one last snowstorm (maybe)

these pics are from mid april i think. we just kept getting snow every couple of weeks this spring. i loved it. we sat at the couch looking out the big window all day. by around noon of the following day you wouldn't even be able to tell that it had snowed. crazy. for this last storm i got townsend all outfitted to go outside but didn't feel like dealing with the girls. sorry girls. it's 30 minutes work for about 10 minutes of outside time. i never figured out how to keep mittens on small children. cold hands was what usually brought them inside so quickly. i need to ask around so that by next year we'll have that problem solved.

my first craigslist purchase!

i have always liked looking on craigslist for stuff but have never actually tried to buy something. in fact, i naively thought that if i sent a response for an item i would automatically get it. now that the days are warm enough to eat outside i decided it would be fun to get a little kids picnic table. it's always a pain to bring out the booster seats from the dining room. so i started looking and sent a response to a listing for a table and the lady had the nerve to send me an email saying that the table had already been sold! i learned very quickly that if you see something you want, you have to respond right then. no thinking about it.
the kids love eating at their new table. marin sits on the seat and uses her plate with the rest of them. such a big girl.

time with bamaw

we have always just called my parents, "grandma" and "grandpa." i asked them if they wanted any special names but they didn't have any preferences. once we got to georgetown townsend started calling both of them "bamaw." so we are going with that for my mom. i tried calling my dad, "bampaw" but that one hasn't stuck. townsend and ellory seem to just have one name for both. i think townsend once said, "peepaw" to my dad so i tried using that one but i don't know if it'll stay.
i'm so thankful we were able to make this trip so the kids could spend some time with their grandparents. aunt susu had gone into the attic and brought out lots of our old toys so the kids had plenty to play with. unfortunately, ellory seemed to like my dad's computer the best. she would go into the room and just start pushing all the buttons. sorry bamaw. :)

family reunion

on sunday, we had a little family reunion at a park in round rock. my parents, sister, aunt nancy, uncle larry, and cousins julie and brent and their families met for a bbq(again!) and playtime. my friends rhonda and melissa and their families joined us. we have known each other for so long they really are family. i don't think we had all been together since our wedding nearly 10 years ago. it was fun. the kids loved swinging and sliding. i guess they are still a little too young to appreciate "cousins" and all. little marin is such a climber. you have to watch her all the time. townsend loves to climb too but since he's a big 2 year old i don't worry about him as much. if i remember any funnies i'll come back and edit this page. and once i get some photos from my sis i'll put some pics on it too.

trip to texas

sorry it has been awhile. getting ready to go to texas, going there, and then getting back to lots of construction in our house has made life a bit crazy. and the biggest bummer is that our camera is not working and so i have about 5 pictures of the kids on the plane and that's it. hopefully my cousin and aunt susu will be able to send me pics of our trip that i can download on the blog.
we were really curious as to how the kids would do on the plane. and in the airport. and how we would be able to manage all of them and the luggage. for whatever reason, we never like to check bags. and even though we have 3 children now, we still didn't want to check bags. so mommy packed all of us very lightly. on the trip out we had stephen redden with us so everything went fine. he carried some stuff and sat with us. frontier gave us the whole second to last row on the plane. and noone was behind us. townsend sat in his carseat and was quiet as a churchmouse. he watched some videos or looked out the window. ellory was almost as good. as we were waiting to pull out of the gate she got a little antsy with her seatbelt and kept unbuckling it. when we told her to keep it closed she started crying. loudly. but she really was great for the most part. little marin was the fussy one. she just doesn't like being confined. we had her in a carseat and she just whined and fussed. i kept putting "goldfish" in her mouth but she eventually got full and even that didn't help. so i walked her up and down the cabin. fortunately the flight was less than 2 hours.
once we got to austin grandpa steinke and aunt susu were at the airport with our rented van. we headed to karen and scott's house for a little bbq with some old friends. it was great to see everyone although i didn't have time to get any long conversations in. so many friends now have children and it was fun to see them too. there was a big trampoline which townsend and ellory LOVED. even after both of them fell through the springs. still wanted back on. marin fell asleep in a baby swing hanging from a tree limb. the kids would come and twirl her around and she just stayed asleep. wish i had a pic to show. blasted camera. the kids and i left headed to georgetown later that evening. even though it was past their bedtime they weren't too tired and it actually took them awhile to fall alseep. they were all in one room. not the best sleep environment we found out.

marin's 15 month check up

she may not have much hair, but she has the prettiest blue eyes ever! i think the pizza sauce helps set them off nicely, don't you?
she loves her daddy!
marin went in for her 15 month check up on thursday. i guess she is trying to catch up to big sis ellory because she had gained 4 pounds in the last 2 1/2 months and is now in the 90% for weight! she is still the 75% for height and 30% for head. poor little head. guess she takes after her grandpa steinke. :) i think i've mentioned it before but the girl loves to eat. veggies, not so much but pretty much anything else. the funny thing is, she doesn't look chubby or anything. marin has also been really increasing her vocabulary lately. to date we have, "daddy, mommy, bye-bye, hi, day-doo (thank you), melmo(elmo), gih(again)" and of course she understands tons more. you can ask her to get her sippy cup or blanket or toy and she will scuttle off and bring it back. her hair is slooooowly growing. it seems to be growing everywhere except the sides. i still get asked, "what is HIS name?" sigh. (especially when she is dressed in pink!) she is starting to show some of her mommy's stubborness. we can't keep her off the coffee table and she gets so mad everytime we put her back on the ground. we do this dance over and over and she just keeps trying to get back on the table. does not give up. my personal favorite thing that she has started doing is rocking on the couch. she throws herself full force back and forth, back and forth. makes a momma proud. (in case you didn't know, i have been a rocker since my parents found me in my crib banging against the side as a baby.) well, just wanted to give an update on our little bear. we are so grateful to be her parents.

easter hunt #2

the monday before easter i started scheming and decided to have an egg hunt and cookie decorating party for the kids who live around us. we have been trying to get to know our neighbors and thought this would be a good chance to hang out with some of them. norton made the invitations-very nice, of course. i walked around and handed them out. friday night i was up making various shapes of sugar cookies and norton helped fill about 250 eggs. i tried to keep them candy-free but norton didn't think that was very "easterly" so he drove to rite aid and bought some candy. i think the party turned out well. there were 10 kids and their parents. they decorated cookies while parents hid eggs and then we all went out and turned the kids loose in our yard and the next door neighbor's yard. this time townsend and ellory knew what to do so they had pretty full baskets. :) we were thankful that it didn't rain which was predicted. just a bit windy. but all in all a good time.

easter hunt #1

the first time we lived in denver we attended hope community church in platt park. such a great church and people. every year they host an egg hunt for the community. so we decided to head over and give the kids some practice before the one at our house. : ) i think townsend pretty much got it-he ran around looking for eggs and putting them in his basket. ellory picked up her first egg and then threw it back down. it took her a little while to figure it out. marin just wanted to walk around. but it was fun to see friends and hang out for a little while.

the gate

norton and i are always trying to keep the kids out of the kitchen when i'm cooking. they just really aren't all that helpful yet. :) the other day townsend took it upon himself to go get all his shoes and line them up across the entryway to the kitchen. he said it was a "gate" to keep the kids out. as you can see he didn't apply the rule to himself. but if ellory or marin got anywhere near the gate he would immediately yell at them to get away.

the office

yesterday i went to a children's consignment sale. i got a thomas the train backpack/suitcase with rolling wheels. it's for "everyone" although townsend obviously has taken over ownership most of the time. this morning he was wheeling it around. as he headed for his room he told norton and me that he was going to his "office." we hadn't heard that one before. we asked him what he was going to do in his office and he said, "papers." later on i went in his room and he was in his closet with the doors closed. he said he was working. must have super night vision as it was completely dark in there. :)