Sunday Best

Now let's get one thing straight. By "Sunday Best" I do not mean the way that my children behaved in church yesterday. Oh the adventure that church has become!

But I wanted to get a picture of Jansen and Natalie dressed for church since most pictures of them are in diapers or pajamas. I wanted one of them together but that just didn't work out for reasons spelled j-a-n-s-e-n. And of course Jansen is posing by his train set...the eternal backdrop for all photos of him it seems. And Natalie is...well...just posing in that last picture. I just love them.

Happy Birthday Nate!

Today is Nate's 27th birthday. I have been reading several blogs lately about wonderful husbands having birthdays...so here's another one! I love to hear about these great guys and how sweet they are to their wives, children, etc. Nate is certainly no exception. I also love to think about how these men started out as little boys and how they all turned into such loving, responsible, hard working, righteous people. Below is a picture of Nate when he was a little boy. I hope I can raise Jansen to be as amazing as his father.

And for the grandmas and other family members...here are more pictures of the quickly growing Natalie!

Tub Time

Natalie loves her baths. If she is crying or fussing and we turn on the water she stops almost immediately. She is starting to splash a little bit with her legs, but mostly she just lays there while I pour warm water over her again and again and again. I remember before I had any children and before I was even married I think, I always looked forward to holding my kids wrapped in their towels right after a bath. It's the best! Jansen on the other hand is not loving his baths. But he's going through a stage where he really doesn't like anything besides cookies and trains. His latest saying is, "Don't talk!" How cute right?!

Studying???

Nate is doing the Independent Study Program at OSU (he doesn't have to go to class everyday), so sometimes he just stays home and studies. Well, tries to study. Here are some pictures of a typical "study at home" day. No wonder he doesn't do it very often. But we sure love it when he does!

I Hate Goodbyes!

It has been so fun to have all of these visitors, but I have had a really hard time saying goodbye to each of them! My sister Lexi left yesterday and that was a tough one. She is so sweet and was so helpful with the kids. And you know how there's just something about a sister! She and Natalie really became buddies and Lexi even got her to sleep a couple times when Nate and I couldn't. By the way, those aren't tattoos on her arm in that bottom picture. It kinda looks like her whole arm is tattooed but it's a branch. I wish it was true: one crazy regretful day of tattooing her whole arm in a strange design. Love it.

So Spooky

I've been wanting to make a "Halloween Tree" for awhile now and finally found some time this weekend to put it together. Thanks so much to Kim, Nate's mom, for finding the perfect pot for it! I haven't hung anything on it yet, but I will! And next to the tree is a strange little spider I made from a mini pumpkin. I'm excited for Halloween. I am a little worried about Jansen and his costume though. So far he seems really creeped out by the dressing up thing and won't try his costume on. I've been reading some Halloween books to him and showing him the kids dressed in costumes but I think he knows what I'm trying to do and he acts totally disinterested. Hopefully he'll cooperate come Oct. 31 and sees all the kids walking around.

And here's Natalie hanging out on the floor.

Heimlich Hardy

So my little sister is here visiting and this morning she informed me that my brother is a hero. I felt like he deserved some recognition here on the blog so here's the story as told to me:

Anthony works at Costco and they were having some sort of lunch. The guy sitting across from Anthony started to choke and Anthony asked him if he was okay. The guy did the choking sign where you put your hands around your neck...and that's when Anthony jumped into action. He ran to the other side of the table and proceeded to give him the Heimlich. And sure enough, a piece of steak launched across the room. And the man lived. And Anthony's legend will now live on as well. Way to go bro. I don't think Costco will be letting this employee go any time soon.

Good Morning!

Yay for Grandmas!

We had another GREAT time last week with Nate's mom visiting from Seattle. She's a wonderful grandma and even got down and dirty and pushed Jansen around in the dump truck shown in the picture below. Nate, Jansen, and I are still enjoying the bread she made while she was here. When it runs out it will be my turn to whip some up! We also packed up the kids and went to Country Living magazine's fair in Morrow, OH. It was such a great time and the kids were real troopers.

Funny and Fussy Kids

I was changing Jansen's diaper the other day and he wanted to lay his cars next to him (as shown in the picture) with their undersides facing up. Like they were getting their diapers changed too. I thought it was pretty funny! He does a lot of silly things everyday...tonight my dear husband passed some gas (as males are prone to do) and Jansen heard it and said, "Motorcycle!"

Natalie had her one month check up today and she is a chunker! 94th percentile for weight (11 lbs 10 oz), and 85th or something for her height and head size. You go girl. Still no explanations or answers for her fussiness. I guess it's just time to get used to it. We just make high need babies...that hate pacifiers and swings and car seats and require us to hold them pretty much all of the time and make Nate and I eat dinner one at a time while the other bounces and consoles. But hey, it'll pass. She's still as precious as can be.