Nothing

Nothing really happened this week.

Valentines day came and went. Hallmark got richer. We exchanged chocolate, and decided that the car should take the place of flowers. So I didn't get into trouble or nothing.

Had a parent-teacher conference with Cal's teachers. Nothing new there: he's a genius. He has been sick today though, which is nothing good.

Belle and Lexie are also both a touch under the weather still. We are all going to have a quiet weekend and just do nothing.

Other than that, nothing to report.

Teeth and snow

Here are Lexie's teeth. She really does have some. And a picture of snow in Memphis - Callum and Isabelle even made a snowman. 24 hours later and the snow has virtually all gone, and the snowman has fallen over.

And the newest family member is...

A 2001 Mercedes Benz E320! We decided our 13 year old Camry was getting on in the teeth a bit, so we opted for something a bit newer. It has 50K miles on the clock, so its not that new, but hopefuly it will last. This picture is not our one, but very similar.

Driving it back from the dealer was fun: we had the first snow Memphis has seen this year (and I'm not sure we had any last year).
Not that much snow, but no-one around here knows how to drive in the rain, let alone snow. Still, we made it back in one piece, so it was worth it.

Belle has just now gone to sleep, and Lexie is blowing raspberries on Pennie's tummy. Goodnight!

And Lexie too!!!

The smallest Heath, but by no means the least. Alexandra Anne certainly makes her presence known to all. Lexie starting walking just before her first birthday, and now just wanders the halls, walking and talking! She is a sight to see. Like Callum and Belle before her, she is a happy child, with a great big three-toothed grin. We come in from work, and she waddles up saying (her version of) "Hello" over and over, waving and kicking her feet when she gets picked up. SHe is the greetingest of babies! She also loves to pick up a phone (or remote control in a pinch) and say "hello" to it. She got my cell phone today, and started making calls. She was very upset when I tried to take it back!

The picture here was taken on her first birthday. One of Pennie's friends is making a version of it in oil for us. Pennie brought it home today, and it's looking very good, although needs some final details.



By the way - can you tell we love our kids so much? We have three very wonderful kids. They are all our hearts, and mean everything to us.

Today, we will introduce Isabelle.

Isabelle often goes by the name Cinderella. Because she is, as she will no doubt tell you, a princess. When she grows up, she wants to be a Princess Doctor. We are not sure if that means a princess who is a doctor, or a doctor who only sees princesses. Any way, we know she will be wonderful at it. She certainly loves medicine, and any cut scrape or bruise needs a band-aid. Previously, Isabelle has wished to be the snack person at a Circus, and a kitty cat. I think I’m going to go for the doctor one, if I have any say in the matter.

When she is not being a princess, Belle loves to mimic a giant sloth (hmmm - thought I had a picture of this, but can't find it now. I'll post it later if I find it again). She has a weekly ballet/tap/gymnastics class, but gymnastics is her favo(u)rite (especially if it means hanging upside down from a parallel bar). Her teacher said it helps to strengthen them up, so doesn’t discourage her.

Belle goes to school two days a week. She didn’t like it so much earlier this year as her teacher changed early on, but she and the new one have warmed up to each other, and now she loves it again.

Welcome!

This is going to be a family blog. Any Heath, Smith, Harris, Carroll or any other relative (and friends too) is more than welcome to comment, email us or whatever. Well, within reason ;)

This is going to be a journey of life through Memphis, TN, USA and where ever else we go. So hang on to your diapers/nappies, we're going in...

Richard

Hi Callum!

A family trip to the zoo. Callum loves the zoo. He is going to work there when he grows up, and we can go have lunch with him in the Cat Country Cafe if we are still alive then! We are trying to convince him that he needs a degree in zoology before he can become a zookeeper. One day, he will be head of the zoo. ;-)

The pictures are of our new Northwest Passage that is almost finished. We went a couple of weeks ago, and had great weather [Memphis has very mild winters. A light jacket or sweater is usually all that is needed.] The new polar bear exhibit was marvelous, and Cranbeary gave us a great performace!

Currently, Callum is in Kindergarten and loving it. He reads like a champ, can do some addition and subtraction, and makes animal dioramas. He has a rash right now on his abdomen which we are afraid is the result of a Streptococcus infection: some strains of strep secrete a toxin that people can be highly allerge to. It has been going around his school, with two confirmed cases so far. He also has a loose tooth - his first loose tooth ever! [Although he has had a couple pulled already due to fillings gone bad. Grrrrr.] He is very excited, and can't wait for it to fall out. I just hope it doesn't hurt - he doesn't like pain.