Camping 2011

We packed up the (borrowed)tent, brought our (borrowed) sleeping bags, and headed out to P.J. Hoffmaster State Park for a weekend of camping with our friends and their families. This was our first camping trip as a married couple and certainly the first trip as a family, but we survived and had a fabulous time. We joined six other families from church, sat by the fire, chased kids around the campground, took SEVERAL trips to the bathroom, and enjoyed a great weekend with our kids and our friends.


Emma especially enjoyed herself because she spent the weekend with all of her church friends (5 other 3/4 year old girls). Each morning she woke up (early, of course) and asked when her friends would be able to play. And play they did...all weekend. All of the girls loved riding bikes and scooters along the road through the campground and also loved playing at the beach.



We are extremely blessed with great friends for our entire family!!!

Ooooppppsss!

Oh my word...I realize that I haven't updated this page in a while, but I didn't realize it was that long ago. I honestly had to make a new password because I couldn't remember it...
It's summertime in the Wiechel house and things are continuing to buzz. Both girls are loving the warmer weather and we are having a hard time keeping them indoors. The kiddie pool is full most days and the deck is often covered in sand from the sand box. Emma loves her swing and loves to splash around in the pool. She has also blossomed into quite the social butterfly asking almost each day to play with one of her friends. She is still working on mastering her bike. Lauren loves to run around outside, too. She doesn't want to miss a thing. She loves the sandbox and pool, too. She will step into the pool, step out, climb the stairs, step into the sandbox, sit, step out of the sandbox, climb down the stairs, step into the pool...REPEAT! We are looking forward to a family vacation in Hilton Head in July and a camping trip with our church friends in June (we are not campers, so we will see how that works out!).

Let's see...I haven't posted in a while, here are some things that have happened since then.
Emma--She celebrated her third birthday in March (sheesh that is over 3 months ago). We are finding there is a big difference between a 2 year old girl and a 3 year old girl :). She loves her friends, books, swinging, 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates,' garage saleing, going to the zoo, and being outside.
Lauren--She also celebrated a big birthday. She is 1! Since the last post, she is walking, running, babbling, exploring... She is a mover and rarely sits still. She loves walking, climbing, chasing her sister, eating :), Sigsbee, and being outside.

We are blessed each day by these little girls. We praise God for them!

9 months and my, how things have changed...

I do realize that I haven't updated this blog in a long time and there has been huge changes in our home. My baby isn't so much a baby anymore. Our little Lauren is a tank. Over the past 6 weeks, she is crawling like crazy and fast, she has learned to pull herself up (on EVERYTHING), is walking along furniture and really enjoys walking behind a box in our living room. Nothing is safe anymore as she constantly finds anything that she should not be playing with (Emma's cups, the dog's bone, etc.). Over the past week, her speech is also developing. She isn't saying any real words (other than hi, da-da, ma-ma and more), but her babble sounds very much like words. She loves to wave hello and good-bye to us often.

While the developmental changes are much more obvious in Lauren, we've also seen growth in Emma, too. Her vocabulary is astounding and she is able to use words such as actually, enough, plenty with surprising accuracy. She is the most polite lady I know and we are so thankful for this quality in her. She constantly uses her pleases and thank yous, but has begun to ask questions such as 'are you alright?' Emma also is really into clearing her plate from the table, putting her shoes and coat away...without being asked. Sometimes we smirk and laugh at how patronizing this behavior seems, but we are grateful that this is becoming routine to her. Last night, she complimented me as I wiped her bottom after going potty..."you did a good job wiping, mom." Sweet?

I am beginning to realize that busy is becoming normal around here. I used to think that it was just a busy month or a busy week, but I think that it is just our life, so we are rolling with the punches and enjoying the family time that we have together.

7 months

Within the last two weeks our household has changed a ton. Lauren is now 7 months old and is one motivated little lady. She has uttered her first word, 'dada.' Two days later, she figured out how to crawl. 7 months. Emma didn't crawl until she was at least 8-9 months. Lauren is eager to pull herself up on our laps and on other furniture, but she isn't steady or strong enough to stand...pheeew! I am afraid that walking will be happening sooner rather than later (note: Emma walked at 13-14 months. No way Lauren will wait that long) It is great to watch her move around the house. She is able to find the toys that we have on shelves and in boxes and is thrilled to sit and play with them. She would love it if we would let her play with the computer or our camera (she bee-lines it over to me if I try to take her picture) and she loves paper and tags.

Emma is eagerly awaiting Christmas time and we are just as excited to experience it with her. She still maintains that she wants cold hard cash for a gift. She is excited to be with family and exchange gifts. She keeps looking out the back door for Santa and his reindeer...We are not pushing the Santa issue, but she has caught on quickly to the entire idea. She still and always has been fond of books (to say the least). It is something that we are truly thankful for, yet reading the same 5-6 books 3-4 times a day is driving us a bit nuts. Not to mention she is choosing the books we pulled out for Lauren. Poor girl will get to school and will have memorized all of the books.
We send you our warmest wishes this holiday season and pray that you delight in THE child, Jesus, who was born for you! Merry Christmas.

A lot has changed around here since my last update. Our little Lauren is now 6 months old and changing every day. We've hit a frustrating stage in her development. She has figured out how to get up on her hands and knees and truly wants to crawl, but she gets extremely frustrated by her inability to do so...and she cries and finds comfort only in the arms of mom walking through the house. She has also been able to sit up by herself with much more stability. She is eating solid food now...mostly just cereals and pureed fruits and vegetables.
We were able to experience our first 'real' Halloween as parents this year with a very excited little girl. Emma dressed up as 'Fancy Nancy,' a spunky and fancy girl from one of her favorite book series. We went trick or treating in Fremont and she did quite well. It took her a few houses to realize that she was getting more and more treats at each house. The part I find most humorous is that there is still a full sized bag of M&Ms in her trick or treat bag...the thing that I thought would go first. Her preference...the suckers that I bought as potty treats the week before and put in her bag. Whatever. Lauren dressed up, too, as a sweet, pink cat. No treats for her. It has been a pleasure experiencing life through Emma's eyes. She is thrilled about the holidays and is now at an age where she can understand more of what is going on. She still maintains that she wants cold hard cash for Christmas...which we won't argue with.

We are busy, but we are blessed and thankful! Thank you God for these two little girls.

Fall

School has started, the temperature has begun to change...Fall is here!! and God is good! Again, it is unbelievably fun to experience the change of seasons with a toddler. She is fascinated by the world around her which makes us stop and look and be thankful. Around our house, we are watching many creatures. There is a chrysalis in our garage (not sure if it is still alive) that we check each day. Many huge spiders that we watch. And just today, there was a praying mantis on our screen door that has kept us busy.
Emma, now 2 1/2, is a hoot. She continually walks around the house singing a cartoon song or some Michael Jackson lyrics. If you can believe it, she is becoming more verbal...and now we are having to watch what we say and what we watch. She is becoming more aware of God. The other day, after commenting on the clouds, she asked me, "Where is God?" Now, she will point to her belly and say that God is in her heart. She hears the names of Jesus and God on the radio. She also said that things make God and Jesus sad (and I have not played the God card). It is incredible to watch her faith grow.
Lauren, almost 5 months, is moving like crazy. She is rolling both back and forth and can scoot on the floor to get what she wants. She loves her exersaucer and is becoming fond of toys. She is waking up twice in the night (YAWN!) to eat (YAWN) and we all are hoping that changes really soon. Her smile lights up her room and her giggle is about as precious as can be.