Finally Spring?

It was really nice to finally have an Easter Day that was not freezing and snowy! The kids actually got to look for eggs OUTSIDE at Auntie Sue's house. I was feeling really good about our weather, until I read my friend, Deb's, blog about their Easter in Kentucky where the grass is green! I think we just need one more good rain and a few sunny days before we start seeing some new spring growth around here.

Does any one else have a child that consistently wakes up one hour after falling asleep for the night? Sophia just started crying, and it's so weird to me that she does this almost every night. I thought kids were supposed to be heavy sleepers. Sophia is a LIGHT sleeper! Ugh.

Here's some pics from the last couple months:

Seasonal Celebrating!

December is always a busy month, but with both Chris and I home right now, we've been able to spend a lot of time together as a family. Chris's former work place, Metro Mold, has been down-sizing a bit as a result of a slow economy, so he's been on the job hunt. I am still at home on a child-care leave, but I'll be tutoring a few hours a week now. I'm also hoping to be able to do some substitute teaching in the Osseo district until Chris can find a job. In the meantime, we've been trying to organize and clean at home, as well as going out to holiday celebrations and spending time with friends and family.

In November, we went to Rochester for Thanksgiving. Pete and Paula made a wonderful meal and the cousins had fun playing together. Later that weekend, we drove to Brainerd to meet Chris's family at a hotel, so the kids got to enjoy a big water park.

Sophia enjoyed her first visit to the Children's Museum. We met Amie and her kids, Eva and Zack there. Sophia loved the plastic frogs in the pond.

Daddy and Jacob went to the cabin with Uncle Pete and Michael in November. They had fun being outdoors and riding on the four-wheeler.

Sophia is not very enthralled with the snow. When we got our first snowfall in November, I bundled her up and took her outside. She mostly cried. It's the bundling up part that seems to make most toddlers crabby. Of course, Jacob immediately taught her that snow is eatable, so then she liked it.

Jacob was in a Christmas concert at church with the preschool class. He had fun learning three songs, but I had to bribe him with a gumball to put the angel costume on.

We were a little later than usual in setting up our tree this year, but it turned out okay because we got to have Jenny and Jackie over last Saturday and they were very helpful. One of our traditions is that each year we think of something we are very thankful to God for and we buy a special ornament to represent that person or thing. Then I make a page in a little scrapbook about it. Each year we look through the album and hang up the ornaments. Sophia and Jacob had fun with that!

I loved Jacob's innovative idea for snowman arms!

Sophia is starting to learn new words. I think the English language is starting to take root in her brain. She loves to meow like a cat and she tries to copy what we are saying. She loves to "sing" and dance.

The Splendor that is Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year, but just like a YUMMY dessert or a roller-coaster ride or the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, or nap time, or certain romantic recreational activities, it's all over too quickly. I very intentionally try to soak in all the fall fun while it's here. That explains why I've been to 3 orchard/farms in the last month!

Back in September, we brought Sophia on her first camping trip (I don't think camping was a common activity with her foster parents in Seoul, but you never know). She is slowly starting to explore things out of her comfort zone, but she was still pretty clingy that weekend. Besides the fact that we forgot our tent poles, we had a great time.

I've been so excited this week because Sophia is getting obviously more comfortable with Daddy. She gives him kisses and sits on his lap for stories and plays in the garage or outside with him while I'm taking a break. She doesn't cry as much when I leave her home with Daddy. Little by little, she'll start opening up to others. We just have to give her time to build up her trust and comfort level. I'm amazed at how many words she understands. She doesn't try to repeat words after I say them, but she makes plenty of baby babble sounds, so I'm sure soon I won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

Jacob had a great time at the Oreck store the other day! It was like a dream come true...a whole store with only vacuums in it! The sales lady got a kick out of him.

Here are some of the photos from camping, the apple orchard and hanging out in our backyard.

Getting used to this whole "Stay-at-Home Mom" business

You'd think I'd be more "in sync" with being a stay-at-home mom since I get to do it every summer when school lets out; so it must be the addition of another child that's throwing me for a loop. I can't seem to get into the mind set that this IS my job, and I need to work hard to be successful at it. So, I guess I need to set some goals and plan steps to achieve them. Darn...that means I have to give up eating bon-bons and watching TV. I guess my biggest issue is keeping the house clean. I just discovered something I never knew before...the house gets messier if you're home during the day. You would think that if you're home during the day, you could spend more time cleaning, but in actuality, you just spend more time messing it up! (I mean the children spend more time messing it up). Sophia is so good at finding new places for every item she picks up. She firmly believes that the puzzle pieces look much better strewn across the floor and has taken it upon herself to quickly put them there each and every time I put them back on the shelf. Jacob's mission is to see how many different ways he can make a mess that can be vacuumed up. It's just not good enough to vacuum the regular dirt from the carpet. No, he needs to test out his vacuums on things like rice, tiny pieces of paper, and outdoor dirt. Then, when the vacuum needs to be emptied, it only makes sense to empty it in the middle of the living room so he can vacuum the mess up again. Last night he informed me that he wants to vacuum other people's houses for money so he can buy a new Hoover Featherlite. It's a good thing he's going to preschool twice a week and swimming lessons so he can realize that the earth doesn't revolve around vacuum cleaners!

Oh, my point was, how can I get better at this "stay-at-home mom" thing? I'm also convinced that once allergy season is done, I'll be much better able to function. I've spent the last two weeks feeling like my head should explode from sinus pressure.

No more excuses! I will be "super mom" today and at least get the dishes done!

I love sharing new, cute pictures of Sophie! I've been known to take pictures of her for no other reason than she's wearing a new outfit! Here are some pictures of the kids in Stillwater. We went to the Teddy Bear Park with friends, Sadie and Emma. We also stopped at the apple orchard. Sophia continues to amaze us with her easy-going personality and her happy, smiley attitude. Last night I watched her fall asleep in her crib and spent some peaceful moments in prayer for our new child. What a blessing and privelege it is to be entrusted with the raising of a child.

Adjustment still going well!

Sophia is still getting an A+ when it comes to adjusting! Chris and I have been so blessed with a smooth transition since Sophia joined our family! She is sleeping well and eating well and exploring and happy and cute!!! At home, she's pretty comfortable walking around, playing with toys, picking things up from one spot and dropping them in another. When we go to a new place, she is expectedly a bit clingy and worried about all the new faces around her. We have stayed pretty busy instead of secluding ourselves, so I'm really happy with her level of ability to "go with the flow." We've had so much fun introducing her to family and friends!

We finally had Jacob's party for his 5th birthday. We went with a lawnmower theme, which was a bit hard to get creative with, but still managed to have lots of fun! The rain had to dump on us though, so we were a bit crowded in the garage and house. Jacob's favorite present was a new wet and dry hand vac from his cousin, Michael. When he opened it, he screamed, "OH MY WORD!!!" It was pretty hilairious!