No Toys Necessary!

The other night as we were heading upstairs for bed, the kids decided that it was "raining." Nathaniel ran to get under the clothes basket to hide from the rain, and Hannah Beth had to quickly get her "rain coat" - a towel. Apparently all you need is everyday household items to have a great time! :) I love my kids' creativity, and that it doesn't always take very much to entertain them!

Then Hannah Beth decided that she needed to use my camera, and she took a really fun video! Enjoy!

Slowing Down

November, especially the last half of it, was so busy for us with Hannah Beth's birthday, the Nutcracker, Thomas being in and out of town and Thanksgiving. It was all lots of fun, but it just took a lot of extra time and energy. Over Thanksgiving we went to the beach with Thomas' parents. His mother spoiled me by doing almost all of the Thanksgiving dinner herself so I didn't have to do much of anything. Hannah Beth and I did make an apple pie together, which was fun. We were able to have good family time over that long weekend and relaxed a lot. We took the kids to the mall and got to see all the Christmas decorations and they rode a little train through the mall. While we were sitting down eating lunch there, Nathaniel kept asking to go into the bookstore (which was right behind us). I couldn't figure out why he wanted to go in so badly, but I took him in, and as soon as I did he started asking for the Thomas the Train table - I should have known! This is his latest love, and thankfully it was the same bookstore we go to here and it did have a train table! He is starting to remember things so well!

This week has been so good for me. Thomas has been out of town most of the week which has not been good - every two or three weeks this fall he has had somewhere to go for about 4 days. We are actually getting used to the coming and going (although we wish he wouldn't go so much!). I have been pretty productive this week, and as a result feel better organized and in control.

Speaking of control, God has been trying to teach me to let go of my control and let Him control how things go. This is an ongoing battle that I will probably fight until I die. I like order so much that I tend to feel that I have to have everything in order and in control around me (my house) before I can sit down and spend time with Him. In reality, my sense of control, peace and order is going to be so much deeper and more satisfying if I will just stop no matter what things are like around my house or how early my kids get up, and just seek Him first!

Our Nutcracker Mouse

Hannah Beth auditioned and was cast as a mouse in the Nutcracker ballet this year. Her part only lasted about 60 seconds, but she had a great time and it was a good learning experience for her!

Hannah Beth's 5th Birthday

Hannah Beth's birthday celebrations lingered for over a week this year! Both her birthday weekend and the weekend after were pretty full for us. We first had a family party with our immediate family and Thomas' parents. We let her choose a restaurant to go to, and she chose Cici's Pizza. Then we came home and had cake and presents. Then a couple of days later she got to be the special helper at school and bring a special snack for her birthday. She helped me make homemade brownies and wore the apron and chef's hat we got her for her birthday. As you can see, I let her lick the bowl at the end and she thoroughly enjoyed that! Then the following weekend we had a party for her at our house with her friends. She invited school friends, church friends and ballet friends. I had a couple of games planned, but they were having a great time just playing together! There were about 10 of them, and they all stayed together the whole time in a little pack. It was nice outside, so they were able to play outside a good bit. I did have Hannah Beth bury pennies and nickels in our sand table, so the kids enjoyed digging for buried treasure (thanks for the idea, Cris!). Then they each decorated a cupcake with frosting and all kinds of sprinkles and small marshmallows. It was lots of fun!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Our YMCA had a Daddy Daughter Dance, and both Thomas and Hannah Beth were excited to go. It was also the night before Hannah Beth's birthday, which made it special. Hannah Beth is into posing for every picture - I'm having a hard time getting a normal smile with her just facing the camera! Anyway, they both came home glowing and had a great time. They did the limbo, the Electric Slide, and danced to songs like "YMCA", "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and "Butterfly Kisses." Wish I could have been a fly on the wall for a short time, but I'm so glad they went and had a great time!

Hannah Beth's First Field Trip

Things I Love About Nathaniel

Of course there are way too many things that I love about Nathaniel to put all of them in a single blog, but here are some things that are special and fun about Nathaniel lately!

• He is so cuddly still - I love all the affection he gives so freely and try to keep in mind that it probably won't always be this way! His latest bedtime stalling technique, though, is to look up at me with those cute blue eyes and say, "Would you cuddle me for a minute?" (after we have already laid down in Hannah Beth's bed to read together). But who could say no to that??



• He is so smart! (Yes, I'm a proud Mom!) I am finding that the "awe" of some milestones can get lost a bit after the first child. But I am trying to really enjoy and encourage his accomplishments. He already knows more than half of the letters in the alphabet, just from being around Hannah Beth and from our magnet letters on the fridge! He will tell me the name of a letter and say, "What is this for?" so I will say (for example), "It says "n" for Nathaniel, or "sss" for snake." He is also potty training right now, and we aren't totally there yet, but he is making some great progress (especially when I let him run around naked from the waist down!).



• He has always been quite a talker, and verbalizes things extremely well and clearly, but he is 2, and some things he says are so cute that sometimes I wish he said more things wrong! :) He says "hangabur" for hamburger, and "grabonla bar" for granola bar.



• He is very funny, and loves to entertain! The other day we were going to church, and Nathaniel said, "Look at my hair!" I looked and didn't see anything too unusual, so I just said "uh huh" and kept driving. He said, "Do you think people will laugh at me?" I said, "Do you want people to laugh at you, Nathaniel?" He said yes, and started giggling. He had tried to mess up his hair to make it funny so people would laugh!! I must say that he is very much like his Daddy!!!

Discovery

Yes, I found the wrapping paper! I found it the next day and would have posted sooner, but we had a busy weekend, and Hannah Beth got sick Saturday afternoon, so I haven't been sitting down at the computer much. And where did I find it??

I found it UNDER this dresser in Hannah Beth's room. I didn't even look there at first, because I didn't think a roll of wrapping paper could fit. The middle section of the dresser is just about touching the floor. My son had to have carefully pushed it through one of the side holes. It couldn't have just rolled under there. So.... do I still believe him that he didn't know where it was? Well, I am having more doubts, but it is hard to know with a 2-year-old!

The Mystery

Last night we went shopping for a birthday gift for one of Hannah Beth's friends. I knew we didn't have much wrapping paper left, so I bought 2 new rolls. When we got home, Nathaniel (2 years old) had great fun playing with them and knocking them together and making them walking sticks, etc. When I was putting the kids down for bed, I saw one of the rolls on the floor in Hannah Beth's room, so I picked it up and took it to my room (so it wouldn't get destroyed). I didn't see the other one, but the room (and house) was pretty messy so I figured it would show up. Well, today I got the whole house picked up and there is still no sign of the missing wrapping paper roll. Now, it isn't small. It's approximately a yard long! I have made beds, looked under beds, in closets, in the laundry room, etc., etc. and I have no idea where that thing could be! Of course when I ask Nathaniel where it is he says "I don't know." And I believe him - it was last night and I know he just drops things everywhere and doesn't think about where he's putting things. So, the mystery continues. I have Hannah Beth home now, so she can help me look.

Any guesses about where it could be? I'll post again when (if?) we find it to let you know where we found it. Any great hiding places that your kids use??

Enjoying Fall

I have really been enjoying seeing the leaves turning colors and begin to fall. My favorite are the bright red trees - they are just such a rich and brilliant color! I love the drive back and forth to Hannah Beth's school. I drive completely on back roads and don't even pass one store on the way. Of course if I need something I have to go in a bit of a different direction from her school, but so far that hasn't really bothered me. It just relaxes me and keeps me away from the "hustle and bustle" feel of traffic and the city. I go through many trees and by some small farms. There is one particular section that I drive through that reminds me of something from the "Anne of Green Gables" movies. I don't think my pictures did it justice, but I tried to get a few pictures on the way home the other day.

A Ballerina, a Princess and a Cow

Hannah Beth goes to ballet one day a week, and her teacher used to take dance from Thomas' mom and is a close friend of Thomas'. Usually I have to sit out in the lobby and wait for her (although I have made a great friend with one of the other moms that way!), but last week we were able to observe her class. She did a great job, and of course had to keep peeking over her shoulder to make sure we were still watching! Nathaniel provided additional entertainment by trying to do the ballet moves with the class (although he was in the back with Thomas and I).

Hannah Beth had a couple of fall costume parties, and Grandma and I took the kids out on Halloween to a few people that we knew. They had a great time and got tons of candy - especially for only going to a few places. I am really good at monitoring how much candy my kids get. What I am not so good at is monitoring how much candy I eat!!!

Nathaniel's favorite thing about the night was stopping by the Rescue Squad and seeing the trucks, complete with lights and sirens!

Picture Pizza

The other day I asked Hannah Beth to help me make homemade pizzas for dinner. Sometimes I make dough in my bread maker for the crusts, but this time I used store bought whole wheat crusts because Thomas likes the thin and healthier crusts. Hannah Beth spread the sauce (I just used spaghetti sauce with veggies in it) and sprinkled the cheese, and then her creation began. I had bags of onions and green peppers already in the freezer that were cut to different sizes, and gave her pepperoni, ham, tomatoes and pineapple to use as she wanted. Without any prompting, she went right to work and created an elaborate picture on her pizza with all the toppings. Some tomatoes and onions became a fairy and a princess (yes, she is very girly!!), some green peppers became a fence, pepperonis became flying alligators who ate the bad bugs (small chopped green peppers) so they couldn't get the fairy and princess, and the pineapples became butterflies. She had a great time, and I loved seeing her imagination and her creativeness come to life!

Welcome to my blog!

I've really enjoyed reading some of my friends' blogs this past year. I love to get past the casual greeting and get into what really goes on in our lives! So, I've decided to try my hand at blogging. I have family spread out all over the world and friends in many places, so maybe this will help keep you updated on our lives. I spend most of my time with my children, since I stay home with them, so I will probably talk about them a lot and hopefully show lots of fun pictures. I don't promise to get real deep and theological (although I may suprise us both from time to time!) but I do hope to be real with you! I'd love to hear your comments on my posts and interact with you about things that come up. Welcome to my blog!