Monday, August 31, 2009

Blogging priorities ...

So much to blog about lately ... so little time.

So I thought I'd cut to the chase and give you the BIG news. It's another GIRL! We are squarely in the girl camp. Meredith and Clara are elated. Meredith wanted to call everyone she knew after the ultrasound on Friday.

Here are two pictures. The first one is a 4D ultrasound picture. The baby is resting her head on the placenta. Pretty cool, huh? These pictures were taken with a new machine my doctor's office purchased in January. It was amazing and overwhelming to see my baby in 4D. She kept moving her hand across her face and opening and closing her mouth. Incredible.

I'm 18 weeks now. Baby's due date is January 30, 2010.

 
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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Autumn around the bend ...

Summer is coming to a close and I can hardly believe it. I was in denial until I saw school supplies on sale at Target.

Speaking of school, I can also no longer deny that I am a homeschool mom, even if it’s only preschool. I have officially plunked down a large sum of money for preschool curriculum. This year we opted for Sonlight curriculum and will likely use a few workbooks here and there. Meredith is super excited and keeps asking when she can do her school work. I keep telling her she has to wait until after Labor Day. But I’m glad she’s so anxious.

And I totally copied a friend from church and bought a big crate to keep all of Meredith’s school books and activities in. Here you have it:
 

The potty training is still going remarkably well. There are a few accidents here and there but they are becoming fewer and farther between. And Clara is staying dry at nights too!
 

Meredith found some funny wigs in the basement the other day and was having fun with it. She makes a cute blondie, eh?
 

Here are some more flowers from my garden. With being sick a lot this summer and being so busy lately I feel that there is very little I do that is beautiful and creative. But when I see these flowers it just makes me really happy. It's a very small thing but it's something. And I love it.
 
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State Fair '09

We went to the state fair twice this year 'cuz we just couldn't get enough of it after one evening.

Do you realize that we actually did bring the double stroller? But this mode of transportation is much more fun.
 

Petting the various farm animals is always a highlight for the kids.
 

Meredith is going to be our roller coaster girl. She loved all the rides.
 

The winning pumpkin weighed 1,145 pounds!
 

Clara is definitely in this cheesy smile phase.
 

Making etchings in leather.
 

The second day we went was "Taste of the Fair." It was fun to sample many of the fair offerings for just $2. I hope they do it again next year!
 

One of the kids' favorite things was the Riley Hands-On Farm. They got to feed (pretend) farm animals, plant produce, harvest produce, collect eggs, gather wool, milk a cow, etc. Then at the end they sorted and sold their goods at the market and were given a (pretend) dollar to spend at the general store. Meredith picked a granola bar and Clara picked orange juice. It was very educational and they LOVED it.
 


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Horse Show

I took the girls to a local horse show a few weekends ago. Despite high temperatures, it was awesome. We will definitely plan on going back next year.

 

 

 

 

 

Since I never seem to be in our family pictures (being the family photographer and all), I decided to do a self-picture. Here I am watching one of the events.
 


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Friday, August 07, 2009

Seven Years

This is four days late but still as heartfelt as if it were on time ... I'm the happiest and luckiest girl in the world 'cuz Kevin is my man!
 
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Strawberry Jammies

Words cannot describe how much I love these two girls.
 

 

 
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Don't Hate Me. The Girl is Self-Potty Training.

Clara has decided on her own that it’s time to learn to use the potty. I have tossed around the idea of starting to teach her because she has been showing all the signs for a few months now. But since I haven’t been feeling up to it, I haven’t done anything about it.

This, however, is the second day in a row she has declared, “I haf’ go potty!” And when we have put her on the toilet, she promptly goes. She did it last night and she did it today after we came home from the grocery store.

God knew I needed a child like Clara in my life right now.

 


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