It's an Update

I bought Scott a dust buster for an early birthday present.  I couldn't bring myself to give that to him for his actual birthday, but looking back, I think it would have been a great gift.  He loves using his real machine and has come up with many good places that need to be vacuumed.   I guess I've done a good job of leaving many "treasures" for him to find.  That's the kind of mom I am! :)   

 

 We caught Natalie looking at a book in the swing.  She seemed to be quite comfy.  

Scott made a pirate hat and was saying, "ARRRR!" all evening.

He knew he was supposed to close one eye, but this was pretty tricky for him.  

Buddies!  

 

I have heard a lot of good things about the Signing Time videos, so I'm not sure why I waited so long to introduce my kids to them.  We found one at the library and have greatly enjoyed it!  The kids picked up on the signs right away and have been using them.  I've requested more from the library and am looking forward to watching others.  They are signing picnic in the first picture.  I'm not sure what their next sign is, but it looks like they are pretty much on the same page.  

 

On the sign for "FAST" Natalie always feels the need to jump up and run a lap around the kitchen.  Instead of signing this word, she wants to demonstrate what fast really looks like.  

 

Pregnancy update:  All is much better now (hence the reason for another post).  The sickness wasn't THAT bad this time around, but it was there and now it's OVER! :)  I'm at 15 weeks now, and we should be able to find out the gender early next month.  This pregnancy is going to fly...

Pictures from the Week

Mental note for next year: Take the Easter pictures prior to church- BEFORE Natalie plays in the tunnel at church and naps on the way home and BEFORE Scott drinks three cups of water and is ready to run to the restroom

My parents had a fun egg hunt for the kiddos last evening. We are ALL enjoying the treats found inside of the eggs! :)

They also fed the fish- a regular activity when they visit Grandpa & Grandma. Natalie can do a great fish impression.

Finding eggs with Daddy at the church Easter egg hunt

Scott excited about the little chick that he found in one of his eggs at church

Getting ready to hunt eggs at Grandpa & Grandma's house

My before church attempts to get Natalie's picture in her Easter dress- What a stinker!


Her best shot was in a box.

Scott and I counting out 40 eggs!

Opening his loot at Grandpa & Grandma's

Family picture- If I look tired, it's because I am! :)


An early week trip to the zoo! Rhinos!!

Scott and Natalie at the playground

Scott- A couple of months away from 4 years old

Natalie- A little over one month away from turning 2 years old

Natalie trying to get a better look at the elephants-

When asked what their favorite animal was at the zoo, both kids said it was the train.

Inspired by the monkeys, the kids asked to wear the monkey costumes when we got home.

Summer Fun in March??? SURE!

Scott's been asking lots of questions about the new baby including, "When the baby spits up inside of you, is that what causes you to get sick?" He's definitely trying to process it all. His name suggestions so far have all been after Thomas trains. Percy? Gordon? Rosie? Edward?


Natalie has new words coming from her mouth everyday. "SURE!" is our favorite new word from her. She uses it instead of yes, so at times, it's quite funny. Her pronunciation of it ("shore") makes it even cuter.

Examples: Natalie, did you make this mess? "SURE!"
Natalie, did you hurt your toe? "SURE!"
Natalie, did you knock over Scott's tower? "SURE!"

She's not afraid to say "NO!" either and uses that word way too much. Sometimes we catch her singing, "No, no, no, noooo, nooo, no, no!" to herself. She's really likes the word. :) I guess it's no surprise that her 2 year old birthday is just around the corner.


Hot dog anyone? Pregnancy always make me like certain foods that I normally don't crave. In my pregnancy with Scott, I developed a love for STEAK! With Natalie, I savored the taste of cheese. With this one, I've been on a bit of a hot dog kick. In non pregnancy days, I normally find just the thought of sinking one's teeth into a big hunk of hot dog pretty disgusting. But, for some reason or another, when nothing else has been sounding good lately, a hot dog seems to be my go-to food. I've had hot dogs for breakfast, hot dogs as a bedtime snack, and even a couple of hot dogs in one day. This cannot be a good thing. In fact, I just read something last night about hot dogs not being safe during pregnancy. Oops. Sorry little one. I'll move onto something else now. Steak and cheese do sound mighty good anyway!

Finally, here's Jon climbing a tree "for the kids" of course.

Natalie's News

Does this say what I think it says?

Really?!

OH! This will be great fun!

SURPRISE!

Scott is just in shock that his daddy will be forced to drive a mini-van!

Time in Toledo

This past weekend, Jon and I were able to get away to A Weekend To Remember marriage conference. In summary of the weekend, I overheard Jon telling someone, "It just helped to confirm that we are on the right track." Despite being a marriage conference, we probably gained the most valuable info during their short parenting segment. Family Life has over 50+ speaker couples who put on these events, so each person's experience will be different based on which two speaker couples get assigned to one's event. We really enjoyed our speakers and appreciated their sincerity and great humor.


The weather was perfect in Toledo, so we were able to take our share of walks and enjoyed the scenery.






We were walking along a boardwalk when all of the sudden we heard this odd loud noise. After a minute, we realized it was the sound of frogs. Not one or two, but THOUSANDS of FROGS all croaking at the same time. Look closely in the next picture and you can see some in the water. They were everywhere! Thankfully they were content to stay in the swampy water.

While we were away, my parents watched the kiddos, and Scott and Natalie had a great time at their "sleepover." They did special activities and got full time attention. However, I cannot believe how much I missed them. We were only gone Friday through Sunday, but it felt like much longer. Today, after a tantrum, mess making, and whining, I wondered why I had longed so much to get back to them, but perhaps this is part of the mystery of motherhood. :)

In all seriousness, I love my husband and am grateful for our time together, and I love my children and am thankful to be home with them again.

Back seat driver, Polly, and more friends

(How's that for a random title?)

I was hurrying to drive somewhere earlier this week when Scott exclaimed, "Mommy! Slow down!" When I asked him why, he said, "Because you're going too fast on this road." Eek! He was right.

Then, the other day, I pulled to the opposite lane to allow plenty of room for a man out walking. Scott quickly thought he needed to remind me..."Drive on the other side, Mommy!"

I told Jon these stories, and he was proud of our little backseat driver. However, today Scott told Jon that he needed to use his turn signal. I'm not sure if Jon thought this was quite as cute! :)

Scott took his turn with strep last week, and informed me one night of this, "I need another train that will help me remember to not cry and to swallow my medicine without spitting it out." For the record, he's an excellent little medicine taker. His sister on the other hand...not so much.


Playing in a "tent" together


I remember a nursery rhyme from my childhood that goes likes this...
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

Sukey takes it off again,
Sukey takes it off again,
Sukey takes it off again,
They've all gone away.


Look familiar? Well, this rhyme comes to mind frequently as I go about my day.

For example, you know the neat dividers for the silverware drawer? It seems like every other time I open the drawer, all of the big and little spoons are stacked in one big pile and all of the big and little forks are grouped in another pile. I divide them back into four slots, but next time I open the drawer, they are back in two stacks. AHHHH!!!

The decorative pillows on the couch seem to be another great example of this. No matter how often I neatly place them on opposite ends of the couch, they get moved elsewhere. Similarly, no matter how many times I put Natalie's socks on her cold little feet, she will always take them off again. I'm sure all moms (or perhaps wives) have some of the same type of moments. Just call me Polly.


Finally, remember what I was saying about our abundance of stuffed animals? Well, my parents were at a bookstore last weekend, and the store was giving out free stuffed birds. Needless to say, Scott and Natalie now have new little friends. Scott's named his Tweety. Natalie wants to sleep with hers. No further comment.