Abi & Mikayla...

went on an exploration of the yard to discover all of the spring flowers popping up. Here are some pictures of their walk. I managed to take most of these pictures without them realizing it.

It was really cute to watch them walk together thru the yard and to see their excitement as they discovered each new 'batch' of flowers. I can only imagine the excitement when they actually bloom!

Bath time fun

Here are some pictures of Elaina's first tub bath... As you can see from the ones of her in the tub, she seemed pretty content! Greg and I were talking about how we remember other kids of ours screaming wildly during this process... so does that mean we are getting better? or she is just a more mellow child? I guess time will tell about that...

Of course Abi and Mikayla had to watch the bath. From the picture of Mikayla, you can see how neat she thought it was. You can barely see Abi in the background... she is so focused on Elaina.

The last two pictures are Elaina after bath (screaming) and the pre-bath nap (I was having issues with getting the pictures in order).

Some more pictures...

Great Moment... then slam!

Now that Elaina is nearly 2 weeks old and my body has seemingly fully recovered from the birthing experience... I decided it was time to get back on some sort of 'real' exercise routine. By 'real' I mean actually doing some sort of structured exercise.

I decided to go back to the Wii fit. I realize that it is not the perfect tool for exercise, I feel that it is certainly better than nothing! :) To all those out there that can climb on a machine and run or walk for miles at a time... good for you! For those that have the ambition and desire to run for miles outside, you amaze me! I just do not have the attention span for that kind of exercise. I really find it all kind of boring!

At any rate, I stepped onto the Wii for my first 'body test' in several months. Part of the Wii body test is to determine your weight and then a couple of other body control tests. Admittedly, I was a little nervous about the weight portion. While I haven't really ever been a numbers person or a weight worry person, this pregnancy I exceeded a 'certain number' that did not make me all too happy... It was a strange feeling for me. I wasn't sure if I was upset because I was hormonal (really an excuse that is overused) or if it solidified my need to make better choices in life regarding diet and exercise. As the saying goes... "I'm not getting any younger." :)

When the verdict was in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have lost all of my pregnancy weight and then a little bit more (stressing on the _little_ part). But I'll take it! I have been feeling good too... having those 'skinny' moments that make the mind feel good. I'm sure that most of that has to do with perception. After all for the past few months, I have had a rather round protruding abdomen (even though several people said I looked small...). It does stand to reason that I'd feel skinny after that! :) but again, I'll take it!

So you have heard the 'great moments' part... wondering where the slam comes in?

Here enters Abi.

Abi and Mikayla were supposed to be asleep in their beds for nearly an hour... They came downstairs to make 'small talk' is what Abi's exact words were. I told her 'Goodnight'... and she started to ask some questions. Then with a serious face, she looks at me and says "It looks like you are still pregnant." So matter of fact... OUCH! Just like that, my great moment was gone.

Lost Tooth!

Abi had a milestone of her own this past week. Abi lost her first tooth!! She has been waiting for this moment for some time. A few of her friends have lost some teeth and she was anxious to join the ranks. ;)

The tooth finally came out in the middle of the night... She was SO grown up about telling me about it too. I could see the turmoil in her voice at 2:15 am when she came in to tell me. She was clearly struggling between her excitement for losing her tooth and wanting to share that with me against the concern that I was sleeping and how she knew I needed sleep when I could get it with a new baby around. I am REALLY glad she woke me up though. I would have been sad for her to experience this moment by herself.

Baby Bouquets

Pink elephant flowers
Ducky dish garden

Cookie bouquet

Many faces of Mikayla

Mikayla is falling into the footsteps of her older sister and enjoying photography. She often picks up the camera and takes pictures of whatever suits her fancy. She also likes to be on the otherside of the camera with her funny poses. Here is one of our photo sessions. ;)

Silly face!

Sad face

Not sure...


Happy face!

Different photo session, but LOVE this picture!

Snow Fun

This past Saturday, we had little to no snow in our yard to really speak of. We had 2 mounds of snow where Greg had blown the snow as snow caves and sledding hills for the girls, but otherwise... we had a swampland in our backyard.


These pictures below are from what fell all thru the day Sunday and Sunday night.

Notice the height of the snow... Up to Abi's midthigh

Notice the snow compared to the snowblower!

Elaina Nicole

It seems I was on a role about the blog... that sure came to a screeching halt! :)


I suppose in all actuality, it really has only been about 2 weeks since I posted and compared to the lack of frequency to a few months ago...


I do have a justified reason in not posting. The birth of our beautiful, 3rd little girl!

Elaina Nicole came into our world on March 2, 2011 at 11:04 am. Elaina weighed 7 pounds 13 and 1/4 ounces at birth and measured 21 inches long. While I admit that I am not an unbiased source, Elaina is quite beautiful! She looks like Mikayla did at birth, from what my memory tells me, except that she has reddish brown hair rather than brown hair.

Here are a few pictures of the little angel...