Winter WonderLand

We've had a serious lack of snow here in the midwest the past year or so. I never mind having snow, in fact, if it's going to be cold, it may as well snow so the kids can play outside, right?! Well Thursday, it snowed!! It was a heavy, wet snow that clung to the tree branches and stuck tight, it really was a beautiful sight, so this morning we woke up and saw the trees were still heavy with snow and said "get in the car, kids! We're going for a winter adventure"

Look at this amazing scenery! It was harder than I thought it would be to capture a well exposed picture in whiteout conditions!

Baby lost a glove and wasn't happy

Daddy to the rescue! It's warm inside his coat. He tucked her inside where it was nice and toasty!

Harrison is looking at the camera! He was really in his element out in the snowy forest.

I love this shot!

Henry photobombs the shot. I think I like this one even better.

One of the whole family! I think I need some snow pants! I'm wearing yoga pants under my jeans, but I was still cold!

I love this snow princess!

We stopped by the visitors center on our way out. We warmed up and handled animal bones. Yuck.

Maya says "they're sanitized mom" well, OK then....

Annie gets baptized!

Today was a special day for our family, our niece Annie was baptized. It was such a nice occasion, Annie has always been a sweet girl with a special spirit about her. We were happy to be able to be part of her day.

Miss Molly is the sassiest 2 year old you'll ever meet. She's a sweetie and I love her! Molly is Annie's younger sister.

Here's Tess! We don't see her very much, but we love it when we do... She is the oldest grandchild on Tadd's side.

Tyler and Henry- they're best buds, just a few months separate these two, they're so much fun together! Tyler is Annie's younger brother.

Tadd's & his siblings, they don't get together very often, even though we all live 10 minutes from one another!
From left to right.... Amy, Aaron, Jared, Nate, Rob & Tadd.

Quaker girl

Amelia is a creature of habit, just as most children are. She goes to bed at the same time every night, wakes up at the same time every morning, sleeps with her puppy and wants to brush her teeth before bed. Every morning when she wakes up I say "are you ready for your oatmeal?!" She smiles and says "yes!" So I plop her in her high chair and serve her a bowl of warm oatmeal with a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar. She insists on feeding herself every drop

When the spoon isn't fast enough, she uses her hands!

.

Just when you think she's looking at story books....

I was enjoying a quiet shower this morning, Amelia was sitting just outside the open bathroom door, jabbering at me and looking at books, and by looking at books I mean "delicately applying desitin to her lips, just like mommy's lipstick" I stepped out of the shower, peeked around the corner and laughed so hard I thought I would stop breathing. She had found the tube of thick diaper paste and artfully applied it to her lips (and face, and shirt, and pants...etc) No wonder she was so content to sit outside the bathroom door and chatter happily.... while "reading books"

What? I have something on my face? Naaa, really?

You can't see in the picture, but her shirt is covered in it!!

Good thing she's so cute!!!

January Funk

I'm not sure what it is, but every January I fall into a little funk, I'm sure this is not unheard of, I know  many people that suffer from the "January Funk" I'm just one of the many. It's too cold, holidays are over, the toys have been played with, it's still MONTHS away from any warm weather and life is just a little... bleak. Add this to a couple doses of "I can't go to my grandma's 75th/85th birthday party, and my BFF is moving to Texas," and you have one big funk. One thing I look forward to is my nightly ritual of a warm bath, it seems like when I'm in warm water, my head is clear and things just seem a little more bearable. Lately Henry has been asking to take a warm bath several times a day... sometimes I think kids get the January Funk too...

King Henry

Yesterday at church, Henry got a paper crown in his class, not sure what the lesson was about, but this morning marks day 2 of him insisting on everyone addressing him as "King Henry". The crown hasn't left his head since church yesterday. I had to convince him that it would be better to leave it home today, he was all ready to wear it to preschool! Right now it's lovingly hung on his bedpost ready to grace his head in 3 short hours.

The CTR stands for Choose The Right... as long as you're calling him King Henry, of course.

Here is a sample of the breakfast conversation this morning...

Henry, what would you like for breakfast?

"Please call me KING Henry, mom"

King Henry, what would you like for breakfast?

"Cheerios"

And repeat for every conversation, the past 24 hours.

Gosh I love this kingly preschooler.

15 months...

My precious baby Amelia turned 15 months old this very day. She's such a precious little lamb, I felt a blog post was in order to celebrate the occasion.  She's such a treat to have in our family, we all adore her immensely. I call her my "angel baby" because she's the closest thing to an angel I've ever held. In the morning she wakes up, stands in her crib and shakes the bars like a little monkey in a cage, screaming MAAAA MA! MAAAA MA! I love to walk in her room and see her toothy smile and hear the happy squeal she gives me. Her red hair is all tangled and curly and circles her head like a fluffy little apricot halo, I pick her up and breathe in the scent of her hair and sweet baby neck and smile, because she's in my arms.

A few things I want to remember about Amelia when she was 15 months old.

-She'll eat anything as long as she can dip it in ketchup, you heard that right, ketchup! Gross right? She's so dainty with her dipping, but when she gets tired of it, she scoops it up with three fingers and shovels it into her mouth.

-She sleeps with her "puppy" every night- it's really a stuffed leopard webkinz, but she calls it her puppy and buries her face in it, she sleeps with it in the crook of her arm.

-She's cruising around furniture pretty fast, but has yet to take her first steps unassisted.

-She sleeps 12 or 13 hours straight every night and naps once during the day.

-She's quite the talker and will repeat nearly any word, but says the following words unprompted-
Momma, Daddy, up, Maya, Henry, puppy, chocolate, cookie, treat, drink, NO NO (complete with a finger wag) night night, pretty, twinkle twinkle, stinky, One... two, please, thank you, DROID (when she sees my phone) banana, hot.

- She loves to have her hair in tiny pigtails and will touch them, saying "pretty"

-She has a feisty temper and does not like to be told "no" she really reminds me so much of my sweet Grammy, in looks and in temperament! Mostly sweet, but a force when she wants to be!

Girl LOVES frozen gogurt, and will eat several per day- thank heavens NOT dipped in ketchup.

I've been seeing quite a bit of this face since those molars are coming up!

-When Tadd comes home from work, she'll crawl around the house after him, yelling " HI Daddy HI Daddy! UP! UP! She'll even get up on her knees and lift her hands up in the air, like a tiny beggar.

-Any time the phone rings, or I'm on the phone, she'll say "HI Daddy!" and repeat it the entire time I'm on the phone....

Is it any wonder we're all in love with this tiny creature?