Joy and Dirt

This past weekend we took our annual fathers day trip up to the Colville national forest. A week late but we had tons of fun. This was our first camping trip with both kids. We started camping with Callie when she was 5 months, but I never figured how hard a 2 1/2 year old and 5 month old at the same time could be. It makes for one big dirty, but joyful, mess. We stayed at Flodel Creek and the boys all got some really good riding in. And as you can see so did Callie. Though here rides were definetly not as long as the boys.

Callie loved playing in the creek. The water was freezing. Everytime I walked through it to get to the gravel my feet would cramp up. It hurt so bad to be in it even for a minute. Callie and her cousin Haylee however could play in it for hours. Callie even "swam" in it once. Technically she laid down on her tummy which she considers swimming. Callie is more and more fun everyday. She challenges us and compels us to be better people and surprises us with her sillyness and amazing pesonality. It is so fun watching her grow into a sweet, tenderhearted little girl.

Here are Callie and Haylee on a hike. Haylee is Ty's sister Lisa's little girl for those that don't know. They had so much fun going on hikes. They found tons of tree stumps and had to sit, stand, squat or jump on as many as they could.

Lucy is crawling now. She was only 5 1/2 months when she started, which seems way too early. But she loves the freedom to roam the rooms of the house. This was when she figured it out for the first time. It seems to me that she is showing us her mischievious face like she is saying to us, "Ha ha ha, I figured it out, what can I get into now." Obnoxious, but incredibly adorable.

Here is another picture of our precious Lula. She is always so smiley. You can pretty much guarantee that if she is awake she is happy. She just finds so much happiness in everything she does and sees. She amazes us everyday and brings so much joy into all of our lives.

Growing Too Fast

The Girls are growing so fast and it has been way too long since I have posted to the blog. Here are a few recent pics. I will try harder to post more often.

Callie is such a little ham. She is so silly. She loves to pose for the camera all the time and then look at all the pictures. She is getting so big. I can't believe she has passed 2 years already. She is such a good big sister too. She loves to play with Lucy and just wants her to do everything with us. She gets a little frustrated sometimes when I tell her that Lucy is too little.

Here is one of little Lula sleeping. She is so precious. I think the picture speaks for itself.

Lucy loves to be naked. It has been in the 80s the past couple of weeks, and we have been outside most of the time. She loves laying on the blanket outside. She is already doing so much. She is rolling over both ways and is sitting up really well. She is trying to get up on to her hands and knees already too. She usually either gets on her hands or her knees, it is pretty funny to watch, but very frustrating for her. She usually ends up going backwards. Every now and then she manages to make it on the both hands and knees and get pretty excited, but then doesn't know what to do. I hope she starts crawling about the same time as Callie. She was just over 6 months old. The way it looks now, it wouldn't surprise me the least. She watches Callie running around, and gets very frustrated that she can't do it too.


Well, it is official, Callie is getting too big. She had her first visit to the dentist and thought it was the greatest thing since juice boxes. She is still talking about the really big chair that moves up and down, and asks everyday if she can go to the nice dentist again. Every morning and evening when we brush her teeth, she has to tell us the story of how she got her new blue and lello (no a mistype that is how she says it) toothbrush and sparkly toothpaste. She shows us how she opened her mouth and tells us all about the mask and gloves the dentist put on so he wouldn't sneeze on her. She was adament that if he hadn't of put the mask on that he would have sneezed on her. I really have no idea where she comes up with this stuff. Needless to say, her next appointment, in 6 months, is not going to come fast enough for her.

My Sister the Soldier!

Well, after mother's day, Tina will be leaving for Iraq. I am very proud of my sister for all of the things she has and will accomplished. She has always been one of the top soldiers in her unit and well exceeds the standards set for females in the military. She is giving her male counterparts a run for their money! She will be in one of the first female integrated infantry units heading to Iraq. Great, but scarey. Please be praying for her and for her family. Her husband (Jon) and 4 kids (Angel-16, Ben-9, Trenton-6, and Zoe-1) live in Oregon and will have to manage for a full year without her around. I will keep you updated on her well being and her tour. Thanks for praying.

Big Girl

Lucy is getting so big! She has her 4-month appointment Wednesday, May 6th. We just switched Peds and I am very happy about it. We had a lot of trouble with out old pediatrician. We now have to drive all the way to the South Hill, but well worth it. They already told us lots about the effects of the RSV that she had. She is now considered an Asthma patient, and has had 2 mild asthma attacks. Very scary. Pretty much anything that is an allergen (pollen, pet dander, dust) can set her off and also any type of cold that she gets will most likely result in a cough. She pretty much coughs all the time. We have to continue to do nebulizer treatments, but not every 4 hours anymore. Just when she gets wheezy or coughing fits. Yeah for having a baby born in RSV season! Not!

I love this picture. It really shows Lucy's personality. She is always so smiley, but she very much wants to rule the world. I love it because it seems like she is saying, "Honestly, do we really have to do this...matching shirts mom...come on!" Taking pictures of the two of them together has proven to be very difficult. This was the best out of like 30 pictures I took. Success will come someday maybe.

She's a Handful!

Callie's hair is long enough now for braids. It was my first attempt ever at doing them so they weren't that great. She asked for them again this morning, and I am proud to say that I am getting better.

I was putting Lucy down for a nap, and came out to this. She was pretty proud of herself. I was pretty impressed that she made no noise getting in it. I am however a little curious how she got in with the tray on it. On the other hand, I probably dont want to know.

Beautiful Girls

Lucy is always so smiley! She sure does loves being naked too.

Callie is getting to look like such a big girl. She was running around singing songs and dancing right before I snapped this pic.

Lucy is already 14 weeks old. I can't believe it. Time just flies. She is still pretty tiny, but she is doing so much. She loves to sit and to stand (with help of course) and she is almost rolling over from her back to her tummy. She isn't a big fan of tummy time, but she loves to lay and reach for toys and to shake them around. As you can see she has almost lost all of her hair. I think it is coming in blonde or at least lighter than it was. Her eyes however seem to be getting darker.

Callie is such a ham. She was showing off her pretty Easter dress. She comes up with these lovely poses all on her own. I think she might have been singing or something.

And here they both are. Callie just loves Lucy. She calls her Lula and she always wants to help with her. She also is like running commentary to Lucy. "Lucy, Callie is going to her room. Lucy, Callie is playing with her blocks." It is pretty funny. We are trying to work on the whole 3rd person thing too, but she isn't quite getting it.

Poor Pony

Here is Callie "riding" her pony. It is absolutely hilarious. She gives it kisses and hugs and then says that it will be okay. Sometimes she asks Ty & I to make it better. It is really funny. Enjoy!

Lucy Sucking her Thumb

Lucy has taken up thumb sucking. She will even spit her binky out so she can suck her thumb. Terrible, really. We should probably just quit giving her the binky, but we would much rather her suck on that then on her thumb. It is much easier to take away a year from now. It is pretty cute thought. She is getting quite good at it. Luckily she only does it when she is trying to fall asleep.

Check-up Time

Cake anyone? Callie was really enjoying cake at her Great Papa's and Uncle Casey's birthday party. She just devoured that cupcake. At her 2 year check-up she weighed, 25lbs, 25%, was 32 1/2 inches tall, 25%, and her head was 18 1/2 inches, 50%. She was be pretty smart with a head that big. We seem to think so. She did really good at her check-up. She needed one shot and handled it like a champ, then she was a super good big sister and helped Lucy with her shots. She tried to distract her with a sticker, which obviously didn't work, and then calmed her down by rubbing her head, which did work. She just kept saying, "it's okay, Lucy. Calm down, Lucy." It was so cute. She is such a sweetheart.

Lucy had her 2-month check-up on the 4th. She weighs 9lbs 11o, which is the 20%, she was 22 inches, which is the 30%, and her head was 14 3/4 inches, which is the 10%. She seems so much smaller than Callie was. In this picture we were getting ready to go out for a walk. I probably had her bundled up a little too much, but she didn't get cold at all and we were out for almost 2 hours. Callie is really sick of being couped up in the house. I think that Lucy really enjoyed the fresh air too.

Update

Chris is in his 3rd week of treatment. He seems to be handleing it pretty well. Initially the information I had on where all of the cancer is was wrong. So he has it in his lungs and in the soft tissue on his lower back. He is expected to have 9 months of treatment, and the doctors expect a very positive prognosis. Thank you all for keeping him in your prayers. He turned 18 yesterday and was in the hospital for Chemo, so probably didn't have too much fun. Please keep praying for his continued healing, his relationship with the Lord, and for the treatment to go smoothly.

Smiling!

Wow, 7 weeks old already! Here is a picture of Lucy smiling. She just had this ginormous smile, it is really hilarious. We dont get too many of them, because she is pretty colicy. She crys most of the day, but luckily not too much at night. She has been having a lot more good days, so maybe the colic is wearing off. The doctor said it would only last 6 to eight weeks, and it started around 3 weeks. We should be nearing the end. I know Callie will be happy. Callie was sad this week because we weren't able to go to our young mom's group at church. She just loves church and playing with the other kids. We will be able to go next month though. Plus she gets to go every Sunday and there is the group that meets at our house every other week too, so she really isn't missing much. :)

Two...Almost

Here is a picture of Callie at her birthday party. We had the party a little early (not really two until February 24) because my mom was in town.She isn'g quite sure what to think about everyone singing to her. She had been waiting all day to dig into that cupcake and she just devoured it when she got the chance. Callie got to pick her dinner, which ended up being enchiladas, fruit salad, regular salad (w/ranch), pinto beans, and chocolate milk. She really does have a mind of her own. It is amazing how fast they grow up. We can't believe she is two already. Thanks everyone for making Callie's birthday special. I know that she really enjoyed your company. Especially Haylee!

Here is our almost two year old glamour girl. She got some sunglasses for the tiny bit of sun we have been having and she now has to wear them all the time. She is also insisting on dressing her self now. She usually picks dresses, tights that do not match, some sort of hair piece and usually her boots either snow or cowboy. It is very adorable.

Please Pray

Please put Christopher (my cousin for those that don't know him) in your prayers. He is 17 and this last week was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. They have found it in the soft tissue, his lungs, his bladder, and his lymph nodes. He has more testing on Tuesday to see if it is in his bones also. They type of cancer is very rare and only found in children and teens/adolesents. On Tuesday he is also having a port put in so they can continually have him on chemo. It will be administered every 5 hours. He has a very long road ahead of him. Please pray for God's miraculous healing. Also pray for wisdom for the doctors and for energy and hope for Deborah (my aunt) and Christopher. Please pray that Chris does not get any infections and that there are no complications from the continuous treatment. Pray that they cancer is killed off quickly and completely. Also please pray for issues with his insurance to clear up without any difficulties and with little time involvement on Deborah's part. Thank you all and we will keep you posted.