sporspot

Lina's Birthday&random

2011-07-12T01:49:00.000-07:00

For my birthday Evan told me we were going to go away for a weekend but he didn't tell me where. I was a little nervous about the location, I was hoping that it wasn't camping (not that I don't like camping, but it's not my first choice for a relaxing getaway:) Evan was doing a pretty good job of making me think it was going to be some place that I wouldn't really like but he did really well! A couple from church let us use their cottage on Cedar Lake-it was adorable! SO nice and relaxing!! We went jet skiing and on the paddle boat and slept and just did nothing! I got pretty burned the first day but it was well worth it:) The picture doesn't do justice to the tomato-redness of my skin:)

We went to Aunt Marilee&Uncle Peter's in Oconto for the 4th of July. We celebrated Lina's birthday-she requested a crown cake. I let her look at pics online and out of all the elaborate pics she chose a pink round cake with a crown on top-easy for me! Altho I forgot to spray the pans so the cake didn't come out of the pan very nicely and the frosting had been in the heat and was all runny and it just didn't turn out very nice but she loved it! (at least I'm taking the *gasp* that she let out when she saw it as "oh it's so wonderful mommy, I couldn't love anything more" as opposed to "seriously mom, I didn't ask for much...are you kidding me?")food for the kitchen set from Grandma&Grandpa B

A play camera and a cash register from mom&dad.

Later, we were playing "store" and I rang up her items and told her she that now she needed to give me some money to pay for the items. She asked if I could give her some and I said if she did some chores I'd give her some. To which she responded, "mom, can you just give me like a thousand dollars."

I had bought that wand at a rummage a while ago and had let her play with it but it was SO stinking loud it made my ears bleed. SO I took it away and told her she could have it on her actual birthday. (I had Evan put some foam over the speaker to muffle the sound-she was pretty excited to see it and was none the wiser:) We made crown cookies to take to play group

We had never attempted to take a group pic with all the kids at playgroup-it was such an enjoyable experience, I think we should do it every week. I think Belle would agree:)

As good as it will get for now:) There were 14 kids in the pic, I think if everyone is comes there are around 20 kids? We call the group Chaos:)

Lina wanted to have a picnic when we got home. It was so sweet-she set everything up herself. I love how we each have the same amount of food:)

I found this crib tent at a rummage and I am head over heels in love with it! It is SO nice to be able to lock, I mean put her in her crib and know that she will be right where I left her when I come back! If only I had one for Lina...

watching a movie in mommy's room

Father's Day

(you can kind of see the right side of Evan's mouth is bruised&puffy, he was head-butted while playing soccer and it was pretty unsightly for quite a while)

I've been thinking about what we'll do for beds once Belle is too big for the crib...looks like we already have some bunkbeds:)

They played in there for quite a while...I should take the books out more often

Evan needed to replace the top board and then paint it...the girls were very eager to help daddy (and had to take their shirts off like daddy:)

playing at the park...isn't this child adorable!

this one's pretty cute too, in my un-biased opinion:)

haircut, easter, random

2011-05-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

These pics are out of order...you can read below the little story that goes with a few pictures down:)

My children are seriouly part monkey. I would say at least 3/4th. From the time both of the could move they have been climbing.

I have to hide anything that I don't want them to have because merely putting it "out of reach", well there is no such thing! They will find a way to reach anything.

Belle has gotten very good at getting out of her crib without hurting herself (she climbed out a few times a couple months ago but cried pretty hard after each one so I think that hurt enough to make her stop for a while) It is kind of dangerous to leave her in her room outside of the crib-she likes to climb on top of her dresser and play with the cd player or climb on top of the kitchen set and play with the stuff on the shelf.

so anyway, I needed to get something from her room during her nap and found her like this:) little stinker:)

Bubbles!

Belle had fun dipping the wand in and sucking the bubbles off-yum! (I got those no-spill bubble things for 5cents each!) Princess cousins:) For those of you that don't have facebook...the other day I found Lina and Raquel playing in the basement at mom&dad's and I noticed that Lina looked a little strange. After a closer look I noticed she was sporting a mullet-oh yes, business in the front, party in the back. Apparently Raquel thought Lina's former hairstyle was lacking and decided to spruce it up a bit. "we just wanted to look beautiful" I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out after a trip "the haircutting store" thankfully her curls help hide the really short chunks. Gideon was cold at our house and needed a jacket and I only have girls...he wasn't too excited about it:) helping grandma play LPR on easter

attempting a family picture

At the Betty Brinn Museum (Angie, you were such a good bank teller:)

Lina loved working on the car "like daddy does!" she kept saying, "I need some more tools!" Carb addiction? Like mother like daughter:)

all this shopping is exhuasting (putting the food away was exhuasting-trying to put stuff away while Gideon and Belle took it right back off!)

I was going to have Evan make a fridge for the kitchen set but then I found this one for $9! I looooove rummage season:) I want to paint it but who knows when that will happen. The girls love it. Altho their favorite thing to do is take the shelves out and sit inside it...

"Mom, can you shut the door for us?"

Lina has been playing with her baby more lately-so sweet to hear/see the things she says/does

why do I have to think of a title for each post?

2011-04-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

Snuggling with Grandpa Just showing off the hats I made for the girls (Belle would not pose for a picture but Lina was more than happy to...we have about 500 shots of her posing:)

She was SO excited to make jello eggs. When we were done she asked to call daddy and she asked him, "daddy, are you hungry???? (yes) ok, well I made some jellos, you can have some when you get home! would you like some of my jellos? (not jello, jellos)"

Lina called me into her room one day and I find her standing on the window sill and as soon as I walked in the door she said, "watch this!" and jumped off. She sure keeps her angels busy I found this chair for $5 at Salvation Army-I am very excited to re-upholster it! Just trying to find a fabric that I like that will hide stains and be able to handle my children...

The picture doesn't really capture it well, but it just made me laugh when I saw her like this-total exhaustion:) Lina loves having tea parties, we have 3 or 4 a day. (I think she just likes being able to tell me what to do..."mommy, if you want more you have to ask nicely. and when I pour it you have to wait because it's still pretty hot, you need to let it cool off.") I love how she asks, "is it tasty?"

kitchen set

2011-03-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all impressed-3 posts in one month!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, I know you are all just dying to see;)

I had been wanting a kitchen set for the girls but really wanted a wooden one and was having a hard time finding one in my price range (which is CHEAP:) all the ones I was finding at rummages were plastic and I wasn't having any luck with craigslist. And then one day on my way to mom's I saw a rummage and noticed this wooden kitchen set even before I got out of the car and thought to myself, if it's under $40 I am buying it! And it was $15!! SaWeeeeeeet! Handmade and very sturdy. It was in a bit of rough shape and not exactly what I had been picturing, but for $15 I can work with it! So here are the before and after pics...I'm not really finished, but i say that with a lot of things but it's not like I'm really working on it or have plans to work on it any time soon! (Do you like this short novel on a silly kitchen set? I just get so excited about good deals:) The doors at the top didn't slide so we took them off and used them to make the burners (I am planning to eventually do something to cover up the top part, maybe a cute curtain or something to give it a little color) One of my mixing bowls fit perfectly in the hole for the sink but it was my favorite mixing bowl and it was my grandmas but then I found the EXACT same bowl at a rummage for $1 so I get to keep my original:) The faucet is a wooden 'J' from Michaels upside down, the new stove/oven knobs were from some wood laying around and we had to replace the oven hinges which I found in dad's workshop and the paint was all stuff from Evan's massive stash so it cost about $2 to fix it up-SaWeeeeeeeeet! If we ever have more room I'd like Evan to build a fridge to go with it (more for added storage than for play:) I love seeing Lina copy the things she sees me do in the kitchen. Ding-oh! pizza's ready!! ;)

Misc.

2011-03-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

just a few pics from this and that, mostly from Feb.

Lina wanted to go outside but didn't want to put clothes on so I let her go out and she would have stayed out for a while but I didn't feel like dealing with hypothermia:) We stayed at mom&dad's while they were in China-one of Elise's kidblast nights she had to dress up like an invalid.

I knitted both girls one of these stuffed animals for valentines day-they didn't turn out quite like I was picturing in my head, but the girls like them (there is a pocket inthe frontwith a little baby in case you can't see it:)

No, I was not drunk when I took this...Lina is an aspiring photographer and will take pics for hours if I'd let her. I wish I had a pic of her taking the pics, it's pretty funny. Not as funny as Mya, but entertaining none the less:)

'Oh! I should take a picture of the ceiling!'

She actually did a really good job on this one

lately Belle has been very upset when she has to sit in her highchair. This happened on Evan's watch while he took Lina potty:)

When Lina wears the tinkerbell costume she is LinaTinkerbell. Belle is Bella:)

Belle loves sitting in the stroller and will scoot herself all over the place, she reminds me of an old lady in a wheelchair:)

Florida

2011-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

After missing our flight (I think I am certifiably insane) and trading a nice 3 hr flight for a 22hr drive, we made it to FL and had a wonderful visit! (Thanks for letting us stay with you Derek and Kristen! And thank you mom and dad for letting us use your van!!)
In no particular order, here are a few pics...

Belle loved wearing these necklaces, she would take them off one by one and then put them back on. So easily entertained (sometimes:)

pretty pretty princesses!

Evan's grandparents live ~2hrs from Kristen and Derek so one day we met half way and had lunch and went to a park for a bit. It was so nice to see them-we haven't seen them since the girl's were born!

I walked into our room one day and found Mya like this

Popsicles!!

Belle after the popsicle was done-such a stinker!

sweeties!

family pic at the zoo...Belle kind of looks like some random child that happened to be in the shot, guess I should have held her or at least touched the stroller The zoo had a fun spray ground-they had a blast

Lina loves feeding the giraffe Every time it took a piece from her she squealed and made a face like this:)

eating lunch-Belle looks like a chipmunk

For some reason this picture reminds me of those celebrity pics where they are walking down the street in their sweats and all frazzled

freeding the goats

the beach!

Belle was not a fan. Altho she hadn't napped at all and was crabby before we got there. But that didn't make her any more enjoyable!

Taking a break from screaming I guess:)

one of the longest posts ever...

2011-01-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

ok, so a little long in coming but in my defense I did try a few times before and it kept giving me error messages. so anyway, enjoy:)

I think this was new years eve? just sipping some champagne;)

Evan playing with the helicopter I gave him (Thanks for the tie Angie&Dylan!)

Grandma&Grandpa B got Lina a make up/hair kit-she LOVES putting on her lipstick

so tired after all the excitement

Lina adjusting her princess 'dancing' shoes:)

modeling the ensamble

Lina was very helpful with the present opening. "Here Belle, do you want to open your movie? Do you want to open Beauty and the Beast?

So happy

Uncle Nathan is the best! sweetie pies:)

The hide-a-bed makes a pretty decent trampoline

I love when they give kisses without any prompting from us:)

me? oh I'm just hanging out back here, enjoying the back view of the Christmas tree. I'm not eating a candy cane. What's in my mouth? Oh that's just the wrapper from the candy cane that I didn't eat.

I forgot to get a pic of the 2 birthday girls together-there at least both in this pic:)

taking care of her new dolly

Belle enjoyed the carrot cake that she shared with Grandma B:)

Lina and Belle loved having their cousins here (we liked having them here too:)

Showing off their skills at Lafluers Tired little girl:)

taking turns with Belle's nuk

St. Nicks-They each got an ornament, Lina was very excited about her 'cookie letter'

Lina also got a tinkerbell purse (don't tell Belle that she was jipped:)

Lydia, you can thank me-there was a delightful picture of you that I decided not to post:)

Lina loved all the Christmas decorations-especially this advent house. One night we had a bag of carrots on the table and Evan was like, wow, Lina is eating a lot of carrots...(she had taken a bite out of each carrot so that the doors would shut:)

halloween&random

2010-11-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

Lina has been loving puzzles lately Belle loved hanging out with Gr. Uncle Paul during the Packer game one Sunday

Lina was so excited to get to hold baby Hudson:)

Evan and I had Youth Group on Sunday night so we weren't able to take the girls trick-or-treating (not like they cared:) Aunt Lyd did take Lina to a few houses and she said she kept saying 'thanks for the present!' every time someone gave her candy and when they were at houses with spooky decorations she said, 'that's naughty!!' I got their costumes from 2 different friends so they don't really go together, except that they are both winged creatures:)

Lina showing off her stinger

Lina and Belle LOVE jumping in the crib-I have to have Lina nap in my bed or else they would never get any sleep!

No, this was not on a warm summer day, it was actually quite chilly this day. Lina was outside with shoes, a jacket AND pants and then I hear a knock on the door and see her like this.Don't let this adorable picture fool you...

you're more likely to find her like this (that's Belle's formula all over)

or this

Rope swing

2010-10-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Lina terrorizing the gym at Lafluers:) This particular day she was very excited about the rope-pardon my obnoxious sound effects

fall!

2010-10-13T08:40:00.001-07:00

matching packer outfits-girls were not in the mood to get a pic taken together, we'll try another time:)

Is it wrong that my 2yr old knows how to unlock the Ipod and play 'kitty spikes' as she calls it(Kitten Cannon-some wierd game that shoots a kitten out of a cannon and it bounces on spikes, bombs, and other things-you try to see how far it will bounce:)

It has been SO nice out lately! We went to some park and walked on a trail the other night-Lina loved shuffling through the leaves.

So pretty!

all tired out

Lina was 'driving' and the thing came off in her hand

Belle standing and other things:)

2010-10-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get a pic of Belle standing but it's been a challenge-when she sees the camera she starts bouncing and then falls down after a couple bounces-you see her mid-bounce right here:) There we go! Such a big girl!

such sweet sisters:) I looked over at Belle and she was just sitting like this-I thought it was cute:)

Erik and Belle-aw:)

reading books like good little girls

Lina likes to go in Belle's crib-sometimes she does flips into it or puts things that she doesn't want Belle to play with and goes in for some seclusion. I wish I had a spot like that!

the other day Lina came and pulled me into her room saying, 'Look! I made Belle pretty! I'm pretty too!!' and wanted a picture of her efforts:) Labor day we went to Cabellas-this is us being scared of the bear:)

We went over to some friends house in the evening and the guys took the 2 older kids out on the boat-I think they had a little more fun than this picture would suggest (they probably had just been told to stop jumping-Aiden later jumped overboard!)

pat on the back for me!

2010-09-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

2 posts in one week! Just thought I'd take another break from lounging on my couch eating bonbons to upload more pics for my kid's adoring fans;)

Lina told me she was flying like a fairy The other day I found these kitty boots that match her umbrella for 50cents-I love rummages!

Don't I look like a good mother? Ironing board inthe background with the sewing machine, I'm just so domestic (Don't let it fool you, I don't remember the last time I ironed an article of clothing, It's just a nice height for pinning my sewing projects:)

Evan put some of Belle's food on Lina's lips and she stood there like that for a really long time. i was surprised that she didn't spit it out.

One of Lina's new hobbies-taking all the silverware out and lining it up on the counter. At least she puts it back (mostly) in the right place

stop threatening me!

2010-08-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Just for you Lyd! So it's been a while...I did actually upload some pics a while ago but then something happened and they wouldn't post so then I posted some on facebook, so it really hasn't been 2 months...
I haven't been the best at photographing what we have been up to, but here is some of what I got. it starts with the most recent...

We went to Tazinos the other night (we used a Groupon, ever heard of them? sign up to get their emails, you can get resteraunt deals 1/2 off or more!) they have this chalkboard thing for the kids which Lina loved. Evan didn't really care about taking a pic of Lina though, he was really wanting to take a pic of this lady's extremely hairy legs-I had to do a double take to make sure it was really a woman-I guess she was going for a natural/organic look? I was going to put the pic up but you couldn't really tell. anyway, i thought it was funny:)

I was trying to get a good pic to show how adorable this dress is-unfortunately 8 month olds aren't the best model, but I think you can see it pretty well. thanks aunt kristen! our mom's group tried to meet up every few weeks at parks-this was a beach in Slinger

I tried for a really long time to get a good pic of the two of them together-Belle was smiling so nicely and this was the closest to a smile that I got from Lina-gr!

Lina likes to 'feed' Belle-it's so funny to hear her say things exactly how I say them when I am feeding her:)

climbing on everything!

the Rittenhouses were in town for a few days-Belle and Boaz were instant friends:)

One of Lina's favorite toys in her 'ipod' and one day she must have thought it needed a bath so she soaked it in the toilet. Evan took it apart to let it dry and they put it back together and it still works!

Lina getting fresh with Aiden while we were at the Koepke's one night

I went rummaging one day and found this helmet at the first one we went to and Lina wore it the whole time, even while napping:)

Lina is a little fish! She has no fear of the water and will jump in and nearly drown but be smiling like a fool when you pull her up. We have spent quite a bit of time at the pool this summer-I don't have good pics of her actually in the pool because I make her sit at the edge when I get out to take a pic:)

Belle likes the water too, altho aunt Lyd complains that she splashes her too much-toughen up kid

I made sure I had a constant supply of this delicious slush that my mom made when we were little in the freezer at all times. I found a bunch of margarita glasses at a rummage for real cheap-it's just more fun to drink out of cute glasses-Lina thinks so anyway:)

we loved having aunt Ton around for a few weeks-kneee hooooooooooow

right after the 4th of July we spent a week in Kentucky at the LIFE youth conference with 7 students. We drove down in this un-airconditioned van-it was pretty scorching, but we had a fun time and it was a really good conference, as always.

family pic before celebrating Lina's birthday on the 4th of July (we did not go to the parade or the fireworks, how unpatriotic was that?)

and thats it for now, i will try to be a little better. maybe.

grapes

2010-06-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

here you go

2010-06-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

so the most recent are first...
I couldn't pick which ones to put up of these, so i just did them all cuz she is so cute:)

Train ride at the zoo Aiden and Lina making their morning milk deliveries

Lina is only allowed to have her nuk in bed so one day I walked in and found her trying to be all sneaky-that's the first time that it seemed like she knew she was being naughty and was trying to hide it. The first of many times I'm sure.

Lina moved into her big girl bed a couple weeks ago-she's been doing really good with staying in.

re-living the glory days

helping daddy with the lawn at gma and gpas

We stayed at my parent's house for 2 weeks while they were in Indonesia. Elise came home sick one day and lina wanted to lay on the couch like EliseLyd rocking the rotertiller (or however you spell that). I supervised.

a baby bird Lina found in the bushes At first when I saw this picture I thought Lina was just playing with the dolls in the basement and then I realized one of the dolls was Belle:)

a few weeks ago I let Lina wear her Tinkerbell undies-I am SO not ready to potty train. I am hoping that one morning she'll just wake up potty trained...

easter, dedication etc

2010-05-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just a bunch of random pics to catch up....

Lina loves helping out with Belle. I love that she loves her, but sometimes she gives a little too much love:) I dont really get her dressed unless we actually go outside. She looked hilarious with the hat all the way on with the glasses...just use your imagination.

getting a head start on reading

Lina and Aiden playing nicely

I got this high chair for a dollar at a rummage and Lina really enjoys feeding Baby and Dollie in it. She also discovered that she fits in it too! And soon after that she discovered that if you lean forward to get a book off the ground you fall over:)

Belle was dedcated on Sunday, April 18. Mom got this adorable cake for her-the people had written Bella instead of Belle:-/ I tried to fix it, I thought I did a pretty good job.

Belle was smiling and giggling while she was being dedciated-such a good girl:)

family pic

praying like a good little girl:)

Lina has to buckle anything with a buckle-the carseat, high chair, swing, bouncer...but she can't un-do them so she'll come grab my hand and say, please help!!

If Lina finds a cup out she'll stick her sippy in it and drink like a big girl:)

When Lina plays with blocks she always builds a little tower by Belle first:)

Showing off her pony tail

Having some fun in the sun on one of the nice days-hopefully it will stay nice now!!

Evan painted our stools-he forgot one that we are using to hold a lamp so we did a before and after. It looks black in the pic but is actually 'oil rubbed bronze'

All tired out after running around outside I love how they both have their hands in their mouths:)

I HATE it when Evan doesn't fold the top over on the socks so one day he sent Lina in like this

It wasn't me!

Easter morning

Belle just being a cutie:)

Spring Break!

2010-04-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

Lydia, Belle, Lina and I (Carrie:) went to FL to visit Kristen Derek Mya and Toby during Lydia's spring break-the girls were really good on the plane ride-thanks Nathan for the DVD player! (And Thank you Aunt Lyd for the trip:) all this cuteness in one place!

Mya was pointing out the ducks to Lina-such a sweet girl

bedtime story with Aunt Kristen and Mya

trying out Mya's big girl bed

one night we did some exercising on the wii-here's Lyd just taking a bike ride

at the zoo there was a room where birds were flying around and you could hold them but Lina was deathly afraid of them and wouldn't put her hand out-I took a picture to show her that they are nice, pretty birds, but this bird did look kind of evil...

Mya was a pro-I love her stance here with her finger crooked, such a cutie!

Lina LOVED feeding the giraffe-she and Mya each got half a cracker thing to feed it and Lina broke hers into tiny little pieces, it was so cute:)

the day we went to the pool was not the nicest pool weather-Aunt Lyd is the best! (I did get in the water too, I just chose not to be photographed:)

cuties!!

kissing cousins:)

ready to go to the airport-thanks for letting us play, we miss you!!

The day after we got back we went to a easter egg hunt-it was freezing! I didn't think to bring a basket so I used a plastic bag I had in the car, it felt like I was carrying dog poop or something!

There were a thousand kids waiting to get their pic taken with the bunny so I wasn't going to make them wait while I tried to get her to smile

Lina playing the field;)

just some cuteness

2010-04-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

had to get some pics in their matching pjs...Lina was so excited:)

I like Belle's face in this one

I told Lina she needs to share her toys with Belle and when I came back into the room she was putting the doll on top of her head and I was like, Lina stop! And she just looked at me and said SHARE!

Eating like Lucy-the other day at mom's house I was in the other room and I heard Lina smacking her lips and saying, "Ahhhhh," I went in to find her drinking Lucy's water with a fist full of dog food in her hands...

Sharing her toys-after she was bored of stacking and unstacking she started putting them on Belle's head

children

2010-03-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

so sleepy my little monkey

ready for a night out on the town!

Lina and Adalyn were playing in the basement at the Piepers and I heard Lina asking for help so I went down and found her like this. She had both feet shoved into one side of the highchair so she was stuck-I wish I could see a video of her getting in there! Such a monkey...

watching a moomoo together

Belle reminds me of Toby in this picture for some reason

Lina wanted to show me that she can smile too (although this looks more like she is trying to push something out)

my sweet angel:)

for your enjoyment

2010-02-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

animal noises and Belle

2010-02-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

sorry for the repeat of animal noises. I wanted to get Lina saying 'Belle' but she didn't want to say it for the camera so I started off with animal noises and then she said it...a thousand times. Whenever she says her name she repeats it several times-I love it when she is trying to get Belle to stop crying, she says it really fast and its just adorable (to me, anyway:)

I don't like trying to think of a title

2010-02-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

Aren't tulips beautiful? looking at them you think it could be spring!! ...but it's not, not even close:-/ Lina loves watching elmo on youtube with aunt lyd (my name's amanda sue... :) Lina's valentine's day shirt

Belle has been smiling but it's hard to get a good one on camera!

seriously, enough with the pictures

This is Evan's doing...

I pushed the books on the second shelf back so that she couldn't reach them (because she pulls them out but can't put them back!) but she got around that with no problem

I love how Lina is holding Belle:)

Lina really enjoyed the balloon Aunt Diane got Belle

The other day I was in the next room talking to someone for a while, periodically checking on Lina who *was* playing nicely on the floor. Apparently I stayed in the other room just long enough for her to discover the candy canes. I looked in the room and couldn't see her at first but then saw her hiding behind the cushion with a big chunk, wrapper and all, in her mouth just drooling all over the place.

why do we even bother buying toys?

hospital

2010-01-29T20:12:00.000-08:00

Monday night Belle felt a little warm and we noticed that when we moved her to burp her she cried as if it hurt her head or something. I forgot to take her temp when I changed her diaper and since she didn't really seem to be feeling bad I just waited to take it until the next time she ate. 3am Tues morning it was 101.1-I looked in a book I had to see how high it needed to be before I should be worried and the book and the internet said that if a baby under 3 months (she'll be 6 weeks tomorow) had a fever over 100.4 you should call the Dr.
Lina and Evan had been sick for the past few days so I figured she probably just had whatever they had so I took off her blanket and re-took her temp an hour later and it was down to 100.3 and by (a decent hour of) morning it was 99.7 so I didn't think anything of it.

I happened to mention it to a friend of mine that is a nurse and she suggested that I let Belle's pediatrician know. I called and they said that I needed to bring her in so I made an apt. and while I was getting ready the nurse called back and told me that the Dr. said she wanted me to take her to the ER at Children's Hospital. I was a little annoyed b/c I thought they were going a little overboard, but I'm so glad I did!

After 5 hours in the ER of drawing blood, taking a urine sample and doing a spinal tap (which I did not stay in the room for) they found out that she had meningitis and needed to be admitted for at least 48 hours. Eventually the tests showed that she had/has enterovirus meningitis which really can't be treated but is much better than bacterial meningitis.

We had to stay until all the cultures testing for the bacterial came back negative (which they did). Unfortunately Evan had a job that he had only two days to get done (altho fortunately for hospital bills sake!) so he wasn't able to be there at all and Lina was sick so I didn't think she should be there so it was so nice to get home yesterday and see everyone (altho now Evan is gone on a youth retreat which I was also supposed to go on)

But we are so thankful that God took/is taking such good care of Belle and that it was not anything more serious-thank you to all of you that were praying, we really felt them! I know I would have totally lost if it hadn't been for everyone praying for us.

that was a long one...if you're still reading, here are some pics now...

Her bed reminded me of a circus parade cage:)

I don't know why, but I thought the 'isolation' bracelet was funny

It took them 3 tries to get her IV in-they ended up putting it in her foot/ankle

I don't know if she was really smiling or if it was just muscles twitching but she did it enough for me to have time to get the camera and try to get a pic (there wasn't much else entertainment there so there were quite a few:)

Friends

2010-01-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

playing with Gabby

This was the first time she actually stacked the blocks-I thought it was cute how she had a bunch of little stacks with the things sticking up:)

playing with AidenLina in the middle of a whine-child does not share well

one month

2010-01-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Belle is a month old today! At her check up this morning she was 8lb 4oz and 20.5" (Lina was 9lb 3oz at her one month)
She has started sleeping better at night (thank you God!) but is still really inconsistant with eating during the day-she'll eat an ounce and then an hour later drink another ounce and then 2 hrs later drink 2 ounces...the dr. says that's normal, but how inconvenient! So we're praying that will get better too...
here are a few pics since new years...

Belle at 2 weeksgetting ready for her first bath after the umbillical cord FINALLY fell off (isn't Lina's diaper enormous next to Belles!?)

Evan took Lina to play in the snow-she couldn't walk in it very well and Evan was very amused at her frustration:)

Lina loves to read books on the potty chair at Grandma B's

scooting around in her stroller

the other night we played guitar hero with the drums and the vocals too-it's really hard! This pic reminds me of a pic we have of Jacob when he was little imitating the drummer on That Thing You Do! (Lina crawled back and forth on the back of the couch while we played:)

So sleepy!

This is Belle today (1/19/10) her one month birthday-I need to take more pics of this child! We have 10 million of Lina when she was a baby and we really only have a few of Belle that aren't with Lina. What can I say, she's kind of boring! (but oh so cute:)

New Years 2010

2010-01-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

Mya picked out these matching shirts for her and Lina for Christmas-aren't they just too cute!?

where's YOUR belly button?

hanging out at the McClains on new years eve

Lina went up and down the stairs most of the night, ocassionally accompanied by Mya and Zeke

mommies and babies guitar hero with Evan on the vocals

all partied out

We left the McClains to put Lina down at mom and dad's but she woke up sometime after midnight and stayed up until we left a few hours later

I can't remember which day this was, but Evan thought Belle should get a little sun since the Dr. said she was a little jaundice:)

Christmas'09

2010-01-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve afternoon the Stocks came over to play for a while

at night we just hung out and watched The Grinch before bed

Lina didn't really get the concept of presents so she wasn't too excited to open her present-she was more excited to play with her fish ornament.

We gave her a little gardening set

She wouldn't look up to take a picture...I think she likes it Aunt Angie made this adorable little doll for Lina, made with authentic Indonesian fabric! She loves it! we went over to the Spor's in the morning and for lunch

and then to the Blaubachs for a little bit-so fun to have new babies around!

I'm not being naughty...

so sleepy

In the evening we headed to the McClains

from youngest to oldest-Belle (12/19) Boaz (12/6) and Toby (10/8

stop with the pictures mom!!

random

2010-01-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Rachel came over to try out her new camera on Lina and Belle-Lina was in desperate need of a nap, but the ones of Belle turned out nice! (Rachel made the blanket in the background for Belle)

(that's a yawn, not a scream:)

such a good helper:)

Lina wanted to try Belle's bottle-she made a terrible face after the first taste but drank it all down!

Belle!!

2010-01-06T11:09:00.001-08:00

She's here!

Belle Ione (Ione after a Ione Gibeaut-a woman who is like another grandmother to me) got to come a little earlier than originally planned-my c-section was planned for the 21st but a couple days before my Dr called and said that day was going to be really busy for her and asked if I would I want to have her on the 19th-uh, yes!

Everything went great-I was a little freaked out this time hearing all the possible complications and side effects etc. As I was sitting on the operating table waiting to get the epidural I was thinking I really did not feel like doing this! But apparently there was no other option. It really wasn't as bad as I was anticipating:) So anyway, here are some pics from our time in the hospital..

One last pic of my oh so beautiful belly (and puffy face-it was fine up until a few days before and then it just decided to explode...) Belle Ione was pulled out at 10:17 am weighing 7lb 8oz measuring 19"

meeting mommy for the first time-look at all that hair!

feeding for the first time (definately not as good of an eater as Lina was, but I still love her:)

Lina meeting her little sister for the first time. She wasn't too interested at first... probably because there were 10 million other people in the room too!!

If you can't tell from my face, I was not feeling too hot. Actually, I was very hot-and very very itchy. Apparently that is one of the side effects from whatever was in the epidural-I wanted to rip my face off it itched so bad. I could have taken benedryl to help but I had some right after the c-section and it made me even more tired and I needed to stay awake to entertain all my guests;)

first family photo

comparing Belle with one of Lina's pics Lina came again on Monday with a slightly smaller crew-she really enjoyed climbing on the hospital bed

and honking Belle's nose

not quite sure what to think...

I guess she's ok...

I think I like this little person!

Welcome home Belle!

here you go...

2009-12-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

I wanted a family pic on Thanksgiving but didn't think to take it until late and Lina was not in a picture taking mood... trying to make up for being such a stinker...

Lina was fascinated with the putting up of the christmas treehere is the finished product along with a shot of my 36 week belly our little nerd

This is the TV that Evan got from the guy whose furniture stores are closing-I'm not too thrilled about it but Lina seems to enjoy her new 'moomoo' spot

is there a plumber in the hosue?

peek-a-boo! Lina likes to take the weekbyweek pregnancy book into our closet and look at the babies

little stinker

2009-11-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning van went to get Lina out of her crib and found her outside of it trying to get her blanket out. Today when she was supposed to be taking a nap I heard her talking so I peeked the camera in the door and saw how she does it...

animal sounds

2009-11-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

you can't really see her motions very well, but hopefully you can hear most of the noises...

Fall stuff

2009-11-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Lina has been asking to "coco" a lot lately-I wish she was old enough that I could just get the stuff out and let her play with it without having to worry about her eating the crayons or coloring on everything besides the paper...Lina has been a little sick so she's gotten to watch more movies than usual-just thought i'd include a whale shot for your viewing pleasure:)

The other day it was actually quite nice so we went over to grandma's to play outside. Lina usually hates wearing hats but on the way out she grabbed this one and wanted to wear it-do you recognize it Raquel?

Lina thought it was hilarious when you throw leaves up in the air

I don't know if you can see it, but there is a lady bug sitting on the ball that captured Lina's attention for quite a while...until mom came out and kicked it across the yard:)

Lina likes to push her stool over to the sink when there is dishwater with lots of bubbles. She dips her hands in and licks the bubbles off-a nice low-cal snack

All ready for her first trick-or-treat! Lina borrowed Addy's poodle costume-thankfully it was a warm one b/c it was freezing out!!

Lina did NOT like the mask that a guy at one of the houses was wearing...

Lina was pretty pooped after but we made one more stop to show Grandpa B her costume-I didn't think she had any energy left but she hopped on the horse and was rocking away:)

pumpkins etc

2009-10-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

The other night Lina discovered her love for mustard. She would dip her fry in it and suck it off-yum!

Jr. Asparagus hums 'God is bigger than the boogie man' when you squeeze him-Lina likes to hold him like that and rock back and forth

Jenna and Elise spent the night while mom and dad were in FL-Lina liked staying up late with her aunties:)

It was gorgous on Sunday so Jolene and I took the kids to Basses pumpkin patch while the guys were golfing (yes, apparently Evan golfs-this was his 3rd time and I have heard from 3 different sources that he is actually quite good. I wish I had a pic of him:)

just my size...

Miss independent-I made the mistake of letting her try feeding herself yogurt and she will no longer let me feed it to her.

baby bump!

2009-10-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a belly shot for those of you that have been requesting it...28 weeks!

just like daddy:)

The other night was missions night at church. Lina wore her India outfit to match Grandma and Grandpa-as you can see, she was not in a smiling mood watching her new veggie tales sing-a-long

Lina has gone pee in her potty chair 3 times now! this was her first time-she was very upset that I wouldn't let her play in the pee

Taking a family walk

Lina got tired of walking...but she really liked being on daddy's shoulders...or maybe not

Lina likes to push the stool around the kitchen
...Daddy likes to have her stand on it in the middle of the room

more of this and that

2009-09-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

oh, you think I care that I'm not supposed to be on here?Lina didn't like ice cream for a while (which was nice for me so I could eat it whenever without having her ask for some!) but she has now discovered that it is actually quite delicious...

eating breakfast with daddy

watching a baby einstein with Aiden and his Aunt Kara

playing in the leaves with Aunt Jenna being naughty

happy about something

just talking on the phone...

Lina has to flip the cushion up so she can get up on the chair-it's one of her new favorite reading spots

2009-09-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

Some days it takes Lina a while to fall asleep at nap time (you can't see it in the video, but the blinds on the window next to her crib are destroyed as far as she can reach)

hodgepodge

2009-09-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

I thought she coordinated well with her carseat and was trying to get her to smile but this was all she'd give me I tried this coat on her and she wanted to keep it on-for some reason she reminded me of the green one-eyed guy in Monsters Inc

just reading some books in Aunt Lydia's shower

little monkey!

thankfully her diaper had just been changed-hopefully she won't have the urge when it's full....

I was going through her clothes and put these on her-I think she looks like Raquel in this picture

I always get nervous when I'm in another room and she's quiet-it's so nice to find her reading so sweetly:)

helping Grandma in the kitchenapparently she didn't like the musicat the park with Aunt Jenna and Aunt Elise and Grandmaposing for the camera Angie-this is the complete outfit you gave her for her birthday (I think she's been in part of it in several other pics:) not the best pic, but I thought I'd show you:) Thanks!

watching daddy and uncle nathan work on the car

Lina and Sophia (my friend Kristy's little girl who is 4 months younger)

Lina loves riding her horse! there is a button you can press that makes it neigh and it's mouth moves and she thinks it's hilarious to put her hand in its mouth

when I catch her with something she's not supposed to have, she holds it out to me and says, ooooooh, no!

up north

2009-08-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

a couple weekends ago we went up north with the Piepers-our interenet is being rediculous so the pics are a little out of order, but you get the idea:)

we went to a lady's house where they had chickens and goats-I guess she usually has fresh eggs for sale but there were none when we went:-/

we got to watch this lovely dog for the weekend-thankfully he was really good with the kids

Adalyn wanted to poke the eye before Evan threw it back Time for some fishing!

Adalyn is slightly in love with Evan:)

Gotta get out of here!

getting ready for a ride into town! Evan rode a dirt bike and I didn't feel comfortable driving with her in front so Brad took Lina with him. She wasn't crazy about the helmet but she kept it on:)

lunch with friends!circling the yard

vistors & random

2009-08-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

Had to get a few pics in before Tonya left for China:( We miss you!! Grandma and Grandpa Blaubach brought Lina this outfit from India-thanks grandma and grandpa!

Bj Kirsten and Justice were here for a few days-Lina loved playing with her cousin!

Evan and Bj took the kids to a fun fair thing at the church and then to dinner afterwards

Justice thought it was hilarious putting the blanket over Lina's head

Evan likes to have Lina balance on things...

a couple weeks ago we went to the airshow at the lakefront with the Piepers and the Spors. It was a lot of fun and very educational-did you know that if you aren't parked more than 15ft. from the corner of a road you get a $30 parking ticket? so much for trying to save the $20 parking fee!

It's not extremely clear in the picture, but Lina will pull out the bottom drawer and use it as a step stool

someone found their belly button!

Lina's play area at the pool

Lina was standing on a step and splashing the water and right as i was about to take a picture she plunged headfirst into the pool. Thankfully aunt Lyd was right there to save her:)
Lina loves chocolate chip pancakes!

it's a girl!

2009-07-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

For those of you that haven't heard yet-yes, I (Carrie:) am pregnant. I had an ultrasound today and the ultrasound tech said she didn't see any boy parts, so it's a girl!
Everything looks good, except they moved my due date 2 weeks back:-/ According to the size today I am due Dec. 29. What a cute little Christmas present!

who is that?

2009-07-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Dad shaved his mustache off for his trip to India-doesn't he look more like Uncle Mark and Uncle Steve? Evan put some stuff in Lina's hair to try to keep the curls after her bath...it didn't last too long

This one is for you Elise

Here is the new cover for her carseat-I was getting really irritated with it so there are a few little things that I still need to finish but probably never will. who knew a box was so much fun? exploring her creative side-thanks Aunt Amy!

Fireworks!

2009-07-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Brad and Jolene layed out tarps and blankets after the parade so we got front row seats!

She didn't cry, but I don't think she knew what to think at first This was her face without covering her ears

Hope everyone had a happy 4th!

Party!

2009-07-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

We combined Lina's birthday party with our 4th of July Celebration-Lina loved Aunt Amy!

Lina was VERY excited to eat cakenot quite sure what to do with the candle...The head of the ladybug was all frosting (that is the part we gave Lina)
I think she liked it!
where have you been keeping this stuff?? slowly slipping into a sugar coma Presents!

Raquel, (and Angie and Dylan) Lina really likes the outfit you gave her!

Birthday/4th of July

2009-07-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

Lina is 1!! (June 29th)

I cant believe how fast that happened...

We were very happy to get Evan back safe and sound from Brazil the day before. Lina was very happy to see him-she wrapped her arms around his neck and just hung onto him for a long time. It was very cute.

On her actual birthday we went to Cousin's and got to eat with the McClains and Rittenhouses there (and of course didn't take a picture) Lina got to taste her first cookie-thanks for sharing Zeke!

Lina gets to sit in a big girl carseat now. (We got this one from a family that I babysit for occasionally. I made a new cover for it, I'll take a pic later) Eagerly waiting for the parade

this truck died so the guys helped push it

we set Lina by the bag to get more candy for Adalyn. We got a lot of candy.

After the parade we played ladder golf (I think that's what this game is called?) Jenna and Elise beat Evan and I (yes, we were trying)

random catching up

2009-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

at the park with Aunt Jenna Nathan and some boys from church were having breakfast before their Bible study when I got to mom's house and when I put Lina in the living room they all went in and started playing with her-it was pretty cute:)

They were fighting over who got to hold her during the Bible study and were very sad that she had to go down for a nap

bananas!

I AM smiling...

Kristen and Mya are up here while our husbands are gallivanting in Brazil...Lina has enjoyed some quality cousin time!

tubby time!

Aunt Lydia knocking the ball out of a poor helpless child's hands

Lydia holding a barf bucket for Jenna 'just in case' while she, Tonya and Mya gave us a concert...Jenna had been sick, and I guess this is just how my sisters are:)

sharing! (you can't hear the fighting in the picture:)

playing outside while waiting for the famous grilled cheese sandwhiches at Great Grandma Blaubach's house

it has finally gotten hot enough to use the pool!

cousins just hanging out

chair

2009-06-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

we had dinner with some of Evan's friends from Brazil and for about the last 45 minutes, Lina pushed this chair around the cafeteria

steps!

2009-06-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

the other day Lina started taking a few steps!

standing,laughing&piano

2009-05-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

random...

2009-05-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Lina loves to empty my purse She can now stand all by herself...no steps yet, but she is getting close. Such a big girl!

watching tv with Aunt Lyd hanging out with Ben Pluta at Lydia's graduation party

Playing at the park with daddy

Some guy had these huge kites at the park-the guy who was flying them looked kind of creepy, but the kites were cool.

Playing on Grandpa's new piano

On Sunday the Mohn's had a party for the people going to Brazil. Adam and Shrift were visiting so they came along. The Mohn's have a heated pool so some went swimming at the end-the water was 92!

I thought this was cute:)

eating strawberries-apparently they taste the best after being rubbed in your hair.

slightly creepy smile expressing her love for the strawberries

Lina's new seat

rocking chair

2009-05-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

zoos etc.

2009-05-07T02:55:00.000-07:00

The picture uploader thing was being difficult and I have no patience for such nonsense, so it's been a little while. Not too long though. I think I'm doing pretty well:)

Lina at the eye Dr with a creepy looking Elmo...the Dr. said that everything looks fine and that the appearance of crooked/lazy eye will go away as she gets older and her face changes.

We got to watch Elise give a presentation on crystals-she did an excellent job:)

My Aunt Kathy and cousin Julie and her son Tate came from CA for a little visit-Lina really liked Tate Tate fell asleep on me (after spitting up several times on me also:) I thought Tonya looked nice in this one:) It looks like he's praying...such a spiritual child so tired...

Raquel and Mya also have this laptop and Lina LOVED playing with it at Christmas. The other day I was at a rummage sale and she got really excited all of a sudden and I looked and there was the laptop! I was surprised that she remembered it. What a nice find!

Evan took thses pictures. I thought that she liked it, because she likes being held up-side-down ...apparently she didn't texting her little friends:)

visiting the Gibeauts-she loved looking at the pictures of babies snacking on my old dollShe wasn't too sure if she liked being in there...she'd kind of laugh and then make a little whine. We really shouldn't get so much enojyment out of her discomfort.

Yesterday we went to Chicago to apply for the visas for the Brazil trip Evan is taking this summer (no comment on the outcome of that) One good thing of the day-the free zoo! And it was SO nice out. I think she enjoyed her first trip to the zoo

kinda funny story with this one...Evan thought it'd be cute to take her picture with her sitting by that little deer so I put her on next to it and then she all of a sudden starts crying...yes, I had just set my child on a boiling hot piece of metal. poor girl! cute little girl~getting way too big.

Today we went to the zoo with Aiden and Suzanne (they have a zoo pass with a guest pass!) It was a gorgeous day again...altho it's supposed to be cold over the weekend. I am ready to put her winter clothes away-I would appreciate it if it would just stay nice!

Lina was pretty excited about this little creature...I think it was a prarie dog?

jumping!

2009-04-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

sorry about the beginning...I didn't realize I had the camera turned!!!

Goodbyes

2009-04-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we had a little going away party for the Rittenhouses and vanRensburgs (with Uncle Paul's delicious chicken!)

We will miss you all!!!

Elijah and Raquel had fun jumping on the beds for quite a while...thankfully no one was hurt (too badly:)

taking a little break:)Elijah and I took some pictures together and each time he said, oh i just need to check it! And he would ok it before taking another:)

saying goodbyes...

Elise and Jenna were over while they were taking angie dylan and raquel to the airport. We played payday and dipped marshmellows and pretzels in chocolate with the little fondue set I got in a white elephant this christmas-delicious! Lina loves puzzles!

Lina is going to the eye doctor on Friday-you can see in this picture that her right eye goes in too far...

some videos

2009-04-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Easter

2009-04-16T07:22:00.001-07:00

Our little family on Easter (which was also Nathan's 16th! birthday...Happy Birthday!:)
we don't have the usual millions of family pictures because Kristen wasn't here to organize us all-we missed you guys!!

The night before Easter (sounds like a movie:) we were on our way to the Rittenhouses to watch the boys while Allyssa was in Alabama for Josh's graduation. We were going through an intersection and were hit by a guy who didn't see the red light (he had been drinking). Evan saw him and realized he wasn't stopping and was able to almost come to a stop before he plowed into us. God kept us all safe-I don't want to think about what could have happened! Our car isn't damaged too much. Thankfully the guy had insurance! So now we get to deal with all the fun insurance people, but we are thankful that everyone is ok.

When Jacob learned no one had made green bean casserole, he rushed home after church, tied on his apron and got to work. We called him at one point to see when he was coming over and he said, "as soon as my casserole comes out of the oven" Easter egg hunt! (I had to put this one with Lucy joining in on the festivities...hopefully no one found her little 'prize':)

my cousin Joni was here from Nebraska with her husband and 3 boys (the 2 older, Ethan and Justus, below with Elise)

Lina loved playing with the boys! Apparently she had this dart in her mouth for quite a while that morning (Evan had gotten up with them-such a good man!)

They were watching some veggie tales movie and when the silly songs part came on, Isaac ran to their room and brought back all the instruments so they could play along, rewinding it again and again and again...

some of my favorite quotes from my time with the boys...

Isaac: Elijah, stop lying! You know what God says about that, you're breaking the Bible!!

Elijah: (about every hour or so) I want pizza!

Elijah (when asked at dinner how many pieces of pizza he wanted) um...3, or maybe 7.

Isaac: no! he doesn't know how to count! Don't give him that many!!

What adorable little girls! Raquel sat very nicely for this little photo shoot:) hard to tell if she's choking her or hugging...will give her the benefit of the doubt and go with hugging:) kisses! (given with the promise of an airplane ride to Mickey's house compliments of Carrie airlines, the best 'Carrie' in the air!-oh, I am just too clever:)

Lina loves Aunt Angie-we are going to miss you:(

playing ball with Aunt Cherise

It's nice that Lina loves bath time so much-she would stay in there all day! Sometims I put her in there for a while so I can get stuff done without having to watch her all the time. just kidding:)

I'm not sure if it's normal for kids to try to eat things on the wall like that-she seems to do it quite often. This was a little more gross than other objects she has tried to devour...I guess my kid is a freak:)Happy Birthday Grandpa Blaubach! On Sunday he will turn the big 5-0! We had a surprise party for him last night...this is the only picture I had...dad had been sitting on the piano bench opening presents, just use your imagination:)

this and that

2009-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

She doesn't like a lot of people food, but she LOVES dog food. And apparently it tastes even better when eaten in a dog cage. relaxing with Uncle Dylan-aw

I felt kind of bad leaving her in there while I searched for my camera and took multiple pictures...

Lina likes to crawl over and under things-she got stuck on this house for a while (which allowed me time to grab the camera:)

reading books to herself (she is a very intelligent little girl:)Lina likes to stand on that little stump and peek over the sun/moon-she is always very smiley and excited when she is on there...maybe the extra height makes her feel powerful?:)

playing with Zeke and Adalyn while I helped Jolene pack

Happy Birthday Daddy! It was Evan's birthday on the 25th-Lina posed with him so he could model his new shirt:)If you click to see this picture bigger, you can see Lina's 2 left top teeth-which kind of make her look like a hillbilly. The right 2 are coming in, I just hope they come in fast! :)

catching up, again

2009-03-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm so bad at keeping up with this...I'm going to try to be better now that EVERYONE is moving away. So far just Kristen and Derek, but Allyssa and Angie are on there way out...anyone else??

Elise and Jenna spent the night-we played LIFE and watched Freaky Friday! I love when she smiles with her eyes closed:)

hanging out with the Sr. high girls

playing at grandma's

Lina's new favorite 'toy' is a pink highlighter (I superglued the top on:)

Florida!

2009-03-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Kristen, Tonya, Lydia, Mya, Lina and I drove the Stock's cars down to FL (where they are now living:( The kids did really well on the LONG drive-even Tonya and Lydia:) We stayed a few days to help unpack (and to go to the beach:)

hanging out by the pool with daddy

our green St. patty dinner

adorable child

dancing!

Evan watched the kids for us while we unpacked.

Tonya had a little trouble getting this thing together...I couldn't resist putting these up:)

all done!

beach time!

slackers!

hanging out in the back yard

Lina let us know that the porch needed a good washing all tired out from her big adventures:)

random

2009-03-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

try to get 3 kids to look at the same camera at the same time and smile... I love Raquel's face in this one

morning snack...I guess I should start feeding her more.

cheerio break on moving day

this was a while ago, I wanted a pic with her in the snow and never got to it during the times that we had massive piles so there was one day that we got a little (it probably melted by the afternoon) but she enjoyed it for the few moments during the photo session:)

for your enjoyment:)

2009-03-06T17:34:00.001-08:00

grapefruit&byebye

2009-02-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

I started videoing because Lina was trying to crawl up onto the chair but then she started waving bye bye! We've been trying to get her to do it for a while and she all of sudden started it right then-I was very excited:) I thought maybe she didn't realize what she was doing, but she did it several times after and then she was playing on the floor and every so often would stop and wave buh-bye:)

volleyball&turnabout

2009-02-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

On Monday nights Evan plays volleyball with Dylan, Derek, Jacob and a few other guys-they won a game last night! Kristen Mya, Lina and I are their faithful cheerleaders

On Saturday night Evan and I accompanied some of the highschool kids for a 'turnabout' thing. Everyone got dressed up, took hundreds of pictures, (don't worry, I only posted a couple-you can see facebook for the complete collection:) and went to the Chancery for dinner. Afterwards we hung out and watched movies and ate way too much food.

My dress that I got for $3

aw they matched:)

we matched too!

I love it when I find her like this in the morning!

Makeshift pack'nplay for small spaces:)

climbing and crawling

2009-02-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

some videos per Aunt Lydia's request:)

Chicago & Lina climbing

2009-02-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

Lina finally got to meet her Aunt Cherise! She just moved up a couple weeks ago-Lina loves playing with her:) For the married kids Christmas present, mom and dad treated us to a day in Chicago. We drove to Kenosha and then took the train the rest of the way. The weather was gorgeous. It was a really fun day-thanks mom and dad!!

at some park while we were waiting for the train

at Museum of Science and Industry

We had to tear Evan and Derek away from the enchanted castle

We got to instruct the robot to draw this freakish looking girl

while waiting to get into Rainforest cafe, we had ice cream and played cards at McDonalds-Evan and Dylan had fun playing with the statues

eating at Rainforest cafe

Mya taking Lina shopping:)

Lina loves crawling under the coffee table and always hits her head on the top when she tries to get out :-/

Lina started pulling herself up last Wednesday-cute, but dangerous! very proud of herself:)

realizing that she doesn't know how to get down....

Lina loves watching TV-She watched it like this for quite a while

sporspot

Lina's Birthday&random

haircut, easter, random

why do I have to think of a title for each post?

kitchen set

Misc.

Florida

one of the longest posts ever...

halloween&random

Rope swing

fall!

Belle standing and other things:)

pat on the back for me!

stop threatening me!

grapes

here you go

easter, dedication etc

Spring Break!

just some cuteness

children

for your enjoyment

animal noises and Belle

I don't like trying to think of a title

hospital

Friends

one month

New Years 2010

Christmas'09

random

Belle!!

here you go...

little stinker

animal sounds

Fall stuff

pumpkins etc

baby bump!

more of this and that

hodgepodge

up north

vistors & random

it's a girl!

who is that?

Fireworks!

Party!

Birthday/4th of July

random catching up

chair

steps!

standing,laughing&piano

random...

rocking chair

zoos etc.

more videos

jumping!

Goodbyes

some videos

Easter

this and that

catching up, again

Florida!

random

for your enjoyment:)

grapefruit&byebye

volleyball&turnabout

climbing and crawling

Chicago & Lina climbing