Crazy Weather

It has finally been nice out and the kids have been having a great time playing outside!









Until last Friday, April 25th.


We got hit with a blizzard! We ended up with 8 inches that day. It was impossible to drive anywhere. I know, because I tried. I could not even tell where the road was. Phil drove to the post office (two blocks from home) and went in the ditch because he could not see the road or his surroundings. It was strange because only two days before, my children were outside in their summer clothes and sandals. CRAZY! The next day it all melted. Today it is 72 degrees and bright and sunny. Guess what is in our forecast for this Friday. SNOW AGAIN! Lets hope it isn't as bad as last week. OH SPRING, WHERE ARE YOU?? I think the saying goes... "April showers bring May flowers." I didn't think it meant SNOW showers. :-)

It's Been a Long Time! continued...

Before I continue on, I just wanted to share some cute pictures of the kids. They have changed a lot since last November. ;-)

Carole and Andrew dressed for church on Sunday.

Our sweet Carole.

Our handsome dude!

March... Carole turned 2 on the 6th. She is most definitely in her terrible two's. She really keeps us busy. She is all girl, attitude and all. She is really into pink things and kitties.

Carole admiring her pink kitty cake.

Opening her new baby from Papa and Nana.

Andrew picked out this fairy costume for Carole for her birthday. She thought she was so "beautiful" and big brother was pleased that she liked what he got her.

Along with Carole turning two came the annual allergy testing. For those of you who don't know, Carole was diagnosed with a peanut allergy when she turned one. We took her back to be retested in hopes that she had grown out of it. Sadly, she hadn't. She still had a reaction and we also found out that the reason her cheeks are always rosy red is because we are not a peanut free house. Even though we are not feeding her peanuts or things made with peanuts she was still have reactions. We had no clue it was her allergy. She always get red, dry cheeks in the winter, especially when she is cutting teeth. So the allergist put her on an antibiotic to get rid of the infection and we got rid of our peanut items and lo and behold, her face has healed.

While we were in the big town for Carole's appointment we got to see the easter bunny at the mall. Carole was obsessed with it and followed it around.

Carole and her baby all dressed up. I found that cute dress for her at Shopko and it came with a matching one for a doll. She loves it!

Here is a typical scene in our house lately. Super A chasing little sis around. :-)

Here is another typical scene. Andrew and Carole love watching TV together.

Well, that pretty much updates you up till now. There is so much more I could write about (Andrew's imaginary new imaginary friends, Carole's fear of bodily excretions...) but naptime is almost over and then my zoo will come back to life. Thanks for being patient with me and this boring blog!

It's Been a Long Time!

I decided today is the day to FINALLY update our blog. A lot has happened since I posted last November. Hmmm... let's see. December... Phil and I decided to take a quick trip to IN and MI to see family for Christmas. It was a special time. We didn't tell the kids where we were going. After sitting in the van for nearly 13 hours little ones begin to question. Carole had no clue what was going on but Andrew wondered where we were going. We just said we were going on a trip. When we pulled into Grandpa and Grandma's driveway he was thoroughly surprised!

Carole and Andrew with cousin Elijah. Carole did not want to sit for the picture.

Carole checking out the items in her stocking with Uncle Michael.

Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Dave, and Great Grandpa watching a movie with Carole and Andrew.

January... The kids were sick for most of the month with walking pneumonia, RSV, and various other viruses. We even had to cancel Andrew's outpatient surgery because he was so sick.

February... Andrew had his surgery finally done on the 12th. The urologist found that Andrew has a bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis and will have to be on a medication for that. He is doing so much better now and is able to stay dry and he has more control over his bladder. On the 14th Andrew turned 4 years old. Where did my little 4lb baby go? :-( He is growing up so fast.

Andrew with his volcano birthday cake with dinosaurs around it.

Andrew had his best friend, Chris, over for his birthday. They got to build a snowman with Daddy.

Kid's Say the Funniest Things

Story #1
A few nights ago I noticed Andrew's cheeks looked a little chapped. I rubbed lotion into his face and explained to him that when it gets cold out our skin gets dry and needs a drink of lotion. He held perfectly still while I applied it and then took off to play. A few minutes later he came back with a pouty look on his face. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Mommy, my cheeks are all poky now." LOL! His poor little cheeks were so chapped that the lotion had a stinging effect on them.

Story #2
One evening we all were playing together on the floor. We were playing tag, reading books, playing hide-and-go-seek, etc. The kids were having a great time. Andrew all of a sudden burst out saying, "We have the bestest famiwee!" :-)

Story #3
Tonight we made a supreme pizza for supper. Andrew loves pizza, but like any kid, has a hard time eating the green peppers, onions, and black olives. He had them all picked off and in a pile on his plate. He said, "Mommy, I can't eat these yucky things." Of course he gave me the big brown eye look with the poochy lip out. I said, "I am sorry, but you have to try to eat them. They will make you grow big and strong just like Daddy." As we all know, Andrew is a very small boy for his age. I went on eating my supper and didn't pay any attention to him. Next thing I know he says, "Mommy, look! I finished my veggies! Surprise!" Then his facial expressions changed quite drastically and he quietly put his head down and said, "But I am still wittle." LOL!!! Phil and I laughed so hard! I guess mommy needs to be more careful what she says from now on.

Halloween Pictures and More

Here are my two green monsters dressed and ready for Trick-or-Treating. Carole is an alligator and Andrew is a dragon.

Phil said he was a Transformer. He called himself Optimus Slide. :-) The only problem was that he was too "big" to leave the house!

These last two pictures have a story behind them. This morning, while Andrew was at school, I asked Carole if she wanted to go outside. She ran to the kitchen gate and sat down to wait for me to put her shoes and coat on. After that I opened the gate said, "Let's go outside, Carole!" She said, "No." She then came back to the kitchen clutching the things in the first picture: her blanket, stuffed pink monkey, and the Blues Clues toy. Those three things are her most favorite things in her life right now. I told her we could not take all of that outside. After all, we were just going to walk to the post office. She ran out of the kitchen and cam back carrying her purse. Just like a girl, right? She hung onto that thing almost all the way there. :-)

More Pictures from our trip: Part 3

Carole cooking at Nana's play kitchen

Carole with Auntie San

Andrew reading books with Papa before bedtime

I had the privilege of meeting up with my old college roommate. I hadn't seen her in years! This is Penni and her daughter, Tali. I love ya, Pen! It was SO good to see you!

More Pictures from our trip: Part 2

Andrew flying the rocket with Curious George at the Children's Museum in Chicago, IL.

Carole enjoyed the slide on the back of the rocket.

Carole and Curious George

Andrew and Curious George

Papa and Nana showing Andrew and Carole how to cook safely.

More Pictures from our trip: Part 1

Flying Parachutes with Grandpa while Mommy and Grandma went shopping!

Grandpa tried to get Carole to fly one but she almost blew away! :-)

Andrew having supper with Uncle Michael.

Here Carole is having some snuggle time with Grandma. Actually, feeding her is the only way you get to hold her!

We are still here!

It has been so long since I've last posted. We went on a two week vacation to visit family and friends in the beginning of October. It was unseasonably warm for an October trip. The day after we got back we all got sick with colds. Carole had it the worst and is still fighting it.
Here are a few pictures of our trip to see family.

Here is Carole having fun sliding!

Andrew loved the train at the Henry Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, MI.

Andrew and his cousin, Elijah, sporting there new matching shirts that say "Trouble is my middle name."

Uncle Tom and Daddy helping Andrew and cousin Elijah feed the ducks. Carole is not pictured here because one of the ducks mistook her foot for a piece of bread. She was with Mommy.

Andrew and Carole enjoying a boat ride at Great-Grandpa's house. I won't tell you why we were stranded in the middle of the lake for awhile either. :-)

Carole's Room

Well, I finally got around to making Carole's room more than just the guest room with a crib in it. I just recently bought a "girlie" bed set and thought it was high time to do some painting in her room. This is the before picture. I should add that the curtains have not been made, I just hung the material up.

This is a picture of what it looked like after I painted and stamped the "Big Blossom" from Stampin Up. I thought the flower matched her bed set quite well.

Here is what it looked like after I added some paisley's on the wall, just like on her bed set.

Here is a close up of the pattern I stamped on the wall.

This picture was taken the night I finished stamping just the flowers. Carole like seeing flowers on her wall. She wanted to reach up and touch them.