On Saturday night we went to a bonfire at Chris and Crystal's home over near Vinton (sorry I didn't get a picture of the fire). It was fun to be social again! It was for our former Sunday School class, and even though we don't go to that class anymore because Aaron teaches the high school kids, they still invite us to their events. The food was great and the company even better. Vivian had a blast! There were some younger girls there who played with her almost the entire time. No one had to show her that she should put her hands on the steering wheel and move it around. She did it on her own...I guess she really watches me even when I don't think about it! Thanks to Mary Beth for playing with her.

Kate hung out inside for a while because it was a little chilly outside. Dennis, Shannon, Adam, and Lauren are keeping her company.

Mary Lynn and Shannon Maxey

Shannon helped with Kate so that I could eat. So did several other friends.

In fact, our church family has been sooo helpful in the last several weeks with our move. Playing with the girls, bringing dinner to us, etc. We are very thankful.

The girls went to bed pretty late that night but it was worth it. We enjoyed getting out and spending time with these dear friends.

Last night Uncle Joey brought Vivian an Elmo doll...what a fun surprise! It was awesome to see her face when she saw it. Joey mentioned that it's funny how her first word is Elmo when we don't even have cable TV. We have one DVD of Elmo...that's it. She has seen it at Gramme's house, too, though. We put him in the crib last night so she could sleep with him and this morning when she woke up I heard her saying "Elmo Elmo Elmo Elmo" over and over again.
Thanks Uncle Joey!

Dad's barn is finished! He was able to use it for the first time on October 27th. They started building in April. He is using it to bring batteries from the shop to check them. Since this picture was taken, a walkway has been put in from the house to the side of the barn. It's really impressive.

We can't find the power cord to our computer...in a box somewhere?? I've been wanting to post some pictures of our babies (especially Kate's 3 months pictures) so I came over to mom and dad's house to use their Internet today. Unfortunately I can't find the USB cord to download the pictures, which means no good posts! So sorry. I'll try again another day soon. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Saturday was moving day! Everything went great...we were worried about it raining all day, but it cleared up mid-morning and turned out to be a perfect day. I think it took them 3 loads, but we had so much help! Thanks to Joey, Dennis, Chris, and Billy for spending their day loading and unloading our furniture. And thanks to their wives for giving them up for the day! Unfortunately, things still look pretty much like this all over the house. We haven't had a chance to make much progress since Saturday.

We are still camping out at my mom and dad's house. The move went smoothly but the house is still a wreck...the furniture is in but it's scattered everywhere, and boxes are not unpacked. In fact, Wayne isn't even finished with his painting. We aren't rushing it so we don't stress ourselves out too much. Meanwhile Vivian and Kate are spending a lot of time playing with Gramme!

Uncle Stephen came last weekend to visit. He's doing well in DC...got his LSAT scores back and now is working on law school applications.

We are in the process of packing up the house! It will be quiet here on the blog for a while until we can get settled. We won't have Internet at our new house until next Thursday night...We have lots going on and many people are helping! So many friends have offered to help pack or babysit. And of course my parents are coming to the rescue a lot, too! The big move will happen Saturday, but Aaron is also going to take over a lot of things on Friday. I will be at the new house all day Friday cleaning. Wayne is finishing painting tomorrow and Friday, and the Closet Storage Organizers will be there tomorrow to build a closet in the upstairs attic. Can't wait to share pictures!
Thanks for praying :) Specifically, pray for Aaron because he is very sick and feels awful. And also for Kate, that I will be able to nurse and pump throughout this big event with no issues.

This morning after Aaron got back from his run and Vivian came downstairs from her crib time, they watched Elmo videos on Youtube together. Kate didn't care too much about Elmo, she just wanted to stare at the fan. But they all had fun :)

This is Wayne. We worship with him at church and he has started working on our new house this past week. He is doing some carpentry work and painting in the three upstairs bedrooms. Today I went by to take a peek at their progress (he has two other guys helping). Looks great so far! It will make the 70-year-old rooms seem brand new. Very exciting...
We are slowly packing some things. We plan to make the move next weekend!

We're still around! Just wanted to post about something that's happening around here this week with Kate. Ever since we brought her home from the hospital, we've been kind of laid back about her sleep schedule and environment (she sleeps in her infant seat, the swing, my arms, the car seat while we're on the go). I didn't want to push it so early on when she was so young and I didn't want to stress myself out about it. But in the last couple of weeks, it's been getting more difficult...I think it's because she is so much more aware of her surroundings and she wants to wake up to see what's happening.
So on Sunday night we started a new strategy. We are starting with bedtime and nighttime sleep (we'll move on to working on naptimes when she's consistent with nighttime sleep). Sunday night we bathed her, put on her pjs, fed her, and sang a song with a pacifier in her mouth, and then put her in her crib. It was 7:35 when I left the room. She cried for a LONG time. I'm not even going to say how long because it was so awful. She finally fell asleep, woke up twice to eat during the night, and woke up with me and Vivian at 7. Monday night she cried for a long time also, but it was significantly less time than Sunday night. Tuesday night I put her in the crib around 7:30 and didn't hear a peep from her (10pm dreamfeed, woke up twice in the night to eat). And last night after only a little fussing she fell asleep, I gave her a dreamfeed at 10pm, and she only woke up once to eat at 3:30. Tonight she fussed for about 15 minutes and I'm getting ready to wake her for a dreamfeed and we'll see how she does during the night.
I am very relieved to be able to put her down for an early bedtime and have her work it out on her own. It's been nice to have my arms free to eat dinner with Aaron and spend time with him in the evenings this week (even if we were listening to her fuss :)).
Hopefully we'll be able to focus on naptimes soon.
Things are looking great for Kate's sleeping habits! Praise the Lord...what a mercy!

Uncle Michael came to visit today! He drove in from Charlottesville for the afternoon and came to play with the girls. We finally got his picture with Kate.

I need to apologize for the lack of posting! Things are crazy around here. Kate is having a little trouble lately...not eating as well, tummy aches, fussiness, etc., so I find that my arms are full often and I have no chance to type. We're working on it...be patient please! More pictures coming soon :)

Marie and Roy Lee came to visit on Friday with Mama Dot. They spent the weekend at the lake but we were able to introduce them to Kate on Friday. Vivian enjoyed playing with them but also loved the gifts they brought :)

Vivian with her new best friend...the big dog. We haven't thought of a name for him yet. She was immediately entranced. Kate loves the big dog, too! She snoozed in his arms for a while that afternoon :)

Thanks for coming to see us!

Update:
We went for her well check yesterday. Dr. B was very encouraging about her growth...almost 3 pounds in one month! She is on track with her development and got some shots. It was a long morning and Vivian was so patient, thank goodness. Here are the stats:
weight: 11 lbs, 7 oz (75th%)
length: 23 inches (75%)

-Kate likes to cuddle! What I really mean is that she likes to be held. It could be that I've conditioned her to prefer that, though, because I love cuddling with her :) It does become an issue when I've got lots of housework to do or Vivian wants to play.
-Her smile is very sweet. We can count on a smile whenever she looks at her mobile or the star that lights up.
-She goes to bed around 8 and wakes up around 7. She usually eats twice in that time, though.
-Her waketime activities include watching Vivian eat at the table, playing on the floor, or staring at mom. She also plays by herself in her crib once a day (watching the mobile).
-She is pretty tolerant of Vivian. Sometimes Vivian crawls all over me while Kate is nursing and it doesn't seem to phase her unless she's getting elbowed or poked in the eye.
-She eats every three hours (give or take a little) and naps (not in her crib) for about 1.5 hours in between feedings. She's awake a lot more in the evenings, though.
Kate is 2 months old today! I am holding her right now as she's falling asleep, so I can't type much. Later I will add to this post about how she's doing, but I wanted to share these cute pictures asap so you can see how much she's growing!

Happy 2 months, Kate!

Vivian had a thrill today...I opened a box of blocks for her to play with. She got these for her birthday (thanks Jeremie, Tabby, James, and Jude!). It was so fun to watch her be excited over them. I was impressed with how many she could stack!

Kate smiled at us for the first time when she was 6 weeks old. We try hard to get her to do it all the time! I caught the end of some smiles yesterday when she was playing on the activity mat. She was enjoying the star that plays songs and lights up (Shelly, is this the same star you said Oliver likes? It's a Baby Einstein mat I think)