Feeling the Love

Emma and I were estatic to  see Daddy come through the door with flowers a few weeks ago. We were totally surprised to each receive a boquet from him, just because.

Two weeks later they are still going strong and they are a daily reminder of how blessed we are to have such a wonderful man in our lives!

A Day of Fun

We were blessed to spend the day with some of our favorite people and have a ton of fun last week Wednesday. My mom bought a Groupon this past fall to take Emma to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. I was waiting for the winter months to utilize it, thinking it would be a great family outing some Sunday. However, daddy thought otherwise...

So I called up my dear friend Lyndsey to see if she was interested in making the voyage with us. We bundled up the four kiddos and hit the road for a morning of discovery, friendship, loads of giggles and fun. It was wonderful to watch the kiddos learn and explore among all the exhibits. I love that everything is kid friendly and they are able to be completely 'hands-on'.

The sand table was  one of the favorite places to play. I guess it shouldn't be surprising since the weather keeps us from digging in the dirt these days.

The giant bubble, another fav.

The kids did a great job creating monstrous bubbles.

How cute is this peanut?!?!

Love this pic, it totally captures the kiddos' enthusiasm.

Our little musicians.

Love this crazy kid!

The little chicken farmers hard at work.

My precious cow girl.

We had such a blast! Emma couldn't stop talking about our outing for days. It was an awesome experience all around. The munchkins were able to run off some energy while the mommies were able to catch up on life. Thanks mom for a much needed day out!

Indoor Fun

With the cold temps outside and the inability to fit my big belly into snow attire, I have been working hard to find fun activities for Emma to do inside. We've spent lots of time crafting, painting and having fun. I've also been on the hunt for things to keep her occupied while I'm busy doing stuff around the house. With my due date only four weeks away, I have a large to-do list that I want to complete before then. I swear for every one thing I cross off, two more get added. How does that happen???

Here are just a few of the things we've tried out and they were a big hit. I'm hoping they still hold her interest when I need something to occupy her while I'm tending to her brother after he arrives.

This one is very simple, but works those fine motor skills. All you need are some pipe cleaners and a strainer. I was a little skeptical that she would actullay have fun with this, but she did.

She was very proud of her creation and wanted me to take pics of it to show daddy when he came home :)

This one she spent the most time playing with. I just put some rice in a 9x13 pan and gave her some stuff from her play kitchen to use. She played with it for almost an hour! I'm planning to get more rice at the store and have her do a scavanger hunt next time.

This project works fine motor skills as well as learning colors. I gave her a big pile of buttons and pipe cleaners and asked her to sort the colors and put them on the coordinating pipe cleaners. I wasn't sure how well she'd do with the sorting aspect since there was a variety of buttons in different hues, but she did really well. She was able to sort all the buttons into piles, but only completed three pipe cleaners- pushing those buttons on was a lot of work!

Do you have any great indoor activites for your kiddos? Please share!

Still Lovin' those Sundays

I know I've discussed the importance of Sundays at our home in the past. When your hubby works six days of the week, that one day off can become a pretty big deal. It becomes our day of family time that I truly cherish. I love spending time together and Emma always looks forward to more time with her daddy.

Yesterday, we started off the morning cuddled up in bed and then headed down for breakfast. Since we went to church on Saturday night we moved at a leisurely pace. After we ate, we played Cootie and a few rounds of Candyland. Then Emma and I did some coloring while daddy ran out to get lunch and some gas for the snow mobile.

After a big snowfall on Thursday and Friday, Emma was dying to spend some time playing outside. I bundled her up and sent the duo outside.

 I had to get a pick of her all decked out in her snow gear. The plan was to go for a snow mobile ride to a friend's house. However, our ancient snow mobile is quite loud and Emma is a bit afraid. To help her out I layered ear muffs underneath her hat to block out some of the noise. It looked ridiculous, but I think it worked!

 Daddy still had to do some convincing to get her on board.

 And they were off! They were gone for almost an hour, which provided mommy with a much needed break.

 Upon their return they headed to the back yard to create this monstrous snow man.

 Emma's first ever snowman complete :)

Later, after a failed attempt at nap time, Jason and Emma spent some time racing quads while I made dinner. We wrapped up our evening as we typically do on Sunday nights- a pizza picnic in the living room while watching 'America's Funniest Home Videos'. It was a wonderful end to a perfect day. Thank you Lord for a day of rest when we can spend time doing things that really matter!

We FINALLY Got Some Snow!

We got some snow at last- a real blizzard in some places. Emma has been looking forward to playing outside ever since the temperatures started dropping two months ago. However, it's been a unlikely winter thus far, gracing us with warm temps and sunny skies. While this momma isn't complaining, I was hoping we'd get some before the baby comes and we are confined to the house.

We had almost a foot of snow fall last Monday, but the conditions were not ideal for little people outside. We held out until Thursday when the sun was shining and the temps were almost in the 40's again. Conditions were a bit soggy, but Emma and Gavin had a blast playing on the deck. They spent over an hour outside and Emma was less than thrilled when I announced it was time to come in for nap.

They had the deck almost clear of snow by time they were done, not to mention very soggy clothing. I hope we get a least one more good snow before baby boy arrives so Emma can play in it. She enjoys being outside a little more each year.

Big Sister Prep

Emma attended class at the local hospital a few weeks ago to prime her for the big changes coming her way this February. Sadly, our leader was a young girl fresh out of college and not quite equipped for the challenges of dealing with a room full of kiddos. The average age in the room was 3, but she spoke to them as if they were 10. You can about imagine how well that worked.... It was a bit chaotic, but Emma soaked it up. She brought home a 'big sister' shirt, a hat she picked out for baby boy and a pic of her hand prints to compare to the baby's footprints when he comes home.

The children were schooled in holding a newborn, diaper changes and swaddling a baby. Let's just say Emma needs a LOT more practice before attempting these things on her own! She was also quite vocal through out the class, providing entertainment for all. A father also added some humor to the evening when he broke a doll's leg off while trying to assist his toddler in changing the diaper. His son was horrified and started crying about daddy breaking his baby sister.

Emma took her job very seriously and held onto that baby as if her life depended on it. She had been looking forward to the class ever since I signed her up. As we were prepping to leave our house she was dancing around singing about being a 'rockin' big sister'. I know it won't be totally smooth sailing as we adjust to a little one in the house, but I am confident in Emma's ability to be an awesome sibling to her little brother. We can hardly anticipate his arrival- only 6 more weeks!

Welcome 2012!

We had a wonderful evening ringing in the new year with some great friends. The kiddos played, the adults caught up and fun was had by all.

 I brought along party hats and stickers for the kiddos to decorate. This was about the only time they sat still all together in one place :)

How cute are these two??? The festivites had begun to take there toll and these two adorables decided to take a rest on the couch and enjoy a show together.
While we didn't quite make it to midnight- the hubby spent Friday night trucking and had pulled an all-nighter- wonderful memories were made. We look forward to all 2012 has to offer- a new baby, a new home (we hope :), time with friends and family and all the other blessings God has in store for us.