Uninvited Guest

Monday at lunch time Connor and I were walking into the rec room when he noticed something on the porch.  I looked and thought it was a cat that had crawled up into the eaves of the porch roof....I was wrong....
Instead, it was this little (not really all that little) critter.

a racoon was paying us a little visit.
My dad tried to shoo him away...Craig ignored him, and Connor wanted to call animal control (I admit I'm the one that suggested that in the first place)

We think he was just scared and hungry...and after seeing Sam - our attack dog- he climbed down and took off.

Either which way, it was kind of cool to watch.  He broke a little flower pot...and gave us an interesting bit of entertainment.

11 Months

How can it possibly be that my baby is 11 months old already?  Time is no longer flying...it is leaping at lightening speed.   I feel as if everywhere I look there is another precious moment to capture.  If only my brain could hold it all.  I recently read a blog that quoted someone as saying...don't rely on your memory for it is like a sieve.  Boy do I related to that!

Anyway, Mitchell Hayden is now 11 months old...plans for the big birthday soiree are already in the works.  In the mean time, enjoy these pictures from your photo session with Daddy!

So, what are you up to...other than being totally adorable.

Well,

• you are drinking some whole milk out of a sippy cup...you've been known to down an entire cup at a meal
• you are trying new food all the time...favorites include meatballs, vanilla wafers, and all fruits
• you are still working on your crawl...you've got the rock and roll down pat...but are oh so close to moving
• you smile all the time and have a pleasant personality
• you're sleeping through the night.  you go down at 8:30 and usually wake around 6:30 to nurse, though sometimes you've slept until 7!
• you love playing with your toys and enjoy trains and things with wheels or moving parts
• you love your brothers
• you have started to clap and wave...though we really love when you flap your wings like you're going to take flight!
• your hair is starting to grow, but despite our best efforts it will not lay down!
• you get excited and upset when mommy and daddy come into or leave the room
• you've started to notice the tv a little
• you remind us each day how very blessed we are to have you in our family

These are your favorite jammies...though we'll have to retire them soon as your legs are getting too long for them.  You are growing so fast.

This has got to be my favorite picture.  I love that adorable smile.  So cute.

so it snowed

and snowed and snowed....  During the first storm (Feb 6) we got about 12 inches of snow....I had to work, Craig had to work...the boys wanted to play.  Not the best combination..but we made the best of it....Craig and the boys made this snowman.  Complete with a carrot nose, halloween candy eyes, craisin lips, and button...to cute!

Speaking of cute...check out this little guy.  He's had quite a few firsts lately...

 

Mitchell is starting to drink whole milk out of a sippy cup.  It took a few days to get used to it...but now he's guzzling like a champ. I'm still nursing, but starting to wean him.  I figure I'll go through the milestone first birthday.

Mitchell also got a bit of a sweet treat....his first (and certainly not his last)  chocolate chip cookie!

He took to it like he knew what he was doing!

Valentine Prep

So...we had good intentions when it came to Valentine's Day.  We started early...really early.  Connor wanted to make home made Valentine's for his entire class.  We got out the art supplies and got started.

Jackson and Sawyer decided to join in...so while Mitchell napped, we crafted....

and stamped, and cut. and stickered....

We had a great time.  Jackson is working on using scissors.  A skill he hasn't quite grasped (but at least he's trying which is more than he did for a long time.!)

Along the way, I had this great idea for Valentines to send to friends and family...

Something like...I heart you...or I hold your heart...

The pictures were a cute start...but that's about as far as I got.

Good thing we started Valentines early....because after we did this, we got hit by the first of our big snow storms!

Filling in the Blanks

It has been a good bit since I've written...so there are a lot of blanks to fill.

I'll start with a proud little guy.

This is Jackson...and the super huge...pretty hard puzzle that he managed to master with very little help from mom.  Great job, buddy!  (He posed so patiently while I tried to take a picture where you could see the puzzle without a lot of glare.)

On a cold afternoon in January, we pulled out all the stops...and turned to the Elmo bubble machine for some fun.  It's a little old hat for the big boys...but they still get excited.  For Mitchell..this was a first...

He couldn't get enough of Elmo or the bubbles...before too long he was covered with bubbles and drool.  It was so cute to see him concentrating...and trying to grab the bubbles!

Excuse the positioning of the next two pictures.....

This is the carpet that used to be in the laundry room...it had seen better days...and with Mitchell days away from crawling...we thought we should do something.

so after a trip to Lowes...and a couple days of not-so-hard work...we have a new floor.

Pictures to come....

This is just a cute shot I thought I'd share.  Uncle Dwight stopped by to give us an old VCR he and Aunt Lynn aren't using.  (thank you, thank you, thank you...who knew our kid would be so addicted to old vhs disney flicks!)  Anyway...Dwight stuck around for awhile.  Here he's holding a sleeping Mitchell...while entertaining an energetic Connor who was playing the hat switcheroo with him!

Slow Go

It has been quite a week for us....but after two major snow storms...and very little sleep...we're getting back to normal.

We've had some fun moments in the past few weeks...I'll blog them as soon as I can...I also have some cute pictures. Plus, I fixed a few problems I've been having with my blog...

Anyway...I'll be back soon...

Picture Overload

Monday January 18th, 2010

We had a great week.  Starting on Monday with a big ole carpet picnic!  Connor had the day off of school for Martin Luther King Day...and Craig didn't go to work until late...so we enjoyed our little family.  We asked the boys what they wanted to do.  We walked to Rockvale...visited the playground and the Thomas store.  Then came home and....

picnicked!  The boys picked the menu...hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries...and dessert of m & ms.  Yum!

Tuesday January 19, 2010

Connor went back to school...and Craig went to work at the regular time.  So it was just me and the little ones.  Jackson and Sawyer had a fun time watching a movie...building train tracks!

The cutest moment of the day was when Jackson came into the rec room to show me his trains.  He said look Mom...I have freight cars as wings!  Then he held the train cars to his side and flapped them up and down.  I have no idea where he came up with this, but it was pretty darn cute!  Love this guy.

Wednesday January 20th, 2010

We were all pretty tired. So after dinner we went right upstairs to take baths...with the promise that after baths, we would stay up and watch a little bit of the Curious George movie our cousin Brittany brought over.  The boys did great...in and out of the tub in a jiffy....then down to watch a bit of the movie.  (it is really cute!)

The boys really enjoyed it..as you can see from their total focus on the tv.  Connor and Sawyer shared the end of the sofa...and Jackson stood and watched (though usually not standing as close as he is here!)

Mitchell wasn't too into the movie, but he was too cute not to include in the picture overload!  He's getting so big!  No crawling yet...but he does get up onto all fours and rock back and forth!

Thursday January 21st, 2010

Daddy was getting ready to take Connor out to the bus...when Sawyer decided he wanted to join the crew.  He grabbed his jacket and Connor's old back pack and headed out.  It was so cute to watch them head to the bus.  It won't be too long until my boys are walking out the lane together.  Time flies!

Go little man..go!

Friday January 22, 2010

Wow..what a week.  I tried to document a lot of it.  This may be the cutest picture of all...

The boys were getting ready to hit the tub and asked if they could all get in together.  Hmmm..I wasn't so sure it was a good idea...but....

they loved it!  They were so good and cute.  Connor was very protective of Mitchell..he kept holding onto him and making sure he wouldn't topple over.  Craig took about 15 pictures until we finally got one where you could see everyone.  These boys sure love bath time...and each other.

Saturday January 24th 2010

Get your game on

Connor woke up bright and early...ready for his first big Upward basketball game.  Craig helps coach the team, so the two of them left the house around 8 am...we followed about an hour ( and two loads of laundry!) later.  Connor did great!

He scored the first basket of the game...and two others.  He made some great shots...and we were really impressed with how well he listened and how much defense he played!  It was so much fun to watch!

He had to defend a girl...with a  blue wrist band just like his...he told me she was so fast...and beat him up the court a few times!  Craig said she was pretty tall and pretty fast.  Connor says he has to "train" more!  We're excited to see what the rest of the season has to offer.

After basketball, the boys  had choir and we headed home.  We wanted to get outside since rain was predicted for Sunday...so Craig put together the digger the boys got from Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dwight

(I hate to admit they gave it to them last Christmas !)

Here they are under the sand box..digging!  The little seat fits right under  playhouse.  The boys did a great job sharing and taking turns.  Connor was great at helping Sawyer learn how to do it...

We wrapped up  the week Sunday by going to church...we were in charge of early nursery...then Craig taught Sunday School.  We ate lunch at Park City and played at the indoor park before heading to the Mennonite Home to celebrate Craig's Grandfather's 92nd birthday.  It was great fun...with ice cream cake!  Sorry, no pictures...I forgot the camera!