Our Girls

As you may have guessed from the last post we had what you might term an "incident" at Ruby Tuesdays. Apparently when Emily said her tummy hurt - she meant that it Really hurt - that it Urgently hurt. Needless to say the Ruby Tuesday's dining room will never be the same, and frankly some of the diners may never be the same. In a word, it was: AWFUL. Andrew ran Emily into the bathroom (where they spent some quality time) and then they had a great conversation. May I first just say that there is nothing as painful to a parent as seeing their child in pain. That being said, Andrew was trying to help Emily out and she said at first: "Okay Daddy I'm done with being sick, how much longer until we go to the Blue Devil basketball game? " And a few minutes later: "Daddy will you clean me up as good as you can because I don't want anyone in the restaurant to know that I was sick, I don't want them to see me like this." And that kind of broke my hear...

We are so, SO sorry. Seriously, we are truly sorry. Love, Our entire family. PS: Our belief in a loving, just God will yield prayers tonight for both understanding and compassion on your part ...as well as for a timely gift of unexpected cash that might cover your dry-cleaning bill. PPS: Someday this might be a Really funny story for you - in a Dante's Inferno kind of dining experience way- and someday it might be a really funny story for us, too, but I think that I can honestly say that neither you nor we are at that place quite yet. Print Page

We had a wonderful first experience with "the cousins" sleeping over at our house. We watched movies, played games, played toys, played outside, did an art project, and much much more. The beauty of having a bunch of children in the house is that they all entertain each other. We loved it:) Here they are the night of the sleepover winding down with The Jungle Book movie. Here they are the next morning eating Mickey Mouse Chocolate Chip Pancakes, bacon, and fruit smoothies. Kate was right in there with the big kids. She didn't want to miss anything! Hooray for Sleepovers! Print Page

This gives new meaning to "Always under foot..." Kate is playing with one of her favorite toys. A small metal mixing bowl. If you have ever repeatedly pounded a metal mixing bowl on a tile floor- you know why it is a favorite toy. Occasionally we have to take it away from her to keep our sanity. Print Page

It sometimes make me laugh to just hear my girls giggle. And it is the simplest things that make them smile. Today at lunch Emily was learning the word "quiver". (Not because we told her to learn this word..but because she had heard it somewhere and wanted to know what it meant.) Quivering makes Kate laugh hysterically. Print Page

Katelyn's Milestones and Fun Stuff she does at 10 Months: Words she says: momma, dada, up, more, uh-oh Sign-language she will do: more, nurse, and maybe "all done" (we still aren't sure about that one) Phrases she understands: nurse?, where's Emmy?, play peek-a-boo, wave bye-bye, dance! Kate squeals with laughter, but also is fond of growling her approval. Kate smiles ALL THE TIME. She is a very happy girl. If she is not smiling - something is wrong (hungry, tired, or hurt) She will take little toys out of a bucket, but not yet put them back in. She can empty the toy box of everything she can reach in just minutes. Impressive. We realize it is only a matter of days before she goes head first into the toy box. Here is the toy room after Kate has been playing for about 20 minutes...it just gets worse:) She is walking much more confidently and falling less often, climbing on Emily's little chair to get on top of her table, climbing on top of her leapfrog tabl...

If you ever find yourself wondering "How long would it take for Katie to dismantle the entire kitchen?" The answer is 55 seconds. Also, if you were curious, Katie can climb at least two drawers high in the fridge. Print Page

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Andrew and Emily went to one of the family's favorite places in Columbia - the Library! - for a special Pajama-rama Story time. Emily was super-psyched about it. This Pajama-rama was underwritten by Aunt Tracy, without whom we would not have had a sitter for Kate. So...thanks Tracy! As you can see, Emily came to the DBRL (or Daniel Boone Regional Library for the uninitiated) wearing full on polar fleece princess jammies and brought along a Wiggles pillow. Other children did not go all out with their pajama selections and (based on their envious glances at Emily's wardrobe) clearly regretted their lack of enthusiasm. Andrew told Emily he wore his pajamas (secretly he just wore warm-up pants and a dark shirt). Andrew asked Emily later what her favorite part was, but "I just can't pick! The whole time was my favorite." There were stories, songs , puppets, more songs, more stories, a Good Night Gorilla movie and just general merriment. Emily also made a light switch...

Emily is singing a song about giving her hat to Kate...Kate is oblivious:) Print Page

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On New Years Day we traveled to Camdenton for Christmas with Jessica's side of the family. Here is Kate and Ba. Emmy and Grandpa all snuggled up watching Playhouse Disney. Here at our house we don't have cable so going to Grandma and Grandpa's is a treat with Disney shows galore! My mom and dad still have my old play-pen (the vintage word for pack and play). Here is Kate enjoying it. Boy did Andrew and I enjoy it:) Chasing Kate is exhausting! Kate and Chaela This is Katie riding Banx - a dog the size of a horse:) As you can see, Kate enjoyed her ride around the kitchen:) And it was Banx's sister's, Macee, Birthday! Of course we had doggie cake and party hats for the party! Emily thought that was pretty cool! We woke up that next morning to TONS of gifts. My sister, Jen, painted a clue on each gift. We had to figure out who it was to. It was so much fun and she was SO creative! Here is Ba with a sheep on her gift. (And Emily cuddling her princess doll from Ba and G...

At 9.5 months old, Katie walked. She had been taking tentative steps before. A few steps here, a few stumbles there. At 9.5 months, though, she decided to stroll in earnest. She can walk up to something on the floor, stop, bend down and then stand back up and keep walking. Wow, you may be thinking. She's a marvel, you may think. Wow, indeed, we would respond dryly. She is a menace, we would say wearily. Don't get us wrong, we're excited that she's learned to walk. If nothing else that's one step (pun not intended but appropriate) closer to potty-trained. And she had to learn how to walk sometime, right? Why not now? The thing is this: Emily didn't walk this soon. And even when she did walk it was more of a "let's wander over to this toy and sit down and play right here" kind of a thing. Emily walking was like a bicycle. Katie walking is a Harley-Davidson. She's up and down the room - any room. If there's a forbidden door or place of imminen...

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Emily is a proud tiger fan. Print Page

One of Kate's favorite foods is Mango. Here she is wearing most of it:) This video was taken back in December (we are still catching up). Print Page

Emily and Katelyn performed at the Ms. Pat's Christmas Extravaganza. Emily did a great job singing. Kate did a great job not pulling down the tree. Print Page

For the past few months Emily has wanted to be an astronaut when she grows up. She really wanted to visit Mars. But I guess she is putting that on the back burner for now. Here is today's conversation (for all those that don't know - Joy is Andrew's boss at work): Emily: Mommy, how do you get to be a lawyer? Mommy: You have to go to school for many years. Emily: Well, the only school I go to is Bible School. I guess they will teach me how to be a lawyer. Yeah, they will. I learned a lot the last time I went to Bible School. Um, I wonder if I'll go to Bible School for many years. Probably. It's like 2 days. And then I'll be a lawyer. And I can have Joy's office! I need a phone and a big chair that spins around and around. And I'll make phone calls and be a lawyer just like Daddy. I'll work in his office. Actually, we can work together. Hmm, a lawyer. Mom, when is Bible School? Mommy: Not for a VERY long time. Emily: Well, I NEED it so I can go to wo...

Here are some photos of Em's dress rehearsal. She did a FABULOUS job getting up on stage and not crying:) When I figure out how to get the video off of the recorder I will post it as well. Emily is the second one from the left. Here is Emily all dressed and ready to take some Christmas pictures! Print Page

Aunt Tracy has been up to her magic again. This time she created matching Jammies for all the cousins. Print Page

Emily's new fun treat is to go shopping at the new Hy-Vee here in town. Why? See below. She will be their best customer. Here she is with her list. She is getting really good at listening for beginning sounds of words. So she will write a B for bread or E for eggs (with a bit of help from us). Mom and Dad are particularly thrilled with this new fun adventure because they can actually get a few things they need while letting Emily have a blast. Print Page

Christmas got off to a slow start this year. We were in Quincy at Andrew's parents' house, and Emily slept in Grammy and Gramps' room while we slept in the basement. Katie woke us up at her usual morning hour (5:30-6) and so we waited downstairs until sometime after 7 to make sure Emily would be awake. When we came up, Emily had been awake for some time and was just sitting on Grammy's bed watching Disney cartoons. Didn't she realize it was Christmas morning?? Soon after, she dashed out to the living room to see if Santa had come (I'll spoil the suspense and say that he had). When she started opening her Santa gifts, she began shrieking in dog-whistle-like tones as she found under the tree "PRINCESS DOLLS!" Katie's first Christmas was everything she hoped for, she unwrapped new diapers from Santa ("DIAPERS!" I imagine she squealed), but she also got some fun stuff too. Her favorite part might have been crawling threateningly toward the t...

Every parent has this same picture... here is our version of it:) Print Page

We apologise for the lack of posting...these next few posts are to get you up to date with what has been going on in our crazy busy lives:) Kate and Ba 33 Weeks Old Kate is almost 8 months old. Milestones she has reached at this age: She says Momma for Momma She says Da (in a low growling voice) for Daddy She can wave bye-bye when you ask her (she doesn't need you to do it first) She can give (wet) kisses when asked She claps when you say "Yeah! Kate!" She signs "more" She laughs REALLY loud when Emily plays peek-a-boo or when Emily shouts "Sis" (or really anything) at her. She crawls, pulls to a stand, balances, and sits back down without falling. She can cruise the couch and chairs. She can use her pincer grasp to pick up small cheerios or other food. Kate Week 34 Here she is pulling up to a stand and just generally being cute:) Week 35 Here is our littlest girl playing with the "toys" in the laundry room. I was doing laundry and she kept...