keeping busy!

I don't know why Addie looks so crazy in both of these pictures!

We've had such a busy January. I feel like I've barely been home (and the cleanliness of my apartment will prove it) but it's been a blast.

(Macie is the oldest here by 3 or 4 months, but she's clearly one of the smallest!)

Jason has been studying like a mad man. His first board exam is in March, so he has his nose to the grindstone. He's concerned there is too much material to review and that he'll never get through it all. I'm positive he'll do well, he always has before! It stinks to have him gone so much, I'll be very grateful once they are done.

I've been dabbling in various things all month long. I can now make balloon animal frogs, giraffes, monkeys, swords, dogs and hearts. Unfortunately, my pump has gone MIA, so hopefully it turns up again soon. The balloons are a HUGE hit with the girls. I've also just finished two more name signs a friend at Stroller Strides is paying me for. I'm charging her $20/sign, but decided that it's not worth my time for that. If someone wants to pay me for one in the future, I'll have to charge more than that. They are just so time consuming! They turned out cute, though, I'm really pleased with them.

Young Womens is keeping me busy. Our Laurel Advisor moved in December, so I've been having to teach each Sunday as well. I'm actually enjoying it. I hated teaching the young women when I was first put in, but now it's not so bad. I'd still prefer to be teaching the primary kids, though.

Addie is a lot of fun. She can speak very well now, my favorite is when she says "No thanks, Mom." I don't know why, I just think it's cute for a two year old to be so polite. She's also very good at doing everything she isn't supposed to do. We love playing pretend together and have been working on potty-training. She's pretty good at #2, but is completely clueless for #1. She Adelyn also is wonderful (too wonderful, almost) at sharing everything with Macie. She'll take out all her toys, one by one, and pile them up around Macie, convinced she needs every toy we have to offer. Fortunately, Addie is also usually good about cleaning up!

Macie can sit up well now, but isn't interested in scooting or crawling just yet. She's great at rolling to everything she needs. She's learning how to pick up food in her fingers and actually get it in her mouth. She's also a little sneak and can snatch up wanted items in an instant! She's very attached to me lately, which hasn't been fun for Jason, but I'm sure she'll grow out of it. She's quick to smile and is so fun to have around! On Thursday we went to the doctor for her checkup and she's still only 12 lb 6 oz. She's so small, her weight isn't even on the chart! Her head and length are normal, though, and she's hitting all her developmental milestones so the doctor isn't worried. I'll admit, though, I have been pumping her full of calories this week!

Sneaking veggies? That's my girl!

Jason and I are doing (yet again) another diet. We're trying to keep an extremely low-fat diet (less than 15 grams of fat per day-much akin to how I was eating with gallstones) and are seeing results. It's been 3 weeks and we've each lost 6 to 7 pounds! Our goal is to be where we want to be by our anniversary and treat ourselves to a nice evening away. We're hopeful! Well, I hope you enjoy the schmorgasborg (sp?) of pictures!

Can you believe we flew kites in January? Memphis isn't so bad afterall...