Money Pit...

Why does it always seem that once one thing goes wrong, there is a long list of problems that are on the horizon.  I feel like our house is falling apart at the moment.  First, our disposal broke... then our heater... now our dishwasher isn't draining properly.  Blah... I guess it's time to open our pocket books before our problems get any bigger.  I love our house, but at this moment, I wish we were renting.  

Emily, Andrew, and I cuddled up on the couch trying to keep warm.

Afternoon at the Park

This afternoon was our first trip to the park this year.  The weather was nice, and we wanted a chance to get out of the house and meet up with some of our friends.  We got into the car and headed to meet Kristen, Marvin, Olive, Calder, Kari, and Lilly at Chandler Park.  They had a great playground for the little ones.  Emily spent most of her time crawling around on the rubber flooring looking for pieces to put in her mouth, but she also had a chance to take a trip down the slide and a ride on the swings.  We had a lot of fun, and are looking forward to more trips to the park soon.

Emily checking things out around the park.

Emily and Lilly sharing the swing.  

Dinner Guests

This week, we had our neighbors Kristen, Stephen, and Amara over for dinner.  Kristen and Stephen have a baby who was born two days after Emily.  One day right before Emily was born, we were walking to pick up dinner, when I saw Kristen and realized she was pregnant too.  It had been a long time since we had seen them, and we had no idea they were expecting too.  Now we try to get together every few weeks (though that doesn't always happen).  It's always fun to see the babies together... and it always amazes me to see how different two babies who are so close in age can be.  

Emily and Amara negotiating who gets which color of block.

Notice how they are each satisfied with their choices and the fact that they managed to trick the other one into wanting the inferior ring.

Andrew's Birthday

For anyone who doesn't know... Andrew's birthday and mine  have a little something in common.  They both fall the day after a holiday (mine's the day after Christmas, Andrew's is the day after Valentine's Day).  This year, Andrew actually took the initiative to get me a birthday cake... a plus, but he didn't do a very good job at directing them on decorating my cake.  I know, it shouldn't really matter, but after having your birthday the day after a major holiday for so many years must pay it's toll.  I got a very beautiful, Christmasy cake complete with red and green icing, snow, and poinsettias.  After being told that it didn't matter what it looked like because the words "Happy Birthday" were on the cake, I decided we would test that theory for Andrew's birthday. 

I called the local bakery and asked for a cake to be picked up on v-day.  The woman asked me if I wanted a heart-shaped cake, and I decided I couldn't pass it up.  I told her the story and asked her to write "Happy Birthday Andrew" and to decorate it "over the top Valentine's Day."  I think she wrote the entire story on the order form.  I couldn't wait to see it.  I think it could have been a little more over the top, but it was still pretty good.  What do you think?

In the end, Andrew didn't seem to mind the combined v-day/birthday cake, but I think he was just putting on a good show.  Either way, the cake tasted great... I would offer you a piece, but I just don't know what happened to the rest of it... surely we couldn't have eaten the rest of it already?  I must admit that I'm a little scared to see what happens for my birthday next year.  

Week of Changes

This past week has been full of changes... Emily is growing up so fast.  In the past week, she gave a high five, waved, started pointing at what she wants, and took her first step.  Yes that's right... she took her first (and only) step.  She was standing in front of me when she lifted her right foot ever so slightly and took a tiny step... then she quickly followed by dropping to her knees and crawling to the table (we say it counts).  Here are some photos from the past week.

Josh, Caleb, and Emily hanging out on the couch.  They both love being her big brothers.  They spend all of their time while they're at our house taking turns playing with her... it's so cute.

Last week she started pushing around her walker without us hovering over her to keep her from eating the handle bar.  She's taking over the house.  When we gave it to her for Christmas... it was mostly a hazard for her.  She couldn't balance herself well enough to walk around with it, but now she is a pro.  We've moved the furniture around so she can have more room to move.  

Andrew reading Emily's singing and talking book to her.  I swear that book is possessed.  It is always turning itself on and talking... very scary.

Emily putting her toys inside the cup.  This is another trick she learned this week.  I could watch her play for hours.

I think Emily loves her bathroom toys the most of any of the toys she has.  I wonder what they put in plastic to lure kids in?

My New Plan...

So I know it has been a long time since my last post.  It was Halloween when we left off, and next week is Valentine's Day, so I guess that means 3 months have passed with not so much as a picture from us.  I apologize, but remember, Andrew said this might happen (if you don't believe me, check the first post).  So what do we do now?  For the moment, I have started to at least post photos of the past couple of months.  My plan is to flesh them out with some witty stories and antidotes... hopefully that will happen soon.  I am planning on keeping up with current day happenings while updating the old posts.  If you are curious about what was going on during what we will call the "lost months", keep looking back.