Happy Father's Day

Summer has finally arrived!

My classroom is packed up, my grades are posted, and, summer has arrived. Although I am sad to see my kids go (I'm happier about some than others), I'm so happy to have some down time. I have two graduate classes this summer but other than that, I plan on spending as much time as possible with the girls.

Annie running around at the tv station.

Emma posing at the zoo.

Emma will be four in August. She's registered for pre-K in the fall and is SO excited about it. We looked at a number of schools and finally decided on St. Jude. I really love everything about St. Jude; the campus, the teachers, the program. From the moment I stepped on campus I felt like I was home. She'll go half days, three days a week. She has the option to go to St. Jude for kindergarten as well but we have not made any final decisions yet. Our district is appearently prickly about testing children for kindergarten before they are five. Emma will miss the cut-off date by two days.

Emma is really doing so well. She is a typical three year-old but she constantly makes us beam with pride. Kurt and I constantly tell each other how lucky we are, what an awesome kid she is, and, comment on how she constantly amazes us. She so bright and misses nothing.

Emma has her first dance concert on the "big stage" this weekend. She is a butterfly and is very excited.

Emma playing drums at the zoo.

The girls, swimming on Tuesday. Annie wasn't too sure about it. Emma would stay in the pool until she was water-logged.

This is how Annie eats: bare right foot on table. Even if she has to take off her sock and shoe, the bare foot, and always the right foot, goes on the table. Annie is doing very well. She is still in speech therapy but is no longer working on eating and drinking. You could say, she no longer has a drinking problem. She eats anything and everything and in enormous quantities. Annie is doing well with speech and language development although she is experiencing some difficulty forming sounds. She knows what she wants to say but it's like watching Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker say "wah-wah". Annie has difficulty making her mouth do what she wants it to. It's so sweet to watch her study our faces when we say words to her. She tries and tries and tires. What she cannot say, she has learned signs for.

Annie's finally off her bottle and is doing very well. She doesn't seem to miss it at all. Annie has had an ear infection for quite some time and we are currently on our fifth antibiotic. We see her ENT next Thursday but Annie's SLP said we should push for tubes.

Physically, Annie is ahead of where she should be and has been since she was dismissed from OT. She's been walking since 10 months and enjoys running and climbing . . . everywhere . . . ALL THE TIME. We literally cannot leave her alone for 2 seconds. In the time it takes us to look in the kitchen and back in the living room, Annie can have destroyed the room, emptied out the entertainments center, or climbed anything standing still. Grams and Grandpa got her a ride-on train for her birthday. She refueses to ride it. She stands on it until we tell her "bottoms down" and then she either squats or sits on the steering wheel. We also had to take away her rocking chair because I would frequently find her standing backwards, rocking as hard as she could. Please don't think we leave this child alone. We can't. She is like Speedy Gonzales in finding trouble. And she's so cute when she knows she's doing something she's not supposed to. Annie is incredibly curious and precocious.

Emma sunbathing. I thought Kurt was going to have a stroke.

Annie opening her train from Gram and Grandpa

Take a good look. This is the LAST time she ever sat on it. Since then, she's been standing backwards on it.

Emma was my prom date this year. She was so excited and had SOOO much fun.

Please do not contact Indiana Dept. of Child Labor. She insists on helping us out. I keep reminding myself that it won't always be this way.

We decided that Annie should pay our bills from now on.

When left alone for less than a minute, Annie found Emma's water colors, licked them, and painted herself purple.

Emma and Annie having a snack. They are so cute.

Emma received her first official packet from school. The bill was addressed to us but her information, to Emma. Sr. Kathleen (who was at St. John's for quite some time) will be her principal. We have two days of orientation in August and she starts on Sept. 8. I'm going to request a personal day now. I might need to order a straight jacket for Kurt.

Reasons People Think Catholics are Crazy

How to tell if a Catholic is driving too fast!

- We like to keep Mass interesting. We sit, stand and kneel, in no particular order. Probably just to keep the blood flowing.

- It's not merlot and Ritz they're serving; it's the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. No, really.

- Forget a big meal afterwards, just pick up some of the breakfast tacos they're always selling after Mass

- Purgatory.

- We all have 20 cousins. On each side of the family.

- Infant Baptism isn't dumb; it's after-life insurance.

- $5.00 in the collection basket is the epitome of generosity. Anything more than that, someone has hit the lottery.

- A missal is a book, not a weapon. However, it has been known to pull double duty.

- The signs we make aren't just a mark of respect, they're a lot of fun to do.

- We really like statues. A lot.

- After every confession, everyone hits themselves on the head. This is because they have realized that they forgot that really big sin, and they know that it'll hang over their head til the next time.

- Contraceptives? Why?

- Altar boys continue well into their twenties.

- The 14 Stations has nothing to do with TV.

- We've always been taught that celibacy til marriage is the only way to go, forever and ever, amen. That being said...

- The Mass doesn't start for a few minutes not because of tardy parishioners. It's because the priest is running late.

- The Virgin Mary is not a God and we don't treat her as such. But she is without sin, gave birth to Jesus and did it without having sex. That warrants more than a little respect.

- 11:00 a.m. Mass means 11:15.

- We actually get all the jokes in Dogma.

- There are two very different, irreconcilable factions in every single church in the world. They are known as the Saturday or Sunday Mass bunch.

- St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. SNAKES.

- You miss JPII more than you miss some relatives...

- Bake Sales are a way of life.

- Your knees are more calloused than your feet.

- Priests have been giving us alcohol since we were little kids. No wonder any one of us can drink Protestants under the table.

- The Catholic way of dealing with a mid-life crisis is having another kid.

- Mass is nearly unchanged after almost 2000 years. We're a little stubborn.

- Whatever you gave up for Lent, you have it in your hands at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night, counting the seconds til midnight.

- Episcopalians are referred to as "Diet Catholics"

- You either love or hate the Stations of the Cross. There is no middle ground.

- We all know Da Vinci code is bogus and inaccurate. Yet we'll still read it if nothing else is going on.

- "Offer it up!" = "Quit bitching!"

- We have Midnight Mass so there are no interruptions on Christmas morning

- You've slipped out an Amen after the Pledge of Allegiance.

- Holy Water can kill just about anything. So Protestants are pretty much screwed if a vampire comes calling.

- There's no need for impromptu prayer; you can always fall back on the Rosary.

- Alleluia becomes almost a swear during Lent

- It's not uncommon for just one family to take up an entire pew or two.

- Boondock Saints is the greatest movie ever. E-Ver.

- Confession. Enough said.

- You're of the opinion that Stephen Colbert should be Canonized.

- When in doubt, say a Hail Mary.

- Peter Griffin, a Catholic!

- Whenever anyone in Star Wars saga says "May the Force Be With You", we get the urge to say "And Also With You" (coming soon: "And With Your Spirit)

- The Pope does indeed wear a funny hat. But it's way more interesting than Joel Osteen's suit and tie.

- Even though you never met her or been to a country she's been in, you're still willing to have "seen" a miracle by Mother Teresa.

- We're the oldest Christian religion. Period.

Happy Memorial Day!

Here are some pictures from this weekend. It has been really warm and we are all tan (some, a little more pink than others).

Emma in her swimming pool.

It is the long-awaited return of "Goggle Girl"

We spent Saturday afternoon at my friend Cindy's house.

Annie is as much a fishy as Emma. They had a great time!

Emma LOVES balloons.

We took the kids to an awesome playground in Cedarville.

Annie is Miss Busy-Body.

Noah had to go with us. He got a bath this weekend. He is the best dog in the world.