The Broges

Christmas

2012-01-29T20:39:00.003-06:00

Well... Christmas has been over for a month now so here are some pictures from our week long celebration. We got to see both of our families which was wonderful!

Decorating the Tree

Making Cookies

Playing the piano with Lily

Christmas Monkeys!

Coolidge Park

The best we could do. Parker was holding on to Lily with all her might.

Stockings on Christmas morning with cousin William

9 months

2012-01-14T21:27:00.003-06:00

Two days before Christmas Hannah Kate turned nine months. Her big accomplishment was waving and she is so proud of herself!

Standing is much more fun that sitting for a picture.

Christmas Part the first

2012-01-11T21:55:00.000-06:00

Christmas started a wee bit early this year with a small group Christmas party. This year we (read Liz) decided to do something special and have our very own small group Christmas pageant. The girls (all three) were tapped to play the wise "men" and, as you can plainly see, Parker was thrilled with it

After a fabulous holiday dinner that all the families helped put together the girls were sent over to Mrs. King to get costumed. All seemed to be going well. Parker sat there looking intense but okay while getting her fancy headdress (pictured above in exhibit A). When she was done Parker walked over to us and completely broke down. I guess she just couldn't handle how cute she looked.

Luckily she didn't need to exist in cuteness alone for long, and once she had her usual partner in crime all was smiles once again (see exhibit B below)

Hannah Kate on the other hand just said "no" to the headdress...but in a nice way.

The pageant was an overwhelming success. The New York Times described it as "...the kind of Christmas production some of the “Peanuts” kids put on in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”...and that it "...sticks to the familiar details of the narrative and dramatizes them with sincerity and good taste..." What more could you want from a Christmas pageant?

The production was bolstered by a number of staring performances, in particular there was an amazing performance from one of the Born children who recited the entirety of Luke 2 from memory. Oh, and she is four. Four. And recited all of Luke 2. It rocked.

It was a wonderful night and a fantastic way to kick off the Christmas season.

8 Months

2011-12-05T03:00:00.000-06:00

You know what I have realized in the past month... its a miracle your 2nd (in our case 3rd) child survives once they are mobile. Hannah Kate is always always on the go. Aside from naturally picking up the smallest piece of dust, food, etc. she can find on the floor, she can also find Parker and Emma Jane's smallest toys despite my attempts to hide them!

She is such a happy baby 95% of the time. We went to Jason's parents house for Thanksgiving which had lots of carpet and Hannah Kate was in heaven. She pulled up to stand on every piece of furniture in sight and would just fall down and laugh. She was even able to stand on her own for a few seconds.

In the past month Hannah Kate has also learned how to drink from a straw cup. She has an unhealthy obsession with Parker and Emma Jane's water cups. They are.her.favorite. And with this obsession she has learned to drink from them- so we will just skip the sippy cup!

An attempt at a group shot

"Oh... I'm not supposed to play with that??"

More Fall Fun

2011-12-03T21:15:00.001-06:00

Between May and this coming December (including our upcoming Christmas trip) the Broges will have traveled 7 times to places at least 5 hours away. This doesn't include the 4 extra trips Jason or I have had to take without the children.... thats a whole lotta car time for some little people. No one can say we don't try :) Anyway, at the beginning of November my brother's little girl Lily turned 1 and this was a party we definitely couldn't miss. Off to Chattanooga we went. Lily had a great party. It was good for Parker and Emma Jane to experience a birthday party where they weren't the center of attention and they didn't get to open presents. Hannah Kate and Lily also got to have some bonding time which involved sticking their fingers in each other's mouths.

Lily was a master cake smasher!!

This was one of many attempts to get a group picture... Lily thought jumping on the couch would be more fun.

Fall also means leaves! The girls once again "helped" Jason rake some leaves and were rewarded by getting to jump in them. So much fun!

Halloween

2011-11-21T05:17:00.000-06:00

This year for Halloween the girls were the three little pigs. My mom made their costumes and did a fantastic job. They even had curly tails. We had a good time. Parker and Emma Jane even said "trick or treat" this year. Hannah Kate didn't really care for the experience... but she was a trooper :)

She smushed her nose

Henri the zookeeper and Graham the tiger came with us!

We survived!

Enjoying the fruits of their labor and watching Charlie Brown.

7 months

2011-11-08T05:16:00.000-06:00

7 months!! This happy redhead is crawling, can get into a sitting position all by herself, loving all her stage 2 baby food and has even sampled some delicious vanilla wafers. I am going to hope month 8 brings a baby who sleeps through the night consistently :) Isn't she adorable?!

She is trying to take a picture of herself...

Apple Pickin

2011-11-08T05:12:00.002-06:00

Back in October we went apple and pumpkin picking with our St. Louis family the Hagans. While it was ridiculously hot, we had a great time.

An expert apple picker

Emma Jane loved the ponies!

Parker wasn't too sure how she felt about this experience

6 months

2011-10-06T10:12:00.003-05:00

My crazy brain forgot that I had already taken 6 month pictures of Hannah Kate and took them again the other day. Then when I went to load the pictures on the computer... I realized I had two sets. So here ya go. I can't believe 6 months have gone by already. It has gone by so fast. Hannah Kate is almost crawling, sitting up by herself (with pillows surrounding just in case), about to have two front teeth, eating every amount of baby food we give her (current favorite is bananas), and loving any toy or person that lets her jump!!

Again, Parker and Emma Jane were my ever "helpful" assistants with the photo shoots.

The Beach

2011-10-02T15:58:00.001-05:00

At the end of August, we were fortunate enough to get to go to the beach for an entire week. We have been once before in November for a long weekend when the girls were a year, but have not been on a true vacation since then. We had a wonderful time, although I now know that going to the beach without children and then with children are two entirely different things. Resting is not on the agenda... but we still had a great time.

We went with my Mom and Stepdad, my grandparents, and my brother and his family. It was a full house. The house had a pool which was the best part by far and it was just a very short golf cart ride to the beach.

Lily and Emma Jane

We got a daily concert from Parker and Emma Jane too.... this is no different than at home!

One tired Parker

The best we could do

The girls had a daily popsicle break by the pool

We had a great time. The bonus part of the trip was a stop in Auburn on the way home. I repeatedly told the girls this is where they want to go to school... we'll see if my brainwashing works...

Purple

2011-09-25T23:37:00.005-05:00

So, if you are the sort of person who reads this blog on a regular basis then it might occur to you to question the timelyness of certain posts. In light of the last post's mention of further comments concerning the birthday celebrations of two little beautifuls you may find yourself even more inclined then usual to complain/whine/kvetch or otherwise make your disapproval known. This is, of course, your right to do, but does not change the fact that life is busy and this post is just appearing now.

In addition to celebrating the girls's birthday on their birthday in Florida with the family, we also had a small birthday party here for the girls and their friends...

...and the (or a) parents of said friends. Because while we are evidently crazy enough to have a party with 9 little girls, we are not so crazy (as of yet) to do it on our without the presence/aid/back up of some contingency of parental unit for each child.

You may recall that when asked the girls (especially Parker) had declared that what they wanted for their Birthday (was purple). So we had a purple birthday party in which everyone wore purple and we served purple cake and purple icecream, along with Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly sandwhiches, grapes, and Blue Corn Chips.

Even Hannah Kate got into the act and pulled out her purple dress

3 Years and Counting!! or Hey...How about that!!

2011-09-15T22:51:00.001-05:00

Hey...would you look at that over there. Right there over on the right. There's a newish picture up over there. Huh....look at all of us all in Auburn together. When did that get there? No really, when did that get there? Cause I really don't have any idea. I have not been on this blog in way way way way way way (you get the idea) too long. Much to the chagrin of my beautiful, lovely, wonderful wife. So now here I am looking at this blog and thinking...wow...there sure are a lot of changes going on around here. A whole new look, and hey....look down there. No, no, no...not at the pictures in this post (I'll tell you about them in a minute--stop trying to rush me) the pictures in the post before that. The whole traveling Broges post. I haven't read it yet. But those are some cute pictures I didn't even realize existed. What is particularly fun for me is seeing all the shots in my grandparents house up there. Can't explain why but seeing my girls in that delightfully orange kitchen just fills my heart with joy.

What was that? Where have I been? Well...busy. The whole PhD/work thing takes up a little bit of time and since that plays second fiddle living it up with Mary Jane and the girls I really have let this whole blogging thing slip. Much to the annoyance of my beautiful, lovely, wonderful, patient, kind amazing wife. You see (and I hope I am allowed to tell you this) she really doesn't like writing the blog and she has been forced to do be the person who does it (with the exception of that random post on our anniversary) for a while now. She likes the having, but not the writing. Personally I think she does a better job of writing the blog, but.... So why am I suddenly here now blathering on like an idiot? Well there are a number of possible explanations. Most of them are lies however, so I will skip them and jump to the one where I tell you it is Mary Jane's birthday on Sunday (Facebook will tell you to wish her a Happy Birthday so I won't bother to tell you) and she has told me the one thing that she wants for her birthday is for me to write a post and "not just pictures one with meaningful words."

Now, when your wife says this to you there are a lot of things that can go through your mind. If your like me you could think something like "what kind of words aren't meaningful?" or "skip the words with no meaning?" but if you have an ounce of sense in your head you will keep your mouth shut and not utter these things. Because if your wife says something like that to you, hopefully you will have enough sense to realize that what she is really saying is not "Oh, honey I really don't want anything else for my birthday...." but "listen buddy....you know I hate this, it's your turn." (Mary Jane has requested that I take out the word hate in the previous sentence because it is entirely too strong and might leave people with the wrong impression. She told me that she recognizes that it won't make the sentence quite as funny but... And so I have decided to add a long explanation about the whole thing as a compromise because marriage is all about compromise...though not really...but that is another conversation and it entirely depends on what you mean by compromise and this sentence has really gotten away from me so I am just going to s

So....Happy early Birthday Mary Jane. Of course this isn't a Mary Jane birthday post. Oh no. That will come on Sunday. No, I was given the task of talking about another birthday - or pair of birthdays. On Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Parker and Emma Jane turned 3. We were in Destin with Mary Jane's family and had a purple birthday party.

Why purple? Well I'm glad you asked. It started early in the summer when Mary Jane asked the girls what they wanted for their birthday. Emma Jane was initially silent on the matter. Park spent some time in thoughtful reflection and then announced quite decidedly that she would like "purple." After some thought Emma Jane decided this made good sense and it was not long before both of them began announcing to all who cared to listen that they wanted purple for their birthday. Mary Jane, being resourceful and creative in ways that I am not, decided this was something we could actually get for them - in the form of a purple birthday party. So their was a purple table cloth and purple wrapping paper and purple party hats, and special purple cups and a purple birthday cake made by yours truly...with purple icing to boot.

Fun was had by all and it was really great to celebrate the girls birthday with Nana, Pop, Granny, Paw Paw, Uncle Mark, Aunt Teela, baby Lilly (cousin), Julie (Teela's mom) and of course Turbo (Nana and Pop's dog).

Okay, what is likely supposed to happen now is that I am supposed to find a couple more pictures of them with their purple Destin Birthday party and say some more sweet (read: meaningful) things about it and then smoothly transition to talking about the friend birthday party they had here in St. Louis the next weekend.

I started looking for the appropriate pictures and all I found was this

and this

So...it turns out I am likely going to need to load more pictures from the camera onto the computer and by the time I do that, blah blah blah...it all comes down to this. You're tuff out of luck. You're not getting any pictures of the purple St. Louis Birthday party that was five times the purple with only half the butter. Nope. Not going to do it.

Well not tonight anyway.

Tell you what. If you agree to come back real real soon, I will get another post up. Then Mary Jane can have TWO birthday presents (I spoil her) and you can have two posts by me.

In the mean time....look back at those pictures above. Look at them wearing Nana's classes and clowning around. Go ahead. Look.

I can wait.

Now look at this:

Yeah...it's been three years. It is hard to believe. And look at them now:

The Lord has blessed us. He has been merciful to us. We don't deserve Parker and Emma Jane and yet we get to be their parents. I don't understand all the twists of the path we have taken to get here, but I am so thankful for them. Not just them, but Mary Jane and Hannah Kate. This family is the greatest gift I could have been given.

If you care, I will endeavor to write more. Because it makes Mary Jane happy, and because...I still love bragging on my family.

Blessings to all of you

and Happy Birthday Parker and Emma Jane

The Traveling Broges

2011-09-14T15:07:00.004-05:00

As many people know, we travel alot- especially for having three children. Our summer started out driving to Chattanooga, then in June we went to Chicago. While we were there we visited Emily and Paul who know have a beautiful baby girl, Imogen. We took the month of July off (although Nana came to us) and then packed in the trips in August. Our first trip was to Cincinnati to visit Gigi, Gigi, Grandma Broge, and Grandpa Broge. We had a great time visiting, going to the pool, eating lunch at new places, playing the piano, washing the car in the driveway (we don't have one so this really was a new fun treat for the girls), and playing with the huge train set in the basement. Jason and I even got to go on a date. We also had a little birthday party for Parker and Emma Jane (the first of three).

The men hard at work reviving the train set

Dress up clothes are all the rage right now

More on the rest of the trips to come...

5 months

2011-09-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

Hannah Kate turned 5 months on the 23rd and then we left for the beach for a week! She wants to be a big girl like Parker and Emma Jane so bad. She watches every single move they make to the point where she doesn't even want to stop to eat. This months accomplishments include: finding her feet and putting them in her mouth, mastering oatmeal eating (she loves her some oatmeal), a wide range a babbling noises- Jason thinks she is part dolphin and is trying to communicate with us in "ultra sonic sonar type squeals", pulling hair, and sitting up with minimal support. Here she is again with her post-nap hair :)

Happy Anniversary!

2011-08-14T07:00:00.004-05:00

Beautiful,

It's hard to believe that seven years have gone by so quickly. Thank you. I can honestly say they have been the seven best years of my life. And taking this brief moment to look back the one thing I am most certain of is that I am thankful I get to spend the rest of my life with you.

On that warm Chattanooga summer day seven years ago when you said I do (not I will, but I do...I loved you all the more for caring about the difference) I knew you were the best gift God had given me, but now I know just how little I understood the truth of that statement. I knew you were compassionate, but I had yet to experience the full range of that compassion; I knew you were smart, but I had yet to live with your quiet, humble wisdom; I knew you loved me, but had yet to see how steadfast your love was, even when I am a jerk; I knew you were strong, but had yet to walk through tragedy with you; I knew I didn't want to live life without you, but hadn't realized I really hadn't been living life until I met you. You have given me far more than I could ever hope to give you.

Thank you.

I love you.

Happy Anniversary.

Love,

your band of hus

Four Months

2011-07-30T21:13:00.008-05:00

Hannah Kate turned the big 04 months on July 23rd. This past month's biggest accomplishment has been becoming an avid finger sucker. They are in her mouth all the time... the same two on the same hand. We have even said goodbye to the binkies. Why don't I have a picture of it yet? I have no idea and didn't even realize I didn't have one until I sat down to write this. So alas, it will have to come later.

Hannah Kate is oh so close to rolling over from her back to stomach, and she can even turn herself around in a complete circle- pretty talented I know. I made an attempt to give her some rice cereal to which she made horrible faces and spit every last drop out, so we are going to try again in a couple of weeks. She wants to eat big people food so bad!

Her other current joys in life include:

- Watching everything Parker and Emma Jane do

- Pulling hair

- Attempting to sit up whenever laying down- she has freakishly strong abdominal muscles

- Chewing on toys

- And again- sucking on her fingers

Parker thought Hannah Kate needed a bracelet for the picture

Hannah Kate wasn't too thrilled with this photo shoot- What you can't see is Parker and Emma Jane each holding their own "cameras" and "phones" taking pictures of Hannah Kate while I am trying to... can we say overwhelmed?

The other HUGE undertaking that has occurred in the Broge household has been... potty training. While Jason and I knew this would be quite the undertaking to have two children at the same time doing this- we were unprepared for how intense it would be. We had a three day intensive don't leave the house/ pump the children full of liquid/ give out M&Ms like crazy/ weekend and now we are pleasantly surprised at the results. Yay!

Summertime

2011-07-05T14:09:00.005-05:00

Summertime is well under way! At the end of June Hannah Kate turned three months. She is developing more and more personality everyday. Like her parents and sisters, she is proving not to be the most laid back person (shocker I know). She likes to be entertained by Parker and Emma Jane, held, and awake at three AM. She has mastered rolling over from her belly to back although still gets stuck occasionally. She has also found her feet and is able to turn in a complete circle on the playmat (very entertaining).

The obligatory three month elephant photo

So I tried once again to get a picture of all three. I must have said something about making a silly face which prompted Emma Jane to accidentally crush Hannah Kate's face. Afterwards while Hannah Kate cried and recovered from this insult we had a talk about how we can't cover up her face with anything :) Side note, Parker is in fact wearing her sparkly princess dress with her "nurses coat" (NOT a doctor's coat) over it. She wears this almost everyday, and what you can't see is that she also has on high heel dress up shoes.

Parker and Emma Jane are doing fantastic. Having twins is just the best. I love love love watching them interact. They have games they play I don't understand, they make each other laugh (and cry), they tell each other what to do now, and try to help each other. Its awesome. Parker talks talks talks all the time. When she's not talking, she is singing. She wakes up singing most mornings and naptimes. She is SO emotional which is good and bad. Emma Jane wants to be a grown up most of the time. She loves to do anything active- jump, run, swim, etc. She is definitely more strong willed than Parker. They both love Hannah Kate which we are so thankful for and I look forward to the day when they can all three play together.

Because I'm not the kind of person that can just pick up and go with three children, we have been fortunate enough to have lots of summertime fun come to us. Our backyard has a cornucopia of toys and we have lots of friends who have been willing to come to us to play. Maggie and Ben, some small group friends, came over a couple of weeks ago. Maggie is the girls age and Ben is about to start kindergarten. They all played well and Ben got chased by three girls at the same time. It was very funny. Henri and Graham Byrge have also been frequent visitors and we always have a good time when they are come over!!

Chasing Ben... I have a feeling this won't be the last time Ben is chased by a group of girls. That boy is hilarious.

Pool time with Henri

For the fourth of July we didn't do much. It was nice just to all be together as a family for three whole days. We hope everyone had a fantastic holiday!

Chattanooga

2011-06-14T20:25:00.016-05:00

A few weeks ago we made the long trek to Chattanooga. Our first stop was in Nashville where I got to see the Echerds and Barretts. Brett and Katherine once again let us stop and hang out at their house so the girls could get a much needed break from the car. Cindi also came over with her new little man Dalton. He was born just 10 days after Hannah Kate.

Emma Jane, Hannah Kate, Dalton, Parker, Lilian, and Hayes

Once we got back in the car everyone took a much needed, although very short, nap.

Chattanooga was filled with seeing lots of family, being outside, and eating good food! My grandfather built the girls a sandbox which they loved. Being able to sit in the sand was a new experience. Jason and I (along with Nana) got a change to have some time with just Emma Jane and Parker which was wonderful. We went down to Coolidge Park, rode the merry go round 100 times, and Parker and Emma Jane got their very first ice cream cone from Clumpies. I have never seen Parker eat something with such focus and determination. She ate every single bite. It was hilarious.

(P.S. I have no idea why the pictures have decided to line up the way they are- but I don't feel like moving them).

She really is having fun, I promise.

This was also our first trip since the girls transitioned to big girl beds. I brought a bed for both girls, but they wanted to sleep together. This is the first time in their lives they have ever shared a bed. It was pretty cute!

We were able to see my brother's little girl, Lily, since Christmas. She had gotten so big! Here is a picture of all the cousins. Getting them to look in one direction was impossible.

Two overwhelmed babies :)

Two Months

2011-05-30T21:16:00.004-05:00

Hannah Kate is two months old now which is hard to believe. She is smiling lots, cooing lots, and so close to laughing. In the last couple of weeks she has found her hands and they are her new best friend. I am wondering if she may become a thumb sucker :) She also loves her swing and playmat. My one goal in the life is to have all three children asleep at the same time. At 7 weeks she weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz and was 23 inches.

So Parker has a monkey, Emma Jane has an owl, and Hannah Kate... has an elephant. I missed the one month shots, but here is her two month photo shoot!

Flower Girls and Random Pictures

2011-05-25T14:54:00.004-05:00

Some pictures from everyday life...

One of Hannah Kate's favorite positions- on our shoulder resting on her arms

The girls have begun to like painting with brushes, particularly Parker who likes all crafts.

Holding Hannah Kate is more and more becoming a daily occurrence mostly because I can only say "no"so many times... Here are some of Emma Jane's first attempts. (note that Hannah Kate isn't enjoying the experience so much).

One of my dear friends Shannon got married a few weeks ago and the Parker and Emma Jane were the flower girls. This was their first wedding. We prepped for the event by watching the royal wedding (seriously), by making a HUGE deal out of their special white dress/shoes/headpiece, and of course having loads of candy. One of our other friends little boy, George, was the ring bearer. While the girls had met George before it was only briefly and I didn't know if they would walk down the aisle with him. Turns out it was love at first sight and they all three held hands and walked easily down the long church aisle. I wish I had a picture of it because it was just the cutest thing. Emma Jane and George also did some dancing at the reception where all three children lost their marbles. Fortunately they went crazy in a good silly way instead of a nervous breakdown/crying way. It was a sight to see.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-27T18:03:00.007-05:00

Easter weekend was the fifth annual Easter at the Broges lunch. Once again it was a success and even though it was raining all 28 people that were crammed in our little house seemed to have a good time. This year was even more special because the Ernsts traveled back to St. Louis from Denver to celebrate with us. It was wonderful to have our small group family back together again. The Broge family's big accomplishment was making it to the 8:00 service on time. I personally am very proud of that! Here are some pictures from the weekend. They are in reverse order as I just don't have the energy to fix them right now :)

This picture is one of the reasons I love our small group so much. Everyone just loves on everyone else and their children. Emma Jane just crawled up in between Melissa and Sarah (who is holding Hannah Kate) and didn't think twice about it.

Drew Ernst trying to look like Mr. T and eat a slinky all at the same time.

Crazy Hair

Aviva being a good mommy

The five of us... Jason and I look exhausted...

On the Saturday before Easter our church has a huge Easter Egg Hunt and then tons of activities for kids. Here we are pre- hunt.

The girls Good Friday outfits :) I absolutely love both these pictures!!

Hannah Kate's Baptism

2011-04-13T13:28:00.008-05:00

Today Hannah Kate is 3 weeks old. At the Dr today she was just shy of 9 pounds which is fantastic. I was finally able to get a picture of the three girls together... its not the best but the best we are going to get right now!

Parker and Emma Jane have been keeping busy. Nana had to go home this week (very very sad), but Grandma and Grandpa came so that has been exciting. We some boxes in the mail this week which proved to be an entire afternoon of fun!

This past Sunday Hannah Kate was baptized which was of course a special wonderful occasion. We were able to have family from both sides there and our church friends which was a huge blessing. This is the first child that I was actually able to see get baptized as Emma Jane and Parker were baptized while I was still in the recovery room.

Hannah Kate's godparents are John and Carla Hagan who have become a huge part of our St. Louis family. There isn't enough room on this blog for me to list the countless ways the Hagans have shown our family sacrifice and the love of Christ. We don't know what we would do without them and plan on never finding out! Here are some pictures from the big day.

Hannah Kate wasn't such a fan of the bonnet...

Parker and Emma Jane got a new dress for the occasion as well

Nana

The Broges

John and Carla Hagan= godparents

Only part of our large small group

We were so thankful that Pastor Bierman, who also baptized the girls, was available to baptize Hannah Kate as well.

Hannah Kate

2011-04-06T18:03:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures of Hannah Kate with her eyes open from the couple of weeks of life.... we are surviving... thanks to Nana :)

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-04-02T13:12:00.008-05:00

March 30th was Jason's 35th birthday and Hannah Kate's one week old birthday. Here is how Hannah Kate spent the day celebrating:

Hannah Kate slightly terrified as to what Emma Jane is going to do to her

The girls "helped" make a cake for Daddy and we made him a special sign. Maybe not the most exciting birthday but his main present came a week early :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Hannah Kate Comes Home

2011-04-01T10:59:00.003-05:00

Sorry these pictures are a tad late... once we came home from the hospital life is back in full swing except we added an infant. Good times. But anyway, Hannah Kate, Jason, and I stayed in the hospital until this past Sunday. We could have left on Saturday but I was having hourly nervous breakdowns (I think the nurses were probably talking about me) so we decided one more night of at least a teeny sleep and one more day to monitor Hannah Kate's ever increasing jaundice would help. In fact, on Saturday the nurse put a sign outside my door and forbid anyone to enter it and made me sleep.

We left Sunday morning ALL TOGETHER which was awesome.

So when we left for the hospital it was over 70 degrees outside. When we came home on Sunday we have a couple of inches of snow. I wore flip flops home in the snow. Crazy St. Louis weather.

As soon as we got home, she was literally attacked by her older sisters. Parker was giddy. Emma Jane wanted to rock the car seat back and forth and then wanted to get in it herself.

Post eating I am about to fall asleep again food coma...

We are all home now and learning to adjust. Everyday is still a little different. My mom is here and I just wouldn't be making it without her. I already knew this, but it has been confirmed again that she is the best Mom ever.

2+1=3

2011-03-26T20:37:00.007-05:00

We've been asked a couple of times now what the girls think of Hannah Kate. Well, maybe more than a couple of times at this point. The problem here is that the very people who have been asking this question are likely the very readers this blog retains. At this point in time they have all been given a blow for blow answer making this blog entry entirely superfluous...and yet I am going to write it anyway, and hopefully you will follow along, if for no other reason than...the pictures.

For weeks now we have been working on prepping the girls about the immanent arrival of their "baby sissy." They know what babies are. They knew Hannah Kate was going to be their baby sissy, and they knew that baby sissy was in mommy's tummy. They also knew that mommy was going to the doctor and he was going to be taking Hannah Kate out of mommy's tummy so we could bring her home and let her sleep in her crib and play with her toys and...well, you get the idea. For a while I spent some time totally mesmerized by how well they took all of this. They didn't seem phased at all by the idea that there was a baby in mommy's tummy and soon she would be coming home to live with us. My mom's a lamaze teacher, I grew up with this notion, talking and learning about it, and I have to admit that whenever I would watch Hannah Kate rub her arm across the inside of her womb I would think...yep...totally weird. It seemed like the very idea should blow their little 2 and a half year old minds. And yet...never phased.

Of course, the more I thought about it the more I realized, there's really no good reason why they should be amazed. Their world is full of crazy impossibilities that we tell them are reality every day. Hey look at that metal box, it's different then other metal boxes in that if you get in it it will take you some place else. This metal box over here flies in the sky, and this one shows magic pictures. So sure, why not, babies live in mommy's tummies and then get taken out.

Wednesday was too hectic to try and add the little beautifuls into the mix, so we waited until Thursday to have Nana bring them up. Evidently they were good and ready to see us by Thursday. Thursday morning at 4 in the morning Emma Jane woke up screaming for mommy. She whined and begged to see us (along with Parker) all morning until they arrived. When they got here we could hear them squealing with delight the whole way down the hall. Parker came bounding in. So excited I am pretty sure she actually did pee her pants. She just started giggling madly, running around the room, unsure of whether to stop and stay with mommy, daddy, or baby sissy. I think she spent the entirety of that trip and every subsequent trip to the hospital, giggling.

Parker couldn't be happier with the situation. As I am writing this blog I am now sitting at home, and the sheer joy has yet to dissipate. Parker has always been a little high on life, and right now it couldn't be better. Mommy and daddy are home and they have brought a baby with them. What could be better? Oh, Nana is still here? Oh yeah, life is a amazing.

Emma Jane's attitude on the other hand has proven to be...a little different

As I mentioned, Emma Jane was the one who woke up at 4 in the morning screaming for mommy, you could hear her in the hall calling out for mommy, you would think she would come running in and bounce right into Mary Jane's lap. You would be wrong. Instead Emma Jane refused to acknowledge Mary Jane at all. She gave her the cold...cold..."arcticly" cold shoulder. She wouldn't give her a hug, or a kiss, she barely acknowledged me, and any time we asked her anything she would scream and cry and say "No, Nana do it." You wouldn't think someone so small could rip your heart out, and cut it into little pieces so easily, but she can. When it comes to Hannah Kate, Emma Jane was a extremely excited to see her and to hold her. (Not as excited as Parker, but frankly, I don't think anyone could ever be as excited as she was/is). When things started to get a little crowded in the room and I took Parker and Emma Jane out for a walk the first thing Emma Jane did when the door closed was to start crying for mommy, so I know she cares, but Emma Jane was determined to punish us, especially Mary Jane. And she did.

Friday's visit was better and worse. Parker was the same screw ball high energy this is wonderful bundle of joy. Emma Jane was warmer to Mary Jane, but significantly meaner to me. I guess she decided to pick on the guy who hadn't been sliced into, and I guess that's fair. Although....I miss my Emma Jane. Daddy's little girl decided not to be daddy's little girl on Friday or Saturday (as mentioned above we are home today--more about that later--and she is being a bit better today).

All that said, we're pretty happy with how well they seem to be handling the change thus far. It is clear they are both excited about Hannah Kate.

Hannah Kate, on the other hand, seems pretty bored with the girls. She just slept through all of it.

The adventure continues

2011-03-25T15:20:00.011-05:00

Okay, I will admit this was a long time coming. I meant to do another post last night, but baby things kept us busy. But anywho here we are now. For those of you who have yet to hear the story, I will warn you...there isn't much to tell, but, as is usual for me, I'm going to make it take significantly longer than it needs to.

In some ways things started Tuesday night. Mary Jane was having more contractions than usual, and both of us began to wonder if we would show up to our c-section appointment in labor.

And sure enough we showed up the next morning and found she was having a suspiciously large number of contractions. The nurses getting Mary Jane checked in looked at the monitor and asked whether we wanted to try and have this baby the good ole fashioned way. Our answer? Ummmm maybe?

The decision didn't stay in our hands for long. They quickly did a check and found she wasn't dilated at all. So with enough time for a quick picture it was off to the operating room.

The doctors took Mary Jane in first to give her her epidural. This left Jason all gowned up and chomping at the bit waiting to get in. A feeling he remembered all too well from two and a half years ago, when Parker and Emma Jane were ripped untimely from their mother's womb. Fortunately while Hannah Kate was about to be ripped from her mother's womb it was not in an untimely fashion. And while Jason was once again impatiently waiting outside the door to the OR room his expression was less :( and more:

Twenty long minutes later, Jason was brought into the OR where found a bunch of doctors, nurses, PA's and what not, huddling around his wife's body holding sharp instruments and getting ready to cut open his wife. While this had clearly been the plan for months now, there was still something surreal about this fact, and the fact that he was going to just ignore this and have a seat next to her face as though this were a normal part of life.

From there things happened rather quickly, or at least they seemed to to the person who was not strapped to a table, numbed from the stomach down, and being sliced into by friendly-yet faceless medical professionals. For all the people strapped to a table, arms splayed to their side, it can be assumed things were happening at a significantly slower rate. Basically, Jason and Mary Jane were living in two different time lines.

However you count the seconds the time eventually came when Hannah Kate arrived. Faithful readers have already seen the very first picture of her (and some of them even complained about it...ahem...Liz....cough, cough) so here is a second, less goopey, yet still authentically "just born" picture of her.

Okay, maybe only slightly less goopy. She still looks like a dusky zombie baby, in search of brains in this picture, but hey...this is what modern tech has given us, the ability to share everything...even the things people really don't want shared. You think this is bad, just wait till you see the pictures of the placenta.

There are no pictures of the placenta

Give me some credit here

Crimeny.

On a side note, Parker and Emma Jane have become big fans of seeing pictures, and when they came in asked to see some. When Parker saw the above picture she informed me someone needed to "clean the paint off Hannah Kate."

Drama:

We wouldn't be us if we didn't include some drama into the whole experience, but I will go ahead and tell you now the drama was all much ado about nothing. Some of you have asked about my initial text, the one that just said "She is here, details to follow" and still others have seen some cell-phone pictures that appear to include wires and what not. Due to this I have been hit with a number of question regarding health and wellness of baby. She is fine. So what's the story there? Well, you asked, but as I have already said, it's much ado about nothing.

When Hannah Kate was born she was retracting a bit when breathing, which, for those of you medically ignorant people out there who, along with me, require a bit of translation, just means that she was having a little more trouble breathing than they would like. She was doing the breathing just fine, but her sides would go in a bit much and her nostrils would flare, and her sats were a weeee (and I mean a tiny) bit lower than they would like. Turns out this happens a lot for bigger babies after c-sections. They don't get the benefit of having all the liquid squeezed out of them durning the birthing process. It usually takes them a little longer to get it all up and be happy campers. To be on the safe side they like to bring such babies down to the NICU for observation for a couple of hours. And that is exactly what happened to Hannah Kate. Jason following her out of the OR in an isolate, while Mary Jane was wheeled away in a separate direction was an annoyingly familiar scenario, but there was never any real worries or danger.

Perhaps the scariest moment came when Jason realized they would be wheeling that isolate right by the waiting room where Nana, Granny, and Paw Paw were all waiting. He actually stopped the doctors and said, um...can we go a different direction here, because if we walk by the waiting room with this isolate you're going to have three more patients in this hospital. They laughed for a moment, but he said, "no really, this family has a long, distinguished, rich history of visits to the NICU and I don't think they can handle the sight of one more." Jason was astonished to find they in fact really did not have another route, and so he ran into the waiting room and told them how completely okay everything was...he's pretty sure they only pretended to believe him, but it was nice of them to pretend. Thankfully their hearts pretended too, and all collectively decided not to arrest.

Once in the NICU Jason got to help clean "the paint" off Hannah Kate, eventually Nana came back, and they all just generally hung out. Things were so low key that one of the nurses took the time to snap this picture of Jason making silly faces at Hannah Kate. He felt she should learn about silly faces first thing, especially as she seemed so adept at making them. As you can see, the nurse in the background was thrilled with this behavior as well.

All told Hannah Kate was only down there for an hour-hour and a half. And it wasn't long until she was back in the room with Mary Jane looking like this:

Which is pretty much how she looks now, only she's a whole bunch more orangey, which is still not a big deal and something we'll talk about in a later post. For now it is time to wrap things up.

But wait you say, what about Parker and Emma Jane? Have they met Hannah Kate? Do they like her? Have they thrown any spectacular temper tantrums? Are they being cute as buttons? What about more pictures of Hannah Kate? What about visitors? What about that orangeyness?

All this can be saved for future posts, and can be considered reasons to come back soon. (very soon, as someone has already begun loading pictures to the computer and is likely to begin working on another post while mommy and baby nap)

Blessings,

Thank you for your prayers,

Jason, Mary Jane, Parker, Emma Jane, Hannah Kate Broge

Hannah Kate Exits the Womb!!

2011-03-23T20:34:00.004-05:00

I love this picture.

I am going to keep this brief for now. Hannah Kate is here, and in case you are living under a rock and haven't heard, here are the stats:

8lbs 12.7 ounces

21 inches long

born at 1:55 PM

Mom and baby are Healthy!!!

Yes, that's right...7 pounds more than the girls weighed when they were born. Let's think about this for a moment. If you quadrupled Parker's weight when she was born you still wouldn't be as big as Hannah Kate. If you added Parker and Emma Jane's weight together and then doubled it you would still be nearly two pounds less than Hannah Kate. This girl is a giant.

It's awesome.

I won't bore you with long stories and details now. Just a quick couple of pictures and some stats. Come back tomorrow and I will give more pictures and a longwinded story...if you like that sort of thing.

God is good. He has blessed a greatly, we give Him thanks and praise.

Blessings,

Jason, Mary Jane, Parker, Emma Jane, AND HANNAH KATE

TODAY

2011-03-23T09:31:00.002-05:00

TODAY

T Minus 2 and Counting: or How 4 Ear Infections, 2 Cases of Strep Throat and a Whole lot of Medicine Can change your Day

2011-03-21T21:49:00.004-05:00

So this is it, or, that is, this is almost it. The week "of".... On Wednesday the doctors are going in after Hannah Kate, cause at this point in time she is showing absolutely NO signs of coming on her own. The girl is holed up in there like the last spoonful of peanut butter clinging to the sides of the jar. Seriously, have you ever tried to get all the peanut butter out of the jar before throwing away. I mean ALL the peanut butter. Impossible. They design those containers to be so deep, and so wide, with such a narrow opening that it is not possible to get it all. You just end up cramming your hand uncomfortably in there and getting it all peanut buttery, and then you take it out and find that all you have to show for it is a sandwich with not enough peanut butter on it and a sticky hand that you don't have time to clean well enough before rushing out the door and off to work, then you spend the rest of the day wondering why everything smells like peanut butter. All this is to say....she doesn't seem to want to come out at all.

We have a theory about this. It is a simple theory. It goes like this. Hannah Kate has ears, and with those ears she hears...everything and she thinks...that place is loud. I think I'll stay in here, where it's warm, and muffled.

Whatever the reason, she's still in there and all indications are the doctors are going to have to go in and pull her out. Which while the same as last time is amazingly different at the same time.

In all seriousness, we're pretty excited. We feel incredibly blessed to be here. That said it's also kind of surreal. We keep waiting for it to sink in that we are less than 48 hours from the C-section.

As it drew a bit closer we (read Mary Jane) suddenly realized that we were running out of days where it would just be the four of us (Mary Jane, Jason, Parker, and Emma Jane). In fact today (Monday) is it. The last one. So we set up these grandiose plans that I would come home from work early and we would go do a bunch of fun stuff with the girls and make the most of it.

Little did we know that today would start a couple hours early with the girls (who have been oozing snot for almost a week--and I mean oozing...the stuff has been coming out of their nose, their mouth and their eyes....ick) crying and complaining their ears hurt. So we spent the wee hours of the morning bonding...the four of us....on the couch...watching the monkey show while they sobbed pathetic sad tears half mixed with snot until the doctor's office opened and we could get them in for an appointment. Luckily we got one pretty much first thing this morning. And do you know what? We must be pretty good parents, because our kids got a 10 out of 10 on their ear exams. Which is to say that on a scale of 1-10 she said their ear infections were a 10. All four little beautiful ears were full of...welll...you get the idea.

After that Jason headed to work and Mary Jane headed over to the doctor's office for a last check before Wednesday's fun adventure. Mary Jane has been sick the last few days as well and as she related her symptoms the doctor he decided, almost on a whim, to do a strep test and guess what...she has strep. Then she mentioned to him that Jason has had a sore throat for a couple of weeks and has had strep throat a bunch this last year and the doctor, in his ever friendly manner, suggested that Jason needed to get his hiney (hiny? hinney? how do you spell hiney?) over to a doctor's office and get a strep test. Soooo rather than get home real early to begin the family shenanigans Jason stopped at a Walgreens Clinic place thing and wouldn't you know it...he has strep throat too.

By the time Jason got home Mary Jane had despaired of us doing any of our fun adventure activities, so Jason ignored her and packed the fam in the car anyway. They headed to Oberweis where they proceeded to stuff themselves with milkshakes.

Once hopped up on sugar and able to ignore the extreme fatigue caused by their various illnesses they hopped back into the car and went to a playground, where, because Jason and Mary Jane are wise parents, they spun their girls around on a merry-go-round. (clearly nothing bad can happen when two sick two year olds are filled with milk shakes and spun on a merry-go-round....please don't call DFS).

Fun was had by all. We then came home, took baths, ate a late dinner, read books, said prayers, sang songs, gave squeezes, kisses, eskimos, butterflies and a blessing (don't even pretend to skip any one of those) said goodnight and then Mary Jane and Jason proceeded to clean the house. Why did they clean the house you ask? Well, obviously because family is coming into town to help out tomorrow and it is important we get all the work done before they get here.

Anyway. Baby coming real real soon (as the girls might say). While I will be the first to admit that we haven't always been prompt with the updates, I think it is safe to say we will have something to say in the very near future, so feel free to head on back.

(oops...gotta go, Parker is coughing right now)

Full Term

2011-03-12T13:15:00.000-06:00

37 5/7 weeks ago, Jason and I had NO idea our life would be heading in the direction it is going- mainly a baby that will be making its appearance no later than 11 days from now. And now we can't believe we are here. This week at the doctor I got a hug and a congratulations for making it this far. Baby #3 is showing absolutely no desire to leave the womb. She is at an estimated weight of what the girls weighed when they were about 5 months old too. I have been off of almost all the medicine I was taking to keep her in now for about a week with no change in anything so that is good. Because I had a C-section with the girls, I have one scheduled for this time. In case anyone is wondering, its on March 23 at approximately 1:30 pm. While part of me is hoping not to have to have the C-section ( no one really wants to have their abdomen cut open if they don't have to right?) I am so thankful to have made it this far.

We think the girls are as prepared as we can make them. We talk about the baby all the time. Parker's main concern is, naturally, that the baby will not take her toys and that the baby will not sleep in her big girl bed. She goes around the house confirming what toys are hers. Emma Jane is particulary fascinated with other babies (real and fake ones) which I am hoping will work in my favor!!

Our wonderful wonderful small group threw us a little shower a couple of weeks ago so that I could experience a baby shower while the baby was still in the womb. It was great for so many reasons not the least of which being the baby the shower was for wasn't in a hospital somewhere already. The theme was "Southern Bell-y" thus the reason I had such a lovely hat and hoop skirt on in the picture. We got a War Eagle diaper cake which was fantastic too.

Fabulous Diaper Cake

Guess the belly measurement game

The most flattering outfit ever...

Parker with a mouth full of fried chicken

Emma Jane really wanted to wear the hat

Sooo... the next blog post will hopefully be about the exciting and incredibly uneventful boring(yes, boring is a good thing) birth of Baby Broge #3!

Snow Days

2011-02-20T20:15:00.004-06:00

St. Louis, like most of the rest of the country, has had alot of snow this winter. Currently as I am writing this it is 60 degrees outside but a couple of weeks ago I promise it was really cold. Jason even got to stay home from work for two days and it was fantastic. The four of us being at home together is a rarity, but we are so thankful for our times together. On one of the days we attempted to watch Cinderella with the girls.... we made it through about 15 minutes. However for those 15 minutes they were mesmerized.

Popcorn snack with Daddy

Parker just stood there... frozen in awe of Cinderella

Then Jason took the girls outside to play in the snow. They built their first snowman!

Baby Broge number three is still in! We are at 35 weeks which Jason and I are ecstatic about. At the doctor 1 1/2 weeks ago, her estimated weight was 4 lbs. 13 oz. That is just two oz. short of Parker's going home weight from the NICU. I am so so thankful I have had a third trimester this time (for many reasons) and get to experience all the third trimester things... pleasant and not so pleasant :) We are praying for 4 more weeks, but everyday past this point is bonus!

Big Girl Beds

2011-01-23T21:00:00.010-06:00

Last weekend was a big weekend in our house for many reasons. In baby news, I hit 30 weeks!!!! This was a huge deal in my book. I wanted to make it to a week that started with a 3... and so we have. I then subsequently "celebrated" by having kidney stones and spending most of Sunday in Labor and Delivery getting lots of fluid and some wonderful pain medicine. We were very thankful though because the kidney stone, which can cause preterm labor, didn't seem to have any affect on the baby. I had no contractions the whole time I was there. Currently the kidney stones don't seem to want to leave my kidneys so we are praying that they just don't cause anymore pain or excitement.

The other exciting event in the Broge household was Parker and Emma Jane got big girl beds. My Dad was in town so he and Jason did the assembly while I kept Parker and Emma Jane out of the way. Due to the fact that eventually all three girls will be in the same room, we opted to get a twin bed with a trundle. The first night was a disaster. Emma Jane just wanted her crib back and literally cried all night long. She also fell out of bed onto Parker. We are now a week out and finally last night was the first night that didn't require intervention. So I am hopeful that normal sleep will resume. They do actually love their big girls beds.

Emma Jane practicing sleeping in her bed

Doing Flips (a new favorite activity)

Other random pictures:

So I got the girls old car seat out of the attic a couple of weeks ago for the baby to make sure it was clean. Emma Jane thought it was a rocking chair for her and climbed on in and stayed there for quite some time. She loves anything that rocks.

The girls "weighing" their stuffed animals. Can you tell how many times I have weighed them that they know exactly what to do??

And for those who didn't know... Auburn won the National Championship this year. While the girls didn't watch the game we had a little pre-game pizza party in our Auburn gear. They are trying to say "War Eagle" in this picture.

Christmas

2010-12-27T20:30:00.015-06:00

Christmas has come and gone again (sort of...lasts 12 days you know). Hard to believe. This was the girls' third Christmas and I can now say that each Christmas has been better than the one before (a trend I am hoping to keep up for the next umpteen years).

We began the season by taking our last pre-Hannah Kate trip. We headed to Chattanooga the week before Christmas which was particularly exciting with a new niece to see. Mark and Teela's daughter Lily was born on November 1 and this was the first time we got to see her. The girls were excited by the new baby but getting her confused with this "baby sissy" person they've been hearing a lot about. All in all it was a fun trip.

We came home on Christmas Eve and met my parents here in St. Louis. They had been up in Wisconsin visiting my sister (who also just had a baby --October 31) and then came down to spend this week with us. Again, a good time was had by all.

Mary Jane even worked up the courage to make cookies with the girls

To say they loved it would be the understatement of a lifetime. I think it's safe to say "decorating" was their favorite part. I use the term "decorating" somewhat loosely here. What I mean is that Mary Jane put frosting on all the cookies and the girls licked all the cookies while they put equal amounts of sprinkles on the floor, and themselves, somehow magically missing the cookies.....messy yes, fun yes, edible?...ehhh

Saying "cheese"

Here's a picture of the girls with their baby cousin. They took to her really fast which gives us hope for the upcoming arrival this March.

It took the girls a while to get into the whole unwrapping thing but this is the first year where they clearly got it. Emma Jane in particular really took off. She got to the point where she just started tearing into gifts regardless of where they were or who they were for.

The girls also got their first tricycles...they loooooooove them

They also really love ornaments...especially when they are hung on low branches...and can be gotten off. We eventually gave up on trying to stop them from taking ornaments off the tree and just got out the hot glue gun and glued all our ornaments to the tree. No really. Do you have any idea how bad melting fake tree limbs smell? Pretty bad. We aren't going to get that stink out of our house till next Christmas. Oh well...good excuse to buy new ornaments.

(you do know I'm joking right....Mary Jane thinks you might not...but I think you're smarter than that)

P: Yes, I need sleep...but this book is just too good to put down

P: They may be magnets...but they sure look like cookies....I wonder....

So...huh.....the words are blue down here. Guess they are just sad all the fun is over. Don't worry words...there is more fun coming, 2011 is just days away and we have all sorts of crazy good times planned for you...you will get to talk about a whole other child...a girl by the way...I'll let you guess the name.

Merry Christmas

The long night...

2010-12-16T21:59:00.007-06:00

December 5th was Parker and Emma Jane's second second birthday. We didn't do too much this year, but did mark the day with some cupcakes which they thoroughly enjoyed. They are growing up so fast. They can sing the entire ABC song, count to ten (with help), and I personally think are pretty flippin smart. I am constantly amazed by them.

I know she looks unhappy... but she really wasn't.

Many people have asked me if they know there is a baby coming... and I think they know as much as they can. They know there is a baby in Mommy's belly and they know its going to be their sister. They look at the ultrasound pictures and know its a baby- but that is about it!

Speaking of the baby girl, we are almost 26 weeks in. For those of you who were in our lives when the girls were born- alarm bells should be going off in your head. Tomorrow night is The Night- the night my water broke last time. This week has been a hard week for me. Building up to this point, fear has slowly overtaken me and has hit me full force this week. I feel this sense of impending doom that I can't possible prepare for. I have done what I can- we have groceries, the house is clean, Christmas presents bought and wrapped, emergency plans in place- but there is nothing else I can do. I have been to the Dr. 1000 times and both have assured me what I am feeling (terror) is normal and to be expected. I went to the Dr. on Tuesday and they estimated the baby's weight as exactly what Emma Jane weighed when she was born. I almost threw up in the office. I feel preemptive guilt over what may happen to Emma Jane and Parker's lives if this child is born early. I feel guilt over knowing that if she is born early I won't be able to spend every waking second at the hospital this time like I did last. All this is to say- tomorrow will be a long day and I know, a long long night.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T14:33:00.012-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Cincinnati to visit Jason's grandparents. Jason's parents came in town too so we had a houseful.

Emma Jane and Parker with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Broge

Playing outside in the leaves

We went to the Cincinnati Children's Museum and had so much fun.

Parker played with this potato and blue bowl for forever. For some reason it was really exciting to her.

The piano was the hit of the weekend. We had so many beautiful concerts put on by Parker and Emma Jane. It made me thankful that we don't have a piano in our house.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and so great to be with family.

In the last few weeks, the girls had one of the most formidable experiences of their life. I took Parker and Emma Jane to get their haircut. It was more for Parker, but not wanting to be left out Emma Jane got a "haircut" too. I was really worried how they were going to act. But it turned out to be one of the best experiences they have ever had because they got.... candy. Their first real lollipop. We have since talked about this experience every single day. Parker told Jason about it when he got home that night. At least once a day now they ask to go get another haircut so they can get candy. Its strange to me they can remember things like that now. Whenever we drive past church now they say "church" or ask to go to the playground or the grocery store (where they ask to have a cookie) when we drive past. Anyway, here are some haircut pictures.

Funny Story

2010-11-03T14:10:00.009-05:00

So the girls have a small obsession with spoons. To hide them from each other they get very creative. Today, as I was dropping the girls off at child watch at the Y, I looked down at Parker's shirt and thought it looked funny. I looked down her shirt and lo and behold there was a spoon. She thought this was very funny. Then when I went to pick her and Emma Jane up she kept saying "spoon, spoon" and there was yet another spoon hidden down her shirt. What made this even more funny was later- hours later- when I was changing her diaper, I found a third spoon basically at the bottom of her onesie. I personally think it would have been quite uncomfortable to walk around with three spoons down my shirt... but I'm not a two year old.

The girls had a great Halloween. We went trick or treating for the first time and experienced the most involved trick or treating I have ever seen. One of our friends recommended we go to a neighborhood a few streets up for a "true" St. Louis Halloween. We weren't disappointed. The streets were blocked off so no cars could get through and everyone sat out in the very decorated yard with their fire pits and buckets of candy. I've never seen anywhere that was so serious about Halloween. The girls were brave enough to go get candy from people, but didn't speak a word the entire time they were there. I think they had fun though and I know they have enjoyed the candy. The girls were ducks- more specifically they were "Gossie and Gertie" which is a really cute children's books.

"Eating" a candy apple prior to trick or treating

This is Gossie. This is Gertie. Gossie wears bright red boots. Gertie wears bright blue boots. They are friends. Best friends.

Enjoying the fruits of her labor.

October has also brought us exciting news about Broge Baby C. We now know that Broge Baby C is.... A GIRL!!!!! The thought of three girls under three is a tad overwhelming but we are excited. Most importantly she looks healthy and everything is going okay so far with this pregnancy. We are 19 weeks in and hoping for 20 more.

And last but certainly not least, the girls have two new girls cousins! Jason's sister Heather had a little girl, Reagan, on Oct. 31. She is doing wonderfully. The very next day my brother Mark and his wife Teela welcomed their little girl, Lily, into the world. She is also doing wonderfully and I even have some pictures of her. Congratulations to Mark and Teela on having a full term baby :)

Mark looks a tiny bit tired here...

Good Times

2010-10-10T21:39:00.008-05:00

So, in case you missed it in the last post, the Broge family will be expanding by one this time! We are very pleasantly suprised and excited. I am currently 16 weeks along and so far so good. This time around, things are very different. Of course the biggest difference is there is only one baby. Second, I am being watched like a hawk. I am going to the doctor every 1-2 weeks, seeing a high risk OB, taking what feels like a ton of meds, and getting oh so many ultrasounds. Of course, Jason and I are both a little on the terrified side since we REALLY don't want a repeat of last time. So our biggest prayer request, after a healthy baby, is a full term one. I want to be big, fat, and miserably pregnant.

The girls of course have no idea what is going on other than they are getting to watch a lot of more TV than usual. This is not bad news for them as their new current obsession is Elmo. We have been able to do some fall activities this year with the girls which has been fantastic. Last weekend, in the great tradition of most St. Louisians, we went to Eckerts Farm for apple and pumpkin picking. We had so so much fun. The girls rode their first ponies, ate funnel cake, watched a pig race, and of course picked apples. Here are some pictures of our fun.

Parker loving the pony ride. She had a little tantrum when she had to get off.

I was pleasantly suprised that Emma Jane actually got on the horse and then had fun!

They were in apple heaven.

Pumpkins are clearly for sitting on.

A great time was had by all!

A few things worth mentioning...

2010-09-16T08:47:00.004-05:00

So, just to give you a heads up right now, there are no pictures in this blog entry. I know, I'm sorry, but I'm not at a computer with pictures available. There is, however a video worth watching at the bottom. At least I think its worth watching, and you probably will too once you've seen it. Hey....you let me know once you've seen it and you can tell me.

The girls are silly.

I know, this should be obvious.

And it is.

But what is so much fun for me is how they are silly in different ways.

Silliness oozes out of Parker without her being aware of it. She sees something and thinks it is funny and does without much thought. Perfect example. The other night Mary Jane was singing Jesus Loves Me with the girls and teaching them little motions. Some of them the girls were catching on to, and some were quite obviously over their heads. When Mary Jane made the Bible one (picture someone opening their hands like a book) Parker lost it. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. She insisted in putting her hands into Mary Jane's as they opened. She laughed and laughed. She was being silly.

Emma Jane is completely different. Silly is a much more thought out thing for her. Emma Jane seems to think about silly, and purposely be silly. Examples? They abound. She was the first one to make a silly face, because it is a silly face. And when she did it, she wanted me to copy that face so that she could see what it looked like. She quickly turned this into a game. For months (and months) now Emma Jane and I have had this silly face game that she started. There are two faces we will rotate through. Emma Jane has a game with Mary Jane too. Mary Jane got into the habit of saying "Hi Baby" to her (often in them mornings or after nap time). At some point in time Emma Jane picked that up and has turned that around. This is not just her copying Mary Jane. When Emma Jane walks in the room goes up to Mary Jane and says "Hi Baby" she is not just copying. She knows what 'hi' is and she definitely knows what a 'baby' is. She makes it clear, she is playing a game, and she is so excited when Mary Jane plays back.

Anyway...all that is just blathering. Some things worth mentioning....

Speaking of which. Have you seen this preview? It doesn't come out for a while, but I think Mary Jane and I are going to need a baby sitter when it does.

This view of the preview might be better

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And then they were two

2010-08-30T20:26:00.014-05:00

Two two year olds. Its so hard to believe. For the past three years, August 30th has been an emotional day. I remember almost every detail about August 30th, 2008. They took me off the continuous monitors that morning. It was the day I got to get out of bed and take a shower. I got to put on real clothes. I got to eat. My mom, Jason, and I were going to have a big day and watch "Emma" (my favorite movie). In my head, I was settling in for what I hoped was a lengthy hospital stay. Paul and Emily brought us all lunch from Bread Co. But for some reason I ate a cheeseburger for lunch instead. As we were all sitting in my hospital room talking, I could tell something bad had just happened. We called the nurse. She came in. She went to call the Dr. In the time it took her to do that (which wasn't long), things got worse. Overwhelming fear came over us like I have never experienced before. Dr. Tuuli rushed into my room and said we have to go now. And within 45 minutes, Parker and Emma Jane were here. As of the time I am writing this (8:30), I had only seen them as they wheeled them out of the room. But they had both been baptized by now by Pastor Bierman. My question over and over again was when can I see them? My nurse that evening said as soon as I stop shaking (no one told me about that part!) I could go. It took until about 5am and I was over there!

... Fast forward two years and...

Happy Birthday Parker and Emma Jane. Wow. Words can't express how miraculous, wonderful, crazy, and beautiful these two are. So on to the birthday. We actually had two parties this year. One in Chattanooga and one in St. Louis. We had owl themed parties that tons of fun!

Parker is currently in an Elmo phase. I let them pick out their own party hats!

We got to ride the carousel in Chattanooga. It was the first time for the girls. At first they were a little unsure, but then they loved it!

You should know, I didn't put a single one of these accessories on :)

The girls got a kitchen for their birthday.

Simon brought the girls sunflowers :)

Blowing out candles.

Birthday morning. They went straight to the kitchen. Interesting fact: Parker picks out pajamas for herself and Emma Jane every night. Sometimes they match (like Emma Janes) and sometimes they don't. Parker loves this particular pajama shirt because it has a puppy on it.

Opening presents birthday morning. Another fun fact: You will see in Emma Jane's hand "ducket". This is a duck blanket that actually is monogrammed with Parker's name- alas Emma Jane has adopted it.

The girls also got dress up clothes for their birthday. Parker is obsessed with shoes so she got dress up shoes. Despite being too big, Parker has already mastered walking in her shoes.

Emma Jane was taking a picture of me with her "phone".

New pajamas.

All in all very fun birthdays. The girls are very two. A day doesn't go by without a temper trantum and someone hitting someone. My most common phrases are "Get that out of your mouth", "Get down", and "Don't hit".

A little tid bit on both girls:

Emma Jane- she loves to climb and is now pushing objects around to climb on to get what she wants. She loves babies and prefers real ones over fake ones. She loves looking at pictures of babies too. She is a weird mix of independent and "hold me all the time". Emma Jane knows what she wants to do, and does it. She is confident. She is more conversational in her talking than Parker, but she is harder to understand. Emma Jane loves to talk on the phone to anyone and loves saying hi to anyone she meets. She generally dislikes doing what you tell her to do.

Parker- one word= emotional. Parker has little control over them, but fortunately she is normally happy. Recently she has started to love dancing. I have tried so many times to capture this on film but I whip the camera and she stops. She also likes singing which is great. Parker never sits still unless you are reading a book to her. Parker likes to go around the room and name each person in it. This is done multiple times a day.

Well this blog post is now entirely too long. We are looking forward to an another exciting year!

Finger Painting

2010-08-07T20:54:00.004-05:00

These speak for themselves- who wants to paint on paper when you could paint on yourself!

4th of July and Ow-eees...

2010-07-17T05:11:00.010-05:00

July has been a busy month for the Broges (hence the lack of blog posts). The girls are learning more everyday and in this past month their vocabulary has increased ten fold. It seems they are learning a new word every other day. One of Parker's new favorite words is "oweee". And she has had so many in the past couple of weeks. I don't have a picture of what she currently looks like, but she looks like she has been in a bar fight. The most recent injuries have been the corner of a picture frame to the forehead and somehow (I still don't know how this happened really) ramming her cheek into the corner of a stair. Parker points out where her oweees are multiple times/day. They are very stressful to her. Not to be left out, Emma Jane has some pretend oweees which of course need bandaging too. The other night I put steri strips on Parker's forehead and Emma Jane would not rest until she had a steri strip as well. I asked her where her oweee was and she pointed to her nose...

Parker's oweee (its right before bedtime... thus the sleepy face)

Emma Jane's pretend oweee

We also had tons of fun on the 4th of July. The girls got to hold their own popsicle for the first time and they LOVED it. It was of course quite messy but well worth it.

Here are some pictures of Emma Jane and Parker's fourth of July dresses and of them eating their most favorite fruit- watermelon!

I repeatedly told them not to eat the green part... then I realized they were doing it as a joke....because disobeying is funny :)

They were watching a video which is currently the only way I can get them to sit still next to each other!

Anyway, despite some injuries and illnesses (Parker had roseola with a fever of 104.5 while we were in a hotel room in a city where we didn't know where anything was) we have had lots of fun this summer!

Water

2010-06-20T14:41:00.003-05:00

The girls are funny.

Well, that almost goes without saying.

But specifically they are funny about water.

Oh, they like water, but they like it in significantly different ways. Both of them like bath time, but when it comes to various outdoor water activities they are night and day. We ran into a perfect example of this the other day at the kids park in the botanical gardens. Somewhere in the midst of the labyrinth that is the kids area is a sort of splash fountain.

Now I am sure the rest of you in America know what this thing is actually called, and have seen a million of them. But being that this is the first summer where we can go places and explore with the girls, I really haven't seen this sort of thing before and have absolutely no idea what it is called--hence the term "splash fountain" Basically this is a big area for kids to run through and every so often water will splurt up out of nowhere and get the kids wet. It kind of reminds me of the fireswamp in the Princess Bride--but, you know, without the fire and death.

Anyway. The girls ran in to check it out. At first both of them seemed fairly delighted by the sudden spurts of water. But it didn't take Emma Jane long to rethink her decision. Before we knew it she was climbing up the walls to get away.
Meanwhile Parker was taking the "soak me" approach, choosing to run up to each of the splurts and try to get wet.

The funniest part was when Parker would try to get a drink out of the splurt. She would see one come up and run up to it with her mouth open, but ineveitably get there too late to drink. The water would dissapear at the exact moment she thought her thirst was about to be quenched. She would begin to look around dejected and confused, stepping forward just a little bit, and then, of course, the next splurt would come right up her....

well...

it was funny.

All this might give you the impression Emma Jane really doesn't like water, except that at swim lessons its pretty different. She's the one floating along and kicking, while Parker is holding on for dear life like we are going to let her go and see if she drifts off to the grey havens......not going to happen.

This is the point of the blog post where one might expect to discover the point of all this babble. If you are one of those people I have some sad news for you. No point. Just some observations

blessings

Graduation

2010-05-31T21:14:00.006-05:00

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 :)

outings

2010-05-08T15:06:00.002-05:00

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

The Little Things

2010-05-04T21:13:00.008-05:00

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

Easter at the Broges 0.5/ Jason's Birthday

2010-04-22T22:07:00.003-05:00

This post has been slightly delayed due to busy schedules. But Jason's birthday was March 30th and I think he had a pretty good birthday... Here are pictures of the day.

Parker demonstrating how you don't need hands to drink out of your cup

Parker is always willing to share her food

Emma Jane isn't so eager to share sometimes

The sleepy but happy birthday boy

The girls can hold up one finger when you ask them how old they are but for this particular picture Parker is five, Jason is one, and Emma Jane chose not to participate

Easter at the Broges Part .75

2010-04-07T15:21:00.007-05:00

What would Easter be without an egg hunt?

Just like every other easter I've ever had.

But this one was different

because

we had an egg hunt

or rather our church had its annual Easter "Eggstravaganza" the day before Easter, and this was the first year we had little ones who could participate. And as you can see, participate they did.

Where am I supposed to put it?

No, bring it to me

Okay....I've got some, now what am I supposed to do with it?

this one really doesn't need a caption

Easter at the Broges Part I

2010-04-04T20:44:00.005-05:00

Happy Easter everyone!

Time for us to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Time for us to celebrate with friends from across the country. Time for....Easter at the Broges. This year marks the fifth year in a row that we have gathered together a ridiculous number of people in a small space after church to eat, laugh, and play together. Much fun was had by all. This is going to take a few posts to cover so keep coming back this week because there will be a few posts. For starters we just want to highlight the cuteness which was the little beautifuls in their Easter dresses.

We begin with a rare glimpse of the family as a whole (something we were unable to get last Easter)

Emma Jane: Is this for me?

Parker: Here you can have this piece

= adorable

Scott and Heather Sexton came down from Chicago once again to celebrate Easter with us. As always, it was wonderful to get a chance to see them.

A quick hello

2010-03-23T20:47:00.002-05:00

A quick hello from the Broge girls! They are over their month of sickness and we have all been enjoying some time outside. They have discovered dirt and sticks and acorns and mulch and rocks and of course playgrounds. Life is good. Now if they could only gain some more weight... really need to gain some weight.
They may be small but I think they are pretty flippin cute.

February

2010-03-06T20:45:00.009-06:00

February was a busy month at the Broge house. First we had lots of wonderful visitors. Emily and Paul came, my mom came, and then the four of us went to Michigan. The Luikarts are a huge blessing in our lives and nothing is better than a visit from Nana! The trip to Michigan was such an awesome time too. Getting there and getting back was... an experience- being on a full plane with two squirmy toddlers... but the time with the Machados was so fun.

Unfortunately February has also brought with it sickness. The girls have been sick most of the month... and I am not exaggerating at all. The girls have had a cold, their first and second ear infections, and their first sinus infections. We are currently on the second round of antibiotics and PRAYING they work. I am not gonna lie- the little people have been less than pleasant to be around. This has also made the extra visitors nice to have around.

Even being sick the girls are doing well walking, talking, developing their own little personalities.

Snuggling with Nana

Ready for church!

Another first for the month was Parker's first haircut. I debated and debated whether to cut the poor girl some bangs. Her hair was just covering her face and she will not keep anything in it. So I did it... and Jason thinks I made her look like a boy. But she can see!

Before...

After.... (I don't think she looks like a boy... PS She isn't feeling too well in this picture)

Not to be left out here is Emma Jane... aka cranky... also sick and whiny

Parker and Aaron watching Baby Einstein

Can we say future couples?????

Oh and I have no idea why half of the text is underlined... not my fault.

Sometimes they are calm...

2010-02-09T22:20:00.001-06:00

...sometimes

"It's only going to get harder..." Or is it?

2010-01-31T15:30:00.007-06:00

When the girls first came home a strange thing happened, a surprisingly large number of people told me that things would only get worse. This never failed to shock me. I spent the first couple of months getting 4 hours or less sleep a day and people seemed positive things would only get harder. I never understood this. I usually would make some comment about how while I knew every stage of childhood has its own unique challenges, I felt quite certain that it would all be easier once we started getting sleep. At this point there were a number of people who suggested that even this wouldn't get any better. I'm not sure why.

I am writing this e-mail to say....in our case...you were wrong.

Please don't take this as me being snarky. I don't mean it that way! Quite the contrary, I'm really excited. Things are SOOOOOOO much easier then they were a year ago. And they are so incredibly fun. Oh sure, the girls can be a bit of a pill at times. I mean....look at this picture of Parker:

I mean, you can just tell she's a sneaky monkey from that look. (and she is!) And don't let the little angelic smiles from Emma Jane fool you. In some ways she is even sneakier. Parker looks at you and gives you that smile before she does something she's not supposed to, Emma Jane? She looks for you before doing it. To make sure she's in the clear (stinker). But...well...that's kids. That's why we're parents. We get to teach them through all that, and will be doing it for quite a long time.

But come on, look at that picture...don't you want to just pick them up and love them to pieces?

How can you not love:

this?!?

Sure it's work, but it is easier then when they first got home, and they are just so much fun to be around. Mary Jane worked yesterday and I got to spend the whole day with them. It was great. We do all sorts of stuff. We had a little pretend tea party (they have a little table and chairs and they sit in the chairs and bang the table...this is pretty much what a tea party is right now...and frankly that is my kind of tea party). Parker climbs up me and grabs my eyes and says "eyes." Emma Jane says "hi" to me every time I leave the room, and then walks after me. They are both doing a little walking right now, and they are so proud of themselves. When they do good at it they start patting their tummies and get all excited...which usually makes them trip and fall, to which we all clap.

We stacked boxes, we played chase, we ate solid food, took naps, and even watched a baby einstein video (that stuff is like crack for babies...wow...Parker could watch it all day). Life is good and we are thankful for it. The girls are the second best thing that has ever happened to me...the first, quite obviously, is Mary Jane. God has been merciful, and we give Him thanks.

This has turned into a long stream of conscious ramble. Sorry. I should wrap up and get back to homework. So let me summarize:

- God is good

- Life is easier then it was a year ago

- I love my babies

- I love my wife

- I love my God

amen

okay....that's it....oh...one more thing

...oh how far we've come

Pigtails

2010-01-29T21:00:00.001-06:00

Christmas Part IV (long overdue)

2010-01-24T18:55:00.006-06:00

Our last (but certainly not least) Christmas expedition was to Cincinnati to visit the Broges. We had a wonderful time visiting with great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The girls especially loved playing with cousin William... and the piano! The piano was so much fun for the girls and if allowed they would have played it all day long. We got away with only a few smashed fingers too :) It also snowed while we were there and we took the girls out in the snow for the first time. Emma Jane loved it, but Parker wasn't too sure. We also had so many clothes on them they couldn't move!

Emma Jane's new favorite way to smile

Parker reading books- her FAVORITEEEE thing to do right now... over and over and over again

William!

Loving the piano.

Shocking News!!!

2010-01-14T23:42:00.003-06:00

Sorry...things have been so hectic I haven't had a chance to write this yet, but...

a moment of silence please

wait for it

wait

I said silence

As of tomorrow morning Mary Jane will not just be a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, she will be a PRACTICING Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She starts the first of her TWO new jobs tomorrow.

Blessings Mary Jane...we love you :)

Christmas Part III- Christmas Day

2010-01-13T20:23:00.003-06:00

We drove home from Chattanooga Christmas Eve night so we could have Christmas Day at home and not on the road. Here is the scene from Christmas Eve... most everyone shipped their gifts to us so our house was packed out!

On Dec. 23rd Jason and I went out in Chattanooga and saw this cow. It is wonderful... you bounce on it... its pink... need I say more? It was totally an impulse by but I think they liked it!

Parker took Emma Jane's orange- I know you are all shocked by this behavior.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning opening presents, climbing on boxes, eating paper, and putting bows in our hair- then headed to church. The girls slept through church which was a big Christmas present to us. The day ended with the Ernst coming over for Christmas dinner. It was a wonderful day.

Christmas Part II

2010-01-06T20:04:00.013-06:00

The second leg of our Christmas journey took us home to Chattanooga. There we got to see just about everybody. The girls were thrilled to see Nanna and Pop.

As well as their Grandad and Great Grandmother.... (and if you look really closely you will notice that my magical clavicle ball came to grandad's house as well

And we even got a chance to spend some time with Mary Jane's Great-Grandfather (that's the girls' great-Great-grandfather!!) He turned 100 and it was exciting to have FIVE generations all together (Pop, Granny, Nanna, Mary Jane, and the girls).

And of course there we saw everybody else as well...

..and there were presents......lots...

...and lots of presents.

I know what all of you are thinking. You're worried that with all this visiting and presents and there very cornucopia of adventures which await one when they travel to Chattanooga, that Mary Jane would not getting any brother sister bonding time with Mark. Well never fear....

...there was plenty of time for that too.

(you almost can't tell he's struggling to get away from her hug ;)

Christmas Part I

2010-01-01T11:33:00.003-06:00

And before we knew it, Christmas time had come to the Broge household. As is likely the case with most people, this season brought with it more adventures then could possibly be summed up in a simple blog post, and so I won't try....or I won't try to do it in a post, instead you will be forced to put up with multiple posts. We begin with the annual small group Christmas party. You may or may not remember that last year we were unable to attend the small group party. The girls had not been home from the hospital or very long and it just wasn't going to happen. However the small group brought the party to us.

This year we were able to join the fun and festivities.

... more to come

Clowning around

2009-12-31T23:37:00.001-06:00

"where'd everybody go?"

Have you seen my keys?

2009-12-14T21:31:00.003-06:00

It was a busy November in the Broge household. The girls are growing and changing everyday. We are having so much fun together. Emma Jane took her first steps (yay!!!!!) and got four new teeth (boo!). Parker, in an attempt to be different, has decided walking is for normal people and instead crawls at lightening speed and walks on her hands and tiptoes. It is quite a site to see... I don't think she is too far off from walking like the rest of us boring folk. Emma Jane and Parker are playing with each other more and more. They hug each other when we ask them too and it is just so wonderful. Parker LOVES Emma Jane... and sometimes loves her a little too much and then there are tears because Parker just knocked her down again. Emma Jane has become an explorer- she loves to get stuck in places you shouldn't go and isn't afraid of anything. Parker is much more of a scaredy cat. Parker has said her first word and it was all too appropriate- Daddy. Parker loves Jason. They get so excited when he comes home from school I bet they wet their pants.
Anyway, Jason had TWO WHOLE WEEKS off in November and it was wonderful. We spent some time at home as a family and then headed off to Florida with my family for Thanksgiving. We had a great time. The girls ate their fair share of sand and seaweed and enjoyed the pool. Jason cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner for my whole family and it was wonderful!!!! Here are some pictures our of fun...

Playing with Tiffany, Hayden, and Preston

Parker on sand for the first time... trying to figure the shovel out.

Emma Jane eating sand and the shovel.

Touching the ocean for the first time- it was FREEZING.

Again... freezing cold water.

Having a seaweed snack.

On the beach with great grandpa! (Parker as usual didn't want to sit still for a picture)

Emma Jane and Preston learning about bracelets

Emma Jane and Parker were nice enough to show Tiffany all their toys

Parker and Hayden snuggling.

The delicious turkey

This picture is funny because it implies I had something to do with making the food...

more cuteness

2009-12-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

hanging out

2009-12-01T09:29:00.000-06:00

uh oh....

2009-11-29T10:55:00.002-06:00

... somebody's cute

(hint...it's the little girl in the picture)

"Hokey Smokes!!" (title not approved by Mary Jane)

2009-11-18T20:34:00.000-06:00

....really not anything else to say

"Where's Daddy?" or "The Great Search"

2009-11-17T21:48:00.006-06:00

"Where's Daddy been?"

"I don't know"

"I heard him apologize for making mommy a "widow for two weeks"

"What's that mean?"

"dunno"

"Let's go find him."

"Maybe he's outside raking the leaves which are piling up..."

...nope"

"maybe we can call him...

...huh I can't hear anything"

"um, Parker, um that's not how you hold a phone"

"oh...yeah...so silly....let me try again. hello...daddy? daddy? I still can't hear"

"Parker it's upside...oh never mind. Hop on. We'll find him.

"There's daddy!!"

Cheesy post? yes.

But my brain is fried. Last couple weeks of the quarter were brutal, and unfortunately Mary Jane and the girls suffered for it. I was pretty much lost in the books trying to get things done. BUT....Quarter is over! It is break time and suddenly not only am I around, but Mary Jane has some time off as well!! Which means we are spending time together...all four of us! It is great.

Halloween and 14/11 months

2009-11-03T19:59:00.011-06:00

It is hard to believe it is November. A year ago we were in the NICU pushing/ praying/ begging/ waiting impatiently to go home. Last year the girls were "two peas in a pod" for Halloween... this year they were lambs! I'm not gonna lie- they absolutely hated their costumes. They mainly hated the hoods- these girls aren't hat fans. They try to pull them off by pulling them down and guess what- that only makes the situation worse. But I tortured them anyway and made them wear their costumes multiple times. It was hilarious. We were fortunate to get to go to Chattanooga for Halloween the girls got to show off their costumes to alot of southerners.

Parker having a melt down in the costume.

Emma Jane post-meltdown which only stopped after the hood was removed and a shiny orange bag was put in front of her.

Someone trying to crawl (I honestly don't know which baby this is)

Daddy pulled out all the stops to get a smile.

The girls are very very very busy and never ever sit still except for one thing- Baby Einstein (aka baby crack). In the last month Parker and Emma Jane have learned a few party tricks. They can wave bye-bye, point to things, hold the phone (or anything really) up to their ear to say "hello", play peek-a-boo, and Emma Jane can stand on her own (Parker is close) but no steps yet. We are hoping for some walking action by Christmas. It is so funny how many things have changed yet some many haven't in the last year. Emma Jane is serious, thinks about things before she does them, and can be so so stubborn... but she also loves to cuddle and always appears to be really taking in and thinking about whatever you are saying to her. Parker... is a ball of emotions. She takes everything- everything that Emma Jane has, acts without thinking, reacts without thinking, and is fierce with whatever she does. My mom decided that Parker's water broke because she just wanted to be over where Emma Jane was. Here are some random pictures plus the monkey/owl pictures (which are getting harder to do)!

Pumpkins

2009-10-19T15:19:00.010-05:00

This past weekend we took the girls to a pumpkin patch with the Ernst family. A good time was had by all. It was cold outside but thanks to a wonderful new fall wardrobe the girls were warm and cozy. They really enjoyed touching all the pumpkins but they quickly wanted to bite, lick, and chew on all the pumpkins as well...

Emma Jane isn't such a fan of hats.

About to go through the "corn maze" with Daddy.

GIVE ME THE CAMERA!

"Would you like some of my pretzel?"

"Well, you can't have any... ha!"

"Please let me get out of the stroller and go play in the cold mud."

The newest addition to our household.

Parker is so over the excitement of the pretzel now.

I know you are jealous...

2009-09-30T09:37:00.014-05:00

The girls got their one year/ 9 month old pictures made this past weekend. I have been fighting will Blogger all day to get them in the order I wanted. I am surrendering though because I can't justify spending anymore time fighting with a computer program.... Blogger I am angry at you right now. But anyway, enjoy the pictures (even the ones with the wierd purple background).

This last picture was actually the first ones we took. Parker isn't a fan of getting her picture made as you can see by the deer in headlights look on her face. Emma Jane loves it though!