C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E!!

Mommy had this great idea over the weekend to make chocolate frogs out of oreos, M&Ms and pretzels. Well, chocolate is one of my very, very favorite things, and I was all for it!

Not surprisingly, sampling the merchandise was much more fun than assembling the frogs. And I even figured out how to twist apart an Oreo all by myself. Talk about a milestone!

Since I do aim to please, I put together some original Oreo artwork in an effort to amuse Mommy. What a masterpiece!

But hands down, the highlight of the whole project was

the C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E!! I just did a little sampling . . .

Daddy's got mail!

When Daddy got home tonight, he brought in this fabulous box that he found waiting on our front porch. He opened it up, and there was another box inside. In addition to a new pair of shoes for Daddy, the box had lots of paper in it. I had a great time crumbling and uncrumbling the paper and playing with the boxes.

Not everyone shared my fascination with the boxes and packing materials, and for once, that allowed me to have something all to myself!

But boxes and paper will only hold my attention for so long, especially when I have this tasty dress to chew on!

Uh-oh. You didn't take a picture of my belly button, did you?

Sunday-Morning Ritual

All four of us love to start Sunday mornings by reading the paper. Ever since I was a baby, Mommy and Daddy let me partake in this weekly ritual. As a result, I'm a Sunday-newspaper junkie! I can peruse the ads and spot a deal like a seasoned shopper.

I also know a good coupon when I see one!

Marci's no exception to our Sunday-morning, newspaper-reading ritual. As soon as I'm finished with the circulars, she gets to take a stab at them. As of right now, she mostly just drools all over everything, and if Mommy doesn't watch her carefully, she ends up with a black-ink mustache. Yuk!

She especially likes the department store ads!

Bye-Bye SNL / Hello SSL (Part One)

We've long since kissed our Saturday Night Live days goodbye; it's only been recently that good ole SNL has been replaced with SSL or Sesame Street Live (for those not in the know!) Sesame Street, and Elmo in particular, has long been a favorite in our house. This Sunday, we got to see Elmo and his pals in person at the Civic Center. Dressed in his favorite Elmo shirt, Osten could hardly wait for the show to begin!

But we waited . . .

and we waited . . .

and we waited a little more . . .

Bye-Bye SNL / Hello SSL (Part Two)

. . . until finally, they dimmed the lights and started the show!

Everyone was there - Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, the Count, and Bert and Ernie, just to name a few!

It was mesmorizing! Even Marci seemed to enjoy it. As you can see, she is already an Elmo fan. She didn't last long in her seat on the floor. Halfway through the first act, she insisted on sitting up with the rest of us so she could see the show for herself!

After the show, we met Sebastian (who, as you can see, is a fellow Elmo fan) for pizza at Mellow Mushroom. He had the coolest Elmo ball, and I made sure that he let me play with it. Mommy and Daddy seem to think that I've been a little on the pushy side lately when it comes to sharing, but I can't imagine where in the world they would get such an idea! Anyway, we had a great time sporting our Elmo shirts and chasing that Elmo ball.

SNL it's not, but SSL wasn't so bad. Truth be known, seeing the look on Osten's face as he watched Elmo dance and sing on the stage was easily worth ten times the price of admission! While SSL doesn't have nearly the laughs as SNL, it was good, clean fun for the entire family. I'd venture to bet that even Wrigley would have been entertained (although I must say that I'm glad she wasn't along to find out for sure!)

Table for Three

Last night, Jack and Kate and their families came to our house for dinner. Jack, Kate and I ate hot dogs and chips at our own table. It was lots of fun.

Marci's still too little for the kid table, so she hung out in her Exersaucer, of course!

After dinner, we did some group art on the easel.

Marci's not so into art, but Kate sure was into her!

Hats Off!

In our house these days, the only reason to put on a hat is to take it right back off. Even chin straps are no help anymore. Well, I had the rare opportunity to capture both Osten and Marci--and their hats--just the other day. Thank God for fast shutter speeds, as I no sooner took these pictures and these two hats went sailing through the air!

I've fallen . . .

Lately, I've been spending lots of time on Mommy and Daddy's bed (it's usually made up, I swear!) sitting up by myself. I'm getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. As you can see, I am already quite the multi-tasker, too. For example, I can soak the front of my shirt with drool while sucking on my pacifier. I can also look pretty for the camera, while playing hard with some of my favorite toys. But, I am definitely still an amateur and think I'll avoid hard surfaces for a while . . .



Whoops! Like I said, I'm still perfecting my balancing act, as you can see. However, you'll notice I didn't lose my pacifier in my tumble backwards. So, now what? H-E-L-P!! I've fallen . . .



and Osten's helped me up! But don't be fooled by his seemingly selfless chivalry. It comes with a price. He can be quite bossy with my toys. You'll notice that my shape sorter is now on his lap, and my rings (which I swear he knows are my favorite!) will be out of my reach in no time. Oh, well. It sure beats laying on your back staring at the ceiling, and I'll eventually teach him how to share.

What's Cookin'

Lately, I've been a big fan of helping out in the kitchen. As soon as Mommy starts fixing something at the kitchen counter, I grab a chair and drag it over to lend a hand. Recently, I got a hold of one of her cookbooks. Take a look . . .

You want me to make WHAT for dinner??!!

Extra cheese? No problem!

So, what's Marci doing while I'm busy putting dinner on the table? She's watching the Cubs game, of course!

The Birth of a Blog

My husband and I have been blessed with two children, and we have had the joy of celebrating three Mother's Days as a family. On this third Mother's Day, we are happy to announce the birth of a family blog to document some of the amazing, hilarious and always interesting changes happening at our house. It all started about two-and-a-half years ago. The date was November 4, 2005, and our son, Bruce Osten arrived at 9:39 a.m., weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 18 inches. Take a look.

Checking into the hospital and getting ready for a long night . . .

IT'S A BOY!!

While Osten's arrival caught us a little off-guard with my water breaking at 37 weeks, Marci's arrival was much more civilized. We knew the day before her birth that we would be checking into the hospital, and we took the opportunity to take one last shot of the, um, expectant nursery.


IT'S A GIRL!!

Marcella Nicole arrived on September 25, 2007 at 4:43 p.m, weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 19 inches. Osten got to meet her the very next day, and he wasn't too impressed. He was much more interested in drinking his milk and playing with the new truck we had waiting for him in the hospital room.

He quickly accepted that she was here to stay, and quite frankly, I'm not sure that he even remembers life without her (and neither do her daddy and I!)

Life with small kids is hectic, as any mom will tell you. But as the days fly by, there is always time to be found here and there to document the memories. On this third Mother's Day, that is exactly what we're going to do. And so goes the story of our latest addition . . .

IT'S A BLOG!!

Mother's Day

What a wonderful day it was. With two little ones, breakfast in bed is still a few years away. However, reading the newspaper in bed was a fantastic treat, as were the blueberry and chocolate-chip pancakes that Daddy made for breakfast! After church, we came home for naps and to wait out the torrential rain that lasted for most of the morning. Marci woke up first and had a great time, as usual, in her Exersaucer while we waited for Osten to wake up.


Osten got up shortly thereafter, and Daddy tried to get a picture of the three of us together. It was no easy feat, as you can see, but at least no one is crying and all of our body parts made it into the frame . . .

The sun came out, and we loaded everyone up for a drive out to Tybee for Art in the Park.

Due to the weather, there weren't nearly as many booths as last year, but Osten and Marci had lots of fun on the playground . . .

This was Marci's first time in a swing. She had a ball and just giggled and giggled! She looks so serious in this photo, but it's a great shot of her cheeks and her hair, which has really started to fill in lately.