Help Wanted

My cousin, Scott, will be in the Sterling area this summer with his horses!! He will be doing horsemanship classes and would really like to do mentorship programs with boys and girls. He already has one for boys started in Great Bend. I'm working on setting up (I'm using that term loosely!) one for girls. Go check out his website: Healing Hearts Ranch and let me know if you're interested in helping with any of the programs this summer!

Snowman...In March

While we were in Iowa for spring break, we got about 6" of snow. It was perfect for snowman-building, so Papa & Anna built one! Papa is the best snowman-builder :)

Anna says the ears were Papa's idea...

Gotta have a hat!

Ta-da! Papa unearthed some rocks for his mouth, but they fell out. I scrounged up some radishes for the eyes and pretzel sticks for his buttons! :) It didn't last long--Binga kept us updated on his demise!
"Morning" sickness has hit full force (who named it that anyway?? Must have been a man!!) so I don't promise many blog posts for a while. I was just telling Seth that the worst part about being pregnant for me right now is that I am hungry and sick and NOTHING sounds good. And not eating, of course, makes everything worse! Sprite and Jolly Ranchers have been my friend the past couple days.

Horses

Tuesday morning, we headed to Scott & Amy's so I could pick up my maternity clothes from her and get some groceries. The kids (plus Anna's friend Makenna) had a blast playing and riding horses! Amy graciously kept the kids while I ran to Walmart (THANKS!!)

This boy doesn't like me ;) And he looks EXACTLY like his daddy & Papa!! Good grief!

Makenna playing on the trampoline.

Daniel had no trouble keeping up with the big girls! That boy is a bouncing pro!

Jacob was more interested in playing in the sand pile than jumping on the trampoline.

For some odd reason, Anna did NOT want to stay and ride horses while I ran to the store. I couldn't believe it! That was all she talked about all morning. Amy said Makenna loved it and even got to "go fast" :)

I'm tellin' ya...this boy was born for country life! :)

Contrary to the looks of this picture, Jacob reportedly loved riding. Last time, he hated it.

Thanks, again Scott & Amy for letting us invade for a morning! The kids loved it (so did I!).

The Grandparents Don't Catch on Quickly

Video of when we told the grandparents about the new baby. Neither set caught on very quickly!! I made the kids' shirts (seen in the last post) and they were wearing them both times! My parents didn't even notice the shirts and when they read their card (this will be their 7th grandchild) Mom didn't know if it was me or Cassie! ha Aaron's mom even READ Jacob's shirt several times and the meaning didn't sink in!! Too funny. Oh--I was trying not to be obvious about filming when Aaron's parents got here, so sorry it's a little bumpy!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm...

Hmmmm....

Hmmmmmm....

HMMMMMMMM!!!

Evaluation Outcome

Jacob's speech evaluation was yesterday afternoon. He did SO good!! I was a little surprised, but once he saw those ladies had bags of goodies (toys), he went right to them and tried taking stuff out! :) He was very cooperative and did such a great job. I was surprised at some of the cognitive things he was able to do. They had to "test" all areas, not just the speech. Their conclusion is that he is one smart little boy but he basically just can't pronounce the words he's trying to say yet. He understands everything you say to him and he has his own words, he just can't enunciate. Sooo, they will do speech therapy with him twice a month until he turns 3 (end of August) and then they'll turn it over to the school district for speech therapy. I've noticed the last couple of days he's started saying a few more things a little more clearly. Not sure anyone else would recognize them as words, but I notice a bit of a difference.
I'm really glad he liked the ladies so much (one that came will be the one doing the therapy). He actually tried to go home with them!! I was holding him in the yard because he tried to get in their car (not entirely unusual--the boy loves cars!) and he held his arms out to one of the ladies to take him!!
Anyway, I just wanted to update! Thanks for praying!!

Spring Break, Iowa Style

This week, we've been at my parents' for spring break! The kids were beyond excited to come up. I even had to make a count down for Anna so she would stop asking "Are we going to Papa's house tomorrow?!?!" :) We picked up a few hitch hikers along the way. hehe Aunt Cara, Cassie & Hudson came with us!!! It was a full van, but we had fun (well, Cassie might not have...she's the skinny one so she got stuck in the back seat between Anna & Hudson! Sorry Cassie!).
The last two days the weather has been perfect! Yesterday, we headed to the park...

Wait for me Jakie!!!

What kind of trouble can I cause???

Oh Hudson. He is so inquisitive! He wants to know what everything is! Papa told him that big wheel thing behind him is a piston. :)

Jacob hates having crumbs (or sand) on his hands. Which is odd because he will sit and dig in the dirt and sand for hours. Anyway, every time he got sand on his hands at the park he would stand up and hold his hands out, waiting for someone to come brush the sand off! So Aunt Cara showed him how to just wipe them off on his pants. :)

Anna loved playing on the digger.

Hudson enjoying the sand, too.

You talkin' ta ME, Mama?!

Da Boys

Jacob wasn't big enough to run the digger, but he didn't want any help either! :)

Aaron earns reward points for all his hotel stays with all his travels for his job. He had enough for a free night's stay, so I talked him into using it for a night this week! Our room is on the top floor of a new Holiday Inn!

After last night (when we were invaded by BOTH kids!) and how little sleep we got, I can't wait to get plenty of uninterrupted sleep!!!

Boots & Tractors

Today was a lazy day. But it was decent out so this afternoon, the kids played outside! Jacob has some "new" cowboy boots (thanks Jake!) He loves them. And I love seeing him wear them! So cute.

As soon as he saw me with the camera, he stood up and said "eeeeeze!" :)

He had to bring his tractor out, too.

I told Mom & Dad this boy was born for a farm! :) I'll have to post the picture I took this evening. Proof positive :)

Waving to the cars that go by.

This boy has never been unhappy if he's outside.

Anna wasn't in a very good mood today. Even after a nap, she was a bit grumpy. She did NOT want to go outside (they were still in their pj's after naps. hey--it's Saturday!!). I picked out some clothes for her to wear, but she didn't like them. Then she couldn't find the right t-shirt to wear under her sweatshirt. After close to 15 minutes, she finally came out wearing...

...new pajamas and her boots!!!

A friend gave me these boots for Anna when she was a baby. They used to be her daughter's and I'm so glad Anna can wear them (she wore them last year a few times, but they were still a bit big). I love them. Evidently, so does she! :)

Lots of Video

Here's a montage of several different videos I've taken in the last couple weeks. We had Curious George from netflix a couple weeks ago and the kids loved it. They must've watched it 2 dozen times. Ever since then, Jacob likes to act like a monkey! Mostly he just sounds like one. The magazine he's looking at on the floor in a car magazine Aaron gets (for whatever reason...we didn't order it!). He loves to look at it. Falling asleep eating supper...and Anna reading from her little Bible! I'm so proud of her!! She does a really good job.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Their New Favorite Things...

This isn't really a favorite thing, but I love how Jacob's blue eyes are so vibrant in this picture. :)

The kids & I went to a garage sale this morning. It was so icky & cold (Spring? Where did you go?!) so I told Anna to stay in the van and if I found any kids' things, I would come get them. The girl loves garage sales! Now, I'd just read Dave's newsletter and he talked about bargaining in one of the articles. I had $8 cash and that was it. The only kid toys they had were a couple of kitchen sets (already have one) and a wooden rocking horse. The horse had $12 on it and I thought "where in the world would we put a rocking horse?!" So after browsing around a bit, I went back to the van. I told Anna that the only toys were kitchen sets, which we already have. She gave me her sad face (have you seen it?? It's impossible to resist!). I told her there was ONE other toy--a rocking horse--but it was too expensive. Again with the SAD face!! I told her we could go ask the lady if she would take less for it, but if she wouldn't we could not buy the horse. So off we go in the freezing cold wind. We stopped by the horse and Anna agreed that it was a must-have. ;) Now, my intention wasn't to use my kids as a ploy to get this lady down on the price, honestly. Anna loves garage sales and I wanted to make sure she liked the horse. So we go up to the lady and Anna becomes suddenly very shy. I asked if she would take $7 (I thought that was all I had, not $8). She said "How about $9--we'll meet in the middle?" Sorry...$7 is all I've got. "Well, I would really like to see it go to someone who would use, so I'll take $7" As I handed her the cash I realized I had $8 so she got a bit closer to the compromise ;) As we were walking back to the van, I realized that only a really cold-hearted person would have turned down an offer with 2 children waiting to get a new rocking horse!! haha Oh well! I gave Anna a good lesson on bargaining! :)
So here's the new horse, which is a girl by the way.

I told Mom it's as close as it gets to the real thing for Anna right now!! She can't decide what to name her new horse.

She loves it. Jacob wouldn't get on at first but now he likes it, too.

But what he really likes is the magazine Daddy brought him...a TRACTOR magazine!!!! It was hilarious when Aaron gave it to him. He looked at the cover and went *intake of air* "ooooohhhhhhh" with great big eyes. He seriously has looked through it. He looked like a little old man tonight, sitting in the recliner watching TV and looking at the tractors for sale!! Love it!

What a Boy!

The most recent netflix arrival was John Deere for Kids!! Grandpa & Grandma W were the first ones to show it to the kids. They love it. And of course Uncle Terry owns several of them!! :)

Seriously...boys are just born with this kind of behavior. It's mapped into their DNA! He's TWO!!! The only thing better would have been if he'd had the recliner laid back! :)

Is it just me, or does he look so much older in these pictures?? Maybe it is the short-sleeves, Cassie!

He loves John Deere.

Leap Frog??

After baths, the kids like to snuggle up in their hooded towels for a bit. Jacob lasts a few minutes before he busts out. :)

Anna always pretends to be either a caterpillar in her cocoon or a chick in her egg. And then evidently Jacob thinks it's time to play leap frog??

Or maybe he sees this as an opportunity to get Anna back for all her pestering...without the ability to stop him. Hmmmm...

Oh boy, look at that face. Yep, I think that's probably what it is!

He was trying to kick/step on her, but mean ol' Mom wouldn't let him do that!

Pancakes!!

Jacob loves pancakes. I mean, he loooooves pancakes. Every morning, that's what he has for breakfast. I don't even remember when it started or how (why I had even fixed pancakes). He didn't use to like them. I know I'd tried getting him to eat them before and he didn't care for them. But one day that changed. So every week or so, I mix up a batch of pancakes.

I found a great, easy, yummy recipe online somewhere. I like them because they aren't super fluffy. I never can get the really fluffy pancakes done right--always a bit gooey in the middle still. And these keep great for a week (all the longer they last!) in the fridge.
1 c milk 1 c flour 1 egg
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder
generous dose of vanilla :) I probably end up putting in 1-2 tsp--I really like vanilla.

The recipe makes probably 20 small/medium pancakes.

The other night I fixed breakfast for supper.

I'm pretty sure Jacob approved of the idea...

...because he ate FIVE pancakes before he started falling asleep. I think he would be okay if I made "breakfast for supper" a weekly theme!