_

_

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Five Years Old

Alexa - 6/27/07
Alexa - 6/27/12

 Decorating her own birthday cake.  She loves art projects, so this was right up her alley.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Sweet, Snuggly Baby


Earrings

Alexa has been asking for earrings for awhile now, so we told her she could get her ears pierced for her 5th birthday, which is tomorrow.  I saw a sign at the pediatrician that they pierce ears, so we decided to get them done there while she was getting her 5 year old shots.  Instead of subjecting her to shots on her birthday, we went ahead and scheduled her appointment today.  The pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health and then asked her if she wanted to do the shots first or earrings first.  She chose the shots first.  She was brave for the first two (which were given at the same time), but then she wailed after the next two.  She got a lollipop and calmed down a bit, and then decided she was ready for the earrings.  So, she got the first earring and then wailed and wailed and did NOT want to do the second one.  Fortunately, we were the only people there because she was loud, and her appointment took forever by the time we were finished.  Anyway, I eventually somewhat talked her into getting the second earring (okay, basically I told her she had to do it, like it or not).  I took her out for frozen yogurt afterwards, and she was already over it by then.  She LOVES her new earrings, and even showed them to Oma and Aunt Andrea on Skype today.  It's hard to believe that my first baby girl will be 5 tomorrow!


Friday, June 22, 2012

My Little Baker

Alexa making homemade cinnamon rolls as requested by Grammy.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Menu Plan Monday

I have a lot of new recipes planned this week, starting with yesterday when Molly made some yummy new recipes.  Here's what we're eating this week.

Sunday - Balsamic glazed pork roast, crash hot potatoes, green beans, crescent rolls, chocolate chip cookies
Monday - White BBQ chicken, asparagus, garlic bread
Tuesday - Beef roll ups (flank steak marinated then rolled around spinach and feta), pesto potatoes, Caesar salad
Wednesday - Elegant chicken and pasta, broccoli
Thursday - Italian sandwiches, chips, fruit salad
Friday - Mom and Dad's house
Saturday - Quesadillas, tortilla chips and salsa, fruit

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

If only you could have seen me trying to take this picture of all four kids by myself.  It was definitely amusing.  But I think it turned out pretty cute if I do so say myself.  Happy Father's Day, Daddy/Dave!  We all love you very much!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Six Months


Here's what Sierra is up to at six months -
-Weighs approximately 14 pounds.  She was 13 lbs 13 oz at the hospital last Monday, so I bet she will be 14 by the time we go to the doctor on Thursday.
-Still wears 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. She wears cloth a lot more now that Jordanna is potty training (less laundry and Sierra has all the nice diapers now).  She has to wear a size 3 Huggies diaper to bed or she leaks.
-Still spits up.
-Taking a break from solids because she still is having pooping issues.  And she gets red under her eyes with certain foods.
-Still sleeps with her paci.  Can use her hands to get it into her mouth sometimes.  She also likes to hold it and gnaw on it when she is awake.
-Still chews on her hands a lot.
- Is very drooly.
-Likes to sit in the swing and listen to music (or watch TV, yes, I am a bad mother).
-Plays with toys.  Her favorite is an apple toy that is easy for her to hold.
-Still takes 3-4 naps a day. Wakes about 40-45 minutes into virtually every nap.  You can set your watch by her.  Every attempt to get her on a regular napping schedule has failed.  I have had some success with going in right when she wakes up during her afternoon nap and rocking her back to sleep.
-Eats about every 3 hours.
-Wakes 1 or 2 times most nights.
-Can roll both ways (I've seen her do it before), but she rarely does.
-Has had a CT scan and an MRI in the past month, and the results from both have been positive.
-Smiles the sweetest, goofiest smiles and loves attention and "talking" to people.

Rainy Monday Fun

Yesterday was a dreary, rainy day.  It was also Dave's first day of summer school, so he was gone in the morning.  So, of course, we had to find something fun to do.

First, we met Stacy and Molly at Monkey Joe's, which is one of those bouncy places.  It was busy and loud and hot, but the kids loved it. 

Even Audrey played
My Jordanna

Sierra somehow managed to tune everything out and sleep in her stroller
The big kids were running around so fast that it was hard to get pictures of them.  This blur is Alexa.
Sweaty head Caleb
Me and my girl
Five minute before we left, Jordanna FINALLY got on one of the trampolines for about a minute.  Other than that she just wandered around playing with babies.
Afterwards, we went out to lunch.  Three moms and seven (soon to be eight) kids at lunch was amusing but fun.
In the afternoon, the kids were getting antsy again.  So since it was only raining and not thundering, I put on their ponchos and sent them out to stomp in puddles.  They looked at me like I was crazy, but they ended up going out and having fun.



Friday, June 8, 2012

Ten Years

Dave and I celebrate ten years of marriage today.  He has loved me well for the last ten years (and more), and I love and respect him more than I did when we got married.  And God has richly blessed us with four precious little people.

Here are some of the highlights of the last ten years.

2002 - We got married (obviously).  Dave began his second full year of teaching, and I began my first at the same school as him.  We rented a teeny tiny one bedroom house.

2003 - We bought our house.  Dave's parents came down to visit and see it.  We joined our current church in the fall.









2004 - We drove to West Virgina where we met Dave's parents for a camping trip.  Dave and I both started teaching at new schools.  We found out that we were expecting our first child.



2005- Dave became a US Permanent Resident, and we went to Canada for the first time since before we were married.  We went camping with Molly and Nick, the first of many trips together (and many more to come hopefully).  Caleb was born!
 

 
 






2006 - We went to Gatlinburg with Molly and Nick and took Caleb on his first trip to the beach and his first trip to Canada.  I started teaching part time rather than full time.  We found out we were expecting our second child.



2007 - Alexa was born!  I took a whole year off of work afterwards, which was probably good since she didn't sleep much her first year of life.





2008 - I started this blog.  Alexa took her first trip to Canada.  I went back to working one day a week for the school where I still teach.


2009 - We went away to the mountains for a child free weekend, which was good because several weeks later we found out that we were expecting out third child.  We drove to Florida to visit my brother and took the kids to Disney and the beach.  Jordanna was born!







2010 -  We went to the beach with Molly and Nick and then again with my extended family.



2011 - We were snowed in for about a week, which is unheard of here in the south.  We found out that we were expecting our 4th (and last) child.  During the summer, we went to the beach with just the 5 of us, and we drove to Canada for the first time since before we were married (we used to fly).  Caleb started first grade at my school.  Sierra was born!




 





2012 - We've been busy loving on our four children, homeschooling, working, and serving in our church.


 
 

So, there's the first decade of our marriage in summary.  I hope and pray that the Lord grants us many more years and even many more decades together.