Such a BIG boy!

Henry has been having a lot of tummy time lately! Basically because Mami and Daddy didn't think about doing it much at all for the first six weeks of his life. Things are a little busier with two and I have about ZERO time to read 'parenting' books to remind me what to be doing - like tummy time - on a day to day basis. All you Henry lovers out there, don't you worry, he was still getting lots of love and attention the whole time! :) And as you can see, I don't think it hurt him too much...he's now holding his head up like a champ!

Naked?

Claire had a great time Friday to Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa's house for her first sleepover there! Tonight, after Claire used the potty, she disappeared into her room. Upon coming out, here was our conversation...

Mami: Du hast neue Hose angezogen! (You put on new pants!)

Claire: Ja. (Yes.)

Mami: Willst du auch ein neues Hemd anziehen? (Do you want to put on a new shirt too?)

Claire: Na, ich werde mein Bauch nackt. (Nope, I will my belly naked.)

Mami: Du wirst dein Bauch nackt lassen? (You will leave your belly naked?)

Claire: Ich werde mein Bauch wie Grandpa nackt lassen. (I will leave my belly naked like Grandpa.)

Mami: Okay.

Hmmm, not sure if we will send her to Grandma and Grandpa's house again! ;)

2012 - A New Year!

"God is clear: we must exercise self-discipline in all matters. Self-discipline is not simply a proven way to get ahead; it's also an integral part of God's plan for our lives. If we genuinely seek to be faithful stewards of our time, our talents, and our resources, we must adopt a disciplined approach to life."

Did this quote ring a bell with you? It did with me! I've started spending a few minutes a day reading this devotional book and in specific prayer for God to better me...more of Him and less of my selfish ways.

So, I'm a total time WASTER...you name it, I can waste time doing it. I rarely finish projects at home, can spend way too much time checking my email and on facebook, and can make 30 minutes of what could have been productive time totally useless. So the 'faithful steward of time' part really spoke to me. God calls me to be better about this and I have to be disciplined and intentional to break this bad habit. I'm sharing this with you so you can hold me accountable...if you know my goals, maybe I'll do a better job meeting them! You can also pray for me if you want! :)

My goals for 2012...cheesy I know, I don't generally like New Year's resolutions, but this just happened to be "Day 3" in my devotionals, and why not go for it! ;)

• Read to Claire and Henry every day! (We do this mostly, but I want to spend more time with books.)
• PLAY with Claire and Henry every day! (I'm already good at talking to them a lot and interacting with them, but I want to be the fun mama who actually sits down to spend quality FUN time with her kids often...doing a puzzle, playing kitchen or dress up, pretending to be a customer, etc. This may mean that the house is always a mess, but I'm okay with that as long as it's not unbearable.)
• Laugh with Matt every day! (We did this a lot tonight. I need to lighten up and see the humorous side of everything.)
• Spend MUCH less time dinking around on the computer! (My biggest time waster! Today I only checked facebook three times and it was quick log in and log out a few minutes later...seriously that's not much for me! I have people in my life whom I love and who are RIGHT HERE...I don't need to have superficial relationships with my hundreds of friends!)
• Eat right and exercise! I know, I know, EVERYONE has this as their resolution...guess I'll join the bandwagon! These last two weeks (after my unplanned detox...thank you, flu!) I have been eating more fruits and vegetables and MUCH fewer sugars and refined flour foods and I already feel better...I want to continue that. (And I was eating A LOT before, just for the record!) I also want to make time to work out and/or stay active several times a week. This is something I'm going to have to gradually work into my schedule...go figure I'm already pretty busy...but it's my goal to start this month, less frequent at first, then more frequently. You can hold me accountable on this too...when you see me go for the fourth cookie (which of course won't be happening now, but happened almost daily in the past) you can stop me and chew me out!

So, that wraps up my personal goals for 2012...if I can be disciplined enough (I'll need your help on that, God) for 365 days, I'd say they'd develop into habits and a lifestyle change by then! If I can pray for you about anything specifically, please tell me...I already thank God for you daily! :)

So Cute!

I love kissing and hugging and cuddling my two adorable babies. They are both the prettiest babies in the world! I know, I'm their Mama. I'm not very good about saying who looks like whom, but I am pretty sure you can tell that they are siblings. I like that. :) Either way, I'm absolutely smitten!

Really? You remember EVERYTHING, Claire!

Each night, as Matt and I put Claire to bed, we do the ritual 'Cover Her with a Million Blankets' routine. She has the "blanket from Jill, the blanket from Grandma's friend, the blanket that Omi made her, the blanket from Amber's Mami (Vicky), the blanket from Grandma Dodge, the other blanket from Jill, the blanket from Molly, and the warm red blanket" (yes that's eight blankets, every night...not quite sure how we let it get that out of hand) and we always tell her who they're from when we cover her up. This girl KNOWS if one is missing. Last week when she was sick with the flu, we had to wash one and she went down for her nap without it. Not that she didn't ask about it, but this time "it's in the wash because you puked on it" sufficed. When Matt was covering her later that night, she reminded him that she was missing a blanket and he came out into the kitchen to confirm with me that, as she explained, yes indeed, one was in the wash. At this point, you might say, "well yes, she remembers all those blankets because they're a part of her routine and she uses them each time she sleeps."

One step farther...she received a purple comforter from Grandma and Grandpa Dodge for Christmas for her "big girl bed" (She's in a toddler bed now, but she wants a twin bed like Sage.) We lay her down last night (and you can see where this is going) and she reminds us that we're missing "die lila Decke" (the purple blanket). I didn't catch on right away, so she told me it's the one from Grandma Dodge. As I was still confused, she was clearly questioning herself and said it's from Grandma Dodge or Grandma Rasmuson (both great grandmas). I go to find a purple blanket and come back with what I thought might be it, which she emphatically tells me is not, and insists that "ich zeig dir" (I'll show you.). She climbs out of bed and toddles her little bum straight to the kitchen, pointing "diese lila Decke" (this purple blanket) right at the purple comforter that hadn't been put away from the Christmas present pile yet. WOW! She remembers everything. Not only had we not talked about this blanket again since opening it, we also didn't have to remind her from whom it was. This, my friends, is just one example of the memory of a two year old! After proving to Mami and Daddy that she was right all along, the grin on her face is always just priceless - she's so proud of herself!

As I type this, Henry is fast asleep in his bouncer and Claire is suppose to be sleeping. Every few minutes though, I hear, "Mami, was heisst das?" (Mami, what's that called?) from her room. She's looking through books and this curious girl wants to know what something is! It's all I can do not to go in there and tell her - I love her curiosity! - but hopefully she remembers when she wakes up what she wanted to know before...I wouldn't be surprised if she does! :)

Disclaimer: If you gifted Claire a blanket and it has not made it into the "blanket ritual" routine, worry not! She'll probably sneak it in there one night and it will never be shunned to the drawer again.

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!