May 2009 Update

MARY

So after reviewing our budget Jared told me that he could allow enough money for me to furnish and fix up one room in our house per year. This year I decided to do our living room. Now after almost 3 months of waiting, we are excited to finally have our living room couches! Our house is finally starting to feel more like a home. We planned on getting end tables and decorating the whole living room before Nathan came, but we'll have to wait since our AC broke and its replacement will have to take priority. In the meantime I'm trying to endure the heat despite my big pregnant belly. Nathan is kicking more and doing well according to his ultrasounds. I'm trying to finish his baby quilt and get the house organized and things ready for him to come. I am both nervous and excited about our new addition. Right now my hands are pretty full just taking care of our two girls, but hopefully things will be better once Jared changes jobs and can help out more at home.

JARED
On the 16th Jared celebrated his 29th birthday. We just had a quiet celebration with the girls at home with cake, ice cream, and presents (Abby was disappointed that we didn't have an Easter egg hunt like on her birthday). That evening we joined Jared's co-workers for picnic and volleyball by the river.

This picture is of Jared soaking wet after fixing our sprinklers. Obviously they are working now! When Jared isn't busy working, he enjoys our backyard. He finished putting up the girls' swing set and is now busy trying to get our garden in. We are hoping for a big harvest this fall!

ABBY
These pictures are of Abby doing her pirate princess dance. Abby still loves to dress up and has developed quite the imagination. He new favorite books are the Fancy Nancy books which are about a little red-headed girl that loves to dress up and use big words. Abby's new favorite word however is not very big. It's "ya." She says things like, "Ya want lotsa ice cream?" "How ya doing?" Abby is growing up, and goes between being fiercely independent and wanting us to baby her. She has stopped napping which makes her quite difficult at times, and Jared and I are starting to realize how much patience parenting really takes. She is looking forward to visiting grandparents and cousins and has already started packing her bags with all her treasures. We made a renewed potty training effort and Abby is doing much better now--usually no more than one accident a day. It helps that most of her friends are potty trained which serves as a good example and motivation for her. She has developed a friendship with a girl named Natalie that we met at story time. It is good for her to have a friend her age that she can learn to share and play with.

Here are Abby and Maddy reading. They both love to be read to, but are at different levels when it comes to books. I usually have to make them take turns while I switch off between reading a baby book to Maddy and a big girl book to Abby.

MADDY

Here is Maddy swinging. It is her new favorite activity. As soon as we go downstairs in the morning she bangs on the glass door and says, "swing, swing swing." Her other favorite activities include: coloring, reading, pre-school with Abby, and watching Signing Time. She is signing and saying more words as well as starting to put words together. She says "dad home" when she wants her daddy and "no nap" when she doesn't want to sleep. Maddy remembers grandma and grandpa from their visit and likes to talk to them on the phone. She brings me a phone or puts her hand to her ear and says, "talk grandpa." Maddy just had her 18 month checkup and is growing nicely. She still has a large head, but her height is finally catching up to it. She finally weighs enough for a forward facing car seat. She just started Nursery and loves it. We think it helps that Abby is in there with her so she has a familiar face. Maddy has a very sweet nature and we enjoy her happy smiles.

A Tribute to Our Moms

With having just celebrated Mother's Day, I was thinking about how blessed Jared and I are to have such wonderful mothers. So here is a little picture tribute to them.

Mom Collett loves to cook, and makes the most delicious meals. Here she is at Christmas time with her little Abby helper.

She also happens to be Abby's fairy Grandmother. She is a wonderful seamstress and here she is surprising Abby with her Halloween costume--a princess dress made especially for her.

Mom Collett was nice enough to open her home to us this summer during our transition time. Abby and Maddy really enjoyed having this time to get to know their grandma better.

Picture from Jared's graduation at Arcadia University. We really appreciate all of her support and encouragement through Jared's many years schooling.

Picture of Grandma & Grandpa with Abby at Craig's wedding reception. She did a beautiful job. She always amazes me at how she is able to beautifully pull off these big events that would overwhelm me.

Thanks Mom Collett for being a great mother-in-law and for raising such a wonderful son!

Here is my mom with Abby during their latest visit to Washington. She always has a lap ready for a song, a book, or just a cuddle from Grandma.

Here is my mom helping me with the girls during our tour of the capitol building in Washington D.C. Ever since I was small my mom has instilled in me a love for art, history, and culture.

Here is Abby with my mom on her first Christmas. Even though is wears her out, my mom always puts a lot of work into making Christmas memorable and fun for everyone. One of our favorite traditions is her delicious Palestinian dinner.

Here is my mom with Abby when she flew out to help me during my transition to being a new mom. I love how my mom is always there for me when I'm sick or in trouble. A little over a year later she dropped everything again and flew out to help me when I had to go on bed rest during my pregnancy with Maddy.

Here is my mom with Abby when she was first born. It wasn't until I was a mom myself that I stated to realize all that our moms went through to raise us. Thank you mom and mom Collett for all your sleepless nights, teaching, prayers, and countless sacrifices in our behalf. We love you!

Minivan Momma

So one of the things in life that Jared and I promised ourselves was that we would NEVER drive a minivan--SUVs are much cooler. Well this weekend we broke that promise. With the third on the way and a big trip planned for next month, Jared and I decided to take the plunge. We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Kia Sedona minivan. It is amazing how your priorities change. At this point we care little about coolness factor and are more worried about safety, cost, good gas mileage, and how easy it is to get kids and car seats in and out. That said, Jared still fantasizes about driving an Aston Martin or a Morgan (ahem . . . see below). When he drives the minivan he feels like he is "driving a huge spaceship." To be sure, the V6 thrusters do have more liftoff power than the wimpy Japanese piece of tin Sentra he was piloting before, but the thing is huge.

We feel very blessed that we were able to get the van in excellent condition at a good price with still a lot of warranty on it. We also were able to put a lot down on it, thanks to a great first time home buyers tax credit refund. Yeah! So here's to the minivan momma.

It is nice that the girls finally have enough room for their legs.

Abby loves it, and informed us that she thinks our new van is "adorable."