Ok, we're SOOO busy...here's a little update on Audrey:

She's crawling a little, about 3 feet every 5 minutes.  Slow and steady.  She loves jingly things, and books.  Oh, the books.  She is actually saying "ook."  She always wants her "ooks" and everyone elses.  She is eating a lot of table food and slightly chews those baby puff things now.  She loves her cup but will throw it to get Mommy's attention.  She is STILL having trouble sleeping at night, ARGH.  But she gives sweet hugs and very drooly kisses, and she says "Mama" which melts my heart.  And she thinks Kate is hilarious!

We have taken pictures recently, but I haven't uploaded them.  The camera has been through some trauma after having coffee spilled on it (Audrey's fault).

Ok, in the hoopla of Thanksgiving and family illness, I never posted about my sweet Katelyn Pie and her big birthday.

She's 3 now.  3.  I can't get over this.  It seems like such a small number for the amazing amount of changes that have occurred since her birth.

Kate is vibrant and joyous in spirit.  She is a tangle of emotions and energy so fierce I am shocked by her passion and lust for life.  She is independent in thought but deeply emotionally connected to those around her.  She is empathetic, sensitive, loving, observant, creative, and sweet.  She is shy of new people in general, but can form strong attachments very quickly.  She knows what she wants and is unafraid to say it, but when something is bothering her, she is often unable to identify the source of her feelings.  You always know what she's thinking because she thinks out loud.

Kate is fun.  She's always singing, jumping, acting out scenarios with her toys, being silly and spontaneous.  She loves being outside and doing art.  She loves Audrey and can't wait until she is bigger so they can play more together.  She tries to identify with people on their terms to connect with them; for example, she knows Daddy likes computer games, so she wants to play computer games with him, or blocks.  She likes to sing and read with Mommy and help with chores.  She is developing into a kind and flexible friend.  She adores her kid friends and has grown leaps and bounds through her relationships with them.

I love her little kewpie face.  Love her big smile, inability to say the letter "L", upside down sleeping positions, "moo-MAH" kisses, giggles that end in a half-choking sound, attempts to sound grown-up, bizarre object collections, Darth Pie breathing, and dress-up habits.  She'll come out of her room pushing a shopping cart, wearing a hat, scarf, rain boots, purse, and absolutely nothing else, only to announce, "I'm going to the HEB.  Do you need anything?"  She snatches ordinary objects and stashes them in pockets, baskets, etc. in unexplainable themed collections (e.g. "things Moogy needs for his bathtime").  I love it when she says, "Mommy, count my freckles" or "I need sweet snuggles."  I love her little voice singing with me at night, and stifle an affectionate laugh every time she sings "Christ the Yord."  She is my little friend and colors my life with spontaneity and silliness.

Oh, how many more joys await!  I love you, darling Pie.

Ok, to recap the Whirlwind:

10/30 Halloween party for 9 toddlers, 5 babies, and their parents.

11/10 Katelyn's birthday party, with out-of-town guests (Marc and Kandi).

11/14 Out of town guests Amanda, Brianna (3), and Beau (7 mos).

11/16 Tradeout of guests.  My parents arrive, Amanda leaves.

11/17 My First Thanksgiving To Cook extravaganza, went better than planned.

11/18 Katelyn turns 3, more out of town guests stop by (Jim and the boys), I eat soy accidentally and am unable to enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner.

11/19 No thanks to illness delays, David and Libba and Drew finally arrive.  Mom and I get some retail therapy.  Worship team rehearsal.

11/20 Mom and Dad leave.  Libba and I need more retail therapy.

11/21 I'm up all night sick again, and it's Kate's special day to go to Sea World.  David and Libba leave early.  I place a pathetic phone call to Crystal who generously gives me some of her nausea meds.  We go to Sea World anyways and have a blast.  It was worth it to see the look on Kate's face.

11/22 Thanksgiving Day!  Paul gets up with the kids and lets me sleep.  Bliss...

11/23 (today) up all night sick AGAIN.  I've had enough at this point so I go to urgent care and get a real prescription of my own. Today's plans include drinking Gatorade, laying on the couch, and knitting.

So now you know what we have been doing.  If I haven't promptly returned your phone call or email, now you know why.  :)  Maybe next week I will get to some Christmas shopping.  Pictures will eventually be up on Flickr.

Now, something I am thankful for:

(Scene: Mommy is pretending to snooze.)  Katelyn (very agitated):  Mommy!  You can't nap!

Mommy: Why not?

Katelyn (very seriously): Because the house will fall apart!

***

(Scene: Mommy and the girls are headed upstairs.  Kate has Greenbear tucked under one arm, the other hand has a finger in her nose.)  Katelyn: Mommy, get my drink.

Mommy (arms overflowing with wiggly Audrey and various things to go upstairs): You can carry it yourself, honey.

Katelyn: No I can't.  I don't have three hands, Mommy.

***

Also, she has been saying "Zoo time!" a lot lately.  I finally figured out why, after I sneezed!  "Zoo time"=Gesundheit!

Birthday party pix uploading to flickr as I write this.  So blog entry soon to come.

BTW, Kate went to the dentist today and did great.  I asked about the weird bumps on Audrey's gums, and she said they are painful but we probably won't see many more come up, if any at all.  They are rare and typically occur on the roof of the mouth.

I took a few of the semi-recent Katelyn and Audrey studio pictures, and compiled them into a desktop background.  As before, I made them in various sizes to match your own computer's desktop.  To find out what yours is set to, right-click on your current desktop, select Properties from the menu, select the Settings tab, and check out what it says for Screen Resolution.

Click on your closest match, and when the image loads, right click on the image and select "Set as Background"

1024 by 768 Pixels

1280 by 960 Pixels

1280 by 1024 Pixels

1400 by 1050 Pixels

1600 by 1200 Pixels

Kate gives her best thumbs-up, the only cheerleading move she knows.

That's Audrey, the crying Dalmatian.

Lots of stuff to share with you!  First up:  Audrey turned 6 months yesterday.  We took some pictures in the front yard and she was uncharacteristically stoic.

Audrey is usually our little ray of sunshine, don't let the pictures fool you.  Her current hobbies include drooling, shrieking, and kicking.  She loves having her clothes changed and when you pretend to eat her leg.  She is finally starting to appreciate being sung to.  She hates having her face wiped and being buckled into anything.

Next up:  we got some video of the two girls playing after dinner, both of them in their usual hyper state.  Paul translated the Kate-speak with subtitles!  Audrey only shrieks once or twice in the video, but prior to us turning on the camera the blood-curdling shrieks had been going on for about 15 minutes.  It puts a smile on your face and a migraine in your head all at the same time.  Anyways, observe the cuteness:

And in Mommy news, I wore my finished handknit tunic to church today.  It's made of bamboo yarn and I am very proud of it.  It was a big knitting challenge for me since I'm still a beginner.  Mom, thanks for all of those sewing skills, they really came in handy.  I wouldn't have been able to figure out the garment construction without them!

I gave Kate this bear today.

This is what she gave me in return:

We'll see how naptime goes.  My big brave girl.

Audrey had her 6 month checkup today, and the doctor tells me that those bumps on her gums are NOT A TOOTH.  They are some kind of calcium deposit in her gums.  They are hard and painful but should go away.  I guess that explains the weird location!

She weighs 15 lb 3.5 oz and is 26" long.  She sure seems heavier than that when I pick up the car seat carrier!