So Different

Chloe:
Loading up snow in the back of her dump truck.


Evan:
Running all over the place making tracks with his dump truck.


Chloe:
Standing in the snow house we made last week
when we had over a foot of snow on the ground.


Evan:
Standing in the mud that he couldn't play in last week
since it was buried under a foot of snow.


Chloe:
Making tiny snowballs to toss :-)


Evan:
Making monstrous ice balls to whip at Dad ;-)

Chloe:

Always ready to go back inside.

Evan:
Always wanting to stay outside.

Posted by Bree

Dinner for Five

We had our first Thanksgiving here at our house. My wonderful mother-in-law was here to teach me all about turkey and the fixins that go along with it. She was so helpful and I'm pretty sure I could do this again next year!! Of course, I will need some serving dishes and a turkey platter if this is going to be an annual event. All my very best Tupperware took center stage on the new table ;-)

p.s. To update the house rearranging project, the bedroom downstairs idea is not going to happen. Somebody (who shall remain nameless) forgot to measure the box spring and the stairwell opening first, and it doesn't fit :-( So, I guess we begin Plan C.... Will keep you posted.

Posted by Bree

Random Stuff

Look at all those kitties snug in their blankets... and don't forget the red Mack truck at the right side, also tucked in tight. Chloe is such a cuddly girl!
She also likes to line up her toy families... here it's the kitties again, usually it's a line of movie Cars or Bob the Builder trucks.


Evan plays MUD every day of his life... I keep wondering when the fascination will end... This time the blanket was over the trampoline and there is a nice hole for the trucks to get stuck in and then spray mud everywhere when they finally get out!

Dimples!!! He is so cute!

Playing "ramp" with the monster trucks before church. She's pretty good at motor sounds...

It was so sunny combined with all the snow, the kids had to wear sunglasses to church.

Chloe's are hand-me-downs from cousin Kylie who is 10. We lost her red ones... such a mystery. I love that they are making the same face -- that's what I get when I ask for smiles. Oh well.

I thought I might fill you in on our house rearranging project... no pictures of stuff yet, but I will take some this week. See if you can follow all these changes!

1)We bought some new furniture and are trying to make the most of the space we have here. We finally got a new table and chair set for the kitchen... it's black :-) I was holding out for x-back chairs but never ended up finding any that were affordable for us.

2)We also got a desk/armoir unit (also black) and moved the desk upstairs to the main living room. The living room is a bit crowded but it had to be done (more changes to come there later). Then we moved all the basement furniture around to make the biggest changes... one side is the TV room and the other side will become our bedroom.

3)Our old bedroom will become a playroom/homeschooling room. We needed that because the kids room is so small.

4)Their will house a bunkbed sometime in the new year (that Todd is most likely going to build -- our own version of the Pottery Barn Kids Kendall bunk bed) and probably a small dresser and little night stand for books, but not much else.

5)The TV room downstairs had some ugly shelves we've had since before we were married that we replaced with a new very tall black shelf. It actually saves us room :-) The next phase here is moving our bedroom down there ... We'll probably do that next weekend.

6)We're going to need to divide the room with a curtain or something and I'm not sure how to do it so it isn't completely tacky. Maybe if I get some pictures on here you all can give me ideas ;-)

Well, if you actually read all that then you might be able to help me!! I am not an interior designer in any way, and I have a fear of putting holes in the wall that I may regret. I'm off to take some pictures now...

Posted by Bree

Snow Day

Posted by Bree

What's This???

Both of the kids looking towards the camera and smiling????

Posted by Bree

Catching Up

Seems like I haven't been taking pictures again lately... We've just been hanging out and living life...

We've been going through tons of library books. I found these great little books for Evan in a series called Billy and Blaze about a boy and his pony -- he is sooo hooked on them!
I finally went out shopping and got snowboots and long-sleeved shirts for myself (although I forgot to get Evan boots -- he is not happy about that).

Todd and I have been dealing with some ongoing behavior issues with the kids -- they are just always fighting and it's making us crazy!! So we're trying some new things. And that whole 'rearranging the house' idea I mentioned weeks ago is still in our minds but might not be so extreme as we originally thought.

Funny story: Chloe is interested in being a big girl so much that we started working on some potty training stuff with her. I asked her the other day if she wanted big girl underwear which got an enthusiastic "Yes!" from her. Here's how the rest of the conversation went:
me- What color underwear do you think you want?
her- Pink!!
me- Pink? Okay. Do you want pink underwear with pictures on them?
her- Yes!
me- What picture?
her- ummmmmm...uhhhh.... Pink Monster Mutt!!!
me- You want pink underwear with a pink Monster Mutt on them?
her- Yes! Yes! Yes! (jumping up and down)
(Monster Mutt is her favorite monster truck.)

The kids are up to their same old stuff these days...

Chloe chatters incessantly, sings songs, reads to herself, colors pictures in her drawing book, screams at Evan, sits in time-out way too much, talks about being a big girl, brushes her hair, cuddles with her animals and blankets....


Evan plays with his off-roading trucks, cuddles with Roy and Ruby, builds mud pits with his fuzzy blanket, goes outside, fights with Chloe, sits in time-out a lot, wrestles with Todd, brushes his hair...
(In this picture he had made my winter jacket into a mountain and piled all his trucks on it.)
A few days ago we visited Liz and her girls, and I think we made it through an entire day of no fighting or time-outs! The next three pictures are from our visit.

Evan makes the most hilarious faces while swinging on his belly ;-)
Evan LOVES Chloe's hair (he has since she was born... in fact it might be the only thing he really loves about her on any given day!) They had found a couple of brushes in the girls' room and went to town with the grooming...

*************

It snowed a lot overnight, and it's not supposed to let up for the next couple of days. We want to buy a sled this year -- any of you readers have ideas for a GOOD sled? We want to be able to pull them around the block on walks. Also ideas for ways to get a 2-year old to not cry when they are in snow would be appreciated :-)

And one more picture for laughs:

...... I know Mom, she gets those monkey toes from me :-)

Posted by Bree

Wanting

THIS....

Instead of THIS...

I am outnumbered in this house though. Upon waking Monday morning to see the snow out his bedside window, Evan exclaimed, "Dad, I have GOT to get my coat on right now and get outside!!" I haven't even bought snowboots for him yet, but that hasn't stopped him. When I told him he'd have soaked feet if he went out in his shoes, he said, "Not if I shovel." Well, okay then... out you go. Poor Chloe, who obviously cannot go outside without me, is housebound till I get myself some warm boots this year. If my feet are cold, it is all over... I'm just hoping it melts soon and we can pretend this never happened......

Posted by Bree

Big Girl

Tonight we went bunk bed shopping. We haven't found one we love yet, but the fact that we are even doing it has me smiling... We no longer have a baby in our house :0) We have two big kids!! This transformation in Chloe seems to have happened, literally, within this past week...


**She hasn't nursed for four days in a row, and she hasn't even asked to nurse these last two days.

**She requested to take her nap in Evan's bed yesterday. (She didn't sleep, but she laid there for an hour!)

**She asks me not to chop her apples, prunes, carrots or whatever into tiny pieces anymore saying, "I can bite it."

**She asks to brush her own teeth now and actually does a good job without chewing on the brush!

**She always wants to help open and close the doors since she just figured out how to turn knobs and push the latches.... up on those tippy-toes!

**She left this morning with Daddy to take a truck ride waving and saying, "Bye! I miss you!" and came home saying, "Hi Mommy, I missed you!"

And the clincher for me...
**She requested a long ponytail this morning to look just like her 'big girl' friends, Anna and Gracie.

Hello Big Girl :-)
We are so glad you have finally arrived!

Posted by Bree

The Day in Numbers

Number of hours we played outside: 6.5
(it never did rain today!! it was 70 degrees!)

Number of leaf piles I raked and removed: 8

Number of leaves that fell to the ground
right after I raked: 1,000,000

Number of clothing pieces dirtied by two kids: 16

Number of minutes Chloe napped today: 0

Number of mother goose rhymes recited
by Chloe as she played: 13

Number of words spoken by Chloe: 1,000,000

Number of bare feet in the backyard this afternoon: 6

Number of pretzels eaten from bare toes: 7

Posted by Bree

Four Beautiful Days

I am so thankful for this stretch of gorgeous weather that enabled us to be outside constantly......

......I told Todd at dinnertime tonight, it's quite possible that the kids and I have been outside for more than 18 hours over the course of these four amazing sunny, warm(ish) days... It's a good thing we enjoyed every single available minute of it because the cool rainy weather returns tomorrow and for the weekend.

...........It has been lovely while it lasted :-)












...Raking leaves
......Playing in dirt
..........Raking more leaves
..............Playing in leaves
....................Walking in the woods
...Crunching leaves
.........Collecting leaves
..............Jumping in huge leaf piles
...................Visiting friends and playing outside together
.........................Throwing leaves
....Exploring paths in the woods
.............Listening to leaves falling everywhere
...................Taking walks and riding bikes
.............................Soaking up sun..........

Posted by Bree