Forward Progress

Look who's finally moving around!

Erin Reading

It's no surprise that Erin loves reading and is doing an excellent job! She has slept with books in her bed since she was a toddler and now she reads her bedtime story to us. She is the top reader in her class and has been given more challenging reading assignments as homework. We are so proud of her!

Thanksgiving 2012

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Sam and Erin had a lot of fun helping to make the Oreo turkeys which turned out really cute! I made a peanut butter brownie trifle that was fantastic. We'll definitely be making that again! 

We had lunch at nana and papa's and then headed to Cleveland for dinner. It was wonderful to spend time with so much family and as always the food was delicious. We have so much to be thankful for this year-our three beautiful daughters who bring us such joy, our family and friends who are always there to support and help us, stable jobs, and a roof over our heads. We are truly blessed.

Baby Bath Time

Alex Eating

One of her favorite activities! You have to be careful not to put your food too close to her because she'll steal it.

Go Browns!

I have no idea why she is standing on the coffee table and she couldn't explain why either...

Ten Months

Alex is now 10 months old. She's still not crawling but is starting to walk along furniture. She's also improving on sitting when she falls down. There are no teeth yet but that doesn't slow her down. She'll eat anything we give her! We survived her first illness of a stomach virius with no fever and then a fever with no other symptoms. Glad that's behind us! Her newest trick is smacking her lips which is adorable. We're trying to teach her to blow kisses and she's trying. She also loves the itsy bitsy spider song.

Gymnastics Meets

Samantha has now participated in two gymnastics meets. Her first meet was a home meet against Wooster. Unfortunately, I had to volunteer for that meet and Alex was sick so we only have before and after pics. Sam did a great job and had a lot of fun! Her scores were:

Beam 7.1

Floor 8.45 (3rd Place)

Vault 9.00 (4th Place)

Bar 8.45 (4th Place)

All Around 33.00

The second meet was an away meet at Louisville and we were all in attendance (including nana, papa, Aunt Angie and Mike). It was awesome to get to watch Sam even though there is a lot of waiting. We are so very proud of her accomplishments and hard work and want to thank everyone who came to support her! Her scores were:

Vault 9.35 (2nd Place)

Floor 8.40 (5th Place)

Bars 7.30

Beam 9.30 (1st Place!)

All Around 34.35 (4th Place)

Halloween 2012

It was a very wet and cold Halloween season but we went to one party and two trick or treats anyway. The party was at Bill's and the kids had a lot of fun running around and playing. It was the first time George and I have dressed up in years. The first trick or treat was in grandma's area. Sam (Spiderman) only went a couple of streets before getting too cold and wanting to go back. Erin (Rapunzel) was caught up in the candy grab and kept going. The second trick or treat was in our neighborhood. We only passed out candy to 7 kids and only found 2 houses passing out candy. I'm not sure if it was the weather or if no one knew about it.

Until the Spring

Can't believe it's time to store the boat again for the winter. Although we didn't get out much this past summer thanks to the extreme heat and having a little one, we love having this boat. Here's to hoping we get more use out of it next year.

New Bathroom Floor

Before

During

 After

After our old toilet sprung a leak and damaged the floor around it, we had to replace the toilet and flooring in the bathroom. Eddie was a huge help with this project. We had to raise the toilet to put in plywood to have something solid to mount the toilet to. We chose a no glue vinyl flooring which turned out beautifully. We also decided to paint the fish tank black while we had it apart. Everything turned out awesome and our bathroom looks so much better with the updates. Many thanks to Eddie and mom who helped with everything including the kids and meals (and installing the garage doors openers too)! We couldn't have done all of this without you!!

Nine Months

At nine months old Alexandra weighs 15lbs 2oz and is 27 1/2 inches long. She loves to stand and has started cruising around tables and pushing her walking toy around the living room. She's also started to learn to fall on her butt instead of going down like a tree. Her first word is cat. She loves the cats and Charlie loves her. He willingly curls up around her when Alex is on the floor and lets her "pet" him. Alex says cat every time she sees one.
Alex is completely on table food now. She is the youngest one at daycare to make the switch and eats better than the one-year-olds in her class. She loves to eat and is usually double fisting the food into her mouth! The only downside to this is the messes she makes while eating! One of the high chairs at daycare is still stained orange from the sloppy joes she ate last week. And all of this without any teeth.
She is a blessing and joy and we love her so very much!