The Carr Family

Been Too Long...

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:57:00 +0000

It has been a long, hot summer! Actually, the hottest summer in about 20 years (I think). Too hot to play outside and some days are even too hot to be at the pool!!! The kids are doing great for being cooped up in the air conditioned house. They have been "camping out" under the dining room table, racing cars, playing My Little Ponies, playing board games...but now, it is time for them to go back to school. I have learned that they do not function well without a firm schedule. Not being in school has thrown them off a bit.

We are experiencing a cool down, so yesterday we spent most of the day outside and it was great. The kids were able to play on the swings, ride bikes, and shoot hoops.

Our babies start kindergarten next Wednesday!!!! I can't believe it. I will be an emotional wreck when they get on that bus! We have talked to them about it and they both seem excited and say they aren't scared or nervous. Ryan and I get to meet their teacher tonight and then the kids will meet her on Monday at the Ice Cream Social. I hope they have a teacher who is kid-centric and will challenge them....otherwise it will be a loooooong year!

This summer, Caitlin has become the "toothless wonder"! She has lost 5 teeth so far! Her current look involves the two, top front teeth missing and it is my favorite by far! The other day she was trying to tell me the name of this boy at church. His name was Seth and she was having such a hard time saying it! It was cute as can be!!! Poor Austin hasn't lost any and none are even wiggly! He is being patient, but I think it is starting to bother him that the tooth fairy is only visiting one room so far...

Baby Girl Carr has decided she is content in my tummy. I am 38 weeks pregnant as of today and am scheduled to be induced next Friday (August 19). I pray she waits until then to make her entrance. Dreading the thought of missing any kindergarten related things with Austin and Caitlin...but excited to meet this little lady too! She is very active (especially at night) so I think we might have a little squirmy night owl on our hands! :)

Today Ryan and I are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary. Have to say that I never imagined we would be welcoming another little baby after 11 years! Yet another example of God's love and faithfulness in our lives.

Hoping to post some pics next week of the first day of school and a new baby...WOW....busy, life changing times ahead...

Love 'Em!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:00:00 +0000

This morning I got to go spend time with the kids at school for a special Mother's Day program! They were adorable! All the kids presented their mommy's with a cute (HUGE) wrist 'corsage' made out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners. I was rockin' one on each wrist and A&C were so proud that they gave me "flowers"! They sang a couple cute songs (that made me tear up!), we made a craft together, they had a snack and then we all headed out to the playground. Austin ran from one end of the playground to the other about 50 times with about 3 other boys in hot pursuit. Caitlin spent most of her time on the swings, not really playing with anybody. The teacher says she usually plays with a couple little boys but they were both absent today. There is only one other girl in the class & she has special needs so sometimes it is frustrating for Caitlin to try to get her to play. It made me even more concerned about sending her to kindergarten next year. She has become very shy...just what this paranoid, worried momma needs, one more thing to worry about. Hoping she will have plenty of girls to play with once school starts in August.

Speaking of school....kdg round up was fun. The kids did a short assessment and aced it (she says with extreme pride!), then we got a tour of the school, and a little ride on the school bus. They LOVED the bus ride!!! Caitlin was pumped...it was the part she was most excited about. Austin thought it was good but was concerned about missing the tip of the Pacers game! We made it in time, to his delight! So, we learned that school doesn't actually start until Aug. 17th and Aug. 11th is a parent/teacher night. The perfect way to spend our 11th anniversary...if we are not spending it in labor and delivery!!! LOL The 17th is a little close for comfort to our due date of Aug. 25th. I want to be here to see the twintastics on their first day of school. Praying that this baby comes either the week before or the week after so I can be here for them.

We are planning on getting a 3d/4d ultrasound in the next couple of weeks. I am soooooo excited to see this little baby again and we are hoping to find out 100% is she is indeed a she! Ryan and I got to spend some quality time together last weekend...we went shopping for baby furniture and other miscellaneous baby items. We didn't buy anything but we know what we are going to get and BONUS...it is now on sale! YAY! Now to clear out the guest room which has become my "catch all" room over the years....makes me exhausted just thinking about it! Anyway, we capped off the day with lunch at BW3...sooooooooo gooooooooood!

Looking ahead to Austin & Caitlin's SIXTH birthday! OH MY! Planning will be underway shortly....

Round 'Em Up

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Tonight is Kdg Round Up and game #3 of the playoffs (Pacers v. Bulls). We are going to do it all...hopefully we can stay awake and in good humor. :)

I think I am nervous about the whole kdg thing. I'm starting to get a migraine just thinking about it...these 2 will always be babies in my eyes and they are growing up (quickly!). Ok, getting way too emotional thinking about it right now. While they have been in school for several years now, this seems very different to me. Bigger school, bigger classes, my little ones thrown in with a bunch of older kids, riding the bus...will they fit in? Will they adjust? Will they be successful?

The other night we had a tornado warning so we had to wake the kids around 10:15pm and head to the basement. It was all for naught as the storm that passed certainly didn't warrant all the hysteria the weatherman was exuding. Caitlin has quite a fear of storms so I had the bucket in the basement so she could puke if she needed to. (Yes, the last storm she puked from being so scared. Thus, the bucket this time...) She was being very calm and brave though this time. I think it helped that she had her daddy there with us. The next morning, PBS had a flash flood warning icon on the screen. She refused to watch any channel with weather related icons!

Austin loves his Pacers. He is already asking how many hours until "7pm"! He loves to "pronounce" all the players like the player intros. His favorite one to say is "Daaaannnnyyyy GRRRRRRRannnngerrrrr". He is also a big fan of "Pacers Live" (pre-game show)...especially the female broadcaster whom he just calls "Stacy". lol We are going to be cutting it close tonight because of KDG round up, so it is possible we will miss the tip. OH BOY. He is devastated to miss tip off (in person, on tv, wherever!). Fingers crossed we make it on time....

Time to bathe the kiddos and maybe get them to nap a bit.

GOOOOO PACERS!

Expanding The Family

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:10:00 +0000

We are excited as we prepare for the arrival of baby #3 in August. It was totally unexpected. This is going to be a looooong post....

Around Christmas, I started feeling very dizzy and unbearably tired. I chalked it up to a new medication for my migraines. Then I decided maybe it was early menopause! lol :) After a few weeks of this, for some reason I decided to take a test. So, on Tuesday, January 4th, I woke up around 6am and did the test fully expecting to see the stark white test strip staring back at me after the allotted time (as is usually the case). I about fell over when it immediately started to show up positive. I looked at it several more times and then went to wake Ryan up to show him. I woke him up and he was completely out of it...he kept asking me "What's wrong??" because I was making him walk with me to the bathroom. He told me that he thought something was wrong because I'm not usually up so early! HA! I showed him the test and he just started smiling and couldn't believe it. After that, there was no hope of us falling back asleep! So we laid back down (with Austin in the middle because he snuck into the bed in the middle of the night) and just kept grinning and saying we didn't believe it. A blood test the next day confirmed it.

The next week we went to the doctor for an ultrasound to confirm...and we saw a beautiful little flickering heartbeat. I was 8 weeks pregnant at that point! We went home and told Austin and Caitlin. They were very excited and I think a little confused! But they got to call the family and tell the good news. One day, before we told the kids, Caitlin walked out of our bathroom holding a pregnancy test in each hand and asked in an annoyed voice, "Why do I keep finding these EVERYWHERE?!?!" So funny!

On Friday, April 1st, our whole family went to the BIG anatomy ultrasound. They do a thorough check of the baby with all sorts of measurements and can tell you the sex of the baby if you are interested. OH, we were interested! Austin wanted a brother and Caitlin wanted a sister....naturally. The tech did all her measurements first and then asked if we wanted to know if baby was a boy or girl. We all said yes and she revealed that we are having a girl! Poor Austin was crushed. He put his head down on the exam table and cried a little. Then he was in denial....saying that he would still call it a boy! Prior to his big letdown, he was quite a talker and was cracking the tech up! He heard the printer printing the pictures and said, "MOM! What do you say?!" I was totally clueless as to what he was talking about...Ryan explained to him that the noise was the printer. And he says (LOUDLY) "OH. I thought Mom had gas!" Then, out of the blue a few minutes later he asked, "Mom, when the baby comes out of your buns does it feel like a poop?" After I stopped laughing, I answered, "Kind of..." He followed up with, "Like a soft poop?" At least the tech started her day off with a good laugh! :) That boy...

So, today we are at almost 21 weeks...halfway through the pregnancy. Starting to think about actually buying some baby things....

Next week, we take Austin and Caitlin to Kindergarten Round-Up. They get to meet all of the Kdg. teachers and take a little ride on a school bus. I can't believe they will be Kindergartners soon!!! Their first day of school is on our 11th anniversary! They are feeling nervous but I am so thankful that they will have each other. We requested that they be in the same class which will be great. Mommy is terrified of them riding the bus. Nothing good ever happens on the bus....imho!

Uncle Clint & Aunt Sarah flew out here for a short visit a couple weeks ago. It was very low key. The kids were all over Clint and since Sarah is pregnant as well, we didn't do too much. Hit a Pacers game, went out to dinner, took the kids to swimming class...nothing exciting but it was very nice to see them! Who knows when we will be able to get together again?!

Told you this was a looooong post. Gotta stop and nap now!!! More soon!

Play Doh

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Ahhh. After a rough morning we are having a decent afternoon thanks to Play Doh. These 2 would play with the stuff for HOURS! Apparently it is my "fake birthday" and they are making me a "rainbow cake" with candles and everything! They were also playing hotel and KFC!

On a personal triumph note....I have cleaned 90% of the main living area! THIS IS HUGE NEWS!!!! :)

Blog? What blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:17:00 +0000

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!

Here's the latest....

Austin and Caitlin are growing like crazy. In a couple months we will be enrolling them in Kindergarten!!!! They are such sweet kids.

Last weekend Austin got to go on a business trip with Ryan. They went to Kentucky to see a game at Moorehead State and Austin was pumped that he got to help daddy scout. He was excited to sleep in a hotel and it was classic when they skyped us. Caitlin held her foot up to the webcam and Austin (without missing a beat) said, "tickle, tickle". Pretty funny! Despite his excitement, he was a little apprehensive about being away from his girls. It was sweet to see the huge hugs and excitement when they returned the next evening. Austin even brought us postcards that he signed! ADORABLE!

While the boys were traveling, Caitlin and I caught a movie...Tangled. Very cute. She cuddled on my lap the whole time! After the movie, we did mani/pedis for each other and ordered pizza for dinner. The thing she most looked forward to was having permission to sleep in our bed all night. She was so cute and snuggly and only kicked me in the head once! lol The next day she had swimming lessons and we had lunch at Olive Garden (her fave restaurant). Then we came home and she was impatiently waiting for her Austin to get home. :) She was sooooooo happy when her boys walked in the house!

We signed Austin up for some more bball "classes" and Caitlin will be starting gymnastics soon.

Other than that, we are anxious for the snow to go away and for Ryan's busy travel season to slow down. It has been a loooooong winter! :)

Hopefully I will keep this thing updated a lot better!

Christmas 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 23:40:00 +0000

I apologize for the lack of posts to the blog, if anyone is reading this. It seems that Facebook seems to have taken the place of regular posts here.

I wanted to post some pictures of the festivities of late. A few pictures from our trip to the Orchestra, a few of the kids sprinkling reindeer food in the yard, and then quite a few of them opening presents this morning.

They went right to sleep at 9 pm last night. They woke up promptly at 1:30 am. We had them climb into bed with us thinking that they would fall asleep. I think only Kim and I fell asleep. We relented at about 5 am to go see what Santa brought (although Austin already had most of his stuff broken in by then). We then went back to sleep and got up at 8 to open the other gifts.

The kids in all their excitement were very polite and gracious.

Lynn, John, and Dustin stopped by at about 10:30. We had breakfast and then exchanged gifts with them. Our afternoon was pretty lazy and included naps for Kim, Austin and Caitlin.

It has been a great family day. We get so few of these it seems, and this one is the best of the year. I am not sure how many more we have to go with the pure joy that the kids display like the last few, but hope there are quite a few.

Merry Christmas to you, and may God bless you in the new year!

Ryan, Kim, Austin and Caitlin

p.s. I just wanted to add that this year both kids had their own favorite Christmas songs to sing along to...Caitlin just LOVES "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by the Jackson 5 and Austin's favorite is a lesser known tune by Ricky Martin called "Ay Ay Ay, It's Christmas". He says it is about a boy who doesn't have a Christmas present for his mommy. lol

Our Little Girl Lost Her 1st Tooth!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Tonight while Caitlin was brushing her teeth, she brushed her 1st loose tooth right out! She said, "Dad, my tooth came out and there is a little bit of blood." She was a little shocked, but excited when she realized the tooth fairy was going to be coming tonight. Wanted to share a couple of pictures of her and a cute video Kim took right after the event! PRICELESS!!!!

From Caitlin's 1st lost tooth

State Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:27:00 +0000

We went to the last day of the Indiana State Fair yesterday with Aunt Bubbles and Uncle John. We had a great time complete with the kids riding rides at a furious pace, a lot of fried food, and a lot of people watching!

It was a great time, and something we have done every year. We just need to make sure we get there before the last day from now on. Most of the animals were all gone!

Enjoy the pictures!

Arizona Adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:07:00 +0000

It has been way too long since we posted. We spent last week in Arizona and had a great time. We stayed for 4 nights in Scottsdale at the Westin Kierland Resort, and then spend a night in Flagstaff after seeing the Grand Canyon, spent part of a day in Sedona, then finished up with 2 nights at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort. Our 10th anniversary was on the 11th, so it all tied in with that.

The kids were extremely excited to go on a "jet plane" again. They love flying. When you stop and think about it, they have been a lot of places for being just 5. New York, Seattle, Florida, Texas, Arizona. Not to mention all the places we have driven through!

The Kierland resort was so great. It is nice and has a great balance of stuff for kids and adults. We spent A LOT of time in the pools, where they had a nice long lazy river to float down and a great water slide that we couldn't get the kids off of! One afternoon, the kids spent time in their kid's club, while Kim and I got some time to hang at the pool, and then the night of our anniversary they had a "pajama party" for the kids where they took them to dinner, watched movies, and messed around while Kim and I went out for dinner. We also got to spend an afternoon with my Grandpa and Grandma Klem who live in Sun City West, AZ. We haven't seen them in a couple of years since Travis and Kasia's wedding, so it was great. They brought a cake to celebrate our anniversary, and gifts for Kim and the kids. It was great to catch up with them. We couldn't have had a better 4 days there and highly recommend the resort to anyone looking for a great place to stay in Scottsdale.

The trip to the Grand Canyon was probably cooler for Kim and I than the kids. They were looking forward to seeing "the big hole", but got bored with it pretty quickly. It was the first time I had seen it, and I have to say, everyone should check it out. It is amazing. I couldn't fathom how wide or deep it was. I would have loved to spend a lot more time there, but the kids were getting bored with it! On our way back to Flagstaff (another great little town that looks more like somewhere in Colorado than Arizona) we stopped by the small town of Williams, AZ. It is on old Route 66. The kids loved it since the movie "Cars" talks about it. Austin was a little disappointed we weren't in Radiator Springs like the movie, but we stopped at an old school DQ for a little ice cream, and all was good.

The next day we spent quite a bit of time in Sedona. First, the drive from Flagstaff to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon is one of the most beautiful drives I think exists. I can't really speak to the beauty of it, or really of Sedona. It was a perfect day weather wise, and as you will see in the pictures, the red rocks against the blue sky is something incredible. It is touristy, with lots of little shops and stuff, but what an amazing place. Definitely worth another trip sometime.

We had a pretty relaxing last 2 days back in Scottsdale playing in the pool and just hanging out. It was another beautiful resort with lots of kids stuff to go along with being nice for adults.

The week went quickly, of course, but not without some good stuff from the kids. Caitlin would ask every kid in the pool to be her friend. A few of them actually played with them quite a bit! They called the shallow end of the pool the "hollow end." The night in Flagstaff we stayed in a Springhill Suites. When Caitlin heard the name of the hotel, she asked if they had sweets that she could eat.

I have to thank Lynn and John and our neighbors Livia and Brad. Of course, we thought we could save from boarding Hoops by having them check on him and feed and let him out while we were gone. Well, Hoops wouldn't eat or pretty much move the first couple of days we were gone. The third day, Lynn stopped by to find diahhrea all over the place in our house. Livia was kind enough to take him to the vet the next morning and then the kennel. Seems that he was nothing but depressed that we were gone, and probably lonely. The vet said he was fine, the kennel said he was great there, and Lynn and John cleaned up the house and we came home with basically no sign of the disaster that had occurred while we were gone. We owe them all dearly!

Enjoy some of the pictures from the trip...I think we took around 450 of them during the week!

Pictures from Austin and Caitlin's Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Here are pictures from their party. It was quite an event and all the kids had a lot of fun. Enjoy!!

Video from A&C's Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:05:00 +0000

Here is a short video of Austin and Caitlin blowing out their candles and being sung "Happy Birthday" to.

Caitlin's Recital

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:01:00 +0000

Caitlin's much anticipated dance recital was Thursday. She was so excited, and she did a great job. She had different costumes for her ballet and tap dances, and even got to walk a red carpet and blow kisses to her adoring fans!

We were really proud of her. Austin was so cute. Beforehand, he said, "Caitlin, I am a little nervous for you." He cheered for her and was so proud of her. After the recital, he ran up and gave her a flower and a big hug and kiss.

Here are a few pictures...Most of the them turned out blurry, but even in these, if they are blurry, she is the smaller blur!

After somewhat of a painstaking process of loading this video to one computer and then transferring it to another and then loading it to YouTube, here is a video of Caitlin's major parts of her recital. Enjoy!!!! It was a fun night, and one that we will always remember!

Happy Birthday Austin & Caitlin

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:37:00 +0000

I love our kids. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them to pieces! I can't believe birthday number 5 is in the books! Admittedly, this party was a little bigger than I anticipated...it kind of took on a life of its own because I was having such a great time with the planning. Next year it will be scaled down for sure.

The kids are so sweet. They are the most genuinely sweet & grateful kids I know. They have such joy even in the smallest things.

Details...

Friday night we had some wicked thunderstorms and a ton of rain. Thought for sure I'd be waking early to clean the basement for Plan B...but by morning things were calm (but soggy) so we still had the party outdoors. The first think I heard in the morning was Caitlin saying, "Happy Birthday Bear!" Oh my...totally melted my heart. They were soooooo excited that they were finally 5! It was so cute to see their excitement at getting older.

The day was nonstop from 7am to way into the night...I will not have a party on their actual birthday again...just too hectic. fun. but hectic. Rookie mistake.

The carnival theme was great. We had a concession stand set up with all kinds of goodies - popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, nachos, chips, goldfish, drinks. My Aunt Lynn was the concessions lady & she did a great job. Well, except when she was trying to figure out how to make cotton candy and it wound itself around her arm instead of the paper cone. :) I found it funnier than she did...by the end of the day she was covered in popcorn oil, grass stains, and even had some blue cotton candy highlights in her hair. lol

After we ate, the kids lined up at the ticket booth (thanks Uncle John!) and got their bags with tickets for the games! We have some great friends & family who volunteered to run the games. It was awesome just to stand back and look at our kids & their friends having a blast playing games in our yard. Most of the games were made by me so nothing fancy...we had a ring toss, bead dig, beanbag toss, penny pitch, quarter drop, lollipop tree, balloon stomp, ping pong toss, & soccer kick. They loved going from game to game collecting prizes.

THE BEST was the face painting! OH MY GOSH! Austin & Caitlin have been looking forward to getting their face painted since I bought the supplies about 2 weeks ago! They have been discussing what designs they would like and insisted they would be first in line. :) By the end of the party Caitlin had designs on her forehead, both cheeks, both arms, & both legs. Austin was sporting a pirate patch, mustache, & goatee along with the word PACERS down one leg & COLTS down the other leg. My nephew Ethan was rolling with a handlebar mustache, A & C's friend Max had a "Bob & Tom" 'stache & Jacob had the "Jack Sparrow" 'stache/goatee combo.

Austin & Caitlin requested red velvet cake, so that's what we had. The bakery did a great job with the decorations & it was absolutely delicious.

It was such a fun day and now we have two sweet FIVE YEAR OLDS!!!! :)

It's been awhile...

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:03:00 +0000

We are way behind in posting to the blog. We have quite a few pictures to get up, and of course, we have a big day coming up Saturday when Austin and Caitlin turn 5...(That seems impossible, by the way).

I haven't been home a whole lot the last month, and I probably won't be able to get the pictures up until the weekend of the 26th, but at that time I will post pictures that haven't been downloaded from the camera for a LONG time, as well as pictures from their birthday.

They are both very excited, and Kim is doing a great job of planning a carnival themed party. Not sure how many kids will be there, but from what I understand they will have fun. Lots of carnival games and carnival food.

Hope everyone is well, and I admittedly have been terrible keeping in touch with anyone of late. Lots of preparation for the draft next Thursday. I will resurface after that!

Recently....

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Let's see.....

Caitlin is busily preparing for her recital. Only a few more weeks of classes, then the big night! We have both of her costumes and it is a bit overwhelming...all the stuff you have to buy, all the stuff you COULD buy....flowers, dvds, music to practice, tights, make-up, pictures, hair kit to make a bun...BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!

Austin has 2 more weeks in his Friday bball class and then he will begin a weekly 2 hour class for K,1,2! His coaches think he is ready to move up....I know he'll be happy to have that extra hour to play ball.

The preparations are underway for the kids' 5th birthday party. This year is a carnival theme....so far the cotton candy machine & popcorn machine are rented and the cake is ordered. Still working on invitations, choosing games, & creating game booths. I absolutely can't believe they are almost 5! What the heck?!?!?! That went by waaaaaaay too fast!

Saturday we took them to the qualifications for the Indy 500. It was their first time experiencing the track & both kiddos had a good time. Austin loved it way more than Caitlin but she seemed to enjoy it too. They were comparing everything to "Cars" which I found very amusing.

Yesterday & today have been downright HOT...almost 90! So Austin & Caitlin have been loving some sprinkler time in new swimsuits. It has been the only time in recent days that they have played together without arguing or having a knock-down-drag-out! They take turns dumping buckets of water on the slide & the other kiddo splashes through it. They are using their "misters" from Disney World and today they "painted" the playset with buckets of water & paintbrushes. We have been outside for about 4 hours now with no issues.

Also happy to report that Austin's love of mowing hasn't wavered....he is still a dedicated mower! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan has one more long trip...a combo of Treviso, Italy (basically Venice - lucky duck!) and New Jersey! There's a combo you don't see everyday! :) Only a few more weeks till the big draft. Anybody have any thoughts on the 10th pick? Yeah, me neither! Ryan finds my attempts at scouting very comical. lol

I just finished organizing/hosting a Teacher Appreciation Tea at the kids' preschool. It was such a nice event & I think the teachers really enjoyed it. Hard to believe next year is our last year there....then it's the big bad world of kindergarten! WOW!

That's about all for now....

Miracles (Mother's Day)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:07:00 +0000

A little over 5 years ago, God answered my prayer. All I wanted was to be a mom. It's all I prayed for, it's all I dreamed of. Being a mom has blessed me in so many ways and I believe it was a miracle...the doctors, the treatments, the financing, the friends & family who supported us, our church...God put those all in our path at the exact time we needed them. Nothing short of miraculous. Breathtaking really.

And to be blessed with not one, but TWO babies. WOW.

The gift of being a mom is not lost on me as I watch others struggling with infertility...my heart breaks for them as they travel down the road we had to a few short years ago. I remember the many Mother's Days spent crying & wondering if I would ever be able to celebrate with my own child. I will never forget those times - small reminders to cherish every single moment with my kids.

I knew I would love my babies, but I never knew the depth of love. It is completely overwhelming. These amazing little people are a gift from God. Every day isn't perfect & some days are just downright awful, but there is never a day without overwhelming love.

As Austin & Caitlin grow, I pray that they will always feel loved & cherished by me. Their mom.

Saint Lou-eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Ryan had a few days off of work so we took a mini vacation to St. Louis. We weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great couple of days!

The drive took about 4 hours (not factoring in the potty stops we had to make) & the kids did a great job. When we got to St. Louie (the kids found this pronunciation HILARIOUS!), we went straight to the Arch. Up we went and they loooooooved it! The Arch was a BIG topic of conversation before, during, & after this trip. We traveled to the top in a little "egg pod" and were blessed with clear skies. It was cool to see the skyline and the Mighty Mississippi! After the Arch we drove to the hotel & had dinner in our room then hit the hay.

The next morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, & headed to the St. Louis zoo. WOW! It was a great zoo! Austin enjoyed seeing the rhinos & the bears. Caitlin loved the giraffes. They got to pet guinea pigs, bunnies, & goats in the Children's Zoo...it was so cute to watch them with the animals. Also in the goat pen we got to see some classic comedy...goats would steal papers from unsuspecting people's pockets & bags and chomp away. One guy was even chasing the goat thief...not sure what he thought he was going to do, but he couldn't catch the goat anyway. That was funny to see.

After the zoo the kids took a "car nap" and Ryan & I were able to drive around and check out the neighborhoods. Next time we WILL be visiting "The Hill"...St. Louie's Little Italy. Ahh, but not this time. Instead, for dinner we headed to some place that was like a way better version of Chuck E. Cheese. The food was awful but the kids had a blast playing all the games...mini bowling, pop-a-shot, skee ball, driving games. At first Caitlin was puzzled about the tickets coming from the games, but once I showed her the prize counter & explained how we would turn in our tickets for prizes, it was ON! She was obsessed with getting as many tickets as possible. She ended up with about 500 tickets and was able to get a boatload of junk toys. :) Austin had about 400 tickets and got his fair share of junk toys too!

On Thursday we got up, had breakfast, & packed up. We thought we would stop at one more fun place before hitting the road. We went to City Museum which looked very cool but Ry & I decided it was more for older kids. So we drove to Magic House...the Children's Museum. It was great & the kids had a blast. The exhibits were awesome...Caitlin loved the exhibit with separating recyclables and dumping them in the recycling truck and Austin put on a hard hat, grabbed an empty spray bottle & cloth & starting cleaning the SMART car that they had. He was on a mission....even crawling inside the car to detail it. :) The funniest was when a girl put her foot on the bumper and he immediately went over, pretend sprayed, & wiped off the offending footprint! They also had slides, a water table, a sand table, a replica of the Oval Office/Congress/Courtroom, a house under construction, a beanstalk to climb...it was a great museum & definitely tired the kids out.

Then we were on our way home. It was a great time of reconnection for our family!!!

The Schnipkes are coming! The Schnipkes are coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Yesterday we were very lucky to have a short visit from some very dear friends. Carrie, Andy, & their ADORABLE twins, Ben & Kate came over! We haven't seen them in ages so it was great to catch up. The kids got along sooooo well & it was fun to see them playing together. Ben & Kate are a year younger than Austin & Caitlin so it was like a flashback for me & a flashforward for Carrie. :)

Austin gave Ben one of his basketball cards which is how he demonstrates love for ya nowadays...he even left one for the Easter Bunny!!! LOL Caitlin was the perfect little hostess...showing Kate around & basically never leaving her side! They spent a lot of time playing with the princesses & the Cinderella castle...imagine that? :)

It was a great (but too short) visit and we look forward to doing it again soon!

And Another Thing...

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Before playing "water park", they got into the red velvet cupcakes I made them as a little treat yesterday...they each scarfed down two!!!!!!!!!!

It's What I Get for Thinkin'...

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Just the other day I was thinking about how fortunate we were that our kids didn't do anything destructive like flushing random objects down the toilet or stopping up the bathroom sinks. This will prove that God has a sense of humor....

You know it is not going to be good when your husband yells "KIM, COME DOWNSTAIRS & BRING EVERY TOWEL WE HAVE!!!!" at 5:30 in the morning.

Well, it wasn't good. Wasn't good at all!

The kids had done one of their infamous night wakings and were in the mood for fun. So what is super fun for kids? WATER. These two hooligans were naked and spraying themselves with the sprayer from the kitchen sink. There was water ALL OVER our kitchen floor, dripping down & into the cabinets, all over the counter, under the stove...swimsuits were tossed aside on the kitchen floor!

After a lengthy cleaning process, Ryan went upstairs to talk to the culprits. When asked why they would do something like that, here's what they told him...Caitlin said, "Daddy, we were playing water park!" Austin said, "I was typing on the computer & washing the dishes!"

Today HAS to get better....right?

Catching Up is Hard to Do

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:11:00 +0000

SO FUNNY! We are playing outside right now...the kids are having a good time together playing make believe with their sandbox & playset. Anyway, we hear a loud boom & then I see some fireworks go off down the street (who knew Easter was the official start of fireworks season?!)...Austin immediately plugs his ears with his fingers and hollers, "MOM, IT'S JULY!" I got a good laugh outta that. Caitlin just asked Austin, "Did you see the fireworks? Were they gorgeous?" Now she is informing him that the rain will make it "wet sand" and they can build a sandcastle..."Let's just wait here for it (the rain)" she says. lol

Caitlin just blew her whistle & shouted, "Attention RAIN! Go away!"

Yesterday was a seriously NON traditional Easter. At 5:30, we were awoken by a sweet, excited little boy who said, "Mommy, I think the Easter bunny came. I'm not sure if he brought me a book and a big chocolate bunny, and some Tootsie Rolls (of course "he" brought all that....Austin MUST be clairvoyant!)...so Austin woke up Caitlin & we all trounced downstairs to check out the baskets. By about 6:30 everybody had dozed off but alas it was time for me to get up to get ready for church. A & C fell asleep in the car on the way...

Church service was incredible...by the end both Ryan & I were misty-eyed (ok, I had big fat tears rolling down my face, but whatever). I have never attended an Easter service at Grace and NOT cried. Austin came out of GKC & told us about the "mean guys" putting a "thorn crown" on Jesus and "it hurted him very much".

After church, the kids & Ryan had a brief nap before we headed to downtown Indy & Bracket Town. I was certain Austin would love it because it had to do with the Final Four...but CAITLIN was the one who embraced the experience! I have a ton of great pics of her...pretending to cut down the nets after a Final Four victory, posing in cut outs of various college athletes (track, skiing, water polo, gymnastics), making a hockey goal, enjoying the bounce house...Austin was reluctant to do most of the activities...he DID shoot a couple hoops, participated in a lay-up line, and tried his hand at hockey & soccer. Caitlin also wanted to try the Home Run Derby, but we weren't in the mood to have our SUPER coordinated daughter knocked unconscious by a baseball... :)

After a couple hours, we headed back to "Daddy's Work" to get situated for the big Pacers game. Austin was excited to see the "Wockets" (Rockets) because he never saw them play before. This boy LOVES watching basketball. He just sits & chows on Goldfish & tells Ryan the score. His fave players are Roy Hibbert (the other day he requested his name be changed to "Roy Hibbert"), Mike Dun-LEAVY (emphasis on the 2nd half), and Tyler Hansborough. Caitlin wants to walk all over the arena & see the sights. We went to Starbucks, to our "secret room" for employee families...we love the fruit tray & complementary beverages & the comfy couches & private restrooms, Caitlin got to hug Boomer. Then we came and sat down with the boys...and patiently waited for the game to end (mommy had a SERIOUSLY bad headache by that time).

The kids fell asleep quickly (and so did the parents)!

Gonna go enjoy some conversation with the kiddos on the porch......

More Funny Stuff...

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:50:00 +0000

I often email myself (and Ryan) some of the funny things the kids do and say so I can remember to blog them. Here are some that I came across tonight...sorry for the funky layout at the end...i copy & pasted to save time but something went haywire and now i'm tired...

They saw the bus come this morning and austin asked "will we ride that bus?" i said yes. then caitlin said, "austin will you sit by me?" he said "no, i think i will sit by may." then she says, "but i want to sit by her!" so austin says,"hey i have an idea. i can sit on may's lap and you can sit beside her!" yeah, i think may will really go for that one when she is in 3rd grade and they are in kdg! soooooo funny!

we're doing caitlin's homework & she finished the page before austin. she says, "mommy i finished coloring in all my items." items? she's hilarious!!!

why did the cocker spaniel and the rooster squeak? asked caitlin. nobody had an answer (not even her!!!)

while coloring with markers...caitlin, "mommy what color do you want me to use for you?" me: "oh i don't know. what colors do you have?" caitlin names them all. me: "hmmm, aqua sounds pretty." caitlin: "i'll pick purple. that's the one i like."

did i expect anything different??? not really!

i spy with my little eye something dark (yelled by austin from his room to caitlin in her room during nap time)

i spy with my big eye... (how caitlin says it...last night during story)

Playing hockey w princess clothes & golf clubs. we are the yellow jackets and the green jackets! GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! caitlin: "at the end i spray sparkles around the goal. i'm spreading fairy dust all around the court"

caitlin (turning golf club upside down): "austin, wanna play little old lady?"

Catching Up...

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:47:00 +0000

Caitlin: "Mom! There is a bug in here! There. I deaded it! No, it's still moving! Mom, will you dead it?" After I said "No" she called to Austin..."Austin, come down here and see this strange bug!" Austin hollers down, "Can I dead it?" FYI...the bug was released back into the wild. :)

On a bike ride the other day Austin stopped a few feet ahead of us, parked his bike in the middle of the sidewalk, and ran back to tell Caitlin something. I asked what he was doing...."Mom I have to tell Caitlin something! Caitlin! Why did the chicken cross the road?" After he got a laugh, he ran back to his bike to continue on...

On the same bike ride, Caitlin really utilized her coordination...let's see...she fell over her bike while WALKING next to it! And she mowed down someone's bike that was parked on the sidewalk. Why go around it really?! I swear it was one of the funniest things ever! She just looked at me and said, "I couldn't stop in time." :) Ya think?

At a playground recently, Austin must have read my mind...he said, "Can we go now? These boys are being wild!" We were outta there!

Two of their favorite jokes? Knock Knock. Who's there? Dwayne. Dwayne who? Dwayne the bathtub, I'm dwowning! (my favorite joke from childhood!) The other is the knock knock joke where you keep saying banana and then switch to orange for the punchline of "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

If the kids have all of their "pets" together it is called "Petville"! :)

Yesterday we ventured to Barnes & Noble so I could have some coffee and Austin & Caitlin could have a little treat (a red velvet cupcake!). After we indulged, we went back to the kids' section and these two were SOOOO FUNNY with the little stage! They just hopped right up and began acting out stories from books that they randomly pulled from the shelf. Austin brought over 2 stuffed dragons for "the watchers" (audience) and Caitlin introduced the show by saying (LOUDLY) "Ladies & Gentlemen! Boys & Girls! Welcome to the Princess Show!" We were the only ones back there besides and employee who was dusting & restocking shelves. She got quite a laugh listening to them. We stayed there for about an hour doing that!

Now they are talking about the "evil plum" while playing in the bathtub!

Last week we were at Aunt Bubbles' house visiting because they "skipped naps". The kids were watching her dog, Harley while they were laying on the floor. Caitlin just blurts out, "Look Austin! He has a penis too!" Then she started saying, "He's pooping!" But she realized it was something else...so of course asked about it. I tried to get out of it by saying, "Oh that's just another part of his penis." But that wasn't cutting it for our kids. They REALLY wanted to know & Aunt Bubbles wasn't helping me weasel out of it either (Thanks a lot Bubs! :) ). So I said, "Those are called his testicles." Well, they now swear they are called TEXTicles. Nice...TEXTicles.

We have had a few days of beautiful weather! Today it was at least the upper 60s and the whole neighborhood was outside! We did a little bubble blowing & sidewalk chalking then went for a scooter ride. I ended up carrying Caitlin's scooter while Austin zoomed ahead of us. That kid is FAST! I think we'll be sticking to bike rides from now on...

The kids are excited about Daddy's birthday and the fact that he will be in town for 3 whole weeks after Friday. That is going to be awesome!!!! We have a lot to do around here and it is so nice to be all together for an extended period of time again.

Time to get the kiddies ready for bed...school in the morning!

FOUND!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Can you guess where I cleaned today? I found...

a Leapster2 Cartridge that was missing for over a week, a wrapper from a mini Hershey bar, a dried noodle, 2 combs, 36 cents, the "stick" for a triangle, Ariel's bikini top (or "breasts" according to Caitlin), and a crayon!

Why yes. I did clean under the couch cushions!! Maybe I should do that more often?