Baby Cousin

My sister went into labor on December 17 and had a baby girl on Thursday December 18th. She was a big girl. She weighed 9 pounds! It is a good thing she was 3 days early. My sister tore a lot during the delivery and had to have surgery to redo the stitches. She was out of the hospital soon enough and we all enjoyed spending Christmas with our newest family member. Annelise had a nice Christmas and enjoyed blowing out the candle on Jesus's birthday cake. Here are a few photos of Krystina Alisabeth (I think that is how it is spelled). Thanks to Annelise, we all call her "baby cousin". If you want to see more photos, follow the Picassa Web Albums link on the right.

Me and my new niece.

Krystina wearing the same outfit her mommy wore (Krystina born 12-18-08, her mother born 12-21-84)

Annelise with "Baby Cousin"

Wave!

Looking at Christmas lights with my dad and Annelise.

Pretty Girl

Chia Caleb

October 31st

We planned to go to a church party instead of doing the whole Trick-or-Treat thing. So we hurried into the car and started driving to a place in the country that we had been to several months ago. Since we are generally good with directions, I didn't think to check them again. We drove and drove and drove and never found the location of our church party. I was very frustrated. We finally made it back home and decided to take Annelise Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood. She really enjoyed it. Although she was very polite and friendly to most everyone we talked to, she was very confused when we knocked on the door to one house and a human-like black cat opened the door. She loved carrying around her Easter basket and didn't want help with it, even when it started getting heavy for her. By the end of the night, she had a lot of candy and Momma and Daddy are really enjoying it!

Our little soccer player

In the words of Garfield the cat, "Candy candy candy!"

She tried the end of every lollipop over and over and over. She didn't care about the candy part

Somebody is trying to be like his big sister

John's Birthday

For John's birthday, we were able to spend a little time in Boone, NC where I finished school, where we spent our dating relationship and where we got married. My dad very generously let us use some of his hotel points for a free nights stay there and my parents kept Caleb and Annelise for us. What would we do without parents? We had a very nice meal at one of our favorite restaurants, thanks to John's parents, and really enjoyed our time there. It was very strange for me to be without the kids, but I felt so free. It was very odd. While in Boone, we visited several of our favorite spots and took a drive on the parkway. It was characteristically rainy and foggy for the time of year, but it cleared out on Saturday for our last few hours before we headed back for the kids. Here are some photos from our fun trip. John had a wonderful 30th birthday.

Hebron Rock Colony, near the top

Before lunch

Hebron Rock Colony, near the bottom

Price Lake on the Parkway

Pondering life as a 30 year old...or maybe he is pondering light

Babe Said It

I know not everyone agrees with me, but I think Babe got it right..."A Tragic Day". So it isn't really a tragedy, but I think he is right. Change is coming. We will see if it will be good change. No matter what happens, there is one constant--God.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

(And, by the way, there are no 'obscure passages' in Romans.)

Please pray for wisdom and conviction for those who are considering and planning to have abortions. Thanks to David and Mary Kay for making an effort to educate many of us on this issue.

Dinosaur

I took this video several months ago, but it is so cute it never gets old. I call him the dinosaur. Annelise used to make the same noise when she was a baby.

The "Beach"

Last month we went on vacation with my family to a lake in Alabama. Annelise calls it the beach. It was GREAT! John was was able to stay from Saturday through Tuesday, but the kids and I stayed the entire week. John's parents also joined us for the first weekend. We did have a great time. Since it was the middle of September, the lake wasn't crowded and it wasn't too hot outside. The water was still warm enough. It was just perfect! (So, you think I had a good time?) I have a lot of photos from the trip, so if you want to see more, I am including them in the photo album. The link is at the top of the column on the right.

The first day out. Ahhh, refreshing!

Mmm...snack time

John taking Annelise on a very slow twilight cruise

The porch

On the pontoon boat near sunset

Annelise drove us in circles (with Bryan, my sister, Amy's, boyfriend)

He was so comfortable in this life jacket that he fell asleep in it every time we took him on the boat.

My family: Michelle (aka Squeeky), my parents, and my older sister Amy (aka...)

My mother and me

take me back

Ideas Please!

John is turning 30 on October 25th and I want to do something special for him. I had a great plan, but it didn't work out. I have a backup plan, but am not as excited about it. Does anyone have any ideas?

Eating Dinner

I hate meal time. I get tired of making meals and cleaning up after them, but the worst part is trying to think of and then preparing something for Annelise to eat and trying to get her to eat it. Sometimes it is a game of "how many distractions will it take to get her to eat a bite". Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

At the other end of the spectrum is Caleb. He wants to eat everything. If I am spooning food to him too slowly, he lets me know. No matter what I have given Annelise to eat, he wants it. I have been letting him have it too. He loves her PB&J sandwiches.



The other night I was feeding Annelise a pizza that I made. Pizza is usually an easy thing to feed her. She had half of a slice and was finished. It was a little strange that she didn't eat more, but I was just thankful to not have a battle. Caleb decided he was interested in her leftovers. Remember, he is not even 6 months old yet.







If anyone has any ideas of what to feed him or let him chew on, let me know. He likes chicken bones and all foods. HELP!

A Pause for the Olympics

Things have been busy as usual, but with the Olympics on until midnight every night, sleep is hard to come by. I love the Olympics. It is so hard to turn it off early at night and go to bed, especially when gymnastics doesn't even start until 10:30pm. So, I have been neglecting the computer in order to rest a little during the day.

Annelise and Caleb are doing well. They each had a fever, but are feeling fine now. The biggest news is that we got Annelise's ears pierced. She only cried for about 10 seconds, then was fine. I think she likes them too. I still don't have a good picture of them, but you can see that they are there. They are sparkly flowers with blue centers.

There are other things to write about, but I can't think of them at the moment. Here are more pictures.

One in a chihuahua bed, one in a cat bed

Big boy weighs about 16 pounds now

The earrings

Oh, I forgot to mention that we have started potty training...nothing yet.

What a handsome little man.

They look a little surprised. Caleb loves to stand up.

What Do You Think?

I am trying new backgrounds. Please tell me what you think about them. I am not sure if I like them. I may just be too used to the original one.

"All by Myself"

John has been working a lot lately, and he is training for a race in November so he is running a lot when he is not working. I have been spending my time with (drum roll)--the kids. Amazing, I know. Here are some fun pictures of our recent times together.

Twins?

My Aunt Teresa made this bow for Annelise.

Just call her Picassa!

She loves purses, I really don't know where she got that from.

Like mother like daughter, sort of.

A Kiss

I have a hard time taking pictures of and filming Annelise because she always wants to look at the screen. Caleb was unhappy because he was hungry...as usual. He is quite the little pig.

I Cute - July 9th

Caleb Update

I can't forget about my little man. He is growing faster than I wanted him too. He is already sitting up. He just started sitting up by himself last week and now I can't get him to lean back on a pillow. Unfortunately, this has led to a couple of tumbles off of the couch...poor little guy. He still loves to be held all the time, and any one who gives him direct attention with receive thanks in the form of a huge smile. Unlike Annelise, sleeping through the night is not his favorite thing. Last night he finally slept all night...from 9pm to 7am. What a relief. I hope this becomes a habit for him. He and Annelise are similar in that they both started standing at about 3 months old. One of my favorite things is to watch Caleb and Annelise interact. It is obvious that they both like each other. Annelise helps me a lot and Caleb rewards her with coos and smiles. To sum it up, he is a cutie pie and I think I will keep him!

How Old are You, Annelise? "I'm 2!"

It is hard to believe that 2 years have passed since Annelise was born. So much has happened in 2 years, and she has grown so much. I wonder how big she will seem in 2 more years. Her actual birth day:

Here is Annelise a year ago on her 1st birthday.

It was appropriate to have 2 birthday parties for her in honor of her turning 2. The first party was in Memphis with John's family. She had a cupcake with 2 candles and opened her presents.

Her second party was on her birthay the following Saturday (July 5th). We were in NC with my family for the 4th of July.

The week before Annelise's birthday, she stayed with my parents. I had forgotten how relaxing and productive life could be. I got so much work done in the house that I am not able to do with Annelise here. I was able to relax occasionally when Caleb took naps. Although I missed Annelise, I was truly amazed at how different life is without a toddler. My parents were worn out after their week with her. She is constant entertainment!