Belated Summer News!

Where does time go?! It's hard to believe the summer is now behind us as we find ourselves settling into our "fall routine." The cooler temps in the morning & evening are a wonderful reminder that relief from the heat is finally here! We had a great summer. Drew turned 5 months on Friday & Brianna is officially 2 1/2 yrs. old! I'm not sure which one is more work right now! :) Drew definitely seems to be on the "fast track" with his development. He just cut his first TWO tooth at 4 mo. of age!! I was stunned. Actually, I have two kids teething right now. Brianna is working on her 2 yr. molars. I really didn't think I would have 2 kids teething at the same time...but here we are! :) Both kids sleep 10-11 hrs. at night when they aren't teething :) & we are so very grateful for that accomplishment! :)

Drew is rolling all over the place & has just about mastered the art of sitting up all by himself! Yay! I think he is trying to play "catch up" with his big sister. :) He LOVES Brianna & has a ready smile & giggle for her. He's a bit of lost soul when she's not around. She's my best form of entertainment for him. She loves him dearly too. It's so cute to watch them interact. We think they are going to be best buds. :)

Brianna is a VERY busy 2 yr. old. She keeps me on my toes almost constantly. She likes to be "in charge" of things. She will make a great leader some day as long as this quality is used properly. :) Her favorite things to do right now are "cook mommy"...interpreted cook WITH Mommy, play with "Baby Doo" (her name for Drew), play with play-do, play in the sink & "help" Mommy wash dishes, play with cousins & friends, go to church, go to Kindermusik, & watch her Curious George video. She is a huge social butterfly & loves to be with people of all ages. She is total riot & we are especially enjoying listening to her vocabulary explode right now.

August was a busy, fun-filled month for us. Machen's parents came from PA to visit all of their family in the Greenville area during the first 2 weeks of August. We had a wonderful time visiting with them & the extended family. We had just gotten a fondu pot, so we hosted several fondu "parties" for everyone. Quite fun, but not recommended for anyone trying not to gain weight!

We traveled up to MI for the last 2 weeks of August. My parents live up there on a lake. We thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful setting & the cooler weather! Brianna had a blast & actually enjoyed going on boat rides this year. The kids survived the 13 hour road trip much better than anticipated. It was a treat to be able to see my grandparents who traveled up from Texas while we were there. They enjoyed seeing their only great grandchildren. We are thankful the recent hurricane didn't affect their home or safety in southern TX. We also enjoyed a quick visit with my aunt & uncle who are living in China right now. Speaking of China, my sister & brother-in-law are doing fantastic in China. They are really enjoying teaching English in the University & are learning to to speak Chinese. We miss them, but look forward to a quick visit in January.

Above is a slide show of our trip to MI, plus other fun summer pics. Just click on the collage of pics in order to see them individually in a slide show. Enjoy!

3 months

It is very hard to believe Drew is 3 months old today! How time flies. He is growing so quickly. Already, he adds so much joy to our lives & an extra dimension to our family.

This "Bumbo" seat is the greatest invention! It wasn't available when Brianna was this age. They can seat in it as soon as they can hold up their head. It gives them the feeling of sitting up before they can do it on their own.




Papa enjoying his grandchildren. Above is a pic of Drew curling up his toes around Papa's finger.


Hangin' out with big sis. Brianna seems to enjoy the Bumbo seat more than Drew! :)

We can't believe Drew is already able to sit in the Jumperoo!

Here Brianna is lovingly "terrorizing" her little brother by trying to get a picture of him! A nice "close up!" :)


Brianna had a blast at Chucky Cheese with Nana & Papa.
We love his smiles :)


Can you tell she dearly loves her little brother??


Papa does too!


Fun times with Nana & Papa during their recent visit.


Daddy & Brianna reading their Bibles together before church.

Happy 4th!

Wow!! I'm actually updating my blog! As you can see, it's a bit harder these days to find time for blogging. :) Yes, life with a 2 yr. old & a 2 mo. old is VERY busy!! I hadn't anticipated it being quite this challenging, but with each passing day we are settling into a "new norm." As I'm writing both kiddos have woken up from their naps...so we'll see how far I get here! I can't believe Drew will be 11 weeks on Sat.!!! He's is growing so quickly. It's incredible to watch the transformation take place! He's a big boy...in the 90th percentile for height & weight. He now has a ready smile for us & is starting to vocalize a bit. He tends to be a fussy baby & loves to be held anytime he's awake. Thankfully he's learning to be content in his swing or bouncer. I invested in a sling & front carrier which helps in those moments when he really needs to be held & I really need my hands free. He is now sleeping about 6-7 hours at night...sometimes longer...depending on the night. I'm feeling a ton more "human" now that I'm getting a longer stretch of sleep at night. Our current challenge is keeping Brianna in her bed! We can't figure out if she's sleep walking (inherited from Daddy :)) or just awake, but we keep finding her in strange locations of the house in the middle of the night laying on the floor with her favorite pink bear. Last night at 3:40 am I heard Brianna's voice in Drew's nursery monitor...meaning... she was in Drew's nursery talking away! I bolted out of bed in an attempt to keep her from waking Drew...but I was too late. He was awake too. After escorting Brianna back to her bedroom I ended up feeding Drew so he would go back to sleep. Tonight we are going to try closing Drew's door & putting a "baby proof cover" on the doorknob. Hopefully that will do the trick! There's so much more to share about all that's happened over the past 8 weeks (I can't believe it's been that long since I've blogged!), but for now this is all I have time for. I'll hopefully be posting some more pics this weekend. My parents arrive on Sunday for a visit. My mom was here for the first 5 weeks & was a tremendous help to me in those early difficult days. I'm so grateful for her willingness to spend that much time here.


Our "little man." :)


Brianna LOVES to talk on the phone. She's quite the little "chatterbox." She's also learning how to talk on the "computer/internet" using our webcam. This way she can see her Nana & Papa & others when she's talks to them. Hard to believe the technology this generation has!

This was our last "lunch date" with my sister...Auntie Laurie. She & hubby moved away from the area last week. They will be in China for the next 2 yrs. teaching English. We are very excited for them, but will miss them terribly. I get sad every time Brianna asks to see "Auntie Oorie."...knowing they prob. won't ever be back in this area to live. We hope to keep in good contact with them using the webcam/Skype.


9 weeks old in this pic.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday...no I'm not saying any numbers! :) I've stopped counting this year. :) I had a very special day. It started out with Machen serving me breakfast in bed! Boy was that nice! What a great hubby I have! :) Then we took Drew for his 3 week check-up. He's doing great! He weighs a whopping 8 lbs, 8 oz. already! His cheeks & tummy are really starting to fill out & under his chin. Unfortunately he had to get a "heel stick" again b/c the first test came back incomplete. It was very hard for me to watch him cry out in pain, but thankfully it's over! I had originally thought my birthday would be a complete "blurr"...not able to get out yet...but thanks to my mom & all the help she's been I've been doing/feeling GREAT! We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants...California Dreaming! Rich & Laurie joined us too. What a joy it is to be able to celebrate being a Mommy twice over now! I have so very much to be thankful for. The Lord has been very good to me.



Drew slept through most of the dinner. :)



Brianna enjoyed "reading" the menu to us! :)



Machen's gift to me was a swing for the backyard so I can enjoy being outdoors with my two little ones. It's already working out great. I can rock Drew while watching Brianna play in her sandbox, etc. The perfect gift to help us enjoy these gorgeous days!



Brianna adores her baby brother & LOVES to "hold" him. We've had some close calls, but so far she hasn't smothered him! ;)



Drew had his first bath & thoroughly enjoyed it.



Daddy's version of "holding" Drew. Hey, whatever works!

Check out my Slide Show!

2 1/2 weeks & we're still surviving! :)

Well, life is starting to settle into a new routine here. Drew is now 2 1/2 weeks old & is doing great! Mommy is very tired until she gets her long daytime nap. Thankfully my mom is here for 2 1/2 more weeks to help out. She makes it possible for me to take my naps & keep my sanity! She has been a HUGE help around here keeping the kitchen going, laundry, rocking Drew, & around the clock care of Brianna. Brianna is enjoying her time with Nana. She is adjusting well, but struggles at times with this new transition. Last night I was able to go to my baby shower put on my Sunday School class ladies. We had it at a yummy place called "McAllister's Deli." A bunch of my friends came out & showered Drew with lots of really cute clothes! He's going to be one styling little man! :) My shower was originally scheduled for April 17 th, but that's the day I started contractions... It was actually more fun getting to bring Drew with me. Plus my mom got to be here for it too. Today we enjoyed the 80+ degree weather by going to a park & getting pizza & root beer floats for dinner! I haven't seen Brianna that dirty in a long time! Needless to say, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. :)