It has been a little crazy around here with the flu going through the house. We haven't been doing much partying and therefore haven't had too much to blog about. And when we have done something there has been little energy left to try to post anything!
On Sunday, Brian and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. It was a very busy day at church so we're hoping to actually go out maybe in January sometime to celebrate.
It is hard to believe that in our four years of marriage God has blessed us with these two beautiful children and another one on the way. Really, I cannot help but feel extremely blessed. God is gracious.
Stefan (and 49 other kids) participated in the Children's Christmas program at church. I was at the piano so couldn't really see his face, but from all accounts he sang well! He's growing up so fast!
I know, I know... I have taken way too long getting these up. We had a great Thanksgiving trip to Greenville. The trip down (non-stop overnight), was very exhausting, but we made it safely! While down there we got to see some extended family and friends (mostly our friends at Cleveland Park Bible Church). Our main purpose for visiting though, was to spend time with Donna, and Dad and Mom Hanson.
Donna treated us like royalty with unending snacks and delicious things to eat. We celebrated Thanksgiving together and a small little Christmas as well. We had lots of fun just visiting and Donna and I also snuck in some shopping together. Fun times!
We enjoyed visiting with Dad and Mom. We were able to be there for Mom's birthday which was nice and spent some time visiting with them. It worked out so well that Erik and Bethany were in town as well, so we got to see them. These pictures were all taken at a restaurant, because I had forgotten my camera when we were at their house:(. It was great to see everyone.
Well, before she turns 10 months I thought I should get her 9 month stats up! We went to the doctor before our big Thanksgiving trip, but I haven't had a chance to post.
Weight: 18.14 pounds Height 26 1/2 inches
She is just starting to pull herself up and though she is not proficient at it yet, she loves the applause she gets when she succeeds!
Her favorite game right now is playing "raspberries" with Daddy. He blows raspberries on her cheeks and then she does it back to him. I have to get a video. Every time she makes the noise she pulls back and gives the biggest grin!
Admittedly, if you don't know this book it will be difficult for you to really follow his reading, but I thought you would still enjoy. (And we have it recorded for our own benefit!)
It was so funny to watch Olivia get in and then try to get back out of the laundry basket! She did get out by herself, so don't feel bad for her. The camera battery died, though, right before she was all the way out. She kept rolling around and we were all giggling:)
2 c. Milk 2 T. Pumpkin 2 T. Sugar 1/2 t. each of cinnamon and nutmeg (or to taste) 2 T. Vanilla 1/2 c. Strong coffee
Combine milk, pumpkin, and sugar over medium heat and bring to a steam. Remove from heat and add vanilla and spices. Put in blender to froth then add coffee.
Note: You might want to make sure that the lid to the blender is on well before you froth. Ask me how I know.
And then when you do it the second time, you might want to check the lid again. Ask me how I know that, too.
Your kitchen and clothes will thank you.
Did I hear you say blond? Puh-leeeease.
It's delicious, by the way. You should try this. Almost as good as Starbucks.
To hear Stefan reading to Olivia just about melts my heart. It is so sweet. Of course, as soon as she saw me she yelled to be held, but once I walked away she was back to listening to her big brother. Oh the beautiful blessings of parenting.
Poor little Olivia has been battling a high fever this week. After several days and no let up we took her into the doctor and found out she has an ear infection. We've been doing lots of cuddling and hugging, but now we have meds and her fever is down. Woohoo! Hopefully that means she'll be back to normal very soon.
We made a tree using leaves we had gathered on our many walks.
We made colorful leaf rubbings.
We made leaf prints in play dough
What we sang:
(tune: Freres Jacques)
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling On the ground, on the ground, Red and Yellow, Orange and Brown Leaves are falling on the ground Crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch.
What We Read: (Thank you, Library. Oh how we love you.)
Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Yesterday was one of those days that you just could not stay inside. It was beautiful!
We found some leaves and Stefan and Mommy had fun throwing leaves at each other. Stefan ran and jumped and played in the leaves.
Little Sister kept an eye on things and got her fair share of leaves thrown on her as well.
And Stefan rode his bike in a parking lot near our house. And rode. And rode some more.
Olivia is observing the bike riding and looking like she would like to just leap right out of her stroller. Oh it is hard to not be able to walk and run, isn't it?
Yesterday I went out briefly during the kids naptime. I had to smile when I was in the store and looked down at my bag to grab the phone and saw this. I'm not exactly sure why I had a baby spoon with my phone. Who knows.
I wonder if there is any connection with the fact that when I reached in my bag to grab my sunglasses, I found this.
And for those of you that hadn't seen her in her cloth diapers (or didn't know that we switched a couple of months ago) there you have it. It really is true.
Just call me frugal. Or green. I'll take either as a compliment:)
In all seriousness, we really do love cloth diapering.
It's always fun shopping with two little ones. It takes twice as long, it's unpredictable (to say the least!), people are friendlier (that is, if your children are being sweet at the time!), and it is FUN. Especially when there is a cool grocery cart like this one.
Here is my expert grocery cart driver this morning.
And his precious cargo.
In case you're wondering, Olivia rarely sleeps when we are out like this. Today, however, we had just taken an extremely long walk and the fresh air tired her plum out! She fell asleep in the car while we were driving to the grocery store so I left her in her carseat. She ended up sleeping most of time in the store and when she did wake up she was very sweet. All in all a succesful shopping trip: happy children, happy mommy, and the groceries bought!
We had a rare warm October day so Patience and I worked outside while Stefan played. And Stefan and Patience found a way to ride the tricycle together.
Patience is a very kind and patient (no pun intended!) big cousin.
Oh and it works like this, too!
And yes, we did do her homework. I promise. Here is her ever present smile to prove it.
Stefan was given this sketchbook awhile back. I would have never thought to give him an empty sketch book. Coloring book, yes, but a sketch book? Who knew? He absolutely LOVES it. Sometimes he colors wildly with lots of crayons, other times he "writes" with his pen. It's been so much fun seeing him develop in this area.
I love me a good sleep sack. Oh yes I do. It saves me many trips into the room at night time to cover the kids up with blankets once again. Kids just do NOT keep their blankets on. I have never seen sleep sacks this nice in the US. And I definitely have not seen ones big enough for toddlers. Mimi to the rescue! Stefan is just about to grow out of his this year, but I think we'll make it through the winter (I hope!).
It is getting colder and I pulled these out tonight for the first time. Stefan was excited to sleep in it. He thinks it's like a sleeping bag! Here they are fast asleep---and nice and warm, too!
