Weekend update: Saturday morning we met up with some friends at the zoo. I know this picture doesn't show either of the kids' faces -- but just wanted to show a side-by-side size comparison. We definitely need to get them both on a scale.... Noah has to be close to 30 lbs!!

Sunday after church we had some play time outside. Here is Evelyn pushing Noah in her car -- don't mind her socks/crocs combo, she had a special request for Santa socks...

Other news:

• Noah has many names "Noah", "Big Guy", and Travis also affectionately calls him "chubby boy". Now Evelyn calls him that, too. When she first saw him this morning she said "Hi chubby boy, hi chubby boy!"

• Noah somehow learned the all-important male art of making fart noises. He crawled up to me tonight, leaned over my leg (I had shorts on), and made fart noises for a couple minutes. He thought it was pretty funny.

• Evelyn now requests to kiss Cocoa every night before she goes to bed.

• Evelyn also makes regular requests to go to the park. She is addicted to going down the slide -- she graduated from the toddler slide to the big, covered, twisty slide.

• I got paid for working-out this weekend. Pretty cool -- I ran on a Precor treadmill for an hour (hooked up to a machine that monitored my heart rate, oxygen levels, etc) Precor is doing testing to figure out calorie expenditure for different levels of decline. Hoping I can be involved in future testing -- easy way to pick up some extra cash :)

• Pretty sure I am losing my mind... I forgot to put shoes on Evelyn before church on Sunday -- so she walked around in her dress and tights. I also bumped into a drywall post in our garage on Saturday with the Jeep -- I was going really slow, and trying to park close to it -- and I hit it. Didn't do any damage... just took some of the drywall off the post and left white powder on the wheel. Still though -- not typical behavior. I think I need a vacation!!

Goodbye to Buster

Sad day today... Buster was 13 years old, and taught us all a lot about unconditional love and affection. I am thankful that we had him as a companion for as long as we did. He truly was a member of our family.
"To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though in as much as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman."
(Hermione Gingold)

Pics

Lola's baptism pictures from Kim:

Vandervort family:Had to include this picture because Evelyn still had her headband on. I am not sure where it was supposed to go... but this is how Travis put it on her. Kim said it reminded her of a stethoscope (it has a big flower on the front) -- I agree! (but still think it is pretty cute)

hello from Kansas City

I am in Kansas City this week for work. I don't have my camera, so I don't have any new pics. I thought I would post some updates though:
- swimming is going okay... I am getting better (thanks to practice and lessons), but the hardest thing for me is figuring out how to breathe efficiently. I get super out of breath after only a couple laps... my muscles are fine and aren't getting tired, but I find myself having to stop and catch my breath. I need to relax more and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
- our niece Lola was baptized this past Sunday. Travis and I were very honored to be chosen as her godparents. She is such a sweet little baby! I am thinking that Kim might put pics on her blog... if not, I will have some when I get back into town.
- Noah has turned into quite the talker... he is starting to mimic everything you say. He regularly uses the words ball, hi, bub-bye, Cocoa.
- Evelyn loves books, pretend cooking, and getting tickled. She is also getting a little demanding. It is pretty funny. She knows what she wants, and she wants it NOW! We had cake on Sunday for Lola's baptism and later that night after dinner Evelyn declared "I want some cake!!". We had a hard time convincing her that we didn't have any cake, it was at Kim's house. Also, every time we get in the car now she immediately points to the cd player and yells "music!". She has a cd of Easter songs that we have been listening to non-stop for the past month.
- Travis is still the best husband in the world (nothing new). He really goes out of his way to make events extra special-- most recently my birthday and mother's day. He also is extremely supportive of my workout goals/training for the triathlon. I tend to go to the gym after the kids are in bed -- which cuts into a little bit of our "grown-up" time together. He never says anything about me being gone at night -- and he actually pushes me to swim more often because he knows that I am nervous about the swim portion. He is so great with the kids -- I laugh just thinking about some of the silly things that he does with the two of them. I love that man!!

That's all for now -- I'll be home on Friday night :)