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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