We managed to watch 1 quarter of the game, and then had to change it to Mickey, as Jovie didn't love the football game! I'm sure when daddy isn't working that will change in a hurry!  This weekend was spent enjoying play time at home with mommy, because daddy had to work most of it.  Sunday, Nana came down and babysat Jovie so I could walk in a half marathon with my mother-in-law in CR.  Let me tell you, I will NEVER walk one again! I'm more sore from walking 13.1 miles than I ever have been running 13.1 miles.  This weekend marked my 1 year anniversay of my first half - so to date, I have 3 of them under my belt.  Who would've ever thought!

This is a busy week for us here at the Moel house, as tomorrow is Steve's birthday, and Thursday is our 4 year wedding anniversary.  Next weekend I leave for OKC on Sunday - so Daddy and the girls will be on their own until Tuesday night :(

Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks.  Hope all is well with everyone - saying extra prayers this week for my Grandma Shirley who has decided to move into assisted living.  It will be an adjustment for her, but she will end up very happy there I'm sure.

Heading to a wedding reception!

Mmmmm... Spaghetti

All smiles

Eating mommy's apple

Playing outside!

My little dare-devil

Enjoying the last days of summer...

Well, this past week we have spent a lot of time outside enjoying the Summer weather as it sadly comes to an end.  I don't know about you all, but I LOVE summer and HATE winter, so as August ends, I get a little bit cranky! We played in the backyard, went on stroller and wagon rides, played at the park, and in our pool.  Jovie LOVES being outside so it is a constant go go go when we are out there.  But that is good, keeps Mommy and Daddy on their toes!  The rest of this week, Jovie gets to stay home with Daddy - Lucky girl and even more lucky Dad!  This weekend will be spent with Mommy and Daddy on Friday night, but Nana will be coming to play Saturday because Steve has to work and I'm running in a race.  We have a wedding Saturday night, and play time on Sunday! BUSY weekend ahead. 

Jov is learning new words by the day! She can count to 3 - and plays peek a boo ALL the time.  Pretty smart little girl!

We also just found out this week that we will be spending Thanksgiving with the Hilsabeck's in Aurelia so we are very excited about that.  Many of them haven't seen Jovie yet because our Christmas got snowed out last year.  Should be a fun time!

Here are some pictures from our busy week outside!  Enjoy!

Our first blog...

Well, here goes... After the majority of our close family and friends living out of town, I've decided to bite the bullet and try to blog.  This way, our wonderful family and friends can stay caught up to us (even my Dad who doesn't have Facebook, and my Grandma who doesn't know how to use it, even though she has it!)  With this being our first blog ever, I've decided to give you a brief background on the status of our family.  We recently moved into the town of Lisbon, IA, where Libby will be attending school (7th grade) and where Jovie goes to in home daycare a few days a week.  Steve works as a police officer in the city of Mt. Vernon.  I work at Pearson in Iowa City, which is only about a 30 minute commute.  Our lives are wonderful and spent watching the girls grow ever so fast!  It's so much fun to see the different stages they go through week by week and month by month.  I'm hoping this blog will give all of our family and friends that we love so much a chance to keep in touch with us via the web.  Cheers to blogging!!!