Three Years Later....

Look at the two crazy sisters. These pictures were taken almost exactly three years apart so I thought it would be fun to show a side by side. When the girls were born they looked almost IDENTICAL (they each looked like little withered old men :) But now, you can see that they are really their own characters! Both so beautiful, sweet and fun in their own right. It will be fun to watch their unique personalities develop over time.

Preschool!

A postcard arrived from Isabel's new preschool teachers last week. She was so excited to attend the Open House on Saturday and meet Ms. Elzabeth and Ms. Lynette. We had a chance to tour her classroom, introduce ourselves to her teachers and meet some of the other parents and kids who will be in her class.

Mom is so proud of her big girl

The dress-up station is ALWAYS this girls favorite.

Cousin Marcus will be starting pre-school this year too-- They won't be in the same class but they are both looking forward to it.

When we walked Isabel in to the Open House-- she quickly turned and gave us a hug and kiss. Then said "Bye Mom and Dad" and waved goodbye. We explained that we would be staying with her and she seemed disappointed. Somehow I don't think she will be having any seperation issues when school starts :)

Happy Anniversay to us!

5 Years

2 Kids

3 New Jobs

1 New Home

1 New Car

1 Bout of Cancer

Lots of laughter and tears

A few big fights

Many wonderful memories with our families

Tons of kisses and Hugs =

A very blessed couple!

So glad I let my mom convince me to sign up for EHarmony that fateful day--- because God used it to bring me my perfect partner. Happy 5 years together Jason Matthew Leppin XOXOXOX

Fastest. Summer. Ever.

Didn't school just let out?! Well....... it's back to working full-time next Monday. I must say I am not looking forward to the pace of the school year. I got a little taste of it last Spring and it was hectic to say the least. I am hoping we will be able to juggle our jobs and the two girls and everything that goes along with it..... I am trying to be positive about it all but it will be very hard to leave my girls-- especially sweet little Lucy behind. She is 6 months old now and this time around it is FLYING by.

What a cutie, right?

Update from her 6 month appointment-- Lucy has been spending a lot of time on her belly now and is pushing up on her arms much better and even sitting unassisted! She can roll both ways and is getting better at grabbing for and holding things. So basically....I was stressing and worrying  instead of having faith, being patient and letting her do things at her own pace (shocker). We are still working on the reaching, grabbing and holding but the doctor wasn't concerned at all. Interesting side note--- Lu is double jointed. She can turn her foot completely out and apparently her hands and thumbs too. I will try to snap a picture sometime of her and her "crazy foot". (She can turn it completely sideways and put it right in her mouth!) Maybe a career as a Cirque De Soleil performer?

Stats- Weight  15.9 (50th percentile)

          Height   26 inches (55th percentile)

Still an "average" girl-- but she seems so skinny compared to Isabel and Payton-- they had many

 more baby rolls! Other fun Lucy facts-- she is eating lots of Stage 2 fruits and veggies, sleeping 12 hours at night like a champ, sticking out her tounge and smiling and laughing like crazy. She rolls more than Bel ever did and I need to be careful  because if I leave her on the floor in a room I will never find her in the same place when I return. She LOVES her big sister and likes to kick her legs and bounce when seated. No teeth yet but her mouth is a faucet and her clothes are soaked in drool non-stop.

Look at this joker! She is starting pre-school in South Elgin this fall since she will no longer be attending daycare. Instead she will stay home with her YaYa and Grandpa and attend preschool two mornings a week. She is looking forward to meeting her new teacher at Open House and has a new lunchbox and school supplies. So grown up!

Summer was a blast with my girls, especially Isabel. This year she was old enough to really enjoy going places, seeing her friends and especially our annual family vacation in Indiana Beach. We stayed at the same house on the lake as last year but we rented a second "apartment" to accomodate our growing family. The girls slept with the grandparents and the grown ups got to stay up a little later than usual -- good times! I took a lot of fun pictures from vacay but her are some of my favorites.

Sissy!!

The P's-- relaxing

bathing beauties

Swimming in the lake with daddy-- (mom was afraid the fish might bite her toes:)

The famous Lucy smile

Lots of great family meals!

fishing--- didn't catch a thing!

Cousin Love

The Kerruish Fam

Crazy girls...bath, pjs and bed!

Stopping for yummy ice cream

Boat Rides! (Look at Lu's poor face)

This girl LOVES sand

hanging with my honey :)

Summer was so much fun but it is time to switch gears and prepare for the school year. Next week the "bag packing, bottle preparing, lunch making, dinner cooking, homework grading, laundry doing machine" will kick into high gear and I will be ready. But for today...... I will enjoy a few last days of fun with my family at a slower pace.

Catching Up...

Well... I haven't posted for a month or so - It is partially my fault (busy having summer fun with my girls) and partially my computer's fault (we had a virus that shut us down for a few weeks) So-- I will give you the Cliff Notes version of what has been going on with us.

Isabel-- Almost 3.5 years old already and going on age 13. She is a sassy little thing with a big vocabulary and an "answer" for everything. Jason says she will be a lawyer someday. She has been having a great summer going on "adventures" with her mom, Lucy and Payton. We have visited Santas' Village, Legoland, library, splash parks etc. She also participated in her first dance recital in June. (That was quite an extravaganza-- 3.5 hours at the Hemmens Auditorium :) Isabel also spent a week at Hot U Jr. (our church's version of  Vacation Bible School) which she loved and I volunteered to be a small group leader there-- I think I have discovered that I am best suited to teach middle school kids though- God bless you preschool teachers.

dance recital

 I think Bel loves having mom home during the summer and we try to get outside and be active on most days-- it has just been so ridiculously hot!! We have also been working on letters, numbers and writing her name so she will be ready for her new preschool in the fall. Isabel LOVES playing with her baby sister Lucy. She is very sweet and gentle with her and has discovered that she knows how to make Lucy laugh.  She tickles and talks to her and even helps mommy feed her cereal. Bel's other faves include her Barbies, dressing up in tutus, watching Doc McStuffins or Dora, going in her kiddie pool, having her friends over to play, making "smoothies" with mom and dad, and eating apples (the girl eats 2 or 3 per day!!) She is really a sensitive girl and has a big heart. I love hanging with her-- she is my little bestie :)

Lucy-- What can I say? She is a mellow, chill, happy little nugget. She likes to smile. She sleeps so well (7pm to 7am.. sometimes I even have to wake her up!) She started eating solid foods at 4 months and now eats rice cereal, oatmeal, and pureed ruits and veggies. Last week, I finally stopped breastfeeding. I hoped to make it to 6 months but I fell just a little short of that. It was kind of bittersweet because she will most likely be the last baby I nurse and she is no longer a tiny infant anymore. I just love her sweet little personality. She is an easygoing girl-- I think she gets that from daddy.

However, no matter how sweet and easy your little one is-- there always seems to be something to worry about as a parent. First we were concerned about Lucy's "flat head" and tight neck. That seems to have gotten better with more tummy time and stretching. Now, since her four month apt. we have been concerned about her meeting some of her other milestones. Pushing up on her arms and using her hands to reach, grasp, and hold objects have been a few of the issues she has struggled with. (She is doing these things but at a  slower rate than we have expected or the books suggest) Her 6 month appointment is in early August so we have been keeping track of some concerns to check with the pediatrician about. It is always a fine line between wanting to be proactive and observant and overreacting and accepting the fact that all kids develop at different rates. We just pray that Lucy will continue to grow and develop at a healthy rate.

Jason and I -- Jason is working, working, working at his new job at the Hospice which is challenging but he loves. I am playing "stay at home mom" for a few more weeks until school starts again in Aug. We are coming up on our 5 YEAR wedding anniversary already on Aug. 18th and we have planned our first overnight since Lucy was born. Looking forward to that time alone together. Our house is coming along-- we still have so many projects we would like to do but there never seems to be enough time or money to do everything we want. A cool milestone for Jason this year was that his doctors told him that he could skip his annual colonoscopy if he wanted because he had been cancer free for three years. He will now only do that test every two years. Yay! Other than that, we are boring. Just busy with life! Last week we had our family photos taken again by Julie- they turned out pretty great even though I didn't think the girls were cooperative :) Julie is engaged and moving to Haiti to be a wife and missionary so it may be our last photo shoot with her for a long time.. sigh. That's okay- she has an exciting adventure ahead of her too.

Our little family makes me SO happy--  I really think it will be hard to go back to work this year.

2012 Gala

Jason started a new job in January. He is now working as Senior Director of Development for Hospice and Palliative Care for Northeastern Illinois http://www.hospiceanswers.org/.  It is a wonderful organization to raise money for because they do so much to help families who are dealing with the loss of their loved ones. I know he feels really good about the mission of Hospice and last night we attended their biggest fundraising event of the year-- their annual Gala.

It was a black tie event and it was a lot of fun to get dressed up and have a real night out complete with cocktails, dinner and dancing. (It's been a while..like maybe our wedding?) The gala was held at a family's private estate in Barrington and it was mainly outdoors in their gardens and in a tent.Everything was so elegant and the food was delicious. Even though I didn't know anyone, I had a great time people-watching and it was fun to see my handsome hubby in his work environment. (as much as I tease him I could NEVER do his job... I hate making small talk with strangers and I get nervous in those types of social situations) Luckily, my glass of wine helped my nerves and by the end of the night we were rocking out on the dance floor.

I really wasn't sure what to wear.... (Jason said "a dress" so that was helpful :) so I ended up going with a black dress because that seemed pretty safe. I was actually really comfy all night and it wasn't hot out so I lucked out.

Doesn't Jason clean up well? Hottie :)

Stopped by to see my parents before the Gala. Pics with my dad just like prom-- lol!

(Got to love having a sister hairstylist --she can whip up a formal updo in minutes! Thanks Bean)

We actually stayed awake past midnight and the Leppins were so awesome. They watched the girls for us so that we could have our special night out. Now.... to start planning my dress for next year :)

Little Lu-- 4 months

Here I am swimming in the kiddie pool for the first time!

Lucy is 4 months old!! (okay.. she was 4 months a couple of weeks ago but we just had her doc appointment and I am just getting around to blogging about it.) So... let me start again. Lucy is 4 months old!

She is an easygoing, smiley baby. She goes to bed around 8 or 9 and sleeps until 6 am. Almost never waking up at night anymore (knock on wood.) She has ditched the pacifier in favor of her newly discovered thumb. (I will have yet another child to break of that thumb sucking habit some day but for now-- who cares. It is helping her sleep.) Lucy is still nursing but supplemented with formula and she has no problem switching back and forth betweeh the two.

A few nights ago Jason and I saw her roll for the first time. My parents had already seen it when I was at work, but she would never do it for us in the evening. However, now she loves rolling from back to stomach and stomach to back. Tummy time is still a struggle and she doesn't use her arms as much as I would like-- the doctor said we need to work with her more on her belly. We need to build up that upper body strength this summer.

At our check-up Doctor Cocjin said that Lu's head is flat on one side but she didn't seem overly concerned about it. She just told us to keep working on the repositioning and stretching her neck. Lucy got 3 shots and was a good sport. Big sister Bel came along for moral support and to cheer her up (She was pretty glad that Lucy was getting the shots and not her)

Her weight was 13 lbs  7.8 oz (50th percentile)

Her length was 24 inches and her head was 16 inches. (65th percentile)

Overall, Lucy is really just a sweet little girl. She is cooing, smiling and laughing at her sister and Isabel is finding her more interesting now. We put her in her Bumbo seat and on her playmat and in a few weeks we will give rice cereal a try. What a big girl!!