2 year checkup

Malia and Michael did wonderfully at their 2 year checkup. We were given the go ahead to start toilet training, but also told that things might be delayed a bit considering we just had a baby. 

Michael is 27.4 pounds and Malia is 28.2 pounds. 

Visit with Santa

We went to the children's Christmas party at church and visited with Santa. We also enjoyed a pancake breakfast and M&M decorated some cookies. This was such a fun experience and I look forward to going next year. They had a lot of activities set up, but they were for older kids. Next year we should be able to do more, and will hopefully know more people at this new church we are going to.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

With the arrival of a new baby, I decided to have the twins bday party away from our house. There is a place locally that teaches gymnastics, but they also host parties. We went there once during open gym and the kids loved it. So I booked our party there. We did a jungle theme for all the little monkeys. The kids played on the mats, trampolines, zip line, and ropes. Then we had pizza, bananas, animal crackers, and cupcakes. All the kids at the party had a great time and I hope the parents did, too. I know our little ones were very pooped when we got home and had a good nap that day. 

So now M&M are 2 years old and it seems like yesterday we were just learning all about them. Now that C is here, it really makes us realize how big M&M are. I can't wait to enjoy this next year with all three kids and see how the grow and interact. On the agenda for this next year is potty training!

So happy about her party.

Walking on the balance beam.

Michael is in the background jumping on a mat. Malia is heading to the zip line.

Michael finishing a trip down the long trampoline.

Michael having dad help him as he explores more fun things.

Family of 5!

M & M absolutely love their new baby sister. They want to see her as soon as they wake up and they kiss her goodnight when they go off to bed.

M & M have been taking care of their own "babies" since mama is busy taking care of C.

Welcome Sweet Caroline!

Welcome to the world!

Caroline Quinn

 8 pounds 4.9 ounces; 20 inches long; born on Nov 29th at 9:45pm.

I was exhausted after she was born, but very proud of all that I had accomplished.

 The delivery and recovery went much better this time. 

Had a successful drug-free VBAC just like I wanted.

Our neighbor helped us home from the hospital. 

This was M&M's second visit. 

Smiles!

 

This blanket was made by Carrie's great grandmother, Maw Maw. 

Waiting for Caroline

We have been slowly introducing the concept of a baby in my belly to the kids. It started out as a baby, then baby sister, and now baby sister Carrie. Unfortunately, the kids like to see the naked belly when asked to point out where their baby sister is, which is what they are trying to do in this picture. 

Thanksgiving at Home

We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal with my side of the family. 

October and November Pictures

Since I haven't posted pictures in a while, I thought I'd share what's been hiding on our camera.

The kids really liked Halloween this year. We did trick or treating in the neighborhood and at a local office building. Malia wanted to eat the entire time, but Michael understood that you are suppose to wait until you are done collecting. 

It cracks me up when the kids put our big shoes on their tiny feet.

Our first snowfall (not much) was fun for Malia, but Michael proclaimed it was "too cold" to be outside in the backyard. We checked to see if the front yard was just as cold, it was.

Malia and Michael both love technology. Malia was checking out the PBS website for Elmo games.

The kids got these puppies for their 1st birthday. They went through a period of not caring about them, but now they love them again and must have them in bed at night.

Putting the pom-poms in the cut outs of the old containers. Checking out which are too big for the small holes.

The kids are ready for their new baby sister.

Teaching Michael how to play games on the Wii.

The kids discovered that the heat vent makes the balloons float in the air. Super cool.

Cleaning up the kitchen. I'll take any help I can get.

The "dance floor" turned into a comfy place to rest.

Yo Gabba Gabba

The kids love music, and their favorite show (besides Pocoyo and Seasame Street) is Yo Gabba Gabba.

basketball

x-ray

I've updated this post to include a picture of Michael's cast let. This was before we left to have the cast removed. He was such a trooper. He didn't cry at all when it was being cut off. In fact, he got a big smile when his leg was freed from the cast. Then we had a nice lunch with Dad.

Here is Michael's x-ray from his injury a couple weeks ago. The two bones are suppose to be parallel, but they form a K instead. Two fractures in the thinner bone and one in the thicker bone.

Fall!

I got the idea to take pictures on the bridge last week. Last week the colors were much brighter and varied greatly then, but it still makes for great photos.

Here we are goofing around.

The Ohio State University Marching Band - TBDBITL Halftime 10-6-12 Video...

This is a very cool half time show from the OSU marching band.

Football Season and Fall

Now that college football season has started, Malia is all about checking up on her fantasy team. JK

 What?

Malia's model pose.

Michael's model pose.

 Michael says, "We're number one."

The kids both wanted to play with our gadgets.

Cheesy smiles.

We love making silly faces.

The kids love all the baby stuff that we are pulling out of storage.

I let the kids play pretend driving. 

When one does something, the other one is not far behind.

I reorganized the toy room. Pardon the mess.

For my birthday, we installed a new ceiling fan.

I also took a painting class from a local artist.

 Jason created a standing desk, so we can access the laptop without being interrupted by little electronics junkies.