Splat!

Splat! It's the sound a snowball makes when it hits the concrete.  Little E learned this all too well as we got dumped on in our first big snowfall of the season.  While he remembered snow from before, this was really the first time that he got seriously into playing with it.  I think Waukesha got around eight or nine inches, but it looks like it will be here to stay since the temperature has basically bottomed out.  It kind of reminds me of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" when one character asks, "What do you think the temperature is?", and the other responds "One".  At least it looks like there will be snow for Christmas, but as far as I'm concerned it can melt shortly after that.  

Anticipation

Christmas has always been hands-down my favorite holiday. Even as a small child I looked forward to trees, music, decorating cookies, and even snow. (I know, what was I thinking!?) Now that we have little ones to share traditions with, it is magical yet again. I am truly excited for the holiday this year, because I know that little E will get such a kick out of it. We've been listening to the "Christmas Mix" on the radio, and he delights in singing along to the Hippo song, (I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas), the donkey song (Dominic....), and most recently "Dingle Bell Rock". Tonight when we put up the handmade stockings from my mother, we talked about how Christmas is really Jesus' birthday, and how lucky we are because of that. He's looking forward to the birthday cake for baby Jesus on Christmas Day morning, just another tradition that is being passed to the next generation. May you have joy in your heart as you prepare for this incredible holiday!

Thanksgiving

So in my family we alternate who hosts for Thanksgiving, which means that it falls to us every third year. Since it was our turn this year, and we were expecting at least ten or twelve for dinner, we decided to go all out. I was a little hesitant when I dragged the 21 lb. turkey into the house, but I figured with enough planning, (and a little help from Martha) that I should have been able to pull this off. I almost made it too! It ended up that the turkey was the culprit, deciding to stay much longer in the oven than was initially expected, but all in all everything tasted pretty good. You've gotta love modern technology, which allowed me to watch a video of how to stuff and truss the bird, as well as make gravy before I even got started. Hope your turkey day was good, too.

She's Found Her Voice!

Little M turned five months old on the 30th, and it wasn't too long after that she found her voice. She has been babbling a little for the last month or so, but this last week she has been shrieking, yelling, and "talking" every chance she can get. It has been so fun to watch her realize that, yes, she has the control of the sound that comes out. Big Brother E can be quite the chatterbox, so she'll have her work cut out to keep up. I find myself wondering if her language development will come a little quicker, simply because E is constantly talking to her. It is adorable to listen to how he adjusts his voice so it is a little quieter and in a higher pitch to speak her. She of course eats it up, and giggles and talks back to him. We are all loving watching the two of them together.

An Artist is Born!

Every artist has his medium. For little E, crayons and paper have been his favorites since he first started dabbling, so it was inevitable that he would experiment to see what crayon looked like on other surfaces. I guess we were asking for trouble when we hung up a recent zoo class art project in the kitchen and allowed him to continue working on it. Thankfully we aren't too attached to the wallpaper! You may also be able to tell that purple is currently his color of choice. I guess it could have been worse. (Think finger paints, or like my first day of kindergarten, fingerpainting with chocolate pudding! I think my mom still wonders exactly what my teacher was thinking.) Anyway it only seemed appropriate to document this artistic experimentation. Who knows, he could be the next Picasso? (Not likely given my genes. Even my students know that I draw stick people.) I think we'll hold out for music instead. He sings a pretty good version of "Do a Deer" currently.

Dancing

Music and dancing have been a part of our evening family time since little E learned to walk. We've had lots of favorites including Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Chipmunks, and most recently "Do a Deer" from the Sound of Music. But I couldn't help thinking of that episode on Friends where Ross & Rachel get their infant daughter to laugh by singing "Baby Got Back", as tonight our young children bopped to Rihanna's "Pon de Replay". And they loved it! Go figure.

Happy Halloween!

We spent Halloween with "the gang" at Jenny & Rob's house. Here are the kiddos in their costumes beforehand. Auntie Betsy was there and snapped some better pictures. Little E was a giraffe since that is currently his favorite animal at the zoo, and little M was a pumpkin, because all of the Schneider/Vanden Heuvel cousins have been pumpkins. I thought the pumpkin hat was especially cute on her. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Time!

So tonight we carved pumpkins with little E for the very first time. Oh my gosh! I'm so glad that we also had the video camera going. Little M watched the whole thing from her bouncer. We talked a lot about what kind of face his pumpkin should have, and in the end he decided it needed "triangle eyes and a rhombus nose". So while Mommy and Daddy took turns doing the carving, he decorated both his and his sister's pumpkins. When it was finished, we put a candle inside of it and got ready to appreciate our work. Instead, little E sang "Happy Birthday" and promptly blew the candle out! I guess we've been to a few birthday parties lately, and so when he saw the candle his first instinct was to blow it out. After repeated lightings, Daddy did some quick work to hide a flashlight inside, so he could at least see what it would look like in the dark. Finally we moved the pumpkin to the outside so that he could get peek through the patio door at his new friend. Each time we do something new with him, I am amazed at just how awesome a job parenting is, and how differently it makes you view things. As a kid, I balked at helping to clean out the pumpkin before carving. Tonight I couldn't have been happier to have my arm up to my elbow inside of the pumpkin, and even went through the innards later so that we would have pumpkin seeds to roast.

If all goes well, there will be costume photos to post soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Madelyn is four months old today! How is that possible? And yet, every time I see that smiling face, watch her roll over, or hear her giggle, I can believe that time is passing quickly. She is such a happy baby, and just adores her big brother. Last night she was "chasing" him (with Daddy's help), and I don't know who was having more fun. She must have been pretty tuckered out since she slept over twelve hours!

Today is also Great-Grandma Jo's birthday, so we called to share happy birthday wishes with her. We'll celebrate with her in person over the weekend.

Hopefully we will do a little pumpkin carving this evening, provided everyone is cooperative, and have some fun pictures to share.

Day One

I've been meaning to do this for so long. I'm hoping it will help me to document all of the little things that happen in our lives from day-to-day. Today E and I met with an attorney to try to get our life in order. (You know all of that adult stuff: wills, power of attorney, etc.) The stuff that no one likes to think about, but when you have two small children, you really need to. If nothing else, we'll be able to do this and then not have to think about it for a really long time. I had a little more adult time this evening, since I had a chorale rehearsal. If you can believe it, little guy was still up when I got home. I guess he just needed to say goodnight in person, and there is definitely a part of me that was happy to be able to tuck him in, too. I think it's one my favorite quiet moments with him each day.