Snow Day

Yeah, a snow day!!!! Last night is snowed! A whopping 2 inches, but as a child, it is more than enough snow to whine and beg and plead your mother allll day to go outside and play in. So, alas, I finally gave in and sent them out with their father! Hee-hee. Anyway, I went out long enough to sneak a few pictures. The first is Grace attempting so throw snow on me. The next two are Gabe and Grace making snow angels, which Grace has somehow confused with snow balls and calls them angel balls! I am working on getting her corrected.

These are some recent pictures of Abby. I can't believe how fast she is growing! She is so close to walking. Soon she will classify as my toddler and not my baby. I take that back she will always be my baby! In the first picture she is yelling at her sister. Abby is very protective of her food, as her sister is so skilled at removing it from her tray. The second picture shows her delight in the fact that her sister was firmly reprimanded. Yes, the rivalry has begun. And the last is her being sweet. (It also shows how long her hair is getting.) Just, a quick update, we took Abby to a chiropractor that is also a neurologist, to have him check out her eyes. As we suspected, he felt the shaking was probably a result from having her ears pierced. If only someone would warn a parent before they go out and damage their own kid!! Anyway, he told us it is her left eye that is having problems. It is the one that tends to cross and is sending the wrong messages to her left cerebellum. (Forgive my idiot attempts at repeating "doctor" terms.) So, he feels that if we place a patch on the right eye and stimulate the left with a pen light, for 15 minutes a day, this will retrain the brain to fire correctly. The good news is that this can hopefully be corrected. It is still a wait-and-see situation. And we won't know until she is older as to how much vision has been compromised. I am still strongly believing all will be right and she is on her way to being healed. But please keep her in prayer when you think about it. And if this has left you even more confused, feel free to call me and I can explain it better...I hope.

One last picture. When Grace was just a baby she used to always "sniff" at us. It was so adorable and her little nose would almost come to a point. As she got older the "sniffing" became less, until she just outgrew it. Well the other day in the tub while being silly for the camera, she spontaneously "sniffed" once more. So here's to reminiscing all the baby days gone by.

Well that's it for this post I promise. This ought to temporarily silence all the "update your blog" cries. And I do apologize for all the sentimental "mommy" stuff. But hey I'm a mommy, that's my job. If I don't brag, who will? Oh yeah.....Grandma!

Alivia

This is my little "niecey", Alivia. Her mommy, Alecia, recently sent me this picture and I just love it! It so represents her personality. She is so sweet, and happy, and just so beautiful. Alivia is about 2 months younger than Abby, and I am looking forward to watching the two become good friends/cousins, just like Gabe and Andrew. "Your aunite loves you Alivia."

Elijah Brockl

Don't worry, this little guy is NOT ours! This is Elijah Alexander Brockl, born to our friends Chris and Anne Brockl, on January 16th, at 7 lbs., 3 oz, and 20 inches. Elijahs arrival rounds out the family, as he brings a new dimension as their first boy, preceded by Anabelle (3), and Sofia (almost 2). We are so happy for them! Every child such a blessing from God. And there's nothing like having a new baby in the house, that makes you feel so euphoric! Or is that the massive sleep deprivation!

The Real Us

Okay, on my last update I posted photos of my picture perfect family. This time I figured I'd give you a glimpse of what life really looks like around here. This is Clint and Grace taking a picture of themselves. When daddy revealed the self-taken "portrait" to Gracie she was thrilled to see her nosey and daddy's nosey!



This is Grace. Everyday, all about the drama, Grace. We have been potty training (and I might add we are doing amazingly well Praise God Almighty!) and this was after church on Christmas. We told Gracie she had to go in and go potty before we went to Grandma's house to open presents. This was not the "princess' " plan and so she did what the "princess" does when life does not go according to the plan. Unfortunately for Grace, her mommy is a former "princess" so all attempts at manipulation are lost on mom. Mommy just takes advantage of photographic blackmail opportunities.

This is my son. I love him soooo much because, like his father, he keeps me laughing! He is really into the whole superhero thing and received spy glasses, as part of a kit, for a Christmas present. Of course he never wants to take them off and asks to sleep in them. So here he is brushing his teeth in his tightey-whiteys and super-spy-kid glasses, before he goes off to bed and dreams of saving the world. (Again, a example of mom and the whole photographic blackmail!) What fun it will be when they date. :)

Cute Kids

I (Jennifer) just happened to capture some cute pics of the kids today and thought I would pass them along. It's not everyday that you capture the moment with all three of them. So I figure we better update the blog while I happen to have decent pictures of my kids to show off.

Abby is 10 1/2 months old now. She is crawling all over the house and pulling herself up as high as she can onto anything she can. ESPECIALLY if there is food involved. She actually ate more chicken nuggets than her older siblings the other night. Mommy thinks she is looking more and more like her daddy everyday.



Grace is 2 1/2 and well on her way to 14 years old !!! She is all about the drama. We are finally making some headway on the potty training. She is more than willing to poo-poo on the potty for a piece of chocolate or a sucker. As you can tell by the gorgeous smile she has inherited her mommy's ability to melt her daddy's heart. Just the other day she asked her hard working daddy a question. She said " Daddy....uhm...daddy....uhm, dadddddyyyyyyyyy. Daddy where do live at? " and he said "with you of course sweety". She then replied " Do you live at your work?"
You could smell the melting heart from across the room.
Clint works 60 or more hours a week and he really misses his babies.

Gabe is 4 1/2 years old. He already knows EVERYTHING so don't bother telling him ANYTHING.

His father and I have considered having his name legally changed to Lynn Allen but that name was already taken. That's too bad cause it fits...
I guess he will have to stick with Gabriel.

I am really looking forward to kindergarten this fall. I think his sisters are eager for him to be out of the house part of the day just so they can have a few "torment free" hours

What is it with boys making girls squeal? Must be genetic.

All joking aside, in glancing at my children, I truly am a blessed mother and feel priveledged that God chose me to raise them.