Weekend Visitors

Uncle Colby and Auntie Kimmie came to visit us this weekend. Colby and Marc went to the Eastern Eagles game yesterday and Kimmie went to a baby shower. Then we all hung out last night and had a great time.

It was so nice to spend some time with them. The kids miss them already...at lunch today, Emma said "where's Kimmie...where's Colby?" It was pretty cute.

Where's Marcus???

This picture was taken to show off the girls' new cowgirl boots but I laughed out loud when I looked and spotted little Marcus...can you find him?

The girls are true cowgirls. They love their cows! We got their boots at a consignment sale last night for a great price...Olivia's were $3 and Emma's were $5. What a steal! Olivia loved her boots so much, she wouldn't take them off at daycare today. She's my shoe girl.

Hanging out

They are watching Barney and eating pretzels while Mommy's making dinner. I thought this was so precious. Look how big Marcus is getting. He goes everywhere the girls go and does everything they do. He is walking between furniture already and standing on his own. I'm guessing he will walk at 11 months. We'll see...

Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower for my good friend and co-worker Amber today (you may remember her from the "Footprints" post back in July). Amber is due Oct. 28th. She does not know what she is having...it's a surprise! I can't wait to meet her little bundle of joy!

I recruited two of my other friends/co-workers to come up with a cake for the occasion. Look at this cake! Isn't it amazing! It was quite tasty too. The top layer was white cake and the bottom was chocolate. The stars were also edible...chocolates...YUM!

Here they are...the amazing bakers. They joked all day about starting their own business...all of us at work said they seriously should! I think baking cakes would be much more fun than Insurance. Thanks again Lorie and Jessica for the delicious and beautiful cake! You are definitely hired for the next event.

Emma's Dilemma

*UPDATE 9/18/08 - Emma actually slept in her bed all night last night (yes, I did move her back to her bed after this picture was taken)! Unfortunately, Marcus got up at midnight and again at 4am...I think he might be having a growth spurt though, so hopefully that will pass. I am going to remove the bed rails tonight however to see if that keeps her in there. I did ask her why she doesn't like her bed and all I get is "I don't know".

We have been struggling to get Emma to sleep in her bed lately. For a few weeks, she just kept getting out of bed and refusing to go to sleep. Then she started getting out of bed and falling asleep on the couch after we went to bed. Now she just finds a place in her room other than her bed (usually somewhere on the floor). Tonight when I checked on her, I first saw her pillow on the floor by the door. I went looking for her and this is how I found her...fast asleep on the chair. I'm not sure what we are going to do with her. I'm thinking maybe it's time to take the bed rails down and see if that solves the problem? The worst part about her sleeping habits is that she wakes up at 3am every morning and calls for me to come get her. She ends up on the couch in our basement until morning. This is a routine I need to break but I'm not sure how. If I try to put her back to bed then she throws a huge fit and wakes both Olivia and Marcus. Oh the dilemma...any advice is welcome! I literally have not slept for the last 2 years! I'm not even sure what a full night's sleep is anymore!

Are you ready for some Football?

So, I learned that the kids are getting brainwashed to be Cowboys fans at daycare. Good thing Marc already was a Cowboys fan...it should work out just fine. The Cowboys were actually playing tonight; perfect timing for this blog post :-)

After playing this back, I noticed Marcus actually did say "Mama". That is his first word. He has been saying it for a few weeks now. Olivia and Emma both said "Dada" first...so it's only right that Marcus starts with "Mama" :-)

Beep Beep

Watch out world, Marcus is behind the wheel! Marcus was pushing the girls' bugs around all night and started to get really frustrated. We finally figured out that he wanted to ride them. We eventually put him on the little car since it's more his size (the bugs are just a bit tall and his feet don't touch the ground). With the help of his sisters, he was off and running...

...and loving every minute.

He had the girls working hard.

So, who wears the pants in this family :-)

Something New

After the party we went to Home Depot and finally bought Marcus his swing. The look on his face says it all!

He just wants to do everything his sisters do.

Repeat

Does this look familiar (refer to July "Recreational Vehicles" post)? We went to the Agnew's house for another birthday party today (their oldest turned 4) and of course the girls had to drive the jeep again. This time we let Marcus in on the fun.

He fit right in :-)

Isn't this just so cute? They were the hit of the party.

Carhartt

Marc went shopping today and we all got cool Carhartt shirts. Do you think Carhartt would pay us for some advertising? I think we make a cute ad.

I also wanted to post a little video of Marcus. He is quite the character and oh so cute...he sure does love his dog! It will be fun to watch them grow up together.

9 Months Old

Marcus is 9 months old today. He is pulling himself up, talking up a storm (we can't understand him yet...but it's a start), crawling everywhere and getting into everything...all the stuff he's supposed to be doing at this age. He now has a total of 5 teeth and he eats real food...no more baby food! He is a big boy too...this outfit is 12 to 18 months...I think he's trying really hard to catch up with his sisters. He loves to play with them and especially likes to wrestle with Olivia. She has had him in a headlock numerous times...it won't be long before that role is reversed :-)

We are home today because Olivia had a fever at daycare yesterday. We are just relaxing and getting things done around the house. I actually think I needed this day off. I am finally caching up on some cleaning and laundry. That feels good!

Corn

Marc froze some corn tonight to store for winter...YUMMY! He recruited some helpers too.

And not to be forgotten...little Marcus. His latest is pulling himself up on everything and standing there yelling until someone comes to get him...he hasn't quite figured out how to get down once he's gotten up. It's pretty funny.

I wanted to show a little video of the girls and their corn...it is pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Our Party

We get together with Marc's college buddies and their families every Labor Day weekend. We normally do a group picture, but this year we didn't get around to it. I did get pictures of everyone in some form or another though...

The kids...Courtney, Jake, Kylie, Marcus, Olivia, Maddy, Emma & Karissa

The boys...Mike, Chad, Raymond & Marc

And the Moms...Julie (Mom to Chad, Kylie, Karissa & Courtney), me...you know my family :-), and Karilynn (Mom to Mike, Maddy & Jake).

Dirt

It wasn't too warm out so we spent more time at the campsite. We couldn't keep Olivia out of the dirt.

Actually both girls were pretty much attracted to the dirt and sand.

Sleepy Head

After our boat ride, Emma refused to take a nap. As a result, she was exhausted by dinnertime. She was sitting in her chair watching the water and the next thing I knew...she'd fallen fast asleep.

Olivia thought it was hilarious...

She even pretended to fall asleep too.

The girls actually stuck pretty close together this weekend...melts a Mother's heart :-)