Monday, May 31, 2010

Graduation

On May 21st, Jason graduated from Concordia Seminary. This was a HUGE momentous occasion. I am so proud of him. He has worked so incredibly hard these last few years at school, and has worked, and has been a fantastic father and husband. We had lots of family in town and had our wonderful St. Louis friends over for a party on Saturday. We love you Jason!!!


Jason's graduating class

Parker waiting for the ceremony to start

Emma Jane also waiting... growing more impatient as each second passed


As one of our friends said... Jason looked like he was glowing through the whole ceremony


Jason finally got his hood



This is the latest the girls have EVER stayed up... it was past 9:00. The pacifiers were out in full force. We are all so proud of Jason!

Ryan and Jason
Matt and Jason

And for bonus... here are some pictures of the girls at the party the next day

Emma Jane "talking" on the phone

Parker had literally fallen and couldn't get up... at first she wasn't too happy about it but then she laughed and laughed :)

Saturday, May 8, 2010

outings

The other day Jason went to the Botanical Gardens with some friends from school (Mary Jane was at work). George brought along his camera and while most of the shots he took were botanical in nature (fitting) he snapped these shots of the girls.

"Yes, I'm standing here...what ya gonna do about it?"

Parker "helping"

Emma Jane with Kobsy




snack time: emma jane is having "see"food; the monkey is eating a banana

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Little Things

Time is going by so fast. The girls are growing up so fast. It is hard to believe in 4 short months they will be two... holy cow!!!! We post so many time about events that sometimes the little things get missed. So this post is a tribute to that.

(To steal a phrase from Jason, my heart always feels like it is going to burst with happiness and joy whenever anyone ask me about the girls or I get to talk about them)

Parker:

- To begin with Parker loves fruit... all fruits. But her favorite is blueberries. She crams them in her mouth- as many as she can get in there before chewing and swallowing. Its to the point where the fruit comes out last or all she will do is sign "more, please" for fruit and nothing else.

- Parker next favorite thing after fruit is accessories. You will rarely see her without her necklace which she puts on herself like a sash. She also has a "purse" that she carries around everywhere and says "bye" and waves to me. She tries to carry my purse alot but alas she usually can't. Actually anything with a handle is a purse.

- Parker's new favorite word is "up-e" which is short for "up please". The great thing about Parker is that when she learns a new word she really explores what all it can get her. So not only does "up-e" mean up, it can also mean down or just move me from the place I can't get out of. She has also learned "thank you" which she says at random times for random events. Its quite funny.

- Parker loves her blanket and recently her monkey. She carries it around with her or drags it behind her and its just so cute I could die. When the girls were in the NICU and all we could do was sit, pray, and cautiously dream, Jason always pictured Parker carrying around her monkey. His wish came true.

- Parker is usually a very happy girl who loves life. She isn't quite the daredevil Emma Jane is but so many little things make her happy. She loves to water the flowers outside, eat sand, or drink water out of anything she possibly can (yes, even gross things). She loves to color and I think she will be the more creative of the two. When she gets upset though, the whole world will know. She has the highest pitched scream/cry ever. It could break glass. She wears her feelings on her sleeve for sure.


Emma Jane:

- This girl is a daredevil. If she could spend her whole day climbing, getting into really high or small places- she would. Her favorite activity is to climb up on the back of the couch and look out the window. And then slide off the couch and do it again.

- Emma Jane is the smaller of the two and the more picky eater. She loves loves loves baked beans of all things, and meat. But she is definitely the typical toddler - one day she eats alot, and the next day she eats nothing. Boy oh boy is that frustrating, but normal (I remind myself).

- Emma Jane LOVESSSSSSSSS Jason. She is a Daddy's girl through and through. The sheer joy and delight she has in her face when she sees Jason is amazing. If she could attach herself literally to his side, she totally would. However, she is definitely a people person and quite friendly. Generally she loves to meet and greet. I am pretty sure all the check out people at Target know her. She will just go up to random people and say hi. She is not however such a fan of men, and recently being dropped off in the nursery or at the Y...

- Emma Jane is also a talker. Most of the time I have no clue what she is saying but she has whole conversations with us. She also pretends to read books which I just love. Its so cute.

- Of the two Emma Jane is the leader. That girl is stubborn with a capital S. She knows what she wants and will do what she has to do to get it. If anyone is familiar with the children's book "Gossie and Gertie"- Emma Jane is Gossie. Parker (Gertie) usually goes where Emma Jane goes. I am sure in the future Emma Jane will make up the rules and Parker will happily follow along.

- Emma Jane's favorite past time activity is electronics and talking on the phone. It doesn't matter what kind of electronics- she wants it and will usually not rest until she finds a way to get what she wants. Oh and Emma Jane is also rarely seen these days without the same necklace (yes we have two luckily) that Parker loves. Those necklaces were the best dollar I ever spent.

In Summary:
We have two amazing little girls. Life is an adventure everyday. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

P.S. Last week the girls had their HUGE developmental testing at the hospital and we passed with flying colors. Developmentally they were slightly ahead of the adjusted age but not quite caught up to their chronologic age (no one expected them to be though). You just can't ask for better than that.




Emma Jane climbing on furniture

Parker and her accessories (she might be a closet hoarder)

Emma Jane didn't enjoy painting as much

Parker LOVED finger painting

She wants the camera.. and she has food on her mouth

A beautiful smile