Results are in...

...and they are good!

The MRI showed that my ACL was not torn and that everything else looked good, too. The doctor was somewhat baffled, but I am certainly not complaining. We only have to worry about the hamstring, which he said would take 3-4 months before being back to pre-injury condition. Considering what the recovery time could've been if we tagged an ACL surgery on as well, that doesn't sound too bad!

How does your garden grow?

We've had pretty mild weather this last week or so. We have really been enjoying it and as it turns out, so has the garden!

Marie has QUITE the little green thumb. She helps pull weeds out of the garden and out of the landscaping. She is actually fairly good at knowing what is a weed and what is not. The other day, she got a big kick out of it when a baby bunny hopped out from under some irises we were working around. It even stayed put long enough for her to take a picture. (I think it was scared to death!)


Almost every day, we go outside to see what we can pick out of the garden to bring in. We've had a couple of instances of vegetables being picked before their prime, but Marie is catching on to the fact that we need to wait until the peas, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers grow BIG before we pick them. She does seem to be getting a little impatient with the tomatoes that are just not turning red fast enough. It doesn't take long before she gets tired of picking things herself and is then quite happy just holding the bucket.


She also loves to take "her" shovel out to the garden to "check the dirt." She'll dig a little bit (between the rows, thankfully) and let me know if the garden needs to be watered. This is actually pretty helpful. :)

Her FAVORITE outdoor task is helping to water the flowers. I guess I should say she loves filling up her little watering can. Pouring the water out onto the flowers is just a means to empty the can so that she can go get some more water.

Joey just keeps growing. We have been getting a lot of comments lately that he must have hit another growth spurt. His hair is filling in more and more and is perhaps getting a bit darker. He still has those blue eyes and still eats like a champ. He is getting a little more mobile, though he mostly scoots himself backward. He'll prop himself up on his hands and knees and rock is little bottom...so cute. No official crawling yet. It will come soon enough.

He absolutely loves Marie. He doesn't take his eyes off of her any time she's in the room. Any silly face or noise from her will make him giggle. They have also started to play together. They sit on the floor and play with blocks. Marie is busy building cities while Joey sees which ones will fit in his mouth.


In other news, Grandma Meinhart has been visiting for the last week. She has been a HUGE help with the kids and with the garden since I've been somewhat out of commission. About a week ago, I unfortunately had a bit of a sports injury. I tore my left hamstring while playing softball. The whole family ended up in the emergency room after I passed out twice. That's not something that Jon or I want to do again any time soon. The orthopedic doctor estimated that the rehab for the hamstring will be on the order of months. He also thinks that I tore my ACL. I had an MRI taken, but won't get the official word until I see the doctor again at the end of this week. So, things have been a bit different around here, but they're getting better and we are making it. :)

Finally, a couple of days ago, Joey was waking up from his nap and Marie came along to check on him. As Grandma was getting him up, here was the exchange.

Peg: Wow, Joey. You must feel pretty good after that nap. Marie, how long did Joey sleep?
Marie: Oh, about 40 pounds.
Peg: Forty pounds! Wow! That's a long time!
Marie: Yeah...

Just so you know, pounds is also Marie's unit of measurement for length and currency...which would make a little more sense if we were British.

Bonfire, baby, & big fun in the 'burgh

Well, we really packed it in this past weekend. We started our 4th of July festivities on Wednesday when we drove down to Pittsburgh with a short break in Ohio to see Grandma and Grandpa Shibata. We arrived at Aunt Jess' house in time to visit with Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, and JJ a bit and make our plans for the following day.

On Thursday, despite the threats of rain and the fact that Aunt Jaclyn was 9+ months pregnant, we all went to Kennywood, an amusement park that is well into its 2nd century of existence and is a Pittsburgh favorite. The day started well enough, but shortly after lunch and before we had actually gotten on any rides, the rain did let loose. Thankfully, it didn't last long and it kept the lines short for a while. Marie and JJ had a blast and didn't seem to mind the wet seats and chilly breeze. I think everyone was pretty tuckered out by the time we left. Aunt Jaclyn was a trooper...but still no baby.










If you thought Thursday was exciting, wait until you hear about Friday! In the late morning, we heard from Uncle James and Aunt Jaclyn. They were having regular contractions and thought it would be good for Aunt Jess to come over right away. We were supposed to get ready and come over armed with lunch. We ended up waking up Joey from his nap and hustling over, but by the time we arrived, the contractions were only 3-4 minutes apart. Grandma and Grandpa Shibata were called and started on their way. James and Jaclyn left a message for the doctor, but didn't wait to get a return call before heading to the hospital. They arrived at the hospital around 2:00 PM and little Grace Sachiko was born at 3:45 PM. Once she was ready, she didn't waste any time! We were so happy to get the call saying that mom and baby were both doing great!

That evening, we headed toward Butler, PA to visit my very good friends the Coffields. Some of you may remember Kel from our wedding (matron of honor). We celebrated the 4th a bit early with burgers, dogs, a campfire, smores, and fireworks, though we couldn't stick around for the really big ones. The visit was way too short, but we always have a blast with them. Joey and Gus (two days different in age) met each other for the first time. Ellie and Piper were great with Marie, sharing their toys and showing her how to catch fireflies. We can't wait for our next chance to get together.





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On Saturday, we headed to the hospital to officially meet our new neice. What a cutie!




We spent the rest of the day at Uncle James and Aunt Jaclyn's house even though they weren't there. The weather was nice for hanging out on their patio and in their yard. Marie and JJ got to run around a bit and even cool off in the little pool. We enjoyed dinner and then took our tired kids back to Aunt Jess' house.



On Sunday, we stopped for lunch and for one last quick visit to see Baby Grace, who had just been brought home from the hospital, and the rest of the Shibata clan.


All in all, it was a very fun trip. We hadn't gotten very far into Ohio when Marie said, "I want to go to Candyland." (Translation: Kennywood) When we explained that we would have to wait until the next time we went to visit Aunt Jess, she promptly responded, "What do we have to go home for? I want to go to Aunt Jess' house."

Weekend Shi-Bar-B-Q

This Sunday, we hosted the first of hopefully many barbecues at our house. Though it threatened to rain, the weather turned out to be fairly nice. It was warm, but not too hot and a bit windy. A couple of kids had to get seconds after the wind blew away their plates. The wind also made it a bit chilly when getting out of the pool. But, we didn't hear many complaints.

We were extremely pleased with how many of our close friends were able to come. We did a post-party count and determined that as best as we know, attendees included 22 adults and 28 kids ranging from age 2 weeks to 8 years. The pool was a hit, almost all the kids old enough and many adults took a dip at some point. There was also lots of other fun things going on...bubbles, sidewalk chalk, swinging, sliding, playing in the sandbox, rolling down the large hill in our backyard, etc. I expect that there is a really good picture out there of one of the munchkins absolutely covered in blue chalk. I'll update with a link if it gets posted out here on the blog-o-sphere. :)

There were no broken bones or stitches required, only a couple of scraped knees. No one went hungry. Or, at least if they did it was their own fault. Jon grilled up some pork burgers and bratwurst imported from good ole' Ste. Marie, IL. (Thanks Hartrich's and thanks Mom!) I think everyone had fun. All in all I'd call it a success!





Other than that, we've been keeping busy. We went to our first ever Hamburg Family Fun Fest. This is a festival that is held every year at a park about 1.5 miles north of our house. Marie got to go on a couple of the rides and loved it. It was also nice being able to watch the fireworks through our front windows.


I'll speak for Jon when I say that we had a good Father's Day. After Mass we went out for a special lunch...Mexican of course! Then we just had a relaxing day at home with the kids. Just what Jon wanted.


The kids are doing well. Marie has been doing much better on the potty as of late. She is gaining some independence and increasingly wants to do things all by herself. MOST of the time this works. She is really into trying to make us laugh right now, too. Jon has taught her her first knock-knock joke.

Knock, Knock;
Who's there?;
Boo;
You get the drift...

Tonight while she was putting on her pajamas, she got the biggest kick out of keeping her shirt around just her head and telling us that she looked like a "bakery."

"Her" garden is also doing well. She picked some broccoli, peas, and a few green beans this weekend. We've also had some lettuce to eat. There are a few zucchini out there that won't be far behind.


Joey is just keeps growing. He is a good eater and is definitely not wasting away. So far there's nothing that he hasn't liked. He's eating bananas, applesauce, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, along with the usual baby cereals. He still just rolls from his back to his belly for the most part. When he's on his belly, he doesn't crawl, but pulls himself around so that he can reach for things ahead of him and turns in circles so that he can keep track of where Marie is. He absolutely loves her. When he wakes up from his nap, Marie goes in to "check on him." He smiles and giggles and plays peek-a-boo with her through the crib rails. So cute...





So, we're getting ready to head to Pittsburgh this week for an extended July 4th weekend. We're looking forward to seeing family and catching up with friends. And, hopefully (for Aunt Jaclyn's sake) will get to meet our new niece while we're there!

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