Click-Click

Lydia's newest trick is clicking her tongue. She figured it out a few days ago and has happily been clicking and clicking ever since. The simple joys in life. :)

Plumbing

The other day I discovered a dripping pipe under our kitchen sink. I "fixed" it temporarily with a bucket. When Nathan got home he "fixed" it with some rubber gasket material and a couple of hose clamps. The plumber came and really fixed it with a soldering torch and a new water pressure regulator. All three kids thought this little "homeowner adventure" was grand. They told the plumber all about Mom's bucket and Dad's clamps and how the water was going "drip, drip." When the plumber was finished Evan even told him that he did a good job. Hopefully nothing is dripping in your house. :)

Pizza Faces

This was supper earlier in the month. I'm not sure which faces are funnier, the pizza faces or theirs. Hopefully supper at your house is just as cheesy. :)

Saftey Dance (OSHA approved play)

For Christmas Hans got tools and a tool box made by Dad (Nathan). One of the favorite parts of the gift isn't a tool but the safety glasses that came with it. When you are wearing them you are "working hard on building." They "build" bunk beds, treadmills, walls, doors, tables, and anything else in the house that they can pound on for a few seconds before Mom is saying, "We only hit nails." Happy Saturday. :)

Three-peat

Last night was Lydia's last bottle night. How quickly she has gone from a baby to a big girl. This picture is from a few days ago when all three of them were listening to Daddy read stories at bedtime. The book of choice that night was "Who Are You Baby Kangaroo" and can actually be read by both of the boys. If you haven't read it or anything by the illustrator Clara Beaton you should check her out-she is really one of a kind. Hopefully you are all reading something just as enjoyable in your spare time. :)

Bunk Beds

These are the boys new bunk beds. They love them. The first night we had them we didn't set them up since it was late in the evening. Bedtime brought out great weeping and gnashing of teeth from two boys. They wanted their "big boy" beds. Evan has the top for now and Hans is happy on the bottom. They both can get up and down the latter and play on both beds during the day. They haven't played in their room this much in months. Bedtime is easy right now cause boys boys can have a parent lay next to them for singing time. The hymn of the week is I am Trusting You Lord Jesus. But we still sing a lot of Away in a Manger, Jesus Loves Me (with 'He who died'), and As with Gladness. What a nice way to head off to sleep. Sweet dreams to all of you. :)

Blocks

Blocks of any kind are a big hit and a big treat around here since they only come out when the living room in cleaned up of other toys (a rarity). The boys were building the only tower they know by name-the Tower of Babel. Lydia is the crasher of all towers so the boys have learned to build fast. Here's hoping whatever you're building is just as fun. :)

Wise Old Hans

If he has to wear glasses it won't take away from his cuteness.

Traveling

This picture is almost a month old but this is from our Christmas Day trip home. We had the kids dressed up for church and then put them straight into jammies since they would be in the van until after bedtime. They are great travelers which makes it easy for us to hop in and go the 8-9 hours we need. Hopefully you are just as comfy today as they are. :)

Can't figure this out...

Since I'm having trouble posting picture I thought I'd just give a written update on life here. After the break of Christmas vacation we've gotten back into our usual routines.

Nathan marked half way through the school year at last weekend's quarter break. In September I never thought we'd get here but now it's all down hill from here. January and February also mean boys basketball for him. He is coaching the 4th grade team this year with Pastor and Jon coaching the 7-8. We are actually thin on boys in 5-6 so we only have those two teams. The building project is still plugging along. The weather is always a factor. If you want more about that check out his blog at www.stpaulswels.blogspot.com

I'm doing great here too. Last weekend I had an ear infection which is the first ever I remember. Ow! Now I know why babies cry when they have those nasty things. I've done another small sewing project for a friend and am looking at another shortly. Other fun stuff I'm doing to keep busy-volleyball on Wednesday nights with some ladies from church, taking pottery classes in March, and starting a real workout schedule with the thought/plan of run/walking a half marathon in June. Crazy?? Maybe.

Evan and Hans have big news, literally. They have new bunk beds. After watching the classified for about a year we found a set of very nice wooden bunk beds. They are from a military family in the area who were stationed in Germany for 12 years. The brand is Thuka if you want to check it out. They are big enough that hopefully they will last the boys until they head out on their own in 18 odd years. Otherwise, Evan is pretty much done napping which makes me a little sad since I loose my hour of quiet in the afternoons but it is fun to have some time with just Evan too. He is a very logical little boy and has a reason for everything. Most of his reasons crack me up. Hans is quickly trying to catch Evan in talkative-ness jabbers just as much.

Lydia isn't walking yet but it isn't so much because she can't as because she won't. If you try to get her to walk she just gives you this impish smirk and squats down as if to say, "Hmm. Not now." She does walk with her new pink push truck and she's a pro climber and gets up on everything including the bottom bunk in the boys room. Lydia's latest love in dancing. When any of the musical toys we have play their little ditty she bops along and restarts the music when is stops. She even bounces along with commercials on the TV or radio.

I think that catches you up and gives a pretty good picture of life here even without an actual picture. Hopefully I'll post again soon. Hugs to all! :)

1...2...3...

What started out as Lydia and Anutie Jo time quickly turned into a good ol' Smith hogpile. Go sneak attack someone you love. :)

More Birthday Pictures

I keep finding more pictures that I feel the need to share. Sorry that they are all out of chronological order. These are from Lydia's birthday at my parents house. Thankfully the doll house isn't as big as the pictures make it look so it has found a home in Lydia's room. It does spend more time in the living room though. The cake pictures are just classic first birthday snapshots. I don't know if Lydia had ever even had cake before this. She certainly loved what she ate that day. Hopefully your dessert is just as tasty. :)

Oh, Kitty, Kitty

Hans is still very scared of dogs but while visiting my sister he discovered his love for cats. Fortunately for Hans and unfortunately for the cat my nephews Joey and Jesse "love" the cat just as much so it doesn't seem to mind this exuberant attention at all. Give someone you love a good squeeze! :)

Cattails

While in WI we had the chance to visit my sister and her family at the house they are in the process of buying. They are on about 8 acres that includes a pond. On some hikes earlier this fall we had come across cattails and taught the boys how they 'pop' when they're smacked against a rock or an unsuspecting parents leg. The pond at Cora and Bill's in surrounded with cattails so they had endless fun creating clouds of cattail fuzz. I wish I had a better picture with Hans in becuase he gets this impish grin when he's about to smack th back of Dad's legs. Ahh, fun. :)

More Davis Family

These are just a few snapshots from Davis family Christmas. :0

Lydia and Jordan

Since Lydia's Uncle Jordan has a birthday just four short days after hers they shared a birthday cake at Smith's. Nothing says 21st birthday like butterflies and flowers. (Sorry these posts are delayed. I'm trying to catch up from vacation.) Happy Thursday :)

Lydia turned One

Also over our extended Christmas vacation, on December 28th, Lydia turned one year old. It is hard to believe she's been here a year already. Where does the time go so quiclkly?

Smith Christmas

Continuing with the theme of Christmas all through the week, we celebrated Smith Family Christmas on December 31. Everyone had arrived home to 'the farm' by Friday which allowed us to all attend the Zemke (Mary's side of the family) Christmas on the evening of the 29th too. This picture was taken at the Smith's on Sunday after church. It's a bit of a production to get everyone all looking and smiling together but , hey, we only do it once a year. The rest of the day consisted of snacking all day on hours' devour type lunch and supper, WAY too many delicious cookies (there were over a dozen kinds on the platter, seriously), and sharing gifts. Once again we were abundantly blessed by all. Not only do the kids make out like bandits in the gift department but being the only little ones around they thrive on the abundance of aunt/uncle /grandparent attention. It's just wonderful to be completely surrounded by family. :)

Christmas Continued

Hi. Sorry it's been almost two weeks since I last blogged. On Christmas Day after attending our congregations song service we headed east. After a quick overnight at the Smith house we arrived at the Davis homestead. The 26th was the Davis Family Christmas. Our family has grown considerably from the six "originals" to the fifteen that now cover the entire Christmas tree in the family picture. It was busy, noisy, and a little crazy but wonderful. After eating and opening gifts the kids are set for toys and clothes for about a year and we probably didn't need to eat for about that long either. Mmm. And to think that this was just day one. :)