It's been 2 1/2 months....

I realized this morning it has been 2 1/2 months since I blogged and updated all of you. Needless to say it has been quite busy and chaotic around our house. Pardon this long entry as I catch you up on all our adventures.

Jules is now 14 1/2 months old and has developed quite the personality. While I am having so much fun watching her grow and learn, I'm realizing we are quickly entering the toddler stage. She is not yet walking, but is taking steps, when she wants to. Some days she seems very determined to learn to walk, and others, no amount of bribing or coaxing will get her to even think about it. She has also started throwing fits when she is mad or doesn't get her way. Unfortunately for her, mommy has been through this stage twice already and it doesn't garner much attention, nor the results she is looking for. She has been without her bottle now for nearly two months, and really didn't mind giving it up. She likes to drink out of her big girl cup, and really likes to drink from a straw. Her asthma seems to be getting better, Praise the Lord. She had a mild cold last week, which normally would aggravate her asthma and cause us to put her on antibiotics and or increase her breathing treatments drastically. It seems that she has recovered from this cold without having to do either. I'm hopeful that this is a sign that she is growing out of it. She is talking quite a bit now and says Momma, Dadda, Baby, bye, thank you and sissy.

We went to the zoo at the end of April. Juliana loves riding in the stroller, so she was very content all day and seemed to enjoy it as much as the big girls. The picture above was taking while we were waiting outside the Jurassic Park ride. She loved riding the carousel as well.

Karly has almost finished kindergarten. Wow, just typing that makes me realize how big she is getting and how much she has grown up! Karly is by far my most animated child. Her first school music program was last Thursday night, they performed "Three Billy Goats Tuff". We all had such a blast watching her sing and dance with such expression. She is doing really well in school and impresses me every day with her improving reading abilities. In March, she got "Student of the Month" so we celebrated with ice cream. Getting ready every morning with Karly is such an adventure. She has finally agreed to let me fix her hair each morning. This is a feat, as Karly has curly hair that can be quite unruly at times. We have made a deal that as long as she lets me comb it and fix it, she can choose how she wants to wear it. She has been seen leaving the house with some very unique styles, including multiple pigtails all over her head.

Miss Kins keeps me going... and going...and going... While they other two are content to stay at home and hang out, Kins likes to stay active and busy and is constantly looking for activities or adventures for us all. Sitting at home is a downer to her, unless there are friends, games or staying up late watching movies involved. She is doing really well in school and her reading has improved dramatically over the course of this year. She is now well above grade level in reading, showing her that hard work pays off. She enjoys reading Junie B. Jones and some mysteries like Nancy Drew as well. She has developed her own sense of style and LOVES to accessorize. This morning as we were getting ready to leave, I had to run back into the house to hurry her along to find that she was in the bathroom deciding what necklace to wear. She enjoys sports and we are gearing up for softball season again, with her first practice next week.

We went to a cardinals game recently and Kins was modeling for me. I don't normally photograph my children's bathroom behaviors, lol, but we were bored and waiting for Karly to finish. This picture captures Kins so perfectly.

I'm plugging away, trying to keep up with the girls and work and school. I finished my first MBA class a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. It took a lot of late nights and hard work, but I got an A. I started my next class, Business Law, last week. I am enjoying it quite a bit, but feel that the class isn't quite living up to its full potential. It is a lot of work and I'm learning a lot about different aspects of the law, but it doesn't excite me the way I expected this class to.

As I mentioned, we went to the zoo in late April, and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect, not too hot or cold and just a light breeze. It did rain late in the day, but only briefly. Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

Kinsley, Karly and I also went to a cardinals game in April. Kinsley has been wanting to go to one for a long time, so I got them out of school early one day and we went to watch the Cardinals vs the Mets. We had awesome seats right behind home plate about 15 rows up. They had a blast!!! Kinsley is already asking to go again.