Christmas time updates

If there is anyone out there still checking our blog, here is a new post just for you! :)

*We have been spoiled with presents. And we still have one more day of Christmas gatherings tomorrow. I already filled 3 bags with some "outgoing" toys in order to make room for the new stuff (just don't tell the kids). :)

*Christmas has been great. We've had some fabulous family time with people from both sides of the family. It's been wonderful. My brother, sis-in-law, and adorable niece were here for 3 days so we spent tons of time with them. Addie just loves her cousin. She gives Ava hugs all the time and is very motherly with her (though she is only 18 months older).

*Ethan is still not walking. The most steps he's taken in a row by himself is 3. But he'll get there. He is just in no rush. He'd rather climb and roll and crawl. He has a very fun-loving personality. And he loves to eat.

*Addison is maturing more every day. She talks so well. We just switched our TV and internet provider today and she was playing the xylophone for and telling stories to our technician. So cute. She's very meticulous and stubborn, but oh so cute and sweet. And she gives the best hugs!

*We are excited to be on break for a while. I definitely needed a rejuvenating period to prepare for the long haul before spring break. Brad is enjoying our new TV with tons of stations and movies to watch! He's been going crazy as we haven't watched many movies since the kids were born.

*One of my dearest friends, Jenn, is leaving for an 11-month mission trip next week. We were able to get all of us together last weekend and it was only when she was ready to walk out the door that we both realized this would probably be the last time we saw each other for almost a year. As hard as it was to say goodbye for now, I must say that I know without a doubt that she is following God's will, and I so respect her for that. I ask for your prayers for Jenn as she embarks on this journey, trusting fully in the Lord for provision and guidance. She is an amazing woman. Jenn, if you read this, I love you!!

Thanks for reading. God Bless!!

My current favorite sound

My kids laughing...together. :)

Ethan turns one!

I'm smiling so big looking at these pictures. Our precious little boy is so adorable. And he was sooo fun to watch eating his "pupcake" (addie's term). Addie just picked at hers last year, but Ethan dove into his. So fun.

The first picture was the infamous teddy bear picture. Last one. I only did them for the first year for each child. I didn't think we'd make it through this one. He's only laughing because he kept trying to climb off the couch, so I would all but throw him in the corner spot, snap the picture, and catch him before he fell off the couch. All in the name of a good picture. And I was determined to do the picture at that moment because he was so happy having just gotten up from a long nap. But no one else was home to help me. But alas...tmi.

I'm tired.

Brad is supervising a football game tonight. I took the kids over to his school for a while after dinner so we could see everyone and get some nice fresh air. I was trying to get Addie to say "go, _____" (their mascot), but when I said "go..." she said, "Irish!" :) Beth, our babsitter and her husband are huge ND fans. Guess they've been working on cheers during circle time?! :)

Seriously no energy to write. So, that's it for now. At least you got pictures of the cutest little 1-yr-old in the world! :)

Overheard

On the way to the store today, Addie playing: "This little piggy went to Walmart..."

Maybe we go to walmart a bit too often?! :)

Hope to post more soon. Ethan's birthday party was so fun and he was hilarious. Loved his cake and his hand-crocheted (sp?) baseball from my aunt and his wooden firetruck (homemade with great love from his "GGpa"). Pics soon, I hope.

Love to all! Go with God!

A day off

No, not for fun. I took the day off to spend with Ethan, who had a fever and wasn't allowed to go to daycare, and needed his Mommy. Daddy was the father of the year who picked Ethan up from Beth's yesterday morning because he had a fever, took the rest of the day off to be with him, and even took him in to the doctor to make sure he didn't have his 3rd ear infection in just over a month. Thankfully, this one is just a cold, but this is round 3 of sickness since school started. He is really breaking in the new germs. ugh.




On a positive note...Ethan is going to be ONE YEAR OLD in a week! Woah! Cannot even believe it's been a year. He is so cute and precious. Much quieter that his sister and much more calm than she ever has been. He prefers to sleep a lot. Her, not so much. But anyhow...



It's been so crazy busy trying to fit everything in. But I highly value quality time with my kids, so I place much more importance on fitting that in than some of the other things that may need done (like, say, cleaning the bath tubs). :) No, really, we're trying to enjoy our evenings as much as possible. The weather has been so great. Wonderful for evening walks. And playing outside. Some of my boys at school had a football game this week that happened to be about 5 minutes from our house. So we took the kids over and watched the first half of their game. Both kids liked it. Although one half was good enough, Ethan was more than ready to hit the sack when we got home.



Wanted to put some updated pictures on here for all to enjoy. God Bless and SMILE! :)

We bought a new 9 cube shelving unit to help organize our mountains of toys and books. Addie and Ethan decided it would be fun to help Daddy put it together. Daddy decided to show Addie how to use power tools. :)

Addison went with me and we both got hair cuts a couple of weeks ago. Addie got at least 2 inches cut off (and I actually think she needs a pinch more already trimmed off). She does a great job of letting Rachel cut her hair. Rachel was more than happy to pose for a picture and even said it was okay to be on the blog, but Addie wouldn't take a decent picture whenever Rachel leaned over to be in it. So, you'll have to settle for Rachel's arm. Addie has very fine, thin hair. I'm not used to that because I have always had very thick hair. So if you have any tips and tricks for fine little girl hair, please share.

Addie loves to make Daddy go down her slide. What a great papa he is! :)

It's rare to get a crawling pose with no paci in mouth, so enjoy this shot:

Ethan finally decided he could crawl off the blanket, through the grass, and over to the slide to see what Sister is up to. They had a blast together. I'm always amazed at how the 2-yr-old mind works. So creative.

Little update

Not a whole lot to say, just thought my few faithful readers might want to see something new on the blog. :)

Everything's going well for us. The kids love going to Beth's. She loves them. We love her. It's a really good set up. And Addie is already learning so much (including how to be more whiney, but I don't know if I should blame that on daycare or the "terrible twos"). She does a great somersault now (and to think we were going to pay for gymnastics...ha!), sings a fabulous rendition of the ABC's, made binoculars and can actually say the word pretty well and knows what to do with them, and the list goes on. :)

Ethan just turned 11 months old. Holy cow! I tried taking his 11-month teddy bear picture yesterday. Um, not so much. I got two pictures, but I think one is blurry because the boy just kept trying to climb off the couch. Brad tried his best to get him to stay without Brad being in the picture, but it was hard. Addie used to pose for these pictures, Ethan tries to run. One more example of "no two kids are alike." He is getting more and more adventurous. He loves to crawl around and explore and climb on and over everything. He pulls up to things, but has no interest in cruising or even walking. But I'm not worried. he's so cute! He is complimented constantly by Beth and her husband about how sweet he is. Let's hope he stays a sweetie! :)

Brad loves his new job. And I love his new job because he actually gets out of the office at a decent time. (thank you brad's co-workers for being good examples!) :)

I finally know pretty much every student's name. Although there are 2 or 3 girls that I look at and want to call on when they are volunteering, then I have to call on someone else because I can't think of their name. argh. I'm learning lots about my students, which is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We learned yesterday from one of our boys that he struggles sometimes in school basically because he's hungry. Not much food at home due to lack of money. I was in tears after hearing him talk and knowing that this was his reality. So sad.

Next time you think about it, pray for those less fortunate than you. And maybe even find a way to help someone out.

Thanks for reading. :)

I took breakfast for granted.

Last Wednesday morning, I cried as Brad pulled out of the driveway with our kids, on the way to their first full day of daycare and I prepared to head up to my school for my first official teacher work day in two years. I went back to the same school with most of the same people, so that in itself wasn't all that bad. Leaving my children behind for the entire day, and knowing that it would be every weekday, wasn't so fun. What I realized last week as I restarted my teaching career is that I miss breakfast the most. That's what made me cry the most. How it used to be: Ethan would get up and I would feed him. Addie would either get up right after or a long time after, depending on the day. So I would either eat while Ethan finished his bottle, or I would eat with Addie when she got up. Regardless, it was such a pleasant time, so peaceful, kids happy after getting a good night's sleep, more than happy to eat their breakfast. Sometimes conversation (of sorts), sometimes just sitting and being with each other. I know I'll still have those moments on weekends and breaks, but still...I took breakfast for granted.

On to the babysitter news...the kids love it!! Addie always wants to stay when I go to pick them up (which is sort of good and sad all in one if you know what I mean). Beth is our sitter and their are only 5 kids there - 2 of her own, our 2, and 1 other boy. All 3.5 and under (Ethan is the youngest by a year). Beth is so caring and creative. We get little report cards each day which is so nice to know what our kids did that day and what they ate, etc. We feel so blessed to have found her. And all of us go to the same church, which is nice.

The downfall: After 3 full days, the kids get sick. It starts Friday with a low-grade fever for Ethan that eventually gets high enough by Saturday night that we're making a trip to Redi-Med. Ethan has a double-ear infection. By Sunday midday, Addie is getting a fever and acting dumpy. Trip #2 to RM. Thankfully, hers was just viral and ear infections are not contagious. So, one big fat whiney weekend we had here. All day Sunday the kids just want to be held. And they're crying. Lots. Now, what to do about Monday. It's my 3rd day of school and Brad's 1st. Thanks to my mom, who came to stay with the kids Monday a.m., so I could teach all morning and get stuff ready for the sub for my afternoon classes. It all worked out. Everyone's feeling better today and Beth didn't have to call us. And so far, kids are sleeping. Here's to making it through the night.... :)

School is going well for both Brad and me. After 4 days with students, I finally feel like I'm getting back in the swing of things. Although I cannot believe I don't have all my students' names learned yet. I always sort of prided myself in learning names fast. 2 kids + 2 years off school has turned part of my brain to mommy mush. :) Brad is really enjoying his job. He works with some great Christian people, which is a huge blessing. He's only had 2 days with kids, but so far so good.

I want to make sure I say a huge thank you to all of our prayer warriors!!! This transition period has been amazing, thanks be to God!

I need to go to bed now. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with this way too long post. I guess I'm decompressing. :)

bunches of thoughts

Ethan is 10 months old. Woah!! And, he started pulling himself up this week. We're in trouble now. Earlier today I was folding laundry while the kids played. I hear Ethan cry a frustrated cry (I could tell it wasn't a cry of pain), so I go to the kitchen to find him standing at the chair Addie had climbed into and he was so upset because he didn't know where to go from there (not to mention he was tired, which made it that much more frustrating).

Addie is going to be the child who never stops talking. I mean, I am super thankful that she does talk and that at 2 years old you can have a conversation with her and that's all well and good. But I tell ya, the girl talks just to hear her own voice, I'm pretty sure. (ok, ok, so that might be hereditary...but I won't mention what gene pool it comes from) The other day, I kid you not, she did not stop talking from the time she got up to the time we got to my cousin's house (and then she only stopped long enough to get adjusted to the situation and other people there). In the car she said, "I have an idea." me: "what's your idea?" A: "I have an idea." me:"wow! what is it?!" A: "I have an idea." Me:"okay, cool." A: "I ask you a question?" me: "okay, what's your question." A: "I have an idea." no way, really?! :)

Fun with cousins:

It is really exciting to think about what great things God will do with my children's lives. As they each grow and develop their personalities more and more, I wonder what ways God will work through their lives. I pray that we are good examples of God working in our lives and that we always encourage them to let Him work.

Tonight is a girl's night out with 4 of my fabulous friends from college. We are actually meeting in our college town and then deciding which of our old eateries sounds best. I'm excited to spend time with them as it does not happen nearly enough!

This weekend is Grandma's auction. Apparently her will was to auction off all of her stuff, maybe to eliminate troubles trying to divide everything up between 8 kids and their families. I want to ask for prayer that everything goes smoothly. I'm a little concerned that there will be hard feelings somewhere along the line, and I hate to think that a bunch of stuff could get in the way of family. I know it could be neat to have something that has real history and tradition to it. But, again, it's just stuff. No offense to any of my family members, please. But I hope we all remember that God and family come first way before any material possessions.

School starts next week for me. I am definitely excited. Our new babysitter is going to laugh at my detailed information sheets she had us fill out. But at least she'll know what we normally do. I know, it's going to be more of an adjustment for me than for the kids, but it'll be fine. I've got lots of support in my teacher friends, who will get me through the day. I've been to my school a few times and took the kids with me once to go pick up my keys. Every time I'm there, it feels right. And every time I talk to our sitter, I am reassured that she is the one to watch our children every day. Btw...thanks to all who have been praying for us and our transitions.

Brad is enjoying his new job. He's with the same corporation, so he knows a lot of the people. He just moved from the middle school level to the high school level. He's been made to feel welcome and he's excited about working there. Though he's a bit frustrated in feeling like he has to ask a million questions because he's the "new guy." But, we all know that if you don't ask, you won't know. Although sometimes ignorance is bliss, eh?! :)

I don't know how often I'll get to blog until I get adjusted to going back to full-time work outside the home (and blogging at school is pretty much not an option). But keep checking back because I do not plan on completely stopping.

One last thing...prayers for Brad's stepdad. His health is currently not very good and I know he and Brad's mom would really appreciate all the prayer they can get. Thanks.

I was actually looking for a different verse to put here, but found this instead and thought it was a good one to share:

"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." ~Romans 14:13

Anxiety

First, look at the cutest kids ever: Getting ready to go to the pool...
Still a cheeser...I love pigtails on her, but they don't last long...
Ethan is king of facial expressions...short on time, but I'll try to get a better one of him soon... :)

The kids are waking up, so I gotta go. But I originally set out to talk about the anxiety in our house right now due to school starting back up which means both Brad and I are going back to work. Pray for us. Me - the transition of staying home for two years and now leaving my kids every day in someone else's care. Brad - the transition of becoming a HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR!!! He's super excited, but nervous about starting a new school with a different age level. More on that later.

Smile! God is good! :)

Shoes.Shadows.And the apparel section at Walmart

So Addison is only two, but already has a little shoe fetish (which she does not get from me, I'll have you know). The other day we decided to go to the mall and walk around for a while. I gave Addie the option of her white sandals or pink shoes (the $5 version of crocs). She chose the white sandals, we got them on, then set out to round everything up for our little trip. Not even a minute later, I look down to see Addie taking her sandals off and putting her pink shoes on. No biggie. She looks at me and very sweetly and serenely says, "i'm gonna wear my pink shoes." She put them on herself and they were on the right foot and everything. Sweet. Daddy has Ethan, diaper bag is packed, let's go. Oh, but where did Addie go? She's running to her room yelling "Wait! I want to wear my pip pops." (the flip-flops that her Aunt Amy and Cousin Alexis so kindly got her for her birthday that are probably going to fit her better next summer) So, we agreed that she could wear them in the car, but not the mall. We finally got out the door. She fell asleep on the way there, so changing her shoes was no problem when we got there. She forgot she even wore "pip-pops." :)

Recently, Addie discovered her shadow. She was out in the backyard and we thought she was waving at a man across the pond who was grilling on his deck. But upon further examination, we realized she was waving at her shadow. Too cute! Then a couple of days later, she was in the living room and noticed her shadow again. She was walking along and said to her shadow, "come on." Then she walked the other way and into another room with no chance for a shadow and said, "it went away." It was precious! All the new discoveries are so much fun. (well, most are fun...) :)

And finally, this just in: we went to Walmart this afternoon to get a couple of little things (we are spoiled with a new walmart that is entirely too close, thus tempting us into way too many "walmart trips"). As we are browsing around we hear the clanging of a huge rainstorm hitting the roof, so we slowed our pace knowing we'd have to be there a while if we didn't want to run the kids out to the car in the pouring rain. That's when we heard this: "Attention Walmart customers and associates. There is severe weather in the area. Please move to the apparel section near the front of the store..." Thankfully, we were close to the toys at the time, so I grabbed up something to keep Addie entertained while we huddled in the apparel section with the other early afternoon customers. We saw someone we knew who had just gotten a text from someone at Target who was in the same situation. I like to watch storms, so I was kinda bummed that I wasn't at home to watch this one. But who knows, we may have been safer at Walmart. We got home to see several people's recycling blown all over the place, but our street was pretty clean.

After we left Walmart, Brad decided to go across the street to get some cash from the ATM. He puts his card in, weird sounds come out, and the screen flashes "out of service." The card never made it back out. So, after being stuck at Walmart for a while, we were then stuck at the ATM until an operator for our bank could help us. We didn't want to leave and have the card come back out for the next person. We ended up just having to cancel the card and they are going to issue him a new one. The old card never did come out, but the machine came back into service while we were sitting there. I laughed. Brad, not so much. :)

In the meantime, Ethan has just been crawling all over the place and beginning to get more brave about pulling up on things and such. He has discovered that he can crawl in the kitchen, found the magnetic letters and has thoroughly enjoyed pulling them down. He's getting quite fast and will come find you if you leave the room.

Have a blessed day!

noT.righT.noW.

Yes, emphasis on the "t." Addie decided to say this very emphatically (big word, I know) today when we suggested (okay, warned) that it was almost nap time. One of those things that makes you crack up but we know deep down inside we really shouldn't laugh at. Ah, life with a toddler.

Ethan is currently crawling all over the floor...very much enjoying playing with everything and not worrying about big sis coming to take it away (or shove something else in his face). (she's taking a nap!) He is just sooo cute to watch play and crawl and everything else.

Addie really is good with him. She'd carry him around if we let her (and if he wasn't less than 10 lbs lighter than her!). His dr. appt is next week, so we'll let you know how much they officially differ in weight.

Our number was posted on the screen at church today--which meant we had a child who needed us. Argh. Ethan was not happy when we left him in the nursery today so my bets were on him. Addie is usually fine. She'll go right into class with no prob. Thankfully, by the time I got to the nursery they met me at the door and said he was fine. He cried for 15-20 minutes straight, and by the time they got my number on the screen, he finally calmed down. So, I'm super thankful for nursery workers who listen to babies cry ALL morning.

Oh, and this is the interesting lesson from church today: the difference between explanation and excuse is whether or not I am taking responsibility. Interesting, right?! Ex = out. Plane = smooth. So explain is smoothing things out. Cuse = latin for cause. So excuse is removing yourself from the cause. Profound, I thought. Great explanation in my opinion.

Thanks for listening. :)

I forgot to mention last time about some of the things we get to hear. 1)Addie says "what am I doing?" Usually she's doing something crazy like spinning around and around or jumping like a madwoman or running around the table or some other wildness and she'll just blurt out "what am i doing?!" Too funny. 2) She likes to ask "Hey so-and-so, what are you doing?" My brother was a huge fan of this (total sarcasm intended). When we went down to visit a couple of weeks ago, she would ask my brother, "hey uncle bj, what are you doing?" Naturally, he was doing the same thing he was doing 2 minutes ago when she asked and will be doing the same thing every 2 minutes for the next hour that she asks. :) He finally said, "Addison, look what's in my hand. It's a paint brush. That means I'm painting." A: "uncle bj, what are you doing?" B: "Addison, what's in my hand? What does that mean?" A: "uncle bj...." and so on. Cracked me up. Baby Ava is only 6 months old, so he'll have his turn coming! :)

Gotta go.

And so we have a 2-year-old

Yep, made the cake myself. :) I tried not to be too anal about the m&m 2, so I didn't follow a pattern, but did try to make sure the same color wasn't right next to itself. :) Addie liked it. She asked for a "2 cake" and that is what she got! :)
When asked to say cheese while enjoying her cake and ice cream, above is the face we got. Too funny. She really loved it. Wanted more, but she seriously ate so much food this weekend, we had to cut her off.
And Ethan is 8 months old. He just started crawling this week. He's adorable. So cautious with every "step." And so determined when he spots something he wants (usually something of Addie's).
We are just having so much fun with our two children. Yes, there are times we want to pull our hair out (okay, I want to pull my hair out, Brad doesn't so much have to worry about that!). But they are soooooo adorable and funny. The above picture has actually taken place a few times now. I am enjoying it while I can. Addie loves to read, Ethan loves Addie, Addie loves Ethan. It's a nice set up.
So then we tried to the rocking horse (handmade my "ggpa" last year!). Neither of them were too sure about being on together. But we got a good laugh out of it.

OK, so this was my speed blogging. You got the basics and that's all I can do right now.

Big stuff

So I totally forgot to mention the momentous occasion.......drumroll, please......paci is gone forever (for Addie at least)!!! She had two that she affectionately named "blue" and "yellow." (smart girl because those were indeed their colors) Well, yellow got a little hole in it, so he sort of got tossed to the side for a while and blue became her best friend. Then, blue took a turn for the worst so she threw it away and said bye-bye to blue because it's broken. That was about two weeks ago. So she went back to yellow, simply dealing with the small hole. We knew it was only a matter of time before she tossed yellow aside again because of the lack of sucking power. At this point it was just something to chew on and hold in her mouth. Well, yellow gradually got worse and worse due to said chewing on and finally, Wednesday night, Addie walked over to the trash can and said bye bye to yellow. It was broken. Done deal. And by the way, I had refused to buy a new paci for a two-year-old, so we prepped for this time. Thanks to Barney, Addie found a yellow blanket in our big pile o' baby blankets and decided that this could be her friend (Baby Bop has a yellow blankie and there's a song about it on one of our videos). So, during the transition from two pacis to one to none, Addie became friends with yellow blankie. She now sleeps with it and ever since Wednesday night, has slept quite soundly without paci. (knock on wood) Naps are a different story, but I'd rather have a good night's sleep than worry about naps.

We also purchased blackout curtains for Addie's room since it faces the west and thus has sun shining in it until past bedtime. They came in pink--pretty bright--but look great, work great, and didn't cost us too much money. We got a cute curtain rod so now her room is starting to become her cute girl room.

Ethan during all this time is just watching the world go by. He's so precious and quite content to sit and play for a while. However, yesterday and today he has decided that he can roll around and get what he wants. He tries to get up on all fours and go after what he wants, so I anticipate crawling coming in the next month (Addie was 8.5 months when she finally crawled, so he's got a couple of weeks to tie her...don't worry, I know every child is different!).

What we learned recently...

...a huge tub of A&D lasts about 7 months.

...true friends really will do anything for you. (a huge thanks to Joy for rinsing out Ethan's clothes last night when he decided to have the hershey squirts at their house and needed to pretty much be hosed down. good thing they have a little boy as well, so Ethan was able to wear one of Dawson's onesies that was a few sizes too big, but worked nonetheless since I packed a great diaper bag with the exception of the one thing we needed most: a change of clothes.)

...Addison is pretty much at the age where a nice trip to the mall isn't so nice anymore.

...there are nice strangers out there who give you random coupons at The Children's Place, thereby saving you money while buying the kids' swimsuits.

...you really do need to watch what you do because you never know who's watching :) (case in point: Addie was crying the other day because she was tired and didn't know what she wanted and as I tried to calm her down and prepare her for naptime--not so easy--she suddenly stopped crying and started staring at the living room window where her little boyfriend from two doors down was standing and starting to talk to her. The windows were open and he decided to make himself at home and come on over. Weird, but funny. He's 4.)

I think I pretty much finished up what I wanted to say yesterday or whatever day I last blogged. :) Happy June!!!!! :)

Oh, and just because she's about the cutest little neice anyone could ever ask for, here's a pic of Ava. :) I love her and can't wait to see her again (hopefully in a few weeks if all goes well).

I have only a few minutes and not a lot of inspiration to write, so we'll see what happens. :)

Last weekend our church had it's 2nd annual family "potluck." I put that in quotes, because when you go to a church of over 2000 people, potluck takes on a whole new meaning. 3 lines to get food, rides and games cover part of the parking lot, lawn chairs and blankets everywhere. Kind of chaotic, but fun. And really, let's be honest, not everyone attends the potluck. For the most part, it was the same people we see at every church event. But we love our church family, and it was nice to fellowship with some of them. They had a couple of kiddie ride things. We learned that as of right now, Addison is not a ride person. We put her on the little airplanes (4 in a circle that lift slightly off the ground and circulate). They had to stop it shortly after starting and let her off because she freaked out. So our friends put their little 18 month old in Addie's seat to finish the ride (their other two kids were already on), and that little girl loved it. Then we thought we'd try the train. Everyone likes a train, right? I took Addie on the train at the zoo and she was fine (well, that was last September, a lot changes). We all rode the train together, thinking she'd be fine because she'd have mommy and daddy with her (Ethan was on my lap, Addie on Brad's). Nope, she was freaking out there, too. Brad was holding her tight saying, "you're fine, I've got you, we're almost done..." (we're talking about a little around the parking lot train ride) She held on to Brad so tight and finally calmed a little before it was over. At least when we got done, she said, "I rode the train!" And she was able to tell her grandma that she rode the train with a hint of a smile, so maybe she wasn't scarred for life. :) Ethan liked the train. He just rode around and sat on my lap like he had the life of a king (well, okay, so maybe he does). :)

We played outside with the neighbors yesterday evening. The girls came over to see Addie, so I sent her out to play with them (they are around the ages of 10 and 13--built in babysitters!!) and I picked up the house and stuff, then Ethan and I decided to get some fresh air as well. So we went next door where the girls were all playing and sat on their front porch and talked to the neighbors. I say all of that because I love our neighbors. They are so great, we talk all the time and the girls absolutely love Addie and love playing with her. And of course, they love Ethan, too, but he's not so much able to play with them yet. So anyhow, we are outgrowing our house, but love our neighbors. They told us we weren't allowed to move, ever, and we'd just have to add on. So now we're taking up a collection so we can add on to our house and keep our amazing neighbors. ;) Let us know if you want to contribute! ;)

Alright, I think it's time to go get baby boy. Sorry there's not too much excitement that I wrote about, but at least I gave you something to read! :)

By the numbers

I'm intrigued with magazine pages and blogs and such that do a numbers thing. Must be the math teacher in me. So, here's my version for today...

90 8th graders
8 chaperones
2 busses
1 amusement park
8 hours of fun in the sun
85 cell phones

I was amazed at the number of middle schoolers who brought a cell phone on this day trip to an amusement park. I mean, it's obviously up to each individual family, but what did we do when we went on a school trip? You made it to the bus on time because no one could call you and tell you to get your booty back. Your parents were ready and waiting around the time you told them you'd be back. Occasionally one or two people would call from a rest stop phone on the way home and let the parents know how much longer we'd be and then those parents called the other parents and so on.

Yes, we chaperoned the 8th grade trip on Saturday and we actually had a really good time. The kids got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa--a win-win situation. :)

Guess I'm done with my numbers thing for now.

Ethan is 7.5 months! He's sitting up well, which makes him happier because he can play better and stuff. And it makes me happier because he can be a little more independent for periods of time.

Addie is almost 2. I know I've said this a bazillion times before, but I can't get over it. If you ask her how old she's gonna be, she says, "I'm gonna be two." So cute. She wants her birthday cake now. We've been to so many parties recently for birthdays, graduation, and a wedding, so she's becoming familiar with the celebration cake idea. :) She even started crying just a little bit ago because she couldn't have strawberry birthday cake (this after we went through every fruit I could think of at the moment and she settled on that). :)

Life is crazy around here. I am preparing to head back to work in the fall. We finally found childcare (something that stressed us out and almost caused me to go ahead and stay home again). Our new childcare provider is super nice, 5 minutes away, will have just a few kids so it will be small and personal-something we wanted, reasonably priced, and flexible and willing to work with our school schedules including delays, snow days, etc. I just hope our kids warm up to her as well as they have warmed up to the gals that watch them when I work out. Addie talks about those ladies like they're her best friends. She wakes up asking to go see "Kappy and Erin." I tried to talk them into starting a little daycare in our area, but that's not going to happen. :) By the way, I don't want anyone to think I'm opposed to being a stay-at-home mom. There are many factors that went in to the decision to go back to work vs. staying home. I'm excited to get back into teaching. It's something I'm passionate about and gifted in (not bragging, just recognizing the gifts God gave me). And I have a job that's been held for me for two years now. Anyway, I know my friends and family are supportive of my decisions, and I'm thankful for that.
There are other things going on with Brad and his job, but I'm not going to get into it right now. He's being transferred to another school, so if you want to pray for the direction his job takes, we would appreciate it. Stay tuned for further updates on this subject. :)

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of our gorgeous kids. They are such a blessing.

It's how you live

"Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won’t regret it
Lookin’ back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live"
~chorus from Point of Grace song...for complete lyrics:http://www.lyrics-celebrities.anekatips.com/song-lyrics/how-you-live-turn-up-the-music-lyrics-point-of-grace

One of my best friends sang that song in church yesterday. I love this song. It's a great reminder of how to live your life. If you haven't heard it before, at least look up all the lyrics. So great!

And it made me think of my dear Grandmother, who at 88 years old passed away almost two weeks ago. So sad, but it's also a reason to celebrate. She is in Heaven!!! Rejoicing, singing, laughing, dancing...ahhh... Grandma always said she prayed that she would go in her sleep without suffering and after 88 years of love and obedience to God, He granted her request. So why does that song make me think of her? It's the "it's how you live" part. She lived with so much love and wanted nothing more than for her entire family to know that love and pass it on. She mothered 8 children (the youngest only one year old when her husband died), and was most proud of being "Grandma" and "Great-Grandma." She was married to her one true love, and though he died something like 45 years ago, she never remarried because he was the man of her dreams, her one true love, so she didn't see the need to find anyone else. She had her family and her God. I could go on and on about this amazing woman I had the privelege of calling "Grandma" for 30 years. For now, I just know that I want to live with the love that she did. God's love. Feeling it, giving it, embracing it. Love!

As if a death in the family weren't enough, we got another round of illness in our family. Addie came down with a fever, which then turned in to a rash that covered her entire body. Thankfully, after 3 trips to the doctor and a blood test that came back perfectly normal, it was determined that she had an allergic reaction to the Amoxycillin she was taking for her ear and throat infection. It was a long week last week, but I'm glad we have an answer and now know to stay away from penicillins for Addison. She's all better now...and acting more herself. Which means repeating everything she hears (so watch your mouth if you're around our daughter! ;) ) and running around like crazy and wanting to "go out-tide" to play. One of my favoritist things to hear her say is "I go right back." And she holds up her little hand and her first finger as she says it. So stinkin cute. Then she goes and gets what she wants or does what she intended and does (usually) come right back.

Ethan is just so adorable. He got his crazy cough back, but he acts fine and doesn't have a fever or anything, so I'm not worried. One of these days the summer weather will hit and we'll be able to burn off these germs (since apparently freezing the germs didn't work). He can now sit surrounded by pillows (or the big curly body pillow I used while pregnant--if you're ever pregnant, invest in one of these pregnancy body pillows--fantastic!) and play with his toys, which is cool. And he likes his exersaucer for playing.

We got to see little Ava last weekend. Oh my goodness, she is so precious.

Since it was the day of Grandma's funeral, pictures were not exactly abundant. But my brother snapped a few of Ethan and Ava. He is two months older than her, but twice her size. :) It was cute to see them look at each other.

Thanks for reading! Gotta go. :)

Tag.Stuff.

So I've been "tagged" no less than 3 times already, so something inside of me is saying, just do it already. In case you don't know, I think the rules are something like saying 5-7 things (depending on whose version of tag you go by) random or weird things about yourself and then tagging other people. I'm not going to take the time to look up the real rules and all that jazz...but, here goes. (oh, and since this is our family blog, the facts are about all of us)

1. I'm a procrastinator (in case you haven't noticed).
2. Both of our kids were born with what we called their "special ear." Can't explain them well in words, but both kids are growing out of it or into it, depending how you look at it.
3. Brad wants to be famous. (I got his permission to make this public knowledge before sharing, so it's all good) :) In fact, I think he would be perfectly happy to be a Matt Lauer and get paid to talk all day and interview other famous people. (only we don't want to live in New York, so that could be a problem)
4. We are not big on cleaning. We definitely don't live in a pigsty. For the most part (with the huge exception of toys), we keep things picked up. It's just that we don't exactly dust and sweep and scrub the toilet and shower on a regular basis. I'm sure there are others of you out there, so please don't judge us. :) (and next time you're at our house, don't do a dust bunny inspection) :)
5. I fell into a fire hydrant, busted my cheek open and had five stitches in my cheek when I was 5 (ish). I still have the scar to show for it. I was racing my bike with a neighbor. I guess he must've won.
6. When I was 3 (ish), I had to have a cast on my arm because it got sprained or twisted or whatever in a wrestling match with someone who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. ;)
7. Knowing what all happened to me and my brother and hearing Brad's stories sort of scares me when it comes to my own children. I know things are gonna happen and life goes on and God is in control of it all, but I still get nervous.

Now I'm supposed to tag some other people, but really, all my bloggin' friends have done this (or most of them have). So, if you haven't, consider doing it. :)

***

Quick updates, then I'm going to bed:
Addie is speaking in sentences. It's crazy. You can pretty much carry on a whole conversation with her. And she can identify most of the letters in the alphabet. And she used to call Ethan "eetee" until about 2 days ago when she decided she could say "ethan." I kinda miss the eetee. It was way cute.
Ethan is just the most adorable little boy ever. He's our giggler. I guess earlier tonight while I was at class, my dad was playing with him with a little toy and Dad said he kept laughing and laughing and had everyone else laughing because he was carrying on. Then, in typical baby fashion, he was done laughing all of the sudden. He's 6 months old, which is crazy. But that means he's oh so close to sitting up all by himself and that's exciting.

God Bless!

Happy March!

Normally, just saying "it's March" would be exciting...spring is just around the corner. Normally, we don't have a winter storm every other day through February and the first week of March. Oh well, hopefully spring will arrive soon. I need to get these windows opened up and get some fresh air in the house!

OK, so faithful readers, thanks for checking back. We are still here. I was recently inspired to update this blog by my dear friends who take the time to update theirs all the time. But no promises on how great of an update it will be.

Ethan is now 5 months old!! Woah! Time flies when you're having fun! :) Here's the good ol' monthly teddy bear picture. What a cute little man he is! Or should I say what a big little man he is! :) A little top heavy, I must say. All he has to do is tilt his head just a little bit while laying on his stomach and over he rolls. Too funny.
So now he's supposed to be eating cereal in addition to his formula. Um, is there a magic trick to getting a boy, who obviously loves to eat, to enjoy his cereal? Maybe he just needs more time, but let me tell ya, it is a chore! I remember Addie took a little while to get used to the whole cereal thing, but then she had no problem eating her little bowl of cereal and then partaking of her beverage. Ethan, on the other hand, will eat the cereal, but only if he has his bottle right there to drink in between bites. He flips out when you put him in the highchair (and it's even reclined and has the tray removed), arches his back so much that he could flip right out of the chair, and cries until he gets his bottle. And he won't even let the cereal go past his lips if he doesn't have the bottle in sight. Have we created a monster? Or should I just give him time? Seriously taking suggestions on this one!

Last month we enjoyed a visit to my brother's house to meet the newest member of the family, Ava. She is sooooo precious! I just love her and can't wait to hold her again. She is incredibly petite, something we're not so much familiar with around here. :) And the great news is that my brother took a new job and now we will only have to travel 2.5 hours to see them instead of 6 (and vice versa, bub!). Yippee!! So here are the 3 cousins (and no, that's not trick photography, it really is the size difference between the 3...Addie 20 months, Ava 2 months, Ethan 4 months).

And since Ethan got his very own picture at the beginning, Addie has to have one, too! :) She is such a cheeser!!! I took this picture when I got out the camera to capture Ethan and she looked at me and said, "cheese." How could I resist?
Now, she may be cute, but it's not all fun and games. She is definitely experiencing some of that "terrible 2" stuff. Crazy tantrums for no good reason and all that jazz. But, we work through them (or more importantly, she works through them as we carry on with life). :) We do have lots of fun, though. Addie makes us laugh a lot! She says and does the most hilarious things. Not so hilarious this morning when everything was "I don't want it." We think it is so cute when she says something and then says, "ok. cool." :)

The kids are just great. I take them with me when I go work out, and there's a childcare room where they watch the kids while you work out. Great for me, great for the kids, great for everyone. The ladies that work in the room are fabulous and love our kids. They get so excited when Addie and Ethan show up. Another little girl told her mom that she was going to the gym to see her friend Ethan who's a baby. Guess she likes Ethan! :)

Maybe I'll post again before another month passes by. Until then, give thanks to God for everything you have and for everyone in your life!

The past month

My apologies for not blogging at all for the past month (or so). It's just not easy finding time to get on the computer and accomplish something other than checking email. Unless it's 10:07 p.m. and Daddy took over baby Ethan duty so I could do my own thing. :)

I love my kids!!! How cute are they?! Very! As you can see, Ethan is getting good at picking his head up during tummy time. It always helps to have your own personal cheerleader! Addie loves her little brother. She gives him kisses and hugs all the time. If he has drool rolling out of his mouth, she grabs a burp rag and wipes his mouth. She sits down on or beside me and says, "hold baby." And when she's done holding baby, she simply gets up thereby sending baby rolling (don't worry, I'm the backup holder). And when she wants your undivided attention, she simply says "bouncy seat." as in, put baby in the bouncy seat, please, so you can play with me and only me. I love my kids!!!

Christmas was fun. And busy. And our house is still a mess due to all the new stuff we (and by we I mean the kids) got. I just love the above picture. I think Addie looks so big-girlish. She was so funny opening gifts. She would take one piece of wrapping paper off at a time and say "yeah" after each piece. She loves all of her new things. And the kids look great in their new clothes. Addie is growing so fast, we're going to need Christmas to come again in a month! :) Ethan slept on the couch Christmas day while everyone opened gifts. In fact, I think he slept during almost every Christmas gathering.

The cutest little boy in the whole wide world. That's our Ethan!! We took him in for one last checkup on his belly button since there's still a small round dot in the middle of it. Doc said it's just a little scar from his umbilical cord that, let me remind you, took 10.75 weeks to fall off. Praise the Lord!! Ethan is just doing so well! I love getting past the 3 month mark because they really start taking on more personality.

No promises on how often this will be updated. I am now taking graduate classes to get my Masters degree in school counseling. Yeah! But please keep checking as I hope to give you at least occasional updates on our family! Love to all!!