Happy and Messy Kids

We are settling into our new home and really enjoying it. MOST of the boxes are unpacked. Danny and his mom have been painting away and the nursery is just about the last room to finish - just in time! 6 weeks and COUNTING! We have been really busy but found time to go to the zoo and Henry and I went strawberry picking with his class. Fun times!

We are lame

I have no real post, I have no pictures. We are officially lame.

Our quick updates:
Claudia is a singer and is a true 2 year old and becoming more willful everyday - "Me do it!"
Henry is a super 4 year old and really enjoying school
Danny is finishing his last month of pharmacy school and has a job at Forsyth Hospital starting mid-May
Rachel is still pregnant - it takes longer to grow the third one, trust me
We are moving into a house in Winston in early May - yay! - two and a half times the size of the one in Durham - echo, echo, echo

All the news that's fit to print!

Henry, the bird savant

Henry has an amazing knack of identifying all sorts of birds. The boy loves birds! We do have lots of bird books, but I am totally amazed by his memory for birds. We also have several feeders in the yard and he can name pretty much every type of bird that comes to the feeders. The other day he was looking through a bird ID book and was pointing out herons, egrets and then really surprised me and pointed to the cormorant. Wow - he is good!

Me, Claudia

Claudia's vocabulary and sense of self is moving right along.
Whenever she has done or will do something she says: Me, Claudia.

R: Who spilled juice all over the floor?
C: Me, Claudia (and pats chest)

D: Who's gonna give Daddy a kiss?
C: Me, Claudia (smooch)

CHEESE

baby on the move

Well - as most of you know, we like to torture ourselves and not find out the gender of our kids until they pop out. So ... I would like to make an official prediction - this kid is already kicking at 15 weeks - like pow - kick! My theory here is that it is a boy. Henry kicked the fire out of me and I hardly ever felt Claudia. However, if this active kick-boxing lemon sized baby turns out to be a girl - I think we are in trouble!!

Carolina bowl game

Danny, his sister Susan, his Uncle Dennis, mom Kathy and dad Dennis all took in the Carolina v. West Virginia bowl game. Sadly, Carolina lost in the last seconds.

Biltmore vacay

Danny and I were able to get away for a couple of days without the kids. We went up to Asheville and got to eat at "adult" restaurants and go to a movie and take a 2 hour walking tour of the Biltmore house. Oh - and eat chocolates - for the baby! ;-)

Holiday Fotos

Another shooting star or a bun in the oven

Oh yes - our family is going to be expanding. We are excited to say that we are expecting another little one at the end of June. A summer baby this time completely messing up my winter focused maternity wardrobe.
I also wanted to report a strange phenomenon related to my children and shooting stars. When I was pregnant with Henry I saw a shooting star. When I was pregnant with Claudia, Danny saw a shooting star. And last week while driving home from work I saw a shooting star - I actually thought it was a plane crashing - so - we are excited that this little one seems to be blessed by the stars as well.

wow - henry is a popular name

Check out this catchy - hand washing themed webpage and song!
http://www.henrythehand.com/

Pumpkins and politics

Shabby chic

The State Fair

We went to the fair again this year with the Stinehelfers - it was very crowded but lots of fun. Saw pig racing for the first time, got the essential maple cotton candy and even rode some rides.

New Halloween PJs and a Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Her new shirt says "MC Boo and the Tricky Treats", one of my favorite groups. I've got like 13 of their bootlegs. She's been practicing her hip-hop pose with her arms crossed.



Rachel went with the kids on their playschool field trip last Monday - looked like a lot of fun!