P.j. play

I just think they are SO cute playing together in their p.j.'s.

Katie-Katuums Cinco Mil

Soon after Kate was born Dave and Leah were playing with her pretending she was a robot. They called her "Katie-Katuums Cinco Mil". The translation is Katie-Katuums 5000. This has stuck. I hear it all day from Dave and Leah. Kate seems to like it so.......

Anyway, here are some pictures of our new and improved Katie- Katuums 5000. She is feeling much better. Although she is now teething so still no great sleep around here.

Oh, and she is just starting to crawl! Video soon!

This is Kate's new favorite past time. Yes, we have a swing in our living room!

Dinosaur Hat

Leah received this great hat as a belated birthday gift from a dear friend. She LOVES it. As you can see from the photos. She wears this during play, dinner, toothbrushing, and even sleeping!
Thanks Gretchen!!

Birthday train ride...again

Last years train ride to her birthday party....

And this years........

I want my baby back!

Poor Kate! She has had no end to her digestive troubles for the last 6 weeks now. It all started on our trip when she and I were both on antibiotic at the same time. It REALLY messed with her system. Since we have been home there have been multiple trips to the pediatrician and multiple medications prescribed. So far the only relief has been the last two days. I am not sure what is doing it but think it may be a combination of any of these.....prescription gas medication, prescription reflux medication, massive probiotics, digestive enzymes, very restricted diet (mine and hers), tilting her mattress, feeding her rice right before bed, adjusting her nap times, or maybe just the fact that 6 weeks have gone by and her body is getting back to normal on it's own. Whatever the reason, we are staying home for a while!!!!!! This is a picture of her cute happy self the one that I miss. This was taken right before the trip.

3 Years Old!!!!!

    Leah turned 3 a couple weeks ago. This is a late post but wanted to share a few birthday pictures. At Leah's request the party was very small and mellow. She wanted an umbrella cake which Grandma Mary did a wonderful job of making!
    Leah seemed a bit concerned about turning three. I think she was uncertain about what this meant. She asked many times the weeks leading up to her birthday questions like, "Will you still snuggle me when I am three? How about four? Five? Six?..........Eighteen?" She even asked me if "Mr. Phil" the principal at her school was "to old to be snuggled?" I think he is the tallest guy she knows and therefore the oldest. Because we all know that you get bigger as you get older right? There are so many concepts that are difficult to explain at this age but I am trying my best.
    Looking back now I wonder if in her mind she thought she might be suddenly much bigger on her birthday. Poor girl. It would explain the crazy tantrums and stormy behavior that has since passed.

A bit concerned about the sparkler. 

Reading progress

Leah is doing so well in school. She started reading words a few months ago, then sentences, and now she is reading short books. She is SOOO proud of herself and loves to play "school" every day. This consists of her reading one of her books from school to me and then doing a worksheet from her Challenger workbook. I also catch her quizzing Kate on what sounds the letters make...so cute! This is a little video of how Kate and Leah spend many of their afternoons while I am busy around the house. I feel guilty sometimes that we don't have as much time to spend reading to Kate as we did to Leah at this age. Then I remember she gets way more reading time when you figure in sister reading.

The Boyfriend

As many of you know Leah has a boyfriend at school. They are very hot and cold as most preschool relationships are. This week they were hot again! He kissed her! Then they were cold.... well here is as much as I could get out of Leah while on camera. She is much more willing to talk about it off the record. Dave is not thrilled.

Christmas program

Leah had her school christmas program last week. Very cute. I think I cried a bit.

Bicycle

Leah is very proud of the fact that she can now ride her bicycle. The trike was a favorite this summer but the bike has so many more possibilities! She can now ride all the way to the grocery store and back.  Kate is also very entertained by watching Leah riding along in front of her. And Leah like to pretend she is "pulling Kate in the bike trailer". Also great for me as I can actually walk a bit fast and get some exercise! Yay!

New blog

As you all know I am not good at all with computers and such. I do LOVE my computer but really don't even know a percentage of what it can do or how to use it well. Same goes with blogging. This and the previous blog are intended for friends and family to stay connected with our lives while much physical distance exists between us. I also love that I can go back and see what we were doing during any given time in the last three years. I use the blog as an online diary of sorts. Thus the thought of deleting any of it to make more space for new content was so sad I just could not do it. It would be like getting rid of photo albums to make more space for new ones...no!
   So last month when I ran out of "space" on the "howesleah" blog, I just stopped posting for a bit. I have now decided to start a new blog each year. This way I can easily find what I am looking for when I need to reference back.  So here ya go....Sisters in 2013!