Thursday, February 26, 2009

She did it!!

Anna has finally taken her first independent steps. What I mean by that is she walked without any prompting. We were all watching a movie tonight and I looked over and she was toddling across the living room floor! Up to this point she would only walk between us and only with the code word "walkie." She wouldn't take one single step unless one of us said, "Walkie, walkie Anna!" She's finally having fun with it and her walking has gone from "parlor trick" to "Hey, I can actually go somewhere with this!"

Yesterday I was putting her a few feet in front of me and having her walk back to me while Matthew cheered her on. I didn't get her stable one time and she popped down onto her bottom. Matthew said, "No points, Anna. No cheating!" Didn't know we were keeping score!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

What I Learned Today

Today I learned that it is possible to wet your pants and not your underwear. Ben had an accident and went upstairs to change his pants. When he came downstairs, I asked him if he had changed his underwear as well. He said no, because he had only gotten his pants wet. I informed him that he probably got his underwear wet too. He got a panicked look on his face and raced back up the stairs. Silly boy.

Matthew always amuses me with his question-asking. He usually answers his own questions while asking them. For example: "Why is Max burying the beans so that they can grow into a beanstalk?" Somehow he sees beyond the obvious and proceeds to make up grand, elaborate answers to his own questions when I fail to answer them adequately.

Matthew has also taken up whining as a hobby here recently. It gets to be very dramatic and I can't imagine where he gets it from. The other day I asked him to pick up his toys and he replied, "It will taken me 100 weeks to clean up all these toys!" Never and always have become a permanent part of his vocabulary as in "You NEVER let me play with that toy" and "You ALWAYS ask me to get a diaper for Anna." We have noticed that he needs some kind of outside outlet for his energy, but Gymtastics is both too expensive and too easy to attempt at home, he's too young for Little Dunkers basketball this year (but next year he can go), and swim lessons just ended, so I'll have to wait until April to enroll him. I'll just keep on keeping him occupied with activities at home.

And then there is Miss Anna. She's such a dolly. She's not quite walking yet but she cruises everywhere. I have seen her lift her hands off the couch and walk along side it and take a couple steps from one couch to the next. She'll also walk to us if she feels safe enough, but she isn't interested in taking off just yet. I keep getting asked why I want her to walk. She's probably 22-23 pounds right now...that's reason enough! She's heavy! I've been wearing my wrist brace more and more recently and I need a break. She's a little sick right now, but nothing too bad. She's slept alot today so that has helped. She has a current virus...you know, whatever virus is currently going around.

I think that's all the news for now. Oh, Rob survived yet another round of layoffs at work yesterday. I'm kind of wondering how far this can go before the furniture has to build itself.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Hair Dryers

A few days ago, we were leaving Pick-n-Save, driving past the empty lot that was McDonald's, when Matthew started commenting on our lack of snow. He said that there was still a bit on the ground. Rob told him that was because he hadn't gotten out his hair dryer yet to finish the job. Matthew asked him what a hair dryer was (like he doesn't know...I use one all the time!) Rob told him that a hair dryer is a little machine that you throw your hair into in order to get it good and dry. Rob also said that's how he lost his hair. It got lost in the dryer like an odd sock. Probably in the lint trap.

The point of this whole story is to tell you all that we got 6-8 inches of snow today because Jesus loves me. Ben even commented that we needed more snow because we keep shoveling the old snow and that's why it snowed. Rob then deduced that if he stopped shoveling it should stop snowing, according to Ben's logic.

I don't care either way. I just like watching the snow come down and down and down....I could just stare at it for hours (and today, that was the truth). I love snow!!! And Rob just said that it's snowing again!! Happiness is loads of snow, plenty of food in the fridge, and a fun family to hunker down with. **happy sigh**

Monday, February 16, 2009

Happy Valentine's Extraveganza

Hoped I spelled extraveganza correctly. Anyway, we had a great Valentine's celebration, which lasted three days! We don't normally make a big deal out of the holiday, but we were in the mood this year, so we "partied". On Thursday, we took the kids to Applebees (their choice) for supper. They were pretty well-behaved, although Ben had to use the bathroom seven times before he actually DID anything. Gotta love the recently potty-trained. At the end of our meal, the waiter came up and asked if we wanted dessert. The boys responded rather enthusiastically, but we declined and they were a little confused. :) After dinner we went to Wal-Mart where the kids spent their Valentine's money from their great-grandma. I had a hard time helping them out, but we hit the jackpot when we found the clearance toy section. Matthew found a light saber, Anna got a kangaroo that had snaps, buttons, zippers, etc, and Ben got himself a toy coffee maker. He loves that thing and has spent hours "making" coffee and pouring it into the little coffee mugs. He has inspired us to get him a whole kitchen set for his birthday, which is coming up in a couple of weeks. We found an inexpensive one at Wal-Mart that looks pretty sturdy and got great parent reviews.

Rob and I actually exchanged gifts on Thursday b/c we have the hardest time waiting. I got him some candy, a t-shirt, and a tie to wear on our date. He got me some candy and an MP3 player so I can listen to my music while I work around the house w/o have little people complain that they can't hear the TV. Woo-hoo!

On Friday, Rob and I went out for a date. He is required to attend the Artist Series at Maranatha, which isn't too bad b/c it was Foundation Brass from BJU, an excellent brass ensemble. But, that meant that ALL of the MBBC students were required to go, hence we had no babysitters. After scrounging and praying, we found a wonderful family to watch the kids. Two of the girls are MBBC students, but the mom and youngest daughter were more than happy to watch the kids. They had pizza, made a cool craft, played with their dalmation, and had a blast. We went out for supper, shopped for a bit at the outlet mall, had fun in the falling snow (God's Valentine's gift to me!!!) and enjoyed the concert. It was a grand evening out.

Valentine's Day itself was a little quieter, seeing as Rob needed a good chunk of the day to work on his paper. (Due Saturday...please pray he finishes on time and alive!!) He did make pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast and I gave the kids their cards, a plush heart in their favorite colors, and a Tummy Tickler drink. He also made them heart-shaped pizzas for supper, even a cheese-only one for Anna, which she gobbled down!

Last night, Matthew sang in the Cherub Choir at church. As usual, the group was darling, but Matthew kept grabbing the microphone. I asked him why later and he said he wanted to make sure we could hear him b/c the girl next to him was so loud! He's so cute!

Oh, and totally unrelated, but Anna is taking independent steps now. She hasn't just taken off to walk yet, but will walk a little. She could do it if she wanted to, but seems a little uncertain. We've had to trick her a few times to get her to walk! Won't be long now!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Puddle Walk

Today was such a lovely day that I needed to get the kids outside for a walk. A puddle walk, that is! I had the boys gear up in boots and snowpants and we found every puddle in a three block radius. The best puddles were at the end of our driveway and our neighbors. Matthew splashed so hard that he got his hair wet :) Ben was a little more timid, but still splashed to his heart's content. Anna was even christened with a bit of mud when she and I got a little too close to the action. I'm sure she'll be joining them next year!

For those who have never gone on a puddle walk, let me explain them. You have to go when it's warm enough for a walk (say, around 50 degrees) but there is still lots of snow melting, so there are great puddles. Then there are the ground rules: You HAVE to splash in the puddles and have fun, street puddles are always off limits, and if it's not a sidewalk puddle, you have to ask Mommy before splashing in it. (i.e. driveway puddles on quiet streets are okay, puddles in construction areas are NOT okay).

When we got home, I had the boys take off their jackets, snowpants, and boots on the porch. Matthew had worn his rainboots and when he took them off, water gushed out. He then took off his socks and wrung out the water. His snowpants didn't help a bit, as he was wet up to the knees! They ditched the rest of their clothes right inside the door and I cleaned them off before they put on clean clothing. They had a blast and it was good to get them some fresh air. I'll add some pictures I took when I get around to it....

Friday, February 6, 2009

One of Those Days

I had one of "those" days today, you know, the kind where every time I turned around, the kids were making me laugh. Anna in general makes me laugh because she's just such a funny baby. I love watching her explore her world, make all kinds of noises (right now it's the "o" sound and "uh-oh" is her favorite expression), and make a bee line for the stairs every time she hears the gate move. She even figured out how to squeeze between the piano and the side of the stairs to get around the gate! Rob extended the gate so she can't do that anymore, but I think that as soon as she's walking well I'm going to have to teach her how to go up and down the stairs safely like I (and my mother-in-love) did for Matthew at that age. Tonight just before bed, Rob said, "Anna, it's bedtime. Wanna go upstairs?" She turned and looked at him with the biggest eyes, then made for the staircase!

I was playing Mario Kart Wii tonight and Ben kept trying to watch me directly in front of the TV. For those who are not Wii addicts, the sensor bar for the system sits on top of the TV and can't pick up the remote if a toddler's head is in the way. And I couldn't see. I told him to move, unless he could take off his head. So, for the next five minutes, Ben proceeded to attempt to remove his head. Rob told him he had to screw it off first. Ben couldn't find the screws, so he gave up and sat on the couch.

Anna has been doing much better eating solid foods recently (she even ate rice, peas, and carrots tonight!) so the boys are allowed to share cracker-y snacks with her. I was in the kitchen when I heard Matthew say, "Come here, little baby! Come here, baby! Get your snack, little baby!" Hmmm....I don't think she turned into a dog.

Ahhh...it's just been a good day. Ben even napped for a bit on the couch. We have a quiet rest time each afternoon so that the boys can rest their bodies, I can actually sit down, and it's quiet while Anna goes down for her nap. Ben will occasionally fall asleep, like today, so Matthew and I were able to have his schooltime w/o Ben. We even played a game of Candyland (which I won...revenge is so sweet b/c he beat me yesterday at Candyland and Chutes and Ladders!) Ben is learning to play but it's just easier with only me and Matthew.

We also played Roll and Play earlier and the card Ben drew on one turn said to touch his toes. Instead of merely bending over, he had to take off his socks (or swim flippers, depending on who you talk to) and his footie pajamas to ACTUALLY touch his toes. What a literalist!

I just heard the oven beep, so it's time to throw in our appetizer for our at-home date night. Rob and I often do these b/c we hate trying to find babysitters for our kids (thanks a lot for moving to Ohio, Rachael!!). We usually have some kind of pie that was on sale at the store and an appetizer and play a game. Tonight is "The Perfect Ten" which is a super-complicated trivia game that took us forever to learn how to play and we're still not sure we're doing it right. But, since it's just us, we don't care and we have fun anyway. You have ten rounds to correctly answer ten trivia questions from different categories. You find out how many you got right, but not which ones are right, so it's a strategy game as well. We bought it on a date night and played it in Denny's. Ages ago....it seems!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Bad Guys

The boys have been enlightening me lately on bad guys and I thought I'd share their insights with all of you.

1. Bad guys don't pray before they eat. They just start eating.

2. Bad guys don't accept Jesus as their Saviour. They accept Satan as their saviour. (Matthew and I had a bit of a discussion after that one.)

3. Bad guys don't put their leftovers in the fridge. They want them to go bad and then they eat them.

And my favorite....

4. Bad guys don't wipe their bottoms. They just get all itchy.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Weekend Away

This past weekend, the kids and I went to Illinois to visit my parents and to give Rob the house to himself so he could finish his first big paper. If I had to imagine a nightmare trip with the kids, the 3 1/2 hours to Pontiac would come pretty close. Fourty-five minutes into the trip, I had to stop to give Anna her pacifier. The boys were both asleep, so I had no help. Stopping woke up the boys so they were awake the rest of the way and periodically asking for things. Ten mintues after the first stop, Matthew had to go potty. We stopped at a rest area and I couldn't convince him to go by himself (STOP being shocked and appalled....Anna had JUST gone back to sleep, I could see inside all the way to the restrooms, and it's a very safe rest stop.) We all trooped in instead and Matthew went, but Ben didn't. He won't go w/o a stepstool, crazy kid. Then, with about an hour to go, we had to stop for juice. The boys have coughs and I couldn't deny the request and had left w/o drinks for them, so we stopped. Then five minutes back on the road, Ben had to go potty. But he wouldn't GO when we stopped. He went in his underwear ten minutes before arriving in Pontiac. :( That night, they proceeded to be as hyper and naughty as I have seen them in a long time and had a rough time settling down for bed. I thought if the whole trip was going to be this way, I would be dead by Sunday. Emotionally, that is.

But God is good. I spent some time on my knees that night and the next day was wonderful. We had a marvelous time with my parents and the boys got to do some fun stuff. Mom gave them a couple of dollars and let them pick out some stuff at the Dollar Tree, took us to lunch at McDonald's, and then let them get some kids' videos at Family Video. We went back home for Anna's nap (and Mommy's) and some rest time for the boys. Oh, they also made sugar cookies with Grandma and decorated them. Well, Matthew mostly helped. Ben kind of made an appearance to decorate his and eat it.

We went to church with Mom and Dad on Sunday and then came home to eat and play for a bit. I was really dreading the trip home, but I prayed for sleepy children and overcast skies. Why overcast? Well, I was tired and I knew if I had the sun shining in my eyes the whole way it would make me more tired. I got both! The kids didn't all wake up until we hit the Wisconsin border, so I only had to make one stop. We had a great time after that (and saw three busloads of soldiers at the rest stop...I think the boys' eyes have finally gone back into their heads!) We went to church first to give Rob a ride home and then crashed as a family that night.

While we were gone, Rob had a rough time with his paper. He ended up switching due dates with one of his classmates who was finished already, so he has an extension on this one, but that puts his two big papers due within three weeks of each other. Just pray that he can get this done!

Rob came home from work today at 3pm. His entire shift was laid off except for him and another guy. He will be going to work at 6am and will bounce back and forth from work to school until 2:30pm almost every day. Some days are less crazy than others, but it's all done in an 8 1/2 hour time span. He'll have more time in the day to work on school work. It is less hours, but we have enough tax money coming that we can make it until he graduates and can work full-time over the summer. God is good, even when our schedules change at the drop of a hat.

So that's the Litwiller household right now. We're hanging in there, by God's grace!