Our baby girls!

I can't believe how big Aubrey has gotten. She isn't a baby anymore...she's a little girl! And Eva is smiling like crazy (mostly at her daddy--another daddy's girl) and grows a new roll in her neck, arms, or legs just about everyday! Don't just take my word...see for yourself!

We were eating chocolate chip pancakes the other day and we thought this video of Aubrey eating was too funny! She's a chocoholic, just like her mama :). Does this remind anyone else of those "how to eat a resees peanut butter cup" commercials.

Bus driver...MOVE THAT BUS!!!

Confession time. Those of you who know me know what a sucker I am for Extreme Home Makeover (not to mention Ty Penington :). And those of you who really know me know that I cry just about everytime I watch an episode. So when I dropped Ryan off at the Metro station this morning and heard that the big reveal in St. Louis was happening TODAY, and was open to the public, I went home, showered, and loaded the girls in the car. The girls could had no earthly idea why there crazy mom was dragging them to some strange place with hundreds of strangers only to roast in the hot sun, but I knew. They said the "move the bus" reveal was supposed to take place between 11 and 1 so we got there just before 11. If there is ever a reveal in your area, and you plan on attending, don't go when they say. Wait and go three hours later. Here's the short version of a very long 4 hours. We parked and took the shuttle (a big green school bus which scared Aubrey to death), to the house. We stood across the street (on an extremely steep hill). Aubrey kept slipping down the hill and running into people, and my toes were sliding down in my tennis shoes and really started to hurt. We were there for maybe 10 mintues when Ty came around the side of the house. After another hour or so (and appearances made by Paige, Eduardo, and Ed) nothing much had happened. Then the Ashley Furniture truck pulled up to unload furniture. Only the furniture was already in the house so this was purely for filming purposes (they unloaded and then reloaded the furniture into the truck and drove off). After about another hour, and two snacks and juice boxes later, still nothing. Then the bus came! And it drove off. And backed up. And drove off. And backed up...are you starting to get the picture? All for filming purposes. Then the limo pulled up behind the bus and a family got out of the limo. Only it wasn't the family who lived there. It was a "stage" family solely for filming purposes. It was at this point (and about 2:30 p.m. by now) that Aubrey made it quite clear that it was time for a nap. So after 4 hours of "sunbathing" in some strangers front lawn, waiting for a bus to drive off, we went home without accomplishing our primary goal (being part of the move the bus reveal). Was it worth it? As an avid fan of the show...YES! Would I do it again? Yes, only this time I wouldn't show up until an hour or two after they say the reveal will be. So tune into ABC in november for the STL reveal and look for me and the girls...we still might make it with as many film shots they took! And join in the "move that bus" chorus!

Me and my girls!

Isn't she just squeezable?!

Aubrey made a new friend who helped mommy out by holding and playing with Aubrey during our 4 hour stint.

The house...it was beautiful!

MOVE THAT BUS!!!

Hre is Ty running out to welcome home the family shot (the lady stood up right in the middle of my video :()

Here is the "family" driving up in the limo.

This was GREAT! We were waiting for the shuttle back to the parking lot and found this police officer dircting traffic. He is quite the dancer, though this video doesn' t show his greatest moves. Gotta love STL finest at their best :)

Advice desperately needed

We are attempting to begin a new chapter in our lives of parenting. The past few days Aubrey has taken her diaper and then proceeded to go to the bathroom. Today she thought she would be especially cute and take her diaper off during naptime. When I came to get her out of her room she pointed out (in her birthday suit) that there was poop in her crib, on her blanket, and yes--even on the floor! After talking with my mom, I have decided to try potty training. I know she is only 18 months, but she thinks she is 3 and I am tired of cleaning up pee pee and poo poo from all over the house. Which brings me to my point of this post. Seeing as how this is my first child, I know very little (ok, pretty much nothing) about potty training and could really use help. Maryn, I know you just went through potty training Luke, and Mandy I know you're working with Owen. I know many others have won the potty training battle with their kids. I would appreciate any, and I do mean ANY, advice or techniques that you have found to be successful. IHopefully in the near future will have some battle success of our own. I, and our carpet, appreciate your help!

Life would be dull if it weren't for campaigning!

It seems I can't go anywhere or do anything without hearing some political banter. How about you tell me why i should vote for you rather than why I shouldn't vote for the other candidate. I guess I just get sick of the negative nature of campaigning these days, that this video offered me a little comic relief amid all the uppercuts and right hooks of the political boxing ring. ENJOY! (Thanks Kara for passing this my way)!

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Our 18 month old is an addict...should we be worried?

I am trying my best to get some pictures of Eva to post, but the silly girl has her days and nights completely mixed up and I can't keep her awake long enough to eat during the day, let alone to show off for a camera. I did my best, but this was all we got for today.

This was taken on the way to church, and needless to say, she fell asleep in the car on the way. Someone needs to inform her that the days are much more fun to be awake during ;)!

Aubrey's favorite thing in the world right now just happens to be Blue's Clues. I know we shouldn't condone TV watching, but hey, if it postpones getting her a real puppy, then bring on the Blue' Clues!

We're back!

After what seemed like an eternity we are back up and running with internet service. We closed on our new house in St. Charles, MO two weeks ago and love it here! We took the girls to the St. Louis Science Museum today and Aubrey had a blast! Eva slept in her sling the entire time, so I'm sure she enjoyed it as well. As far as pictures...they will be coming soon. We have been so busy with the unpacking and sleepless nights that I admit I have been neglecting my camera since we moved here. I will put on some pictures from our outing today, but there arent' any of Eva since she was all snuggled up and you couldn't even see her sweet face. I will take pictures tomorrow and upload them so you can see how much our little Eva has changed. Once I get things situated around the house we will put up some pictures so you can see our new living arrangements! We have so much to be thankful for, and are so grateful for this time in our lives. We got our house in VA on the market and the first person to look at it made an offer. Granted, it wasn't what we were hoping for, but with the way the market is we were able to negotiate a price that we were both comfortable with and look forward to closing on Sept 26 (*fingers crossed*)! Both our girls are growing so fast. Aubrey had her 18 month check up and is weighing in at a whopping 22 lb 15 oz (25th percentile). She is in the 95th perentile for her height, so we have a tall slender one on our hands (we have no idea where she gets that from)! Eva had her one month check up and is also gaining weight. She came in at an astounding 9 lb 10 oz, which means she is gaining roughly a pound a week! Her arms and legs are chunky and her double chin grows every day :)! All in all, life is great, and we're grateful for such wonderful family and friends to share it with!

This was the shoe from the tallest man in the world. He as almost 9 feet tall and wore a size 34 she by the time he was 16!
Playing in the teepee

A special thanks to Maryn for the dress Aubrey is wearing. I know you sent it for Eva to wear next summer, but I thought it was TOO adorable to keep in a closet for a year, and it fit Aubrey perfectly (and looked so dang cute on her)! Thanks for keeping our girls stylish :) Maryn!

Introducing to society...Evalyn Marie Lenahan

I know everyone is DYING to see pictures of our newest addition, so without further adue we would like to introduce you to Evalyn Marie Lenahan. She was born on Sunday, July 20 at 5:30 p.m. Ryan flew into town Saturday night and we went to bed at 12:30. I woke him up at 5:30 to get ready to go to the hospital. We arried at the hospital at 7 am with contractions every 5 minutes apart and dilated to a 3. They got to 3-4 minutes and then at 11:30 all but stopped! They were ready to send us home, to come back the next day for our scheduled inducement. However, someone forgot to actually schedule it with the hospital and they weren't able to get us in until wed or thursday (and Ryan had to fly back on sunday). That would only give Ryan 2 days at home with us before leaving again, and that was not ok with me. Needless to say, they let us stay in the hospital and started me on pitocin around 12:45. I don't remember exactly what time it was, but once I hit 6 cm they broke my water. They asked when I wanted my epidural, and up to that point my contractions were completely bearable so I told them I would wait a little longer. I spent the entire time out of bed walking around and mostly just chilling on the birthing ball while Ryan massaged my back and put wet washcloths on my forehead. They decided to check me again, and as soon as I crawled back into bed the contractions felt much much worse. Needless to say, I was now ready for the epidural. Only problem was that by this point I was dilated to 9.5 and nearly ready to push. So much for the epidural! I started pushing and she was out in no time at all. Long story short...I was grateful for the natural experience, but I'll be honest...I missed my epidural. But the result was priceless...and here she is!

Who says prearranged marriages are no good?

Well, we think we may have found the one for Aubrey. As parents we seem to know what's best for our kids, and we're happy to announce that Gabe could quite possibly be "the one". He invited Aubrey over for a swim the other day and they loved it! They loved it so much that he invited her back the very next day and they swam again. To show her appreciation, Aubrey smothered Gabe with kisses! Here are some of my favs from the day!

Look at those faces...what a riot!

One of many kisses of the day!

Gabe got Aubrey first...

but Aubrey quickly retaliated!

Those curls kill me...I just love 'em (thanks daddy for passing them onto our daughter)

more kisses...

Who says you can't mix business with pleasure ;)!

Thanks Jenny for sending us copies of these pictures. I will be sure to post more pictures from our trip to St. Louis and Texas as soon as I find the cable to connect my camera to the computer! Until then...enjoy and we'll post again after this baby comes on MONDAY!

Our crazy lives...

We have been in St. Louis for the past week and a half and have fallen in love with the area! There is so much to do (and the best part is that most everything is free). We went to the zoo last weekend (free) and had a blast. Unfortunately, in our quick departure, I left our cable that uploads our pictures to the computer in BV. I found some cute older ones that I will post, but I will give an update, as a lot has happened in the past week and a half. Aubrey and I made a new best friend named Angela. She is our realtor here and we spent a good three days with her last week looking at homes. The good news is that we have found one, and have a contract on it! It is a 4 BR, 2 BA split level in Saint Charles, MO with a HUGE backyard (which means we will get a dog soon). We fell in love with the house the minute we walked through it and are excited to close on August 4th. Aubrey also made another friend, this one a doctor. Aubrey got pink eye and an ear infection our first week here, but the medicine has helped and she is doing much better!

Aubrey and I fly down to Dallas tonight for a Smith family reunion, and Ryan will join us Friday evening. Ryan will fly back to STL while Aubrey and mommy drive back to VA with Grandma and Grandpa Smith, and Charlie where we will stay until the baby is born. Then in August we will fly to STL permanently and move into our new home! July and August will be months of big change for us!

Ryan is really enjoying his new job and even got invited by some big shot in corporate to a spin class. So Ryan got up bright and early this morning for a 5:30 a.m. spin class. I can just picure him on a stationary bike :)! He's doing really well and learning a lot. He took a practice test for his series 7 (or maybe it was his 63) liscence yesterday, and his boss said he shouldn't have any trouble passing. We'll keep our fingers crossed and our knees bent (as my dad would say), but know the Lord will continute to bless our quickly growing family.
Well, that is more than enough reading for one sitting (if anyone is still reading by this point), so until we get that darn cable back...enjoy these old pics of Aubrey from the library in Lexington!

Uncle Charlie's graduation

I know this video is sideways, but it was too cute not to post! Our little helper. She loves to observe people and mimicks just about everything she sees.

Memorial Day bliss!

We had a blast on Memorial day with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. They took the three of us to the Virginia Safari Park and it was quite the experience! Aubrey absolutely loved the animals and got excited everytime one came up to the car. She would take one piece of grain from the bucket and hold it out for the animals to come and eat. Unfortunately, mommy is a bit overprotective and made sure the animals mouths never came close to her tiny fingers. The animals loved eating out of the buckets, and one animal even stole the bucket of feed out of Ryan's hands. One bucket down, three left. Then, the same animal went up to my mom and stole the bucket of feed out of her hands too. Another bucket down. Needless to say, we laughed until our sides hurt, and made lots of new "friends". We will certainly miss Buena Vista, and living so close to family! Enjoy some pictures from our trip to the park and then scroll to the end for the update on our job search -- we've finally made up our minds (don't skip to the end :)!

Yes, Aubrey is out of her car seat, but that is kosher at the safari park. It just wouldn't have been the same sitting in a car seat while the animals walked around outside the car. She loved it!

I've never seen a zebra this close up before! It was neat for Aubrey to see some of the animals we read about in her books up close and personal.
An ostrich...this was another first for me.
Watoosee catle...never even heard of one until I saw it at the park. They were pretty intimidating and one of them tried to attack my mom and get her food. It was funny to watch my mom pull back and roll up her window as fast as she did!
This llama looked like it had a glass eye, so naturally we had to take a picture and document it :)!
Here is a video of mom feeding one of the ostriches. They were a riot to watch eat!




Ok, so the promised update. Ryan interviewed in Atlanta, Roanoke, and St. Louis. St. Louis was our number one choice, for a number of reasons, and we had already heard back from the other two (they both wanted him). Wachovia Securities flew him out to St. Louis on a Wed. and they called him on Friday to offer him the position. The official offer wasn't available until after he passed his drug/fingerprint test and backround check (we were really nervous about that ;). Well, they finally came back with the official offer (numbers and dates and all) today and was actually considerably more than we were expecting. Ryan starts his new job with Wachovia Securities on June 16 (only two weeks away). Aubrey and I will stay here in VA (for insurance purposes) until the baby is born in July. We will really miss Ryan, but are so proud of him and how hard he has worked to provide for our growing family! So, if anyone is ever in the St. Louis area...you have some friends to visit and a place to stay :)!