Home Projects

As you can see from the pictures, our paver patio was finished today--yea!! We absolutely love it and know that we will really enjoy using it.

The other pictures are of our stairs without carpet, and with new hardwood! The installers will be back next week to lay the hardwood in the upstairs hallway, and our master bedroom. We are very happy with the results!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Although I love bunnies, eggs and chocolate (LOVE chocolate), I hope everyone knows that today is about much more than those fun things. It's about Jesus' death and resurrection, and that's what we're celebrating today! Think about it...without the resurrection, everything else would be meaningless. Thank God for Easter!

Kara and Samantha were really happy with what the Easter Bunny left for them! Unfortunately, Samantha wasn't keen about having her picture taken before showering. We took the other pictures before heading off to church. Sure would be nice to get all four of us in a picture, but that's kind of hard b/c then there's nobody to hold the camera. While a tripod would be nice, we just don't have the time to deal with all that! After church, Kara went down for a nap right away--without lunch. She was all tuckered out after playing with the kiddos her in classroom--probably because she has been fighting a virus since she had the seizure on Thursday. We're hoping she sleeps well, even on an empty stomach. :-)

Another Seizure

Kara had her 2nd febrile seizure late this afternoon after Tim brought her home from the babysitter. It's been almost 9 months since her first seizure, which occurred the day before her 1st birthday. Of course I was away again--which meant that Tim had to experience it all by himself, and that kills me! I took Samantha and a friend of hers to Six Flags because they are on Spring Break this week. We left the park as soon as Tim let me know what happened. Another VERY long 2 hour car ride. :-( Tim took Kara to her pediatrician's office to have her checked out. The doctor said that everything looked just fine, but wanted to collect a urine sample. Kinda hard to do on a 20 month old. The doctor taped a bag 'down there', which will 'catch' it, and then we get to pour it in a cup. This is just in case Kara has a urinary tract infection, since it's the only thing the doctor can't examine up front.

Please pray for Kara. This is so hard on her. She was exhausted for the rest of the evening. For the next 24 hours, we will be alternating the doses of Motrin and Tylenol every 3 hours. This is also very stressful for us, her parents. We feel so helpless. We try to be proactive, and actually take her temperature way more than normal--much more than I ever took Samantha's temperature. Unfortunately, Kara seems to be prone to getting fevers, and when they spike quickly, the seizure occurs. The doctor mentioned that Kara may be more susceptible to seizures now, and will most likely outgrow them by the age of 5 or 6 yrs old. I sure hope that's not the case.

20 months old!

Kara is 20 months old today! Time sure flies when you're having fun! :-) Caught Kara having a loving daughter & daddy moment.

Books

Kara has recently re-discovered books. She loves to have us read books to her, and look at the pictures in books on her own. We caught her doing just that while hanging out in her ball pit. What a cutie!

Kara at the gym

Kara experienced her first gymnastics class yesterday. She had fun, as long as she could do what she wanted to do! We learned that Kara is still too young to participate in an organized activity, and that sitting in a circle and following (stretching) instructions was not her cup of tea. :-)

1st ponytail

Kara wore her first ponytail today--compliments of her older sister, Samantha! It didn't stay in very long, but just getting it in her hair was a miracle. Kara, probably like many other little girls, does not like to have her hair combed/brushed, or have any other things like barrettes put in her hair. It's a mother's duty to torture her daughter on occasion, right? So Kathy does put barrettes in Kara's hair every once in a while. Trimming her bangs is also another form of necessary torture, due to all that hair that she's had since birth. Too bad it's not getting longer in the back like it is on her forehead!

Love that laugh!

We were playing with Kara and her Dora ball this morning, and having so much fun! Kara's laugh was so contagious and wonderful, that we just had to get a video of it. :-)

Kara is 19 months old!

To celebrate Kara's 19 months of life, Tim pumped up the little tikes jumper for her to play on. Although Kara doesn't quite understand the 'jumping' concept, she had a blast!

Our 1st Bike Ride of 2009

Today was another beautiful 60 degree day, and we decided to go for a bike ride. We found a Schwinn carrier for Kara, and she loved it! Kara even got a helmet with the Disney princesses on it. We had a wonderful time riding around the neighborhood, and we're looking forward to nice Spring temperatures so we can ride more often!

Blueberries anyone?

Kara loves blueberries! Tim fixed blueberry pancakes this morning, and Kara loved them--can't you tell?!

18-month doctor appointment

Kara's 18-month appointment was today. Dr. Joe, our pediatrician, was pleased with Kara's progress in all areas. Kara weighed 20 lbs 8 oz, and is 29 1/2 inches long. She had three shots today--MMR, Hep A, and Chicken Pox. She cried of course, but it didn't last too long. Our little peanut is doing great!

**The pictures are of Kara kissing our wooden bear that sits in our office. She likes giving kisses!

Kara & the keyboard

Kara loves to play with our computer keyboards, which isn't very convenient when we're working on the computer. So, when Tim got his new computer after Christmas, Kara inherited his old keyboard. She has a lot of fun on it, so of course we decided to take a couple of pictures of her enjoying it.

Our Leo Bear

I just realized that we do not have any pictures of our dog on our blog! Something is wrong with that, so we took a few tonight to change that fact! Isn't he cute?

Kathy's Outpatient Surgery

I had surgery on my wrist last Friday, the 16th. I started having pain/weakness a little over a year and a half ago. I mentioned it to my family doctor after about a year because the pain was becoming worse. I was referred to an orthopedist who told me that I had something called Stenosing Tenosynovitis. I was given a cortisone shot which solved the problem for 8 months. The pain came back and the tendon in my wrist 'popped' and made a bump protrude. It was strange looking! I saw the orthopedist again in early January and the surgery was scheduled. The pictures posted on here are three days after surgery, and actually look much better. I'm still feeling pain, but that's to be expected for another 10 or 11 more days. It's so odd to not be able to do things with my left hand, or do simple tasks that require two hands...like natural necessities. :-(

Kara's 1st GMU game

Kara went to her first GMU basketball game in November 2008. As you can tell from the picture, she looks like she's having a great time! This picture was actually taken by Kara's Aunt Krista, before Kara hit the 'point of no return'--exhaustion and melt-down time. Unfortunately, we had to leave the game early. We'll have to try taking Kara again when she's a little older. :-)

Kara is 18 months old!

Kara turned 18 months old yesterday, January 13th! Hard to believe our little girl is 1 1/2 yrs old! She is still a little 'peanut', and barely weighs 20 lbs--as of last Friday, the 9th. Kara eats a lot at every meal, and two big snacks a day, so we're definitely not starving her! She looks healthy, as you can tell by the pictures. We're guessing Kara will be small all her life. Nothing wrong with that...great things come in small packages!

The beef has arrived!!!

We ordered a half a cow to tide us over for the next year. The first picture shows the bottom of our freezer that is filled with ground beef. The top four baskets are filled with steaks and roasts. We had our first steaks tonight and they were awesome!!

Doggy PJ'S

Kara got some new pajamas today with her favorite animal on them--a dog! She looked so cute at bedtime, we just had to take pictures.

New outfit and hair clip

Kara is wearing a new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Lang, and a hair clip made by Aunt Anne! Pretty darn cute! The outfit is size 18 months...but it must run small, because that is the only clothing that size that will fit her. :-)