Happy Birthday Jimmy!

Happy Birthday to our nephew Jimmy!! We hope you have a wonderful birthday and an even better year!! We love you very much!

High Cliff Camping...

So, this past weekend we took Jack and Ally camping at High Cliff State Park. The park is only about 20 minutes from our house. Meggan is on vacation visiting Nama and Papa, so she was not able to go with us. But, I think it was a good thing for her. There were a lot of mosquitoes and Ally had a major meltdown on Saturday afternoon that brought us home early. :)

We got to climb up a tower so we could overlook the pretty view of Lake Winnebago. That was a lot of fun to climb. Ally was quite the trooper with her short legs walking up all the stairs on her own. Because she would have it no other way. :) We also went on a nice bike ride around the Butterfly pond. We heard a lot of birds on that bike ride that had Ally ever so interested in them.

After the bike ride Chad and the kids went for a walk and checked things out. They also got to play at some parks which always makes for a good time. We had a picnic lunch down by the lake which was fun for everyone. We also had a nice visit by some Raccoons which made for an interesting night on Friday. Oh boy were they loud! All in all, it was a good time, but we sure did miss Meggan as you can see from this pic below!

Sweet Elias...

We are so excited for Chad's sister, Crista and her husband Chad to finally have a baby in their hands. They are in the process of adopting, Elias Michael. It has been a long anticipated wait for them to have a child and as you can see from this picture they are complete naturals. They are so thrilled as are all of the Pontow and Backes families.

We took the kids to meet Eli last night when he was only 6 days old. It was so neat to see them interacting with Eli. Jack just sat there holding him and was singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to him. Just as he and Meggan did when Ally was a baby.

Then there was Meggan. She could not stop smiling as she held Eli. She doesn't really remember holding Ally as a baby even though she did, so she felt like it was her 1st time. She kept saying she thought that Eli was hungry. I think she really wanted to feed him, but I got to do that. :) He just laid there sleeping not stirring at all. Nice snugly little guy. She was looking at his belly button and his face a lot. Meg did not want to give him up when it was everyone else's turn that is for sure!

We did not think we would let Ally hold Eli because she is too much of a wiggle worm and we did not know how she would be. She kept saying Baby Baby Baby over and over again. And she would not move away from him. She kept wanting to hold him, so we finally gave in with me sitting literally right next to her so there could be no quick moves. :) Her arms were actually under the Boppy pillow that he laid on which was perfect because she could not touch him. She sang a little to him and was very interested in his fingers and toes. Which are SOOOOO long!

Welcome to the family Eli!!!

Full Swing....

Finally Jack has begun T-Ball. He has been dying to be on a baseball field and play ball. So, we are glad the time has arrived. And he is lucky enough to get to be on the same team has his cousin Hayden. So, that is fun for them. Right now they don't play a specific position they are kind of all over the place. But, what is funny about Jack is that no matter where that ball goes he is running all over the field to get it. HA! And he understands that when you get the ball you should try to throw it to 1st base.

We are really proud of him and I am having a great time watching him play baseball! And his sister are at times cheering Hayden and Jack on. Of course they would rather be at the park playing, but that's life. I keep telling Meggan he sat thru your Ballet dance recital and you can sit thru his T-Ball games. :)

Happy Birthday Nama!!

Yesterday marked my mom's birthday. We made a special trip down on Saturday to surprise her and make it a wonderful day for her! She was surprised when she came home from a wedding to find us hanging out at her house. She deserves the best! She is an amazing mom, friend, nama, sister, wife and aunt!

In addition, to it being her birthday it marked the end of her working days. On Friday, she retired from work. YEAH!! She can now spend ALL of her time with my dad. tee hee! They will get to travel more and do things she has been wanting to do for a long time. So, it is great that she finally after so many years for working can relax and just enjoy life!

We love you mom!!!

Happy Birthday Meggan!!

Sweet Meggan has turned 4. And it has been quite a couple days of parties and gifts for her. On Sunday we had a party with Chad's family and Nama and Papa, as well as, our surprise visitor.... UNCLE JIM!!!!!!! YEAHH!!! That was quite exciting for the kids. The kids have missed him a great deal, so it was great to get to see him and now they will get to see him again this next weekend when we are down closing out the birthday season for the Pontow kids with a party with my family. So, sad to see the birthday season end for them.
Anyway, Meg got a lot of great gifts. Some VERY cool Crayola window crayons from our neighbor Elle, clothes for her bitty baby from our neighbor John, clothes from all of the family, a PINK Razor scooter, lots of art supplies for her projects (watch your mailboxes!!!) and a very cool beauty table that talks to her and has a mirror for her to do her hair and makeup. So cute! Jack and Ally have thoroughly enjoyed that as well!









The other favorite item has got to be the window crayons. You gotta love Crayola they make the greatest stuff!!We have faces on just about every window. I love it!!! Thanks Edwards Family for that!! Chad thinks the window crayons should be left to only be used on the sliding back door. I am more let them do it on any of the windows, because in reality who has to clean it up? ME!!!! So have at it kids! Be creative

Our Sweetest Artist, Meggan

So, Meggan has really been getting into artwork lately. I scanned in a picture that she made for me and would not let me open until we were camping. Of course we forgot it at home, but she had me open it today. This is her picture of the family. It says so much, don't you think!!! If you click on the picture you can see a bigger image of the picture. :)