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Pictures as promised...

Yet another week has gotten away from me. We enjoyed another week of having John home. He goes back to work on Tuesday. =( It's been very nice having him around so much. He has been able to spend some one on one time with both kids and me. Last Saturday Kate and I ran errands and went to a birthday party so John took care of Luke for most of the day. Then Sunday he took Kate to his parents for swimming and dinner. I took advantage of that time to clean out our console table. That, of course, inspired me to clean out our desks which I did yesterday. Next on my list is the coffee table drawers, the filing cabinet, and the kitchen junk drawers. I can't wait! We spent some time Wednesday and Friday catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while which is always fun. I worked another 4 hour shift this week while Luke only drank about 1 ounce from a bottle. So it looks like the 4 hour work day will be around for a while. I can't say that I mind it, though. It's nice to get out of the house and see my friends at the hospital but I miss my babes.
Luke slept through the night again on Wednesday night! And he rolled over from front to back yesterday. I missed it because I was cleaning up but one minute he was having some tummy time and next thing I know he's laying on his back. Such a little athlete! =)
Now for the pictures I promised in the last post. Next time I'll put up some of the kids. My father-in-law has generously allowed us to borrow his nice camera so stay tuned.

Luke's dedication at church...

and John's landscaping...

We will add more plants but for now it's nice just to have something. The mulch John put down smelled like chocolate for several days. Kate would stand at the front door sniffing and say, "Delicious!"

How did 2 weeks get by so fast...

I know, I know...new to the blogging world and already slackin'. Thanks for the push, Lauren. Now, can I remember what has happened in the last couple of weeks? Ah, yes. Guess how many people in our house slept through the night last Saturday? FOUR!! That's right, all of us. Luke went down at 9:30 pm and woke up at 6 am! It's a good thing I was so tired that I didn't wake up before him because I probably would have had a heart attack. It hasn't happened again yet but that's okay because he is sleeping a nice 7-8 hour stretch most nights and then back to sleep for a couple more. Kate is still my little early bird but I don't feel nearly as sleep deprived as I did when she was a baby.
Luke's update: What a good baby. We really could not have asked for an easier little guy. The only trouble is his sudden distaste for car rides. He'll spend most, if not all, of every trip crying. It's really very sad, especially since he is so easy going in every other situation. He was dedicated at church on Sunday morning. Our pastor introduced Luke to the church and prayed for him. I will post pictures soon, he looked so cute in his little collared shirt. "Just like Daddy!" Kate said. On Monday he had his 2 month check-up. He weighed in at 12 lbs. 2 oz. (75%) and was 23 in. long (50%) and the doctor said he looks good. They weren't real thrilled when I "refused" the vaccines explaining that until I researched it further we were going to hold off. The doctor's views and the reception I got from him and the nurse were enough to confirm my feelings that we need to find a new pediatrician or family medicine doctor. That and the view of about 4 in. of his crack that I got as he washed his hands! Ewwww! But I digress...we still haven't made a decision about the vaccines so for now we're not doing them. It's a really hard decision so keep us in your prayers as we try to decide what is best for our kids.
Kate's update: Kate has taken up tap dancing. She discovered it while watching "Happy Feet", a movie about a tap dancing penquin. She loves to dance around the house with her hands on her hips like a little Irish dancer. It's pretty funny. We are going to sign her up for a combo tap/ballet class next year. She has developed another new skill that we are not too pleased about. She is now able to open closed doors. We knew it would happen eventually but until it did we were happy to be able to close a door and rest assured she wouldn't have access to what was behind it. Well, no longer. She now has full access to all the things she loves to get into. These include: toothpaste, my deodorant, my make-up, my lotion, hairbrushes...notice a pattern? This child is ALL girl. But her most favorite "behind closed doors item" is her sleeping daddy. She likes to wait until I'm sitting down to nurse Luke and then pops into our room to tell daddy it's time to get up. As you can imagine, he loves it. ;)
John's update: John is currently on vacation from work for 2 weeks. It's been really nice having him home and we've gotten to spend a lot of time together as a family. We even sat down for dinner all together 3 nights in a row! John is keeping busy, though. I'll be posting pictures of our front yard to prove it. Just 3 years after finishing the renovation of the outside of our house we finally have plants! Yea! John did them himself and they look great. Kate really likes having him home, especially at bedtime. Every night before heading off to bed she sweetly says, "Daddy cuddle Kate." He has never been able to resist her and she knows it.
Shanna's update: In more depressing news, I have started Weight Watchers again. =( No more Dairy Queen after the kids are in bed, no more Panda Express once a week, no more cookies while watching "So You Think You Can Dance" with mom. So sad. Although, I did lose 3.2 lbs. in the first week and because I'm nursing I get 34 points a day (for all of you non-WWers that's a lot). So it's not all bad and I do have my 10 high school reunion in 7 weeks to motivate me.
So there you have it. Two weeks in a nutshell. Look for a picture post soon and I'll really try not to get this far behind again. =)