Katie turns 2!

Katie's birthday was Monday; our little girl turned 2! I can still vividly remember the morning I went into labor with her. Chris was getting ready to go to work and he didn't believe me. 3 hours later, Katie made her debut!

We had a small birthday party for her this past weekend - a princess party! She proudly adorned her princess garb throughout the day. I think she was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. With two siblings, she's not used to that much undivided attention. :) But, she was adorable and she is definitely a princess in our eyes.

We also received an incredible blessing this weekend - my sister Cathy surprised us with the purchase of a swing set for the kids! And it was no small task putting that gigantic thing together. Cathy, her boyfriend Don, and Chris spent several hours Friday night and all day Saturday putting it together. It was at least a solid 12 hours worth of work. In the end, the kids have had an absolute blast on it. The first thing they want to do when they wake up in the morning is go in the backyard to play on it. Our house is definitely the place to be right now for all the neighborhood kids. A huge thanks to Cat for that one! She has always been one of the most giving people I've ever known, and once again we were humbled by her graciousness. I can only hope God will shape my heart to be even half as giving as hers one day.

Love, boats, and piercings.

What do they have in common? Not much, but it probably got your attention.

Two weeks ago, Chris and I had the pleasure of attended a marrage conference at our church. We've been married almost 9 years now and I still find myself amazed that God has blessed me with this incredible man. It was great to spend some dedicated time together (no kids!) and reflect on the bigger purpose God put us together for - to share His love with others. And.. we even got some dance lessons!

Would you believe my mom bought a boat? Yeah, me neither! And it's not a little boat... It's pretty darn big. We spent this past Saturday taking it out for her maiden voyage. The kids had a blast, but I think Chris had even more fun getting to be the captain.

While we were out boating, Chris' parents kept Amy Jo for us. They took her to get her ears pierced! She looks adorable! I'm so glad it's done and that I didn't have to be there. I almost passed out when Katie got hers done.

This week we're making preparations for Katie's birthday party. I can't believe she's about to be 2!

Painted nails, lemoNsines, and Jon Jon.

It's been tough for me to post regularly lately. I guess having 3 kids is taking up more time than I had anticipated. :) Here is a quick update on the latest in our household.

Katie got her first nail painting this weekend. Chris painted her toenails and fingernails and now she thinks she is hot stuff. She walks around saying "Ooohh, look at my toes. They're preeettty." I've started planning for her birthday party. I can't believe she'll be 2 at the end of this month!

Micah is turning into more of a comedian every day. He definitely gets those genes from Chris' family. The other day we were eating at Bono's (surprise, surprise). He started putting all our lemons from our drinks on one of the cardboard advertisements sitting on the table. Once he had them all meticulously arranged, he looked up with a big grin and said "Look everyone, it's a lemonsine!" He also had one of the most exciting moments of his life this week at our favorite Japanese restaurant. Over the years, we've become friends one one of the cooks there named Jon Jon. Micah thinks he is a super hero or something. So much so that he pretends to cook like him on our coffee table at home and he has been saving up money for the past few months so he can buy a spatula like Jon Jon's. What 3 year old has the diligence to save money to buy something like that over toys? Micah told Jon Jon about how he was going to get one of those as soon as he had enough money. So, when the meal was over, Jon Jon graciously gave him his spatula. Micah was so excited. He has even been taking the spatula to bed with him at night.

Amy Jo has been so much fun. She is smiling and coo'ing up a storm right now. She is such an easy going baby. I can't wait to see how her personality develops over the next several months. She seems like she is going to be such a delight.

I've had so much fun being home with the kids for the past 10 weeks! It's kind of bitter sweet that I have to begin going back into the office next. I enjoy my job, but I enjoy being a mom even more!