Snow flurries

I have thoroughly enjoyed being cozy in our house and watching the snow fall outside our windows today. It's so beautiful. I'm actually glad it's not sticking, though. We can enjoy seeing the snowflakes and still not be totally housebound. :)

After Kari finished her lunch today, I let her go outside in the backyard. Here she is trying to catch the snow on her tongue.


Meanwhile, Joel was still working on his lunch. He watched her through the window.

Grandpa Moffat's birthday

Yesterday we all gathered for Grandpa Moffat's birthday, which, according to Kari, was his 23rd birthday or maybe his 25th. We enjoyed some good food and, as always, a bit of fun Moffat cousin mayhem.

Poor Lorelai (the smallest baby) did not enjoy the couch picture. We had to snap pictures quick--everyone can move now in some capacity. Sam's about to jump ship.

New Heights

Kari's had to go to the next level with her playtime. The more mobile Joel gets, the higher she goes. He can't knock down her tower up there!


You're probably wondering why I let our 3 year old be in our 1 year old's crib. About a month ago Kari told me she wanted to teach Joel how to stand up in his crib. At the time, I wanted him to be able to do this, too. It seemed weird to me that he had never stood up or even sat up in his crib, so I said ok and let her play in there with him for a few minutes. Joel loved it, so I let them do it for a few minutes when she asked. Yesterday Joel sat up and then stood up in his crib for the first time on his own. So, Kari gets the credit--and the blame, because now Joel is a bad napper. He thinks that if he's sitting up, I should come get him out. The last two days of naps have not been good. Oh well! I wanted him to be more mobile and active! He'll adjust (or I will). :)

Before and After

We didn't take a true "before" picture of our bathroom, but this is one of the quick photos we took before we bought the house, so it'll have to do. You get the idea--old, boring and ugly...

...with damaged floor and nasty, crumbling, molding walls behind the tub surround (all that yellow stuff is just old glue).

Here is our fresh clean tub now. We are very happy with the way it all turned out. We did it on a budget, so it's nothing fancy, but we're enjoying our new bathroom(s). (We're almost done with the remodel of our little master bath, too.)

Ahh! Much better.

Happy Birthday, Jane!

We've been bosom buddies since the summer of 1993. Once again, I'm wishing I owned a scanner so I could post photos of all kinds of good, old memories--freshman and senior year at ol' Sam Barlow High, Azalea House and OSU, and fun times since, too. Our visits these days are few and far between and always too short, but it's fun when we do get to see you. I treasure your friendship. Thanks for being my faithful friend. Maybe someday you'll move back up here? :) I love you, Janie!

Goal Attained

Thought I'd share that Joel stood alone for a few seconds, and thus reached the milestone the doctor set for him at his one year check, to be able to stand alone for 2 seconds by Feb. 20th (13 months). Joel's cruising along all our furniture now, and he even took a couple steps on his own yesterday. Yeah, Joel-boy!

Burn Day

The whole neighborhood turned out today to watch the fire department burn down an old house across the field from us. It was pretty impressive to see it all up in flames. Such a nice day, too. The kids had a lot of fun being outside.

Blue Girl and more from yesterday

Kari helped me make caramel brownies. She unwrapped all the caramels. They must not have looked appetizing enough because she didn't even try to eat one.
We love soap crayons and bath paints, too! Kari "made blue skin" in the bath. (She's using the faucet as her mirror.)

Bath time = Happy kids

(the short bangs are growing!)

Kari playing "just like Daddy." I loved that she even made her legs the same. They played several songs together last night . I'll have to get it on video next time because it's just too cute.

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a nice day today, in spite of not enough sleep last night (Kari was sleepwalking or something last night at 2:30am. It was very weird). Daddy left us some Valentine's Day treats before he went to work this morning. It was a fun surprise. Kari and Joel had fun surprises from Grandpas and Grandmas today, too. These kids are well loved!

Here is Kari is telling Joel that her Sweethearts box says "to K-A-R-I."

She had to get closer to show him.

Both kids are rosy-cheeked from afternoon naps. Kari doesn't usually sleep during nap time anymore, but she hasn't been feeling well and has been needing a little extra sleep lately. Being up in the middle of the night last night probably didn't help either. Here Kari was in the middle of saying "Happy Valentine's Day!"

News on the Joel Front

On Saturday Joel showed some serious progress. He walked along the coffee table (for the first time!) and said "Happy Birthday" all in the same morning. He wanted the paper hole punch, and it was motivation enough for him to take some steps to get it. The "Happy Birthday" thing was kind of strange. He doesn't say anything yet, really. He says "juice," "dadda," "mama" (if I drag it out of him), and pretty much everything else is jibber-jabber to us. (Oh, today he learned to say "clock." There's a clock above his changing table, and he always points to it.) Anyhow, we wrote earlier about how Kari sings "Happy Birthday" a lot these days while playing her new guitar, and Joel has been hearing that song an awful lot lately what with all the recent family birthdays and all. Saturday morning Greg's parents were here. Grandpa was helping Greg with more bathroom remodel stuff, and Grandma was in the living room with me and the kids. Kari was playing and singing songs for Grandma, and as she was singing "Happy Birthday," we heard him say "Ha-Buh-Da" as he swayed back and forth to the music. I thought it was just a fluke, but then he did it again and again and again. So, Joel's first phrase is officially "Happy Birthday!"

Presents from Hawaii

Grandpa and Grandma came back from Maui yesterday, and they came bearing gifts.

Grandma has been keeping Kari supplied with her favorite mint Milano cookies , and she decided she could share with Joel. He enjoyed his cookie very much, and he thought it was great fun to ride on Grandma's knee. He couldn't stop laughing.

G&G got Kari her very own "guitar," so she can be "just like Daddy. " She's been playing all her favorite songs--I am a C, This little light of mine, Jesus loves me, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Jesus loves the little children, I've got peace like a river, Down in my heart, Splish splash, and many more!

Joel lounging on Daddy while playing his Hawaiian drum thingy. It's almost bedtime.

Kari has been practicing singing and playing "Happy Birthday" for Daddy's birthday. His birthday isn't until March, so we have several weeks of practice ahead of us.

Some outside pics

It was a little damp outside, but it didn't stop the kids from enjoying being out of the house for a little while.

It took a few tries (and a few falls on her backside), but Kari remembered how to do the rings again.

Wow! 30 Years

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Having been married a mere 6 1/2 years myself, 30 years sure sounds like a long time. Congratulations, and thank you for the example you've been of what love and commitment looks like in a Christ-centered marriage. May there be many more years of marital bliss. :) Hope you've had a great time in Maui. We love you!

Oh, wonderful alarm clock!

This Saturday morning Greg and I awoke at 6:55am to the sounds of Kari playing in her room--singing, talking, "cooking." It was great. I probably should mention that Joel woke us up at 5:30am and went back to sleep after we gave him some milk, so we really didn't get to sleep in 'til 7am, but we're counting our blessings. For the last week and a half, I (Andrea) have been enjoying the absence of a certain little someone in my bed before 7am, and it's all thanks to a pretty pink digital alarm clock. We put a little card next the clock with the number 7 on it, explaining that she's not to come into our room until that first number is a 7, and amazing enough, it's working! Kari has always been very particular about things, but this time, her attention to detail is working to our benefit. Now if only we could teach Joel to tell time...