June (& August!) buggies

My Angel :)

junebuggies — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:34:05 +0000

Lanie had the most wonderful opportunity to be a part of a nutcracker performance – she was an angel. She has been rehearsing on Saturday mornings for months and was so excited to perform. She did great – and was so happy that many of her family members came, that we went out to dinner to celebrate, that we were all so proud of her, etc. Proud mom and dad moment as well…sniffle.

Anyway, without further ado…my angel:

Backstage...ready to go!

So excited about her flowers

Showing off her nutcracker and angel snowglobe from mom and dad.

Lanie is the frowny angel in the back center

The day of the performance she had rehearsal for about 4 hours beforehand….in which she could not eat, and hardly drink, so as not to mess up the white costumes. So, naturally, she lost her 6th tooth during this and started bleeding everywhere. ack!

Bye bye toothy #6...

Thanks to everyone that came….it was such a great day for her! Those that were not able to see it in person can come by for some popcorn and DVD watching

Will 3 months

junebuggies — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:35:42 +0000

3 months!

Thoughts from Month 3:

Still sleeping through the night, but last couple days started eating once during the night
Tolerating the car better, loves to have the window down (wish I had thought of this 3 months ago)
Loves to be outside
Really smiles for Lanie or Katie, makes mom work a smidge harder for it. Daddy gets a frown Just kidding, dad. He smiles at you, too.
He is always actively looking for mom – Not going to lie, I enjoy being the favorite. It only takes holding him 24 hours a day, feeding him every meal, and keeping up with the pacifier like it was my 4th child.
Sweetest baby on the planet (not sure if I have mentioned that). Mom still cannot put him down for anything. I have the laundry pile to prove it.

Month 3 Milestones:

First laugh (Nov 3rd), makes me smile just thinking about it
First holiday
Weighs 9 lbs, 1o 0z

Photos from Month 3:

In my spot, snuggling with mom

Buddies

Did I mention he is well loved?

Halloween 2011

Love you baby Will! xoxoxoxoxo

Will 2 Months

junebuggies — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:57:47 +0000

Still catching up on these…On the eve of Month 3, I thought I would post Month 2. He is still the easiest baby ever* – a completely perfect blessing.

(*It has not always been unicorns and rainbows in the Woottonville Nursery – I believe by the end of Month 2 with Baby Katie I was looking into putting her on Ebay ….did.not.stop.crying…..for 14 months. But wouldn’t change a thing about my sweet Katie – Another completely perfect blessing)

Thoughts from Month 2:

The 6 week mark is a difficult one because I feel like the newborn stage will disappear any minute…but….
Will does not sleep or eat like a newborn, but still looks, moves, and sounds like one. Still has not outgrown a single thing.
Some worries about nursing as he only gained 6 ounces in month 2. He seems to be catching up now though. I think he is just a sleepy, little peanut.
Easily calmed, especially with mom…but not so much loving the 3 o’clock carpool line to get Lanie. We are working through that.
Still loving every single second with him. Always asking him where he hides his angel wings. I just love him.

Milestones:

Weighs 8 lbs, 8 oz.
um…so, that might be it.

Photos from Month 2:

Mom's not looking so hot...but look at that sweet little boy.

Loves his big sister!

I can't believe I get to look at this sweet face all day...

...and this one...

...and this one.

A Bee, a Butterfly, and a Bird

junebuggies — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:47:20 +0000

And since Will has a tuft of hair that just won’t stay down, he always reminds me of Woodstock.

Woodstock didn’t make it long though…..

Happy Halloween!

Rodeo Day

junebuggies — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 06:40:00 +0000

So this is a smidge more than I can handle. Rodeo Day was today so I quickly snapped this picture on her way out the door. And spent the rest of the day looking at it over and over with that lump in the throat feeling. When did she get so big?

Until now, I had just been going with the natural, logical assumption that little clothes-shrinking fairies had been wreaking havoc in her closet. (They do it all the time in mine…pesky little things) But, now I see it – She really is getting bigger.

This was not supposed to have happened overnight. But somehow it did.

And not sure if you can tell from the picture, but her two front teeth are gone. And we have put the tooth fairy on high alert as teeth #5 and #6 are about to make their grand exit.

I’m going to miss all those little baby teeth. It wasn’t long ago we were celebrating their arrival….sniffle, sniffle.

Slow down, Lanie. Slow down.

Will Month 1

junebuggies — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:23:27 +0000

Back in business….and ready to update you on my favorite little Augustbuggy -

It is probably best that I did not have a working computer these past several weeks or all you would have heard about is how much I love this baby. how my feelings for him are beyond measure. and how I can’t ever put him down. and how perfect he is. because he is pretty perfect.

Thoughts from Month 1:

Easiest baby ever. At two weeks was sleeping through the night, and has been sleeping 12 hours a night since. I think once since then I have had to feed him in the middle of the night. Once.
I never want to forget those sweet baby sounds he makes…kind of a beavis/butthead kind of uttering….but super cute. And his little fists, and little eyebrows, and those feet…..love those feet.
Loving it all. Every minute.

Month 1 Milestones:

Most notably, already received a Texas Football scholarship from Mack Brown.

First smile
First trip to Austin
Weighs 8 lbs, 2 oz

Photos from Month 1

check back for month 2 update….and all thats been going on with buggy 1 and buggy 2.

Grumblings

junebuggies — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:29:40 +0000

So here’s the dealio. I desperately want to show off this sweet, precious, could-not-be-any-easier baby boy, but every time I attempt to upload pictures I end up wanting to pull my hair out and throw the computer across the room. It is not pretty.

You know how you type a sentence…..and….five minutes….later…some letters…start to show…up on the page….one at a time…..S L O W L Y. Oh wait….now computer needs to….think….and shut down…womp,womp.

And it is apparently downloading my pictures into a black hole. Did you read that Mr. Computer? Where are you putting the pictures?!? Where?! Tell me!!

Patiently waiting for my new one to arrive. In the meantime, all is well here – Will is an angel, the girls are loving school, and the tooth fairy has been working overtime.

Sorry for the most boring post ever. You can direct your complaints to Mr. Computer. But I get the impression he doesn’t give a hoot.

Here is the one picture I have….courtesy of Andrew’s well-behaved, cooperative work computer.

First Day of K

junebuggies — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:54:58 +0000

Been a busy month!

Lanie’s first week of Kindergarten has come and gone and we could not be prouder. I realize now that all my anxiety about her being too young was for nothing – she was ready to go. And is happy to be there. Mommy is sad, but so long as baby is happy that’s ok.

As for the first day, I did tear up and had to leave the room pretty quick. Andrew and I helped her find her cubby and her seat – and the little girl next to her gave her a very warm “hi lanie!” and made her feel at home. Right away we could tell she didn’t need us to stay- she was ready to get started. sniffle, sniffle.

First Day - August 23, 2011

Telling Lanie Doll all about it - and yes, Lanie Doll has her own uniform.

...and her own name tag. (Hi Katie and Katie Doll )

So proud of you, Lanie. A great first week!

He’s Here! He’s Perfect!

junebuggies — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:23:35 +0000

He’s here! William Andrew Wootton arrived August 4th, 2011 at 6:55 pm – 6 lbs, 11 0z and 19 3/4 inches long – just 2 days shy of his due date. As an added surprise, he showed up with blonde hair! Too early to tell if that will stay, but it is already safe to say he has big brown eyes like his beautiful sisters.

As for his arrival, it came in a hurry – first very mild contraction/cramping started at 5:45 am – and hung around all day – was never even sure this was it. Then at 3:38 pm I dropped to my knees with the first of many very hard contractions about 3 minutes apart. I waited an hour before calling my doctor (perhaps this advice is not for third babies…just saying…..), then we drove in rush hour, and arrived at the hospital around 6 pm with contractions right on top of each other- already 9 cm. At 6:45 I got the epidural I was about to administer to myself if no one came through – and just like that he was here 10 minutes later! (as for those thinking I could have made it 10 more minutes and avoided the epidural…..nope, couldn’t have made it. nope, nope, nope. nope…… nope.)

Also, it should be noted that at the exact moment he was born it was 109 degrees – Hospital was running on generators!

Absolutely crazy in love with this baby. I still cry just looking at him – he is perfect, and the perfect addition to our family. We are all in love. But, me, I am IN LOVE. Cannot put him down, cannot get enough snuggles, and cannot stop thanking God for this wonderful gift. Absolutely love him.

And now at two weeks, he weighs a whopping 6 lbs, 13 oz – such a peanut!

W3 on the way!

already in love

Not sure I have put him down since...

Proud big sisters

Will and Lanie

Will and Katie

First family picture

Pretty happy daddy

Love to hold him!

Hi Baby Will xoxo

39 weeks, 3 days

junebuggies — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:21:53 +0000

Today's activities

Other than that, I took a warm, ~~nice, relaxing~~ bubble bath while Lanie soaked her feet in it while splashing me to give “baby brother a shower” and Katie pet my knees. They also provided me with plenty of bath toys.

Something tells me someone leaked the whole 110 degree weather situation to W3 – the bun is actually cooler in the oven. Can’t blame him.

Waiting on W3

junebuggies — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:48:40 +0000

So my attempts to will this baby out of me in July failed….I am officially the most pregnant I have ever been – 39 weeks, 2 days. The girls spoiled me with their 37 and 39 week arrivals. I could have induced earlier this time, but that is not really something I wanted to do. So……..anytime, little one. Anytime. As in, right now….5 minutes from now….all good times to come. (shhh….no one tell him the weather forecast this week. We are keeping that on the down-low)

so, in lieu of baby pictures – Here are some very professional baby belly shots I had made….

Where are you, W3???

39 weeks, 2 days

38 weeks

35 weeks

28 weeks

17 weeks

Nesting gone wrong

junebuggies — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:09:01 +0000

Nesting is apparently in full force. Unfortunately I am having serious trouble channeling it in any sort of logical direction.

Not done:

Baby’s room….at all.
Wash baby’s newborn things/bedding.
Thankyou notes from bday parties.
Update blog with summer happenings.
Buy diapers.
Pack hospital bag.
Schedule photo sessions.

Done:

Cleaned inside of trash can.
Scrubbed laundry room floor, finished organizing, bought rug for laundry room. Hung picture. Cleaned every piece of washer/dryer-Obsessed with this room I tell you.
Wiped down walls/baseboards.
Sorted all the Queen/King bed linens and put in Space Bags (fun!)
Sorted batteries. Wrestled with ways to store them. (an excellent use of time. frown.)
Organized Christmas decorations.

Clearly we have a problem. No place to put the baby….BUT Christmas decorations are neat and orderly. Now I have the itch to paint the pantry shelves. I have felt like the Energizer bunny…someone just needs to come point me in the direction of the baby room and steer me away from random rooms/closets. Andrew seems to be just watching with amusement.

Oh. Hello, July! Where did you come from?

junebuggies — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:50:08 +0000

On the to do list this weekend…..update on all that went down in June. As expected, busiest month ever and lots of emotional crying about my baby girls getting bigger. As not expected, nasty cold that knocked me out for two weeks solid. Today is the first day I have felt somewhat normal. Andrew, Lanie, and Katie rebounded quickly from same cold….me not so much. Perhaps it is the whole baby-growing thing I’ve got going on.

Speaking of baby, his room is um….not even close to even close to slightly even partially done. BUT, in an odd twist of nesting… I have decided to focus heavy efforts on my laundry room. So thats….something….I guess. I think my wires got crossed. Someone please remind me I have a baby due imminently and nowhere to put him.

Updates on Birthdays, parties, sweet girls, and a baby boy coming soon. We are busy loving summer!

June

junebuggies — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:42:33 +0000

So, its June. The time when my babies turn a year older and I get all sentimental about everything. Sigh….

Fortunately, I got a jump start on the crying in May – the last day of preschool did me in. Particularly when I picked up Lanie. In fact thinking about it right now gets me all sniffly again.

Last Day at Northaven Together

Anyway, back to June. Here we are celebrating our last night with our two-year-old. (Excuse the hair. After bath time. Before brushing time.)

Last night as a 2 year old!

Grumpy faces. Just because it is our new thing these days.

Here they are showing us a "two"....clearly.

Goodnight my beautiful 2 year old! It's been a great year. Can't wait to see my 3 year old tomorrow!

To be continued….Lots of fun in store as we celebrate our junebuggies!

Blogging live from Woottonville..

junebuggies — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:16:33 +0000

I have so much to post, but this is what is happening minute by minute as I sit here. It is entirely too amusing to pass up documenting.

1:54: Lanie and Katie are planning a trip to Aruba. They are leaving Tuesday and will be staying in North Aruba, and then turning left. Lanie is flying, but Katie is taking the purple cozy coupe because she needs to get gas in it before they leave.

1:59: wait, wait. now everyone is going to pick up their bus tickets. hmm.

1:59: Katie has to run by her office first, and then will pick up her bus tickets.

2:01: Katie picking up her bus tickets. Coincidentally, Lanie is working behind the ticket counter today. Katie is complaining that her bus ticket is not stapled, but Lanie has closed the ticket office on her. Katie is not leaving the ticket window without a stapled ticket…..finally she has gotten a bus ticket to her liking, although Lanie said she got the last one. Now the bus ticket office is closed.

2:03: Turns out they got too many bus tickets. They have “choosed-ed the choice” not to go anymore.

2:04: They have both changed their names to Zuzu.

2:04: Somehow this has now turned ugly. Katie is throwing a fit and throwing things across the room. Yikes, 4 minutes past naptime and this is what happens. Off to put crabbypants to bed.

No napkins for you!

junebuggies — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 05:28:35 +0000

This is the result when the local Baskin Robbins has a strict limit of three napkins per table. As in I asked for more, and the answer was that I had already been given three.

We are in an ice cream shop. With preschoolers. Three napkins might get one half of one hand.

To be filed under “will be funny one day”

junebuggies — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:08:55 +0000

There is a favorite family story of Andrew as a kid that comes up every now and again….something to the effect of him making breakfast on the couch…with real eggs.

Fast forward to present day.

We come home and Lanie excitedly goes to check and see if her art is dry. (That is all the kid does these days is work on art! ) Anyway, she comes running in….goes straight to the….oh wait. back up.

Last weekend we bought a new couch. We love it. It is heavenly. We fell asleep on it the first night we watched tv on it.

Ok, so……Lanie comes running it, goes straight to the bought-last-weekend-couch, lifts up the cushions to reveal all her artwork stuck to the undersides. She used the couch as a drying rack. (deep breaths…..remember Andrew did this as a kid….with eggs….and its funny now…..deep breaths)

While unsuccessfully peeling stuck paper, paint, and glue off the couch, I huffily asked her why she did that. She lied and said it was not her. (Deep breaths. Breathe. Breathe…..)

Then, probably detecting imminent mommy-explosion, she said “I am really sorry mom. I did it. I thought it would be a good, safe place for them to dry.”

Thank you for telling me the truth. And I can see why you thought that. (sort of….) It is ok. We’ll see what we can do. (and really, we intentionally did not spend a lot on the new couch, fully expecting this sort of thing to happen. just not on day 7. )

Never a dull moment.

How cute is this kid?

junebuggies — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:22:26 +0000

For those that have not heard our exciting news, W3 is a boy!! What-What?! A boy?? It took me a full 24 hours to close my jaw, I was so shocked. Really thought this was a girl.

We are crazy excited (and would have been for a girl as well) and cannot wait for all the new things in store. Lanie keeps saying “we are in trouble!” since we do not have any boy things for him….and Katie keeps saying “two girls and a baby brother”…….and Andrew is obviously excited. I think he is already standing in the front yard ready to throw the football…..

Lanie picked up some onesies for him – and good friends Mindy and Lindsey brought by his first dump truck. (we got a good laugh out of the fact that the only toy vehicle we currently own is a purple mini-van with a storage compartment for a stroller….)

Feeling incredibly blessed!

Sigh….

junebuggies — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:05:18 +0000

That’s all i can say. Lanie got some new school shoes Friday. See? ooh…ahhh….sparkly…

She wore them to school Monday (reminder….bought on Friday….) and she came out to carpool in her socks holding a bag of muddy shoes. Good times.

Love this

junebuggies — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 03:57:02 +0000

We had to throw some elbows, but we won this at the school silent auction. It was painted by a mom in Katie’s class who is obviously a very talented artist. I am absolutely in love with it. Love. Love. Love.

We can clearly tell who each classmate is by the detail she put into it. Katie is in the pigtails holding a baby.

I could just eat it up. Did I mention I love it? Because I do.

Caught up

junebuggies — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:17:06 +0000

Finally rejoined the blog world. Been busy working on tax season, volunteering at the girls’ school, fighting my little munchkins off from the abundance of candy leftover from Valentine’s Day, and growing a baby.

Anyway, several posts below. Thank you to my sweet friend Erin for pointing out my absence from the blog world. It is nice to be missed

Taking actual cats would have been easier…

junebuggies — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:16:37 +0000

The pet store is always an adventure. Today we transformed into kitty cats.

That crazy-long cat on the right is Katie. She is growing by the second right now. Just look how big her feet are:

Oh, wait…those are my shoes

Sweets and Treats

junebuggies — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:16:04 +0000

mommy fail. Lanie and Katie hosted a Valentine’s party for their classes and these are the only pictures I got. So, as you can see, there were some treats. I promise there were decorations and other festivities there too. and, you know, guests.

Smile!

junebuggies — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 06:15:34 +0000

So, there may or may not have been a time when I took Lanie to the pediatrician for a mosquito bite. And, so, possibly, there may have been a time when I called Andrew in a panic looking for the closest after hours clinic for what ultimately turned out to be a loose tooth.

Poor Lanie was just sitting there eating a banana, when her tooth turned all crazy and started bleeding everywhere. It never occurred to me that it was her losing a tooth. (Naturally, my first thought was that her entire mouth and jaw was decaying…) I had always heard the age for losing a tooth was 6+. Turns out that since she was one of those that got her teeth in really really early, she loses them early too. Things that would have been helpful to know before the chaotic scene that unfolded.

WARNING: For those that have yet to have a visit from the tooth fairy, you should know that she left a HUGE mess of fairy dust behind. Everywhere. On the window sill, furniture, floor, under Lanie’s pillow. Sheesh. She also left some lip gloss and 4 quarters.

Without further ado, Lanie’s new smile….

and not wanting to be left out of the excitement…..

Brrr!!!

junebuggies — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:14:11 +0000

It is so funny that Lanie and Katie are growing up thinking this happens every winter……

Pictures of yet another several inches of snow, on top of several inches of ice. 4 days stuck inside with single digit temperatures (with even nastier wind-chills), and rolling blackouts to conserve energy. It was a good time.

Lanie absolutely loves the snow and was sad to see it go – so sad that our freezer is currently filled with snowballs. She visits them periodically.

View of street

Fond Memories of the Fair

junebuggies — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:33:25 +0000

Dad: Lanie, do you remember those dogs we saw at the fair?

Lanie: Yes.

Dad: and the ferris wheel?

Lanie: Yes.

Dad: What else did we see at the fair??

Lanie: Trash Cans.

Private School Admissions

junebuggies — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:05:26 +0000

Much like I could write an entire blog devoted to the antics of our UPS man….who, by the way, pulled into the the slot next to me at Sonic the other day……I so badly wanted to point out to him that he needed to take note of how the carhops do not throw his order at him. Or leave it on the curb and point to it. Grrr….

Let’s see….where was I going with this….oh, right.

Much like I could write an entire blog dedicated to the antics of our UPS man, I could also keep one on the topic of private school admissions. (Andrew I both had great public school experiences, but our current public elementary is not an option) It seems that every open house I have been to, some parent has asked some ridiculous question.

Open House #1: While visiting the computer lab at school #1, a couple asked if the computers were PC’s or Macs. The high school student giving the tour replied that the lab was on PC’s. The parents then replied “oh, well then we are going to go then.” and left. Alrighty then. Apparently that was quite the deal breaker.

Open House #2: Parent asked if School #2 could guarantee their child’s placement in an Ivy League school. (Why, yes, at 4 years old, we can guarantee that your child will get into Harvard) And then parent went on the say “well, we can at least assume they won’t end up at a state school, right?” um….excuse me……..

Open House #3: After school tour, family walks up to admissions director and asks which are the best museums in the area? They would like to spend the afternoon at one. Same family played chess while waiting for their child to finish his interview. Eye roll.

Open House #4: School #4 has a mandatory Kindergarten readiness test to verify the student is ready to start versus being held back a year. Parent raises hand and asks if since he knows his daughter is ready, does she have to take the test. Seriously, people.

I will say this – I wasted the better part of an afternoon one day reading about this process in DC and New York private schools…..and it made the Dallas process look like a cakewalk. Apparently, it is a whole different ballgame there. Parents were discussing if they should have their child retake their IQ test since they only scored in the top 97% percentile….when they really felt their child should have scored in the 99th. (who says this stuff??!)

Or, another parent who said their first child scored in the 99.9 %, but their second child “bombed” it and landed in the 96%. Now their dreams of a top school are crushed. (these crazed DC parents insist that your child must score in the top 3% of the nation to be accepted to a top private school…..yikes!)

And then there is the parent whose child scored in the 99%, but was worried about her admission chances because they would not consider their child to be overly gifted or talented. “She is reading 6 grade levels above her age, but she sings off-key and can only stick with chess for 10 minutes.” Yep, we are still talking about 4 year olds here.

That is all.

Over the moon!

junebuggies — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:20:49 +0000

I mentioned I had an exciting Thursday planned….got to go check out this little one. Saw all the little arms and legs moving around, an unbelievable sight. Here is a first look at Baby W3….

Estimated to arrive August 6, 2011 – So far everything looks great, went in today at 9 wks, 5 days – baby was measuring 4 days bigger, 176 bpm, had the hiccups, and even flashed us a tiny hook ‘em. (Happy to see baby is a fan in spite of a less-than-stellar year….)

So, that is my exciting news for the day. To answer some FAQ’s…..yes, planning on this being the last one. …..no, we were not “trying for the boy”. We will be over the moon either way.

Oh, and, we have not told Lanie yet…for several reasons…..so just keep that under your hat for now.

A New Year

junebuggies — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 07:12:58 +0000

So, I am back. I think I just decided that I was ready to be done with 2010 – a difficult year. I have not been taking many pictures – barely took anything at Christmas. Did not even pull out my camera once on our trip to Florida. It was just kind of a sad holiday with so many loved ones missing. But, there are some fun things I hope to get around to posting about – like how Katie calls ornaments “hermits”, our magic elf named Cherry-Strawberry who came all the way from the North Pole to keep an eye on us, and Lanie’s obsession with a gray sweater she refers to as her “golden coat”.

Anyway, here we are – a new year. Lots of exciting stuff happening this week – girls head back to school, my new duvet cover arrives (although most likely via my nemesis, the UPS man), Lanie’s last test for private schools (a process I would not wish on my worst enemy….not that I have any enemy four-year-olds), and some exciting stuff planned on Thursday that I will post about then. And I have a birthday in there too – although not sure how “exciting” that is….

Also, a sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the down syndrome orphan ministry on behalf of sweet Megan – she now has $2005 in her grant account which will help speed up the fundraising process for her future family. Please continue to pray that her future family finds her soon!

Back to tripping over mountains of new pink plastic toys as I attempt to conquer my one and only resolution to get organized. Got to get these Christmas “hermits” and lights put away too.

PS – Hats off to Santa who pulled off his magic in a hotel room! I was very impressed with his stealthiness! And, like usual, the reindeer made a huge mess of the oranges we left out for them.

I’m back!

junebuggies — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 04:19:16 +0000

Good grief. Been living in the dark ages with no Internet. And of course no repair job is ever complete on time. I especially loved when the repair guy left without so much as a word or an update. And when we called to say “um, hello?” the response was that the job had been completed. Yeah, ok… except it wasn’t. I could go on and on, but I am sure you know the drill.

Sigh…..happy to be back.

Working on my updates. First, must finish putting lights on the tree we just brought home. Lanie very enthusiastically wanted a red tree, Katie a purple. They are all green, girls….They are all green.

Missing the blog world…

junebuggies — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:38:52 +0000

Checking in via the iPhone…..my interwebs has been out for several days – should be fixed this Thursday. Boo…hiss.

Lots to post once we have dsl again!

Halloween 2010

junebuggies — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:52:09 +0000

Happy Halloween from Lanie Mouse and Katie Cat! One of our favorite holidays!

Future Meteorologists?

junebuggies — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:34:55 +0000

Rain, crummy day today.

Katie ran over to the window, then ran over to me pointing and said “It’s raining!…..and pouring!”…. Lanie added that is has rained “10 drops” already.

Made the rainy day a little brighter

Checking in…

junebuggies — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:32:49 +0000

Sorry for the lack of posts….we’ve been busy fine-tuning our etiquette school.

Seriously, though, not sure where we’ve been. This fall seems quite busy! Fortunately, our passion for longhorn football won’t be so time-consuming this season. Good grief. These losses have been ugly, painful, and just plain disturbing.

*I did not give my child the entire bottle of apple juice….I had set it on the table after pouring some and this was the result. We generally drink from cups

Unlucky #13

junebuggies — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:28:21 +0000

Our 13th Texas-OU game together. A before and after.

Before

After

We did manage to channel our frustration (the penalties! ugh!!!) into a fried frito pie, a fried cheesecake, and a corn dog some snacks at the fair.

A special thanks to Sharon/Bopo, Aunt Christie, Nana, and Heather for taking care of the girls. In spite of our loss (again, the penalties! ugh!!!), we had a great time!

Family Picture

junebuggies — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:25:33 +0000

Rarely do we get a photo of all us together!

Lanie overheard me telling Andrew that I needed a family picture with all of us for her classroom. While we were trying to come up with one to use, she was busy working on this one. Quite the problem solver. Sweet that she included Wendy. Love that kid.

Top row: Daddy, Mommy

Middle row: Katie, Lanie

Bottom row: Abby, Wendy, Sammy.

Lanie & Katie’s School of Etiquette

junebuggies — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:05:15 +0000

Coming soon! We are still, um…. fine tuning some of the details.

where we’ve been….

junebuggies — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:25:56 +0000

First Day of School – Katie Edition

junebuggies — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:41:32 +0000

Happy first day of school, Katie! We tried to make it to our usual spot for first day pictures….but we did not get far. It was POURING! Everyone, and their parents, came to preschool soaking wet today.

She opted to take her purse, instead of her backpack.

It's a bit wet out here, I am just going to stop here.

Why is my mother so obsessed with getting this picture that she is standing in the rain? I'm going in.

Kisses from sister before heading to her classroom

This is the same classroom Lanie was in so Ms. Carole has know Katie since she was 3 months old

Great first day, KatieBug! so proud!

First Day of School – Lanie Edition

junebuggies — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:09:25 +0000

Last first day at her preschool. I remember so clearly taking her the first year and thinking the 4-year-olds looked so grown up. Now she walks in like she owns the place. Here we are ready for Ms. Patty’s Young 4′s!

In our usual spot...it was pouring though!

First Day - Ms. Suzanne Young 3's

First Day - Ms. Carole's Young 2's

We have a busy year ahead – gymnastics, dance, and swimming – oh my! Here they are heading off to the first day of gymastics.

Hoping the start of the school year means good things are ahead and we have a chance to start healing from the summer. So far so good, a great first day. Stay tuned for tomorrow….First Day of School – Katie Edition. Wish us luck!

Checking in

junebuggies — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:23:33 +0000

Still here….just having an extraordinarily difficult summer. Monday, my grandfather, my dad’s dad, passed away. We are heading to Pt. Arthur for services – and to give my grandmother, my dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and family a hug.

After the loss of our family pet and three dearly loved ones this summer, I am not really sure how to describe my frame of mind right now. Just trying to get through it all I guess. Have more faith in the Lord’s presence than ever, though, and for that I am thankful.

Praying we can return to blogging about fun things soon.

Link to Grandpa’s obituary, which I thought was nicely written: Hubert Alonzo Swanzy, Jr.

Smile, We’re at Sea World!

junebuggies — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:14:49 +0000

Ok, smile! We’re at Sea World!

Thinking about it....

Um, Lanie....How about a little more pep.... Remember, we're at Sea World!!

Nope, not gonna do it.

She is still there, isn't she....

: Still no.

You're not getting this are you? Not happening.

These photos and Katie’s black eye don’t really do the trip justice… we really did have a great time! More pictures to come!

Lanie’s Rainbow Party

junebuggies — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:50:27 +0000

Catching up here…Here are the highlights of Lanie’s “Rainbows and Hearts Care Bear Picnic in the Park”:

Rainbow invitations…

Rainbow dress…

Rainbow birthday cake….Made with Skittles* and mini-marshmallows. We also had another plain blue cake with little cardboard Care Bears in it, for those that thought this cake was, as my mother-in-law put it, “too much of a good thing”. No surprise this cake was the most popular choice in the ages 2-4 demographic. (The adults….not so much)

*Had to buy two kinds of Skittles in order to get the right colors…. Plus the additional 7 pound bag that one of my children…*ahem,Katie, ahem*….accidentally dropped violently smashed open all over the Target floor in an attempt to get to the goodies.

Rainbow picnic….

in the park.

Rainbow BBQ spread.

Rainbow drinks.

Rainbow sister. After spilling countless bottles of the aforementioned rainbow drinks.

Happy Rainbow Birthday Girl!

Adventures at the Pet Store

junebuggies — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:05:06 +0000

Never a dull moment with these two.

Greeted by this little guy...

Oh look mom! a play area!....um, yes girls..for cats..... Ok fine.

Lanie was incredibly offended that the rat tried to bite her face off when she went to make a kissy face at it. Who would not want this cute little guy as a pet??

or this one?

Katie backing away from the little goldfish screaming "shark!, shark!" in an effort to warn her sister. Daddy just taught her that sharks will bite her, but I think he failed to communicate what qualifies as a shark...

Ok girls, Smile…

junebuggies — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:40:21 +0000

Um…or just simultaneously bust out with random poses instead.

When I was taking the picture I saw two smiling little girls side by side, and within a nanosecond this happened.

A couple of things to note.

1) They are wearing their Christmas dresses in July because they match Lanie’s headband thing (from the popular Snow White collection) and Katie’s Elmo slippers. That was the explanation I was given.

2) Katie has 8 bandaids… courtesy of Nurse Lanie.

Shopping with Lanie

junebuggies — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:57:47 +0000

Lanie so kindly requested $60 cash back on behalf of the man in front of her at the Wal-mart checkout today. Oh well, they can at least void the transaction and redo it. Oh, wait, they can’t. Oh good…excellent.

This coming after we used our new Hello Kitty purse to shoplift candy from Joanns.

Really good times

New additions

junebuggies — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:52:40 +0000

Before I post my updates on my newly 2 and 4 year olds, I wanted to go ahead and introduce the two newest members of our family: Lanie Doll and Katie Doll. However, since Katie very much likes to be just like her sister, she has renamed Katie Doll “my Lanie Doll”.

Without further ado,

Matching Jammies and Slippers

Tucked away for the night.

And…

Katie even gave her one of her pacis.

I now have 4 little girls to get dressed in the morning, put in jammies at night, and to get their hair brushed and styled. They also require a lot of bandaids for some reason. Lots of boo-boos between the 4 of them.

junebuggies — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:58:18 +0000

Well, again, for those that did not know, my maternal grandmother passed away June 29th at the age of 76. So we have been in Houston – her service was beautiful, but also very difficult. It helps to know she is with my mom now, a long awaited reunion. But, of course I also wish she were here with us and my grandfather. I feel fortunate to have been with her for 31 years, but wish I could have many more. And I continue to be overwhelmed with gratefulness for my wonderful family during these difficult times.

So, again, sorry for the mopey blog – certainly been a tough time, just wanted to let whoever know what has been going on. Have high hopes for July – Andrew is in crazy study mode for the bar exam July 27-29th. Prayers for him as obviously his mind is preoccupied with other things.

And, Deena came through again with something to make me smile - Lanie’s 4 year pictures here.

Still here.

junebuggies — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:44:12 +0000

Hanging in there. Obviously we are still in a state of deep sadness and shock. Losing a loved one at the age of 60 in the blink of an eye certainly changes your perspective on life. I find myself so thankful for the family I have here, and so sad about the family that isn’t.

Fortunately, we were able to be with David at Lanie’s 4th Birthday party. I will always remember him pulling Katie out of the water fountain countless times while big sister ran around deliriously happy with her friends. A nice last memory.

So, I am still here – needing to post birthday celebrations and updates. Today we go for Lanie’s 4 year checkup and I believe 5 shots are in order. I have worried about this appt since she was a few weeks old. And she has been having a really tough time lately as it is – she is not that happy about being 4, is missing her Grandpa, and her familiar schedule and routine has obviously been totally uprooted with all of this. Praying for some kind of relief for her soon.

Sorry for the mopey post. I know we will get through this, but it sure is a difficult time. Thanks again for all the support. I hope to have something more cheerful to post soon. In fact, Deena, who is also dealing with this loss, did the girls’ pictures last week – I can’t help but smile thinking about those ….. here is a sneak peak of Katiebug’s…..

junebuggies — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:40:13 +0000

As most of you know, Andrew’s father passed away unexpectedly Monday, June 14th. While we are are all having a very difficult time, we are also feeling so grateful for the outpouring of support.

Also feeling grateful to my parents for coming up to Dallas on a moment’s notice and helping with the girls and the house, for the wonderful friends that swooped in to help make Lanie’s birthday special while Andrew and I attended the service, for the friends that came in from all over to be with us, for all those that helped put together a beautiful memorial, and for all the hugs and shoulders to cry on.

I am so fortunate to be a part of such a special and wonderful family.

Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.