Catching Up (again)

One day I walked into the bedroom 

and found them all reading in Kaitlyn's bed! 

I thought it was super adorable!

Happy Alyssa

Kaitlyn strikes a pose

I posted her name on the wall and she learned how to spell it!

 Reading to her sister

Alyssa loves to climb into the box where we keep our books.
It's a good place to read.

Potty training

Sweet Alyssa

 Joel and Alyssa riding bikes!

Kaitlyn and Joel driving cars!

Joel and Alyssa love to steal cups and crackers from each other

 Silly Kaitlyn

My little angel,
at a preschool Christmas party Kaitlyn and I attended at our church.

A group of friends from our Sunday School class at church, 

at our annual Christmas party

Joel and Alyssa and their little friends during our Christmas party

First snow of the year! I sent Kaitlyn out on the balcony to check it out.

I made her a little snowman that she loved

Took a family trip to the mall this morning. 

Kaitlyn and Daddy played with legos at the new lggo store!

Alyssa and Joel watched from the stroller

And finally a few videos. 

Here are clips of Joel and Alyssa soon after they started walking.

And thank you to Amazon for the free shipping material. 

It kept the kids entertained for quite awhile.

Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving at my parents house. Joel and Alyssa tried everything....turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie!

November

Playing with Mr. Potato Head at the table where the little kids can't reach.

Playing Candy Land with Grandpa.

Play time!

                                     

It's hard to get much laundry folded when two kids crawl in your basket.

Playing trains with Daddy

This morning I threw Joel & Alyssa in one crib
while I cleaned up a mess they made and they both fell asleep!

October

Halloween 2013

Joel

After 80 days in the hospital our Joel came home on October 5th, 2012, a year ago today. He was 8 pounds and 4 ounces and it was wonderful to have all our family at home together. Smiles and hugs from Joel are some of the highlights of my days! 

Week 12

I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I lost 3.5 pounds this week, bringing me to 31 pounds lost! I'm super excited to reach the 30 mark, but still have a long way to go. 

I also started another diet bet this week. I think I am addicted to these games now. So far I have won $67 just from losing weight!

All About September

September has flown by! Here are some of the highlights!

First, this month I finally got my cross stitch pictures with Joel & Alyssa's birth records on them hung up on the wall. It only took me 14 months after their birth to get these sewn, framed, and up! 

 The kids are playing more and more together. Sometimes they get along really well and laugh together and sometimes they fight over toys. But it is sure fun to watch them play together when they are having fun!

This month was the one year anniversary of the day Alyssa came home from the hospital. She came home at exactly 2 months old and 6 pounds 7 ounces and could fit in this tiny little outfit. We're sure glad she is home where she belongs.

 They all love to make a mess!

Alyssa has decided sitting in a high chair while eating is kinda boring. It is much more fun to stand in your chair, to climb out and sit on the floor for a few bites, go steal a few bites off of Joel's tray, and then climb back in. She is a girl on the move!

Kaitlyn has started playing with games and having a lot of fun. She has been playing with Connect Four, Sorry, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and Checkers.

When cleaning out the closet one day I pulled out the baby bathtub and told Kaitlyn to give Pooh a bath. She thought it was a great idea, and soon Pooh, Piglet, and Kaitlyn were all in the tub and she was scrubbing them down with a washcloth.

The 5 of us went for a fun family walk one beautiful evening. Kaitlyn loves to walk! When we got home I mapped the route we took online and discovered she had walked 1.8 miles without complaining!

Joel & Alyssa are getting pretty good at walking along the furniture! At my parents house one day we stood them up behind a toy to see if they could walk with it. Alyssa walked all the way across the room. Joel didn't make it quite so far. But it won't be long before they both are running all around.

This month Kaitlyn had her first day of "school". OK, really it was speech therapy, which is only 3 days a month, but we call it "school." She's only had one day so far but it went well.

Kaitlyn and I got to go out and play one morning at Pump it Up. She loved jumping and climbing and sliding. It was fun to have time to play with just her.

And here is a video of Joel and Alyssa playing around :)