In the field with friends

So, it's a 2 for 1 Monday. Enjoy it, because this probably won't ever happen again! On Friday, Chloe turned 11 months old and in recognition of that moment I brought the "big camera" (you know the one that shoots in 15 mega pixels and should have it's own insurance policy attached to it) to the park.

Now, going to the park isn't really an "event" that is noteworthy because we go nearly every day. But, somehow my sanity is directly linked to weather or not we go to the park and that is noteworthy! In fact, I would wager that it is just as beneficial to me as it is to the kids. Yes, they need the fresh air and to get the wiggles out, but I too, need the fresh air, and the mommy gab which is basically the bread and water that is keeping me alive. It just might be my most enjoyable 45 minutes of the day!

On this particular Friday, we headed out to the softball fields with the babies, balls, and dollies and gabbed as the kids ran around.

Chloe says "just one more puff please, mommy."

Abby discovered that her tongue can wag

around outside of her mouth

Becky with her troublemakers (her words, not mine)


Love this picture, and the lighting! If only we could
see all of Madie's head instead of Strawberry Shortcake's...

Love Sawyer's little grin

"man child"

Miss Abby watching the big girls run around
(she is sitting like a big girl)

Ahh, there she is! CUTE!

Camdyn refers to any field as "the ballgame" So, yes, we were

playing at the ballgame.

I love her puffy cheeks. We now call them her

"puffy puffies" and we kiss them endlessly!

This is the House...

This is the house. It's not THE house, as in the be all, end all, of all houses. But, this is the house, my house, that over the course of 7 years somehow became a home. In a city where we knew no one, in a place thousands of miles from our closest relative, this little structure became our home. As we prepare to move on and leave this house behind, I can't help but to remember some of the times that we have had in this house. And, in my all too familiar way, I'm a little sappy and nostalgic about some of the memories.

This is the house that we bought as newly weds. Six months after our wedding, in a place we never thought we'd like, we settled down in this little house. Okay, so maybe the settling down happened several years after we signed the mortgage papers, but nonetheless, we settled here. This is the doorstep I would stand on every year at the end of March. Teary eyed, I would wave good bye to Chris, knowing he wouldn't be back in our house for 6 months. I'd walk inside, sit on the couch, and think "now what am I going to do with myself." Oh, to have that kind of time on my hands again. I would have spent more time being productive then feeling sorry for myself and lonely. If only I knew what the future held.

This is the house that our baby girls would first call home. Those exciting trips home from the hospital with our precious new baby and the pure relief of seeing HOME. Baby's homecoming pictures were snapped on this walkway. Tired, overwhelmed, and brimming new parents, with our new bundle of responsibility smiling to mark the moment. I spent hours rocking Camdyn in this little house, singing her songs, and soothing her to sleep. She learned to walk, talk, and played for hours in this little house. Here, under this roof, she's developed in to her own little person and I'm sure at some point she'll miss it here. It's the only home she's ever known.

Here under this roof, I developed in to mommy. I traded my 4 inch heals and short skirts, for tennis and jeans. I learned what true love and responsbility is. I learned what it is like to be committed, to a marriage, to parenthood, to living a life that is based on goodness and basic biblical principals. In this house, I finally figured out who I am. I figured out that friendships shouldn't have stipulations attached to them, that my girlfriends are just as important to me as my husband. I learned that you can hurt and forgive, that time heals all wounds, and that I shouldn't place my expectations on others. I learned to ask for help. Life is too short. People matter. God is good.

So, while I am leaving this house behind, I'm taking the memories with me. It's been a great 7 years in this little house. And in it, we became a family. And in it, this town became our home. We are better for having lived here and although, I am excited to have more space, a better floor plan, and a nicer neighborhood, I am grateful for all the wonders of life that we've experienced in this little house, the house, my house, that became a home.

Chloe is 11 months old!

It's hard to believe that this time last year I was counting down the weeks until Chloe's birth. As fast as time went when Camdyn was a baby, it seems to go even faster the 2nd time around. Maybe it is because I am just busier than I used to be, or maybe it is because I have a greater appreciation for the brevity of infant-ness now that I've already seen one child through it. Either way, you just can't keep babies from growing in to toddlers.

So, as is tradition, I took a couple of shots of Chloe this morning to hallmark her 11 month birthday. She was tired this morning and cuddly, and not at all as active as she usually is, but I still got some cuteness out of her. I usually take these pictures at home, but she is so cranky and ready for bed by 6:00 that I knew that if I didn't take them in the morning at school, I wouldn't get them. So, wa-la! We have a new venue for these snapshots!

Chloe's done a lot of changing this month and has added some exciting skills to her repertoire. Chloe can now pull up to standing on any object. We often find her standing in her crib in the morning. She doesn't like getting down from the standing position though, it must not feel good to land on her diaper bottom, so she often looks for help in getting back to her knees. She is also doing "high fives" and can crawl up a few steps at a time, although we do not encourage this. We don't have baby gates up yet.

She's also eating like a horse. We've added avocado to her food list, as well as, sweet potatoes, bread, yogurt meltaways blueberries, squash, and cantaloupe. She will eat just about anything that you give to her. She also had her first sip of juice recently. She got kind of plugged up from all of her solids, so that splash of apple juice mixed with a whole lot of water really got things moving for her...plus she enjoyed it immensely! Chloe also is working on the sippy cup, but I'm not going to force it on her when she turns one like I did with Camdyn. She'll keep the bottle until she is ready to let go of it, or until she gets to be 18 months old. Baby girl still has only her bottom 2 teeth, but the top two are making their decent. We can just see the white spots as they begin to poke through her gums.

For her stats, she's 16 lbs, 13 oz., which means she's only gained 3 oz this past month. Now that she is more active we are seeing a slow down in her weight gain. She's still wearing some 6 month clothes, but mostly 9 month gear seems to suit her just fine. Oh, and the biggest news, is that Chloe is finally sleeping 12 hours all night, EVERY NIGHT! The broken sleep was robbing me of my sanity, so we had to make a drastic change. I started by down right cutting out Chloe's 3 am nursing session. I changed her 12 am session to formula. We started with 6 ounces and then worked our way down to 4 oz, then 2 oz, and then she just stopped waking up for food altogether. This process only took 10 days and I think everyone in the house is so much happier, including Chloe! She had me played for a fool for a long time and we should have done this months ago, but better now then when she is 18 months old, right?

Here she is in all of her 11 month cuteness!

I love that she is my binkie baby and my blankie baby!

Chloe crawls through the Choo Choo Train on her own and gets down

without falling. Her teachers were surprised and impressed that she made that

venture all by herself!

So precious!

Camdyn plays in her classroom this morning with Chase

Who says that moving has to suck? Okay, I do! It sucks, but at least

the girls love the boxes!

Valentines Day Came and Went...

Although Valentine's Day isn't a day we really celebrate with much sha-bang, I should post a few pictures related to the event. This year's V-day was overshadowed by "the move" which is encompassing our life at the moment. Only 9 more days and a week of unpacking and we'll be able to put that behind us....

This year on Valentine's Day I woke up to a dozen roses and a hand made card from Camdyn. Chris asked her what she loves most about mommy and she replied, "her hair." Yes, dear, my hair is the envy of millions....well, at least it is to one little girl! Chris and I exchanged cards and an "I owe you" gift. Who knows if we'll ever actually buy them for each other, but, hey, we thought about it which is just about the same thing. I gifted him with an imaginary Wii and he gifted me with a new set of Stainless Steel pots and pans. No shopping required, we'll buy them when we buy them (probably after the move).

Here are some highlights from Vday week!

Camdyn had a dental appointment on Thursday morning. She cooperated after some coaxing and the realization that she would not get a toy from the dentist's surprise toy chest if she did not allow her teeth to be cleaned. After the successful cleaning, I took her to Starbucks for some chocolate milk and a piece of pumpkin loaf bread. Clean the teeth, then apply sugar. It makes perfect sense to me!

Playing at the park after school

I love how Camdyn is the monkey in the middle and both Abby and Chloe are looking at her like "What's your problem?"

This sequence of pictures cracks me up (they are slightly out of order because Blogger sucks for loading pictures) but you can still get the jist of it.

Abby shows her displeasure with Chloe as Chloe

attempts to eat a small rock off of the park bench

"Stop that you animal! You'll chip one of your brand new teeth!"

Abby looks surprised that she is sitting by herslef for a second

Chloe is bored with pictures "enough already mom, you alredy got the money shot!"

If only Abby was looking up....

Chloe's money shot

Abby isn't the only one who can sport pig tails!

These are Chloe's 1st pig tails and they didn't last long

The hair above her ears is just long enough to make a teeny

tiny, piggie tail. It's completely ridiculous!

My sweet pea on Valentine's Day night

Monday Weirdness

Mondays are weird and so is this post. Here are a few pics and a little commentary on what's going on in our world:

Abby and Chloe are literally "hanging out" at the park on MLK day. At 10 months I'm just now starting to feel Chloe's weight when she's in the the Baby Bjorn. Her days in it are definitely numbered, that, or daddy will have to start wearing her! Chloe is wearing an outfit that Miss Jillian gave to Camdyn. Camdyn wore it at 6 months.




There's nothing sweeter than belly laughs and Chloe is all about them these days.




Chloe is clapping with binkies in her hand while she plays in her crib. We tried to take the bumpers out of her crib, but then the binkies fall on the floor. She has also gotten her wittle wegs stuck between the rails. So, the bumpers have to stay for awhile....at least until she is pulling up to standing.



Chloe is blowing bubbles at the park. I love this picture not only because the background is blurred and the focus is on the pretty baby, but because her cheeks look just as kissable as they are in this picture! I probably kiss her cheeks 50 times a day!

Well, the men have made it a habit of golfing on Sunday mornings, so the women bring the kids to church. Here's a picture of Abby and Liz doing church with us 2 Sundays ago. Abby is such a good baby during the service. She just politely falls asleep and wakes up just in time to sing at the end.

Camdyn playing at the park on a cold day! We recently found out that Camdyn has 4 wiggly teeth inside her head. This was fairly traumatic for me, as I assumed that they were falling out of her head due to decay. It turns out that she is just going to lose her teeth earlier than her peers. This might require her to wear a permanent bridge so that her speech development isn't impacted by the holes in her mouth. Good thing for dental insurance!

Camdyn's 4th birthday came and went with just a little "ta-do." I had intended on throwing her a party and celebrating her birthday with some flare, but it didn't happen. When we travel over Xmas it makes it really hard to get a party planned when we get home. We did sing to Camdyn on her birthday and she got to open a few presents. I intend on incorporating her birthday party with Chloe's when Chloe turns 1. I guess having it 3 months late is better than not at all.

At Camdyn's 4 year old well visit she weighed in at 41 lbs and 41 1/2 inches tall. I neglected to ask what percentile she's in, but I'm guessing 90th. She has better than 20/20 vision and she really had Dr. Meyer laughing, especially when he asked her to touch her toes and instead of bending at the waist, she squatted. No shots this year, that'll happen next year before kindergarten. It was actually an enjoyable visit.

Here the girls are celebrating Camdyn's 4th birthday. I love how Camdyn has a hand on Chloe so that she won't fall off the table. Don't worry, Papa Rick's hand is on Chloe too, it's just hard to see. Happy 4th Birthday, Miss Camdyn!