Folks we have a walker

Engie is 16 1/2 months and now walking. My sister is friends with a Physical Therapist and happened to be at a birthday party while they were watching Engie. The physical therapist said Engie is strong enough, just has a larger bottom, so it changes her center of gravity, so it makes her want to sit all the time (who can't identify with that!). At that party she started walking, seeming to disprove any fears of the adults there, and when we picked her up that evening, Tom and Kristi informed us "you have a walker!" So, much for staying home so you don't miss those moments! Ha ha, just kidding, it is all a process, she is slowing transitioning from crawling to walking, and it has been so interesting to hear everyone's comments, one wise stranger told me, "it is really good for them to crawl a long time, it helps with sensory integration, they feel and touch every thing".

Nate is a big time into sand toys, mainly bulldozers and playing building roads. He has made up the term "section man", which is the men that stand around while they are building the roads and he tells the other guys what to build and do next. Thanks to our neighbor boy Aiden, they spend hours playing outside, they are having a great time!

Iowa Trip

You may be wondering what these all have in common, well it all happened in Iowa! We celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday with about 80 of his closest friends and family to celebrate with him. We had a great time! My mom's garden was at a peak, so we made some great bouquets. Something grandparents do so readily is buy things parents don't buy and that was battery operated vehicles, Nate drove around for hours acting like a cool cat on a battery operated John Deere Gater and some other vehicles of that sort that they have gotten. He even had a passenger seat in one of them and drove Engie around. She also exhibited pride and excitablity by sometimes rocking back and forth trying to get it to go faster. My sisters and I were able to go see Barack and Michelle Obama speak in Pella, which was quite the experience. There weren't a ton of people there, so we met Michelle (like how I call her by her first name) and were able to get our picture taken with her! Yes, we are sporting Iowa Girl Tee-shirts with pride. It is hard to sum it all up there is more, but those are the highlights. Nate's goal to be a pilot has been trumped by farmerhood, he now wants to be a farmer so he can drive a 4 wheelers and get stuck in the mud alot, after all, that is what being a farmer mostly consists of doesn't it?