Upgrading

We have finally moved Kimball out of the crib and into a big bed. We put off the move for as long as we could, but when Kimball finally learned how to climb out of his crib about 4 weeks ago we decided it was time. Kimball is doing fairly well with the big bed, but we still have him coming out of his room at night. We just tell him he needs to stay in his room and we let him play with his toys as long as he is quiet and not disturbing anyone else. After a while he is ready on his own to get in bed or with a little reminder and then he goes to sleep easily. We are trying to see if going without naps during the day helps with the nightly routine, but so far we haven't noticed a difference other than a grumpier boy in the mornings. He'll figure it out and for now we would rather have the rules a little loose than ending each day frustrated.

With Kimball out of the crib we have moved Rebecah from the pack 'n play into the crib. She loves her new bed and the extra space. I'll lay her at one end of the crib and when I get her after her nap she is at the other end of the crib.

Both Kimball and Rebecah seem so much smaller when they sleep now that they are in bigger beds.

Brother Bear & Sister Bear

We have been reading a lot of books lately. Kimball is on a book kick, especially a Berenstain Bear kick, so we are running with it. When we go to the library we always have to come home with at least 1 bear book. My sister, Heather, gave Kimball a little collection of 5 books in 1 and we read from it frequently. The first book is "The New Baby" and I wanted that story when I was pregnant with Rebecah...I even looked for it at the library.

Anyway, we have talked about the bear cubs and how they are similar to Kimball and Rebecah. At times we even call Rebecah "Sister Bear". Last night at dinner we were Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Sister Bear and Little Bear. In "The New Baby", Brother Bear is called Little Bear because he isn't a brother yet. Kimball usually refers to himself as Little Bear when asigning names to our family. I'm hoping I can find clothes so we can dress as the Bear family for Halloween. For Mama Bear's outfit I might have to look in the pajama section.

My favorite part of the entire Berenstain Bear kick right now is hearing Kimball "read" the books to himself. He looks at the pictures and follows the storyline for all to hear.

A pigtail and rolling over

Rebecah rolled over for the first time this week. She rolled twice in one day and hasn't since. She didn't seem too keen on the rolling business. She rolled 3 months earlier than Kimball did so it was exciting for us.

Rebecah's hair has also grown long enough that I can put the top hair in a little ponytail. Joseph said he thought she looked silly; I thought she looked cute. Here are a few shots of the little pigtail.


Rebecah only sleeps about 3 hours in the day and by the evening she is pretty tired. She is pretty stubborn when it comes to sleeping. She fell asleep at dinner yesterday:

Here is a cute shot of Kimball and Rebecah...excuse the red eyes!



As I was getting this post ready, I heard this come out of Kimball' mouth: "I need Joseph to fix it." Every now and then he refers to Daddy as Joseph. I don't think he has ever referred to me as Annette.

Kimball & Rebecah

We'll start with Kimball since he is the oldest. Kimball is starting to catch the vision of using the potty! We usually have about 3 successful attempts a day and he gets very excited each time he uses the potty.

Kimball recently said to me: "Rebecah's my best friend!" Any mother would love to hear those words from a child's mouth. I told him I hope he and Rebecah would be best friends for years to come.

Kimball loves the color green currently, loves to read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (it's a random book, but hey, it's Dr. Seuss) and he can't wait to go visit family in August because he knows it will be his birthday when we get back.

Kimball with Mom sharing a story.

Rebecah is 6 months old. I can't believe she is so old! She loves to have people sing to her. She sings to herself frequently too. She is content to lay on a blanket and look around until she falls asleep (mind boggling to the young people at church when I tell them they can't hold her because she is falling asleep.) She has started some cereal, but hasn't caught the hang of it yet...she needs a few more days at it.
Before cereal

After cereal


Rebecah loves to have things near or on her face. She frequently falls asleep on her side with a blanket pulled near her face...I know, I know, that isn't the safest but I keep an eye on her and move the blanket once she is sleeping. Here she is playing with her quilt and is peaking out from under it.

Kimball and Rebecah

We recently moved Rebecah out of Kimball's room and we are all sleeping better after making the change. Kimball didn't want Rebecah to move out of his room, but he is sleeping so much better than we won't change back until we have to.

June Company

My sister, Miriam, and her family visited us on their way to and from Missouri in June. It was fun to see them and to help Michaela celebrate her birthday. They arrived, the first time, on Michaela's birthday so we can an ice cream cake in honor of her special day.

On their return trip they were able to stay a little longer so we went to the local State Park. We looked around the Visitor's Center and then walked along the pier.

It was fun seeing Miriam's 4 girls and how they have grown since we saw them last year. They enjoyed playing with Rebecah and she was never left without a companion. Kimball got his fair share of entertainment too.

Michaela's Birthday.


At the Visitor's Center




The sisters with our children.


The Lamb Family


Kimball holding hands with his cousin Courtney. This is my favorite picture.

New Purse

Most people will look at the title of this blog and think "Big Deal". But the truth is for me to have a new purse is a HUGE deal. I haven't carried or owned a purse for probably 12 years! In college it was just one more thing to lug around to class so I stopped using one and kept everything in my backpack. I got used to not having one and have used a little ugly green wallet that my mom gave me 12 years ago because it fits in my back pocket. I almost always have pants with pockets so as long as I have a place for my wallet, keys and chapstick I don't need anything else.

I still don't NEED a purse, but I was visiting family a few weeks ago and my sister Heather had just gotten a new Vera Bradley purse and I fell in love with it. I thought it would make a nice small diaper bag. Heather did a blog post about her new purse so I won't go into too many details.

Long story short, I splurged and bought a purse to use as a diaper bag and it arrived yesterday. I love it and will carry it around more than I would a normal diaper bag just because I love it. My splurge was only a splurge for me since most people would splurge buying a purse at full price...mine was 50% off

In town Grandparents

Our "in-town grandparents" moved to Springfield, MO today. We got to be good friends with them at the last house we lived it. Grandpa Whitey is so kind and generous he would give just about anyone the shirt off his back. He brought us a loaf of bread he made when we moved in and would frequently bring over treats he had made. We have raked leaves with him, picked pecans and played on his swing set. His wife, Marie is not as active as Whitey, but is always so kind and patient with Kimball. I know no one really knows this couple, but I have talked about them before to a couple of people so I thought I would post a few pictures.

Here are a few good-bye pictures of Grandpa Whitey and Grandma Marie with the kids.
Whitey with Kimball and Rebecah


Whitey and Marie with Kimball and Rebecah