Christmas Time

It is almost Christmas! Hurray! I love this time of year, but oh my, it is so busy. We are trying to get Christmas cards in the mail, cookies baked, and packages wrapped. In the midst of these preparations, we desperately desire to keep our hearts focused on Jesus. He is the reason for this beautiful season!

Daniel has been so interested in our nativity this year. When I put up my very dear and somewhat expensive nativity, he wanted to play with it so badly. I began looking frantically for a "play" nativity for him, and my mom came to the rescue. She loaned us my grandmother's old nativity, and Daniel has loved it. He has learned the names of each figure, and likes to move them around and act out the story.

Daniel is also super interested in Santa Claus. Ever since I started reading him "The Night Before Christmas," he has been asking questions about Santa and his reindeer. My feelings are mixed about Santa. Do I promote the myth or just tell him it is something fun to pretend about? I don't know! We did take him to the mall to see Santa this year. Almost every child in line before us cried when they were placed on Santa's lap. Daniel looked a little concerned, so I explained that Santa was very nice and that there was no reason to be scared. When it was Daniel's turn, he walked right up to Santa by himself and crawled up beside him in the sleigh. Daniel was a little shy, but did manage to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas--a big tractor and planter. On the way out, Daniel asked, "Where are the reindeer?" I explained that reindeer aren't allowed in the mall!

We wish all of you a very, merry Christmas!

At the farm

One morning this week, Daniel started begging to go to the farm and see Poppy (my dad). Well, I called Dad and it just so happened that he had some cattle that needed feeding, so we decided to tag along. Daniel began getting dressed and insisted upon wearing his mud boots (like Poppy) and his hard hat (which is not like Poppy, but very manly nonetheless). I told him he had to wear a jacket, which he only agreed to after I assured him that Poppy also would be wearing a jacket. Here he is in Poppy's truck all suited up for his morning at the farm.

Here we are delivering hay to the cattle. Daniel is eating a dum dum (and clutching a screwdriver). One of his favorite things about riding in Poppy's truck is that there are usually dum dums to be found.

And here is a group of cattle chowing down...

Here is farm dog, Annie, who is enjoying freedom and excitement that she never had living in town! She almost looks like she is smiling, doesn't she?
Farmer Poppy and Farmer Daniel posing for the camera.

And a trip to the farm wouldn't be complete without stopping in at the house to see Grammy. Daniel and Grammy are showing off their winking skills. Too funny!

Happy Halloween!

Our family had a great time preparing for Halloween! Brian and Daniel carved a pumpkin together for the first time.




Daniel and I made pumpkin and leaf shaped sugar cookies. Yum!

This is the first Halloween that Daniel has picked out his own costume. Lately, he has been drawn to anything that involves firefighting. His favorite book is called "Big Frank's Fire Truck." I have read that book to him so many times I could just about do it by memory! Daniel had been longing for a big firetruck. God must have seen the desire of this little boy's heart, because an enormous toy firetruck was literally left at our doorstep. I had tutored a high school student, and in appreciation, his mom brought over a firetruck that her younger son had outgrown. Daniel was in heaven! Considering all of this, Daniel naturally chose to be a firefighter for Halloween. He made an excellent one!

This Halloween, we attended the Fun Night at Grandpa Roger's church. Daniel was in the costume contest, and though he did not win, he certainly got our vote for most adorable. We also attended the Halloween party at our local library. The kids read Halloween books and then went trick or treating at the businesses around town. Below is Daniel with his good friend Caleb. As you can see, Caleb was a scarecrow and kept repeating, "If I only had a brain." Hilarious!

On Halloween night, we went trick or treating and then had family over to our house for a yummy supper of finger food. Lots of fun!

How he grows

How quickly time passes...how much our little boy has grown!

October 2008 at 8 months old


October 2009 at 1 year 8 months old


October 2010 at 2 years 8 months old

Catching up

Well, where in the world did the last month go? Let me show you what we have been doing in photos! At the end of September, Brian celebrated his 33rd birthday. We had lots of fun partying with family at our house...

And again in Kansas City. Below we are at the KC zoo.


Brian's first birthday cake was cheesecake and the second one was this adorable fish cake made by his mom and sister. Both were very, very yummy!

At the beginning of October, all three of us came down with an awful cold. Daniel had his first ear infection (a double one at that), and we all felt pretty puny for about two weeks. Phew. Glad that is over! In the middle of October, we started participating in AWANA. Daniel is a Puggle, and Brian and I are the Puggle leaders. Here is Daniel with one of the new friends he made at Puggles. Too cute!
Brian and I also started teaching the preschool-kindergarten Sunday school class at our church. Daniel gets to come too, and boy, does he have fun! The rest of October was spent just doing our normal stuff. Daniel is learning new things every day. Here he is finger painting (perhaps I should say whole-hand painting).
Building blocks with Daddy.

And playing outside in the beautiful fall weather. He is looking down at that daddy long legs crawling on his arm. Eww!
Well, I think that brings us up to speed!

My boys

These photos are too cute not to post. In this first one, Daniel is setting his daddy straight about something. When he really wants you to pay attention, Daniel will take your face like this and pull it to his.

Here they are just giving some love.

In this last one, Daniel is "reading" a book to his puppet. Daniel absolutely loves playing with puppets. He loves any game that involves pretending. And, of course, he loves anything that involves playing with Daddy.

Family Vacation--Day 3

Thankfully, the weather was beautiful today, and we spent all of our time at the zoo. Despite having been there over six hours, there were still things we never had time to see. Our favorite exhibit was the aquarium, but we also enjoyed the desert dome, the night time exhibit (especially the fruit bats), the butterfly pavilion, and so much more. Here are some pics!

This one is for you, Melissia. We know how much you love cacti!

Up close with a sting ray!

Family Vacation--Day 2

Greetings from Omaha! We had a great day, though not exactly what we had planned. This morning was very overcast with an 80% chance of rain. So, we decided to postpone our zoo visit and go to the Omaha Children's Museum instead. Daniel had a blast there! He spent almost three hours racing from one activity to the next. There was an art center where we painted pictures, did face painting, and listened to a story teller. There was a science center where we learned how gears, pulleys, and air could move objects. There was an entire exhibit dedicated to Clifford, the big red dog. And there was an imagnition play area, Daniel's favorite place, where there was a child-sized grocery store, house, fire truck, water station, and climbing area. Wow!

This afternoon we went to a Cabela's, so that Brian could look for new boots. We ate a complimentary supper back at the hotel, and then went to the Heartland of America park. The fountain was beatuiful, and it was nice to walk around in the fresh air!

Family Vacation--Day 1

Brian, Daniel, and I left this morning for our first family vacation. Our destination--Omaha, Nebraska! Here are photos from our first vacation day.

Good bye, home!

Daniel with his first surprise bag. We bought a few small goodies and separated them into different sacks for him to open during the trip. I think his favorite surprises were the Cars fruit snacks and the crocodile dentist game.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Gage park in Topeka.

Daniel and me playing on the caboose.

We made it to Omaha! Here we are at the Spaghetti Works in the Old Market District. Daniel ate his whole entire spaghetti meal. Perhaps it will make up for the fact that he ate almost no lunch! We came back to our hotel and went swimming for awhile, but the water was so cold! And now, it is pouring rain outside. I hope it stops tomorrow when we have our trip to the zoo planned!