Summer 2010

Wow, it's been a busy summer so far! Bret and I have been busy with fireworks stands, camping trips and of course our yearly trip to Malibu! So many great things so far this summer, and tomorrow our whole family leaves for Washington Family Ranch in Oregon for our month long assignment!

Our Malibu trip was great this year. We brought about 110 kids from Edmonds Woodway, Meadowdale and Kings. They all had such a great time, and we had the opportunity to watch God touch many of their lives! We've been working hard to follow up with the kids from camp every day since we've been home. Very exhausting, but rewarding none the less!! Below is a picture of my girls and me making journals the night before we left!



Harper has grown and changed so much this summer! She is just a little talking machine. She is saying full sentences, and will repeat almost any word. It's amazing how many people she remembers and asks about as well! She especially loves all our Young Life kids and remembers so many of their names! She sings lots of songs including Happy Birthday, the ABC's, Jesus loves me and Ring around the Rosie. She is very good at counting and remembering letters, she is even starting to pick out letters on the computer keyboard! Harps definitely has a little mind of her own, she is VERY opinionated and strong willed. This sometimes makes parenting challenging, but I think she is growing into a wonderful little human being! She also LOVES the pool. She will jump in from the side, go underwater without a problem, and even jump off the diving board! I'm so proud of my little fishie! She will love the pool at Washington Family Ranch this summer! Oh, and she also got an awesome new bike for her second birthday! She loves her bike and all her new Elmo toys ;)

I'll definitely keep updating this blog while on our assignment next month!

Oh Boy

Clearly, I have NOT been keeping up with this blog. I actually considered giving up on it altogether, but I thought I might as well keep it and just write whenever I write.

Harper is quickly approaching her second birthday. She is talking so much, sometimes it completely blows my mind. She says complete sentences now, although, sometimes they're hard to decipher if you don't speak Harper language :) She has been singing the abc's for a few weeks, and occassionally we'll even catch her counting...so far she has made it to 15! She can also say her whole name "Harper Grace Niebruegge". We definitely have to watch what we say around her now, because who knows what she'll choose to repeat. She loves to be independent and do things by herself. One of the funnies things she does right now is ask for "baby coffee" first thing in the morning. Little does she know, baby coffee is just warm milk with a tiny bit of chocolate sauce. We are also trying to explain to Harper that she has a little sister on the way. It's hard to tell how well she understands it, but I think she knows something big is going on!

Bret and I are really excited to take our kids to camp this summer. We'll be at Malibu Club from July 18-24 this year. About a week after we get home we'll head down to Washington Family Ranch in Oregon for our 20 day assignment. I'm really excited for this assignment. I think Harper is at a great age to hang out at a Young Life camp all day! We'll also have some great friends there, and some awesome work crew and summer staff kids who are coming from our area! The best part about the trip is that Bret's mom and sister and my parents will be coming as adult guests during the last week! I really can't wait!

harper language

I finally got a video of Harper talking. She's actually starting to put words together now, I think she might be getting close to sentences. Oh boy!

Hugo 'The Boss' Stiglets Niebruegge

We (or maybe just I) decided that since Murph was gone, Kona needed a new friend to keep her young. Bret, Jake and I searched far and wide for a puppy just after New Years. We found the perfect little pup and Jake named him Hugo 'The Boss' Stiglets. Hugo is now about 12 weeks old, and he is a terror. He's going to be a very big boy...he gained 6 lbs in the two weeks between his first and second vet visit! He terrorizes Harper and Kona to no end, but at the end of the day we all love him :)

A Rocky Start to a Lovely Christmas

A few days before we planned to leave for Christmas in Chicago, Murphy started acting a little weird. I took him to the vet, and they did some blood work, but none of us were too concerned...he just seemed a little off. I had an appointment to get x-rays done on the morning of the 18th, but on the evening of the 17th he unexpectedly took a turn for the worst and died on the way to the vet :( They think he potentially suffered a severe trauma and died of internal bleeding. We buried him that night, talked about memories and tried to process the whole sequence of events. Murphy was a great kitty, and he lived a very full, adventurous life. We loved him so much and memories of Murphy will be in our hearts forever. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up in heaven pouncing on Jesus' robe and causing trouble right this second.

Murphy being a trouble maker


The morning after we lost Murph, we jumped on a plane and headed to Chicago. Although I was very disappointed with the timing, it ended up being a blessing to be out of the house for a while. This might have been the most fun Bret and I have ever had in Chicago. Bret, Harper, Mitch, Addie and I loved playing in the snow and enjoying the real winter weather! We went ice skating, sledding, shopping, exploring, took pictures with Santa, ate tons of Chicago style food and celebrated Christmas Eve together! It was a trip jam packed with fun. On Christmas day, we made it home just in time to celebrate with Bret's family. It was all such a blast, I still feel in shock at the lack of action at home! I'll post pictures of our trip soon!

scowl

Harper's happy Halloween and our new ride!

This year, Halloween was much more eventful than last year. Last October Harper was just three months old and certainly couldn't appreciate what was going on around her! This year she dressed up like a little lady bug, and as she would say she looked "sooo toot"! We made our rounds and visited some Edmonds neighbors and friends, then we headed to downtown Edmonds for the big event down there. It was rainy and cold by the time we got there, and there were long lines just to get candy. Good thing Harper didn't really care if she got candy or not. Her two favorite parts of the event were the balloons and the doggies. She really couldn't have cared less about the candy or the fact that she was dressed up. After getting cold and wet in downtown Edmonds, we headed up to Lake Stevens to hang out with Kyle, Rachael and little Chase. Harper and Chase are finally getting old enough to play together a little bit. I think they will be great friends someday :)

Ladybug

First trick or treating experience

This is just after she knocked

Then she looks at Bret like "Okay Dad, nobody's coming!"

So she tried the door herself!

Making herself at home.

Harper and Peter Pan


Goodbye truck, hello Passat. In other Niebs family news, we finally sold the truck and got a family car! So far we are loving our Passat wagon!