Golf anyone??

The cubs each received their first set of golf clubs from Grandpa John and Grandma Shirley for their birthday.

Dad loves it and can't wait to take them out on the course.

Mom just has one word to say about all of this: "FORE!!!"

The daily life at Cub Central.

Who wouldn't want to play peek-a-boo with this cutie??


We love our new backyard:


Emily trying to help fold the laundry....after she wears it all first:


Our little stuntman:


Bookworm:


Emily helped unpack one of the boxes of kitchen utensils. I had a place for the strainer but she found a better place for it.


Big shoes to fill:


Our little overachiever. One pair is not enough.


For old times sake. Zach's old bouncer...he loved this chair.


Zach climbing into the chair to comfort his red-faced uphappy sister.

Shoplifter in training.

I don't think an explanation is necessary here.

Easter morning

The cubs were busy Easter morning opening gifts from their Great-Grandma Betty, Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John. I only uploaded a few photos because little man was not feeling well and his pictures sure showed it. He had a fever and puffy eyes and looked totally miserable but that didn't stop him from having fun opening and playing with his presents.

Emily, taking charge of the Easter bags:


Modeling her bunny sleepwear:


Zach checking out his Easter card:


Emily helping Zach with his present. Apparently he wasn't opening them fast enough for her.


Playing with their new puzzles:

Happy Birthday to our precious little miracle cubs

Today our little miracle cubs celebrate their second birthday. We often remember where we started from and realize every day how lucky we are to have our two precious miracles.

Our tiny start. Emily's very first picture:


Zach's very first picture:

After several weeks on strict bedrest our little cubs were born eight weeks early. Emily weighed 4 lbs 8 oz and little Zach only weighed 2 lbs 8 oz. They spent their first weeks in the Childrens Hospital and although we desperately wanted to bring them home, we knew that they were where they needed to be. They had the best care and after three weeks we were able to bring Emily home and her little brother was able to join her a week later. Such a little fighter, Zach didn't even weigh 4 pounds when we brought him home, but he was able to do all of the things he was required to do for discharge.

Proud daddy feeding Emily for the first time:


Mommy holding Zach for the first time:

We have certainly come a LONG way. Our little miracles are amazing...running, playing, learning and laughing every day! Happy Birthday precious ones!!

The long awaited catch-up blog.

I'm looking over my calendar and thinking to myself "Boy, is the reading public going to be disappointed with this one". So fair warning to all...while I have been off-line "forever", not much happened while I was gone.

Moving day:
April 9th was moving day. I struggled to get as much packed as possible before the movers showed up. Steve met them first at our storage building and then brought them to the apartment. As soon as it was confirmed that they were on their way(around 10am) I packed up the cubs and headed out. There was no way I was going to witness this move, especially with the cubs under foot. We drove by the old house, grabbed lunch at Chick-fil-A (we ate in the car), I treated myself to a vanilla latte and a chocolate donut from Starbucks, and then we headed to the mall. Thankfully I took Husky (Em's dog) and L.E. (Zach's elephant) with us so the cubs actually behaved better than I expected. Sadly, though, there was no nap. By 3pm I was begging to come home. I couldn't wait to see if things were put where I wanted them....such a control freak. I must admit that everyone did a good job. Later that night I was smack dab in the middle of suffering from the worst sore throat I think I have ever had. I was MISERABLE. I had taken Emily to the Doctor the day before and she was pretty miserable too. Poor Zach and Daddy didn't escape it either. We all spent the next few days under house arrest. I even missed my parenting class. No one felt like doing anything and the boxes remained stacked up all around us. By Sunday (Easter Sunday) Zach had a fever and by Monday he was suffering from the pink-eye minus the pink too. Steve called the Doctor early that morning and we were able to get in within a matter of hours. Little Emily Bear was diagnosed with her very first ear infection. Both cubs were prescribed antibiotics for sinusitis (I wish I could have had some too) and we took our sick selves back home. What an enjoyable way to spend our first days in our brand new home.

Easter:
We missed Easter morning services because Zach had a fever. I was so disappointed because I had bought Zach the cutest little Easter outfit to match a dress that one of Grandma Shirley's friends had sent us for Emily and I couldn't wait to take pictures. We missed out on every Easter activity this year....we didn't make it to a single egg-hunt and I was disappointed about that too. I really think the cubs would have had a lot of fun. The cubs did open their Easter gifts from Great Grandma Betty and Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John. Emily thinks that all gifts are hers. She loves opening gifts and she's good at it, even if they don't belong to her. We had fun playing with the puzzles, reading the books and watching the DVDs they received. Not to mention how cute they will look in their new pajamas. Pictures to come later.

Services:
We have had our fair share of people coming by...the refrigerator was delivered, the security system set up, the painters were here numerous time, the tile cleaners and installers, the TV guy to install the TV/Internet, blah blah blah. We've had a revolving door of service people through here lately.

March for Babies:
April 18th was our local chapter March for Babies. Our friends Kristi and Donna drove all the way from Abilene to join us. Wow! They were also our very first house guests. We were a little worried about the weather, but despite all of the talk about severe storms, we made it through the walk without more than a few drops of rain. It was actually very pleasant. Last year was hot, so I much preferred the cooler morning. Debbie and her daughter Sydney also met us there. I was sad that Steve had to work and was unable to make it. We want to thank everyone for their support! We are very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends.

LCMOM meeting/garage sale:
Tuesday the 21st was my LCMOM meeting. A speaker presented information to us about college planning. I don't even want to think about it. Two words: Golf SCHOLARSHIP. I also chose to participate in the garage sale, so I've spent my spare minutes gathering and tagging items. I had to work the sale on Friday for several hours and was glad to get that out of the way. I have yet to get the final sales total but was happy to free up some space here at the house. I sold the swing that Zach spent most of his first year in due to his reflux issues. That was a sad moment. He's grown up so fast.

Grandma and Grandpa Bear's visit:
My parents arrived on Friday. We were very happy to see them and I was excited for them to see the cubs again. They have changed so much. I was sad that I had to work at the garage sale while they were here, but the alternative was to postpone their visit for two more weeks and I don't think anyone wanted to do that. The cubs opened their birthday presents...we have a band in the making....Emily got a keyboard and Zach got an electronic drum set. I'm going to sit in a quiet corner and read some of the books they received. We cooked out on Saturday, the first time here at the new house. I am really enjoying the patio and watching the cubs play in the yard. I must admit that they are sleeping much better since the move, probably because they are so exhausted after all of the running they are doing. I think they are adjusting rather well. I know we will be happy once all of these boxes are unpacked.

Pictures:
We will be posting pictures as soon as we find the missing cable. UGH. It's either buried in a box or still at the apartment. Moving is such an inconvenience sometimes.

I guess that sums up most of what has happened in the last 18 days. We spent most of the time in voluntary quarantine battling this horrible illness that just drags on and on and on. The rest of our time has been spent scheduling service people and unpacking boxes. Steve took a few days off but unfortunately we didn't get as much done as we had hoped since he was under the shroud of illness as well. We didn't allow the cubs to attend any play dates until this past Thursday. We didn't want to risk infecting any of our friends. I did take them to Paradise Pond since our tile was being cleaned and sealed and we needed to be out of the house. They were still on their antibiotics so hopefully we won't have a relapse. It will be such a relief for things to get back to "normal".

Cub Central is back on-line

Greetings reading public!

We are finally back on-line. I had no idea how dependent we were on the Internet. I can't count how many times I said to Steve "Just go look it up on the....wait, never mind". We actually had to crack open a phone book more than once. Glad to know they still make the yellow pages. Glad to know we still know how to use them.

We still have a lot going on here at the newly relocated Cub Central. Please be patient as I try to muddle through my exhausted mind to update the blog and upload pictures when time allows. I'm hoping to have everything updated by Sunday but who knows what else may pop up in the meantime.

We are glad to be back and are happy we still have an interested reading public. Just "bear" with us for a few more days!