Welcome summer!

Oh, why can't every day be a day off? Topher and I have loved the last 4 days at home with the girls. I would be lying if I did not say that Alivia and Addison loved having us home, too. Everyday, Alivia would wake up and ask if Daddy was still at home. Then, when I said yes, she would excitedly ask, "Do I get to stay home with Daddy and Mommy today?" It is so nice to see how excited she is to stay home with us, but at the same time sad that she is so upset to be left at daycare. I am sure there will be a lot of tears tomorrow as they are left for breakfast.

What did we do all weekend? Oh, we rode bikes (Daddy has this new toy that he pulls the girls behind his bike. It was an early Father's Day present that I think Alivia loves!), swam in the girls' new pink pool, played on the swingset, changed Alivia's baby's diapers more than 100 times, and went to the park. The sprinkler park is now open, so Alivia is looking forward to going there when the weather warms a bit more. Topher took her up there to look on Sunday, but it was just too cool to go play. Today we went to Iowa for the Memorial Day service and then the annual family picnic. I would post new pictures, but I left the camera in Iowa! What will I do without my camera all week! Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa are coming on Friday to babysit, so I will get it back then. Alivia can not stop talking about all the fun she has on the farm. Chris is looking nonseriously, I think anyway, at land to build a house on. What would Alivia do without being able to go to gymnastics?

I finally signed up Alivia for Swimtastic swimming lessons. We will see how she does. It is an independent swimming class with just 4 kids maximum in her class. She went to gymnastics alone, and she thinks she is ready for swimming alone. For the price of these lessons, we have high hopes. She begins in 2 weeks, so we will keep you posted.

So, tomorrow is back to the daily grind. Nothing like being thrown into the fire, either. My boss will greet me at my breakfast appointment at 8:30. Okay, what was I thinking making a breakfast appointment the day after a Holiday (the boss coming is completely out of my control)? So, it will be a big rush to get the girls up, dressed and at daycare early so I can rush to pick up my breakfast and get there in time. My hands hurt just typing that out. Thank goodness I have that SUPER WOMAN cape stashed away for just the occasion.

With that said...Happy Summer! Our family has a busy month of June planned with something every weekend, I think. Then, in July, Addison will be turning 1 with her big birthday bash on July 15th. I am sure there will be more Austin excitement up our sleeves as we make our way through summer.

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Going Private...kind of

Okay, those of you on vox know that when you post a message, vox shows other users that just posted updates. One from a person named Stace, I don't know why, caught my attention. Scary, this woman had pictures/videos of her daughters stolen and placed on someone else's blog as their own pictures! Creepy! So, I will continue to keep most of our posts public, but I will no longer post the pictures to the public. That is way too disturbing for me. Sorry, if you want to see updated pictures you will have to sign up to vox and I will add you to our neighborhood (which is an easy process). I hope everyone understands and keeps visiting anyway.

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Happy 3rd Birthday, Alivia!

Oh, what a 3rd birthday it was, too. Alivia woke to fresh chocolate donuts...her favorite but an extremely rare treat. She opened her presents: A Barbie big wheel that she will have to grow into, a wooden bake set, and Dora colorforms. She was mostly excited about the donut and told me, "Mommy, now that was a good donut!" After checking out her presents, we packed up for our trip to the zoo. It was a nice day to be at the zoo. It was busy as it usually is for our annual birthday trip. Alivia noted "there are a lot of kids here," to Grandma Bet when we called her while at the zoo. Alivia was actually afraid at first, which was weird considering we were just at the zoo 6 weeks ago and she was fine. She soon got over that. We visited the aquarium, bears, elephants, tigers, monkeys, gorillas, rhinos, and the giraffes just to name a few. Alivia liked the sharks best, as she thanked God for the "Sharkies" in her prayers tonight. We brought a picnic lunch from Little King. We stayed just a bit longer after lunch then made our way to Zestos for icecream. Alivia had her first chocolate shake and Addison helped eat my cone. Yummy.

Alivia came home and played until heading to bed. After thanking us for her birthday, she went right to sleep. What a sweetheart!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Alivia! Thanks for 3 great years (and many more fun years to come!).

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It's Time to Celebrate...

Alivia turns 3!

...Alivia's 3rd Birthday! On Sunday we had Alivia's 3rd Birthday party with a few family. We try to keep the parties to close family that she knows well. Alivia had a lot of fun this year. Her cousin Lucas came, so she had fun playing with him. She needed help blowing out those 3 candles on her Dora cake (she asked for a Dora cake with Dora presents :) ), but she had no problem opening her presents. She has been enjoying playing with some of those tonight.

On Friday, her actual 3rd birthday, she will open her presents from Chris and I, and then it is off to a day at the zoo. She is really excited about that.

 

Alivia's 3rd Birthday Dora Cake

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The Cost of Living...

Seriously, Chris and I are finding out how much our cost of living is going up lately. Perhaps it is the cost of living in our house! The first of May started with the installation of the fence. We love it and would do it agian in a heartbeat. It was needed! Next came carpet. We have rather yucky carpet throughout the dining room and upstairs (we replaced the family room carpet last year and the basement carpet is new). So, it had to be replaced. Chris and I are dragging our feet to call the store to set up the installation. Why? We have to move all of our furniture, take down the beds, move dressers, clear closets, etc, etc. I, for one, just am not interested. Oh, and to top things off, our computer crashed last week. Chris had a hard drive just for me to save my pictures on. Luckily, I load them every month at Shutterfly, but, I lost most of them from our computer. Needless to say, I am quite upset about this. Chris is always telling me to back them up on a CD, but I am admittedly too dumb to do that. I will learn when this new Dell arrives. Now, don't anyone tell me that Dell produces bad computers because it is too late - it is on its way.  After 2 crashes in 2 years, this one better last longer. That is all I am saying. So, this is the final warning for Microsoft and then we are going to Mac.

So, now you know what I mean when the our cost of living seems to be on the rise THIS MONTH. Oh, and to top it off, I have never seen gas prices so high! Seriously!

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Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! We went to Chris' parents home last night to wish his Mom a Happy Mother's Day. Today we are making the trip to Iowa to wish my Mom the same (and Grandma's too). We are looking forward to a relaxing day on the farm. Alivia, having spent the night there this week while I was out of town, is excited to get to play with Grandma's toys, playset, and Tiper, their cat.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Addison turns 10 months old!

Addison has changed a lot over the last month. She has advanced into a big girl by eating mostly table foods. I still give her a baby food with DHA in it at every meal, though, and she has yet to refuse. As she turned 10 months, she started to spit food out. Hopefully that was just a fluke.

She is cruising really well now. However, to get from point A to point B, she drops to her nears and crawls like a rocket. Her favorite thing to chase is Piper, our cat. (He is a household favorite). She has also been known to crawl to Mommy or Daddy and crawl up our leg to hint that she wants to be held. She got her first pair of shoes so she can get around outside and in stores without stepping it something with her barefeet. We had to buy cradle shoes with a traction because her little feet are too small for cruisers or first walkers! These ought to last a good month!

Happy 10 months Addison. Check out the girls' lastest pictures taken on her 10h month (5/12/07) at http://www.capturetoday.photosite.com/Album152/. They are mostly Alivia's 3 year pictures.

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All fenced in

All fenced In...

Well, we did it! After living in our home for nearly 7 years, we finally had a fence installed. Oh, we have our privacy back somewhat too! Our yard was turning into the neighborhood playground (which Alivia loved), but Chris and I got frustrated by being the neighborhood babysitters. It is SOOOOO nice now to go out to our yard. We were not sure we would like it, but we would do it sooner (like last summer when we had a new baby, a 2 year old, and a neighborhood full of kids to look after).

As for this weekend...it is the garage sale. I know we say this every year, but this year is the last year. We are giving up a lot of stuff to clear our spaces a bit. What does not get sold goes to Good Will.

Next week is a busy week. I leave Monday night for Denver leaving Chris with the girls. I am totally dreading it. I hate leaving the girls. Chris will have fun, though. :)

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More spring cleaning...

Chris & Baby Henry Emmett

...more cleaning?! Chris completed the office organization this weekend. It looks SO nice! (Thanks Topher!). I started clearing out the storage room in the basement getting ready for a garage sale. It is amazing how much stuff we accumulate from year to year. We get rid of a lot of stuff every year, too. I would say we are the opposite of pack rats.

Chris' brother Brent and his wife Bridget had their first baby boy on Saturday, Henry. We went to visit baby Henry this morning after Mass. Alivia was not so sure about the whole situation. I got her to go by telling her it was her cousin Lucas' brother (but Lucas was not there). She is probably just hoping that she does not have to share anything with him, too!

This is the last week before I start copromoting another drug. I am getting sick of reading modules and taking tests. We have another drug coming out hopefully in the fall, so I guess I will have to get over that. And, I will have to rest up now because I do not see the late nights of studying ending anytime soon. Thank goodness I do not require much sleep. Anyway, we have a meeting in Denver in a couple weeks, so Chris will be HOME ALONE with the girls. I am sure he is looking forward to that bonding time.

Until next time...

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Go fly a kite

What a beautiful weekend! So, what did we do? We went out and flew a Dora kite, what else? Aunt Nikki came over and played with Alivia on Saturday while I started to clean our windows. That is always such a fun job. I did not get much done though since Addison did not nap very long.

Topher started another organization project, our office. He seems to think we have more stuff in our office than in our entire home. However, he has throw half of it away (THANK GOODNESS!).

So, today, while Addison napped and Topher organized, Alivia and I went shopping. We went to her favorite store, Von Maur. She likes the Thomas train set and the beads there to play with. When we got back, we went to the park for a while and flew the kite again. The weather was wonderful. Alivia peddled her little bike all the way to and back from the park (and it is a BIG hill up there). It was a fun weekend, but I am not sure Topher would think so.

Oh, Addison's 9 month pictures are available at http://www.capturetoday.photosite.com/Album118/. She was happy for just a moment.

Another busy week...so let's get to it!

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I am sleeping with Spidey?

 

Spiderman, oh I mean, Chris

Oh please, allow me to explain. Last night, I crawled into bed to cuddle up with Topher (hopefully this is not too much information), and he was hugging something. "What is that?" I asked him curiously. "Nothing," he replied. So, I asked again, "What is that" and this time he replied with a, "Nothing, it's mine!" "Okay, what is it?" and I get another, "It's mine!" Okay, he was beginning to sound like Alivia. I did not care that it was his, I just wanted to know what it was. So, I rolled over and turned on the light. So, what was it, SPIDEY! This was a special Spidey, too. It is red on one side and black on the other, like in the new movie coming out (scary that a Mommy of 2 girls knows this, isn't it?). So, just for a night, I slept with Spidey, so to speak. I am just hoping Spidey stays in his own bed from now on. :)

Thanks Topher for adding some humor to the end of our Saturday!

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Addison turns 9 months old!

 

That's right, our little baby girl turned 9 months old today! She had her Dr check-up and was 14 pounds, 13 oz  (<5), and 25 1/2 inches long (10%). She somehow shrunk a 1/2 inch (they clearly measured wrong last time). Her Dr was concerned that she was not drinking breast milk while in daycare, opting for more food, water, and juice. So, he wanted us to consider formula when I am away. I think I am going to have daycare only give her breast milk to drink and see what happens. She is pretty proportional, so the Dr was not that concerned. She looks far from malnourished.

Addison is somewhat advanced as far as her physical abilities for her age (she is so unlike her sister at this age). Addison crawls well, pulls to a stand, cruises and bumps into everything. She still has that calcification on her forehead that is just to go away with time. Addison rarely sits still, preferring to crawl and chase after Mommy, Daddy and/or Alivia. She says Mama, Dada, and Baba and babbles a few other things that I can not spell. :)

It has been an amazing 9 months Addison! We Love You!

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Negotiations over...

...Chris has made a decision. After nearly a week of negotiations and stress, Chris decided to stay at his current job at Northrup Grumman. Chris had an interview with Union Pacific Railroad doing similar computer work for them. He initially accepted the position because of the professional and financial growth. However, upon telling his current employer, they counter offered. Chris then decided to stay. UP is a great company to work for, but the Union dues, downtown parking fees, loss of vacation time, etc, made it a sacrifice. Chris is now happy with his decision.

Good luck Topher!

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The Art of Negotiating

Here I go again, talking about art when I am so far from being an artist. Chris and I have been doing our share of negotiating and I find it quite interesting and perhaps a bit annoying at times (and rewarding at other times). I got an estimate to carpet our home from the Mart. After I initially told the sales person the estimate was too high, he called with a quote that was $1000 less. Yes, you read that right, $1000. Seriously, why didn't he just give us that price the first time? It did not matter anyway because we did not get the carpet. I have also been calling around for estimates on fences for our backyard. They varied by nearly $500. Chris and I together were able to negotiate a price that we were happy with. But again, why didn't they just give us that price to begin with. Chris has been doing his own negotiations this week of a little more importance than a fence or carpet, but we will discuss that later. I guess I just do not understand why we have to negotiate. Is shopping for anything turning into an experience similar to buying a car?

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Addison's 1st Easter

We had to wake up Addison and Alivia this morning to get ready for 9 AM Easter Mass. Alivia told me she was still tired and did not seem to care to see a basket with candy. She was quite excited when she did see it though. She got a Barbie with some new clothes, Happy Feet, Bible ABC cards, a coloring book and of course, candy. Addison got a 3 books and a little lamb that baa'd. After Mass, we went and picked up Aunt Nikki and drove to my parents in Iowa for the day. After a fun filled weekend, we were exhausted (Yesterday we went to Great Grandma & Grandpa Austins in the morning and Nikki and I went to visit Grandpa George in the afternoon, Chris and I also have stayed up until midnight or later the last 3 nights watching movies on Thursday, talking with Dave on Friday night and again watching movies last night. Go and rent The Pursuit of Happyness...a good movie!).

Alivia really got into Easter this year, which was so touching for us. I asked her at dinner today what Easter meant. I thought she would say eggs and candy. But, she first said...going to church, and then I asked her about the cross and she responsed "Jesus!". I guess whatever we are saying is sinking in. Both Alivia and Addison had fun on their indoor Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Alivia ran excitedly picking up her eggs. It was so cute. Addison even picked up a couple of eggs, and she liked to hear the noise of the candy when she shook the egg.

Everyone slept on the way home, except Nikki and I. Tomorrow is back to reality. But, it was sure nice to spend extra family time together over the weekend.

Happy Easter! 

(Stay tuned...Chris may have a big announcement to make this week!)

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Happy Birthday to Topher!

Today Chris turned 35! We were both luckily able to take the day off work. We went bowling with Aunt KK in the morning. This was Alivia's first time bowling and she really liked it. Chris spent a lot of the day pondering an important decision (which I will later post if and when the decision is made). We also dyed a few eggs for Easter. Alivia had fun with that. We then had a few guests for dinner and cake (a non party party since I decided to no longer have a party :) ), including my cousin Dave from Chicago. We laughed so hard our faces hurt. I think Chris had a good birthday.

 

Happy 35th Birthday, Chris...and many more!

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Little bump

Addison's little bump on her head turned out to be nothing major, thank-goodness. She must have bumped her head and formed a small calcification (dried blood) under the surface. The Dr said it should go away with time.

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April Fools!

So did anyone get fooled?

I got Chris this year...good. I took a late night trip to the store last night and he was downstairs when I returned home. He had no idea what I purchased. So, this morning after church, I reminded him of my trip and told him that I picked "something" up and um, he was going to be a daddy again. Let's just say, I thought Topher was going to  BLANK his pants. Needless to say, I told him right away, "APRIL FOOLS."

Okay, that was funny. Now, I just hope God saw Chris' reaction since He is in charge of our family planning. :)

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The art of spring cleaning

Alivia at work.

I am the last person to talk about art, or cleaning for that matter. But, that summarized our weekend. After a very long and difficult week, I was just happy to get through it in a few pieces. So, I was content cleaning. We started our weekend by trying a new (but very old) pizza place in Millard...Bernie's Pizza. We would give it an 8 out of 10. The pizza was great, made by Bernie himself. It was a small Mom and Pop shop. We ate out, (which is quite rare for us) and the food was good. Afterwards, we went to a park nearby and Alivia had a blast.

As far as the weekend went, I cleaned and did laundry while Chris started the season of yard work. The yard is already looking green and our home is beginning to smell of cleaning solutions. I'm just getting started, though...I have a lot more to do.

Addison started saying "Mama" last week and continued talking throught the weekend. She is becoming more vocal and loud now! She is also our little George, Curious George that is. She crawls to whatever is dangerous to check it out. For example, I put her down in the basement to crawl surrounded by toys. She crawled right over the toys and went straight for the heater. This did not surprise me at all. She also is pulling to a stand quite well and then letting go of 1 hand but not both hands yet. She is getting really good at picking up her finger foods and loves crackers! Addison does have a little bump on her head that is not from a fall that seems to be getting bigger. I hope to take her to her Dr this week to check it out.

Alivia came down with a cold today and told us 100 times or more, "My nose is running." Now, we just need to teach her to go and get a tissue by herself. She used to do this by herself but now likes us to do this special treat for her. Last week was her first week of doing 50% of her gymnastics class alone! I watched from outside of the room. What a girl! She also went down the tunnel slide, "By myself" as she says. She is a big girl! Now, if we can just get her out of her pull-up at night...

I am going to Denver for a day this week, so I will check out the mountains for everyone - briefly - and then fly back. But, if all goes well, the trip will give me a raise. At least that is the goal. On Friday, Chris will turn 35! So, Happy b-day big cat daddy!

Here is to hoping for a MUCH better week this week!

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Happy Spring!

I love this time of year...perfect weather, birds chirping, green grass. What is there not to like? We spent the last week outside, weather permitting. Alivia could live outside if we would let her. She plays on her playset, bikes and spends hours at the neighborhood park when the weather is nice. Chris finally completed the garage organization. Looks wonderful! I need to take of picture of his masterpiece. It is SOOOO much better.

Spring also brings spring cleaning. I watched as our neighbor MAN of the house washed his windows and wondered if my Dad had ever done that job. I actually look forward to the day I have a few moments to get a few of our windows clean. Chris and I continue to do our financial cleaning, so to speak, too, & are excited by our progress! My new favorite magazine is MONEY. They have great advice in there for self professed penny pinchers like myself.

This coming week looks to be a busy one. My boss will be here for a couple days keeping me company. I hope to start our spring cleaning at night so we can start wearing weather appropriate clothes. Until next week...

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