For Keeps

This weekend I was in a painting frenzy. Included in my painting projects was to touch up our 'growth' wall. This is the wall the marks the kids' heights at 6 month intervals. It was so sad to paint over it, BUT to keep it alive I am posting their heights here, so that I can recreate those marks.


Audrey:

9/6/08 - 42"
5/14/09 - 43 1/2"
8/9/09 - 44 1/2"
2/24/10 - 45 3/4"
8/24/10 - 47"
2/24/11 - 48 1/2"
8/24/11 - 49 1/4"
2/24/12 - 50 3/4"


Liam:

9/7/10 - 37 1/4"
3/2/11 - 39 1/4"
9/2/11 - 40 1/4"
3/6/12 - 41 1/4"


Isabel:

3/6/12 - 32 3/4"

My Grandmother

Grandmom, otherwise known as, GG was born June 11, 1917, and went to be with our LORD today, December 16, 2011. She is now reunited with many friends and family members, especially her husband. She now knows if dogs go to heaven, and if it were up to her, they would.


These are my special memories with her.

(taken October 2010)

(taken October 2011)

Special Time with GG

Tonight I spent some special time with my grandmother while she is in the hospital. Here she is telling me about my grandfather singing to her on their ride on the street cars when they were dating.

Puppy Eyes

I watched my niece last week for a couple of hours. Audrey thought it would be fun to dress her up in Liam's puppy outfit...

Unexpected Moments

We stopped to have a picnic dinner on our way home from visiting family in Western PA. It was just the side of a grocery store that happened to have a field and a nice hill for the kids to run and play before getting back into the car to continue our journey home. I saw a picture, and Albert challenged me, saying I wasn't going to get it the way I wanted it. Oh, the competitive side came out...
I accomplished EXACTLY what I wanted!

Then little brother, came diving on his sister...that was not in the plan, but I should have anticipated it. If someone is laying on the ground, they are bound to be tackled by this little guy. Although not in the plan, it is exactly what these two look like when they play. I couldn't have planned it any better.



Then there is my little, little girl. She's just chill...


This is exactly how I wanted the picture to be.

The most unlikely of spots to grab pictures of our kids, but what a better way to capture their personality.

Readin' time with Big Sis

Audrey enjoys reading, Izzy enjoys Audrey.

I'm an Aunt...again

I'm so excited to be an Aunt...yet again. Three weeks ago my nephew Andrew Scott was born on 9/16 a full 7lbs 9oz of cuteness. I have yet to meet him, since he's in Richmond...but I look forward to my chance to hold him.
Then unexpectedly early, we had a little one born in October. Abigail Louise was 5 weeks early, arriving on October 4. She weighed in at 5lbs 4oz. Abigail and Becca are doing very well, and came home today. One more family baby is coming in November, unless that little girl decides she doesn't want to wait much longer. Can't wait.

Here are pictures of precious Abigail Louise.



She looks just like her Mommy.
This is Abigail with her favorite Aunt Megan...

My Girls

Audrey is in love with Isabel, and Isabel adores Audrey. It's wonderful, and I pray their relationship continues to grow.

Hershey Park

Audrey is finally tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides at Hershey Park....whoa! The claw was her first ride. It was so exciting for me to share this experience with her, but MAN, going on the ride with a child rather than a friend is totally different. I felt the need to add 'security' for her by holding out my arm in front of her. She was fine, she laughed and couldn't stop, she was fine.
Though she doesn't look happy, she LOVED the claw. Here she's learned to raise her arms! Yep, I still have my arms around her.
Finally going on the Ferris wheel. This was such a highlight for the kids. I worked on the sun flare photos, as the sun was streaming through the ride.

Liam enjoyed himself too, he was delighted on the rides that he was able to go on. He was so happy all day, even just to run from one ride to the next.Love his face here.

Apple pickin'

Every year we take a weekend to go pick apples. It's been a yearly tradition since Audrey was 2, and one I look forward to as the air becomes cooler.


Liam doesn't care too much for apples, but loves applesauce. He was much more excited to be given the task of picking apples and putting them in the bag.

Audrey was a huge help looking for different varieties of apples, and filling her bags quickly.

Cousin cuteness

We have had the pleasure of watching my niece two or three days a week this past fall. Audrey loves it so much, that on the days we don't watch her, she says she misses Carrie. She is such a sweet little girl, and I love seeing she and Audrey interact. Carrie gives Audrey the biggest smile and excited expression.

One morning after decorating our tree Audrey practically begged me to get a picture of she and Carrie in front of our tree. I am so glad we did.

Baby Jurina

Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of meeting our spring baby. Everything looks well, and baby seems to be developing right on schedule. We look forward to meeting this precious little one in early March.

Here is a picture of the picture, so that quality isn't great, but hope you enjoy none-the-less.

Love Them!

Audrey and Liam have been so fun to photograph. Audrey loves to be a model for Daddy, and I can't help but love this one.
This is Liam at a recent birthday party, this is ALL he wanted to do...

Bowling

To give a bit of background, we do a sticker chart highlighting Audrey's behavior, and at a certain point we reward her.  The reward is her choice, within specific parameters (Disney World is NOT an option, although she continues to try).  Bowling was her choice this time.  Watching a determined 4 year old bowl with a ball that is obviously too big for her made this trip so memorable.

The shoes...

Daddy helping Audrey on her first round.

Not bad...

Audrey, insisting on giving it a try on her own.

Daddy coaching her without 'helping'..."swing back"
Drop.

Oh..Oh..Oh...the excitement!


While we wait for the ball to get to the pins...

It was exciting to watch Daddy get a strike!  Way to go Daddy!

Was it a good time?!?!!  You bet!!!
I think we'll be doing this again sometime soon.  She had a great time, and by the end she was actually getting the hang of it, and bowled two spares all by herself!!  She improved her score by 22 points on the second game.  That's one determined little girl.  

Christmas time

Our Christmas spreads from the weekend before Christmas with my mom and all my siblings, to Christmas morning breakfast at our house, a typical Christmas dinner with my Dad, and then off to Western PA to visit with my in-laws. It's over a week full of celebrating, which is very exciting for a certain 4 year old in this house. This year, with my sister-in-law due any day around Christmas our typical plans changed and had a quiet day at home on Christmas day rather than rushing off to my Dad's for Christmas dinner. This gave us just enough peace before heading off to Christmas #2 in Western PA.
This was perfect, with Audrey getting a bike (a princess one at that) for Christmas, and Liam getting a push buggy we knew we'd want plenty of time to get outside and play. We had a great day as a family playing with new toys, having family over for breakfast, then going to the park to play, and finishing off the day watching Sound of Music. It was a wonderfully relaxing day while getting our things ready to set off for Western PA.