Christmas Bliss

We had a wonderful Christmas and I am really enjoying my vacation time at home with the kids. For the most part, everyone has been in really great spirits and we are having a great time with loved ones. Luke was officially spoiled on Christmas eve, Christmas morning, and Christmas day haha but it was so much fun to see the joy on his face. I've also been able to spoil him with attention, playtime, and kisses and let him know that he is a loved and cherished child. Charlotte as well is a joy to be around. At 9 months she is showing her little personality more and more and its so fun to watch her grow. One of my favorite moments this Christmas was her reaction when opening a special American Girl doll that my grandparents gave her for Christmas. Lottie just went crazy for the doll's face she could see through the box- she was crawling all over it and trying to get at it, I couldn hardly get it away from her to open the box! She also does this funny "egh egh egh!" laugh when she's excited and she was doing that. It was so cute! The other night she slept 10 hours without me having to get up!! That's a record for her... I thought it was a Christmas miracle and maybe from then on she would always sleep that long. Well, the next night we had to get up around 2am, so I guess I'm not in for consistent all night sleeps but hopefully soon!

Today my mom and I took the kids outside in the snow. Charlotte's first time out in the snow- which she enjoyed the sled ride into the woods and would wiggle her arms and feet when she got pulled. She wasn't so happy when we stopped so that Luke and I could sled down the hill a few times haha. But both kids had fun.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few days! Geez I love these kiddos. I am one lucky momma.

Cookie before bedtime! *GASP*!

My little sassy girl

Give me my doll!!!!!

"Hot Choco-lot" in his special little Christmas cup from Oma and Opa

Cool dude!

Taking my baby for a walk (cutest baby girl present!)



Sledding with Mommy!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Luke is VERY excited about Christmas this year and we've been hyping him up all month! This morning he said Charlotte was going to go on Santa's naughty list because she knocked an ornament off the Christmas tree! So he generally gets the idea of it all. He saw some presents I had wrapped for family members earlier in the week and wanted to know where his was. I told him Mommy and Daddy had a Christmas present for him but we didn't wrap it yet. So last night we finally wrapped the presents from Santa and a big box with an Chalkboard/Wipeboard/Magnet easel got wrapped up for Luke from Mommy and Daddy. He was sooooo excited to see that big present this morning but immediately said, "I wanna open it!". When I tried explaining we have to wait until Christmas.... then came the tears. I would give in and let him open it tonite since it is Christmas eve and it's from us, but I know JW would not agree with that. I double checked with JW got home from work but as expected he said Luke has to wait for tomorrow! I think Christmas is fun when you are a kid and then as you get older and don't believe in Santa anymore it loses some of the fun... but then when you have your own kids to hype it up to and try to make Christmas special it becomes magical again. I can't imagine what next year will be like when both kids know about Santa and are sooooo excited to see what will happen on Christmas morning.



Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and happy and healthy 2010!

Charlotte at 9 months

Charlotte is now 9 months, weighs in at 19 pounds 4 ounces and is at the 60th percentile for height and weight compared to other girls her age. She is eating babyfood a little better now. Sleeping in her OWN room, but we still wake up at least once or twice in the night! Ohhh how I long for the days where she can sleep 10-12 hours through the night. She has learned how to "turn around" in going down the two steps into our dining room. She also last night pulled herself up on Luke's ride on scooter toy and used it as a walking support! She loves to take laps around the living room now but unfortunately she doesn't know how to turn corners so I have to stand there and turn it for her. She definately lets you know when she wants something.. she does a whiney/frustrated sounding "ehhh!" until she gets what she wants. She pretty much wants whatever her brother has but she also likes dolls. She seems to study the faces on dolls more than Luke ever did! She's getting to be quite the big girl in all that she can do!

First Snowfall!!

I'm FINALLY on Christmas Vacation... seriously didn't think I would make it to this point a few times. Unfortunately, (for him) JW is having to work this weekend but it is a blessing to have work available! The kids and I have spent the day playing and organizing the house. When Luke woke up and he saw we had a few inches of snow he was soooooo excited! I promised him when Charlotte took a nap we could go out and play. He kept asking me, "My baby sleeping?" as she crawled past us on the floor.. "ummm no... does she look like she is asleep?". But he kept asking anyways! Finally she took a nap and I got him all bundled up. We threw snowballs, tried making a snowman, made snow angels, he literally rolled around in the snow, and soon was getting snow in his gloves and decided it was time to go inside. I think we probably spent more time getting him bundled up than we did actually being outside. But that was okay with me! It was still fun.

Getting Ready for Sinterklaas

Since J.W. is from Holland we will be celebrating Sinterklaas this weekend! This is the first year we are trying to follow more of the true Dutch traditions and having Luke and Charlotte put their shoes out by the fireplace and sing Sinterklaas songs so that he brings some treats overnight. From what Tante Essie has told me, kids in Holland do this off and on over 3 weeks!!! We started this week and I'm not sure Luke totally understands and he is a little confused by Sinterklaas and Santa being different people... but he is pretty much game for anything that will result in finding chocolate in his shoes! Today we also received a BIG box from Oma Janny and Opa Henk that Sinterklaas accidently delivered to their house instead! How nice of them to send it over for Luke and Charlotte! We took out the cookies, treats, and chocolates for Luke but we left the presents still a secret until December 5th! He found a big hollow Sinterklaas on the counter and came running to me saying, "Look Mommy, it's Holland! I found Holland!" hmmm I guess we have been talking about Holland and dutch traditions with Sinterklaas coming up but he is a little confused still! I guess it will make more sense as he gets older that Holland is a place!

Please enjoy JW (in a lovely *ahem* camo hat) singing Sinterklaas songs with Luke mumbling what I think sounds like the "ABC's" except he may be saying ABD and 'Appy, appy, appy' over and over??!! (Note to self- need to work on the ABC song...)

Sinterklaas Kapoentje,

Gooi wat in mijn schoentje! (throw something in my shoe?)

Gooi wat in mijn laarsje, (throw something in my boot)

Dank je Sinterklaasje! (Thank you Sinterklaas!)

If you want to know more about Sinterklaas traditions in Holland, I found this Wikipedia link to be pretty informative! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Flying by...

These last few weeks have felt like they are flying by. I can't believe we are halfway through November!!! It's been a rough month so far. My Auny Jayne (and faithful blog reader) had a heart attack a few weeks ago and is still in a coma and on a ventilator. For awhile, it seemed touch and go as to if she would wake up at all, but now we are hearing some positives. So we continue to pray that she pulls through and is back to her knitting and quilting self soon! It seemed like Luke and Charlotte were coughing and/or had runny noses for the last few months. Now they seem pretty healthy and I am thankful for that! Hopefully, we can keep the flu at bay! Charlotte is now 8 months. Wow, she is really starting to interact and making those first steps towards communicating and it warms my heart! She claps when you tell her to or she claps and looks at me and her little eyes say, "Aren't you going to do it too??" or "I'm doing it Mommy!!" (she knows how impressed I am!) and also she started waving "hi" in the mirror a few weeks ago... now she is REALLY doing it when you tell her say "hi" or "bye" she waves with one or both hands haha and just smiles so happy because she knows it makes us smile. She is pretty good at walking along the couch or tables but she has to hold on. She FINALLY started crawling on her knees this week... a REAL CRAWL! She still goes down to her belly though since that's the fastest for her. Luke loves it when she "chases" him and does a really pathetic "Awww.. baby's not doing it" when she won't go after him. Charlotte still likes to be held a lot. Right now we are having sleep issues because I am realizing that at 8 months she is old enough to sleep the whole night in her crib... but she realizes that she is 8 months old and can get what she wants if she just cries! She wants to sleep in between mommy and daddy in their bed and that's what happens every night at some point. I've been talking with JW about getting the carpet installed in her room so that we can finally put her crib in there and help her get used to sleeping in her crib all night. Mommy's gotta get a whole nights sleep at some point this year!! It's starting to wear me out. Luke must be going through a growth spurt lately because he is eating alllll the time. He will eat his dinner really good and then still be asking for more all evening! I'm trying to give him peanut butter sandwiches or cheese or fruit to try to fill him up and he keeps wanting more!! He's such a big boy now but of course he still is my baby hehehe. Here they are tonight in a video... Luke's going crazy with his Wheelie Bug from Oma and Opa and wanting Charlotte to chase him. She starts out on her knees but then goes to her belly fast. She just started waving consistently so I was surprised she did it right away when I said it! So cute!!!!!!!!! Love these kids!

Spiderman and Little Miss Bee

Happy Halloween! We had a pretty good day today and of course had fun trick or treating this year with Luke. We managed to score H1N1 vaccines for the kids this morning so they both got the shots for what it is worth! Luke had to be poked twice since he was kicking, screaming, and flailing... but he was fine right afterwards. Charlotte already had a runny nose but hopefully it won't turn into anything too serious. Aunt Kathryn came home for Halloween and we visited with her in the afternoon. Then we all went to Amy's house for pizza and pictures before trick or treating! It was very cold and windy so Luke didn't last very long trick or treating before he announced, "I'm done." It was too cold to take Charlotte along so she stayed with my mom to help pass out candy. Here's Luke with his loot... (Charlotte wanted to check out the candy as well!) he wanted to take a bite of everything and then just give it away or put it back. He doesn't seem to like a lot of the candy he bites into haha But he does like M&M's and most chocolates! He started getting a little hyper haha but I guess that's what Halloween is all about when you are 2! Here is a video of Luke's first solo trip up to someone's door. He said the trick or treat and the lady confirmed for me that he did say thank you all by himself haha I'm such a nosy mom! You can tell from his walk that he was proud of himself!

Busy Baby

Charlotte's been a busy baby in her 7th month of life. She started eating some finger foods (and refusing baby foods...), started pulling herself up to standing, walks along furniture holding on, claps her hands, imitates "da-da-da", and all while fighting off a nasty virus earlier this month! Her mommy is very proud of her. Her little personality shows through more and more each day. She does the cutest little laugh when she holds your hands and thinks she is walking. She definately gets to where she wants to go, although she still prefers to be held and carried a lot! :) I can't believe how "big" she is getting although she still seems like a little peanut when she is standing up! She still does a belly crawl but really only crawls to something that she can pull herself up on and stand. Luke didn't pull himself up until around 9 months I think so I wasn't quite prepared for this! If I am remembering correctly I think Luke babbled a little more whereas Charlotte often seems pretty quiet still. She's been spoiled in the sleeping area in that her crib is still in our room and she often shares our bed halfway through the night. She is getting a little bit better about letting us lay her down for naps in her crib and staying asleep for longer stretches at a time.

Take a Hike

One of the reasons we bought our house was for the location (the house has been a "money pit" and we have had all sorts of woodland creatures invading us) but we are on a small no-motor lake with a game preserve across the road. We love to be able to just walk across the road and take small hikes in the woods. Luke loves this as well, however during the summer we had to avoid the woods because of too much poison ivy and too many mosquitoes! We kept promising him once it gets colder the buggies won't be so bad and we can take walks in the woods. Well, finally today everyone felt well enough to be able to get outside for some fresh air and take a little hike together. It was also nice to do something as a family that we all enjoy because sometimes that just doesn't seem to happen very often anymore! I had yet to try Charlotte in the Ergobaby carrier on my back. Now that she can hold her head up good, it was a perfect fit. I wasn't sure if we had her in right at first, but she never cried and fell asleep pretty fast so I think that means she was in okay! I loved feeling her little arms around me. We hiked back to the dam and looked at the water rushing through and then we climbed up onto a high ridge where you can see more ponds out in the game preserve. The cool, crisp autumn air felt good in our recovering lungs. We saw some wood ducks flying away with their weird squeaky call and a couple blue herons flew over the water. I wished we would have had an extra person to take a shot of all four of us on our first family hike into the woods. Maybe Aunt Kathryn or Nana can tag along next time and try to get a good shot of us all together!

Grummies

Well, we have our first case of the grummies for the season. Luke woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and coughing. Of course, I watched an informational program on the swine flu last night so I am freaked out! I'm sorry, I mean the h1n1 flu! I don't care what they say... swine flu is just catchier so that's what I continue to call it. If they wanted to get away from the idea of pigs and people being afraid to eat pork then they should have come up with a snazzier name than h1n1. So right now I am wondering whether to call the doctor. Luke's technically in a high risk group of under 4 years old and I read that you should call the doctor when you see symptoms for them. He has a gunky sounding cough, fever, runny nose... hard to tell with 2 yo if he has a headache or body aches. Charlotte has a dry cough every once in awhile so I am keeping an eye on her closely. I pray she doesn't get it as well, no matter what it is! Right now, Luke has some tylenol in him and he is laying on his new spider man foam fold out couch (I couldn't resist!) and he is happily watching the movie Bolt. Charlotte is napping in her crib after having gotten up at 6:00am still. Let's hope we are all healthy soon!
Back to mommy duty...

More Than Corn

There's more than corn in Indiana... but there sure is a heck of a lot of it around right now! Getting into the Fall spirit, Nana and I took Colin, Luke, and Charlotte to a corn maze. The boys were already approaching naptime so it was a gamble on how the afternoon would go! They had a great time running through the corn and deciding which way to go next. Colin (who is notoriously clumsy at times) tripped at least 4 times in the maze. I can still here his loud "aghhhh!!" everytime like he couldn't believe he fell down again! Then we snuck through some thick corn to reach the pumpkin patch! With all the pumpkin vines in the patch both boys were tripping... but still having fun. One of the best things about this farm was that in addition to the maze and pumpkin patch they had a pumpkin sling shot to shoot little pumpkins into a pond, a tricycle race track, and a big slide going down a hill. Even though the boys were getting tired, they perked up for shooting pumpkins out of a slingshot and Luke did the slide first with me and then by himself about 4 more times! He loved the slide!

The weather has been so cold, rainy, and dreary this weekend so it was nice to get out and enjoy some Fall activities while the sun was out! It definately helped wear out the two toddlers and they have some fun new experiences to talk about now.