Due to general busyness, I missed last week's post. Here's what happened in the last two weeks:
October 11 - Olivia and Gretchen went to see a Frozen Sing Along with Grandma. They got dressed up in Frozen dresses, shoes, and crowns, and they got to take a picture with Elsa.
October 12 - Mom brought a load of stuff down to store in the basement. She also brought Jacob and Grandma and Grandpa A. Mom had to go straight back to Michigan, but the other three stayed for dinner before abducting Jacque and taking off. It was nice to visit with them, and Olivia and Gretchen took full advantage of the extra willing readers.
October 13 - Kaitlyn had her six month check-up. She's 17 pounds, 6 ounces and 26.75 inches long. She was incredibly obliging, choosing to demonstrate most developmental traits right as the nurse was asking about each one. She got all the required shots except the flu vaccine, which isn't in currently. Olivia also got a shot (her dosage was available). We sprung this on her last minute since I didn't know it would be an issue, and she did remarkably well. She was very brave up until the point where they actually poked her. Now Olivia and Gretchen walk around the house talking about how they don't want to get poked.
October 14 - We checked out the local Classical Conversations, just to see what was going on there. I don't think I need to be a part of the group since most of the aspects that I liked I could easily recreate at home (also, it's a moot point because we're not currently planning to homeschool). I did learn more about my children, though: We dropped Gretchen off at the nursery to play, which she did happily for about 20 minutes before coming back to be with me. Olivia spent those 20 minutes telling me how she just wanted to go be with her sister. Once Gretchen rejoined us, both of them paid attention relatively well. Gretchen was more excited to do things and Olivia tagged along. By the end of the morning (it's a three hour program), they had mostly figured out how to walk in line and Olivia was asking if she could just go ahead with the other kids without me. Even after being given permission, though, she still made sure not to turn any corners until I caught up.
October 15 - I had women's group in the afternoon, so Bryan left work an hour early to watch the girls while I spent time with adults listening to podcasts and rolling buckeyes.
October 16 - Story time at the library and then off to the Weys! The older girls visited their friends while Kaitlyn and I drove to Toledo to pick up Jacque from Grandma. It was overcast the whole drive up, poured for the actual transfer of person and goods, and then cleared up for the drive home. Once home, we worked on cleaning the house and packing for a trip to Sidney. Everything got slightly less frenetic when our dinner guests had to cancel due to unreasonably bad traffic (an accident shut down 75). After dinner, we drove to Sidney to spend the night there.
October 17 - Bryan and I got up bright and early the next morning (does it still count as bright and early if the sun isn't up yet?) to drive to a conference in Indiana. We brought Kaitlyn with us, met up with some people from church, and listened to a series of talks on prayer before driving back. The older girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa to watch movies and play with toys. Jacque had an audition (followed by a spur of the moment bonus audition) and then helped construct bunk bed hammocks for the Barbie house that Murry is building.
October 18 - In the morning we loaded up the van and drove everyone back to Lima for church. Bryan decided he wanted to have people over for dinner, so we invited the entire church over for steaks and potatoes. Jacque and I had to go to three different stores to find the steaks we wanted (did you know Aldi doesn't sell those boxed frozen steaks anymore?). Most of our dinner guests went home at about bedtime, but a few stayed to play games after the kids were in bed.
October 19 - Six women from church (including Jacque) got together to bake cookies for our upcoming cookie walk. The babysitting plan was for Josh (one of the husbands) to watch all the kids at his house for the day, but Olivia wasn't feeling well when she woke up, so the party moved to our house instead so that she could stay in bed. Jacque and I still got to go bake cookies, and we helped roll, cut, and bake 53 dozen gingerbread men, 24 dozen sugar cookies, and 15 dozen rum balls.
October 20 - The girls and I abandoned Jacque to her own devices and went to visit the Kleins. Gretchen apparently caught whatever Olivia had on Monday, because she slept the whole time. It's not unusual for her to fall asleep on the drive, but she also napped on the floor for about three hours, finally waking up in time to get about half an hour of playing in before we drove home.
October 21 - Wednesday was the first normal morning we'd had for a while, and the opportunity to get things done around the house was much appreciated. Jacque watched the kids after bedtime so that Bryan and I could go to schole ("good conversation with good friends, often over good food and drink").
October 22 - Jacque's a busy woman for being semi-employed from her sister's workroom, so we drove her to Fort Wayne to catch a bus to Chicago. We were going to head to the zoo afterwards, but it was rainy and we would have had to pay anyway (because of some special Halloween program), so I decided to take the girls somewhere else instead. We ended up at a painting place where you buy the piece and then stay and paint it. The girls seemed to enjoy it. Once they were done, we went to Culver's for a late lunch before heading home.
October 23 - By Friday I was feeling overwhelmed by everything that hadn't gotten done around the house. I also had a few orders that I needed to finish for my etsy shop. We were half planning on taking the girls to Sidney for the weekend anyway, so Bryan decided to take the afternoon off to get them out of my hair while I got work done. He left with Olivia and Gretchen right after lunch, Kaitlyn went down for a nap, and I cleaned up and finished sewing. Bryan came back sans children in time for dinner.
October 24 - It's amazing how much easier one child is when that one is your third rather than your first. Bryan and Kaitlyn and I hung out around the house and accomplished little things. After lunch we went and played a game with the Weys and then went out to dinner (using one of my coupons since I'm trying to chip away at that 30 Before 30 list). Some friends came over for nerd games in the evening and I played my first ever real dungeons and dragons.
October 25 - Today we're headed to Sidney to stay for a few days while Bryan works in Springfield. Then it's back home (with all our children) for a return to normal. :)
Pictures:
25 October 2015
11 October 2015
October 4-11
Olivia and Gretchen have a barbie named "Bad Girl" (as in evil, not disobedient). She's actually a beautiful collector's barbie dressed as a bride. She does, however, have a pretty heavy layer of makeup on her face. When I asked Olivia why she was called Bad Girl, she responded, "Look at her eyes!"
A remembered story that illustrates the difference between girls and boys: When we visited Boston, all of the children were playing happily in the living room. Olivia and Gretchen began playing together while their cousins ignored them. I believe Edward was playing with trucks and William was reading a book. Olivia convinced Gretchen to play Cinderella with her, and they danced around for a little while before Olivia ran away saying, "I'm running away! Chase me, prince!" Gretchen complied, and they ran a lap around the room before starting over. They repeated this a few more times before William noticed what was happening. As soon as he did notice, however, he immediately dropped his book and jumped up. With a gleeful "Chase Olivia!", he took off running around the corner and tackled her onto a chair.
Gretchen is officially diaper free. She spent the whole week in Boston wearing a diaper only at bedtime. While there, she noticed that potty-training William got to wear underwear to bed and asked if she could, too, but we didn't want to deal with the hassle. Once we got home, though, she woke up dry several mornings and got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night once, so we gave her the option one night and she chose to do without the diaper. So far, so good.
Kaitlyn has started sitting up. She doesn't get a lot of practice because of things like hardwood floors and overly enthusiastic sisters, but she does a pretty good job when given the chance. She's also been rocking on hands and knees with increasing regularity, which is tremendously exciting to Olivia especially. I am curious to see how wonderful Olivia and Gretchen think Kaitlyn's crawling is once she starts going for their toys...
Kaitlyn has also started solid foods. At lunch on Saturday, she sat on my lap (as she often does) and tried to grab my Chipotle burrito out of my hand. She was quite irate when I wouldn't share, so I pacified her with grains of rice until Bryan could take her and I could finish my meal without losing it all over the table. On Sunday I mentioned to a friend at church that I was going to have to make baby food and she gave me some leftover rice cereal and a few cubes of vegetable puree the her recently-graduated-to-table-food one-year-old wasn't going to eat. We started with that and I picked up some vegetables on Monday night and spent a few days steaming and pureeing. So far Kaitlyn has had squash, spinach, and applesauce and seems quite content.
Yesterday was the first orchestra concert of the season, which means that this last week I had rehearsals every night. Bryan and Jacque put the girls to bed all week and Kaitlyn's new puree obsession meant that they didn't even have to worry about her too much. What good timing. :) Orchestra was great, and I once again appreciated the fact that once a month I have a commitment that requires me to pick up and play my viola.
Jacque is living with us! She came with us from Boston and is staying here until she moves to Chicago sometime in the nearish future. We set up her queen bed (box spring and mattress only) in the middle of my workroom and squeezed her things in around the edges. She was exceedingly helpful in the babysitting department last week when Bryan had to be in Springfield several days and I had orchestra. Although I suspect she's still getting her fill of small children, the girls appear to have accepted her as one of the family and thus tend to ignore her rather than resorting to constant performance mode.
Did you know that you can check artwork out of libraries? Our old library had this option and I always wondered what the point was. While we were driving to and from Boston, however, I was listening to various podcasts and one talked about having artwork around for your kids to look at. I had the brilliant idea of letting the girls check out masterpieces from the library and on Monday morning we all marched over to the little visited section of framed art. Olivia and Gretchen happily picked out pictures (shown below; Olivia liked the princesses and Gretchen likes that there are three) and we hung them up in the playroom where they can admire them. In two months, we'll take them back and get new ones. :) While we were picking out paintings, Jacque found a Renoir that she liked, so I went back on Friday and got that for her to hang in her bedroom.
Tuesday was a trip to the Fort Wayne zoo (because we have a membership!). We conquered Australia and the Indiana farm before heading home. The most exciting part was probably the peacock that joined us for lunch before we even got through the front gates, although we also enjoyed the sea lions, the stingrays, and the goats. We were allowed to pet the goats and help brush them, and Olivia made sure to touch each one exactly once. Aunt Jacque bought some stuffed animals at the zoo store on the way out, and the girls played happily with their new lion and tiger all the way home.
I've been reading chapter books out loud before quiet time, and we just finished another one. We've now done Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, and Beezus and Ramona. After we read Ramona the Pest, I think we're going to move on to a couple of the Little House books and then maybe Heidi. Secret Garden, or A Little Princess. Any suggestions would be gladly accepted. I'm looking at you, reader that is getting a master's in library science and has a job in the children's department of the library. :)
Pictures and Videos:
A remembered story that illustrates the difference between girls and boys: When we visited Boston, all of the children were playing happily in the living room. Olivia and Gretchen began playing together while their cousins ignored them. I believe Edward was playing with trucks and William was reading a book. Olivia convinced Gretchen to play Cinderella with her, and they danced around for a little while before Olivia ran away saying, "I'm running away! Chase me, prince!" Gretchen complied, and they ran a lap around the room before starting over. They repeated this a few more times before William noticed what was happening. As soon as he did notice, however, he immediately dropped his book and jumped up. With a gleeful "Chase Olivia!", he took off running around the corner and tackled her onto a chair.
Gretchen is officially diaper free. She spent the whole week in Boston wearing a diaper only at bedtime. While there, she noticed that potty-training William got to wear underwear to bed and asked if she could, too, but we didn't want to deal with the hassle. Once we got home, though, she woke up dry several mornings and got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night once, so we gave her the option one night and she chose to do without the diaper. So far, so good.
Kaitlyn has started sitting up. She doesn't get a lot of practice because of things like hardwood floors and overly enthusiastic sisters, but she does a pretty good job when given the chance. She's also been rocking on hands and knees with increasing regularity, which is tremendously exciting to Olivia especially. I am curious to see how wonderful Olivia and Gretchen think Kaitlyn's crawling is once she starts going for their toys...
Kaitlyn has also started solid foods. At lunch on Saturday, she sat on my lap (as she often does) and tried to grab my Chipotle burrito out of my hand. She was quite irate when I wouldn't share, so I pacified her with grains of rice until Bryan could take her and I could finish my meal without losing it all over the table. On Sunday I mentioned to a friend at church that I was going to have to make baby food and she gave me some leftover rice cereal and a few cubes of vegetable puree the her recently-graduated-to-table-food one-year-old wasn't going to eat. We started with that and I picked up some vegetables on Monday night and spent a few days steaming and pureeing. So far Kaitlyn has had squash, spinach, and applesauce and seems quite content.
Yesterday was the first orchestra concert of the season, which means that this last week I had rehearsals every night. Bryan and Jacque put the girls to bed all week and Kaitlyn's new puree obsession meant that they didn't even have to worry about her too much. What good timing. :) Orchestra was great, and I once again appreciated the fact that once a month I have a commitment that requires me to pick up and play my viola.
Jacque is living with us! She came with us from Boston and is staying here until she moves to Chicago sometime in the nearish future. We set up her queen bed (box spring and mattress only) in the middle of my workroom and squeezed her things in around the edges. She was exceedingly helpful in the babysitting department last week when Bryan had to be in Springfield several days and I had orchestra. Although I suspect she's still getting her fill of small children, the girls appear to have accepted her as one of the family and thus tend to ignore her rather than resorting to constant performance mode.
Did you know that you can check artwork out of libraries? Our old library had this option and I always wondered what the point was. While we were driving to and from Boston, however, I was listening to various podcasts and one talked about having artwork around for your kids to look at. I had the brilliant idea of letting the girls check out masterpieces from the library and on Monday morning we all marched over to the little visited section of framed art. Olivia and Gretchen happily picked out pictures (shown below; Olivia liked the princesses and Gretchen likes that there are three) and we hung them up in the playroom where they can admire them. In two months, we'll take them back and get new ones. :) While we were picking out paintings, Jacque found a Renoir that she liked, so I went back on Friday and got that for her to hang in her bedroom.
Tuesday was a trip to the Fort Wayne zoo (because we have a membership!). We conquered Australia and the Indiana farm before heading home. The most exciting part was probably the peacock that joined us for lunch before we even got through the front gates, although we also enjoyed the sea lions, the stingrays, and the goats. We were allowed to pet the goats and help brush them, and Olivia made sure to touch each one exactly once. Aunt Jacque bought some stuffed animals at the zoo store on the way out, and the girls played happily with their new lion and tiger all the way home.
I've been reading chapter books out loud before quiet time, and we just finished another one. We've now done Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, and Beezus and Ramona. After we read Ramona the Pest, I think we're going to move on to a couple of the Little House books and then maybe Heidi. Secret Garden, or A Little Princess. Any suggestions would be gladly accepted. I'm looking at you, reader that is getting a master's in library science and has a job in the children's department of the library. :)
Pictures and Videos:
04 October 2015
September 27-October 4
Oh, Boston. Where to begin?
After driving through the night last Friday, we arrived at Justine's house at 10:30 Saturday morning. No one was there, but Justine had left the door unlocked for us. We unpacked the car into the middle of the kitchen and settled down at the table for a late breakfast. The Bossards popped in briefly before heading out again, leaving us to our own devices as we recovered from the drive. By dinnertime we were all present and accounted for, including Jacque and Joseph's sister and her husband.
Sunday was Walter's baptism, which went swimmingly (no pun intended). The usual priest was out sick, so a newly ordained priest got to perform his first baptism. Afterwards, we all went back to the Bossard residence, making a brief pit stop at a Radio Shack so that Bryan could purchase a new power cord for his laptop since he'd forgotten his in Ohio. Sarah and Luther left late Sunday night (after we all looked at the lunar eclipse), bringing the occupancy of the house down to five adults and six children.
Monday was library day, so Justine, Jacque, and I packed up the kids in strollers and wraps and wandered over to catch story time. Luckily for us, there are two story times in a row, so we were on time for the 11:00 one (after aiming for 10:15). I was impressed by their story time, which was much bigger, more elaborate, and better organized than any story time I've attended thus far. The best part was definitely during the song "Shake Your Sillies Out" when twenty some toddlers jumped their jiggles out, briefly turning the room into a pint sized mosh pit.
On Tuesday we thought about going to Boston, but didn't ever make it out the door. Sleep deprived adults and cranky toddlers decided to hang out at the house instead. I did take an excursion to the park with my three kids and one nephew. William made a beeline for the sandbox and Olivia and Gretchen happily followed him. They did eventually move on to other playground equipment. A little over one happy hour later, we wandered our way back home and I promptly dumped everyone in the bathtub to take care of the sand in their hair.
Wednesday was rainy, so we stayed in and planned for the next day's trip to actual Boston. I'm not a big touristy type, but after driving 14.5 hours to the east coast, one feels a certain obligation to at least glimpse the major city. The kids spent the day inside reading the fabulous book that Aunt Jacque gave William for his birthday. Then they zoned out in front of a movie for quiet time.
Thursday was Boston day. First we went to Music Together, which was a very exciting class of nonstop catchy songs. Gretchen got into the music right away, while Olivia was more reserved and then decided to compensate by being wild. The trip into Boston was awful and stressful. Traffic was crowded and three separate emergency vehicles had to muscle their way through the congestion. Rumor has it that Justine's passengers were quite excited about the close proximity of sirens and flashing lights. Not so in my vehicle. Jacque sat in my car and assured me that no one in Boston hated me when I (1) stopped in the middle of an intersection due to a red light three blocks away, (2) covered a crosswalk due to another red light, (3) drove in a bike lane to avoid the car forcing itself into my lane as a fire truck went by, or (4) deliberately ran a red light to make room for an ambulance. I hated me a little, though, and this experience was enough to cure me of my desire to go to Boston. As we were already there, we found a parking garage with claustrophobic little ramps that we had to take all the way to the roof to find parking spots (I definitely tried to push off the wall with my hand going around one corner, failing only because my window was in the way). We got the kids out and walked to the public gardens to see the Make Way for Ducklings statues. The kids thought those were great, and we took a few pictures before heading back. We meant to drive to a harbor afterwards to watch boats and planes, but wrangling six children, two of whom are nursing and two of whom are potty training and five of whom still take a nap at least some of the time, is not nearly as painlessly quick and easy as it sounds. So we skipped the harbor, threw snacks at the kids, and just drove home. The return trip was considerably less eventful, to the relief of all.
On Friday we just stayed in and hung out together. The kids got a movie while I ran out to buy new tail light bulbs for the van (side note: they were installed by a Steelers fan; he wanted to make sure my Browns fan husband was aware of that). Somehow someone turned the movie off before it was done and when Bryan went down to turn it back on it was at the beginning again. We let them watch the first half over while we made lunch. After dinner on Friday, we got in the car and began the long drive home, this time with an extra driver. We arrived back at our house at 9:45 on Saturday morning and spent the day unwinding.
And here ends our Boston saga.
Something of note: William is absolutely convinced that Gretchen's name is Gretchy-Gretch. He never calls her anything else.
Pictures and Videos:
After driving through the night last Friday, we arrived at Justine's house at 10:30 Saturday morning. No one was there, but Justine had left the door unlocked for us. We unpacked the car into the middle of the kitchen and settled down at the table for a late breakfast. The Bossards popped in briefly before heading out again, leaving us to our own devices as we recovered from the drive. By dinnertime we were all present and accounted for, including Jacque and Joseph's sister and her husband.
Sunday was Walter's baptism, which went swimmingly (no pun intended). The usual priest was out sick, so a newly ordained priest got to perform his first baptism. Afterwards, we all went back to the Bossard residence, making a brief pit stop at a Radio Shack so that Bryan could purchase a new power cord for his laptop since he'd forgotten his in Ohio. Sarah and Luther left late Sunday night (after we all looked at the lunar eclipse), bringing the occupancy of the house down to five adults and six children.
Monday was library day, so Justine, Jacque, and I packed up the kids in strollers and wraps and wandered over to catch story time. Luckily for us, there are two story times in a row, so we were on time for the 11:00 one (after aiming for 10:15). I was impressed by their story time, which was much bigger, more elaborate, and better organized than any story time I've attended thus far. The best part was definitely during the song "Shake Your Sillies Out" when twenty some toddlers jumped their jiggles out, briefly turning the room into a pint sized mosh pit.
On Tuesday we thought about going to Boston, but didn't ever make it out the door. Sleep deprived adults and cranky toddlers decided to hang out at the house instead. I did take an excursion to the park with my three kids and one nephew. William made a beeline for the sandbox and Olivia and Gretchen happily followed him. They did eventually move on to other playground equipment. A little over one happy hour later, we wandered our way back home and I promptly dumped everyone in the bathtub to take care of the sand in their hair.
Wednesday was rainy, so we stayed in and planned for the next day's trip to actual Boston. I'm not a big touristy type, but after driving 14.5 hours to the east coast, one feels a certain obligation to at least glimpse the major city. The kids spent the day inside reading the fabulous book that Aunt Jacque gave William for his birthday. Then they zoned out in front of a movie for quiet time.
Thursday was Boston day. First we went to Music Together, which was a very exciting class of nonstop catchy songs. Gretchen got into the music right away, while Olivia was more reserved and then decided to compensate by being wild. The trip into Boston was awful and stressful. Traffic was crowded and three separate emergency vehicles had to muscle their way through the congestion. Rumor has it that Justine's passengers were quite excited about the close proximity of sirens and flashing lights. Not so in my vehicle. Jacque sat in my car and assured me that no one in Boston hated me when I (1) stopped in the middle of an intersection due to a red light three blocks away, (2) covered a crosswalk due to another red light, (3) drove in a bike lane to avoid the car forcing itself into my lane as a fire truck went by, or (4) deliberately ran a red light to make room for an ambulance. I hated me a little, though, and this experience was enough to cure me of my desire to go to Boston. As we were already there, we found a parking garage with claustrophobic little ramps that we had to take all the way to the roof to find parking spots (I definitely tried to push off the wall with my hand going around one corner, failing only because my window was in the way). We got the kids out and walked to the public gardens to see the Make Way for Ducklings statues. The kids thought those were great, and we took a few pictures before heading back. We meant to drive to a harbor afterwards to watch boats and planes, but wrangling six children, two of whom are nursing and two of whom are potty training and five of whom still take a nap at least some of the time, is not nearly as painlessly quick and easy as it sounds. So we skipped the harbor, threw snacks at the kids, and just drove home. The return trip was considerably less eventful, to the relief of all.
On Friday we just stayed in and hung out together. The kids got a movie while I ran out to buy new tail light bulbs for the van (side note: they were installed by a Steelers fan; he wanted to make sure my Browns fan husband was aware of that). Somehow someone turned the movie off before it was done and when Bryan went down to turn it back on it was at the beginning again. We let them watch the first half over while we made lunch. After dinner on Friday, we got in the car and began the long drive home, this time with an extra driver. We arrived back at our house at 9:45 on Saturday morning and spent the day unwinding.
And here ends our Boston saga.
Something of note: William is absolutely convinced that Gretchen's name is Gretchy-Gretch. He never calls her anything else.
Pictures and Videos:
30 September 2015
Bonus Post: Sound Bites 6
Gretchen: Mommy, are you Bambi or are you an apple or are you a cup or are you a bird?
Me: I don't know, what am I?
Gretchen: You are just a mommy apple. When you get bigger, you can be an apple, mommy.
Gretchen: Frozen sings and Frozen cuts the ice and Frozen sings (*deep, growly singing voice*) the frozen heart.
Gretchen: Why did Elsa and Anna say (*singing as loudly as she can*) I can't!?
Me: Because they can't do it.
Olivia: What can't they do?
Me: Elsa can't stop winter.
Olivia: I can stop winter.
Me: You can? How can you stop winter?
Olivia: With my ice powers. When I have ice powers, I can stop winter.
Gretchen: When I stop ice powers, I will be Elsa!
Gretchen: I am the littlest mommy and you are the biggest mommy.
Olivia: I am the little biggest mommy.
Me: What's Kaitlyn?
Olivia: Kaitlyn can be... a horse!
Me: A horse?!
Olivia: And you are Prince Hans and Olivia and Gretchen are Elsa and Anna and Daddy is Kristof.
Gretchen: Hearts don't really eat because they have noses.
The following exchanges are part of playing with Barbies.
In this conversation, Olivia plays the part of Mommy Barbie and Gretchen is Daddy Barbie.
Mommy Barbie: Daddy Barbie, can you be Jesus?
Daddy Barbie: Yes!
Mommy Barbie: Okay, Jesus, tell us what to do.
Daddy Barbie/Jesus: We caaaaan... Watch a movie!
Mommy Barbie: That's not a church thing! Tell us something else.
In this conversation, Gretchen plays both sides.
Tinkerbell: Jesus, will you marry me?
Daddy Barbie/Jesus: Yes.
Me: I don't know, what am I?
Gretchen: You are just a mommy apple. When you get bigger, you can be an apple, mommy.
Gretchen: Frozen sings and Frozen cuts the ice and Frozen sings (*deep, growly singing voice*) the frozen heart.
Gretchen: Why did Elsa and Anna say (*singing as loudly as she can*) I can't!?
Me: Because they can't do it.
Olivia: What can't they do?
Me: Elsa can't stop winter.
Olivia: I can stop winter.
Me: You can? How can you stop winter?
Olivia: With my ice powers. When I have ice powers, I can stop winter.
Gretchen: When I stop ice powers, I will be Elsa!
Gretchen: I am the littlest mommy and you are the biggest mommy.
Olivia: I am the little biggest mommy.
Me: What's Kaitlyn?
Olivia: Kaitlyn can be... a horse!
Me: A horse?!
Olivia: And you are Prince Hans and Olivia and Gretchen are Elsa and Anna and Daddy is Kristof.
Gretchen: Hearts don't really eat because they have noses.
The following exchanges are part of playing with Barbies.
In this conversation, Olivia plays the part of Mommy Barbie and Gretchen is Daddy Barbie.
Mommy Barbie: Daddy Barbie, can you be Jesus?
Daddy Barbie: Yes!
Mommy Barbie: Okay, Jesus, tell us what to do.
Daddy Barbie/Jesus: We caaaaan... Watch a movie!
Mommy Barbie: That's not a church thing! Tell us something else.
In this conversation, Gretchen plays both sides.
Tinkerbell: Jesus, will you marry me?
Daddy Barbie/Jesus: Yes.
27 September 2015
September 20-27
Kaitlyn's teeth finally came in on Monday. She is now the proud owner of two tiny pokey things and seems much happier. She still drools like crazy, though.
Gretchen's potty training continues to be an adventure. She keeps undies dry about half the time now, which is often enough for Bryan to feel they're worth it, but not for me to bother putting new ones on her once the first pair gets wet. :/ She has graduated to using the big potty all the time now, which is exciting.
Last Saturday the Kleins came over and Steph and I made lots of applesauce. I was still working from my big basket of free, albeit sadly wormy and misshapen (but free!), apples. I confess I was pretty jealous of Steph's big, beautiful orchard apples. We cut and strained and boiled and canned, and finished the day much richer in applesauce than we began it. Also, my basket is now empty. :) I got three more quarts of applesauce, plus two pints each of strawberry applesauce and blueberry applesauce. The flavored applesauce is a big hit in my house; I'll have to make that more often.
Mom came down Saturday night with a truck full of furniture and things for our basement as they prepare for their move across the country. Siblings: If you want things, you have until we decide to fully finish the basement to claim them. Don't worry, I'll give you some warning.
On Sunday we took mom back to Michigan in time for church and then stayed to visit for the day. I got some more raspberries, despite this not being the season for transplants, and put them in a newly raised bed located atop the watery grave of the old patch. Mom said I can have another batch every time a vehicle goes from her house to my house and we're hoping that at least a few from each group survive.
On Friday Bryan and I celebrated our wooden anniversary by packing all the children into the van and beginning the long drive to Boston to visit Justine and company. Driving through the night went better than last time, although Gretchen woke up multiple times to complain that she wanted to be in a bed. Kaitlyn did a fantastic job, and everyone was in a great mood after a very morale boosting gas station stop at 4:30 in the morning. We made it to Justine's house by 10:30, clocking the drive at 14 and a half hours. An amusing anecdote from the gas station: While Bryan pumped gas, I took Olivia in to go to the bathroom and then we stopped to buy a couple of snacks. Then I took Gretchen in, and then Bryan went in to buy himself a snack. Finally I took Kaitlyn in for a new diaper and bought myself an iced tea. On this fourth purchase in the same location, I got an email from Chase making sure our credit card had not been stolen. Never mind the three previous purchases (one of which was for gas), the danger was clearly the $1.89 spent on the iced tea.
Now we're in Boston for the week, planning to leave Friday sometime to begin the trek back home to people who know how to pronounce the letter "r."
Pictures and Videos:
Gretchen's potty training continues to be an adventure. She keeps undies dry about half the time now, which is often enough for Bryan to feel they're worth it, but not for me to bother putting new ones on her once the first pair gets wet. :/ She has graduated to using the big potty all the time now, which is exciting.
Last Saturday the Kleins came over and Steph and I made lots of applesauce. I was still working from my big basket of free, albeit sadly wormy and misshapen (but free!), apples. I confess I was pretty jealous of Steph's big, beautiful orchard apples. We cut and strained and boiled and canned, and finished the day much richer in applesauce than we began it. Also, my basket is now empty. :) I got three more quarts of applesauce, plus two pints each of strawberry applesauce and blueberry applesauce. The flavored applesauce is a big hit in my house; I'll have to make that more often.
Mom came down Saturday night with a truck full of furniture and things for our basement as they prepare for their move across the country. Siblings: If you want things, you have until we decide to fully finish the basement to claim them. Don't worry, I'll give you some warning.
On Sunday we took mom back to Michigan in time for church and then stayed to visit for the day. I got some more raspberries, despite this not being the season for transplants, and put them in a newly raised bed located atop the watery grave of the old patch. Mom said I can have another batch every time a vehicle goes from her house to my house and we're hoping that at least a few from each group survive.
On Friday Bryan and I celebrated our wooden anniversary by packing all the children into the van and beginning the long drive to Boston to visit Justine and company. Driving through the night went better than last time, although Gretchen woke up multiple times to complain that she wanted to be in a bed. Kaitlyn did a fantastic job, and everyone was in a great mood after a very morale boosting gas station stop at 4:30 in the morning. We made it to Justine's house by 10:30, clocking the drive at 14 and a half hours. An amusing anecdote from the gas station: While Bryan pumped gas, I took Olivia in to go to the bathroom and then we stopped to buy a couple of snacks. Then I took Gretchen in, and then Bryan went in to buy himself a snack. Finally I took Kaitlyn in for a new diaper and bought myself an iced tea. On this fourth purchase in the same location, I got an email from Chase making sure our credit card had not been stolen. Never mind the three previous purchases (one of which was for gas), the danger was clearly the $1.89 spent on the iced tea.
Now we're in Boston for the week, planning to leave Friday sometime to begin the trek back home to people who know how to pronounce the letter "r."
Pictures and Videos:
20 September 2015
September 13-20
Kaitlyn...
...loves her sisters. Anytime she hears them playing she will look around until she spots them and then smile at their game.
...is beginning to be ticklish. She has to be in the right mood, though.
...grabs things quite well now. Beware those with long hair, beards, glasses, necklaces, and/or noses. Once she was trying to grab a toy on the bed but couldn't because she'd captured the grabbing hand's thumb with her other hand.
...will eat anything, even a door. If she can pick it up, it's food. If she can reach it with her mouth, it's also food. She has sampled every toy she's been given, the hair of the unwary who stray too close, and, yes, a door. She was quite upset that the door did not fit in her mouth.
...rolls everywhere. Hence the ability to taste the door. Having mastered rolling from front to back (either direction) and back to front (either direction) in addition to turning in circles on the floor, Kaitlyn is quite mobile. She hasn't figured out how to get exactly where she wants, though, so watching her get places is kind of like watching a chess match played with nothing but knights.
Gretchen...
...can drink from a regular cup now. It took an unreasonably long amount of time for her to master this trick since she always stuck her tongue inside the cup to lap at the water like a cat, but she's got it now.
...knows her colors. This was kind of a gradual thing, but we didn't work on it much, so it surprised me when I realized that she could do it.
...stays in bed at night. We haven't put the gate up for some time now, and Gretchen does just fine. She only gets out of bed if she needs someone to refill her water cup. This is, needless to say, quite terrifying in the middle of the night when I wake up with her face right in mine as she patiently waits for me to become aware of her presence. Once I fill her cup, though, she turns around and walks right back to bed.
...can twirl spaghetti on her fork. I discovered this at dinner on Friday and was very impressed. Unfortunately, she suffers the same fate as most spaghetti twirlers: all of her spaghetti twirled up into one hugely unmanageable bite.
...opens doors. This also took longer than usual, but through no fault of Gretchen's. Our door handles are unusually high in this house, so she couldn't reach them until recently. Now that she can reach them, however, no room is safe.
Olivia...
...learned to spell her name. We've been practicing with letters on the fridge as well as spelling out loud. She seems to have a good handle on it, but I'm not sure she would be able to tell OLIVIA from OSTRICH just yet.
...likes to play her new violin. My mom brought a 1/8 size violin with her last week (complements of Aunt Jan, via Donna) and Olivia has played it several times. Mercifully, the e string broke as it was being tuned, so we're only hearing the lower notes. She is impatiently waiting for the day when I teach her to put fingers down on the strings.
...wants to be the oldest, but not necessarily the most grown up. She likes being in charge, but becomes helpless when it suits her. For instance, when HER water cup is empty in the middle of the night, she sits in her bed and wails.
Our car had brake problems when Bryan was driving from Springfield back to his parents' house last week, so we had to abandon it at Steve and Murry's, shoehorn three carseats into the backseat of their Jeep, and borrow their vehicle for a few days. Everything worked out, though, and our van is once again in our possession and working as well as it ever has. An unexpected bonus: somehow when they fixed the brakes they also stopped the power steering whine.
Labor day was our fun run, and we had quite a good turn out. Friends from church came, as well as Matt and Tricia (Bryan's cousin and his wife) and Rianne and Titus (my cousin and her husband). My parents and some siblings came down as well, and Bryan's family made an appearance at the cookout afterwards. The big improvement to the fun run this year came in the form of a semi-marked course: I tied yarn on sticks. Unfortunately, the sticks and yarn were difficult to see and our front runner was color blind and therefore unable to decipher whether he should turn right or left. Next year I will use large ties of patterned cloth. :)
Alison and Jacob came down for the weekend before the fun run. We hung out, Bryan got Jacob addicted to a new video game, and Alison and I tried our hand at cheddar cheese. We're not tremendously hopeful as to the outcome, but won't know the extent of our failure or success for several months since cheddar takes 4-6 months to age. The most exciting part of the combined visit came after church on Sunday morning, when Father pointedly asked, "so, do you have any news to share with us?" while staring at Alison's hand. Keep in mind that Jake and Joe look similar, Alison and Joe were together for all their previous visits, and Alison is now Orthodox, which is always a hopeful sign. Anyway, Alison looked mildly uncomfortable and then said, "Well, I saved a lot of money on car insurance by switching to Geico."
You may remember from last week's pictures that I made feta cheese after everyone left. This batch looked much more promising than the cheddar and feta only takes 2 days to cure. The verdict on the finished product is that I left it in the saturated brine (homemade seawater) too long. It looks and feels like feta, but is incredibly salty. Bryan says store feta is sharper also, so that is something that I will have to work on. I have a couple of ideas to try next time. If I can perfect this, though, I made a pound of feta for less than $3.50, which is well worth it.
This past Monday, Kaitlyn and I drove up to Albion to visit Jacob. He had picked up some bulk food from the (kind of local to him) store for me and in exchange I was giving swing dance lessons to his residents. The turnout was only about 9 people, but I thought it went well. The one male that came (other than Jacob) said afterwards that he'd be interested in learning the steps to some other dances, too, so I may be going back.
Pictures and Videos:
...loves her sisters. Anytime she hears them playing she will look around until she spots them and then smile at their game.
...is beginning to be ticklish. She has to be in the right mood, though.
...grabs things quite well now. Beware those with long hair, beards, glasses, necklaces, and/or noses. Once she was trying to grab a toy on the bed but couldn't because she'd captured the grabbing hand's thumb with her other hand.
...will eat anything, even a door. If she can pick it up, it's food. If she can reach it with her mouth, it's also food. She has sampled every toy she's been given, the hair of the unwary who stray too close, and, yes, a door. She was quite upset that the door did not fit in her mouth.
...rolls everywhere. Hence the ability to taste the door. Having mastered rolling from front to back (either direction) and back to front (either direction) in addition to turning in circles on the floor, Kaitlyn is quite mobile. She hasn't figured out how to get exactly where she wants, though, so watching her get places is kind of like watching a chess match played with nothing but knights.
Gretchen...
...can drink from a regular cup now. It took an unreasonably long amount of time for her to master this trick since she always stuck her tongue inside the cup to lap at the water like a cat, but she's got it now.
...knows her colors. This was kind of a gradual thing, but we didn't work on it much, so it surprised me when I realized that she could do it.
...stays in bed at night. We haven't put the gate up for some time now, and Gretchen does just fine. She only gets out of bed if she needs someone to refill her water cup. This is, needless to say, quite terrifying in the middle of the night when I wake up with her face right in mine as she patiently waits for me to become aware of her presence. Once I fill her cup, though, she turns around and walks right back to bed.
...can twirl spaghetti on her fork. I discovered this at dinner on Friday and was very impressed. Unfortunately, she suffers the same fate as most spaghetti twirlers: all of her spaghetti twirled up into one hugely unmanageable bite.
...opens doors. This also took longer than usual, but through no fault of Gretchen's. Our door handles are unusually high in this house, so she couldn't reach them until recently. Now that she can reach them, however, no room is safe.
Olivia...
...learned to spell her name. We've been practicing with letters on the fridge as well as spelling out loud. She seems to have a good handle on it, but I'm not sure she would be able to tell OLIVIA from OSTRICH just yet.
...likes to play her new violin. My mom brought a 1/8 size violin with her last week (complements of Aunt Jan, via Donna) and Olivia has played it several times. Mercifully, the e string broke as it was being tuned, so we're only hearing the lower notes. She is impatiently waiting for the day when I teach her to put fingers down on the strings.
...wants to be the oldest, but not necessarily the most grown up. She likes being in charge, but becomes helpless when it suits her. For instance, when HER water cup is empty in the middle of the night, she sits in her bed and wails.
Our car had brake problems when Bryan was driving from Springfield back to his parents' house last week, so we had to abandon it at Steve and Murry's, shoehorn three carseats into the backseat of their Jeep, and borrow their vehicle for a few days. Everything worked out, though, and our van is once again in our possession and working as well as it ever has. An unexpected bonus: somehow when they fixed the brakes they also stopped the power steering whine.
Labor day was our fun run, and we had quite a good turn out. Friends from church came, as well as Matt and Tricia (Bryan's cousin and his wife) and Rianne and Titus (my cousin and her husband). My parents and some siblings came down as well, and Bryan's family made an appearance at the cookout afterwards. The big improvement to the fun run this year came in the form of a semi-marked course: I tied yarn on sticks. Unfortunately, the sticks and yarn were difficult to see and our front runner was color blind and therefore unable to decipher whether he should turn right or left. Next year I will use large ties of patterned cloth. :)
Alison and Jacob came down for the weekend before the fun run. We hung out, Bryan got Jacob addicted to a new video game, and Alison and I tried our hand at cheddar cheese. We're not tremendously hopeful as to the outcome, but won't know the extent of our failure or success for several months since cheddar takes 4-6 months to age. The most exciting part of the combined visit came after church on Sunday morning, when Father pointedly asked, "so, do you have any news to share with us?" while staring at Alison's hand. Keep in mind that Jake and Joe look similar, Alison and Joe were together for all their previous visits, and Alison is now Orthodox, which is always a hopeful sign. Anyway, Alison looked mildly uncomfortable and then said, "Well, I saved a lot of money on car insurance by switching to Geico."
You may remember from last week's pictures that I made feta cheese after everyone left. This batch looked much more promising than the cheddar and feta only takes 2 days to cure. The verdict on the finished product is that I left it in the saturated brine (homemade seawater) too long. It looks and feels like feta, but is incredibly salty. Bryan says store feta is sharper also, so that is something that I will have to work on. I have a couple of ideas to try next time. If I can perfect this, though, I made a pound of feta for less than $3.50, which is well worth it.
This past Monday, Kaitlyn and I drove up to Albion to visit Jacob. He had picked up some bulk food from the (kind of local to him) store for me and in exchange I was giving swing dance lessons to his residents. The turnout was only about 9 people, but I thought it went well. The one male that came (other than Jacob) said afterwards that he'd be interested in learning the steps to some other dances, too, so I may be going back.
Pictures and Videos:
13 September 2015
September 6-13
Just pictures and a video this week.
Video (password BarhorstBrewed)
Gretchen's Milestones
Alison took pictures of her visit:
Kaitlyn and Rudy:
Gretchen on the table. I think she was marching:
Pictures of Kaitlyn from Kara's wedding (Kaitlyn is almost two months old in these):
Gretchen at Kara's wedding:
Princess Olivia takes pictures with Princess Kara:
Video (password BarhorstBrewed)
Gretchen's Milestones
Alison took pictures of her visit:
Olivia sleeps in the car:
Kaitlyn and Rudy:
Playing Pretty, Pretty Princess:
Olivia pins the tail on the fox:
Making feta cheese:
A small frog was on our sliding door one night:
Pictures of Kaitlyn from Kara's wedding (Kaitlyn is almost two months old in these):
Gretchen at Kara's wedding:
Princess Olivia takes pictures with Princess Kara:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)