A Weather Girl

This afternoon, I was playing with the kids downstairs.

Abby says "It's a weather cast," as she pushes some buttons on a toy.

Thinking she meant a weather forecast (and rightly thinking I believe) I say "Oh yeah, what does it say?"

Abby responds "It calls for money."

So here's a New Year's forecast for you: "money" - whether it be spending it or getting it, may you be content with it (as opposed to being discontent with the weather)!

Christmas 2007

Christmastime (and other holidays and vacations and such) is such a hard thing to blog about. We fit so much into just a few short days and hours that it is hard to encapsulate it into a manageable post that won't bore you to tears. So I'm going with the ol' standby of using a video montage (and hopefully, it won't bore you to tears!).

Let me say this though. I'm am so thankful to my God for what He has done and is doing. I'm thankful that 2000 years ago He saw it as the perfect time to send His Son, a Savior for the earth. And I'm thankful that 10 years ago, He saw fit to open my heart to Him and that today I live in light of that knowledge. Merry Christmas everyone!

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A Card for Luke's Teacher

Before Luke's last day of class for the year, I asked him to make a Christmas card for his preschool teacher. He sat down to work, folding the paper himself and deciding what he wanted to draw on the front. Here is the picture on the front. It is a very nice nativity scene that I thought was perfect for the season.



As I was making dinner, Luke then asked me how to spell her name. So I told him and saw him addressing the inside of the card to her. Then he continued to draw inside the card. Finally he said that he was all finished and he brought the card to me to show it off. I praised him for the drawing on the front and then I opened it up and saw this inside.



As you can see, it is a picture of a giant bunny with a rocket pointing directly at his neck, ready to dispatch him. I asked him if he thought that was appropriate for a Christmas card to his teacher. He explained that he had been making a "play" in his room in which he was building traps for bunnies and he just wanted to tell her about it. Now, loving to garden and hence, hating bunnies, I could understand a little bit. However, Luke made a different card in which the bunny was simply sitting underneath the Christmas tree, looking upon the Nativity scene. Much more appropriate, I think.

Richard Review: Online Edition!

Well, I got the Christmas cards out on Monday. However, this year I did not include our usual letter. Now, there are a couple of reasons why that didn't happen but I'm not going to get into all that ;) Instead, I decided that I could write the letter on here instead and if you have been so inclined to go to this website after receiving your photo card - welcome! It is good to have you here.


This year has been a wonderful year. I've never been really large and pregnant in the winter so it was a new experience beginning the year in my third trimester. Contrary to what most women will say, I actually enjoyed being that large in the summertime. I think it has something to do with: a) tying your shoes b) finding a warm coat to fit and c) trying to walk on ice. However, it was great to have Elizabeth Grace (from here on out known as Libby) on March 30th. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and I think was 21 inches long (boy, how my memory fails me these days!). Libby is so sweet she makes your teeth hurt. We have been blessed by her in so many ways. Luke and Abby enjoy her. Of course, I'm sure that will all change with time - but maybe not. Libby is very tall and thin - I keep feeding her more to help her bulk up a little but it just all seems to go into inches instead of lbs. She is rolling and scooting and doing a little crawling. Her favorite activity to head straight for underneath the tree and chew on the Fisher Price Nativity Set underneath there. I think Baby Jesus is her favorite flavor. :)


Abby is now 3 and is quite the charmer...when she wants to be. She definitely is my stronger-willed child but is becoming more reasonable as she ages ;) She enjoys playing with her toy cooking stuff and babies. When Mike & Luke are playing with knights and dinosaurs, she often plays with by bringing them all things to eat. She also likes anything "princess" and loves to wear dresses. She has a penchant for shoes and will show anybody willing to take the time her shoes. Abby is a very willing helper and I enjoy having that in her! She started AWANA this year is doing very well memorizing her verses. Oh, and the other big accomplishment of the past year - she is potty-trained!


Luke started preschool in the fall. He enjoys attending Holloway House, a private, Christian preschool and does a great job in all aspects of learning. He will be more than ready for Kindergarten in the fall of 2008. Luke's biggest interests are in the aforementioned knights and dinosaurs. He is very artistic and loves to draw. His drawings have really improved over the year and are getting more and more realistic, it is so neat to see him developing! He also took swim lessons over the summer and passed Level 2 even though I feel as though he should retake it (and that's probably what we'll have him do). Luke is an old pro at being a Cubbie at AWANA. Next year he'll be moving into the next level of difficulty - Sparks.


Mike is doing really well at Rockwell Collins. He enjoys his job, the new challenges it often brings and the people he works with (not equating them with challenges here!). The difficulties of last year (back problems & acid reflux) have not plagued him like they did in 2006. We purchased a Wii (Nintendo Gaming system) and he is quite good at it (and his son is quickly taking after him). One of these days, I'll will consistently beat him at Dance Dance Revolution but as it remains, he's still the one with rhythm in the family (after all, he was/is a percussionist!). This fall, also found Mike being able to lead a small group bible study at our home. We've been so blessed by the people in our group and look forward to getting to know them more in the coming year.


I've adjusted (well, as much as you can) to being a mother of three. I was even able to have a little garden this year. One of the funniest things is that Mike's granddad gave me some mystery seeds for my birthday which turned out to be broom corn. I hear rumors that he is thinking up another "mystery" seed for me to try this coming growing season. In the area of gardening, Mike also helped rig a system in our basement so that I can start seeds more easily inside. It was fun to do and I enjoyed giving away little tomato seedlings and starting most of my annuals from seed. My mom saw the set-up and even decided to do some of that herself (which I hear she had great success at). One other highlight of the year was being able to share what God has done in my life at our church's Holiday Specialtea. It was a great experience and I am so thankful for the people who prayed for me - I know their prayers are the reason I didn't pass out in front of the 200 women there! God is so good!


That's a pretty good re-cap of the year. Feel free, if this is your first time here, to go to previous months to read and look at pictures.


God bless you in the coming year.

An Icy Day

Yesterday we woke up to a layer of ice on every exposed thing in the yard. We continued to have freezing rain until about noon. Then, a slight dusting of snow was added to finish everything off. Our neighbors 25 ft birch tree is currently still bent to touching the ground in our garden. I'm wondering if it is going to snap!? We'll just have to wait and see. Yesterday remained cloudy all day and that is when these pictures were taken. Currently we have partly a cloudy sky and the ice covered branches sparkle and glisten was the dim sunlight hits them. It is really quite beautiful - like clear, delicate, blown glass in a jeweler's window (who says I can't be poetic?!).

Here is a picture of our tiny fountain grass - you can see how thick the ice is on the thin blades of the grass.

This a picture of the newest addition to our backyard, a 6 ft Canadian Hemlock tree that we got on clearance this fall - I hope it makes it!

I'd say any birds that wanted to eat out of this feeder would definitely feel like jail birds with those bars of ice hanging down.

'Tis the season...

...for a Cookie Exchange!

Tomorrow morning, barring an ice storm (which is in the forecast...grrrrr), I'll be going to a cookie exchange. Now, the process of deciding which cookies to bring is always slightly difficult. I really like the sugar cut-out cookie recipe I have but - everyone makes those! I also like a cranberry coconut recipe I have (which I need to make!) but I made those last year. So, I dug into the recesses of my mind and remembered a cookie recipe that I had made. Now, the taste isn't knock-your-socks-off, out-of-this-world good, BUT the presentation is pretty cool and it is fun to make something slightly more involved than chocolate chip cookies. Here's a picture of this year's pick - Pinwheel Cookies.

A visit from Grandma & Papa

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting my parents. We had lots of fun. Mom & Dad really had a great time playing with the kids. We got to do some shopping, eat out at Granite City one day for lunch, and take a little "tour" of the city. One evening, I made chili since one of my parents' friends said my mother had made the best chili he had ever tasted. I said "Well, he hasn't had my chili." So, of course, I made it different than I usually do by adding a "secret" ingredient. Hehehe - it was fun watching everyone guess what it could be. Finally, Mike got it - is was some unsweetened chocolate. Definitely added a slightly complex flavor. :)

Here is a picture of my parents and the kids the night before Mom & Dad took off.

Today's Giggle

This morning, Luke and Abby requested coloring pages printed off of the internet. Luke requested a rhino and Abby, a princess. Both received what they asked for and in particular, Abby got a picture of Cinderella to color.

"CinderGorilla wears blue," Abby said as she was using a blue marker on her coloring page.

"No, it's CinderELLA!" Luke corrects her.

"I like GorillaCinrella" Abby replies.

Luke: "No, it's NOT Gorilla, if it was gorilla, she'd be a big black monkey with lots of fur!"

Abby remained unaffected by Luke's corrections. After all, a name isn't what makes a princess, is it?

Thanksgiving 2007

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Grandpa?.....

HO HO HO! Here is a picture of Santa who just happens to be Mike's father! Doesn't he look awesome?! And no, he's not having an identity crisis, this year he became an "official" Santa with a real beard and everything. I will not disclose his location but his sleigh may be parked at a local shopping center near you. :)

A Long Standing Joke

It started after we moved into our house here in Iowa. You see our bedrooms are on the second floor. It has become the routine for me to grab a glass of water and then head up the stairs for bed with Mike following behind me, making sure the house is shut-up for the night. The only thing is, I like to have a full glass of water beside my side of the bed. I don't want to drink a couple of sips, have it half gone and make the trek down the stairs to get more water from the fridge. So I fill my glass very full and carefully make my way up.

However, more often than not, I end up dripping, er, spilling some on the stairs. Which then Mike steps in. So you can hear me say "Whoops!" and "Sorry!" and "That was me!" (the last was added in after potty training Abby and having Libby spit up). Mike being the astute problem solver that he is, has tried to make it up the stairs before me. So now, we have "mini" races or I'll hear Mike saying from the kitchen "doh!" So here's to you, my wonderful husband, thanks for bearing with my neurotic tendencies.

The Girls

I've been waiting for an opportunity to dress Abby & Libby the same and it came a couple of weeks ago. I purchased these sweaters shortly after finding out that Libby was going to be a girl.

Here is an added picture with me in it. The question is, "What was on the other side of the camera?" ;)

The Parent Store

Last night we were sitting on the couch (Mike, Luke, Abby & myself) after going through the kids' AWANA verse for the week with them. I think Dancing With The Stars was on the tv and we were all kinda half tuned into it. Then I hear Abby beside me speaking into her play phone, apparently to Cece - one of her imaginary friends.

Cece said (Abby uses her very high voice for her "friends"), "I'll be right there, I'm at The Parent Store, I need some more parents."

So, how should I take that one?

October Fun

We had a lot of fun in October. Maybe TOO much fun, I'm feeling pretty worn out! Anyway, here are a few things that we did the last couple of weeks.

A visit to Bloomsbury Farm - it was cold and windy but the kids still had a great time having some "agritainment" as they call it. Luke shot a corn cannon (yep, pretty much like it sounds) and Abby made "corn angels" in the silo. Here a few pictures from that day.

We also took advantage of a cool, non-windy evening and made some s'mores on the brick patio.

Then came Wednesday and Halloween. Luke was a knight, Abby was a princess and I threw some bunny ears I had sewn on one of Libby's buntings and taaadaaa! instant bunny. She was so adorable - they all were (even, Mike - he dressed up like a Minnesotan don'tcha know)! They made a quick trip around the block and had a good time. Our tally for the evening was 110 trick-or-treaters.

Never Argue

...about math.....with an engineer.

"So, Mike, if I have a 9 x 13 pan and I want squares that are 1 1/2 by 1 1/2. How many servings would I have?"

Some math inside Mike's head....."About 54" (I think the answer was in the 50's).

"What?! I was thinking we'd get about 80!"

"Are you talking 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches or are you talking 1 1/2 square inches?"

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"No, 1.5 time 1.5 is different than 1 1/2 square inches."

"What?!"

We sat down and he explained it to me. It involved googling a scientific calculator and using the square root button and some to scale drawings but I think I got it.

"So," by this time my brain is working on fumes, "if I want 80 servings that are 1 1/2 square inches how many rows do I need to cut both lengthwise and widthwise."

Some math is involved so we could get the closest to 1 1/2 square inch pieces that we could. Can you guess the answer? 8 cuts lengthwise and 10 cuts widthwise. Yep, 8 times 10 makes 80.

Now, couldn't I just have started out thinking like that?

The Art of Sorting

I've just received a lesson in sorting legos from my wonderful husband and delightful son. Little did I know there was a method to the madness. Mike had these legos when he was a child so he had a step up on me.

• There is a flat piece box
• There is a slanty piece box
• There is a "cool" piece box (apparently coolness is determined by both Mike & Luke)
• There is a box for the "people"
• There is a box for "windows"
• There is a box for "blinky lights" even though they do not blink
• There is a a large box for "bricks" that also holds "completed vehicles"
• There is a box for large, flat, foundation pieces
  

I was thankful that we did not have to disrobe the people except for their "cool" parts (ie wrenches and light saber swords). Even we are not that meticulous.

And you wonder why engineers work "in boxes."

I have to say this though. When they play - it definitely all comes out of the box.

Sisters!

Can you tell they are related?

Abby in February of '05

Libby in October of '07

Both of them

Sitting Pretty

Libby is sitting up. What a big girl! She really enjoys being in this position now and it is so sweet to see babies sitting with their backs straight working at balance. She also cut her second tooth on Monday - one right next to the first on the bottom. Oh, it goes SO fast (until potty training starts that is).

Pies and such is my LIFE!

Hello, hello! Anybody ever ate a pie made out of cranberries? Well, today I made one. It is not as random as may think. I'm testing out fruit recipes for our church's annual Holiday Specialtea. So far I've tested: Grapes stuffed with Bacon and Cream Cheese, Pear Gorgonzola Pizza, White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, Lemon Square Bars, and today Cranberry Steusel Pie. All have been pretty good. We are trying for an eclectic mix - sample items that will be new for our guests. It is fun finding and trying new recipes. I am not doing this by myself. I have lovely friend who's gift is truly being organized and can she cook! And there are a host of other women who are helping as well.

Isn't it a pretty pie? I'd describe it as a cross between a rhubarb pie and a cherry pie. In case you do try the recipe in the link, I did increase the white sugar to 1 full cup and used pecans instead of walnuts.

9th Wedding Anniversary

Today marks 9 years of wedded bliss for us. I am so thankful for Mike and that God has placed together in life. Here is my gift to Mike - gotta love homemade gifts!

PS - To any ladies out there who may want this done for them - I'll do one for you in exchange for one main dish in the freezer ;)

Surprise!!

Friday afternoon, at about 4 o'clock, Mike calls and offers to bring supper home. I'd already gotten all the prep done for the meal I was making (recipe here - only I used butternut squash from the garden) and the rest of the meal was going to be very easy to put together. I said that he didn't need to do that but he said he really didn't want to do dishes. We discussed it for several minutes and finally decided that I would cook as I had planned instead of keeping the meal for Saturday night.

The meal was really yummy - just like my favorite dish at Biaggi's! At the end of it, I said that I would do the dishes and asked if Mike could plant the evergreen tree we had purchased on sale the week before. He said that he really didn't want to get dirty that night. Now, I'm slightly annoyed. He doesn't want to dishes and he doesn't want to get that tree planted! Grrrr. But then, he slips this envelope in front of me. I open it up and there are two tickets to the Newsboys concert that night! I had really wanted to go but didn't really think it would be possible with the timing and feeding Libby. Well, we made it possible and Mike had lined up a sitter and everything. So in the next hour we did some straighting (including the dishes) and I got ready to go. Then we "rocked" out at the concert. Thank you Mike for the early anniversary present!

All The Same

LOL - I feel like all the pictures I post of Libby are the same smiling face but hopefully you can see how she is growing and changing. She cut her first tooth late last week - the front bottom right. I have a feeling that more are coming soon but time will tell. She also has starting "talking" saying "baba." She's so cute when she's saying it though because she uses this light breathy tone. Obviously, her screaming, squealing brother and sister have much to teach her in that area. She is starting to sit unassisted for brief moments of time - she's growing so quickly!

Illusions of Grandeur DASHED!

Dashed in the wake of technology, that is. There are times when I think I sing like a bird and dance like an alpha ballerina (hehehe - just made that term up). However, since we've discovered the free Karaoke channel on our cable and purchased Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii (an early anniversary present!), I've come to the sad realization that I'm just plain bad - lacking immensely in the talent arenas that seem so plausible while taking my morning shower. So, I've confirmed to myself that I will never try out for American Idol, and thus, I'll never be a Star on Dancing With The Stars. Yes, America will have to do without seeing my name in lights.

Thank you God, for keeping me humble!

New Blender

We got a new a blender. (cheaper than what the link shows, thankfully!). I love the shiny red, just makes me want to make smoothies, and crepe batter, and baby food. The only thing is, I really didn't want to buy a new blender but after what happened Friday night we kind of thought it the best idea.

At about 3 am, on Friday night (Saturday morning), Mike woke up and needed to use the bathroom. This, in turn, woke me up. My first thoughts were "oh, no - Mike's sick" but as he came back to bed, he assured me that he was just fine. Since I was awake, I figured I might as well go too. Lying back in bed, trying to go to sleep, I start hearing this "whirling" sound. I poked at Mike and said "do you hear that? what's that?" He groggily grabs the golf club we keep under our bed and heads out our bedroom door. He says from the stairs, "I think it's the vacuum!" Weird. So I'm now thinking one of the kids is downstairs playing with the vacuum. The whirling noise stops and I head downstairs. Mike informs me that it was the blender. I had left it plugged in without the canister on it. He said he saw sparks arching out of it. Not a good thing. Our corded phone in the office also was on the line, even while it was hung up. We figure some kind of power surge happened due to a thunderstorm that had come through earlier.

I believe God really protected us on Friday night. I am so thankful that we are okay and nothing major happened. So - Praise God!

From the mouth of babes....

I think I should make this a regular post. See what the Richard kids are saying now!!

We had a lovely lunch on Sunday. As we were leaving the restaurant (Chili's) Luke asked if we could go to the movie theater. Before the word "no" could fly out of my mouth, he tagged this along.

"Or we could go buy Mommy a diamond."

Now, really, I had to pause ;)

Before & After - House

Well, it probably seems like a bigger deal to me than to anyone else. But here is some "improvement" we did on the house. If you don't agree, I'll respect your opinion. We changed the shutters from green to black and the door from green to red.

Wickiup Bird Release

On Saturday morning we headed out to Wickiup Park for their wild bird catch and release. They put up these fine nets to catch the birds and then they tag and release them. It is a good measure of the bird populations. I'm also assuming that as they migrate, other similar programs can catch them and tell where they came from and when by the tag. Luke got to release one of the birds. We were surprised to see Pastor Steve there (he's in the picture with Luke). Although, he does talk about his love of birds every once in awhile in his sermons!

Since we were there, we decided to do a geocache or treasure hunt as we like to call it. Here is a picture of us trying to be "secretive" after finding the "treasure." After signing the log, Luke and Abby both took something and then we placed some of our treasure in it.

Abby's 3rd

Friday was Abby's third birthday. I think she started asking me about her cake at breakfast time :) So aptly, here is a picture of her birthday cake.

We then opened presents. I was so glad she liked the little apron I sewed for her! She also got a princess computer, princess clothes and a princess book. Hmmmmm.....I wonder if she likes princess things?

Teething Libby

Libby has been teething for a few weeks. She's been a little bit fussy (and drooly!) - btw did you know that "drooly" isn't a word? - Now she has another cold and has added snotty to the list of "y's" However, she still is smiley too.

A BIG week for Luke!

Luke started preschool last Tuesday. He's enjoying it. On Wednesday, AWANA started up again (and now Abby gets to go too!). Thursday was his 5th birthday! Wowza! And I don't have any pictures but his best buddy Caleb (and two of his siblings) got to come over Saturday evening. Life may seem a trite dull after all that.

Here's Luke with his "issued" school bag which we got to decorate.

Here are some pictures from his birthday.

My sad attempt at cake decorating. It is supposed to be a dinosaur (okay, a dinosaur breathing fire). Luke thought is was a dog while I was putting the green "details" on it. He needed to leave the kitchen for a little bit after that.

I don't have any pictures of him by the cake but we did video it :)

I didn't know...

Check out the little girl in this picture. When I asked Abby who it was she said "Abby" :) Bear with me here because this is a scan of a fax of a scan of an EARLY 80's picture.



Of course, this is the picture from earlier this year that made my mom think of it.

Funny

This morning, I picked Luke up and gave him a big hug. I thought to myself that he really is getting big, almost 5! I said:

"Pretty soon I won't be able to pick you up anymore, what am I going to do then?"

Luke replied, "I guess I'll have to take the bus."

:)

Libby started cereal :)

We started Libby on cereal last Saturday. She wasn't so sure about it the first day but the second day she grabbed that spoon out of my hand, stuck it in her mouth and started making happy noises. I guess she was ready! Today she's 5 months old, I really can't believe how fast time is going. She is such a joy and blessing.

Bad Dream

I am fixing Thanksgiving dinner. I've chosen to only make a turkey breast. Suddenly, I have more guests coming. So I tell the other person in my dream I know about the old trick of cooking a chicken and just mixing in the slices of meat so everyone thinks it is just turkey. The worse part is that my extra guests are all Democratic Presidential Candidates and, of course, Guiliani.

Yep, I woke up and told Mike that I had just had a WEIRD BAD dream.

Broom Corn!

Dearest Marc, Mike's grand dad and bearer of mystery seeds, called last night. I had tried calling him a day or so before but was unable to get a hold of him. I had previously thought that he had given me minature red popcorn seeds but no ears were being produced and a nagging suspicion led me to believe that I had guessed wrongly.

Marc said, "Does the top kinda stick out like a broom?"

"Yes"

"Does that give you any ideas?"

"Nooooo"

I'm afraid I might have let Marc down because I don't believe I've even heard of broom corn before last night. He expected more out of me, me being a farm girl and all. Oh well, I do believe I've been properly "city-fied."

Just a couple projects

Last Sunday, I had an idea to disguise a not so pleasant area in our house. So I went to JoAnn's and they were selling remnants of decorator fabric at a really low price. So, I decided to add another project. Here they are! I'm finally getting faster with that sewing machine!


Here's our old entertainment center. The big box area has become a dumping ground for miscellaneous things so I decided to cover it up.

We've had our couch and chair for 5 years now. They receive a lot of heavy wear and the pillows were really starting to show it. So I sewed these slip covers for the 4 pillows we have out.

The Ants Come Marching......

one by one. Hurrah! Hurrah! NOT!!!!

So, it has been raining. It has been raining a lot. The grass is green and the air is sticky. And ants are on the prowl. We've had them off and on all summer by the front door. No biggy. I saw that they were starting to mobilize toward the dining room and it occurred to me that I should really keep my floor swept extra well. It didn't really look like they were heading for the pantry but I've got extra space for our cereal in our fridge so I wasn't too concerned (this lackadaisical attitude is gone now by-the-way).

This morning, Mike said, "We have a situation downstairs." I knew he was talking about the ants. I thought for sure they'd gotten into the pantry and I was not looking forward to that (especially with friends coming over this morning!).

I gasped as I said "They've gotten into the food!" Mike didn't think so. I said, "So where?"

"I want you to come see so you know what to change." What to change? I felt my cleaning skills had been grossly insulted.

So I went downstairs and heard Mike say, "Follow the trail." So I did. From the front door, to the bathroom door, around the corner by our desk (I'm thinking OH NO! It IS the pantry!), around to where the diaper bag is sitting underneath the desk, to the...wait....they've stopped at the diaper bag. Well, that's good. I pick it up, there are a few underneath it. No biggy. I'm really stumped as to what the "situation" is. Then I see! They are in the diaper bag! Lots of them are in the diaper bag! What on earth!

Some hesitant investigation (seriously, would you want to put your hand in a bag full of ants?), produced the culprit. What could it be you ask yourselves? I had no idea it was there. It was a smushed tootsie roll probably left over from one of the parades we went to this summer. Gross!

The mess has been cleaned up and all is well. Now, I need to go get some good ant traps so they DON'T make it to my pantry.

So, if you've made it to the end of this story you deserve a picture of my kids ;)

My Future Marine

Yesterday Luke got his shots for school. Does anyone remember getting their shots? I do! Hysterical comes close to describing it. Two people held me down while the nurse gave me a shot in my tush (btw - they now get THREE shots). I was screaming and kicking the whole time. I'm sure the nurse had nightmares from the whole experience. That night, my aunt and uncle came over to visit and saw that I was limping due to the soreness. My aunt was sure something had gone wrong with the shot. Was it infected? Everything was fine and I think I was back to normal in a day or two. The massive amount of soreness probably was due to the fact that I was so tense during the whole ordeal.

Now, here's my firstborn ready to go get his shots. We talk to him about being brave and what's going to happen but he really doesn't seem concerned about the whole deal. We go in and it is time for the shots. He hops right up onto the examination table, lies down. The nurse asks me to hold his arms and tells Luke he can give me a hug during the shots. So that's what we do. Not that he needed to; honestly, he didn't even flinch or gasp. When all was said and done, he jumped down, picked out his pencil and his stickers. Then we went home. No tears, no screams.

I ask, "How are you doing?"

He says "great."

"Are your legs sore?"

"My legs are sore a little bit where she gave me the shot."

"Okay, let's go get some ice cream."

So we went to the McDonald's drive-thru and each got a small chocolate shake. I am supremely happy that Luke didn't inherit certain personality traits from me. Now, Abby, she may be another story. :)

PS - I just want everyone to know that I've toughened up a bit. 2 fillings without novocaine and 3 births later, I just might qualify for the Marines as well ;)

The Last Week Or So..

Last Monday, Libby had her 4 month check-up. She's doing wonderfully. At that time she weighed 13lbs. 14 oz (50th percentile) and was 25 inches long (75th percentile). Getting her out of her car seat at the doctor's office, I noticed a slight runny nose. Well, she developed her first little cold, which she then gave to me. Mike felt left out so he caught it too. Libby really has been acting great despite her first illness (maybe she just doesn't know she's supposed to be fussy now). Mike and I are almost over ours but Libby still has a little cough each time she wakes up. Here's a recent photo (taken today in fact!)

Summer is quickly coming to an end. On Monday, we met with Luke's preschool teacher, Mrs. Varn, and his classmates. It was nice getting to meet some of the other moms and to chat with the teacher some. Luke wasn't his most sociable self but I'm certain he'll warm up to things when the school year starts in September. Abby had fun playing with the other little siblings though (maybe her future classmates!).

We came home from that and the kids went for the sandbox. The previous sand had gotten rained in (about 3 inches) during a severe thunderstorm here - the cover had blown off. So, we went and picked up some new play sand. It is the "sugar" type of sand and the kids LOVE it. (OT - if anyone has any smart ideas for keeping it out of the house, I'm all ears).

It really must have tuckered Abby out because I found her upstairs, lying on the floor in her bedroom - fast asleep. It was so cute, I had to take a picture.