38 Weeks.

How far Along:  38 weeks, 1 day.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  -5.
Maternity clothes:  All maternity clothes
Best Moment this week:  I told Tenley this morning that tomorrow she's going to get to go with us to my appointment to check on baby!  I explained how she would hear the heartbeat.  She said "And then baby come out??"  I wish sweet girl.  I said, "No, not yet- but soon.  Tomorrow you'll just hear the baby."  She started crying and said "no...baby come out now please!!"  We have mutual feelings about this.
Movement:  Lots of movements, fewer rolls since baby is running out of room.
Food Craving:  Ice.
What I miss:  Being comfortable.
Sleep:  Never consistent, I'm usually up around 4am for an hour or two.
Symptoms: Still lots of heartburn.
Size of Baby:  Pumpkin!
Doctor's Update: Last Wednesday morning we went to the hospital with consistent contractions and mostly because I wasn't feeling the baby move.  We were monitored for awhile and after knowing that everything was just fine, they checked me.  At my appointment last Tuesday I was 1 cm dilated.  At the hospital on Wednesday I was 3!  So progress was definitely made.  The contractions have stopped though for the most part, so tomorrow at my appointment I'm not sure if there will be much progress.  I'm hoping for some!  We are definitely ready to welcome our sweet little one into our family!

Hi.  Still here.  Still pregnant.  We went to the hospital Wednesday morning with contractions.  I had been up since 4:30 with contractions pretty consistently every 10 minutes for about two hours.  Better safe than sorry so we went despite the fact that I kept saying "they are just going to send me home".  I'm glad we ended up going, we were only there for a couple hours, but after they checked me we found out that I'm not at 3 cm!  I progressed 2 cm overnight!  Now I'm kind of at a standstill.  I'm having random contractions, but nothing strong.  I know I could walk around for weeks at 3 cm so I'm trying to get my mind off of when this baby will come!  Yesterday I did some nesting.  Cleaned out the fridge, freezer and pantry.  I made some breakfast burritos to freeze for the mornings, made two dinners to get us through the rest of this week and cleaned the house.  I was successful at getting my mind off of the delivery, but I woke up this morning around 4am wondering when it would happen again!  All in God's perfect timing I keep telling myself.  And ideally, I would like to make it past the 7th since that's our Christmas Banquet for work that I plan.  So the 8th would be great :)

Tenley seems to be adjusting well and realizing that there is a change coming.  We have the carseat in the car and she had a lot of questions about that at first!  We went from arguing that it wasn't "hers" anymore to now she's begging that the baby would come and sit by her.  Progress!  She'll be a great big sister.

I go back to the doctor on Tuesday and we'll see if I've made any more progress.  I'm trying to think that I haven't in my mind, so that I'm not disappointed.  We are just ready to meet this little one!

Maternity Pictures!

I have to be honest, I've never been a big fan of maternity pictures.  Something about them always seems so awkward to me.  But, I knew I would regret not getting them this time around because I wanted to remember Tenley at this age while I am pregnant.  So we headed out this past weekend with our beautiful photographer, Lindsey.  If anyone can make me appreciate maternity pictures, it's Lindsey.  She did such a great job.  Here's our sneak peek!

I love them and am so excited to display a few in the house!  Before we know it, baby #2 will be here!  I'm 35 weeks now and feeling more sore than ever!  Baby is ready to make an appearance!  We would love for you to continue to pray for the health of our baby and the changes that this will bring to our family, especially Tenley!

 I can't explain to you how happy I am that we were able to capture these moments with Tenley.  I realized this morning as I was looking through her 2 year pictures that her world is about to change so dramatically with the birth of baby #2.  These precious moments with just our sweet girl are something we treasure.  We know that this new addition will make our family feel more complete, we've always dreamed of having two children.  But we've definitely enjoyed the last two years with just Tenley as well!  Thank you to Lindsey Mast of Lindsey Marie Photography for capturing every expression!

31 Weeks

How far Along:  31 weeks, 1 day.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  -4.
Maternity clothes:  All maternity clothes
Best Moment this week:  Last week we were able to see our little one with an ultrasound.
Movement:  BIG movements and rolls!  We have another active little one!
Food Craving:  Slushies.
What I miss:  SLEEP.
Sleep:  Comes in waves.  I'm very, very sore, so changing positions at night is awful but necessary.
Symptoms: Lots of heartburn.
Size of Baby:  Pineapple!
Doctor's Update: Everything looks great and our due date of December 16th looks to be pretty accurate from what I've been measuring.

30 week Update

Good Morning!  I can't even begin to believe that I'm at 30 weeks...almost 31.  This pregnancy continues to go faster than I would like!  I look at Tenley sometimes and think "oh sweet girl, your world is about to be rocked."  But I know she'll handle the change with ease.  She's already handled several moves so well.  I know she adapts well.  We've been asking her if she wants a brother or sister and up until yesterday she said "No." to both.  But yesterday she smiled big and said "a sister!"  So that's her vote.  Of course Daddy is still holding out for a boy, but really we're just happy to add a healthy child to our family.  Whatever gender that might be!  Do you have any guesses?

I had an appointment and ultrasound yesterday.  I had to have another ultrasound, because I continue to lose weight.  They wanted to make sure that baby was growing appropriately.  I was never concerned until I sat in the waiting room thinking about all the possibilities.  But God's will prevails - always.  Everything checked out great.  Baby is approximately 3 lbs. which is slightly above average for this point in my pregnancy.  The Dr. said if she had to guess she would say we are NOT going to have another 9 lb. baby!  That was music to my ears.  But I know that there is no way of really knowing that.  So I won't hold my breath!  It was amazing to see our little one moving around during the ultrasound while feeling every movement and kick.  I'd never had an ultrasound this late in a pregnancy before, so it was so interesting.  We could even see some hair!  Tenley wasn't born with much hair, but from the looks of it this baby has more!

We're still looking at a due date of December 16th.  So this Christmas baby will be here before we know it! Thank you for your continued prayers as our family grows!

Growing!

Oh how I'm growing.  I woke up this morning and text Mike saying "Holy cow!  I grew overnight!"  I have a very limited wardrobe of fall/winter maternity clothes.  Tenley was born in September, and it never got cool. So I have all summer items.  So I'm having to get a little creative with my normal clothes as temperatures dipped into the low 40s this morning.

I had my 27 week appointment yesterday.  Heartbeat is in the 150s and everything looks great.  I'm measuring right on schedule.  I had my glucose test yesterday long with more check ups of my thyroid (there had been some irregular levels in the beginning of the pregnancy, but they seem to have leveled off, so we check them every few weeks).  I will get all those results back this week sometime.  I do have to go back in 3 weeks for another ultrasound.  I'm continuing to lose weight, so they want to make sure that baby is still growing appropriately.  The doctor isn't concerned since I also lost weight with Tenley (and she had no problem growing to a whopping 9 lbs!) and I'm measuring on track.  But any time we can do a medically necessary ultrasound and have insurance pay for it, I'm in!  I'm excited to see baby again!  He/She will be much bigger this time around!  I'll be 30 weeks then, so after that appointment we'll start going to the doctor every two weeks.  Yikes!  That means I'm rounding third!  This pregnancy has gone so quickly.  I'm not quite ready to be a mom of two, but I know I'll love it when the time comes.

24 Weeks.

How far Along:  24 weeks, 3 days.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  -5
Maternity clothes:  All maternity clothes except for some gym shorts and t-shirts.
Best Moment this week:  Hearing the heartbeat!
Movement:  Movements are getting much stronger.  Mike can now feel everything too.
Food Craving:  slushies, grapes
What I miss:  Energy.
Sleep:  Besides the nightly trips to the bathroom, I haven't been sleeping too poorly.  We've been exhausted from projects around the house, so that helps.
Symptoms: Belly is getting bigger!
Size of Baby:  Cantaloupe!  
Doctor's Update:  I had a checkup yesterday and everything looks great!  Heartbeat is at 143 and my blood pressure was actually low this time!  Quite the change from always being high.  Nothing to worry about.  I go back in three weeks for my glucose test and for another check of my thyroid.  Baby is growing big and strong, and most importantly is HEALTHY!

Storms

I'm skipping the 20 week pregnancy post today.  Yes, I'm half way.  Yes, it should be a big milestone.  But, nothing has changed since last week - baby is now the size of a banana.  My ultrasound is on Thursday, so I'll have more to share then!

For now, my heart is in a different place.  We had a nice little thunderstorm this morning, which made me stay in bed just a few minutes longer than normal.  I begged with the thunder to keep just a tad quieter as to not wake Tenley.  These were purely selfish motives, as I was not ready to get out from beneath the covers and get ready for work.  When I finally did give in to the alarm clock and after I dropped Tenley off at the sitter, I was driving to work to see a gorgeous sight.  I looked in my rearview mirror to see the dark storm clouds.  My back window was wet with the rain and it was tough to see through.  But as I looked ahead in the direction I was driving, I saw bright blue sky!  I couldn't help but smile thinking about how God has been working in my life and how this was such a great metaphor for my life in general.  So many times I've wanted to drive out of the dark places I was in, straight out of the storm.  When you're in the depths of the storm, you can never quite see the light- but you know it's there.  Today- I saw it.  In the form of a bright blue sky that held so many promises for the future.  Whether that be in the form of Baby #2, or rekindling relationships, success in jobs, or a brighter future with our Savior.  My mind raced back to all of the times that I was STUCK in that storm of dark clouds.  When Nick died, choices I made through college, bad decisions, etc. Where are you Lord?! I remember screaming.  He was right there all along, just on the other side of the clouds- calling out my name for me to run to him.  Run to the light.  I smiled driving into the light and leaving the past, the worry, the storms behind.  Today is a new day.  I don't know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future.

19 weeks.

How far Along:  19 weeks, 3 days.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Well I'm sure I've gained a little, because I haven't been getting sick quite as often.  We'll find out at the next doctor's appointment.
Maternity clothes:  I'm in all maternity pants now.
Best Moment this week:  a stranger noticed I was pregnant :)
Movement:  Still haven't felt any movements since early on when I thought I was feeling something!  I'm waiting for the obvious ones!
Food Craving:  chips and salsa
What I miss:  Energy.
Sleep:  I've always tossed and turned a lot, but definitely more than normal now.
Symptoms:  I told Mike that I think I've hit a weird point in my pregnancy that I just don't feel very pregnant because I don't have all that many symptoms.  *same as last time.
Doctor's Update:  Just one week and one day til our ultrasound!!  Can't wait to see our sweet little baby!  He or she is the size of a mango right now :)

Here's what was happening with Tenley at 17 weeks:
How Far Along: 16 weeks, 6 days.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still at -15. Haven't gained anything.
Maternity Clothes: Still don't need them.
Best Moment this week: Work has finally slowed down, so now I'm finally getting a little break and am able to take care of myself better!
Gender: still not going to find out :) 
Movement: None. I'm hoping in the next couple weeks I should feel something!
Food Craving: None, I'm still getting sick every few days, so I have been really trying to be careful with what I'm eating.
What I miss: feeling like myself.
Sleep: I get up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom. Ugh.
What I am looking forward to: Our appt on the 27th!! It's the first appt Mike will be able to be at. And we will get to finally see the baby again!
Belly Button: In.
Symptoms: I still get sick every few days, but that's an improvement. I finally have some energy back on the days that I'm feeling better.
Doctor's Update: Haven't had an appt in a few weeks - next one is on the 27th. Can't wait!!

Here's what's going on with Baby #2 at 17 weeks!
How far Along:  17 weeks, 3 days.
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I honestly don't know.  I had lost at my last doctor's appointment.
Maternity clothes:  Starting wearing some shorts and a couple tops, more out of comfort than necessity.
Best Moment this week:  I'm starting to tell I'm pregnant a little bit.  I can see a little bump.  Mike thought this morning that I popped a little bit.
Movement:  I really thought that I had been feeling the flutters of the baby, but I haven't felt anything in weeks, so I'm thinking I was imagining it or it was just gas :)  Oops.  We'll call it wishful thinking.
Food Craving:  Still popsicles.
What I miss:  I've been very tired the last few days.  Barely making it through the afternoon.  I'm ready for some good sleep and more energy.
Sleep:  Just this week I've started getting up once at night to go to the bathroom.  I toss and turn more than normal too.
Symptoms:  I told Mike that I think I've hit a weird point in my pregnancy that I just don't feel very pregnant because I don't have all that many symptoms.
Doctor's Update:  Next appointment is August 2nd for our ultrasound!  No we won't be finding out what we're having, but we can't wait to see baby #2 up close and personal!!

15 Weeks (almost..)

I went back and looked at my pregnancy journal from when I was pregnant with Tenley.  It's so interesting to read now!  This is what was happening at 15 weeks pregnant with Tenley:

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 15 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: -15 due to morning sicknessness

Maternity Clothes: I have bought some, but don't have a need for them yet.

Best Moment this week: Hearing baby Marshall's heartbeat!! Four weeks is so long to go without hearing it!!

Gender: We have the opportunity to find out in about 4 1/2 weeks, but we're not going to.

Movement: Little cute flutters!  I'm feeling these much earlier than I ever did with Tenley!

Food Craving: In the last few weeks I've craved Bob Evans Sausage Biscuits. Wierd I know, but it's all I ate for about a week. Lately, I haven't had many cravings.

What I miss: Sleeping through the night!

Sleep: I fall asleep quickly (which is a change for me) and sleep well until about 3am, but then I can't go back to sleep til about 6 or 7am.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling better and getting som energy back! I'm also looking forward to my next appointment.

Belly Button: In. 

Symptoms: Just Tired! Still getting sick every now and then, but it's getting better.

Doctor's Update: My doctor said at my last appointment that I look great (big change from the last time she saw me when I was fighting back sickness in her office) and that I'm measuring just right and the heartbeat is right on track! Everything is great!

I'll be 15 weeks on Monday, so we're at just about the same point.  Here's some differences:

How far along:  14 weeks, 3 days.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  0.

Maternity Clothes:  I've been wearing my maternity capris and shorts because they are more comfortable :)  Not too much need for them at this point, but some work pants are getting a little tight. 

Best Moment this Week:  Watching Tenley point to my stomach and say "baby!" and give him or her a kiss!

Gender:  We won't find out.  Best surprise ever! :)

Movement:  None yet.

Food Craving:  I had to laugh at my craving from my last pregnancy.  This time it's just popsicles and fruit.  I loved this last time too - I think it has something to do with it being summer and 95 degrees!

What I miss:  I really am doing pretty well.  Not a whole lot of sleepless nights yet.

Sleep:  I'm pretty tired when I get to bed so I haven't had any problem with sleep.  Every now and then I'll wake up early and be uncomfortable but I'll eventually go back to sleep.

Belly Button:  In.

Symptoms:  I've been tired.  I'm not really a nap person, but I'm finding I need a nap during T's afternoon nap lately.  I've gotten sick a handful of times but it's NO WHERE NEAR as bad as it was with T.  Thank goodness!  I'm not sure how I could have been that sick and chase a toddler around!  I have been getting heartburn already though.  My TUMS supply is increasing.

Doctor's Update:  My next appointment is on Tuesday, but my last appointment went well.  We heard the heartbeat, my blood pressure is perfect (what a relief!), and I'm measuring on track for December 16th, although because of how big Tenley was (9 lbs.) we will probably be looking at an earlier due date unless my body cooperates and I go into labor on my own, which is something I would really love!

We have some News..

In December we are welcoming a new addition to the Marshall Family!  We will be a family of FOUR!  While this wasn't exactly in our plans, we know that God's plans for us are for better than what we could ever imagine.  We are excited to complete our family with this little one!

We will not be finding out what we're having again this time.  We loved being surprised with Tenley and plan to be surprised again.  While of course Mike is secretly hoping for a boy - we will be thrilled to just have a happy, healthy little bundle.

I'm currently 14 weeks along and I've been sick a handful of times.  But if you remember how sick I was with Tenley- you'll be grateful that it's not that bad this time!  I've been tired, but chasing after a toddler while pregnant will do that to you.  I can feel things stretching and changing a little earlier this time than I did with Tenley.  My hips are a little sore already.  Our next appointment is next Tuesday and we look forward to hearing that little heartbeat again!

New Adventure.

I was hesitant to write about this, because once I started thinking about the reasons why I was hesitant I realized it's because of a fear of failure.  I'm worried I will let you down.  I'll let myself down.  But I decided that I need the accountability more than I need the fear.  So.... I started a new goal this week.  I've started running.  I'll wait for you to pick yourself up off the floor.  Yes, running.  Now let me be honest - I really can't stand running.  I've never been a runner.  This picture actually sums up how I feel about it.

But, there's this program called Couch to 5k.  It's for beginners and it starts you off slow.  It's a 9 week program and by the end of it I'll be running a 5k.  You run every other day, so that works out well for me so far.  I've only done one night of running. I started on Monday.  I thought it was pretty easy, but I was very aware of my body yelling at me "Hey!?  We don't run!!"  :)  I am not too sore, I stretched really well afterwards, because I knew if If was overly sore I wouldn't want to run on day #2.  So tonight will be my second time, and I'm strangely looking forward to it.  I want to prove to myself that I can do it and maybe along the way I'll develop a liking to running.  A love might be a stretch.

10 Lessons I want our Kids to Learn.

I saw a list on Pinterest of things that we should want our children to learn from us- my husband and I.  I decided that it's something that I really want to remember, so I wanted to blog about it.  Here's a simple list of ten things that I want Tenley and our future child(ren) to learn from Mike and I.  I think during our next date night we're going to talk about these things- which ones we do well, which need some work, etc.  I love how we are constantly striving to make things better.

1. Affection: I want our children to see us holding hands, hugging, kissing, etc.  I want them to know what appropriate affection looks like.

2. Saying “I’m sorry”: I want to be quick to use this phrase and I want my kids to hear me say it.  

3. Affirmation: This isn't my primary love language so I have to work at dishing out compliments and affirming language.  But I want our kids to hear us tell them daily how proud we are of them, or what a good job they did, etc.

4. Attraction: Our children need to know that my husband is pretty good looking :)  And vice versa!

5. Time: I think it's a great message for our children to see us trying to spend time together- one on one.  Whether that means stealing time away to go sit on the deck, or go on date nights, take a walk, etc.

6. Laughter: We laugh a lot in our house.  I want my kids to see that and to know that we can always make each other laugh.

7. Respect: Simple signs of respect.  "please" and "thank you", opening doors for each other.

8. Faith conversations: I pray that our children hear us talk about Jesus constantly!  That they know He is just as much apart of our household as they are!  We have already begun to pray with Tenley not just during meals or bedtime, but before we leave for the sitter every day, before a trip, etc.

9. The value of friends: I want our house to be well worn from the traffic of friends in/out of our house. We love having people over and as Tenley gets older I want it to be a house for all of her friends as well.

10. Servanthood: Always asking, “How can I help? What do you need to make life better?” Serving one another is seen in the daily, little things and there’s many opportunities to serve locally and abroad.

New Pictures!

Finally!!  We finally got some great family pictures taken and also T's 18 month pictures!  Here's a sneak preview.  My amazing cousin Lindsey took them - I can't wait to go back to her in six months for Tenley's 2 year pictures!!  2!?  I don't even know how that's possible.  Our little bug is growing up!

This is a favorite.

Family

So fun!

Thank you Lindsey for the captured memories!  I can't wait to put them up at home.  Don't worry Great Grandparents- I'm hoping to get the cd from Lindsey in time to bring you some copies when we're in Florida!

The Effects of a Good Meal.

By now, I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you have heard and have visited the website phenomenon of Pinterest.  If you haven't, you're really missing out.  This might get you motivated to head over and check it out-don't be overwhelmed..just do it.  A lot of my new recipes lately have been coming from pinterest. We had one of my absolute favorites last night.  Here's a little background of how the day went...
I was off work yesterday so Tenley and I had a day to be productive at home!  I had laundry to do and I wanted to try out a new recipe.  I got everything going in the crockpot for Italian Chicken.  T had different plans though.  The crockpot was convienently placed on the counter just within her finger tips reach where she could move the dial from "Low" to "Off" in a simple little flip of the wrist.  More than once I went to check on my frozen chicken breasts only to find that the crockpot was OFF.  That little stinker.  I finally moved the crockpot to another counter and mentally added another hour to the cook time.  This is how the rest of our day went:  Whine Whine Whine Whine.  Mickey Mouse.  Coloring.  "No Tenley, you can't color on your high chair."  "No, mickey isn't on right now."  Scream.  Whine.  More whining.  I'll admit, I lost my cool more than once and had to walk away.  Are we nearing the terrible twos?!  There can just be so much attitude in such a sweet little girl (Grandparents, I know you're rolling your eyes not wanting to believe such things).  But it's true!  By dinner time she had me looking at the clock wondering how close we were to bed time.  With Daddy's help we got her settled down and in bed early.  I went to check on my great recipe and while it smelled delicious, it was just one of those days where I wanted to burst into tears and order a pizza instead.  But I knew I had to keep going.  So I made some egg noodles, shredded the chicken, and plated this meal:

Now I have to tell you, that I looked at Mike before we sat down to eat and I said, "This smells good, but I still just want pizza."  I felt defeated.  That beautiful little girl just got the best of me.  He grabbed my hand and sweetly said, "If this isn't good, we'll order pizza.  I promise."  I laugh about this statement now, because it was meant to be so nice and assuring- but now thinking about it I think he really thought this meal was going to be awful.  We both took a bite, looked at each other and exclaimed "It's good...really good!!"  And it was.  Sigh.  I relaxed knowing that even if the day didn't go as planned, at least SOMETHING still came together.  Something as simple as a crockpot meal.  To top it all off, Mike said after his second helping, "That was the best meal I've had in a long time."  I'm feeling less defeated now.  And I think I'll double this recipe next time. Here it is for you and here's hoping it has the same effect on your family!

Italian Crockpot Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)  *I only used one and I thought that was fine.

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day.  Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. 
If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

Baby

Here's a video that I forgot to post last time.  I love watching Tenley with her babies.  She loves to cover them up with her blankie and play peek-a-boo with them.  This is what she was doing when I caught it on video.  I've always known that I'm not cut out to be the mom of a toddler and a baby - so because of this and a variety other of reasons we don't plan on having another baby for quite some time!  It really stresses me out just to watch moms with kids close in age when they are little.  I'm sure it gets easier, but boy- it sure doesn't look fun to me.  Not to mention that I just love this stage so much, so I don't really want to share Tenley yet and risk missing anything.  But watching Tenley be so nurturing and fun with her baby makes me feel a little more at ease our plan isn't His plan.  Enjoy!

There's been lots of changes happening all around us lately!  To start, we had to find a new babysitter because Sarah (our old sitter) is expecting her 4th child in less than a month!  We are so excited for this new addition to their loving family, but this also meant that we needed to find a new sitter for Tenley.  We were lucky enough to find an Amish woman who babysits out of her home with her daughter.  She came with fantastic references and we know another child's family that goes there.  After we met with Miss Iva we thought it would be a great fit.  So Tenley has been there for three weeks now.  We had a rough go at it at first.  Switching sitters at this age is tough anyway, but it brought on some separation anxiety that we've never had to deal with before.  Tenley has always been VERY outgoing and will go to anyone at any time!  But now we see the "stranger danger" side!  While it's very flattering to know she would rather be with us, it's absolutely heartbreaking to have to leave her at the sitter, the church nursery, or even grandma and grandpa's when we know she's upset.  But today- after three weeks- we finally had a morning with NO TEARS!  I walked out the door after dropping her off and I wanted to celebrate!  But just that quick I thought, "aw...my little girl is growing up."  I suppose that's pretty normal.  During this time though, there's been other changes at home.  Mike has switched jobs - He's now working at Chore Time in Milford. He is really enjoying it and it's so amazing to us to see God's hand in getting him there.  He's truly been at work since the day we moved back to Nappanee.  

Here's a few things that Tenley has been up to in the past couple weeks!

Tenley had a playdate with Eli a couple weeks ago!  They played together great.  It's so much fun to watch them interact together now that they are getting older!  Tenley shared her book with Eli and he shared his juice! Ha.  

Here's a sweet picture I got of her on my phone the other day.  I love my days home with her!  I know that when she starts school I'm really going to miss those days.

In the mornings I usually let her watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on tv while I'm getting things ready for the day or picking up after breakfast.  She has never shown much interest in tv and is usually too busy to care!  But when Mickey comes on she gets so excited!  She loves to sit up on the couch like a big girl, or she will pull daddy's big Notre Dame pillow in front of the tv and lay down on it to watch.  We would love to take her to Disney World before she gets into school, so I'm glad that she'll be so excited to see Minnie and Mickey!

Sliden'

Tenley got a slide for Christmas and we got it out the other night.  She loved it!  Yesterday morning she ran right for it and wanted to slide some more!  Here's what I caught.

Update

Does anyone else feel like life is just really flying by!?  I had such a goal to keep this updated more, not only for grandparents in Florida, but also for myself- so I'll remember these milestones.  Hopefully I can keep up a little bit better than I have been.

We have had a very strange and mild winter here, but we finally got a big snow a couple weeks ago.  The first snow we got we took Tenley for a ride in her sled that she got from her Great Grandma Huber for Christmas.  We pulled her around the yard and she seemed to enjoy it...until she fell off.  That was the end of our snow adventure.  So with this last snow we thought we would try it again.  She did well for a little while, she seemed to enjoy walking in her boots.  Here's a picture of her in all her gear.  Cutest little snowboarder isn't she?  

But then when we tried to sit her down in the snow, she wouldn't have it!  She didn't want to touch the snow at all.  Isn't that funny?  We tried several times and finally decided that her incessant screaming wasn't going to stop any time soon, so we took her back inside.  Oh well, we'll keep trying!  

I want to remember all the funny moments that make Mike and I look at each other and think "Where does she come up with these things".  This was one of those moments... 

Silly girl!!!  She has a fascination with her nose lately.  She's always touching it or trying to blow it or sticking fingers in it!!  Hopefully this little fascination passes quickly! :)  

I'll try and get a new video of her up soon.  We just took one the other day of her dancing that is so funny!