Easter Bunny- a hit

or should I say the candy was a hit. Finally Griffin is back to eating regular meals now that he is no longer eating candy. I should have known that eating candy would decrease his appetite for healthy, nutritious food. And now that I think of it, he's back to acting normal again too. Easter night, Keir put him to bed and came to tell me of Griffins "spasms," His quick and high voice saying, "I need drink, I need a toy, Cover me up!" Luckily, the Easter Bunny only comes once a year!

Happy Birthday Troy!

My older brother, Troy, turns 35 today! Happy Birthday Troy! He is a great brother and uncle. As you can see in this picture he has boundless energy to entertain not only his 3 girls but whomever else is in his company. He's often the first one to go out to play with the kids and the last one in. He's fun, outgoing and very friendly, not to mention smart. Thank you for being you, Troy! We love you!

she stands alone

Em can do it! She can pull herself to standing and balance. She is amazed by herself...as we all are! She has the proud grins as she shows off her new tricks. Most of them she learned in March! Now on to April! What will she learn to do this month?!

new tricks

Well Emerson has developed leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks. One day she gets a new tooth (see her new smile). The next day she crawls. Now she can pull herself to standing and Auntie Meg is trying to get her to stand by herself and walk (see picture). We spent 4 days with her cousins in the cities (thanks for having us Troy & Meg)! Griffin and Emerson both had so much fun with their aunts, uncles & cousins. Griffin & Em got to see their first Wild game and Griffin's favorite hockey player, Mikko Koivu.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Can you believe it? Taylor turned 13 this month! We couldn't be more proud of the young lady she is becoming. Happy Bithday Taylor!

New Hobbies

Emmie has taken up playing with tractors and combines. Now she is sitting quite well, so can use both hands while playing and sitting. How much fun! She has also started exploring her tongue and the different noises she can make. Her two bottom teeth are close to popping through and she's been pretty pleasant through the whole teething so far. Meanwhile she is still close to crawling, but not getting more than a couple of feet and has learned the butt pivot (on hands and knees and sitting back to change directions).

Griffin is our next Top Chef. He loves to help in the kitchen. Here he is helping mom make stromboli... he does like to "sample" the ingredients. We have been enjoying the last two days of mild weather. He has walked home from the park and testing out the puddles on the way. Luckily we have a boot dryer and snowsuits are washable!

Hooo'd of thought?

Here are my last two-hoo sewing projects. A little friend to keep our Hallie company while she mends from appendicitis. One for Griffin too-hoo.

Here is Emerson trying to crawling. She's working hard at figuring it out and eventually gets frustrated. I keep telling her she needs to work on balancing on one hand, but she's just not sure how. She'll figure it out in due time. It's not like we need another mobile child at this time. It's nice that Griffin can play without close supervision 24-7. And now that we spend a lot of time in the basement it's nice to have Griffin able to roam up and down with out a gate to worry about. Looking back at Griffin's first year it says he didn't crawl until around 8 months, so she's ahead of schedule being only 6 months.



We were up at Troy & Megan's for Valentine's day. Grandma Janis had them busy at making cut-out cookies. Boy did they have fun cutting and decorating. Many tastings later, there were are few cookies left... which Mama had a good time testing!




Griffin and the Bishop twins had a great time at the Children's Museum. The "girls" (babies and Mamas) had a good time watching them climb, play in the water, work at the blocks, etc. What a great place. Emerson and Teagan were born on the same day, so it was a pleasure meeting Teagan and comparing notes. Those Bishop twins are good helpers with the babies and any peep they made one of them came running to try to help. Thanks, Becky & Eric, for hosting us for the night!

I yub you

Yubs to you this Valentine's Day. It is so sweet to hear those three words from Griffin's little mouth. I warms my heart every time he says it.

Here's a couple sweet shots of our little love bugs.




HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

winter, winter... warm up!

Grandma made the kids roll-brim hats while were there for a visit. Thanks!




I love watching Emerson grab her toes and play. She can be so happy and has lately started giving a big smile when you catch her eye from across the room. She is finally growing out of her 0-3 month sleepers, but is quite the little bundle. While laying on her tummy she likes to get up on her hands and knees and rocks like she's ready to crawl. I've started talking to Griffin about Emerson getting to his toys and needing to find an Emmy toy for her instead of just taking his toy from her. Emerson is now eating two "meals" a day. She is quite proud but still needs a bit more practice so most of it doesn't end up on her chin.

Griffin is ready for a warm up. I am hopeful that it's true we will be getting a heat wave of 36 degrees today. Everyone will enjoy our daily walks again... mom, the dogs and the kids! He has done relatively well this month as we haven't gotten out to play on the pond as much as we'd like, but he's ready for the fresh air and change in our day.

I have taken to some indoor hobbies this summer including baking, cooking and sewing. I started with a flannel baby quilt with the guidance of my mother. Thanks to Mary, Keir's mom, I didn't need to buy a machine but am using her Singer. I am still learning the tricks of sewing and have considered taking a class, but mom teaches me something new every time we get to Lamberton. I have also made a blanket for Em, rag quilt, and changing pad. I am currently working on a nuk clip and basket liner. I have been inspired by etsy.com and the cute baby things I see there! The internet has been a great place for inspiration and free patterns! Here's a picture of the rag quilt I made with much assistance!

Happy Birthday Griffin!

Yes, Griffin turned two. I can't believe it. I just watched a video of him crawling, walking and the beginning stages of talking. What a wonder to watch these little babes grow. Griffin is so full of life and vibrancy, he's truly a gift from God. We love you oodles!

He had such a fun birthday party. With so many good friends and family to celebrate with us we were all exhausted by the end of the day. Luckily the weather was bearable and most of us were able to go play on the rink and go sledding... many of us, multiple times. A little boy's dreams come true! Thanks everyone for spending the day with us and the all of the nice gifts!

Maverick Birthday Cake

I was lucky enough to spot a hockey player Wilton cake pan at my mom's library back in October. So that got me thinking we'd need to do a hockey birthday party for Griffin (as it is his favorite thing to do). I followed most of the icing guidelines, but did white, black and purple and added MSU on the chest (first I aspired to to the Maverick logo... after printing it out it, I decided it was too complicated for such a small cake). I was up till 2 AM frosting with a little left to do after some shut-eye. Here's a picture of the "masterpiece". All worth if for my big boy.

My favorite time of year

I love spending time with friends and family,

having more family time,


and seeing people all dressed up for Christmas.


We had so much fun this Christmas! As a parent of a two year old, I now remember how fun Christmas is for a child. We celebrated Christmas at my parents' house the weekend before Christmas... yes the weekend with the snowstorms. Luckily, all of my siblings were able to get home for Christmas. My parents also hosted their annual soup party for my mother's brothers and their families. So it was great to see some of the Quades and celebrate the season with them.

We spend the day with Keir's family on Christmas Eve after attending Candle Light service with Keir's parents. We had a great time with some who we don't get to see so often and enjoyed sharing the joy of our children.

Christmas day was celebrated at home with opening of stockings and a few presents. One being Griffin's toy room. He was excited and mom is too with a organized central location for all his toys! My parents and Travis came to spend the day with us! We watched a favorite Christmas movie: Nation Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Gotta love it!

All celebrations included great food, the magic of Christmas and good company. We are very thankful for our families and friends.

Below is Emerson's new trick... scooting backwards on her head. Go ahead and try!! She also has taken a liking to grabbing both feet while laying on her back. Today we had her first laugh! Luckily Keir was home to hear it too!

Changes happen fast

Emerson and Griffin are both changing rapidly... and did I just say last post that Griffin wasn't entering the terrible twos? I bite my tongue, as yesterday I was in the mall and praying those around us knew that this is normal behavior for a two year old. He screams when he is unhappy... whether it's getting his coat on or he wants to be "warmed up" (held with his blanket) and the most common reason for a scream is that he doesn't get the toy he was playing with because he was being naughty with it (chasing the dogs with the lawn mower or throwing a ball to close to Emerson).

Emerson, thank God, is not entering the terrible twos, but does scream. Well actually it's more like a yell. She has seized crying when she is frustrated and has turned to giving her vocal chords a try. She smiles more than ever especially upon waking. Mama is her favorite person, which you may have learned at Baptism. It was Keir's turn to hold the baby while being Baptized. Emerson wished it wasn't so. She cried the whole time until Daddy finally gave in and handed her to mom, then the crying stopped immediately... embarrassing Keir in front of a full congregation. It's okay, Keir. Many parents know that around 4 months the baby loves whom ever it gets milk from... milk man or woman. Emerson can roll from tummy to back, grabs her toys and tries to stick them in her mouth, sucks on her fists, tries to talk with her lips closed and grabbed her foot yesterday! We're still waiting for that attempt at a laugh!

Griffin's favorite words as of late are, "Let's Go Mavericks! and Ole, Ole!" Ole being the song we sing after the Mavericks get a goal. Hopefully we'll be singing a lot this weekend at the Mav/Denver game. We encourage this fun chanting... except when it happens at church... oops!

Emerson's baptism was a glorious day and we enjoyed visiting with our friends and family. Unfortunately it was the last full day of Keir's Grandmother Jean's life. We enjoyed sharing so many fond moments with her. She was quite the lady and I feel lucky to have gotten to know her over the years. We will miss her.
Emerson was given so many nice gifts to use on her walk of faith. One of my favorites is the busy bible (http://www.busybibles.com). This is a hands-on bible with stories that go along with the picture. Each picture has an activity (unsnapping the fish and putting them in the net). We are already reading many of the books as Griffin loves to listen and look at books.

Griffin is liking the sights and sounds of the season. We open our advent Calendar(s) doors each day, look at the lights, tree, and listen to Christmas songs as well as read books about the holiday. He is learning Jesus' birthday comes before his and the gifts under the tree are for others. We are enjoying getting Christmas cards and pictures. I've hung them low enough for him to look at.

We are so blessed to have one another and good friends and family. You bring us much joy and we are thankful you believe in Jesus as we do. Enjoy this holiday season 2008.

Kids first skate

Emerson is three months old now! She is acting like a three month old. Smiling, loving to watch her mobile and watching people as they move around. She loves to have a conversation (true girl). We're looking forward to her baptism this weekend.

If you know much about Griffin, it's that he LOVES to play hockey. So when he spotted the skates Dad brought home for him, he was pretty excited. It took us awhile to help him understand he couldn't use them until there was ice to use them on. So sometimes he calls them water skates (ice is a hard concept to get when you can't see it outside yet). Last weekend after the Mav game they had skating with the Mavricks. Keir was very excited about his, mama, not so much as Griffin has a hard time making it to the third period of a game. So off Daddy and Griffin went to the game with their skates. I was excited to hear how it went and see pictures.

I can tell Griffin is getting closer to being 2. Luckily not the terrible twos. He just plays differently. He likes to fall down, run in circles, oh, and play hockey with a helmet?! He's found one of Keir's hockey helmets that he insists upon wearing while playing hockey (which is about 3 hours a day). I'll

For Keir's birthday his parent's gave us tix to the WCHA Hockey Showcase featuring the Mav vs. Gopher game. We had a great time!
Also, here is Emerson's favorite position... looking over her head while laying on the floor. I caught a nice smile!

Here's our two monkey's on Halloween. I should be counting the times I've heard what an appropriate costume for Griffin as he's quite the jumper, climber and funny guy.

Halloween party 08

We went to Lamberton to stay with Grandma & Grandpa Nickel for 4 nights. Keir and the boys hunted pheasant and the moms and kids stayed back to play. The older kids did a great job planning games- bobbing for apples, find the water balloon in the leaves, and pin the teeth on the vampire. We also carved pumpkins and made Halloween cookies! Griffin loved every moment of it... except wearing the costume. Hopefully he'll be ready for that in a week.

Emerson is smiling and cooing in her second month of life. It's so fun to "talk" with her. She's also thinking she wants to roll over so has been looking over her head while laying on the ground and getting on her side.

We've all got some sort of the plaque the last few weeks with the latest being Griffin with an ear infection. His first, so we're pretty luck there. Although his eyes have swollen and been yucky along with his nose. Poor boy, hopefully he'll be better soon.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Dreams Come True

Saturday Griffin and Papa took a ride in a great big combine. When we drove up and got out he was pretty excited until I told him he was going to go for a ride. Then his face was a bit hesitant. Luckily Papa took him before he could think about it too much. Now he talks about it with pride and loves to look at this picture. He says, "It was noisy."

October brings fieldwork!

And why does this pertain to us (October bringing fieldwork)? Griffin loves tractors, combines, etc. So last night when the farmer across the road was harvesting, there was much excitement at our house. Keir took Griffin to get a closer look and of course the combine went around the grove so they couldn't get a close look. I see they didn't finish the field, so don't worry, Griffin, they'll be back.

Emerson is starting coo, which is so fun... and funny to think that it's so fun! I know she's on the verge of a social smile and we can't wait!

Here's the latest greatest pics of the kidos!