Long time, no chat. Here's a brief overview of what we've been up to:
Jeremiah: Jeremiah celebrated his 4th birthday at Chuck E Cheese back in January. We made the mistake of having his party on a Sunday afternoon. Bad idea. Friday night was MUCH better (when we had Jesslyn's. More on that in a minute.) Other new stuff? Umm... he's about 42" tall, and last time I checked, weighed 45-ish lbs. He still loves his trains, cars, trucks, basically anything with wheels. He's a big help around the house, as he loves to help me cook, and is our "milk man". He's responsible for bringing the milk up from the downstairs fridge for us, and takes his job very seriously. :)
Jesslyn: Jesslyn turned two in September, and we had her party also at Chuck E Cheese (hoping for a new venue for the next round...) She requested a Yo Gabba Gabba cake, which MeeMaw and I made for her. I did most of the cake and MeeMaw did the characters. It came out really cute! She's very chatty, and I would say almost rivals Jeremiah's vocabulary, so it's cute to listen to the conversations they have together. Yesterday, she ripped off 19 keys from my laptop, and when asked why she did it, her response was, "That's how I roll." :) That's my girl! Last time we checked, she was about 39" tall, and probably weighs as much as Jeremiah now (at least, it feels that way when you hold her! She's solid, alright!) Such a little Mommy, she loves to take care of her 'babies', still sucks her thumb, and loves having a baby brother to carry around, much to my dismay. :)
Judah: Judah is just a few weeks away from turning 1! I can't believe it. Yikes! He's super sweet, and perfect in every way. He's very friendly/smiley with people, unless you're dropping him off with someone he doesn't know. He loves his Mommy! While he's not quite walking yet, he can cruise and crawl pretty well, and get pretty much anywhere he wants by climbing. Gotta watch that one! :) At his 9 month check up, he was just about 20 lbs (50th %-tile) and 28"? I can't remember, but he was in the 70th for that. For the first time ever, we have a child who actually wears the clothes his age dictates. It's weird. So used to being a size or two ahead! He looks just like his Poppy did as a baby---the resemblance is quite remarkable. We love our Cakes!
Jeremy: Jeremy had a great year at work last year, and is on target to do even better this year! Yay, Jeremy! We're really proud of him, especially in an area where it's tough for one parent to stay home. I definitely do not take it for granted! :) His birthday is coming up next week, and as an early present, we re-did the basement while he was gone on a business trip two weeks ago. It's now all decked out in Steelers colors, with the screen down there, seating, a table for eating/playing poker/games/etc. I think he likes it. :)
Jess: Well, the most recent fun news from me is that I'm typing this on a Chrome Laptop, supplied to me free by Google. Just came in the mail yesterday! Woot! Otherwise, nothing very exciting. I'm still involved with my Mom's group, and started going to MOPS and CBS in the fall.
As a family, we've done some major things recently. Went to the Azores in October so the kids could meet their great-grandmother, or "beezavo". They had a great time, but I'll never do that trip again. Wayyy too stressful to travel that far with 3 kids so young that you need to bring beds/pack n plays/strollers/car seats, etc. Plus, there are new security searches at the airport that I'm not thrilled about (the patdowns have become far more invasive...) so I refuse to fly if I can. If we can't drive there, we ain't going there! :)
In October, we started getting our milk from a farmer in PA. It's raw---unpasturedized, and unhomogenized. It tastes so much better than store bought milk, organic or otherwise. We also get our eggs, cheese and now chickens from them. We've got a cow coming at the end of February, and signed up for a CSA that starts in June for all of our fresh produce. We're living off the farm as much as we can, and I love it! :)
More to come another time... Hopefully before 6 months from now. :)
Jeremiah: Jeremiah celebrated his 4th birthday at Chuck E Cheese back in January. We made the mistake of having his party on a Sunday afternoon. Bad idea. Friday night was MUCH better (when we had Jesslyn's. More on that in a minute.) Other new stuff? Umm... he's about 42" tall, and last time I checked, weighed 45-ish lbs. He still loves his trains, cars, trucks, basically anything with wheels. He's a big help around the house, as he loves to help me cook, and is our "milk man". He's responsible for bringing the milk up from the downstairs fridge for us, and takes his job very seriously. :)
Jesslyn: Jesslyn turned two in September, and we had her party also at Chuck E Cheese (hoping for a new venue for the next round...) She requested a Yo Gabba Gabba cake, which MeeMaw and I made for her. I did most of the cake and MeeMaw did the characters. It came out really cute! She's very chatty, and I would say almost rivals Jeremiah's vocabulary, so it's cute to listen to the conversations they have together. Yesterday, she ripped off 19 keys from my laptop, and when asked why she did it, her response was, "That's how I roll." :) That's my girl! Last time we checked, she was about 39" tall, and probably weighs as much as Jeremiah now (at least, it feels that way when you hold her! She's solid, alright!) Such a little Mommy, she loves to take care of her 'babies', still sucks her thumb, and loves having a baby brother to carry around, much to my dismay. :)
Judah: Judah is just a few weeks away from turning 1! I can't believe it. Yikes! He's super sweet, and perfect in every way. He's very friendly/smiley with people, unless you're dropping him off with someone he doesn't know. He loves his Mommy! While he's not quite walking yet, he can cruise and crawl pretty well, and get pretty much anywhere he wants by climbing. Gotta watch that one! :) At his 9 month check up, he was just about 20 lbs (50th %-tile) and 28"? I can't remember, but he was in the 70th for that. For the first time ever, we have a child who actually wears the clothes his age dictates. It's weird. So used to being a size or two ahead! He looks just like his Poppy did as a baby---the resemblance is quite remarkable. We love our Cakes!
Jeremy: Jeremy had a great year at work last year, and is on target to do even better this year! Yay, Jeremy! We're really proud of him, especially in an area where it's tough for one parent to stay home. I definitely do not take it for granted! :) His birthday is coming up next week, and as an early present, we re-did the basement while he was gone on a business trip two weeks ago. It's now all decked out in Steelers colors, with the screen down there, seating, a table for eating/playing poker/games/etc. I think he likes it. :)
Jess: Well, the most recent fun news from me is that I'm typing this on a Chrome Laptop, supplied to me free by Google. Just came in the mail yesterday! Woot! Otherwise, nothing very exciting. I'm still involved with my Mom's group, and started going to MOPS and CBS in the fall.
As a family, we've done some major things recently. Went to the Azores in October so the kids could meet their great-grandmother, or "beezavo". They had a great time, but I'll never do that trip again. Wayyy too stressful to travel that far with 3 kids so young that you need to bring beds/pack n plays/strollers/car seats, etc. Plus, there are new security searches at the airport that I'm not thrilled about (the patdowns have become far more invasive...) so I refuse to fly if I can. If we can't drive there, we ain't going there! :)
In October, we started getting our milk from a farmer in PA. It's raw---unpasturedized, and unhomogenized. It tastes so much better than store bought milk, organic or otherwise. We also get our eggs, cheese and now chickens from them. We've got a cow coming at the end of February, and signed up for a CSA that starts in June for all of our fresh produce. We're living off the farm as much as we can, and I love it! :)
More to come another time... Hopefully before 6 months from now. :)
