We are all home and doing well. The Kids love their Claire Bear. We are happy to finally have her here.
1 week ago
Thursday, December 16, 2010
She here!
Announcing the birth of Claire Elizabeth
We are all home and doing well. The Kids love their Claire Bear. We are happy to finally have her here.
We are all home and doing well. The Kids love their Claire Bear. We are happy to finally have her here.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
New House
Here's some pictures of our new house! We are enjoying having more room. We also love having a yard for the kiddos! We ended up painting every room in the house except for one bathroom. As we picked the colors we went with color. We have lived in places with white walls for so long that we picked lots of color. :)
This is the front of the house.
The baby's room. We painted it yellow and then did one accent wall of big squares. It turned out awesome!
The playroom... two purple walls and two blue walls. The kids picked out the colors for this room, with some guidance from mom.
Ollie's and Lily's room. Bright green walls with blue stripes at the top. They really like it. :)
The living room. Not really sure how to describe the color... I guess it's a brown but with yellow???
We painted the kitchen a light green color (a mistake) and where it meets with the living room walls it reminds me of easter. We will probably repaint at least the kitchen but it will be a while. We are all painted out! We are mostly moved in and unpacked. There are still just a few little things to unpack but mostly we are done. We also haven't hung the pictures yet. That's because of me... as we were getting the walls ready to paint I fixed tons of holes! The last people who lived here hung everything with screws and gaint nails. There were holes everywhere! I spent so much time fixing them all that I want to really know where I want to hang the pictures and not move them a dozen times which would create lots of holes. :)
We had lots of help with moving, cleaning, and painting. Thanks for all our wonderful friends who generously gave of their time to help us! We REALLY appreciate it! We are enjoying our new house. :)
This is the front of the house.
The baby's room. We painted it yellow and then did one accent wall of big squares. It turned out awesome!
The playroom... two purple walls and two blue walls. The kids picked out the colors for this room, with some guidance from mom.
Ollie's and Lily's room. Bright green walls with blue stripes at the top. They really like it. :)
The living room. Not really sure how to describe the color... I guess it's a brown but with yellow???
We painted the kitchen a light green color (a mistake) and where it meets with the living room walls it reminds me of easter. We will probably repaint at least the kitchen but it will be a while. We are all painted out! We are mostly moved in and unpacked. There are still just a few little things to unpack but mostly we are done. We also haven't hung the pictures yet. That's because of me... as we were getting the walls ready to paint I fixed tons of holes! The last people who lived here hung everything with screws and gaint nails. There were holes everywhere! I spent so much time fixing them all that I want to really know where I want to hang the pictures and not move them a dozen times which would create lots of holes. :)
We had lots of help with moving, cleaning, and painting. Thanks for all our wonderful friends who generously gave of their time to help us! We REALLY appreciate it! We are enjoying our new house. :)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Happy Halloween
Our traditional carving a pumpkin.
It's always fascinating to see inside and feel all the goo.
We always let the kids each draw a pumpkin face and then we decide which parts of which drawings to use. This year our pumpkin had the eyes that Lily drew (with help) and the mouth and nose that Ollie drew.
Little miss Snow White
Scary Darth Vader (or Dark Vader as Lily called him)
It's always fascinating to see inside and feel all the goo.
We always let the kids each draw a pumpkin face and then we decide which parts of which drawings to use. This year our pumpkin had the eyes that Lily drew (with help) and the mouth and nose that Ollie drew.
Little miss Snow White
Scary Darth Vader (or Dark Vader as Lily called him)
Lily's Third Birthday
Lily had her third birthday about two weeks ago. I've been meaning to post but... life get busy. The following is a letter that Spencer sent out to the family about Lily's birthday morning.
Today we woke Lily up to an arousing number of happy birthday. Ollie, Shreann and I
sang and watched Lily smile her approval. After that we got her out of her crib and asked her if she wanted to open her presents. She said YA!! Then she smiled and proudly told me that she gave me a present, as I picked her up I smelt what she meant.
After I changed her she ran into the living room, which my 33 week pregnant wife
decorated with balloons, streamers, and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign. Again our efforts were rewarded with a huge smile.
She loved all of the presents. Ollie had Lily open his first. I so proud of him he spent his own money and really thought about what Lily would like. He bought her this foam play doh thing. What ever it was she really liked it. She then opened a present from Shree and I, a new hat and gloves. Next she opened a scrap book that Grandma and Grandpa Beck sent and was tickled that it was a book all about Lily.
She continued on and opened a gift from Grandma Stirland. As she took off the rapping paper she said "A baby! How did they get the baby in to the box?" She continued to open it and quickly asked me to get the baby out of that box!
While I was getting her new baby out of the box she opened another gift from her mom and dad, a Little People Nativity set. She is really in to Little People and we wanted her to have it before Christmas so she could play with it.
Last present she opened was a cowgirl dress up kit that she got from Aunt Lara, Uncle Rich and Madi. She put on the hat and worked on opening the book.
She is sure loved.
Thanks everyone!
Love,
Spencer Wm.
Here's a few pictures of the cake that evening. Lily loved that it was a mickey mouse cake. For many days before her birthday she talked all about how mom was going to make her a cake. She didn't know it was going to have mickey and friends on it so she was extra pleased.
Later in the week Lily had a birthday party with her friends and their families. As she was telling me the people that she wanted to invite she would name the child her age and then name all the other children in the family. So we decided to have a picnic birthday party at the park for her. The weather didn't cooperate so at the last minute we changed the party to our house. The kids all had fun playing while the adults visited and then we had an indoor picnic. She had a lot of fun being surrounded by people who care about her.
The kids all had fun eating the cupcakes and cookies under the table. Lily was very specific about wanting chocolate cupcakes.
Lily enjoyed opening the presents with a little bit of help from everyone. :) She sure had a GREAT birthday! We love our little Lily!
Today we woke Lily up to an arousing number of happy birthday. Ollie, Shreann and I
sang and watched Lily smile her approval. After that we got her out of her crib and asked her if she wanted to open her presents. She said YA!! Then she smiled and proudly told me that she gave me a present, as I picked her up I smelt what she meant.
After I changed her she ran into the living room, which my 33 week pregnant wife
decorated with balloons, streamers, and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign. Again our efforts were rewarded with a huge smile.
She loved all of the presents. Ollie had Lily open his first. I so proud of him he spent his own money and really thought about what Lily would like. He bought her this foam play doh thing. What ever it was she really liked it. She then opened a present from Shree and I, a new hat and gloves. Next she opened a scrap book that Grandma and Grandpa Beck sent and was tickled that it was a book all about Lily.
She continued on and opened a gift from Grandma Stirland. As she took off the rapping paper she said "A baby! How did they get the baby in to the box?" She continued to open it and quickly asked me to get the baby out of that box!
While I was getting her new baby out of the box she opened another gift from her mom and dad, a Little People Nativity set. She is really in to Little People and we wanted her to have it before Christmas so she could play with it.
Last present she opened was a cowgirl dress up kit that she got from Aunt Lara, Uncle Rich and Madi. She put on the hat and worked on opening the book.
She is sure loved.
Thanks everyone!
Love,
Spencer Wm.
Here's a few pictures of the cake that evening. Lily loved that it was a mickey mouse cake. For many days before her birthday she talked all about how mom was going to make her a cake. She didn't know it was going to have mickey and friends on it so she was extra pleased.
Later in the week Lily had a birthday party with her friends and their families. As she was telling me the people that she wanted to invite she would name the child her age and then name all the other children in the family. So we decided to have a picnic birthday party at the park for her. The weather didn't cooperate so at the last minute we changed the party to our house. The kids all had fun playing while the adults visited and then we had an indoor picnic. She had a lot of fun being surrounded by people who care about her.
The kids all had fun eating the cupcakes and cookies under the table. Lily was very specific about wanting chocolate cupcakes.
Lily enjoyed opening the presents with a little bit of help from everyone. :) She sure had a GREAT birthday! We love our little Lily!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Update
Water fun.
Lily chillin' in the window.
The new Minnie Mouse.
It's been a while since I posted an update....
Ollie is LOVING school. He has an awesome teacher that he just loves. He loves to draw her pictures and write her notes. She is always so happy to see the kids and they know that she wants to be there with them. He is learning to play the piano and so far enjoys that. He is very excited for the new baby to come and he says he can't wait to hold the baby. He is definately a little Texan... He didn't know what iceicles were... He also wanted to put horns on top of his lego truck.
Lily misses Ollie at school and talks all the time about being 5 and going to school. She has a little backpack that she likes to wear around the house and she calls me "teacher". She is now mostly potty trained. She still has an occasional accident but usually she does good. She loves all things Mickey Mouse. The other day she found Ollie's old training wheels and she put them by her ears and said she was Minnie Mouse.
Spencer and I are doing good. Works is going well for Spencer and he really enjoys it. I'm feeling a little more pregnant each day. We've got about 7 more weeks until we are out numbered with three kiddos. Time seems to be flying by faster than we can keep up with it all!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
School Days
Ollie had his first day of school on Monday! He was very excited!! He was nervous about things for a few weeks before. Every time he told me something that he was nervous about we talked about it.
The night before school started he suddenly got upset and said, "What if my teacher asks me to draw a guitar? I've never drawn a guitar before." He really thought he needed to practise drawing a guitar. Spencer and I just chuckled and then assured him that his teacher was not going to ask him to draw a guitar on the first day of school.
Monday morning we woke him up and he was just super excited! He was all ready to go and learn. We all went to the school to drop him off. Aunt Ellen was also able to come which pleased Ollie. We walked him into the school to his classroom. He just walked right in. I had to tell him to come back out because I wanted a picture in front of his classroom. Then he want back in and just smiled at me and said, "Bye" in a very cheerful voice.
Our family in front of Ollie's classroom.
Ollie with Aunt Ellen.
Ollie in front of the flag pole.
When I picked Ollie up Monday afternoon he was very disappointed. I asked him what he did at school... He told me that all they did was learn rules and they "didn't do math or anything." I think he was expecting it to be more academic. On Tuesday he liked it a little better. He told me they didn't spend as much time learning rules but he couldn't tell me what they did do???? Trying to get information out of a little boy is like pulling teeth! He does really like PE and he wishes that he could read books during their rest time. I'm sure once he makes friends he will have more fun. :)
The night before school started he suddenly got upset and said, "What if my teacher asks me to draw a guitar? I've never drawn a guitar before." He really thought he needed to practise drawing a guitar. Spencer and I just chuckled and then assured him that his teacher was not going to ask him to draw a guitar on the first day of school.
Monday morning we woke him up and he was just super excited! He was all ready to go and learn. We all went to the school to drop him off. Aunt Ellen was also able to come which pleased Ollie. We walked him into the school to his classroom. He just walked right in. I had to tell him to come back out because I wanted a picture in front of his classroom. Then he want back in and just smiled at me and said, "Bye" in a very cheerful voice.
Our family in front of Ollie's classroom.
Ollie with Aunt Ellen.
Ollie in front of the flag pole.
When I picked Ollie up Monday afternoon he was very disappointed. I asked him what he did at school... He told me that all they did was learn rules and they "didn't do math or anything." I think he was expecting it to be more academic. On Tuesday he liked it a little better. He told me they didn't spend as much time learning rules but he couldn't tell me what they did do???? Trying to get information out of a little boy is like pulling teeth! He does really like PE and he wishes that he could read books during their rest time. I'm sure once he makes friends he will have more fun. :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Summer
Dear Summer,
We love you! However, we are exhausted and must say goodbye. We need a little more sleep and perhaps a little less play. We had a wonderful, busy time. We will see you next year!
Love,
The Texas Stirlands
TSRHC
Lily had an appointment at the Texas Scottish-Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in Dallas about a week ago. Because the appointment is all the way in Dallas we try to make a day of the trip.
We got there almost two hours early. (I might be crazy but sometimes traffic is really bad.) We had lots of time to play at the wonderful park that is right across from the hospital. The hospital owns the park so it's handicap friendly. The kiddos love this park and were very excited we got there early so they could play.
Ollie and Lily on the teeter-tooter.
Ollie on the train.
Lily climbing through a tube. She is finally learning how to turn around and go backwards to get out of the tube. She had a lot of fun practising her new skill!
After a long time at the park (super hot August weather), we went over to the hospital and got all washed up. Then we ate our picnic in the cafeteria while we watched the mickey mouse blimp go up and down. Ollie specifically asked if we could sit somewhere with a good view. :)
After lunch we washed up again and then checked in. We started the appointment off with some x-rays. It was Lily's first time doing it by herself! (No pregnant women allowed) We had practised at home before so she wouldn't be too nervous about it. She did great! She held real still and did exactly what they asked her to. Not bad for an almost three year old!. After she was done she got a little stuffed snoopy dog and big brother got a book.
Then the real waiting began... Lily's doctor is very very good. As a result, the wait time is very very long. The hospital does have fun waiting rooms which REALLY helps!
While we waited the kids played with the shadow wall. They love this wall and look forward to it every time! The wall displays different images such as butterflies which will land on your shadow if you hold really still. They love it when butterflies land on their heads. They also have a fun one with marbles that you "hit" and they bounce all over. We also played their little gameboys, read books, colored, and had a snack.
We finally saw her doctor. The scoop on her hips- They are still sublexed which means not all the way in but not dislocated either. Her right hip is looking wonderful and the bones all look good. Her left side has a few more problems. Her head (top) of her femur (leg) bone is big but it is finally starting to put pressure on her hip socket. The hip socket is finally starting to harden. The decision- Nothing for now. She will eventually need to have the hip socket deepened and the head of the femur narrowed down but not until she is much older. We are so relieved! It's so hard to see your kid go through surgery and pain. We feel very blessed that she can be left alone for now! She doesn't even have to see the orthopedist for another year! That's the longest she has ever gone. I sighed a huge sigh of relief after hearing that news and Spencer was equally happy when I called and told him.
We finished off the day by getting her a bigger hip brace to sleep with at night. Then we drove home through the rush-hour traffic of Dallas. Lily was exhausted and slept. Ollie kept asking if we were out of Dallas yet because I told him that I would get him something to eat once we got out of Dallas.
All in all, it was a great day! I must admit that my kids were made for going to doctors appointments. I'm always amazed at how well they do!
We got there almost two hours early. (I might be crazy but sometimes traffic is really bad.) We had lots of time to play at the wonderful park that is right across from the hospital. The hospital owns the park so it's handicap friendly. The kiddos love this park and were very excited we got there early so they could play.
Ollie and Lily on the teeter-tooter.
Ollie on the train.
Lily climbing through a tube. She is finally learning how to turn around and go backwards to get out of the tube. She had a lot of fun practising her new skill!
After a long time at the park (super hot August weather), we went over to the hospital and got all washed up. Then we ate our picnic in the cafeteria while we watched the mickey mouse blimp go up and down. Ollie specifically asked if we could sit somewhere with a good view. :)
After lunch we washed up again and then checked in. We started the appointment off with some x-rays. It was Lily's first time doing it by herself! (No pregnant women allowed) We had practised at home before so she wouldn't be too nervous about it. She did great! She held real still and did exactly what they asked her to. Not bad for an almost three year old!. After she was done she got a little stuffed snoopy dog and big brother got a book.
Then the real waiting began... Lily's doctor is very very good. As a result, the wait time is very very long. The hospital does have fun waiting rooms which REALLY helps!
While we waited the kids played with the shadow wall. They love this wall and look forward to it every time! The wall displays different images such as butterflies which will land on your shadow if you hold really still. They love it when butterflies land on their heads. They also have a fun one with marbles that you "hit" and they bounce all over. We also played their little gameboys, read books, colored, and had a snack.
We finally saw her doctor. The scoop on her hips- They are still sublexed which means not all the way in but not dislocated either. Her right hip is looking wonderful and the bones all look good. Her left side has a few more problems. Her head (top) of her femur (leg) bone is big but it is finally starting to put pressure on her hip socket. The hip socket is finally starting to harden. The decision- Nothing for now. She will eventually need to have the hip socket deepened and the head of the femur narrowed down but not until she is much older. We are so relieved! It's so hard to see your kid go through surgery and pain. We feel very blessed that she can be left alone for now! She doesn't even have to see the orthopedist for another year! That's the longest she has ever gone. I sighed a huge sigh of relief after hearing that news and Spencer was equally happy when I called and told him.
We finished off the day by getting her a bigger hip brace to sleep with at night. Then we drove home through the rush-hour traffic of Dallas. Lily was exhausted and slept. Ollie kept asking if we were out of Dallas yet because I told him that I would get him something to eat once we got out of Dallas.
All in all, it was a great day! I must admit that my kids were made for going to doctors appointments. I'm always amazed at how well they do!
Ollie's Swimming Lessons
Ollie did swim lessons again this year at the YMCA. He was nervous about it but he did it! He wants to learn to swim but he gets very nervous swimming on his own. Last summer I had to drag him out of the house to get him to go. This summer he enjoyed it much more. He is getting braver the older he gets. By the end of the two weeks he could swim SO SO SO SO much better! We are proud of him for conquering his fears!
Here he is doing his "ice cream scoop" arm with his face in.
Looking slightly nervous while waiting for his next turn.
Floating on his back by himself!
Good Job Ollie!
Here he is doing his "ice cream scoop" arm with his face in.
Looking slightly nervous while waiting for his next turn.
Floating on his back by himself!
Good Job Ollie!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Help Mom!
Lily was playing in the living room with her little people house. She decided to sit on it. She was able to climb up on it but then her short leg couldn't reach and she got stuck. I was in the other room and heard her yell, "Help Mom! I'm stuck!" She was starting to get upset so I pulled out the camera and she decided to smile instead. Funny how kids do that.
Bear Lake
The last part of our Utah trip... We took a trip up to Bear Lake and stayed in a cabin. It was super fun to have a few days away with my parents and most of my siblings. We missed having Spencer with us! He had to get back to work.
While at bear lake we went to the minnitonka cave and spent another day at the beach. We also enjoyed games and movies at the cabin, plus some nice relaxing time. :)
Waiting outside Minnitonka cave for the tour to begin. Thanks Uncle Nate for carrying Lily for me!!!
Inside the cave.
A view of the lake from our cabin.
Allora with the inflatable dolphin. The kids took good care of this dolphin. They fed it, gave it water, and even gave it baths!
Lily throwing sand. Lily loved just sitting on the beach throwing sand. She sat and threw sand for almost two hours! She was okay with walking in the water but she did NOT want to go in the raft.
Ollie, Jonas, and Ezzie playing in the sand.
Ollie, trying very diligently to get the raft out on the lake.
While at bear lake we went to the minnitonka cave and spent another day at the beach. We also enjoyed games and movies at the cabin, plus some nice relaxing time. :)
Waiting outside Minnitonka cave for the tour to begin. Thanks Uncle Nate for carrying Lily for me!!!
Inside the cave.
A view of the lake from our cabin.
Allora with the inflatable dolphin. The kids took good care of this dolphin. They fed it, gave it water, and even gave it baths!
Lily throwing sand. Lily loved just sitting on the beach throwing sand. She sat and threw sand for almost two hours! She was okay with walking in the water but she did NOT want to go in the raft.
Ollie, Jonas, and Ezzie playing in the sand.
Ollie, trying very diligently to get the raft out on the lake.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Dinosaur Museum
At Thanksgiving Point there is a very cool Dinosaur Museum. Our kids love to go there. They have several hand-on exhibits that they really enjoy. We always go home happy (and dirty). :)
Ollie and Papa had fun building this dinosaur!
Ollie playing with dinosaurs at the sand/water table. What kid doesn't like sand and water???
Ollie and Lily digging for dinosaur bones. They found some!
Grandma Beck, Lily, and Ollie in front of a shark.
Lily crawling out of a cave.
Ollie and Papa had fun building this dinosaur!
Ollie playing with dinosaurs at the sand/water table. What kid doesn't like sand and water???
Ollie and Lily digging for dinosaur bones. They found some!
Grandma Beck, Lily, and Ollie in front of a shark.
Lily crawling out of a cave.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Abby and Sam
We had fun playing with our Stirland cousins!
Playing in the sandbox.
Dinner at the kids table.
Swimming in the pool!
Funny sidenote: Lily didn't really remember most of the cousins or Aunts and Uncles. We talk about them so their names were familiar but not their faces. Spencer looks a lot like his oldest brother and for the first little while Lily would get them mixed up. She kept going up to Uncle Danny and wanted him and called him Papa a few times. After a while she realized and then she would look more carefully. :)
Playing in the sandbox.
Dinner at the kids table.
Swimming in the pool!
Funny sidenote: Lily didn't really remember most of the cousins or Aunts and Uncles. We talk about them so their names were familiar but not their faces. Spencer looks a lot like his oldest brother and for the first little while Lily would get them mixed up. She kept going up to Uncle Danny and wanted him and called him Papa a few times. After a while she realized and then she would look more carefully. :)
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