Fall Crafts

A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to be a little more organized about having crafts in our day.  If I don't plan crafts then I just don't do it.  So, I emailed my mom and asked her for some craft ideas.  Long story short she mailed me a box of some craft supplies with a fall or harvest theme.  Then I found this book at the library.  I love having ideas right there for me and I still haven't mastered the art of Pinterest so the book works well for me.  For now it seems to be enough to inspire me and keep us going at the rate of about 2 crafts a week.  And both kids are loving it so it's totally fun.

Pipe cleaner button trees.

I watched J & L one morning so we did our bean tree craft with them.

Making sure to get lots of glue

Used foam brushes to paint to glue on and then stick on beans.
It eventually turned in to bean and glue soup.

Finished bean trees

Working on making school buses

Caleb's bus.  We used watercolor paint boxes for the windows.

Grace's bus

Apple Orchard

Today we made our second trip of the season to the local apple orchard and as we do every time we go we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Both times we have gone we have made sure to purchase and immediately eat apple donuts.  Theres also tons of free stuff to play on so we obviously enjoyed that.

And today we actually bought a bag to fill with apples the kids picked.  In all the trips I've ever made to the orchard I've never actually bought apples so I'm glad we did this time. The trees were overflowing with apples and the bag was full within five minutes.  The kids also enjoyed climbing and playing on the pumpkins.  Hopefully we can make a few more trips this fall.

Here are a couple pictures from our first trip...

And a couple pictures from today with friends A&P...

Sally and Blankie

Grace just keeps growing up on us!  Three nights ago she told me she was done sleeping with Sally and Blankie.  Sally is the lovie she has been sleeping with since she was 4 months old.  Blankie is a soft blanket she got attached to about 18 months ago so it's not quite as dramatic.  I just can't believe she gave up Sally.

I will admit I have secretly been wanting her to give those things up.  They are kind of a pain to pack. So I've done things like require they stay on her bed and not travel around the house all day.  I've also mentioned that when she gets older she might not want to sleep with them anymore.  And now she doesn't want to sleep with them anymore.  I hope it sticks.

Napping with Sally on her eyes at 4 months old.

Blast From the Past 3

After graduating from college I spent a year living and working in Freiburg, Germany with Campus Crusade for Christ.  That was a super fun and super hard year.  I had to learn a new language and work full time for the first time in my life.  It was so worth it but I really had no idea what to expect going into it.  Here are a couple of my favorite pics.

Most of the ministry team I worked with holding a German flag.  As usual the girls were acting goofy and the boys were appalled.

The whole team in Cinque Terre, Italy.

My parents came to visit in March and one of the things we did was spend some time in Berlin.
We rented bikes one day and rode all over the city.  I'd relive that day in an instant.  Biking and being
our own tour guides was amazing.

Big Boy Bed

I'm happy to report Caleb has transitioned to the big boy bed.  He does sleep in it the same way he sleeps in a crib and that is all over the place without covers and barely on the pillow. But he is done with his crib.

We recently purchased a bunk bed set that we anticipate being useful and practical for us.  We currently have the bed separated and the top bunk is in Caleb's room and the bottom bunk is in the extra kid's room that a foster child could sleep in if needed.  The top bunk is at regular bed level and is not bunked. Since it is a top bunk it has rails and is a great transitional bed for Caleb.  Eventually we could bunk the two (without the ladder) and let Caleb sleep on the bottom bunk once he gets used to a twin bed.  That would get the twin bed out of the extra kids room in case we need a crib for a foster child.  Lots of options.

Anyway we wanted to get Caleb out of the crib so it would be available in case it's needed for another child.  We wanted to do it sooner than later so he has absolutely no attachment to the crib if another kid is using it.  We started by having his big boy bed set up in his room for a few months.  A couple of times he attempted a nap in it but that quickly deteriorated into sleeping in the crib.

Caleb likes his routine an normal comforts so I wasn't surprised he was attached to the crib.  A couple of weeks ago though he stared asking to sleep in the big bed so we tried again.  He successfully took some naps in it but struggled a little at night.  He slept a couple of nights in it but still seemed to prefer the crib.  Also he is able to climb in and out of his crib so I think there was a lot of bed switching going on.

We weren't a huge fan of the bed switching that was happening so after putting him down in the crib one night only to find him in the big bed one morning we decided to take the crib down.  We figured at this point he'd had several successful naps and nights in the big bed.  He even chose the big bed one night.  So Matt took the crib apart and it's in the extra kid's room closet for now.  After the crib was down we've had no issues with the big boy bed.

So Caleb is officially in the big boy bed and he LOVES it!

Caleb - 2.5 Years Old

Still prefers the baby swing but looking big in it

First time I let him paint at our house (he did paint at an art class we took this summer)

Another 6 months flew by and I can't believe Caleb is already 2 1/2.  He has caught on quickly and already answers with "two and a half" when asked his age.  I remember things turning a corner when Grace was 2.5 in that things were a little more difficult and a little more dramatic.  I'm already sensing that with Caleb.  I'm hoping the drama will be a little less but the testing seems to be right on par if not more than Grace.

Caleb is super fun right now though.  I think I did a bunch of bullet points for his 2 year update so I'm going to do the same thing now.

• Talks non stop in complete paragraphs.  He has a lot to say and he says it all.  He even processes a lot of his thoughts out loud.
• Very social and will say hi to everyone.  Yesterday he even asked someone walking by, "Where are you going and what are you doing?" 
• Loves T-ball and hitting off the T and can even hit a pitch from Matt every once in a while
• Still sleeps from 7-7 at night.  Although he's much better at handling bedtime if we get him down a little late but he still won't sleep in.
• Naps for about 3 hours starting around 12:30 or 1
• In his big boy bed now (I'll dedicate an individual post to that soon)
• Sucks his thumb and likes to hold onto the corner of his mattress to fall asleep
• Sleeps with Gus-Gus, Smurf, Mickey, Macaw, Brown Bear and some type of blanket.  However he seems ok with us just bringing any random toy when he's sleeping outside of the house.  Thank goodness because that's a lot of stuff.
• Great eater and will still eat anything I give him although I think he's slowing down a bit and not eating as much.
• Loves to dress himself, put shoes on himself, buckle himself and do just about everything himself.  He's motivated and while it can be frustrating when he really can't do it I think it's a great quality.
• Loves watching whatever Grace is into so he likes Special Agent Oso these days and also has requested Elmo a few times.
• Likes building things with blocks
• Likes all things ball
• Likes playing hiding games (people and things) with Grace and Matt
• Loves being outside and asks to go outside multiple times a day (thankfully now I feel comfortable with the kids playing in the backyard while I'm working in the kitchen)
• Starting to feel and act possessive and competitive when it comes to games and toys so the fighting has upped a bit lately

Blast From the Past 2

Here's a few pictures from the summer of 2002.  Mandy, Emily and I drove all night long to surprise our friend Jenn who was living in New Jersey for the summer.

1. We were so tan.  College girls.
2. I loved the days when I could eat an entire banana split sunday after eating some outrageously gross meal before it of burgers and fries on a regular basis and my body didn't even notice.  Youth.
3. I can't believe I stayed at that motel.  The sign says it all.  I'm above that these days.

The foursome at it again

I distinctly remember eating the whole thing

It was cheap.  I'll give it that.