52 Weeks of Joy: Week 44

This week we had our first family movie night. Most things went as expected. Miriam asked questions through the entire movie. Vivian sat still for about 15 minutes of the hour and a half. But...Daddy fell asleep instead of Mommy! Good thing Vivian was there to crawl all over him and wake him up. No rest for the weary.

We made caramel corn together. 
 

The popcorn was approved for consumption.

Then into the living room, settled onto a blanket (which will hopefully catch the popcorn mess), and ready to begin The Lion King.

Have you seen this movie recently? It's so good. And so confusing for a two year old. Why did Scar hurt the Daddy Lion? Who's going to take care of Simba if he runs away? Why is Simba mean to Scar? Who is the new baby at the end of the movie? Keep those answers simple. That's our motto.

Fun for the whole family. Now that's joyful!

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 43

We had our ultrasound today for Baby #3! And we can joyfully report that everything looks great! As with all ultrasound pictures, good luck figuring out what you are looking at...luckily the tech labels everything.

Baby's face can be seen in the middle of this picture: eye sockets, nose, teeth, jaw line

Baby is waving to us!

Baby feet are so cute!

See the spine and head?

 New due date based on the baby's measurements: April 3, 2013!

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 42

Fall can be a little bit sad. The leaves are beautiful, but everything is dying. Not many flowers left. Few warm days. Outdoor toys and furniture come in. The garden is done. And recently, lots of rain. However, this week we did have a nice day or two. We took the opportunity to look at the joy of fall by making a "Nature Collage"!

First, find some nature. 

Then, stick it to a piece of contact paper.

TA-DA! Nature Collage! Miriam really loved doing this. It was actually difficult to get a picture of her because she was so busy running as fast as she could around the yard. Vivian also enjoyed helping create our collage, but she got distracted by the sandbox. 

Couldn't resist this picture...everything still goes into that mouth!

 And then a sandbox nap?!?!

HAPPY FALL!

Out to Lunch

Yesterday Miriam asked if we we're "going out for lunch". Um...no. Daddy's car is being worked on, he's got our transportation for a few days, therefore if we can't walk we're not going. So we played restaurant at lunch. Welcome to Mommy's Cafe. It's pretty posh (as Fancy Nancy would say.) We got your leftovers and your lunch meat.

The girls both poured over the menu trying to decide what to have. "I'll take the pizza and banana."

"Turkey. Banana."

And during the wait, while the chef prepared their meals, the girls colored the menu like they would at a "real" restaurant.

Gourmet! Well, the mushroom pizza doesn't look too appetizing, but she asked for thirds so it must have been delicious.

Miriam loved the whole experience! Smile and bit of pizza sauce to prove it.

 
Vivian ordered dessert. Her mother's child, no doubt.

Before supper Miriam asked, "Do we get to eat at Mommy's Cafe again?"

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 41

We're having a Pumpkin themed week here and the highlight was pumpkin carving with Daddy.

Top is off. Time to get to work. 

You want me to put my hands in where??

But they adjusted pretty easily to the pumpkin goo and joyfully joined in.

Daddy did all the carving while trying to keep the girls out of his tools in the garage...

 

Miriam wanted him to have ears...and then he was the perfect pumpkin!

Hopefully he makes it to Halloween!

Our Little Men

This morning was chilly. Daddy made a cup of coffee and went to work. Mommy made a cup of tea and thought she might get to drink it while the girls did their "Pumpkin Week" activity. It was going to be a very entertaining activity, Mommy was sure. And she had a plan to keep the mess pretty contained. So this tea would be savored while Daddy's coffee was likely gulped quickly.

First, shaving cream in a pan with yellow and red food coloring. We got to talk about the color orange and we were going to have a hands-on sensory activity. Practically professionals around here. Go ahead, ladies, enjoy!

And they loved it, of course.

But Mommy must have forgotten who she was dealing with. A contained mess? Not likely. 

Finally, Mommy decided to move the mess, two little girls and the shaving cream, into the bathtub.

Where the real party began! Miriam sang, "I love saving cream. Shaving cream is so fun!"

And they painted the walls and each other...until their feet were so slick they couldn't stand anymore.

Luckily, they were easy to clean. But they still smell like men...and that tea was ice cold when Mommy got back to it.

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 40

This weekend we traveled to Cincinnati to visit with Sarah's college friends and walk around Xavier. The girls got their first look at the campus where Mommy hopes they might end up one day! Though Daddy has other plans for them...

What was seven close friends in school is growing into quite an army. Even with one of the girls in Hawaii and unable to join us, we were up 6 men, 4 babies, and 2 more babies on the way! We're going to have to start taking out blocks of hotel rooms at discounted rates if we keep this up. It's so much fun to see everyone together and to catch up. It's even more fun to imagine all these kids running around together in just a few years!

Few of the pictures from the weekend...

At Xavier! Left to right: Amber, Miriam, Sarah, Vivian, Amanda, Kristin, Megan, Alexis, Avery

Amber and Sarah catching up (Both expecting babies!)

Baby Lukas and Peter, Megan's little family!

Miriam exploring Amanda's backyard

A little rest for Miriam

Baby Avery gets to know her Auntie Amber

Vivian loved the pumpkin patch!

Miriam wanted to pick out JUST the RIGHT pumpkin...

...so Auntie Amber gave her a hand...

....while Vivian found something to climb on.

 

Back to the party with our perfect pumpkins

The girls try to convince Baby Avery to be their best friend

"What an awesome weekend!" says Vivian.

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 39

This week we celebrated Tim's birthday. And we celebrated Tim with joy! He is a wonderful father who witnesses so well to our children the love of the Heavenly Father. (He even shared his birthday candles with Miriam.) And a husband who "loves his bride as Christ loves the Church."

Happy 32nd Birthday, Tim!!