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Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year
We wish you a very happy new year. The new year comes with a variety of changes for us, one of which is a move. In a little over two weeks we will be moving to Kansas City to allow James to take on a new and exciting role within the company he works for.
Moving means many things, not the least of which is leaving behind many close friends and family. So, in an effort to allow those close to us in spirit, but not in proximity to see the kids grow and change, we got a little video camera for Christmas.
Here is a video of Katherine and Grandma baking cookies at Christmas...
Moving means many things, not the least of which is leaving behind many close friends and family. So, in an effort to allow those close to us in spirit, but not in proximity to see the kids grow and change, we got a little video camera for Christmas.
Here is a video of Katherine and Grandma baking cookies at Christmas...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Jack is getting so big!
Poor little guy has his first ear infection. Jack went in for his 6 month check-up last week. Doc said he looks great...other than the virus he was apparently sporting (fever, rash, no big deal really). So, we couldn't get his shots at that visit and had to schedule a visit for this week hoping he would be over the virus. Well, he is over the virus (no more fever, etc.), but has an ear infection. No wonder he hasn't been sleeping!
Despite being a little cranky and a little clingy, he has really been super smiley and active. He has started pulling himself up to standing and is almost really crawling. He does this cute army-crawl kind of thing, but doesn't lift his body off the floor in order to get places. So, gone are the fleeting days where I can set him down somewhere and expect him to be there for more than a few seconds!
He is chewing on absolutely EVERYTHING so I hope he actually cuts some teeth soon. We will all sleep a little better that way, I think!
He LOVES his big sister. She is quite a ham and provides no shortage of opportunities for him to smile, laugh, and grab. Now that he is a little more mobile, she is learning how quickly he will grab her stuff. She is definitely not a fan of that!
Despite being a little cranky and a little clingy, he has really been super smiley and active. He has started pulling himself up to standing and is almost really crawling. He does this cute army-crawl kind of thing, but doesn't lift his body off the floor in order to get places. So, gone are the fleeting days where I can set him down somewhere and expect him to be there for more than a few seconds!
He is chewing on absolutely EVERYTHING so I hope he actually cuts some teeth soon. We will all sleep a little better that way, I think!
He LOVES his big sister. She is quite a ham and provides no shortage of opportunities for him to smile, laugh, and grab. Now that he is a little more mobile, she is learning how quickly he will grab her stuff. She is definitely not a fan of that!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pink Princess Party
The definition of insanity should include a short video clip of a birthday party with four three-year-old girls throwing elbows, pushing, taking toys, and crying for no ascertainable reason. Overall it was great to hang out with our friends, but peaceful it was not. Three couples that we are close to also have 3-year-old daughters. So, we decided to start with the theory that you should allow your child to invite one friend per year of existence. Since Katherine was turning three we invited three friends.
Her only real request was a pink birthday. James had an out-of-town speaking engagement that night so we decided to do breakfast. Thus, the Pink Princess Pancake Party was born. Of course we are NOT morning people so the official start time was 10am. We had pink pancakes, pink/red fruit (watermelon, raspberries, strawberries with bananas and apples thrown in for good measure), princess goodies for each girl to take home, and four very cute princesses.
I don't know if it was a full moon, if it was just the wrong time of day, or if we didn't feed them enough, but it was like watching mini cage fighters in dresses (just kidding). Really though, they were whining, crying, pushing, hitting, wrenching toys away from one another...it was such chaos you just had to laugh.
In the end we were all well-fed, the parents got to socialize, the girls had fun overall, and the little brothers got some socialization in too. Not bad for a 3-year-old party!
Her only real request was a pink birthday. James had an out-of-town speaking engagement that night so we decided to do breakfast. Thus, the Pink Princess Pancake Party was born. Of course we are NOT morning people so the official start time was 10am. We had pink pancakes, pink/red fruit (watermelon, raspberries, strawberries with bananas and apples thrown in for good measure), princess goodies for each girl to take home, and four very cute princesses.
I don't know if it was a full moon, if it was just the wrong time of day, or if we didn't feed them enough, but it was like watching mini cage fighters in dresses (just kidding). Really though, they were whining, crying, pushing, hitting, wrenching toys away from one another...it was such chaos you just had to laugh.
In the end we were all well-fed, the parents got to socialize, the girls had fun overall, and the little brothers got some socialization in too. Not bad for a 3-year-old party!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
They are growing up so fast!
I can't believe that our little man is four months old! It just seems crazy. He is moving through the baby stage so quickly I can't keep up. In the last couple of weeks he has started rolling over from his back to his belly. He ends up propped up on his elbows, looking around. Then he starts trying to lift his little bottom into the air, and usually ends up scooting forward inch-worm style. He can move several feet with a combination of rolling and scooting!
He has also started testing his vocal chords. I can't even reproduce the sounds he makes with words. Just know that he reaches a pretty high pitch when he is excited! He has also started giggling a little bit. At first it was only when we tickled him, then when we made silly faces at him, but now he does it when we laugh! So much fun!
Katherine is also getting to be a big girl. We won't know for sure until her check-up next week, but she is getting pretty tall. I think she is going to have long legs like her mama.
I can't believe she starts preschool next week! For the first few weeks Jack and I will have to hang out in the building because her class cannot have more than one child who hasn't turned three yet. But, once she turns three she'll be going three days a week by herself. Of course she won't know that Jack and I are in the building so as far as she knows, she starts her big girl school next week!
She is so funny. The things that come out of her mouth amaze me. I am sure that it is developmentally appropriate, but when she pulls three and four syllable words out of thin air it makes me realize how big she is getting. She told me yesterday that something was impossible. I know that isn't rocket science, but it just made me realize that she isn't a baby or even a toddler anymore!
One new thing that I am not excited about is the persistent "but why?" that she can pipe up with over and over and over again. Any ideas for quashing a string of those before you go crazy (or more likely just plain run out of answers)?
Anyway, here are some photos of Mr. Jack and his first attempts at locomotion.
He has also started testing his vocal chords. I can't even reproduce the sounds he makes with words. Just know that he reaches a pretty high pitch when he is excited! He has also started giggling a little bit. At first it was only when we tickled him, then when we made silly faces at him, but now he does it when we laugh! So much fun!
Katherine is also getting to be a big girl. We won't know for sure until her check-up next week, but she is getting pretty tall. I think she is going to have long legs like her mama.
I can't believe she starts preschool next week! For the first few weeks Jack and I will have to hang out in the building because her class cannot have more than one child who hasn't turned three yet. But, once she turns three she'll be going three days a week by herself. Of course she won't know that Jack and I are in the building so as far as she knows, she starts her big girl school next week!
She is so funny. The things that come out of her mouth amaze me. I am sure that it is developmentally appropriate, but when she pulls three and four syllable words out of thin air it makes me realize how big she is getting. She told me yesterday that something was impossible. I know that isn't rocket science, but it just made me realize that she isn't a baby or even a toddler anymore!
One new thing that I am not excited about is the persistent "but why?" that she can pipe up with over and over and over again. Any ideas for quashing a string of those before you go crazy (or more likely just plain run out of answers)?
Anyway, here are some photos of Mr. Jack and his first attempts at locomotion.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Finally Home
This is a duplicate post to one on my blog, sorry if you get a repeat! I'll post pictures soon.
Well, we are finally home from our last major road trip of the summer. I am happily exhausted. In the midst of each of our trips I wondered more than once why in the world we had decided to take two kids under the age of three on such long road trips and so many of them in one summer. But, in the end I am happy we went on each of them and have been blessed by the experiences.
Where did we go? Our summer began with a week-long trip to stay with James' parents in Wadsworth, OH. James had to be on-site at one of his clients all day every day that week so we stayed with grandma and grandpa to get out of the house and get some help! We traded in our SUV and got the van the last day of that trip, enjoying the additional space on the way home.
A few weeks later we drove to St. Louis for a convention I was attending (and volunteering for). Daddy and two kids cooped up in a hotel wasn't the most fun, but he was brave and took them both out to see the city. We also used a babysitting service a couple of times so that James could get out of the hotel and enjoy a few hours free of kids on the golf course. After six days in St. Louis we continued on to Kansas City where James had several meetings and a training course for work. Now it was mom's turn to be cooped up in a hotel room with the kids. The first hotel we checked into was spacious, but not nice at all (dirty - I never let my feet touch the carpet, I wore flip flops the entire time). So, we checked out after a couple of nights once we could get a room elsewhere. The second hotel was even more spacious and very nice. After five days in Kansas City we drove home (all 10 hours in one day).
A little over a week later we were in the car again to drive to Memphis for a convention James was attending (and also volunteering for). While I was solo parenting for much of the week, it was much easier since we were staying at a friend's house and I was essentially house/dog sitting while he worked the convention as well. We have friends in Memphis from when we lived there so it was nice to hang out with them again while we were there. We were also able to drop in and see some friends in Nashville on our way to Memphis and on our return home a week later.
We were home for two days, then packed the car again to head to a lake in northern Michigan to hang out with James' family. I was kind of nervous about camping with a three-month-old, but we ended up staying in James' brother's camper and had a great time! We were also able to attend a friend's baby shower while we were up that way and saw some extended family as well! After five days we headed home, dropping James off on the way home at a golf tournament.
A few days later, my mom arrived! This was her first time seeing Jack and the first time we had seen her since Christmas. James went back up to Michigan that weekend (last weekend) for a reunion with the guys he lived with his senior year of college. Mom was a great help while he was gone!
Three days after James' return, we all packed into the van and headed to Atlanta to see my brother. Lucas looks amazing! He is still confined to a wheelchair for a while longer since he can't put weight on his heels yet. He is out of the plaster casts and wearing removable walking casts. His spirits are high and he is working again, part time.
We also had the chance to hang out with some great friends who we never get to see anymore due to the distance! What a great trip. We toured the Coke museum and went to the amazing Atlanta Aquarium. We had a truly wonderful trip and brought home many wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. What we won't cherish is the big souvenir we brought home, a crumpled front fender. We got in a minor accident leaving the aquarium on Friday. Everyone is fine if not a little embarrassed. It drives fine other than a little scraping that occurs when we make right turns. So, we drove home making as few right turns as possible! We got in late last night and unfortunately had to say goodbye to my mom today. She flew back to Tucson today after a wonderful visit. We will miss her a lot and look forward to hopefully all getting together in December!
Whew! What a long summer. At last we are home and can hopefully settle in and get back to normal over the next week just in time for James to go back to work. We were blessed to have him on sabbatical from work for the month of August.
Now we just have to get the car fixed!
Well, we are finally home from our last major road trip of the summer. I am happily exhausted. In the midst of each of our trips I wondered more than once why in the world we had decided to take two kids under the age of three on such long road trips and so many of them in one summer. But, in the end I am happy we went on each of them and have been blessed by the experiences.
Where did we go? Our summer began with a week-long trip to stay with James' parents in Wadsworth, OH. James had to be on-site at one of his clients all day every day that week so we stayed with grandma and grandpa to get out of the house and get some help! We traded in our SUV and got the van the last day of that trip, enjoying the additional space on the way home.
A few weeks later we drove to St. Louis for a convention I was attending (and volunteering for). Daddy and two kids cooped up in a hotel wasn't the most fun, but he was brave and took them both out to see the city. We also used a babysitting service a couple of times so that James could get out of the hotel and enjoy a few hours free of kids on the golf course. After six days in St. Louis we continued on to Kansas City where James had several meetings and a training course for work. Now it was mom's turn to be cooped up in a hotel room with the kids. The first hotel we checked into was spacious, but not nice at all (dirty - I never let my feet touch the carpet, I wore flip flops the entire time). So, we checked out after a couple of nights once we could get a room elsewhere. The second hotel was even more spacious and very nice. After five days in Kansas City we drove home (all 10 hours in one day).
A little over a week later we were in the car again to drive to Memphis for a convention James was attending (and also volunteering for). While I was solo parenting for much of the week, it was much easier since we were staying at a friend's house and I was essentially house/dog sitting while he worked the convention as well. We have friends in Memphis from when we lived there so it was nice to hang out with them again while we were there. We were also able to drop in and see some friends in Nashville on our way to Memphis and on our return home a week later.
We were home for two days, then packed the car again to head to a lake in northern Michigan to hang out with James' family. I was kind of nervous about camping with a three-month-old, but we ended up staying in James' brother's camper and had a great time! We were also able to attend a friend's baby shower while we were up that way and saw some extended family as well! After five days we headed home, dropping James off on the way home at a golf tournament.
A few days later, my mom arrived! This was her first time seeing Jack and the first time we had seen her since Christmas. James went back up to Michigan that weekend (last weekend) for a reunion with the guys he lived with his senior year of college. Mom was a great help while he was gone!
Three days after James' return, we all packed into the van and headed to Atlanta to see my brother. Lucas looks amazing! He is still confined to a wheelchair for a while longer since he can't put weight on his heels yet. He is out of the plaster casts and wearing removable walking casts. His spirits are high and he is working again, part time.
We also had the chance to hang out with some great friends who we never get to see anymore due to the distance! What a great trip. We toured the Coke museum and went to the amazing Atlanta Aquarium. We had a truly wonderful trip and brought home many wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. What we won't cherish is the big souvenir we brought home, a crumpled front fender. We got in a minor accident leaving the aquarium on Friday. Everyone is fine if not a little embarrassed. It drives fine other than a little scraping that occurs when we make right turns. So, we drove home making as few right turns as possible! We got in late last night and unfortunately had to say goodbye to my mom today. She flew back to Tucson today after a wonderful visit. We will miss her a lot and look forward to hopefully all getting together in December!
Whew! What a long summer. At last we are home and can hopefully settle in and get back to normal over the next week just in time for James to go back to work. We were blessed to have him on sabbatical from work for the month of August.
Now we just have to get the car fixed!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Home Again...For Now
We got home early this morning from Memphis, our second (and second longest) trip in a series of summer voyages. We were there for the Pike convention. James worked a ton so the kids and I stayed out at our friend Dan's for the week. It was SO hot - I think the heat index was around 110 degrees on many of the days we were there - we really didn't do much outside.
We were able to see quite a few friends (through the convention and otherwise). It was wonderful to show off the kids and meet new additions to our friends' families. Of course, we never feel like we have enough time to actually reconnect with friends in a convention type environment. We definitely would have loved more of an opportunity to interact one-on-one (or family-to-family).
Here are some photos of our first trip (the St. Louis/Kansas City trip). I had hoped to spend some time uploading photos and blogging while in Memphis, but didn't end up having online access while we were there. So, I'll try to upload more as time permits! We leave again Thursday for a few days with family in Michigan. Then we're home again for a few days before my mom comes into town (yay)!
We were able to see quite a few friends (through the convention and otherwise). It was wonderful to show off the kids and meet new additions to our friends' families. Of course, we never feel like we have enough time to actually reconnect with friends in a convention type environment. We definitely would have loved more of an opportunity to interact one-on-one (or family-to-family).
Here are some photos of our first trip (the St. Louis/Kansas City trip). I had hoped to spend some time uploading photos and blogging while in Memphis, but didn't end up having online access while we were there. So, I'll try to upload more as time permits! We leave again Thursday for a few days with family in Michigan. Then we're home again for a few days before my mom comes into town (yay)!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
On the road...
Well, we're headed out for a long road trip beginning in a few hours. We'll be in St. Louis for a few days, then Kansas City for a few. We're probably crazy, but hopefully it will be fun!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Tons of Photos!
Sorry it has been so long since I've posted photos!
Wait a minute, who's in that baby seat?
Daddy's little helper
From grinning...
...to Laughing.
Swimming with the cousins
Hysterical!
What a great big sister
Sitting up like a big boy
What a pair
Strike a pose
Smirk
Big girl
Look at her go
GO BLUE
BEATS THOSE BUCKS
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