Bug

Mommy and Daddy were up most of the night since Joseph seems to have some kind of stomach bug. Audrey threw up once earlier yesterday but seemed okay the rest of the day. Joseph kept throwing up all night. Poor little guy. Between feeding Katelyn and tending to Joseph, Mommy and Daddy didn't really get much shut-eye.

On a different note, Katelyn is now a month old. Actually, she's almost two months old now. Mommy just never got around to posting pictures of her or blogging about her milestones. Katelyn smiled for the first time in direct response to Mommy on December 5th. The day before, she looked like she was almost smiling. This last week, Katelyn has been cooing and trying to "talk" in response to Mommy and Daddy talking with her. Babies are a lot of work, but they are also so much fun. Mommy loves the newborn stage. Katelyn is such a cuddly baby and loves to be held.

Katelyn the day she turned 1-month old!

Thanksgiving and Thereafter

Mommy is late posting about our Thanksgiving holiday, but better late than never. We decided not to travel for Thanksgiving this year since we will be traveling for Christmas. A very nice family in our ward invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. Joseph and Audrey had such a fun time playing with Mark and Ammon, the family's two boys. The Thanksgiving feast was so good, and the best part was that Mommy did not have to make most of it. Mommy just made the green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. After eating, the kids played for awhile. Then, both families made their way to another family's home that had invited everyone for dessert. There was every kind of pie imaginable! The kids had a blast there too.

Joseph and Audrey were exhausted by the time we left to drive home that they both fell asleep in the car even though it was only 6:30pm. Those power naps are not so great though because both kids woke up upon reaching home and were hyper. Mommy and Daddy had a hard time getting them to bed at bedtime.

The only bad part about Thanksgiving was Mommy thinks she broke her toe. Katelyn was fussy so Mommy put her in a bouncer in the kitchen while she was making side dishes. Mommy accidentally kicked the bouncer really hard and stubbed one of her toes. The toe turned black and blue and swelled up. Daddy said Mommy should just put ice on it and then Daddy taped the broken toe to the toe next to it. The toe is doing much better, though it still hurts, especially when Audrey steps on it. Audrey seems to enjoy stepping on feet.

Audrey did not say what she was thankful for this year, but Mommy and Daddy assumes she is very thankful for milk. Audrey actually calls milk, "milka." Every morning she says she wants "milka." Actually, every morning and throughout the day she asks for "milka."

Mommy asked Joseph what he was thankful for this year. Joseph said he was thankful for Mommy, Daddy, Audrey, and new baby. Then, a little later he said, "oh yea, and food." Funny that Joseph is thankful for food since he is such a picky eater that Mommy and Daddy can barely get him to eat anything. He eats tiny portions and says he is done. So, Joseph was probably the only one that did not gorge himself at Thanksgiving dinner.

The friday after Thanksgiving, we decorated for Christmas. We decorated the outside and then came inside and put up and trimmed the tree. The weather was great. Mommy was a little frustrated with Joseph and Audrey because they pulled out every single Christmas item they could get their hands on. Audrey is also a bit destructive so she literally destroyed a number of ornaments. Luckily, they seemed to have missed the "special" ornament box. Mommy and Daddy have a Christmas tradition of buying one ornament for each year of marriage and then the kids each get an ornament that reflects something that will remind them of that year. Of course, the first Christmas ornament has always been a baby's first Christmas ornament.

Yesterday, Mommy took Joseph, Audrey, and Katelyn to the library for storytime. We went with Ammon and his Mommy. Storytime did not go very well. Joseph and Ammon would not sit for the stories and were all over the place. Poor librarian kept asking them to sit down and listen to the story. Audrey shrieked when Mommy asked her not to mess with Katelyn's bottle. The kids seemed to like the craft after storytime. They decorated paper Christmas trees with stickers and fun shapes. After the craft, the kids played in a little play area that had toys and books and huge stuffed animals and little people-sized chairs. Unfortunately, Joseph and Audrey fought about the stuffed animals and so there was plenty more shrieking and crying before it was all over with. Mommy was a little embarrassed by the time we left the library.

After library time, we went to McDonald's for lunch so the kids could get out their energy. We must have spent a good two hours in the play area. Then we went grocery shopping at apparently one of the only real grocery stores in this area. Most of the time people shop at Super Walmart or Super Target. Mommy really liked the grocery store. Katelyn snoozed in the Baby Bjorn carrier while Mommy pushed Audrey around in the cart. Ammon and Joseph wanted to ride together so Ammon's Mommy pushed them in a separate cart. By the time we headed home, Audrey and Joseph had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car again.

Mommy has been really tired today after the all day adventure yesterday even though overall, it was a lot of fun. Mommy really likes spending time with Ammon's Mommy. Today Mommy decided we should stay at home. Braeden, the little boy next door will probably come over in a little bit to make Christmas decorations with Joseph. Joseph keeps asking to decorate more since last friday. Joseph painted some styrofoam balls with glitter paint to go on the tree (much safer for little people than glass ornaments). Joseph also made some melted crayon ornaments to go on the tree. We'll probably try to make paper snowflakes this afternoon since Joseph is still fascinated by scissors.

Waiting

Mommy has been waiting for Daddy to bring home his laptop to download new pictures from the digital camera (still can't find that cord). Anyway, Mommy thought she had better go ahead and write something because it could be awhile before Mommy gets some new pictures.

Katelyn is growing like a weed. That baby loves to eat, and she's not very patient either! The instant she pops open her eyes, she starts wailing. Katelyn also loves to be held, which is nice, but also is a slight problem when Mommy needs to do other things. Too bad Mommy doesn't have 8 arms like an octopus.

Joseph discovered the wonderful world of cutting up things with scissors. Mommy got him a small pair of scissors. He spent all morning cutting up pieces of paper. Unfortunately, Mommy left a recipe book on the coffee table, and Joseph cut that up too...sniff sniff.

Audrey's favorite phrase to say recently is "stop it!" Unfortunately, she must have picked it up from Mommy. Audrey loves Katelyn, but she doesn't always know how to treat the baby so Mommy is always saying, "stop it" to her. Like when Audrey pokes the baby in the eye or tries to lie on top of her or tries to pick her up by the head or shoulders. Mommy should think of a new phrase. So anwyay, now Audrey tells Mommy to "stop it!" And, she says it with a lot of attitude. The other day Mommy told her not to say that and she slapped Mommy. Audrey has been spending alot more time in the time out place recently. On a brighter note, Audrey can be very sweet. Whenever Mommy opens her arms, Audrey starts laughing and comes running to Mommy to give hugs and kisses. Mommy loves her little "Porkchop."

Mommy hears Katelyn crying so that's the end of this post.

Walmart Run

So Mommy decided to take Joseph, Audrey, and Katelyn to Walmart this morning to pick up a few things. Audrey really needed more diapers and Joseph wanted to get Wall-E since it came out on DVD today. Mommy stuffed Katelyn full of milk so she would sleep. Mommy also spent a long time convincing Joseph before leaving for the store that he could not ride in the shopping cart and would have to walk. Joseph finally agreed that he was a big boy and could walk.

Mommy got everything as quickly as possible. Mommy told Joseph to stay close to the cart and at the very least within eyesight. Joseph only ran off once. When he got back, Mommy soundly told him not to do that again. Mommy told Joseph that she gets scared when she can't see him. He didn't run off again and stayed with Mommy the rest of the time. After we were done shopping, Joseph asked if we could eat at the McDonald's inside the Walmart. Mommy thought that sounded like a good idea. Katelyn woke up just as we were wrapping up lunch and started crying. She stopped crying as soon as Mommy started the car. Audrey fell asleep on the way home.

Overall, it wasn't a bad experience. Mommy has been afraid to leave the house with three kids. Now that she's gotten out with all three kids, it wasn't that bad. Maybe Mommy will consider going out again tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow which is very unusual for Oklahoma in November. Mommy wants to take advantage of the nice weather. Daddy is in Tulsa for work today and may be there for a couple of days. It would be nice for the kids to get out since there may not be too many more nice days.

Today's weather is nice too. Joseph is playing with the little boy across the street. He and Braden take turns going to each other's houses. Today Braden has two other friends over so Joseph is having a great time.

Time Out

Mommy and Daddy have been very lax with disciplining Audrey, mostly because she's so stinkin' cute. However, Mommy and Daddy have decided to be better about implementing time outs for Audrey when she misbehaves. Joseph gets so excited when Mommy or Daddy start counting (1...) and he quickly says (2..3...that's time out for Audrey!). Kids are so funny! Mommy has to remind Joseph repeatedly that he is NOT in charge.

Katelyn is growing like a weed. The kid is an eating, pooping machine! Katelyn is also a very cuddly baby and loves to be held....all the time! Mommy always wanted a baby that liked to be held, but it is difficult when there are two other children that need attention. Audrey exhibited her first signs of jealousy this morning. Mommy was watching cartoons with Audrey after breakfast when Katelyn woke up and started crying. Mommy told Audrey she had to go get and feed Katelyn. Audrey started crying and said, "no" and then had a total meltdown. She flung herself on the ground and had a little tantrum. A few minutes later, she came over to Mommy and Katelyn and gave Katelyn a kiss on the head and said "Baby!" This has been the first time since Katelyn was born that Audrey acted like she was upset about anything related to Katelyn.

Joseph has still been having some issues related to going potty. Mommy thinks he is doing it for attention. The problem only started once Katelyn was born. Joseph says that it's "too hard" for him to go potty, and he has been peeing in his pants at least once a day. Sometimes he wets the bed at night too. Joseph was pretty much accident free for the last year. Hopefully this phase will pass SOON!

Mommy is trying to decide if she wants to do the infant potty training with Katelyn. It worked well with Audrey until her recent potty issues. Now Mommy is not sure all the effort was worth it. Mommy needs to think about this some more.

Since Mommy lost the cable that enables her to download pictures from the digital camera, she has to wait for Daddy to download pictures for her on his work computer. Maybe the next blog will be about some of the fun things that we did when Tania and Zoe were here.

Pediatrician Visit

Mommy took Katelyn for her 2-week newborn check-up yesterday. Dr. Redwine said Katelyn was a "shining star." Her bruising is all gone from her face. She weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. when Doss took her to see Dr. Redwine last wednesday. Yesterday she weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. Katelyn loves to eat! Katelyn also grew 1/2 an inch. Except for the squishy spot on the top of her head and the red rings around her eyes that will go away in time, Katelyn is a happy, healthy baby.

Audrey also had an appointment with Dr. Redwine. Dr. Redwine prescribed another round of medication for Audrey. Her previous pediatrician had treated her for a condition that appears to have resurfaced. Also, Audrey has been resisting using the potty when she has a bowel movement. That is making potty training extremely difficult because she doesn't want to go potty. The pediatrician in Katy had Mommy give Audrey Miralax once a day. It's been almost two months and Audrey still will not go potty even though she is not constipated. Dr. Redwine said that it's quickly becoming less of a physical thing and more a psychological issue so Audrey will need to see a G.I. specialist to try and rectify the situation before it gets worse. Mommy will be glad to have Audrey's "potty issue" sorted out soon so that she can resume potty training.

Speaking of potty training, Mommy had heard that kids sometimes regress in their training when a new baby arrives. Joseph seems to be having a hard time with the new baby. He is nice to her, but he is having more tantrums and has been having numerous "potty accidents." Mommy certainly hopes that this phase will pass. Audrey on the other hand, seems to have taken to the new baby really well. She loves to give Katelyn kisses and hugs. She is really sweet to her new baby sister. Mommy and Daddy are pleasantly surprised. We worried more about Audrey being not so nice to Katelyn due to previous jealousy issues whenever Mommy babysat other kids. So far so good though.

Halloween

Mommy bought Joseph and Audrey's Halloween costumes before baby Katelyn was born. Joseph said he wanted to be a pirate. Audrey didn't have a choice. Mommy saw a cute Minnie Mouse costume at the Disney store and couldn't resist buying it. Katelyn did not get a Halloween costume this year since Mommy didn't want to take a 1-week old baby out in public.

Joseph called himself "Pirate Joe" and really got into Halloween this year. Look at that fierce face!

Audrey screamed when Mommy tried to put on her Minnie Mouse costume. She also did not like the mouse ears and kept pulling them off. Mommy insisted that Audrey wear the costume that Mommy bought for her. Mommy was able to get some pictures of Audrey before she ditched the ears.

The kids were able to wear their Halloween costumes twice. The ward Halloween party was on the tuesday evening before Halloween. There was a chili contest and of course the trunk-or-treat in the parking lot. There was also a hayride and other fun things for the kids to do. Daddy took Joseph and Audrey to the party. Mommy stayed home with Katelyn.

On Halloween, Daddy and Mommy's friend Tania took Joseph, Audrey, and Zoe (Tania's daughter) trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Daddy pulled the kids in the wagon. Mommy and Katelyn stayed home and handed out candy. Apparently there were some near mishaps involving the wagon tipping over and kids falling out. Daddy said that he needs to think of some other way to transport the kids next year. Afterwards, the kids enjoyed their Halloween treats!

Zoe as a cute strawberry!

Joseph loves those pixie sticks! Mmmm...sugar!

Audrey eating M&M's. She loves CHOCOLATE!

Zoe is Audrey's age and they are like sisters. Zoe and her Mommy drove all the way from Katy, TX to visit and to help Mommy with baby Katelyn.

Baby Kate

Katelyn was born just a few days before Halloween. She weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. Joseph and Audrey love their new baby sister. Joseph lovingly calls her "Baby Kate." Audrey just calls her "Baby." More to come later...

Oklahoma City

Today Mommy and Daddy and Yeh-Yeh (Grandpa) took the kids to Oklahoma City. We were going to go to Bricktown, but ended up going to Bass Pro Shop and Myriad Gardens. Joseph and Audrey both love fish so they really had a good time looking at the fish tank at Bass Pro. We grabbed lunch to go at McDonald's and ate it outside. Audrey didn't eat her Happy Meal so it was donated to a homeless man who was digging thru the trash for food near where we were having lunch.

After lunch, we headed to Myriad Gardens. Joseph and Audrey and Daddy fed part of Joseph's remaining french fries and hamburger to some over-sized Koi at Myriad gardens. Mommy had never seen such fat Koi. No wonder the Koi are so fat if people feed them left over fast-food. Audrey and Joseph also splashed in a nearby fountain. It was a fairly long walk from the parking garage to the gardens and then back to the car so both Joseph and Audrey were exhausted by the time we got back to the car. We decided that we will check out Bricktown another time. Both Audrey and Joseph fell asleep within minutes of getting into the car.

Sick

Audrey woke up this morning with a fever. She hasn't felt very well all day. Normally Audrey eats alot, but all she has wanted all day is milk. She also slept alot today. She took a morning nap and an afternoon nap and looked very sleepy this evening. Poor little thing. Joseph told Audrey that he loved her and gave her a little kiss. He's a good big brother.

Audrey has been growing leaps and bounds lately. Just a month ago she was having problems putting shapes in her shape sorter. Now she does it with no problems at all. She is also stacking blocks several blocks tall and enjoys knocking them down. Like her brother, Audrey also loves puzzles. She recognizes several numbers and is able to say them and put them in the right place in the puzzle. She also recognizes and knows a couple of letters.

Audrey's favorite word is probably milk. She never did take to sign language except to signal "more" whenever she wants more of something, generally milk. Tonight she said "I want milk" instead of just milk. She also has a couple of other phrases she likes to say. Mommy always forgets how when kids start learning to talk, their vocabulary grows exponentially.

Audrey also enjoys singing just like her brother. Today she was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Eeentsy Weentsy Spider. Audrey sways her head and her body back and forth while she is singing. It's so cute!

Both Audrey and Joseph love books. Bedtime is full of never-ending negotiations for more books. Well, Joseph negotiates since he is able to speak and express himself fairly well. Audrey just keeps grabbing more books and bringing them over. Some of Audrey's favorite books are: Good Night Moon, Goodnight Gorilla, Oink Piglet, and The Deep Blue Sea. Joseph likes a variety of books. He does seem to be like his Daddy and enjoy Geography. He loves looking at the Atlas that Daddy bought him awhile back. Joseph is always saying he wants to go to Brazil to see the statue of Jesus or Egypt and other places that Daddy has been.

Although Joseph loves books and going to the library, Mommy is a little worried that Joseph is addicted to video games. Joseph has decided that his favorite video game is Rygar. He is always asking Mommy and Daddy if he can play the game. Today Joseph had a potty accident because he was so absorbed in the game. Mommy tries to limit him to just a half hour for the day.

Both Joseph and Audrey also love playing outdoors and they love Sushi. Audrey and Joseph were kissing Sushi (on her back) much to Mommy's dismay. Mommy can't imagine a mouthful of fur...bleck! Daddy put in some swings in the backyard last weekend for Audrey and Joseph. Audrey's is a baby swing with a full seat and holes for the legs. Joseph's swing is just the rubber seat attached to chains. Audrey loves her new swing and Joseph enjoys his as well though he sometimes fights with Audrey about getting in her swing.

The kids also enjoy doing crafts. The other day Joseph and Audrey painted some wooden birdhouses. Joseph also made a paper plate skeleton which we hung outside on the front of the house. Next weekend is pumpkin carving time unless Mommy has the baby in which case, the activity will have to be postponed.

Playdates

Since Mommy had to go to church to play the organ for a funeral this morning, Joseph and Audrey got to play with Max, the little boy from a few houses down. Max's mommy brought Max over to our house to play. The kids had fun. After Mommy got back from the funeral, Joshua and his mommy came over for lunch and to play. The kids spent most of the time outside playing with Sushi and with the outdoor riding toys. Joseph and Joshua had loads of fun riding the toys down the little hill in the back. Audrey and Joseph both took a really long nap this afternoon. Mommy loves it when the kids have other children to play with because they wear themselves out. Joshua's mommy calls naptime "Heaven time" for mommies. That sounds like a good description. As much as Mommy loves to play with Audrey and Joseph, it's nice for Mommy to have a little downtime each day.

More New Friends

Yesterday morning Mommy took the kids to play with Joshua, a little boy from church. Joseph and Joshua are the same age. Joshua has a big backyard with a swing, hammock, sandbox, and playhouse. After coming indoors from playing outside, Joshua's mommy made the kids macaroni and cheese for lunch. Joseph didn't want to go home so we stayed until almost 2:00pm. Then mommy insisted that we go back to the house for our daily "quiet" time (naptime). Mommy invited Joshua and his mommy to come to our house on thursday for a playdate. Everyone has been so friendly here in Oklahoma. The kids have made so many new friends.

Neighbors

Tonight Joseph and Audrey got to meet Braden, the little boy across the street. Actually, Braden is a very big boy. He's only a few months older than Joseph, but he is at least a half a head taller and much heavier. Mommy and Daddy got to hang out with Braden's parents and the kids had a great time playing. Braden gave Joseph a ride on his little 4-wheeler. He also let Joseph drive it a little. Poor Audrey kept trying to keep up with the big boys but was not very successful. Braden's parents have a really beautiful yard with lots of plants and great landscaping. They also have a large Koi pond in the backyard that Daddy envies. Joseph and Audrey got to feed the fish. We all had a fun evening at the neighbor's house this evening.

Earlier in the day, Joseph and Audrey decorated candles for Halloween. It was alot of fun. Joseph loves to do crafts. Daddy says he will pull out our Halloween decorations so that we can start decorating for Halloween. Joseph is looking forward to carving a scary pumpkin to put out on the porch.

New Friends

Mommy and Joseph and Audrey went over to Tracy's house so Mommy could learn how to decorate candles. Joseph and Audrey had a great time playing with some new friends. It was a really fun morning. Plus, we got to eat lots of treats. Tracy had lots of food from cinnamon rolls to chocolate chip cookies. Mommy didn't even end up decorating a candle. Mommy just had to try all the delicious snacks that were set out. Yummy!

MOMs Club

Mommy took the kids to a park yesterday to meet up with the local MOMs club. Mommy and Joseph and Audrey made some new friends. We also ran into our neighbor and her little boy at the park. It was a fun morning. Audrey is old enough now that she plays with Joseph. They have a lot of fun together.

New Home

Mommy finally got internet access today so she can update what's been happening with Joseph and Audrey. Well, we left Texas the last friday at the end of August. Mommy and Daddy dropped Joseph and Audrey off with Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye in Arlington for a week so that Mommy and Daddy could get everything unpacked. Joseph and Audrey had a good time in Arlington. Ye-Ye took them to the splash pad at the nearby park almost every day. Joseph liked playing ball with Nai-Nai. Both kiddos liked jumping on the trampoline at the house and playing in the backyard. Mommy and Daddy worked really hard to get everything ready before the kids arrived. Mommy and Daddy repainted one of the bathrooms a neutral color because it was an awful shade of blue. The moving van also arrived later than expected because the truck broke down in Dallas. Daddy had to go to work right after all the boxes arrived. Mommy worked to unpack boxes during the day and Daddy helped after he got home from work. On saturday (1 week later), Mommy and Daddy met Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye and the kids in Gainsville, TX at the outlet mall. After some shopping and some lunch at the Cracker Barrel, we all headed to the new house.

Joseph and Audrey took to the new house right away. They enjoy playing in the big backyard. Sushi also likes her new surroundings. She has a big porch to lounge under and lots of space to run in the backyard. Because the new baby is coming soon, Mommy and Daddy decided to put Joseph and Audrey in the same room. Audrey is getting used to sleeping in a room with Joseph. Most nights she crawls into bed with Joseph and falls asleep. Daddy moves her to her own bed after she falls asleeep. Audrey does stay in her own bed sometimes. A couple of nights, Mommy and Daddy caught Joseph and Audrey playing instead of in their beds. Mommy and Daddy put all the toys in Joseph's and Audrey's room so that the upstairs room could be a guest room/library instead of a toy room like at the previous house. Sometimes the temptation to play instead of sleep is too great.

The weather here in Oklahoma has been great! Mommy and the kids spend lots of time outdoors. Daddy also spends lots of time outdoors after coming home from work. It is so peaceful in the country. The yard has lots of big oak trees. Joseph and Audrey like walking around the "woods" and exploring. Joseph and Audrey also enjoy riding their scooters off a small hill in the backyard. They push their scooters up the hill and ride down. One of Joseph's newest activities is to roll large rocks off the storm shelter in the backyard. Mommy told him not to "throw" big rocks so he decided to "roll" what he terms "little big rocks" down the front of the storm shelter instead.

Audrey hasn't sprouted any new teeth recently but she is starting to talk a lot more. She says lots of words. Her favorites are probably "no", "mine", "milk", and "shoes". She definitely loves shoes. Audrey is always putting on other people's shoes. Audrey also has quite a little temper. She has a loud, screechy, kind of gutteral cry when she gets mad and throws quite the little tantrums. Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye says that Audrey acts alot like Mommy did when she was little. Mommy threw lots of nice tantrums as a child. Mommy also liked to torment her Ge-Ge (older brother) just like Audrey enjoys tormenting Joseph. One night Mommy and Daddy heard Joseph crying for help. Daddy went in the room and found Audrey next to Joseph in his bed. She was sucking her thumb with one hand and whacking him on the head over and over again with her free hand. Joseph is actually a very sweet older brother and doesn't ever hurt Audrey even if she is hurting him. Audrey has slapped other children and tries to hit Mommy when she is mad. She is a little firecracker sometimes.

Joseph has discovered the world of cartoons on the new channels that come with having Direct TV. He also decided that he loves video games. Mommy and Daddy have had to deal with a lot of tantrums when we limit the time he can spend watching cartoons or playing games. Joseph does like to do other things that are not so mind-numbing. He loves to draw and color and do crafts. He also likes to explore the house with his flashlight. Joseph plays well with other children and always tells Mommy that he "shared" with his friends. Joseph's new nursery teacher said that he has been very good in nursery and has been a good helper. Mommy and Daddy were happy to hear that he does well in nursery. Audrey has been doing pretty well in nursery since this last sunday was only her second time to go. She was a little emotional on sunday. Church happens to be during afternoon nap time so it is a hard time for Audrey.

Joseph seems to understand somewhat that we don't live in Texas anymore. He says Oklahoma is "far, far, away." Although, at times he does ask to go to places in Texas and doesn't seem to realize that we are far from the old places we liked to visit. Mommy and Daddy will have to find lots of new places for the kids to visit. We are thinking about going to the Oklahoma State Fair sometime this week. We also have plans to check out the zoo, bricktown, and other fun places that we have heard about. So far, we all seem to like Oklahoma.

Summer Update

Mommy has been very bad about blogging. Audrey now has two more teeth on the sides of her two top teeth for a total of 8. Two molars (one on each side) on the top and on the bottom have also broken through the gums in the last month. Audrey is getting a mouthful of teeth. One of her favorite things to do is to brush her teeth.

Mommy and Daddy took another trip to Oklahoma at the end of July/early August to find a rental home. Joseph and Audrey spent a couple of days at Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye's house and did really well although Joseph said that he missed Mommy and Daddy. Mommy and Daddy were stressed out looking for rental homes. Finally Mommy and Daddy were able to find a house. It is in the country and sits on a little less than 2 acres. Hopefully Joseph and Audrey will like the new house. It is a rental since Mommy and Daddy are not eager to buy another house after only living in the house in Katy for a year and a half and enduring the nightmare that it has been to have the house on the market.

Joseph is eating much better now and says that he wants to grow big and strong like Daddy. He loves to do puzzles and read books. Mommy took Audrey and Joseph to the drive-in theater in July to watch Wall-E and Kung-Fu panda. Joseph stayed awake for both movies and loved the experience. Joseph is also fully potty-trained...finally. He has done very well since May and has had very few potty accidents. Joseph is reading a little on his own. He recognizes many words. He also enjoys doing workbook pages and practicing writing. Joseph wrote his name on the back of a coloring sheet at Denny's the other day during lunch. Mommy and Daddy were surprised because he has never written his name on his own. Joseph still loves to play games on the computer. He also discovered the world of Pokemon. The "cousins" as he calls Uncle Andrew's kids got Joseph interested in Pokemon. He likes to watch the cartoons and engages in pretend play involving Pokemon characters.

Both kids are growing so quickly. Mommy should be better about posting. Things have definitely been busy this summer with Daddy gone to Brazil for a month and having the house up for sale and getting ready to move. Joseph is excited about moving to Oklahoma. Audrey does not know what is going on, but hopefully she will enjoy the change in scenery.

Trip to Oklahoma

So Mommy has been very bad about posting lately. On thursday, Mommy and Daddy packed up the kids and one additional child (Zoe) for a trip to Oklahoma to look around. Mommy and Daddy wanted to look for places to live in Edmond in anticipation of the upcoming move. Zoe was a little angel a nd cried very little the whole way there and back. Audrey started losing her voice at Nai Nai and Ye Ye's house and was looking rather miserable by the time we started the trip back to Katy. Poor Audrey cried alot on the way home. Joseph was pretty good on the trip up but had lost his patience by the end. He was crying and kicking the back of Daddy's seat on the ride home. Daddy got sick on the trip too and had a fever and chills friday night. All in all, it was an interesting trip. Mommy made a mental note to herself not to travel 1100 miles with 3 kids in 3 days, especially if one or more persons are not feeling well.

On a happier note, Oklahoma seems nice. Also, the traffic is minimal compared to Houston. Mommy and Daddy took the kids to a lake on saturday morning so they could play on the playground and in the lake before the long trip back to Houston. All the kiddos were covered in red clay/dirt and soaking wet but had a great time. Mommy found it impossible to wash out the red from the clothes so the clothes will have to be retired.

As far as developments in the last little while, Audrey got in the two teeth on the side of the bottom two, but no other teeth have been spotted. She has been rather fussy and teething tablets seem to calm her so more teeth will probably be appearing soon. Joseph seems to have gained a lot of attitude as of late. He started saying, "I'm mad at you Mommy!" and "I'm going to spank you!" He also adds an emphatic "NOW!" to all his demands such as "I want fish NOW!" He has also been throwing a lot of tantrums. Mommy and Daddy heard rumors that three may be worse than two and so far, it seems to be true.

911 Call

So this evening Audrey was playing with the phone and must have inadvertently dialed 911. A police officer showed up at the door to make sure everyone was okay. Daddy teased Audrey about prank calling boys already. Mommy and Daddy were a little embarrassed by the whole thing. Good thing the officer was nice and didn't issue any kind of citation. Mommy and Daddy will have to keep a closer eye on Audrey. She loves to play with the phone.

Walking

Audrey has been walking for the last few months holding onto Mommy or Daddy's hands. Until a few weeks ago, she would throw a fit if Mommy or Daddy let go of her hands and tried to get her to walk on her own. At the end of April, Audrey took a few steps all by herself. Last week she just started walking. She is a little wobbly on her feet, but overall, she is doing really well. She is so happy to be walking. The other day Mommy took Joseph and Audrey to the fountains at LaCenterra. Audrey liked the water and took off on her own to explore. Mommy is getting ready for the next step: running. It is already hard enough to keep up with her. Both Audrey and Joseph have so much energy. Mommy sure wishes she had half the energy they have.

Signing

Although Mommy signed with Joseph forever it seemed like, the only sign he ever produced was the one for "more." Mommy chalked it up to the fact that Joseph spoke rather early and even now at age 3 has quite an extensive vocabulary. Despite the fact that he didn't sign, Mommy and Daddy haven't had too many problems understanding what he wants. By twelve months Joseph would point at things and say "that." From 12 months on, his vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds. By 18 months he was speaking in complete sentences. When Audrey was born, Mommy thought she would give signing another try. So far Audrey has been alot like Joseph. She has made the sign for "more" on occasion, but she too points at things and says "that." Today Mommy was very excited because we were at the park and Joseph said he wanted to go feed the ducks. Audrey looked at Mommy and said "duck" and then with her right hand, she made the sign for duck. Mommy is hoping that Audrey will start making other signs. The sign for "potty" or "toilet" would be great though recently Audrey has started resisting sitting on the potty. Mommy and Daddy have been taking her potty since she was about 4 months old and she has done really well. Now it seems like she is exerting her will and saying no, she does not want to go potty. Mommy's plan was to have her fully potty-trained by the time the new baby arrives. Mommy is now thinking that Audrey is intent on foiling her plans. Only time will tell what may happen. Mommy will hope for the best.

Fishing

On saturday Joseph said he wanted to go fishing so we packed up and headed to the ranch. Joseph had a great time. He caught his first fish, a medium-sized large-mouth bass. He also caught a little sunfish. He really enjoyed spending time with Granny and Grandpa. Yesterday Joseph said that he wanted to go back to the ranch to go fishing again and to see Granny and Grandpa. Audrey enjoyed exploring her new surroundings. She was too excited to sleep and was so tired by late afternoon. Daddy and Grandpa grilled some pork ribs and pork loins, mushrooms, zucchini and squash, and potatoes. It was a tasty dinner! Granny had made brownies for dessert too. We didn't get back to Katy til after 11:00pm, but it was a fun day. We haven't been to the ranch in awhile and we may not get to very often in the future since it is looking like we will definitely be moving to Oklahoma City soon.

Fun in San Antonio

Daddy had to work at a booth at the AAPG conference held in San Antonio last week so Mommy, Joseph, and Audrey decided to go with him. While Daddy was at work, Mommy and the kids went all over the downtown area. We went to the Alamo and Joseph fed pigeons with a little old man. He had a lot of fun feeding the birds. We also took lots of walks around the Riverwalk. Joseph really loved the boat tour ride around the Riverwalk and wanted to go again and again. One night we ate at our friends Faith and Rudy's favorite mexican restaurant, the Mexican Manhattan. Another night we had dinner with Daddy's friend Brad at The Republic of Texas restaurant along the Riverwalk. We had lunch every day at the RiverCenter mall and sat along the river. Daddy and Mommy bought a double stroller just for the trip to San Antonio. It will probably be something useful to have when the new baby comes along in the fall. Audrey enjoyed the sights and the many opportunities to eat good food. On the last day, Mommy took the kids to the Wax museum and to Ripley's Believe It or Not. Joseph really liked Ripley's and keeps talking about all the strange people and things he saw there. They had an interactive floor that Joseph loved playing on. He didn't want to leave and could have stayed there for many hours. Audrey fell asleep since it took awhile to get through all the exhibits. We were all exhausted by the time we got back to Katy, but it was a fun trip.

First Blog

My friends have some fun blogs about their kids. I have thought that blogging might be a fun way to document what's been going on with the little munchkins, but I never got around to actually setting up a blog until now. I think I will start with current happenings and go from there. Joseph recently turned 3 in April. I can't believe that he is 36 months old! He loves to sing, play at the park, and play online games on the computer. He has always had a very strong will, is very active, and is constantly testing his limits. He's a sweet boy though and will give hugs and kisses and says often that he loves Mommy, Daddy, Audrey, and Sushi (our beagle). Audrey had her first birthday back in March. She is learning how to walk and has taken a few tentative steps on her own. She loves to walk with Mommy or Daddy holding onto her hands. She'll probably be walking on her own very soon. Audrey loves to eat. Daddy lovingly calls her "Pork Chop." She also is a good sleeper and takes a little morning nap and a longer afternoon nap. We just took a fun trip with daddy to San Antonio (will post some pictures later). Daddy had to work at a booth at the AAPG conference so Mommy and the kids walked all around the different attractions near the conference center. It was fun. Maybe the next post will be about the San Antonio trip.