Pictures, video and updates from our family
Mark and I are enjoying our time together while Emily is at school. Here we are passing the ball. He loves to do this. (You will probably only enjoy this video if you are one of the grandparents.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iciQOA772Ro&feature=youtube_gdata_player
You can only fully appreciate the frustration of moments like this if you are currently caring for a 2 year old.
The library is next door to the park. Had to wait 30 minutes on steps for library to open for storytime. Both kids did well after the initial breakdown. This is the best story time. Worth the wait even when the park is closed.
The weather is perfect today. It was so nice this morning that the kids needed light blankets for our morning jog. Played at the park and also had a playdate with my Bunco friends and we all sat outside. Got home and decided to do dinner on the patio. I don't think the weather is going to last but we are definitely enjoying it. In the midst of all the outdoor excitement I dropped my phone on the patio and the screen shattered. Not excited about that.
Emily loves to sing the ABCs and always claps while she sings. Now every time you start singing the ABCs Mark starts clapping. Also in Mark news he got his third tooth a few weeks ago and his fourth tooth just starting popping out. He is babbling a lot more now and says "dada" a lot but I don't think he is deliberately making that sound. He loves to stand up at tables but isn't surfing though he is definitely trying. He is still my little angel and I can't believe he is already 8&1/2 months old! I am looking forward to having some time to play with just Mark while Emily is in MDO. My version of ABCs is not quite as good as Emily's but I am sure she will sing for Mark as soon as she gets home. Here is the video of Mark clapping.Your browser does not support the video tag
We had orientation at Emily's new school today. We went to her room, met the teachers and then she stayed in her classroom while Mark and I made our way to the fellowship hall to pick up car pool tags, drop off health forms, pay fees, sign up for PTO and to sign up for other activities. I volunteered to help with Fall Family Night and also volunteered to help in the school library.
The whole orientation was incredibly organized and thorough. I loved both of Emily's teachers and got to meet some of the other students and parents. There will be 9 students and 2 teachers for Emily's Monday, Wednesday, Friday class. The classroom is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Even Mark appreciated her classroom. Here are some pictures.
I took the kids to the park in Hedwig Village that is next door to the Spring Branch library. We got to the park at 9 and played until the library opened at 10. They had a great time at both places, it is a great set up for little children. Emily picked out a few books for herself and for Mark. She also found some children's audio books. I know I will regret it soon, but she really enjoyed listening to her new book on our way home from the library. The audio book is "Oogie Cooder the Party Animal", it is a children's book about a quirky little boy but I'm not sure yet why he is a party animal. We've only gotten through the first few chapters. But don't worry Ben, we can start it over next time so you can have a chance to catch up.
When Emily was about Mark's age (she was 8 months and Mark is now 7&1/2), I taught her a "yay!" trick. When I said "yay", she would raise her hands over her head. Yesterday I started teaching Mark the trick and he took to it very quickly. But, he likes to raise his arms and then hear me say "yay". He thinks it is hilarious. Here is a video link of Mark's new trick.
And here is a link to the post of Emily doing the same trick. This old post was before I had an iphone that took video, so there is no video, just pictures.
We had a great time celebrating our anniversary with a night out with our friends. Both Emily and Mark had exciting weekends of their own as well. Ben's parents took Emily with them to Austin for the weekend. She had a great time being the center of attention and seeing all the family in Austin. She went swimming with Cassidy and her cousin Jack at Great Grandma and Grandpa Karcher's house and even got to ride on a glass-bottom boat in Aquarena Springs. Apparently she also learned how to play the ukulele - see link below. Thank you Grandma and Papa for taking care of Emily all weekend and for showing her such a good time!
Meanwhile, Ben and I were able to spend some extra time with Mark. He especially enjoyed the opportunity to play with all of Emily's favorite toys with out her throwing any fits and demanding that he stop and play with his own "baby toys". Here are some pictures of Mark enjoying his uninterrupted free for all in the playroom.
I took the kids to the park late afternoon yesterday, we had been stuck in traffic for a while and needed to get out and let loose before heading home. The park is shaded and it turned out great even though it was hot as heck outside. This morning we went to the Kendall Branch library. We have been to several libraries and went to a great storytime yesterday at Ring Library, but when it comes to libraries the new Kendall Branch library crushes the competition.
Emily loves the park and library but her favorite thing to do is sing and dance for an audience. I don't have any pictures, but just this morning Emily was singing and dancing for everyone in the gym nursery. They gave her a pretend microphone and the staff was clapping for her as she held out notes and waved her arms around in a dramatic fashion. It took me and a staff member several minutes to take the microphone away from her so we could leave. I need to find a singing/dancing class or activity for Emily. I know of some but only for 3+ yr olds. If anyone knows of a good class for two year olds, let me know.
Steve and Carol had our family and my parents out to the lake for the weekend. Emily and Mark really enjoyed spending the weekend with their fan club. We ventured out on the boat on Saturday for Mark's first boat ride. We weren't sure how it would go but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We stayed out for much longer than anticipated and even had lunch on the lake before heading home. We also enjoyed hanging out at the house with good food and good company! On Sunday we visited Great Grandpa and Grandma Karcher's house for a cousin play date and lunch. We enjoyed seeing Great Aunt Jean and Cassidy and Jack. It was very entertaining to see the cousins interact. We shot several great videos. I will post those as soon as I get some help with editing and formatting because the videos tell the story much better than text or a picture. Here are some pictures from our fun weekend in Austin.
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A nasty stomach virus has wrecked havoc on our house so we've spent about a week at home. We are finally on the mend, but here are some pictures of the kids playing at home.
I think Mark is secretly happy that we've had to skip our usual outings.
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Grandma and Papa took us to Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus last Sunday. We had a great time and I think that Emily may have found her calling in life, Lion Tamer. Emily also attempted to steal the show. Before the circus starts they let the crowd come down to the floor and meet the performers while they do some smaller up close acts. Magic, juggling, sword swallowing, and other various carney antics. Emily couldn't resist the music, crowd and great lighting so she put on a show of her own.
[password-protect]We had Mark's '6 month' appointment today. He will be 7 months in 6 days so it's really a 6ish month update. Everything went well at the appointment. We were there 2&1/2 hours ( ahhhhh! ) not fun with two small kids, but Mark checked out and looks great. Emily stood up for Mark while he was getting his vaccines. The nurse was giving Mark his shots (and naturally he was screaming) and Emily kept waving her arms in the air and yelling at the nurse, "stop that, stop that. He doesn't like it!". I had my eyes and one arm on Mark but had to pat Emily's back with the other arm during the shots because she was very upset by it too. I thought that was kind of sweet.
Mark is now 16 lbs, 9 ozs and 27&1/4 inches long. He has two teeth and loves to show them off with a big smile. I am still nursing and that is going really well. Mark loves solid foods too. We started him on rice cereal mixed with my milk at 4 months to get him used to solids and then started vegetables and fruits at 6 months. So far he likes just about everything and even grabs the spoon out of my hand to shove it into his mouth. He eats sweet potato, green peas, green beans, carrots, squash, avocado, apples, bananas and pears and also likes rice cereal and oatmeal mixed with milk. He loves mum mums - little rice crackers. I can give him one of the crackers and he will stay independently happy the whole time I get dinner ready. It is awesome! He is eating a mum mum in the pic below.
My friend, Katie Cooper, gave me this cool bath seat to use for Mark. It makes it much easier and safer for me to bathe the kids together - and Mark loved it! I was a little reluctant to take it off of Katie's hands because it is kind of big, but I am so glad I did! Here are some pictures of the new set up.
We went to the toddler "skate" at the Dairy Ashford roller rink today. It was a lot of fun and a great place for the kids to run around with their friends in this heat. Mark was happy to watch while I held him but I look forward to watching him run around with friends too. Here are some pictures from our morning jog and our roller rink adventure.
Back at home.
