So Long Smiley

How sad to see a good friend go. It was time to say good-bye.

We have had our smiley balloon since Kiersten came home from the hospital in April of 2008. She took to it right away and became quite fond of mommy's smiley balloon. It was given as a "good job" gift from Micah and Daddy along with a bouquet of flowers. Smiley has been one of the best toys we could have had for our little ones. So long smiley balloon!


For memory sake, here's a clip of Kiersten enjoying Smiley.

Funny Joke!

Micah and I were talking about not talking with your mouth full and how it "looks quite aweful...don't talk with your mouth full it looks quite bad." Micah plugged in "good" for "bad," so I thought I'd have a little educational lesson. "Ok, Micah, if the opposite of bad is good, what is the opposite of tall?" Micah responded quickly, "Not bad at tall!"

Vacation

Last week our family enjoyed a restful and fun vacation. We spent the first part of the week with Tim's family which was a lot of fun, and relaxing for the whole family... Mommy included.

After returning home, we decided to simply do nothing. Tim held off on working on any major projects, and just relaxed playing with the kids, grilling out, enjoying the hot tub, and celebrating our anniversary... the whole week.

On Friday our neighbor had invited us to go to "Rough and Tumble" Blacksmith Days. This is a gathering outside of Lancaster where there are many old steam engines, along with primitive gasoline engines. Micah was thrilled to see so many tractors and engines. It was a blast.

































































Micah with our neighbor who invited us out.


















One of our times grilling out. Ribs, potatoes and corn. It was delicious.

Micah's attempt at "spelling" his name. We think he is a genius being able to draw the "M" of his first name.

Milestones

This week has been an amazing week of milestones in Micah and Kiersten's lives. On Monday, while talking with a friend of ours, she mentioned that Micah was well on his way to being potty trained...he could tell when he needed to go. That Tuesday morning, Micah worked hard at sitting on the potty and keeping his new Pull-Ups clean. Wednesday followed with the same hard work. Today, though a bit lax in his efforts (or maybe Mommy's lack of effort), he is doing very well with the motivation to "do it like Macy does!" (Thanks, Bethany, for your daughter's wonderful influence!)


Kiersten was not to be forgotten and has put in her milestone as well by making more steps since Tuesday morning, working on a sidewinder type walk, carefully trying her footing with both feet instead of one. She has been working on more words and taking time to practice her speech instead of nap time...I wonder if it's time to move on to one nap per day?

What a blessing to see our little ones grow! God has been so good to us. It is a joy to be where we are and growing in His timing!

First Steps

Today has been quite a day of accomplishments for Kiersten. She slept in today (though not the first time) until 9 a.m., which was wonderful for Mommy. Micah did too, so we had lots of sleep today. The morning began with Kiersten saying her first "big" word, "breakfast." Guess she was ready after all that sleeping!

Tonight she took her first step and we were able to catch some more first steps on video. She is getting so big!



Yesterday she was praised by the nursery workers for her beautiful singing and she has been working on improving as she sounds out the tune to Jesus Loves Me and The B-I-B-L-E. So many things happen after that first birthday, and I'm sure more is to come.

Micah is growing too. He has been increasing his vocabulary and speaks quite well for a two year old (he says "two and a half"). He loves to watch Daddy play softball on the church softball team and shouts out "Go Honey!" with all his might, just like Mommy says!

Kiki's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Kiersten's 1st birthday at Grandmom and Pop Pop's house on April 26th, Grandmom's birthday. Many family members came to celebrate the two birthdays and Grandmom went all out, even baking Kiersten a beautiful birthday cake. Thanks again, Grandmom!

On April 30th we finished up the leftover cake and celebrated Kiersten's official birthday with our family. Micah couldn't wait to get at the cake and Kiersten...well, I'm surprised she didn't really want chocolate, or sugar all that much. Hope you enjoy watching a few clips of this special day. Happy Birthday, Sweety!

Feeding Kiki

I believe this was the first time I had allowed Micah to feed Kiersten with a spoon. This video is a favorite of his...at least at this point. Hope you enjoy it, too!

Just Playing

We are seeking an easier route to blogging and setting up a site to work better for our home business. Any ideas would be helpful if you have already set up a home business of sorts.