Growin' Up

My little man is growing up... he's sure been in a hurry lately. For so long it seemed as though I couldn't get him to try new things, but now I can't seem to get him to slow down.

In the last couple of months Aaron has really started talking more... he can now (with a little artistic interpretation) repeat nearly everything I say and is finally trying out words with more than one syllable. Today, his biggest accomplishment was his mastery of the stairs, like a big boy. He came running to me "Mom. See. Stairs! Mom. See. Stairs!" Such a proud moment for him. And of course, you can guess what he just couldn't wait to show Daddy when he came home from work.

He has the cutest personality... such a little joker! He loves to tease and tickle with Daddy and sometimes even the brothers, if they can manage to keep it friendly. He does such a good job keeping up with his older brothers. He and Sam are usually pretty good buddies, and he and Seth... well, let's just say they like to keep each other on their toes. Never a dull moment around here!

Luckily, in the midst of all this growing up he is still my little snuggle bug who needs his kiki (blankie), milk and thumb... I don't want him growing up too quickly you know! Though he is turning 2 in just a couple weeks... YIKES!

It's Christmas Again....

Well, at least it was for me :-)

My Christmas gifts arrived today... FINALLY, after a month of anticipation. I am so spoiled! I have had this secret desire for new silverware for several years now, but just couldn't bring myself to mention it. Silverware is EXPENSIVE you know! The fact that we had a total of approx. 8 forks (dinner and salad combined) and company coming got me looking around. Our initial thought was to scavenge at the thrift stores... however, I think everyone must have lost their forks because there wasn't a single fork around (though we did manage to find some spoons). BUT THEN we found this amazing deal at Oneida.... a year end CLEARANCE... woohoo (I love the word clearance)! So, we bought a whole set... they are beautiful!!! I love them! And, they came just in time for our company a couple weeks ago.

Unfortunately we didn't get to share the rest of our gift with company... the cookware was back-ordered and only just arrived this afternoon. I put them right to use (though I have to admit that I considered using an old pan... cuz I didn't want to get my new one dirty and all... foolish, I know, but they are just so pretty and shiny!). It's going to take a little learning cuz they cook very differently than my old ones... but dinner was definitely delicious!

Adalie Update

Adalie has been just growing and changing so quickly. The night before Grandpa and Grandma came I was able to sit her up and count to 16 before she fell over. By the end of their visit she was sitting like a pro. She has been sleeping, crying and feeling yucky a bit more this past week, so I am wondering if some little teeth might be coming up soon. Even at her crankiest though, she is still the happiest little girl ever.

Visitors

I am a little (ok, a LOT!) behind in posting this news.... But, I'm gonna post it anyways.

We had our favorite visitors come to visit us for 10 days earlier this month. We didn't really go anywhere exciting or anything... just stayed home and enjoyed every moment. I am not sure Patty could have handled too many trips out anyway... she spent most of her time in layers and scarves (yes, even in the house =).

I am so thankful for a grandmother that truly enjoys spending time with her grandkids. Patty spent hours and hours each day reading, playing, and making things with the kids. I so enjoy this extra time to myself... it's such a vacation for me.

Gene, on the other hand, does anything but play {well... he does a little of that too :) }. He gets right in and works like crazy. We now have a brand-new water heater... that doesn't leak a gallon of water a day! The boys have a whole wall in the basement to hang their coats, gloves, hats, scarves, and to line up their shoes and boots. And after much blood, sweat and tears...

our nasty old bathroom floor went from

this to this!

Isn't it beautiful?!?
I think so!

I especially enjoyed all of our late night Yatzee, Ziltch, and Cribbage games, while the kiddos were tucked away in bed. I have really been blessed with the best in-laws ever... thank you, Gene & Patty! We love ya!

A Little Bit of Heaven

That is what we received today... A little bit of Heaven... in a HUGE box. If you know my boys at all you would totally understand. They love to color, paint, cut, glue, tape, and fold just about everything. They see every piece of paper, cardboard, soup can, etc. as potential for some kind of project... I can hardly keep the trash in the trash around here! And printer paper... well, we go thru that faster than toilet paper (seriously!).

So imagine the joy when we received this huge box in the mail today. It was filled to the brim with adorable girlie clothes and shoes, but nestled in the middle was the mother load of art supplies... JACKPOT! My boys went nuts! We had markers, window crayons, regular crayons, paint, books, sticky foam, etc. flying all over the place. Needless to say we were quite occupied all afternoon (and will be for several afternoons to come). Thank you, Christa, for this big box of goodies!

Todays Activity

While Sam and Seth were watching Frosty the Snowman this morning (for about the 20th time this month!) Aaron and I decided to tackle our own little project.... RECYCLED CRAYONS!

He had a great time helping me unwrap little crayon bits... unfortunately, he's a pro at that. My kids are not so anal as I was as a kid. I hated to break a crayon and when the time came to peel one, I did so very carefully so as to peel it nice and straight and only as much as needed. Nope, my kids didn't inherit an ounce of my perfectionist ways and are quickly ridding me of mine. I am learning that things like this really don't matter in the long run... but I definitely struggle with this every day. My boys are constantly breaking things. Anyway, enough about that....

I found this Wilton baking thing at Goodwill the other day and just knew I needed it for this very purpose... I have had this project in the back of my mind for a few months now. We just put several bits into each star, trying to follow a color theme somewhat, and put them in the oven at 225 for 15 to 20 minutes. How easy is that? I was worried they wouldn't come out of the pan well, but they just popped out very easily. It was a perfect craft project to do with Aaron. It was so cute to watch him run to the oven every few minutes to peek at his stars... he was thrilled!

And here's my little girlie modeling her Christmas clothes... I am a sucker for stripes I guess. Note the little hair barrette as well. So cute!

6 months!

My little girlie is 6 months old today! She has brought so much joy to our family in those 6 months... I really can't even imagine life without her. I love having another girl in the house. I was never really a "girl-e girl", but it is so much fun dressing her up and making girl-e things for her.

Her personality is starting to come out and it is just so sweet. She is a crack up, and she smiles and laughs constantly. Her newest thing is a fake cough that she thinks is pretty clever. I caught her and Aaron in a coughing battle yesterday and it was so adorable.... my kids are so stinkin' cute!

I love all this personality!