Thanksgiving -- finally!

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.

Olivia- 9 months!

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!

Stefan Reading-Again!

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!)

I told you about his love of this book here.

Happy Saturday!

Stefan pointing and naming all the family members to Olivia from the family calendar.

Hot chocolate and cookie time with Mommy. Stefan said, "Dis Special!" It was so sweet!

Olivia woke up just at the end of it. Next year she'll be able to join us!

Olivia in laundry basket

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:)

Pumpkin Spice Latte, Anyone?

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.

Stefan Reads to Olivia

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.

Olivia's miserable week

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.


Yes, she's crying here--so pathetic, poor thing:(

Daddy taking an early morning shift on Saturday.

Leaves, leaves everywhere

This week in addition to working on letters and counting we focused in on the theme of fall, and more specifically leaves.

What we observed:

We observed that leaves come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors.

What we acknowledged:

That God made the leaves, and He made all things for His own glory. Looking at the beauty of the leaves makes us want to thank God and give Him glory.

Catechism Question #3:
Q: Why did God make you and all things?
A: For His own glory.

What we did:
We played and jumped in the leaves, listening to the crunchy sound they make.

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

Happy Hump Day:)

On our walk

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?

New Shoes!

Aren't they cute???

You may leave your children at home...

But you'll always have a trace of them with you!

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.

Hmmm. It does leave one to wonder, doesn't it?

Being Vain Maybe?

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall Floor...

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.