Sunday, February 21, 2010

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Spring Is Just Around The Corner...

...and I can't wait! Today I think we had a little glimpse ~ the sun was shining, the temperature was above freezing, I even saw a bluebird outside! It's been a gloomy week here, both kids being sick and all of us stuck inside. But, today neither one had a fever and both seem to be recovering from their coughs, so looks like we're on the upswing! Today we cleaned, disinfected, and opened the windows (if only for a minute!). It was so nice to get a little bit of fresh air! At the end of the day, everyone was feeling a bit happier and more refreshed, I think ~ at least I was!

As always, here are some pictures from our day :)

Maya "helping" Michael clean. And don't worry, that's not a cast on her arm ~ it's her "puppet show" (sock puppet...although I'm pretty sure the one she is wearing is just a plain sock :))


Maya and Charlotte using a laundry basket as a hiding place. Maya thinks it is hiLARious when she hides and we can't find her (which as you can imagine is quite a challenge, what with the holes on the side of the basket and all :)).


Everyone was in such a good mood at the end of the day that we staged an impromptu photo shoot on our family bed ~ so fun :) I think we'll have to do this more often!






Night!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Shake Your Sillies Out

Just some silliness from last night ~ watch to the end to see a surprise appearance...

Maya Shakes Her Sillies Out


...by Charlotte! You didn't know she could shake her groove thing like that, did ya?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The One With The Sad Face

Don't let her facial expression fool you.



In the last week, Maya has watched loads of Shrek and Dora and Up.



She has eaten popsicles.



She has napped and napped and napped some more.



This being sick thing is a little more exciting than she lets on ;)

Monday, February 15, 2010

All Her Ducks Are In A Row

Maya had a fun Sunday afternoon at home.

There was painting:


Coloring:


And bathtime:


All her ducks were in a row by the end of the day :)

Valentine's Day Photo Shoot

We hope that your day was full of love ~ Happy Valentine's Day!









Thursday, February 11, 2010

The One Where Michael Is My Knight In Shining Armor

A couple of days ago, I made a comment on Facebook that basically alluded to the fact that snow is not a big deal.




Since I am now living in northeast Ohio, I am an expert at driving in the snow, shoveling snow, walking uphill both ways in the snow, etc.



And then yesterday?



Yesterday when I got stuck an HOUR from home?



And had to have Michael come get me?



Yesterday I ate my words. And they tasted like crow.

I was headed to a friend's house for a playdate. We had communicated in the morning, acknowledged that there was snow on the ground, but that the roads were looking pretty good, so I would go ahead and go to her house, then take Charlotte to the doctor for one of many vaccinations. As I left Kent, the roads weren't bad. Then I turned off of 43, and it pretty much went downhill from there. The road kept getting worse and worse, and there was NO WHERE TO TURN AROUND. I finally, after probably 10 miles, made it to 44, thinking that this road would be better. But it wasn't. I was still 20 miles from my friend's house, and was already late due to slow driving, so I called her to cancel. I figured I would stop at a gas station, use my phone to find a different (safer) way home, and all would be good. After a couple of miles (this was a pretty rural area) I found a place to turn around. I was going all of 25 miles per hour, so I tapped my breaks, and I'm not even joking when I say that I could NOT stop. I'm glad there was not a car in front of me, because my front bumper would have been planted firmly into their backside. So, I decided I would stop at an intersection where the roads were clearer. 11 MILES later, I finally got up the courage to stop. I skidded (again, I was only going probably 25 mph) to a stop, turned into the station, and promptly called Michael. My hands were shaking, tears in my eyes. I'm not sure what I wanted him to do. He was in a meeting, so I waited a couple of minutes for him to call back. When he did, I had moved (er, skidded) to another parking lot (the gas station guy was getting worried about me, I think!). Michael offered to come get me and the girls, and said we'd figure out what to do with the car later. I, for whatever reason, maybe to save my last shred of pride, said that I was fine. I had calmed down, I could do this. As we were talking, I tried to pull back out onto the road, and my car fishtailed. I pulled back into the parking lot, planted my car firmly into a spot, and didn't move for 45 minutes until Michael came to get me. We switched the car seats to the van, he took the car, and I followed him in the van all the way back to his office, and then drove the rest of the way by myself.

So that snow? The snow that is no big deal because I'm an expert at driving in it? That snow that makes me say "meh"? That snow chewed me up and spit me out yesterday. Snow: 1, Sarah: 0

The pictures are from when we were waiting for Michael :) At least the girls had fun!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Where Charlotte Gets Her Good Looks

When I was younger, I was absolutely convinced I was adopted. I don't know why or how I came up with the crazy idea, but there you have it. And, not only did I believe that I was adopted, I was just sure that my Aunt Nancy (my mom's younger sister) was my biological mom. You could not convince me otherwise.

So, it only seems fit that Charlotte takes after my beautiful younger sister, Katie :) Maybe some day she will be convinced she is adopted, too :P

Charlotte looking like Katie:


Katie holding Charlotte:


Katie holding Maya:



Every once in a while, Charlotte makes a certain face that reminds me of my grandfather, who passed away when I was a senior in high school. It's hard to capture on camera, but when I catch a glimpse, it reminds me of him, and I know that he is looking down on us and smiling :*)





Maya often reminds me of him, too:

Sunday, February 7, 2010

The One Where I Find Out That The Weather Man Was Incorrect

Friday afternoon it started snowing. I checked the forecast and the National Weather Service was predicting 4-6 inches. Since moving to northeast Ohio, 4-6 inches of snow doesn't sound like much ~ schools don't even always close for that much ~ so I wasn't concerned. We went to the store and to pick up a movie and some pizza later that night and the roads were getting pretty bad. I figured it would be better by morning. When I woke up on Saturday, I couldn't believe it outside!



We had over a foot of snow fall! It literally took a couple of hours to shovel the driveway and sidewalk.



Maya LOVED it.





She is definitely getting over her fear of snow getting in her face (which we found when I accidentally hit her in the face with a snowball...oops!). Her favorite thing is having a snowball fight ~ it is HILARIOUS when she throws snow at Michael or me, and even more so when we throw it at her. Good times :)







We lasted about 30 minutes before deciding it was time to come inside to get warm and dry ~ hot chocolate for Michael and I, and "tea" (hot water with honey) for Maya.



It was a very good day :)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

She's Gonna Be A Climber

Charlotte has decided that crawling no longer presents enough of a challenge, and is trying to pull herself up on anything and everything. We made a little set-up for her in the living room (props to Michael for the pillows ~ she took a few tumbles before those were there). Since she's the size of an average 2 or 3 month old, she's not tall enough to actually cruise along the furniture, so we figured the fridge packs would provide just enough height to be challenging but safe :) I think she might be ready to move up to the cube!





Thursday, February 4, 2010

Amen

Michael asked Maya to do the prayer tonight at dinner:



"Now I lay me, down to sleep. I pray the Lord our food to keep. In Christ's name we pray, Amen!"



She *almost* got it :)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Carter

Maya's friend Carter came over to play yesterday and today, and boy did we have fun! He hung out with us during playgroup, went to church story time, played out in the almost-melted snow, and went to the library. In between there was eating and napping (at least by Carter ~ my two thought they were too cool to nap!). Lots of chasing dogs (his and ours), chasing each other, playing with Charlotte, and generally being goofy and 2 years old. And I gotta say, I am wiped! He has SO MUCH ENERGY! The kid doesn't stop ~ almost all of the pictures I have of him are blurry (and my camera has a super fast shutter!). Maya will be so disappointed tomorrow that Carter isn't coming over to play ~ I might have to kidnap him again soon!

Here are some pictures of our days: