Fall 2011

I know I can't be the only one out there that just can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone already!  Just when you think that time can't pass any faster, it does!  We had a good fall.  We made our usual couple of trips to the apple orchard to pick apples.  The kids always enjoy the outings and Marie continues to be more and more helpful throughout the process.  Joey on the other hand wasn't so much helpful, but did pick one apple that he happily munched on for the rest of the time among the trees.  The last stop before heading back to home is always to pick up some doughnuts and apple cider.  The powdered doughnuts are the best, just ask Joey and Marie.  After making it home with all our goodies, there were a couple of messy days in the kitchen as we made and canned applesauce.

In addition to our family trips to the orchard, this year we made an extra visit because Marie's class went on a field trip there.   Almost all of the kindergartner's moms went and there were also quite a few younger brothers and sisters along.  So, it was a good chance for me to meet other parents and get to know a few of Marie's new friends.  Joey and Stevie were able to tag along as well. The weather was beautiful.

We arrived at the orchard and finished up our picnic lunches.  Then it was time to listen to the presentation about apple trees and bees.  We then loaded up the hay wagon and took a ride out to the orchard.  All of the kids (including Joey) were able to pick one apple.  Another short ride on the hay wagon brought us to the pumpkin patch, where the kids were also able to choose what pumpkin they wanted to take home.  Boy were our hands full by the time we got back to the barn!'  Thankfully, we were able to find a way to enjoy the donuts and apple cider that was waiting for us when we got there!

Other than that, we were busy carving jack-o-lanterns and doing "experiments".  Marie has really enjoyed learning about solids, liquids and gases and figuring out just how many helium balloons it takes to lift her "airplane".  We had our first snow of the season on November 10.  It didn't stay around long, just enough to excite the kids and get a couple of requests for hot chocolate.  We also have survived our first sickness bug.  Thankfully, it wasn't the throwing up, stomach bug variety.  But, all five of us ended up with some combination of sore throat, stuffy nose, cough, ear infection, and/or sinus infection.  Thank goodness for Kleenex and Amoxicillin. 

 

Marie has finished the first quarter of school and is actually a couple of weeks into the second quarter.  Her grades were good and the parent teacher conference went well.  She reportedly is one of the top in her class academically and is pretty good at making friends.  She has settled into her routine a bit more, though still doesn't like having to get up so early in the morning.  Her favorite part of school is still recess and quiet time.  Her favorite days are Monday, because it is chicken quesadilla day at lunch, and Friday because not only is it pizza day, but it also means that Saturday is right around the corner and she can sleep in as long as she likes. 
 Joey will be turning three in just a short week!  He is still a pretty busy little guy.  He loves playing (his version of) baseball and football, either indoors or outdoors.  We've been trying to head to the library every week for story time.  He is technically a little young for the Thursday morning story and craft time, but he is doing well and enjoys it.  He particularly liked a recent visit from "Fire Marshall Shoe" when he got to climb into and sit in a real fire engine. 

Stevie continues to be more mobile and independent, whether we like it or not.  He stands on his own for a few seconds at a time, walks around the furniture and train table with ease, and is able to take a few steps if he is holding on to our hands.  He is up to six teeth, four on top and two on the bottom and frequently gives us loving (I'm sure) bites on the arm or leg.  Whatever Marie or Joey are playing with is definitely the most interesting thing for him to have, much to their chagrin.  He certainly has a mind of his own when it comes to what he should have or should or should not be doing, which make bath time and diaper changes particularly challenging.  Oh Stevie, it sure is a good thing that you're cute. 

We will have to update you at a later time on the visit to Illinois to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We will have more to share soon regarding Joey's birthday.  We aren't certain how will will accomplish all of the shopping, decorating, and preparing we'd like to do for the Christmas holiday, but hope that it will be a low-stress time to enjoy all that we have to be thankful for.  We are all, especially the kids, looking forward to a little time off to spend with our friends and family and all those that we love.

The Wonderful-ness of Fall

We have been keeping busy during this most-enjoyable season of fall. The kids enjoyed another trip to the apple orchard with just Mom this time. They did quite well...but there were two challenges. The first was was maneuvering both Marie and Joey plus a bushel of apples and a small pumpkin up and down the wagon that took to and from the trees. The second was comforting Joey when we had to head back to the car...away from the tractor when we were finished. The boy loves his motorized vehicles.

We have been enjoying the weather as much as we can...visits to the park to play and practice on our roller skates, walks and bike rides along our path, exploring the various shapes and colors of the leaves on the trees surrounding our house, and trips up and down (walking, running, or rolling and mostly with Dad) the hill behind our house. The kids have also been enjoying watching football with Dad. Joey actually goes through something like withdrawal symptoms on Tuesdays and has been known to turn on the TV in the morning in the hopes of finding a football game to watch.

The 2nd week of October we also squeezed in a trip to Ohio/Pittsburgh to visit the Shibata's and celebrate JJ's 3rd birthday. The kids had a GREAT time and still talk about JJ's car party and how they got to play with all the cars and trains. Joey was also pretty impressed with getting to see a fire engine on it's way to "help" during the drive over.

Somewhere in there, we have also squeezed in a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart, who helped with applesauce and watching the kids while I made a trip to the Chicago area for work, celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, and life in general. Marie has really been enjoying her weekly organized school-ish activities, which include trips to the library, Atrium, and Liturgy of the Word for children on Sundays. She is definitely going to be ready for "real" school next fall.

It seems that time is flying by and it's hard to believe that November is almost upon us. We continue to be tremendously thankful for all of our many blessings. I'll leave you with one quick quote from Marie at dinner time as we were discussing a recent "baby doctor" appointment.

Marie: "Well, I'll still be happy, even though I was hoping for a baby sister."

Oh...by the way. It's a boy!! :)

Look who turned 4!!

It has been a couple of weeks, but on Sept 19, Marie turned four! As she will tell you, there are lots of things that she can do now that she is four. Even her stomach grew overnight and now she can eat "lots"!

We had lots of visitors come to Michigan for Marie's birthday weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart came a couple days early and helped with preparations. Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, Gracie, and Aunt Jess arrived late Friday night. Grandma and Grandpa Shibata drove up for the afternoon on Saturday. Of course, Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah were over as well. Even Colleen (the kids' sitter) stopped by, since Marie had been inviting her to her "party" a few times each day she saw her.

All of the kids' enjoyed helping to decorate for the celebration. There was generally a lot of running around and playing and the kids all got along very well. This is more of an accomplishment that it might seem given that Marie and Joey's sleep schedules are significantly different than their cousins'. Marie and Joey go to bed late and get up late, while JJ and Gracie are just the opposite. Everyone (including the parents) probably got much less rest than usual.

By the time we were really up and going Saturday morning, it was just about time for lunch. We had some sandwiches, cleaned up, and then at Marie's request, proceeded to open presents. This was followed by cake and ice cream. Marie had asked for a cookie monster cake and I was glad when the cake was successfully recognized as such!

All too soon, Grandma and Grandpa Shibata left for home and all the kids went down for a nap. After naptime, the weather was still somewhat nice, so the kids went outside to swing and run up and down the hill. It was good to get some fresh air and exercise after all that cake!

Sunday morning, Marie's actual birthday, we all went to church and then headed back to the house for a quick lunch. Then it was time for the Pittsburgh-ers to start heading for home. Marie still talks about what fun her birthday was and how we had such a full house of visitors that all wanted to come and celebrate her birthday. Everyone made her feel so special!

We put Marie and Joey down for a nap, thinking that they might wake up early enough to take a quick trip to the apple orchard that we've visited the last two years on Marie's birthday. However, the kids must have been exhausted because they took really long naps. That was still okay though because we still had enough time and the weather was nice enough to head to a park to play and try out Marie's brand-spanking-new roller skates. She really got a kick out of them and kind of, sort of started getting the hang of it. Though, she did have a lot more fun hanging on as Jon pulled her along the path.

Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart stuck around for most of the next week. Mark and Sarah closed on their new house the day after Marie's birthday. They all went to a lot of work getting the house in order, addressing issues (resulting from the house being vacant for over a year) and moving things. They are now the proud owners of a very nice place. Joey often comments about the "new house" and talks about how "Mark went home." Joey has also dubbed one of the more spacious rooms the "football room." Marie on the other hand keeps asking if they've gotten their goats yet.

Before Grandma and Grandpa had to leave for home, we did eventually get to the apple orchard. This is a favorite fall activity of Marie's and she continues to do better at actually picking apples. She and Joey both had fun especially considering that we met their friends Megan and Jacob there, that they got to eat a fresh apple doughnut, and that we got to go to a park for a picnic and some playtime afterward. We said our sad goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa, but the kids still talk about their visit. In fact, Joey now has specific names for two of our dining room chairs, "Grandma's chair" and "Grandpa's chair."

In the meantime, Marie has had her 4 year doctor checkup. She did extremely well. She is growing as we would expect. She's at about 95% for height and 85% for weight. She got lots of praise from the nurse because she opted to sit by herself (instead of on my lap) while she got her four shots. She didn't even cry...just a couple of little whimpers. We got to go out to a special lunch at Applebee's afterward because she was so brave.

Marie has also started Atrium again. She had been talking about it a good deal this summer and it has FINALLY started! She has quite a few friends in her class this year. We are both excited about this because that means that I will also get to catch up with a lot of her friends' moms on a more regular basis. :)

Last Sunday, we took Marie to a children's theater to watch a production of Little Red Riding Hood. She absolutely loved it...so much so that she forgot to eat any of the popcorn that she had asked for on our way in. Afterward, we stopped at a cider mill for some cider and doughnuts. We then proceeded to let the kids pick out their own pumpkins. By the time we were all done, they were pooped and both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Joey has been doing very well. He is lately getting a kick out of being able to walk and jump both forward and backward. He is also known to unexpectedly tackle Marie or Jon, or anyone else that might be sitting or laying on the floor. He is talking more and more and is starting to put words together into more sentences and thoughts. He is particularly good at saying, "Thank you" and "Sorry." Even when he sneaks up behind us and we inadvertently bump into him, knocking him on his bum, he promptly gives his apologies. And, last night Jon was trying to get him to finish the last few bites of his supper. Jon was "helping" him with his spoon while Joey was complaining and whining about it. Nevertheless, as soon as the food was in his mouth, Joey said "Thank you, Daddy." Now we just need to work on not talking when his mouth is full.

It has been a busy last couple of weeks. In the meantime, I've submitted my resignation, wrapped up things at my old job, and have completed my first week at a new job. The technical work is for all practical purposes the same and I'm working with people that I have worked with professionally in the past. We are starting a new office for a company that has locations around the country (Engineering Systems, Inc.). It is exciting, chaotic, and a little annoying all at the same time. Chaotic because we are starting the location from scratch and and very much learning as we go. Annoying because there are all these little headaches, like setting up our network at the office, not getting our phone system to work, and having to get used to using a Mac. But, so far it has been a good thing. Thankfully, I seem to be beyond the nauseous state of our pregnancy and have regained some of my old energy. Still get tired at the end of the day for sure, but overall I seem to be much for functional than I was a month ago! Thank God!

Falling Leaves

The days are getting shorter and the weather cooler. We don't make it outside as much nowadays, but still try to get out whenever we can. Marie got to spend a good part of a Saturday outside with Dad, fixing the flagpole, taking apart the basketball pole and hoop (that had fallen over during a heavy wind), and raking leaves. No snow yet, for those who are wondering. It may seem early for snow, but by this time last year we had already had a good blanket and had been sledding!


Lately, Marie has been taking very good care of "Baby Abby," short for "Baby Abby-Cadaby." Baby Abby is a "two-napper" (meaning she takes two naps a day), she goes for walks outside, she checks the mail with us, she gets regular baths, she cries when she gets stuck in her stroller, and yes, she occasionally has to have a time-out. Sometimes I even get to hold her. But, she soon gets fussy and Marie needs to take her back and make her feel better.




Marie has also been looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. This weekend, we made fall sugar cookies. An activity she always enjoys and, as you can see, that she takes very seriously.



In Joey news, he is really cruising around on all fours and along the furniture. He's been a little out of sorts lately, but we think it's because he's getting his third tooth (upper left). He generally likes to be wherever Marie is and to have whatever Marie has...which is problematic at times. He doesn't like for his clothes to be put on and would much rather crawl around in his diaper. He loves the bath (another opportunity to be without clothes). And, he can still eat like a champ. He could really spend most of his waking hours eating if we let him. Maybe he's loading up for his weigh-in at his 1 year check-up in a couple of weeks. Marie does have him on an exercise program, but since his mobility is somewhat limited, we're not sure it's really too effective.



All in all, things are great...kids are great (and staying healthy so far), job is great, life is great. We're looking forward to the holidays and to spending some time with our families.

Stay tuned for updates on snow and current sledding conditions! Marie has already been talking about it and the hill is always open!