Remembering Grandpa Sneigle

My Grandpa Sneigle, my mom's dad, passed away last night at age 90 (just one month shy of 91).  He was the kindest, most gentle and soft-spoken man who always had a twinkle in his eye.  He was an orphan who spoke a mix of English and Polish, Army veteran who served in the Aleutian Islands, devoted husband of over 62 years, father of four, grandfather of seven, and epitome of selflessness, resourcefulness, and self-reliance.  He kept his garage meticulous, bought paper towels and saltime crackers in bulk, enjoyed cheering for the Mountaineers, and had a weakness for canned sardines and homemade fudge.  He will be missed by so many.  God welcomed a new angel into Heaven last night.  We know Grandpa is reunited there with Grandma and that they are watching over us.

Connor-isms

Several recent Connor happenings worth recording for the "blog book:"
1.  Yesterday we were playing in the driveway and he tripped and fell forward.  He caught himself on his hands and knees, stood up, brushed off his head (how he typically responds when I tell him to "brush it off") and said, "I went bump."  Then he took off in the other direction.

2.  Two or three times a day, he climbs up onto a kitchen chair, taps on my computer keyboard, and says, "I want Pop-pop," meaning he wants me to open up the large version of the photo of him and my dad posted below.  Tonight I told him "Pop-pop bye-bye" because I needed to get our dinner ready, and he burst out into tears.

3.  He loves to pick up "trass" and throw it in the kitchen garbage can.  Today at the gym, he insisted on picking up several tiny bits of paper on the floor and throwing each one away. 

4.  Chris was wearing a t-shirt with vintage Jeeps on it tonight.  When he was putting Connor into his pj's after his bath, Connor touched three of the Jeeps and said "bye bye, bye bye, bye bye."

Silly Connor!

Trying out the cats' bed. 

Wearing Daddy's sweatshirt on Sunday afternoon. 

Visit from Pop-pop!

Last week, we were in a bit of a pinch.  I had to work last Saturday, and Chris had class all day.  I also had to work Monday and Tuesday, Chris had work and class, and I had a bunch of appointments.  My Dad, also known as Pop-pop, recently retired and was able to fly down and spend six days with us.  He had a wonderful time with Connor and saved us a fortune on sitters!  He and Connor played a LOT of choo-choo's, played outside, went to the library, went to the playground, went on walks, ate a LOT of snacks, read books, and played a lot of hide-and-seek.  Connor really knows who Pop-pop is and absolutely loves him.  It absolutely broke my heart when we dropped Pop-pop off at the airport and Connor just burst into tears.  For the past two days, he has been pointing into the guestroom and saying, "where Pop-pop?"  It's so sad that we live so far away, but I am thankful that our families are all healthy enough and have the means to travel here to visit us.  We are so thankful for our long visit with Pop-pop!

A Little Sparkler is on the Way!

We are expecting Baby #2 on July 4th!  I am almost 15 weeks pregnant and have had three doctor's appointments so far, including two ultrasounds.  During last week's ultrasound, the tech took nuchal fold measurements, and everything looked great.  Sparkler had his/her hand next to his mouth and moved his foot for us.  I think his profile looks just like Connor's!  They will do a more in-depth scan when we find out if we're having a boy or girl in about a month.  I have been feeling pretty sick (all day! even in the 2nd trimester!), so lots of people are guessing that we'll be buying pink!  We're so excited that Connor and Sparkler will be close in age and will grow up to be best buddies.  We are just praying for a healthy little addition to our family!

Visit from the Maggiores

On Tuesday, the Maggiore family came to visit us on their way to Disney World.  They joined us for dinner and the premier of The Bachelor (complete with brownie trifle dessert)!  We even got to spend some time with them on Wednesday before they had to head to Orlando.  We wish they had been able to stay longer, but we are certainly glad that their itinerary included a stop at our house! 

Maryland Christmas Fun

Here are some random shots of all of the fun we had in Maryland.  Enjoy!

Putting pennies from Pop-pop Sneigle into the "bank."

Playing piano with Uncle Chris...and alone when no one was supervising!

Pushing Mommy's old giraffe toy. 

Sam riding on my old scooter. 

Jack on Emily's scooter. 

The firestation near my parent's house sets up a huge train display each year.  The boys loved it!

I love that wooden snowman! 

Playing in the gym. 

Sam managed to master diving through the hula hoop, and Chris got LOTS of action shots of it!

Playing peek-a-boo with the laundry room door.  So much fun!

I love my Grammy and Pop-Pop!

The Maryland Science Center

While we were in Maryland, we spent one morning at the Maryland Science Center.  Connor had been there once before, when he was abotu three months old.  He was able to enjoy a lot more of it this time, especially in the hands-on children's area!  The boys had a great time playing together.  It was a really fun way to spend a cold winter morning.

The ball tunnel.

Fish!

Undersea creatures.

Of course they had a train table!

Fun with the huge water table!

Ahoy, Captain!

This is really cool!

Three little penguins!

This moving crab has been a fixture at the Science Center since I was little.  The boys were fascinated by it!

Experiments with Daddy.

Sam creating a cyclone.

Pointing to the dinosaurs.