What's the point of the frog suit again?

Couch rearrangement

When Matt and Morgan were home for Christmas, Matt decided that our living room needed a make over.  At first I was very reluctant to let him move things around but as he talked about different ideas it began to interest me more.  I have to say, the change has grown on me.  It's not easy to see the girls when they are in the living room if you are in the kitchen but other than that it's a definite upgrade.

Nattie update

Whatever "normal" has become for us, I feel like our lives are moving towards it these days...which is a good thing.  A big part of that is Natalie's progression over the last couple of months.  Since we went gluten free, on January 21, she has done so much better.  It's definitely still hard to be 100% gluten free but we are doing well and Nattie is back to her old self.  She's also began to grow again and her budda belly (from all the bloating) has begun to shrink, both of which are fantastic to see.

On a different note, I'm still blown away by how smart two (almost three) year olds are.  She generally does something to amaze me every night.  One of her recent revelations was figuring out that she could turn on the light in her room (she can't reach yet) by grabbing a book and using it to flip the switch.  She doesn't have a trick yet to turn it off though (Sscratch that, I just saw her do it this morning for the first time.  See what I mean...).

Also, on 3/6 Natalie had her first hair cut (by Molly).  All we did was trim up the ends but it added a lot of bounce and curl back into her hair.  We even got the first couple cuts on film.

Macie update

All and all, things are going pretty well with Macie too. 

That doesn't mean she's a joy to be around though.  The girl has far more attitude then Nattie ever displayed at her age.  In fact, I have even joked over the last couple of months that if we end up having just two kids it's going to be because Macie is such a handful.  In reality, I'd never blame her for that but some days I probably could.

I have to cut her some slack though because her eczema has flared up on and off, she's seems to be cutting teeth constantly and she's in the frustrating stage of being able to pull herself up onto things but is still unable to walk yet. 

She has only three moods: extremely happy, extremely upset and blah.  Most of what we are dealing with should eventually pass.  Her temper though...I don't think that's going away anytime soon.  She's a hot head and she will likely remain one.  Many a battle with her lie ahead for Gina and I.

In the last week or so we have began to see a lighter side of her however.  She has been much happier and we've had a lot of fun playing with her.  Cross your fingers, we'd like this Macie to stick around a while.  When she is being sweet she absolutely melts your heart.

She finally began crawling.  If she needs to get somewhere quickly she still scoots though.  Frequently she does both when making a single trip somewhere.  It's worth the price of admission just to watch her manuver around the house.

That darn laugh

Matt / Morgan

Matt and Morgan move home in July.  I know they are going to miss Chicago but I am really starting to get excited for them to be nearby after being away now for six years.

Minivan

We did it, we gave in and got a minivan.  It's just too dang convenient considering our current family situation.  Gina's still struggling with the idea that she drives a minivan but I am definitely a fan of it.  If it only got better gas mileage...

We bought a silver 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan.  My parents purchased our Ion from us.

I'll leave any more discussion on this topic for Gina.  She probably has more to say about it then I do.

Home value

Fun fact: Our house has lost so much value since we bought it in April '06 that when I recently inquired about refinancing I was told I couldn't because our loan amount was greater then the house is currently worth. 

How much has it dropped?  $60k.  Good golly!  It's not a huge deal since everyone else is in the same boat and we are planning to be here a long time but it's still worth noting none the less.

Super Mario Brothers 3

Over the past couple of weeks, some of Molly and I's free time has been devoted to defeating Super Mario 3.  Last Sunday, we finally accomplished our goal.  Koopa's Castle was not easy to beat but I happened to catch him on an off day or something and I was able to get the job done.  Molly and I teamed together well.  With the exception of board 8.1, which we both stunk at, we complemented each other pretty well.

My favorite part of playing was when we would use a frog suit when it seemed least likely to help us.  Molly and I would laugh during the whole turn.  Really, what's the point of that thing?  It's even a hassle to use in the water.

I had beaten it once before (with Rory long ago) but this was Mo's first victorious experience.  Yeah Mo!  It was a lot of fun and we have now moved onto Super Mario World, which I have not played much of at all before now.  It's a good game and I look forward to defeating it someday as well.