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!