Happy Spring!

Watch Out, Here Comes Natalie!

We apologize for how long this post has taken! I think we have been a little intimidated to write this one since there is just so much to say about Natalie’s new developments. She is turning into a toddler right before our eyes. The highlights: teeth, crawling, standing, sign language, words, and finger food. And of course, all of this new mobility means one thing to Harrison: his sister is now officially in the middle of his business. Ten times out of ten, she would rather play with one of his trucks than her own toys. Harrison has very mixed feelings about this development. Sometimes, he embraces her by showing her how his toys operate and giving her hugs and kisses. Of course, we document these moments. But we are hearing a lot of “NO SISTER, THAT’S MINE!” from Harrison lately. We think this is pretty normal, but we are definitely working on the concept of sharing. And to be clear, Natalie certainly holds her own. She is very strong and really likes to tackle her brother. Of course, we document these moments too. 

Natalie started fully crawling a few weeks ago and is now a pro, as you can see from this video. She loves crawling under the furniture and looks for all of Harrison’s hiding places. She also loves to try to put every little crumb she finds in her mouth, so we are keeping our house very clean these days! We are so excited that she will be walking when the weather warms up. She is going to adore playing outside. Natalie has learned some sign language (“more,” “all done,” and of course, waving hello and goodbye.) And we are excited that she started saying a few words: “hi,” “more,” “mama,” and “dada.” She is such a smart little girl. She loves her books and is really figuring out cause and effect—deliberately dropping things just to see what happens, turning the light switches on and off, etc. She loves music, bobbing her head and shoulders every time she hears it with the widest smile. Along with mobility is finally coming some better naps. She is finally stretching her naps pretty regularly to an hour or more, so she can nap twice a day and give us a little more predictability in our schedule!

Harrison is growing too and continues to entertain and challenge us every day. He is starting to identify letters and sounds and he can now write “H.” We are all very proud. Like his sister, he continues to love reading and we are looking forward to helping him start to read himself soon. Harrison continues to crack us up with his increasingly refined negotiation skills (we’re certain he has a career in law if he so chooses). It doesn’t matter what we tell him he needs to do, he will make a pitch for what he wants and negotiate down from there. Time for bed? Harrison: “5 more books, Mommy.” Amy: “Harrison, I’ll read you one more book.” Harrison: “3 more books.” Before we know it, Amy’s reading 2 books instead of the 0 she started off with. Then when the lights are out, we negotiate how many minutes we stay with him in his room. He usually starts out with fifteen minutes and after that initial period, tries to renegotiate for more time. Sigh. No one will ever take advantage of this sweet child. He will wear them down first!

We have had a few really nice days sprinkled in the middle of snowfalls and Harrison has figured out how to peddle his bike (still with the training wheels). So much fun to take family walks now with him on the bike and Natalie in the stroller. We are all very excited for spring.

Christmas 2013

Christmas Morning Chaos

2013 was the first year our entire family has been together on Christmas.  Amy, Tom, Harrison, and Natalie could not have had a better time and will never forget this special time.  We celebrated Christmas Eve and Tom's birthday at home in Lawrence, and went to Topeka on Christmas Day to be with Amy's family.  It was wonderful to enjoy such a low key holiday close to home and with family. 

Harrison's request to Santa did not go unheard, and we were very happy to open a green tractor ("with a scoop") on Christmas morning.  Natalie was wild eyed the entire time and thoroughly enjoyed watch her brother rip into packages and play with his new toys.  Despite the fact that we feel like we live in a toy store, things are going great and we're all very excited about 2014.

We've posted a bunch of new pictures on Flikr from the last month.

On the move!

An Amazing Fall

Hello! We have been busy this fall with many exciting events. We kicked things off with the Cookie Monster and a cute little Strawberry on Halloween. Soon after that Ms. Natalie was baptized, which on top of being a very special event, provided a wonderful excuse to gather with friends and family. We were blessed with opportunity to spend time with the kids’ great grandparents. It was a real joy for them to take a picture with their 5 great grandchildren!

We had a very nice and low-key Thanksgiving break, which included Tom and Amy both taking time off to stay home and spend time with the kids while school was closed. It was the first time in a long time that all of us were able to be together for so many days in a row and really relax together (not counting when we were all sick). We flew kites, went to the park, watched movies, baked cookies, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together as a family.

Natalie is growing so fast! She has started clapping and even trying to wave. Some of her favorite things are watching Harrison run around acting silly. He can make her laugh unlike anything else. She’s not crawling just yet, but she is sitting up and has started to reach out and grab his toys. This does NOT make Harrison laugh. But he’s a good sport.

We’re soaking-up as much Lawrence as possible this year, venturing downtown to enjoy the annual Christmas celebration done in a way that only Lawrence can do – with a staged “rescue” of Santa Clause from atop the tallest building in town (5 stories) by the Fire Department. Given that some of Harrison’s favorite things are fire trucks, ladders, and Santa, you can imagine that he was in heaven, and talked about this for days. He was convinced that Santa, for whatever reason, went back up on top of the building after being rescued. He kept saying, “Silly Santa, he went back up there!”

 Tom and Harrison have braved the cold several times to go watch KU football and visit various friends at tailgates. He has not figured out yet that we really should not take food from other people’s tailgates. But Tom thinks this is a good social experience, and that he should take advantage of his youth to meet new people. Who can deny that little guy a cookie if he is brave enough to walk through a crowd of people to pick out a special treat? He’s not shy. That’s for sure. As long as he gets to see his friends, and there is a steady flow of food and fun, he could care less if KU looses by 40. Amy and Natalie are much too smart to venture into the cold for too long, but have enjoyed the many opportunities to enjoy some nice and quiet girl time together.

Last weekend, was the Holiday concert at Harrison’s school, where we were treated to wonderful renditions of Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, and “The Jumping Song.” It was amazing to watch this year’s concert and think back to the same time last year. It really made us appreciate how much he has grown and matured over the last 12 months. Bring on Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Dynamic Duo

Natalie is growing so quickly, we can hardly keep up with her! One of the greatest things about her growing up though is the connection she increasingly shares with Harrison. They are a dynamic duo! He makes her laugh so hard and she always wants to know exactly where he is. For his part, he is very protective and loves to make her feel better or show her how to play with his old toys. Sometimes this makes him kinda bossy. The other day, Amy was holding Natalie and said "ouch" when she pulled a little hard on her necklace. Harrison turned around and scolded: "Mommy, she is fine. She is a baby. Babies grab things!" He is very quick to order us to go comfort Natalie whenever she so much as squeaks. We love how much they love each other and can already tell that they will have a very special relationship. Harrison is thriving in his new primary classroom. He picks up on things so quickly and loves his new teachers and friends. He is starting to recognize and pronounce letters now, which has been really cool to see. Still loves reading and trains and is just starting to enjoy playing with legos. Basically, anything he can organize and line up is very popular right now. He is extremely particular about everything! We have no idea where he picked that up. Natalie is eating lots of solid food now--she particularly enjoys mango! And she is officially sitting up. She would still prefer to roll around, but she is increasingly sitting without support and bracing herself when she tips over. We are still waiting on a tooth for Natalie; we keep saying any day now. We are enjoying the fall and so far, everyone has been healthy (fingers crossed). Enjoy the new flickr pictures!