Catching Up

A lot has gone on in the past bit, and there's a lot of catching up to do. First, we had an awesome Thanksgiving in Kalamazoo with the Doots, my old mission companion Dave's in-laws. They are awesome, and it was really nice having a tasty Thanksgiving meal with great friends.

The next day, we went with the Johnson's (my old roommate in SLC) to Crossroads Village in Flint and checked out the little Christmas village. It was mighty chilly, but we got to ride an old school courosel, ferris wheel, and see a little play. Seeing Santa and a big ol train didn't hurt either.

Last weekend, the T-ster turned dos. Since we didn't have a party for his 1st, we decided to be better parents and throw a little bash. Many friends, cake, and a ton of presents. TT was a bit overwhelmed with the presents, but he's getting over with it.

After the party, we went to a German Christmas Part and saw Sant Nikolaus. To keep our Christmas Spirit momentum, we had Family Home Evening with Kaz and Maiko where we had left over B-Day cake and decorated our mini-trees.

Here's a few common household pics. Aaron has started eating solids, and I don't think he'll stop eating for a while. It seems like he spends all of his time sitting in the high-chair, but at least he's cute!

Bye Bye Arel

WE MISS YOU ALREADY!!

Timmy got to spend a lot of time with Arel this month before he moved, because his parents had us babysit while they were packing. They had so much fun together and Timmy learned to go up and down the stairs on his feet all by himself from watching Arel.
This is what Timmy likes to do when he wakes up from his nap, and Arel liked to join in, especially so he could sit in the race car bed!

Happy Birthday KT

I won't really say how old she is, but this is a major milestone Birthday which may or may not include a zero as one of the digits. Anyway, Thought I'd just post some wedding Pics, because we paid enough for them, so we might as well use em!

Huron River Bridge

The Turtle

This one is a little easier to see Timmy's costume in. He was a turtle. He fought me tooth and nail to get it on him at first, but once he saw that it was a costume he was SO excited to be a turtle.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Here's a recount of our fun Fall week with the Morgans in Sept.

Jenny's Farm

Mmmmm...the pumpkin doughnuts there are delishhhhhh!

Checking out the farm

"Peet"

(Peek-a-boo)

Petting the Goats

Checking out Campus

This is the law-quad (Hogwarts-style)

We had some crazy weather during the week. Rain, wind, cold... but we managed to see most everything we wanted to. Here's the scene as we waited for the ferry. White-caps and wind! The kids were nervous the boat was in danger, but were comforted that everyone on the ferry was saying "Wheeeee!" as the boat went up and down like a roller-coaster!

There was definitely some hiding from the cold going on! Here's Luke in Papa Stapleton's raincoat. (Scott's now) It almost covered him from head to toe. :)

Eatin'

Sleepin'

Visiting Museums

The Butterfly Museum on Mackinac Island

We also visited the Ford Factory on a rainy day.

Swimmin'

Walking around the island

Ah...the Grande.

The Grande Hotel is famous for their large porch over looking Lake Huron and the movie Somewhere in Time that was filmed here in 1979. Mel and I enjoyed checking it out.

I don't know how reliable this is, but the internet said in many places, "The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan has the longest porch in the world at some 660 feet in length."

Biking around the island

And there was definitely some of this going on too!

Down time for the kiddies. Tom and Jerry was the favorite.

Great trip! The best part was getting to spend time with these cute kiddies!

Thanks for visiting guys!!

Brothers

Awwww....

Oh, for cuteness' sake!

Crazy Youngsters

So I've been playing on this intramural soccer team with a bunch of undergrads, and I'm definitely the old guy there. Anyway, we've been playing at crazy hours like 10:30 at night. Seriously, outdoor soccer in October at 10:30 at night. Brrrrr! Anyway, I am so out of shape that I can barely last till halftime, but I've managed to get a goal or assist every game. Just trying to represent the "older" generation! T-man's also ramping up his füßball skills by kicking rather than just walking into the ball. A star in the making!!

The Wave

This is an art sculpture called "The Wave" behind Scott's office. It's quite a hit with the kids!

Timmy is now the neighborhood bike inspector. No chain brakes on his watch!

The scoreboard

Scott jimmied the DVD cupboard shut last night. Timmy was TICKED off today!!

Parents 1

Timmy whined incessantly. I didn't give in. I wanted to use the laptop though. He whined. I let him watch Kung Fu Panda on UTube while I did my work. Part 1, Part 2, and......OK, OK!... Part 3.

Timmy 3

Some Timmy Expressions

Some Timmy Expressions that I love and want to remember:

Dee doo (Thank you)

Pa? (I have to go potty)

Aaah (I'm all done)

show? show? show? show? show? (I want a movie!!)

weee? (I want to play downstairs)

dada

mama

Peeez? (Please)

show (cereal)

One of his favorite things to do right now (until we can get a lock for the cupboard) is to hand us the DVDs one at a time and say "dee doo" after each one. He misses following Luke around and saying "hi" a million times. :)

Racecar Bed

I've wanted to post a picture of Timmy's new bed for a while. He loves it so much, and loves his new "Cars" bedspread and sheets too! He points to the cars and says "Vrooom!"

He likes it so much, he doesn't want to leave in the morning and after naps. He prefers to sit there and read books for awhile first.

We were super-lucky, because he doesn't get out of bed when we lay him down and he only fell out once. :)

Melissa came for a visit last week and we had a FABULOUS time with her family. I'll post some pics soon of our trip! We got to tour campus, play at the neighborhood playareas, visit the Ford Factory, visit Mackinac Island and play on the wave field a couple of times. Thanks for taking the time (not to mention the $$!) to come out Mel!

Warning: Potty Talk

Well, the sharing the room thing didn't happen so well the second night, so Aaron was back in the pack n play again last night. We'll try again tonight!

On the plus side, Timmy decided to be interested in the potty again yesterday. He says "Pot?" and signs potty when he has to go (poop), and he's been good at this for a couple of months. Yesterday he did it when he just had to pee! Yay! And this morning when I asked if he had to go, instead of whining and trying to run from the bathroom, he went right over to his potty, sat down and put his bear on the little potty and said "Psssssss." Oh boy oh boy! I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I kind of am taking that as a sign that he's "ready!" Or interested at least, which hopefully means...ready!

Sleeping Babies

Tonight is the second attempt at having the boys sleep in the same room. Last night went well, so I'm hopeful. Timmy was so patient tonight when Aaron had to cry for about 15 minutes to fall asleep. I just explained to him beforehand that baby was going to sleep in his room and told him "he's going to cry for a little while before he goes to sleep, but it's OK. Thank you for being patient with him."

I am so proud of him. He just stayed in his bed and tried to sleep, even though I'm sure he was just laying there listening to the baby cry the whole time....enough for many adults to want to leave the room.

Timmy is such a sweet kid. He just has such a gentle disposition and is so patient most of the time. BUT....He's definitely getting into the age group where he realizes that other kids have toys he wants and take toys he's playing with, and it bothers him. Anyone have any great tips for toddlers learning to share? What to you do when your kid pushes another kid out of his way when he wants a toy?

Papa and Mama's Visit

I am really tardy in posting pictures the last month. So, here's a whole slew of them to catch you up. Here's Timmy out yesterday in the courtyard. We're having beautiful Fall weather right now. The leaves are changing and it's nice a cool, but still warm enough for sandals. Perfect.

You can see our lovely neighborhood, complete with abandoned shopping carts and all. :) People walk 3/4 of a mile home from the grocery store here with their carts, and the grocery stores come pick them up. We also have what we fondly call "community toys" which are all sorts of abandoned plastic lovelies enjoyed year after year in the playareas by the kiddies.

Saturday at the park with Daddy

The fish swing! Someone tied this rocker to a tree and it's a favorite swing now in the neighborhood.

My parents came to town earlier this month. It was super-fun! We all enjoyed the visit so much! Here are the highlights:

GRANDPA got to meet AARON! Don't they look alike?

We had a wonderful blessing for Aaron on Sunday September 6th and a little luncheon at the apartment after. We were so grateful to have Mom & Dad and our friends Emre & Meltem, T., Nate & Andreea, Travis & Jamie, Tony and Michael join us for the blessing. We were also so happy Anna could visit and that Nate and Missy were in town and we could visit with them as well! Mom was INVALUABLE in helping me put out the spread. We had just the right amount of food for everyone, and her help made the whole day run smooth and manageable. THANKS

MOM & DAD!! What a great blessing day! (I took a little video at the open house, but I didn't take any photos, unfortunately.)

We had lots of fun with "Papa" and "Mama" while they were in town. We had the true Michigan experience going raspberry picking at Makielski Berry Farm. Timmy didn't want to eat any, but he enjoyed picking the berries and putting them in the jug.

I have been wanting to kayak in the Huron ever since we moved here two years ago, and we finally did it! It was a beautiful day on the river. Timmy even enjoyed a ride in the kayak. We were lucky to catch one of the last days that boat rentals were open for the season!

Playing at the park - the "wagon" slide.

Ooooh! Light sabers are cool!

Mom even took Timmy and I swimming at Fuller Pool right before a huge lightening storm hit the city! Mom and Dad were training for a triathalon, and mom got in her laps! She even went running while she was on vacation! Good job mom! What dedication!

Happy Cake

I gave Timmy a bite of cake today and he said excitedly, "HAPPY CAKE!"

That's right Timmy. That's right.

Sleep makes the World go 'Round

It is true for me anyway that if my kids are well rested, and I'm well rested, we're a happy family.

The toddler bed is a hit. Timmy now has no problem sleeping through the night. I finally put up a little black cloth to darken the room, and he has started sleeping later again and his naps are back to 2 1/2 to 3 hours again too. He's gone a couple days without begging for TV non-stop (because I was ready to entertain him first thing in the morning) and that has made me much happier.

I think we're finally getting settled again. Aaron is close to sleeping through the night. I think he'll be there in just another couple of weeks. That will be a happy, happy day!

We'll get him out of our room, and into Timmy's, and we can enjoy an uninterrupted block on sleep every day.

Back to A2

We made it back home on Saturday. The boys are doing really well with the adjustment back. Timmy didn't seem to recognize the old place until the next day. He was so excited to see all his "new" old toys and books. Scott put together his blue racecar toddler bed, and he slept in it that night. He kept pointing to his bedspread and saying "Car"&"vroomm." (Thanks Aunt Janet and Uncle Dan!) So far, he has slept in it 4 nights in a row. He has gotten up once each night to cry for a bit, but he doesn't get out of the bed. I think once we give him a few more nights, he'll get used to it.

Sunday, Timmy went to nursery without ANY crying! First time since we left that he would do that. I think it was a combination of 1. recognizing his old crew, 2. earlier church time (not during nap time), and 3. the great leaders there, who somehow managed to get 20 nursery kids SILENT for the prayer. I was totally AMAZED! You could hear this little girl clearly whispering the prayer even though she was saying it very softly.

We are almost all settled back in. After I sort yet another round of baby clothes, and get them packed away, I think we will be back on a schedule.

Update of the Boyz

Here's Timmy at Nursery with Caleb. He's been doing really well in nursery. Just when he's all used to it, we're moving back to Ann Arbor. We hope he recognizes his friends and gets comfortable there quickly.

Aaron is all smiles lately. He's just a sweetheart!

Here's Timmy's girlfriend, Julie. She's Egyptian and adorable! You might say this was his "first date." He brought Julie to the Primary Colors Fair at the church. They got to play lots of fun games, make crafts and have snacks.
Lakewood Park. There is a great little path down to the shore of Lake Erie where you can see a nice skyline of the city.

It was foggy from the heat this day, but still really cool. Thanks for the tip Candace!

Aaron checking out his hands.