Her First Video

Here is a short clip of Molly's first video. We really enjoyed watching her cover her face and smack her lips. The best part, though, was watching her effortlessly put her toes up to her forehead! Please forgive the quality of the video... it was my first foray into editing. I have a new appreciation for the people who do this daily. I think this short piece took me about two hours altogether! I hope you enjoy!

Spoiler Alert!

If you don't want to see what our Molly is going to look like, then don't scroll down! We had the opportunity to have a 3D sonogram today. Although she was a bit shy at first, we were able to get a few good pictures. We also have a video at home of her yawning, sucking her thumb and possibly her foot, and other wondrous first moments! Here are a few of the pictures. She had her foot in her hand up by her face the entire time. Do we have a gymnast of some sort on our
hands? ENJOY!

Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Okay, so I have no picture to go with this, but I absolutely must share this latest Grace story. I was peeking into her classroom on Friday and saw that she was picking her nose. I went into the room and commented to Mrs. Kelly that I wasn't aware she was a "picker"! Mrs. Kelly replied that all of her students, at one time or another, are "pickers".

As I watched Grace with disapproval and slight embarrassment, I realized that she appeared really uncomfortable...almost worried. I went over to her and asked if she needed a kleenex. She pulled me close to her and whispered in my ear "Mommy....I have a nut in my nose." I laughed and said, "So, now we're calling buggers 'nuts'?" She rolled her eyes and said "Of course not, I have a NUT in my nose!"

I walked over to the kleenex box and shared this new information with Mrs. Kelly. She laughed nervously and informed me that the class had just had brownies with walnuts for snack. She assured me that the students were allowed to take their nuts off and dispose of them if they wished, but I was already picturing the possibilities of this "disposal" and how it related to Grace's current situation.

I gave Grace a kleenex, helped her blow her nose, and sure enough, out came a pretty good sized WALNUT. "Grace," I said. "How did that walnut get up your nose? Did you put it there?" Grace looked at me, and with all honesty, said "I don't know how that walnut got up my nose." She is still sticking to that story.

Dear Molly....

I woke up this morning and there was a note on the dining room table. I tried to take a picture of it but it didn't do it justice. Here is what it said:

"DEAR MOLLY, FROM GRACE. I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME IN MOMMY'S TUMMY."

Enough said!

Sumi-e painting

Some of you have asked what this Sumi-e painting is? Well, Chad sat us down and tried to teach us. It consists of simple brush strokes on rice paper. It is an Asian style of painting that has been practiced for well over a thousand years. The sumi-e painter creates the ink by sprinkling a few drops of water on a stone and then holding the ink stick upright, making circles with the stick on the stone. It was actually quite relaxing! I read that "A few carefully placed broad strokes that fade off abruptly, a few thin lines and a dot, and a bird is clearly called into being on the paper." That didn't quite happen in my case, but Chad was able to make some birds! I made some poppies, Brandon made a mushroom and some bamboo, and Grace made a river.

A new paint job

Our friend, Chad, came over today and painted a cherry blossom branch on our baby girl's wall! We also got the chance to do our own sumi-e paintings in black and red. Those images are framed and put on the other walls in the baby's room. We had a great time adding our own touch to the room. We hope she likes it as much as we do! OH, and does anyone notice the name on the wall? :)

BITS and PIECES: A bunny, a blanket, a box, and a baby

This weekend, we are bunny-sitting for Mrs. Huebner. Lightning Thunder makes a great addition to our family, although Mabel and Luna like to sit right outside his cage and heckle him.

Grace has had enough of the cold weather. Here she is in her "snuggy sack".

Last weekend, Brandon and I bought a carseat for the baby. I think we had more fun as a family playing with the box, then we did showing off her new carseat. And yes, that's Brandon in the box.

Isaac came over for a bit tonight and Grace practiced holding him. Knowing our luck and history, our baby girl will probably be his size when she arrives!

Well, that's some bits and pieces from our life in Lawrence at the moment! Love to all!

Don't shave the sheep!

Grace has been learning the chunk /sh/, which brings with it so many opportunities to read and discuss sheep and ships and shaving and shells, etc.! As you know, it has been bitterly cold out here in Kansas lately and it even snowed today...not enough to "sh"ovel. Out of the blue, yesterday morning, Grace announced "Nobody's shaving their sheep today, it's too cold!" Ben looked at her, laughed, and said "That was random!" If he'd have been in Mrs. Kelly's kindergarten class this week, he'd know what she was talking about! Yes, Grace, noone is shaving their sheep today!

This weekend, we had a chance to rearrange the downstairs a bit, and the kids now have an official playroom. Grace has a "changing station" for her babies and is putting it to good use. She took a bath last night and "Iris", her water baby, took a bath with her. I think Iris used more of the shampoo bottle than Grace did, but they both smell squeaky clean. Grace has also been busy creating many works of art with paint, markers, crayons, and whatever else she can find. Grace also plays the Wii. Her favorite games are Disney Sing It and golfing with Daddy. She is also spending much of her time reading, which is awesome!

We'd like to say that Ben has been reading too, but his interests lie elsewhere. He has playing Bakugan, Battleship, Connect Four, and of course, the Wii. His favorite game is Mario Sluggers. His IDog doesn't stop dancing...or making noise for that matter. Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful Christmas. The kids are really enjoying their new things.

Brandon spent yesterday refinishing a glider and painting it black to match the baby's room. We also had a good time registering at BabiesRUs. Wow, have things changed since Grace was a baby. We must have spent hours there! We ran into a guy that Brandon went to high school with and they are expecting their first child. It felt strange to tell him we were expecting our third! We were not planning to register, but we gave away all of our baby stuff from Grace and Ben, and Schwegler will be giving Julie a shower when the baby comes. So much to do, and so much to think about! Less than 3 months to go!

Cuddly cats

Our cats have been very affectionate lately. Maybe they know their lives are about to change here in a few months! We had some friends over to watch the footall game tonight and Luna and Mabel made sure they visited each person's lap. Mabel even licked Keri's nose and Luna made herself right at home on Julia's lap.

Happy New Year!!!

This year will be quite a whirlwind for the Urbans! A baby girl due in April will definitely bring new and exciting things to this household. As my last trimester begins, I am starting to remember all of the things that come with a new baby..or don't come with the new baby! Brandon and I have been looking at baby swings and carseats and bottles and all of the things we didn't save from the first two kids. Have the prices gone up? Are the gadgets just a little more high-tech than I remember? As the days progress, I can't help but get a little nervous!! I think the baby is nervous too, because she hasn't stopped fidgeting. That could be because Brandon likes to tap on my belly all of the time. Or it could be because people keep calling her by the wrong name! No, her name is not Isabella! :) My mom tried to get me to tell her the name by saying that my sister needed to start on the Christmas stocking. Mom, it won't take Carrie 8 months to finish the stocking!!! Anyway, we'll tell you all soon, I promise. Or you could always stop by and see our nursery, because her name is up on the wall. :)

We started organizing the house, little by little, to make it easier for our two children and to prepare for the third! Here is a picture of Luna enjoying the new space in the hall closet. Next step...the master bedroom closet. Yikes.



As the new year begins, I had to have the "new" hair style as well, so here is a picture of that too!