Hannah's Hiding Place

She is now into hiding everything. One night she didn't want to wear long sleeves to bed so she hid the shirt. I asked her over and over to look for it and fess up to where she hid it. She stuck to her guns and would not admit to hiding it at all. She just wandered around pretending to look for it. In the morning, I asked her to go get the shirt, and she runs over and gets it from under a blanket. Boy, was she in trouble for lying to me!

Then the other day Genna was talking to herself, and someone said, "I wonder what Genna's talking about in there." Hannah responds all too quickly, "I think she's looking for her doll." I knew Genna wasn't looking for her doll, so I asked Hannah if she hid her doll from her. She admits that she did, and eventually gives up her hiding place...under the couch. I go get it and find a bunch of other things that Genna has been looking for over the past few days. What a stinker! At least she learned her lesson about lying to me!

Future Artist! :)

Here is Hannah's very own drawing of a Care Bear. She did this 100% on her own! She looked at a picure of a Care Bear and tried to draw what she saw, and I think she is a natural! I am sure I am biased, but for a 4 year old I think it is great!

Future Fooball Player :)

I would actually prefer basketball player, but his dad has his heart set on football. Here is Isaac in his 12-18 month PJs at only 4 1/2 months old.

An imagination is a wonderful thing!

A cute moment caught on camera...

Here's my brother with his first nephew!

"Stay awake, don't close your eyes."

I love that song from Mary Poppins. Here are my exhausted children...

Look at this angel and how he sleeps on his arms with his legs crossed!

Genna was sacked out in her Pack and Play.


Poppa Boat can never keep Isaac awake. :) (I have this exact picture of him with Genevieve when she was a baby too.)

They're so tired they even play like it's naptime when it's not! Here's Hannah putting her sissy down for a nap.

Here they are in the car!

I had to change our plans for the week. We're going to shoot for some down time this week since they are all pooped, and so am I!

Featuring my bouncing baby boy!

Isaac is really getting this jumping thing down now! He has also started shaking his head No alot. Plus, he found his feet this morning for the first time!

Merry Christmas!

We've been super busy this Christmas! So, sorry I am so late posting these! The girls had a great time with all my extended family, especially their cousins. Isaac didn't make it into any of these pictures because he was asleep during the little photo shoot we had just before family started arriving on Christmas Eve.

We had a good Christmas under the circumstances, but we all missed Daddy like crazy!

One Seriously Jet-lagged Baby

My poor angel has had a hard time with the 7 hour time change! Nights are finally starting to get better, but we're still having some problems. He is exhausted and so am I! I can barely even wake up when he cries at night because I am so out of it. Hopefully, things will just keep improving! Here's some pictures of "The Chunk."

Great-grandmother holds Isaac

Poppa Boat holds Isaac

Genna plays with "Little Buddy"

Build-a-bear Trip

Aunt Leah and Uncle Kent wanted to take the girls to make their own bear for their Christmas gift. They had so much fun! Hannah was a little aprehensive at first, but Genna just loved every minute of it. They both picked out the same bear initially, but their personalities came out when picking out the outfits! It was so fun! I would have loved one of these stores when I was a little girl!

Hannah, of course, made her bear a girl and she named her after her friend from German school, Annika. She was very set on the jeans for Annika. I was trying to get her to go for a dress.

Genna, of course, always prefering to play with boy dolls, made hers a boy bear and she named him Daddy Dougal (the Dougal is from one of her favorite books, and the Daddy is because she picked out "Daddy clothes" for him to wear). She even busted out in the line to pay and hiked her shirt up to nurse him. That gave my brother quite the chuckle!

Presenting...

Hannah and Genevieve!

We're in the states now visiting my parents. This was the first of many performances. They are singing The Day is Done, a song their daddy sings to them when he puts them to bed. I love their stage!

It's Official...

the ditsy gene was passed on to Genevieve! Bless her heart! It has been passed down for many generations from my maternal grandmother's lineage. I wish I could remember all the stories I've heard, but at the moment I can only think of a few. I am sure my family can think of many more! I can't think of a specific story about Nanny either. Please, post a comment with more ditsy family stories if you can remember a good one I've forgotten!

1. My sister actually vacuumed the whole living room without plugging the vacuum in!

2. My mom was driving with a fountain drink in her hand (a common occurrence if you know her,) and when she turned a corner the whole drink turned upside down as she turned the wheel with both hands.

3. My mom also was caught ironing with candles set up all around her in her college dorm. Why is this ditsy? Because the candles were so she could see during the power outage!

So here's my daughter's story to add to the collection! Genna has been potty training this last week, and doing very well. She's been wearing big girl panties, telling me when she has to go, then doing it all by herself! She's only had a few accidents too which is great! However, this morning she was supposed to take her Pull Up off and put on her panties. I hear her laughing and look over to find her taking her panties back off because she had forgotten to take off her Pull Up AND her pants before putting the panties on! What a Space Cadet! She has quite the personality! Last night when I got out the fingernail polish to paint the girls' nails, I asked what color they each wanted. Genna says, "I want them all!" I started to say that she needed to pick just one, but then I thought "Why not?" I don't want to squash her creativity even if an orange nail next to pinks and purples is not the most aesthetically pleasing combination. :)

Brian and I must carry the recessive ditsy genes, right? :)

Growing Like a Weed!

We had some well baby visits today. A total of eight shots and 2 Flu mists (Genna got one of these) later...

Our Petite Princess
Hannah at 4 years is 35.4 lbs and 40 inches which is 55th percentile for both.

Our Chunky Monkey
Isaac, on the other hand, at 4 months is 19.4 lbs and 26 3/4 inches which is 97th percentile for both.

Everyone is healthy!

Favorite Foods to Make, Bake, or Eat at Christmas!

Fudge

Forgotten Cookies (AKA Meringue Cookies)

Martha Stewart's Santa Bread

Christmas Tree Cheese Log

Sherbet Punch

Baby Friends

Here is Isaac and his friend, Lucy (about 4 months older,) on her namesake's feast day in their PJ's! They were in front of my friend's Christmas tree after our Teams of Our Lady meeting. During one of our prayers, they were holding hands. Babies are so sweet!

That was Isaac's first time in a Bumbo seat. I think he liked it. When I picked him up, his bottom was stuck in the seat and the seat came with him!

Here's a sweet picture that shows off Isaac's softness, I think!

Christmas Carols-Our Family Favorites!

I LOVE Christmas music! Here are some of our favorites:

My favorites are Breath of Heaven (by Amy Grant) and I'll be Home for Christmas. Both frequently bring tears to my eyes! Anything that makes me cry is a winner for me! Call me crazy, but I love to cry! (edit: I forgot What Child is This! I love that one too!)

Brian's favorite is Emanuel.

Hannah's favorite is The Twelve Days of Christmas by Natalie Cole.

Genna's favorites are Jingle Bells (two years in a row, in fact, I was singing this at bedtime well into April) and The Christmas Song (You know, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."). She goes around singing "Many times, many ways!" She's my most musical one!

Isaac so far is not a big fan of music or singing. If he's crying, it usually just makes him cry louder. This is a huge switch from Genna being calmed by any song as a baby. You didn't even have to pick her up, just sing to her. Maybe he'll grow into liking it at least a little. I have seen no preference for Christmas songs as of yet. :)

What are your favorites?

Soon to come... favorite Christmas foods!

My nephew, Carter

Here is a picture of my newest nephew, Carter, in the hat I crocheted for him! He is about a month and a half younger than Isaac. I hope they are great friends growing up despite the distance! We can't wait to meet him in a few weeks!

The girls perform and Isaac sleeps!

Hannah sings a German song from her kindergarten. Unfortunately, nobody in this house knows what it means. I understand some of the words, but not enough to tell you what it's about.

Isaac fell asleep in the living room this morning, so we just went upstairs to play while he finished his nap.

Genevieve told me she wanted to watch a movie. She then tried to explain which one she wanted to watch. It was so cute that I grabbed the camera and asked her to explain it again. She had just finished eating her yogurt and was on the way to the kitchen with it. Sorry she's in her panties, but we are sort of potty training. I say sort of because this isn't really an ideal time with all the changes going on. However, she does need to be potty trained when she starts German kindergarten in May (if they have room) though or it will never happen.

A Sad Goodbye

We had to say goodbye to Brian yesterday. It was a long emotional day for all of us, except Isaac I guess. Bless his little heart. He doesn't have a clue about what's going on. We were exhausted by the end of the day, and by dinner time there were lots of tears in this house. Today, on the other hand, was much smoother! We certainly don't have a good routine down yet for getting to bed since Daddy has put the girls to bed since Isaac was born pretty much. So now I have to figure out how to get them all to bed by myself by 8pm. I am sure we'll figure out a way. I remember having the same problem when Brian had to be away for a 3 month trip when Genna was 7 months old and Hannah was 2 yrs old. I figured it out after a couple of weeks and then it was smooth sailing.

Here are some pictures from his last night at home with the girls in their new pajamas that he got them as a going away gift. They say "Key to Daddy's Heart" on them and have keys all over the pants. He also gave them each a religious token to remember him by. To Hannah he gave a key chain with a cross that has a picture of Pope Benedict XVI on it. To Genna he gave a decade wooden rosary. Hannah is putting hers on her backpack to take to school, and she holds it whenever she misses him. Yes, she has already gotten sad and needed to hold it! I told her it hasn't even been two days and he's gone all the time for 2 days or even 2 weeks, but you can't reason with a 4 year old. :) Besides she's a Daddy's girl!

I hope he doesn't kill me for putting this next one up on the blog, but it was his idea to take this one. It is my favorite because it shows him playing and being silly with the girls. There is nothing that makes me love him more than when I see him with our children being cuddly or silly. I love it! I'm going to get a big print of this one for the girl's rooms.

We love you, Honey, and we miss you already!

Sankt Nikolaus Tag

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! We had a good time together! Brian took our little early riser, Hannah, to the bakery down the road to get these cute little St Nicholas treats.

Genna, our late sleeper, enjoyed hers later after gifts!

They've been asking for a Barbie house forever, and St Nicholas found a vintage 1978 Barbie house for a major bargain so that was exciting. Isaac got a new sippy cup and a car rattle from Saint Nicholas.

Then we opened our gifts under the tree. The girls got some religious and educational gifts. Isaac got two new PJ's. I got a teddy bear with some white gold diamond earrings and an electronic hand held Sudoku game. Daddy got a rosary CD, German learning materials, books, a hand held Chess game, and a home made gift to take on his long trip. (He doesn't usually get so much, but this is a special thing since he'll be gone for so long.)

Then we played for a while and then took the train out to a Christmas market in Deidesheim for the rest of the day.

German Genevieve

Genna is dancing around the room while Brian and Hannah play Go Fish in German.

Genna: This is how I love Daddy in German. Ich bin Daddy, can you give me the dishes?

Everyone cracks up. I have no idea where the dishes part came from. Ich bin Daddy means I am Daddy in German. What a goof!

Not 5 minutes later while trying to get undressed by herself.

Genna: Ich bin Mommy, may you help me get my arm out?

I look at her and she has one arm sticking out of the neck hole, and I can't help but laugh. She is constantly making us laugh!

This is eerie for anyone for knew my sister when she was little...

Look in the background at Genna! In this first picture, it looks like my sister was photoshopped into this picture with Isaac! I can't believe how much she looks like my sister sometimes, usually when her eyes are closed! Genna has bigger eyes for sure. Can you believe this, Mom? The bangs are even the same style.

Below Isaac has a similar expression that my baby brother used to have when he was a baby, kind of a "Duh" look. :)

Frosty the Snowman

What a surprise when we woke up to 5 inches (and counting) of snow this morning. Brian got stuck in it on his way to work because they hadn't cleared the roads at all and he was driving uphill when the traffic stopped. He did make it to work though. Apparently it is just piled up in our area because we are at a higher elevation. I went ahead and canceled my eye appointment and kept Hannah home today so we could take advantage of the snow! We miss it from upstate NY!

Isaac took a good long nap while the girls and I played in the snow. I pulled the girls in the sled in the backyard (no hill, but they still loved it.)

Then we built Frosty the Snowman. Hannah watched our Frosty movie this morning while waiting for her sister to wake up and play in the snow. Hannah made the two top balls all by herself! She insisted I find sticks for arms and a magic hat. This was the best I could do. :) We had a blast!


Hannah needs some snow boots and bibs as you can see. The coat is borderline too small for her too. I told her not to sit down. :)

Little Updates on My Sweethearts

Hannah is loving being 4 years old as you can see! She made this hat with her teachers in German Kindergarten and has worn ever since. She also hasn't taken off her I am 4 necklace that Mimi sent except to sleep (and I made her take it off for Masses too)! The teachers asked me to bring some treats for her class the day they celebrated her birthday. I got up early that morning only to realize that I was out of eggs. So I ran to the store made 24 cupcakes and took them to her school. Then they tell me that they can't have home-made goods because of some stomach problems that didn't translate well. Maybe allergies? Anyway, I had to give the cupcakes away to my Catholic woman's group so we didn't have more left over sweets at the house.

When we set up the Crib for Jesus with the cotton balls. I explained the way it worked to the girls that they got to make His crib soft every time they did something to good, like obeying or loving someone, etc. Well, immediately this spurred on Hannah to have spontaneous prayers. She said, "Oh, Mommy, I have to pray right now!" She runs over and sits at the table and folds her hands in prayer. She looks up at me and says, "I am praying because then I can put a cotton ball in Jesus' crib." A bit reward motivated, do you think?


Genna is testing limits still, but overall she's doing alright. She has finally learned a few letters, A, G, H, and O. She points them out where ever she sees them. Plus, she surprised me by writing a perfect H yesterday. I guess she's seen Hannah do it enough that she just figured it out. I have been trying to teach her to write a G forever, but it isn't an easy one to write. She's making us laugh as always with her silly spontaneous songs and stories. This face says it all!


This little guy has been a bit fussy lately. I haven't figured out why, but he hasn't been as content laying around watching us as usual. He might be getting bored with the same old routine. We got out the exersaucer today and it kept him happy a while. He can grab toys that are right in front of him pretty well. Daddy had some trouble with him while I was at my doctor's appointment. He didn't really want the bottle. He is learning to fall asleep on his own, but still has a hard time occasionally. He's slowed on his growth a bit and is still hovering around 19 lbs. Still a big boy though!

Advent Plans

We will be traveling for the last part of Advent and will not be home for Christmas. So my Advent plans are to do things simple and small this year so they are as portable as possible. So here's our plan...

Advent Wreath
Well, Germans do not have the correct colored candles for their wreaths. They have all one color for each wreath. So with them being hard to find and our travel plans, I decided to make a portable advent wreath. Here it is!

Each Sunday one family member gets to color a candle in. Daddy did the first one since he won't be here for most of the Sundays. I hung it up on the wall by our tree. Here is Daddy coloring his candle with the girls taking turns coloring the wreath and holly. They did a really good job, especially Genna who is coloring very well for her age compared to what I remember Hannah doing.

Jesse Tree
We are bypassing the super time-consuming real tree with all the ornaments and doing only the Jesse Tree. We are using a small fake pre-lit tree for this. Although the tree is not portable, we are using simple paper ornaments this year (I hope to make some cool creative ones in the future, but this is the way it has to be this year) that we can take with us and we'll figure out what to do with them when we get to my parent's house. Here's the tree!



We put our first ornament on the tree today and did the reading for it during dinner. The kids enjoyed the reading and discussion. Then we did the readings of the day from the Word Among Us followed by reciting the Magnificat. I hope we can be disciplined enough to do this everyday with all that's happening with our family this Advent season.

Baby Jesus' Crib
This we did last year. Again, we can't really take it with us, but it's something we can do up until we leave without missing the point.

St. Nicholas Day
You may have noticed in the picture that we have our presents wrapped and under this tree already. This is because we are opening gifts on St. Nicholas Day since Daddy will be leaving soon. We will read the story of St. Nicholas as a family in the morning. St. Nicholas will bring the kids a few little things for their stockings and then the girls a bigger gift to share. St. Nicholas is going to be visiting the Catholic Church and Kindergarten on that day as well. So, hopefully we can catch him.

Advent Calendar
I am bypassing the cute German Advent calendars (with chocolate inside) this year because they are so big and we couldn't take it with us or finish it before we leave. However, in our village they have an Advent calendar of sorts on various private and public windows around the village. So each night a new window is decorated and the town gathers to have Gluwein and food and celebrate being one day closer to our Savior's birthday! We're not going to go to all of them, but we are going to try to hit the major ones. I'll put a picture up if I can get a good one.

Well, that's it! What are your Advent plans?