Carol's Bridal Shower!

Last night the Lutz aunts and cousins threw Carol a surprise bridal shower. Here she is getting surprised!!

Liam was the only boy that was allowed at this party and he sure did ham it up for the camera!! He looked so handsome all dressed up for the party.


Maddie had a great time spending time with Meredith! Can you tell from this picture that Meredith is her idol, she really looks up to her!

Carol got a cook book. She is determined to start cooking a little more. I don't know why she would, when Eli is a good cook!


So what is the consensus? Do we still look like twins? Or just cousins?

Picture with the auntsPicture with the cousins


Picture with the little cousins

Wishing Carol and Eli the best! I am so glad that we finally got to get together after 10 long years of not seeing one another.

Paddle Boat Fun!

Tonight at grandma and grandpa's house, Liam got to go out on his first paddle boat ride! He had so much fun! he was standing between grandma's legs so every time she paddled, he would move his hips with the rhythm, so it looked like he was dancing. Maddie had a great time as always!!

Yard Work!

Well...last Saturday while I was mowing the grass our trusty John Deere mower had a malfunction, so I got to use Grandpa's new Grasshopper lawn mower that is HUGE compared to our usual mower. His mower also doesn't have a steering wheel, so my days of running a skid steer came back to me pretty quickly! It was lots of fun and it only took me about 35 minutes to mow my yard compared to 1 hour with my mower. But today my dream of keeping the Grasshopper vanished, Grandpa came to get it back, but before he took it home he mowed my yard. (HOW NICE!)

This is Liam sitting in the front yard watching grandpa cut the grass. He was HILARIOUS! He would wave and say his version of Grandpa every round.

Maddie and Grandpa wanted to get their picture taken before they take the mower back. Maddie got to help him load it onto the trailer. She was so excited, she left her bike helmet on!

Water Table Fun

Last night, Maddie and Liam had some water table fun. Mommy and Maddie were so proud of themselves...we put together the water table all by ourselves without any help from Daddy!

Maddie decided that when you play in the water table you also need to wear your rain boots....nothing like wearing rubber rain boots on a 100 degree evening! This picture is so fuzzy because my camera lense fogged out from being outside.

Maddie and Liam thank Aunt Heidi for this great birthday present! They LOVE IT!

LIAM IS ONE!!!

On Thursday, July 14th, Liam turned ONE! We celebrated as a family on Friday evening because Maddie was at Bible School on Thursday evening. Maddie had picked out a Little People Train set for Liam all by herself at Toys R Us. She knows what Liam likes because he loved it.

Maddie was so proud of her toy when Liam opened it!

Liam got a Reds hat and outfit to wear next summer! He actually liked to wear his hat.On Saturday, we celebrated Liam's birthday with family. Here is the birthday boy enjoying his lunch of watermelon, cheese, and baked beans. Some of his favorite foods at one.

Liam received lots of gifts, but the helicopter from Great Aunt Marge and Great Uncle Loren was among one of his favorites.




By the time the last present came around from Aunt Heidi...Liam was getting really tired. So he looks so sad...but I have a feeling he will get hours of fun out of the water table!

So here comes his number ONE cake!!

He dug in with both hands. (Maddie's face during this was priceless! She didn't know what to think. She has never seen such a mess is all of her life.)

This went on..and on...and on...until the entire cakes was almost gone! Liam had to get a bath. He even sneezed icing out of his nose several times in the bathtub.

After his bath, he said thanks to all of the people at his party and went down for an afternoon nap. Then he was ready to get an hour of swimming in before dinner time. Maddie and Liam both liked chasing down Nemo in the swimming pool. Aunt Elaine got a swimming Nemo for Liam's birthday and it really worked. Nemo was all over that pool! Mommy's Message to Liam on his 1st birthday:

Liam, you have been my sweet, snuggly, lovable, smiling, and adorable boy for a year now. During your first year, you have changed so much, but these things have stayed the same. You are definitely unique! From your famous nose scrunch...to your giggle...to your sense of humor. We can't wait to see how much you change and mature during your next year...we have some much to experience together!! Love, Mommy

Widolff Campout 2011

On Friday the Ruwe Family headed out to Brown County Park for the annual Widolff Family Camp out. The weather was hot, but dry. During the past couple of camp outs, we have gotten really wet, so being dry was nice.

We left on Friday at 1:00 and by 4:00, Liam was feeling at home. He thought he was such a big boy getting into Leah's lawn chair. He even started playing a game of Peek-a-Boo!

Where is Liam?

Here I am!

Maddie and Leah did some coloring before dinner.

Nana gave Liam some of his nighttime bottle and then the trouble started! Liam quickly became uninterested in his bottle, which is NOT like Liam. Nana handed Liam off to me so I could go and lay him down in the our tent, when I got covered in throw-up! Liam had a case of the pukes while on his first camping trip. It was so random. He would be fine and normal acting for so long and then all of a sudden get sick. He had no other symptoms, I don't know if the heat got to him or what. I am just glad I packed a couple of extra shirts.


On Saturday, we had a busy day. We ate breakfast, played at the campsite then went to a Widolff Family lunch, then swimming, and after dinner we threw Liam a mini-birthday party so the Moore Family could help us celebrate his approaching birthday. (They aren't going to make it to his party this weekend and he wanted to celebrate in some way with them.) So Leah, Brendan, and Maddie helped to decorate the cupcakes. Special thanks to Nana for bringing along all of the fixings!After the decorating was complete, we sang Happy Birthday to Liam, and then let him have a bite of a cupcake. (We didn't want to upset his stomach anymore.) He was so happy and excited! I can't wait to see what he does next weekend!

After the singing and cupcakes, he got to open his first birthday present with Aunt Aimee.

He really liked his gift, which included a pack of Taddooles that he would have loved to get out right away, but we will wait until we get home! Liam got sick again before bedtime. I was the victim again. Maddie enjoyed her evening playing with her bug catcher catching lightning bugs and her glow stick. (O the little things that they love.)

On Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then started to pack up. Liam did not like having to play in the pack-n-play for awhile, but then Maddie and Leah came and played with him and he liked that.

Widolff Camp out 2011 was a great camp out. I wish Liam was sick at his first camp out, but hopefully he will have a better 2nd camp out. Maddie had the time of her life! I just hope that next year is a dry camp out like this one.

Happy 4th of July!

For this 4th of July we headed for an afternoon of fun to celebrate Aunt Marge's 70th birthday! Aunt Elaine had a dessert bar that had some great new desserts for us to try.

Maddie played with Liam on a blanket outside. They look so cute in their 4th of July outfits!

Liam and Megan took turns putting their arms around one another. It was so cute! They are the best of friends already, just like Maddie and Jake.

Maddie really enjoyed playing with Meredith and Bryson. Meredith is getting really good at driving the golf cart so she can take Maddie and Jake for rides.

Liam's Lazy Morning!

Liam started off Sunday, July 3rd with a lazy morning. He just laid on this pillow and watched the Wimbledon finals with mommy for a bit! He is such a silly, sweet boy!

Park Fun!

Today Maddie, Liam, Gwen, and I packed up and headed to Miami Whitewater Park for some summer fun! We started off on the swings and slides and then headed over to the water park when it opened. We swam for awhile before eating lunch and then swam some more before changing and hitting up the playgrounds again. I think Liam fell asleep the minute he was in his car seat. I had to get a picture of Liam enjoying the swings in his hat. He actually left it on for awhile.

Both Liam and Maddie loved the water! Maddie played with Gwen while I helped Liam walk around the "baby" part. (That was what Maddie called it.) Maddie peeked out of the pirate ship so I could snap a quick picture of her.

Maddie and Liam both posed for me in the "Baby" part on the alligator for a picture. Something exciting must be going on off to the side because it looks like they are both focusing on the same thing. On the way home when I asked Maddie what she liked the best, she said, "Everything, Momma!"

4-H Fair 2011

On Wednesday evening, the Ruwe Family headed down to the 2011 Dearborn County 4-H Fair to enter Liam in the baby contest. Liam kind-of froze up! He wouldn't smile or crinkle up his nose at the judges.

After the contest, we walked around to look at the animals. Maddie and Liam got to pet a bunny. Liam LOVED it!

After Maddie got some ice cream, Maddie wanted to go on a couple of rides. Maddie rode the big slide.

I just had to include this photo of Maddie putting her sunglasses back on after she got off of the slide. She kind-of just left daddy behind.

Maddie also got to ride on the Bumper Cars with daddy. She can't wait to go back and ride a few more rides on Friday evening after the Pork Chop dinner.

Madeleine Wearing Madeline!

Madeleine Wearing Madeline!

Yesterday, Madeleine wore her Madeline shirt and I just had to take a picture of her wearing it. She was so excited when she found it in her drawer yesterday morning!

Liam is 11 Months Old!

On Tuesday, July 14, Liam turned 11 months old. During the past month, Liam has been a busy boy! He has been riding his bike.

Trying to get the hang of walking!

Even with the help of Uncle Kyle!

Liam's new favorite food this month, is spaghetti bake! He is so messy with it, I just take his clothes off before he starts eating lunch or dinner. I can't believe that in less than a month, we will be celebrating Liam's first birthday! I just hope he is walking by then, because he is such a load to carry around.