Wordless Wednesday

Ready for Christmas

The girls are totally ready for Christmas. They have been wearing Christmas pajamas. Libby wants everything in sight. We have been counting down the days with an Advent Calendar. We have been watching Christmas cartoons and shows on TV. Brynn doesn't have much of a clue of what's going on, but likes to take all the ornaments that she can reach off the tree and carry them around and sometimes has been known to break pieces off - good thing we have super glue. The both like to eat Christmas sweets too.

Dang stomach issues

I finally went to the G.I. doctor last week and he told me some things that have probably been dragging me down this school year. I either have Celiac Disease (would have to eat a gluten free diet) or ulcers. I have to go in for a scope on Friday to determine what is going on. There was one other thing he mentioned that I don't remember (not a gallbladder) but it wasn't as big of a deal as these others. I have no clue how long it will take to find out the results but I'm anxious to find out what's going on so I can start fixing it and feeling better.

Brynn is getting so big. She can say so many things and talks in short sentences. She loves to dance and loves to play with baby dolls and dress up. She has Bieber Fever (she likes Justin Bieber for those of you who might be worried about a fever). She knows one song and walks around "singing" it. She will say "baby baby oooh" and will request to watch the video online (that was my fault that she started on that). She also loves her teddy bear Maggie.



Libby is learning so much at school. She knows most of her letters (big and small), how to write them, and what sounds they make. She's starting to write some words and can read them too. She can consistently count to 30 and sometimes to 40. She learned all about "the name of Mericans" (Native Americans) before Thanksgiving and figured out that Merica (America) starts with an M. We can't believe our daughter is a George W. Bush fan. Where did we go wrong? If we're not careful she'll start watching Fox News.

This school year has really been zapping my energy. I can't even begin to explain the crazy schedule that I have to keep. Just trying to figure it all out makes me tired. Pretty soon (after Thanksgiving) I will be going to 3 schools in 4 days time. Our schedules are on a 4 day cycle (ABCD days instead of Monday through Friday). It's confusing and frustrating for those of us living it. Hopefully the school district will listen to the counselors and media specialists who seem to be living the worst of it and make some of the changes we've suggested for next year. Anyway, after school, I'm totally exhausted and do not want to devote much time to update the blog.

Brynn is talking up a storm. Her speech is much more understandable than Libby's was when she was 18 months old. (Can you believe that Brynn is 18 months old?! I can't!) She is starting to put together 2-3 word sentences. Libby already knows most of her letters but is also learning to write them, read them, the sounds they make, and words that start with each letter. She can count up to 45 (sometimes higher). Libby is starting to learn to tie her shoes - she can make the X by herself and pull that tight. She's also learning all sorts of valuable social skills. She's learning how to solve a problem when a friend says something to her that she doesn't like. She will be well prepared next year when she starts school.

Yesterday on our way home from daycare, we followed her teacher out of the neighborhood. She said, "Meagan is going home to be with her mom." Meagan is 24 and I'm pretty sure she doesn't live with her mom so I said, "Meagan is a grownup and she doesn't live with her parents anymore." Libby said, "You have to live with your parents so they will take care of you." I pointed out that Mommy and Daddy's parents don't live with us anymore. We are grown and when she is grown that she will not live with us anymore either. She got very teary and said, "I want to live with you. I will miss you." She is so very sweet, but I still want her to move out when she's older! :)


Cuddle time on the big chair.


Cozy girls! :)

Photo Contest

Parents Photo Faves

Please vote for Libby in this photo contest. You can vote 1 time a day until November 27th. If she wins, she will get $250. I think that's pretty cool. She moved from #1188 yesterday to #196 today. Keep it up!

Happy Halloween

On Friday the girls had a Halloween party at their school. When I picked them up I asked Libby if her friends liked her costume. She said they did. I asked if they had liked Brynn's costume. Without hesitation she said, "I don't think so". What a stinker!


The girls had a good time Trick or Treating last night. First we went to Hy-Vee and got some treats around the store. It was pretty fun for little kids. Brynn really liked walking around the store carrying her pumpkin bucket. You could really tell she thought she was big stuff. Libby had started out wanting to be Tinkerbell but the wings wouldn't stay up and she was a little disappointed. So last minute we changed it to Tiana. The dress looked so much like Tiana's dress at the end of The Princess and The Frog that I printed out a Tiana picture and stuck it to the front of the Tinkerbell dress - viola - instant Tiana.


We took a few pictures of the girls before we left the house.


Brynn was just a bit distracted by the flowers. Libby thought she was hot stuff.


After Hy-Vee we went to campus and Trick or Treated at an event there. Brynn was very excited and was saying "Trick or Treat" and "candy". I don't really know who told her all this stuff. She's going to be outsmarting me in about a year.


Libby is looking so grown up. I can hardly stand it. Where has my little girl gone?


It looks like we have one girl who could keep on going and one who is ready for a cold one in the easy chair.


Libby saw some other girls acting like they were scared on this bench so this is her attempt at looking scared too. Brynn obviously doesn't see the horror (i.e. Daddy's head) that's out there waiting to get them.

It's been awhile...

I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted. It's been a hectic school year for me. We've had MAJOR schedule changes, a new principal, lots of new staff, and a new counseling coordinator. It almost feels like it's my first year all over again. I'm tired a lot of the time - basically just pure exhaustion, but I'm really not complaining. I feel like this will be a good year. It's just going to be one of those that I am really earning my summer.

Anyway, the girls are doing great. Libby started back up at dance class 3 weeks ago. She also started Sunday School classes at church. She goes for an hour and fifteen minutes every Sunday. She really likes it but I feel a little guilty because I hated my religion classes as a kid. The first week she said they talked about treasure like lost pennies. My friend said it sounded a little like Pirate School so who could dislike that? Plus her good friend Paige is in the class too. Win-win.

Libby and I also walked in the Susan G. Komen 5K about a week ago. She walked more than half of it even though it was pouring rain by the end of it. If my phone had not died because of all the water that day I was going to try to get a picture at the end. It's really for the best though that I didn't get one because Libby was miserable. It was supposed to be 90 degrees and sunny that day but it ended up being about 70 and rainy. We walked at 8 am and it was not raining when the walk started (although it had been raining before the walk). I really thought we'd be able to walk without rain. I was wrong. By the end of it, we were completely soaked. We could pour water out of our shoes. I had promised Libby a donut at the end of the walk but we had to go home and get some dry clothes on first. All in all she did great and I think we'll do it again next year. We both had a good time even with the rain.

Libby's class is learning about fire safety this week. She came home yesterday talking all about smoke detectors and what do if you hear one. She said: "When I am playing in my room and hear a smoke alarm, I need to go outside. I need to walk and not act like a head without a chicken. Then we go to our meeting spot." HA! Her teacher told them that basically they need to remain calm outside and not run around like a chicken with their heads cut off! At least she understood the concept if not the expression.


Brynn ready for church. I know her tights don't match. They're supposed to look like that. They're Little Miss Matched which is probably one of my new favorite brands for the girls (and me - who am I kidding).


Libby ready for Sunday School. It was cold here Sunday, can you tell?

Swing Set

My parents came up last weekend and helped us put up a swing set for the girls. It took about 8-10 hours and had LOTS of pieces but really wasn't all that hard.


This looks about right... Mike yawning... Dad and I working...




All done! Let's go check it out!


These horses live on our street.


Pretty Brynn


Pretty Libby


We had some friends over last Monday to try out the new swing set.


Libby and her BFF, Piper


Brynn and her BFF, Tatum.

Susan G. Komen 5K

Libby and I signed up to walk in the Susan G. Komen 5K on Sept. 19th. Please support us by donating to support Breast Cancer Research. You can donate HERE! We appreciate any help.

Too Many to Choose

My cousin Katie took some great pictures of us this weekend. This is probably about half of them. I just couldn't narrow it down more.

Chicago Trip

We got back from Chicago a week ago but I've been too busy playing catch up to update with pictures of commentary from the trip. The girls did great! They are turning into great little travelers - especially Brynn. We pretty much got back from West Virginia, were home about 2 weeks, packed back up and headed out to Chicago. I think I was more frazzled than either of the girls were. Brynn has figured out how to sleep in a hotel room and in port-a-cribs better than Libby ever did. She's a major trooper.


Both girls loved looking out the window of our first hotel room. It was on the 44th floor and had these HUGE windows.



We went to the American Girl Store... 4 times... Libby LOVES it. She knows exactly what doll she wants when she's a little bigger. I still think she's a little young for one of the "big girl" dolls. She already has a Bitty Baby and loves her dearly. We did buy her Bitty Baby some new outfits while we were there. We also visited the Disney Store 3 or 4 times. I lost count. Libby is recently obsessed with Toy Story 3 and loves the cowgirl, Jessie and her horse Bulls Eye (which Libby pronounces Booz-eye). So we had to look at all the princess stuff and the Toy Story stuff. Libby was in Heaven.


This was in the window of our 2nd hotel. Mike had a conference the first 2 nights so we stayed at that hotel those nights but had to move the next 2. Anyway, this hotel had much smaller windows but the girls still liked to stand in them and look out even though we were only on the 10th floor.


We decided to take the girls to the Shedd Aquarium one day. It was raining so we wanted to do something inside. We just went for the most stripped down package they have and I think both of them thought it was still pretty cool. Brynn thought these BIG fish were neat. She kept saying "ish" which we're pretty sure was Brynnese for fish.


These rays were really cool. If you stood over them they would swim up towards you along the glass. You could see the underneath sides really well.

We also got to eat at a lot of fun places including two meals with my friend Jana (she was my college roommate and maid of honor in our wedding). It's always great to see her even if my kids are being a little twerpish because they have to behave while we eat out.


As you can see she was tired on our trip home.


So this was obviously not taken in Chicago but it was just yesterday. She's been sitting like this more and more lately and I just love it. She looks so big lounging around. Mike also commented yesterday that he can tell she's a big girl now because she's been picking her nose. HA!


Libby couldn't be left out of the picture taking.

Pretty Brynn

Brynn has been really interested in Libby's dress up stuff. So much so that this is what she has been doing lately.


She doesn't even care if she runs into things. She just falls down, laughs, and does it all over again.

So then we decided that maybe she'd like to wear her own dress up. We put Libby's dance recital costume on her. She was so happy that we couldn't get her to stand still for a picture so we just took another video.

West Virginia Pictures

I know these pictures are not very interesting for Mike's family as they have all lived in this town at some point (or still do) but I thought others might like to see small town West Virginia. Some of my pictures turned out better than others.


This is going into downtown Logan.


This is going into downtown from the neighborhood where Mike's family lives. Those cars are parked. There are always cars parked along this road and the road is as narrow as it looks.


This is part of the street that Mike's family lives on. This is another very narrow street and the sidewalks are also narrow (maybe wide enough for one person).


This is a bridge that the kids in the neighborhood have to walk across to get to school (on the island). You can drive to school also but it's a lot longer to go that way.


This is a shot from the street too. The house on the left belongs to Mike's grandmother and the house all the way on the right belongs to his cousin.




Downtown Logan, WV.