worth the injury...

Nope... neither of the three cuties hanging out in the snow was injured. I collided with our banister as I ran upstairs to get my boots so that I could go outside and take these pictures. Though, three days later, my knee is still bruised, swollen and sore - it was completely worth it! I love these guys!!

they make me smile!

been too long...

I used to use basketball and masters as an excuse for not posting often enough in the winter, but I think it is clear that it is just the winter that makes me unable to find the energy to blog. We've all been a little tired lately as well as had our new year bouts of the flu and sinus infections. I can't believe that Valentine's Day is almost here. Latest kids stuff...

Ava has developed this bizarre fixation on death... she asks at least one question a day that relates in some way to death. This began when papa passed away towards the end of last year and has continued since then as we have attended one other funeral since then. She asks about it in relation to all of her movies... where did the witch go? Did she die? Will she come back? I am trying to not let it worry as she doesn't seem scared about it - just really curious. She eats anything she comes in contact with and continues to get taller, but no wider. She comes home every day and proceeds to put on one of her many princess/fairy costumes and a pile of jewelry, a crown, and high heals. She already loves to put on shows for us and especially enjoys playing the drum set (yes, a REAL drum set) that she got for Christmas. She is a HUGE help with her little brother. She loves to feed him (and eat some of the baby food herself) as well as make him laugh by jumping on his mattress and watching him bounce up and down. We are certain it probably is not very good for his little body, but he giggles the whole time nonetheless.

Anderson is a happy little guy. He wakes up jabbering to himself in his bed, rolls and scoots from one end of the room to the other grabbing anything he can get his hands on, and eats anything and everything we put in front of him. This month he sprouted two teeth and and wants so badly to crawl he can hardly stand it - doesn't get mad though. He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He really only cries when he's hungry though I would describe it more as fussing than crying. He is working on hair, but so far it refuses to lay down and he already has his daddy's cowlick in the back. Right now all of his pants are highwaters as he is in the 95th percentile for height. He is already wearing 12 month pants! We can't yet tell exactly what color his eyes will be... sometimes they look blue, but in the last month they have developed a hazelness to them. He loves to be sung too. Greg sings 'hush little baby' to him when he is tired and he immediately lays his head down and snuggles into his shoulder. It is priceless!

Ah, my life... as I have been writing this I have had to pick up Anderson and he is sitting on my lap trying to grab the keyboard ...

ipkm., nm (that was him)

and ava is sitting on the back of my chair, facing the tv watching Tinkerbell. Suppose I will have to add pictures later because this is not working! :)

one more...

I can't believe this little guy is almost 4 months old. He could not be any easier if he tried and he is so smiley these days. He adores his big sister and this week he started rolling from his belly to his back. We didn't know he could until I went upstairs to get him one morning and he was on his back smiling at me when I came in his room. He sleeps between 8-10 hours a night and eats like a champ. I am amazed at how fast he is growing and this smile kills me!!

Happy Halloween...

Tinker Bell and the three-eyed monster had a fantastic Halloween at mimi and papa's house! Anderman was his normal go-with-the-flow self and Ava was her normal intense self. She had a wand that went with this costume, but Oscar chewed it up three days before Halloween. As a last minute solution (when she realized she didn't have her wand) we cut up purple and gold ribbon and put it in a plastic bag. This little bag turned out to be the highlight of trick-or-treating as each person who gave her candy was sprinkled with fairy dust. Anderson smiled through the trip around the block- even as it became colder and colder. It was a very fun night!

HAPPY, HAPPY, FALL!

We took our yearly trip to Tuttles for some FABULOUS apple picking! Matt even came home and made use some apple crisp that I am certain was gone in 24 hours and my husband just handed me a bowl of homemade apple pie and vanilla ice cream! (yes, he made it - not me!) Watching the Colts kick Arizona's butts and eating warm apple pie - heaven! Here are a couple shots from our trip to the orchard and I will be posting some photos of our trip to Illinois this weekend very soon. Thank you so much to Jen and Ken for their hospitality and a special shout out to Jake and Alex for entertaining Ava and making her feel so special. We wish we could see you all more often, but look forward to Thanksgiving!!

more summer sun...

sissy and bubby...

She calls him bubby. I don't know why but she won't even let Greg and I call him bubby... "he's my bubby" she tells us. The first question people ask me these days is how she is with him. Really, she is amazing with him. She doesn't seem to be jealous hardly at all. The only thing she says is when Greg or I tell Anderson we love him, she will give us this terribly pouty face and ask sadly "don't you love me?" As soon as we reassure her that we love her too - she smiles and moves on. This afternoon was absolutely beautiful so we pulled out a blanket and spent some time in the sunshine. Love these kiddos!!

losing brain cells...

I swear that having children makes brain cells disappear. Today I spent 20 minutes scouring my house on the hunt for a bottle. I was feeding Anderson and he fell asleep so I laid him down. But, as usual, he woke back up 5 minutes later and wanted more to eat. But I could not find the bottle anywhere. Literally, it had been 5-10 minutes since I had set the bottle down, but I could not find it anywhere. I looked and looked in every room, behind every cushion, and throughout my refrigerator... no bottle. I was starting to feel like I had lost my mind as I could not recall what I had done with it after I laid Anderson down... 5 minutes ago! Finally I gave up and was going to make another bottle and when I opened to the cabinet to get it out... there was his bottle. I had capped it and put it back in the cabinet... the cabinet!?!?!? What in the world was I thinking? And I couldn't even recall in my memory when I had put it there. So sad... so, so sad.

On another note, this weekend was CRAZY! I will post the pictures as they give you some idea of what we did over the past couple of days. Short version - six little blonde girls (ages 2-5), a month old baby, Kings Island, night at a hotel with swimming and pizza, The Newport Aquarium, and a family cookout. Despite its craziness- it was so fun to see the girls spending time together and to visit with the family! We love you all and hope to do it again soon!

growing up...

I have to admit that I am loving staying home with the kiddos. I also have to admit that I love that Ava is back at Trish's three days a week and Anderson and I can have some time together. It is nice to not have to share him or ignore him so that I can attend to her needs. She is a blast, but she is ... um... demanding. She is finally pedaling her bike so that it can move forward. The coordination of this task has taken some time for her so this is a big accomplishment. You can see the pride beaming out of her in the photo above. She still needs me to walk beside her and help her steer because has to concentrate so hard on her pedaling that she tends to drive herself into the grass. Anderson is still working hard at his daily routine of eating and sleeping. From time to time we get to see his eyes and at his one month appointment he weighed 10 lb. 13 oz. He is growing, but looks like he may have inherited his daddy's 'chicken legs.' Even Ava has taken to calling him 'chickie legs.' Not much else at our house except the much anticipated arrival of Auntie Megan and Uncle Kyle... and "what is that boys name again" (Ava)... Carter! Ava told her babysitter this morning that they are coming to visit tomorrow and they will be sleeping in mimi and papa's bed (our spare room). We can't wait to see you guys and we even had our carpets cleaned so Carter won't have to crawl through our filth! :)

Happy 1 month birthday!

I cannot believe that Anderson is already a month old!!! Time is flying by already and we continue to adjust. Next week Ava goes back to the babysitter three days a week and boy are we ready for that. No, not just me... she is ready to. Staying home with mom was fun for only so long and now she is completely over it. Every day she asks me who is coming to play or where we are going today. Days when we just stay at home are like torture for her. "Are you feeding him again?" is the question I hear most frequently throughout the day so getting to go play with her friends at Miss Trish's all day will be a relief for all of us. Anderson is more alert these days and already prefers to be on his belly... awake and asleep. He is starting to look more like Ava to me, but I don't think he is going to have the cheeks his sister and daddy have. Ava really is good with him and asks to hold him 5-10 times a day. She kisses all over him and sings the Barney theme song to him when he cries. Overall, she is adjusting well... I hope. Our only challenge is sleeping through the night... not Anderson, but her. She gets up in the middle of the night (often to go potty) and wants one of us in her bed. Neither Greg or I are getting any solid sleep these days. Still, the adjustment from one child to two has gone much smoother than I had expected and I have even had time to take and edit some pictures. I am committed to not making Anderson feel less documented than his big sister! :)

my sleeping boy...

nothing fancy here, but there are already requests
for recent pictures of little man and this is all I have right now.
He sleeps... a lot!

happy 30th birthday ...

daddy! Every year on the weekend of Greg's birthday we go to the Greensburg fair (in the town where Greg grew up). We have gone every year since Ava was born and this year she talked for weeks about riding the ferris wheel with her daddy for his birthday.

playing ski ball... daddy didn't do so good, but he managed to win her a dolphin
playing whack-a-mole!

terrified all the way down...
but the biggest smile you have ever seen when they hit the bottom...
she even begged to go again!

riding the ferris wheel with my daddy!

We love you daddy! Thanks for being willing to spend your 30th birthday partying at the fair! You are the best ever!