Is That FROGS I Hear?!?!?

Why yes, yes it is!!! Matt's bringing out the garbage cans right now, and as he opened the door, the sound of ribbitting frogs came flooding in! That just thrills me to no end!!! You know what that means, don't you?!? SPRING!!! :-D We're closing in on that wonderful time where we get to hunt for frogs in the back yard, not dress in quite so many layers, open the windows, let the sunshine in!!! It's almost here, I can feel it!

Bowling For Buzzards

OK, so I'm a Lion King fan, I can't help it!

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Anywho... ;-)

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We've been talking for I don't know how long about going bowling again, but for one reason or another we haven't been able to. So we finally made it happen! Saturday morning we headed out to Acme Bowl for some good ol' bowling fun. They have decreased prices on Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00am, and we keep wanting to take advantage of that!

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The kids had a GREAT time! They did really well waiting for their turn again, and being excited for whoever was up to bowl. It was quite comical waiting for what seemed like hours as we'd wait for some of Juliana's bowling balls to get allllll the way down the lane :-) And one time as it went straight to the right of her ;-D We put Jenna in the stroller with a bunch of cheerios, planted her right up front, and she did pretty well!

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I am happy to announce that I both started AND ended my game with strikes!!! I ended with a grand score of 92, which for ME is amazing! I was quite pleased... :-) Anywho, great family time! We then went to Wendy's for lunch, and let the kids play at a nearby park for a while. What a beautiful day outside!!!

Jacob bowling, sometimes right handed, sometimes left, he's not picky ;-)

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Juliana very excited to knock some pins down!

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A very excited Jacob!

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Ahhh, they love each other...(sometimes) ;-)

Jenna's 11 Months!

Can it be?!? Have we almost reached an entire year?!? I must say, it feels like quite the accomplishment! As ya'll know, Jenna has been quite the challenging baby. Anytime we meet someone new, Jacob says "Do you know her name? It's Jenna. She's a fuzzy baby." (aka: fussy) But even amidst her "fuzziness", the kids LOVE her to pieces! They are such a great brother and sister to her!
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This has been a month of growth for Jenna! Well just barely before her 11-month birthday, she finally decided to start crawling! AND she cut a couple more teeth! She has a whopping 4 teeth now, bring on the steak! ;-D Her new freedom has definitely helped her "fuzziness" issue! Being able to get herself to whatever toys she wants has been HUGE for her! Ahhhh, I love it :-) Of course along with this new found freedom comes other hurdles; choking hazards, chewed on computer cords, ten thousand pieces of napkins and kleenex all over the house, 3 times the mess to clean up, rug burned feetsies, and and and... But I tell ya, IT'S WORTH IT! Seeing that big smile on her face, less screaming, it's worth it!!!

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And what else are we super excited about?!? We are mere WEEKS away from never having to buy formula EVER AGAIN!!! Wahoo!!! I cannot tell you how excited we are about that! Nursing didn't work with her from day one, we tried and tried for at least a few weeks, to no avail, so we have bought MANY MANY MANY cans of formula, and my goodness is it expensive! We are SO ready to switch to milk! Ahhhh, what a cost savings that's going to be...not to mention it's another step of MOVING FORWARD! :-) Ahhhh, yes...

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All in all, we are so in love with "Baby Jenna", and are SO enjoying watching her grow! It's so fun watching her interact with her brother and sister, watching her big ol' diaper bootie swishing back & forth as she's crawling around the house (especially on the hardwoods! she works so hard, as her pudgy little hands slap against the hardwoods and her cute face has a look of utter determination to get to her destination!), the funny faces she makes, and she rocks her high chair like the best of them!

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So Happy 11 Month Birthday, Jenna! Next up, A FULL YEAR!!! Wow...

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Jenna's monthly growth picture next to her monkey

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Sweet Baby Jenna showing off her bottom teeth :-)

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So sweet...

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Standing against a chair, she's getting stronger!

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She sure is growing up!!!

The Mean House

So tonight at dinner, Jacob told us that this is the Mean House. Why did he call it that? Because Mommy & Daddy are always mean to Jacob & Juliana of course! How are we mean? "Because we don't eat our food and you get mad." Yes, I must confess, Matt & I are convicted, he got it spot on, we get very annoyed that our kids don't eat their dinner and we have to tell them to eat each and every bite, one by one by one...and after a few years, our temper grows short and we more quickly tell them to EAT YOUR FOOD!!! What awful parents we are... ;-)

OK, I'm off my soap box now :-)

Jenna's 10 Months!!!

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Jenna!!! That's right, she's in the double digits now! She sure is growing up, she's like a little person now :-) Granted she still has two lonely teeth (with two up top threatening to pop thru!), and doesn't crawl yet, but hey, no biggie! She's just takin' her sweet time. I love when she gets so super excited and her entire face lights up and she buries her head in my chest! Her brother and sister love her to pieces, they do so great with her, they're very helpful to me, keeping her happy when I'm making meals and what-not. We're really getting into a good groove, and I'm so thankful for that!!!

I am so thankful for family time. When it's just the five of us hanging out, no tv, no computers, just good ol' quality family time. Fun, fun!!! I was also thankful for the wonderful weather we had on Monday! How great was that?!? The kids and I spent so much time playing outside! Played with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, toys, swing, balloon fun, swung the kids around, and Jenna loved playing outside on a blanket! And I have to say, my losing weight has totally contributed to the "fun in the sun" aspect! I have so much more energy, and I WANT to be moving and playing with the kids!

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That leads me to my next update, today I reached the 20 lb mark (20.2 to be exact!). WAHOO!!! 20 down, 60 to go...but let's not think about that right now... ;-D I've been working so very hard at it, still working out every day, watching every little thing that enters my mouth, just trying to keep moving in general. I'm so excited and having so much fun! I still can't fathom losing that other 60...I can see another 20, that's where I often max out and "get content" and stop trying...but this time I'm really looking forward to getting there and CONTINUING ON!!! I have no idea what I'll look like or feel like, like I said, it's unfathomable... We'll see!!!
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Jacob had the flu today, that sure hasn't been nearly as nice as the "fun in the sun" on Monday. I'm really hoping that no one else in our family will get it...time will tell...please no, please no, please no... Anywho, here are some pix of our family fun :-)

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Me making Jenna laugh...yes that's Juliana's undies on my head... :-)

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Ariel Princess Undies Rock!!! ;-)

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Jacob made "FOX" into a fox, like on WordWorld, impressive!

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Juliana with her "new doo" ;-D

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This is for Baby Jonathan - "Wassup, Cuz?"

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Baby Jenna playing outside, LOVIN' IT!!!

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We LOVE playing outside! God is amazing...

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Silly Juliana having a good time :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! (a couple days early) The kids and I surprised Matt (Daddy) tonight with a little Valentine's Day dinner and some decorations. I cannot begin to tell you how excited the kids were!!!!! It was so fun watching the excitement on their face as they heard his key going into the front door :-)

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Also, we've had quite the varying weather lately, huh?!? Hail, snow, warming sunshine, the whole shabang! Anywho, when it started hailing super hard earlier this week, Juliana RUSHED over to put on her boots so she could go play in it :-) She's so cute...

Some Updates...

Well hello there! I sure haven't been blogging much lately :-) I update people a lot on Facebook and don't even think to blog very often, and when I do, I feel like I'm saying a bunch of things people already know! Anywho...enough of my nonsense rambling :-)
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Jacob's eye doctor appointment went well, very quickly actually. The doctor said that his eye is definitely turning in, and even turns in when wearing his glasses, but not as much so. So he's to wear his glasses for 2 months, then will be going back in for another appointment at which his eyes will be dilated and they'll do a more thorough exam. I don't know much more than that, to be continued... He's doing well wearing his glasses again, we're back to going in fairly regularly to get them adjusted over and over, argh...
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Juliana is doing SO well in dance class! She sure has come a long ways since she started back in September! It's been so fun watching her have fun in dance class, and even moreso, watching her dance at home!!! She closes her eyes and practically floats around the room! The funny thing is watching JACOB practice with her. If she isn't quite getting something right, then he goes "No no, I'll show you, it's like this..." and off he goes :-)
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I'm also happy to report that my weightloss is going well. Lost another 3.4 lbs last week, for a grand total of 17 lbs in the first 5 weeks. My goal is to hit my half-way point by my birthday (23 lbs to go to get there, in 4 months). I'm working very hard on this, I am SO motivated and SO excited!!! I've been working out every day, watching every little thing I put in my mouth, have been trying to be more active in general, and it's really paying off! I'm starting to notice the changes, both in my body in general, and also in how I feel, and I love that!!! I have so much more energy, feeling "tighter", and am finally getting back into some of my old clothes. Anywho, I'm getting there, still at least 63 lbs to go over all, but I'm getting there!!! YAY!
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Also, as for my bible reading, I'm definitely reading more often, but need to keep working towards making it a daily thing. I'm finally done with Mark and have started Luke. It's been really neat reading these books of the bible during the months between Christmas and Easter, it makes the "holidays" much more meaningful, brings them to life and helps me keep in mind the REAL "reason for the season".
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Let's see...anything else?!? Jenna finally learned how to roll over, at 9 months of age! She's also learned to wave Hi and Bye, and just started clapping this week :-) Big month of development for her!
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I hope this blog finds you well and that you have a great February! Who else has been enjoying this WONDERFUL WEATHER?!?!? We've walked to the park twice this week already and the kids have been playing outside a lot! LOVE IT!!!

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