We are still alive....and have big news!

I realize it has been FOREVER since my last post, but we have been extremely busy. Jay and I recently found out that he has been transferred (AGAIN) to Fairfax, Virginia. We haven't even been in this house for one year, so it came as a little bit of a surprise. ExxonMobil doesn't give much time for their relocations either. He found out in the middle of March of the transfer and his effective date is April 15!! Needless to say we have been super busy getting our current house on the market and traveling to Virginia trying to find a new home. The weekend after we heard the news our flight was booked for Jay and I to fly to Fairfax on a home hunting trip. Grandma flew down here to watch the girls while we were gone (Thank Goodness! I can't imagine having 2 kiddos tagging along trying to find a home.) It was an extremely stressful weekend and to make matters short, after a price increase, looking a bit further away from work than first anticipated, and a bidding war we have a contract on a house. It is 25 years old with very outdated bathrooms and kitchen appliances. It does, however, have updated granite counters in the kitchen and was immaculate throughout. Anyone who knows me knows that I like clean!! (On a sidenote, we were both appalled at how utterly filthy many of the homes that we went through were..GROSS!) It has a very nice back deck and we love the neighborhood. It is a master planned community with a couple pools we will be able to use this summer. We just had the inspection this past Friday and everything turned out pretty good. I will post pictures of it once we move in. We did get a extra day to spend with Grandma while she was here visiting. We took the girls to the Houston Livestock show and rodeo with our neighbors Kim, Lexie and Chase. The kids had a great time seeing the animals, in the petting zoo, riding the rides, and of course eating junk food! Emma was extremely scared of the cows at first because they were just sooo big to her. She quickly warmed up to all the animals and had a GREAT time. The very next weekend Nana and Papa came into town to watch the girls for a trip Jay and I had planned for a long time to visit our best friends in Milwaukee. It was BAD timing that we had to leave two weekends in a row, and I never spend a minute away from the girls. I missed them lots but we had a GREAT time as always with our buds. I was super excited to meet their newest addition, Owen, for the first time and of course to see their oldest son Ben again! We even got to go out for dinner and drinks kidless one night while Jay's cousin Laura babysat! She lives in Milwaukee now too and we had fun seeing her new apartment and hanging out with her as well. It is always so nice to spend time with Phil and Aimee ( and their growing family)! We are already talking about a possible trip next winter....maybe to Key West again since we had so much fun there last time! Since we have been home we have been busy planning all the details of our move and being kicked out of our house for a lot of showings (A good thing overall - but a pain nonetheless!). Looks like we have 10 days without our stuff once the movers come at the end of the month so we have decided to ship both cars to Virginia and just fly home to Michigan for a week. Much easier than traveling across the country with two little ones and staying in hotels every night. At least the girls will be able to take naps and see family in the interim. Jay and I will then fly to Virginia to close on the new house and unpack for a couple days before Grandma and Grandpa drive the girls to their new home. (Seriously, how did we work such an awesome deal!! We don't even have to drive the 10 hours with the kids. Thank you Lord for Grandparents!!) The next couple weeks here are going to be nonstop busy. We have lots of last minute doctor/dentist appointments. Emma is going to have an early birthday party here with all of her friends (since she didn't get one last year because we were moving at the same time!!) and we have a couple neighborhood gatherings - a fun crawfish boil, Bunco and an Easter egg hunt. I am actually very happy that we will be so busy because I don't want to dwell on the fact that we are moving:( We love Katy and our awesome neighborhood and friends and I am very sad to be moving so soon!! I know once we get to Fairfax we will most likely love it, but it is so hard to leave! Enjoy the pics below......it may be a while before I post again!

Anna is sitting up all by herself. 7 months already!!

Sweet Anna enjoying the sunshine Emma playing in the fountains

Emma and her sweet friend Avery. They were absolutely ADORABLE in matching outfits - unfortunately I didn't get a good picture

Our new home. Yes - that is as close as they let you get to the White House. As my friend said best, we are working on kicking the current squatters out!

Jay and I in front of the Capitol

Grandma trying to tell Emma that the cows aren't scary

Emma intently watching a new baby chick coming out of its shell

Got Milk?

OK Emma - it is a petting zoo. Not sure if you are really supposed to hug the sheep!!

Emma and her pal Lexie having a great time on the rides

Emma and Grammy on the Carousel

Mommy with Anna - looks like she enjoyed the rodeo too!

Nana and Papa with the girls

Baby Owen

How sweet! Ben giving Owen a kiss!

Cousin Laura with Ben and Owen

Aimee, Laura, Owen and I

Emma trying to roll down a hill at the rodeo. It was quite funny to watch.

Running in the fountains.

Welcome Spring!

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here! Most days it hits 70 and is sunny. We have really taken advantage of the nice weather and have been playing outside everyday and frequenting all of the local parks. A few weeks ago we had a nice visit with Jay's Nana - which is Emma and Anna's Great Nana. She flew in from Missouri to meet Anna for the first time and to do some bonding with both girls. We went to the park, played outside, and showed her around our town. We had a nice, relaxing time and she enjoyed seeing both girls! Jay and I both hope that when we are in our 80's we are healthy enough to fly and visit our great grandkids!!

We also celebrated Mardi Gras this past weekend with our neighborhood. Of course it happened to be the one cold day that we have had in weeks. Once the sun went down, the temperature really dropped and we had to break out the winter coats. We had a great time eating, drinking, visiting with friends, and watching the kiddos have a blast. They had so much fun decorating bikes and wagons and being in a parade. There were TONS of beads being thrown everywhere and Emma managed to pack her bag on her bike full of candy!

Anna has been growing like a weed and continuing to change every week! We recently went in for her 6 month checkup. She weighs 15lb 9oz (39th percentile) and is 26.75 inches long (82nd percentile). Her head circumference is in the 93rd percentile - lots of room for that smart brain of hers to grow!! At this age Emma was 16lb 10oz and 26.5 inches long - similar but about 1 lb heavier. She has also started to eat solids. So far she has LOVED all of the foods we have given her which include apples, bananas, pears, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. She has also started sitting up alone!! She can sit for about 30-45 seconds on her own, but has not mastered the fall yet. We sit her in her boppy pillow to help break the falls, but she is getting stronger every day! We also started to let her "cry it out" at night as she was still waking up one time. Since then she has slept through the night a couple nights, woke up a couple nights and cried for 30 min or so and then fell back asleep, and one night she screamed bloody murder for 45 min. I gave in that night and rescued her. I think she is slowly getting the idea that she has to go back to sleep until morning. She has been napping much better too which = a happier baby and a happier mommy! She also continues to love to interact with Emma. She is always watching her every move and laughing at her silly faces. It melts my heart to see my two girls loving up on each other!

Emma has continued to live to go to school two days a week. Every night she asks me if tomorrow is school. She also has a couple favorite new sayings:
1. "Daddy isn't making good choices." Ha - this came after he took too long to help her with her corn at the dinner table.
2. "I go potty by myself. OK. Be right back." I also hear "Don't help me!" no less than 50 times a day. She is miss independent and REFUSES any attempt to help her.
3. "I want to wear my jammies a little while." She wants to keep her pajamas on all morning now instead of getting dressed.

Sweet Anna is 6 months already!!

Great Nana feeding Anna for the first time

Great Nana with both girls

Emma was playing in her "boat" and wanted Anna to join her

Attempt of a picture with mommy - neither of the girls cooperated

Emma chatting with Anna

Introducing.....Anna's first ponytail:)

Anna's first solid food - apples! She loved them!

Dress silly day at school. Emma got to pick out her outfit and bows - can you tell? She loved this and all day kept telling me, "Mommy I look silly today!"

Miss Kim with Anna at the Mardi Gras party

Emma lined up for the bike parade

All of the Mardi Gras beads

Beads kept getting stuck on Emma's training wheels - a bit of a disaster!

Our friend Stacie with her adorable baby Anna

These smart girls huddled up by the front door to get out of the wind and stay warm

Presenting the neighborhood King and Queen of Mardi Gras - Woody and his wife Stephanie

Anna sitting up!!

Mardi Gras Parade

Anna eating for the first time - yummy!



Anna rolling over

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a great day. I made dinner for us and although Jay and I decided not to exchange gifts he still sent me roses. What a good hubby! We also had cupcakes for dessert from Ooh La La Bakery - YUMMY! Emma helped me make Daddy a creative Valentine with candy (see below for the picture - double click on it to enlarge so that you can read it.) She had so much fun making it - she LOVES crafts and asks to use the glue every day! She glued everything (with just a little help) and had so much fun. She kept telling Jay that she had a surprise for him and was so proud to give it to him.

Otherwise we have been enjoying the warm weather. It has been gorgeous this week (mid 70's) and we have been playing outside a lot and going for bike rides, too. The four of us even had a little picnic in the park on Sunday AND I washed my car. Talk about a great day:)

Enjoy the pictures and video. I especially love the video of Anna laughing. There is something so innocent and adorable about those first baby smiles and laughs!

I am a sucker for those darn hooded bath towels:)





Emma riding her bike - she still talks about how Santa brought it for her and it is "Beautiful"



Sliding down the big slide at a friends birthday party

Twirls

That's my girl sucking her thumb. Apparently she was worn out from all the jumping and sliding!

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!!

The poster the girls made for daddy

Anna's adorable laugh

Emma's Latest Stunt

Warning: the following story is a bit gross! Proceed reading for a good laugh.

On Super Bowl Sunday, after our friends had left, I took Emma upstairs for our normal bedtime routine. She got her jammies on, brushed her teeth, and I read her a book. Before leaving the room I decided to do a thorough cleaning of her nose so that she could sleep good that night. She had had a runny nose for a couple weeks and it had recently started to be green and goopy. She didn't have any other symptoms of a cold or sickness so I had written it off to a normal kids snotty nose. This time, for some reason, I decided to clean out her nose as she was laying in bed. This allowed me to get a good look up into her nose which normally doesn't happen. As I look up into her nose I see something WAY up in her left nostril. It is some kind of foreign object.

At this very moment I have a flashback. Ten days ago when I picked her up from school she ran up to me laughing and smiling and said "Mommy, I put a Band Aid up my nose." I laughed it off and said "Emma you know you aren't supposed to put anything in your nose. That's yucky!" Never once did I think she actually shoved it way up in her nose where it couldn' t be seen.

Back to reality - in a panic I sprint downstairs and holler at Jay that Emma has something in her nose and I think it could be a Band Aid. I grabbed my tweezers and ran back upstairs. Jay came up too. I had Emma lie flat on her back as I proceeded to do an extraction of this foreign object. Mind you this "thing" is so far up her nose that when she breathes in I couldn't see it, but when she breathes out I could see just a little bit of "something." Emma knew I was in a panic and stayed extremely still (a true miracle in itself) and just kept asking "Mommy what are you doing?" After several attempts I pulled out a gooey, green, SMELLY Dora the Explorer Band Aid!!! It had been in her nose for at least TEN days!!!

She immediately started crying as Jay and I kept yelling "Emma you DON'T put Band Aid's in your nose!!!" I didn't know how to feel - I was so relieved and thankful that I saw it and was able to pull it out. I also felt terrible that I didn't believe her that day when she told me multiple times that she put a Band Aid in her nose. Who would have thought she was telling the truth on that one?!? I just can't believe that she didn't complain of her nose hurting or headaches. This is definately a story for the baby book:) Poor Emma - hope she thinks twice in the future about putting anything in her nose!