The Hesse Family Journal

One More Time....

2012-01-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

We had to sneak in one more trip to the beach since everyone seems to love it so much!

I should post the whole sequence of these pictures somewhere. They really are funny. First, Sam is sitting and Eli is standing. Then Eli sits and Sam stands. Eventually we go them both laying and looking up at the same time! They are just too cute!

This isn't the best picture, but since Ben and I don't get many pictures taken together I had to post it.

The next day we flew home. It was a great trip with the cousins and I think everyone had a great time. I'm hoping we do something all together like this again soon!

USS Midway

2012-01-24T15:50:00.000-08:00

We took a drive down to San Diego to visit the USS Midway. Nicholas actually enjoyed it somewhat. Eli was a bit of a pain to try to keep track of, but we love him anyway! We went along with one of my brother's families.

The boys liked these wheels and the big chains in the background. They had fun playing around the "equipment."

After touring around the bottom of the ship, we headed up to the flight deck. I thought Nicholas would enjoy this part but for some reason he didn't really enjoy looking at the planes. He did enjoy sitting in the one we got to sit in, though!

See, this is Nicholas not having much fun.

Eli got very tired by the end of our visit. He was sound asleep in Daddy's arms by the end. I was thankful because he usually won't sleep on me like this. I guess Daddy has that magic touch!

It was a fun trip. We saw a lot of stuff, but not nearly everything. I know Ben would love to go back when the kids are older and might have bigger attention spans! :)

Jump In!

2012-01-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

We took one day to spend at the pool at the resort. The weather was just gorgeous the week we were there.

The boys loved jumping into the pool. Nicholas jumped from the edge and Eli jumped from the step.

And here are all of the cousins in the pool together. What a fine looking group!

Laguna Beach

2012-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

Ben really loves going to the beach. Maybe even more than the boys do. I love watching all of them at the beach. Ben loves to get right in there and play in the sand and water with them. It fills my heart with joy to see this!

Nicholas very much enjoyed playing in the water with Ben. I love this picture.

Eli liked to chase the seagulls. He loves seagulls. Or, mostly he loves to chase them. Either way, it is very cute to watch!

Eli finally got a little curious as to what his brother was doing in the water. No worries, Ben was standing just out of the shot.

See, told you not to worry. He made the save!

Eli wasn't so sure about the water after this.

All of these pictures were taken in Laguna Beach. It was a nice quiet day as it was a weekday. I think we got some dirty looks from a group of young moms. I'm pretty sure people thought we were terrible parents letting our kids get wet in the middle of winter. I know, how terrible when it is only 65 degrees out and the sun is beating on us. We all survived...and nobody got sick! Did I say yet that I love beach pictures?!

Disney Land

2012-01-24T15:11:00.000-08:00

We decided that this was one of the first trips that Nicholas did really well on and was actually fun to travel with. I think 4 years old must be the age where this starts to happen. He loved everything at Disneyland. Turns out, Ben had a good time, too. The car might be a little small but he still had fun driving with Nicholas!

Of course Nicholas had a great time, too!

Ben and I didn't care much for this next ride. Turns out this kind of ride is much more fun when you are a kid. Ben and I both felt a bit queasy after this one!

Nicholas didn't feel it as he really wanted to go on it again. Sorry, kid.

Like most kids, he just had to try to pull the sword out of the stone. He couldn't figure out why it would not move.

Eli fell asleep on Pirates of the Caribbean.

He woke up when the ride was over and that was the end of his napping that day.

We met up with Brent and Jen's family for dinner. Eli and Chase loved the chips and salsa!

Here they are very tired and ready to head back to the hotel.

I don't know if we even made it out of the parking garage before the back seat looked like this:

I'm sure that isn't how he is supposed to be sitting.
They had a wonderful day and Nicholas was pretty excited to see Minnie, Pooh, Tigger, Woody and Pluto. What a fun day for all of us!

Huntington Beach

2012-01-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

The next day we headed down to Huntington Beach to see what there was to see there. I don't have many pictures as it was really windy and we mostly just walked around the downtown area.

Eli and the other kids really enjoyed this fountain!

Not a bad picture on the beach!

California Beach: Day 1

2012-01-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

Back in December we met all of my family (parents and both brothers and families) in Newport Beach California for a fun family vacation.
Our first full day the kids were excited to go to the beach. I just love beach pictures. We all headed down to Crystal Cove State Park just down the hill from the resort we were staying at.

Everyone had a great time. That is just the first day of our fun trip!

Hockey Time

2012-01-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

This is a video of Nicholas playing hockey this morning. We were about to give up on hockey 2 weeks ago. Nicholas did nothing but stand at the wall crying at us. WE were DONE! I gave him one last chance and told him it isn't fun for anyone when he is crying. He had the choice to play or not, but if he chose to play, then no crying and you have to try!! Well, he chose to play and hasn't shed a tear since.

And, here is a still pic of the little guy. I'm proud of him for trying and showing so much improvement in the last week!

GO MOSES LAKE!

Another New Trick

2011-11-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving day we all went to my brother's house for a little while. Eli was pretty fascinated with the girls doing all of their gymnastic moves. So, he thought he would give it a try, too.

It is hard to believe my 17 month old is already doing somersaults! They grow up way too fast!

First Snowfall

2011-11-30T13:45:00.001-08:00

It is pretty rare for us to get snow before Thanksgiving. These pictures were taken on 11/16/11. The kids (well, mostly Nicholas) were excited for the snow and couldn't wait to play in it. So I bundled them up and out we went.

First on the list was to see how it tasted.

Lizzie tried to join him in eating the snow...but somehow she became the target of a snowball fight. She didn't seem to care too much.

Eli liked going down the snowy slide. Ok...it is snowy because I hadn't put it away yet. It was only November 16th...it wasn't supposed to snow yet!!

But, even the snow couldn't keep him away from the dog food dish. That bowl has some kind of magnetic power in it that draws Eli to it every time.

And of course Nicholas worked with all of the snow on the table until he had a nice little mountain. He was pretty proud of it.

Besides the fact that daddy wasn't here to play in the snow with us (Nicholas was a little bummed) it was a fun time and they are looking forward to more snow to play in in the future!

Hockey Time

2011-11-29T22:23:00.001-08:00

Nicholas seems pretty excited to be playing hockey this year. Here he is at his first practice.

Here he is at practice last week. Here is a clip of one of the things he has already learned:

I'm pretty impressed how quickly he has learned to get up on his own. He can also skate across the width of the rink without falling. Not to bad for only a handful of practices. I can't wait to see what he will be doing in March!

Why Do We Have Toys?

2011-11-29T09:36:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a couple boxes laying around. It amazes me how much fun can be had with empty boxes!

Where is Nicholas?

There he is!

Eli was pretty entertained by this fun game!

Eli's turn to give it a try.

I just had to throw this picture in. Eli has radar ears. He knows that after dinner Daddy goes over to the counter and gets into the treats. Eli will not miss out on this. Here he is begging for some PB M&M's from Daddy.

In fact, last night Eli and I were in the family room. Ben was in the kitchen getting his treat when Eli heard the bag. Standing in the middle of the family room he shot the Binky out and went running to the kitchen. Daddy can't get away with anything as Eli really doesn't miss much.

Harvest Festivities

2011-11-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

October is a month that is full of harvest festivities. We had Nicholas' class trip to the pumpkin patch. Here he is standing right next to the pumpkin he picked out.

We also had a harvest party for Nicholas' preschool and a end of the season/harvest party to finish out the Upward soccer season.

I had to make sugar cookies for the Upward party and I just had to make extras. When the cousins were here we got together to decorate them. This is how Nicholas' turned out.

Eli thought they were pretty tasty!

Nicholas also had a field trip to a nursing home here in town. They got to wear their costumes and sing songs to the elderly people.

This appears to be one of the only pictures of Eli in his costume. Such a cute little peanut...M&M!

Since we don't really have neighbors we drove to a nearby neighborhood to trick-or-treat. Here are Nicholas and Daddy heading up to one of the houses.

What a Happy Halloween/Harvest season we had! Lots of fun festivities sure kept us busy.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

The boys were eager to help carve the pumpkins this year. Even Eli wanted to be right in the middle of it all.

Here is Ben making Nicholas stick his hand in the pumpkin.

Eli was a little more willing to explore the pumpkins. Of course his first way is to taste it.

Nicholas decided he wanted to give the knife a try this year.

He had to supervise me carving Eli's pumpkin, also.

Here is the finished product of Nicholas' pumpkin. He picked what he wanted it to look like.

And here is Eli's pumpkin. He seemed happy with it although he would probably be happy with most anything!

And of course all of our pumpkins together.

All Harvest All of the Time

2011-11-26T14:59:00.001-08:00

The boys have only wanted to play with a handful of toys over the last couple of months. Even though the picture below shows the play room a mess, they have really only played with a few toys. Since Ben has been harvesting the toys of choice have been the chopper, old farm truck, combine, tractor and grain cart.

It all began with silage and earlage. It brought about lots of chopper play.

Then came the History Channel's Harvest show. I thought it was Nicholas who loved it, but then Eli took a liking to it also. Here are all of the boys getting into one of the episodes. Now when Nicholas plays harvest he uses all of the people from the Harvest show on his crews.

Ben only had to combine for a short time but it was just enough for the boys to get into it. Yes, even Eli must play combine. He insists on either driving the combine or running the tractor/grain cart.

I knew the boys would take to all the farm equipment. I just didn't have any idea that it would be the only things they would play with for 3+ months straight. They should know what they are doing by the time they are big enough to actually help with harvest!

Earlage

2011-11-26T14:28:00.001-08:00

Last year Ben tried earlage for the first time. To make earlage you run the combine header on the chopper. Instead of chopping the whole stalk like in silage, it takes the cob off the stalk, then just chops the cob. Here is what the set-up looks like:

Of course, any time farm equipment is running, Nicholas wants to be in the middle of it all.

Here they are in action:

At the beginning of the season Eli and I mostly watched from the car.

By the end of the season Eli wouldn't stand for that anymore and we found our whole family crammed into the cab of the chopper.

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys waiting for their ride in the chopper.

We had a very wet and cool growing year. Ben was pretty sure the corn wouldn't dry in time to be combined before the snow fell so he took a lot of the corn as earlage. It needs to be wetter than grain corn so it worked out well. They only had to combine a small amount of corn that they were able to put in small layers in multiple bins. This should help it dry out quicker and not mold in the bins. They were able to finish harvest before Thanksgiving and the day before our first snowfall. Boy was Ben happy he was finished when he saw the snow falling!

One More Picnic

2011-11-26T14:19:00.001-08:00

Back in early October I saw the opportunities for picnics at the park coming to a close. So, one day I packed a lunch and after Eli and I picked Nicholas up from Preschool we walked across to the park to play.

We all had a great time and will miss these moments when the snow is falling!

Eli's First Cut

2011-11-21T21:20:00.001-08:00

Ben had been bugging me for quite a while about giving Eli his first hair cut. I kept putting it off as I didn't really think it was necessary. Then this day happened.

I decided that maybe it was time. So, on Sept. 25th I took some before pictures.

Then I stuck him in the baby tub on the counter. This is an excellent way to contain a small guy and the mess that a haircut makes.

And added a few easy to clean toys to distract him.

Then I started snipping...and snipping...and a little more snipping. Until I came up with this.

Starts to look like a little boy when you do that, huh? I kind of miss the curls, but it is a lot easier to clean. What a handsome little man we have!

Upward Soccer

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001-08:00

Up until this fall we hadn't exposed Nicholas to any team sports. I hear about the Upward Soccer league here in town and knew it would be fun for Nicholas...interesting that there would be 4 year olds playing soccer, but fun!

Nicholas loved going to the weekly practices. He had a lot of fun chasing the ball and playing with his teammates. They all got along really well and it was fun to watch how much they improved in the 2 month session.

At the beginning of each game, the kids get their names called over the loud speaker and they get to run through the tunnel and give high fives to the parents. It was pretty cute watching this!

There were only 2 teams of 4 year olds so we played the same team every week. At the beginning of the game the 2 teams would meet in the center for a pre-game prayer.

Here is Nicholas getting ready to do a kick off. Nicholas and the little girl on the left of the picture hit it off at the beginning. They are always asking about each other and are good friends. Luckily her mom started coming to MOPS so they still get to see each other monthly!

Nicholas usually loved practices but unfortunately the same couldn't be said about game days.

For some reason he spent most of the games crying over the fact that he 1) got the ball taken away from him 2) didn't make a goal 3) somebody else made a goal 4) couldn't take the ball from somebody else. So, yes, he really did spend most of the games crying. We spent lots of time talking about crying on the side vs. trying to play. By the last game he FINALLY understood that crying doesn't make goals, but trying might! His last game went really well and then I was a little sad it was over.

I'm hoping that this experience will help hockey get off to a better start. Can't hurt, right? I was quite impressed with the Upward program and how it was run. I hope that we might be able to participate in more of their sports in the future!

Nicholas Spells

2011-11-16T15:26:00.001-08:00

This Spring/Summer Nicholas fell in love with the PBS show Word World. I have to say I quite like it, too! He already knew all of the letter names and sounds, so by watching this show he learned how to put the letters together to make words. Some of the bigger words he has memorized, but he does know how to sound out smaller words, too.

One day he was begging me to use the computer. I thought I would take the opportunity to see how many words he could type. These words were all spelled on his own. The only one he needed me to break down the sounds for was "watermelon." I didn't tell him how to spell it, just told him the sounds as it was a little big for him to try to tackle on his own!

This is a sample of Nicholas writing his name. At the top of the picture he wrote it with a regular pencil. At the bottom he wrote it in marker. He did better with the thicker marker so I bought him some of the thicker pencils for writing at home. He isn't doing too bad!

I'm sure proud of my little guy and all the learning he is doing. They really are like little sponges at this age!

The Garden Results

2011-11-16T15:14:00.001-08:00

These pictures don't need much explaining. I will say that this isn't everything that came out of the garden, but it is a good part of it.

I think the boys enjoyed helping with the garden. I'm already starting to think about how I want to do things next year. We will probably add a few things. I don't know if we will take away anything but I don't need so many cantaloupe. Or maybe I'll just plant the same number and hope the boys like it more next year! I was able to freeze corn and carrots and lots of varieties of zucchini muffins. I think we all enjoyed the variety of fresh veggies straight out of the garden!

Food!

2011-11-16T15:05:00.001-08:00

Here are a few random food/eating pictures that just sum up Summer. I had to include them in my blog!

Some of our favorite things!!

Fair Time!

2011-11-16T14:45:00.001-08:00

August in Moses Lake brings the fair. It is so much different living in a smaller Agricultural town as opposed to Spokane during fair week. The fair was where we went to look at booths, see some animals and eat the yummy food. Here, all life revolves around the fair for a lot of people. Yes, we have a building of booths here (and we were sucked into getting a paper subscription). But the real focus is all of the animals.

Nicholas was so excited to see the cows!

Ben taught Eli how to poke a pig nose. He was quite good at it!

The kids showing sheep were pretty interesting, too!

Believe it or not this lady spinning yarn was Nicholas' favorite. He talked to her quite a bit and was interested in learning about what she was doing. We even had to come back for a second visit with her!

Right up there with the lady spinning yarn was the farm equipment.

We were so glad that Ben was able to come with us this year. Even with the two of us we managed to loose Nicholas for a bit. It seems the rides were calling to him and luckily we knew that and went after him. Since he disobeyed and went off on his own he didn't get to ride any of those rides. All in all, it was a fun time for every one...even with a mis-hap!

Wheat Harvest

2011-11-16T14:30:00.001-08:00

We had some wheat this year and with wheat comes the chance to ride in a combine during the Summer. Also, this ended up being our last ride in this combine as Ben sold it before corn harvest this year.

This is what a happy little boy looks like. He is such a farm kid and just loves all of the equipment and exciting times that happen around here.

Now, Nicholas was trying to have a turn driving the combine. Only problem his now he has a little brother who wants to do everything he does.

And here is Eli getting really mad and just trying to take the wheel away from Daddy and Nicholas.

We are so lucky to be able to visit Ben when he is working. He does work a lot had has long days certain times of the year, but when that happens we just visit. Usually if Daddy is really busy it means there is something exciting going on and these two little guys just don't like to miss it!

Outside Time

2011-11-16T14:23:00.001-08:00

Here are a few random pictures of the boys playing out side one day back in August.

And of course I have to throw one of Lizzie in, too. She had taken over the sand box over the summer but I'm hoping we broke that habit!

Cousins visit

2011-11-16T14:14:00.001-08:00

Over the Summer Ben's sister's family came for a visit. I believe at some point I realized I hadn't made home-made ice cream yet. So, we planned an ice cream event before they left.

Eli really seemed to enjoy it....

After ice cream we headed out to play on the farm. Here are the boys with their cousins.

Of course, every good thing comes to and end. Here is the look of devastation when your cousins leave and you find yourself with no one to play with.

And in case that isn't sad enough...one more.

But, luckily there are other things to do. Like have Grammie pull you and your brother in a wagon.

Much more fun than pouting. The boys always love a fun trip to the farm!

Splash Pad

2011-11-16T14:05:00.001-08:00

After camping we had a long trip home. We stopped in Spokane and found a park for the kids to play at. Little did we know the park we found even had a splash pad!

This little girl really liked Eli! She was a couple of months older than him, but they had a great time looking at each other!

The kids had a great time and I've decided Moses Lake really needs one of these!

Priest Lake Camping

2011-11-16T13:48:00.001-08:00

Back in July we went camping with my family. Seems funny that I am sitting and typing this up as we are currently getting our first snow of the year! It is time to get caught up on the blog!!

We spend much of our time camping down at the lake. The kids had lots of fun playing on the beach!

Ben took Nicholas tubing behind Papa Don's boat. He really did enjoy it even if this face doesn't look like it!

This picture is a little better proof that he had a good time!

Eli did go in the boat once. But he was just as happy hanging out on the beach.

Nicholas was given these water shooters for his birthday from my brother's family. They are kind of a tradition to take to the lake by all of the families. Nicholas was pretty excited to have a small set for himself.

Eli...a boy after my own heart!

We had to take a picture of Eli and Papa Don with their blue Hawaiian shorts and blue shirts sitting in the lounge chairs. I snuck Nicholas in, too.

And of course, after lots of beach fun you must take a nap int he shade.

For some reason I don't have many pictures with cousins or anything that happened up at the campsite. Maybe I'll need to work on that next year! Overall we had a great time and enjoyed the time with my family.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-09-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I planted/grew my first garden in 2008. This is only my 2nd garden and it is much bigger than my 1st. I'm already thinking of things to add next year....and ways to improve what I am doing, also!

The row of lettuce in this picture is quite obvious. I had wonderful Romaine lettuce this year and shared much of it with others. Behind the lettuce are 3 rows of carrots. They have also done pretty well! Right in front of the lettuce are a row of onions I think I have 2 good ones...but not much more. You'll have to look really close if you want to see them! In front of those are the cucumbers I have been working so hard to get rid of! They have produced wonderful cucumbers which we will miss during the winter!

Here we have the pumpkins, acorn squash, yellow squash and zucchini in the front part of the picture. Right behind them are the watermelon and cantaloupe.

Nicholas enjoys helping me water the garden and check the vegetables. He is constantly talking about planting more seeds, so I think he will be eager to help me with this in the Spring!

Oregon Visit

2011-09-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

It just so happened that while Rachel was up visiting from Tennessee that Ben's Aunt was also up from Georgia. When realizing this, the mom's/aunt's decided to get as much of that side of the family together as possible. So, we all headed down to Hillsboro where they are all from.

Here is a picture with Debbie's parents and all of the sisters.

Here all all of the grand children/great-grandchildren they could get in the same place at the same time. I think they were only missing 3 or 4. Not bad!

Rachel requested that we go up to the Hesse Family Cemetery while we were down there. Here is a picture of a few of them with Ben's Grandparent's headstone. His Grandfather is still living, but the headstone was made when his Grandmother passed away in 2007.

Here is another family headstone in the cemetery. I can't remember the exact relation...I just know it is a Hesse. I'll need to ask about that!

It was a fun trip down and was nice to see everyone.

Church Fun Night

2011-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Back in July one of the families at our church offered to host a family fun BBQ at their house. We packed up some food and the swimsuits and headed on over for some fun! Nicholas was really excited to go swimming. He was even more excited to try out the new shooters that his Aunt and Uncle got him for his Birthday. Here are daddy and Nicholas having a blast with the shooters!

Eli enjoyed standing at the edge of the pool making a splash.

Just a few minutes after Ben and Nicholas got out of the pool it burst open and water started going everywhere! Eli enjoyed the extra water on the driveway!

Of course no Summer event would be complete without a campfire and S'mores!

Nicholas quite enjoyed his s'more! Here are Eli and Nicholas with cousin Ruston while he and his mom were up for a visit!

It turned out to be quite a fun evening!

Bowling

2011-09-03T07:58:00.001-07:00

After A Day Out With Thomas we followed Ben's sister back up to their house and stayed with them for the weekend. On Sunday we took the kids bowling. Nicholas hadn't been bowling in a while so it seemed like a good activity. He liked having the ramp to put the ball on so he didn't have to throw the heavy ball.

Eli mostly just stood by and watched...and tried to run around...and got in the way!

Danelle didn't need the ball ramp, she did well with just the bumpers. If I remember right, she tied for high score...with the help of the bumpers, of course!

Nicholas had a bit of a problem with the balls. He thought one ball was his. Therefore, anytime somebody else touched "his ball" we had a melt down. I think after all of the fun we had that weekend he was about done and ready to go home.

We had a fun time with the cousins. Nicholas just loves visiting with them!

Thomas the Train

2011-09-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

A while back I heard Thomas the Train was coming to the Snoqualmie Train Museum. I knew with Nicholas' love of Thomas we had to go. Here is the star of the day!

Here is Eli enjoying the baby train table.

Nicholas loved the train tables. Eventually I had to pry him away from them. He was there playing for a good 45 minutes at least.

When I knew we were going to A Day Out With Thomas, I called Ben's sister to see if they would like to join us. So, she and the girls met us in Snoqualmie for the fun day. Here are Danelle and Nicholas with Sir Topham Hat.

They had lots of fun activities for the kids to do. One station had temporary tattoos for the kids to get. Nicholas was so excited to have Percy the train on his arm!At our scheduled time we all boarded the train for the ride. Here is Dayna, Thea, Nicholas and Ben enjoying the view.

This was the view of Snoqualmie Falls along the ride. It really was pretty.

Even Eli enjoyed the ride!It was a fun day and I'm glad we went. Nicholas loved it!

Summer Time!

2011-08-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

The weather finally warmed up enough to turn on a sprinkler and let the kids have some fun!

The boys enjoyed playing in the water. Lizzie even joined in the fun, too!

After a while, Eli got tired of the water and found something else to do. Dump truck riding is almost as exciting as playing in the water!

The boys both ate a good lunch that day, so I think much fun was had!

Play-set Fun

2011-08-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

They boys have sure been having a fun time on their new play set. Eli has already figured out how to climb up the ramp.

Nicholas loves to go down the slide.He has even had a good time pushing Eli in his swing.
And, even though I only have a picture of Eli on the swing, they both love to swing! It seems to be the thing to do lately!

Eli is busy

2011-08-14T16:13:00.001-07:00

On a visit to the farm, Eli decided to be busy. First he had to check out the "new" doghouse that had showed up.

It turns out he fit perfectly in it!

As the previous post stated, Eli loves mud. He managed to find the ONLY puddle on the farm and headed right for it. He had to stomp in it a few times for good measure!

Eli was toddling around my bathroom one morning while I was in the shower. He often does this as there isn't much in there for him to get into. Well, back in June he was walking from the sink room into the shower room (there is a door between them) and he fell and hit his mouth on the door. I don't know exactly what happened as I had just put the shampoo in my hair. All I know is there was a good amount of blood coming from his mouth. After I got everything cleaned up I realized he had actually chipped his tooth.This was the best picture I managed to get. It isn't extremely noticeable and the good news is we loose our baby teeth! Maybe someday this busy little boy will slow down a bit. However, I don't see this happening any time soon!

Mud and Gardening

2011-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Eli seems to enjoy the mud as much as his brother did at this age! You could also say that Nicholas still enjoys getting dirty, too!

Here they are helping eachother get good and dirty!

The first year I wasn't teaching I had a pretty decent garden in town. The following year we were moving into the new house and I never got one planted. Last year I just wasn't up for much gardening as I was very large during planting season and had a newborn to take care of through the summer.

So, this year I decided it was finally time for my garden. Ben brought a load of cattle compost down and then brought the disc down to work it in. I spent the next few days watering and raking trying to even things out a bit.

This year I planted sweet corn, carrots, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, acorn squash, yellow squash, zucchini and pumpkins. I'll update you as it grows even more!

The Big One!

2011-08-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

If you think the first year flies by with your first baby, wait until you have the 2nd! So far, nothing has been slow with Eli. It started with that oh so speedy delivery and the doctor almost not catching him! Here he is just a few minutes after birth.

This first year has gone so fast. One day he was laying in the bouncer and the next he was climbing into it! Here he is with his extra big cupcake for his birthday.
And, like every great 1 year old he wanted to grab the flame!

He didn't make too big of a mess. He didn't dive into it much either.

I guess it is time to tell what Eli has been up to. He has been walking for a while now, and at this point he is trying his hardest to run. He gets going pretty good, but then usually falls. He has been able to go up and down stairs for a while, too. He thinks he is ready to try walking up the stairs and stepping down them. However, I'm pretty sure he isn't. He'll probably make a good tumble or two trying to learn that process.

Eli has some very strong opinions and he is not afraid to let them be known. When he wants something, he will yell about it until he gets it. Usually he makes it fairly obvious by pointing to what he wants and then yelling.

He is still a cuddler and does like to be held by mommy. He usually takes 2 naps a day still, but they are getting shorter so it probably won't be long before he is taking only one a day. The days he only takes one nap he sleeps for 3 or 4 hours. I doubt that will continue for too long, but it is nice for now!

He really only says one word, "mama." I'm trying to get him to say a few other things like daddy, up and ball. Before long I'll wish he would stop talking, I'm sure! For now we are just loving our happy guy!

Nicholas' Fourth Birthday

2011-08-08T17:23:00.001-07:00

I won't soon forget the Monday morning of June 11th, 2007. I wasn't supposed to be having the baby yet. I was supposed to finish out the school year (only 3 more days!) then the baby could come. Well, we all know that babies have their own schedule and they don't seem to care much what ours is!

Here is a picture of Nicholas' 1st Birthday party and cake.

I somehow didn't get any pictures of him eating cake for his 2nd birthday...I think since we were moving into the new house I was a little disorganized (and just made a standard cake so there was nothing extra cute to see). I also seem to remember forgetting to buy candles (go back to the moving thing). I guess in my mind there probably wasn't a big reason to take a bunch of pictures with no cute cake or candles even. Poor neglected child. So, here is a picture taken just a couple of days before he turned 2.

Yes, that is our poor neglected child on an airplane.

And here is Nicholas with his requested red barn cake on his 3rd birthday. We celebrated a week late as we were expecting Eli to arrive any day! (maybe this cake makes up for the lack of fun at the 2nd Birthday!).

And here he is this year as we celebrated him turning 4!

No problems blowing out the candles this year!

So, what is Nicholas up to? He is a busy boy who likes to go. He enjoyed helping me plant the garden this year and has been my helper watering also. He likes to look and see what is growing out there. He still talks about how we planted seeds so we could grow vegetables in the garden. At least he doesn't think all food comes from the grocery store!

His current favorite TV show is Word World. He has known all the letters and sounds for a while, but watching this show has taught him how to put the sounds together to form words. I can't believe he has done this on his own. He loves letters right now and gets excited to make words with the bathtub letters (pics will come in a later post).

He is finally showing an interest in holding a pencil and maybe doing a little writing. This was something he could have cared less about a year ago. So, now begins the fun work of trying to teach him how to write his name...why did we pick such a long name? :) He also loves using scissors...although he would much rather be handed a piece of paper to cut into tiny shreds than acutally cut out a shape...although he can do that.

Nicholas still enjoys going to the farm with Daddy. He likes to help check water or the pigs or really whatever Ben is doing. We realize that his favorite part of going to the farm is going into Grammie's house to ask for snacks and in the cold weather, hot cocoa. But, at least he likes to be out there. The trampoline is also a favorite activity at the farm!

So that about sums up our big 4 year old. He is headed to Preschool this fall. Hopefully things go well!

A Little Behind

2011-08-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

I got a few weeks behind on the blog when I was needing to get some pictures off of a thumb drive for Nicholas' birthday post. Well, things have just been busy the last couple of weeks, too. We have been to Kirkland, Hillsboro and Priest Lake since the 8th of July. On top of that we have had a lot of visitors here at home, too. I love all of the company and keeping busy, but as you can see, I'm a little behind!!!

So, look for some posts to pop up in the next few days as I try to get you caught up on what our summer has been like!

The Play-set

2011-06-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

Last fall I started thinking about getting the boys a play-set for their birthdays. Since we live out a ways and there are no little kids around, they need some kind of entertainment in the yard. So, I spent weeks pouring over on-line catalogs, reviews and descriptions trying to figure out what I wanted and what would get us the most bang for our buck! I finally settled on one and ordered it. It arrived the day before we planned to install it! Whew!!

I had my fingers crossed that the guys would finish their custom hay chopping in time to help us install it, but the string of bad weather we had seemed to push things back. Luckily I had my parents arranged to come and I asked Ben's parents to come for any amount of time they could give.

The day before the assembly I sorted out all of the wood and got it all arranged in the garage. I didn't want it laid out in the backyard as I would afraid Lizzy would have a hay-day with all of that wood!

My mom and I also labeled all of the hardware the night before so we would be ready. We are so glad things were sorted/labeled!!!

The day of the install the big boss took over with the "structions."

We started off by assembling the climbing ramp and rock wall. It was cleanest to do this on the driveway. It went pretty fast with lots of us using the many drills we rounded up!

Next, we moved to the back yard with the big beams and started the fort assembly. It was a bit tricky at the beginning, but once we got a few of the supports on there it helped a bunch.

Eli helped by taking good naps and mostly staying out of the way!

Nicholas helped by supervising, putting on bolt covers and being in the middle of everything! ;)Getting closer to the final product!

Time to test out the swings! They are a hit!

Almost done. Still some detail/finishing pieces to put up, but you get the idea!

We started the install at 9:00am on June 11th and finished up about 8:00pm. It was a very long day and we were all pooped. I'm so thankful for the help of our family! Thank you!!!

Happy Birthday, boys! I hope this provides you many years of fun activity and entertainment!

This Crazy Spring Weather

2011-06-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

This has been a weird weather year for us. We have had a cold and wet Spring. In fact, as I am typing it is only about 73 degrees out there which is very cool for the end of June. It has made for nice temperatures to play outside in, however.

Here is Eli on the little slide we got Nicholas on his 1st birthday. He is even waving in the picture!

Here are Nicholas and Lizzy. They seem to have a love-hate relationship. Sometimes they love to play together, but mostly the get each other wound up and end up in trouble. Yes, both of them.

And here are the boys sharing a little time on the little play set.

This is a picture of the weather I was telling you about. We don't get rain like this often. My flower bed was very wet. Many of the plants were completely under water. The good news is we are on all sandy soil, so the water drains away rather quickly.

Ben is sure hoping for some warmer weather soon. Corn doesn't grow so well in the cold temperatures.

End of year MOPS

2011-05-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our last meeting of the year for MOPS. I've been serving on the leadership team for the past 2 years as the MOPPETS Coordinator (that is our kids program). For our last meeting we thought it would be fun to have a carnival that the kids would enjoy, also. We started looking into it and decided it would be fun to book the Kangaroo Bounce House here in town. I had never taken the boys, so this was a first.

I put Eli in this baby sized bouncer. He lasted about as long as it took me to take this picture.
Nicholas' favorite was this climbing one. It is actually a lot harder than it looks. The red foot holds are spaced farther apart than you would think, and the thing is tall. That is a mom standing there and you can see Nicholas is over her head.

So, you might be wondering what the motivation is for climbing this. Here is your answer:

This one seemed to be the favorite of most of the kids.

Nicholas is already asking to go back, so I think we will have to make this a regular activity!

A Song and Dance

2011-05-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Nicholas has really enjoyed singing lately. When he is really excited, he'll even dance while he sings. He has a favorite CD from Lutherhaven (the church camp I grew up attending). It includes camp style kids songs that he seems to like.

This particular song is called "Walking Through the Jungle." It refers to our everyday life as the jungle and there are things that distract us along our walk but we need not worry if we are following the Master.

It is fun to see him learning songs and enjoying singing. He busts out in song often and it makes me smile.

Baby Steps

2011-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the month Eli had attempted a step here or there. On Saturday the 14th he did his first set of steps, 3 to be exact. I was pretty excited as he had been holding onto the fridge and just let go to get to me, I didn't even encourage him or realize he was about to do this. Within a few days he was up to 6-9 steps at a time. Then it suddenly slowed down. He came down with a fever for 2 days and I took him to the Walk-in Clinic. It turns out he had an ear infection, which explains the lack of walking as his balance may have been off and he just wasn't feeling good.

So, here are a couple of short clips of the little guy walking.

I love these first weeks when they are learning to walk. Such a wobbly mess!

I just love the personality that is starting to show through. This is such a fun (not to mention busy) age!

2 Boys+Water =Dirty Fun!

2011-05-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

As usual, I had some help when planting my flowers this year. I know you have seen the flowers and heard the planting process...but I had to include these fun pictures of the boys!

We all had a good time playing in the dirt...and a nice bath awaited the boys when we finished!

Putting in Flower Beds

2011-05-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Our first summer in the new house we didn't do any work in the yard. We were trying to keep things from blowing sand everywhere. Last year at this time I was about to have Eli and didn't have any energy to put into creating flower beds. So, with trying to get some grass to grow and the sprinkler system installed last year, I decided it was finally time to tackle this project.

I first went to most of the home/hardware stores in Moses Lake looking for the right bricks to choose for the project. I finally found some I liked at Lowe's and started slowly buying them. I say slowly because these things weigh 16 pounds each. It was work to get them into the cart while having the boys with me, then deal with them once I got home. So, I did it in 3 trips and bought anywhere from 11-30 at a time and worked little by little.

I had to dig out all of the trenches to put the bricks in. Once the bricks were set and (mostly) straight I filled in around them. I realized just how much dirt had blown up against the house and so I broke out the wheelbarrow and started hauling sand away. I took many loads out and it looks so much better!

This picture is standing at the Southwest corner of the house.

A picture across the front:

And the South side.

Everything I have planted are perennials. Hopefully everything will live and come back next year so I won't have to do this again! I also planted perennials in the other front flower bed.

In the coming weeks the goal is to string drip lines (the white tube is the sprinkler line) and then get some bark/much to cover everything. I want to make sure I like everything and don't want to add anything else before I do that step!

So, I've put a lot of time into these projects, but I think things are looking so much better!

A Few New Pictures

2011-05-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random pictures from the beginning of May before I go on to what we have been up to lately.

I snapped this picture of Nicholas one morning. I went to see if he was awake yet and I found a ball of blanket. He had wrapped the blanket completely around himself!

Eli loves his Daddy. He knows when Ben comes through the door at night and goes crawling to him as fast as he can. He also seems to know when Ben is getting ready to leave in the morning. He has to plant himself right at Ben's feet as he is trying to get dressed. This particular morning was trash day so I had rounded all the garbage up and Eli crawled right into the middle of it all!

I took this picture as the boys were watching Grammie leave one day after she had been babysitting. I just loved the two of them standing, looking out the window together.

Eli loves to eat anything we do. In fact if you don't share, you will usually hear very loud screams come from him. Here he is, chewing on a serving spoon after dinner.

Got to love the wide open eyes!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T18:10:00.001-07:00

I decided earlier this week that Nicholas needed an Easter project to work on. So, I had him cut out a basket. Then he cut some strips of green paper, which I then had him cut into squares. We glued this "grass" onto the basket. I guess I didn't get any pictures of the painting, but we also painted some paper eggs which we glued on the basket. I should have got a final picture....oops!

The Easter Bunny came!

Nicholas was pretty excited about his basket.

Eli in his Hoppy Easter outfit.We have all been sick all week, but Eli woke up worse this morning. After learning the walk-in clinic was closed today, we were trying to make it until tomorrow. I realized that he really was not doing well (couldn't stay awake for more than 1 hour and just wanted to snuggle...plus his cough was way worse) so I called Urgent Care and they were open! After a chest X-Ray we found he was in the beginning stages of pneumonia. So, he got a shot and will take antibiotics for the next 5 days. Poor little guy is so sad.

This morning we finally had Daddy home to dye Easter eggs with us. Nicholas really enjoyed this...and only broke a handful of eggs. By the end, he was getting much better at being gentle with the eggs. Maybe next year he won't break any!

Happy Easter everyone!

Eli Goes Until.....

2011-04-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Eli has started to enjoy push toys. He has even been known to steal Nicholas' shopping cart...which creates great turmoil in our house!

Eli has been sick this week, which means extra sleepiness. He was really fighting of sleep here.

I can't believe how fast this little guy is growing up!

Rub-a-dub-dub

2011-04-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of our two men in the tub the other night.
Both of our boys have always loved bath time. Nicholas loves taking his bath with Eli, and Eli usually puts up with his brother. I'm glad it is always a fun event in our house!

What They Are Into

2011-03-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

One of the things Nicholas has been "into" for a while now is running. As soon as Ben comes home at night he hears, "Daddy, wanna run with me?" So, I had to get a picture of it the other day...because it is a phase we will not soon forget. Eli is just into everything lately. One day, Nicholas had a snack of rice pudding. He left it on the coffee table and while I was cooking dinner, Eli found it and helped himself.

Nicholas is also into pillow fights. Basically he and Ben just throw the pillows back and forth at each other. Kind of funny that he is so into this, but I guess it is loads of fun.

Eli is really into the dishwasher, both literally and figuratively. He loves to unload it for me, chewing on each piece to make sure it is clean. If I'm loading the dirty dishes, he usually grabs a few utensils and gives them a pre-wash for me.

If he can't reach the rack, he climbs right up. I'm trying my best to keep him off of it, but had to snag a quick picture.

Eli is into feeding himself. Eli has never really had baby food because he refuses to let me feed him. Since day one he has clamped his mouth down and refused to be spoon-fed. At first I thought we had a picky eater on our hands, but it turns out he will eat pretty much anything, as long as he can feed himself.

One evening I was trying to get dinner on the table. Nicholas wanted to give Eli some puffs. I told him to just put a couple on his tray..."Like 5." Well, Nicholas apparently took that as give him some of each kind that is open. This is what we ended up with. At least Eli seemed into the mess!

With all that these boys are into, there aren't many dull moments around here.

Here We Grow Again

2011-03-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

My brother once said (at about age 6-7), "But, Moooom, every little boy needs a puppy." I think Ben and I would have to agree with that. Before the excuses were that we were living in town or we didn't have a yard or I'm too pregnant/busy with a newborn to deal with a puppy. So, this year seemed like the perfect time to grow our family. Nicholas is 3.5 and is the right age to learn about pets.

This winter Ben's parents knew that they would be losing their wonderful dog, Boris. So, they thought the time was right for them to start looking into a puppy, too. Debbie did a lot of research on breeds and searching for the right breeder. She found a lady down in Utah that crosses English Mastiff with Great Pyrenees. The seem to look a lot like their old dog, Boris. They had 2 females left of the litter that was born on January 18th, 2011. So, she got the process started for us and we all began to get excited about the arrivals coming.

On March 17th the puppies were flown up from Utah. Debbie and Lou picked them up at the airport and we met them at a park in Airway Heights so we could meet the puppies before going on to a dinner with my family.

Here are the two beauties with Eli. The puppies had their 8 week check-up on the 14th. One weighed 19# 8oz and the other 20# 6 oz. I think Lizzie is the lighter one. Eli is weighing about 21.5 pounds, so they are all about the same size.
It turns out we eneded up with the puppy on the right and we named her Lizzie. Lou and Debbie kept the puppies together at the farm for their first night. This next picture is the two puppies crammed in the old dog house at the farm, shortly before we had to seperate them.

I submitted the photo to Country Magazine...we'll see if they like it as much as I do and put it in a publication.

Here is Lizzie loaded in the crate with the boys, ready to go home!

And Lizzie once we were home, resting in her bed.

Lizzie seems to like Eli. When Eli was out playing she came running up on the step and sat right next to him. I couldn't help but snap this picture.

Lizzie is still pretty scared of Nicholas. He moves too fast for her and is a little loud most of the time. I think that will all change as she continues to get more comfortable. Nicholas can't wait until she wants to run around the yard with him. Anyway, we are excited to have Lizzie here and think she will make a great pet.

Tennessee Adventure

2011-03-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon we piled in the car and drove south down to Rachel and Jason's house. Nicholas was excited to get to Ruston's house and have some play time.

On Saturday, we decided to head to Waffle House for Breakfast. Ben and I noticed that these things seemed to be on every other corner down there. I asked if they were good and it was decided we should try it for ourselves! I ordered a waffle with apple, cinnamon and oats added in. It was quite tasty! Ben was given a list of sides to have with his breakfast and when grits came up he said, "What exactly are grits?" It was one of those moments where you swear the whole restaurant went quiet. The waitress said she had been working there for 25 years and no one had ever asked that. Rachel was sitting at the counter next to our booth and the lady next to her said, "Where are they from?" So, if you want to fit in...don't ask what grits are in the south. Ben decided they are better with something on them, but I don't think he will be asking me to make them regularly!

From Waffle House we headed to Chattanooga for the afternoon. Jason thought we might all enjoy the aquarium so that was the plan. Luckily we had the Tahoe and we were able to put all of us in one vehicle for this long drive.

Here are Ben and Nicholas looking at the stingrays.

And the stingrays:

Jason, Ruston and Rachel checking out the stingrays.

Nicholas thought the Penguins were pretty neat, too.

But the sharks were probably the coolest.

The jellyfish actually held his attention for quite a while.

This little cove was cool for the boys. They could crawl in and look up and around the big fish tank. Another mom was talking with the boys in this picture.

After the aquarium we started the drive back home. We had planned to go to Cracker Barrel that night but the kids were "done" and so we changed our plans and headed to Pizza Hut. This worked out much better for the kids.

Sunday we woke up and spent most of the day around the house. Saturday was Rachel's Birthday and I was going to make her a cake but we ended up being gone all day. So, I baked it on Sunday for her. It even had home-made frosting! The guys did a little work on Jason's pick-up and explored their property some.

Sunday evening we headed out to Cracker Barrel for an awesome dinner. One thing we have decided about eating out in the South is you get way more for your money down there. The prices are similar to up here, but you usually get a main dish and a choice of 2-3 sides. Jason was right, Cracker Barrel is a great place to eat!

Monday morning we were going to head to Nashville and take the kids to the zoo. However, I woke up sick and had zero energy.

At this point the fun seemed to be over. We did a quick walk at Nashville's waterfront then got back in the car and drove up to Elizabethtown where we stayed for the night. I took a few Tylenol and slept for a few hours on the bed.

When I woke up I was feeling a bit better so we headed next door to Texas Roadhouse. We had a 10% off coupon from our hotel and I had read a write-up that made them sound good. We walked in the door and there were buckets of peanuts.

Nicholas was instantly hooked. He loves shelling peanuts...and he could throw them on the floor! Ben and I were pleasantly surprised with the meals we had. The fresh rolls with Honey Cinnamon Butter are a highlight....and oh, so delicious! Kids also ate for $.99 the day were were there...bonus! I found that there is a Texas Roadhouse in Coeur d'Alene and I'm hoping to take my parents there on one of our next visits!

We flew home on Tuesday. I was still not feeling good, but trying to hold it together for everyone. Wednesday morning I went to the Walk-in Clinic. I had Strep...no wonder I was feeling so lousy.

Overall, we had a pretty good time. The beginning and end of the trip weren't great, but that is just how it goes sometimes.

National Farm Machinery Show

2011-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

Another title for this event might be "Little Boy Heaven." Nicholas sure enjoyed himself for the 2 days we were there. He had so much fun climbing on and off things and exploring what the cabs were like.

Here is the first thing he found to sit on.
A few of his favorite things were skid steers, the huge riding lawn mowers, sprayers and combines. I think his favorite of the whole show was probably the Claas Combine which for some reason I don't have a picture of. Probably because the thing is a monster and I was always helping him in/out of the thing. Also, there was always a lot of people wanting in, so I had to keep his visits to this quite short!

Anyway, here are some pictures of the other favorites I mentioned.

I think he sat in this thing for over 5 minutes...maybe close to 10. Finally another little boy came along wanting a turn and we moved on!

Ben had been looking forward to seeing the new Claas Chopper as he heard there were some improvements made to it. So, he got there and the cab was locked. He went and asked one of the salesman about it and was told that the chopper was sold to someone and they promised to leave it locked and they didn't even know where the keys were. Ben was not happy about this. After all, we are at a farm machinery show. What is the point if you can't look at the machinery? Ben felt the need to vent to someone, so he pulled out his iPhone and shot off an e-mail to his Claas dealer up here and told them what was going on. They were not happy with this either (as of course, being a happy owner of a machine Ben is always a potential buyer). Within 2 hours Ben got a call from the Claas booth at the show telling him they found the keys and could stop by and take a look when he wanted to. Hmm....interesting how the keys showed up, huh? So, here is a pic of the two boys in that chopper.

We had one other bad experience at the show. Nicholas and I were at the Miller booth and he wanted to go up in the sprayer. He became good at checking the cabs before going up to see if someone was in there. He saw there was a man in there and waited at the end of the ladder for the guy to come down. Then he started up the ladder. The salesman there stopped him and told him he couldn't go up and needed to get down. Then the man went up the ladder and locked the cab. Nicholas was getting tired and this sent him over the edge. He threw himself on the floor and started crying. The salesman walked away chuckling...not saying a word to me. This, of course, made me angry. I was trying to console Nicholas when Ben came to see what had happened. I explained to him what went on and Ben headed over to have a chat with that salesman. He was "hiding" under another sprayer. Yes, he went under another machine and just stood there like a coward. Ben confronted him and demanded an explanation, and was given a long story about how they are worried about liability and that he did not see any adults around, despite me standing right there. Ben assured the guy that with so many kids at the show, if he intended to keep them out of the sprayers the guy had the toughest job in the world for the next four days. The guy did let Ben and Nicholas go up in the machine. While the boys were up there I took the opportunity to let the salesman know that I wasn't happy he made my child cry, walked away laughing and didn't even acknowledge me or say anything to me. He of course told me he didn't laugh and continued on about liabilities and lawsuits. I hope at the least he thinks twice before acting this way again.

Eli was along, too. He wore his tractor shirt and everything. He enjoyed the show from the stroller...and even looked like this a few times:

Overall, Nicholas had a good time and I think Ben enjoyed himself, too. Ben is just hoping that locked machinery doesn't start to be a trend at this kind of show.

Airplanes Take You Places

2011-02-26T21:31:00.000-08:00

Tuesday the 15th we boarded a plane with both of the boys. We flew into Louisville, Kentucky where we were headed to the National Farm Machinery Show.

Both boys did excellent on the airplane! Nicholas watched Curious George most of the way. I had bought some new $5 DVD's and George was the only one he watched the whole time we were gone. He was pretty excited about going up in the air and then landing again. We are pretty sure he has no concept that we went from one place to another. One of the times we landed he said, "We are back to the airport."

Here are the boys on one of the legs of our trip.

And Eli and I on the plane for his first plane ride!

Our flights were on-time and we landed in Louisville about 10:00pm. We went and got our luggage and headed over to the rental car counter. I told them we had a reservation for a car and the response was, "We don't have any cars." I'm thinking, "No, I have a reservation, where is our car?" He tried to tell us they had some that weren't returned yet. He then took out a paper for us to write our contact info on. We were number 11. Yeah, they didn't have a few cars not get returned...someone messed up. We were told to take a cab to our hotel and call at 6am to tell the people on duty that day why we really needed a car. So, by the time we got to our hotel, ordered in pizza (we had no other way to get food) and got to bed it was very late. I set the alarm and woke up at 6am to call. The lady I spoke with told me she hadn't looked things over yet and didn't know what was going on. I told her the man had wanted me to point out that we had two small kids in car seats that makes it very hard to take a taxi places. She told me to call back in an hour. Why did I get up so early??? I called back at 7:00 and she said she she had something for me, so to get there quick. Eli and I got another taxi back to the airport while the other 2 slept. To sum up the rest we ended up with a Tahoe for the week. Just yesterday I was sent a customer satisfaction survey from the rental car company. I'm pretty sure they are regretting that. It wasn't quite the start to our trip we were looking for.

Just Another Day

2011-02-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Before I post about our trip, I thought I would share a few more everyday pictures.

Nicholas has always been a snuggle bug. Usually he likes to snuggle with me (which I have no pictures of) but this particular day he crawled up to give Daddy a turn.
Every once in a while we try to learn something.

Of course there is play-time for Eli...

...and Nicholas!

This cool toy was made by my Grandpa Nick. This will be our first summer with this and I think it will get used!

Of course, I have to find time to do a little housework...even with my helpers around! Eli has taken quite a liking to the dishwasher lately.

So, that about sums up what most of our days are like!

Eli's Progress

2011-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

In only a week, Eli went from crawling for the first time to this:

Man he caught on quick. Ben thinks he will be walking in 2 months. I give it 3 or more. We'll see!

Another Prayer

2011-02-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Apparently you can only upload one video to a post, so here is the 2nd prayer video. This one is Nicholas praying the Lord's Prayer.

Makes for a proud mom moment! Great job, Nicholas!

Nicholas Prays

2011-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Nicholas has known his prayers for quite a while and usually does a great job saying them. He has even been known to say them with us at church. I finally took a minute to sit down with him and have him say his prayers so I could capture them on video.

The one includes our table prayer and one of his bed time prayers.

Eli's Got It!

2011-02-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

Eli first got up on all 4's on December 30th. On February 1st, a full month later, I managed to catch his first time crawling!

Look out Nicholas, here comes Eli!

Spokane Overnight

2011-02-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Sunday after church we went to Spokane. Ben and I left the boys with my parents and we went to see True Grit. It was a good movie that we both enjoyed. I don't remember ever seeing a movie that opens with a Bible Verse, then the music that is played throughout is mostly hymns. It was neat!

After the movie we ran home to check on the boys. Then we headed out for a nice dinner...just the two of us! What a treat to do something fun like this. We just don't do it often enough. Thanks Mom and Dad!

On Monday, we took the boys downtown to Mobius Kids. It is a hands-on children's museum. Both boys seemed to enjoy it...yes, even Eli! Here he is playing with the gears.

This was Nicholas' favorite exhibit. He loved this crane. You could turn it with the pedals, or turn the hand pedals to raise/lower the hook. He kept going back to this over and over.

We managed to pull him away from the crane for a while and he found the fire fighter clothes. Of course he had to pick the red car to match.

Another of the things Eli liked was this bead table. It was the perfect height for him. I think he felt pretty special standing at it!

Nicholas also enjoyed the sand/water table for a bit. Anything with dirt usually calls to this boy.

After Mobius we grabbed some lunch and then went shoe shopping. I got my first pair of Dansko shoes. I think this is the first time I have purchased a pair of shoes costing over $50. After wearing them for a day and a half, I can already tell they are worth it. Luckily, I didn't have to pay for them all myself. My in-laws gave me a $50 gift card for Christmas to use towards them (Thanks!). I also lucked out and there was a Groupon to a shoe store that carries them. I had a credit on my Groupon account so I only had to pay $15 for a $50 gift certificate. So, all told I spent under $40 for the shoes, which is great if you have ever bought Danskos before. I think my feet (and maybe my back, too!) will be much happier!!!

It was a quick trip, but I think we all had fun!

Around the House

2011-01-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

The cold weather often makes it hard to go outside and play, especially with a baby in the house. So, we find other things to do! I need to start teaching Nicholas how to write his name, so I thought we would start with playing around with the letters.
I wrote his name on the paper and tried to get him to use the Bingo dobbers to paint his name. That lasted a short time and he decided he wanted to use a paint brush. He specifically wanted white paint. So, I broke out the white paint for him!

By the time he was done the whole paper was pretty much white. He enjoyed himself, and that is what counts. He'll learn to write his name, eventually!

We moved into this house July of 2009. Since then, when I do dishes I often end up saying some not-so-nice words. You see, my dishwasher was never properly installed. It wasn't level or hooked in securely. So, I had had enough and decided it was going to get done. I busted out the tools and told Ben today was the day!

Turns out it ended up being an activity for the whole family! Nicholas gets excited whenever the tools come out. And for whatever reason, Eli liked sitting there and watching it all, too.

Best of all, I'm not using bad words when I do the dishes anymore and my dishes are coming out clean!

Winter Fun with the Cousins

2011-01-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

While the cousins were still here, we headed out to have some fun at the farm with them. First up was sledding behind the 4 wheeler.

Yes, that is a huge smile on his face!

Then there is always jumping on the trampoline. They all enjoyed that!

After burning some energy, it was time to head inside for making Gingerbread houses. Nicholas was a little more into it this year than last. However, I'm pretty sure he ate as much candy (or more) than he put on his house.

Here are the finished houses. Nicholas' is on the left, mine on the right and Nicholas' Gingerbread man, too.

It turned out to be quite the fun afternoon!

Christmas~Ben's Family

2011-01-15T14:54:00.001-08:00

The day after Christmas we were back home. We went to church that morning, then we took the cousins skating. Nicholas has begun to really like ice skating so we took Nicholas and the girls. They seemed to have a good time.

Next, it was back home to have dinner and open presents.

Ben's parents wanted to get Nicholas a trike. So, we did a little searching and found this one.

We opened the door and let him see it. As I was taking this picture I said, "Nicholas, what do you think of this trike?" His reply was, "It needs a wagon." Well, maybe for his birthday he will get a wagon for it. He loves this new trike and it should have no problem getting through the gravel and grass!

Eli was sleeping when we opened presents, so there are no pictures of him. I think Nicholas opened most of his presents this time! What a great Christmas we had!

Christmas~My family

2011-01-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

We went to Spokane to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family. We had the traditional crab feed Christmas Eve and then went to the Candle Light service at Church.

Christmas morning, Nicholas found what Santa brought. Here is is digging into his stocking.
Of course, Santa brought one for Eli, too.

Eli got a toy from Santa, also:

If you remember a few posts back Nicholas visited Santa and asked him for trains, track and a depot. Santa remembered and did well. Nicholas was thrilled with his new Roundhouse, turn table and track set. Here he is tearing into them.

Here is Eli opening his present from my parents.

And probably my most favorite picture from Christmas.

The lighting is terrible, but the face on that little boy reminds me why we go to the trouble of picking out gifts for them. He was so taken with the moving ladder on the fire truck...pure happiness.

Nicholas the Camera Star

2011-01-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

Some how Nicholas found the webcam on our computer. I have no idea how he found this, as I had never opened it. One day, I sat down at the computer and staring at me were some pictures he had taken. Since then, if you leave the computer unlocked (which I usually do) you often get a little treat when you return.

So, usually you will see a couple of pictures. A few might look like this:
Or this:

The other day I was frantically trying to get dinner on the table. The dishwasher was running and Eli was starting to get noisy. I kept hearing this weird noise...and of course I thought it was just the dishwasher. After a little while of this I realized it could not be the dishwasher and went to check on Nicholas. Turns out he had opened the webcam and was taking pictures with the burst mode. This means it takes 3 pictures in a row. So that is why the noise sounded weird.

So, I had about 80 some pictures that looked mostly like this:

I found a couple like this in the mix.Of course, I had to look through them to see if there were any good ones. Now, remember that they take pictures in 3's.

These were the "treasures" of the bunch. Made me laugh pretty hard and I just had to record this for the sake of memories!

2010-12-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

I never posted anything for Eli's 6 month milestone. So here are a few things (even though these first two were taken today at almost 6.5 months!).

Yes, our little baby now gets up on all 4's and can rock back and forth. This happened for the first time on his own last night.

At this rate he will be crawling in a week! (Hopefully not, though!)

And here is a video that is kind of cute. Nicholas got a party blower from his friend's birthday party. Well, Eli thought it was hilarious when he blew it.

Eli is enjoying eating some foods. His favorites seem to be apples and bananas. He also loves the Mum Mum rice rusks. We are going to give sweet potatoes and squash another try soon and hope he likes them better. I don't know what I would do with a picky eater!

So, our little guy doesn't seem so little anymore. I can't believe how fast he is growing!!!

O' Christmas Tree

2010-12-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Last year we bought a Christmas tree from a fundraiser and they delivered it right to our door. This year we weren't asked about it so I don't know if they did that fundraiser again or not. So, needing a tree we headed out to Dayna's in-law's tree farm and got our tree.

Here Nicholas and I were checking out this tree. Ben said he didn't like it so we continued on.
It turns out we had an easier time agreeing on and picking out a van than our Christmas tree. After walking around the lot for at least 30 minutes, we finally found our tree.

The boys agreed that this was our tree. Nicholas wanted to help cut it down...turns out he was better at eating the snow off of the saw...
After Nicholas tried for a minute or two, Ben thought he better give him a hand.

We got the tree cut down and brought it home. It is a fairly good sized tree (probably as round as it is tall!) and it looks pretty good with the decorations on it.

So, we are now one step closer to being ready for Christmas. I think I will wait to put any presents under it until the 24th...otherwise I will be re-wrapping things and tired of telling Nicholas to leave the presents alone!

Merry Christmas!!

Some fun in a box

2010-12-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

There are a million things I should be doing right now. My house is a mess. Things need to be picked-up and the carpets vacuumed. I'm a "little" disorganized right now. Seems it is hard to keep up with the tornado of a 3 year-old and the time demands of a 5.5 month old. But when I saw this:

...I had to take a minute and capture it...and of course share it with all of you.

Now...off to try to get something done!

Farm Family Breafast

2010-12-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Since Moses Lake is a farm community, the Chamber of Commerce hosts a Farm Family Breakfast every December to show appreciation to the farmers for doing business locally. So, this morning we all headed down to Michael's on the Lake for breakfast. What December breakfast would be complete with out a visit from a certain guest:Nicholas was very excited to tell Santa that he wants trains, tracks and a depot. I guess Santa better get on that order!

Eli got to visit Santa also...all he wanted was to play with his beard.

Santa gave each child a candy cane, a stuffed animal and a small goodie bag. Nicholas found crayons and a coloring book in his.

He couldn't wait to color until we got home. So, here are the boys, coloring.

Thanks to the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce for hosting a fun morning!

Vehicles

2010-12-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

Ben and I bought this Trailblazer the week after we got married. It was our car. I loved driving it and it treated us well.

Enter a large 3 year old and baby number 2. The back seat was very tight in this thing. To fit the baby seat in, you can't have the front seat all the way back (which is necessary for Ben). Also, with the front seat all the way back, Nicholas had zero leg room. You might be thinking, "He's 3...how much leg room does he need?" Well, the child had a very hard time getting in and out of the car seat and pretty much any time he moved his legs he kicked my seat.

The last few months we have been considering a new vehicle. Ben wanted a Tahoe (and I do like them, too). When we looked at the space in them, I knew we would need the Suburban. The newer ones are very tall. Nicholas would not be able to climb in/out of the thing on his own for a while. They are also very expensive. Why would I pay so much for something that is going to be inconvenient for us right now? So, Ben saw things my way and we began looking at vans. The Toyota Sienna quickly moved to the top of our list. Ben didn't fit in the Honda Odyssey, so that one was checked off quickly. The new Dodge Caravan's didn't do a lot for us, either. So, now we just needed to decide to buy the thing.

Being the end of the month and close to the end of the year, the dealer wanted to sell one. They had one on the lot here in town, but the color was really dark...and dark colors don't do well on dusty country roads. Their partner dealer in Yakima and a Sandy Beach (gold) one...which was perfect as it is Ben's favorite color for a car. I'm not huge on gold, but since I got the van, it only seemed fair that Ben got his color! We purchased it Tuesday evening and I got to pick it up last night...

Ben got this maroon pick-up a while back:

The pick-up was loaded. It had every option possible...and Ben loved the thing.

Tuesday evening after buying the van, Ben's parent's were headed off to Seattle for a flight Wednesday morning. The pass was bad and they were requiring chains on non-4WD vehicles. Their van doesn't have 4WD so they took Ben's pick-up (since we had just signed our Trailblazer over to Bud Clary!).

Not far down the road, they heard a loud noise, so they pulled over. They called Ben to see if he has a fire extinguisher in there as they were seeing oil spilling everywhere and smoke, and maybe a few flames. They called back a few minutes later to see if he wanted anything out of it as the flames were getting bigger. Right after Lou asked that, he said he didn't think he should go near it...it was up in flames...4 feet high. I don't have any "after" pictures but apparently all that is left is the frame and the box on the back. Ben is still mourning the loss of the pick-up.

They had just bought a newer Chevy (the white one next to Ben's in the above picture). That is Kit's pick-up. Lou and Debbie ended up driving the white pick-up to the West-side and now Ben has to start pick-up shopping...again.

So, I'm now driving a new van, and Ben will be driving something different shortly. What a week!

*See below for pictures of Ben's pick-up*

Ben's Pick-up After Pictures

2010-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here are the post fire pictures:

Snow!

2010-11-28T19:55:00.001-08:00

This year our first snow in Moses Lake came with -12 degree weather. That is way too cold for a little boy to be out playing in the snow. So, the first time Nicholas got to play in the snow was at my parent's house. Here he is with Trevor and Kayla.

Ben has been teaching Nicholas how to throw snowballs. I'm not sure if it is a good idea or not. Nicholas now says he wants to get a ball and throw it at Daddy. Here Ben is getting Nicholas with a pretty good one!

Nicholas' turn to try to get Daddy back. Luckily Nicholas doesn't have the ability to pack a snowball or aim well, so Ben doesn't have much to worry about.

Nicholas thinks it is pretty fun to chase Daddy down!

We got Nicholas all of the good snow gear this year, so he should have lots of fun playing in the snow all season. I'm just hoping we get more than one snowfall this year!

Happy 60th, Dad!

2010-11-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

My dad turned 60 on Thanksgiving day. My mom wanted to do something special to celebrate. When she asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate he asked if there were any sports games happening. My mom found that the Chief's were playing hockey on Wednesday. So, she told him we were going. The part she didn't tell him was that she rented a box suite and was having dinner catered to the box. So, when they arrived he looked a little like this:

There was a nice spread of food. A taco bar and nacho bar filled us all!

With any birthday party comes cake...and often kids! My whole family was together and here are a the 6 older grand kids helping Papa celebrate his birthday!

To top off the evening, we got a special visit from Boomer the Bear. Nicholas really liked him and had to talk to him.

We had a fun night celebrating with my dad. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Cousins on the Farm

2010-11-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

The cousins came to visit this weekend...Danelle and Thea, that is. The kids had fun playing on the farm together...as well as a few other activities.

They were begging someone to pleeeaaasseee take them on a 4 wheeler ride!

Then the headed over to climb in the tractor.

Yes, Nicholas insisted on wearing the hat low over his eyes like that.

This is when Eli woke up and I had to go inside. So, I don't have any pictures of the pig sorting that happened...but I'm sure there were some good opportunities for pictures...maybe next time!

Where to start?

2010-11-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been way too long since my last post. Lots has happened in the last few weeks.

Ben has been busy harvesting. They are done with silage but still have some grain corn to combine. Hopefully the weather will hold out for another week or two so they can finish everything up. It is nice to have the corn put away by Thanksgiving.

Nicholas is no longer in pre-school. After a meeting with his teacher it was decided that it would be best for him to wait a year. They said he is very smart and knows everything he should, but is a bit busy and is having trouble with the group setting. So, next year we will try him in the 4 year old class and hope that it goes a little better. This was very hard for me at first, but I think it will all work out. He does miss going to school and asks about it every once in a while. We've been doing some art projects at home to work on some of those skills. We also have been learning the letter sounds with the Zoo Phonics names that he was learning at school. He also loves to play the letter games on the Starfall website.

Eli has rolled over a few times. He isn't real into it so doesn't do it often. He likes to be up where he can see things. He loves the saucer and seems to like the Bumbo chair ok, too. He is constantly drooling and chewing on his fist so it only a matter of time before he starts getting teeth.

My parents came a few weeks ago and we went to the corn field to pick some squirrel corn. I had a Pampered Chef party that weekend so my mom came to that and all the guys went to Ephrata for lunch and then found a pumpkin patch so Nicholas could pick a pumpkin. Apparently his favorite part was the straw maze.

Last weekend we went to Spokane. I had tickets for Beth Moore's Living Proof Live event. I've enjoyed doing her Bible Studies with my Women's group at church. Last year we followed Paul on his journey and this year we are working through Esther. The event was quick and focused on Ephesians 4. My friend Kamie and her sister joined me for this event. We also squeezed in pictures of the boys, Greenbluff for doughnuts and cider, cookie decorating and Trick-or-Treating. Not bad for one weekend!

So, I guess that should about catch me up. Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. I'll try to get some on here soon! I just put a bunch on Facebook, let me know if you need a link to it if you aren't on there!

Nicholas vs. Eli

2010-09-23T16:53:00.001-07:00

Many people have been asking lately if Nicholas and Eli look alike. Some have said they are starting to look more alike. Here is a picture of Nicholas (top) and Eli both taken during the month of August.

Here they are again, this time in pictures taken mid/late September.

So, you tell me if they look alike or not. I did notice in looking back at pictures that Eli's eyes are much more blue than Nicholas' were. So, Ben may get a blue eyed boy after all!

Nicholas On the Farm

2010-09-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

The other day after riding with Ben in the chopper we were driving home and Nicholas told me we needed to go tell Grammie about Daddy driving the chopper. So, we took a detour by the farm to say hi on our way home.

It turned out Papa Lou needed some help putting the pigs away.

Then there was some straw that needed to be blown into the hoops. So, into the tractor they went.

Nicholas always loves spending time at the farm and I think his Papa enjoys having him around, too.

Eli's New Things

2010-09-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

Eli is doing more things now. One is watching his toys more.
He also sits in the Bumbo and loves to chew on his hands.

Sucking his thumb has also become a favorite activity.

He is also lifting his head higher when on his tummy. Maybe tummy time isn't so bad!

Seems like he is changing every day. Makes me want to slow is growing down a bit!

And So IT Begins

2010-09-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

It being harvest, of course! Here is the chopper. This is the Claas that was purchased new last year. Ben has been quite impressed with it, although it has had one repair so far this year.

The chopper cuts the stalks just a few inches off the ground and feeds all of it through the machine and shoots it directly into the truck.

Back view.

The trucks take the silage to the dairy where it is bagged and allowed to forment before later feeding.

On this particular day Nicholas was enjoying a chopper ride with Daddy. Eli and I ran around the field trying to get a few pictures.

At least it was a nice day to be running around the corn field.

My Boy is Growing Up

2010-09-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

This morning Nicholas started preschool. All summer we have been working on potty training to make sure he would be ready for school. A few weeks ago we finally mad our goal and he has been asking to go to school ever since.

I just had to take the traditional front step picture before we left this morning.

When we first headed down the hallway there were a ton of parents gathered by the door to the classroom and Nicholas kind of freaked out. He did the whole "stubborn donkey digging his feet into the ground" thing. As soon as we got into the classroom and he saw some of his friends and the toys he calmed right down. Things were quite busy there this morning and I didn't want to bother the teacher with a picture, so I tried to get one before I left.

At this point Nicholas was already into the toys and didn't want to have much to do with me. So, I snatched the picture and left.

And so it begins. Letters home about what they are learning and all the activities and info the parents need to be filled in on. Kind of fun. I like that his teacher included the songs they are learning so we can practice and a few fun sheets to do with our kids as we talk about their day. Nicholas told me that they painted (I guess they used glue sticks). He also said, "A like Alligator a, a, a." I guess he is learning something already! He also said, "I had a snack." When I asked what he had he informed me, "Cookies and some apple juice." Sounds like a perfect day at preschool!

Just a Thought

2010-09-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Today I stopped at Big R to get Ben new shoelaces. We quickly found what we needed and headed to the checkout. There were quite a few people in line so, we took our spot and waited. I was having a hard time keeping Nicholas away from the candy and from wanting to go explore the store. Finally we were next in line.

As we were waiting a Hispanic man jumped in front of us. I looked at the clerk and she took him next. She looked at me and mouthed, "Sorry". I'm thinking if you know this guy cut, why don't you send him to the back of the line? She finished with him then his friend jumped in the line to checkout. I tried to step up and started to say, "I think..." Again she said, "Sorry." So I said, "You could tell them that we were here first." She didn't say anything. She finished with him and I stepped up, clearly annoyed as I'm trying to occupy a 3 year old while holding on to the infant seat. She says to me, "I don't think they spoke English." I said, "Well, I understand that could be true, but we live in America and they need to figure it out." Last time I checked a little gesture toward the line would explain to these men that we had been waiting. She went on to tell me that this happens all the time there. "They always do this"....umm well, maybe that is why they continue to do it. Maybe they should think about a solution to this problem.

So, yes, I'm venting. I'm disappointed with that worker and the way she handled that situation. Let's just say I'm not jumping at the chance to do more business there.

Lazy Sunday

2010-09-06T10:43:00.001-07:00

With Summer work coming to an end and harvest upon us, we treasure our days with Daddy. So, yesterday we started out by going to church like usual. I was filled with peace as I sat there with Ben holding Eli, quietly sleeping and Nicholas quietly playing. We sang a couple great hymns that make you feel filled with the Spirit. I know that God has given me each of these boys for a reason and I just felt especially blessed yesterday.

We decided yesterday was a good day to stick around the house and do a whole lot of nothing. When you have 2 kids, nothing isn't what it used to be, but still fun. here is what we enjoyed doing yesterday.
We decided fresh popcorn sounded like a good snack. Nicholas got the popcorn maker and the popcorn out all by himself before Ben and I even made it into the kitchen. He really is starting to be a good helper.

Daddy and Eli stood by, monitoring Nicholas' and my technique.

Eli's Days just aren't complete without some floor time and a few good smiling sessions. I love the interaction we get from him!

Debbie has been cleaning out Ben's old room to make an office for Lou to do his school work in. She has been sending home boxes of "stuff" for Ben to go through. Some stuff he put right into the trash, but much of it is being put to use already.

A few weeks ago History Channel ran a show called Top Shot. Ben enjoyed watching the skilled marksmen compete in various challenges with many kinds of guns, as well as knife throwing and slingshot challenges. It turns out Nicholas also loved this show and often requested to watch Top Shot. As you can imagine, many of his toys became "guns" if they had any resemblance to the shape of a gun. Well, one of the things that came home in the boxes of Ben's stuff was an old wooden rifle that I think Ben said he made it around age 8. Nicholas quickly took to this toy and is practicing his "shot".

We enjoy Sundays where we can spend time together!

Nicholas' Summer Job

2010-09-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Although he didn't have to apply for this job and there is no formal payment, it is something he does just about every day. I planted a bunch of flowers out front in our flower bed area. There were no sprinklers out there yet, so we made the habit of watering them everyday. Since the driplines for that area aren't installed, we continue to do this job most days.
I guess these might be considered his employer:

Of course there has to be some fun to every job. He loves to turn the sprinkler on and off and watch the water start and stop.

Not the most effective for watering, but at least he is enjoying his job!

After work, comes play. Usually the rule is that he has to have shoes on when we go outside. This day I thought we would just be watering the flowers so I grabbed the camera to take some pics and we headed out...barefoot. Then his tricycle was calling to him, so I had to snatch a few pics of that also.

He is getting more comfortable on the trike and I will soon have to enforce the "wear your helmet" rule. For now he is just enjoying being a kid!

What Eli Does

2010-09-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have tried several times now, to upload a cute video of Eli and I "talking". For some reason it won't upload...but I'll tell you how cute it is. Not only did we get Eli talking with his little half laugh, but we also got Nicholas getting jealous in the background and becoming obnoxious. Ok, so I know you are really sad you can't see it. Maybe I'll try another one soon!
This picture was taken at the same time that the video was taken...just imagine his little voice cooing at you!

Besides talking to me, Eli also loves to stand up. Now, he can't stand on his own, of course, but he loves to stand and look around at everything! Here he is with Daddy.

Eli also likes to sleep. He usually sleeps between 6 and 8 hours, although he has done 9 hours and last night he even slept 9.5 hours. He is an amazing sleeper and I am so fortunate that we were blessed with him!

You might notice in this picture that he is sucking his thumb. Yes, he found his thumb...and as Ben put it, this is one of my biggest fears (ok, not really but I was hoping he wouldn't be a thumb sucker!). See, I have a theory that I can take a Binky away from him, but never his thumb. Oh, well. I guess God is telling me, yet again, that I'm not in control of everything. :)

We love our little Eli and I just can't believe how fast the time goes!

Eli's Baptism

2010-08-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the 22nd, Eli was Baptized. This took place at our church, Living Word Lutheran. His sponsors were our friends Kamie and Brenik Iverson. They have been attending church with us for quite a while now. The recently moved to Odessa and will begin attending a church there. We have missed seeing them every Sunday!
Here is Eli in his Baptismal outfit. It is the same outfit that Ben and Nicholas both wore, so I was glad that we were able to fit him into it. I was worried since Eli was Baptized a month later than Nicholas was.

Here is the whole group including Pastor Michael Wiser who comes to our church 2 times a month from Spokane. He also happens to be the Pastor I grew up with and Confirmed me so it is neat that he has Baptized both of our boys.

You will also notice that Eli is wrapped in a blanket. This blanket has been present at the Baptism of many babies in the Hesse family. It is now a tradition to wrap the baby in this blanket as they are Baptized. I love traditions like this!

We are thankful for the faith we have and the supportive church family we have been blessed with. Thanks to all of you who have helped along the way!

2 Happy Boys

2010-08-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

With Nicholas having success on the potty, we have been doing a lot of celebrating. When we went camping with my family this year, Nicholas wasn't being successful and it was no treats at that point. I was so bummed he missed his first chance at S'mores I had to re-create it at home.

This is a S'more maker I got a few years back. Not the same as a campfire, but better than the microwave! Nicholas had fun roasting the marshmallows and it made for 1 happy boy!

And of course eating them was good, too.

I think he quite enjoyed the experience.

Now for the 2nd happy boy. He didn't get to enjoy S'mores this year, but he has been happy lately!

Eli has been smiling and even given us a little laugh here and there.

This is such a fun age!

Potty Training

2010-08-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

No worries, there won't be any pictures in this post! When Eli was about 2.5 weeks old we decided Nicholas was fully able to potty train and we gave it a shot. Who would have thought that we were starting what would be the worst 7 weeks of MY life!

We realized quickly that he was able to control everything (as in, he CAN do this). However, we also discovered what a strong willed little boy we have. He had it in his head that he wasn't going to do this...therefore he didn't. This was extremely frustrating for me. We tried several different rewards and when that didn't work we moved on to consequences when he had an accident. About 2 weeks ago I was at the end of my rope and I sat him down and told him he had a choice. I told him he had to choose to poop in the toilet and that if he chose to go in his underwear he was choosing no treats and to clean up his own messes. It took 3 showers, the first was just warm, then next cooler and the last was fairly cool. The next day he began going in the toilet and since then we have only had 2-3 accidents, usually when he is playing outside.

So, for Nicholas he had to make the choice, and I had to tell him that it is his choice and make him aware of everything he is choosing with his actions. I never found a "currency" that worked for him. We just had to get beyond his stubbornness. He is now enjoying treats again and is looking forward to preschool starting in a few weeks. This means we have 2 weeks to perfect him doing the whole process on his own, but he is doing well. I'm proud of my little guy! He is proud of himself also and can't wait to tell Daddy when he gets home that he made a poop in the toilet. He has even told the checkers at Wal-Mart and others about his accomplishments. At least he is excited about it all!

Funny Nicholas

2010-08-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Nicholas has become quite the little guy lately. He has said some funny things!

A few weeks ago we were at Dayna and Shane's house and pancakes were being cooked for breakfast. Somebody jokingly said Eli wants one. Nicholas mater of factly says, "Eli likes boobies." That one got a pretty good laugh from everyone.

Last night we were eating dinner and Nicholas said to me, "Mommy, you are mad?" My response was, "No, I'm not mad." To which he says "Mommy, you are upset?" My next line was, "Do you even know what upset means?" Anyway, I was feeling just fine, but I've noticed Nicholas asking about our moods quite a bit lately. Must mean he is learning about the feelings of others.

This morning at breakfast Ben had poured a bowl of Lucky Charms. He always picks out a few marshmallows and eats them before he pours the milk on. Well, this morning Nicholas caught this and says, "Use your spoon, please." Hmm...wonder where he has heard this before.

I know there are lots more, but that is all I can think of right now. I just love watching his vocabulary blossom like it has been.

Alex and Allison's Wedding

2010-08-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

On August 8th Ben's cousin Alex got married. The wedding was on a cruise ship while it was in port in Seattle. It made for a fun adventure for the guests and the couple and many of their family members sailed on to Alaska following the wedding.
Nicholas liked the open bar. He was even served an orange drink!

This picture is classic Nicholas, always shoving the food in. Love those stuffed cheeks!

And here are Eli and Grammie enjoying the view from the front of the ship!

Congratulations to the happy couple. We enjoyed this fun day!

More Randomness

2010-08-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random pictures from the first half of August. I had to get this one of Eli in his cow outfit from Great-Aunt Lori and Uncle Rick.
And here is Nicholas trying out the Bumbo while watching PBS in his jammies. Kind of funny.

Ben and Eli were enjoying some computer time and Dayna and Shane's house.

I guess Eli is getting started at a young age.

This is one of my new favorite pictures of all the boys. They were all enjoying some floor time together!

From July to August

2010-08-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

Before we move onto August, I must finish up July which includes my birthday. Yes, this was a big one for me. I asked Ben if he was going to make me a cake and to my surprise he and Nicholas did just that while Eli and I went to our Baby Shower.
He even made the frosting from scratch and did a great job. Thanks, guys for a yummy cake!

Eli has started to gain much better head control. Here is a fun pic I got at the beginning of the month.

And some good smiling pictures. He really smiled at me for the first time on July, 25th...one day before my birthday. What a nice present!

And one bashful smile...

And 2 happy boys.

What fun we have been having!

One More Baby Shower

2010-08-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Kamie and Terry, a couple of my church friends, were so gracious and wanted to throw Eli and I a shower. Here are some pics from the fun event that took place on July 25th.

Terry made this cute watermelon buggy!

Me opening one of the many presents. Thanks, everyone!

Thanks, Kamie and Terry for a fun party...and Kamie for taking pictures for me!

Trees

2010-08-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

In mid July we finally hired someone to come and put the sprinkler system in. After this we were give some free trees from someone that Ben's uncle knows. We now have 8 trees that we are trying to keep alive. Mid July is not the time you are supposed to plant trees when you live in the desert. Here is the back of the house with 2 trees.

And the front of the house with 4 trees. The side yard has 2 more.

Thanks to everyone who helped us get these trees and plant them!

The boys

2010-08-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the first pictures of Eli where he looks happy. It is hard to catch those first few smiles on camera...but this was close!

Nicholas is fascinated with our bed, and Eli likes to lay on it and look around our room. So, I snapped this picture while they were both happy.

What else are little brothers good for besides pretending to chop hay onto their heads?

And here is a cute on of the two of them!

Hesse Family Weekend

2010-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm working my way through posting about the Summer...I'm getting there.

Towards the beginning of July Ben's sister Rachel and her son Ruston came to visit. Ruston was Baptized while they were here and Ben and I were asked to be his Godparents. Here is a picture of our family after the service. This same weekend Ben's dad was being ordained. I don't have any pictures of this, but there was a service for it and a potluck afterwards. There was also a lot of family in town so we took a few opportunities to get some pictures with the Great-Grandparents. None of them went real well, but here are the best ones I got. This first one includes Debbie's Parents.

This one has Debbie's parents along with Lou's Dad.

What a fine looking bunch!

Eli Meets Mom's Family

2010-08-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

The 2nd weekend of July we headed to Spokane for a day with my family. We spent the first half of the day at my brother's house with both of my brother's families. Having 9 cousins together is getting very interesting!

Later in the afternoon we headed over to my parent's house and had some fun outside. The afternoon was warm so the kids enjoyed running through the sprinkler.

Here is my oldest brother's wife and their newest baby, born late March.

This is my other brother's wife and their baby boy born June 3rd...just 13 days before Eli. It will be fun to watch these boys grow up together.

Here are the 3 newest members of the tribe, of course all born in 2010. We never would have guessed that we would all have kids so close in age!

Here are all 9 grandkids. At the time of this picture they ranged in age from 10 years to 2 weeks. Kind of fun to have them all together!

It was a fun day spent with all of them!

July Fun

2010-08-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was quiet as we were having strong winds and both boys were tired. So, we decided to stay home. Eli sported this cute outfit and that was about the extent of our day. Ben and I did see the fireworks out the back window as we were headed to bed...oh how old we are getting!

We've been trying to practice tummy time a little each day. Here are the boys practicing together!

With Nicholas having reflux, he hated tummy time and we weren't able to do it often. As soon as you laid him down he would spit up and start crying. Eli is much different and seems to even enjoy it sometimes!

So far, Eli seems more laid back than Nicholas was. Nicholas is a high-energy, always "on" kind of kid. We'll see how Eli develops, but he could be a little more laid back than his brother...which would be ok with me! Two like Nicholas could really test my limits. :) I love both of my boys, just the way God gave them to me!

A Birthday Party

2010-08-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of July Nicholas was invited to a friend's Birthday party. It was a country fair theme and the kids had a ton of fun. Of course there were the regular cupcakes.
Then there was the bouncy house. Nicholas had a blast with this and mostly wore himself out bouncing.

This also happened to be Nicholas' first experience with Cotton Candy. He realized it is pretty good stuff!

This was also his first time with a snow cone. He didn't eat too much of it...probably because he was distracted with the bouncy house!

Anyway, Nicholas had a fun time and we were glad to make it to this party!