Fast Forward

Life's been on fast forward around here. My little ones have grown up a lot in this past week. Miss Natalie started crawling and two little teeth are pushing their way through her lower gum. She's also started saying, "Dada!" Now that Natalie is a woman on the move, she has two destinations. Scott's toys...particularly his new trains, and the vents.








Scott has been playing independently a lot more thanks to all of his new Christmas toys. He's becoming such a good big brother to Natalie, too. And keeps talking about things he will do with Natalie "when Natalie grows up". He took me by surprise the other day when he said, "I want some Raisin Bran and Cheese-Its, Mom." I said, "What happened to Mommy?" He matter of factly said, "You turned into a mom." Hoping it was a fluke, I didn't say much else about it. He has continued to call me "Mom" the last couple of days though...so it may be my new name. A promotion? Thank goodness I have little Natalie to still call me Mommy. I'm not ready to give up my "Mommy" title totally.

In the picture below, he's saying, "Please don't take a picture, Mom." Two or twelve???

Have a Think

As you may be able to tell from the pictures above, more holiday fun has been taking place around here. My mom was brave enough to make gingerbread cookies with Scott, and he thoroughly enjoyed this experience. I'm sure she was much more fun than I would have been as she turned him loose with the sprinkles and M&M's. Jon and Scott played in the snow, and Scott said he wanted to play outside all day. I had to laugh at the snowman's head, but I guess I cannot criticize since I was keeping warm inside with Natalie! We've been running fun errands, finishing up last minute Christmas shopping, and have enjoyed Jon's few extra days off of work.

Yesterday while playing with toys in the basement, Scott stopped, climbed into his little chair, and said, "I'm going to have a think." I then of course asked him what he was going to think about. He sweetly replied, "Bethlehem."

He repeated this same sort of behavior and conversation two more times today. Each time, he tells me he's thinking of Bethlehem.

It makes me smile, but it has also made me think. It's interesting how God is using my toddler to remind me to stop and think about the reason for our celebration. I'm so thankful to know Christ as my personal Savior, and we pray that Scott and Natalie will come to know Him also. Like Scott, I hope that you're able to stop and spend some time thinking about Bethlehem over these next few days. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LOOK here!

I went to the eye doctor again on Friday, and he told me no contacts for at least the next six weeks. Oh contacts...I miss you already! :(

Natalie has decided to sport some glasses just to make me feel better. Our little four eyes will be SEVEN months old on Monday. Wow...where is time going?

Holiday Fun

As an early Christmas gift, Jon's mom bought Scott and Natalie the Little People Manger Scene. It's been fun watching Scott play with the different characters. Baby Jesus has been doing a lot more than lying in that manger though! He's been on several field trips. Tonight I heard, "Baby Jesus is at the zoo!" It always catches me a bit off guard when Scott tells me what Jesus is up to at any particular moment. The other day he told me that Jesus fell out of the bus. I'm not sure that this is what Grammy had in mind when she purchased this for him! :)

Jon's parents also took us to see a special train exhibit a couple of weeks ago. Our little train lover enjoyed it very much!




To add to the Christmas festivities, Jon and I also took Scott to the Children's Museum. He loved it! He enjoyed the carousel ride the most prior to the loud music and spinning. He seemed a bit relieved when the ride came to a stop. We'll give it a few more years before we attempt Kings Island. He said that going down the slide with Daddy was his favorite part. It was a fun day for all!

Pajama Pass-Ons

Both of the kiddos have been able to wear these 18 month Christmas pajamas at 6 months of age. Do they look like siblings?

Natalie sat looking just like this for several minutes after we broke the news to her that Santa wasn't real. She was shocked that she had been believing a lie for so much of her life.

Whose child is this?!

Should I be concerned?

I walked in the living room yesterday and found that Scott had dumped out all of the laundry and his toy containers into a big heap in the middle of the floor. When I asked Scott what on earth he was doing, he replied, "I'm makin' a burn pile."

Thankfully, the little guy also invited me to have a "tea party" with him later that evening. Perhaps there is still hope! :)

Fairweather Fan

She couldn't believe her eyes!

After the fourth interception, Natalie had had enough.

Off with this outfit, Mom. I'm over it!

Very, very random

*It's interesting how we are each trained to listen for certain things. Weeks ago, Jon heard several rounds of gunshots in the distance. He asked me the next morning if I had heard them, and I told him that I had not. Likewise, he asked me a few days ago if I had heard the loud rain and wind the night before. Nope...slept right through it. He was shocked. I am often equally as shocked though when I ask him if he heard Scott's midnight cough or Natalie's 3:00 waking. I feel like I hear their every sigh, flop or roll in their bed, hiccup, etc. Sometimes I feel like perhaps I'm the one who needs a sound machine! :) Natalie must be trained to listen for bath water running. She gets so excited when she hears it knowing that it means a bath is coming! Poor thing almost jumped out of my arms tonight when I was running Scott's bath water. She was kicking and so giddy. I'm sure she was a bit disappointed when I didn't put her in too to splash.

*If anyone is looking for great diaper deals and hasn't heard about the Amazon Mom program, I'd recommend looking into it. I feel like a rich lady having the UPS man deliver diapers to my door, AND it is currently much cheaper to do it this way than any store deal going on even with coupons.

*A piece of my BSF notes from last week that I've been pondering..."Some day every knee will bow before Jesus Christ and confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11)- some adoring Him as their Savior and others cowering before Him as their righteous judge." So thankful that I know which one I will be!

*Are the Subway sandwich artists annoyed when I quantify my toppings? Just a few pickles, lots of olives, heavy on the oil & vinegar...maybe that's rude. Then again, I'm paying $5 for a turkey sandwich.

*We are going tomorrow morning to get our family Christmas picture taken. After attempting to get a good picture of the kids together at home, I've lowered my expectations. Instead of hoping for smiles from everyone, I'm just hoping our heads will all be facing in the same general direction. I can picture our Christmas cards now... Oh dear!

*The tree is up, and Natalie has noticed!

*The holiday baking us begun! (Thanks a lot, Angel! You should have warned me that this was not a good activity to attempt with a two year old!:) Then again, maybe I should blame this one on Jon. He's the one who taught Scott to wipe his dirty hands on his pants while working outside. Grrr!

*A few more pictures...

bah humbug

We are so thankful that Thanksgiving is OVER!

Yes, you read that right. We spent all night Wednesday and all day Thursday getting sick. Gatorade and Saltines, anyone? I told Jon that it might be the first Thanksgiving ever that we weigh less coming out of than going into! My theory is that Turkey A brought home a bug and kindly shared it with Turkey B. They then managed to share it with their dad, mom, grandma, and grandpa. Tis the season for giving, right?

TURKEY A

TURKEY B

to nap or not to nap

One child is still refusing to take naps. We're requiring a mandatory rest time in his room, but let me tell you...it's certainly not the same as a solid three hour nap. :(

Scott will be the first to inform you, however, that he doesn't need to take a nap and that he is NOT sleepy.

5:00 p.m. yesterday evening...

Thankfully, my other child will still nap. Whenever and wherever...

Half a year

Natalie is six months old today!

Look what I discovered I could do with her hair this week!

Oh poor girl...I am going to have so much fun! Happy 6 month birthday! I think a cake is in order...