Bowling Bash

Kaylee's Birthday Party at the bowling alley was a blast this past weekend. Fourteen 6-7 year old girls, only one pinched finger, and one lost tooth... not bad at all. Kaylee had a really good time. It was fun to see her interact with all her little girlfriends. Unfortunately Jake wasn't able to come along because he caught the dreaded stomach bug, but he was feeling so crummy that he didn't make anything of not getting to go along.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 8 Month Birthday Anden!!!

Anden what are you up to at 8 months?

~ You're into EVERYTHING. Still not quite crawling but you are rolling everywhere.

~ You're able to go from sitting up then down on your belly and then back up into sitting all on your own.

~ You've figured out you can wave, although you haven't waved to anyone except yourself. You stare at your hand as you open and close your fingers just trying to figure out how it works.

~ You go to bed around 8:00 PM and you still like to get up around 5:00 AM. Daddy gives in and feeds you... I slip you your paci and most of the time you'll go back to sleep. You are so smart though because when Dad tries to just slip you a paci you fuss until he comes back and gives you a bottle.

~ You take four 6 oz. bottles a day although most times you don't finish them all at once because you're so nosy! You have to sit up so you can see everything going on around you and the minute something catches your eye you shove your bottle away and don't want anything to do with it.

~ You eat whole wheat cereal for breakfast, a veggie and fruit for lunch, and a veggie and fruit for supper. You're still mainly eating Stage 2 foods.

~ You love those Quaker Rice Snacks and they're so much less messy than the Gerber Biter Biscuits.

~ You're wearing mostly 9-12 month clothes although they're starting to get a little snug on you.

~ You're a pretty good traveler. You did really well on the airplaine ride to Florida. You just fussed when we were taking off and that was my fault because I didn't have your bottle ready for you and I think you're ears were popping. You also did really well on the long car ride home and you weren't even feeling very well.

~ You're still crazy about your sister and you love watching your brother. You've become really good at maneuvering your way over to whatever they're doing and causing a real rucus. They do well with you most of the time but every now and then Jake lays into you for knocking down his blocks or messing up his tractors. And Kaylee's grown tired of you pulling her hair. She's popped you on the hand a few times for that.

American Girl... HUGE HIT!

Well, we've officially entered into the American Girl World. Kaylee got her first American Girl doll for her birthday and let's just say it was a hit. We got her one of the "Just Like You" dolls and it really does resemble her. I don't think we could have matched the hair color any closer! She's decided to name her Amanda. After watching me a couple times, she learned very quickly how to braid Amanda's hair. She's changed her clothes and her ear rings several times. And this morning was the first morning I've EVER heard her say, "I wish I didn't have to go to school today. I just want to stay home and play with my doll." She's looking forward to this weekend. She decided she wants to eat at the Gasthoff Amish Restaurant in Washington for her birthday meal either tonight or tomorrow night. And then Sunday is the bowling party with her friends from school.

Jake and I have had a busy morning this morning after sending Kaylee off to school and laying Anden down for a nap. He got a Hot Wheels Stunt Track for Christmas and he's been so busy playing with other things that we never had gotten it out to set it up. He came across it this morning, so we went down to the basement and got it all set up.

Happy 7th Birthday Kaylee Rose!!!

Seven years ago today you came into this world and changed our lives FOREVER and we wouldn't have it any other way!

You've grown up so much this year and you amaze me everyday with everything you can do.

You are so incredibly independent and you are a perfectionist (not really sure where you got this from.)

You LOVE to read. Junie B. Jones books are your favorite books.

You love to organize things and make lists. I wish just a little of this would rub off on your dad. ;-)

You love school and everything about school. And not to brag... oh what the heck it is my blog... you're doing SO WELL in school!

You love writing and drawing... I'm constantly finding little notes laying around the house. And you won't throw anything away!

You're so talented in gymnastics. You're able to do a back-hand spring on your own into the pit and you're so close to doing it on the floor if you'd just keep your arms straight and strong.

You love taking care of Anden. You are his Little Mama and he is crazy about you. His little face lights up when you walk into the room. He loves it when you flip your head upside down and let your hair fall onto his face.

You also REALLY get your kicks out of bossing Jacob around. He is not quite as fond of you as Anden is, BUT deep down I know that he loves the heck out of you. Everyday, usually an hour or so before you get home from school, Jake is asking, "When's my Kaylee going to be home?" And he begs me to, "Make Kaylee _____," (go outside, play upstairs with me, play in the basement with me, color with me, watch my deer movie with me... you get the idea.)

What else can I say. You're a really great kid and you make us so proud each and everyday.

WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

So I've dug myself out of pity party mode and I've decided to get over the fact that our vacation did not go the way we would have liked it to have gone. I even laughed last night as I was scrolling through the few photographs on my camera and found this one...

It's the only picture I have of us at Disney. I'd handed my camera off to a passerby and asked if she'd take our picture. She just had to cut Anden out of the picture, didn't she. God Bless her. Icing on the cake. What can I say?

My Worst Nightmare...

So, I've been contemplating for the last two days how to nicely say that our trip to Disney World really sucked... and I hate that word. But that's the only word that comes to mind. We made it to one theme park and literally one ride.

Kaylee caught a lovely stomach bug Monday evening that got worse Wednesday night (I'll spare you most of the details, but imagine waking up to Jacob screaming because his sister just vomitted on his head.)  Thursday didn't get any better, so that evening, around 6:00 we cancelled our Saturday morning flights, rented a van and drove home all night and we walked in our door Friday morning around 11:00.

That's it.

Oh and I took Anden to the doctor two hours after we arrived back home because he's had a terrible cough.  Guess what... he has RSV. Seriously? Can it get any worse?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Once they found out school was cancelled today, it didn't take them any time at all to get their gear on and head outside to enjoy some sled riding. Supposed to get a little more snow throughout the day today.

New Years 2010

My Top Ten (maybe more) for 2010

~ Love God more this year than last
~ Love my family and friends whole-heartedly
~ Read my Daily Devotional (keyword DAILY), in case you're wondering, I'm doing Beth Moore's- Breaking Free Day by Day
~ Celebrate turning 30 (31 in May)
~ Get my aging body in peak physical condition through nutrition and exercise
~ Have some great conversations with my kids about God, love, life, etc...
~ Play more... whether its dolls, tractors, baseball, reading books, telling stories, etc...
~ Clean my office
~ Find a way to organize my pictures
~ Finish the bonus room
~ Paint my bedroom
~ Write more snail mail
~ Mail out birthday cards on time
~ Take my vitamins daily
~ Help Jake learn his letters
~ Listen
~ Simplify, simplify, simplify
~ Watch sunrises
~ Watch sunsets