November 29, 2007 - My Little Pony Magic!

Gabrielle noticed the other day that her My Little Ponies, have magnets in their feet. It is what helps them dance and things in her My Little Pony Castle. Well, being the smarty pants that she is starting to become, she figured out that if they have magnets - they should stick to the refrigerator, right? She called me into the kitchen, to show me her discovery.

November 28, 2007 - One Tired Little Girl!

Allison didn't take a nap this day. Normally, she is OK with the situation as she actually naps few days that she doesn't lately. However, today when Paul came home from work and she went to give him a hug, she laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep almost instantly.

November 22, 2007 - Thanksgiving

We didn't have a whole lot going on this Thanksgiving. We headed over to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner with them and my Aunt Nancy. We had a wonderful time! Later in the evening we drove out to my aunt's house to visit with extended family and my siblings were there as well. The kids got to raid all of the toys that Aunt Shinny very wisely saved. They are toys from when I was growing up, so they are different than the things they usually play with, so they had a great time.

Nicholas and Sam pose for a Thanksgiving portrait

Gabrielle and Allison smiling pretty!
Nicholas made a pilgrim mask at school that he wore to grandma and grandpa's house.

November 19, 2007 - A couple of basket cases!

Sam was messing around in the bedroom the other day while I was trying to fold laundry. He kept grabbing the folded laundry off from the top of the bed. So, I scooped him up and put him in the laundry basket. It didn't last for long, but it reminded me of a similar picture of have of Nicholas.

Nicholas - age 5 months

Sam - age 10 months

November 19, 2007 - Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

Now, that we have had kids in this preschool for 3 years straight I have learned that Miss Monica's Thanksgiving Stew is totally awesome. This year, she even had her daughter make homemade pasta. The kids in Gabrielle's class didn't show any interest in doing a program this year, so the teachers decided to just scrap it for this year. So we just had a meal together and then the kids played.

Gabrielle didn't like the stew

Allison tried it, but after one bite, she just went for the carrot cake.
After the feast, Allison loved getting to play with the other kids. A change for her, she usually has to leave after we drop Gabrielle off.
Some of the kids decided to feed Sam. "Air food" that is, just like they do with their baby dolls. It was so cute, the kids loved having a "doll" that actually opened it's mouth and Sam gladly participated for several minutes of eating their pretend food. I couldn't believe he didn't give up sooner.

November 18, 2007

Allison is starting to potty train. So far, so good. She doesn't always tell us she has to go, but she usually goes when we put her on the potty. She has even been successful at keeping her pull-up dry when we are out running errands. Hopefully, this is a good sign of things to come. We will gladly welcome a reprieve from the diaper budget. Nicholas has been learning how to play tic-tac-toe. I have a coffee table version of the game, that was a gift from family when I bought my first condo. Nicholas has a lot to learn about the strategy of the game. He hasn't won yet, but has been successful at achieving many tie games.
One of Gabrielle's birthday gifts was a tinkerbell jewelry box that she could decorate herself with sparkling gems, and gel paints. With Papa and Nicholas playing tic-tac-toe it was the perfect opportunity for a mom and daughter project.
The finished product.

November 11, 2007 - A Birthday Party!

After Sam's baptism we headed back to our house to celebrate Gabrielle's birthday with the family. We had a great time.

Gabrielle is ready to open gifts.

A princess hopscotch set from Grandma
One of Gabrielle's gifts from her aunts, uncles and cousins was a trunk full of dress up clothes. Little did we know when she opened it, how much fun would be had by all. All of the kids got in on the action of playing dress-up.

Nicholas shows off this stunning blue gown.
Allison thinks it looks better on her.
Joshua in his flowing pink dress, princess crown and a set of diamond studded pumps top off the ensemble.
Owen is going to the chapel and going to get married. He has opted not to wear white, but loves the fullness of his lace veil which is a headband style.
Sam tries on the princess hat.

Gabrielle had been calling Grandma for weeks asking for a snow white dress. She called her at work, at home and even had to call her once to tell her that she saw the dress at "Grandma's Meijers, so she better go get it".
The long awaited Snow White Dress
Blowing out the candles on the birthday cake.
Sam stood at Aunt Melissa's side waiting for more and more and more bites of cake.

November 11, 2007 - Part of the Family of God!

We finally had Sam's baptism. We had hoped to have him baptized last May, but there was conflicting schedules which prevented that from happening. Then, we were gone so much over the summer camping, that we finally coordinated with the church for him to be baptized. All went well, and Sam found the entire experience rather boring. We have 2 pastors at our church, and we think it is quite neat that all of our children were actually baptized by Pastor Jerry.

Allison, however, found the stage an excellent place to dance. I started off trying to keep her calm, and finally resided myself to the fact that everyone in the church knows she is only 2 so what am I worried about? I finally just sort of let her do her own thing. It made less of a scene than trying to get her to stop.

November 10, 2007 - Sam gets his feet under him!

Here is a short clip of Sam trying out our push walker. He seems to be having fun. I have a feeling he'll be walking before we know it.

November 7, 2007 - Happy 4th Birthday Gabrielle!

Today was Gabrielle's 4th birthday. I can't believe how time flies. Gabrielle loves your approval and is seriously wounded if she disappoints you. However, don't cross her or you'll get stopping of feet and a serious temper tantrum going on. She is loving preschool and catching on to things so much more quickly than I anticipated that she would. What a blessing she is in our family! Here are some snapshots of her special day:

Gabrielle on her way home from preschool with her birthday crown and sucker.

Baking her birthday cake with mama.

She picked McDonald's for her birthday dinner.

Tinkerbell tea set....her first present.

Ready to open the rest of her gifts.

Strawberry Shortcake Beauty Salon

Disney Princess Karaoke radio

Giving the microphone a try.

Tinkerbell Dress

Blowing out the candles

Happy Birthday Gabrielle!!!

November 2, 2007 - I Can Read!

Nicholas came home from school the other day with a book. A book for him to read. Yes, you read that right. Apparently, there are 4 boys in Nicholas' class that are ahead of the rest of the class. In order to keep those boys challenged his teacher has begun giving them books to bring home and practice reading. I was amazed. He is only in Kindergarten.

After he practiced reading his book a few times, I decided to record the experience for posterity. Here is a clip of Nicholas reading his first book. Max the Cat.

November 2, 2007 - A vacuum cleaner fedish??

Sam loves the vacuum cleaner, he thinks it is so funny when it comes toward him - it's like he's daring us to get as close as possible. If he hears the vacuum in the other room, he'll take off immediately to find it.

October 31, 2007 - Halloween

Prior to their Halloween Party - Nicholas' school has a Halloween Parade. The kids get to walk from the school, down through downtown Ravenna. The stores and businesses hand out candy to all the kids. They walk to the end of the block, cross the street, walk back up the hill and back to school for their party.

Nicholas walking in the parade.

Getting some candy from Guiseppe's Pizza

Nicholas finds us along the parade route
The girls loved seeing all of the different costumes and were able to recognize some of our neighborhood friends.

My bottle is gone mom....here you go!

Ready to go trick or treating that night

Sam is all bundled up and ready to hand out candy with Grandma

Trick or Treat

When we got home the kids dumped their candy out on the floor to see what they got. With his snowsuit on Sam couldn't get to the candy. So he resorted to going after the candy like he was bobbing for apples - using his mouth.

Allison checks out her candy
I'm free of that snowsuit - now where did that candy go!
I got the candy, but the only thing I taste is a funny wrapper.
Maybe there is something better in this bucket.