Snowy October Morning

It was so beautiful and snowy when we woke up this morning. It was coming down when I took the kids to school but has tapered off this afternoon. I made sure I got a picture before it melted. I never get tired of how pretty the snow makes everything look.

Annemarie is 18 Months!

How did we get here so fast? Annemarie turned eighteen months today. She weighes 25 pounds and is 30 inches tall. She walks all the time and is starting to run. She feeds herself and can say all our names. Two of her other favorite words are "shoes" and "puppy" - usually followed with barking. She's starting to follow directions and is very cuddly and sweet. She loves to take baths and loves "helping" load and unload the washing machine. She takes one afternoon nap that's usually around 1-2 hours long. She sleeps through the night, usually 7p to 7a (lucky us!). She loves to give kisses and has a great laugh. Annemarie brings such joy to our family. We are truly blessed!

Ready to Ski

It's getting to be that time of year again. Where we say good-bye to the beautiful summer weather and start thinking about snow. Today we picked up the boys skis (we rent them for the season) and they cannot wait to use them. As part of the ski fitting process the boys were weighed and measured for height. Here are their stats:

Will 3'9"/45 pounds

Jack 3'7"/42 pounds

Visit From Opah

Dad was here for a visit this week. We had a nice time catching up and he was here for the first snow of the season. I wanted to post this picture because Annemarie was so funny and wouldn't look at the camera she was so taken with Dad.

Sweet Pickin's

Today Will and Jack had a field trip to the pumpkin patch. I look forward to this because Sweet Pickin's is completely set up for kids. There is so much to do and everyone always has a great time. Today it was COLD! Thankfully it didn't rain or snow, but you can tell the snow will be here soon. Here are a few pictures of the kids...
Jack in the brown coat on the left. Sitting with his classmates on the pumpkin train, ready to pick out his pumpkin.
Will and a classmate having fun with a go-cart. I even took a spin around the track with Will in tow. It was a good way to warm up and get a quick workout.

Will with the perfect pumpkin.

Our Little Superhero

Jack, the Batman/Spider-Man confused superhero. Really when you think about it he has the best of both costumes...Spidy's muscles and Batman's cape and mask.

Fall Is In the Air

It was cold today. Summer has come to an end and Doug celebrated by giving Annemarie a ride on our extremely large portable air conditioner. The air conditioner has been put away...the weather people have started predicting snow. We may see some this week!

Up Close

We just happened upon this event taking place in Kalispell this morning. There was a firetruck, helicopter, police vehicle and ambulance all available for people to check out and even get into. The boys were so excited!

Will and Jack sitting in the helicopter. Not sure why Jack looks so sad, he's not into pictures these days.

In the back of the Special Response or SWAT Team vehicle.

What a fun activity!

Happy Birthday Erin!

Erin turned 29 on Thursday. The kids and I helped her celebrate with cupcakes, singing and gifts. Later Erin, TJ and I all went out for dinner. It was fun and very low key. We were all so happy to help you celebate. Enjoy your last year of being in your 20s!

Clothing Optional

This morning I walked into Annemarie's room to find her stark naked holding her pajamas in one hand and her diaper in the other. She was so thrilled with herself, shrieking and laughing. This was no small task. Her pajamas were full body ones with footies and snaps. I have no idea how long it took her to get out of everything. She's been taking her shoes off for a while, but she's starting to move on to other items like her shirt. Sometimes when I'm folding laundry she'll grab pieces of clothing and try and put them on. It is so cute to watch and it reminds me how quickly she's growing up.

Ties on Fridays

Here's a picture of Jack all dressed up for school on Friday. On Fridays the boys attend chapel and are required to wear ties. I love this picture of Jack, mostly because he's wearing the cardigan I tried to get Will to wear all last year. Isn't he cute?

All dressed up for chapel. Even Will's blue sling matches!

Kindergarden Circus

The circus was in town today! What a fun show...Will's class has been learning about the letter C this past week and put together and performed a live circus. They had two shows, one for the preschoolers and one for the parents. There was a lion tamer, dancing dogs, silly clowns, even a stunt man and strong man. Will was a fire breathing dragon who jumped through hoops. Jack saw the performance earlier with his class and Annemarie and I enjoyed the later show.

Here's Will twirling a hoop with his good arm.

Will jumping through hoops and Ring Master Mrs. Puchta.

Another Broken Bone (and a Dislocated One Too)

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record...so who was it this time?? On Friday night while the boys were getting ready for bed Will climbed up on a three foot high bookcase (which we always tell him not to climb on) and fell off. His right arm was extended so when he fell he broke the ulna bone near his elbow and dislocated the radius bone. We had a pretty intense and long stay at the emergency room. At first the doctor thought Will had only broken his arm, but after the orthopedic surgeon on call looked at the x-rays they noticed the radius was dislocated. So long story short, Will was sedated so they could pop the radius back into place. Will didn't feel anything and doesn't remember that part of the visit. The doctors and nurses did a great job and made the experience less scary. Will was a champ. He didn't cry and did everything the doctors and nurses asked him to. He was a huge hit. Right now Will has a hard splint that goes up over his elbow, it's wrapped with an ace bandage and then he also gets to wear a sling. On Thursday he has an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon where they'll check to make sure the radius is staying put and they'll put a hard cast on at that time. Recovery should be around six weeks.

New Hair Style for Annemarie

Finally, enough hair for pigtails!

Look What I Made!

The other night Will was playing with his legos and look what he made! A pair of glasses and not just any glasses, but ones that "work" with hinges on the side.

Clothes Made By Grandma

I've been meaning to get a picture of the kids wearing the clothes Chris made for them for weeks! The other morning the boys both put on their shorts and Annemarie was in one of her dresses and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a picture. When we were in Oregon Chris had made shorts for the boys and two dresses (plus hats and bloomers) for Annemarie (to see the other dress Chris made check out my "Play Time!" blog entry back on August 28). Chris is such an incredible seamstress and the kids love their clothes. They realize what an incredibly special and thoughtful gift they are. Thanks Grandma!!

I had to post this picture...Annemarie is such a clown!

Summertime

Here are two of my favorite pictures from last month.

Annemarie in her tutu style bathing suit playing in the sand at City Beach.

Will and Jack at Lake MacDonald in Glacier Park during our camping trip (thanks for the pic Peschels!)

First Day of School!

Here's an okay picture of Will...
...and a good one of Jack

Visit From Tutu

What a great visit we had! My mom was here for a week and we really enjoyed spending lots of time with her. She helped me out a ton with the kids plus we got in some fun activities. My mom is headed over to Vietnam in mid-September for nine months. She'll be bringing her expertise to an orphanage over there. We're so excited for her and this tremendous adventure, but we'll miss her terribly. Thank you so much for coming out and spending so much time with us. We love you!

Will Riding a Bike!

Will popped up and starting riding his bike on Sunday. Doug took the training wheels off and without much instruction Will hopped on the bike and started riding. We were a little stunned. Thankfully I quickly recovered and was able to take a quick video of him...this was probably his third attempt. Also, this weekend he had mastered turning. Next it will be jumps...