Baptisms and Birthdays! (And Bye Bye Winter...)

These are a long time coming I realize, but better late than never, right?? Here's the whole fam at Emma's baptism waaaaaay back in January. Jami and OJ are close family friends of ours and were very excited about being Emma's sponsors. Oh, and we won't go into details about how the baptism went....will we Brody? Ahem. (If you want to you can click on the photos to enlarge them.)

And my Big Man Brody turned 2! We celebrated both occasions together with family and friends at our home, enjoying some of dad's favorite Jello Poke Cake. Yummm! (Brody just has the greatest smile, doesn't he?! It's so contagious! Which does NOT come in handy whilst trying to discipline...)

Would you check out those cheeks?!? I'm pretty sure he'll play a mean trumpet when the time comes...

Now you can't tell it from this photo, because he was skooching his feet away from the wall and slumping down, but he actually measured almost a good inch taller than Kavan at this age! You can see the writing on the poster where the two names are at the left of his head. Must be that huge noggin of his!

And yes, we did manage to get some snowmen built this year. Of course Emma wasn't much help, she was too busy sleeping, eating and growing! This particular masterpiece here was one of the kids' better snow"people". This is the red hat version...which Kavan insisted was a boy....

Unfortunately it was a cross-dresser...and Kavan would have none of that! He opted out of this photo due to strong emotional distress over the placing of a crown on his snow"man"!

Maddie and her Snow"princess". All girl, that one is. And in case you're wondering: Yes, she did plan the purple scarf to match her coat, that was all part of the creative process. Indeed.

So good bye winter, on to spring, and summer will be here next weekend! Father's day is around the corner! I do apologize for the lag in posting, I'll try to get those pictures of Morrill hall up today or tomorrow as time allows. And we have ever so much else to share as well!! Hope to see you around here soon!
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Cassandra

I Love My Boys

It was brought to my attention that my last post was a little "female focused" if you will. :O) So I thought it appropriate to do a little "ode to my boys" here at the blog. These boys make me smile daily, always keeping me on my toes, and always good for a laugh! Here are just a few of the many, MANY reasons I do so LOVE my boys!!

They still fight over who gets to sit next to Emma

They adore jumping off of furniture...

and acting like homeless harmonica players... Don't you just want to give him your loose change??

Because it's ALWAYS Tool Time! And what's Tool Time without safety goggles??

Because This one likes Goggles. They help him navigate the rough waters of the tub. Can we get a close up of this please?

Thank you. I needed that.

I love that the firemen in my home always have their power drills at the ready...

Even in their pajamas...

And I especially love that THEY love to help daddy with the outside work...so I don't have to!

This is Brody's version of delegating...

And my Biggest Boy even gives me flowers. I love that boy the most!

I'm so very thankful that God has blessed us with both sons and daughters. It truly is a wonder to see how very different they are. Even though I am still getting used to the ways of little boys (really loud, aggressive, excited, fast, rough, and crazy!) I love them to pieces and am always excited to see what the next day will bring. They may play rough and tough, but they sure can melt your heart and warm you down to your toes. They do EVERYTHING big, and that includes loving! Kavan is always the first to give Emma her kisses and hugs, and tell everyone good morning! And even though sometimes I'm a little scared he may just squeeze her to death, I just relish the fact that he wants to love on her so much! And Brody is such a great snuggler. If you're sittin' in the living room, you better scootch on over and make room for him, because he's a comin'! Sometimes they're a little rough, and tend to pinch, poke, prod and pounce all over me. But you know what? I'll take it, because I know that's how God made them, and God made them for me to love, and I can't think of a better way than to pounce right back!

P.S. - As I was sifting through pictures on my computer I realized that I hadn't posted about Emmalynne's baptism and Broderick's birthday. That shall be the next post. And after that we have a nicely documented trip to Morrill Hall. Just wait until you see some of the boys' expressions! They love them some dinosaurs!! Until next time...
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Cassandra

March: In like a lamb....out like a lion?

March came in so nicely: springy weather, temps in the 70's, grasses greening, tulips poking up through the soil, leaves budding, kids playing the day away OUTSIDE, oh so lovely!! Then the snow came.... And out March went like a lion, turning that age old saying on its head. So, while the wind howls out my window, and the temperatures stay in the 30's this 6th day of April, I am stuck indoors and have decided to post a small update here on the bloggy. Emma is still growing like a weed, a chubby adorable little weed with lots of cute rolls, smiles, coos and drool. :O) She is now tipping the scales at over 14 pounds. She likes to nurse. A lot.


Maddie had her first instrumental music concert. She played three different instruments and did some "creative movement" set to music. It was really great to watch and she even sang a solo! She did a wonderful job and we are so proud of her!!

Here she is "being a firefly" :O)

Emma is "talking" our ears of nowadays, and the sisterly girl chat just warms my heart!

We will be out of town this coming weekend celebrating Christ's victory over the grave and also Grandpa Splittgerber's 80th birthday in Norfolk. Hopefully we can catch some great pictures of everyone in their spiffy Easter digs! :O) Bring on the Easter egg hunts! Hope your Easter is lovely and remember: He is RISEN! He is RISEN INDEED!
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Cassandra

Two Months...

The Bestest Spot To Rest
Peek-a-boo, I see you Daddy

Still begs to hold her daily...

The Stare Down

Also still begs to hold her Daily...

His new favorite way to watch TV. His Blankie, his thumb, his Emma. :O)

Well Hello there Maddie...er, Emma. That chin looks so familiar, hmmm

The past two months have literally flown by! These are just a few snapshots of the little one as she has grown...in length and girth, lol. Notice the chin, if you will, by the last photo. We like it. A lot. :O) I will be posting again this week with other pictures from the last two months, just a few of my favorite things. God's Blessings on your week!
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Cassandra

Emmalynne Michelle

Welcome to the world baby girl. :O) We will post the story soon, but I knew you all were chomping at the bit for some baby pics.

Emmalynne Michelle : 7lbs 14oz 19.5 inches

Proudest Sister on the Planet. She's so in love it's not even funny.

Brody is quite the Doting Brother. He wants to hold her constantly, and I'm glad that he has taken to her so well. :O)

Kavan is just enthralled with how "cute her is!"

And he insists on giving her lots of kisses. Last night it was 4. One for each cheek and then forehead and chin. That's apparently the new bedtime routine.

Sweetness comes wearing pink flowers.

Welcome 2009

Well here we are in 2009 already! I feel as though this season of celebrating, merriment, programs, feasting, traveling and visiting not only crept up on us, but then stole away before we knew we were amongst it. Since it seems there have been other things occupying our thoughts, I'm not convinced that we gave this holiday season all the time and consideration that we could have. We will have to make a more concerted effort next year to make the time which spans from November through January carry a bit more meaning and tradition. We actually did lots of really fun and wonderful things together this year, many documented here on the blog even, but perhaps we were a bit distracted with preparations for a new arrival. ;O)

But we are now indeed presented with a new year, and there are many new rich opportunities quietly awaiting us to spend time together as family and as friends, in service and in celebration, in gladness and sorrow, in tough times and times of triumph, as brothers and sisters in Christ and as members of humanity. Moments given to us to build each other up, and moments also to be carried by others. How blessed are we that we have each other to love and cherish, and that God has woven all of our paths together in His perfect way. We begin this year in thankfulness for the blessings He has given to us all, and those He sees fit yet to give. We hope your holiday season was full of joy and laughter, and that your New Year is started off upon the right foot - one firmly standing upon the Rock of Salvation.

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The Splitty Family

Snow Men

The kids had been patiently waiting, for quite some time now. Snow was in the forecast, how much would it be? Could we play in it? Would it cover the grass? All the very important details of the winter weather that was headed our way. We awoke the next morning to a couple of inches, and you would have thought Christmas had come early the kids were so excited!! They promptly ran into our room yelling about "ALL the SNOW outside!!" Even Brody took to yelling "No! No!" - his version of the "snow" chant.

Maddingly had to head off to school that day, so she was unable to partake in the snow festivities of that day :o( But we have had more snow and she has since led many an expedition of snow-suit clad children through the frozen tundra that is our back yard, and even over to the church parking lot, where there are snow "mountains" to be conquered. Her and Kavan make quite a pair when they are out walking together. I haven't gotten any shots of that yet, as it was too cold for this momma outside, but I will try to get some soon. For now I leave you with the joys of that first snow: bundling up in our freshly unpacked snow gear, brand new snow boots, cozy hats and mittens, the first taste of snow, the rosy cheeks, the first snow angel of the year, the red noses, the unwrapping and unlayering...and of course: warming up with a nice mug of hot cocoa!!

My Precious Snow Baby. Brody truly has a new love affair going with this fluffy white stuff. He adores eating it and would stay out in it all day if I were inclined to let him. ;-)

This little trooper wanted to ride his bike in it...seriously.

The staging of this picture can be credited to the elated young man on the right. He instisted on cheering for the hot cocoa for all of the pictures I took, and his little brother was only too happy to oblige him.

The new poster child for Swiss Miss. He'll be on boxes nationwide soon...

Hope you and your family are enjoying the weather as much as we are. Of course now it's a bit TOO cold out, lol. We are supposed to have a high of exactly 4 degrees today, and a low of -6. Wind chill advisory at -30, so we're leaving the snow to the squirrels for a while. :O)

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Cassandra