We had ourselves a Merry Little Christmas...

What a busy and fun time of year! I've gotten some flack lately from several of you (the only several who read this blog) about not posting. Well, in my defense, we have been busy, but yes, I could have made time.

On November 12th, we welcomed Henry Matthew into our family! He has already brought so much joy into our lives and we are blessed to be his parents. Just this week he started smiling and cooing. It's so rewarding and adorable! Claire has been a great big sister. She plays independently so well when Mami is nursing Henry or changing his diaper, and likes to help when she wants to. She thinks it's funny when Daddy uses the phrase "Kinder umtauschen" - "trade kids."

Christmas has reminded us how much we have to be thankful for. On Christmas Eve day, we celebrated Jesus' birth at church. Claire thought it was pretty cool to light her own candle and hold it up while everyone sang Silent Night. Then we spent the rest of the day together as a little family of four, complete with a fire and gifts.

Christmas Day was spent at Grandma Dodge's, as tradition insists, with lots of delicious food. Grandma prepares this meal for a week and it is well received! I love going to dinner at Grandma Dodge's because she cooks like a grandma, just like I remember Grandma Diekema cooking. That means lots of butter and cream, but boy is it good! We also had lots to talk about this year because Tom and Amber (Matt's cousins) delivered healthy twin boys, Alexander and Owen, on the 24th! Next Christmas will be so fun with four little great-grandchildren running around and playing with each other!

The 26th was my family's gathering, with more delicious food. Claire, though no longer the only grandchild, loves being the center of attention. She's delightful and full of spunk! Opa did just tell me today that she "knows what she wants" and he couldn't be more spot on.

Well, there's your post (cough, cough...Mark)...I'll try to be better about posting more often and coming up with something good - there are plenty of happenings to make for great stories to record and remember! :)

Druecke die Daumen!/Cross Your Fingers!

Let's Make a Snowball! Schneeball, Schneeball, Schneeball Schlacht!

Mama, look! Our pumpkins! They need to be cleaned off!

Checking Out her Footprints!

And last but not least, the importance of snow tasting. :)

FINALLY!!! It's here! Yahoo!

Claire was so excited this morning because she has been waiting for this day for months. She's been crossing her fingers and "pressing her thumbs" that it would come...and I'm not exaggerating. Anytime we said something casually about crossing our fingers for another reason, she would press her thumbs with such vigor. We'd ask her what she was pressing her thumbs for and she'd always say "dass der Schnee kommt!" (that the snow comes). All because she's been dying to wear her new *used* snow boots that I got a great deal on a couple months back. We brought them home from the store and told her she would have to wait 'til the snow comes to use them. This morning it finally came...the snow! With the anticipation and excitement, there was no time to spare. We ate breakfast and were outside by 8:30. It really was the perfect day to play because it was in the upper 30s and not too cold at all!

To be honest, when I saw the forecast for snow last night, I hoped that I wouldn't go into labor overnight. Then I'd have to be stuck in the hospital and miss the fun first snowfall of the year with Claire! It's so heart warming to see her excitement for life and for the little things...we could all learn a thing or two from kids!

EDD

"Als ich einmal ein Baby war, hab' ich die getragen." = When I was once a baby , I wore these.

(So I don't remember if this is exactly what she said...it was a couple months ago...

but she DID keep talking about herself being a baby. Really, neither of us could remember her being SO small and wearing newborn clothes.)

Claire takes over the baby's basinett! She asked for a pillow, a blanket, and her bunny...

now it's all comfy cozy and ready for her...errr...baby...to sleep in.

Yep, they call it estimated due date for a reason. I think it's 5% of babies are actually born on their due date. Well, November 7th came and is almost gone and we don't have a new baby! As any expecting mama (or daddy or grandparent or aunt or uncle) knows, it's just killer playing the waiting game! Claire was three days 'late,' or past her due date...looking back three days seems like no big deal, but when you're waiting it seems like an eternity.

Well, rest assured, we want this baby to know we are ready for him/her anytime now! Claire has been ready for months (or as ready as a two year old can be), ever since we started gradually getting baby gear out. We took out all the tubs (okay actually just a couple, unlike some people we know with nine already...j/k and you know who you are) of clothes and sorted out the gender neutral from the girly ruffles and leggings. We moved Claire's things around in her room so that the baby has a drawer of his/her own (I'm sure that will last not a few weeks...it all fits perfectly now, but wait until we get a few more outfits!) for clothes and even a whole drawer of "baby toys." We got out the bouncy seat and Claire has been making sure her babies get use out of it before the real one comes. A couple days ago, I got all the newborn prefold diapers washed and prepped and even attached the cosleeper basinett to the side of our bed (Matt has yet to trade me sides, even though I'm squeezing between the bed and wall several times a night now. That's okay, he'll be plenty flexible once baby is here.) We have talked a lot about this new one with Claire...how the baby will sleep a lot and cry. And when he/she cries, we will have to cuddle and comfort him/her or give him/her milk or change his/her diaper. (Can't wait 'til we can definitively say him or her...or better yet call this baby a name, which we're still working on. Have you ever gotten to name a child with someone who has a different idea of the perfect name?) As of yesterday when asked if she wants a brother or sister, Claire wants "ein Bruder so wie Norah" (a brother like Norah). We'll let you know if that works out! Okay, this is me signing off...hopefully next time I blog we'll have a new one to introduce! :)

My Prayer Today

Lord, I'm in awe. You've given me a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. Her personality makes us smile all the time. You are growing a perfect new life inside of me until he/she is ready to meet the world. Thank you for Matt, for Claire, for little baby boy or girl. Thank you for this weekend together, for our family of three. Thank you for giving me such a heart of gratitude right now...I pray it stays. Thank you for the time we spend together just having fun. Thank you for worship tonight and how it touched my heart. Thank you for allowing me to take the step of faith to stay home and for such a supportive husband. Thank you for the financial situation that allows me to do so. Help us to have faith and to give much. Thank you for this life. Help me to be a blessing to You by blessing others. Help me to bring glory to You in the way that I live. Through all my shortcomings, may You still shine through. Amen.

Tanz Party

In the middle of a twist!

(Actually at a Tanz Party a couple of weeks ago, but always the same dress.)

Taking a bow!

Claire really likes to dance! Our first Tanz Party was the last time that Tante visited...she has smooth moves, amazing props (think socks swinging in the air), and most importantly, loves to dance. We've been having them ever since. Last night we continued the Tanz Party tradition by putting on Claire's "Tanzkleid" (dancing dress, which is actually just a really cute dress she got from Norah), a must for any good dance party. Matt tuned into Slacker Radio on the TV and we were set. The channel, you ask? Electronic Dance Hits, it's called...try it out at your next Tanz Party! That and the moves are all you need to host!

That brings me to the moves...it was so cute! Matt had some pretty wild ones that he'd probably never admit to and never break out at the club. Claire did a great job imitating them...lol. I was watching from the couch at T -3 days from 40 weeks pregnant for the first few songs, but then Claire convinced me that I should join in. After that, no one could get me to stop...especially Matt, who was worried it would throw me into labor (and ruin his big plans for today!).

Anyway, we ended the night of fun on an energetic high...and none of us slept too soundly! Oh well - this Tanz Party was worth it! :)

Our Little Ladybug

First Time Carving Pumpkins - An Unusually Warm Late October Day!

Jeff as Woody and Cory as Buzz Lightyear (neighbor boy friends) and

Claire as the Cutest Ladybug Around!

Beggar's Night festivities were so fun! Matt prepared heavily for the evening, and by heavy I mean he bought 90 oz. of candy...a little overboard, lol. Claire and I prepared for the evening by carving pumpkins a few days beforehand. It was in the 70s and we took advantage of the weather by carving outside. (Matt was detailing the Malibu to sell it.) We cut out the lid and dug in to the gooeyness of pumpkin innards. We had fun discovering what's in the pumpkin and collecting the seeds. I saved the seeds to roast, but Matt asked me while cleaning up that night "Are you really going to bake these?" Usually I'd insist that I would, and with the best intentions, but after laughing hysterically at a recent episode of Modern Family (myself being Cam in the kitchen making a mess and Matt being Mitchell usually cleaning up said mess), I decided I knew myself a little better and said he could go ahead and get rid of them. (Funny how I've been more aware since then and you can ask Matt to confirm, but in my opinion have done a BETTER...not perfect...job of cleaning up after cooking!)

On Halloween Eve, Claire had the option of being a ladybug or a giraffe. After much deliberation (she's indecisive...I'm pretty sure it's usually a stall technique), she choose to go with the ladybug 'heute' (today) and the giraffe 'morgen' (tomorrow) at Lisa's daycare Halloween dress-up day. (Actually she ended up not being a giraffe at all because she refused to put her costume on at Lisa's.) Matt took Claire out first while I finished dinner. She barely whispered "Trick or Treat" at Joe and Jen's house and she knows them well! The other houses she wouldn't even say it...not sure why she was being so shy. Then they came home and though supper was ready, Matt encouraged me to take her out saying that I'd have more fun with it than him. She and I were out for probably close to an hour, and we didn't even make it to all the houses around the block! Claire made out like a bandit with the candy. We ended up coming home early because A. Mami was tired of carrying my 20 lb. sack of sugar; B. Dinner had been ready for a long time; and C. Claire's bucket was full! (She's still working on finishing it, a little bit each day...with some help!)

FYI: She now refers to her candy as "Sussigkeiten" (sweets) half of the time and as "Trick or Treat" the other half of the time. :)

Geh BITTE weg!

As I sit here having my daily down time (have to enjoy it these last couple of weeks!) on the computer, Claire is still talking herself to sleep.

"Geh BITTE weg!" she just said, emphasizing the BITTE! (Go away PLEASE!) Well, I don't know whom she is telling to go away, but I'm happy that at least she's using her manners to tell them to leave. She's even got the kind tone down! ;)

It's the simple things in life...and life is such a blessing! (It's always a blessing, but I'm thankful that God has helped me to realize this even more lately.) I'm so ready to meet our new little one, but am still enjoying this time we have as a family of three. The weather is beautiful today, so I think we'll enjoy another walk as a family when Claire wakes up and Matt gets home.