out with the old...

i've been to lazy too procrastinate on updating the blog...

kind of true, kind of not. we've been out and about, doing the holiday-hustle-and-bustle thing. plus, i've been working on hat/miscellaneous orders, so that takes up a little time!

AND... i keep getting interrupted with this:

more accurately, i WAS getting interrupted for potty runs. not so much now, though. cole spent all of christmas day gloriously dry... and we weren't even home! ever since then he's been reluctant, but we go at least once a day on the toilet. long process... but he knows what to do and where to do it, so that's the big step.

cole got to "help" plow snow last week! he was SO proud of himself... it was another story when the plowing was done, though. i've never seen this little man so frustrated! i'm sure he'd have gladly plowed the entire town, if he'd have been able to. he was incredibly disappointed when the snow was moved and it was time to come in. i think the world ended for a few minutes... :)

we spent christmas day in green bay at kandace and duey's... duey made a fabulous dinner! for anyone who doesn't already know, he's an awesome cook. anyway, we joined them, kelvin's parents, uncle randy and aunt karen and cousin sarah and her boyfriend, dave, for the day. we had a b-l-a-s-t!

cole took to sarah...

... logged in some play-with-auntie-kandace time...

(madison snuggled with her grandma and grandpa)

... learned the finer points of making a mess with wrapping paper from uncle duey...

(he got to open his birthday presents from them)

... and ended with a huge hug for uncle duey!!

maybe i'd get more hugs if i let him make more messes... ?

madison got her own little present too.

miss squish bonded with her great-auntie karen...

... while watching a loud, lively, fun game of "redneck life".

funniest thing ever! WAY cooler than monopoly.

how do you get a toddler to sit still for several consecutive minutes? put him in front of an animated display.

he was intent on discovering the secret of the little ski people: where do they come from and where do they go?

and in more recent days: the return of madi's nemesis, the sippy cup!

nah... she's made (tentative) peace with it.

can't you tell by the look on her face?

yup, we're all exhausted. but happy.

don't you wish you could sleep like that, soundly in just about any place possible?

forget sleep- i wish i had eyelashes like that!!

~

as the year concludes, i can't help but look back on all that's happened; we started out by welcoming madison to our family, moved on to surviving a month without daddy while he was working in tulsa (which is how we'll be starting '10), learned that it IS possible to feed a family of four on $50 a week or less (provided you already have the basics and shop the sales like a fiend), made it through a few small curveballs (thank you, fate), watched the kids grow in amazing ways, said goodbye to a wonderful, kind man (we miss you, steve), said hello to a new nephew (bentley, we LOVE your cheeks!!) and learned that even in the midst of hard times, blessings abound in various ways.

yes, everyone is feeling the bad economy and financial difficulties, but i've discovered that even when things seem at their worst, there's always a reminder that things could be worse. making do with what you have and having faith about the rest is the best way to go... there's nothing to make you remember to live life one day at a time like a recession!

~

as we say "ciao" to this year, i have to say that i'm so thankful for faith, family and friends...
here's to a new year, a new decade, and new beginnings.

*happy new year!*

spilled milk

today we say goodbye to this:adios, enfamil! (or whatever brand happened to be on sale).

our little girl is now all about the moo-pop...

(sorry- inside thing.)

whups.

she still hasn't gotten the hang of her new sippy cup...
actually, she pushed it away the first time she tried it.
typical- i remember cole doing the same thing, but he eventually warmed up to it. he didn't worry me when it came to the sippy.
madi, on the other hand, i AM a little concerned about. see, she will hold her bottle during feedings, but will not pick it up and stick it in her mouth. no sir. i set her freshly prepared bottle in the floor a foot or two away from her, thinking that if she got desperate enough, she'd get it herself. i changed cole and spent a little cuddle time with him before putting him down for his "nap" (hahaha! nap- pfsht. i didn't know he had so much to say to himself; he can babble away in his crib for hours...). this took about 15 minutes; when i got back downstairs, madison was in the exact same spot in the floor, staring at the bottle and throwing a dramatic cry fit. she's dramatic like no other. tuck-her-chin-into-her-shoulder-fling-herself-down-onto-the-floor-alligator-tears dramatic. eep. so anyway, i digress... if this small child refuses to grab her own bottle and feed herself even if it means potentially starving, how on earth are we supposed to do the whole sippy cup thing? one way or the other, she'll get the hang of it, no doubt. until then, we'll just have to help her, same as with the bottle.
oh, kids are mysteries. sweet, cute, loveable but very strange little beings.
couldn't love mine more, though!

hello, online shopping!!

ok, so most of you know i'm a sucker for the holidays. big time.

starting well before the fourth of july, i start feeling the urge to listen to traditional carols (traditional, mind you... strictly traditional) and get that warm and fuzzy feeling that only comes once a year. i can't wait for a certain local radio station (yes, it would be 'the breeze') to start playing holiday tunes 24/7 (usually the first day of november, at 12 am on the dot. not that i stay up for it, but it's nice to know they keep a schedule). while we don't do the santa/tree/light-up-the-neighborhood thing, i still love the holidays.

now, keeping in mind that i lovelovelove the holiday season, let me tell you why i hate going shopping during said wonderful season.

guess how long it took me to stop at target for the three necessary items you see in the following photo. go ahead, guess.

eh, i'll just tell you.

45 minutes.

diapers, wipes and baby wash.

45 minutes.

no joke.

i didn't even stop to look around at other things.

quick in-and-out.

f-o-r-t-y-f-i-v-e

m-i-n-u-t-e-s.

that's not including parking lot time...

'tis the season for defensive driving, let me tell you!!

never mind the fact that i had two hungry kids with me, anxious to get home.

what i really wanted to do was get home and work on this:

next year i will be stockpiling diapers beginning in september. goodness knows that the halloween hoopla is almost as bad as the christmas rush nowadays.
~
or maybe, just maybe, i'll become a certified temporary hermit. that's what shopping the internet was made for right? you can buy something with the click of a button, and a few days later it shows up on your doorstep.

hello, online shopping!

it's everything all at once!

oh yes, we've been a busy bunch.

potty training is a whole kind of busy like no other busy i know!

we started last week friday.

we got waylayed by the weekend activities...

so we picked back up today with pleasant results.

we made a day trip up to see "gamma" and "bapa"... and cole got a nice horsey ride from bapa! he enjoyed himself thoroughly, and bapa exhibited energy i don't think he knew he had... :)

madison made the most of her big-brother-free time and helped herself to the push 'n' ride toy. she got up all by herself and was starting to get the hang of pushing it...

...which made her mighty proud of her wee self.

~

as for the continued potty training, i left cole in his diaper today, with the mindset that if he's ready to train, he'll do it with or without underwear. i'm thinking he's leaning toward ready, since we had three successful trips to the potty. he's got the hang of saying "potty! potty, mama", and even 'held it' for several minutes while i tried to see whether or not he was really serious about taking a trip to sit on the toilet.

he's doind wonderfully, i think...

and of course it's a long road full of ups and downs, but we've got a good start, and we can't ask for more than that.

personally, i have no problem with the accidents- first of all, it's part of the learning process. second, we have wood floors, cleanup's a breeze.

potty training, we've begun with a bang; look out world!

two-timing little girl

madison's a two-timer... more on that in a sec!

~

but first, what's the holidays without a little holiday baking? ok, fine- so i used a betty crocker mix and added a little lemon extract, but those cut-outs taste really good!

i don't always use a mix; just when my kitchen's really small. oh wait- it's always small... i save the mixes for special occassions. hahaha!

anyway, back on track: the kids had a ball peeking through the oven door to watch the cookies bake. cole was in his glory, since many of them were star-shaped. he's all about the stars these days...

he's also doing some pretty neat things with his dry-erase book. he LOVES to trace hands, preferrably kelvin's or mine. he even knows where the thumb is- i didn't know he knew that!

and for the piece d'resistance...

see, she's two-timing!!

(silly girl- she knows when she's being funny!)

"Not Me!" Monday

(*this is my first attempt at a "not me!" post so please bear with me!)

~

in my haste to get ahead of the laundry, i did not throw a few pairs of jeans in with the white/light load. oh, no... i wouldn't do that. when there was no end in sight to the stream of whining from my son's mouth, i most certainly did NOT bribe him into silence with a cookie. uh-uh, no way. and this morning, when i was desperate for a few hours of quiet all to myself, i didn't, under any circumstances, lay on the couch with the baby monitor off while letting my kids fend for themselves in their respective cribs. who would do that? i wouldn't, that's for sure.

and speaking of things i wouldn't do, i would never feed my kids dry cereal for breakfast just because i don't have the energy to make something nice that they won't eat. nope! and letting the kids wear the same socks two days in a row because the laundry hasn't been folded? wouldn't dream of it. never ever. that's not something i do.

happy "not me!" monday!

~

for more on "not me!" mondays, visit mckmama!!

snow fun!

the snow (finally!!) makes it feel more like winter... more seasonal. cole doesn't remember the snow from last year but he caught on quickly to what the earlier flurries were this year. he knew what snow was by the time it dumped on us!he likes to play the piano; he gets up on the bench all by himself and makes it his personal mission to either "put away" or bring out both hymn books. i never know what i'll find!

miss madison has started getting pretty dramatic lately (read: sprawling on the floor in a sob fit when someone looks her way). in this case, though, there was a real need for tears: a fat lip. it didn't swell too much, but there's still a mark.

kelvin got to stay home wednesday for the big snow... they'd already cancelled work tuesday, so he knew he'd be home. he was able to stay in bed a little longer and then take his time plowing. cole was pretty heartbroken when daddy went outside without him. i promised him that when daddy was done with the "wheee-wher" he could get on his boots and go out too.

oh, was this little boy excited!!

he played in the snow with daddy...

... played on the snowbank in the front yard...

*

... and then cried like his little heart was busted when it was time to come in. the kids have had some nice colds going, so we didn't want him to be outside for too long. he'll have plenty of time to go outside and play yet before the snow melts.

hamming it up for daddy!

my newest "creation"... a water bottle sling. i had seen a few on etsy, but they were all very basic. nice, but basic. i like a little flair, a little "oomph". stretch is good too... this one has it. the top is button-down (or it can be tucked in if one wouldn't care to use it) and it's split to come over the mouth of any size bottle. i'm planning to post it to my etsy store... we'll see what happens.

~

in other news:

*cole now says "luff uuu!". it's heart-melting, to say the least!

*amber came and did our family photos today- i can't wait to see them! she's got some awesome talent and a knack for working with kids (like, going with the flow). we did a few outdoor shots and then came in, since it was chilly. cole didn't want to smile, and madi was only happy when she was with her daddy, but all in all, i'm happy with it.
*elissa told me how to link; thanks, sasa! now i'll be doing it all the time... hahaha.

you can read about their recent adventure with baby bentley here.
~

turkey and teeth

i'm not sure why i do this to myself, but once again i'm playing "catch-up" on the blog. you'd think i'd learn.

anyway, i've got some photos to share from thanksgiving... it was at grandma and grandpa pheifer's, and as it always is when it's a their house, it was SOOOOO good!

just ask madi- she ate so much i thought she'd bust.

chase, sarah, becca, riley and kelvin playing pit before dinner

grandpa pheifer and two of his great-grandbabies... i love this photo, it's so sweet!

"hey, uncle ted!"

madison tried 'driving' the little car at my mom and dad's by herself... she did well, and even gracefully dismounted when she dropped her keys.

cole enjoyed some of great-grandma pheifer's homemade gingerbread cookies. he really fell for them... but anyone who's ever had them knows how easy it is to love them.

last sunday, miss squish decided she was too big to take a nap, so she played with the toy kitchen. she had it all to herself since cole was cooperative and slept for awhile. she was in her glory, since she was free to play uninterrupted.

we DID attempt a nap. it was cozy for awhile, cuddling with daddy :)

i'm (inconsistently- oops) trying to potty-train cole. if he happens to show interest or make a "potty"-related comment, we attempt it. monday he perched proudly on the porcelain throne without the child seat... he even asked for the comics! no joke. he wouldn't hold them for me to get a photo though. smart kid... he's learned very early to avoid cooperating in any photo moments that have the potential for being viewed by future girlfriends.

madison's so reluctant to show off her new teeth... i had to fight, but i managed to get photographic evidence. please excuse the mashed potatoes- i thought it would be best to try when there was food as a bribe. it worked, although she was pretty wary of the first few bites i gave her after putting the camera away!

~

oh, the things kids do that make you giggle. cole's vocab has been growing. rather, exploding. within the last few weeks, it's really taken off. the things he comes up with are priceless... for example, this morning he got ahold of my almost-empty water bottle left over from the c-r-a-z-y night at work last night. he said "mama's cup?"; he must not have heard me say "yes, baby, that's mama's", because he ran over to me and said (rather loudly), "hey, hunny!! cup!!". oh, i laughed, alright. i love that he's learning new things, but sometimes i wish he'd go back to staying little for just a little while longer...

hunting camp and thanksgiving

yup- we got lucky... two thanksgivings this year! but first, hunting camp!cole had his very own "deer camp", courtesy of uncle tedly... and one of grandpa's left-over snap-on delivery boxes. he didn't see it friday night because he went to bed as soon as we got to my mom and dad's, but the next morning... wow!!

he calls it "coley's house"

big enough for madison, too!

and grandma... she fits in there too. everyone's welcome in cole's house!

everyone may be welcome, but it's a good idea to call first... just in case he forgot to get dressed.

oh, and cole has is own horse to go with his house... sorry, mom- that's not meant the way it sounded! (or maybe it's just payback for the "cole, let's watch mommy cut the cheese" comment... hahahah!)

i had to work saturday night, so the kids stayed with my mom until kelvin was done hunting- they were exhausted and slept incredibly well!

sunday thanksgiving with kelvin's parents... madison got some peek-a-boo time in.

and cole played a duet with his great-grandpa gene!

and we couldn't forget the old runway light... he plugged it in by himself, then promptly unplugged it when i caught him doing so.

new skill. uh-oh.

sarah flew home sunday afternoon, so the kids and i went to mom and dad's (again) yesterday to spend the day with her. it was fun- cole clung pretty tightly all day to his "sawah"!

cole gave madi a ride on the car... too cute! they were playing nice while NOT confined in separate chairs!

he painted a picture... first time with watercolors! i even dated it, but forgot to bring it home. oops.

both kiddos played piano with auntie sarah!

(just playin' with the camera...)

and when uncle tedly came, well, they all played in cole's house! uncle ted learned a very important lesson: playtime starts when the mouthful of carrot is gone. cole choked, puked a little and auntie sarah caught it. poor kid! he was fine... eyes red and watery, voice a little choked up, he assured me that he was ok- "i 'k!!"

~

whew.

what a weekend!