starting it off right...

the nicest thing about the new year is the new beginning...

who doesn't like those?

we started ours off with a small potluck at mom and dad's, where the kids made a new friend and we got to catch up with old ones.

(not old as in age, old as in familiar and well-loved!)

madison and c are about three months apart, so they're the perfect age to be playmates!



cole played so well with her too- he even helped her up and down the steps.

what a gentleman!

grandpa and madi grabbing a bite and having a chat... she's a real grandpa's girl!!



cole and ted on candle-inspection duty.

(or something...?)

 miss madison takes her rocking VERY seriously.

:)

cole's been having a ball with the lincoln logs he got from auntie kandace and uncle duey... it keeps him quiet for a little while.

cole helped me play around with the new camera today- such a big help!

madi practiced her colors with daddy (he got off work early, so we got a little extra time with him today!)

the kids had SO much fun in the box- madison was thrilled this afternoon when cole went with daddy to run an errand and she got to play in it all by herself!

tickle fight!!

(photo credit to kelvin)

 this is out of order, but cole helped me stir the walnuts into the mocha-walnut fudge i whipped up for the potluck at mom and dad's. he LOVES to help in the kitchen when we're at the farm- always helping grandma bake/cook, wash dishes, etc.; as soon as we get through the door, he's already pushing a chair up to the counter. i hope that by the time we are in a house with a nice big kitchen, he hasn't lost that eagerness and interest in working in the kitchen.

anyway, i blame blogger for the out-of-place photo... i'm NOT keen on the new way of publishing. i suppose most fellow bloggers have already figured it all out (or at least made peace with it), but i've been using the old form. i thought i'd give the "new" one a try and nope- still despise it!

aaaaanyway, we're seven days into the new year and so far, it's been great! i didn't make any resolutions this year, other than a very solemn vow to never again let a pull-up sneak into the wash and then into the dryer as well. i don't have time for that kind of mess again. i figure that's a good resolution- it's one i don't have the slightest plan of forgetting and there's not a lot that can sabotage my determination to follow it.

now that's my kind of resolution... ;)

we're still here!!!

i hadn't realized how much time has passed since our last post... whoever said that time flies must've been a blogger too.

anyway, we're now adjusting back to having daddy in the house again- he came back the 23rd, and the kids were pretty thrilled to see him! madison wouldn't stop clinging to him, and cole was so wound up that i thought he was going to explode.

cole's "handcuffs"... don't ask.

(i blame the snowed-in boredom...)

miss madi and her big grin

one of the kids' favorite activities is running in circles around the table.

they'll do it for 20 minutes at a time, sometimes!
hey- whatever keeps them happy and out of (big) trouble, right?

my bargain from crazy 8... i bought two sizes bigger than madi wears now so that she can get more use out of it. not bad for $13, eh? when i put the dress on her at home, madison didn't much care for the fur collar- i think it tickled too much. so i figured that i could try and make a different collar, one that was less "tickly".

so i monkeyed around for a day and a half with some cream yarn, a crochet hook, some knitting needles, back to the hook...

... and finally settled on a crocheted collar.

she likes it much better and it doesn't look so hideous that she can't wear it.

i ordered some vegetable-based food coloring, finally. i've been meaning to do it for almost a year now, ever since we started eliminating artificial dyes from cole's diet. i was hesitant to try them, but found a site that not only sells them for a reasonable price but also processed my order super-fast, charged very little for rush shipping and sent my order faster than i ever thought.

as for the colorings themselves, well....

... the photo doesn't do them justice. they are awesome!!!

now cole can have a "pretty" cake for his next birthday, and we can have cutout cookies with frosting in colors other than white. the website also has naturally colored decorating sugars, so next holiday season we can go all-out with the cookies.

the night of the 21st, cole got sick. we've been pretty fortunate- the tummy bugs have been pretty nominal here, so i suppose it was about time we got a round. i stayed up all night with cole, who slept between bouts of ickies- an all-nighter when you don't have a choice isn't as fun. he was fine in the morning, asking for chocolate milk and cookies for breakfast. go figure!

kelvin came home thursday, and since madi and i were still feeling great, i thought it was just something he ate. we had plans to spend christmas eve day in green bay with kelvin's family, so when i woke up friday morning feeling pretty nasty, i was quite disappointed. kelvin took the kids to green bay as planned, while i stayed home. when he got back in the late afternoon, madison was sick too. she got the worst of it, i think... poor little thing. saturday morning we were on the mend, and it wasn't until monday that kelvin got it. luckily, it didn't last more than 12 hours with any of us- and we're all back to normal!

whew.

back in august for cole's third birthday, we'd gotten him a keyboard. it didn't even turn on, so we'd returned it with the intent of replacing it right away. we didn't get around to it as soon as we'd have liked, so when we saw one in fleet farm, we got it. well, it didn't take long for me to discover that the "b" and "b flat" keys were switched on every single octave. we've put it up and will have to return this one too. maybe the third time we'll hit the jackpot? poor kid- he's been waiting for his "pah-noh" and we're just not having much luck finding one that works the way it's supposed to...

cole got a set of lincoln logs from his uncle duey and auntie kandace; he's more interested in making shapes with them than building log cabins! you can see his triangle, little square, pentagon (which he quietly made all by himself, then ran to us hollering, "my octagon, see my octagon!!". the fact that he knows what an octagon is, even if he doesn't quite get all the sides on it, amazes me. what a smartie!), and his big square. the funny thing is, i've really been slacking on working in his colors, numbers, shapes, etc. lately... the things little minds absorb is just amazing!

drawing with daddy :)

it was inevitable: with another baby on the way, we knew we were going to have to get another crib. we'd meant to get one when madison was born, but never found the right deal (or didn't have the money for one). i spotted one on craigslist the other night and were able to get it. 16 days before her second birthday, madi is finally in a real crib instead of in the pack-n-play. better late than never, right?

the first thing she went for was the drawer... and giggled like a lunatic when she found she could open and close it all by herself.

madi in a REAL bed!

she got a kick out of peeking between the bars.

the night went well- i wasn't sure if she'd wake up and be disoriented or not... she's used to sleeping in the crib at my parents', but that's in a different room in a different house. fortunately, the only time she woke up was to cry because her beloved giraffe was stuck between the bars. not really stuck, since it's a little thing and can slip through without much problem, but she was fairly peeved that it's head was NOT in the crib with her. silly girl!

*

as this year comes to a close, i realize just what an amazing year this really has been. kelvin spent almost all of it away from home, our marriage came out stronger (when it could have easily gone the other way), we got to see places and people we might not have otherwise been able to, we found out our family is growing (and that the kids are getting a little brother), and we've made it through another year of "just life". all in all, we've been so blessed, even when it didn't seem like it at the time. and we have a deeper love and appreciation for those special people who've stood by us through all that the past year brought our way... thank you to everyone who's been an active support- even an emailed message of encouragement meant SO much!!

*

we wish everyone lots of love and happiness in the new year!!

picture-perfect weekend

this post contains a major photo overload (in case you didn't suspect that from the title...)

i was given the gift of a night to myself on friday night- mom came to get the kids and take them to their place.

because of the weather, i left a bit early on saturday so i could get to the farm before the weather got bad. madison was waiting at the door for me- is there a sweeter greeting than that?

so...

what do you do when the weather's bad for an entire weekend?

oh, lots of stuff...

... like help grandma make cut-out cookies.

(cole was near combustion from anticipation- he just couldn't wait to sink the cookie cutter into the dough!)

yummm...

cole got to practice naming his shapes- see, making cookies is definitely educational!

he also taste-tested the dough.

many times.

(but that's kind of a given when you're making cookies... funny, i'm paranoid about food poisoning when i'm baking or cooking, except when it comes to cookie dough. odd.)

they smelled SOOOO good!

madi wasn't much interested in the cookie thing, so i unfolded the high chair for her.

she happily colored away!

grandpa got out the "hunting camp" that uncle tedly made last year.

now cole calls it a house-box.

whatever it happens to be at any given moment, it makes for a ton of fun.

lots of giggles, squeals and running around playing peek-a-boo through the windows and various holes.

and then there's grandma's piano, a never-ending source of entertainment.

we suspect that cole has an ear for music.

he's certainly mastered the 'maestro' look!

madison discovered her maternal side-

i think she's helping her babies crawl.

(at least, i HOPE she is!)

she hopped on diaper doody...

(yes, pun intended)

... and carried her little ones around.

what a busy little mommy!
(i have to say, i was surprised- i think she's finally coming out of the car/truck/whatever-big-brother-plays-with phase.)

our view from the kitchen on sunday morning.

poor dad- lots of plowing and snowblowing!!

cole and madi both grabbed their boots and stood at the door, watching grandpa blow snow.

cole's never seen the tractor and blower (at least not that he remembers), and his sister was just as fascinated with the whole thing.

hahaha- i can't help but laugh!

poor madison looks as though she's resigned to the fact that she's not going to get outside to play, but hanging onto those boots is like holding onto a thread of hope that maybe, just MAYBE, she'll be able go out there anyway.

cole, however, DID get to go outside. he had to borrow a hat and mittens, because his naughty mommy forgot to pack his hat and still hasn't gotten him any of his own mittens.

(they're at the top of her list now, if you must know!)

our sweet little man jumped right in to helping grandma shovel snow.

ever the little helper, he is.

then he got the giggles when he discovered the joys of throwing snowballs!

poor madi- she had to watch through the window!

(it was just too windy for her, even though her snowpants and boots were handy)

staying inside gave her some one-on-one time with mommy.

and, of course, with mommy's camera.

we sat in front of the fire for a little while, cuddling and looking at books, and then she was ready to run around some more.

she found grandma's earmuffs and proudly strutted around in them...

... and they brought out her silly side!

mr cole got to experience being buried, which (it seems) was even more fun than throwing snowballs. yes, folks, this little guy had an absolute blast, spending a good two hours outside in the wind and cold.

his rosy cheeks are proof of that!

after a warming lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup, it was time to head home.

being stuck at grandma and grandpa's house in a snowstorm is definitely not boring!

*

we are lucky to have some awesome neighbors... our driveway and sidewalks were taken care of when we got home. i attempted to shovel on friday after the first round of snow, but i didn't get far before starting some contractions. guess i'm just not able to exert myself as much while pregnant with this little boy. don't get me wrong- i'd love to shovel myself (and maybe the light fluffy snow will be easier to attempt) because it's good exercise... but the safety of the baby comes first.

*

we're looking forward to having kelvin home soon- no definite word on a date yet, but the job is supposed to be done 12/17. he and a few other guys might have to stay a few more weeks (just a few) for maintenance and trouble-shooting but the end is in sight!! we've made it this far so a few more weeks are definitely do-able. while it hasn't been an ideal situation, we've made the best of it, knowing that it's only temporary. in all honesty, i can truly say that it hasn't been easy for the kids or me, but it's been harder on kelvin, being away from his home and us. it'll all be done with before we know it... what better way to look forward to a new year than having everyone under one roof again?! :)