Our new babies!

Ok, so Andrew and I have been talking about making some additions to our family for a while now. Until recently, we hadn't been in a position to pursue this any further. However, things have worked out for us to care for and provide for these much anticipated new additions! We are in love, and I have pictures to share. I probably shouldn't say this, but we do have our favorites....Andrew's is pictured first, and my favorites are after that. Without further ado, we would like to introduce you to our new babies!

Oh, did you think I was talking about ACTUAL babies???? :)

A BFF birthday!

Tomorrow is my cousin Stephanie's birthday, and today we enjoyed a relaxing and fun-filled kid free afternoon to celebrate. My mom is in town visiting (more posts on her visit her to come) and Stephanie's mom lives in town, and the two of them *bravely* agreed to watch the kiddos while we went out. Thanks, Moms! Here we are heading out.

Our first stop was Panera, Stephanie's pick for lunch. Here we are enjoying our last bites....okay, more like last crumbs. I forgot to pull out the camera before our food was basically gone.

After lunch, we decided to go to the mall and do some shopping. While there, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to play some putt-putt at the indoor glow golf course. I have to say, we really enjoyed ourselves and laughed A LOT.

After a couple more stops our "day off" came to an end, but it was sure good while it lasted! Happy birthday, Steph!!!

Valentine's Day!

So in case you missed the memo, today was Valentine's Day. We started off the morning with heart-shaped pancakes....

....before the kids opened their Valentine's from Grandma and Poppy. In them were gifts card to McDonald's, and Parker was so excited about his "debit card".

For lunch, we met up with Andrew at McDonald's where the kids got Happy Meals.

They also played at the play place for a little while before heading home.

Me and my Valentine!

Cold, cold, COLD!

This past week we, along with half of the rest of the U.S., have had some pretty ridiculous weather. And by ridiculous, I mean COLD! We didn't get the massive snow that everyone else got, but we certainly got the cold. The "arctic air" hit us last Monday morning and hung around until Thursday. We had lows near -20 and wind chills up (or down rather) to -45! I've worked up a few examples so that you can properly understand exactly where I am coming from.

It was so cold that....there was ice on the inside of our windows.

It was so cold that....our Jeep sounded like it was going to take off into outer space when turned on after a day of being outside.

It was so cold that....our neighbor's (and many other people's) pipes busted.

It was so cold that....it literally took our breath away to go outside.

It was so cold that....when Windex was sprayed on the inside of a window, it froze almost immediately.

It was so cold that....when it got above 0, we were all ecstatic.

I could go on, but you get the picture. While all of this was going on, Sadie came down with the flu. Poor baby. It's been a long few days, but I am happy to say that while she isn't back to 100% she is doing a lot better now. Overnight last night we got about 2 inches of snow, and Andrew and Parker decided to go outside and play this afternoon while Sadie was napping.

Here is Parker all bundled up and ready to go out! 

He was so excited....

Getting hit by one of Dad's snowballs.

With his own snowball....

....and taking hit first shot at Dad.

Having fun!

No need to adjust your computer. That is, in fact, the smallest snowman ever made. Ever.

After Parker came in, Andrew threw snowballs at the door where Parker was standing. Parker thought it was great fun....

....but this is what he did to the door. Thanks, Andrew.

Springtime fun....in January?!?!

The weather here has been just awesome here the last couple of days....60 degree weather and bright, sunny skies. Of course, within 48 hours it's due to get down to like -20, but whatever. Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the park to take advantage while we could.

The kids love to swing!

Sadie never wants to take a picture with me now....can't wait until she's a teenager.

Such a big boy!

Sadie looked scared to death every time she went down the slide, but wanted to do it again and again.

Sadie and Daddy....

Parker wanted to "catch" them as they came down the big slide.

Father and son.

Walking to the basketball court....

....and Sadie trying hard to keep up!

This doesn't look like it's going to end well.

Me and my boy!

My 2 kids!

Wow, so I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted updated info on each of the kids! I've been trying to complete some other projects lately, and well, as a mother, when something has your attention, something else usually doesn't. So my apologies to those who follow this blog....I'll try not to let it happen again. Who am I kidding? It will likely happen again, so I'll just apologize in advance for that, too. I'll start with Parker first....

• Parker is four now and quite the big boy. Even his little physique looks like a big boy now. *Insert a tear rolling down my cheek here.* He definitely likes to do things for himself, but he gets frustrated quickly if he can't quite do what he's trying to do.
• Parker is finally, yes FINALLY, fully potty-trained! It took nearly 15 months, and just like (snap) that the battle was over. It happened sometime during the first week in December. Parker was acting funny, so I asked him if he needed to go poo-poo. He said "No....yes....but I don't want to cry" (something he had ALWAYS done if we tried to get him to go on the potty). I said "OK, you're not going to cry", and he went to the bathroom and that was that. The rest, as they say, is history. Andrew and I are deliriously happy.
• Parker loves to boss Sadie around. Sometimes she loves it, sometimes not. He also subtly does many things to annoy her....on purpose, of course. Gotta love sibling interactions.
• Parker isn't very picky as it relates to food, but he has started taking forever to eat at mealtimes. He is usually too busy talking, playing, singing, etc.
• A couple of weeks ago, Andrew got Parker interested in playing the quiet game. At first he was awful and couldn't remember to stay quiet to save his life. Now he loves to play and "wins" every time, and we go nuts cheering for him.
• Parker is constantly saying things that crack us up. When he started going on the potty, we told him how proud we were of him a LOT. Now, when we do something that he likes, he says "I'm so proud of you!". Also, we've been working with him on always telling the truth....not something he really has a hard time with, but there are the occasional moments. The other day, we were eating lunch and Parker asked if he could have some pudding. I told him yes, and he said "Thanks for telling me the truth, Mom!!!!".
• Parker still sucks him thumb when he's really tired or going to sleep....about the only 'baby'ish thing that he still does.
• Parker loves to take baths, play games on Andrew's phone or the Nintendo Wii, paint, watch movies, read books, put together puzzles, sing songs, go on errands, and play outside, to name a few.
• A couple of Parker's challenges lately are whining and not listening. We are working on these daily with as much patience as we can muster.
• Parker's favorite toy right now (outside of Daddy Hippo) is his big Buzz Lightyear that he got from his Nonni for Christmas.
• Parker and Andrew wrestle almost every night. Somewhere along the way, Andrew would tell Parker "I'm gonna wrestle you down, boy" while they played. Now, Parker says that to Andrew to try and entice him to wrestle.
• Parker is a mostly sweet, awfully funny, and usually happy little boy!

Now for little Sadie girl....

• Sadie is now nearly 21 months old! At her last appointment at the doctor's office she was at the 20th percentile for weight and the 15th percentile for height, so even though she's gained some weight from her last visit she's still a little peanut.
• Sadie certainly has a mind of her own and an opinion about everything. She has no qualms expressing herself.
• Sadie says a lot of words now including 'bite', 'my' for mine, more, 'tees' for please, 'puppy' for cuppy, bye, NO, 'tain too' for thank you, 'aahhh-e' for sorry, and 'Kawker' for Parker to name several. About a month or so ago, she also started saying 'mommy' and 'daddy' instead of 'ma-ma' and 'da-da'.
• Sadie loves to play with Parker....most of the time. When they get along, they get along. When they don't, they don't.
• Sadie is very independent and loves to try to feed herself with a spoon and fork. She eats very well....usually at least as much as Parker.
• Sadie is quite dramatic when the "need" arises. She has been known to throw herself on the ground, kicking, hands on her face, the whole nine yards, in protest to something that she doesn't like. She has also become a screamer. If something is bothering her (usually Parker), she will let out an ear-piercing scream so that no one nearby will miss out on her displeasure. She is also spontaneously sweet and gives hugs and kisses easily.
• Sadie LOVES to dance to music, and she gets into it with her whole body.
• Sadie can be quite sneaky. When Parker was little, I never needed to worry if he was quiet. If Sadie is quiet, that means I'd better verify her whereabouts and quick! If I leave the room for even a moment, 99% of the time she is into something that I have told her no less than 157,000 times to leave alone.
• She still puts her hand/hands on her face when she's tired or to comfort herself. She also likes to have her 'ba-ba' or blankie nearby.
• Sadie loves to take baths, play with Parker, read books, push her baby in her doll stroller, build with blocks, climb on anything and everything, carry a purse, and pretend talk on her toy cell phone.
• Sadie still naps once a day. She goes down willingly at naptime, and seems to enjoy having the time to rest. Even though she also sleeps well at night, at least 3-4 nights a week I wake up in the night to hear her having a grand time talking, laughing, and yelling "NO" in her bed.
• Overall, Sadie is a sweet, funny, and sometimes naughty pretty little girlie!

And for fun, here are a few pictures of my little darlings. Every once in a while, the kids will hold hands in the car. One day last week, they held hands all the way home from work. I took a picture when we came home...

Both of the kids like to read books. Yesterday, Parker grabbed his dinosaur book and told Sadie to "get your blanket and come here so I can read to you".

 This was taken tonight -- both of them were walking around in a pair of my shoes.

Christmas!

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Christmas. Oh, well....better late than never, I guess. We went to Oklahoma to see family, but before we left we opened our presents at home. Here are a few pics....

We enjoyed spending time with Andrew's dad and grandparents on Christmas Eve!

On Christmas Day, we were with Andrew's mom and grandparents....

We then went on to spend time with my family!

We had a great time, even though poor little Sadie was sick for 90% of our trip with what we later discovered was Roseola. Thankfully, she is now fully recovered and we are busy starting another year. Hard to believe it is 2011, and can't wait to see what the new year holds!