Favorite Memories of Parent's Visit

Playing in the water, both at the splash park and at home.




The Park. Having two extra set of hands made it very relaxing! Henry got a lot of swinging time (instead of in-the-sling-chasing-MM-time) and even went down the slide with his sister.




Seeing Margaret Mary bond with her Memaw.



The Alligator Farm. Seeing MM's facination with the alligators. Her running up and down the board walks. Her saying "aligaytor", "teeth", and "no touch".





But perhaps, most of all, I enjoyed this. A rare occurance in The Craig House.



Thanks Mom and Dad!

First Pics of Parent's Visit

Here are a couple of pics of my parents visit. They are taking most of the pics, so I can't wait to upload their pics to my computer. They have better documented all of our adventures. Here are a couple that I was able to snap at the water park the other day.

Margaret Mary spent most of the time trying to drink the water (gross!). It makes for a pretty good picture though. It was hilarious when the water pressure would change and would come up faster through the spicket and shoot her right in the face. She didn't mind at all! The girl loves water.




We took turns holding Henry in the shade. Here are some sweet ones of Henry and my dad. Jason calls them the two most photogenic people in the world!




Will post more about the visit later...

Fun Day with Friends

The Weilers came into town again! Margaret Mary loves "GusSam" (Gus and Sam, brothers) and is still talking about how much fun she had with them. We met up at the beach and spent a couple of hours there. This is the first year MM has been able to play independently in the water. She did a good job staying in the shallow spots, even when tempted by Sam to come out further. One time she was crawling in the water, she tripped and her face fell in. The girl didn't miss a beat. She picked her head up out of the water and with a joyful expression on her face, sighed "beach!"





Henry slept for the first half of the trip, enjoyed himself for a few minutes, and then got terribly annoyed about the sun being in his face. Here he his in his few joyful minutes being held by his Godmother, Jana.





We then went to some Gardens to walk around. I really wanted a pic of all the kids, for memories sake, but we couldn't get them all to stand still in the same place. I did get this one sweet one of Margaret Mary and Sam. Sam has decided that he wants to marry her and gives her kisses (to which she gets a big smile on her face). But, she hasn't returned his affections, she is still a papa's girl all the way.



We are so thankful to the Weilers for making the trip (Henry still has a hard time with the carseat). We are even more thankful for their friendship. We will miss them dearly when we move.

Dang Dogs

Nothing raises the property value of your house like your neighbor's pitbulls dragging their crate all over your yard, right?

Henry's first time in the Swing!

Success!

Even MM joined in on the pushing. His joy was contagious. This was the first time Henry was out of the sling at the park. It was hard to push him and keep my daughter nearby. A little glimpse of what life will be like as Henry gets older and wants to play at the park as well. I already know Henry is going to be a handful. He is everywhere at the house. Not crawling yet, but scooting over pillows, toys, anything in his way to get to what he wants. He can sit up for a second, but isn't content to stay in one place. Margaret Mary was the same way!



All that fun led to one tired baby, and one snuggly momma. Henry has NEVER been a snuggler, even as a newborn. It was always hard to hold him because he didn't melt up against you, he would push himself off of you to look around. The sling has taught him to cuddle a little bit, in fact, the sling is the only time when Henry will be content to stay in one place. If you try to hold him outside the sling, he is constantly turning himself, pushing off of you, grabbing your face, etc. Thats why I loved this moment so much.

Homemade Water Park

It has been HOT in Florida recently. So hot, that setting up the sprinkler in the driveway was more of an act of desperation on my part then entertainment. So yesterday, I put Henry in his bathingsuit and Margaret Mary in a shirt and panties (Target didn't have bathingsuits in her size out yet), and turned on the water. The kids had a blast, and I got to cool down a little bit. Henry tried to catch the water in his hands and then eat it. MM had fun filling up containers with water, pouring them into other containers, and running in and out of the sprinkler. Margaret Mary LOVES water and would be content to play in it all day if I let her. Her face just LIGHTS UP, and she is smiling from ear to ear. Henry loves splashing in the water. Giving him a bath is crazy, he splashes the WHOLE time. He is very intense when it comes to playing.

MM wet and going towards the little sprinkler.



And then check out this handsome baby blue eyes. I can't help but post multiple pics of him. My mother heart is so smitten with my son. Such a sweet a special relationship.



Random fact about Henry: he is incredibly ticklish!

My Babies

Finally, a pic with me and both kids in it! Doesn't MM look so old?

Craziness

It has been really crazy around here lately. Jason was sick, then the kids were sick, then daylight savings time reeked havoc on our evenings (what kid wants to go to sleep when its still bright outside?), and then Margaret Mary began having a lot of bad dreams. :( It has been pretty intense with Jason and I often falling asleep when the kids do out of exhaustion. The good news is that our kids are incredibly cute, so although they cause the chaos, they also bring us great joy in it.

Margaret Mary's energy has quadrupled. She is all over the place singing songs (and singing the actual words!), dancing, imitating me when I sing, and finishing lines from her books. She LOVES being outside, but has a huge fear of the ant piles all over our yard. She also has been talking about her heart. When Jason was sick she told me that her heart was sad and that she wanted to hold him. It was very sweet. She also calls everything her "baby." At first Jason and I were really confused as to what she thought baby meant. She would yell and cry for her babies when her movie would end (that had no babies in it). We realized that we use the word baby often. Jason and I call eachother baby, our kids baby, etc. So, she has learned that the word baby is used for something that is dear to her. Therefore, she calls all of her friends "babies." I feel bad because she begs for playdates to see "kids" everyday. She also calls EVERYONE her friend. The guy on TV is her friend, the lady on her almond milk bottle is her friend, anyone who walks by us is her "friend." MM is also obsessed with glasses. I bought her some from target and she wears them everywhere. Inside, outside, in restaurants. It is pretty ridiculous.

The other day we were talking about moving to our new home in Denver. Margaret Mary picked up on what we were saying and said "no, (and pointing to our house) home" as in THIS is our home. It makes us sad, because we love our home so much, and nervous to see how she will do with the move.

Henry is Henry. Talking, moving all over the place, laughing at his sister. I have never seen a baby laugh as much as Henry at five months. The kids take a nap at the same time each day and I make MM sit on the bed while I nurse Henry down. Henry fights me as hard as he can, uses all his will to twist against me so he can see his sister, and then CRACKS up at her. I mean deep, belly laughs. He loves her so much. She then looks at me with her paci in her mouth and says "wake, Henry no sleep," and then starts playing with him. I have to hold in my laughter.

House Showing and Parade

Today we went to the St. Patty's day parade downtown. We were going to go explore the fort, but when we heard about the parade coming, decided to watch that instead. Margaret Mary had so much fun clapping to the music, pointing at the horses, and telling us that the firetrucks were scary. We also saw our friends, The Havens, there and MM loved playing with little Faustina.

As for a house update, We had a showing! It came at the worst possible time. Jason was really sick all day wednesday and thursday and so the house was a mess Friday morning. I spent most of the morning doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Durring the kids nap, I got a call from the realtor that someone wanted to see the house between four and five. It was exciting but I knew I would need to kick it into high gear to have the house ready (and us out of the house, which is a battle in itself) by four. The kids were so great while I ran around cleaning everything. I don't know what I would have done if they were fussy! We left the house at 3:54. MM hadn't had lunch yet (she is such a trooper) and Henry was overdue for his last nap of the day. We got food, went to the park, picked up Jason and got home about an hour and a half later. I was kinda hoping the people would still be at our house, but they weren't. In fact, it looked like the house hadn't been touched! It kinda makes me nervous that they didn't come, but then that is one of the stressful things about showing. Please continue to pray for us!

Oh Baby!

Here a couple of pics from the Baby Shower this weekend. We are so excited for Baby Van Horn and can't wait till May 21st (the expected due date and according to a billboard in NY, the expected return of Jesus! How funny!). I had a great time throwing the shower for Emily. All my Wilmington friends from college did such a GREAT job of throwing showers and making the showeree feel special. I was so excited to pass on the love. A Big Thanks to Lisa for taking pictures. I completely forgot to!




The Decorations and presents. The friend making the centerpiece for the shower had to stay home because her kids got sick. Desperate for something to decorate the kitchen, I hung up some of my kids baby clothes and put some books on the table. I think it turned out okay!


The best part of all: a joyful, beautiful, Emily enjoying her friends and presents. In this pic, in great shadowbox made for Emily by Mrs. Anderson, you can see the invitations Jason and I made. We had so much fun writing the poem! Some of the funniest moments in our marriage have been writing poems or parody songs of random things.


I couldn't resist posting this sweet pic of Henry playing. MM hung out with all the big kids and their papas at the Mission Grounds.

What a great weekend!

Busy Weekend

This picture says it all. Granny, Eryn and Alyssa came to town and Margaret Mary had a ball. She LOVED hanging out with her "ganny, eyn and baby lyssa." It is really sweet to see how she loves family; it is like she knows there is something different about them then the rest of the world. This weekend we also hosted a baby shower for sweet Emily Vanhorn, and spent some time with our dear friends, the Weilers.

On a side note, MM is in love with the park and begs to go everyday. Today, I took Margaret Mary and Henry to the park and had to cover them with sunscreen it was so bright and hot. (the March Florida heat makes me look forward to a cooler summer in Denver! )Margaret Mary was ready to go play but sat patiently while I put her sunscreen on. Henry, on the other hand, cooed and gave me HUGE smiles while I covered him. He is such a joy. I love being a mom.

House Update: No showings. :( We talked to the realtor today and asked her to lower the listing price by $10,000. It's big, but Jason and I want to be more aggressive in selling the house before April 16th (our moving date!).

No House News

Our house has been up on the market for four days now and we haven't had any inquiries. (I didn't expect any, but was hoping). Please keep praying for us. If you want to see our house online, comment below and I'll send you the link. We replaced the pic of the front of our house with a new one and the rest of the house (except the living room) photograped beautifully. St, Joseph, pray for us!

Yesterday

Yesterday was pretty sweet. First of all, it rained, which is a rare occurance at our house. Margaret Mary was so happy to play in it. Here she is singing her raindrops song, where she imitates raindrops falling to the ground. She is actually starting to sing the words of the songs with me, instead of just her own version of the song. It maks me realize how big she is getting. (Speaking of singing, today is the first day she danced at storytime. It was pretty awesome seeing her come out of her shell. Durring one of the stories, the librarian said "hooray!" and MM, who knows that word from storytime with her papa, threw both hands up in the air and yelled "Hooray!" It was too cute.)


Second, Jason had to work late and so I was by myself with the kids at the hardest time of the day. Margaret Mary was being really cuddly and sweet and was asking to be held. Henry, on the other hand, was melting down and was needing to be held and nursed. What is hard about having two under two is that the first child is asked to grow up a lot faster than normal. She is still a baby and many times has to have her requests to be held denied. Last night she was asking so sweetly that I couldn't deny her. I put Henry in my mya wrap on the front, and her in the ergo on my back. It actually wasn't that hard and both the kids were happy. I took the following pic to show Jason and can't believe how awesome Henry looks in it. He is such a goofball.


Third, when Jason got home Margaret Mary wanted to cuddle with him all night. They sat outside on the front porch watching the rain and talking. Margaret Mary told Jason about her day "park fun friends excited" and just sat on his lap playing with his earlobes (a weird thing she does). Once we had put the kids down for the night Jason told me with tears in his eyes, "I hope I can remember this night forever." I love how these two love eachother.

Dancing in The Minefields

So Jason and I found our song. It fits us perfectly: the age we got engaged, buying the rings from a pawn shop, etc. With everything going on, life has been pretty stressful around here, and it is songs like this that make us stop, smile at eachother and say "this is good."

"Well I was 19, you were 21, the year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young, but we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
(That’s what the promise is for)

Well “I do” are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin
‘Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found

So when I lose my way, find me
When I lose loves chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands till the shadows disappear
‘Cause He promised not to leave us and His promises are true
So in the face of this chaos, baby I can dance with you

So let’s go dancing in the minefields, let’s go sailing in the storms
Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields, and kicking down the doors
Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields, and sailing in the storms
Oh, this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
That’s what the promise is for"

http://vodpod.com/watch/4027813-andrew-peterson-dancing-in-the-minefields-official-video

Getting Better...

I think these pics showcase our house MUCH better. The lighting is a little off, but I like them.

Some better news...

Henry is up on his hands and knees and rocking!!!



His eyes are so expressive! Jason keeps saying he feels sorry for the kid of ours that ends up with his squinty eyes. :)

The First Of Many Hiccups

When the realtor told us our house was online, I ran to the computer to look at our listing. When I saw it, my heart dropped. Our house photographs horrible. Esp the outside. Our driveway makes it look like our house is right off of a sidewalk, and you cant see any of the flowers we planted. The realtor is going to post the rest of the house pictures today and I am praying that that makes the house look more attractive. Jason and I tried to take more pictures from better angles to send the the realtor, but out pics came out horrible as well. Jason is going to call her today to talk about posting a picture of the patio first or something. Our house does not jump off the page when looking at all the listings. In fact, it looks like it doesn't even belong in the price category we are asking. Very sad and very stressfull. I am hoping our realtor has a good idea. It is also very sad to see the home that we LOVE, look so poor on the internet.