Videos From the Farm...

We got a couple of cute videos while we we away this weekend. The first is Em trying really hard to ride a bicycle and it will not move. I love what she tells Derek to do to help her move! The second is Nicole singing a silly song on the front porch swing with all of the kids. I think Sarah Beth and Timothy were the only children not on the swing with her. Poor Nicole, she is near the end of her pregnancy with Annelise and still had all of the other kids climbing all over her. We have video of her on the blog from last year at the farm singing the same song with all of the same children...crazy how fast time flies by (if you look in the Archives under May 2008, that's where last year's video is)! I hope we can get a video of them doing this every single year! I'm sure they will be just thrilled to do it when they are all pre-teens....hahaha!!! More pics are in the album of our weekend at Nicole's family's farm. I will post more about all of that later, but we had a blast!

Emily...Going Absolutely Nowhere!

Nicole, The Kiddos, and The Silly Chicken Song!...

I Was Not Expecting This...

...so soon!!!! What in the world???? Those were the actual words that left my lips about a week ago when I walked into Timothy's room one morning and found this!! He is just shy of eight months and is EVERYWHERE!! We obviously had to lower his crib. And now he thinks it is really funny to stand up as soon as I put him in his bed for his naps. He immediately stands up and bounces up and down in his bed. He does eventually fall asleep!:) Hopefully the novelty of his newfound skills will wear off soon!

On Friday night, we were playing with him at the big wooden block in the pic below. I sat in amazement as he pulled himself up to it and then completed an entire lap around it without any help. Even Emily's mouth was hanging open...I really could not believe what I was seeing! I know that he will be walking soon and it makes me a little sad. My baby is already getting so big.

So, Rebekah, I immediately thought of you this week. My thoughts went to Christmas a year ago with Caroline. I don't know how your poor back survived her walking so early! I may be calling you for reinforcement and advice this week!:):)

I posted about Easter below, as well as our time with family last week! And there is a video that follows this post of catching Timothy in the act of accomplishing a new and daring feat. Now I am going to enjoy my last few minutes of getting some things done without the little stinker nipping at my heels.

I Think He's Planning an Escape!!

Maybe I should have been more freaked out that he got up to the window by himself, but I knew I had to get it on video. So I did what any wonderful and cautious mom would do...I went into the next room to grab the camera! HAH!! I figured if he fell, he would try it again anyway so why bother to hover...that sounded better in my head!

Seriously though, what I really love about all of these new things that we are catching him doing is that Emily is equally surprised every time. I love how she explains to him in the video why he can't get out the window! She cracks me up and is such an incredible sister to him! I can tell that the fun is just beginning between the two of them. I am sure I'll have more antics to post later...

It's Been a Busy Week!

I'm not sure where the time went last week. I had been looking forward to spending time with my family for months and now it has quickly come and gone! We began the Easter weekend with a surprise for my mom whose birthday was actually April 2, but we decided to surprise her while my brother was visiting. It was so much fun getting everyone together. Although, we were missing one of my brothers and his wife and children, we still had a full house. There was lots and lots of laughter and funny stories. All in all, a great time. I hope my mom felt truly loved and blessed. We all love her very much!!!

While my brother and his wife, one of my dearest friends, were here, we stayed very busy. We watched movies, hung out, ate and ate and ate some more, went to the zoo, played at the Discovery Center, and laughed hard. It was really an awesome visit!! Thank you Scott and Rach (and Carter and Maddie) for making the trip!!

Below are some pics from the last week. There are tons of new pics in the album!

Videos Galore!

I got a little video crazy! I had some new funny ones and was so excited when I realized that some I tried a few weeks ago had actually completed uploading when I thought they kept failing. There are four that I posted tonight and we have family in town all week so I'm sure I'll get some more good ones!:)

Timothy Trying to Get Around!

Granted he gets a little annoyed with the whole video thing after a couple of seconds, but he is still cute so I thought I would post this video of TK moving around. He was much more animated, of course, and then as soon as I got the camera, he got fussy...go figure!

Stinky Feet!!

I do not understand why Emily thinks is so funny, but she kept wanting Uncle Dana to smell her feet this weekend. They played this game over and over and over (listen for "one more, one more time"). Uncle Dana is a big kid himself and was such a good sport. Poor Aunt Cheryl...she lives with Dana day in and day out!:)

True Love Captured on Film!

One day I hope we laugh about this all together! This is from when Caleb and Emily were little. I found it one day and was crying because I couldn't stop laughing. I just love how Caleb reacts to Emily. Hilarious!!!

Timothy's Dedication

This video is long and I realize most people won't want to see it all, but for our family especially, you can see Timothy's dedication even if you weren't able to attend. You can hear specifically what we asked to be prayed over him and then you can listen to Jeff Patton, one of our teaching pastor's, and Carrie, our children's minister, lead the prayer. It was a really sweet day for our family. I did blog on this a few weeks back, but had trouble with the video and thought it wouldn't upload. To my surprise today, I realized it did...yay!!! If you skip to about 1 min. into the video, it starts Timothy...we were last, so the prayer is right after.

7 Months Old!

I can't believe how fast Timothy is growing! He is one happy little guy! (unless he is trying to sleep through teething pain...uggghhh!) He didn't have his 4 month appt. b/c we were battling some funky yuck throughout Christmas and I just thought shots would be torture, so he went in at 5 months. In turn, that put us at a 7 month checkup instead of 6. All to say that at his 7 month visit a couple of weeks ago, he topped the scales at a whopping 17lbs. 10oz. and was 26.5 inches long. He is not as chubby as Emily was, but he feels equally as heavy...:) But, him not chunking up has no direct correlation to the amount of food that goes into this child. I'm already so scared as to what the food bills will be in the future!

As I've said many times before, he is a very happy and smiley boy. He is into EVERYTHING! He is trying so hard to pull up in his crib and gets everywhere he wants to go. So far, he has pulled over a huge plant, tried to eat the fake greenery out of a fake topiary, put the dog toy in his mouth (yes, it made me want to barf too and I love my dogs), stands at the Leapfrog table with help, slobbers on all of his sister's most precious possessions, bumped his head numerous times, laughs so heartily, and currently is becoming a pro at copying us by wrinkling up his nose and making a funny noise. He is tons of fun! And I can't say enough how much we love him...by far his biggest fan though is Emily Paige and the feeling is mutual. I know there will be lots of arguing and fights over toys to come, but for now I am enjoying the sweetness between the two of them.

That just about does it for the update on TK! I hope everyone has an amazing weekend celebrating the Death and Resurrection of our Lord!

Uncle Dana's Visit...

...this is how it all began,

...and this was the tragic ending!

...And then there was everything in between!!

We love you Uncle Dana! We had a terrific time and can't wait until we see you again soon...too bad it can't be at Easter:( I'm sure Em would looovvveee hunting for eggs with you! And let this serve as documentation that although Uncle Dana did inadvertently make Emily cry, it was not by way of his usual antics and when he said good-bye, Emily BEGGED to see Uncle Dana again...really, she was in love! He played and played with her and was as goofy as she was, so she had a blast! Thanks for a fun visit...next time bring Aunt Cheryl Ann!:)

**To prevent massive amounts of the normal tormenting/teasing that all of the siblings in my family endure, Dana was lovingly and dutifully flying a kite with Emily (her first one ever) and the wind was really strong. The kite whipped out of Dana's hand and somehow got caught on a neighbor's roof. (It stayed there for almost 2 weeks...it was really hung up!) The (obvious) pic of her screaming was taken by Derek immediately following the incident. All was good after a much needed nap! (But man, those pics are priceless!)**

Caught up on posting...lots of pics below:)

First 2009 Zoo Trip

Such sweet little friends! We had such a great time with Isabella and Georgia. I think the girls had the most fun in the car though!:) 4 carseats in one car and 2 chattering moms...what's not to love?!

The whole gang after lunch! (including Timothy and Mason) I can't remember who held him up for the pic, but I love that he looks like he is floating!

Melts Me Everytime!

The bond that is already between these two is hard to describe...makes me thankful, very thankful, for my 3 brothers...yes I actually admitted that!:)

I have no idea what she is telling him, but it must be good!

Sweet sweet babies! (and yes, Em is wearing her Christmas jammies...what can I say, I'm too cheap to only wear them during Dec. and the girl loves Christmas:)

Too Cute!

There just are no words!

What do you think this conversation would be about? Most likely an extremely disgruntled Gizmo cursing under his breath at yet another human taking away his attention and space! Our poor dogs!

Love the Men in my LIfe!!

Are these 2 good looking dudes or what?...I just think it is HILARIOUS how much Timothy looks like Derek! Really, would it be too much to ask to carry a child for 9 months and have them look the least bit like their mommy! Too bad for Derek that Emily got my stubborness and goofy personality instead...hehe!!

Movin' on Up!...

No, I'm not talking about the Jefferson's...hah!! I'm referring to my sweet Emmy Paige! I can't believe that she is in the 3 year old class at church now...she is getting to be such a big girl. These pics aren't very good because she was so excited, but they are of her first day in her new class about a month ago. Of course, we had to get one with her buddy Caleb. This is the third class that they have moved up together in. She has been coming home each week talking about everything that she learns. I am so thankful to the volunteers at FBC that work in The 'Boro...you guys are AWESOME!!!!...and Em loves you!

btw...Aunt Rachel, this is the dress that Emily got with the gift card from the Gap that you sent her....Christmas 2007!!! haha! THANK YOU!!

Update on my cousin...

Thanks to all of you that have been praying for my cousin Rick and his wife Kristen. I talked to my Aunt, Rick's mom, a couple of days ago. She told me that Kristen was doing much better and that the surgery was completed b/c the bleeding did stop! Praise God!! After hearing the whole story from my aunt, I am amazed that Kristen and her baby girl survived...no doubt a miracle!!

Since I had that conversation with her, I found out that Kristen came off of the ventilator and was moved to another room and can now be with her new daughter, Regan, in the same room. She can now also see her 10 year old daughter and they can spend some time together as a family celebrating all that God has done over the past week. Please continue to pray for Kristen's recovery. Thanks again for all of your prayers!