A Taste...

of what's to come. I have installed my camera software onto my computer and messed around with editing a few of the 500+ pictures! Enjoy!

31

Happy Birthday to me!!
I'm 31 today. It was a great day. We went to the mall for a fieldtrip to watch the new Disney movie called "Earth". It was fabulous! Then we all ate at the food court and got back to school in time for me to teach science in our outdoor classroom. This evening we grilled out with Timmy and Liz. Jack and Emma loved the hamburgers and fruit salad. Tomorrow Jack has a swimming lesson and then we're off to Madison to spend some time with the boys from Kenya before they head back home on Sunday. They've had an amazing time and Jack had a blast playing with them at Easter.

I've sucked at updating the blog. I got a new camera a few weeks ago and haven't taken a moment to download any of the pictures. I'm pretty sure I have about 400 pictures on it already! So any day now I'll have a big post complete with pictures!!!

I promise. Sort of!

Visitors from Kenya

3 of the 6* boys that captured my mom's heart while she was in Kenya the first time are coming to visit! They arrive on Saturday and will be at our house for Easter on Sunday! We are looking forward to introducing them to everyone at our church and having an Easter egg hunt afterwards. My mom will then be traveling with them (and "Uncle Joseph", one of their caretakers from the orphanage) all around as they explore the United States and do some fundraising.

My mom is updating her blog (finally!) so you can follow their adventures. Check it out!

www.susandg.blogspot.com

We can't wait to spend time with John, George and Brian!


*3 of the boys have passed away since she was first there.

Yoda

Jack's favorite cat at Nae Nae and Dude's passed away this weekend. We didn't have the heart to tell him. Jack showed Yoda a ton of love while we were in Florida and she was always patient with him. I'm sure Bampa is taking care of her now. Or at least tolerating her! :)

Our Little Man

Jack is now officially enrolled for preschool in the fall. He'll be going to school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I can't wait for all the experiences he will have on his own!

Jenna

If you love dogs and people, say a prayer for my friends Tricia and Dirk. They are in shock over the sudden death of their white furry friend, Jenna. She was crazy protective of Tricia, hated all men except for Dirk, and was the fluffiest dog I've ever met.

She will be missed.

9 Month Appointment

Emma had her 9 month check up today. She weighs 22 pounds and is 30 inches tall! She got her finger pricked for the lead test and enjoyed chewing on the tongue depresser. Dr. Ubell said her top teeth are just about ready to come out. She has 3 teeth on the bottom so far, so it's about time she gets some on top.

Apparently we're supposed to get 10 inches of snow here tomorrow.

I've already called the relocation specialist in the Bahamas. We're moving.

Adventures in Florida

We're home from a great vacation in Florida. The kids were pretty much well behaved on the flights, they loved the cats and dog's at Nae Nae and Dude's, and we had some great adventures!

* We went to the Miami Seaquarium to check out all the creatures. Nae Nae's friend, Heather, is an animal trainer and actually works with the killer whale and the dolphins. As a very special treat, we got to come down to the water after the dolphin show and interact with Sundance, a very handsome dolphin! Jack got to toss it some fish, pet him, do some commands, and even shake his flipper! It was an amazing experience for all of us. Jack had a total blast- even though he cried when the dolphin soaked us with it's tail!

*Nae Nae and Dude are putting in a pool at their house, so Jack got to do some pretend swimming...

* We went to this place where Jack got to see the 3D movie- Under the Sea, plus pet a snake and take a rover to Mars!

*We spent a little bit of time at the beach- Emma loved grabbing the sand and Jack enjoyed running into the ocean and then back out as fast as he could! We're really looking forward to our beach vacation in South Carolina this summer. Both kids will love spending more time at the ocean.

Here is a video of our pictures- plus a few random video clips that ended up in here somehow... you'll get the idea!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hittin' the Road

I'm off to Florida tomorrow with the kids and Moe Moe. We'll have 8 days in the 80 degree warmth and sunshine! Can't wait! Our suitcases are almost 100% packed and Jack is beside himself with excitement. Emma must know we're heading out soon because she's been waving bye bye to everyone today! We're going to miss Daddy-O an awful lot, his week might go a bit slower than ours!

I'm done planning our family vacation to South Carolina this summer. We're headed to this place with my parents, Brandon's sister and her husband, and Moe Moe. We are really looking forward to some quality family time. And the ocean of course!

Big changes will be happening at my school next year. I'm thankful to still have a job. I have to move my classroom down to the opposite side of the building, and we'll have 6th and 7th graders in our building now... but at least we're still in business.

My sister brought some human organs to my classroom this week. The kids loved it! Only one of them threw up, so it was a success! Thanks Ali!

9 Months

Emma Kate is nine months old today. This is what she's up to...

Hanging out in her crib

Watching her big brother

Smiling

Laughing

Grabbing things she shouldn't

Rolling her way around the living room

Messing with big brother's stuff

Looking for more mischief

Bonking herself in the face

Making goofy faces

Chillin'

Taking off her boots

Showing off her diaper (naughty baby girl!)

Looking adorable

She's also into pushing herself up on her hands and knees, and then not knowing what to do with herself. She has started trying to pull herself up in her crib and is very good at yelling at her brother.

We love ya, baby doll!

Happy 9 Month Birthday!

Love,

Mama, Daddy-O, and Jack

Here we go...

*Jack and Emma are both sick. They both have ear infections and bronchial infections. Today they had their 2nd doses of antibiotic and is has made a huge difference. Emma was able to fall asleep in her bed, on her own again. The past two nights I have had to rock her to sleep. Jack's cough is almost gone, as is the runny nose. I stayed home with them today and it was fantastic. We stayed in our jammies and watched movies.

*Finley is sick too. He has an ear infection as well! It's nothing some ointment won't cure... but we're babying him just the same. He had an appointment with Judy the groomer this week and he looks very fine indeed.

*Brandon will be making his last assessment trip for his old job next week. He'll be headed to our old stomping grounds- Kansas City. Too bad he's only there for 48 hours and will be driving to Hays, Kansas and back also in that time. He'd love to visit all of our friends and favorite places, it's just not going to happen. With his new job he'll do a bit of travel every once in awhilep- but nothing like this has been.

*A week from Sunday the kids and I will be headed to Florida with Moe Moe for 8 days! We can't wait for the warmth and adventures with Nae Nae and Dude! The summer clothes we bought for the trip are all in a shopping bag in Emma's room just waiting to be packed!

*I have no school on Friday of this week and next. So since I had jury duty on Monday and Tuesday of this week, plus I was home today... and tomorrow is one of my 1/2 days for my maternity leave.... that means I will have worked 1/2 of a day all week!!! Wahoo!!!

*I've been trying to plan our trip to South Carolina for the past few weeks. Just when I think we've found the perfect house to rent... the added costs of taxes and cleaning services throws the price WAY out of our range!! Darn it!!

*I've entered a "healthy living/weight loss challenge" with Brandon and some friends he works with at Harley. So far I've only lost two points since Monday. Or, it's only Wednesday and I've already lost 2 points. This might be harder than I thought....

*Emma has started showing just what life will be like in the coming months. When Jack comes too close and bugs her, or takes a toy- she totally yells at him! It's pretty funny now... but I'm already anticipating how many little "fights" we'll have to break up once she's crawling and walking.

*I'm trying my "old reliable" classroom behavior modification trick with Jack. The more positive and upbeat about things I am- the more positive and upbeat HE will be. So far so good. His level of testiness has really dropped with me in the past few days. Not to say that he's been perfect- he had a time out this morning for hitting Emma on the head with a stuffed animal... but he's handling it better, and so am I.

*There has been an outbreak of babies around us recently! Our neighbor had a baby girl named Grace a few days ago, a friend of mine from high school is expecting a baby in September, a woman Brandon works with had a baby boy named Callahan (Cal) a few weeks ago, and a friend of mine from teaching in Kansas had her first baby, a girl named Katie a week ago. Yikes! That's a lot of baby gifts I'll be sending!! :)

*Just in case you're already thinking about what to get me for my birthday (April 24th!) I'm starting my list now. ;)
1. a potato masher/egg salad masher
2. earrings
3. a gift card to amazon.com
4. new slippers

I took a few cute pictures of the kids today... do you think I'll get around to posting them tonight??

Testing...

This kid is testing my patience big time!!!! He is challenging everything we say during the day, fighting bedtime at night... AAHHH!!!

Give me the worst parent in the world award. I just want to run away when he acts like a 3 year old!!!

Thank God Brandon gets home from Texas tomorrow.

Something positive- our new game is that after Jack's teeth get brushed (while he stands on the toilet lid) he wraps his arms and legs around my waist and legs and I carry him to his bed like a Mama monkey carrying her baby monkey. I guess it's not all bad!

***

We got Emmers a little pup tent type thing for our trip to Nae Nae and Dude's over spring break. It's really cute and it'll keep her in one place while she sleeps. Jack has had a ball playing in it so far. We also bought 2 car seat covers for when we check the car seats for our flight. Brandon has to stay home and work, so Moe Moe and I are taking the tots to sunny Florida for 8 glorious days! Wahoo!

She's Mobile!

Emma Kate is now pushing herself backwards while on her tummy and is able to travel pretty fast!! She's so excited to discover new parts of the house...

Time to find the baby gates.

8 Months

8 Things about our beautiful 8 month old...

1. She now claps her hands when you clap yours

2. She just learned how to feed herself Puffs

3. She screams her head off when you take her out of the tub

4. She's starting to scoot herself backwards when on her tummy

5. At least once a week she wakes up at 3am and has a little talking/laughing party in her crib

6. She loves to growl like a tiger

7. She makes a great "gagging/I'm gonna hurl" face when you feed her baby food that has anything to do with a dinner theme: chicken and squash, turkey and veggies, etc. She still eats it though!

8. She still has the biggest and most beautiful blue eyes you'll ever see.

We adore this girl. She brings us joy, laughter, and oh so much love.
Happy 8 month birthday, Emma 2 Lemmas!
We love you very much!

Love,
Mama, Daddy-O, Jack and Puppa

Let's Play Catch Up

Pictures from the past few weeks/months???

They were supposed to be monster trucks, but they turned into cars. And I know Jack is driving on the wrong side. It's a European car.

Happy Birthday to you!

The new couch is delivered from Crate & Barrel! Finley made himself at home about 2 seconds after the delivery guys left!

Sending the deedees to Africa!

Waiting for his birthday gift!

His very own tool station!

Emmers in her party dress. She loves to party!

Precious Girl. With peacock hair!

I took Finley out and came back to Jack sitting in the high chair! And yes, that's our fridge in the living room!

Safety first!

Chapped cheeks

Obeo and Grandpa

His present for sending the deedees to Africa!

oops, in here twice!

One of the last pictures with deedee! Being a good boy and feeding his sister her bob.

I just puked on my outfit and it's sooo funny! (On the old couch!)

Whoa! There's a puppa attack coming!

New kitchen floor!!!!!!

Layer 2? 7? 12?

Old kitchen floor

Old kitchen

New kitchen!!!!!

We'll be getting a smaller fridge at some point. For now we like the big one in the living room!

Emma is feeling much better, Jack dropped Obeo in the toilet tonight (eeewww!!) so he's struggling to go to bed while it gets washed. That's it for now!