Friday, November 27, 2009

Grace is 2!

Our number 3 is two years old. We celebrated with a pudding pie and opening presents from her generous grandparents, uncle, and godmother.
Grace and Isaac are a blur, testing out their new, nifty gadgets.
Sam and Katie sharing a book. We are really grateful that our kids play together so well. Sam and Katie can entertain each other for hours, and the same goes for Grace and Isaac.
Grace swinging while she shows off her standing skills.

Enjoying autumn





Last flight of the Guardian

The weather was beautiful on Halloween. We spent the afternoon outside launching rockets at a soccer field down the street.
Here are Sam and Katie prepped for trick-or-treating. We went to trunk-or-treat at church the night before, so on Halloween evening we just visited a few houses in our neighborhood. Katie went as Tinkerbell and Sam was a Lego Agent.

Isaac playing in the grass pre-launch.
Dave launching the Viking on its maiden voyage. Sam chose the fin configuration on this rocket.
S and K.
Isaac and Grace sharing a water bottle.
This is the last time we saw the Guardian rocket in one piece. On this flight, it drifted too far southeast and landed in the woods. We searched for it for a long time, but didn't find it. Dave eventually found it a few days later in the creek. The body of the rocket is cardboard, so it didn't hold up well.
Pausing to pose for a picture while we looked for the Guardian in the woods.

Grace never says anything without verve. She has started using some sign language. Even better, she is saying some of the words while she signs them. She's cruising on the furniture and getting into Sam and Katie's stuff that they leave on the table. Walking can't be far behind.
This smiley guy is starting to be mobile too. He covers ground, but his motion is not well-defined. He seems to motor with a combination of leaning, scooting, and partial crawling.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

October Olio

Dave and Roger (visiting from Nebraska) prove some theorems at the backyard chalkboard.
Sam testing for his white belt in taekwondo at the Y.
Breaking his board. He requested two boards stacked, but Ms. Jenny said he'd need to wait to do that when he tests at the next level. The kids could choose between a chop, punch, or kick. Sam went with a chop.
He's official. Sam's taekwondo teacher also teaches my strength and conditioning class on Wednesday nights. If I'm not working hard enough, I get yelled at, "Sam's mom, get your knees up!"
Post-belt ice cream.
Grace enjoys Sam's leftover shake. The standard stroller configuration has now been shifted. Isaac has a habit of grabbing Grace's hair, so he's moved to the front seat. Luckily, Grace is very forgiving and doesn't retaliate.
Sam demonstrates his form to the shark tent at home.
This weekend was gorgeous. Saturday afternoon, Dave set up the hammock and the kids put it through its paces. (Aforementioned kids are the bumps inside the hammock.) (Note to Julie DB - you choose wonderful family gifts!)
Grace and Katie cuddle in the hammock. Katie is the queen of cozy. My favorite daily request from Katie: "Mom, can I cuddle with you?"
And on the other end of the hammock, Spiky Sam. In the morning, we went to the Buddy Walk, an event to raise money for the local Down syndrome partnership. One of the tables there was run by a local haircutting shop for kids, and they were coloring and spiking all the kids hair. Katie got purple stripes, Sam got red spikes.
Isaac enjoyed the swing. He's under the weather today - the first time he's had a fever. He tested negative for the flu, so he's not part of the national emergency. Just your basic run-of-the-mill virus.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

October fun

Spent the afternoon at a local farm that sells pumpkins and Christmas trees (in October and December respectively). The kids had a great time playing on the round bales in the hay barn.
Katie displays some nontraditional farming attire.
Grace and Isaac had a jolly time in the loose hay. I swear I didn't purposefully dress Isaac in the pumpkin getup. He wore it for pajamas last night, and as is embarrassingly often the case, they ended up being his clothes for the day.

Here, Grace was moving in for a big hug.
Sam and Katie on the hay ride.
The hayride was fun, but my view was best - Isaac in the Snugli and Grace on my lap.

The whole crew (minus Dave, who was at a math conference). Isaac was getting cranky here. He desperately needed a nap, but his expression looks like he was probably begrudging the decorative green leaves on his outfit.
We stopped to play at the three story tree house and the sand box. Once we got back to the hay barn, Isaac and Grace were down for the count.
Sam catches some air.
After we got home, Grace showed off her skills at stacking rings. Big news - Grace is crawling now!
Last week, Sam and Katie had an overpowering urge to roast marshmallows. Without firing up the charcoal grill or the fireplace, Dave found a way to make it happen.
These two just watched the roasting, but didn't partake.
Dave shows Katie the finer points of roasting technique.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Fourth child

Isaac seems to be a bit player in the latest posts, so here are a few pictures of him solo.



First day of school

This was five weeks ago. Better late than never.Walking Sam to Butler for his first day of first grade. (Thanks, Kelly!)
There was a line backed up of folks waiting to get into the school.
On the way to the cafetorium. (That word always makes me chuckle.)
Finding Sam's desk.
Isaac on his first day as a Little Duck.
Grace in the Teddy Bear room.
Katie in the Bear Cub Cave.