The First Full Day

If you hadn't figured it out already, or weren't "in the know," we are watching our two nephews this weekend. Today is our first full day with Isaiah and Phinehas. We had a very full day today. Let me be the first to admit taking three boys on a shopping trip is so much more challenging than one. I'm sure many of you are reading this, smirking and giving that all knowing nod but I don't mind, we're enjoying our time with the nephews.

The weather was also nice enough to spend some time outside today. The boys got to swing, play in the sandbox, and go down the slide. I'm still pretty psyched about that playground set purchase I made at an auction almost a year ago now. Later in the afternoon we had a fun craft time and then finished the day off with a movie night. Tonight's movie feature was, of course, "Cars." We're looking forward to another day of fun. Stay tuned!

Rainy Days

It's been cold and rainy here the last several days, which means staying inside where it's warm and dry. For me, that's no problem. In fact, it's what I prefer. But for Jeremiah, there have been some hard moments where he stands by the sliding glass door, points at the swingset and cries.

Yesterday it finally stopped raining and was a little warmer. Jon took him outside to play, and as you can see, he had a blast.

Something else that we've been doing a lot of these days is dancing. We'll come downstairs and play the stereo and just have a jam out time. We've gone to Toddler Time at the library, and Jeremiah has gotten to dance with some other kids. And sometimes he just starts dancing when we have the radio or other music playing in the background upstairs. Yesterday, we checked out a kids' CD from the library, and Jeremiah had fun listening to it. (Because I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video, you'll have to bear with me and tilt your heads to watch it. I figured a few seconds of tilt was better than me spending hours trying to figure out that one little thing.)

This afternoon, we're off to Onawa, IA (halfway between Sioux Falls and Lincoln) to pick up Isaiah and Phinehas. They'll be staying with us for a few days while their dad has shoulder surgery. So, be watching for fun pictures and stories that are sure to come!

Election

Jeremiah did his part on Tuesday--by wearing a sticker anyway!

Halloween

The Halloween costume decision was an easy one for us this year--a friend offered to lend us her son's costume from last year. So, Jeremiah was a pumpkin (and a very cute one, I might add).

He wasn't overly fond of the costume, particularly the hood. But he left it alone while Jon took him trick or treating to a few neighbors' houses. He didn't get a lot of candy, which was fine with us since we ended up eating most of it. And I'm sure he didn't really get what Dad was doing. But I hear he did get the hang of holding out his bag for people to put stuff in it.

As soon as they got home, off went the costume. But that's when the real fun started. Jeremiah loved going to the door to see all the other kids come to get candy. Every time the doorbell rang, we'd hear, "Oh!" and he'd toddle over to see who it was. Jon also had fun greeting the kids in his cowboy outfit. With the bandana pulled over his face (and with his height), he looked more than a little imposing. There was more than one child whose eyes got big and round and took a couple of steps backward before accepting their candy.

A Veritable Cornucopia of Topics

I knew a girl in college who loved to use the phrases, "It's a veritable cornucopia of ideas," or "that's a plethora of words." So, since this blog is going to be full of various topics, and it's harvest season, veritable cornucopia seemed like a good title.

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My parents came for a visit at the end of last week and over the weekend. Thankfully, they left the snow in Western Nebraska . While Jon and my dad drove an hour away to look at a tractor, Mom, Jeremiah and I had a lot more fun going shopping at a quilt shop, the mall and other stores. I guess I should say Mom and I enjoyed it. Jeremiah wasn't especially thrilled about it, and let me know by screaming. A lot. In very quiet stores. I hope it's just a stage, and a short one at that.

It was fun to watch Jeremiah warm up more quickly to my parents than he ever has in the past. He quickly realized that it was fun to sit on Granddad's lap and play with the pen in his front pocket. And he liked it when Grandma looked at books with him (and shared her food with him, too).

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Have I mentioned that we have a picky eater in the house? No, it's not Jon (though sometimes he qualifies). Jeremiah is extremely picky about what he will eat. The list isn't long--milk, crackers, yogurt, cheese, pudding, applesauce, pureed fruits and vegetables, green beans, cheese, strawberries, and bread (sometimes and only certain kinds). Oh, and ice cream and anything else that's sweet (muffins, cake, pie, etc.). He refuses to eat meat, and routinely throws his food off his plate. We keep trying to introduce meat and non-baby food fruits and vegetables to him, but he squishes them, like he's using his fingers to taste them, and then, whoosh, off they go to be gobbled up by the eager Weimaraner waiting in the wings.

But I've been reading a book (The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers) that basically is telling me to chill out about it. To stop trying to get him to eat more and just relax and know that when he's hungry, he'll eat. So, the last couple of days, I've been trying to just let it go when he only has a few bites of food and signs "all done." Maggie's still enjoying the leftovers, Jeremiah doesn't seem any the worse for wear, and I'm not as stressed at mealtimes.

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This isn't our year for appliances. At the beginning of July, our fridge decided to quit. For one week, we ate out of a cooler full of ice on the kitchen floor before our fridge was fixed. Our latest appliance to quit was the dishwasher. It was only three years old, and unfortunately the warranty had expired. To fix it would cost about the same as a brand-new dishwasher, which is the way we went. In fact, Jon's on the kitchen floor right now trying to remember how he installed the old dishwasher so he can uninstall it. I haven't heard too much muttering yet, but I know it's not going as smoothly as he'd like.

I have a very generous husband. He gave up buying a few things this month that we'd been saving for so that we could get a new dishwasher. He said he knew it made my life a lot easier. Jon has many qualities that I'm thankful for, including being thoughtful and considerate. Thanks, Ron and Sue, for helping to instill that in him.

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I've known that our library has a toddler time for a while, but always thought Jeremiah was too young. They recommend the time for ages 18-2. But after pretty much being on my own with a 14-month old for 5 days, I felt the need to get out of the house today for something other than a doctor's appointment or church. So, we went. And Jeremiah did great. There was singing with lots of clapping, stomping, and actions, plus an interactive story about the Hungry Caterpillar. Jeremiah had a great time and also enjoyed running around the library later on in the kids section where they have some toys and puzzles. I had to restrain him from pulling all the books off a shelf or two (guess what he likes to do in his room?) and he would have rather put the books in his mouth rather than have me read them to him today, but I think we'll go again soon.

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Well, that end my cornucopia, other than I just have to express my sadness that my favorite Lady Huskers volleyball team just lost their first game of the season!!!! And to Colorado no less. Oh, well. That happened two years ago, and they went on to win the National Championship. Maybe I should have Jon get me tickets to the Final Four in Omaha for my birthday? Here's hoping.

A Moment in Time

The second weekend in October we made a whirlwind trip to my parents (Jon) and then up to my brother's place. While we were visiting my brother's we had one of those times that we both agreed was one of our favorite moments for the weekend. It was one of those times, which I'm sure you've all experienced several times in your life, where you wish that time could go on for much longer than you're actually able to experience. I'll try and set the scene for you as best I can.

We were all hanging out in the living room, and Nathan plugged his Ipod into the stereo and started playing random music. Isaiah and Phinehas knew this as their cue for a "dance party." They pushed the bench from the table up to the couch to use it as a sort of "runway." Then all the boys and some parents began dancing to the music. As I sit here writing this I'm at a loss for words as to how describe the feelings in those moments--contentement, wonder, grace, joy, treasured, peace. Let's just say it will be a time that I will strive to hold on to in my mind.

The Last Few Weeks--Condensed Version

Ok, it's been almost 2 weeks again since we've posted. (Sigh) The days have gone by so fast. We got back from Sioux Falls, and now we're headed that way again this evening, as soon as Jon gets back from a trip. I've had a lot of writing deadlines, but have the big projects all done, for now anyway. We've made apple crisp, apple bread, apple cake, apple butter, and have a lot of apples in the freezer. Jeremiah (the picky eater that he is) has tried some new foods. Some were a hit, like a cheese quesadilla, green beans, and strawberries. Some were not, like the broccoli that was thrown across the room. Jon's been to Arizona, California, Kansas and Iowa.
So, that kind of sums up the last couple of weeks for us. Here are just a few pictures from when we were in Sioux Falls. Jeremiah had a blast playing with his cousins.