Stats

Lydia Alice at 2 - this was 2 days before her birthday, she climbed up & buckled herself in :)

Here are the comparisons...

Lydia - 33.25" & 27.5 lbs

Lindsay - 34.75" & 31.8 lbs

Lauren - 34" & 29.1 lbs

Still the pip squeak! Though if I've doubled her height correctly, she could potentially be 5' 5" tall! :) Still taller than mom... that's all I'm rooting for ;)

Ms. Wiam... the name is sticking. Mimi pointed out that Liam might stick... depends on what the girls keep calling her I guess :)  My grandfather William, they called him Billy, until his youngest brother could not pronounce "Billy" and said, "Boey" and the name "Bo" stuck. :) 

LeaAnn at 9 months (before getting the Christmas tree)... and here are the comparisons.

LeaAnn - 27-1/2" & 21lbs 7oz
Lydia - 27" & 18lbs 2oz
Lindsay - 28.5" & 20lbs 12oz
Lauren - 28.75" & 21lbs

I was really shocked at her height... I still think there might have been some error?  She has been on the 90th%ile curve, until this reading... knocks her down to the 75th. Only time will tell, but my bet is still that LeaAnn will be the tallest. :)

Family fun in Ohio

On Friday, 11/25 Mimi and I opted not to go shopping and in the afternoon, after Pap got home from work and the girls woke up from naps, we went to a park! A little chilly, but beautiful and kids had a great time! Aside from Lydia getting 'clocked' in the head by a swing (and not a normal swing, a huge plastic swing with a big kid in it) we all had a great time. :) No pictures of the black eye either... I'm a terrible mom - really slacking on taking pictures to document things like that! But none the less... here are some pictures from the trip!

Lydia 'negotiating' again... with her best subject! She was trying to get him up there to slide down with her :)

My beautiful Lindsay Rae... now if only I could get her to smile like this 'on-cue'!

That evening before the sun went down (happens at 6 in Ohio, lucky people!) We took a few shots of Donnie, Ashley, Elle & Carson for family photos. Mom & Dad have the perfect setting for pictures... and for riding four-wheelers, and campfires, and fishing... the list goes on and on!

Really enjoyed taking the pictures... as I always do :) but I was really happy with how they turned out... getting more and more comfortable with my new editing program all the time.

Love this little ham!

This was my personal favorite...

REALLY fun playing around with this picture :)

True display of Elle & Carson :)

LOVE this picture of my favorite brother & sister-in-law (good thing I only have one of each! ;)

and super special picture of Donnie, Dad & Carson... I know, I know... I was lucky to catch him at a weak moment :) he actually smiled when I asked him too ;)



That night in the bubble bath... as Lauren called it, "a little bit of heaven!" :) Was something they talked about all the way to Ohio.

And then on Saturday we went bowling! The kids had a blast, and so did the adults :) Here is Donnie being 'pro' bowler :) Lauren asked me, "why does Donnie have his own shoes & bowling ball?"  Good question Lauren... b/c Uncle Donnie likes to be the 'coolest' at all sports!! :)) Just teasing Don ;)



Here is the whole clan :) Lindsay Bowen even drove down to see me & the whole family!



We did not get there early enough to have a lane with the bumper pads, but the nice guy helping us out gave the kids this 'device' to use that kept their ball remotely straight :) they loved it and it really worked!

Lindsay in action...



waiting to see where the ball is going to go...

 and it rolled in the gutter... bummer!

 better luck next time Linds! :)

Lydia did surprisingly well :) she didnt' even try to run down the bowling isle :)

Like our matching shirts? :) Mimi bought them for us that day shopping... I thought they were VERY fitting :))

Such a wonderful visit... we made it back in 9-hrs thanks to L3 & 4 falling asleep at the same time right before lunch, and then again after lunch, and sleeping longer than 45-minutes!  So safe & sound we found Iowa... 3-hrs of unpacking later we were ready to read the girls a book before bed. Lauren & Lindsay picked it out together and asked Chris & I both to sit on the couch for it. It was the book that Mimi & Pap had recorded for them the previous Christmas. "B/c Mimi & Pap are not here to read us the book, we can listen to this one," they said. So we listened to mom & dad read the book, and when it was over, Lauren started crying. I asked her why she was crying and she said, "B/c I miss Mimi & Pap." Then Lindsay started crying... and then we were ALL sitting on the couch crying. Quite the site we were I'm sure :) but it was true... we had such a wonderful visit... and we do miss Mimi & Pap, and our whole Ohio family very much, everyday. Love you all, and thanks again for the wonderful time.

Thanksgiving 2011 in Ohio

We had an awesome family & friend-filled Thanksgiving trip to Ohio this year. We left on Wednesday with beautiful weather on our side. The trip there took 9-1/2 hrs, Chris drove & I entertained. :) We were fortunate enough to stop at a rest area for lunch and let the kids play on the playground. (Illinois has awesome/kid-friendly rest stops for those interested ;) Lydia did awesome on this trip compared to our August drive :) ... so LeaAnn took her place this time.  Just hard for a 9-month old to sleep when they are supposed to and be entertained in a car seat for 9+ hours!  She did better on the way back... and I have no doubt... she'll learn, b/c the big girls are world class travelers! They did AWESOME. They could not wait of course to see the big blue arch that we drive under to get to Ohio... but no fighting, no crying... we could not ask for more.

When we arrived that night - Mimi had Lydia's birthday present for her... and what a perfect present it was! The baby you see here (watching the train w/her) is in almost every picture from here on out! Baby 'girl' came complete with a bottle & pacifier :)  so she and Lydia have a bit of a 'connection.' She always knows when "babies needs her pacifier!"

That night in the bathtub...

Carson watching the train...

Thursday, 11/24 - Thanksgiving Day at Aunt Dawn & Aunt Gina's house!

Cracking nuts w/Aunt Gina... HUGE hit with ALL the kids at the house... they had not nuts left by the end of the day ;)

I like how "Wiam" was trying to join in on the action ;)

Notice the baby 'girl' ??? I'm not kidding... EVERYWHERE she went, she had that baby with her :)

lovin' on Mimi...

Trying to get a pic of the 6 of them :) 

But Obie did NOT want to be left out! :)

Lydia 'negotiating' with Aunt Dawn :) I believe she was saying, "my table! my table! woll!" Meaning in her 'polite' way, "get me a roll please" ;)

And what would a Koontz Thanksgiving be without wrestling in the living room?  Aunt Jayne is usually the instigator and referee :) As you can see in the pictures - Wiam wins most of them :)

Lydia you are IN FOR IT when she gets older :)

but hopefully - they'll be best friends too :)

They really do love playing together :) And speaking of LeaAnn winning most battles... just the other day, Lydia was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, next to LeaAnn in the high chair, and she was holding onto a teething ring. Lydia was flaunting it in front of LeaAnn, so naturally, LeaAnn grabbed on... and to Lydia's surprise, did NOT LET GO! :) "Hey! Hey!" Lydia kept shouting... I just stood there and laughed... :) The story ended with Lydia continuing to pull and LeaAnn continuing to hold on, and eventually LEAANN was the winner who held out!  I could not believe it... of course Lydia promptly let me know that, "Wiam took my wing!!" But I do believe that's a good indicator of future encounters :))