<back to main menu

AUGUST 31, 2004
Sweet Bethie is saying "mamamamamamama"!!! She has no clue what she's saying, but she does like my reaction. If I recall correctly, Emily said dada first, so we're even for now. She's still a daddy's girl. She calls for him when she wakes at night and when I come to pick her up from daycare.

AUGUST 29, 2004
(Bethany 7 mo, Emily 2 years)
Michael is away at a concert. This is the first time that Michael has been away from his babies except for when they've been with grandma.  He has called several times and misses them so much. He's with a bunch of guys that just do whatever, whenever. It's not his style- he likes a schedule and wishes he was home taking advantage of the weather to pour our driveway!

The girls have already changed in the couple of days he has been gone. They change faster than the blink of an eye.  Bethany is crawling like a crazy kid. She can really get around now. She loves to chase the dog or just get over to a toy she wants. She can even crawl while holding a small toy in her hand.  Where there's a will, there's a way.  She is intrigued by the dog and tries to chase it down. The dog is still bigger than Bethie so it can get away pretty quickly when she comes rambling over.  This weekend she has been pulling up on chairs and tables too. Also, when she crawls, she'll stop and get on her hands and feet with her bottom up in the air. She can't figure out how to move when she's in that position. It's funny looking- what a silly girl.

Our friend Jessie came over to visit this weekend. The girls loved having her around. We went to McDonalds play place and spent a lot of time out in the yard enjoying the nice weather. Since Jessie was around, I had the chance to mow the yard and to take a much-needed nap.  Saturday night we had a singing night with lots of kids songs and actions. Bethie would laugh and Emily sang along as well as she could and would direct us which songs to sing next.

I think I forgot to mention that we took Emily in for her 2 year checkup. She's 3 feet tall and 30 pounds. That's the 90th percentile compared to kids her age in both areas.

Tonight I'm taking advantage of my babies' new-found ability to entertain themselves in the play zone by my office while I do payroll. I miss having Michael to help me get it done quickly.  Instead, it'll take me awhile and I'll probably stop a gazillion times to help the girls with something. Oh well..

We're getting new carpet upstairs. We wanted to wait until we had the basement work all paid off, but that darn Bethie started crawling too early!  We can't have her messing around on that terrible carpet up there. The girls will have their own special carpet for their rooms then we will have a different carpet in our room, living areas and down the stairs.

I started my MBA classes last week. I have 6 credit hours in 8 weeks, then 6 more to finish out the semester. Michael let me know that I was gone far too much with my crazy work schedule and the addition of these classes. I had to change my schedule to do a free elective study course in place of one of the required ones. It will set my completion date back, but there's no hurry anyway.  I'll be home more with my babies now (so Michael won't go quite so crazy).

AUGUST 22, 2004
My baby dolly Bethie is now 7 months old.  Tonight we got her on video crawling across the living room.  It's amazing- I swear Emily was just doing this! She's a drooly one. I wonder if she's working on some teeth?

We had a family cruise tonight in the TBird. Emily just loved the wind blowing in her hair. Bethany enjoyed chewing on the seat belt more.

Michael and my dad worked on our driveway this weekend. We'll have a place off the street for the TBird. It's so wonderful that it starts now. Michael did a great job fixing it.  As they worked on the drive, Jordyn played with the girls for the day.

Emily has been playing with her dolly as if she's a momma. She plays on the phone cute too. She says, "Is Greg there? Is Joni there? Is grandma there?"  She'll go through a whole list of family names.  She likes me to put pony tails in her hair. Then she'll say, "I cute" or "I pretty" as she strokes her hair and smiles. She says "I love you" to us a lot now and she gives kisses to us and to Bethie. We're still working on the potty thing. She asked to go potty a few times today. We practiced, but she didn't go. Hey, at least she's asking. She's awesome at telling us "change diaper". She even directs us when to put on the cream and powder.  I think she has the process down!

AUGUST 16, 2004
On Friday the 13th Bethany crawled for the first time. It was so amazing to see. Pam, the sitter, said that Bethany has been pulling up on things there too. I bet she is. She's a nosey one, so she has to see what the other kids are doing. She started dada and baba this weekend too.

Emily is spouting off in sentences.  Tonight I heard "I drive the car again" when we were playing in the T-bird. Michael worked on getting it in shape this last weekend. I was rollin' in my '64. We were just playing tonight though. The neighbors probably think we're weird.

My work has been far more than I can handle lately. I've had some health issues too. One involved a skin sample that they were to check for cancer, instead, they've managed to lose it. The doctor called me at home at 8:30pm just as Emily figured out how to turn on the treadmill. I yelled her name and dove for her. The phone went flying and hung up on him. Emily was just scared, but it had the doc worried. My extra worry with my doc stuff added to my work has been too much. I need a week just to sleep.  Instead I'm starting school next week and we're doing home updates to have our house reappraised.  Why do I do this to myself?

AUGUST 8, 2004

Here is our baby Emily turning two. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. We had a party at Pizza Hut in Great Bend so that more family would be able to attend. There were lots of grandmas and grandpas, other family members, and friends. It was a fun time. I think Emily liked playing with the balloons and sneaking frosting from her Dorothy the Dinosaur cake the best. Thanks to everyone for the presents and for coming to the party.

AUGUST 4, 2004

I'm sore. It's almost a year since I stopped regularly going to the YMCA. I thought it might be time to get going again. Michael has been working out too. It's handy to have our little home gym area.  That motivation has to be internal, though, no matter how convenient the circumstances.

It's amazing to sit and update my journal now. I'm looking at Michael's new far-too-expensive flat cinema screen monitor that bought "on sale" at the apple store while we were on vacation.  He snuck out and got it while I was in my meeting one day. He has been working hard to pay it off by doing freelance almost every night. Boys and their toys... He's lucky he made it back home after that stunt.

Emily enjoys dancing. You should see her. If the 'cowboy' song is on, she LOVES to dance with daddy. Mommy is okay for other music. I would call it bouncing or jumping more than dancing though. She is getting really lovie and helpful with Bethany these days, which is so sweet.

Bethany loves to watch everything. At night, she likes to snuggle and be held when the day is winding down.  Last night Michael got her to laughing so hard that it made us laugh too. A few nights ago, she took a bath in the bathtub with the sitting ring support only. Emily wouldn't use it during her bath, so I guess it was good timing that one grew out of it as the next one needed it!