Announcing the arrival of Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn was born Monday, December 12 at 8:18 pm. She was 6 lbs. 10 ozs. and 20.5 inches long. She is adorable and we are glad she has finally joined us. Elise and Joseph love having their new baby sister around, at least, most of the time!

Family photo the day we brought Kaitlyn home from the hospital







Kaitlyn right after she was born

Kaitlyn found her thumb right after birth

Joseph giving Kaitlyn a big hug!

Elise holding baby Kaitlyn

Joseph's 1 year old photos

Joseph turned 1 in May and soon after started walking.  Now he runs everywhere, climbs everything, and loves to take things apart.  He keeps us busy!  His first word was "Boom!" as in "ka-boom!" and he says it as he throws things, launches himself off of furniture, or when he gets excited about things.  We love our little guy.

Family Photos

We finally got our family photos taken--first time since Joseph was born that we've had more than a snapshot taken.  Elise wasn't very cooperative, but I think we still got some good shots anyway.

It's been a long time since my last posts...

I haven't updated the blog in months, so I finally decided to sit down today and catch up a bit.  The kids are growing up so fast and they are loving having James home again after he was gone for so long.  There is still some adjustments to it all--Elise is quite possessive over her Daddy but Joseph quickly figured out that James wasn't just a nice guy but was here to stay.  

The posts below are me playing catch-up a bit:  Elise's 3rd birthday, Joseph's first bike ride, and James' Army graduation.

Here's just some recent pictures of the kids:

Joseph loves the kitchen and all the fun that hides in the cabinets.

He also loves the trash can...it's just his height and is full of interesting things.  I think I need to invest in a can with a lid!

Elise in her big girl car seat when we finally could upgrade her from the toddler seat.  She insisted on her dolly being seat belted in the car as well.

Elise turned 3 years old

In February we celebrated Elise's 3rd birthday.  She was so excited we did her cake and candles before breakfast since she couldn't wait till evening.  She is such a sweet girl and makes us all quite happy. 

Elise putting on her party hat!  She doesn't think it's a birthday without a hat and she insisted everyone wear one.

Joseph loved all the fun celebrations.

 

The castle cake I tried to make.  It had...issues...but Elise loved it anyway.  It fell apart into 5 pieces when it was cooling and I fixed it as best as I could without starting over.

 

Blowing out the candles...

Playing with her new toys...tea set, apron, and doll stuff...

She very kindly let Joseph join her tea party.  He loves the teacups!

Joseph's first bike ride

Joseph loves going on bike rides with his Daddy.  Here are some photos from his first bike ride in January.

James' Army graduation

James joined the National Guard in May 2010 and left in August for 5 months for basic training and AIT (advanced training to be an MP) at Ford Leonard Wood, Missouri. James came home for two weeks for Christmas, and then had to go back to finish up the rest of his training. James graduated on January 20, 2011 and we drove out to attend his graduation ceremony and to pick him up. My mom helped me drive out to Missouri and then flew back home from Missouri after the ceremony. It was a fun trip, but it was even better to pick James up and have him come home with us. It was a long, hard five months with him gone--he left when Joseph was 4 months old and I had just gone back to work after maternity leave--but worth it. Here's a few photos:

Joseph with his daddy when James came home for the Christmas holiday.

James marching up to the field house with his platoon for the graduation ceremony from AIT on January 20, 2011.

Officers watching the company arrive at the field house.

James receiving his certificate.

Our happy family.

Elise with her Daddy.