I love my bumbo

But mom wants me to sit up.

Nicole as been trying hard to keep up with LV. She's been trying to balance sitting up and manages to turn at different angels while on her belly. We've started her on baby food at 5 months and she is NOT a picky eater which is fantastic. Her brother was the same way too. Then he got picky, but now he's not so much.

Reading with Dad.

I'm much more wigglier then my brother EVER was!!!

All Grown up

LV has hit a major milestone in our book. We have achieved great potty training thus far from him and are excited. Its a tough process and honestly I could start a potty training camp, I could make millions. We are really happy he has turned this corner. Everything was mostly on his terms and has been going great so far!!!!

4th of July

Fourth of July is supposed to be more of a holiday and relaxing day but it sure does not seem like it with two children in tow.

Three major churches held a 4th of July Freebie event that included free food, free inflatables for kids and a free car show. So we headed down there and first saw our neighbor's car on display at the car show. 90% of the time we've seen this car its been in his driveway covered up but we now know why. His refinishing on this vehicle is amazing and he enjoys showing it off at local car shows.

Next we let LV climb all over the inflatables that were there for free. He enjoyed it for a good hour but the lack of nap during the day didn't help. We've been working on him with potty training so the nap has gone by the wayside. He is adventurous trying to climb up the steeper inflatables. I swear he would be happy living in one of those things!!!

That night we hung out with our good friends Joanna, Brett, Abigail and William to watch fireworks in their neck of the woods. The older kids enjoyed the fireworks. LV was really wiped afterwards though having had no nap so that didn't make it easier but he quietly fell asleep after all the hubub died down and we were back in the car!!! It was a great day all around though!!! Happy Birthday USA!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Congrats to Lila & Lenny!!!!

If you want an experience...Go to a Buffett Concert

(To quote "Knocked up") Dad and I have been trying to go to Jimmy Buffett Concerts for as long as we have dated (oh about 11 years or so ago). The whole point of going to a Jimmy Buffett Concert is not the concert itself but the wonderful tailgating beforehand. We had the chance to have Grandpa and Grandma P watch the children while we enjoyed a day of festivities with our friends CHristy, Lisa and Matt as well as many many many Parrotheads!!!

The NJ Invasion

Not meant as a scary invasion or anything...

LV and Nicole's grandparents from NJ arrived for Nicole's baptism and since we needed some sitters for the Jimmy Buffett Concert and Lila's wedding, they agreed graciously to come to Georgia to watch the kids. Even though we were all in the same house for a week, it felt like we never saw that with all the activities going on all week. The kids and grandparents did make it to the aquarium. I've posted some pictures on the right hand side there for everyone to enjoy....

Nicole's Baptism

Nicole's Baptism:

We gathered up the families this weekend to share with us a special moment in Nicole's life - her baptism into the Church. LV had been baptized by Lou's cousin, Fr. Louis Papera and I had always wanted my second child to be baptized by my dear high school friend and classmate, Fr. David Oldham. Fr. Oldham and I go wayyyyy back - 1st grade! We have remained close friends since and I had the opportunity 5 years ago to attend his ordination into the Holy Orders of Priesthood. Fr. Dave agreed to come out and baptize Nicole. And we were blessed to have so many friends and family join us on that very special (and very hot) day. We met on Saturday morning for the Baptism then headed back to our house for lunch. We had 25 people total which was a perfect crowd. I have attached some photos from some family members, our camera and friend's that captured the moment. Enjoy!!!!

Funny Pictures

These are just too funny NOT to post.

This is my son fighting a nap - and the nap winning...

The Great Train Race

The last weekend in April, Mom and the kids went to TN for a few important events. Months ago, LVP and mom went to see Kate run the Columbus 1/2 Marathon. Mom caught the Marathon Cheer spririt and promised to go to Nashville, TN if Kate decided to run the Nashville Marathon. Well fast forward 6 months and there we were driving up to TN to see Kate. So the plan was to see Kate on Saturday run then spend the night in Chattannooga to see the BIG Thomas the Tank Engine at the Tenneseee Valley Railroad Museum. Well, I didn't get my act together and a la Hervert style, booked my tickets and they were sold out for Sunday. Luckily work was really slow, so we all piled in the new car, and drove to Chattanooga to see Thomas on FRIDAY.






Its amazingly gorgeous on the drive up there. As soon as we set foot outside the car, it started to rain! Not to fear, the rain let up and we were able to enjoy the rest of our day there. Thomas's Day out is really a neat little event. The big thing is to ride the big Thomas. But there are other trains and things to look at there at the TN Valley Railroad Museum. There are trains, a petting zoo, a bouncy moonwalk, and of course a gift shop.

After that we headed to Nashville. We only got to see Kate 10 minutes because we had to get to bed early and she had to get to bed early. So we got settled into our bed at the hotel and got some good sleep before the big race the next day.


The next morning it was rainy (even worse for the runners who had to stand in the rain) and we agreed to post ourselves near the 3 and the 8 mile marker at the race. We did see Kate both times! It was really fantastic. We missed her again at the finished line but caught up with her in the family area. One of these times we'll figure out the finish line properly!!!! I don't know if the kids were into it as much as I was but it was still fun. Aunt Kate did really well and the weather did hold up. Later we went out for brunch and headed on back to Atlanta.

Joe Cool

....to dust off an old Charlie Brown refence. LV has found his sunglasses buried deep in his closet. Mind you this is the opinion of a toddler. Some days you really do want to wear the hats and sunglasses - some days you don't. So LV is sporting his sunglasses lately. The weather warmed up again, so we've been trying to get outside as much as possible. LV enjoyed doing circles in the driveway on his airplane. He does enjoy walks which are harder on mom since she's lugging two of them around. But its all in good fun for the most part.

Two Month Visit

Nicole had her 2 month visit today. Dr. Wilson said that everything checked out okay and she is hitting the usual 2 month old milestones. She is 11 lbs now and 23.5 inches long. That put her into the 75th percentile for length and 50% for weight. We are just happy everything is normal with her.

The fun part with her has been her cooing and "talking" back to us. She loves it when her dad talks to her in a deep voice as she gives little squawks and squeals back to him. The gummy smiles are what mom enjoys most and big brother tends to notice them by shouting out "Mom, she's smi-uls"

The Big Brother

People have asked me if LV likes his sister and how he's reacting to her. To be honest, its been a smooth transition so far after a month. He is really indifferent to her now. He understands she's too little to play with his toys and he is such a great little independent child that he doesn't require her affections at this point. He asks occaisionally if she wants crackers or has interst to play with his toys but I explain she's too little. Right now he's fascinated by anything that moves backwards and thinks its cool that her carseat has to face backwards in the car. He comments that he is "a big boy" and gets to ride forwards. So thing are going quite well on the whole Ask me how things are when Nicole starts actually crawling, claiming his toys and taking over his territory. I think we'll be in for harder times then.

One Month Update

Nicole topped the scales at 9 lbs 9 oz today and 22 inches. The pediatrician deemed her to be tall someday. She is doing great health wise growing like a weed. She is starting to hold her head up more and more these days and is very alert especially when you talk to her. We get the occaisional gummy smile which is sweet in itself.

And then there were four...

Our baby girl has arrived. Nicole Katherine made her debut ON her due date of 1/30/2008. Mom had been told earlier on Tuesday that every thing was ready - all that was missing was labor. So mom, grandma and LV decided to spend the day doing a few fun activities including going to the World of Coca-Cola when Mom realized that she might be in labor!! So we returned back home, then called dad to go meet him at the hospital (around 7:36 PM). Seven hours later, our baby girl came into the world weighing 8 lbs, 3 oz and stretched to 21 inches. All the nurses noted that she was a "big" girl and kept asking us how big our son was. She was ready to make her appearance ready or not!!

Big Brother got to meet her on Wednesday later after mom had rested. He was very interested in her and claimed she was pretty. We think he hasn't figured out that she is a permanent fixture yet. Several of mom and dad's friends stopped by to say hi and meet the little Miss.

Friday we were discharged from the hospital. We arrived home around noonish to settle into a routine (as much as we could with a 3 year old and a newborn). Friday night was a little rough on mom. Thank goodness Grandma was there to help stay up with mom for the feedings. Nicole was not used to the big crib and all the space but with a little swaddling she was good to go and gave us a few hours of sleep. So today we are trying to establish a little more routine with Nicole's schedule. Its going to be a rough time because we are still finding that delicate balance with LV's schedule as well.

Let it snow!

Wow, its been too long since we posted something up on here. Sorry about that. We should be better considering a second little one is coming into the house very soon.

We got a second day of snow. The first one was Thursday and today the rain slowly turned into snow. Lou saw the snowflakes and pointed it out to me saying it was "cool". We played a little in the snow after lunch. It was a nice heavier one for snowballs and snowmen. There just wasn't that much of it to make a snowman. So we settled for one snowball which the little guy loved.

Happy 3rd Birthday

Its hard to believe our little man turned 3 already. It seems like yesterday we were taking him home. Now we'll be taking home his sibling at some point soon. On the day before his birthday, Mom made "Blues Clue's Cupcakes for his classmates. The kids there were afraid to eat Blue so the teacher had to show them that it was okay to eat Blue (since she was a piece of candy)

We had a nice little morning celebration with mom and dad opening his gifts. Then that evening our friends came over to visit and hang out in celebrating his birthday. To mark the "big 3" mom made him a train cake decorated as Henry who is the number 3 train in the Thomas the Tank Engine series. Hopefully if you click the link you'll be able to see pictures from his big day.

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Christmas Time is here!

Boy this holiday snuck up on us so fast. We were able to travel for Thanksgiving but the doctor's orders were no travelling after 32 weeks (December 14th). So we had our Christmas here with some of Dad's family. Uncle Steve, Grandpa and Grandma P and of course the three of us!!

Before they arrived, we tried a few "Santa dates" to get LV familiar with the big guy and the holiday. The first weekend of December, we went to our favorite train museum and had breakfast with Santa. Two weeks later, the local Knights of Columbus sponsored their Breakfast with Santa. LV wasn't too overly enthusiastic about it even though Santa arrived on a fire truck (Mom thought that was cool). Sometimes he just is really cranky and not in a social mood on Saturdays! The picture posted is with the Breakfast with Santa through the KNights of Columbus.


As for the Christmas holiday, we mixed up the meals by going out to eat a few times and cooking at home. On Christmas Eve, we went to the Children's Mass then headed to Ray's on the River. Christmas Day, we did our traditional frying of a big turkey which I think everyone enjoyed. It was a good time. LV enjoyed his new presents which included a dinosaur, firetruck, car transporter from Santa. His relatives got him a Vtech game and a car that actually runs when you "shake" it. (From Uncle Jim and Aunt Chelsa). So LV enjoyed the variety of gifts this year from both Santa and family. Uncle Steve got him the airplane ride-on toy which he enjoyed outside right away because we did have really nice weather for the Christmas Holiday (in the 60s and 70s!).

Turkey Time!!

We were able to fly out to Nebraska for Thanksgiving this year. It is the last official plane ride Mom can take with the new baby on the way. So we headed out to Granpa and Grandma Hervert's house for the occaision.

Grandma and Grandpa H have a new wonderful kitchen we enjoyed for Thanksgiving Dinner. The set up makes mom really jealous (she would love to have that much room to cook!). We got to see mostly everyone from mom's family. Uncle Jim and Aunt Chelsa were spending time with her family, but we got to say hi to them before we made it home. It was also a special time because it was LV's first snow storm! We experienced a little dusting in Nebraska which was wonderful for him. HE had never seen snow.

For Thanksgiving, we had a special treat of having mom's grandma come out (Great Grandma Sara H) So we got a few pictures of us all with Grandpa H on the couch. It was a nice meal and the food was outstanding. Mom particularly likes the yams with marhsmallows that Grandma H makes (her mom's recipe). LV liked the toasted marshmallows period.

On Friday, Dad, Uncle Jake and Uncle John went hunting out for pheasants. The birds were not cooperating and only Dad and Uncle John managed to shoot a bird a piece. Sadly it wasn't enough to take home and make into nuggets. Overall it was a great trip to see Uncle Jake & John, Aunt Kate, and Grandpa and Grandma H.