Breadstick Letters

Ever since I made these bread stick hearts for Valentine's Day, I have been wanting to make bread stick letters with the kiddos. So, today was the day...

We started with these:


And, we shaped them into letters (and shapes, not pictured) and "painted" them with a mixture of melted butter (yum!) and food coloring. Caleb did not enjoy it as much as I thought he would. He didn't like the "slimy-ness" of the uncooked dough, and wasn't all that into the painting part. But, he humored me and did a little bit before running off to play! =)




There weren't enough breadsticks for Meredith's entire name, so we just made her a big "M", which at this point is the only letter she knows anyway. =) And she would probably have stood on that chair for hours and painted the same spot on her "M" over and over. =)



Ready to go into the oven...


Enjoying the finished product...

Wordless Wednesday: Storytime

2 Months

Shane is 2 months old today!

He is such a sweet and content baby. He loves to cuddle, and his smiles are so sweet. He has begun to "talk" a little more, and it is so cute to hear him coo. He enjoys being tickled, and likes to talk to the star that hangs from the top of his playmat.



He is a great sleeper. He goes to bed around 7:30 pm, I wake him up for one last feeding at 10:00 pm, and for the past week, he has been sleeping straight until 7:00 or 7:30. One night, I didn't wake him for that 10:00 feeding, and he slept all the way from 7:30 pm until 6:30 am! I am guessing that he will do that consistently, but before allowing him to go that entire time, I want to make sure that he is gaining weight, and that the doctor gives us the "okay" to just let him drop that feeding.

We go to the doctor tomorrow for his well visit, and I'll update his height and weight stats then. We weighed him at home, and according to our scale, he is about 12.5 pounds (2.5 pounds more than at 1 month), so we'll see!




Big Brother and Big Sissy love to love on him. The other day, I walked in the room to find that Meredith had piled his blankets, some toys, his paci, AND her sippy cup on top of him. Such a sweet big sister, although I have to regularly remind her that we don't put blankets over the baby's head. =) Caleb calls him "Baby Shane", and Meredith calls him "Bee-Bee Shhhh." Quite cute. Caleb loves to hold him and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to him; he helps me by getting him a clean diaper or putting the old diaper in the garbage. Meredith loves to rock his car seat and sing "Ock, Bee-Bee" to him, which is her version of "Rockabye Baby". She is also helpful, and loves to follow directions...she'll bring me his burp cloth, put his jammies in the hamper, or get his paci. I love to watch the "big kids" care for their little brother, and it is so special to know that little Shane is so loved, not just by his Mom and Dad, but by his siblings as well.



Our little 2 month old sweetie pie is a joy. That pretty much sums it up. =)

Here he was at 1 month; it is crazy how much change occurs in a matter of mere weeks...

Come Home

Is It Spring Yet?

I know that we still have quite some time before Spring officially arrives.

But today was a nice taste.

Or maybe more like a teaser.

Either way, it was great to get outside. It was actually a bit too warm for all of their snow gear, but it's still so wet and snowy and slushy outside that their gear was the way to go!

They slid...





...they swung...



...they played in the snow...



...and they slept. Well, this little guy did anyway...


...and, on the way back, they played in puddles.

This might have been their favorite part.

My Loves

While there are many many many things that I love about each of the wonderful people in my little family, I have chosen ONE thing to share about each of my 4 favorite people (yes, it was hard to pick just one!)...something that at this moment, I really love and appreciate about them...

Kris...

I love how selfless Kris is. He works very hard all day, and then comes home and does a fantastic job of getting into husband/daddy mode. He puts all of us before himself. I am one lucky girl.

Caleb...

Something I love about Caleb these days is his imagination. From creating buildings and other such things out of his blocks to turning his bed into a spaceship to asking us all to go on "adventures" with him, his imagination is truly running wild right now and I love it!

Meredith...

I love Meredith's joy for life. Aside from having her milk cup taken away from her, there isn't much that doesn't make her happy! Her joy is evident in her voice, her eyes, her smiles and her actions.

Shane...

I love that Shane is content to hang out in my arms, that he has no care in the world but allowing me to love on him.

We have had fun celebrating Valentine's Day this year...making valentines, talking about love, etc. Last night, we had a special family dinner and this morning we had a big breakfast. Everything that I can manage to make into a heart shape is becoming so (pancakes, breadsticks, grilled cheese, brownies, etc!)...

And today, I helped out at Caleb's preschool party....very fun.

The bag he made for all of his valentines...


Waiting patiently for his turn to pass out his cards...


Delivering his valentines...



Caleb and his buddy...


Listening to one last story before it's time to go...


Happy Valentine's Day to you!

I hope that today is a day that you experience the love of Jesus and the love of those around you.

Toy Story Fun

Caleb loves Toy Story. 1, 2, and 3...he loves them all! His favorite toys from the movies are Woody and Jessie and Buzz and the slinky dog. =)

And, while he never actually adds Mr. Potato Head to that list of favorites, two of his favorite parts from the movies have to do with Mr. Potato Head himself.

In Toy Story 1, Mr. Potato Head makes his pieces crooked, and calls himself Picasso. Caleb has no clue who Picasso is, but he thinks this part is hilarious. So, Caleb's own Mr. Potato Head often gets a "picasso makeover"....


(don't mind the pink headband...)

Another favorite part is in Toy Story 3....at one point in the movie, Mr. Potato Head puts all of his parts on a tortilla shell, thus becoming "Mr. Tortilla Head"....again, Caleb thinks this is hilarious. We had tacos the other night for dinner, and we decided that we could (and should) spare a tortilla for the sake of making Mr. Tortilla Head. Caleb did a pretty good job, even though it was a bit tricky to get all of the parts to stick in the shell, which kept ripping.



And yes, his ears are actually tongues. Between him and Mrs. Potato Head, we are down to one set of ears. And they were currently on the Mrs. So, tongues as ears. It works.

One and a Half

Our baby girl is 18 months old today!



Meredith is just as spunky as ever, and her smiles light up our home. Her laugh is seriously contagious. We can't help but laugh when she laughs, and we have all been known to get into giggling fits together as a result of her little antics. =) She has a lot of fun energy, she loves to jump, run, march and dance. She can hold her own during "tackle sessions" with Big Brother and Daddy, but can also be a bit of a drama queen when she decides she is done.

She is a little chatterbox....she has many words that she uses on a regular basis, and seems to be adding new words each day. Just this morning, she added "Bible" to her vocabulary.

She has been adjusting well to being a big sister. While there are moments when she seems a little attention-starved (ie: when I am nursing Shane and she tries to climb right on top of him!), for the most part, she is doing great. She likes to hold him, and always gives him toys, his pacifier, books, etc...

She is still quite tiny....below the 10th percentile in weight, and just above the 10th percentile in height. Although, you would never know that she is so tiny based solely upon the amount of food she consumes. The girl can eat. No doubt she gets that (the eating part, not the tiny part) from her Momma.

We have lots of nicknames for our only daughter....Kris calls her "Princess" or "Sweetie Pateetie". I often call her "Sissy" (as in Sister) or "Little Pickle" or sometimes just "Pickle". Caleb has caught on to these nicknames as well and it is very cute to hear him affectionately use them.

She has a wonderful joy for life, and a sweet innocence that is precious. We love her so much, our special little sweetie-princess-pickle-sister.

Meredith is a true joy, and sometimes I want to "freeze" this stage that she is at. I am trying so hard to enjoy each moment of each day, knowing that these days pass so quickly.

Melt My Heart

My



Baby's



Smiles



Melt



My



Heart!