Back to blogging...

I've taken a few months off of blogging, mostly because I've been playing with my ipod too much to sit down with the computer and type.  (Ahem, Words with Friends).

My grandpa passed away at Christmas.  He was a terrific man, before the Alzheimer's hit him.  I miss who he was.  I'm so happy that we named Nicholas (Donald) after him.  I can't think of a better man.  He was a hard worker, fantastic father, kind husband, and a gentle man.  He was a veteran who loved his country.  We all miss him terribly.

Besides that, we had a great Christmas.  The big kids both got Nintendo DSes.  Nathan is completely addicted (aka great school motivator).  Becca's favorite gift was her stuffed dog that walks and barks.  Nicholas mostly got toys that the big kids had outgrown.

Nicholas learned to walk and talk....

His words so far:  milk, more, mama, dada, again, bite, ball, go, hello, hi, bye bye, uh-oh, sit down, up, down, car, cookie/cracker, boom....I'm sure there's more, but I've lost track.  He can also do fish faces, and dog and cow sounds.

Here are some pics of Nicholas meeting Grandpa when he was 3 months old.

Halloween 2011

 Halloween isn't just one day at our house.  We went to 2 trunk or treats, trick or treats at the Chief's stadium, a party at Mommy Moments, trick or treating at a nursing home, and trick or treating at Grandma's house.

Becca was a bit scared of Homer, but she warmed up quickly.


Daddy did a great job with the pumpkins this year.

 My third little bumblebee loves his uncle!  The big kids changed went through several costume changes....Becca was Rapunzel and Belle, Nathan was a ghost, Native American, an Astronaut, and Buzz Lightyear.

 The MOTM annual trunk or treat was a big success....Nathan was a ghost that night.  We decorated our trunk to be a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater (eating a Lego person!)  The big kids both got their faces painted too.

Lincoln Museum

Mark's parents asked us to meet them at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield.  Mark and I went when Nathan was a baby, but we hadn't been there since.  The museum is really neat...the kids even enjoyed it.  

Here's Nicholas with his Grandpa.  

We even walked around Lincoln's neighborhood.  It was a beautiful fall day.

I found an old book at a garage sale.... If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln , we started reading it tonight.  The kids both enjoyed it and *I think* are understanding about Lincoln's childhood.  What amazes me is that he was completely self-educated....less than 1 year of formal schooling...not even Law School..yet he was such an amazing writer and orator.  

Pumpkin Fest

We are officially Mortonites....we did the Pumpkin Fest full force! We had pumpkin everything...ice cream, chili, coffee (for Mark), doughnuts...so yummy!  The kids participated in the kiddie parade, and we saw the Clydesdale horses.  Nathan became obsessed with one of the booths...if you threw a ping pong ball in a jar, you won a fish.  We tried several times with no luck....probably cheaper to buy the stupid fish from the store.  I promised him a fish when he finishes his math book...we're on lesson 54/80, so we're getting there.     

 Grandma and Grandpa came up to watch the parade.  

I love catching the kids taking care of each other and holding hands.

We also went to Family day at Caterpillar.  For awhile, Nathan was CRAZY about rocks and was forever filling his pockets and keeping them.  It drove us insane.  So we visited Daddy's desk, and guess what...there was a huge rock collection.  That rekindled Nathan's love of rocks and now he is collecting rocks for Daddy.

HMJ--10-29-11

In our homeschool this week…School went pretty well this week.  I decided to see if Becca could handle a bit of Explode the Code....she's not reading yet (or so I thought).  I showed her how to do the first thing (she had to write a word, read it, and cross out a picture) and left the room for a minute.  I came back to help her, and she had completed the whole worksheet.  I asked Nathan if he helped her, and he said no.  


Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…The Halloween festivities have begun!  We have already been to two trunk-or-treats, and have several other activities this weekend.  


We also went to a local farm and learned about dairy cows, sheep, and chickens.  


My favorite thing this week was…Nicholas learned to kiss (instead of bite!)  


I’m reading…I'm totally ready for birthday season...I need some gift cards for some decent books.  I'm tired of reading free crap, I need some good books!  I miss the library.  

A Day at the Farm...

 I took the kids to a dairy farm in the area this morning with the moms' group.  The kids enjoyed getting to interact with the animals.  Above is a lamb getting ready for it's first shearing...the wool was so soft!  

 Nicholas loves the animals.  He giggles when they come close.

 We pet the chickens as well.  We went to the calf area and played with the babies...One of the calves kept trying to suck on my fingers.  Baby cows are born with bottom teeth, but no top teeth.

We watched the cows being fed and learned a lot about how a dairy farm operates.

Nathan fell in love with a kitten there and he really wanted to bring it home!  My reaction:

Me:  Who's going to feed it?
Nathan:  I will.
Me:  Who's going to water it?
Nathan:  I will.
Me:  And who's going to clean the poo?
Nathan:  Daddy.

Mark and I are definitely not cat people, so a cat is not in our future.  I'd love to have a dog again someday....but not today.

10 months (or so)

This post is a little late, as is the picture, but Nicholas is 10 months already!  He measured at 28 inches long (28th percentile) and weighed in at 20lbs, 8 oz (only 37th percentile ~~take that, rude lady who commented on my perfect little boy's weight at Sam's Club the other day).  .  And of course, his head size was in the 97th percentile.

He's quite the little monkey, full of spunk and personality.  He can play patty cake, blow kisses, clap, and wave.  He can also open all the kitchen cabinets and pull out all the contents of them.  He has almost figured out how to go down the stairs.

He's decided he needs less naps, but he's never cranky....he's always full of smiles and love.  I love him more and more every day.