Happy Easter!

Enjoy some pictures from our Easter. We were supposed to be in Harrisonburg for the weekend, but I ended up being sick, so we stayed home. Sorry we didn't get any family pictures...again, because I was pretty much laying down all day. But here are lots of cute ones of Kathryn!
Her first Easter basket. Yes, that's a chocolate bunny in there. No, she isn't allowed to eat it, but I'm sure I'll find something to do with it! :) The basket just didn't seem complete without a chocolate bunny...

Thanks to her grandparents, Kathryn absolutely loves Goldfish crackers. So, as a treat, she got some in her Easter basket. Notice it's the first thing she went for!


And finally, some posed pictures of her pretty Easter outfit. The stairs are pretty much the only place in the house I can get her to sit still for a minute, so that's why so many of our pictures are taken on the stairs (in case you were wondering!).

Welcome Caedmon!

We are so excited to welcome Caedmon Titus Jordan, born yesterday to our dear friends Daniel and Kimberly! Welcome sweet baby!!!!

What to wear...or not?

So, I had a dream last night that the people from What Not to Wear came to my house (which wasn't my actual house, it was kind of like a college dorm/hotel...you know how things aren't quite correct in dreams) and packed up all my clothes and gave me the credit card to go shopping and buy better clothes. I was a little confused, though, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to buy maternity clothes or regular clothes? Can you tell I'm in that awful in-between stage where I don't have an obvious pregnant belly (to strangers) but do look quite pudgy in the tummy? And can you tell I'm feeling self-conscious about it and having a hard time finding things to wear that I feel good in? Now, if I could just have that credit card for real......

daddy's birthday

For her daddy's birthday, Kathryn wanted to wear a special outfit. We got a couple of cute pictures of the two of them together.



Make sure to scroll down to see all the updates...I just posted 3 tonight! :)

she keeps me busy...

While I was checking my e-mail the other day, I heard Kathryn in the kitchen getting into what I thought was a box of cereal. I finished up what I was doing, knowing I was likely to find some sort of a mess. While it wasn't a box of cereal, she did discover something quite yummy and managed to help herself to a snack.
Make sure to watch the videos on the next post to see Kathryn walking...

walking!!!

Enjoy these two short videos of Kathryn displaying her new skill of walking. She's gotten even better this past week (these videos were taken last week). The second one also shows her new favorite hobby...digging in the dirt!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY!!!

This is a post to wish my wonderful husband and very happy birthday!!! God has blessed us so much with you!!!

big baby

Chuck E. Cheese!!!

The other weekend, our sweet friends the Garcias came down from Harrisonburg to visit us for the day. We had a great time hanging out and playing, driving up to the star, then going to Chuck E. Cheese for the evening.

Here is the Garcia family at the star.

Kathryn loved her first time at Chuck E. Cheese. She wasn't overwhelmed at all, even though it was packed! She did not want me to carry her...she wanted to walk by herself all throughout the place. Even when big kids would bump into her, she would just get back up and keep going.

Here is Brooke and Alisia outside of Chuck E. Cheese while waiting to get in.
The whole group (minus Brooke, who was taking the picture), waiting in line.

Kathryn loved the moving, "performing" characters.

Riding a ride with Caleb and Alisia.


Trying out all the games.




Playing a game with daddy.
We had so much fun with the Garcias, and are so glad they came. Brooke and I have been dear friends since middle school and it's so cool that we are now able to hang out as families. God is so good to bless us with such great friends!

Add-on

I've been realizing that I forgot some very important things that Kathryn can do in the last post. Some other words she can "say" are: dad, hi (when "answering" a phone, and in a very southern accent!), mmmmmm (when eating or asked if something is yummy). She can also sign "help" (although she really just claps her hands together once, since she can't quite sign it correctly yet), "amen" (looks the same as "help"), and "bath".

And, the biggest thing I forgot, is that she can now walk! Duh! Being pregnant makes me forgetful! I'll post a video of it as soon as I can, but it's super cute. She still doesn't really choose to do it all that often...I suppose crawling is still more efficient for her. She also walks on her knees quite often, which is pretty funny. I took this video several weeks ago of her demonstrating this skill. I'm not sure where her pants were this day...

14 months old!

In honor of Kathryn now being 14 months old, and in the spirit of a happier post, here is a little update on what Kathryn is up to now. She loves talking on the phone. So, we went and found our old cell phones, charged them, and let her go at it. She loves pushing the buttons, and is amazingly good at finding random things on the phones, including the ringtones and going through them all to hear all the different ones.
She loves climbing the stairs, and keeps us busy keeping an eye on that. We finally got a baby gate to put at the bottom of the stairs too, but we occasionally let her go for it while we watch her.

She's very good at praying. She's demonstrating here how she folds her hands so sweetly to pray.



She's also picked up a few more signs, including "book", "hot", and "water". However, she kind of makes up her own signs for these, as she can't do them very well (especially for "hot" and "water"). She also has a few words that we're pretty sure she can say. They are "shoes", "hi", "cheese", and "keys". She loves watching for daddy at the door in the afternoons for him to get home from work, and just laughs as soon as she sees him walk up to the porch. She still amazes us at how much she eats. The other day I made a can of chicken noodle soup for lunch, and we split it equally...she ate half, and I ate half. That's a full adult serving she put away! She eats almost anything now, but has unique tastes for a child her age. She doesn't really like grilled cheese or mac and cheese, but loves spaghetti with the sauce, things made with peppers or onions, and dill pickles. When she was at the doctors on Tuesday, she said she could see her gums are swollen, so she's working on getting her one-year molars. She's also quickly becoming a toddler, asserting her will all throughout the day. Our job as parents has become more challenging as we seek to guide and direct with godly principles in this new stage. She continues to be such a joy in our lives, and we are enthralled by her. We are so thankful that God chose us to be the parents of the most amazing little girl in the world!!

the verdict...

First of all, thank you for "listening" to my whining about being up all night and the sickness. And mostly thanks for your prayers. I tend to get a little grumpy and panicky when I haven't had enough sleep, and sleep sure has been hard to come by in our house recently. So, Johnny went to the doctor first today, and has a sinus infection. Then he took Kathryn to the doctor, and I met them there to find out she has a double ear infection. So, both are on antibiotics and various other meds to try to help them get better. As far as me? Well, I'm not dying yet, and I don't really know that going to the doctor will do much for me, since I can't really take any medicine anyway. They'll probably just tell me to do what I'm doing, so I'm trying to just have a good attitude (not doing a very good job most of the time, though, to be honest!) and trust in God's strength. I am so ready for health to come to our family! Thanks again for all your prayers...keep them coming! (Especially prayers right now for sleep....)

sick...

I have so many posts I want to do with lots of cute pictures and videos, but before I do that, I need some time and need to send out an s.o.s. Yes, it's 2:38 in the morning, and yes, we've pretty much been up all night with Kathryn. She's been battling a cold for a few days, but it's been pretty bad at night. Of course, tomorrow (well, today, really) is the one day I have to work that can't really be changed, so running to the doctors first thing in the morning, as early as they'll let me make the appointment, then going to work hanging out with middle schoolers, while on practically no sleep for at least the third night in a row, while pregnant in my first trimester, and at the same time fighting a cold myself....well, it doesn't make for a fun-sounding day. Please pray for us tomorrow/today (Tuesday). We've all been sick over the weekend with this cold, and we need strength! It seems like Kathryn has been sick on and off practically since we found out we were pregnant! Ok, enough of the complaining...that's not why people check in on this blog. Just had to vent. I'm headed back upstairs to hopefully get some sleep for the rest of the night, and I promise the next post will be happier!

Happy Birthday [yesterday] Jenny!!!

Happy birthday yesterday to our dear friend, Jenny, aka, J-Rob. Here she is pictured this past New Years on the left with our friend Naomi. Jenny, you are such a blessing to so many...we love you so much and pray that you were blessed yesterday!

Kathryn's friend, Sarah

Kathryn was so excited last week to have her friend Sarah come over and play for a few hours. They had lots of fun together, and although Kathryn was not motivated enough to walk by the end of the day, they played very well together. Sarah was born just over 2 months before Kathryn, and goes to the same church, so they've kind of grown up together.
Giving hugs.


They like each other!

Don't miss them!

Because of the last post about the new baby, I'm afraid a couple of posts about Kathryn with some cute pictures may have gotten pushed down off the page. Don't forget to scroll down and see them. There are some funny pictures of our silly girl! And thanks for all the comments about Baby #2! I will be 10 weeks tomorrow, so only 2 more weeks in the first trimester! I'll post some more updates with some more pictures very soon, so check back in a few days for more fun! And thanks for keeping up with us through our blog!

Two under 2...

Yep, the rumors are true...we're expecting! Kathryn, at just 13 months of age, is a proud big sister! She is already excited, as she absolutely loves babies. Whenever we ask her where the baby is, she'll point to my stomach and then give it a hug. She also loves to give the ultrasound picture a kiss and hug. I'm just hoping that she'll still feel the same way when the baby is actually here and steals some of her thunder! I'm sure she'll be a great big sister!

I am currently 9 weeks along, which means the baby is due September 20th. We're hoping it cooperates with the UVA football schedule and doesn't come on a weekend of a home game! :) The two kids will be about 20 months apart. We were quite surprised by the news, but are also excited for God's plan for our lives and how He is working in our family. So, thanks for sharing in our exciting news, and we'll be sure to keep you updated on this new little one too!

Valentine's Day

So, as some of you may know, I'm not a terribly romantic-holiday kinda girl. Valentine's day is ok, but I'd much rather receive flowers on a random day than on a day when it's "expected." So, Johnny and I aren't all about big elaborate Valentine's gifts. We spent the evening together as a family, and went out to eat so I didn't have to cook. (He surprised me with flowers last week, which was great!!!) He did, however, get me this card, and I just had to share. If you don't know the story, Johnny proposed to me in Paris, in a scene almost identical to the one on the card. I at first wondered if he somehow had the card specially made. We were on a park bench, surrounded by trees, underneath the Eiffel Tower on a beautiful August evening. Johnny is usually very good at picking out great cards, but this has to be one of the best ever. Happy (belated) Valentine's day to you all!!

slippers

Today was a chilly day and our feet were cold, so we put on our slippers to keep our toes toasty. Mine aren't quite as cute as Kathryn's, though... :)
Such a big girl! Am I cute or what?

fun with feet

Kathryn likes to put things on her feet.

All animals say "woof"

Kathryn is very interested in animals lately. The only problem is, any time she sees any kind of animal (real or in a picture), she barks at them. Dog, cat, horse, cow, duck, panda bear...they all bark.

So, to accompany her goofy animal sounds association is a goofy picture I took of her the other day when she woke up from her nap. She moves around so much when she sleeps that she often wakes up with crazy hair like this, and I love it!

Duck Head, Happy Birthday, and sick update

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY yesterday to Lindsay, a great sister-in-law and aunt to Kathryn! We are so blessed to have you in our family!!!

And since a post isn't a post, here is a little bath-time fun we had a while back.
Finally, Kathryn went to the doctor again today because she woke up this morning with a rash. The doctor said it is possible Roseola, a common childhood virus that has a high fever for 3-5 days and a rash at the end. Her fever has been lower today (just a low-grade temp), but still not 100% better. The doctor also said that her ear looks great, and it may not have been an ear infection after all (but maybe it was). Either way, she said to stop the antibiotics since her ear looked better and she had a rash, in case the rash was an allergic reaction to the meds (although it wasn't an allergy-looking rash). Anyways, that's our latest and greatest. I am looking forward to when our little girl is feeling completely better! Hopefully tomorrow will be that day!

What Kathryn can do...

The following posts are three short videos (about 30 seconds each) showcasing a few of Kathryn's latest tricks. She continues to learn and grow so much! In her quest of experiencing new things, however, has come some not-so-pleasant experiences too, namely her first ear infection. I took her to the doctor yesterday after her fever got over 103 (although she wasn't acting like she felt bad), and sure enough, her ear is infected. She really scared me this morning when she woke up at 6a.m. with a burning fever of 104.8! After getting her fever down later on today, she appears to be feeling somewhat better. I am hoping that she can keep it down throughout the night tonight and will be on the mend by tomorrow. (I've definitely been able to tell she hasn't felt well today...lots of naps and fussing and clinginess.) So, enjoy the videos, in honor of her 13 month birthday coming up on Tuesday!

ABC's

When I sing the ABC's to Kathryn, I sign them. This is Kathryn trying to sign the ABC's like Mommy. :)

"Brush your teeth"

"Brush your hair"