Jeremy and Laura's Family Adventure

6 months old and look-a-like

2012-02-16T23:02:00.000-05:00

Kate Ellen turned 6 months old on Jan. 26th. So hard to believe! She weighed 14 lbs. 15 oz. (25%) and was 25 3/4 in. (50%). That is almost exactly like her big sister. She has been to the doctor 3 times in the past month to knock a bad cough (sounds like wheezing at times). She had steroids for bronchitis and now is on antibiotics. Hopefully this will get rid of it! The doctor said respiratory issues have been really common this winter with all of the warm weather. He also said because she had reflux and has a family history of allergies she may often have colds that turn into respiratory infections. Fun times! Through all of this Kate has been such a happy girl. There has been a few times she has been fussy, but in general this girl is always smiling!

Kate takes 4 bottles a day and eats baby food 3 times a day. She wasn't a big fan of cereal at first, but once we put some fruit mixed with it she loves it. She eats #2 baby food now. Kate doesn't care for veggies or "dinner" meals too much. She eats them, but opens her mouth wide for fruit!

She has graduated from her baby bathtub and sits up in the regular bathtub. We stay close in case she starts to topple over. The two girls love taking baths together.

Kate LOVES her feet! It is hilarious. We joke like she is Houdini because within a minute of getting her dressed she has her socks off and either her sock or feet are in her mouth. Sometimes she fusses a bit when you are changing her diaper and you need to take her feet away. She also loves to grab hair, especially Addie's, but I think that is because Addie is constantly in her face.

Kate is a little lover. She actually gives hugs. It is too cute. She'll tighten up her whole body and put her face on our shoulder/chest and squeeze.

Kate laughs, squeals and coos a lot. Of course most of this is all directed to her big sister. The surprising thing is that she is actually quiet when she does. She has a soft voice. Maybe that means she won't talk back as much as her sister! Wishful thinking, I know. :)

I may say this with every age, but I LOVE the 6 month age. It is such a sweet age. Kate brings so much joy to our lives and our family!

Love this photo! Such a sweet girl!

I LOVE her cheeks!

So happy to get to share the bath tub together now.

And here's an example of Kate always being entertained by her big sister. A dance party before bedtime...(I'm going to try to convert into another format, but this hopefully do for now.)

I know we try not to compare the two girls too often, but of course it is a natural thing to do. Here is a picture of Addie and Kate around the same age. There are times when I think Kate looks nearly identical to Addie, but there are other times when they look very different.

And see for yourself. What do you think?

January recap

2012-02-07T22:07:00.001-05:00

So I have been behind on blogging. Usually January is a nice month to lay low after the craziness of December. This January it started off low-key, but seemed to get busier as the month went on. Jeremy and I went skiing with the church youth group again. Last year I went, but couldn't ski since I was pregnant so it was nice to get back on the slopes. Addie has started her ballet classes or "creative movement." She is loving it so far and likes to show us new things she has learned from "Miss Ashley". Enjoy pictures from throughout the month...

We have started a new thing with Addie's bedtime routine. Right after prayers/songs she now wants us to leave the room so she can "read" to herself. After she has read a book or two she turns out her light and goes to bed. So big! She looks so old sitting up in bed and looking at her books. Tried to capture a photo without her looking, but it didn't work.

Enjoying hot chocolate one evening

Kate playing in her exesaucer while I took down the Christmas lights one day...

One Saturday my mom watched Dylan and Dawson for the night. We met up with them at a local park to feed ducks and play on the playground. This winter has been unseasonably warm so it has been nice to get out of the house and enjoy it.

Kate is now sitting up. She falls over once in a while and gets stronger everyday. She turned 6 months old. Our baby is growing up! I will do a post soon about Kate and her 6 month check-up. She is "talking" here. Funny face...

Happy girl!

We had our friends Heather and Peter over for dinner one night. Emma and Addie are BFFs! They go to the same daycare and I work with Heather & Peter so we see each other often. Their little boy Michael was born at the beginning of December so Kate and Michael are close in age too. Michael is a cutie! Here are the girls playing with what they know best...princess and dress-up stuff!

Hugs goodbye...yet they saw each other the next day at daycare. :)

Update coming soon...Kate's 6 months, my cruise trip!!! and more.

Christmas Day

2012-01-24T23:25:00.001-05:00

Christmas Day update...a month later. And it feels like it was AGES ago! Oh well. At least it is posted.

Christmas morning...Addie got a princess bike. Jeremy enjoyed putting it together on Christmas Eve night.

Addie was very subdued Christmas morning. She was excited, but still kinda waking up and figuring out the whole thing. The bike is a little big for her, but we figured she would grow into it. She said, "Well, maybe Santa can bring me a smaller bike." And we said, "I think Santa is finished until next year." :) Addie also got ballet slippers for her ballet class that started at the beginning of January.

Modeling her helmet...

Everyone looks a little sleepy here on Christmas morning. Kate got diapers from Santa. :)

Christmas morning after bathtime...

The weather was pretty nice so Addie got to try out her new bike. She was getting a little frustrated, but is better every time she rides it.

That afternoon my parents came in town (after my dad's service) and we did Christmas with my immediate family. With four kids it was crazy and unwrapping present went by really fast.

Dylan and Dawson got Addie an Ariel doll. She wanted this so bad!!! So bad that she actually had a HUGE meltdown in Target over it in the middle of December. She was THAT kid that could be heard throughout the store. She was screaming, crying, kicking, etc. etc. Thankfully I didn't have Kate with me. It was an evening I want to forget (but never will! Ha!) that ended with Jeremy putting her straight to bed when we got home and with me getting a glass of wine immediately to lower my blood pressure. I know she was so tired that day. December is tough on kids. It was amazing the week after Christmas I think she had two small tantrums all week. Need less to say, Addie was so excited to get this doll.

(Poor Sadie. She's just trying to take a Christmas nap on her new bed and all of these kids and presents were in her way.)

Reading from her "My First Bible Stories Book". A gift from my parents.

My mom got Kate this hat. She is 5 months old here! Where has the time gone?

That night we hosted Christmas dinner. Here's Kate loving on Grandpa...

The day after Christmas we took my parents out to see a house Jeremy is building.

We then went to see a movie with my parents, my brother & family along with all of us, including Kate. Kate was so good. She's been to 3 movies since she has been born. I never would have thought of doing that with Addie. Not for sure if that means I am more relaxed this time, Kate is more easy-going or if we are just so busy Kate comes along for everything...how about all of the above?

Christmas was wonderful with family! It is magical to have kids in the house on Christmas morning. I just wish it wouldn't fly by so fast!

23rd and Christmas Eve

2012-01-11T23:40:00.001-05:00

December is a busy time and it gets really busy at my work. I had a hard time getting everything done during the month and didn't get to do everything I had set out to do. I baked for the first time on December 23rd. Isn't that sad? Don't get me wrong, we still got to do some fun things. I told Jeremy next year I am taking 1-2 days off in October to Christmas shop! :)

Addie baking sugar cookies on the 23rd. She LOVES baking!

On Christmas Eve we went to Jamie & Gary's house (Leigh's mom and stepdad) for an open house. We exchanged gifts with them and Addie got this scarf. Chad knitted it...I mean Leigh did...we told him that would take away his man card if he told people that. Ha! Isn't it so sweet?

We tried to get a family photo, but I am in the sun, Kate is looking down and Addie is being silly. Oh well.

We then headed to church. Addie sang with Melody Makers at the beginning of the service. My favorite moment of the whole Christmas season was at the end of the service singing "Silent Night" with Kate asleep in my arms (she had a cold, poor thing) while Jeremy held Addie. Addie said, "Mommy, I know this song" and she continued to sing along by candlelight. Puts everything in perspective. It brought tears to my eyes thinking of all of our blessings while celebrating the Christ-child. Earlier in the month she asked me how old Jesus would be on Christmas. I told her that is a difficult answer, but we celebrate his birthday. She responded with, "Does Jesus live in my heart?" Melt.my.heart.

After the service we went out to Jeremy's aunt's house. Santa came for a visit. Abigail hated him! Ha!

Addie talking to Santa

Sweet photo of Layton. He isn't always ornery afterall. :)

Josie playing with Kate. She loves kids!

We finally got home and had to get the girls to bed, but not without first putting out cookies, milk and carrots.

Addie was definitely excited and was understanding the idea of Santa. She had been in her bedroom for about 5 minutes and then proceeded to yell, "Daddy! Da-ddy! DADDY!" Jeremy went to her door and she asked, "Is Santa here yet?" Not quite getting all of the concepts.

Christmas 1-3

2012-01-09T22:38:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm still trying to put up posts on here related to Christmas. It was a whirlwind!

We had 3 family Christmas celebrations the weekend before Christmas. Christmas #1 was on Saturday at David and Carrie's house with my mom's extended family. My aunt and uncle, cousin and his fiance came in town along with other relatives. It was the first Christmas without my grandmother and her presence was definitely missed!

A few of us...

We draw names within the extended family. My cousin got me a Butler snuggie!

My brother got this hat. He's probably not impressed that I put this on here. Sorry, bro, had to.

From David and Carrie's we went to Jeremy's mom's house to do their Christmas. We left our house at noon on Saturday and didn't get back until midnight from the two celebrations. We do a white elephant/dirty Santa gift exchange and it is always hilarious!

Here's Anthony and Layton with some of Layton's new work tools

Addie got princess dress-up stuff and was in heaven!

Kameryn loves Michael Jackson and got a hat, wig, glove and glasses to look like him.

The next day we celebrated Christmas with Jeremy's dad for the third celebration of the weekend.

Layton dressing like Rudolph.

Our little angel...IF ONLY! The month of December is always the worst behavior out of this cute girl!

Abigail didn't care for her hat/headband. :)

Kami loves babies!

Papaw always reads "The Night before Christmas" before opening presents. I think Addie paid the most attention and told Papaw to read it again,.

Kate hanging out in the exersaucer. She loves playing in this now.

Alex and Addie checking out Addie's Ariel microphone. Why are toys these days so loud????

Layton got a Spiderman bike from Papaw and Mamaw!

Aunt Tiffany loving on Kate since she doesn't get to see her too much.

And then we crashed. And then we woke up the next day to go to work. And I was not bitter about it. :)

Pageant and Party

2012-01-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

In mid-December our church always does a Christmas pageant where kids of all ages are dressed as different people/animals while scripture is read and songs are sung about the birth of Jesus. It's always a very cute morning. Addie and the rest of the 2-4 year olds were stars.

Too sweet!

Our daycare party was actually at our church this year. For two weeks in December I would go a little late into work and teach the preschoolers Christmas/Holiday songs. It was a trip! It was a great way to start a morning. The children sang first before dinner and presents. I am upfront on the floor leading the children through the songs while Jeremy tried taking a picture. This cracks me up with all of the parents with their cameras.

Santa came for a visit after dinner and helped distribute the gift exchange presents. Addie is excited for her name to finally be called.

Emma, one of her best friends, actually had Addie's name in the gift exchange. Emma got "Add" (as Emma calls her) a leotard. Addie will be starting ballet in a couple of weeks and will actually be joining Emma's class. She is VERY excited! So much so that now that it is January she asks about 3-5 times a day if ballet is today.

Emma and Addie showing off their presents.

Kate was there too, of course. She got a book and a toy and then took a little nap. Ha! Here they are with Santa.

Celebrating a beautiful couple!

2012-01-01T10:55:00.002-05:00

In mid-July (about a week and a half before I had Kate) Leigh and Chad got married! I don't think I ever wrote a post about it. It was a really small wedding with just about 15 people total. They got married in a neighborhood park and then all of us had dinner at Corbett's, an upscale delicious restaurant. It was such a beautiful evening and we were so happy to be a part of it! I got to take their pictures. Here are two of my favorites.

Since they had such a small wedding they wanted to celebrate with a party/reception in December during the school break (Leigh's a teacher and Chad is finishing up law school). The reception was at the Louisville Science Center so they encouraged kids to come. I got to pull the "grandma card" and my mom came with us and then took the girls home so that they we could all attend the reception, but we could stay later. It was a lot of fun!

Here is Kate with Chad's mom.

Picture of the couple...

Leigh looked beautiful! And, Chad you looked ok. Just joking. :)

Jill (Kelly's mom) holding Kate.

They matched!

Love this photo and love this girl!

Wesleigh is one of Leigh's best friends from high school. Wesleigh also came to the wedding and took pictures. A sweet picture...

Addie was so excited to see her friend Maddy (girl in the middle). They had fun playing in the science center and then dancing on the dance floor. At one point the girls were laying on the ground and "dancing".

Me with Kelly P (who is wearing Addie's headband. Ha!)

Look at that stud! :)

Addie is with Lucy here. Lucy goes to our church and they love each other! Leigh and Chad had placed mistletoe for everyone at the table. Addie gathered about 8 of them to make a bouquet. She held them all night long telling everyone, "This is my bouquet. I'm married." Ha!

Getting back to normal after the craziness of Christmas. I'll post Christmas pics soon. Happy New Year!

Christmas pics

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here are Christmas pictures I took at the beginning of December for our Christmas cards. I had fun playing with Kate. Love her cheeks! Leigh came over to snap a quick on of our family. Enjoy the pictures. Merry Christmas!

Kate has discovered her feet. :)

A "behind the scenes" picture...both girls were crying and we just had to laugh.

Love this one of the sweet sisters!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

The first of many Christmas posts to come... A couple of Saturdays ago we had breakfast with Santa along with Layton, Abigail and Jenny. This was a new event at the Oxmoor Mall food court (different than the one we went to last year), but the best part was that all proceeds went to Make-A-Wish Foundation! The kids had fun and Addie was GREAT with Santa! Last year she was fine with him at the breakfast, but was terrified of sitting on his lap. This year she was totally fine the entire time. It was a fun morning.

Layton spied Santa!

Santa visits our table...

Too cute!

We got to decorate Gingerbread cookies.

Showing off their masterpieces.

And this is why kids love December and why parents have to have lots of patience this month...cookies at breakfast time!

Right after the breakfast we went down to sit on Santa's lap to get a head start on the rush...us along with everyone else at the breakfast. There was a play area by the line so the kids got to play while we waited. Unfortunately there was a new company working the Santa booth and would not allow parents to take photos unless you bought them. $25 for two photos!!! We just visited instead. :) Addie told Santa she wanted an Ariel doll and a bike. She told him that Kate wanted diapers. Ha!

Kate slept most of the time, but was ready to sit on Santa's lap. I just took a couple of photos when we got home. I love this sweet girl and her cheeks!

Wisconsin wedding

2011-12-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

In November we went to Wisconsin for Amanda and Josh's wedding. Amanda was one of the very first people I met at Butler because she lived across the hall from me my freshman year. She is such a wonderful person and it is so great to see her happy! The weekend was our first full weekend away with both girls. We stayed with our friends Chris and Erin Hack outside of Chicago Friday night and then made the rest of the trip on Saturday. I wasn't feeling like myself on Saturday. I thought that maybe my crazy work schedule and balancing everything else had caught up with me. I rallied for most of the wedding and reception, but I still was tired. When we woke up Sunday morning at the hotel I didn't feel well at all. When we arrived home about 5:00 Sunday night I took my temperature and I had a 103 fever. No wonder I didn't feel like myself! I was bummed that our weekend away with friends ended up not like how we expected. It was still wonderful to celebrate Josh and Amanda and to see great friends that we don't see often.

Jessica (who's pregnant with girl #2), Meagan and me

Great photo of Ryan and Meagan!

The bride and groom. Amanda looked so amazing!

Introducing the couple...

The Fab Five! We have all known each other since our freshman year at Butler. Amanda's the last one to get married out of the group.

4 months old

2011-12-04T22:39:00.001-05:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Kate turned 4 months old. Our baby is getting so big! At the doctor she was 25 inches (75%) and 12 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. (25%). Although her weight is a little lower she has some meat on her thighs and is strong! When she is laying in her bouncy seat or laying down she is trying to pull herself up to a sitting position. She now rolls both ways. For about a week only Addie and Jeremy had seen her roll over...such a turkey to not to do it in front of her mom! Kate is such a happy baby and is constantly talking and cooing. Kate always sucks on her fingers and fist and has recently discovered her feet. :) She watches Addie like a hawk. It is so sweet to see them interact. Addie loves how interactive Kate is becoming. We started Kate on cereal about a week ago and she is still getting the hang of it. Unfortunately we still have to give her medicine for reflux. Our hope is that it won't be much longer of it, but she still is uncomfortable at times.

We love this photo! She is about 3 1/2 months here. It reminds me of a picture of Addie at this age. It's crazy how much they resemble each other.

Pictures from 4 months old

Ha! She loves to chew on her fist!

Ha! Trying cereal for the first time...

I have so much to update on here. With the craziness of Christmas perhaps it will be January when I update the blog with pics from November??? :)

Halloween

2011-11-24T08:44:00.001-05:00

On Halloween I went to the girls' daycare to help out for their party. Unfortunately my camera was on the wrong setting so a lot of the pictures were blurry. Here's one of Emma and Addie as princesses. There were SO many princesses there! :)

That evening we went over to David and Carrie's for dinner and trick-or-treating. A crazy evening, but lots of fun!

Look at this little cutie!

All of the kiddos on the front porch...Dylan as Batman, Dawson as a dinosaur, Addie as Tiana and Kate as a flower.

Love this!

Too close to bedtime and not a fan of her costume. Ha!

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-22T05:30:00.001-05:00

On the Sunday before Halloween our church for the first time did a Fall Festival that included trunk-or-treat, storytelling, games and food. It was a great event and probably the first for many years to come. Enjoy the pics! (Yes, delayed. I think I jinxed myself in the last post. I got sick over the weekend with a fever while Jeremy and I were away for Amanda's wedding in Wisconsin.)

Jeremy wearing Addie's tiara. Cute, huh? It kept falling off Addie's head so he wore it some.


Princess Tiana (that's from "Princess in the Frog" if you don't know Disney princess movies)

Kate as a flower and Leigh as a nun. I love how Kate is staring at her! Ha!

Doug as the Man in the Yellow Hat with Benjamin

Here's Addie with Andrew as Curious George (Doug's son...such a great father/son duo). Addie and Andrew are great friends and only a few weeks apart. We would be ok with an arranged marriage here. Ha! :)

I had to take pictures of some of the great people and cars dresses up. Some people went all out for it being the first time.

Tiana and Sleeping Beauty (Alicia)

Dale went as Oscar the Grouch and was trying to give away trash instead of candy. It was great!

Jill and Mike (Kelly's parents) as pirates

Addie with one of her favorite people

Ha! Ha! A Jolly boy at his finest. :)

Addie with two of the girls from the youth group, Morgan and Shelby.

Our family!

Love this! Some of our friends' little boys. The Bendorf twins, Austin and Collin, and Emery (John & Terrianne's little one).

October pics

2011-11-16T23:06:00.001-05:00

Here's a few cute pictures of the girls in October. We were blessed with beautiful weather this fall! It has been a challenging couple of months though. We have been battling sickness. Poor Kate got a bad stomach bug only 2 weeks after being in daycare. It was crazy week for me at work so it was so hard not being home with her! We were worried about her dehydrating since she is only eating breastmilk still. It took her a few days to get over it. Addie then got sick, but thankfully it was short-lived. Then Jeremy got sick the next day. Jeremy has also had a fever two other times. I think we've been running pretty hard lately! I have determined that "I'll sleep when I am dead", to quote my husband. Ha!

Jeremy went on an annual guys camping trip one weekend. I took the girls up for a quick trip to see my parents. It had been way too long since our last visit. It was too short, but at least they got to show off Kate to my dad's church. Here's Addie giving Grandpa a sandwich for $16 at a park down their street. :)

Such a proud big sister...

Boo!

Addie playing in the leaves in our yard.

Our little punkin...

Cute feet! Kate kept staring at her feet whenever she would wear these pajamas.

(Next post: Halloween...just a few weeks behind. Ha!)

Pumpkin patch

2011-11-08T22:52:00.000-05:00

In mid-October we went to Gallerein Farm in Shelby County with Jeremy's dad & step-mom, Jenny & Anthony and all of the kids. We have gone to Huber's the past two years, but thought we would try something not as crowded and closer. They had lots of activities for kiddos in addition to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun, although it was really windy. Poor Kate was wrapped up the whole day to keep her out of the wind. Unfortunately we all suffered bad allergies after being outside all day. After the farm visit we went over to Jeremy's aunt's house for chili. A perfect fall day!

Addie was so funny about baby pumpkins. That is all she wanted. She wanted these two, but kept having a hard time carrying both of them. She would pick one up and then the other would drop. That continued for a few minutes. It was pretty funny.

Ashley, what do you think??? :)

Addie loved getting her face painted

We met up with Blake and Tracy and their family. Here is Addie with Alena (their daughter) and her cousin, Tessa.

Laughing sisters

2011-11-06T23:22:00.001-05:00

I have many posts to still do from all of our October activities, but I had to post this video that we took this evening. It has to be one of my favorite videos ever! I love to watch these two girls together. You can tell already how much they love each other!

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

2011-10-29T17:34:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago we went to West Virginia to my aunt and uncle's lake house. We left on Friday and came back Monday afternoon. It was nice to only do 4 workdays for two weeks coming right back to work off my maternity leave. David, Carrie, Dylan and Dawson arrived late Friday night along with my cousin Bill and his fiance, Lauren. The weather was amazing and the scenery was gorgeous...one of the many reasons I love fall! We fished, took walks, played at the local playground, got in the paddleboat & canoe, made s'mores, ate Jeremy's ribs & chicken, played games and just relaxed. The kids had a blast! Unfortunately Kate's reflux was acting up and she was a little too overstimulated with all the people so she was fussy and wanted me to hold her often. I hung out on the back porch a lot with her, but it was still nice to relax with the beautiful scenery. It was our first trip to their lakehouse and I am sure not the last! Thanks Aunt Cathy and Uncle Phil!

(Sorry, the format is messing up.)

On our walk I took this picture. Enough said about the scenery, huh?

Kate enjoyed walks like this...

The private lake had an area with a playground, dock, some sand, slides and a diving board. The water was really cold, but come Sunday people got more adventurous. This would be a great place to swim in the summer!

The kids playing at the "beach". Yes, my kid can't keep clothes up because her tush is too little. :)

Jeremy took Dylan out on the canoe while the younger ones took a nap.

This is the view from their dock. I think I would live on the dock if I could!

Addie showing off her worms

I love Addie's face in this picture. She looks so surprised that she caught a fish!

Kate smiling and cooing at Carrie.

Love these pictures of Addie fishing. She fishes at Lake Cumberland a lot, but Dylan had never been fishing before. They both had fun!

Jeremy had to be a daredevil and go down the slide. Soon all of the adult men turned into little boys and they all had to get in. :) It didn't last long because it was so cold!

Dylan jumped in too, but immediately swam for the ladder because of the cold.

Addie and Dylan playing in the water...such joy!

Lauren and Bill are getting married next May. Dylan and Dawson are ring bearers and Addie is the flower girl. Lauren made them cute t-shirts. The boys' shirts say, "Ring Security". Addie's says, "Flower girl" in rhinestones (even though you can't see it). Kate's says, "My big sis is the flower girl" (so she wouldn't feel left out. Ha!). Clearly, Kate was having a meltdown. A little too much chaos for her!

Kate's dedication

2011-10-23T22:26:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, October 2, we dedicated Kate to our church. My parents came in town, both sets of Jeremy's parents were there and as well as David, Carrie and the boys. Kate was great! She was really alert while Leigh, our minister, walked her down the aisle to meet the congregation. After the service everyone came to our house for a brunch to celebrate.

Kate's arm got stuck on Leigh's mic cord. He joked that she already had something she wanted to say. :)

They presentedus with a certificate, cradle cross and a rose. They stuck another rose in for the big sister. Too sweet.

Dawson acting silly at the brunch.

Later on that afternoon we went to Cherokee park while my parents were still in town along with David, Carrie and the boys. As you can tell, it was gorgeous fall weather and we enjoyed our time together.

It was actually my final day of my maternity leave. The whole day I definitely had mixed emotions. It was hard going back to work and I was so sad that my time off was over. That morning my colleagues had flowers, party hats and noise blowers when I entered the office so I definitely felt like I was missed. Leaving my girls was tough and still is each morning!

Final days home...

2011-10-20T23:19:00.003-04:00

I enjoyed my final days of my maternity leave. I was really trying to balance getting a lot of things done with enjoying sweet moments with Kate and Addie. I really wanted to be "fully present" during my maternity leave, but especially the final days. Addie was at daycare most days, but it was nice throughout my maternity leave to pick her up early or leave her home so we can enjoy some time together. Kelly and I took the girls to "Lion King 3D" that last week. Yes, Kate came along and slept most of the time. I never did anything like that when Addie was a baby, but second time around one realizes how easy an infant can be compared to a busy preschooler. Oh, the things you do with the second one. :) There was great weather most of my final week home so we enjoyed a trip to the park as a family and making s'mores again. Kelly and I took the girls to the zoo one day. Enjoy the pics!

The zoo was setting us for their big Halloween trick-or-treating event so Addie was very excited about all the characters.

Pretending to be a flamingo...

Kate slept the whole time. :)

Posing in front of the big jack-o-lantern

One of Addie's favorite people...

We took the sit-n-stand stroller with us. I had only used it on walks around the neighborhood so it was my first time using it out and about. Kelly and I could NOT figure out how to collapse it to put it back in the car. I'm not kidding we were both sweating and getting very nervous about how we were going to get home without leaving it behind. We were working on it for a good 15 minutes, trying to get a hold of Jeremy and looking for anyone to help us. A mom parked next to us literally came over with one simple suggestion and it collapsed in seconds. We felt so dumb and looked ridiculously! I wish it were on camera. When we got home Jeremy (who we all know is way too smart and handy for his own good sometimes) said it took him a while to figure it out. We felt redeemed, but it was still pretty funny.

Picture catch-up

2011-10-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to catch up on the blog with pictures of Kate over the past couple of months. Most of these were taken when Kate was about 6-8 weeks old in early/mid September and now she is almost 3 months old! Yikes! Where has the time gone?

Such a peanut..about 6 weeks old here

One of her first smiles on camera...

Such a happy girl... (And notice the sticker that Addie gave her. Ha!)

Cooing at dad...

A lot of people say she looks more like Jeremy. I can see it in this picture. I do need to upload a picture of Addie at the same age. There is one that looks sooo much like Kate is crazy!

Kate looks so different than this now...

So sleepy...

Ha! Had to have one of her crying...

Sweet sisters...

2011-10-13T23:31:00.002-04:00

I feel really behind on blogging and well, behind in life in general right now with me going back to work. It's exhausting! Like I said I will get use to it and we will find a new rhythm. I have so much to update on, but I had to put up this post. I love looking back on the blog over the past years and I know the blog is something I will always cherish along with our girls when they are older.

Here's pictures I took in September of the sisters. If you couldn't tell already Addie adores her sister...a little too much sometimes, but it is better than the alternative. Enjoy!

Sweet sisters...

Two months old

2011-10-06T23:52:00.002-04:00

I can't believe Kate turned two months old last week! At her check-up she weighed 10 lbs and was 22 inches. She is still smaller than her sister was at this age. In early September I took Kate into the doctor because she was really congested. The doctor said to just give her some benadryl and to suction her nose among other things. I saw her normal doctor at her 2 month check-up and he thought she sounded pretty bad. Made me feel like "Mom of the Year" even though I had taken her a week or so before. He tested her for RSV, but thankfully it was negative. He put her on an antibiotic. Unfortunately she started a fever that evening. Poor thing! The thing about this all is that Kate still was really mild-mannered. I would be taking her temperature and she would just be smiling at me. I think she is finally doing better except for her acid reflux. It still really bothers her, especially in the evening. Her "witching" hour is right around 8:00, but I think some of it is attributed to her acid reflux. She really only cries when she is tired or when her acid reflux is acting up.

Once Kate got healthy she was sleeping through the night! Hooray! We put her in bed around 9:30 and she'll sleep until about 7:00. I have been blessed with another great sleeper...crossing fingers!

Kate is so observant when she is awake. She loves just taking in the world. And she definitely follows Addie everywhere with her eyes/head. I have to get her on video "talking" to us. I forgot how much I loved those baby sounds. Too cute. And speaking of cute baby noises, Kate makes the funniest noises when she sleeps. She practically squeals sometimes when she is dead asleep. It's pretty funny.

I have lots to update on, but wanted to get this up. I started back at work on Monday and I am definitely very tired. I know I will get used to it. We're heading to my aunt and uncle's lakehouse in WV this weekend and I am ready to relax! Here are pictures of Kate at exactly two months old. She is so sweet! We love her so much!

Fall evenings

2011-09-27T09:33:00.001-04:00

We've been spending a few of our nice fall evenings with...

S'MORES by the fire pit! Yummy! We did it two nights in a row and one night Leigh and Chad joined us for an impromptu get-together. The following night after returning home late in the evening Addie said, "Mommy, I have a great idea, let's do s'mores!" I think she was thinking it would be a nightly occasion. I think she takes after her mom with having a sweet tooth!

Kate even joined us! :)

Addie's first s'more. Of course she loved it!

Addie got a hang of roasting her own marshmallow the second night.

Labor Day weekend and funny stories

2011-09-19T16:20:00.000-04:00

We usually go to the lake for Labor Day weekend. At last minute we weren't able to make it work out. Although we missed the lake we enjoyed spending time around family and friends over the weekend and getting things done around the house. On Sunday we went over to Heather and Peter's house and on Monday we had David, Carrie and the boys over because Jeremy cooked some meat on the smoker.

We ended up going to Evansville on Saturday for a quick visit to spend time with Jeremy's sister and her family. They have a pool in the backyard so we spent a lot of time swimming. We don't get to their house much so it was nice to spend the day with them there.

Addie is pretty confident in the pool. We are going to get her swim lessons this year. I think she will be swimming without any floatation devices in no time.

Jeremy, Kameryn and Addie in the pool

This girl is a ham sometimes!

Kameryn holding Kate. Kami loves babies and is always so good with Addie.

Addie and Kameryn have something in common...they love ribs! So funny!

I didn't get any pictures of the rest of the family. Alex made us Chocolate Chip Cookies before we left to go home. They were yummy! I think she takes after her mom!

Funny story--Addie learned about Justin Beiber during our trip there. Kameryn has a Justin doll and Addie kept playing with it. She kept calling it "Justin Beaver". At the end of the day Kameryn let her have a couple of pages from her magazine with him on it. On the way home Addie was kissing the magazine pages. Jeremy and I were NOT impressed! She probably saw Kameryn do it or something because she didn't really know what she was doing. We still did NOT enjoy seeing our little girl do this! Oh, what we have to look forward to!

And another one, so I document it...Addie is going to be a flower girl next May for my cousin Bill's wedding. Bill and his fiancee Lauren were visiting a few weeks ago. On the way home that night, it was WAY past Addie's bedtime, we were explaining that Bill and Lauren were getting married and she was going to be in the wedding. She then says, "I want to be married." And we both said, "If you want to be married when you are older you can." She then breaks down and wails, "I want to be married now, daddy! Now! I want to be married!..." Kids can say some funny stuff!

Old friends!

2011-09-15T13:48:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I took Addie and Kate to Lexington for the day. One of my closest friends, Laura, just moved into a new house. Robyn was still in town from L.A. and Liz was in town from Connecticut. The four of grew up together and were very close friends in high school. Now we all have kiddos so it was fun to all get together. We hung out at the house, went to the neighborhood pool and ate dinner. There wasn't too much time for catch up with 5 kids around, but it was fun nonetheless.

I think Lola was getting a little jealous when Robyn was holding Kate

The photos with kids crack me up! The order above is Emma, Lola, Dane, Addie and Kate.

State Fair

2011-09-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago we went to the state fair with David, Carrie, my mom and dad and the kids. It was the day after my grandmother passed away so it was nice to be together as a family doing something fun.

Petting some of the goats

Addie looks a little hesitant here because the goat had just tried to eat her ponytail. Ha!

I had to get a picture of Kate at her first state fair. She slept most of the time.

Addie is usually pretty fearless. Lately we have seen her be more timid than she used to be. Dylan and Addie picked the motorcycles to ride first. Can you tell how upset she is? It was so funny!

The slides were much better...although it was a rip-off

Riding the merry-go-round with Dawson and Grammy

The water gun game is my mom's favorite and she always wants to compete with anyone

Addie and Kate