Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Our handy girls





The night we set up the crib, the girls were really eager to help; especially Emma. She loves picking up tools and trying to do what she's seen us do. In fact, the other day I asked Emma to go tell Josh I needed a screwdriver. She headed up stairs on her mission. A few minutes I heard Josh say, "Emma, what are you doing?" I came upstairs to find her with her sister's shoes on (backwards) and a screwdriver in her hand. She had put the shoes on, then opened the door to the garage, walked down the stairs and was trying to open the drawer to the toolbox where the screwdrivers are kept. That's where Josh found her. I just laughed outloud. This kid is really smart. She wants to be right in the middle of things and loves to help with everything. 




Emma was very intent in getting into all of her packages. And very excited once she got all the paper ripped off everything.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A little more Christmas





Last week we received another package of presents from family in Kansas. The girls had fun opening a few more gifts from my brother and sister, along with stocking stuffers from my mom's side of the family. We were sad to miss Christmas with them this year, but we have lots of memories from year's past and will hopefully see everyone sometime this year. 

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Baby update

Nothing too exciting happened at the doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I had my Strep B test; haven't heard back, so no news is good news. She did check my cervix, and said I was no where close, so that is also good news. We go back next Tuesday. My doctor thinks this baby might come early, as Emma did, but I am hoping to go all the way to my due date. With three deadlines lingering and a busy family to take of, I need more time. Please pray for patience with myself and family has we get through this stressful time. I just want to get through this work stuff so when our new arrival comes, I can relax and enjoy that wonderful time. 

Monday, January 5, 2009

Blog Update

So in celebration of my first blogging anniversary (Jan. 18), I thought I'd give our layout a little update. I must admit, I took a shortcut and found a fun and simple background from Cutestblogontheblock.com. But, I did take a little time to make a personal header to match. I will take credit for redoing my photography blog myself, though. I am happy with how it turned out, but it did take quite awhile to get it that way. I decided I should probably spend my time working instead of playing with blog design, albeit that would be fun! :)

It's the New Year!

Can't believe it's the new year already! I've had to write a few checks and fortunately have been able to make myself write 2009 on them. We had a relaxing New Year. It seems Josh is in the "nesting" phase. Yes, I said Josh. And I am following closely behind. He's been in the sorting, organizing, donating, trashing, etc. mood. But, that is a good thing. There have been projects in the house that have gone undone. And we've lived here six months! That's hard to believe. We both feel like we have way too much stuff and want to simplify our lives more, so we've spent the last week/weekend trying to do just that. He also will be gone next week so I think he's a little nervous about leaving me home alone to try to finish everything myself.

We found some Christmas totes on sale and I packed up all the holiday stuff. We were able to downsize by about five cardboard boxes and everything fits nicely on one shelf in the garage. It had all been in the store room in the basement, so it's nice to see more bare shelves. It is amazing to me how long it takes to do a project like that though. I also tackled a bathroom closet that had been disorganized since move-in day. Such a good feeling to have it more functional now. We also set-up the crib in the playroom, reorganized the toy closet and moved a few things down to the girls' bedrooms. 

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I'm 35 weeks now. I'm hoping this baby is content with staying in the womb awhile longer. Fortunately, I'm not uncomfortable yet and need as many weeks as possible to get ready.

Emma was supposed to have speech this morning, but it was moved to next week. We got another snow storm last night, so the therapist couldn't come over. We've been working with picture/word flashcards and books. I am definitely seeing more progress with her. She's attempting everything now, which before if the sound seemed too hard she might not even try. She is able to get the syllables and more sounds come all the time. I am hopeful in a few years you won't even know she struggled with language. In the meantime, we'll keep working with her. She's such a happy, smart little girl. It's hard to watch your child struggle with something, but I know things are the way they should be right now. I am learning more patience and understanding, which I can always use more of. And thankfully, this is a small thing. We have been blessed with very healthy kids. So many other families have much bigger issues to deal with. 

Well, I best get to work. Have a good week!

Here are a few more photos from this summer. Stephanie took them for us when we were up in McCall.