February

February has come and almost gone amazingly very quick! Let me give you an update on our family:

Kaylee - 16 1/2 months - She discovered how to kick the ball tonight. She was playing soccer around the living room. Her favorite activity is to "draw". She wants a pen, pencil, or crayon in her hand most of the time along with a piece of paper. Walking around, she carries it from one place to another, making "notes" along the way. Very independent and totally able to hold her own, Chad has been dealt with for not doing what she desires. Kaylee has several words but is very selective about when and to whom she shares these with.

Chad - Although he might be 3 1/2, he thinks he is 16 sometimes and he informs Michael and I of all kinds of things we do wrong. I spend most of my day in awe over what he just did or said - not always positive. He is learning his numbers and letters. It is so exciting to be driving along and hear "Mommy, there is the number 3!" I am convicted that he knows more Bible verses than I do although sometimes they get mixed together. He truly believes that he is old enough to take care of Kaylee while playing outside. He assures me that he can watch her even if Mommy is not with him. We continue to go to the library. Chad and I enjoy reading over his new books.

Daddy - He is lost without football to occupy his time. He still finds it necessary to keep up with the draft and other football news. Running continues to be a nightly activity. Sometimes he "forgets" and runs 5 miles. His love continues to be playing with Chad & Kaylee. He devotes time every evening to spend with them.

Baby - Chad told me last week "Mommy, that baby is getting bigger and bigger." In real terms - Mommy has really blossomed! At 24 weeks, there is no question that a baby is coming. The problem is that everyone thinks it is much sooner than it really is. I have already come to terms that this is going to be another big baby and I will be huge again. If I could just figure out how to deal with the active baby who doesn't want me to sleep and the back aches that don't want me to do much of anything. Walking 5x a week seems to help with the fatigue and stress.

Mommy - Leading Women's Ministry has been a very awesome experience this sememster. I am about to finish my first Beth Moore Bible study. I truly believe this lady has a direct telephone line to God. The wisdom and insight that I have gained during this study has been nothing short of amazing. I have learned so much. Michael told me last week that I am just "really excited" right now about the Bible. Suddenly it has come alive. I am planning to do another study of hers on my own over the summer since we won't meet for Women's Ministry until fall.

Well, I believe that brings you up to date. It has been awesome to be done with my masters and have the "extra" time to spend reading, playing, and loving on my babies. They are precious.

Videos

Here are links to two videos and new pictures are above: Enjoy!!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2006620504481623892
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8160916052501439960

Maybe Babies Aren't So Bad

Kaylee has not wanted anything to do with babydolls. If you remember, she was given a doll for Christmas from Papa and Grams. She would literally throw the doll across the room when it came close. Every time that we have tried since, the doll has been hocked across the room. The only "doll" that she will hold is "ducky" and ducky is sacred. Ducky has been her close night time and nap time companion since 10 months old. I was wondering if ducky was going to be it. Well, life changed today. Kaylee decided babydolls are nice to hold and play with. She likes to hold two dolls as she walks. Michael and I feel this might be a nice switch of love for dolls instead of detest since a real babydoll will be coming to live with Kaylee in a few months!!

Above are some pictures. Just so Chad and Michael get some air time - I threw in a cute picture of them together.

Time with Papa & Grams

We had a special treat of having Papa and Grams visit this weekend. Of course we had a "Daddy Do" list but I was pretty nice to him this time. We enjoyed an evening of bowling and Shoguns. You can see above that sometimes Chad's ball didn't have enough "umph" to make it down the lane. He did score 71 points!!

Grams and Papa always spoil us with Valentine treats. Papa always gets chocolates for us girls. Kaylee thought that they were really good.

You will see Kaylee in two different outfits of Aunt Tara's. It totally cracks me up how she wears them compared to Tara's little bod. We have a picture of Tara wearing the red outfit at 3 years old. The purple dress was really cute on Tara but flows out a little differently on Kaylee :)

Four Generations

We had the opportuntiy to visit Michael's Granny last evening as she is visiting for a couple of weeks. It was good to see her and let Kaylee meet her for the first time. While there, we took a Four Generations pictures with Chad and Kaylee.

We also enjoyed having Michael's mom stay with us for a day. It was a big help to have another pair of hands!! The kids enjoyed all of the extra time outside that they were able to receive.

Playing

Chad and Kaylee have just started really "playing together". It is pretty sweet to see, except that they always want to play in an enclosed area - closet, room with a door shut, or the tent. This can cause issues :)

Last week, they played in the tent. Chad found a Gideon Bible and has wanted to keep it with him most of the time. He will tell me that he needs to read it so that he "knows how to obey God" and "not get in trouble." I told him that the Bible would tell him exactly that! While in the tent, he read to Kaylee so that she could stay out of trouble too. He asked me to take their picture.

Video

Here is a link to a new video of Chad singing. Make sure that you have your volume up, but not too high!!!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7226884027722665578