Little engines can do big things

Anderson loves Thomas the Train and anything having to do with the show, movies, books, actual trains, songs, sheets on his bed, etc. I have to say that of all things he could love, Thomas seems to be a pretty great one. Our niece Anna so kindly gave us some of her gently used books one of which is called Little Engines Can Do Big Things. It is a nice book with a good message.  One that Adelaide seems to have picked up on much too early...

Though Adelaide is the smallest member of our household she sure does some "big" things: screaming and fighting sleep with every ounce of her little body and big personality. To be fair she has grown one tooth recently and is most likely feeling the next one trying to come in. She has also learned how to crawl and is into all the "big" people things she can get. She even is starting to pull up on things. Heaven help us. This little girl only naps an hour total each day, in two separate cat naps. This leaves lots of time for her to get into trouble and the word "no" causes her to look right at you and laugh...and she isn't easily amused either. So, as I sit here typing and listening to the sweet silence of four small boys actually sleeping, I am sitting here wondering why this little engine in front of me is still awake and busy...what big things are next? I am scared to ask... :)

The formidable opponent

Fighting against a little baby can be tough. It is not for the faint of heart....and Adelaide is proving to be quite the opponent and is definitely winning. After two hours of trying to get her to sleep in the crib last night, we gave up. She went back in the rock n sleep in our room, feet sticking over the edge as she really is too big for that bed. Ah, sleep. Sometimes the fight can wait. Sleep is so hard to come by anyway and there is always tomorrow! Mother of the year here! :) With all the milestones she has reached even in the last week- first tooth, saying mama, and getting her tummy off  the floor to almost crawl- i have found myself thinking of a few memories from Anderson before he was such a big boy "growing so fast" as he says. ..

He used to answer a question with a high pitched "I don't know!" And I mean high pitched. I would ask him questions all the time just to hear it.

His piggy face was done on command from a very young age thanks to a laughing audience of grandparents.

"I too tired" was his response to being asked to do anything he didn't want to do at the moment.

He used to take a big sniff and then say, "smells like a bad day!"

More memories to be made today. It's Saturday and "daddy doesn't go to work today!!!!!" Imagine that being said with all the enthusiasm of a two year old. It's pure joy. Oh, here's a pic from last night. Things started out so well...

Moments I don't want to forget

Lately I keep thinking of how many things happen each day that I dont want to forget...cute phrases, laughs, cuddles and milestones my kids reach every day. Somehow Anderson is already 2 1/2 and adelaide is almost eight months and I have yet to document any of this! Argh! So maybe starting up my blog again will help me to document a few of these moments in a place I can come back to easily when I need to be reminded of these sweet moments...so, here goes! :)

Mommy: "Don't chew on the hat, honey"

Anderson: "I'm trying to find something to eat."

Anderson: 1

Mommy: 0

It's a BOY!

So, I haven't updated this blog in what seems like ages, so I better get busy! Hopefully by now all of you have heard we are expecting a baby in July. We just had our sonogram yesterday and found out it will be a boy! He was wiggling all around during the entire sonogram, which was quite fun to watch. They said all his measurements looked good and organs appear healthy, so we are really thankful for that! It is just crazy to think he will be here in just a few months!

Other than the baby news, we are staying quite busy. I took a new job with the Manhattan school district back in December and am enjoying teaching music again. I teach K-6 and help with the beginner choir at the high school. So, it is busy, but a nice change of pace from working at K-State. Seth is still at Arthur-Green and is doing a great job! He stays quite busy, which I have to keep reminding him is a really good thing! :) Other than that, we are mulling over finally buying a home of our own, so we do seem to have plenty going on! I will try to post more updates now that we have baby news to report (and pictures, too!). Look for more soon...

I attached a couple of sonogram pictures for you to see...

Fun with Abbie!

So, I couldn't email out all of these videos to all of you family members dying to see Abbie, but I thought I could post them here. Let's see if it works...for those of you not in my family, this is my cousin's baby, Abbie. Not sure if I can explain this well, but she is the first baby born to our generation on my Mom's side of the family, which makes her especially special! :) We all love her to pieces!! My sister and I just got back from visiting our family in Washington, D.C. and had a wonderful time! Hope you all enjoy the cute pictures and video! Oh, yeah, don't forget to turn on your sound for the video! :)








Here's the video. Make sure you turn on your sound! :) It is short, but very cute!

Finally an Update!!

So, I can't say that we have had anything too exciting going on, but a lot has happened since we have updated. Seth and I both graduated in May, which was a huge accomplishment for us both. He has worked so hard the last three years and I guess I have worked pretty hard as well. It is weird to think that era of our lives is over and the last few months have been quite the roller coaster of emotions for sure.

Let's see...here is a quick overview:

May- graduation, saying goodbye to some of our best friends in the world. It was a tough time as we were so excited and yet so sad to see our friends go their separate ways. We hadn't really realized how hard it would be to leave the friends we have made the last three years; they have really become like family to us.

June- Seth is studying and taking the Bar prep course. Sarah is taking care of the dog, Seth's brother's dog and house and MOWING. We took over a new lease in Manhattan starting in June and it is out in the country with about 1.5 acres of grass to mow...and unfortunately we did not have a riding mower for most of the summer. UGH. Pictures will follow...oh yeah, we also moved all of our stuff into our new place in June.

July- Seth finished up his class and we officially moved into our new house. It is a wonderful place to be and we are getting used to being country folk- we are 10 miles outside of town! Molly loves to run around here and we definitely love having a whole house and lots of peace and quiet. It is beautiful out here. More mowing happened this month as well...oh, yeah, Seth took the Bar Exam on the 28th and 29th. We are still awaiting his score. What a stressful summer this has been!

August- here we are in August. Seth started work on the 10th and is now trying to learn what it really means to be an attorney. He is working quite a bit but feels fortunate to work in a firm that is so well-respected in the community and we have both enjoyed getting to know the other attorneys and their families. It is definitely a new chapter in our lives. I am still on the job hunt and will begin substitute teaching next week to try to keep a paycheck rolling in while I await some amazing job that will pay a ton...haha. Other than that, we are just trying to get in the groove of this new life with no more school and lots more working...

Here are a few pics from the last few months. We have managed to sneak away for a bit of fun here and there but are really looking forward to Labor Day weekend when Seth will get a much-deserved day off and we will get to see our friends that we miss so much!!

Sorry for the long post...not like anyone is reading this anyway!! :)








Well, that is all the pics I have time to add right now...our internet is pretty slow out here and I am not very patient. The house pictures were taken before the corn around our house grew to 7 feet tall, but you get the idea...sorry I don't have any better pics right now. More to come, I promise... :)

Molly

Molly is our dog. We got her from a shelter a couple years ago. She's well-behaved, more appreciative than your kids, and costs a lot less. Her favorite treats are gravy-flavored milk bones and her favorite toy is a Mallard duck. Devin Ross is terrified of her.