Bubbles

Lots to say about our day, but too tired to make a lot of sense right now, I'm afraid. Instead, I will leave you with a few unedited photos of Katie and Markus enjoying one of Abu's Christmas presents- a bubble gun. Yes, Abu received new toys for the grandkids to play with at her house. She thought that was a fantastic idea and had just as much fun with the new toys as the kids did. We will be away for the next few days. Look for an update next week!

Merry Christmas!

I'm typing this on Christmas Eve because I really don't want to bother with the computer on Christmas day. I am so excited that tomorrow is Christmas. There is nothing like celebrating Christmas with a child around- and I know it will only get better and more fun! I am so thankful that we have a Savior to celebrate; One that knows us intimately and loves us perfectly. Without Christmas, we truly would be nothing. Lost. Alone. But we have a Savior that was born to redeem. Praise God and His perfect plan and this wonderful occasion we call Christmas. May all the joy, hope and peace that the Christ-child came to be fill your hearts today and everyday.

PS- We tried to get a decent shot of the three of us at the Christmas Eve service tonight. Didn't really happen. Maybe tomorrow?

The Nativity...

through the eyes of a 20 month old little boy.

This joy...

is what it's all about.

She's still cooking...

so of course, in classic Kelsey pregnancy form, I am officially a contracting maniac. At my OB checkup on Thursday they put me on a monitor for an hour or so. Sure enough, there is more activity than they would like to see right now. I am not on bed rest or house arrest (yet :) ) but I have been told that I need to take it as easy as possible. Thank God for Abu and Papa who picked up Markus that evening and kept him for 48 hours. I did get some much needed nighttime rest (even indulged in a sleeping pill) and some daytime rest as well. Also got the majority of my Christmas baking done (while taking lots of breaks!). So the prayer right now is that she will stay content and I will stay content and Markus will stay content. Markus is fast asleep in his crib, Mark is our with some boys watching the Cowboys game and I am going to bake a couple batches of sugar cookies (thanks for the recipe Taya) and hit the sack! As Markus would say, "Ni, ni!".

Giggles

There is no better sound than the sound of this boy's giggles. I now you can't hear him in these pics, but I think his face speaks volumes. We were having a fun time of tickling while daddy took these shots.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was our big Christmas concert weekend at church. The weekend consisted of the concert and a dessert on Friday evening plus two more performances during regular service times today. Mark put together an amazing presentation that included congregational singing, choir music, some special music numbers, great narration, a video and a devotional by our pastor. It was awesome. Not only was the truth of Christmas presented clearly and beautifully through the music and spoken word but it was a presentation that also focused on the idea of worship and rejoicing throughout this wonderful season of advent. I was blessed to be able to sing on an ensemble for one song as well as sing a duet with Mark. My whole family came today which is always a treat, as well as our dear friends John and Mona from Lynden. We hosted a brunch over here after church for everyone and had a great time. Yesterday I spent the day cleaning and cooking in preparation for the brunch today and also had a MOPS table get together at Barnes for coffee last evening. It was a great weekend, but one that was way too busy for even me. I am glad that it is Sunday night and I can curl up on the couch for awhile and turn in early! I'll post some pics soon of Markus and Katie playing over here today- they were both all over their Abu (who has been on vacation for the last two weeks) and were so excited to play with her again.

Babysitter!

Last night I left Markus with a babysitter for the first time. We have left him plenty with Abu and Papa as well as countless friends and he has always done great. Last night, however, was the first time I actually paid someone to come to our home and watch him. It was our dear friend, Jilly, who we adore and who adores Markus. We had her and her parents over for dinner last week, and Markus climbed right up into her lap and read books with her and played with blocks, too. Last night, as I was preparing to leave, I knelt down and said "Markus, Mommy is going to go bye-bye. You're going to stay here with Jilly. Can you give Mommy a besito?". He looked at me, shook his head no (to my kiss request) and pointed at Jilly who was sitting across the room. He then broke into a huge grin and took off running towards her. He climbed up on the couch next to her to read some books and could have cared less that I was leaving. It was awesome. According to Jilly, they had a fantastic time (you gotta love when your babysitter says "I had so much fun"). And she can come over whenever she wants, because I don't know what they did last night but he slept until 8:30 this morning. Glorious.

Words

I wanted to jot down (more for myself than anything) Markus' current vocabulary. He seems to be adding words daily. It's so fun to hear him start to really identify things and communicate! So off the top of my head: mama, dada, papa, abu, vroom (car), moo (cow), meow (cat), the piggy sound (you just have to hear it- it's a riot), tractor, bear, cracker, cheese, church, amen, hot cocoa, hot dog (that was added today while we enjoyed a super healthy Costco lunch), hi, dog, his version of woof (again, so cute), bird, home, apple, remote, romo, baa (sheep), baby, hiss (snake sound), shoes, boots (says it when mommy puts on her Uggs)... that's all I can come up with right now, but I'm sure I will think of more later. He also is becoming a little champ at signing thank you when given something. A woman at Costco today who was talking to us while we ate our lunch gave him a penny (sweet lady- but a penny to a 20 month old?) and he immediately signed thank you. I was a proud mama! And because no post is complete without a picture, I give you our son who somedays pretends he is from the Ozarks.

Candy Cane Lane

When MJ and I were out playing in the snow the other day, there was a house that had these candy canes lining their front walkway. Watch the progression of photos as MJ discovered the candy cane. Make sure you click on the pics so you can see his facial expressions (and his tongue :) ) as he makes his discovery. It's so cute.

First trip to the dentist

Markus had his first trip to the dentist on Friday. Background- Markus HATES medical offices. Even going with mommy to her appts doesn't work anymore. Needless to say, the dentist was no exception. The minute we sat in the chair together, he started to lose it. When I laid him across my lap and the dentist started doing her thing, it was a complete lost cause. In the midst of his screaming and wailing, he was calling out for daddy. Of course he was- he typically calls out for mommy when in distress, but mommy was the evil one holding him down with every ounce of strength she had so she was of no use to him. He alternated his daddy cries with cries of all done, all done. He did repeat the all done cries the moment we entered the exam room at the peds office as well today (see previous post). This will get better someday, right? Here's some pics of the nightmarish experience.

Just in case you were worried...

I am still in the running for mom of the year. About 1 1/2 to 2 weeks ago, Markus started really fighting us at bedtime/naptime and diaper changes. I mean, really fighting. Very weird for this kid, but he's a toddler, right? So I chalked it all up to typical toddler behavior (which it still very well may be, however...). At the same time, he started waking in the middle of the night- anywhere from 3-6 times a night. We all know Markus has never been a champion sleeper, but this has been ridiculous even for him. But during the day, with the exception of the acting out, he has been happy, playful, jovial, loving-life Markus (you have seen the evidence in the recent pics). Yesterday, I saw him sticking his finger in his left ear multiple times. Of course, I started to wonder. After another rough night last night, I decided to take him to the doctor today. She said it's one of the worst double ear infections she has seen (mind you, they have said that about one of his before as well). So more than likely this kid has had a raging ear infection for over a week and I was chalking it all up to him just being a toddler. Now I am sure he will continue to remain toddler-like after we finish this round of super-antibiotics and Motrin, but I am really interested to see if it doesn't improve even the slightest bit. Poor little guy.

You gotta love...

living just a few miles from a military base. It's 11:07 pm. Literally, our house is shaking (just a tad) from what I am assuming is bombing practice on the base. The bands and rattles and shakes have been going since about 10, and happen every minute. Did I mention it's 11:07 pm? I'm all for supporting the troops (the sacrifices they and their families make for this country is absolutely amazing) but do they have to do their training at 11:09 pm?

Eggies

There was a time when Markus would literally eat anything you put in front of him. These days, not so much. We have totally entered the stage at which there are certain foods he likes some days, and then the very next day he refuses to eat. Breakfast foods are easy though. He has yet to refuse any breakfast foods, and still especially loves eggies. He loves them even more when daddy is the one feeding him, because no one makes him laugh like daddy does.

First Snow!

Today was Markus' first time experiencing the snow. Sure, he sat in some last winter, but surely he doesn't remember it (although I do have the snowman pics to prove it when he is older :) ). Today when Mark was dismissing church, he said "Enjoy the snow". We all turned around and could see out the foyer windows and doors that snow certainly was falling! It was beautiful. When we reached the parking lot Markus started laughing and trying to run (he had to hold mommy's hand). He also kept trying to catch the flakes as they fell. I had worked with him on the word "snow" when we were inside, and he kept saying "nooo, nooo". It was adorable. We stopped at Starbucks on our way home so I could pick up a gift for our Christmas party tonight (some ground coffee to go with the yummy homemade cinnamon rolls I baked off this morning) and I decided to get Markus a sandwich there because I thought he would fall asleep on the way home and thus miss lunch. We sat together and I drank a latte (I even cheated and had caffeine today) and he enjoyed his sandwich, all the while pointing outside at the nooo. We had a blast. He actually stayed awake until we got home, so I bundled him up and put on my Uggs and we went outside to play a bit. You will see from the pics there wasn't much nooo on the ground, but he sure loved it anyways!

This morning

This all happened before 7 am (not necessarily in this order): I was showered, dressed, hair done and makeup on; Markus had his first spank (timeouts are not speaking his language); we ate scrambled eggies and toast; I burned my middle finger; homemade cinnamon rolls were placed in the oven; I broke a glass in the sink; I stepped on a small piece of glass that somehow made it's way out of said sink (thank God it was me and not Markus); I spilled dish soap all over the counter; I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher; I changed Markus and got him dressed for the day... all before 7! Such is the life of the stay at home mommy. Can't wait to see how much more exciting the mornings get when there are two of them running around!

Our little performer

Surprise, surprise, Markus loves to sing and dance. He especially is enjoying singing into his microphone(s) lately.

Christmas Tree

Markus loves the tree. It is a minimalist tree this year- lights, a garland and a star. Markus has done great with it, and I figure why tempt him with a whole bunch of dangly snowmen and balls. We love our simple tree and love the way Markus lights up every morning when we turn on the lights. I can't wait until the Little People Nativity Set I ordered online arrives so we can place it under the tree for him to play with. He does know where baby Jesus is in mommy's nativity set... but I'm not about to let him play with that one :).