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.