no good title comes to mind...

Here's a couple pics from our mini family photo shoot before Marlon's department christmas party the other night. Here's our little crawler who's getting around pretty well these days! He has started pulling up to a standing position on Alex's Dora house--he's pretty daring! His mood has definitely improved as he can now happily sit in the living room playing while I'm making dinner or doing something else. He is loving crawling around and exploring things. He enjoys pushing Alex's puzzle boxes around the floor, and he likes going for the christmas tree and the few presents underneath!

Me and the kids

I had to take this photo of what I believe is the first time the kids played TOGETHER. They played with the cars and the garage, and Alex was nice enough to share some cars with her little brother. Cute! (Renee--notice Nolan's old Diego PJs on Alex?!)

On a totally unrelated note, can someone tell me how to improve on my incredibly boring header on my blog? I tried to follow instructions I found somewhere but couldn't get it to work. I see many of you have better headers with bigger font, pictures, decoration, etc. Please help me spruce mine up!

Has a future star been born?

Tuesday night was a big night for Alex (and for us!)--it was her first official, organized soccer lesson!! It came up kind of last minute, but the women's soccer team here does a youth clinic that lasts for 3 weeks. They start with kids age 3 through teenagers, so I thought this would be the perfect time to get Alex introduced to soccer as a player, not just a spectator! She is comfortable with the women's players because she knows a number of them so we thought it would be as good a time as any to start! Due to the short notice, Marlon had to stop at Dick's to buy her first pair of cleats and shin guards--I'm sure that was a great moment for him. (this is also why she isn't matching quite so well--we realized that there aren't too many shorts available this time of year, and there aren't many soccer socks available for kids her size! We may need to dig through Nolan's hand me downs for Kellan to see if there are any athletic shorts in there, since we realize these are the only ones Alex has!). Either way she looked cute and we still had to snap a few photos (Marlon was trying to get her to do the official soccer picture pose).

Alex waiting for her name to be called for her "team"!

Practicing her dribbling skills

She seemed to have a good time so we'll be going back next week. The women's head coach has 2 little girls, and her daughter Gracie who is 2 1/2 was in Alex's group, so she had a little friend on her team. We also found out that her BFF at school, Sophia, will also be attending the clinic, so she'll probably be there next week--that should be fun to watch! Alex even commented on the way home that she was actually tired from playing soccer. Maybe we've finally found something that can tire out our little energizer bunny!

long overdue kiddie pics

I've been meaning to post some pictures of the kids over the past month--enjoy!

Alex goofing around with daddy--**I have a picture of Marlon doing a similar thing from college--I have to dig it out and scan it in to post. Like father, like daughter!

Alex helping to trim the tree!

The finished product, cut down by daddy! (I am hoping to get some pics from our tree cutting trip but they are still on my mom's camera)

Kellan playing in the clothes basket (can you see his 2 teeth?)

Like mother, like daughter (like Granddad!), the girl loves cookie dough--Alex licking the bowl after making chocolate chip cookies with mommy and Ehren

Kellan in his hooded towel made by Grammy

We've got a CRAWLER on our hands!

It's official! We have a crawler! At 8 1/2 months Kellan started crawling this evening after his bath--he is exactly the same age his big sister was when she began to crawl. Just in time--we put our christmas tree up yesterday so this should be interesting! A new world has opened up for our little guy who has been desperately trying to get around for weeks and weeks! Since he has never really been a little boy who would happily sit and play in one place anyway, I don't feel like I'll be missing much--I'm just hoping instead of fussing every time someone walks out of the room he can now be thrilled that he can just follow behind!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with my parents--no pictures to post yet since most are on their camera. I have some more pics to post but don't have the energy to do it now...just wanted to highlight this important evening for our little "bubba". Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Kellan is 8 months old

Our (not so little) guy is now 8 months old! He's a little under the weather today (either a cold or teething--not sure which one yet-maybe both!) but otherwise doing well. At 8 months Kellan:

-Rolls over like crazy to get himself somewhere.

-Can stand up on all fours when attempting to crawl--he just needs to learn to move his arms with his legs and he'll be on his way!

-finally got his first 2 teeth (within a few days of each other!)-I have a feeling more are on the way!

-likes to click his tongue and stick out his tongue while blowing (like a "raspberry" but with his tongue out--not so fun when eating!)

-is figuring out how to clap-he loves to watch us clap, and he now "claps" his hands too!

I will post pictures of my little man later, but I want to post on something else weighing on my heart. I came across a blog recently off a link from the Bring the Rain site that I often read. I just started reading Adrienne's blog yesterday and if ever I've asked, "Why, God?" it's after reading her story. I don't know anyone personally going through the pains of trying to adopt a child when you cannot carry one of your own, and to read what she has just experienced really is hard to imagine. I have prayed for her a lot over the past 24 hours, and I will continue to keep their family in my prayers, knowing that God has a different path for them that they may not yet understand. I ask that you say a prayer for Adrienne, Jim, and little Owen today. It really reminds me how much I take for granted--just being blessed to have 2 of my own children who are healthy. With Thanksgiving approaching, you can bet I will be counting my blessings this year.

Around home

Here are some recent pics of the kids. I had some quality bonding time with both this week as Alex was off from school for Veteran's Day, then I kept her home again yesterday for fear that she had pink eye (she doesn't!). Kellan is soon to be 8 months, and I can see already that he is going to be a handful once he starts officially crawling. You can see how badly he wants to get around--he will roll to get somewhere, crawl backwards, whatever he can do to get around. When you pick him up he's already starting to push away from you as if he wants to get down--I'm not sure where he thinks he wants to go but he already seems to have the urge to be on his own! :(
He gets up on all fours and tries to figure out where to go from there--I think it's only a matter of time before the crawling begins! I'm trying to cherish these remaining moments of little boy who is content to stay where I put him on the floor and play with toys!

Kellan practicing his crawling

A Happy girl before her dad's last home soccer game of the season

Big changes

So I've been wanting to post about this subject for a while but I needed to wait until the time was right. As many of you know the travel demands of my job have increased over the years and with 2 children it has made it even more difficult to give 100% to being a mother and 100% to my job. Many months ago we decided that I would be quitting my job by the end of the year and plan to stay at home, at least until the kids are off to school, then I will decide where to go at that point. I arranged to take Kellan out of daycare, effective today, and we plan to continue allowing Alex to attend preschool since she loves it and really has a great experience there. Well, my plan was fast forwarded a few weeks when I was laid off today since my company had to cut back a bit due to the difficult economy these days. It's actually a blessing because it is a better situation from a financial standpoint then if I had left on my own, so for that I am grateful. So beginning Monday I am a stay-at-home mom with time to do nothing but take care of my family and my house! Although this is very foreign thing for me since I've always worked, I'm looking forward to giving it a try. I'm thankful that Marlon's job has finally given me this opportunity to not have to work for a while--I really believe it's right for our family, so I'm going to embrace it! So that's the big news of the day--fun things to come!

Halloween and more

A little belated, here are a few pics of the kids from Halloween. Alex had a parade at school, where she was able to re-use her ladybug costume from last year (it was more weather appropriate and it still fit!). I was able to go with her on her parade since I was given the day off from work in honor of the Phillies winning the world series (the perk of having my home office in Philly!).

Alex and her BFF Sophia

My little man in the Giraffe costume that Alex wore on her first Halloween (it was a bit more snug on Kellan for sure!)

The giraffe and Snow White

Snow White getting ready to go trick-or-treating (thanks to Aunt Nay Nay for the outfit!!)

I had to add this cute photo of Alex. She was eating some Taco Soup (shocking for those who know her?! It was only a few bites but she sure looked excited to try it!)

The above photo was followed by Daddy making her eat a grape in the pic below (you'd think we'd fed her brussel sprouts by the look on her face!) For those who aren't aware, she is a very picky eater and hates just about all fruits due to their juicy, mushy texture but we continue to try and get her to try different things regularly in the hopes that her eating habits will change!

Kellan enjoying playing in a laundry basket. Why hadn't I put him in here before?

Kellan hanging out in his activity center (since he usually isn't smiling in his photos I wanted to include a happy one!)

Kellan is finally having his first tooth break through, and he is showing the same symptoms that his big sister did when she was teething...flushed cheeks, runny nose, excessive drooling. I also think he's fighting a cold (as both Alex and I are) so that definitely doesn't help with the extra congestion and watery eyes! He's also slowly becoming more mobile--even though he still doesn't roll over regularly, we know he can. He likes to be on his belly and scoot backwards across the room, and he lifts himself on all fours and tries to catapult himself forward or sideways. It's pretty funny to watch--you can tell he wants to get moving but just isn't sure how! His daycare class is filled with a bunch of early crawlers so he's surrounded by his "friends" who are all on the move--guess he's getting some good motivation!

Purging...

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by the clutter that has overtaken my house. I am truly beginning to believe the saying "Cluttered house, cluttered mind". I really want to do a thorough house cleaning, going from room to room getting rid of stuff. My only dilemma is that a lot of the stuff I want to get rid of has some value, and I would prefer to have a yard sale instead of just dumping it all off to the salvation army. The issue with that is that I have to wait until warmer weather to have a yard sale, so I am trying to decide if it's crazy to collect up everything I want to get rid of and put it in our storage room in the spring to get it out of the house, or if I just want to wait until then to do the purging (or do I just want to dump it in the car, take it to salvation army and be done with it?). Does anyone have suggestions, or have any creative ways to purge stuff that you just don't need? I just realize as I look around the house that we have way too much "stuff"--we can be perfectly happy with so much less, and I feel like even though we've only been in this house for 2 years it seems like we've accumulated so much more stuff than we need. It's true that as the size of your house grows, you really do continue to accumulate more and more stuff to fill it with!

On a separate note, here is a link to another blog that I have been reading--MckMama's blog is one you need to check out. Go back a few weeks to get an idea of the story (and read the descriptions of her oh-so-cute kids on the right hand side)--but it truly is an example of God's miracles and how he truly answers prayer! There are just so many blogs out there to read that are so interesting--it really gets to be addicting, but this one is definitely worth sharing.

Looking forward to some advice on how to clean out my house! (Amy--I know you're probably thinking if I could just get you to come down here, you'd help me purge stuff FAST just like you did when you were helping me set up and organize Alex's closet years ago!)

Oh and thanks for the baby food advice. I just pureed some mixed veggies yesterday and although Kellan has not tried them yet I'm pretty sure he will love them. Next on tap: sweet potatoes. I'll probably do those this evening. This is kind of fun!

I wanted to add a belated birthday to my nephew, Carter, who just turned one! We're looking forward to seeing some pictures of his special day--Happy Birthday Carter!

(Not so) exciting happenings

No new pictures to post but I just wanted to give you an idea what we've been up to this week. Most importantly, our dishwasher pump broke a week ago and we have been waiting for a new pump to be ordered. They called tonight to say they're coming to put it in tomorrow (HALLELUIAH!), but after a week of washing my own dishes I have a new appreciation for how hard a dishwasher works. I've also learned that our kitchen is not big enough to have a dishwasher that doesn't function-when your sink and counters become filled with a few meals' worth of dishes, there is no room left to prepare food, or do anything else for that matter. Talk about an invention that saves time-I just spent the last 45 minutes washing all dishes (and cutting my finger on the blade in the blender in the meantime)--all of which would have taken less than 10 minutes if I was just loading the dishwasher! It's a good thing they called tonight to say they could come tomorrow because I had resolved to stop cooking food and start using only disposable dishes and silverware until it got fixed (aren't I lazY?!)

Enough about the dishwasher--maybe it just bothers me because I've actually been attempting to cook food this past week while trying to clean out my freezers and pantry. I made a delicious homemade chicken noodle soup (first attempt ever) with a recipe I snagged from Kendy (thanks a bunch!) and I must say it's DELICIOUS! I even thought to freeze some for that next cold/flu that one of us gets where we're dying for some good soup. I've also been pureeing some baby food for Kellan--I'm not obsessing about making everything homemade but it's kind of fun (and cost efficient of course!) to make some, now that I'm more familiar with pureeing after my dabbles in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I made squash and carrots so far (which he enjoyed) and this evening I made avocado (which I confess I have never even tasted) and peas. Alex likes to help so it's a fun little project we can do after Kellan goes to bed. I know some of you make your own food--any other suggestions for good/easy things to try? I also have a zucchini to steam--I'll just wait until my dishwasher works to make some more since it's all a bit messy!

Last night was family night at Alex's school. I didn't even bother to take pictures since Alex refused to go with her group and teachers up front to sing their little songs they'd learned. It's kind of strange since Alex is rarely, if ever, a clingy girl but the only other times I recall it standing out are at the last year's family night at school. You'd think she'd be so comfortable around the friends and teachers she's with every day, but she just completely shuts down. She is forever singing all the little songs and rhymes she learns at school around the house, but I don't think she made a peep during the whole thing last night! Needless to say since she spent the entire time on my lap I didn't have the ability to break out the camera while holding her and tending to Kellan! This is the same little girl who will go to her daddy's soccer games and go off and sit with some of the college students she's met through the soccer team and just hang out with them for an entire half--very strange!

Enough randomness. I'm off to watch the rest of the Phillies game--have a great night!

Kellan is 7 months old!

Kellan is 7 months old! It's hard to believe our little "tank" is quickly getting closer to crawling, walking, and turning one! At this point he can roll over (although he doesn't do it very often), can scoot backwards and is trying to figure out how to crawl, loves to eat peas, green beans, bananas, & squash, loves to scream and squeal, says "da da da" a lot, and is generally a pretty happy guy! He still doesn't have any teeth but he continues to soak a bib in a matter of minutes, so some day soon we may see some come in! He loves to watch his big sister-she is great at singing and dancing to entertain him. They enjoy taking baths together, too!

Below is a picture taken yesterday--he's quite the beefy kid--you get an arm workout every time you lift him!

This picture was from last month (before his 4th hair cut!---now it's too short for the mini-mohawk but I'm hoping it will grow back out!).

This picture was taken at my parents' house a few weeks ago--just the beginning of good times sister and brother will share in the future!

I have to throw in a few recent pics of Alex--taken when we last visited Philadelphia. This one is at Giggleberry Fair in Peddler's Village. Alex loves to ride the carousel every time we go--this was a gloomy rainy day so it was a great way to pass the time.

Here is my little sleeping beauty, playing dress-up with Grammy. This girl would live in a dress and a tiara every day if you'd let her (my child?? I know, it's hard to imagine!).

Happy Belated birthday to Kendy and Kaylee! We were able to celebrate Kaylee's first birthday yesterday--I'm sure Kendy will post photos on her blog soon so check them out! The party was great--Kendy you are so creative and talented, and Kaylee of course was such a cutie-pie! We love you!

Visited by the Phantom...

OK, so I need some advice. I just had someone ring my doorbell and when I got down to open it, there was a huge bucket of candy and a note from the "Phantom", basically saying I was visited by the Phantom and I should hang this little white ghost on my door to signify that the Phantom visited, then I am supposed to do the same thing to 2 other neighbors within the next day--I have to wait until it's dark, go ring their doorbell with a bucket of candy and a note, then run away before they answer (totally not something I would feel comfortable doing!). So my dilemma--should I do this? My 2 sides of thinking--1 (which I'm leaning towards) is NO WAY! I don't know many of my neighbors at all so I have no idea who would appreciate this, plus I don't like the idea of ringing someone's doorbell and running, particularly because it freaked me out being home alone with the kids and have someone ringing my doorbell at night-wouldn't want to bestow that on someone else....side 2-I think I saw who it was leaving, and it's a woman across the street that I only met once (her son goes to school with Alex, but she's a little odd)--I would feel bad if I didn't participate after she just invested in this huge bucket full of candy and gave it to me. She will be able to see if I don't put this little ghost on my door, and I don't want to come across looking like a jerk. What would you do?

Enough about that...I don't know what to do with myself as I have both kids in bed AND ASLEEP by 8:00! No, Alex has not turned over a new leaf--I just wore her out today. She didn't take a nap, then late this afternoon I took her over to this walking trail near our house with her bike and let her ride while I pushed Kellan in the stroller. The weather was beautiful, and we walked/rode for about an hour. Needless to say, I knew she would go to bed pretty quickly for me! I watched all of my Blockbuster movie rentals, so I guess I'll just watch the Penn State football game!

I have to share a link to this blog that I came across on Megan's blog. For those of you who are familiar with the christian music group, Selah, this is the blog of Todd's wife, Angie. I read it the other day and I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Their story of loss and their continued faith is just amazing--be prepared to have a box of tissues handy. Go back to January and begin reading if you have some time to spare. It is heartbreaking yet so inspiring to read, and it really has challenged me to think more about my faith and the ways God reveals himself to us.

That's it for now--no new pictures recently, but Kellan turns 7 months this week so I'll have to snap a few soon!

Happy Birthday to my husband!

I want to send out a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my hubby today. The kids and I went to visit him at work to have dinner with him before practice this evening. Alex picked out a lovely "Happy Birthday" Dora balloon for her dad. (which she refused to give him since she determined it was hers). As most of you know, we don't get to have much family time at all during soccer season (one day a week if we're lucky) so it was nice to see him 2 evenings in a row this week--a rare occasion! The kids love having him around (as do I) and for this reason we look forward to the end of the season every year--only a few more months to go!

The kids and I had a great time in Philadelphia last week-Alex got to go to Giggleberry Fair at Peddler's Village, where she rode the carousel over and over on a rainy Sunday. We also experienced Chuck-E Cheese for the first time with my friend Michelle from work and her son Thomas. We got to visit with Nana, Pop-Pop, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Jon, and Carter at a belated wedding reception for Lauren and Jon. Alex also got to have some mini-play dates with my mom's old neighbor, Christine, and her 3 girls. Most of my friends have boys, so Alex doesn't get the opportunity to play with many little girls, so she had a great time playing with Briana, Danielle, and Avery. Below are some recent photos of our adventures for your viewing pleasure!

Nana, Pop-Pop and the grandkids

Pop-Pop and Kellan
My happy little guy-he still has yet to roll over (other than the one time in his crib) but he enjoys sitting up!

Kellan checking out his daddy up close and personal

I love this photo-Marlon was tickling the kids and their faces are priceless. We have a couple other shots where one is smiling, one looks scared--but this one they were definitely thinking the same thing!

I've been TAGGED

So my sister-in-law, Renee, tagged me--I always say I will follow through with these things and never do, so I'm making an attempt to do it this time...I've got time to kill while trying to get Alex to go to bed! It may take me a while to come up with 7 things...here goes nothing!

1-I never completed Kindergarten. After a few weeks I moved from Kindergarten to 1st grade. I believe it had something to do with me coloring well in the lines. (I have a feeling Kindergarten is a little more advanced these days)

2-One of my eyes is half hazel/half brown. When I was in 6th grade a girl in my class told me I had something in my eye. I had no idea what she was talking about until I looked in the mirror and discovered a brown spot that I had never noticed before....it's been there ever since!

3-I don't like cheese on my pizza. This is a pretty well known fact to those who eat with me, but many people still find it weird. I've taken the cheese off for as long as I can remember--I figure it works out well because I can eat more slices than everyone else because I don't have the cheese to fill me up (plus it's much healthier for me--an added bonus!)

4-I'm somewhat double-jointed in my elbows. I can bend them both at an unnatural angle.

5-The 3 meals I absolutely DESPISE are meatloaf, lasagna, and mac & cheese. It's been years since I've tried any of them and I have no plans of trying them anytime soon (so please don't serve one of these dishes if you have me over for dinner!).

6-I dabbled in a variety of sports in middle school and high school--track, basketball, softball, and field hockey. Field hockey was the only one that stuck. As a child I never played a single organized sport, didn't do dance, gymnastics, anything. I did take piano lessons for a while--didn't enjoy it at the time but I do appreciate the little I remember!

7-I am HORRIBLE at history. It's embarrassing how bad I am on that subject--there are many subjects I did OK at in school but this was not one of them. If you asked me questions about wars, presidents, etc. I would probably answer every question wrong. Sad, huh?

Now I'm supposed to TAG 7 people, but I don't even know 7 people with a blog since Renee's already covered 3 of them--so I am going to tag Amy, Mindy, Shelby, Beth, and Kim. Good luck to you!

I'm in Philly with the kids visiting my mom for a few days, and I also have a few work meetings. We took the kids to the Giggleberry Fair at Peddler's Village today--Alex rode the Carousel 5 times, and Kellan cried every time it started. The place was very loud with a ton of kids' birthday parties. It was pouring rain outside so the place was packed-a reminder to me that I don't plan to ever hold the kids' parties at a place like that-just too chaotic for me. I'll post pictures at some point later!

Kellan is 6 months old!

Once again this post is belated, but Kellan turned 6 months old on the 17th! It's hard to imagine he's 1/2 a year old already--I'm trying to enjoy these baby days before they're all gone! Here are just a few highlights of Kellan at 6 months:

-He is a people person--he likes to be around people and is easily entertained by just about anyone, especially his big sister.

-He is learning to like food. So far he has tried sweet peas, carrots, applesauce, and bananas...bananas are definitely the favorite thus far!

-He finally rolled over (once, accidentally) in his crib during his nap 2 days ago. He started screaming, so it seemed to be something he didn't enjoy too much!

-His favorite activites are jumping in the Jumperoo (strengthening up those leg muscles for soccer) and hanging out in the swing (which he is quickly outgrowing due to his weight!).

-He likes to sit up and can do pretty well sitting up on his own (as long as there is a spotter nearby or a soft landing!).

-He weighs 18 lbs, 8 oz. and is 26 inches long.

-He drools A LOT (can soak a bib in minutes) but still has no signs of any teeth.

-He loves to make tidal waves in the bath tub by kicking his feet.

Unfortunately Kellan is sick with a cold--runny nose, a little cough, the whole bit...actually Alex is sick too (she has more of a cough and a runny nose), and even the dog spent the day getting sick all around my living room (Possibly because her daddy fed her half a piece of herb and garlic chicken the night before?). So this will probably be a long week for our family! My parents were here this weekend and Marlon had 2 soccer games, so it was great to have some help with the kiddies for a few days!

Here are pics of the kids at the soccer game this afternoon--Kellan hanging out in the stroller, and my dear little girl wearing her cowboy hat, orange shades, WVU outfit, and you can't see the hot pink Crocs--eating a bag of popcorn--the highlight of soccer games for her. Now I understand why parents let their kids wear those goofy non-matching outfits...because they just look cute and it makes them happy.

Nana, Pop-pop, Lauren, and Carter come to town

So this is a little belated, but a few weeks ago we had Marlon's parents, sister, and our nephew Carter in town. Carter is 10 months old and quite the cutie! We had to get the kids dressed up in some WVU gear for one of Marlon's soccer games we went to:

Aunt Lauren and Kellan

Carter and Kellan

Kellan enjoying some oatmeal with applesauce (I'm not sure how much he actually swallowed but he was happy while trying it!) This photo was taken prior to my previous post so he still isn't really eating much--this was one of my few attempts.

A sweet big sister and her little brother

Alex proudly displaying our first picks from our homegrown tomatoes and peppers. She has loved watering and taking care of the plants, which we just did this year in some large pots. Next summer I plan to do an actual garden and expand our variety of vegetables.

As an update to our previous post, we have had a few good nights with Alex (of course the best ones were the 2 rare nights that Marlon was home to put her to bed!) and I don't want to jinx anything, but she's been in there for about 20 minutes now and I haven't heard a peep--she's playing quietly with her Little People Noah's Ark, so we'll see...thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Every child sure is different so getting advice from others is always helpful!

I can't forget to say a special Happy 3rd birthday to Nolan! Nolan-it was great talking to you today and we miss celebrating with you! We love you!

Parenting 101

OK so I'm here today seeking parenting advice from all you experienced moms out there!
I have a question pertaining to each child--help me out ladies!

First-Kellan-this one isn't a huge thing but he is not yet getting the concept of eating with a spoon. He's now 5 1/2 months, and I've been trying it periodically, not pushing it, with the rice cereal (and more recently oatmeal, which he is slightly more receptive to). He just keeps his mouth closed, sticks out his tongue, and doesn't let anything get in. I did offer a small amount of applesauce with the oatmeal this morning but that didn't help much--I don't want to do too much with the fruits until I start with the veggies. I'm wondering if he just isn't going to like cereal at all? It's not like he's really hurting in the weight department so I'm not necessarily concerned from a nutritional standpoint, but I just know that as he approaches 6 months he really should be getting the hang of eating from a spoon. Suggestions, ideas??

Second-Alex-Bedtime...my child does not like to sleep. She fights it with everything she has. The last 2 nights, I have had her in bed by around 8:15. We go through the normal bedtime routine, read books, lights low, etc. and she has not fallen asleep until 11:00 and 10:00!! She's at preschool playing hard all day, taking a pretty short nap, she eats a relatively healthy dinner without a lot of sugar--why isn't she tired?! She has her nights where we battle back and forth to keep her in her room--we're currently doing a smiley face/frownie face system where if she earns frownie faces because of her behavior at bedtime she loses snack privileges for the next day. Can't say it's working yet because she's gotten frownie faces every night, but she's definitely not liking losing the privileges the next day so I'm hoping it sinks in soon! She has always taken a long time to fall asleep, but 2-3 hours is a little excessive! The more tired she gets, the more difficult she becomes (coming out of her room, whining, asking me to sleep with her, etc.) I'm trying to implement the Supernanny technique-I just keep putting her back into her room, not engaging in conversation/negotiating, not making eye contact, ignoring her screams, tantrums, etc. She's been up late every night since I started this and I'm wondering if this is just a transition of some sort because I'm no longer responding to her stalling and procrastinating techniques. It's just frustrating because I basically do bedtime by myself with the kids a minimum of 6 nights per week, so even though she's great with Marlon that doesn't do much for me! Ideas?
Thanks for listening--at least both kids are napping great now so I'm enjoying the quiet. I will hopefully post more pictures tonight (depending on how bedtime goes!)

Where has the time gone?

I know I've been a horrible blogger lately. The reality of working full-time and traveling a ton with 2 kids, along with a husband I rarely see these days so I try to use our free time to find a way for him to see the kids for a bit, has left me with little time (or energy) to blog. Tonight I'm home alone, fortunate to have both kids in bed and asleep early (Alex has been running a small fever today so she actually didn't fight going to bed for once), so I've already spent 30 minutes sorting through tubs and tubs of clothes for the kids that I needed to organize and now I feel like blogging might be a nice way to wind down.

Where do I begin? To start with, Kellan is now 5 months old and growing bigger every day--the kid is as thick as a ton of bricks. He has yet to roll over, unlike his big sister who was rolling over by 4 months! He also has not yet mastered spoon feeding-I periodically try to offer him rice cereal a couple times a week in the morning but he still spits everything out and pushes the spoon out with his tongue--no worries, though-he's clearly getting enough calories to keep packing on the pounds! I'm in no hurry to add all of the additional feeding steps to our already hectic day, but I'm sure he'll get the hang of it at some point. He does like to practice sitting up and he's still enjoying his Jumperoo. He's "talking" more and he still is very entertained by his big sister, who loves to hold him, help feed him, and dance around to make him smile. He doesn't mind tummy time (although I'm not a huge fan since he spits up just about every time he's on his stomach, even if I wait a good hour after he eats!). He's very ticklish and he has started to recognize our faces, smiling when we walk into the room (and crying when we leave!).

Let's see..we got to go back to Philly a few weekends ago to celebrate my nephew Nolan's 3rd birthday a little early. For those of you who do not read my sister-in-law Renee's blog, we just found out that my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece are leaving next week to move out to San Jose, CA for 9 months! My brother has an opportunity to explore some different jobs within the company he's with and is now entering into a 2 year program where he will try out 3 different fields of work--they selected CA for their first adventure. Even though we don't see them as often as we would like, it still will be sad knowing they are all the way out on the west coast. Alex and Nolan really enjoy playing with each other, and little Mia will be so big by the time they come home! We are looking forward to seeing them for christmas and I'm hoping to make a trip out to CA to visit them in the spring sometime. Jon and Renee--we'll miss you!
Here are few pics of the kids from my parents' house during Nolan's party weekend. It was great that all 5 cousins could be there!

Mia (9 months)

Kellan (5 months)

Kaylee (10 months)

Alex and Nolan-riding bikes in the driveway

Last weekend we got to have Josh, Kendy, and Kaylee out for a visit. Marlon's team had an exhibition game so it was nice to spend the weekend with them. Below is a picture of Alex and Kaylee--this picture series began with Alex holding Kaylee, then trying to trap her to keep her from crawling away--I thought this particular photo captured a cute moment.

One more photo to throw in--Alex wanted to take our picture, so with a little help from me she captured this one. Notice her boo-boo on her nose? She took a dive at school when running and scraped up her nose pretty nicely. This was the day after it happened so it was a little bruised but it's looking better now! We took this photo before going to an end of summer picnic at Alex's school, which was fun. Alex was dead tired by the end of the night and threw some pretty lovely tantrums when it came time to go home, and again when I tried to get her into bed. Gotta love soccer season when I'm home by myself every night trying to get her to bed! When Marlon is home it's as simple as putting her in bed and closing the door--not quite so for me. As frustrated as I may get, I can't help but love these kids!