Seven Months Old

Carrigan is moving right through this first year. She's a big fan of rolling around now and is really into playing with the big girls' Little People sets. She's also quite the pro at peek-a-boo. She eats anything we put in front of her and has been known to shriek for more. Still sleeping well. Overall, she's loud and silly and a lot like two other little girls I know.

Best Buds

If you happen to stop by our house, please make sure you greet our new friends, "Hata", and "Hoshish". (Yes, I know those names are quite diverse-sounding. I'm doing the best I can to guess on the correct spelling). Hata and Hoshish appeared several weeks ago and appear to be semi-permanent figures. At least they are to Brinnly, who is the only one who actually "sees" them and therefore reports on all of their actions. So far we have learned:

1) Hata is a girl and Hoshish is a boy.

2) They usually wear red shirts.

3) They enjoy visiting Texas which is why they were not here one day last week.

4) They can be quite sensitiive. I mentioned the other day that it was such a good day. No time-outs, whining or anything of that sort. Brinnly was quite to remind me that Hata had had a pretty rough day and was crying quite a bit. Poor Hata.

Brinnly-Bug, you never cease to make us laugh!

Our Cupids

Koch Family Vacation, January 2010

Happy 62nd Anniversary Grandma Dee & Papa!

Guess who owns Trader Joe's?

One of the things we miss most about Pittsburgh is our dear Trader Joe's. I'm not a fan of the traditional grocery stores (especially Giant Eagle and Meijer's) and find them nearly impossible with little kids. So I've been frequenting another small store lately--initially only for price reasons, but their produce is really, really good. Check out this article to see why it's seeming so familiar. I gues I'm no longer a grocery snob! What's next, Hardings owning Whole Foods?

Well, he did have long hair

Mali, looking at her church offering envelopes: "Mommy, who is this in the picture?"

Kaethe: "Jesus"

Mali: "Oh, I thought it was Rapunzel".

Five for February....

1) We are over a month into the New Year so thought we'd report on our 2010 resolutions. The most successful thus far? Both of us waking up at 5:30 (yikes!) on weekdays to take turns going to the YMCA. Painful? Yes, it is, but the kids get up around 6, and it is so much more pleasant to have a few minutes to ourselves before facing the day with them.

2) Our other big resolution was to start a side business this year. More details on that to follow. Now that both of those goals are out in public, please feel to hold us accountable to them.

3) Carrigan had her 6-month check-up visit yesterday and is as healthy as ever. She's at 15 lbs, 10 oz. and 23 inches. With a little sleep-training help, she's back to sleeping through the night and can't get enough of any table food we put in front of her. And she's starting to notice when Brinnly steals her Cheerios.

4) Now that the girls get so excited for holidays of any sort, I wish we lived within driving distance of Puxatony, PA again. Too bad we never made it there when we were that close.

5) The girls have been starting the mornings by dancing around a disco ball in a dark kitchen wearing princess dress-up clothes. I need to take some video to capture this particular stage in life and to play at their weddings.