Mmmmm Cheese!

Anabelle is finally able to branch out and try new foods and tonight it was shredded cheese. Sarabeth wants anything and everything I feed Anabelle, so she ate her fair share of cheese also. It got all over the kitchen and was falling out of the girls' clothes when I got them ready for bath time. Thank goodness for Maverick- our little garbage disposal!

The girls are both almost over their colds/croup (whatever it ended up being) but I have it now. I hoped that I dodged it this time, but not the case. I have it bad- stuffy nose, cough, headache. No wonder the girls were both so cranky last week! It's miserable! One of these days we'll all be healthy at the same time.

Anabelle's first taste of cheese

Sarabeth ate all of hers...and is pulling Anabelle's high chair closer to eat her sister's.

Cheese in the hair, eyelashes, and who knows where else!

Surprises in the eggs

Since Sunday, Sarabeth has been obsessed with the plastic Easter eggs. I've emptied them all of anything chocolate or sugary but have left them out for the girls to play with. Second mistake. My first mistake was that I actually put candy in them on Easter morning. Anyway, Sarabeth has taken to hiding things in the eggs, or "uggs" as she calls them. Most recently I found an egg in the kitchen with a piece of spiral pasta in it. I've found hair clips and cheerios, and remember this has just been since Sunday. I think it's time to put the "uggs" away until next year. What goodies will I find when I get them back out in 2009? There's no telling.

Sarabeth finding her goodies on Easter morning.

Anabelle is wondering where all the candy is (as far as I know, she didn't eat any!)

A busy few days.

Just when I'm looking forward to Easter at our house, the girls get sick. Anabelle had a check-up already scheduled on Good Friday but instead of it being a "well visit" it turned into a "sick visit." She had a fever of 101 by the time we got there. She apparently has croup which among other symptoms comes with a horrible cough. Sarabeth hardly ever gets sick, so I didn't bother to keep her away from Anabelle. We made it to church in the morning because Anabelle seemed much better. We tried a new church that we both really liked and were glad we spent Easter morning there. Josh's family came over in the afternoon and we had a wonderful dinner, but by the time everyone was leaving Sarabeth had a fever also. So, instead of one sick baby I now have 2. Yesterday they both just wanted to be held all day. Without mommy holding the other one. We ended up watching a lot of Dora with all 3 of us curled up on the couch. Anabelle isn't the best sleeper in general, but especiall when she's sick. She has been up 2 to 3 times a night since she's had this, so please help me pray that they recover from this quickly!

The sisters in purple

The Family is all well...

Things ended up being a little more serious with Maverick than I expected...we took him back to the vet the next day because he was howling in pain and could hardly move. After x-rays and steriods he seems to be much better. They think it had to do with the discs in his spine. Is that hereditary, because that's what is wrong with mine too!! :) That was a week ago. In the midst of all that Anabelle got a fever and a red-spotted rash all over her body while Lauren & Matt were here with Lucas. Two days after they left Lucas came down with the flu and he now has the red-spotted rash...nothin like sharing with family! Anyway, we're all better now. On a happier note, we're hosting Easter this year. We're so thankful to be in the new house and want to all we can to share it with friends and family and to glorify God for His wonderful blessings! Happy Easter!!

My Third Child

I had to take Maverick to the vet yesterday. If it's not one child going to the doctor, it's another. Since Josh is out of town, Sarabeth & Anabelle joined us. It was a circus! Poor Maverick is having trouble with either his back or his back legs. He can't walk up the stairs, and can't put any extra weight on his back legs. Usually he has his front paws on Sarabeth's chair the entire time she's eating to catch the crumbs so we knew something was wrong when he couldn't even do that. After a hefty vet bill, a shot for the pain (Maverick, not me!) and some doggy pain pills we came home. Yes, my dog is on pain pills. The vet thinks it's just a sprain of some kind, but if he's not better in a week or so they will do x-rays. I was trying to explain to Sarabeth that he's sick, so all day she's been walking around saying "Baba kick" (Baba is her name for Maverick). It's pretty cute!

Our little "Baba"

The Whole Gang ready for the zoo!

Sarabeth & the swans

Isaiah & Burke by the giraffes

Trip to the Zoo

We decided to have a cousins day at the zoo today. The Douglass family has been in town and we thought the kids would have fun going to the zoo with each other. Kerry & Isaiah met us there, so there were 6 kids and 3 moms. If it makes you tired thinking about that, it should. I'm exhausted. We had a really great time though and I'll guarantee you that everyone (kids and parents alike) will sleep well tonight! Sarabeth had a lot of fun and by the time we left, they were all the same to her. Elephants, monkeys, giraffes...whatever...they're all just big animals. Well, I'm off to the vet to take care of my 3rd child. Poor Maverick isn't himself. He's having a hard time getting around yesterday & today and can't walk up the stairs. I'm just praying it is nothing major!

Snow in March!

Only in Texas...yesterday it was sunny and warm enough that we sat outside and ate lunch. About 2 hours ago it started snowing and now it's snowing, raining and sleeting all at the same time. I took the girls outside to play in the snow for the first time after lunch today, and Sarabeth loved it. By that I mean she wanted nothing to do with the snow and stood under the covered part of the patio for 15 minutes. Anabelle & I were freezing (we don't really have "snow gear" seeing as we've lived in Houston for the past 4 years) and Sarabeth would have stayed out for hours! She was very unhappy with me when we came back inside. I took pictures on my phone, but don't know how to get them out of the phone. Check back to see if I figure it out and post any!

We celebrated Sarabeth's 2nd birthday on Saturday. The day got off to a rough start (which has become the norm lately), but we had fun anyway. She helped me decorate her cupcakes in the morning after a special pancake breakfast, and then her Nina & Papa came over for lunch and to eat the cupcakes she so carefully decorated. It was the perfect little birthday party. Not too much, but enough that she felt really special! Scroll all the way down the page and you'll find a slideshow of the birthday girl in action!!


On another note, we have pretty much all the boxes out of the house!! Not everything is put away yet but it's coming along. Another week or so and I think we'll be all set. More pictures to come when that happens!