leah's birthday cake

Apparently, the cake was a little intimidating at first!

But, then it was okay and even a little bit cool!

Again, we need Reh to help us blow out the candles.

Funny story about the cake: The morning that I went to Wal-mart to finish her birthday shopping, I got the cake. Now, I say that I got the cake, because after I had all the groceries+ in the car and kids fastened in their seats (we'd been there 3 hours) I looked at the receipt to find that the cashier hadn't charged us for the cake (my fault, not hers). I was absolutely NOT going to go back in, so I decided to pay for the cake the next time we were at Wal-mart. So today, Nathan went to the bakery, told them what happened and got a price tag (remember those) to pay for a cake. At the register he gave the cashier the tag, paid for the order and came to the car. When we looked at the receipt, and they had only charged us $.02 for the cake. (her fault, not his) SERIOUSLY!!! Could we just pay for the cake that we have already eaten!!!

leah's birthday dinner

For a special birthday dinner, we went to Stevie B's to eat pizza and play some games.

Ski Ball was our favorite.

We tried this:

It didn't work well.
So we tried this:

Finally, we had that game figured out!

leah's birthday candle

So Excited!

Listening to Reh (Seth) Sing "Happy Birthday!"

Blowing Out the Candle

Needs Help from Big Brother

leah's birthday breakfast

We ate some yummy turkey-cheese eggs with biscuits and yogurt. And Leah got to drink her milk from a fancy birthday cup (THANKS AUNT MIMI!!)

leah's birthday hug

First thing in the morning:

now that she's 2

Yes! My baby girl is now 2. I can't believe it, but it does seem like she is aware and has decided to do a little growing up. She has taken 2 naps in her big girl bed already and keeps taking off her clothes to go to the potty.

This was too much. The morning of her birthday, I came in to get her but had to do my usual back and forth between Leah and Seth. Typically she will just sit in bed and talk to us until she's ready to get up. So, when I went to the bathroom to help Seth, this is what I came back to. She had never done it before, but now that she's 2....

zoo lights

secret santa

Early one morning, a "Secret Santa" stopped by our porch and dropped off some Dunkin' Donuts. I'm sure that most people reading this blog have a good idea who that was!!

When I told Seth that Papa had brought us some donuts, he immediately said, "We need to tell Papa thank you." So, of course, we called Papa to say thanks!!

lufkin, texas

Unfortunately, on the 15th we made a trip down to Texas, because Nathan's Great-Uncle Max passed away earlier that week. I was only able to meet Uncle Max twice, but he and his wife, Aunt Evelyn, were so kind and the kids even enjoyed being with them.

While it was a trip for sad reason, I enjoyed meeting some of Nathan's extended family (I don't think you could really even call some of them family, but they were all really nice.) and seeing where some of his childhood memories were made. I think he enjoyed taking the kids there too.

Uncle Max owned a lot of property, and Nathan wanted to take the kids down to the pond that he played at when he was little. It was not a pleasant journey to the pond with the wind being cold and the ground being wet and, at times, children screaming because their feet got wet, but it was neat to take the kids down there.

We also got to see Uncle Wesley and Aunt Joy.

We met Nathan's cousin Noelle for the first time. This is from whom Leah got her middle name.

And of course, I didn't get the picture in time, but Uncle Wesley actually climbed all the way up the McDonald's gym, suit and all, to rescue his niece. We wish that we could see Joy and Wesley more, but we always enjoy the time we can spend with them.

kyle's shower

I love the term "baby shower." I kept trying to explain to Seth that I was going to a baby shower for Kyle, then realized that he probably had a pretty interesting picture in his little head.


So Dawn Amburgey hosted the baby shower in her home, and it was very nice. Some wonderful ladies from Central came to start the welcoming of Kyle. We got some great gifts and some yummy food. Linda Bronsink even thought to give gifts for Seth and Leah. So, we'll be taking those to the hospital to give them when they come to meet Kyle.

student vs. faculty and alumni

Daddy went to play in the basketball game and the rest of us had a lot of fun watching. Seth was so excited to go, but fell asleep on the way there. I could NOT wake him up. Thankfully, the game went into overtime, and he got to catch the last few minutes. Leah could not stay away from the cheerleaders. She was enthralled.

Wouldn't you like to cheer with a 2-year-old in your face like this!?

She also made good friends with Annie (former student) and Annie was a BIG help for me. Leah is finally getting to warm up to people more if they give her some time. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how Nathan and I produced a shy child.

raising children

I just read a great article about discipline on the Huggies website that I found helpful for training our little ones. Given that I am extremely over-tired today due to the neighbors dog barking ALL night, it was some good timing for me. Of course this article never mentions spanking, b/c that's just not p-c, but it does have some other great techniques and insights into their little minds. Hopefully, you will find it to be helpful also.

Just click on the word "Huggies" up there to access it.

before and after

I just gave Seth a haircut today, which has been long over-due. By far, it's my favorite haircut yet!!

HERE HE IS AFTER:

And just to prove the overdueness of this cut,

HERE HE IS BEFORE:Still handsome, but in need of a hasircut!

going to church

So, after the day long battle of trying to convince, but not force, Seth to wear a costume on Halloween night, it took a full day to get him to take it off!! Saturday night, he informed me that he wanted to wear it to bed. I hated the thought of those germs all in his bed, but I loved his enthusiasm. Then, since I'm having to do Sunday mornings and most of Sunday on my own now, I decided that I didn't care enough to fight this battle. I figure, "He's only 3 once." He and I cut a deal: he could wear the shirt, but had to wear his Sunday clothes underneath; no cape; no shorts. Finally, Sunday night, I told him that it was dirty and we needed to wash it, he was with me and took it off. But, first thing Monday morning, he asked if it was clean now!

That's Leah's balloon from Incredible Pizza. She took it to church and she's still carrying it everywhere today.

trick or treat

For Halloween, we went to Incredible Pizza because I wanted to do something fun and they were running a deal. Anyone that wore a costume got a $10 game card. They were also having costume contests and the Bellevue Puppet Ministry (they were awesome!!).

Since Leah is itty-bitty still, she wore the same costume as last year. But, since we didn't know if we could even get Seth to dress up, we ended up having to pull out some WAY too small pajamas for him to be...

Super-Man.

Look at those short shorts!! This boy loves to go somewhere. Every morning his first question is usually, "Where are we going?" He kept asking on Saturday, so I told him we couldn't go anywhere unless he wore a costume. It worked!

So we spent $24 on the buffet (YIKES!!) but we got $20 in game cards. We also entered in the costume contest for the fun of it.

And the SECOND PLACE WINNER IS:

BABY SKUNK!!!!

She looked adorable, but not being a very attentive photographer and the fact that the place was packed wall to wall, I didn't get any good pictures. Here are some better pics of the costume from last year. For her prize, she won a $25 game card and a set of 4 puzzles. They were also handing out candy and goody bags. So all in all we made out alright! Spend $24 on buffets, get $45 in game cards.

crafty day

Not to give away anything about our top-secret shopping trip, but we bought some fun painting gear today. So, before dinner, we made some birthday cards for Cousin Hannah. They LOVED it!! They had actually run out of paint, but kept right on painting . I don't think Leah even needed paint. She was content to dip the brush in water, then rub it on the paper!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!


The Process:



The Finished Products:

mickey d's

This morning, in order to get Daddy a little extra quality sleep, we went for breakfast at McDonald's then to Wal-mart to do some important, top-secret shopping. The McDonald's near our house has re-done its playground, and I think that it is amazing. There are tunnels going every which way!!

Seth was posing with Ronald, so Leah wanted me to take a pic of her posing with Ronald too...

But, this was as close as she would get!!

addition to baby wishlist

I've started to think more about getting this place ready for a tiny, but that's about as far as I've gotten!! It did hit me earlier today that another good baby gift for us would be

shoes.

Since I don't like to hand down children's shoes unless they're crib shoes (and thus far have been able to do this cheaply), this boy will be needing some walking shoes. We can use ALL sizes past crib shoes and ALL seasons, so if you see a good clearance... there you go!!

girl time

I love that she let me do this to her hair, and I had to take pictures, because I don't know if she'll ever let me do it again. You can see her new haircut that I posted about a few blogs ago. I'm also very excited because while doing her pigtails, I found out that I can get those curls back. It seemed that they were gone forever, but there they are!!

reading with daddy

Here she is with her favorite book and her favorite daddy! I couldn't pass up this photo-op!! This is Leah's new favorite book, "Goodnight, Moon!" She calls it, "moon." Every single nap and bedtime, this book must be read and then slept with. Thank you, Mimi, Bob, Mikaila, Greyson and Brianna!!

re-updated baby wishlist

Please don't think we're asking for gifts, but some people have asked what we need and since our needs are pretty specific this time, I thought I'd post a list. Some of them are big ticket items, and we won't find it tacky if you want to do a gift card, b/c that's probably easiest for everyone, (registries are so hard to shop) and it would help toward the purchase of some things we need. Also, hand-me-downs or loaners are more than welcome on any (well, almost any) of the following items.

We don't need ANY clothes!! I have a neighbor giving me all of her sons, so between his and Seth's outgrowns, I'm having to give away clothes - Big blessing!!

Here are the things I know that I'll be "needing":

1. Nursing Accessories - Items like these or these. Ask me if you want more specifics, b/c this is a co-ed blog!!

2. Shoes - I don't usually use shoes until they're walking, so any size with a nice flexible sole will work.
3. Bummis Cloth Diaper Kit - The kit is available online at Cotton Babies and in a store in St. Louis. :) I'd like it in the infant size and in gender neutral colors.
4. Cradle - We're hoping for a small cradle in our room. We have free access to a large one, so it's not a must have, it would just be more convenient.
5. Diapers and Wipes - We do use disposables anytime we leave the house, so these are also needed. Any size and the cheapest brands are great. The cheapest diaper I've found is the store brand at Wal-mart (Parent's Choice). Although, I am going to check out Target soon, b/c I think I can get them cheaper ($.13/size 3 diaper) there.

These are the things that I've come up with thus far....

seth reads

We couldn't help but post this!! Our nap and bedtime routines always involve reading books, and Seth has recently enjoyed "reading" the books to us. He understands the concepts that letters make sounds, and that those sounds combine to make words. So, usually what he does is to list out the letters and then tell you what the word is. For example, tonight at the table, he had a little crown and he read, "b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y...'crown!'" It always makes me giggle! This is a bit different; hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

event of the day

I was talking to Heather today, and I told her I was considering posting an event of the day. It seems that everyday something happens around hear that makes me want to cry, but would probably make others (especially those of you without little ones) laugh.

SUNDAY:

The day is done, the kids are in bed, and I'm ready to start getting ready for bed. As I'm leaving Seth's bedroom, I look into his bathroom to find an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper unrolled and piled up. So, now my new toilet paper holder is a Wal-mart shopping bag!

MONDAY:

I chose Monday as my day to begin a new project: resorting all of the outgrown and to-be-grown-into clothes. Needless to say, any project is dangerous with an almost 2 and a 3 year-old. Several times they get "too quiet" and I go to find them doing something and make them come back to the disaster of a living room. The final time, I walk into my bedroom to find them both standing in front of the full length mirror. Seth has a hair brush and a pair of scissors in his hands. Yes! Leah now has her first haircut and oddly enough it looks really cute.

TUESDAY:

Leah and Seth are playing very nicely together and I'm folding laundry in the living room. Recently, Leah has been obsessed with climbing and her new Mt. Everest is to climb up the back of the dining room chairs. I am 11 articles of clothing into my Mt. Everest and I hear her start crying, but she looks fine enough and is heading my way. She gets in my lap and I hold her a minute only to discover that her toe is dripping blood. Somehow she has managed to pull off her little toenail (poor Ladybug). So I bandage her up and then find that every step she has taken has left a little tiny blood spot on the carpet.

See what I mean? I look forward to finding what tomorrow holds for this little family!!

zoo day!!!

We took a trip to the zoo with our friends Brayden and Cara, and their mom Chrissa came too. It looks like now that the weather is chillin' out, we'll be making a lot more of these trips! Wahoo! I wasn't very camera happy today, but I still managed to get some keepers.

NORTHWEST PASSAGE

All of the kids were really leery of climbing into the big bubble, but believe it or not, Seth was the bravest.

ONCE UPON A FARM

I tell ya, this kid is turning a new leaf! The last time we were here, he would have nothing to do with climbing into that egg.

Don't you wish having babies was this easy?!?