Ten Ticklish Toes

Going, going, gone

2008-02-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to say that the blog has moved as of today. I won't be updating on Blogger anymore. The new address is: www.theknorrs.wordpress.com .

It's been a long time coming

2008-01-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

It's official. I'm going on a blogger sabbatical. I just need a break. I've reached the point where I'm blogging to keep people happy rather than because I want to. It's not right. It's never what I intended this to be. I honestly haven't enjoyed blogging lately. I'll check in every now and then, but it won't be my homepage when I open up the Internet for the time being. I might post from time to time, but I will feel no obligation to post. For how long? Don't know. We'll just see how long it takes to start missing it.

Until then. . . .

The Christmas Pics

2008-01-19T14:08:00.001-05:00

As I've said a few times lately, there's not much to see in the way of pictures. We took mostly video and I have yet to get around to messing with editing that. Honestly, could be a couple of months since it's all new to me.

Don't make me scream . . .

2008-01-16T17:03:00.000-05:00

Tori says, "update your darn blog."

Here you go, Tori.

For the second time in less than a weeks time, Nate has had a complete meltdown over the silliest things. I'm not trying to say that things which he finds important are silly, but really neither occasion warranted a meltdown. Both consisted of 30 straight, seriously no break, minutes of crying. Hard. Sobbing. Tearful. Crying. Kleenexes required for cleanup crying. Oh my! The first time he had gotten a hold of a book he's to young for. He had actually ripped it, and I put it up in his closet and shut the door. He reopened it and stood there crying for 30 minutes without moving a millimeter. I think I eventually bribed him with a movie to get him to stop. Today was even more ridiculous. He woke up from his nap, and I put his jeans on him. (He can't wear pants at nap because we go through too many pairs that way due to leaky diapers. Brand of diaper doesn't make a difference either. If my son could attach himself to the faucet and continually drink, he would!) The meltdown began. Here we go again. I really didn't think I should take the pants off. He needed to wear more than a t-shirt especially because it's winter. I stood my ground, and he kept crying. I tried cuddling him; he pushed away. I tried giving him a drink; he'd never refuse that. Wrong. It got chucked across the room; yes, we have attitude when upset. I tried turning on the TV; not interested. A book; no, those are all over the living room floor now. Finally I just walked away for a while. I came back after about 10 minutes with Kleenex in hand and an offer of snack. It worked. Kinda. He's still fussy and still throwing his cup, but at least it's not continually screaming.

Terrible twos here we come?????

rodger that houston

2008-01-14T13:44:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how guilty I feel when I don't get around to blogging. I've really been quite busy since getting back in town, and blogging just wasn't at the top of my to do list. Now that the Christmas tree is down and there are just a few lingering decorations, I feel much better about sitting down to blog.

I know I still need to blog about our Christmas, but that's not happening yet. I took very few pictures since we were given a video camera and I still haven't messed with getting it onto the computer to edit. I will get back to it.

I'll go ahead to share about our trip to Houston. The best thing you can do when you're sick of another cold and windy midwest winter is fly to Houston. Although it was 32 when we got there, that was quickly gone. Most of the time we were there it was in the 70s and quite humid. I'll take the humidity if it means warm weather (I grew up in the south, I can handle it). Our first few days were spent at the JW Marriott across from the Galleria. Brad attended a conference and Nate and I enjoyed time together. The Galleria seemed 10x bigger than our Galleria in St. Louis. They had a ton of kids shops I'd never heard of before. It was a good thing Christmas bills were on my mind otherwise, I might have spent a lot of money. We got together with the Lytles each evening when Brad was done. After the conference was over, we stayed a couple of days at their house to enjoy more time with them. We spent an afternoon at Nasa, which was different from how I remembered it as a kid. It was hard to do too much since we were dealing with 3 nap schedules. Our last day there, we drove out to an outlet mall and did some more shopping. I'm sure there was a ton more that Houston had to offer for site seeing, but we really enjoyed getting to catch up with Aaron and Sara. Nate was a trooper, but we realized a day into being there, he was ready for some normalcy of being home.

We have no trips planned for the coming months. It's kind of nice to know we just get to be home.

I took quite a few pictures, but for some reason, most turned out blurry. I'll share a few that I do have:

Did you know Mom will let you jump and rough house as much as you want on a hotel bed?

A bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone.

Nate, Bri, and Zach really enjoyed playing around the inside of the space shuttle. (If only they hadn't covered all the switches and dials.)

Seeing the real shuttle on it's side, is one of the things I remember from being a kid. I was a bit thrown off at first because they did a huge preservation effort and it now has a huge metal building around it. (Still just as impressive though.)

Nate absolutely loved playing with Bri and Zach. I think the best part was watching how he interacted differently with both of them since he was between them age-wise.

Sleepy Head

2008-01-09T20:25:00.000-05:00

About 36 hours after getting home from a week in LR, it was off we go again. This time it was to Houston by plane. We got home about 1:00 this morning. Needless to say, I am really tired and ready to crash right now. I will do updates on both our trips along with some pictures, hopefully tomorrow, but don't hold your breath. I will get to it soon though. I have no intention of leaving the house to even get the mail for a few days. I just want to be home!

Here is something to hold you over until I get around to the next post.

Nate has always been the easiest child to put to bed. He has no interest in a long and complicated bedtime routine. We get him dressed in pjs, walk over to the crib, pray, kiss, and lie him down. It so easy. Tonight I told him we were going to pray, and he immediately closed his eyes. We've never asked him to do this, but he must have realized that Brad and I close our eyes when we pray. A friend pointed out that he does it at mealtime prayer also now. (I didn't know this because my eyes are always closed.) Too cute! He also is always so anxious to get to bed, he is usually leaning in to give kisses about halfway through Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. By "amen" he's leaning over the edge of the crib trying to wriggle out of our arms. We never hear a peep from him once we close his door. I hope it stays this easy when we transition him to a regular bed in April for his 2nd birthday.

2008-01-01T21:37:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

We are just getting settled in after a week with my family in Little Rock. Hopefully I'll have time to post about our trip after getting some work done around the house tomorrow.

2007-12-25T00:50:00.000-05:00

It is our family's prayer that you find the same wonder, awe, and joy as a child when you think about the miracle of the birth of our Lord and Savior.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

Sledding Videos

2007-12-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

Snowtime

2007-12-21T20:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, these are pictures of the same child who less than a year ago, didn't just dislike the snow, but I think, hated it. If you don't remember, jog your memory here. Needless to say, his opinion has changed quite a bit. We all put some work into the snowman, but it just wasn't meant to be. First, the snow wouldn't roll into balls. It was more off a pile-and-smooth method of building. Secondly, since our "trees" are mere twigs themselves, we don't have anything to use for arms. If anyone is looking for a last minute gift idea, we need fixing for a snowman. We'll definitely have to try this again sometime though.
The sledding was a hit. He would get quite upset when we would need to catch our breath. It's not easy to run through several inches of snow! We didn't get out til almost sunset so the pictures are pretty dark. I'm sure we'll be out doing this several more times. Nate also thinks the sled is great for pulling around indoors.

Colossians 3:17

2007-12-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

Brad has used several clips off this site as sermon and teaching illustrations. I happened to be looking for something else on the site one day, and I came across this. I'm not sure why it came up with my search results since it had nothing to do with what I was looking for, but I thought it was pretty good. If you watch The Office on NBC, you can see they used the Office style. Next time they start pushing the use of your spiritual gifts at your church, see if dodgeball shows up on your inventory. (Unfortunately, it's not one of mine.)

2007-12-21T13:37:00.000-05:00

Asia!

Looks like I won't have to wait for Matt to be in Afghanistan to get a visitor from Asia. Africa plans anyone?

Check back later today for some Nate in the snow pictures. His Grandpa Knorr requested pictures of sledding and a Nate-size snowman. We'll see if the little guys up for some outside time later today.

Jesus has 2 mommies

2007-12-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

Notice anything peculiar about this nativity set? Yep, Jesus has two mommies! Nate was given the Fisher-Price nativity by his favorite Patty and Gary. They have one at their place, and I have always thought it was the cutest thing. (When you press the angel down, it plays music and the star lights up.) I was thrilled and so thankful they had gotten him one, and I eagerly began to unwrap it when we got home. Each piece is wrapped in it's own plastic bag. I was quite perplexed to find that we had 2 Mary figures and no Joseph. I'm left to wonder if this was done as a joke by the packer or what. Is it an attempt to modernize the Christmas story??? Some might be a bit offended, but I thought it was hilarious. So, I'd like to introduce to you baby Jesus and his two mommies. Any suggestions as to how I explain this to Nate?
(Fisher-Price is sending us a complete set of all the figurines for free, hopefully this time we'll get a Joseph.)

2007-12-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

4 continents! I've had visitors to my blog from North America (duh), South America, Europe, and now Australia. Matt's going to attempt to get an Asia for me while in Afghanistan. Anyone heading to Africa? I'm assuming Antarctica is out of the question. Too bad.

I've really been struggling to blog lately. Facebook has taken over a lot of my computer time. Tori introduced me to a scrabble game on there, and I'm addicted. I'm going to have to limit myself to Scrabulous only when Nate is napping. I'd like to think my brain is getting some good exercise by looking at all those letters. Get a facebook and play scrabulous with me!

Is anyone else getting annoyed with the tv reruns? I'm going to be so bummed if the seasons are over. I spent all summer gearing up for the new season, and it's essentially over. At least make some new Grey's Anatomy!!! I hear they're actually making a Big Brother to air in the spring due to all this craziness. I'm going to have to just start watching a lot of reality tv I suppose.

Some Cute Stuff

2007-12-10T13:58:00.000-05:00

As Nate gets closer to turning two, I find myself thinking a lot about how we'll decorate his room once he's out of the crib and in a big boy bed. I've actually spent quite a bit of time roaming the internet searching for ideas. I want something that can grow as he grows. I don't want to have to start completely over again a few years from now. Today I happened to find a person whose blog recommended a toy off of this website. They have some of the cutest stuff and shipping isn't out of this world expensive. Here is the stuff I would love to do in Nate's room when he graduates to a new bed in the extra bedroom. (I have no intention of repainting the nursery. Too much work went into it.) Here is what I found. I like that they are wall decals and can just be removed when he outgrows the look. I also love the colors! I would probably do a pretty neutral wall color. I also love the quilt. It's a bit pricey, but I know from making quilts it's just the way it is. What do you think? The whole reason I ended up at this website is because of this adorable play food. If I was rich, I would go to town on this website!!!!

hold the pickles, no mustard, please

2007-12-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

I just want to say that raising a toddler brings something new everyday. Lately Nate has become quite opinionated about getting dressed. It's turn more into a fast food ordering situation than anything else. Yesterday's order was: I'll have a shirt, 2 socks, 2 shoes, and hold the pants, please.

I also did not intend for this picture to be an action shot. He has learned though that there is a screen on the back of the camera, and it has him on it. He now chases you while yelling until you let him look through all the pictures.

When do I get to win a battle around here???? Score: Nate: all Andrea: 0

snow business

2007-12-07T10:21:00.000-05:00

I just have a bit to say regarding the snow. There is a sense of normalcy to snow here. It's no big deal; the "life goes on" mentality is in full force here. This is not the way I was raised. Snow days were cherished events in my childhood. Snow day to me say family day. It's just how I was raised. When it began to snow in Little Rock, everything was canceled and closed. It meant the family got to spend an unexpected day together. (And Dad might just start the fire place.) Those who know me well, know how much time with family means to me! I love it! To this day, I just feel like it's wrong when we go about our normal daily routines and work when it's snowing. I think God gives us snow days to give us a break from the normal and take time to just spend together. And I like my way of thinking. Along with this comes my decision that I plan to stick by even though I live further north, I cannot, do not, and will not drive snow covered streets. It's just not worth the risk to me. If they really think "life goes on" despite the snow, they need to install some form of heated street. How's that for an idea. Someone please get to work on this idea.

the snow is following me, make it stop!

2007-12-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

I need to back up a week and get caught up on what we've been up to and share some pictures along the way. A week ago right now, we were in a charter bus on our way to Keystone, CO for the youth ski trip. Nate and Mags stayed with Brad's parents while we were gone. We had 16 kids and 4 adults, including ourselves. They've not had much snow (we did get some while there), and haven't been allowed to make much either thanks to the drought. That made for some really packed down, icy skiing/snowboarding. Our group made 3 trips to the medical clinic, with one ending up with a broken wrist (the other two were sore but okay). The slopes stayed really busy thanks to 36 Hours of Keystone which was also taking place. (People are really nuts enough to ski for 36 hours straight.) The drive home was long on Sunday, but we got to see several movies we hadn't previously seen. Enjoy some pictures.

Today we got some snow of our own here. In all it was somewhere around 4-5 inches. Not a bad little snow. We took Nate out in it when we cleaned off the driveway and sidewalks. He still isn't the biggest fan of the snow. He also wasn't to fond of the snowpants, boots, or gloves. He keep trying to get me to take the gloves off because he couldn't pick any of his outdoor toys up. He did venture into the snow to try to get me to pick him up a couple of times, but he prefered to stay where we'd cleaned the snow off. Maybe he too was meant to be a southerner like his momma????? I really thought he'd like it this year. I guess we have about 8 more months of winter for him to get use to it! Enjoy some more pictures.

Also want to say thanks to all who checked in on us to make sure we were okay yesterday. We didn't know anyone involved, but know of people who work there, had been there earlier, or were planning to go there that day. Unbelievable is still the word that comes to mind when I try to comprehend what has happened.

Get to Work

2007-12-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

Nate decided to give us a hand with feeding Mags yesterday evening. It was cute and took several trips between the dog food bin and her bowl. I wonder what other chores he capable of . . . taking out the trash?????

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

From Trash to Treasure

2007-11-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

Two problems. Hopefully some solutions are out there.

Problem 1 is the trash. Maggie, who's always been a really good dog, has suddenly taken an interest in the trash. If we don't lock her up when we leave, there's usually trash on the floor when we return. We started locking her up again, and she's turned into an escape artist. And, then it's up to the trash. What caused this sudden bad behavior? How do we get it so that we can leave her out when we're gone without putting the trash under lock and key?

Problem 2 is the treasure. I noticed today that the center stone in my engagement ring is loose. I have no clue how or why it happened. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Obviously a jeweler is needed, but John Reynolds, who we got it from, is in St. Louis. I don't want to just take it to just anyone. Is it a bad thing to wear it until I get it fixed? I assume so. Anyone know a reputable jeweler here?

Update

2007-11-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Brrrr! It sure is cold here! There's nothing like going from a high of 70s one day to 20s and 30s the rest of the week. (And we all know how much appreciation I have for winter and cold weather.)

We had a good Thanksgiving with Brad's family. We headed to the farm Thursday morning and stayed the night to watch football on Friday. Brad and his dad had a fun time on the four wheelers scouting out possible Christmas trees. We also played several rounds of Apples to Apples. I was lucky enough to win a round! Yay me! (Brad won twice of course.) Football was a super low and super high on Friday. Go Hogs!!!

Today was Christmas decorating day. We accomplished quite a bit while Nate was napping. We were able to get the tree up, lit, and decorated. It was challenging this year to make sure that only things Nate could touch ended up within his reach. He got a huge grin on his face and kept saying "tree" when we got him up. It was too cute. He's found a lot of the bells that we put within his reach and thinks they're great. I'm just going to have to keep a close eye on him.

I didn't take any pictures all weekend. I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Brad is preaching two different sermons at two different services, but after that the day should be pretty relaxed.

Hope your turkey day was thankful!

Playing in a Winter Wonderland (kind of)

2007-11-21T13:01:00.001-05:00

So those flurries they predicted and I was watching earlier . . . . Well, it's now been snowing for several hours. Not quite what I expected today, but how can you complain too much about the first snow of the season. (After a few more though, I do retain the right to complain as much as I feel necessary.)

why me?

2007-11-21T09:32:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to say that life is not fair. While my little sister is in Hawaii today, I'm staring out the window at snow flurries. So not fair!

Momma told me there'd be days like this . . .

2007-11-20T13:55:00.001-05:00

He is my son, and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. We are having a day where I have to keep reminding myself of this. I should have known what kind of day it would be when I couldn't sleep last night, and then Maggie was threw up three times before 6:30 this morning. I've heard several people say that you always love your children, but you also have days where you just don't like them very much. Nate's mood is definitely leading me to believe fully in this statement for today. He is my son and I love him. He is my son, and I love him. Who am I kidding? He's Brad's son today. (All of you with children will understand this post completely. No kids yet, just wait. . . )

2007-11-18T09:01:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or is anyone else thinking that November is flying by?

A new way to do pictures

2007-11-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Here's a new little thing that I found out about. It's a quick attempt at just trying to figure out how it works. I'll play with it some more and hopefully come up with something that's a little better.

2007-11-13T20:31:00.000-05:00

I'll start by updating on the pacifier issue. Thursday was go day. I chicken out and only poked a pin-size hole in two of them. He didn't seem to notice one bit. (Not that it was noticable enough to be noticed.) Friday I decided I'd better make things a bit more noticable. I cut a slit in the tip of the two I was giving him. At naptime it took quite a while and some tears before he finally fell asleep. Nighttime was much better. Starting Saturday he happily took them and acted as if they'd always been this way. He just doesn't seem phased. I have a feeling he'll be a bit like Leslie, a family friend who I've known since she was born, and hang onto it until there's nothing left to hang onto. I'm not quite sure when I'll snip the actual tip off, but it makes me nervous to think about. I dread the tears and sadness he'll have. There was a point before he was a year where I really thought I could break him of it easily. I just felt like he was too young. Now he's so much more attached to it. Oops. . .

The girl I spoke about a couple of posts back passed away on Friday. It's made me really reflect on how I am around Nate. I want to make sure that I cherish and truly give him my best each day. The truth of the matter is that we don't have a guarantee on how long life is. Sometimes it can get rather tiring to play the same games over and over again with him, but when I stop to notice how much it means to him . . . it's worth it. (Even if we already read But Not the Hippopotumus 9 time in a row, and he wants to hear it again.) We have had a ton of fun together over the past few days. He continues to learn new words all the time. Yesterday he started saying "flower" although he usually leaves off the "-er", and it sounds a bit slurred. Tonight he went to the computer and said "sic". He wanted us to turn on his Nick Jr. Radio "music". I love it!!!! He's also become quite a helper around the house. He will go get most anything you ask him to. He is also great at throwing things in the trashcan, including sippy cups when they're empty. I also have found him to be quite helpful, slow but helpful none the less, when unloading the dishwasher. He'll hand you the silverware one at a time. He's also a champ and unloading anything else that's non-breakable. Tonight he even got to put two pots away in their drawer. He felt like big stuff! I know I will look back in a few year and realize how quickly time went by, but I can also say I enjoyed the small things along the way.

Nate was up at 5:30 this morning. This girl is going to bed shortly.

from "uh" to "oh"

2007-11-07T14:11:00.001-05:00

It is truly amazing to both Brad and I just how much our Nate has grown up in recent months. Just today in all of his constant talking, I noticed he now is saying "uh-oh" instead of "uh-uh". It may sound small, but I always loved the way he use to say it. Just another indicator that he's growing and learning every day.

With all of this growing up, we, fine, I have made the decision that it's time for the pacifier to go. Brad would happily let him walk to kindergarten with it, but I don't quite feel the same way. I'm sick of carting it around all over the place and dreading what might happen when it's forgotten. Just yesterday I had to pull over on the side of the road because his diaper bag which had his pacifier was in the trunk. Arghhhh! Starting tomorrow the process begins. The tricky part is that he likes to have not just the one in his mouth, he also likes one in each hand, kind of like a security blanket. I'm going to go about it by snipping the tip off which I've known several people to do, including Nate's pediatrician who has twins which are a couple months older than Nate. I think I'll attempt it at naptime tomorrow and see what happens. I am really dreading it. The car will be the worst though since he won't sit in his carseat quietly without it. Help! Someone please . . . I need help!

Notice not only the three pacifiers but also the lovely bedhead! :)

the great pumpkin

2007-11-06T18:15:00.000-05:00

Here's our little pumpkin. He looked quite adorable last week. As you can tell from the pictures, he wasn't too big on the hood part. He visited our neighbors on either side of us, but that was it. He was actually so tired that he was in bed by his normal 7:30. We were excited to have 34 trick or treaters compared to the 4 we had last year. As more houses are built around us, it should only grow to more and more. We're one holiday closer to Christmas! (Not that I'm one to overlook Thanksgiving. I love the holiday season!)

see you in st. louis

2007-11-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

It's been another busy one around here.

Brad and I (along with 2 others from the SE staff) left Thursday for the National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis. We've been looking forward to this trip since finding out about the St. Louis location in October 06. There are so many things we both miss about StL since moving away.

The convention was great. We got to see a lot of great bands (David Crowder, Leeland, Starfield, we missed Jars of Clay, boo) All of the free stuff they give out is wonderful. It's like Christmas; everytime there's a general session there's more free goodies waiting on your seat. There were also some good sectionals that I enjoyed. I was given quite a hunger for learning more about teen girls and many of the issues they deal with. I'm currently ready the book Queen Bees and Wannabes which led to the movie Mean Girls (which I've not seen, but will now). I've never been so entralled with a non-fiction book! I also really appreciated Doug and Cathy Fields's Q&A session on Marriage, Family, and Ministry. I agree so strongly with their thoughts on the balance between the them. We ate waaaaaaay too much good food. We had Jack Stack in KC on the way down. We hit Seamus McDaniel's, Favazza's, Joanie's Pizzaria, and of course got some good ol' Chikfila! We made sure to spend some time wandering around both Seminary campus and at Galleria. It was also great to see some great friends that are missed a lot.
Worship time with David Crowder Band.Who doesn't want a free foam hammer hat? I'm sure Adam and I will cherish ours forever! :)

It was a challenge to be away from Nate from Thursday afternoon until today. I've never let the little guy be away from me for so long. It was good though. He did great and had a blast! Dave and Kay sent me pictures which was wonderful. I called last night on our way home and got to talk to Nate on the phone. He said, "mama" on the phone and brought me to tears. I was ready to head directly towards him. It's amazing how he can melt me. It's nice to have him home. He seems to have grown a ton in the few days apart!

Complete change of subject.

A family at our church was involved in a car accident this weekend. It's a very serious situation for their oldest girl. She is suffering from life-threatening injuries. I would ask that you remember the family in your prayers and ask for complete healing for this 12 year old. They have set up a Caring Bridge site where you can keep up with things: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ashleywooden . God IS good and answers prayers.

Playing in the Leaves

2007-10-29T19:01:00.001-05:00

I decided I'd better get some pictures of Nate playing in the leaves before too much of the fall color had gone. Fall seems to be in full swing here, which means the trees will soon be empty once again. I have a favorite tree here that I've been watching the color of for a while now just waiting for it to be in it most colorful stage for picture taking. Back to Nate. This was his first time to play in the leaves. He really wasn't too sure about them at first. He seemed to think they didn't feel very good. After setting the camera down for a while and playing with him, he seemed to get the hang of it. I think he'll really enjoy it next year!

The trip of a lifetime

2007-10-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago my mom and my aunt started quite a project. Anna Marie (my aunt, Dad's younger sister) flew down from Michigan with a ton of pictures and slides from my Grandma and Grandpa Koss's house. The idea was to scan them all to the computer and make cd's for all of us to have. From what I hear, they scanned all weekend and still didn't finish. I'd been reluctant to look through the ones Dad put on his website. I didn't want to get stuck clicking through endless numbers of pictures. Today I figure it was time to start looking at them. I'd just do a few at a time. I got stuck, and it was wonderful. I spent almost an hour looking through over 500 pictures. I smiled a million smiles, held back a few tears, and really enjoyed myself. It's hard to believe that Grandma Koss has been gone for almost 3 years. Grandpa's seen better days, but he's still keeps on going. It's amazing the love and admiration you unknowingly have growing in you for your grandparents as you grow up. I saved a few of the pictures and have added them here. For the full trip down memory lane, you can click the link to Mom and Dad's site on the right hand side of the site.

I love this picture. It's my favorite of them all. I want to print and frame it. The happiness in both their faces is amazing.

The beginning and end of our ballet careers. Let's just say ballet was not high on my interest list.Happy Halloween a few days early! I'm the one with the red ruffles and pom-poms.I'm about 3 months old here and enjoying some quality time with Grandpa and a pink teddy bear.

There were several pictures of Grandpa with us grandkids. In true grandfather fashion, we were often times on his lap.

Wearing Your Food

2007-10-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

Letting Nate feed himself with spoons and forks has not been too high on my priority list. They tend to encourage him to play rather than eat. There comes a time in every toddler's life where he or she must make that giant leap to not eating everything with your hands. That time has come for our Nate. I usually have to try to keep myself busy. Otherwise, I'd be there trying to take over, and he would never learn. So here is a little peek into our learning process:

Randomnimity

2007-10-20T21:42:00.000-04:00

Not too sure what to blog about. I guess I'll just try to share a few random things with little regard for grammatical correctness.

My brother's time in Afghanistan has been shortened. He should be able to come home in Nov. 08 rather than Feb. 09!! Praise God! Keep praying!
Huskers lost again. . . boo. It's getting pretty miserable around here. Brad said this was the one game left that we should have won. Yikes, what does that mean for the rest of the season?
Razorbacks won! Woo Pig Sooie!
I've got a few new shows I've been watching this fall. Private Practice on Wednesdays. Women's Murder Club on Friday. Both good. Wouldn't say either are great. I'm slowly getting more into each. Anything else worth checking out????
Nate's got a cold. And all the new reports say no meds. I feel terrible for him. I'd never consider braving a cold without medicine.
We got close to 2.5 inches of rain last week. I didn't think the sun was ever coming back. Today was muy perfecto! 70s and sunny. Tomorrow 50s. Boo.
I love pears! I long for pear season all year! I'm addicted!
We went to a church family's house on Friday. She made apple pie with crumb topping! I loved it! I want another piece.
Nate's been very into coloring lately. He tries to say "color". Only I would understand what he was trying to say though.
My dad is doing the Detroit half marathon tomorrow. Go Dad! (He did a full in March so this should be a piece of cake) :)
Monday is my goddaughter's 9th bday!

It won't let me upload the pic of Nate that I want. I'll try again tomorrow. Adios.

I could think of several titles for this post . . .

2007-10-17T20:05:00.000-04:00

Okay. Most of you know that I am not a politically opinionated person. It's just not something I get all excited about. I know that the morals in our country are terrible, but I don't know that anyone with the description "politician" is the right one to fix that. Anyways, I just had to post this picture of Hillary. Whether you like her or not, you have to agree that this is a terrible and rather frightening picture. What was CNN thinking (at the time I'm writing this, it's the picture with the head story) when they picked this one out. I'd have to guess that whoever was in charge of this story, wasn't a huge Hillary fan. Yikes!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-15T15:33:00.000-04:00

Lots of pictures again with this post. I'm not quite sure why I didn't just do a slide show. I was about halfway through loading when I realized it would have been easier. Oh well, they're here now. Brad and I took about 150 pictures while at Pooley's. It was half the cost of Vala's (where we went last year), and more appropriate for Nate's age. Here we go . . .
There were a ton of animals at Pooley's. Brad and Nate are checking out the baby chicks here. There were also goats, pigs, sheep, cows, and horses. Nate wasn't too sure about any of the animals. My two animal observations: 1) Pigs are loud!!!! and 2) A sheep's "baa" is very low.
Nate' favorite part of the experience was playing on the tractors. This is common anytime we are around a tractor. He could have spent the entire time up there. We got a ton of cute picture up on the two different ones, but I only put one here. (I'll try to put all 150 pictures on our snapfish site soon.)

Brad and Nate making their way through the mini maze. Again, some terrific pictures were taken here. Check snapfish for them.
Of course, more tractor love! They had a track for the mini tractors and bikes to go around. Nate's legs were a little short for reaching the pedals.
Just a very Andrea-ish picture. I'm continually on the lookout for picture ops like this.
Nate and I picking out the good ones.
Nate was being a stinker in the pumpkins, which he referred to as "ball". He refused to look at Brad and I as we took pictures. He would turn and walk away constantly. Finally, I started to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". He LOVES the song! He froze, smiled, and was adorably photogenic as long as I continued to sing. In the picture right below, he is doing his attempt at making a spider for the actions. (He also tries to to do "washed the spider out".)

Probably one our favorites. Brad did a great job snapping picture while I sang!
I love it when he's actually willing to hold my hand. He's usually too independent and would rather walk beside me.

I think this is my new favorite picture of my two guys. They were checking out the cows, and Nate was a bit unsure of the loud mooing. They seemed to be angry cows.
Nate just wasn't sure of what to think of all the animals. He would just bury himself against his dad.
Instead of a sandbox they had an old silo with corn in it. There were toys for the kids to play in the corn with. It was at about 11 that night as Brad and I were trying to fall asleep, that I had a frightening thought. That corn would be heaven for mice, snakes, and other critters. I'm afraid to think of what was living in there. I was glad that Nate was not really impressed and didn't want to play long in the corn. Still gives me the creeps to think about it though.
And here is the prize winning pumpkin that came home with us. He's not that big, but we thought he was just right for us.
Saturday morning we headed to Kansas City with 56 7th and 8th graders. We went to the International House of Prayer and to Great Wolf Lodge. I think everyone had a great time, but it was exhausting. Hopefully I can get my hands on some of the pictures of Nate having a blast. He'd live in water if he could.

Talkin' Up a Storm

2007-10-11T11:34:00.000-04:00

This is my first attempt at using video editing software, and what I have access to is limited. I'm liking the end result considering it's my first go at it. Hopefully in time I will get better. I'm sure I'll look back at this one day and laugh, but you have to start somewhere. You should hear various words such as no, book, ball, and bye. The sound quality isn't the best, but in person you can tell the difference between all the b words even though they sound very similar on the video. I'll keep trying to catch some of his other words on video. I also added on a dance sequence of his and his insistance of being a big boy when going down the stairs. Enjoy!

games, critters, potty seats, and ringing phones

2007-10-10T13:05:00.000-04:00

I'll use some pictures to show you what we've been up to lately.

Our good friends gave us the game Apples to Apples. (best game ever!) We had some fun a couple of weeks ago and played with our high school small groups. We had some good laughs and enjoyed ourselves immensely. N and I went to the zoo last Friday with several other moms and kids. We enjoyed getting to see several baby animals including the orangutan pictured below. It was also a lot of fun to get to know some other moms and kids better. N really seemed to enjoy how close he could get to the polar bear. I'm not sure he realized it wasn't a dog though. He still seems to think any animal is a dog. The last picture in the zoo group is neither, N nor animal related, but it's very A-ish. I like it a lot.

They say the earliest a child is ready to potty train is 18 months. Well, we're there tomorrow. N absolutely loves sitting on the potty. He actually will go in the bathroom and let you know he wants to sit up there. I'm not pushing the training very hard at this point. I just want him to be familiar with sitting there for when we are ready to train. He's actually had some success already! Yay for him!!!!Yesterday day was my day of the year. What more could a girl want on her day than her two favorite guys. B took some time off work, and we had some family time. It was great. The phone rang a bagillion times, and all the calls were for me! It was wonderful! We're planning on a trip to the pumpkin patch on Friday. Be sure to check back for pictures. I'm sure to take a ton!!!!

and now for something completely different (-mp)

2007-10-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

Warning: Seriousness Below

Meet Matt.

Matt is my younger brother. He and I were best buds all through childhood. He's now married and has a son. Matt joined the Navy as a civil engineer a few years back. After a couple of moves, they've been living peacefully in North Carolina for the past couple of years.

Most, but not all of you, probably know this already, but I found out about 3 weeks ago that Matt is going to be spending a year in Afghanistan. He's set to begin training in November (in Virginia and North Carolina) and head overseas in February '08. We weren't completely caught off-guard with this news. He'd let us know to expect it soon.

In the weeks that have passed since receiving the news, I've been through just about every emotion regarding the situation. Denial. Anger. Scared. Confused. More denial. Right or wrong, I try not to let myself think about it too much. I try to comfort myself with thoughts that he's a civil engineer and not a combat soldier or whatever. The problem comes though at night. Thoughts about it creep into my head as I lie in bed waiting for sleep. My mind travels everywhere as I think about it.

Truth is, I'm scared beyond comprehension about my brother, my best bud growing up, being sent to a country where war is life and reality. (tears flowing)

My mom was told to look up and pray Psalm 91 by someone at Christ Lutheran. Mom passed it onto me, and all I can say is God is good. He know how to bring comfort when it's needed. He holds us tight when we fear our deepest fears. He loves us completely and unconditionally. He gives us his Word to reassure us of all of this.

It's 16 verses and will probably take up quite a bit of space, but I ask that you read it also. Please. Pray it for Matt.

PSALM 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge -
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, " I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

I would ask that all of you would from now until Feb. '09 remember Matt in prayer. Remember Lindsay. Remember Will. Ask that God would hold this family close together in his almighty hand regardless of the miles between them. Pray that God would continue to comfort all of us with the knowledge that he is with Matt in all things, at all times.

Thanks . . .
-a

Football Fix

2007-10-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

After getting in touch with slide.com, they're not sure what's going on with my slideshow only showing 6 of 20-some pictures. They've got their engineers looking into it. In the meantime, I've changed the look of it, and that seems to have made the difference. So . . . if you interested, you can scroll down to the slide show and now see all (okay, narrowed down from more than 50) the football pics.

Can you believe the little guy will be a year and a half next week?!?!?

for the love of the game

2007-09-28T21:15:00.000-04:00

Last year I really wanted to have some fun with N when he got his Razorback shirt. I put him in the grass, propped him up on the football, and began snapping pictures. What I ended up with were some of my favorite pictures of him. That being said, I decided to do the same again this year. I found a great spot in the neighborhood adjacent to ours. Despite the horrible mood he'd been in prior to getting to the park, he turned on the charm once we were there. I've picked out two favs from last year and two I like from this year. (The very bottom one is my favorite from this year's attempt.) Still happy and smiley! Lovin' life and lovin' football.
Still contemplative and thoughtful. You have to study football to be any good at it.

I'm absolutely in shock of how much he's changed in just 13 months! And he just keeps on growing!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-28T21:07:00.001-04:00

Jibber-Jabber

2007-09-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

I'm not exactly sure when she started to ask me, but I always drew a blanks. "She" is N's pediatrician, and she would ask how many words N was saying. I'm not sure why I'd draw a blank, but I would. Maybe it's because I wasn't sure what the right answer was. How many should he be saying? What is the magic number she's looking for? I don't know why I would fret over this. I guess it's just that habit every mom has about wanting her child to be keeping up with the pack. Anyways, I've been working on a list so that when we go for N's 18 month appointment in 2 weeks, I would have definite answers. Here's where we stand so far:

ball
dog
mom
book
milk
no
get it (we say this when we throw the ball for the dog, or when n's being lazy)
shoe (we call both socks and shoes this)
trip (the neighbor's dog)
block (still working on this some)
pat (we pat-pat-pat the dog)

These are the ones I hear on a regular basis. Sometimes you hear something, such as he said "amen" once, but I'm only counting what's consistent. Most likely if you came to visit you would think I was crazy by hearing all these words. Most of them aren't perfect, but I know what he's saying. It seems to be that most of the time only the parents can understand the child for a while. It's so great to know what he's saying. I am absolutely loving the communication. It seems to be that we are getting a new word every 5 to 7 days right now. I'll keep everyone posted on anything new he starts saying.

2007-09-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

Hope you're having this happy of a Monday!

Monumental Occasions

2007-09-20T19:06:00.000-04:00

Today was a huge day for N. He brought home his first "school" artwork from Mom's Day Out. I'm such a goober-ish-ly proud parent! I thought he did good job trying to stay on the basket with his coloring. And, I'm sure that he had good reason for gluing the red apple on sideways . . . .

Vroom! Beep! Beep!

2007-09-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our weekend out and about. We actually were home very little this weekend. It was fun to have so much going on, but it sure did go by too quickly. N got to spend the weekend with his grandparents. The county fair was happening and that's quite a big deal to a small town. B and I went down Saturday to check out the fair and see the parade. (It was also good for this momma to see her baby boy.) N actually was given some candy in the parade. I'm sure that in the coming years, after some good training, he'll be walking away with bags-ful. (I might need to ship him up to Julian for some intense parade candy getting training. . .) N's favorite part was sitting up on the tractors and playing with the steering wheel. Right now, anything with a steering wheel is the best. The sweetest thing is when he passed out on Grandpa's shoulder from complete exhaustion. Next year he'll be all about the rides.

No comments on football results other than: Who's ready for next weekend?

A Hog in a Corn Field

2007-09-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

Watch for me on ABC tonight at 7 central time. I'll be the one person at the game wearing Arkansas red rather than Husker red! I'm sure it'll be easy to spot me. . .

Wooo Pig!

Go Big Red!

less like a baby, more like a boy

2007-09-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

It's definitely fall around here. From the weather to the schedule, it all is screaming fall. The high today is only 60! (a low of about 39 is predicted for tonight) N and I have also begun to get back into our busier fall schedule. We have something going on outside of the house Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Football has also managed to take back over our lives. It seems to dictate what happens when on the weekends.

I've also been busy this week setting up a Facebook account. I've actually had it for close to a year, but I never really got around to setting it up. It's still rather new to me, but I like having another way to stay connected to people. If you have a Facebook, let me know, and I can add you to my friend list.

The big news of the day is that N got his hair cut this morning. I had trimmed by his ears once before, but this was the first real cut. Despite my nerves, I did do it myself. B stood in front of him trying to keep N's head still and faced forward. Most of the cutting happened in the back since the front hasn't grown quite as fast. Overall I think it went alright. I've already noticed a few spots to go back and touch up, but I'll get around to that later. Here's a before and after shot.

Dressed for Success

2007-09-07T22:15:00.000-04:00

As I'm sitting here watching Fashion Rocks on CBS (no, Brad's not home, how'd you guess?), I can't help but think how adorable our little guy looked today. I tried really hard to get a good picture of him, but he refused to cooperate. Go figure. Everything he had on today was a steal. The brown polo was $5 at Gap, the jeans were on sale at Target this week for $6, and the brown shoes came from Old Navy for $3 or 4. Not too bad if you ask me. Wish you could see the shoes; they're too big still (so was the polo and the jeans for that matter), but they tied the outfit (yes, Matt, outfit) together. (Tori, I think they're the same shoes you wanted me to get him this spring, but I said they didn't have them small enough. Didn't stop me when on sale!) I just wish I'd been able to get some better pictures!

Picture Update

2007-09-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

I have just finished updating our Snapfish pictures. I added to August and started a September book. Feel free to go check it out. I should have email you a room code a couple of months ago. Let me know if I need to send it to you again. Enjoy!

theknorrs.snapfish.com/snapfish

Any show will do when it's this big!

2007-09-06T11:47:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this picture to go along with the picture of my newphew, Will, that Lindsay put on their blog. What is it about these gigantic tvs?? Nate only asks me to turn on the tv first thing in the morning at home. Yet while at my Mom and Dad's house he was continually pointing at the huge tv and wanted me to turn it on. In this picture Diego and Baby Jaguar were larger than life. I think for now we'll stick our big enough, but not ginormous, tv that N tends to ignore.

Job Opening

2007-09-05T10:59:00.000-04:00

Seeking: Substitute Stay-at-Home Mom

Job Description: Entertain, feed, and change one adorable little boy while keeping him generally quiet due to real Stay-at-Home Mom's miserable head cold. (stuffy nose, sinus headache, sore throat, sneezes, blocked ears, exhaustion)

Looking to fill position immediately.

Apply at front door, ready to start. (Don't ring the doorbell though, my head can't take it.)

Photo Shoot

2007-09-04T15:11:00.001-04:00

These pictures are from a photo shoot my mom and I did while in LR. I'm planning on getting a couple of them framed. I would appreciate knowing which are your favorites; you can use the image numbers that are below each photo. (Jenni - Amara's chair pictures inspired me to try this with N.) I've narrowed it down to 24 (I did the best I could to cut some),maybe you can help me get it narrowed down some more.

Growing and Learning

2007-09-04T14:28:00.000-04:00

N has been quite busy lately developing new skills and tricks. His personality and independence seem to be popping up in new and different ways each day.

He shakes his head both yes and no now. He doesn't always seem to use them correctly though. He also has begun to say nuh-nuh-nuh when shaking his head no. It's still cute for now. . .

Bibs are the ulitmate evil right now. He throws and absolute fit over having to have one on. I need to find a place to get some cute ones that tie on. He's learned that if he pulls long enough and hard enough, he can get the velcro to come undone.

He is understanding more and more of what is said. He will actually follow simple commands such as, go find your pacifier and go get your drink. There are several more, but my mind doesn't seem to be thinking of them right now.

He loves to throw the ball for Maggie and then tell her to "get it".
All food, from Cheerios to ice cream and everything in between, is potentially very hot and must be blown on. I guess he's seen me trying to cool off his food a few too many times.

Everyone tells me that it just keeps getting more and more fun. It's great being able to communicate with him more and more even if we seem to have differing opinions on certain things.

Caught 'em again

2007-08-27T21:20:00.001-04:00

It's those toes again. I just can't resist taking pictures of N's adorable little feet. I think I just love how little they are. There are some cute shots of more of him from this photo shoot my mom and I did, but I'll put them up after having more time to choose my favorites.

Under the Water, Over the Water

2007-08-27T12:25:00.000-04:00

We're still here in LR. Couple of days here. Then a few more in Fayetteville. Then it's home sweet home by Friday. I never like it when B doesn't get to make these trips with us. I guess that's just something I'll have to get use to with time.

N and I are enjoying our time here. We were glad for the weekend when everyone was home. Saturday we got to go swimming with Ginny and Camryn at the Maumelle pool. N had a great time and could have stayed forever. He loves being out in the deep water, and he was much more adventurous in with walking around in the shallow water. We'll have to look for a pool close to home to join next summer. I doubt the baby pool will cut it after see all the pool possibilities.

It was great to get to go to Christ Lutheran for worship on Sunday. It's amazing how people age so quickly when you hardly see them. It sure would be nice to see the sanctuary packed again like it use to be. . . After a yummy roast we headed down to the river to walk the Big Dam Bridge. (I'm not making that name up - www.bigdambridge.com ) We ended up doing a 3 mile walk which was more than enough for my out of shape self. It was amazing to see how many people use the bridge!

Today N and I are suppose to meet Shaun and Wyatt for lunch and playtime. Hopefully the two little guys will have a lot of fun together. If nothing else, the girls will have fun catching up on things.

I promise pictures as soon as some get loaded to the computer.

mi casa

2007-08-23T15:23:00.001-04:00

It was not my intention to go a week without blogging, but it has happened. It has been quite a busy past few days for our entire family. I am actually sitting in my parents house as I type this. Unfortunately B wasn't able to come because someone's gotta bring home the bacon. He actually has a ton going on a work right now, and we weren't getting to see too much of him. So, I suppose the timing is perfect for making this trip.

N and I spent Tuesday night with my little sis at her apartment in Fayetteville. I actually got to finally see some of the town since I'd never spent any real time up that way. We of course made sure not to leave without a new Razorback shirt of N this fall. (I'll hopefully post a pic soon.) Last night we were met up with my parents, and they brought us the rest of the way to LR.

Today N and I are taking it easy and trying to get him back into a "normal" routine. He's come down with a mess of a cold to go along with the 8 teeth that are coming in and needed some downtime. I've not gotten in touch with many people, but hope to see some friends while here and just get a lot of good family time in.

2007-08-16T09:57:00.000-04:00

N and his super sensitive skin have decided to throw another mystery our way. I have never known a child to have so many skin issues. Yesterday morning he woke up and had a red circle the size of the top of a pencil eraser. I assumed it was a bug bite and no big deal. I looked at it later and saw that it was getting bigger and that there were some other red spots. I started putting hydrocortisone on it. By about 6:30 last night it looked like the top picture. I did more hydrocortisone and put him to bed. This morning it was much worse. (The bottom picture was taken about 15 minutes ago.) I called the doctor's office and after the receptionist made me talk to the nurse, the nurse wanted him to come in. The only problem is that they only have one doctor today and the earliest appointment available was 5:15. He also has some on his wrist, elbow, and possibly above his mouth. I'm thinking it's hives, but I would rather get the doctor's opinion. If it is hives I have no clue what would have triggered it since he hasn't had anything new in the past few days. I plan to print and take the pictures in to show the doctor how it's gotten worse. Say a prayer that's it's not anything serious or contagious.

Update:
As I mentioned on the comments yesterday, Nate's going to be okay. He just managed to get a virus which caused hives. The doctor said that August is the prime time for this type of virus. We've got him on Benadryl. Surprisingly, he woke up this morning and you could hardly see the hives. This must mean he has the virus in which the hives come and go. This is a good thing because if they stayed, it's a more serious virus. Praise God for vanishing hives!!!

You Make Me Smile

2007-08-14T21:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight seemed to be about laughs around the house here. After dinner N started to play with the blinds which is not an uncommon event around here. For some reason it was absolutely hilarious to him tonight though. He was having some trouble figuring out the right cord to pull since he was holding a ball in one hand. (Usually he'll hold one in each hand.) Then we decided to watch 'Just For Laughs' for the first time. (It's the new Candid Camera type show.) I have not laughed at the television in such a long time. Not all of it was amusing to me, but there were some really great pranks in there. N started to laugh just because I was laughing so hard. It was quite adorable. Once he'd laughed enough and worn himself out, it was off to bed. Goodnight!

2007-08-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

My Boy

2007-08-14T21:05:00.000-04:00

There is definitely Koss blood flowing through my son's veins!!!

That's my boy!

XOXOXO

2007-08-13T16:09:00.000-04:00

I just want to say that not only is our guy lovable; he is more and more loving all the time. Last week he started to give hugs. If you (preferably while seated on the floor) hold out your arms and say, "can I have a hug?" N will walk over to you and very sweetly lay his head on your shoulder. Awww! He also has started to blow kisses lately. Today he melted my heart though. We always stand at the front door and wave bye-bye to Daddy as he leaves for work. He was waving today and stopped to blow a kiss. He then did the same wave followed by a blown kiss two more times as B was driving away. It was honestly the sweetest thing.

I have to laugh at little guy lounging while playing blocks earlier. We got him a chair like this because he loved Camryn's when we were in Illinois this summer. He still struggles to get himself out of it though.

Lilac Bushes

2007-08-13T16:05:00.000-04:00

Isn't this lilac absolutely beautiful. I love the bi-color! I bring this up because our local walmart currently has them on clearance for $3.50. They're not huge, but they seem to be healthy. I'm thinking it would work well in the back corner of our yard to hide the cable and telephone utility boxes. Thoughts on or experience with lilacs????

2007-08-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

Okay, since when does "come here" mean run away laughing??? Someone could have warned me about the change. . .

2007-08-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting a new look for the blog for quite a while now, but it just wasn't happening. I took a cute pictures of the little guy's toes today and thought that it might make a cute header. I'm proud to say that I changed the coloring, size, cropped, and added the wording without too much trouble. I've messed around a lot with the background coloring and such. I'm not sure I'll stick with the blue. I was thinking brownish, but I'm not too sure. Let me know what you think, and give me your suggestions!

here is the picture as it was originally taken

Day Trip

2007-08-04T14:45:00.000-04:00

These first pictures are from our trip to Indian Cave State Park. Poison ivy and ticks aside, it was actually a fun place to spend the afternoon.

View of the Missouri River.
I'm in love with candy lilies currently. I'm trying to get as many various pictures of different ones as I can for a project.
Wildflower

The first of these two pictures is the top drawing on the bottom pictures. We never were able to find the other one.

After finishing at the park, we headed to Dave and Kay's for dinner and to pick up our much missed guy. I decided to have some fun with the sunset and the moon after getting back from dinner. Here are a few of the ones I thought turned out alright:

The Lil' Guy

2007-08-04T14:22:00.000-04:00

I've not been posting as many pictures lately and figured I'd make up for it today.

Proudly wearing some new pajamas from his grandparents Knorr
Shoes with a onesie? If he finds his shoes lying around, he insists that they be put on.
What a face.
Look at those tootsies!
Family pic. He loves being taken on golf cart rides when he goes to the farm.
Hey Mom, I'll take over the vacuuming from now on.
Walking and drooling. Constant combination. (His top molars have begun to actually come through.)
I had to laugh at just how high he got that tush in the air while sound asleep.

All siblings get along as well as these two, right? What did you say Mr. Ball?
The fascinating world of grass.
Windy or bad hair day?
Long way to go

The Garden

2007-08-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the garden along the front of the house. I've been feeding it miracle gro, and it's loving it. The glads are just starting to bloom this weekend. I'll definitely miss all the color once winter comes around again!

Elder Wands, Gwaup, and such

2007-08-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to say that we can all return to life as it normally is now. As of 7:03 pm last night, I have finished Harry Potter. WOW! That's all I can say. WOW!

2007-08-01T20:44:00.000-04:00

Hi. Sorry for the absence for the past week. I'm going to make this short cause I'm just not in the best mood.

Tues. - We spent the day in Lincoln. We did the capitol tour, spent some time on campus wandering, hit an outdoor mall, and ate dinner at whiskey creek.

Wed. - We headed to Indian Cave State Park to do some hiking. Afterwards, we went to pick up N from his grandma and grandpa's and had a nice dinner with them.

Thurs - After dropping N off at Mother's Day Out, we headed out for a day full of plans. Nothing we planned to do actually happened. It was a bit frustrating. We finally decided to just head home.

Fri. - I went to the doctor to find out that I had poison ivy from our hiking adventures. Fun!

Sun. - After returning from worship, we found hundreds of tiny bugs (which turned out to be ticks) lying on the floor everywhere that Maggie had been. Grossness. I think I'm done hiking for a while between the poison ivy and ticks.

2007-07-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Ginny!

Exotic Vacation Spots

2007-07-24T13:50:00.000-04:00

This week is vacation week. No, I'm not sitting on a nice sandy beach while typing this. I'm sitting in the dining room like normal. B and I celebrate our 5th anniversary in November. It's a not so good time to try to get out of town due to Thanksgiving services and the upcoming Christmas season. We decided that we would take a 5th anniversary vacation in summer instead. Well, we look at cruises, Florida, DC, Colorado, LA; everything is so expensive when you add up all the costs along the way. It just wasn't going to work to head out on a nice anniversary vacation. (Maybe in another 5 years it'll work.) We made up our minds that B would still take the week off, and we would just do things around here. N got picked up by his grandpa yesterday afternoon and will spend the next couple of days down at the farm. That allowed B and I to have a date night last night. We started off by going to see Harry Potter 5 and then headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up HP7. After that we headed over to Roja ( http://www.rojagrill.com/ ) for $1.99 Margarita Monday. After a short walk around the adjacent shopping center we headed home. We found a very thorough synopsis of HP6 ( http://www.harrypotterfacts.com/ ) and began to refresh our memories. I'll tell you about todays adventures once they're done.

so annoying

2007-07-21T20:47:00.000-04:00

Here are a few of the things that we have determined are pet peeves for N:

bed covers covering up over the shoulders - he gets to come to our bed every morning (so I can stay there longer), but he can't stand for the covers to be all the way covering us; he's continually pulling them off me as I try to pull them up
food needing to be cooked - he might be cut out for the military or nasa so that he can enjoy some mre's; he can't stand waiting for something to cook
also on the food topic, food being in the wrong plate section - you can't let a vegetable cross into the meat section of the plate; this could be a result of watching Monk with his dad or the beginnings of his mom's issues with different foods touching
shoes lying around the house - if he sees a pair of shoes they must go on a pair of feet; he know's which are his and which are ours (I'll post a picture related to this in a bit)
falling on his bottom - how many times do you have to fall before you naturally learn to balance

my chicken's so going to beat your chicken

2007-07-18T21:53:00.000-04:00

Okay, so, Worlds of Fun was just as it's name implies. I had a lot of fun riding all of the coasters. I must be older than when I last went to an amusement park though. I was much more leery of certain rides and ached more than I thought I would. I did manage to get completely drenched on a ride since I was the person who least wanted to get wet. Go figure.

Anways, I was at Walmart doing the weekly grocery trip. I was heading from one side of the store to the other and happened to walk down the toy aisle. I feel it's my duty as a mom to know what new toys are out there. I'm not sure if this is new or not, but I had never seen it before. The pictures are of a Fisher-Price game/toy called Chicken Chase. If you know anything about my mom's love of most things chicken, this should make you smile. I could just picture her getting all excited about this. It comes complete with clucking and banjo music. All this fun can be yours for only $15!!!! http://www.fisher-price.com/us/products/product.asp?id=38614

On another kid-related note for all you parents out there. I discovered Nick Jr. Radio http://www.nickjr.com/playtime/cats/radio/index.jhtml yesterday. I went to find out what type of Backyardigans activities they had. (I'm in love with the Backyardigans.) The radio play about an hour of songs from the show you choose before repeating. N had the greatest time listening to it yesterday. I bookmarked it and turned it on this morning; N got excited as soon as it started.

Can we just skip Monday?

2007-07-16T13:15:00.000-04:00

Having a good Monday? Mines been so-so. Yesterday was pretty good, and tomorrow should be great though.

This weekend was Student Edge weekend at church. This means that B and his staff were in charge of the service on Sunday. Normally when B preaches that's about all he's in charge of. Since it was SE weekend that was different. It was an amazing worship service, and I don't just say this because my husband had a hand in it. Everything about it, other than N trying to wander all over, was extremely worshipful for me. I loved the songs, the band, the front setup, the darkness, the energy that seemed to be coming from everyone; I loved it all! I would love to be able to worship in that way every Sunday! (I would of course expect a Mtn. Dew on my seat each week, just like yesterday.)

Tomorrow is Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun day in Kansas City with SE. I've never been before and am quite excited. I've driven past it a million times when traveling through KC. I tend to really enjoy going to amusement parks. I would love for it to be 15 degrees cooler tomorrow, but not much I can do about that. I'll be sure to try to tell you all about it afterwards. N isn't going, but he'll have a great time spending the day with a friend.

Good Sunday. Good Tuesday. Monday????

Uncle Who??

2007-07-11T15:44:00.000-04:00

B, N, and I had a great weekend. We decided we would head to Illinois for the annual family reunion for my mom's side of the family. It seemed like a good idea since my parents and my sister, brother-in-law, and niece would be there also.

We drove to St. Louis last Friday and met up with the parents, sister, and my aunt's family. After a tasty lunch on the Hill and a drive past our old house, we headed to the zoo. It was a ton of fun but a bit on the hot side. After several hours there, we decided we were to worn out for another meal on the Hill. (What can I say, my family LOVES Italian food!) We headed out of town and on to Decatur. We were able to stay in Decatur where B did his internship a few years ago. It's only about 40 minutes from where the reunion is.

Saturday, we spent the bulk of the day in Decatur. We were able to run into our old pastor and did some shopping and eating in downtown. In the evening we headed to Nokomis for dinner at the fair and to watch the parade. It was as good as always to see family that is seldom seen. N didn't seem too impressed with the parade, but Camryn loved everyone throwing candy at her.

Sunday we went to church in Decatur and saw a ton of people. We headed back to Nokomis for the official reunion as soon as church was done. It was a day of eating, playing, visiting, and picture taking. We spent the evening back in Decatur hanging out with some of B's closest guy friends. I was exausted at the end of such a long and busy day (and weekend).

I was sad for the weekend to be over. I miss getting to be around my family more, but I'm also very lucky to see them as often as I do. Hopefully I'll find a way to see them again before Christmas!

Family Reunion Pictures

2007-07-11T15:43:00.001-04:00

Recent Picture Update

2007-07-11T15:23:00.001-04:00

Animal Crackers

2007-07-07T07:46:00.000-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July. We've had quite the busy week, and I didn't get around to posting on the 4th. We went a couple of different places and eventually ended up sitting on the driveway watching everyone else shoot of fireworks. N sure didn't seem to impressed with all the fireworks. That might be very different next year.

We also have seen quite the number of wild animals in the past week. We saw a fox on Monday as we were driving to pick N up from Patty's (our most lovable babysitter) house and then saw a deer on our way home. Thursday, we had two different bunnies run out in front of us, had a most unfortunate encounter with a black bird, slowed down for a wild turkey crossing the road, and watch a buck jump a fence. The next day we saw another turkey with several babies. I wonder if we'll see a giraffe walking down the interstate next?!?!

Help Please!

2007-07-02T11:10:00.001-04:00

Oh the joys of parenthood. Yesterday evening was one of those times that you just hope and wish as a parent would never occur. We had our small groups over for Bible study and were getting close to wrapping things up. N had been downstairs with B and the boys for most of the evening. He finally decided to come join me upstairs with the girls. He got really whiney and cuddly suddenly. The girls had just gotten done ooohhhing and aaawwwing over how sweetly he was cuddling up to me. I was also thinking how sweet and assuming he might just fall asleep on me. Then out of no where came breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner all over me. I was in complete shock as I sat there with grossness all over me (and him). Other than not being really interested in lunch or dinner, he had shown no signs of not feeling well. Luckily, the furnitured was spared thanks to me using myself to catch everything. He's doing much better this morning. You wouldn't even know he hadn't felt well. I'm wanting him to take it slow today, but there no way to tell a one-year-old to slow down. If only there was a way to avoid moments like that as a parent.

Boom

2007-07-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!

It's about 9:30 a.m., and N just woke up. Why does he never choose to sleep in on a morning that B and I would also be able to sleep in? It's like he knows. Part of the reason he slept in could be the fact that he absolutely refused to take a nap yesterday afternoon. He screamed his head off in protest. (I was ready to scream also after listening to him scream for a while.) It also could be the fact that everyone around here thinks that the 4th of July is a several week long celebration. Every evening about the time that we try to put N to bed, the entire neighborhood and those all around decide it's time to start setting off fireworks and they go until at least 11:00. We're not talking about dinky little snaps and pops; we're talking enormous sometimes rattling booms and bangs. I'm sick of it. It ends up waking N up several times. We finally put a fan in his room last night just to create some noise that would help muffle the fireworks. I don't mind having to get him out of bed and rock him back to sleep, but I want him to be able to sleep restfully. Oh well, they have to run out of supplies sooner or later. (I've never been a big fan of fireworks.)

2007-06-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

I am having one of those days where the clock just isn't moving. I swear it should be almost dinner time; the day feels as if it's been that long. I've been meaning to blog about several different things lately. Here are a few.

Fire: Our next door neighbors got a firepit this winter. Friday night they invited us over to enjoy it and the new patio they just put in. It was wonderful. B ran to the store and bought fixing for s'mores. Delish! I want a firepit!
Worms: Okay, technically caterpillars. They ate the few plants I successfully grew from seed this spring. So much for saving a few bucks by getting plants the hard way.
Veggies: My child has always loved to eat anything you offer him. Lately though, he's refused to eat his veggies. It's turned into quite the battle of the wills between he and I. The winner of the battle varies from day to day.
Fur: I love our Mags, but I hate her fur. I told B before we ever got a dog that I didn't care for long-haired dogs. I am so tired of her fur covering everything. I'm at the point that I'd love to shave her bald. (Okay, not really. That's a bit drastic. And she's too pretty.) Right now, I'm thinking our next dog will have very, very, very short hair.
Feet: N is spending more and more time on his feet. He'll walk from one thing to another if it's a short distance. His prefered mode of transportation is still crawling or Mom for the time being.
Grass: Two things here. One. Our yard is being invaded by weeds. We are continually walking around the yard searching for something else to pull. The crab grass is the worst. Two. N seems to be getting over his fear/utter dislike of grass. Previously he would just cry and scream when put on the grass. Now he will sit there for a minute, and then bear crawl (way too cute) to the closest lap. Once on that lap, he attempts to keep as much of himself as far away from the grass as possible. It's not perfect, but it's progress.

That's all. Carry on.

2007-06-22T15:03:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Matthew Al!

. . . with an ocean view . . .

2007-06-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

B and I were blessed this evening with Patty wanting to babysit N so that we could have a date night. We absolutely love her for wanting to make sure we have time to spend together without our little guy. With my broken toe bothering me, we decided to go see a movie. It's not an easy to make a decision on what to go see when we are in the middle of the summer movie boom. There were at least 5 or 6 that I really would have enjoyed seeing. We decided to narrow the field by which we could make it for a matinee of. (Gotta love the cheap seats. If only they had matinee snack bar prices too.) We decided to go Ocean's 13 over Spidey 3 (sorry Aaron). Ocean's 11 - great. Ocean's 12 - not so impressed, actually bored by. Ocean's 13 - wonderful!!! It was a lot more in line with what made the first one work so well. B and I were laughing on and off again throughout the entire movie. It is definitely a must see. (Dad, I'm talking to you.)

will work for food

2007-06-20T16:46:00.000-04:00

The above title is N's new motto. It's amazing what he can be inspired to do when food is involved. In the past few days he has learned how to sign that he wants "more". Along with this comes something along the lines of "mawh". He also has a sign for "all done" or "all gone". I'm hoping to help him learn more signs in the coming weeks and months. Ginny loaned me her book on baby signs. It's nice for him to be able to communicate before he's able to say all the words to express his needs, wants, and feelings.

I also discovered another power of the cheerio today. I'm ready for my boy to walk. He can crawl faster than lightning already. It'd be nice if he wasn't always getting his hands and knees so dirty. (Although I am aware that that does just come with having a boy.) I was able to get him to take about 40-50 unassisted steps over a 10 minutes period today by enticing him with cheerios. (Up to about 8 steps in a row without going down.) He hasn't taken any since then without the cheerios, but at least it's progress. At one point he looked down at his feet after taking several steps with an expression that read, "did those thing just do what I think they did?"

I'll let you know about our progress with both the signs and steps. Cheer on the little guy!

Rainbows of color

2007-06-20T16:37:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share some of my newest flower pictures. All but two plants here are ones that either Mom or I bought last week. I love all the colors! I'm letting things fill out a little more before I take a picture of the entire garden. I have to say that I am so proud of all my flowers. The glad bulbs that Mom planted last week have already started to come up. Hopefully they will be blooming in no time since they add a lot of height and color. My butterfly bush is also getting ready to start blooming. I've got flower buds on both the mums and the clowns too. I love it!!! (Thanks again Mom for all you did to help with my garden! I used my new too last night.)

Precious

2007-06-18T17:43:00.001-04:00

2007-06-17T22:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to our favorite Dads!

Love,
B, A, and N

Stand Back - I'll Get You!

2007-06-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

Sleep anyone?

2007-06-15T17:57:00.000-04:00

It has been quite a busy week, but I wouldn't change anything about it. Mom, Ginny, and Camryn got here Sunday evening. It was constant activity from the time they got here until they left. (constant at least compared to normal) We spent Monday around the house for the most part. Camryn really seemed to enjoy the park that is just down the street from us. We did spend some time and dollars at the local flower nursery. Mom helped me fill up all of the empty spots in my garden. (Thanks again Mom!) It looks really full and colorful now. I'll have to post a picture soon. Tuesday was our shopping day. I ran into Camryn when she stopped suddenly and ended up breaking my little toe. OUCH! We vetured to the outlet mall in the morning and the outdoor mall in the afternoon. That was a lot of stroller time for the kids! B got home from Mexico on Tuesday night. I sure am glad to have him back. Maybe I can convince him to post about the mission trip to Mazatlan. Wednesday my hubby had a big day. He turned 30! Happy belated one! We were suppose to go to Arbor Farm in Nebraska City, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead we found ourselves shopping once again. (What did you expect?) Ann and Don came over that evening to help celebrate B's birthday. Unfortunately I managed to hurt my poor toe yet again. It was quite a painful experience. Again. Thursday I was forced to go get my toe checked out by the doctor. That afternoon we went and ventured around work and then headed to the zoo. It probably wasn't the best decision with a broken toe, but I really wanted to take them. Today they headed home. Sadness. It was a great time. We all went and took a 2 hour nap after they left because we were all so worn out.

N played in his pool this afternoon. I'll try to post the video after a while.

Our trip to the Henry Dorley Zoo

2007-06-15T17:55:00.001-04:00

Trip Pictures

2007-06-10T08:47:00.000-04:00

It took Christiana a while to warm up to me, but she was a lot of fun once she did.
With the ocean being so rough, we found the pool to be a better water option. (Thanks Becky for letting us come stay with you at the condo.)
The humidity was unbelievable! I did love the cute curls it produced in Nate's hair though.
Just a cute picture of Moriah and Nate playing on either side of the glass door.
Moriah is a cutie. You have to love her perfect curl. I agree with Corrie that I hope she keeps them.

Just Beachy

2007-06-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

N and I just got back today from a trip to visit a childhood friend of mine, Corrie. We had a great time hanging out and playing with her, Moriah, Christiana, and Eric. It was amazing to see how much clean up has been done after Hurricane Katrina but also how much rebuilding is left to do. I didn't realize just how close (just a few blocks)they were to so many houses that were completely lost. We took a side trip over to Gulf Shores, AL while down there and went to the beach. N didn't really care for the ocean because the waves were huge that day (red flag day) and it was so noisy. He did love his first swimming pool experience. We're glad to be back home again though. There will be no traveling in our immediate future. It's so much work to travel with a baby! We do look forward to Mom, Ginny, and Camryn coming into town tomorrow! I'll post picture of our trip later. I've got to do some picking up around here, and I promised Mags I would play ball outside before it gets too dark.

Drinks, Rocks, and Blooms

2007-06-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

Happy 21st Birthday Tori!!

2007-06-03T20:43:00.000-04:00

What is it about boys, dirt, and rocks. They just can't stay away from each other. N was loving playing with the dirty chunks of concrete we were digging out as we did more landscaping in the front yard. I didn't quite approve of the dirt eating he was quite fond of, but he didn't seem to mind.

2007-06-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

I've been hard at work wishing my garden to take off and be filled with tons of blooming flowers. It's not anywhere close to as bloomy as I'd like it to be yet, but I'm thrilled with what's there. Here are a few that have made for good pictures. daylily
lantana
daylily
asiatic lily

Hopefully there will be more flower pictures in the near future.

Stop and smell the roses

2007-05-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

N has been fever free now for a while, and we were glad to see that pass. Unfortunately he's still quite a crank and has now developed a rash on his upper body. I took him to the doctor today and she said that he has roseola. The good news is that he's no longer contageous and B and I shouldn't catch it since it's something kids under the age of three get. (Your body develops immunity to it as a child.) I'm just really hoping that he's back to his normal happy ways, sleeping through the night again, and eating normally tomorrow. The rash should be gone in the next couple of days. If he's in a good mood tomorrow, we might just take a trip to the Children's Museum. Thanks for keeping him in your prayers.

Here's a pic of the little guy's back. Hopefully it'll be gone soon. Luckily it doesn't seem to bother him at all.

hot-hot-hot

2007-05-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

I feel as if I really struggle to find time to blog lately. I have to remind myself several times that I need to post again before I get anywhere close to actually doing it. We've been enjoying our long weekend though. I've finished a book I've been reading for several weeks and started a new one. B and I shipped N off to his grandparent's house for a night away from us. This was the first time that I have ever been away from my baby boy overnight. I missed him a ton, but it wasn't quite as hard on me as I expected. He seemed to have a good time and even got to spend some time with Grandpa in the tractor. He couldn't be away from Mom though without giving her at least a little bit to worry about. Sometime Saturday he started to run fever. (He never would have gotten out of the house if I'd known.) By yesterday afternoon when we got home with him it was 104.7!!! We took him into a Pediatric Express place at a local hospital. Turns out that he's got a viral infection of the throat. Viral = mom and dad you're just going to have to tough it out. We thought he was doing pretty well this morning, but woke up from his afternoon nap with another high fever. Ugh! If it's not gone tomorrow we'll go see the pediatrician. Hopefully that won't be necessary though. Right now he's quite adorably sleeping on the couch and can stay there as long as he's quiet and comfortable. Keep the little guy in your prayers. As much as I love all the cuddle time, I want my boy to feel well.

If this was a cartoon, they'd sparkle

2007-05-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

I was looking through the hundreds of Will pictures that Matt and Lindsay had been keeping all to themselves, and I found this cute picture of him. So often the little man is so serious. Luckily, I was able to meet him last week and find that he knows how to have fun from time to time. This picture makes me think that he's planning some serious trouble for his mom and dad! I have to say congrats to the little guy also; Mom, mine not his, informed me that he's getting his first tooth! What a hug accomplishment. Guess that explains all of last weeks gnawing and drooling.

Speaking of teeth, B and I went to the dentist today. I love going to the dentist. There is nothing better than feeling your clean, smooth teeth just after a cleaning. The hygienist told me how important that flossing is, but I sure do hate it. Maybe I'll try once again to get into the whole flossing habit, but only time will tell.

Go brush your teeth!

2007-05-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone!