hmmm....

Back in February, I was going to let this go...but after a second occurrence today, this girl needs to be called out. I know what I'm sending her for Christmas - a book of stamps :) Love you KCT!

18 months!

At 18 months, you absolutely LOVE 'tubbies' or taking a shower with mom or dad. Anytime you hear bath or shower, you do the sign for tubby & start stripping down...even if you JUST had one.

You love to feed yourself. You can use a spoon & fork, but fingers work so much better.

You love shoes. You usually have several pairs on during the day...whether it be mommy's, daddy's, yours or your brothers!

You are an excellent sleeper - going to bed at 8pm and waking up around 6:30 or 7. You are good for a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon too. You are chatting up a storm, have a mouth full of teeth (just waiting on canine teeth & 2yr molars) and love keeping up with your brothers. You can put your shoes on, take your clothes off (we discovered after nap one day...) and follow directions very well (your brothers could take lessons). You say thank you without being asked & always say Amen when daddy's done praying at dinner (and sometimes several times during the prayer).

You are a little peanut! You just started wearing some 12-18 months, but for the most part are still in your 6-12 month clothes. Mommy's starting to grow tired of them :) We go to the doctor next week to see how big you are!

We love you Zoe-zoo, Zo-Zo, Zoester, Princess, Baby Girl...our little Zoe Lynnae!

At the end of the day...

they truly do love each other!

First Snow

We had a light snow this weekend & the boys were SO excited about it! They ran downstairs & got their snow gear on & ran outside to play.

They played out back...

The scooped the driveway...

They tried to build a snowman, but the conditions just weren't right. They made snow angels in the driveway instead & hurried in for hot chocolate! I love that they enjoy being outside & the excitement of snow :)

Random pics from December

Here are a few random pictures...because I feel badly that I haven't updated my blog in so long.

I was straightening up the house & found the kids snuggling in the recliner together. Times like these are what I need to think about when they are fighting & being mean to each other :)

A visit to Santa - no one wanted to sit on his lap. The boys asked for real guns...for hunting. They told Santa that Zoe would like a baby doll. They also questioned why his beard is so short...

A family pic on the couch - we were settled in for a movie.

30 weeks preggers. So hard to believe that in 10 weeks we will be meeting our new addition! The excitement is building & we are working hard on choosing a name!

A little dress up. The boys like to play in our closet. They decided yesterday was a good day for dress up :)

Past 5 Christmas Pics

Here are our Christmas pics from the past 5 years. I'll humor you with earlier ones when I find my album :)

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Dancing

We are getting Christmas decorations out today and found our singing Christmas mouse. Zoe dances everytime it turns on...and the boys joined her.

Thanksgiving Week!

We had a fun-filled extended week of Thanksgiving travels & adventure!

Nov 19 - Had a couple friends visiting in the morning - notice Leighton in his Incredible Bob outfit. This was the first day he insisted on wearing it ...today is the first day SINCE then that he hasn't had it on... He wore it throughout our Thanksgiving travels, usually underneath his other clothes...in case he needed it.

Traveled to the grandparents that afternoon. The boys got to feed our bull calf that was born on my birthday :) His momma died from something freakish :( The boys named him "Rudy" & enjoyed feeding him & leading him around the yard throughout the week.

We traveled to Fremont, NE to celebrate Thanksgiving with Aaron's great-aunt Mabel who turned 96 last week! She's a character - it's always fun to see her & listen to her stories.

Cousin Kirt taking Zoe for a horse ride.


Aaron & I returned home on Monday with Zoe in tow. We hung Christmas lights, installed a storm door, put up some Christmas decorations & tidied up the house. It's amazing how much easier that is to do with just Zoe around!

On Tuesday, we went to KC to visit some friends that were in town & to tackle some Christmas shopping. The shopping came to a halt when we received a phone call with news of extra KSU-Duke tickets for that evening! We enjoyed watching the game, although the Cats looked sluggish...and fell short of the win.

On Wednesday, we picked up the boys & returned home...and discovered that Elfie had also returned to our home! (see him hanging from the light)

Thursday - Thanksgiving with my family. Zoe LOVES to hold Berklee & be around her. She's going to be such a big 'helper' when this baby arrives...

Great-grandpa Jack reading a book to Zoe.

Friday - we returned to the farm to celebrate Thanksgiving with Aaron's family. The boys had fun jumping hay bales, going on a scavenger hunt & playing with their cousins. We enjoyed visiting with family & seeing friends from high school & college!
Saturday - we celebrated nephew Kirt's 3rd birthday.

Saturday evening sunset...the windmills are a new addition this fall...they are QUITE close to the house & definitely change the scenery! We made the trip home after dinner!

Sunday we enjoyed just being at home! We enjoyed our travels, but it's nice to be back to 'normal' :)

Not old :)

I thought this story was appropriate after celebrating my birthday yesterday :)

Last week, I told the boys that a 'lady' was going to be stopping by to drop off some stuff at our house. We were having dinner when she arrived & after she left, the following conversation took place:

Brecken: THAT wasn't a lady.
Me: Well, then what was she?
Brecken: A GIRL!
Me: Ok...well what's mommy?
Brecken: A girl! Ladies are OLD!

So, I was quite happy to still be in the 'girl' category, at least, according to my 5 year old :)

100 Days...

It's hard to believe that we are down to 100 days left before BabyW4 arrives! This pregnancy has flown by VERY quickly, which is good in some ways...and a little alarming in some ways :) These past couple months, my mind has been consumed with moving. The next couple months will, I'm sure, be consumed with the holidays. That leaves about 7-8 weeks for my mind to be consumed with preparing for this sweet baby! It still hasn't really hit me that we are going to have 4 children :) I tend to forget I'm pregnant, until I catch a glimpse of my belly in the mirror...or find a few minutes to sit & relax & feel those kicks! I guess that's good - it means I've been feeling good!

Bed stealers

A couple nights ago, I was up with Zoe in the middle of the night. She apparently woke the boys up, because they pitter pattered out into the living room & said they wanted me to come lay with them. I told them, they would have to get their dad, because I was getting Zoe back to sleep. They ran off to my room...and never came out. The little stinks, snuck into our bed & this is how I found them...



It was chilly in the house & I didn't have the heart to wake them & make them go back to their beds, so they slept with daddy & I slept in their room.

A little Leighton story...

Today we were trying to get out the door for some errands. The boys wanted a quick snack, so I grabbed 2 fruit roll-ups, unwrapped them & told Leighton, "Do you promise to go take this to Brecken?" (who was already in the van) He assured me he would. As I was gathering up my purse & Zoe, Brecken stormed in and said, "I need TWO fruit roll ups because Leighton just ate mine!"

I grabbed another fruit roll up for Brecken & we headed to the van. Conversation follows:

Mommy: Did you eat both fruit roll ups?
Leighton: No, I gave it to him.
Mommy: Brecken said you ate his.
Leighton: Well, he GAVE it to me!
Mommy: Brecken?
Brecken: HE took a bite out of it!
Mommy: Leighton?
Leighton: Well, I did, but THEN, I gave it to him!
Brecken: I didn't want to eat it - YOU took a bite out of it.

After having Leighton apologize, I proceeded to explain that he did the wrong thing & that he made a mistake (thinking, just maybe, he forgot and took a bite...)

He quickly said, "Mommy, I didn't make a mistake."
I said, "You meant to take a bite?"
He said, "Yes."

Points for honesty the 2nd time around??? This kid...

In a blogging funk

I'm in a blogging funk...we haven't been up to anything...I'm so tired of the moving stuff that I don't want to blog about it...we've had the flu...and I'm too tired to think of anything inspiring to say.

So I apologize for my 'exciting' post today, but here's my newly discovered handy tip - which I'm sure MANY of you are doing anyway.

We've always had one large dirty clothes basket that we all pitch our dirty clothes in...and I typically wait until it's overflowing to attack it...and then sort & end up with 12 loads of laundry in a day. Well, with the move, I decided to try something new. Each bedroom now has it's own dirty clothes basket & I choose one basket (sometimes 2 if I'm ambitious) each day to attack. It makes laundry so much easier - why on earth did it take me this long to figure it out? Now when I fold clothes, I have less piles...less socks to sort & only one room to put clothes away in for that day.

Genius, I know. How do you do your laundry? What are your secrets? :)

Plumber...

Sissy sue was playing in our kitchen & daddy had to snap some pictures of her little 'plumber butt'.

Halloween

The boys had fun carving pumpkins - scooping out the slimy insides & cutting on them with their little saws. Mommy & daddy did most of the work, but they enjoyed doing their little part!




Dressed up for trick-or-treating!


After trick-or-treating...and eating a big ole red sucker. The boys said, it looks like Zoe has lipstick on!

Happy birthday Brecken!

Happy birthday to Brecken!

You entered the world at 6:08am on October 18th, weighing 8lbs 8oz, measuring 21 1/4 inches long & started us on this joyride of parenting!

You are such a joy & growing up so fast. You amaze me with how patient & good you are with your sister. You & Leighton are best buds 95% of the time & I love that. We love you big boy! You were 45" tall and 40 lbs at your 5 year appointment yesterday.

She's getting good :)

In all the excitement for the KSU-NE game today, Zoe decided to stand up & walk! For the past week or 2, we've had to stand her up to get her to walk.

Today, I was working in the kitchen & she stood up & walked across the room to me...and did it again, and again, and again, all over the room. Down she'd go & then back up to do it again. She was so proud of herself, and so is her mommy :)

Sonogram

We went in for our sonogram this morning & got to see Baby W4 kicking around. Baby is 11oz & measuring correctly for our February 23rd due date. As far as the tech could tell, everything looks great!

The boys were more interested in the fish bowl that was in the exam room, than the sonogram :) Baby W 4 is already trying to toughen itself up in preparation for it's older siblings...it appeared to be hitting itself in the face during the sonogram.

Here's a profile pic!

Homemade - Yum! (most of the time)

I've always liked the idea of homemade...from watching my mom can foods from their garden & my grandma baking homemade pies. I make a lot of things from scratch (pancake batter, pizza dough, biscuits) because I think it's better for us...and it is definitely a lot more economical. I made my baby food for each of my kiddos & started canning last summer.

For the past 6-12 months, I have been making my own laundry soap & deoderant (I know...you just said WHAT?...and have labeled me as weird...but it's been better for the sensitive skinned folks in our house).

More recently, I began making homemade salad dressings, chocolate syrup (sorry Hersheys, but this one is tasty!) & some elderberry syrup to help boost immune systems & combat illness. The boys love the chocolate syrup & elderberry syrup. Yesterday, we ran out of ketchup, so I decided to make my own. I found a recipe online & went to work.

As I was making it, I overheard Brecken talking to Aaron about what I was doing. He was 'bragging' about mommy's chocolate syrup & 'medicine' (elderberry syrup) & I heard him use the phrase, "Mommy's cool"...because she can make such & such. I'm pretty sure that little phrase won't be one to stick around :) Anyway - I tasted the ketchup & thought it had a few too many spices in it, especially for kids...but decided to have Brecken taste it. He took a little lick & got a bizarre look on his face. I said, what do you think? He looked at me really sweetly, and said, "Not good?" It made me crack up - he was trying hard not to hurt my feelings :) I'm hoping that the taste is a little better today after the flavors have time to blend, but if not, we'll experiment with another recipe!

Are you excited?

This is the question we have been asked frequently in the past couple weeks. The question is referring to our upcoming move.

It's a question that I don't have a good answer for...a question that has a different answer, depending on day...or my mood...or what I've been thinking about that day.

As I pack up our little blue house that we have been living in the past 3 years, 4 months and 11 days, it's hard not to think about all that we are going to miss. Here's the short list:

1. Being a half a block from Nonny & Poppa.
2. Being 2 minutes from our land...for little adventures & to enjoy the peacefulness of it.
3. Having Aaron home at lunch time. This is hard for both of us...well all 5 of us.
4. Small spaces, which force us to be together - I actually like this.
5. Walking to the park...the post office...the bank...the telephone office.
6. Seeing only 2 vehicles when we do this - a.k.a. less worries when walking with 3 children.
7. The retired ladies on our street that are outside a lot...and know my children.
8. Our friends and boys' friends in town.
9. Our chickens. I know - kind of funny - but I do like them...and we haven't completely ruled out taking them :)
10. The quietness & simpleness of really small town living.
11. Our back yard.
12. Our house we brought 2 of our babies home to & the only house that Brecken remembers. Great memories!

I remember doing the same thing when we moved from Manhattan...it's hard not to think about the things one will miss! So, I try to focus on the things that I am excited about to help me as I pack!

1. A bigger refrigerator (we had to buy a 'midget' fridge to fit the space)
2. A built in dishwasher (although I'm thankful I at least had a portable)
3. A separate laundry room, rather than laundry/dining/tv/toy/mudroom combination.
4. 3 bedrooms (my boys will no longer be sleeping in our living room!)
5. A walk in closet (a.k.a. Baby W4's room until it's sleeping well at night)
6. 2 bathrooms - it's amazing how often multiple people have to go at the same time!
7. A basement for toys & riding bikes in the winter!
8. An attached garage.
9. A 5 minute drive to church...to playgroup, etc, etc.
10. Close to friends.
11. Closer to all our Manhattan doctor appointments & KSU games.
12. A little shorter drive to the in-laws...& yes, 20 minutes DOES make a difference.
13. A GROCERY STORE (although my mom was a pretty good substitute for this on most things).

Little blue house, memories & people...we will MISS YOU!!! New house...we are looking forward to new memories to create!

My little secret...

This is how I get things accomplished during the day - my little elves help me ;) I don't think 15 months is too young for laundry, do you?

Interesting Design...

We saw this cute little Buckin' Bull playset this weekend while in KC & thought the boys might enjoy playing with it.

I was a little surprised at the 'ingenious' way that the designers decided to attach the cowboy to the bull....is this the best they could come up with?

My boys believe the cowboys came with all their body parts...

Yea, Zoe!

Zoe is one 'step' closer to walking! Today we discovered that she can stand for long periods of time not holding onto anything. The boys & I cheered her on & she was so pleased with herself :) I don't want to rush her...but I am getting excited about the thought of her walking. She would have so much more fun at the park if she could walk around & chase her brothers! Scooting on the mulch/rocks just doesn't feel too great on her bum.

Rock City

We had a fun trip to Rock City (outside of Minneapolis, KS) after church today.
The boys had so much fun climbing on the rocks - you would have thought they were climbing mountains :) We hit Bogey's in Salina afterward for a yummy milkshake!