Emily Goes Swimming

Today was Emily's first swimming lesson and she loved it! She had the best time splashing and playing in the water and didn't even mind when I took her all the way under. It probably helped that the small pool where they do the lessons is heated, but to be honest, I was pretty happy about that fact too. :-) Here's hoping she's a water bug like her sister.


Waiting for our lesson to start.


Getting a feel for the water.




Not much "kicking" was being done at this point, but she still had fun.


Just relaxing. She really seemed to enjoy floating on her back.


Because this class is for 6-36 month old kiddos, we're actually in the class with our good friends the Kinnucans and their little girl Violet. Violet is adorable but she is a bit of a tough nut to crack. I think I'm starting to break through though since she finally gave me a few smiles and even wanted to sit in my lap! :-) Below is one of the smiles she gave me while we were waiting for our class to start.



I had to include the picture below because I absolutely LOVE Violet's expression. Too cute!!



Also, be sure to check back soon for pictures of Sarahpalooza...the week long celebration of Sarah's 4th Birthday!! :-)

Daddy / Daughter Dance

Steve & Sarah recently attended their first Daddy/Daughter dance. The dance was held downtown at the Century Center and was a Rapunzel theme. This was right up Sarah's alley as she currently loves anything to do with princesses. :-) She was given a sash & princess tiara when they arrived and they spent the evening snacking of cookies & punch. I think I was more excited for the evening than either of them, but it sounds like they had a great time and made some fun memories. :-)

Here are some pictures of their evening. Enjoy!


Of course we had to take a few pictures before they left. Here they are humoring me. :-)


Steve gave Sarah her first corsage which was a HUGE hit!!


I LOVE this picture!! They went to dinner before the dance with our friend Phil and his little girl Ella. This picture pretty much captures both girls' personalities. :-)




The gang...

Jenny Just Sit There

Emily got this Jenny Jump Up for Christmas from her Grammy. So far though she pretty much just sits there and swings. She loves it when you make it bounce for her, but so far she hasn't figured out how to make it go herself.

I snapped these pictures this morning. She was having a good time swinging and "talking" while I was getting ready. Too cute. :-)

Emily at 6 Months

I'm a little behind with this post, but Emily turned 6 months old a week or so ago and I wanted to be sure to get her pictures up. I know everyone with children says this, but the last 6 months seem to have flown by for me and it's hard to believe how much she continues to change from day to day. The time with her seems to have gone by so much faster than with Sarah, but I guess that's what happens when life gets busy. I just hope I'm doing my best to capture and commit to memory this time with her.

Emily seems to be a very happy baby and is much more "smiley" than I remember Sarah being. She certainly has her moments, but for the most part she will smile at just about anyone and it lights up her entire face. She is now rolling over from her back to her belly and recently started doing the "log roll." :-) She can sit up with some assistance so I'm guessing it won't be long before she can sit on her own. Other milestones include starting to eat solid foods and an honest to goodness belly laugh. :-) This is my favorite because it is infectious and has everyone laughing before long. She loves to watch her big sister and Sarah is usually the one who can get her to laugh the most. They play this game where Sarah will try and startle or surprise her and Emily will just laugh and laugh. It's so sweet to watch them interact with each other even at this young age.

Below are a few pictures from our recent photo session. As you can imagine, it's getting harder and harder to get a good picture with her and the sign, but we did our best. Enjoy!


Emily with Mr. Ears the Bunny


Laughing Baby








"I love to be held...especially by Mom!"

Sarah with Bo & Luke

Here is the video we took of the "big reveal." Sarah had met and played with Bo & Luke a couple of times, but we managed to keep the fact that we were going to get them a secret until Saturday when we went to pick them up. I don't think she really knew what to think at first, but she got really excited when it finally sunk in. Personally, my favorite part was when she looked to me for final approval even though Steve was the one giving her the good news. That's my girl! :-)

Shepard to Lost Sheep...

We've been thinking for awhile now about adding a pet to our family. We've always been partial to cats so we knew this would be the route we would once again go. What we didn't count on however was falling in love with TWO kitties...until we met these guys. They've been fostered since they were two weeks old so we knew through talking with the foster family how energetic, playful, and also loving they are. We didn't have the heart to split them up so we figured...the more the merrier!!

Sarah is of course in heaven and so far the boys seem to be doing well with her. She loves to pick them up and carry them EVERYWHERE...sometimes at the same time. They are very curious about Emily, but so far seem very laid back with her as well. She has managed to get a small fist of fur a couple of times and they just sit there and let her "pet" them. :-)

With two boys we knew we wanted names that went together. Steve & I were both big Dukes of Hazzard fans growing up so of course we couldn't pass up naming them Bo & Luke! Too bad their sister was already adopted or we might have a Daisy in the family as well. :-)

Below are some pictures of the newest members of the family. We have a pretty good video too, but I'm having some trouble getting it to load. I'll keep working on it and post it soon.

Enjoy!


Bo & Luke (They are hard to tell apart, but Luke is the one in front.)


Luke in the dishwasher - already breakin' the law!

The Blizzard of 2011

If you've been following the news lately you probably know about the Blizzard of 2011 here in Northern Indiana. The last I saw, they were reporting 11.5" at the airport in South Bend and 14" in Mishawaka. With the wind though they are estimating drifts as high as 5' in some places. All of this of course is in addition to the 2' to 3' of snow we got a few weeks ago. :-) It's a good thing Phil didn't see his shadow this morning because we are desperately ready for spring!

Here are a few pictures of what we got here at the house. Needless to say we haven't been anywhere today. Let's hope they can get us plowed out by tomorrow though!


The Backyard...I like how the snow comes right up to the seat of the chairs.


Backyard again...


The front walk after it was plowed.