Monday, April 27, 2009

Our New Pet


Over the weekend we came to find that we have a new pet at the Heiple house. He adopted us and we believe he is bunking under our shed. Meet Puxetaney Phil Jr. !

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Fun in the Sun


On Sunday, Grandma Dressler, Jim, Uncle Jake, Stephanie, Olivia, Joseph, Jason, and I built a swing set. Grandma and Jim gave Joseph the swing set for his birthday with the agreement that he would share it with his big sister. I tell you what, I would never want to build swing sets for a living. Grandma, Jim, Jake, and Stephanie did most of the building. I was on kid patrol, dinner patrol, and yard work patrol. Jason had to work and then joined us later.

This was an all day project. We started at 12:00 and finished about 8:30/9 o'clock at night, with a half-hour break for supper. Olivia and Joseph were troopers. They entertained themselves and just soaked in the beautiful day.

No matter how long it took, how many boo boo's we all received, seeing the excitement on Olivia's face and watching her slide down her slide was worth every bead of sweat.

A BIG thank you goes out to Grandma and Jim for buying the swing set and putting it together, and to Jake and Stephanie for driving over from Champaign and working all day on this project!

We don't have a picture of the finished project yet, due to ending so late, but we will be sure to post it soon!

Giving Back


This Saturday Olivia, Joseph, and I participated in the March for Dimes. We had Grandma Dressler, Jim, Aunt Kelly, and Uncle Rick on our team. We marched 3.1 miles and raised about $850. Our original goal was $500, but we were able to surpass our goal.

This was such an inspirational event! It was so nice to meet families with preemies and be able to relate to their stories. It was also very sad because we met families whose preemies did not survive.

It was a beautiful day for the walk. The sun was out, it was about 82 degrees, and the wind was blowing. Olivia and Joseph really enjoyed it. They got so relaxed, they both took a nap during the walk.

Jason and I have always talked about giving back to the charities that have supported St. John's Hospital (where Joseph was) and who have helped families like us financially. I felt that we should participate in the March this weekend in honor of Joseph's first birthday!

We would like to extend a BIG thank you to all of our family and friends who have supported us this past year and who donated money for the walk!

We are so blessed!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Love that 70 Degree Weather

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day in Springfield, Illinois. The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze, and it was 76 degrees! Olivia, Joey, Ollie, Bella, and I spent our time out in the sun, blowing bubbles (obviously Ollie and Bella watched). Uncle Mark gave Olivia and Joey an octopus bubble blower for Joey's birthday/Easter, and they loved it! Joey tried to catch the bubbles and Olivia danced in them.













After A LOT of bubble blowing we took and nice stroll around the block and ate an alfresco supper. We love spring!

The Best Dog Ever!


Since Bella got some blog time last week, I felt Oliver deserved his fair share.

This week I got the cutest picture of Oliver and Joey snuggling together that made me realize how blessed we are to have such a great dog. Oliver is now 3 years old and is such a great friend for Olivia and Joey. If you remember Ollie always slept under Olivia's crib and wherever Olivia was Ollie was. Now that Joey is in the house, he now does the same for him. He sleeps under his crib and loves to snuggle with him.

Ollie is also very tolerant. He allows Olivia to put stickers all over him, lets her lead him around the house by his collar, and if he senses someone is sad or sick, he comforts them.

God blessed us with one terrific dog and companion for Olivia and Joey!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Happy Birthday Joseph Crane... Part Three


Yesterday at 9:58 AM Joseph Crane Heiple officially turned 1 year old! We celebrated the day with a blissfully quiet day at home. When we woke up, Joey opened his birthday presents (with the help of a certain 3 year old).

Then it was a typical day, morning nap, lunch, playtime, afternoon nap, etc.

At 6:00 we went to church. Father Dean dedicated a Mass in honor of Joseph's first birthday.


At the end of the day, we all sang happy birthday to Joey and shared some cake and ice cream.








Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Joseph Crane...Part 2


This is the picture/thank you note we sent to the NICU today in honor of Joseph's first birthday. We will forever be grateful to them for helping to save our son! Praise God for Joseph's angels.

YEAH....Olivia and Joseph

We have reached two big milestones the past two weeks in the Heiple house!

First, Olivia is going potty in the potty...Alleluia!!! She has been extremely stubborn about this milestone. She was attached to those diapers and did not want to get rid of them. Finally, two weeks ago, Jason put her in her big girl pants and started having her go on the potty. In the beginning we had to set the timer to have her try every 20-30 minutes, but now she is going all by herself....yeah!

Second, Joseph got his first two teeth (at the same time...ouch!) this week. I know what you are thinking, he is one year old and only has two teeth. The thing we all need to remember is yes he is one, but he is at the developmental age of 9 months (and I didn't get my first tooth until I was 11 months old). Anyway, we were very excited to feel those first sharp teeth coming in!

Happy Easter!










On Sunday we traveled near and far to see all of our family and friends for Easter. Our day started at 6:00AM when two excited children were ready to see what the Easter Bunny left at their house. I tell you what, that Easter Bunny was very generous to the Heiple kids!

Then we went to 8:00AM Mass at our church in Rochester. As you can imagine, Livi and Joey were is great moods due to the party fun they had the day before, but we made it through Mass without any major fits.

After Mass, we jumped in the car and headed towards Metamora to celebrate with the Heiple bunch. The Easter Bunny left some goodies for Olivia and Joey in Metamora too (the Easter Bunny must have enjoyed the carrots Olivia brought him when she visited him). Olivia really enjoyed having extra time with her cousins and having an Easter egg hunt with them. We had a nice brunch and lots of play time.





Then it was time to load the van again and head towards El Paso to celebrate with the Sennott bunch. Once again the Easter Bunny left some goodies for Olivia and Joey. They had a great time playing with Aunt Kelly, Uncle Rick, Uncle Jake, Uncle Mark, Jay, Great Grandma, Great Grandpa, Grandma and Jim. We had another Easter egg hunt and Olivia found 16 eggs...her all time record!










Around 6:00 we packed up the van again and traveled home. We had a fantastic weekend, but boy are we tired!!!

A Flower Girl in Waiting


My friend Katie (whom I have been friends with since 2nd grade) is getting married this October...Yeah! Katie asked Olivia to be a flower girl in her wedding. This is a picture of the dress that Katie made for her to wear! I can't wait to see this BEAUTIFUL flower girl all dressed up in October!

Happy Birthday Joseph Crane Heiple!...Part One


We had a VERY big birthday in the Heiple house this weekend...Joseph Crane Heiple turned 1!

The festivities started on Saturday with a family and friend birthday party. The party turned out great! We had a Sesame Street theme. I made him Big Bird and Bert and Ernie cakes.


We had Great Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma Dressler and Jim, Kelly and Rick, Uncle Jake (Joey's Godfather), Stephanie, Grandpa Dressler and Pattie, Grandma and Grandpa Heiple, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jess (Joey's Godmother), Samuel, Lukie, and Baby Wiederholt, Joe, Becky, Colleen, Brooke, and Ashley, and Katie (Olivia's Godmother). I think Joseph thought we were all nuts, but enjoyed all of the love and attention. Olivia, Samuel and Lukie helped Joey open all of his presents and Olivia has been helping him play with his new toys :).









Joseph didn't quite know what to think of his birthday cake. It took a little coaxing to get him to touch it, but once he started, he got into it. His sister on the other hand couldn't stand the mess and thought Joey better wash his hands. Here is a small clip:



Sunday, April 5, 2009

Bella...is that you?

Today Oliver and Isabella went to get groomed. Ollie got his basic bath, teeth, nails package, but Bella received her first hair cut. She looks like an entirely different dog...I love it!

Easter Fun

We had another fun filled weekend in the Heiple house. Saturday morning Olivia, Joseph, and I had breakfast with the Easter bunny. Olivia had a blast. We had a nice breakfast, visited with the Easter bunny, and there was also a real bunny there that Olivia loved petting. Then after breakfast, there was a giant Easter egg hunt. Joseph really enjoyed watching all of the people and watching the real bunny hop around in his cage.

On Sunday, we decorated our Easter eggs. Olivia and I worked on Disney Princess eggs; daddy and Joey made Star Wars eggs.