Birthday Video

Andy surprised me by making this fun birthday video. Enjoy!

About Michael...3 yrs, 7 months

Is it too early for me to say that we may have an artist?? (Which would make me so happy:) He drew the above pictures & told me the bottom picture is a horse!! I had to stop & take a picture, I was so impressed :) And below, some of his letter writing - H, T, T, H

There is so much I want to remember about the stage Michael is in right now. He is changing & growing SO fast!! (I know, all moms say that.) Yesterday I told Michael, "Guess what today is?" and he said, "What?" I said, "It's my birthday today!" His eyes got really big & with tons of 3 year old enthusiam he said, "I want to eat some cake!!" So, he already equates birthday with cake :)

On Sunday night he went to his first Awana's at church. He loved it and when I picked him up he couldn't wait to tell me about how God made the sky and the clouds. He was very proud of his artwork he had done. On Tuesdays and Fridays he goes to 'school' (MDO) and has a great time - he never wants to leave when I pick him up. Today was our first BSF - Bible Study Fellowship. He loved it too! When we got home & had lunch, he said, "Thank God for our food and for Bible study!"

Michael is showing interest in writing his letters - so far I have seen him (completely on his own without my help) write a D, H, M & T. He also will draw random things on his Doodle Pro, bring it to me and tell me what it is. He has learned to spell his name (& Kate's too). I made up a little song to help him & we also put letters on the fridge. Now if you ask him to spell Michael - he says, "M-I-C-H-A-E-L spells Michael & K-A-T-E spells Kate!!"

He has such a tender heart. He constantly tells me that he loves me, that he loves Daddy, that he loves Kate, and bear. He will randomly come up to me & say sweet things like, "I like Molly! She is my best friend!" or "Daddy really needs to get home. I miss him." He is very inquisitive (what 3 yr old isn't?!) He wants ALL the details of our plan for the day - where we are going, who is coming over, etc. I admit that his constant questions & conversations get a bit tiring, but I am so thankful to watch & listen to how his brain is working overtime. He is SUCH a blessing! I love you so much Michael! I thank God everyday for you!

A Swingin' Good Time!

Kate is 14 Months! 9-2-10

After Michael had such a great day at school on Tuesday, I decided he would enjoy going on Fridays too. Fortunately, our school had an opening in his class for Fridays, so he will go 2 days a week! He loved it again yesterday, while Kate & I had a great time too! I am looking forward to having this day each week to spend some quality time with Kate. I just haven't had the 1 on 1 time with her like I did with Michael. I enjoyed watching Kate play with her favorite book - "Soft Shapes - On & Off" (This was Michael's favorite book at this age too!)

A little about Kate at 14 months -

Her current words - uh-oh, hi, bye bye, mommy (ma-me), dada, Matthew (ma-to), thank you (th ew), ball (ba), dog (da)

Signs - more, all done, milk; we are working on eat & water - she really likes watching Baby Signing Time.

She officially pulled-up on Sept. 8. She also pushes her legs straight when she is crawling. Michael never did this, so it is entertaining to watch. Michael walked the day before he turned 14 months, so it will be interesting to see when Kate walks.

She is a great eater & still LOVES milk - She watches me while I pour it & reaches her hands out and signs 'milk.'

She is cutting her 1 year molars BIG TIME & has been in a lot of pain.

Overall she is very content and very social. She loves to be read to. She also loves to be where Michael is - she follows him around & loves playing with his toys :) Yesterday Michael was frustrated with her & he started swinging his blanket at her. Kate was just sitting there, letting it happen without any fuss. I told Michael to not hit her with his blanket & to tell me when he needs help with her. A few minutes later he came up to me & said, "Mommy, I'm really having a rough day with Kate." Ahh, the joy of siblings :)

"Embrace the Camera" 9/9/10

A timer shot with my sweeties! Matthew (our dog) even made it into the pic!

The typical lunch scene - Today's menu was mac & cheese & green beans. K & M were THRILLED - they love mac & cheese!

Mommy & Miss K

Yes, you are seeing correctly! Kate is officially pulling up! She is taking her own sweet time learning how to walk, but in the last 2 days she has made some serious progress! Yay Kate! I don't think that she's gotten Mommy's memo that Mommy is READY for her to walk!! Crawling just gets tiring - I can't put her down in public places, her hands always touch the floor (yuck!), but I really shouldn't complain. She has only been crawling 3 months, so not thaaaaat long :)

First Day of "School!"

For the past month I have been telling Mommy, "We really need to go to school & Bible study." Mommy said both would start soon and I have been SO excited! On Monday night Mommy said, "Guess where you get to go tomorrow?" And I said, "SCHOOL! I like school!!" Yesterday when I woke up I couldn't wait to get there! I hardly noticed when Mommy left - I was playing on the floor, looked up at her & said, "Bye Mommy!" I love my teachers and friends in my class. My friend Molly is in my class which is awesome! And I get to share a cubby with her! How cool is that?! When Mommy came to pick me up in the afternoon, I was so disappointed! I wasn't ready to leave at all! But the good news is that I get to go every week! Yay!

I went to school today too! I also didn't notice when Mommy left. I am quite the social butterfly, so I was in heaven! I immediately started playing with all the other friends in my room! Most of them can walk & even run, so I have a lot to learn to keep up! But I enjoyed watching everyone - so much so, that I didn't nap! Wow! I was just too entertained by all that was going on! My teachers were very thankful that I stayed happy without a nap. Mommy told me I will have to learn how to nap at school with all my friends. I just smiled :)

Kate's Quilt

Mommom has been making a quilt for me using my bedroom fabrics! She recently finished it and entered it in a quilt show. It won First Place! Yay! I think the quilt is so pretty and I can't wait to have it in my room! Thank you Mommom for making it for me!

New Mexico Trip - White Sands

On Monday Mommy & Daddy took me to White Sands. We had SO much fun!! I loved sliding down the sand dunes. The first time I was a little nervous, but when I got to the bottom, I looked at Daddy & said, "I want to do it again!!" At one point I landed face first in the sand, looked at Mommy & said, "Sand isn't good for eating!"

Mommy made a bridge for me to run under on the boardwalk!

The gorgeous view on the drive from Cloudcroft to Alamogordo.

New Mexico Trip, Part 4

We drove to Mayhill, a small town between Cloudcroft & Artesia, to take a picture on the steps of this church. Mom has a photo of her as a young girl on the steps of this church.

Sweet Kate - SO happy!

The historic train trestle in Cloudcroft that Andy & I saw while hiking.

Hiking with my honey

New Mexico, Part 3

On Saturday evening we went to dinner to celebrate my mom's & my birthday a few weeks early. We went to The Lodge - delicious food & a beautiful view!

I had the almond-crusted salmon & it was amazing! Kate looks very troubled in this picture - I have no idea why.

Andy enjoyed a steak!

New Mexico Trip, Part 2

On Friday, Andy & I enjoyed going to Ruidoso for the day while the kids played with Mommom & Papa George at the cabin. We ate delicious New Mexican food at "Casa Blanca" & enjoyed walking through downtown & doing some shopping. The scenery, as you can see above, was amazing.

The weather was perfect for morning walks.

Love this pic of our sweet boy.