~ Girlfriends ~

Marianna and Daniella came to help us get through the "witching hour" (3-6pm daily). We had so much fun snacking, painting, making silly faces, and laughing together!

Matching monkeys :)

Little miss smiles

We are definitely getting into the fun "babyhood" stage with McKenna. Phew......the infant stage is rough!! :) and although she is nowhere close to sleeping through the night, her giggles and laughs are making the lack of sleep all worth it (I think)!

She has been engaging and laughing more and more! Yesterday, I got to hear her first true belly laugh - it was priceless!

Suprise ending!

Ham it up McKenna!

Laughing all the way

I was watching Kaitlyn and McKenna play together and Kaitlyn was having so much fun I had to grab the camera.

our friends are growing up.

Calvin and Molly came to hang out with McKenna. They are both adorable, active, and curious toddlers now!!! We always have such a great time with the Caird cousins :)

I guess we've all grown up since christmas of '08 :)

It reached 40 degrees!

It was in the 40-degree range so Kaitlyn and I went out for some fresh air. She insisted on bringing her recorder which she carried for the duration of our 40 minute walk!

RIP Ionie.

It's been a year since we had to say good-bye to Ionie. We miss you little grey girl!

Comparisons

I love comparing pictures of the girls! There will be many more of these I'm sure :)

Kaitlyn at 4 months

McKenna at 4 months

McKenna's first taste of cereal

Kaitlyn's first taste of cereal

Happy Birthday to..........daddy?

Since she has been doing so well with her coloring books (you'll see at the end of the post), I had to get a video of her in action. As our conversation goes on...Kaitlyn decides to burst into song. She inserts "daddy" for any and all names in songs these days. There is no question she loves her daddy (whose birthday isn't until September)!

January updates!

The new year brought a bad cold through our house so we have all been down and out...each of us got the bug one after another. Kaitlyn is finally on the mend and is finally returning to school tomorrow after almost 2 weeks off ( I was very happy about this until I realized that today would be the last day that we got to spend together - then I got kinda sad). McKenna and Mommy were next to start up and while McKenna is still struggling with coughing fits and Mommy feels almost human again...what do you know - Daddy is making it official that the whole family is vulnerable.

I guess we have this to look forward to for a while huh? Oh well, we have been making the best of it..

This is pretty much how McKenna spends her time now-a-days. Thumb or fist inserted in mouth.

This snowman is the only holiday decoration that stays up throughout the winter until March. He just brings a smile to the little corner by the door. I realized that Kaitlyn and Mr. snowman are the same exact height!

McKenna's face literally lights up whenever Kaitlyn is around her...you can imagine how she loved this piano lesson from her big sister :)

4 months = Rice Cereal in this house! The hope is that it will make the baby sleep for longer periods at a time. McKenna has doubled her birth weight (she was 16 lbs./11 oz.!) and grown to 25 inches in length.

Because of her being sick, it's hard to tell if it's working or not. We'll keep trying!! Daddy always gets to give the first taste of "real" food...
Being indoors with Kaitlyn while she was sick was quite a challenge. There were lots of days that ended up with everyone very cranky and tired!! On this day, Gramma Gurin brought Kaitlyn a bathing suit back from Florida (we are gearing up for our trip to see Aunt Katharine in April)..

Kaitlyn immediately wanted to go to the beach. She put on the suit, her hat, and mittens and ran to the door asking to go to the beach. It took about 15 minutes to explain that it's too cold for the beach and that we won't be going for a couple of months..I can't wait to see how she reacts when we actually end up on the beach this Spring!!

I think the most impressive thing that I have seen while we have been home is Kaitlyn's improved ability to "color". She is doing a great job of coloring in the lines!! We have gone through many many pages of coloring books and all of the work is paying off :) It's these little accomplishments that I feel like I need to savor. Awww - my little girl is growing up!!!

New Years 2009!

This New Years was so fun! We brought the new decade in with some great friends and family over some great food and drinks! Kaitlyn was so excited for all of the parties and McKenna found her voice...she literally squeaks and squeals now-a-days!

my hilarious attempt at a family photo!

MJ and Kaitlyn painting during our new years day party! The only pictures I got! Once again, must be the sign of a good party ;)