Update and photos

We're just plugging along here lately. James' parents came to visit over the MLK holiday weekend. We're pretty tired lately. Owen has gotten to the point where he almost will not sleep without someone holding him (or after he's been riding in his car seat), and it's just not possible to hold him all the time, so we'll be breaking that habit as soon as we're ready for lots of crying. Kate is still pretty rough physically with not only Owen, but James and me and I'm just about at my wits end trying to get through to her that that's not an acceptable way to behave. Not to mention that her favorite sentence lately is "Don't say me 'no'!" Uggghh!

But, no matter how frustrating, it all comes with the territory and they're still cute and fun to be around. Kate likes to sing to Owen, which is usually either ABCs or her other favorite "We are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner band. She also likes to read stories to him or to us. When she does this, she says "One day, Mary Poppins at the trees" on every page. I don't know what "at the trees" is all about, but she evidently likes Mary Poppins. I'll try to post some video of this soon. Anyway, here are some recent photos of both of them.

My two little ones hanging out together in their PJs.

Kate ready for church in her new dress.
Is that a bow in her hair!?!

While Nana and Grandfather were visiting, we went to the East Tennessee Discovery Center and Kate had fun playing. James bribed her with chocolate to let him put her hair in pigtails.

Playing Legos with Daddy.

Nana got in on the Lego action, too.

Just watching the world from his bouncy seat.

Owen chatting it up on Kate's cell phone.

Just a funny close-up.

Owen was full of smiles for us this day!

Simpsonized Hemricks

I could not help but share this information with the world, and since I do not have my own blog, I will steal my wife's forum for a bit. Ever wonder what you would look like if you made a guest appearance on "The Simpsons". Well, now thanks to Burger King you can see (www.simpsonizeme.com).
Growing up in the later 80's and early 90's I learned about most important world events by following the antics of the Simpsons. This love for the show was further fueled when I came to work for the summer at ORNL (the first time) and met the likes of Andy Wereszczak and Matt Ferber who had every episode ever made on VHS (this was before DVD and the ability to purchase past seasons) and had occasional marathons for viewing their favorite episodes. Anyway, Andy recently led me to the website above and I could not help but "Simpsonize" my family. So, without further delay, here are the Hemricks as they would appear on Fox.

My little tomboy

Kate is potty training right now (actually, she's pretty much trained) and I promised her some new underwear for staying dry through her nap. So we went to Target to buy some new panties and I showed her all of the options - Dora, My Little Pony, Hello Kitty, Tinkerbell, Princesses, Elmo, and the list goes on. She looked them over and I saw her eyes drift over to the boys underwear and light up. "I want Cars". Me - "Sorry, sweetie, those are boys underwear and they're made different. You have to wear panties for girls." She looked a little confused, so I showed her her options again. Again her eyes moved over to the boys' side. "I want Thomas the Train." Again, I explained how we had to get girls' underwear. One more time, she looked over at the boys' side (I think there were only the three options there). This time, she spotted the real winner. *gasp* "Diego!" This is her favorite show right now, with Dora a close second, so I guided her back over and pointed out some Dora panties that were different from the ones she already had. That seemed to do and I threw in some Hello Kitty for good measure.

I know many of you are thinking that the apple doesn't fall from the tree (don't tell me you're not!), but I promise I try very hard to let her be who she wants to be. I even buy her hair bows and barrettes and headbands, but she won't even let me run a brush through her hair for 20 seconds, let alone put something in it. She did wear a bow to Mothers Day Out on Friday and it was cute - though it had to be her favorite color orange and didn't match her pink pants...

She's got a bug this weekend, so I'm hoping she gets over that soon. The treats enjoyed at her friends birthday party yesterday ended up on the floor of our foyer right after she walked in the door. Better than in the new car, I guess (I'll post about the new car later). Later she had a pretty good fever, too and she's been pretty lethargic - well, at least for her. It's hard to tell when she's sick, accept that she's very pouty, she tells you she's tired, and she actually laid on the couch where James put her with a blanket to watch a show before nap today. That's about the most still I've ever seen her. I hope she gets better soon!

Getting along

Things have been pretty busy around here lately and I haven't had much spare time to post here. I'm amazed at how little time there is between nursing, playing with Kate, and napping. We've had lots of family time over the holidays and it was really nice to introduce Owen to everyone who came to visit. He's still congested and has a rattle in his sinuses/chest, and he's now being treated for an eye infection, but overall he seems to be doing well. Here are some pictures I took today while he was alert and I had a free second with him (I've been trying to do this for over a week). I really can't believe he's already over a month old. Time passes so much more quickly with two little ones to care for.



Kate had a blast opening presents on Christmas. Nana and Grandfather brought lots and she was also kind enough to offer her gift-unwrapping services to anyone willing to take her up on the offer. She got lots of new things to play with (though she's still working on learning to play by herself). The kitchen set Grandma gave her arrived this week and we've been playing with it in our new play room/office/exercise room (do we know how to put a bonus room to use or what?). We're still getting the room put together, but it will be a nice place for everyone to play.