This week.....

We kept busy (again) this week.

On Monday night we went to Nana and Grandpa's house for dinner.  It was nice to eat there with Jeanne, Mark and Joey Lombardi.  It is always fun to catch up with them- especially on a school night!! :)

John had 2 ECFE classes!  He does one with mom on Tuesday mornings and one with dad on Wednesday nights.  I went with this week to the first Wednesday night class.  It was very fun to expose Ryan to a pre-school classroom!! haha  I think he was a bit overwhelmed.  BUT he rallied and was leading the circle time songs and parent discussion time!  I was glowing-proud of him!!  :)
My parents, Sara and Mike watched Stephen while we were gone.  Stephen loved all the one-on-one, or should I say, four-on-one attention he got!  It was the best to come home to a Johnson's lotion smelling little snugly boy.  Thanks Sara, Mike, Dad and Mom!

We continued our weekly routine of going to Nana's for lunch on Tuesday after ECFE- Pizza and grapes.  John loves exploring Nana and Grandpa's big backyard while I feed Stephen after ECFE and before we eat.  Tuesday's are the best- I get time one-on-one time with both of my boys!  Ahh bliss!

Both boys made fun glitter and finger paint pictures for their Auntie Lauren to hang in her Colorado dorm room! It was very fun for them to make her some pictures- I know they miss her dearly!  Along with Auntie Alana who is playing college hockey for St. Olaf, Uncle Mark who is studying abroad in Greece and Uncle Ryan and Auntie Jinette working in Sioux Falls!  We have so many of our close family so far away... We sure miss having them so close!! XO

John helped me make the laundry detergent I posted a recipe for earlier this week.  He laughed the whole time we were grating the bar of soap- it was silly to him.  He helped me stir the soap and bubbles as it cooked.  Little did he know that the stove wasn't on...  making the detergent took 3 times as long to make.  haha

We are getting ready for the season to change- kind of!  I am really not ready for the boots, hats, mittens, snow pants, jackets, and wet trails through my house from snow covered boots.  OK, I am really excited to get the boys playing outside!  I can't wait for their reactions to the cold, white snow.  I am just not ready for the extra laundry and wet, dirty floors.  

Popcorn and movie night for Ryan and I tonight.  Hanging Christmas lights and going to the Shout House for my birthday tomorrow.  A GrEaT WeEkEnD!! :D  We are loving life at the Patrick's!!!!!  <3

Do you really really think we will be getting 5+ inches of snow!?!?!?  I'm not so sure....

Stephen Joseph

OUR ALL AMERICAN (MOMMA'S) BOY!!

Stephen is a delight!!  We love having him around!  He keeps everyone smiling- :D

Stephen is hit or miss sleeping through the night.  Sometimes I will wake up and it will be 6:30am and I will be floored because he will still be sleeping!  Other nights, he is up every hour to eat.  hmm...Stephen, you have me stumped!  I seem to have the best luck when he is in his swing.  I use the Bundle-Me cover to keep him toasty warm. 
 

Stephen is really good at the 'hand-to-mouth' skill.  When we give him a toy to play with, it goes strait to the mouth.  He gets very excited to play and be played with- he LOVES when John brings him toys to play with.  They make perfect brothers!!  Stephen has a great belly laugh--  he keeps us laughing!  If you repeatedly say "PEEEK" he will just keep laughing. 

In the last day or two SJ has started to enjoy his 'tummy-time'.  He is getting stronger at holding his head up enough to play with a toy. Before he would get an arm stuck at his side and not be able to pull it back up to prop himself up.  He finds it fun to be able to look around- he is proud of himself! And, we are too!!!

Tonight, SJ was sitting in his Bumbo chair on the counter.  I put a bouquet of flowers in front of him to look at while I was making JR his dinner.  I went to bring JR his food at the table (gone...30 sec...maybe?) and when I got back to the kitchen SJ had eaten a flower!!  HAHA He had the whole bouquet tipped over and he ate the flower right off!  JR was appalled that he would eat the beautiful flower!  I guess he was trying to tell me he is hungry.  Needless to say, we fed him banana and rice cereal.  :D Yummy!

Stephen loves his bath time, he is a busy boy in the tub.  Lots of kicking and doesn't mind too much when he gets water in his face/eyes.  SJ was weighed at about 4.5 months he's a big guy- 17lbs 1oz!!  Happy and Healthy! His nick name is "Beef-Cake" -- Because he is beefy! hehe

I got the Orajel out tonight,.... teething already,.... yay! Stephen is a very vocal baby-  He will be talking in no time.  There is almost a constant chatter coming from him.  I just love baby stories!! ;D

SJ does a great job tagging along with his big brother John- I can't wait until they can really play together!!

More pictures to come.... :D

Laundry Detergent

I LOVE this recipe!   It is from the Duggar family on TLC.  It is very quick and easy to make!  I thought I would share it with you all!  (Melissa, this one is for you)

And, the best part is.... it is about 6 cents a load!!!!

Laundry Detergent

This laundry detergent saves a huge amount of money. We buy its three ingredients for less than five dollars, and the resulting concentrate lasts our large family two to three months! It's a watery gel that produces low suds inside the washer. The ingredients are usually available in the laundry-products aisle of the supermarket — or order online. (Check recipes on the Internet; there's also a dry version of this laundry soap that's good for top-loading machines.)

Ingredients:
1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
Instructions:
Grate the soap bar into a small saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.
Put washing soda and borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry-detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.
For top-loading machines: Use 1 cup of the soap mixture per load.
For front-loading machines: Use 1/2 cup per load.

I do not make this all at once! Because we don't have 19 kids
......yet!!  HAHA J/K ;D
Here is a smaller family version...
This is what I use:

1/4th bar of fels naptha,  
1/4th cup washing soda   
1/8th cup of the borax
for 4 full bottles of detergent.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/18-kids-and-counting/recipes/homemade-laundry-soap.html

Feeling Lucky

We had a great weekend with our family!

Friday night, Ryan was exhausted from a long week at work and SJ not sleeping at night.  I don't think Ryan got off the couch after he got home from work Friday night- I'm so thankful for the long hours he puts in at work and then the longer hours he puts in being a dad/husband at home. 
My parents stopped by after the kids were in bed with a book for John, Planes.  Boy, does he love Airplanes! John was very excited Saturday morning to wake up to a new book!  John and Ryan read the book at least 20 times before lunch on Saturday! :)  My dad helped us set up our thermostat.  It was set too high so we needed good ol' Grandpa to figure it all out, once and for all!  Thanks Dad!!

I got to go to a special friend of mine's baby shower on Saturday too.  Sarah and Doug Richter are welcoming their first baby in January.  We are ecstatic for them!  What wonderful parents they will be-  Sarah is my dear friend, Katherine Olson's sister. This baby will bring their family so much joy and peace-  XO to you, Doug and Sarah!
Ryan and I had Kristine and Owen over on Saturday night for dinner.  It was SO fun to have friends over at our house!!  We had dinner, (the boys had) a few brews, Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake, and played some cheesy games! :D  We love having friends over, that way the boys could go to sleep in their own beds and be tucked in by mom and dad. 

On Sunday, we had a delicious family breakfast and lunch.  We just relaxed and hung out playing trains and reading books in the morning.  After lunch, we took a family trip to Post Road.  You guessed it!  Airplanes!!  We wanted to take Ryan with so he could see how excited John gets. 

A special HaPpY BiRtHdAy to MaRk OtIs!!!!!! 
Our Godson is 5 years old today!!  WOW!  We are very excited to see him on Wednesday!  We love you Godson Mark!

Pumpkin Pie

I took the boys to speech for John this morning.  They are working on getting John to pronounce the words he already knows very clearly.  He does "baby-talk" right now, so the hope is this would help eliminate that.  While we were there, Stephen was cooing up a storm!  It was very sweet to see Stephen want to be so involved in the conversation.  :)

This afternoon, John and I made a pumpkin pie while Stephen took a nap.  John loves to help with any cooking/baking he can get his paws into!  I wasn't sure if he would actually like the finished product or not... but.... he LOVED IT!!!!  I think it is his new favorite food. 

Airplane Watching with Grandma Mitty

Thursdays I nanny and it is my mom's day off work... we didn't plan well!  On Thursdays, after nannying I take the boys to watch airplanes on Post Road. 

 Today we picked up my mom to come with us.  We tried to sit on the hood like we did in the summer- but it was TOO windy and cold!  My mom brought fresh-from-the-oven-hot sugar cookies and juice boxes for when we were watching planes.  YUMMY

While watching the planes, we realized John and Stephen do not have a toy airplane.  So, we ventured to Target and found 3!  This was his new spoon- it was a hit at first, then he went back to the good old hands...

Thanks Grandma for our new toys!!! :D

I have been meaning to keep a running list of John's vocabulary... To date these are the words he can say:

Ma-Ma, Da-Da, Nana, No, Pa-Pa, Be-Be (baby), Purple, Bean, Bye-Bye, HI, Pee-Pee, more (kind of?)

I think that is where we are at... there was a day when he would say, "No way momma!!"  But, we can't get him to ever say it anymore... 

He started speech this week, so we will see how he progresses!!  I am very excited to see how he will keep picking up new words now!

John's Art and ECFE

John has been going to ECFE for about 6 weeks now.  He loves his classmates and all of the art projects he has been doing.  School has so many new toys and things to discover!  John has been doing really well 'seperating' from me for that part of class.  I was impressed at how well he did! :)
Every week they do a different book, art project, and theme.  This week was sensory themed- which is right up John's alley!  They had musical instruments out, lemon grass to pound with a hammer and then smell, a sand table and the list goes on.  A fun week for all of the kids!~

Here is John sporting his cherry nose!  Another thing they had for the kids to play with was smelly markers.  John loved the cherry (red) one... as you can see. :D

Here is John with his spin art plate, letter "J" picture, and his "bumpy" painting.  (AND Podo Bear ended up next to him for the picture!)  -I won't expand on Podo, but for those of you who know, know how sweet this is. :)

November 2, 2010

 

We are proud to be Americans!

When dad  got home from work, we all went to vote.  It is important to us that the boys came with.  We want to teach them how important it is to participate in an election!  I have to say, John thought the the stickers were fabulous.  At his age, he will do almost anything for a good old sticker. 
A cute story:  After we went voting, we stopped at Target and as we walking up and down the grocery aisles John wanted EVERY red "I VOTED" sticker he saw.  He knew he was apart of something, he knew the red stickers meant something special.  John is one proud American!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween!

It was fun to do an open house, next time we will have to pick a more family-friendly time!  It was hard for people to drive over during prime-trick-or-treating-time!  But, nice to hang out with our family and friends who did venture! 
I even had past students stop by!  Thanks Cy and Izzy!!  It was so nice to catch up with you! :)

John was going to be a Lion... but he wanted to be just like his dad more!  So, since Ryan was wearing a jersey, John wanted to also. 

Ryan teaching John how to show of your muscles!  haha  John would not do it for the picture last night, but right now as we are looking at these pictures, he is showing off his muscles!  His veins are popping out of his neck! haha  He makes his dad proud!

Kelli, Dan and little Stephen! 

Kelli and Dan made yummy pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to share. They even left a few at our house... I had one for breakfast with my coffee.  Aah, I love fall foods!! Maybe, just maybe, I can get the recipe from these two....  we shall see....

Nana was a peanut butter cup and so was Auntie Lauren! John and Ryan's favorite candy!  Yesterday morning I came downstairs to make the boys breakfast- well- John and Ryan looked at me like I was crazy when I offered to make eggs- They had already helped themselves to Peanut Butter Cups!  Ryan said, "It's Halloween!! Candy all day!"    OOKAYYY...  :)

Grandma Mitty and Stephen.  Stephen did a great job enjoying being a froggy!  He was so cute in his costume and did lots of talking with his sweet raspy voice. 

Ryan and Papa Joe.  Enjoying a few brews by the fire-  It was the perfect night for a fire.

We hope you all  had a safe and sugary Halloween!  What were you/your kids for Halloween?  I love to get good ideas... thinking about next year already.  :) 

Tricks and Treats with Great Grandma Evie

Tonight we went to Great Grandma Evie's condo, they do a Halloween party for all of the senior's grand/great grand kids. We dressed both of the boys up in their costumes and drove over to see her.  John was not to sure about his costume- we had to bribe him to keep it on using candy corn. (Our first time really bribing him... it worked like a charm...not a proud parenting moment....) 

John, Ryan and Great Grandma Evie.  John is eating candy- we will be doing lots of extra brushing tonight! :)

John had an "ah-ha" moment.  All of the sudden he figured it out- at each door you get more candy!  He had so much fun!! :D

John and Stephen, or should I say our Lion and Frog...  So cute!!!

John found a little plastic spider, so we all were singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider. 

Great Grandma Evie with Stephen.  He was telling her lots of stories! 

I didn't get a picture of it, but John made GGEvie a picture of a pumpkin patch, it had 3 pumpkins on it and then he finger painted green vines connecting them.  It is now hanging on Evie's fridge.  :)

Great Grandma Evie gave the boys a boost to their college savings accounts for Halloween.  Thank you Grandma Evie, that was very thoughtful of you!

 

Relaxing Week

We have taken it very easy this week!  We had nothing on the calendar, no where to be but home enjoying our family!

 Nana Jana came over one morning to play with the boys- John has really been missing her! We see Nana Jana a lot, which we are thankful for, so it has been a change for John. 
Another afternoon my mom came over to hang out and play trains with John.  Grandma Mitty practiced John's Lion roar for Halloween.  I will have to post a video of his roar.... he is quite the friendly lion! haha

A fun week with Grandma and Nana!!

Stephen was doing tummy time and John wanted in on the action!

Diaper boys! We turned our heat on on Sunday night.  Well, needless to say, our boiler works!!  All of the sudden it was 75 degrees in here.  Our thermostat was pre-programed from last winter (the previous owners) to 75 degrees! WOOOF  It is now a comfortable 65 in here. :)

Ryan and I had my dad walk us through how to light and start our boiler- Thanks dad- you're the best!!

Stephen has been working on his rice cereal more- he loves it!! :D  Such a happy baby!

We are proud of dad!

There is so much to tell you about our week... I will just explain it in pictures! :D

This week we went to the Children's Museum with our friends Christin and Ava.  John liked the Habitot room, Japan room (they had a big loud drum!) and the water area.   Stephen did a lot of sleeping, but he played around in the Habitot room. Very fun- we are excited to get our money's worth out of our new membership!

John is helping dad build out new entertainment center.

Ryan and I have been trying to figure out the "right" way arrange our furniture.  Last week, we realized the house I nanny at has the same floor plan as us and I love their layout!  So, we bought their same entertainment center and re-arranged everything.  We love it!  We have been putting plastic on our windows and starting to hang pictures....home sweet HOME!  :D

The above and below picture are of our trip the the Como Zoo. We went with mom's Mom Group. 

You can't miss our big rig! haha   

 Everything was decorated for Zoo Boo. It was very festive- Loved it!

This is a picture of John getting a good night hug on the night before the big test!  Ryan was studying away. 

We had a little "party" when Ryan got home from his test.  Peanut Butter Cookies (Ryan's Favorite) with candles and a song.   John couldn't decide what was the best part: Dad was home for lunch, cookies, candles, fire, songs.... 

Stephen doing tummy time.  He HAS to be teething!!  The drool is relentless. 

The Patrick family at the pumpkin patch!!  We went to Afton Apple today.  It was the perfect day for it-  There was a tiny bit of rain this morning, which I think scared everyone away! There was almost no one there!

And, was it necessary for the boys to be in all the winter gear??  HAHA  NO! They were SO hot!  HAHA

John picked out his one first pumpkin!!!  So cute!

Little does John know that when he was running around, another kid snatched his pumpkin from our wagon.  We just found another one like it though- he never noticed. ;D

Please sit and look at mommy!!!  PLEASE! 

It took almost 20 pictures to get both boys to be kind of paying attention...

Take 20! 

Stephen is wearing the sweater Grandma and Papa Lais bought last year in the Aran Islands.

Ryan wanted to document me documenting too much!

John and Ryan wheeling our pumpkins back to the car.

As Ryan says, the best part-  APPLE DOUGHNUTS! 

After we left the pumpkin patch, we stopped at Nana and Grandpa's house to check in on Nana and bring her a pumpkin.  Nana fell while she was skating down in AZ last week.  She broke her right wrist and had to have surgery.  Poor Nana- we hope you are feeling better soon!!!  Enjoy your pumpkin!

One other thing I wanted to mention-  John has a love for airplanes.  I took John and Stephen to Post Road to watch the airplane traffic.  I thought we would last about 10 minutes - nope! We were there for almost 2 hours watching them land and take off.  It was very fun to watch his excited eyes as they came and went. 

A very busy fun week has been had by all!  Thanks for reading!  Stay warm as it cools down...especially since I heard the "S" word in the 7-day forecast!  AHH 

Oops!

Correction: Mrs. What-Cha-Ma-Call-It  is NOT who made the cake!!  I just got an email from Terri that said Karen made it!  Sorry Karen!  It's a good thing someone is reading my blog! HAHA
Thanks Terri for keeping me posted~ :D

Terri took this picture and wanted me to add it! Thanks Terri! It is a great picture of Grandma and her cake. 

If anyone else has a picture, or anything you want me to put up here- let me know!  It is a great way to get information out... right or wrong... yikes. 

I will update more later.

Grandma Kreuser's 90th Birthday! 10-10-10

Today, to finish out our crazy busy weekend, we went to Jordan for my Grandma's 90th birthday.  We had ham buns, pasta salad, yellow beans and many bars.  OH, and of course, a cake from Mrs. What-Cha-Ma-Call-It!  haha.

We only stopped in for a quick hello, a golf cart ride for the boys and to see Grams open her present.  Everyone in the family made a memory page to put in a book for her.  My cousin Rachel put it all together- thanks Rachie!  :)  I think it will keep grams busy for a little bit reading all the memories we wrote for her.  She is quite the grandma! Here are a couple pictures....

Auntie Em, Grandma Mitty, Stephen and John on a ride to the cemetery.

Thank you Auntie Em for the Little Critter book, toothbrush and a Barnes & Noble gift card!!  What a surprise- You do know us, books and tooth brushes are 2 of our favorite things here!!  :)

A group shot of the party!

 I feel bad I took this after Miranda, Javi and little Jack had already left- sorry guys.

Take 2!

Grams and her daughters.

Sue, Em, Grams, Connie, Mitty, Terri

Grandma and Emmy

Great Grandma and Grandma! ;D

John with the girls!

Lauren and John.

Ryan and Jinette's Wedding!

Welcome to the family Jinette!!!!!!!!!! 

We had an awesome time at the wedding this weekend!  It was so fun to get to spend time celebrating family and being able to re-connect with our friends and family from out of town. 

We had my cousin Katie Krebs stay at our house, and it was great to have an extra set of hands to help out with holding Stephen, bathing John, etc.  Thanks Katie, it was great having you! Katie is staying until Monday, so the help continues. ;D

My brother Mark came home from his study abroad semester in Rome for the wedding.  We have been missing him, so it was very special that he could come home for the festivities.  Mark leaves to go back already tomorrow.  His studies, or should I say "studies" resume for the second half of the semester in Greece- Mark, you live quite the life! :)  We are so happy for you!! XO

Me with one of my newest sisters, Jamie!  Jamie is Jinette's triplet- it was very fun to get to spend time with her and her boyfriend Jeff this weekend.  Loved her wedding shoes! :)

Quick! Doing one last feeding before I got dressed to take pictures.  Stephen was a trooper being on my schedule this weekend.  We took pictures outside; on a bridge, in fields, in front of a barn...very much a Madelia wedding- Loved it!  And, the weather was perfect- sunny and 85!!

There is a lot going on in this picture; it is John getting dressed in his tux and my brother Ryan playing peek-a-boo with him.  I want to take this chance to thank all my helpers!  Erin and Ellen came to help with Stephen and Nana Jana came to help with John.  They were quite the team and there is no way Ryan and I could have done it with out them!!  It was so special for Ryan, John and I to get to be in the wedding party.  If you are looking for help, I would highly recommend Erin and Ellen!  (I can't offer Nana Jana, she is ours to keep!!) :)  Thank you again!

Here he is, our little Ring Bearer!!!  He did a perfect job walking down the aisle with the flower girl, Autum.

John is wearing his daddy's tux from when he was little.  Nana Jana had to do some alterations, but with a pair of suspenders and a shirt and shoes from Grandma Mitty- he is the complete package! 

Ryan and Ryan minutes before the wedding began!!

In the back of the church waiting to walk down the aisle, let the celebration begin!!

Daddy and Stephen enjoying each other's company.  How sweet. 

AND!  Stephen sat up alone while we were in the hotel room!!!!  It was pretty wobbly, but very exciting to catch it on film!  Little Stephen is getting so big....

Thank you again to Jinette and Ryan for having us be a part of your big day, it was beautiful!  A job well done, now you get to go relax and have fun on your honeymoon!

Thank you to all the family and friends who helped us through the wedding- it was a challenge to have all of us in the wedding party, but well worth all the extra work!  The memories will last forever!