Halloweeeen!

Darth Vader and Cinderella had a great 5th Halloween! They were joined by a little black cat, and of course mom and dad tagged along. Papa and Rere sent lighted necklaces which were fantastic for when the sun went down, making it easy to see them. And they loved them!! We got many more trick-or-treaters this year than normal, and many more older kids...sign of the times, I guess...free food so to speak. Hope everyone else had an equally fantastic time!

Emma's 1st Soccer Game

Emma did a great job playing her first game of soccer! She was right in the action, and wasn't afraid of the ball. Afterwards, she was actually TIRED! She loves it and we look forward to many more games.

Emma's 1st Soccer Game

Just a swingin....

Thank you Auntie Patricia!! Grace loves her swing! :)

Globe!

Jack & Emma love their new globe! We are tracking their cousin Rachel as she travels through Europe, and learning about the oceans and continents. We love it at night, when it is lit up, and you can see all the oceans and mountain ranges, too!

Jack & Emma are FIVE!!!

The day began with thunder, lightning, and the most rain we had seen in ages. Guests had to battle road closures due to flooding, but once they arrived, everyone had a great time! Pirate Potato and Cinderella came to entertain the kids, playing games, dancing, and running around. They both scored a lot of great loot, and we ate yummy cakes!

Birthday Present from Papa & ReRe

Opening our Globe from PaPa & ReRe...

Our 16 pound morsel!

Our new Beachin Shelter

Thank you Papa & Grandma ReRe!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Debbie!

Grace & Daddy

Another Rainy Day

Buto a.k.a. Edwin the Cat

If anyone out there is an "Olivia" fan, you will understand the Edwin part. Buto gets carried, dressed up, and otherwise molested on a daily basis and manages to keep her sense of humor through it all. She refuses to run and hide, but stays a real part of the family with all of us. Of course, not without an occasional flea bath, which contrary to the photo below, was actually taken in stride as well.

Grace

Rainy Day Fun

We have needed rain so badly, today was a good day. We all convened upstairs in Emma's room, and played with the baby, the cat, and Emma's wedding dress. Emma put her veil on the cat, which was not appreciated, but she still remained quite tolerant considering. Grace is growing in leaps and bounds, and is moving into her 3-6 month clothes (at 7 weeks!). We got an adorable dress for her from the Franks today, 6-9month size. At this rate, she will be in it in a few weeks!

Happy Birthday Papa!!

Happy Bday from Grace

My budding artist, Emma

Bozo the Mermaid

Grace...Hiccups

Fire Ants 83 Emma 0

PaPa & ReRe Card 2

PaPa & ReRe Card

More Grace

She is eating like a champ! Hope to have her home by the end of the week. None of us can wait!!

Grace Kelly Kotter

I got to come home from the hospital today, but it was bittersweet as Grace stayed behind in the NICU. She has overcome the fluid in the lungs, and now has a little extra billirubin in her blood and a distended abdomen. They can't seem to find anything wrong in her belly, after multiple xrays so hopefully they will start to feed today. It is my "mom's feeling" that once she starts on some of mommy's milk it will flush out all the poop and gas that is making her belly big. If it goes well, she should be home in a day or two, and that will be fantastic! She is an adorable girl. She is very calm, and the only sign of fussiness I have seen so far is she got really mad at me yesterday because I wouldn't feed her. She was rooting and showing hunger signs, but we were still on dr's orders to hold off. I am hoping Sunday is a great day!

Our new little scoundrel!

Grace was born on Tues, March 31 at 11:52pm. There was just 8 minutes to spare, as we didn't want an April Fool's baby! She weighed 7lb 13oz and measured 20 3/4 inches long. She is beautiful, seems to resemble Jack at first glance. Jack & Emma met her, and are a bit mystified at the whole thing, but already love her. We look forward to watching her grow!

Baby Grace - Sneak Peek!

Spring!!

We love FL!! Where else can you have an 80 degree day at the beach in mid-March? We had a fantastic time playing in the sand and enjoying the day. The kids actually went in the water, which is still freezing, but mom & dad kept it to calf level.