3 Cute Kids

What We're Reading: The Boxcar Children

Aunt Toni, my sister, sent the girls the first four books of The Boxcar Children collection. I remember reading these when I was little. It's written in a simple style so that Danya could probably read it by herself, but we're reading them aloud.

We're participating in the Book-It! program from Pizza Hut and we're counting the first Boxcar Children book that we just finished reading as part of the four books a month each of the girls has to read.

They both really like the books so far. Gloria likes that the youngest child, Benny, is her age. So, thanks Toni for the great gift!

Baby Blue

I took this picture yesterday morning with my new camera. We moved the kitchen table out of the way, opened up the blinds in front of the sliding glass doors, and hung Kevin's blanket over two kitchen chairs. We put the Boppy pillow under the blanket, too, for Kevin to lean against. Then I turned off the flash and took these using the morning light coming in through the glass doors.

Kevin is trying hard to learn to sit up on his own. He sort of slumps forward and pushes up with his arms. He's still working on the stomach muscle control he needs to stay sitting up. We're hoping that with practice he'll have it figured out soon.

This blanket from Linens N Things is just perfect for a drop cloth. I'd really like to get a real photographer's background stand eventually, but this works for now. I'm thinking of getting a few more of these blankets in different colors. They are incredibly soft and catch the light beautifully. Of course, with a baby boy this adorable, who's going to notice the background?

The Millers in Colorado

Oh happy day! Our friends, the Millers, are in Colorado for Thanksgiving and a wedding, and we got to see them on my birthday! We drove to Littleton to meet them at Mike's parents' house.

The girls were so happy to see each other! They played non-stop. They especially liked taking pictures with my old camera. Since I have a new one, the girls get to use the old one. It has a 1 gig chip, so they took 210 photos. They didn't even fill the chip. They also played Disney Monopoly. We all had burgers fresh from the grill for lunch.

Betsy and I got to hang out and talk while nursing our babies together. Her daughter, Rachel, is almost 2 months old. Kevin looked like a toddler next to her! Danya took this picture, by the way. You can see Glory looking stylish in her new camo shoes. Danya has new Mary Janes, and I'm wearing new boots. On Black Friday I also got a new soft brown jacket and 3 shirts on sale, so I feel like Christmas came early for me. Or maybe just a wonderful birthday. I told Betsy that I am so homesick. Betsy gave me a beautiful poinsettia plant for my birthday, but getting to see her and her family again really was my favorite birthday present!

My 29th Birthday...Yes, Really!

I turned 29 on Sunday. I'm not sure anyone will believe me since it's the age that every older woman lies and pretends to be. I'm going to enjoy the last year of my 20's. Daniel says he likes being married to a 20 something year old. I told him to enjoy it while it lasts.

Gloria took this picture of me with my new camera that I got for my birthday. If it looks just like my old camera, that's because they are almost identical. The difference is that this camera is a 7.1 mega pixel, lets me crop photos IN the camera, and has a few new tricks like a light meter to help me take better photos. I also got a mini tripod, which I've wanted for years, a new scrapbooking idea book, a 2 gig memory disc, and a new camera bag. Daniel also took me shopping at the scrapbook store the night before where I got some new paper and stickers.

The 2 gig disc is amazing. I can take 1,000 photos before I have to download the disc. We also went out to eat a couple of times to celebrate and Daniel took me out to a movie. We went to see "Deja Vu" which was an excellent action flick. I'd say I had a fantastic birthday!

First Christmas

Kevin loves to rip open wrapping paper, so his eyes are lighting up at all the gifts under the tree. I'm sure he thinks they are all for him! He also got a kick out of watching the girls decorate the house and the tree. We still haven't gotten the perfect picture of him next to all the gifts, but this one is close. I just had to share since he looks so incredibly cute!

Alone on Black Friday

On a whim, early the morning after Thanksgiving, I decided to sneak out of the house alone and catch some Black Friday sales. Since we had our Thanksgiving dinner the Monday before, we did most of our Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving day. Kmart was having alot of good sales that day.

Friday morning I fed Kevin at 6:30 am, laid him back down in his crib and googled Black Friday sales on the computer. Then I hit Target. It was so much fun and so relaxing to shop alone. I never ever get to do that anymore. Since I got there at 7:30am I missed all the crazy people who rush to the stores on Black Friday at 5 am, but I beat all the people who sleep in and then start shopping at around 9.

When I got home I finished wrapping all the presents. I had already stayed up until 11pm the night before wrapping most of the gifts. I think we are prepared now, and shouldn't have to do any more Christmas shopping. That's good since we are celebrating Christmas early around December 16th with Daniel's family in Oklahoma.

Lost in Suburbia

Kevin, the girls, and I went for a long walk last week through the residential area near our home. This was the first time I carried Kevin in the baby carrier. Usually Daniel does that. You know, an almost 20 lb baby in one of those things can really strain your back! I was attempting to find a nearby lake with a walking trail and playground that we went to once before.

Instead, I got lost, we found a school playground for the girls to play on, and we took the scenic route back home. We finally found a 7-Eleven and asked for directions. It turns out we were only a few blocks from home by then.

The weather was perfect, Kevin was happy the whole time, and the girls enjoyed getting a drink at 7-Eleven, so overall it was a really good walk.

Mountain Adventure!

During our Thanksgiving dinner, Brandon mentioned how much he wanted to go sledding in the mountains. His dad is disabled and couldn't go, so I sort of volunteered Daniel. He and the girls have been wanting to go, but flying down a rocky slope while freezing my begonias off doesn't sound fun to me.

So Daniel, Brandon, and the girls went to Estes Park. It took a long time to find a good sledding place, but they had fun once they got there. Poor Gloria slammed into the only big rock on the whole slope and gashed her head open. Daniel convinced her to go down one more time with him on the sled so that she wouldn't be too terrified to ever sled again. (Or at least, that was the "guy logic" he explained to me later...)

On their way back home they stopped when they saw Elk on the side of the road. They got out and tried to feed them handfuls of grass. One of them scared Brandon when it came too close and acted threatening. Danya wouldn't even look at the camera because she wanted to keep her eyes on the big scary animal only a couple of feet away. Daniel said he thought it was the best part of the trip!

Thanksgiving with Friends

We celebrated Thanksgiving a few days early with our neighbors, the Caulkins. Even their dad came! The whole meal turned out great.

We made two pumpkin pies and bought apple and cherry pies. I made deviled eggs and Daniel was in charge of the Turkey. We also had sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, stuffing, and all the fixings. I made the traditional cheese and cracker tray that my Dad always made when I was growing up.

The only rough patch was the night before when Daniel accidentally bought a frozen turkey that takes 3 to 4 days to thaw. So I asked my friends on the Two Peas in a Bucket message board for help and they told us to go buy a fresh turkey. Can you believe we didn't know that you could buy them already defrosted? Other than that, the whole day went off without a hitch! Happy Thanksgiving!

Learning to Share

At our house there are some lessons on sharing being learned...okay, actually it's me who is learning to share. I've got some scrapbooking buddies, and they don't have any supplies of their own, so I'm learning to say "yes" more than "no" when they ask if they can have something.

It shouldn't be so hard since some of these things are items I've had for years and never gotten around to using. But I feel like a miserly dragon that is reluctantly prying her claws off her hoard of gold one finger at a time. God keeps whispering to me, "Where is your treasure?" (Matthew 6:20-21)

The upside is that having Sarah and Shannon over to scrapbook on a regular basis means that I'm getting alot more pages done. I've actually used half of my November Story Tellers kit already, and it only arrived four days ago!

Scooter!

We've been making sure that Kevin gets lots of tummy time lately, and it has paid off! This past week we put him on the floor and held his butterfly just out of reach.

He scooted a couple of inches to get it! He would bend his knees and bunch them up under his belly, and then sort of pull himself forward with his fingers grabbing the carpet.

We were all excitedly encouraging him and Daniel ran to get the camera! We'll keep practicing, and I'm sure he'll be crawling in no time! Maybe we'll even give him the same nickname his Grandpa Clint had when he was a baby, "Scooter!"

Happy 30th, Daniel!

You are so blessed, with one kid per decade! And we are so blessed and proud to have you for a Dad and husband. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Pineapple Upside Down Fun

Gloria was fascinated by the idea of baking an upside down cake. Do you eat it upside down? Do you put the candles in the bottom?

Even though she doesn't much care for pinapples or cherries, she was glad to help make the cake for Daddy. She liked sprinkling all the brown sugar in the bottom of the pan, too. I'm just glad Daniel bought real brown sugar and didn't get the kind made from Splenda.

It turned out to be delicious! We gave Daniel 3 candles to represent 30. After cake, we made icecream sundaes with the extra cherries!

Eureka! He's found it!

Kevin finally found his toes! He's been looking at them for months now. He's even grabbed at his legs a few times. This week he finally started grabbing and holding his toes! He prefers the one handed method so that the other hand is free to slobber on.

Daniel and I have been trying like crazy to catch a picture of him holding his toes. Note to the wise: babies will never hold their toes if you try to make them do it. We've tried wrapping his fingers around his toes, but he just laughs and lets them go. When he wants a little "toe grab" he reaches out and latches onto his big toe. We realize now that toe grabbing is serious work and we don't try to rush the master anymore.

The End of the Trilogy

Saturday night was the last "Pizza and Movie Night" at our house for now. We watched the final Lord of the Rings movie, "The Return of the King" with our three neighbors and their friend, Amber.

The three girls in this photo (Left to right: Shannon, Amber, Sarah) have also been coming over once or twice a week to scrapbook with me at night after the kids are asleep. They even helped me clean up the basement and unpack all my scrapbook supplies so that we can work at the two huge craft tables down there instead of cramming around my kitchen table.

Unfortunately, the city of Westminster inspector said that our basement lights cannot be plugged in using extension cords, so until we can get the lighting situation fixed, it may be difficult to scrapbook down there. I'm thinking of inviting the girls over for a Christmas card making party soon.

I'm not the only one with a new buddy, though. Kevin and Daniel have been hanging out with Brandon. Kevin just for the "guy bonding" time. Daniel has been playing football with Brandon in the courtyard between our house and his. Brandon will be 13 next month and his life's ambition is to be a wide receiver.

The Sitter

This is Sarah, our new friend and babysitter. She is wonderful with Kevin. We've gotten to know her and her family in the past few weeks, and she is very responsible and good with the kids. It's rare to find a 14 year old who doesn't mind changing diapers and doesn't freak out over a little baby spit-up.

She loves to hold Kevin and play with him. He loves to pull her hair out in fistfuls. Yes, Kevin is addicted to long hair! He likes it to dangle over him, tickle his face, and wrap around his fists.

Sarah and her sister, Shannon, even got Kevin to eat a whole jar of baby food! Danya and Gloria, meanwhile absolutely love playing Barbies and "little people" with Shannon in their room. I'm hoping that Sarah and Shannon will watch the girls again later this month for my birthday so that Daniel and I can go see a movie. I'm thinking of having them come once the kids go to bed at 8 o'clock, and then trying to catch a late show of "Deja Vu". The picture on the right is Shannon.

Celebrating 30!

Daniel and I went out to Olive Garden for lunch on Saturday to celebrate his birthday. He got a small chocolate cake and they sang to him. The best part though, was just getting the opportunity to sit quietly together and talk.

Daniel's been working so much overtime lately that we hardly see him anymore. We left the kids at home for two hours with our 14 year old neighbor and her almost 13 year old sister watching them. I can't say we weren't nervous, but we really enjoyed the break.

I keep telling Daniel how strange it is that for years he has looked like he was 30, but now that he finally truly is 30, he doesn't look it. We looked at pictures yesterday of what a change he has made in just one year, but really his life has changed more than just losing weight. In the last year he has changed jobs, moved to Colorado, had a third child; his first son, celebrated 10 years of marriage, and lost almost 50 pounds. It's almost like becoming a whole new person!

I'm so proud of him! He's inspiring me and encouraging me to get healthier and we're both considering taking online classes next January. It's strange to think that by this time next year we could be starting on having a fourth child and our lives will feel like they've changed drastically all over again. God is good, life is good, entering our 30's is good.

Wash and Learn

It seems to happen at least once a year that our laundry gets out of control. So we bagged it all up (8 loads!!) and took it to the laundromat. While we were there the girls did their homeschool work. They worked on math, reading, and writing in their workbooks. Then we played a game on one of our homemade gameboards.

We tried several different versions of the game using two dice. We used quarters for the game markers; heads for Danya, tails for Gloria. First we had them each throw a die and move that many spaces in a race to the finish. Then we had them each throw both dice and add them together to move forward. Then we had them throw both dice and subtract the smaller number from the larger number. Even though they can both do more advanced math, this is good practice to get them to remember the basic math facts faster. I think that's important since subtracting triple digit numbers isn't that impressive when you still have to do the subtracting on your fingers.

We also got to do a little math in figuring out how many quarters we needed: 8 loads at $1.25 a piece for the washers.

30 Years, 30 Gifts

Daniel turned 30 this month! The kids and I surprised him with THIRTY gifts for his birthday. We let him start opening them a week in advance, 3 presents at a time, until today. Today is his actual birthday and he gets to open all the presents that are left today.

So far he has received:
a new coat, 2 bags of sugar free candy, an electric razor, a toy car, a remote control car, a screaming balloon, a nerf hoop, 5 new kitchen utensils, a new cheese grater, a flat frying pan, a pac-man t-shirt, boxers, Knight Rider t.v. series DVDs, a Popeye DVD, an Adam Sandler DVD collection, a pinball game, 2 suction cup dart guns, a slinky, a razor/hair trimmer, and 2 bike hooks

He gets to open the rest today, including the gift from Jennie that he's been waiting to open since it arrived. We're just waiting for Danya to get home from her charter school. Meanwhile we'll bake him a pineapple upside down cake!

Fantastic Four!

Holding the sign that Danya made, Kevin is doing his swelled-chest muscle man pose for Daddy to show how big he has grown!

What's new for Kevin at four months? He's pulling hair, pinching, scooting across his crib on his belly at night, and reaching out and grabbing any object he wants. He's also acting like he might be teething. He cries alot and has gotten very clingy. Sometimes he just won't be happy unless his Mommy and No One Else holds him.

He'll suck a cookie or piece of bread until it dissolves. He gets mad if everyone around him is eating and he isn't. He also just learned to grab his toes and hold them. He hasn't figured out how to roll over yet. He's very talkative and loves to test out his voice with babbling, cooing, screaming, and laughing. He also desperately wants to learn to sit up. He tries so hard! Yes, this boy is determined to do everything his sisters can do.

Santa: The Early Years

Kevin makes the whole "red hat, round tummy" thing look goood! We were caught by the advertising at the entrance to Walmart. They showed a picture of a baby holding his toes wearing a Santa hat and a diaper and we just had to try it with Kevin. Unfortunately he didn't figure out how to grab and hold his own toes until the following week.

However, we did get some cute pictures of our little man that should be ready to pick up next week. We still haven't sent out our family photos that we took in September. Now I'm thinking that we'll combine them with Kevin's 4 month photos in the Santa hat and send them all out with our Christmas cards next week.

Tummy Time Trio

We've been giving Kevin lots of "tummy time" lately. He's getting really good at pushing up on his arms and looking around. He's also pretty good at reaching out and grabbing things. For instance, when Daniel tries to feed him, Kevin wants to take the spoon from Daniel and whack himself in the head with it. We assume he's trying to get it into his mouth.

The problem with playing on the floor is that you never know when one of your big sisters are going to swoop down and shove their faces up close to yours, tickling you with their hair and squealing baby talk at you. That can be a bit startling. But worse than that is when your mommy lays you on her bed and picks up her stuffed doggies that sing Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" and pushes the play button only to discover that the batteries are almost dead and this horrible mutated dying voice says "I gooot yooouuu, Baaaaabe" in a loud mechanical roar. That's enough to make even the happiest baby scrunch up his face and cry as hard as he can. Yup, some days it's just rough being a baby.

Stylin'!

Jennie, this picture is for you! Kevin sure does like his stylish and warm new clothes!

Playing Games with the Neighbors

The office lady said that the big kids (anyone over age 8) couldn't play the games at the apartment complex party. I thought that was unfair, so I told the kids to come to my house and we'd make our own games that anyone could play.

We cut holes in cardboard boxes and used them to toss a football, basketball, and beanbags for three of the games. Then Brandon drew a chalk target on the ground and we tossed bean bags at that too. The kids assigned points and decided where the bigger kids had to shoot from and where the little ones could stand. Danya handed out the candy to the winners. When Daniel got home from the store he tried all the games, too. Then he suggested that they play "500" with the football. He and the neighborhood kids had a great time yelling out points and diving for the ball.

We also invited the kids to our house that night for a "Lord of the Rings" party. We ordered pizza and about 5 kids came and watched "The Fellowship of the Ring" with us. Danya, Gloria, and their friend Anna watched a Barbie movie upstairs and got to eat pizza in their room. We're going to watch part two, "The Two Towers" next weekend! I think that the kids enjoyed everything because I heard one of the boys say, "Hey, we should make this the house we hang out at all the time!" We loaned our PS2 game "The Return of the King" to Brandon, also. He asked Daniel for help with it this week so Daniel went over to Brandon's house and they played the game together for about an hour before Daniel had to go to work.

Halloween Happenings

Halloween was fun but cold. The Saturday before Halloween our apartment management had a little party in the office. The girls got to make a craft, play Halloween twister, and have some snacks. On Halloween night we handed out some candy then I took the girls around door to door just in our apartment complex. It was bitterly cold but the girls didn't want to quit until they got quite a haul of candy. Then we took them to Riverside Baptist Church in Denver to the Family Fun Festival where they played games and jumped on inflatable toys like the Jupiter Jump and a slide. I can't believe I forgot to bring a camera.

Guitar Girl

The one and only thing Gloria consistently asked for when we asked her what she wanted for her birthday was a guitar. Not just any guitar though. It had to be a pink Barbie guitar. I think she was really worried that we weren't going to get her one since she didn't get one the day before her birthday during her Chuck E. Cheese party. We were saving it for the morning of her actual birthday.

Saturday, the 28th, she got to open her last two presents in the morning. First she opened the shopping cart (in the background of this photo), then she got her wish. Her eyes just lit up when she opened this guitar! She said that now she can be a rock star and Danya can play the piano and they can be a rock band.

In this picture she's posing like a "rock and roll girl", wearing her new glitter jeans she got for her birthday and red nail polish. Later she put on one of the cool new hats her Daddy gave her and practiced her new guitar down in the basement. It's a real acoustic guitar. I'm hoping to find a beginner's book to teach her to play some simple tunes eventually.

The Other Mouse

Gloria celebrated her 5th birthday with the mouse. No, not that one, the other mouse; Chuck E. Cheese. We invited Anna, our neighbor, and her big sister, Shannon to come with us. They all had so much fun playing games and eating pizza.

Unfortunately all the games kept breaking or getting jammed. There were only two employees working that Friday. One would come and fix the game and give the kids extra tokens. So what should have been a two hour party turned into a three hour party as we kept trying to use up all the extra tokens we got.

Gloria helped make her cake, chocolate with vanilla icing. She wore the new hat and jacket Aunt Jennie sent her and the camo pants and pink shirt that her daddy gave her. She said she wanted to be a "camo girl". The highlight of the party was probably when the kids got to dance in front of the video camera and see themselves super-imposed over the music video of Chuck E. Cheese and his friends that was playing on the giant t.v. screens along one wall.

Daniel and I played several games together. Daniel carried Kevin in a baby carrier on his chest while he and I played the basketball game again and again. We raced to see who could get the most baskets as fast as possible before the time ran out. Kevin really likes being carried around in that thing. I was nervous because we had so many close calls when a basketball would bounce off the rim and come flying back almost hitting Kevin in the head. I think Shannon decided that we were fun to hang out with on that day because she and her siblings have come over almost every day since the party. Shannon has also become my scrapbooking buddy!

Thumbsucker

Kevin is our first thumbsucker. Danya loved her pacifier. Before she was born Daniel and I decided that we wouldn't give our baby a pacifier. Daniel's mom told us we would change our minds. We endured the endless crying for a week before we caved and gave her the passy. She kept it until she was about 2 years old.

Gloria hated the pacifier and would have nothing to do with it. She wouldn't take a bottle either. She nursed exclusively until she was 6 months old and then decided that she was ready for a sippy cup and would take nothing else. She also turned her nose up at baby food. She wanted to do everything just like her big sister.

Kevin is a mixture of everything. He likes an occasional pacifier but is perfectly content with slurping his own fingers. He especially likes to suck his thumb at bedtime. He likes nursing, but sometimes demands baby food. If everyone around him is eating he expects us to share. He has only accepted a bottle a couple of times and then it had to be a certain kind of bottle. He also only likes a certain size and shape of pacifier. They have to be the 6 month size with a rounded bulb on the end, nothing flat or small. He also likes to put everything in his mouth except those things that are specifically designed as teethers. He is definitely a contrary baby.

One Fine Day

Have you ever seen the movie "One Fine Day" with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney? Today reminded me of that movie. In the movie their day is frantic and everything seems to be going wrong, but in the end it all turns out good, but is over too soon.

We've been having a series of unfortunate events around here lately. Kevin's misdiagnosis, Gloria tripping twice in one day and badly scraping her knees, getting locked out of the doctor's office (long story). Today though, we had one bright moment of family time that just seemed to make everything else okay.

We had a heavy snowfall today. Apparently it made the news because my brother emailed me about it and Daniel's mom called to see "how we were making out in the snow" (Daniel said that sounded fun but cold, lol!). Kevin loved the snow and the cold. Every time we tried to bring him back inside he would cry. Daniel and I helped the girls make a big snowman. We all froze our fingers because none of us have very good gloves, but it was so much fun! We even used a real carrot for his nose. You can see him in this picture. Gloria is smiling as best she can despite desperately having to go potty and refusing to admit it. It was a good day, even though for our poor snowman it ended badly. When the neighborhood kids got home from school they stomped him to death.

Timely Gifts!

Thanks, Aunt Jennie! The package from you arrived in the mail today, and it was great timing! We had a heavy snowfall today and I was just worrying that Kevin didn't have anything warm to wear in his size. I wanted something that didn't have a zipper, so the metal wouldn't be cold against his skin. This outfit was perfect!

The girls also loved their gifts! Gloria couldn't be pried out of the camo jacket and she and Danya took turns wearing the hat all afternoon. Danya also drove us crazy reading the joke book you bought her out loud to us. For instance: "How do you make an elephant float? Get some icecream, pour some soda on it, and then add a little bit of elephant." How did you know she LOVES to tell jokes? I think it was terribly cruel of you, however to mark Daniel's and my gifts "do not open until your birthday". That's a month away for me and two weeks for him! The torture! Oh, the cruelty!

Walking Off the Weight!

Woohoo! I did it! I broke past the 180 lb. mark!! As of this morning I weigh 179.8 and I am so thrilled! Daniel challenged me a few days ago to see who could lose 5 lbs. first. The winner gets $20 to spend on whatever they want. He started at 150 and I started at 182. So far I'm winning by a pound!

To what do I attribute my current lead? I've been running up and down the stairs 10 times in a row every day (twice today!) and doing sit ups, push ups against the wall, squats, leg lifts, and as of yesterday lifting hand weights. We've also been taking walks every couple of days. Today I also helped build a snowman, which is a work out! Try bending over to roll an ever increasing weight around the yard and then lifting it and carrying it to stack it on top of another giant ball of snow.

Kevin has been helping me with my exercise. I stand over him and do toe touches and knee lifts. Each time I bend down I make a silly face and he laughs and babbles at me. It sure makes working out and stretching more fun! Beyond my 5 lb. goal I'd like to lose 10 pounds by my birthday. That means I've got to lose 8 lbs. in the next 4 weeks. I think it's attainable if I stick with my current routine. We'll see!

Classic!

Classic cars and classy girls! We walked to a nearby hamburger joint. It was decorated in a 50's style and the kids' meals came in these cool cardboard cars. The girls brought them home and played with them. It was okay food, not something we'd do every day though. They had six inch burgers! Of course, they were flat as a pancake, so it really wasn't all that much extra meat. I was good and just had the burger, no greasy fries for me! Okay, I did steal two of Daniel's, but stolen fries don't count, right?

Car Seat Upgrade

We finally got Kevin a new car seat. He was rapidly outgrowing his old one which only goes up to 20 lbs. He is just over 18 lbs. now and was so squashed when we would buckle him into his old one. This one is rear facing up to about 35 lbs. and forward facing up to 80 lbs! So hopefully we won't need to buy him a booster like we did with the girls.

The first time we put him in it he seemed like he was trying to sit up and wouldn't lean back. We thought maybe he didn't like the carseat. Later that day we noticed that the straps seemed to be pulling against him too low. Sure enough, when we checked, we had forgotten to raise the straps to the next notch. This car seat is designed to hold a baby as little as 5 lbs. and that was what we had it set for! Poor Kevin was getting pulled down and it was forcing him to hunch forward! We've got it fixed now and he's nice and comfy.

Sunny Days, Sweepin' the Clouds Away!

Once again we have crazy weather. One minute it's snowing, the next day it's sunny and mild. We took advantage of the nice weather recently to take a short walk to 7-Eleven. One of the neighbor kids asked why we are always taking walks. Our answer? "Because we like to!"

Some other good reasons:
1. It's good exercise.
2. We need the vitamin D.
3. It's relaxing and helps to slow us down in the middle of our hectic days.
4. It gives Daniel and I a chance to hold hands.
5. We actually get to talk to each other.

Come Blow Your Horn!

The girls had so much fun with my trombone during my highschool band reunion, that we knew they would enjoy having an instrument of their own. We were intrigued by the seemingly inexpensive instruments at Target, but after reading reviews and receiving advice we decided to buy a better trumpet online from Amazon.com.

We let it be a surprise. The girls were confused by the strange packages we got in the mail. First we received an electronic tuner. Then a trumpet stand, which they had no idea what it was. Finally the trumpet arrived and they were ecstatic! They ask to play it almost every day. We got a video and a book on how to hold it, clean it, and play it. So far the girls can stand properly and play the notes C,D, and E. Their hands need to grow a little before they can hold it exactly right. Danya is learning to read music at her Charter school on Tuesdays, so I think this ties in nicely. We make them practice outside most days since Kevin doesn't tolerate loud noises well.

Any Minute Now

This is my latest scrapbook page. I bought new software to design digital pages. I got Paint Shop Pro X...and can't figure it out. I guess I'll have to break down and make time to read the manual. In the meantime I made this page using my old software. The leaves and the squiggly line image I drew freehand then duplicated it a few times to use around the page. If you click on the picture you should be able to see the page big enough to read the journaling (you may have to click it again to zoom in).

This is the first scrapbook page I've had time to make since we moved here. I'm frustrated that no matter how many boxes we unpack in the basement it never seems to get me any closer to clearing my scrapbooking table. I know we've only been here a little over a month, but I think I'm going through scrapbooking withdrawal. I've taken so many great photos and haven't scrapped any of them yet. Hopefully, I'll at least make some time to scrap digitally.

Midnight Madness

In this photo you see our young neighbor, Brandon, and his dog, Midnight. I hate this dog. I've had dogs I disliked before, but I truly hate this dog. It has been a problem ever since we moved in. It's constantly off it's leash terrorizing my kids. The other day it bit Gloria on the toe and then bit it's owner, Brandon, on the nose. I called animal control at the advice of our apartment office. The officer informed me that I pretty much couldn't do anything unless there was a bloody hole in one of my kids. Brandon said he would keep the dog inside his house or on its leash.

That was a couple of weeks ago. Since then Midnight has been off his leash every day multiple times a day. He has also chased Gloria all over the yard and jumped up on me when I was holding Kevin. The neighbor's response? Tell Gloria not to run because it makes the dog want to chase her.

Today was the last straw. I heard screaming outside and opened the door as the girls were frantically trying to turn the knob. Their hands were slipping off it because they were wearing wet gloves. The dog was on our porch jumping up and down and barking at them. Brandon's dad, Steve, took the dog back to his house and was rude to me when I complained about the dog. So I went straight to the office and demanded they do something. They said they are giving the owners three business days to get rid of the dog or face eviction. I'm so happy I could cry. By Wednesday the daily dog terror should be over.

Puppet Theatre

The girls made masks and paper animals and put them on popsicle sticks. Then they invited us down to watch the performance. They wrote the beginning of the story on a giant piece of paper. They even had a stuffed animal audience. They dressed Dusty and some of the other dolls in real clothes and sat them in chairs to watch the show. The funniest part was watching them try to keep the cardboard box from collapsing while they were doing their puppet show.

Later today, for Danya's special time, I let her use my new voice recorder to record herself reading out loud from one of her library books, "The Man Who Wore All His Clothes". She also informed me that she and Gloria had used up the entire ream of computer paper we gave them and she expects me to restock the drawer. Daniel says that at least he knows they are using it (for puppet shows and such) and it's not being wasted.

"Can you hear me now?"

I love this picture of Kevin! He looks like he's talking on the phone. He's getting better control of his hands lately. We've been giving him all kinds of things to hold onto. He likes to shake his rattle. He can even grab the side of his swing now (the big one that converts into a high chair). He also has a fierce grip and likes to pinch the under side of my arm when I hold him, OW!

His favorite thing lately is trying to sit up. If I rest him against my knees while I sit on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table, he tries to lean forward. He loves it when we hold his hands and help him do sit ups. I think he'll be sitting up before Thanksgiving.

He also likes to play "peek-a-boo". If I hold his blanket up in front of his face and say, "Where's Kevin?" he'll reach out and yank down the blanket. Then he just laughs and laughs! He really likes it when the girls or I drape our hair over his face and tickle him with it, too. He tries to catch it in his mouth and bats at it with his hands. He is especially good at kicking. I'll lay him down on the couch next to me and he'll kick me in the thigh really hard. If you startle him though, he'll cry so hard that he literally shakes. But if you can distract him and make him laugh he'll completely forget that he was ever mad.