November

November was a busy month to say the least. Here are some highlights from the month. (I did not have my camera in Denver or St. Louis.)

It started off with Grandma going home to be with Jesus and an unexpected trip to Denver. We were blessed to be able to fly to Denver and spend time with the family and celebrating Grandma's life. Mike flew out with us and came home after the funeral while the kids and I stayed for a few more days and came home by ourselves. The time in Denver was tough but also so much fun. I was able to introduce my kids to the New Jersey family and enjoy watching Emma play with Tante Lil and Aunt Barb. I talked with Emma before we went about her "job" while there being to love on people. And, she did that so well! She totally came out of her shell and entertained everyone and sang songs for the while room and would walk up to someone and say, "Hi, I am Emma. What is your name." So much fun to watch her. Jonah was well behaved, but 15 months old. He was into everything and that was exhausting. Thankfully he did not destroy anything, to my knowledge. It was wonderful to have unexpected time with family although the traveling was a stretch and I have no plans to fly with the kids again for a very long time!

Jonah was supposed to be an elephant for Halloween but I forgot his costume, so Noah shared and he was a monkey.

Emma insisted on being a ghost. She had so much fun trick-or-treating with Noah.

On the plane...I don't know what we would have done without Susan's dvd player. Jonah was absolutely awful on the first flight and the returning flights...see the video below for a snapshot of his screaming. I always have been convinced and am now certain that the worst age to fly with is a 12-18 month old. Just awful. I am glad that is behind me.

Cliff built a snowman with Emma. She had so much fun!

Just after getting home from Denver we celebrated Mike's birthday. Emma was so into his birthday this year.

Decorating Daddy's birthday cake

She did most all of the piping by herself

She was so excited to tell Daddy all about the picture she painted for him. She was ecstatic about his birthday and helped decorate the kitchen and make his day very special!

Making coffee for Daddy

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Thanksgiving was a fun week in St. Louis with Grammy, Poppa, Uncle Ben, Aunt Erin, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Abby, Sam, and Leah. It was a 15 hour drive from Charleston which was actually not too bad. We spent the night in Knoxville both ways and the kids were about as good as we could have asked for.

Bubbles with Grammy

Love those cheeks and lips

Cousins and best buddies. Emma is not that much taller than Sam...bad angle.

Snuggling and reading with Poppa

Jonah climbed into this box to hang out and suck his fingers at Grammy and Poppa's. We especially love that he sticks his puppy's tail in his ear while sucking his fingers.

Random moments around Charleston

My kiddos snuggling with each other and their lovies. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a child that is not a finger sucker with a strong attachment to a lovie. They love to spend time together and play together a lot. Emma is so sweet with him and he loves her to pieces. Notice the shorts in late November...we didn't turn the heat on until December and did have the air on one day in early December.

Jonah watching Daddy use tools.

Love that face!

Enjoying a cupcake from our local cupcake store. She sent this picture to Sue-Sue who is her cupcake partner in crime.

Ducky comes along to BSF and Dance class every week in the pocket of the backpack.

Classic

Just one picture of the enormous amount of painting we have done. These are the doors on the first floor. I still have two more on that floor to do. Every surface in the house must be painted...and I mean every surface...ceiling, molding, doors, etc. While I spent the day painting I listened to the canons fire from the civil war reenactment happening a mile away at the plantation.

Along with working on the house, we have just been making the most of the weather with bike rides and trips to the park. Mike also had his first business trip and we survived! We are enjoying the lack of bugs as we enjoy cooler weather.

Emma is just loving BSF and she pretends to be her teacher Ms. Beauford. As I was laying on my bed trying to survive the afternoon, she was teaching me. I was Emma and she was Ms. Beauford. Towards the end of it I realized that I could capture some of it without her realizing what I was doing. She is so funny. She just lines up her babies and teaches them every day.







Jonah on the plane...yikes

October

Shaving cream letters that turned into "sunscreen"

Making applesauce

Emma went on a breakfast date with Daddy and came home with her own starbucks cup. She thought it was just the coolest thing. She got chocolate milk in a cup like Daddy! Very fun!

First pizza experience for the little guy...the veggie shreds aka fake cheese are awful but he seemed to enjoy it. He is really struggling with wanting what we have and not understanding why he can have some things and not others. We are really working to find foods that include him. Pasta and brussel sprouts and apple sauce are among his favorites these days. His absolute favorite food is potatoes. It is really hard though if we are somewhere with fast food because there is not a fast food restaurant that has fries he can safely have. Good thing we don't eat out much!

Our fall activity...we have been learning about the clues of fall and went on a walk to gather leaves. What a horrible activity here. This is all we found in 45 minutes, but it was enough to do the project and she had fun, so it was a success! We still have all of our leaves and even have two flowering trees and some new purple flowers that have bloomed in the back. I have to say that the new flowering growth is confusing her a little. :)

This is Emma's first self portrait. This was the first time she really drew anything very intentional. It is really fun to see her art skills coming out all of a sudden. She was drawing her bones after watching an episode of Curious George when the kids did that. So the lines are her bones and the circles are obviously her eyes. I just love it!

Emma has been loving painting. She is really learning how to create things and growing in her creativity and skill. I am running out of ideas of what to do with her masterpieces!

Jonah drives us crazy at learning time. He wants to do whatever Emma is doing and screams when he cannot do it. He is not happy to finger paint because Emma has a paint brush. He won't color with crayons because Emma has markers. So, we give him almost "dead" markers and finger paints with a paintbrush. He is happy as can be for a while with those things. He just squeals and chatters away.

This kid is ALL boy. I had a grandma at the park comment that there was no way anyone could mistake him for a girl. He is not out of control or crazy, just busy and into everything. He is a climber and has no fear. He is fascinated with the way things work - marker lids, blocks, lights, electrical outlets, garage door, swings, tools, lawnmower, etc. In this picture he took the parts to the shop vac and made them into a tower. The most recent thing for Jonah is Thomas. He discovered Thomas and is obsessed. He stands in front of the screen and screams for Thomas. When he doesn't get to watch him it usually ends with him on the floor screaming and kicking...did I mention he is opinionated and strong willed...hmmm...wonder where he gets that!

We went on our adventure to the pumpkin patch. After much research, I have been really disappointed that there are NO fall activities around here. I guess that is because it really isn't fall here. There is one pumpkin patch in 100 miles and thankfully it is just 5 minutes from our house. So, Jonah, Emma, and I made our way there this week. Emma was so excited to see the animals and when she realized that all they had was goats she was disappointed to say the least. Most of the activities were too old for Emma and all of them were too old for Jonah. It was pretty frustrating, but true to what I am learning about Charleston - it is a great place for kids above age 5. We did get to go on a hayless hay ride around the plantation which was fun. The kids enjoyed seeing the big kids on field trips and were ready to go when I suggested it.

Jonah on one of the tractors. He was most excited about the pumpkins though. He is completely obsessed with pumpkins and he just ran in circles screaming, "pumpkins, pumpkins" for the first five minutes we were there. It was quite entertaining for the moms chaperoning school field trips.

Emma was able to do one of the bouncy things and enjoyed that for a few minutes.

All Jonah could do was run around the sand, yes I said sand, and look for pumpkins.

Aside from the pumpkin farm and art projects, we have continued to settle in here. We think we have found a church but are still in the beginning stages of that process. We still do not have any friends or feel connected in any way, but BSF has been a great thing for Emma, Jonah, and I. Emma is LOVING BSF and has gone from crying the whole time to running into the building to see Ms. Beauford. She spends her week pretending to be her teachers and lines up her babies to "teach" them. Jonah continues to talk an amazing about and repeats everything he hears. He is cutting 8 teeth at once and is quite miserable with that. He went for his 15 month appointment and is in the 85% for height and 38th for weight. He was able to get his flu shot although we had to stay longer for observation. He is growing and we are thankful for the progress in his weight and development. Both kids are so excited about the new brother and Emma prays with him at night and Jonah likes to point to my belly and say baby and kiss it. - just sweet! He will be here before we know it, so Mike and I need to find some energy and motivation to get some of these house projects done quickly!

Day to Day

Cutie

Enjoying a family walk on the beach


Last weekend we walked the big bridge and decided that it was not a great fit for the kids. It was gorgeous but too crowded and the jogger was cramping the style of the super serious exercisers. We made it a third of the way and abandoned the effort in exchange for the park. We went to the big county park near us and tried out the playground. It was a gorgeous morning and fun to spend that time together. The kids loved getting to play with Daddy.

Playing with Daddy - they loved the teeter-totter

Jonah loves to wear his Red's hat from Uncle Ben and Aunt Erin

Watching the Steelers with Mommy and eating pretzels (Daddy and Emma have their own football watching tradition)

Jonah stands at the window calling for Max, the dog next door. He is able to see Max when he comes to the corner of the yard. That is often the highlight of Jonah's day.

This guy uses any object he can find as a sword. It is another reminder of the innate differences between boys and girls. No one has taught him to swing sticks around as a weapon, but he has figured that out on his own. He terrorizes his sister and growls the entire time.


Check out Emma's face. She is constantly asking me to help her stop him. It is exhausting but also a little humorous as is evident by the fact that I got the camera instead of helping her.


This little guy loves to snuggle. He has only developed a love for cuddling since we moved to SC, but now that is one of his favorite activities, especially with Mama! On this particular night I was laying on the couch after dinner and all he wanted was to lay with me. Very sweet!

Jonah's first finger paint experience. If you look closely you will see paint in his mouth. He is still pretty young for it, but we gave it a shot since he just wants to do what Emma is doing.

We got the paints out for the first time in a LONG time. She was excited to use the paintbrushes and painted three very intentional pictures - a picture of our neighborhood with the path, a picture of her Jesus class with the rope that they hold onto to walk through the hallway, and a picture of Mommy, Daddy, Nana, and Papaw. I was really impressed in the growth of her ability and creativity since the beginning of the summer.


So he doesn't cooperate with the talking, but I love how he is again terrorizing his sister with yet another "weapon".



Showing off...



The boy loves pretzels...and Mama...and football!

It's a Boy!

It's a boy! We are so thrilled to be expecting another little boy in our family! We had our ultrasound yesterday and found out that he looks completely healthy and is growing VERY well. His size is in the 95th percentile and is measuring 10 days ahead of the due date. The first two ultrasounds confirmed the 21st as the due date and since that is more accurate, the doctor is not changing the due date but will not allow me to go past the due date since he is already so big. We will see what the next 20 weeks hold but we are bracing for a big boy!

The ultrasound was an hour long. Both Emma and Jonah's ultrasounds were just 20 minutes so we were so surprised by this. It was so amazing to see everything and the tech took the time to show us each thing she was looking for and explain it. After going through this twice and already having three ultrasounds of this guy, I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the whole experience. It was exactly the opposite. It was completely amazing. It was a normal ultrasound but he was moving all over and we watched him drink and his mouth move and his arms and legs squirm and his little heart beat. Several times we were even able to see his face (although it looked like a scream mask!). We were thankful we had decided to find out what the gender was because as soon as she put the thing on my belly it showed him with his legs spread and it was very obvious what he was. The tech said there is absolutely no doubt that it is a boy! About the time the tech was looking at his heart he turned his back on us and after 20 minutes of refusing to move, he finally turned over. She was able to get the last few pictures of his heart and his profile. When he finally moved after all of our prodding and poking, he had his feet completely up over his head. So, his profile picture is with his feet above his head and I LOVE IT!

Now we are bracing for another boy as we watch Jonah use anything he can find as a sword and climb all over the place and growl at everything. I am thrilled! And, we are so thankful that Jonah will have a playmate that does not force him to suck on a pacifier and burp babies!

This makes me smile! I can only imagine the personality this one will have.

I love how clear his face is in this one.

Very obvious!

September in SC

Today marks 6 weeks in Charleston. The month of September has flown by. During this month we had visits from Nana and Papaw and Grammy and Poppa. Those visits were a huge blessing and kept us pretty busy. With this post I will finally be caught up and ready to be more consistent with posting. Here are a few pictures that capture "regular" life around here. Starting next week we will begin settling into a routine and getting used to our new life. While we are so thankful for the new job and the new house and the abundance of blessings from the Lord, we have really started to feel the pain of leaving so much behind in Cincinnati. Just yesterday Emma asked me at lunch when we could go home. Of course we talked about the fact that we were home. She acknowledged that but clearly stated she meant Cincinnati. I just said I know, I miss home too. Here are a few updates from this month.

Emma is taking a dance class at the rec center in our community. She is in a class of 3-5 year olds learning tap, jazz, and ballet. She could not have been more excited about going. When we got to the first class, she started crying. The crying escalated into screaming until after 20 minutes the teacher had me take her home. When I took her out she started asking why we were leaving...uh really?! We spent the next week praying about it and talking about the class. She was insistant that she wanted to go again. I talked with the teacher and was able to sit in the back of the room for that class. Thankfully mom and dad had Jonah so I could do that. She participated although she made sure I was still there every few minutes. After the class she was so excited, especially about the tap. She carried on about the class all week and we talked and prayed about the next class which I would be outside the door for. On Wednesday we got there, prayed together, and she went in. She occasionally checked to make sure I was still there, but she made it through the class! When I was watching she was really trying to follow the teacher and figure out what to do with her feet. It is so fun to see her finally get to learn more about dance. I am not sure I am cut out to be a dance mom. I have A LOT to learn, but that is what we have Aunt Abby for! Stay tuned for updates on this one!

This boy is amazing. He has learned how to feed himself with a spoon and will not allow help from anyone. He eats oatmeal, yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes...you name it...with a spoon. He is talking up a storm and what he doesn't know how to say he repeats when he hears it. He does a great job communicating his desires with us and is smacking his face less when he gets mad. Over the past two weeks he had a nasty cold and is finally done with that. He loves to play with the cans in the pantry and crash his cars and follow his sister around. He is definitely a momma's boy and is developing a great love of reading. He really is getting to a fun place and seeming to leave behind the awfulness of the first few weeks we were here!

This girl could not love to ride her bike anymore. She likes to call it running on her bike when she goes fast. When she crashes she just brushes it off and gets back up. No tears or drama.

Jonah loves this car. He asks to go in the car all day long. He stands at the garage door and yells for his car. It is a great companion to Emma's bike.

The other big news in our family is Jesus Class. I was able to get into our local BSF program along with the kids. I know it will be a great thing for the three of us although it has been stretching! Emma is so excited to have school to go to. The past three weeks they have had to pull her off of me while screaming, but she has made it through the class each time and excited to tell me about it at the end. She absolutely loves her teacher and I am so excited to hear all about what she is doing through her eyes. Jonah went to BSF today for the first time. He was sick the past two weeks and thankfully Mike kept him the first week and my parents the second week. He screamed as well and cried off and on the entire time but he stayed in the nursery! The experience is stretching me in many ways but I am thankful for the time to learn more about the Lord and have an opportunity to start to get connected here.

Aside from visits from the grandparents and the new classes and adjustments to those, we have just been working on the house and spending time with Ms. Miller and Mariela. It is such a blessing to have them here. The Lord has just been so good to us!

Tuesday is our ultrasound with the baby and we are planning to find out the gender. We are really looking forward to that and to a weekend with good weather to just spend time as a family and not work on the house at all. Our goal is to walk the bridge downtown on Saturday. There are lots of things on our "to do" list around Charleston, but with two little ones, those will happen in good time.

Emma is Three

A look back...

I cannot believe it has already been three years since Emma came and changed our lives so dramatically. She continues to grow and be full of life and joy. She has such a joyful spirit and is laughing most of the time. We are struggling through the typical three year old challenges but she continues to be a rule follower and very observant and thoughtful. She is obsessed with her babies and that is really all she does all day long. If she doesn't have a baby, she finds another stuffed animal or object to mother. She totes her babies to the store and to the library and to church. She has an imagination that is amazing and we just love to listen to her play by herself. Along with her babies, Emma has been loving our new house and having her own room, a place to ride her bike, being able to go to the pool and beach and more time with Mommy and Daddy. Emma also loves her brother and is incredibly sweet and loving and patient with him, most of the time! She is as excited as can be about the baby and put an ultrasound picture on the wall next to her pillow. She is as sweet and funny as we could imagine! We are excited to see what this next year has in store.