Snowy winter

Cincinnati has had it's fair share of snow this winter.  It's been crazy out there!  We learned very early in the season that Audrey doesn't like to be outside in the cold, so we haven't spent too much time playing out there.  You can't put gloves on a thumb-sucker and expect them to be happy.  

Here are a few pictures from one of our attempts to get outside.

The best part of playing in the snow is the hot chocolate and popcorn afterwards, right?  

We caught you napping, Daddy!

My sister's family was in town last weekend.  Here's a picture of Jack and Drew all ready to go out in the snow.  (Actually, I think it was mostly ice, but they were ok with that.)

Summer fun

This is the way to enjoy a summer day:  

Story time and lunch indoors with Aunt Louie, watermelon for dinner (yes, for - not with),and swimming and popsicles with your cousins.  I'd say they had a pretty good day! 

Hilton Head 2013

We just returned from a week long vacation in Hilton Head. We went with the Troescher family (17 of us!) and we all stayed together in one big house.  The best part of
the house was that the pool was right outside and was just for us.  We could swim all day long and come in and out of the house to eat and nap.  Perfect for our little family!

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Jack didn't like the police man that gave daddy a ticket. 

Jack didn't spend much time in the big pool - it was great to have the baby pool!

This is a bit fuzzy, but so sweet.  Audrey's cousins were so sweet with her!  

Looking back on my pictures I found a TON of Mara holding Audrey.  What a great cousin. 

Buddies

The only picture I could find of just the two of us!

Photo Board

This is one of my favorite spots in our house. Each year I hang all of our Christmas cards and birth announcements on this board. Jack loves to find his friends, and it's a great reminder to pray for the friends we love so much.
Thanks to everyone who sends us a card! I'm glad I finally got around to reorganizing this year's pictures!

I go to Drew's house

Jack wants to go to Drew's house.  He tells me at least once a day, and pretty much every time we get in the car.

For those of you who don't know Drew, he's one of Jack and Audrey's six cousins that live in West Lafayette, IN.  We haven't been to visit since little Cohen was born in January.  My parents have talked about taking Jack soon, and he's so excited.

Jack was going on and on this morning about going to Drew's house and what he was going to do when he gets there.  He quieted down when I grabbed the camera, but I think you'll see that he's pretty excited!

I think my favorite part is the way he says Sam!

Audrey's Life: Week #1

We're starting to figure out life as a family of four.  Thanks to everyone who has helped us out along the way.    I've been feeling pretty good and I've been able to squeeze in a few naps thanks to helpful family and Jack's love of nap time!

I don't have much time to write (and my brain isn't all that clear right now), so I'm just going to add some pictures -- that's really why your looking at this blog anyways, right?

The following two pictures are from the day we came home from the hospital.  Jack was happy to hold Audrey's hand and give her a kiss.  One week later, he's still just as happy to have a little sister!  He has such a sweet demeanor and has shown her love and attention without prompting.  It has been a fun treat to see these tender moments.

Helping entertain Audrey during tummy time

Drew sneaking kisses - with Aunt Jodi and Uncle Andy

The girl cousins - they are both naturals!

The boys

All 7 cousins - #8 due in January!

What we've been up to...

So, I'm totally behind again.  I've been spending Jack's nap time working and prepping for my maternity leave, getting ready for this baby's arrival, or napping.  I can't believe that his or her arrival is coming up so quickly!  According to our due date we've got less than two weeks to go.  I'm already progressing in the right direction and Dr. Grim is guessing that I won't make it to July 26th.  I'm hoping he's right!

Rather than trying to recap each and every thing we've done this past month I'm going to give you a few highlights.

We checked out the new Washington Park last week.  It was a huge hit!

We hung  out with our cousins:

Jack learned how to eat corn from the cob:  Happy 4th of July!

I've been working to find activities that Jack would enjoy playing independently.  Here he is exploring his new Mr. Potato Head:

Jack learned about the joys of splashing in a puddle:

I can't promise that I'll be great at updating the blog after the baby comes.  But I promise to try and I'll do my best to keep you informed about this baby's arrival.  

Here are a few pictures from our last session with Leah Robbins:  Enjoy!

http://leahrobbins.com/blog/2012/06/jack-18-months/

Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve re-do

The Troescher family has always celebrated Christmas together on Christmas Eve.  It started (for me, at least) at my grandparents house and has now moved on to my Aunt Louie's house.  The traditions haven't changed:  Same artificial tree, same ornaments, same decorations, same candy dish, same candy (yep, the candy has been stuck in the same jar since the 70's), same food, and mostly the same people.  There have been a few additions along the way, but it seems as though this family doesn't really like change.

So, this year it felt a bit strange when my mom stayed home with a stomach bug and my sister's family was three hours away in their new town.  Add in a mix up with the chicken wings, and Christmas Eve felt just a bit off this year.  

Don't worry, all was not lost.  We still managed to squeeze in a few old traditions and we created a few new as well.  We even got to stretch out the Christmas celebrations with a birthday party/Christmas Eve re-do on the 28th.  Overall, it turned out to be a great Troescher celebration.  

Every year since I can remember, it has been my job to put the chips (always Husmann's) and dip (always Trauth) into the same old chip n' dip tray.  I'm sure it began as a way to keep little hands busy and distracted while we waited to open presents.  There have been a few recent years where other little hands needed to be distracted, and I happily shared my job with my nieces or nephews.  But this year the job belonged to Jack.  He quickly learned the benefits of being the chip n' dip maker:  taste testing!  Your Great-Grandma Troescher would have been proud, Jack!

Jack missed having his cousins around, but don't worry:  he still got plenty of attention!

Christmas Eve Re-do:

Santa paid the Troescher house a visit on Wednesday night.  It was nice of him to stop by after his busy week!  He tried to read the Christmas Story, but poor Santa's glasses kept fogging up in the warm house.  It's a good thing he knew the whole story and was able to share about Jesus' birth!  

Not a happy kid.  Poor guy!

Drew

Lily

Mara

Sam

Titus

The whole crew