Keith, Debbie, Allison and Sarah Carroll: May 2014

April 2014

April will forever be a busy month for us of celebrating birthdays! With our girls 2 years apart and their birthdays being in April, they are close enough to share the same month but 3 weeks apart so we get to celebrate twice! We are still having some ups and downs with coordinating our schedules and trying to see friends, visit with family, spend time with our girls and make sure we keep up on our responsibilities at work. I have a feeling that will always be a balancing act, but we keep adjusting and working at it!

Sarah turned one the first weekend in April. Anna and Randy were able to come celebrate and we went to the Children’s Museum over the weekend. Sarah was a little grumpy during her party, but we all had fun as we grilled some burgers and enjoyed everyone’s company. Sarah doesn’t appear to enjoy crowds of people, so a party with everyone wanting to interact with her seemed to be a little much since we had to wake her up early from her nap. She received lots of wonderful gifts and enjoyed eating her cupcake!

This was the first year that Allison was excited about the Easter bunny. We got to search the house for eggs and baskets and she loved it. We hosted Matt, Beth and Mom over for an Easter brunch which was great. The girls have been doing alright in church recently, but Easter mass didn’t go that well. Deb and I usually decide how mass went if we need a beer or something stronger afterwards. That policy doesn’t work when we head to 7:30AM mass! Maker’s Mark and cereal at 8:30 in the morning just doesn’t sound like a good combo!

Allison turned 3 in April! We ordered some pizza and had a great party with friends and family. I was looking at a picture of Deb and I at the Superbowl in February 2010 and realized that was ONLY 4 years ago. I don’t think we have time too often to sit back and realize how much has changed in the last 4 years. She is doing great and we are doing all we can to keep up with her. She loves to play outside (on the new swing-set) and to ride her bike. We ordered some pizza and had a great party with friends and family. Many weekend afternoons are spent hanging out with our neighbors and their 3 year-old son Lucas on the swing-set. We are still trying to figure out what is causing her to wake up at night, but she is still getting a decent amount of sleep and it isn’t causing her to be overly cranking during the day. We have heard of the “trying 3’s” and we are starting to see some signs!

Sarah’s Things of the Month

She got an ear infection this month and bounced back pretty well. She has started moving a lot more and her personality is starting to come out more with seeing what she likes and dislikes. Her physical therapy has been decreased to 1-2 times a month and is no longer weekly. Deb has done a great job working with her and taking her to all of the appointments.

Allison’s Things of the Month

Allison has started swim lessons! She seems to enjoy it and they say it takes a few weeks before the kids really look forward to it. She has started to put her face in the water and also go under the water a few times. She has been wearing her glasses all the time and only asks for a “break” from them occasionally.

A few more items from this month:

We (with some help from Grandma, Nana and Granddaddy) bought the girls a swingset for their birthdays. We have already spent HOURS enjoying it!
I went out for drinks twice the first weekend in April. I met out Freddy and Lawton for a beer at Kips and went on the early part of a pub crawl after church one night with my friend Sara and her brother.
Allison had a play-date with Bennett, one of her good friends from school.
We went to a cookout at the Wahman’s house. Allison loved playing bubbles!
I went to a Pacers playoff game with Jeremy. He scored some great tickets at work.
We went to a charity dinner for Deb’s work at the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom. The guest of honor was the director of the movie Hoosiers.
Randy installed a few faucets one of their visits in April. He did a good job problem solving one of our leaks and they look great. We have one more to replace during their next visit!
We have decided that in early June, Deb will reduce her hours to 32 a week and she will get off of work every day at 3:30. We hope this helps our evenings be more enjoyable and help us feel a little more balanced.