what I would have missed....

Happy Halloween, Andrew

Minnie gets a hug, too.

Happy Halloween from Andrew

If I hadn't "retired" last year to take care of Everleigh and now Andrew here's what I would have missed just this week:

Everleigh is using the word "nommie" to identify her Mommy and calls her on her "cell phone".

I found Andrew "sleeping" this morning with one eye open.

Everleigh has a little play purse equipped with play lipstick, which she expertly applies to her lips.

Andrew can sit pretty well on his own for a few minutes.

Everleigh came walking towards me in the living room from the kitchen on her own.

Andrew and Everleigh greeting each other in the morning with a hug.

Minnie, the cat, playfully lifting her paw to Everleigh and Everleigh squealling with delight.

Andrew reaching for my toast.

oh...and about a dozen poopy diapers, a couple of changes of clothes due to spit up or food issues, and 5 episodes of "Wake up" Show on Sprout TV.

fall outside and inside

Our Fall continues here in the Northland. It's been one

of the prettiest and longest season of color I can remember.

Our newest maple trees out front have just turned red

and even though the day is gray, they look beautiful.

Also, our indoor project keeps going. Pictures above are the

tile and sheetrocked wall in our bedroom, and tile just laid

in the hall. It's coming along...next is the bathroom wall,

then paint, new doors and floor trim and then....on to the

family room. Trips to Menard's? a dozen or so...

And a picture of Greg and I with Andrew yesterday...cute

little pumpkin...(Andrew, that is)

In order to make an omlette.....

....you have to break a few eggs. We had some water issues

after the 8+ inches of rain in late September and decided to

replace tiles on the basement floor. Once Greg got the

project started, he found mold on the sheetrock and

trim boards....so.....our basement is now under

"destruction" with the intention of replacing all the

bottoms of the walls, floor tile and trim boards.

Oh...and the new driveway is being installed today as

well. Nothing like everything happening at once.

The end result will be a much improved driveway,

beautiful ceramic tile flooring and no more mold.

Greg's going to lay the floor tile with the help of our

neighbor so we've moved our master bedroom

back upstairs for now. Ahhh, life....any bets on

how many trips to the hardware store/Menard's

this will involve? We're already at 6....:)

Mieska Family Gathering

Andrew and Everleigh

GG with great grandkids and mommies

extended family cousin, Luke, Owen, Jude, Finn, Claire,

Brody, Everleigh and Andrew...this picture doesn't

really capture the chaos involved in taking it!

Love the PJs!

Spent this past weekend in Ankenny, IA...half way point for

Mieska extended family to meet between Mpls and Council

Bluffs. It was a beautiful fall weekend with warm temps,

a great pool, a wonderful outdoor patio and firepit, and

fun times catching up with extended family. Next time,

all you Florida people need to be there!

a trip to the zoo, holding hands, just 2 and a stroll...

A lot of pictures.....Andrew, Everleigh and I joined Jesse,

GG, GAS, GAA, Brody and Claire at the MN Zoo this week.

It was a beautiful fall day, no crowds and the animals were

all so visible....really great viewing for the kids (and adults!)

Then I was able to take a few pictures late in the week of

Andrew and Everleigh sharing a little time together.

They were actually holding hands....so cute....

Then Everleigh was taking her stroller for a "stroll".

What does she put in her stroller? a can of cat food

and some silver initials off the side table, of course!

What do I like best?

Thinking about what I like best about each of my grandchildren:

Christopher (Shelley) what a great young hunter he is

Matthew (Chad) his great jokes and sense of humor

Jonathan (Chad) his great character costumes

Taylor (Shelley) such a sweetie

Nathaniel (Chad) he is a true Minnesotan at heart

Brighton (Chad) his creativity and leadership (he can boss his big brothers!)

Everleigh (Scott) the way she talks like R2-D2...beep, whirrr...squeak

Andrew (Jesse) his smile when he sees his mommy or daddy

Love you all! gma

Fall has begun....

My mom spent Thursday with me and the kids so

we took a few photos. Because she sees them

less frequently than I do she notices their changes

more than I do. Everleigh has added a few more

words to her vocabulary and Andrew is much

stronger. The last picture was taken on Friday

as Ben picked up Andrew. It was a rather gray day

and we all had our hoodies on.
This video seems a little dark because I was

using my digital camera and not the flip camera.

The little bunny is actually a gift to Everleigh

from the Ketcher boys along with their favorite

childhood books...."Runaway Bunny", "Goodnight Gorilla",

"The Big Red Barn" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

It's a sure bet that these will be read many times.