Holidays 2009

A few weeks ago, we spent the weekend with Mom and Dad R while Joy and Samuel also visited. The little guys had a great time running around with each other. Sam and Caleb especially enjoyed wrestling and playing together. We took a bunch of family photos on Saturday morning in an attempt to get a picture for Mom and Dad's Christmas card. What a job! Of course, no one wanted to look at the camera and smile at the same time. This is the only keeper shot.
By the time we changed the little kids' outfits and regrouped them for their own photo, they were done. They wouldn't cooperate at all, and this is the best we were able to get. It will have to do.

We all ended up with a stomach flu the week leading up to Thanksgiving. One by one, we all succumbed. It was the worst stomach bug I've had in a long time. It was also only the 2nd time Nathan has had a stomach flu in 10 years! Sara was the only one who escaped, thankfully! We were just getting over it by the time Thanksgiving arrived. We enjoyed food and fellowship with Mom and Dad Rohrer, Zack and Josh. The kids were so excited that they got to spend the night at Grandma and Papa's house since Nathan and I had to work on Friday. It was Sara's first night at Grandma's without Mommy and Daddy, and she did great! She took her bottle on schedule and slept all night like a good little baby. Caleb and Libby enjoyed all the Christmas decorations that Grandma and Papa had set up. Caleb and Papa set up the train together. Both Libby and Caleb kept slipping away to "drive" the train at every opportunity.

We spent Sunday afternoon at our own house doing our own decorating for Christmas. Libby helped do everything this year. She set up the nativity scene all by herself and helped Nathan and I decorate the tree. She hung the stockings and set out all of the little nick-knacks. Caleb came down from his nap to see all the decorations and was so excited. He kept saying, "Yay! It's Christmas time! I love Christmas time!"

Sara is coming up on four months already! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She is enjoying sitting in her Bumbo chair and loves "talking" - screeching, cooing, laughing - all the time now. She hasn't rolled over yet, but I'm expecting it to happen any day now. She really enjoys bouncey knee horsey rides, warm baths, and anyone talking to her. She smiles most of the time that she's awake. She is such a good baby! It was last year at this time that we found out she was on her way. That year flew by so fast. I'm savoring each day with her. Sooner than I would like to think about, she'll be out of this happy, chubby baby stage and on to the independent toddler stage. Ahhhh!

I find myself actually looking forward Christmas this year, and not only because I finally get a paid holiday this year. Seeing everything through the kids' eyes makes it so much more exciting, and keeping little secrets about presents is always fun, too. Libby and Caleb can hardly wait for Christmas. As a little girl, I remember thinking that the days and weeks before Christmas would never be over so we could have our celebrations and presents. I'm trying to keep the kids busy with little things to help pass the time for them. Libby and I made a "princess" cake on Monday. Yesterday we wrapped presents and this morning we made a few kinds of Christmas cookies together. Now, what to do with them next week?

I'll end this post with some of Libby's most recent photography. She's been using the camera lately when we're not around. It's always a hoot to see what things she decided to photograph.

Trick or Treat and Other Mischief

Libby and Caleb thoroughly enjoyed their trick or treat this year. They made it completely around the neighborhood this year for the first time. They also rang the doorbells and actually said "trick or treat" and "thank you" on their own. Libby chose her dress in September and could barely wait until Halloween to wear it. All year, she was planning to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast until she found this dress. It is a white wedding dress with satin and lace and little rosettes. She loves it and wants to wear it all the time. She wore a long sleeved white shirt under the dress since it was quite chilly, damp and windy on Halloween this year. Caleb was Dracula. He told people he was a "vampi-uuuuhh". They was both so cute! We took lots of pictures of them. Sara stayed with Grandma and took a nap. She didn't fit in Caleb's pony costume from 3 years ago, and it was really too cold to take her out for very long. That evening, Dad excavated the swing out of the basement and brought it up for Sara to use. She loved it! The mobile, music and lights really kept her attention. She just stared and stared without blinking for the longest time.

In other news, Libby is making great progress in her reading and math this year. She can sound out so many words now and is almost through the alphabet sounds and some sound combinations like "sh", "ch", and "ar". Caleb is specializing in good natured trouble making. In an average day, he can really make a mess! He always says, "Sorry" in such a forlorn way that you can't help but forgive him and prepare to cleanup the next disaster. One example is how he tried to help himself to Libby's birthday cake a few days after her birthday party. I found him eating frosting off the side of the cake while it was upside down on the floor. He has recently discovered painting as well, and enjoys painting masterpieces with some rather muddied water colors. He is so proud of his new ability to color within the lines when he is coloring. We are working on color recognition now - just yesterday he colored a purple sandwich. Sara is such a good little baby. She is still sleeping all night - usually from 9-7 or longer if Caleb doesn't wake her with his racket in the early morning.

Annie and Millie are caring for their sweet little kittens and have most recently moved them to Caleb's room. I don't know what they were thinking when they chose his room over all the other places they could have gone in the house. Hopefully, we can convince him to leave them alone when he is supposed to be napping.

I was comparing pictures of Libby, Caleb, and Sara when they were babies to see how much they looked alike. Sara looks so much like Libby that she could be her clone. Here are a few pictures to compare. See if you can tell who is who. The rest of them are posted online.

This month we are teaching the three four and five year old kids at church. They are so much fun! They are the same kids that we taught last year, so I am enjoying having my kids back again. Libby is going to be in the children's Christmas production at church this year, so she has a littler practice after church each Sunday.