The Grumble Box

Tonight we read a story about a family who grumbled about everything. To help solve all the grumbling, the mom decided to start a grumble box. Whenever anyone grumbled they had to put a nickel in the box. While we were talking, we decided, "Hey, maybe we should have a grumble box too." After a while, Caleb said, "I wish we didn't read this story tonight because now we have a grumble box."

Karis is talking

Well, according to Caleb she is. He came running in the room the other day yelling, "Karis said her first word! Karis said her first word!!! She said blehhhhh." He then came back a second time (yelling, of course) "Karis said her second word!" (Sorry, I don't remember what the second "word" was!)

Karis' new bouncer

We borrowed Scott & Rebekah's baby bouncer and Karis just loves the little birdie on it.

Happy Birthday Joel

Instead of cake, we went out for ice cream to celebrate Joel's birthday. The kids had a good time licking and chatting. Joel asked the kids if we could fit all his candles in his cone - they didn't think it was possible. A little later, we were talking about our trip to Texas in a couple of weeks and Caleb said, "There's one I don't like about Texas...There's a lot of bandits there." (We're still wondering where he picked up that idea.) Joanna also made up an original joke:

Q - "What do you call a cow who is afraid of you?"

A - "A COWard!"

Chocolate chip fun

The kids were getting silly after supper last night.

The crazy things you can do with chocolate chips.

Crazy day

It has been one of those days. We had a doctor's appointment today and on the way realized that there was no pacifier to be found. Needless to say it was a little crazy, but not too bad. Until.....Eliana decided she had to go to the bathroom really bad while I was in the middle of changing a very dirty diaper. I let her go since it was right next to our room. The next thing I know she's in there crying because she can't get a paper towel to dry her hands. I tried to go in, but she LOCKED the door. I asked her to unlock the door so I could help her and of course she can't get it unlocked. I had lots of help trying to get it unlocked, but nothing. It's not easy explaining to a 3-year old that we would get it open eventually. When we finally got the door open, we saw a very teary little girl and a huge pile of paper towels on the floor. ( I guess she couldn't get them to rip apart??) Now I'm on to the next crisis--a missing Lego Storm Trooper. Maybe I'll get to take a shower soon before the spit up in my hair gets too sour smelling....

Exploration Place

These were some of the favorite exhibits of the day. They all enjoyed trying to "Be in a Bubble", watching the pendulum, water art and of course the big castle room. They had a good time showing everything to Uncle Dave, while Karis just enjoyed the ride.

Uncle David's here

By Joanna:

My uncle's here and we've had some fun with him. Yesterday we played baseball with him and we went to the River Festival. Today we are going to the Exploration Place and it lasts from 12:00-8:00.

We love the dentist

Can you tell why???

They love the arcade games! We even go a little early because we usually don't have to wait that long.

This is Joanna through the bird sanctuary.

Here Eliana is getting her teeth counted.

Caleb gets a good report! He always does a good job brushing his teeth.

Waiting fun

Here we are waiting during Joanna's piano lesson. Sometimes a 1/2 hour can seem like forever, but today went fast since it was so nice. Eliana and Caleb run laps around the trees for exercise, and Caleb tries to see how fast he can go around them all.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all, especially our great moms and grandmas!

Big Eyes

Just loved this picture of Eliana's eyes!

Awana Awards Night

The kids had their awards night for Awana last night. They all finished their books and then some. Joanna was recognized for finishing an extra set of verses beyond her books. We celebrated afterwards with some friends at Baskin Robbins!

I took some of these other pictures from the very back of the church so they're not too clear. Eliana was pretty cute on the stage. She got a very big smile and started waving once she saw Joel.

Eliana is 3rd from the left - waving to dad!

Babies Don't Keep

Babies Don't Keep

Cleaning and scrubbing

Can wait till tomorrow,

For babies grow up

We've learned to our sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs,

Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,

And babies don't keep.

I got this in an email recently. Time does go by so fast with a little one.

Eliana's Tree

We received this tree as a gift when Eliana was born. They've both grown a lot in 3 years, but I think Eliana is growing faster than the tree.

1 month old

Karis is 1 month old already! Here are some pictures from the past couple days.

(Just a note: Karis does have chubby cheeks, but not as chubby as a some of these pictures seem!!)

Our book worm

Early this evening I asked Joanna to do something and a little while later I realized she hadn't done what she'd been asked to do. When asked why she wasn't done, her sheepish response was, "I got caught in my book."

Tootles

Caleb has come up with a nickname for Karis. He wants to call her Tootles. He's also been calling her his Cutie Baby, but thinks Tootles is a better nickname. He's such a good big brother.

Karis is starting to smile at us a little now. She smiled a lot just randomly, but we can tell they are real now!! Early morning is when we get the most--she must be happy from all her sleep! Can't wait to catch one of those smiles with the camera.

Thanks for the meals

Thanks to all who brought us meals. It's been so helpful to not have to get dinner ready for a little while. They were all so very yummy - You know they taste good when Caleb says, "Mom, did she get this at the Olive Garden?" The kids also enjoyed one meal that came with baggies of their own brownie muffins just for them!

Thanks again everyone!!

Another new baby!

Scott & Rebekah announced last night that they are going to have baby #2!! We're excited to have another cousin arriving soon. Great Grandma H. thought she was done making baby quilts for a while. I guess you can have a small break, Grandma - baby is coming in November!! (Gma H has made all the grandchildren quilts in the past and now she makes a baby quilt for every great grandchild!)