Ben's First Karioke

Here is the first video I have ever posted on my blog. This is Ben singing at the karioke station inside of the Make-A-Mess Fun Center. Note that Matthew wanted to sing afterwards :)

Happy Christmas

Well, we had a week of visiting with relatives and I think everyone survived. There are reports of a sick grandma out there, but thankfully all we gave her was a cold :) Matthew seems to be starting a cold and Anna is either reviving hers or starting a new one, but we're okay. We may have even skirted exposure to the stomach flu....we hope. All in all, it was a good trip.

We left on Monday evening to avoid some snowstorms here and ice storms there in Illinois. We had a good trip down with the kids, stopping at a Wendy's for supper (although we ate on the road.) We pulled into Normal around 8pm and the kids played for awhile before going to bed. The next day, Rob and I were sent out on a date. We didn't protest too much :) We went to Ming's Buffet, a large Chinese restaurant (for the non-Chinese food eaters it has TONS of options.) Rob loves Chinese food and I loved the opportunity to eat my fill. I'm such a slow eater that whenever we go to buffets I'm still on round one when everyone else wants to leave. It was nice to take my time. We went to a world food store afterwards and found lots of fun little extras we hadn't seen since the San Jose days. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to see them again. Then we headed to the mall. There was an ice storm going on so we wanted to stay in one spot for awhile. We tooled around the mall, made fun of teenagers (they were EVERYWHERE!!), and Rob got some popcorn. I wanted some mint melt-a-ways from Fannie Mae but I can't justify spending $23 a pound. Yikes! We also looked at Hobby Lobby for a bit before heading back.

On Wednesday we went to visit Rob's grandparents and had a very nice time with them. Rob's mom and dad played "keep the kids occupied" so we could actually talk with his grandparents. It was a great visit and then we all went home for lunch and naps. Me included, this time :) That evening we headed to Pontiac to spend Christmas Eve with my parents. Mom made my favorite meatloaf with the fixin's. We had a great time there and then went back to get three wired kids into bed for the night.

Christmas Day was pretty low-key for us in the morning and afternoon. Rob and I delivered some repaired glasses to his other grandma and stayed to chat with her and Aunt Ruth. And have coffee...mmm....coffee.... Again, it was nice to chat without the distraction of kids around. We went back for lunch and then spent a nice afternoon together before the big Litwiller Christmas event. Rob's brothers and wives and adorable nephew were all over as well as his grandma. We had a wonderful dinner (hooray for hamloaf!!) and then Rob read the Christmas story. The boys had a little program prepared and performed beautifully. No shy ones here! Then we all trooped downstairs to open gifts. The kids had fun ripping open presents and are still enjoying them. (Andy and Melissa--we have one whole year to find the "perfect" gift for Jamie to thank you for those lovely clapping whale things you gave the boys--heh, heh) I can't tell if the boys have a favorite gift b/c they keep bouncing from one thing to the next. Ben has finally figured out his My First LeapPad, so that's good.

Friday I went out for coffee with my mommy to Krispy Kreme. Besides a wonderful time with Mom, the highlight would be watching the conveyor belt get stuck while the workers frantically tried to fix it. I was hoping for an "I Love Lucy" kind of moment, but no such luck. When I got back, Rob, his dad, and I took the boys to the Make-A-Mess fun center and let them run off a bunch of energy. We all went to Chevy's for supper that night and had a good time....with the kids. We kind of got surrounded by the children but that was alright b/c I sometimes feel like I lose touch with the kids when we travel. I want them to have time just with their grandparents but it's nice to know they love me, too :)

Saturday we left for the Fulkerson Christmas Extravaganza amid a flurry of last-minute packing. I had a toothache the night before and couldn't pack, so I had to do it all that morning. We were still the first ones there (ha, ha, Mandy! Take Howard next time!). It was so fun to finally meet my new nephews. Ezra is like a male version of Anna--so happy and bubbly! And chubby... Caleb is a little sweetie as well and sat well with me for a bit. Of course, all of my adorable nieces were there as well. Kara and Kate get prettier everytime I see them, little Callie is just a dolly, and Little Mak is loads of fun. Matthew enjoyed his cousins but Ben got very overwhelmed with all of the people. We tried to make him stay put for present opening, but had to let him go. He played with some familiar toys and popped in to open his presents. Anna was a sweetie and enjoyed finding every little bit of wrapping paper she could. We had a nice lasagna supper and enjoyed our time spent reconnecting with my siblings.

We spent the night there and then traveled back Sunday morning. We arrived home at about 2pm with only one stop to find a dropped toy (didn't want the battery to die!) and one stop for lunch at a Burger King. (Oh, and Starbucks! Thank you, Rob!) We're all pretty tired, but it was a good trip. We couldn't get into our driveway when we got home so Rob spent a fair amount of time shoveling. I found a few undone chores to occupy myself...as well as unpacking. Phew!

Thanks to our parents for letting us crash at your houses and for taking good care of us. We love you guys so much!!

Anna stats

Anna saw the doctor yesterday and she is 20 lbs. 11 oz and 28 1/4 inches long. That puts her in the 81% for weight and the 75% for height. She did real well at the doctor and then we took off for Illinois and beat the weather. We're down here visiting for the week. Rob and I get an actual date today. Woo-hoo!!

Merry Christmas to Us!

This morning we opened our presents and are having our family time together before we head down to Illinois. These brave Wisconsonites did not cancel church yesterday, although I stayed home in the evening with two kids since I was sick. I wouldn't have gone in the morning either if Matthew hadn't been singing in the Christmas program (which went well, although he was on a end all by himself...at least he's cute!)

Rob couldn't sleep last night, so he stayed up and got chores done (you know, dishes, playing Wii...) and shot upstairs at 3am when Ben fell off the bed. My bed. Didn't even know the little guy had joined me! He was so sleepy he just said, "Ow!", climbed back in, and went right back to sleep! Rob decided to try to sleep at that point (note to Rob: don't drink a cup of coffee at 5pm...) and we were awakened by TWO boys joining us at 6am. They wiggled for awhile until we finally all got up and went downstairs, grabbing our stockings on the way down. The boys got a plastic candy cane full of M&M's, a new little car, and a Wal-Mart gift card from their Great-Aunt and Uncle. Anna got her pink Hot Wheels car and a gift card. She promplty slobbered all over her car. I had put Ro-cher (can't spell it) candy in Rob's stocking and he gave me some comfy socks, a butterfly punch for card making, and a Ghiradelli milk chocolate and peanut butter candy bar.....wait...I need to wipe off some drool.... Oh, we also got a Wal-Mart gift card which is wonderful because two of our small appliances have sucumbed to the electronic Bermuda triangle that is our house and need to be replaced.

Then the kids got to open gifts. Anna received Curly and Pals, an octopus where each leg has a different texture, there's a mirror in the middle, and all kinds of fun things to explore. So far today, she has crawled over it to get to her shoes. Ben received Zip Track Rally, a car racing thingy that you have to snap together. It's pretty cool and the cars go fast, so he loves it. Matthew got Motor Works which has little vehicles that you put together with your own drill and screwdriver. I think he'll play with it when the fascination with the Zip Track wears off.... They also got a box of fruit snacks and tore into them immediately. We're cutting back on sugar in general, so those are on the black list right now but still okay for treats. Occasionally.

Anyway, the boys are having fun right now, Anna is going down for a nap, and Rob and I are going to begin the packing process. We're taking off today after Anna's nine-month check-up. Got to beat the snow!!

Merry Christmas to all of you if I don't post again before the week is out.

Finally...a break??

Rob finished his finals and passed all of his classes, including the one that was for grad credit. He did well and he's glad to have just one semester ahead of him before graduation. He will be starting a paper over Christmas break, but he's taking the first week off to recoop. The Custom Shoppe is closed as well, so he really will have a big break. We were going to leave for Illinois on Wednesday, but it looks like the weather won't cooperate so we're leaving earlier on Monday. Anna sees her pediatrician that day so we'll take off after her appointment. It will be nice to relax in a different place.

It's snowing right now. We got another foot on Friday and we may have lost the top half-inch due to wind so we need more. I've got some great pictures of the boys climbing the mounds that mark the entrance to the driveway. Matthew lost his boot in the snow today and was determined to keep on playing without it, but Rob convinced him to find it. Then he promptly came indoors and I wrapped him in a goose-down comforter. Ben stayed out longer for once and had a ball with Daddy.

We're planning to open gifts with the kids either tomorrow or Monday morning. It's highly possible church will be cancelled since the wind chill tomorrow should be around 30 below. The children's Christmas program is during Sunday school so that would be too bad if it was, but better to be safe than a popsicle. If it's cancelled, we'll do gifts tomorrow. Each child gets one present (courtesy of a Discovery Toys party I had in June) and then stocking stuffers. The boys' have candy, but I'm rather proud of Anna's. I got her a pink Hot Wheels car. She loves chewing on the boys' cars so I found her one of her own. Rob and I just get each other stocking stuffers although we used to buy each other all kinds of presents back in the DINK days (that's double-income-no-kids). The one gift I'm most proud of purchasing for Rob was a huge box full of bags of different kinds of chips. I went to oodles of grocery stores and specialty stores and bought up every funky kind of chip I could find. It's also the only gift that ever truly surprised him...he's one of THOSE people, you know, the kind that can look at a box and tell you exactly what's in it.

Here's my braindead Christmas moment that I'll close with: Since November, I have been working on making 40-plus Christmas cards to send/give to friends and family. I had a stack of them still sitting on my desk this morning and I looked at it and thought to myself, "You know, I really ought to mail these out!" So I braved the post office and bought stamps today. If your card is late, that's why!

Merry Christmas!!

Touchdown!!

Ben just went in the potty for the first time! Woo-hoo!! The practicing has paid off and he's finally figured it out. He's pretty funny because we get play-by-play updates while he's in the bathroom. Once he's fairly independent, we'll go to McDonald's.

Two down, one to go.....

Bittersweet Matthew Moments

The sweet: Today, Matthew completed lesson 50 in his reading book. It was a calm, collected Mommy and Matthew that sat down to do the lesson and he had loads of fun reading the story at the end. We will now plan our trip to the Jelly Belly Warehouse sometime during Rob's Christmas "break". (Can't call it a real break b/c he has to start working on a paper for next semester.)

The bitter (besides me over the paper writing): Matthew finally gave me a hair-cutting story of my own. You know, I was really getting jealous of all you moms with stories about their kids getting ahold of scissors and butchering their hair or someone else's. Mr. Matthew got into the study while I was washing dishes and chopped off random parts of his hair, some so close to the scalp it's a wonder he didn't hurt himself. Wait...they WERE safety scissors, so it's okay... Rob tried to just cut it shorter but after wetting it down, we realzied how patchy it was and he has a long buzz cut: almost a buzz, but still with a bit of length. Anna now has longer hair than Matthew, and that's saying something. Poor guy wouldn't even look at himself in the mirror and when he accidently saw his reflection, he covered his eyes. He quickly got used to it and claims he wants it this way forever, but Mommy is putting her foot down. I do not like buzz cuts on little boys (or any size boys, for that matter.) Yes, I realize my husband is bald, but that's nature not razor. I almost cried today but I held it in for Matthew's sake. My one consolation is that his hair grows rapidly and it should look normal in a month or less. If Ben ever did this, it would take a year to grow back. Poor guy didn't have much hair to speak of until he was 18-months old.

Fussy Baby

I was just re-reading some old posts and saw a comment where I wondered what would make Anna fussy. I now know of two: being passed around in large groups and her walking toy. She loves the walking toy, but whenever she bangs into something, she sits down and cries. I have now taken to following her around and "helping" her turn it. We've also taken to calling her a crazy woman driver since she seems prone to going crooked. Although Ben did the same thing, if I recall....

Update

Hmm...haven't posted for awhile. I'm usually too tired to put together a coherent thought in the evenings, but since I had a nap today, I'm good to go!

When last I posted, we had a sleepover going on. It went well and the boys ended the evening by watching the first Narnia movie (which they love.) Matthew kept asking Rob if he was still awake but Ben fell asleep half-way through. I had a nice time working on my Christmas cards, especially since Anna went to sleep early. We had a great Thanksgiving and the food was wonderful. Our tree decorating didn't go so well, but that's because the two adults were rather grouchy. Matthew had a pouty face for most of the evening and I apologized for Rob and I's bad attitudes. We finished the evening with some fun stuff.

On Saturday, we went to the Parade of Lights and had some friends over for the parade and chili afterwards. Thankfully it wasn't too cold and we didn't freeze this year...or stand on the bridge :) The kids collected lots of candy, glow sticks, and Ben got two teddy bears. Anna wasn't too impressed with the parade, but she liked watching all of the people. We had a nice time afterwards fellowshipping with Matthew's future in-laws (he is determined to marry Kaitlyn unless God has someone for him that he doesn't know...his words exactly!)

For the past week, we've just been getting back into our Daddy-less schedule. (Can you tell I'm ready for the semester to end??) Matthew has gone back to his reading lessons and is now at lesson 49. He doesn't like them, but he does them anyway and is learning. One of the phrases I've been teaching him is "Sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do." It's been helpful on many occasions to get him to do something. He even used it on his poor grandma when he had to say good-bye to her this weekend.

We went down to Illinois this past weekend to celebrate our nephew's first birthday. We spent one night with my parents and one with Rob's. It was nice to see everyone, but we were very exhausted. Large family gatherings take a lot out of both of us. The boys, especially Matthew, seem to thrive in large groups. Anna didn't take too well to it after a bit but she held out for a large part of the party. All three kids were asleep in no time after we got back to Rob's parents' home, which was a blessing.

Our latest Anna update: Rob popped her in bed with me briefly this morning and she said, "Ba-ba! Ba-ba! Ma-ma, ba-ba!" She also ate lots of fries yesterday at lunch, bringing her total amount of foods she's willing to eat to three, none of which are healthy for her. I tried peas tonight...no dice. We'll keep trying until we see her doctor in two weeks and we'll see what's up. Current theories are as follows: she had no taste buds, she has few taste buds, she's not ready for solids yet, she's the weirdest baby some have ever seen, and don't worry about it. Feel free to insert your own theory into the list :)

We are getting lots of snow today and I'm kind of hoping for a snow day tomorrow. I'd love to have Rob home all day again. He has this week and finals week left and then he gets to spend Christmas break working on his first paper for Biblical Studies Seminar. I told him tonight, "Well, guess I'll see you in May!" I'd love to have a date with him more than once a semester but it sure doesn't seem to work out. I guess I'll just have to be thankful for the small bits of time I get to spend with him each day.

I think that's all. Seems like the kids have said some funny stuff lately but I can't remember it now. I should write these things down....if I could find paper and a pen.....