Hello 2008

Well, if you are like me, you've already mailed out some checks with 2007 on them. They've all cleared so obviously the banks expected that,eh?

Sorry it's been so long since our last entry, but Karis has been trying to get her days and nights set up on the same schedule as the rest of our family. She's kind of stubborn, but I think she's understanding that the other four of us aren't going to wake up at 11:45 PM everynight to hang out with her. Just Mommy does that, and thankfully she's getting bored of me so she's started to give up that fight. Last night I got my first full night of sleep since before she was born.

Yes, I woke up in a panic at 2:30 AM to make sure she was still breathing.

Tracy and I are going to do some demo in the kitchen and get it ready for our contractor to widen the doorway. We are going to connect the dining room and the kitchen to make it one big, flowing space. Vic and T.K. are going to come down in March and help us finish out the countertops, cabinets, paint, etc. So hopefully by the middle of March we'll have a fresh, new look in our kitchen. I'll take before and after (and inbetween) pictures for you all to look at.

Then after that I get to start attacking the flower beds outside. I promised Tracy they would look good this summer. What was I thinking???

Ryan is back in preschool and very much looking forward to his birthday party at Pump It Up. He's going to be five and he's very excited. If you would like to witness 25 little people going crazy in inflated toy world, please let me know - we'd love to have you.

Chase is starting to really develop his personality these days. He has turned into a real tease, especially when it comes to picking up his toys. He also thinks that big brother is the best thing since sliced bread and must have whatever toy Ryan is playing with at the moment. Taking Ryan to school and picking him up is also the highlight of the day three times a week. Plus, we think we might have a first haircut around his second birthday. Imagine that - Chase with hair!

Karis is growing like crazy. She has already grown an inch (as far as I can tell) and is starting to sleep better (yippee!). She also has started to smile. You forget how precious the first smiles are, especially the one you get when your baby first wakes up and recognizes it's you picking her up. No matter how sleepy you are, a smile like that makes everything a-ok.

I'll post some pictures this weekend of the kitchen as it is now, and as we tear down the bricks...but the real destruction starts the first week of February when the wall comes down and I start experimenting with microwaving all our meals.