Happy Birthday, Bacchus!

Our beautiful little boy turned 2 last month. We celebrated with some friends at home, and it was great. As you can see from the 2nd picture, Bacchus was not keen on being the center of attention, when we sang "Happy Birthday". He did, however, perk up when he opened his presents. He really enjoyed his Diego sunglasses ("go-go fass"), his electric guitar, and his Mr. Potato Head from Uncle Josh. Later that weekend, Uncle Steve and Aunt Delara brought more presents from Kearney, and his favorite is his "bike" that talks and has lots of sounds and music, from the movie "Cars". LOTS of sounds and music...did I mention that? Thanks, Nana, Pop-Pop, Te-te and Wa wa!

That's it for now... we are decorating our Christmas tree tonight, so we will hopefully have some pictures of that to post, soon. Thank goodness Grandpa Lemberger is visiting with his fancy camera, as our digital camera appears to have broken. :)

Pumpkin patch pictures from October

We had a great time visiting Kearney, where we got to spend time with my sister, Jessica, and her son, Grayson (pictured here with Bacchus).

Ah, the funny stories begin!

1. I had an employee that needed to borrow something from me that I had at home, and I have a tendency to forget those things if I don’t write them down, so I made a little note on the back of my hand, in red ink. Bacchus saw it last night, and said, “Oh, no! Mommy, ouch!” I told him that it wasn’t an “owie”, but that I had written someone on my hand with a pen. Then he said, “Mama, no-no, pen, hand”. Yep, that’s right. That’s what I get for trying to teach him something.

2. I went to wake him up this morning, and he said, “Ouch”. I asked where the “ouch” was, because in the car coming home from Kearney , he said, “Ouch, tummy”, and later had some bowel issues…so he gets it. Anyway, I said, “Where is the ouch?” After a lot of guesses on my part, with a “no” answer, he said, “Ouch, cookies!!”. Um…ok.

3. I was asking him what he wanted for breakfast this morning. “Banana cake (bread)?”, “no”, “Eggs?”, “no”, “Bacon?”, “no….OH, YES!!! Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon, BACON!!!” - yelled, while jumping up and down on his knees. So, apparently he likes bacon.

Te-Te and Wa-Wa

Uncle Te-Te and Aunt Wa-Wa make great bread for a Bacchus sandwich!

A taste of things to come....

While picking Bacchus up at daycare today, one of the one year olds toddled over to me, holding his little arms up. I couldn't resist, so I picked him up, marveling at how light he felt compared to our big boy. I was focused on the fact that Dane appeared to have a poopy diaper, when the sitter said, "Uh-oh...look at that face!". I looked over at Bacchus, who was staring at me, open-mouthed. He jumped up, ran over, and started tugging at my pant leg, as if to say, "Hey, mom! You picked up the wrong kid!"

I quickly surrendered Dane to have his diaper changed, and Bacchus and I headed for home.

Funny story from Nana

One evening this past week I saw on the chicken-cam that there was an egg in a nest, so I said "Bacchus, do you want to go out with me to get an egg?" He jumped up and ran to the door. He looked out, stepped back and said "Nana -- it's DARK!" I said "That's okay, here's a flashlight for you." He was excited to have the flashlight, and started down the sidewalk, but he was holding the flashlight so that it was pointing at the sky. I said "Bacchus -- you have to shine it up ahead so you can see." So, he pointed it at his head and continued stumbling down the path in the dark :)

09-27-08

Things have been very busy here in Rocheport. Drew has been working 14 to 16 hour days at the winery for the past week, and has another grueling week to go. That's crush, folks! (In a year where most of the crop was not lost.) Our babysitter took a few days off, and so Nana and Pop-Pop have been here since Wednesday, helping out. They brought Bacchus to my company picnic on Friday, at Stephen's Lake Park, and he had a ball going down the slide (first with Nana and trepidation, then by himself, with glee).

There was a hayride at the farm last night, so Bacchus, Nana and I went treasure hunting this morning. All we found was 30 cents, and somebody's wallet and dorm room key (and about 99 plastic cups, wine bottles, corks, cigarette butts, and some unmentionables).

The new baby Lemberger is gestating nicely, as far as we know. 16 weeks and counting!

Nana and Pop-Pop are heading for home today, and Drew might have Sunday off. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. Please to enjoy these latest pictures!

Bacchus and I have a special moment!

Pony rides!!

This is a picture Nana took of her chickens...aww...

Sad news

Bacchus' great-grandfather, Anthony Dohr, passed away last Tuesday. Drew and I spent Friday and Saturday with the family, attending the wake and funeral, where he gave a wonderful eulogy. He will be greatly missed!

Funny story

Last night, Bacchus wanted to take his shoes and socks off in the living room. So I obliged, then went back to laying on the couch, tired from telling people what to do all day, and growing another human inside of me. I then asked him to put his socks and shoes in his room. He has a yellow mesh clothes hamper, in the shape of a duck, that hangs on his closet door, where we stuff all of his laundry. (I thought this would be an easy request. He loves to help by throwing away diapers in the "cash", and putting his sippy cups in the "ink".) So, I said, "Please put your socks in the duck!". I didn't think anymore about it.

Later, I was checking my email, while Drew ran a bath, I heard him say, "Oh, no! How did your shoes and socks get into the bathtub??" I forgot there were more "ducks" to consider! Luckily, the shoes floated, and didn't get too wet. Heh.

Hmmmm....what's this?

Bacchus and Mommy at story time

Bacchus and Daddy

The Missouri River 340

So this is what someone looks like after paddling 340 miles down the Missouri River...doesn't that look fun? It's been a few weeks since the race ended, and Drew's body is slowly returning to normal. He took a quick 14 mile training run this afternoon, in the 93 degree heat, well, because he's crazy. He is looking forward to possibly participating in the "Gritty Fitty", which is a 50 mile race in Kansas on August 30th. Sometime, between now and then, grape crush will begin in earnest. Drew and the crew set a company record last week, bottling almost 25,000 gallons of wine. He was up and at work by 5:30 every morning, putting in almost 12 hour days. Good practice for upcoming crush!

We are looking forward to a visit from Uncle Steve and Aunt Delara sometime this week, who are visiting our folks before heading off for a much needed vacation in Europe. Maybe I'll have some new pictures of Bacchus to post!

4th of July

Bacchus and I had a great time at the annual Rocheport 4th of July pet parade. There were lots of dogs and kids, and a few horses thrown in for good measure. Bacchus made some new friends, and just smiled and waved at the others. The little girl in the first picture is Lily, his maybe future girlfriend?

Today, Bacchus is 20 months old! There is a street party in Rocheport tonight, in his honor. (Ok, that's a fib. The street party is actually a 340 pre-race party and fundraiser for this year's race charity. But Bacchus doesn't need to know that!) Nana and Pop Pop are coming in from Kearney, and Josh and Courtney may join us as well. Drew is out in the boat shop, feverishly trying to finish painting his boat before the festivities tonight. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

Happy Father's Day!

Nothing like pajamas and a safari hat, right?

It's been a whirlwind of activity here in Rocheport. Drew is finishing his new kayak for the Missouri River 340, which is coming up in July, and we're still working on the Rocheport house when we can. Drew is heading to St. Louis this coming weekend for a wine tasting he does every year for the St. Louis Cathedral, organized by Aunt Helen, and another tasting (maybe in Forest Park?) on Saturday. As I have some obligations to attend to, Bacchus will be staying with Grandma and Grampa Lemberger on Friday, and with Aunt Jen and Uncle Paul and/or Aunt Marie and Uncle Steve on Saturday. That should be interesting! Bacchus has been experiencing some separation anxiety lately, and prefers if both Drew and I are on hand at all times. Um...yeah. He has been talking up a storm, with his favorite words being "hock" (milk), "side" (outside), "tuck" (stuck), "hep" (help), etc. He is starting to have the ability to repeat most things, and we are amazed pretty constantly. For the last two weeks, he has been putting himself in time-out after a "no-no", like using crayons on the coffee table, or throwing his sippy cup on the floor. Weirdo.

That's the update from here, how is everyone else doing?

Bacchus visits the Grandparents

Bacchus traveled to Kearney last Tuesday, and stayed with Nana Louie and Grampa Gary until Sunday. As you can see, a good time was had by all! He helped out with the chores, like gathering the eggs and helping with the chickens, and relaxed by doing some yoga. He has had some teething issues lately, and his favorite word is, "no". He also learned how to say "Stuck!", and seems to think that his diaper is "stuck" on him, and when he is strapped in the carseat, he is "stuck". Sometimes it's hard being 1.5.

Drew and I were off work last week, and did some work on the Rocheport house. I'll try to get some current pictures of that project on here sometime soon. Hope everyone is having a great week...

05-08-08 update

This was his first corn on the cob experience. It was pretty funny. Too bad there is no audio! He was really laughing and having a good time. And the look on his face when he stuck the end in his mouth was great...I had to tell him, "No, the end is yucky!", and he happily went back to munching on the kernels. We also give him a cold cob when his teeth are hurting, like one huge teething toy.

These other pictures were taken at Easter, at the Lemberger's in O'Fallon. I came down with the flu that day, and spent the majority of the day resting in the guest room, and feeling generally miserable. Everyone else had fun, and Great Aunt Helen helped Bacchus make his first decorated Easter project. I think everyone had a great time. Enjoy!

Good times in Kearney-town with Nana Louie and GG (Grampa Gary)

Here's a "before" picture...check out that mullet!

First haircut video...hope this works.

Banana Face/Go KU (for Uncle Steve)

1st haircut! 04-04-08

more pictures

"Did you know the human head weighs eight pounds??"

Our Christmas card this year...

Bacchus and Drew checking out the front yard.

Happy March

Finally, some new pictures, as promised. Above, we have his first, joyful experience with spaghetti. Drew said, "Don't use that one, his eyes were closed!"...I say, it just proves that he was really enjoying that meal.

The above picture took place on Christmas Eve, when Aubie and his newly affianced woman, Myra, came out to Rocheport for dinner and celebrations. I'm not sure what prompted Bacchus to make this face, but we really enjoyed seeing it!

This was Bacchus sitting on Great-Grandpa Marchbank's lap, this past fall. Grandpa had trouble hearing, but Bacchus wasn't talking much then, anyway, so they got along fine.

This was an "action shot" taken by Drew about two months ago. There were several shots in the series, but this was the cutest. :)

Someone secretly replaced my happy baby with Folger's Crystals

Ok, so we've hit a bit of a rough patch...Drew and I both got hit with the flu, and then Baby B got a cold. He struggled through night after night with coughing/crying fits, which seemed twice as bad because he'd been such a good sleeper before. His cough finally seems to be winding down, which is good, but he seems to be a good deal fussier than before. Maybe it's the cough, maybe it's teething, maybe it's the horrible diaper rash we struggled through, again. Today he was more like his old self, and I didn't want to bang my head repeatedly against the wall during dinner time. Thank goodness!

Development wise, I think he's doing well. Here is a brief list of the words he says (or some approximation thereof): ball, hot, truck, hat, yes, baba (bacchus), light, juice, CRACKER (that was his first), night-night...let's see...what else. I feel like I'm forgetting some. Probably am. I'll add to the list later. He will say "mama" if prompted, but hasn't said it while holding out his arms in a really pathetic gesture for attention. I'm sure that comes later.

In other news, for those of you who don't yet know, I received a promotion at work last week. We had two out of three Unit Supervisor jobs available, and I interviewed against 18 other people, and was offered one of the two slots. It is going to mean a lot more work for a little more money, and probably lots of headaches. I really struggled with whether or not I would accept it if offered, but in the end, decided that I would take it. I'm focusing on the positives, like a get a real office with an actual door, and a nice big window. And I need to remember that I will only be as stressed as I allow myself to be.

My parents were so excited about my promotion that the went to Belize the next day. Ok, my promotion wasn't really the reason, it was a scheduled church mission trip. I've really missed talking to them this week, but have kept up with their antics by reading the blog posted on the First United Methodist Church of Kearney, MO's website. You can see a hilarious picture of my dad, balancing a full-size aluminum ladder on his chin. One of his many talents. I'm pretty sure my mom is going to try and smuggle a small child back into the country. They arrive back in town this weekend. Everyone say a little prayer for their safe return.

We have some great pictures we need to download...I'm going to set Drew that task. You won't believe how Bacchus has grown!!!!

Oops...

So, we've been offline for awhile! Right after my last post, we lost our desktop computer in a freak thunderstorm. We finally, in desperation, dug Drew's old laptop out of the basement, and got it working last week. Windows 98, anyone? Eek. Anyhoo, it's better than nothing!

Bacchus update: He started running around shortly after his 1st birthday, and hasn't stopped since. His favorite activities include reading, puzzles, and throwing anything he can carry into the trashcan when we're not looking. I think we've lost three sippy cups in the last month. He can say "truck", "yes", "light", "cracker" (1st word, of course, and he calls most food "cracker"), "night-night"...I think that's about it. He loves to listen to "kid tunes" on the dishnetwork, and he sometimes sings along, and dances in a circle. Awesome.

We had a little heatlh scare last month when he got croupy, but a visit to the doctor took care of it. He's still drooling like it's an Olympic event, and lately his nose has joined in the fun. Double Awesome!

Well, that's it for now! We have about 4 months of pictures stored in our camera, which will hopefully find their way to this blog soon. Hope everyone has a great weekend!