It's a new year...and it's COLD!

I was giving up on my blog but my grandma loves it too much, and since we have grandparents that are far away, I'm starting up again in 2011. Brady's doing great in preschool and we're gearing up for our kindergarten meetings for next year (!); Lauren is potty-training and while it was a rough start, she's doing great! And our baby Leah turns one next month. She's all over the place and will be walking any day now. Where does the time go? We're just trying to soak up every moment! And it is COLD and SNOWY here!


Murphy and Max wrestling in the snow...with a shark (it's a pool toy)


Kids ready to play for ten minutes after thirty minutes of getting
dressed (don't worry, I have better snow clothes now)



Happy birthday to Nana!


Kids and Aunt Jen rocked the Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii
(and look at poor Michael after his sinus surgery)

Summer's over?!?

Getting a little caught up...us in a nutshell: moved back to KC (bought a house in Overland Park), Brady & Lauren are rocking swim lessons, Brady just started his new preschool and so far loves it, and we are excited for football season and just had our first family tailgate. Here are a few pictures and we'll try to be better at updating now that we're starting to get somewhat settled!

So big!

Our kids are getting so grown-up! Baby Leah is already four months old and is starting to sit up in her little chair and play! Lauren can put on her own shoes...Brady can walk in "real" flip-flops (without the ankle strap) and can buckle and unbuckle himself in his car seat...might as well just send them off to college 'cause they already don't need us anymore!

Our four-year-old boy

Brady is four, and we can't believe it. Everybody always says time flies, and it's crazy how much that's true when you have kids. Brady is such a smart, sweet, crazy little guy. He is full of energy and loves to entertain and be the center of attention (hmmmm...wonder who he gets that from?). He is working on writing his letters and can write his name with a little guidance. He really wants to read, and we'll be working on that this summer. He had an amazing first year of preschool and learned so much and made such great friends. He is our little man now and looks like a boy instead of a baby (sniff, sniff). He is a great big brother to his baby sister Leah...and is working on getting along with his other sister ;). Here are some pictures of him from his birthday, driving his new Jeep, with his "girlfriend" Ava (one of them, anyway--he still says Beyonce is his girlfriend), and with his two amazing preschool teachers. We love our big guy so much and are so proud of him!

Crazy kids

Mommy got a new pair of shoes, so of course Lauren wants to wear them. And the kids got to visit the ice cream truck for the first time, which they loved! However, they don't have the big pink foot with the bubble gum toe anymore, and the cheapest ice cream bar is now $1 instead of like a quarter back in the day. Naked ice cream on the deck is the only way to go!

Our two-year-old girl

We just cannot believe our little Lauren is two! She had a great birthday...a birthday doughnut and tiara to start the day, her favorite pizza, cupcakes, balloons, her first American Girl doll and a visit to Chuck E.Cheese. Our little girl is such a sassy-pants. Her favorite thing to say is "NO, my do it!" (She says "my" instead of "I.") She is a beautiful, independent, smart, completely sassy little thing. She loves to count and sing her own versions of her favorite songs ("Skinkadoooooo, I yuv youuuuuu!") She is the messiest eater you've ever seen and loves to throw her food across the room and just toss her plate and cup when she's done eating. She's the dogs' favorite. Yesterday, I took her pacifier away after her nap and put it in her drawer. She said, "No, my do it!", took it out of the drawer, then put it back in the exact spot that I had put it. At a playdate at a place with trampolines, she refused to get out and let other kids have a turn, and since I had a skirt on and Leah strapped on my chest, my friends had to go chase and retrieve her for me as she stood in the farthest corner with her most mischievious little smile. She loves her little My Gym gymnastics class and is usually one of the first to run up and try every new activity. At the park, she heads straight for the biggest slide and charges straight down. We are so in love with our little Lauren and just can't wait to watch her grow up. This one will be in charge of something important someday. President Carmichael, anyone? :)

Our big TV appearance

Brady's preschool is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, and they were invited to promote their birthday party and the school on a local TV show called "Show Me St. Louis." A few families went down and we were actually on camera about 5 different times throughout the whole show. You can click play for Window Groups April 22, and one of our appearances is from 1:00-1:33 on the video (in case you don't want to watch the whole interview and can't find the whole show). The kids loved it and love seeing themselves on TV. A bunch of mascots from Missouri colleges were down there too and Brady and Lauren both loved playing with them. It was a fun day!



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