Schenk Sightings

First Bites

2012-02-15T00:00:00.001-08:00

On February 11th we decided it was time for Nora to take her first bites of food (not counting the orange slice she sucked on :)

Kyle peeled the avocado. I smashed it up. Kyle grabbed the camera. I put it on the spoon. Nora quickly grabbed the spoon out of my hand. After wrestling it out of her grasp I held her hands down and stuck it in her mouth. She was quite bewildered and by the looks of her face she didn't enjoy the taste. But she successfully ate 3 spoonfuls and kept it all down. She probably would have eaten more but we had our fun for the day. We'll try again soon...and by that I mean probably next week. Have I mentioned I hate doing the baby food thing?

Oh and Sawyer was very intrigued by the fanfare so he asked for a bite. We happily obliged. Here was his reaction:

Nora crawling

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

The first video is Nora taking her first crawls. In January I worked a total of 6 hours outside of the house and ironically that's when Nora decided to start crawling. Thankfully Daddy was watching them and he caught it on video.

And here she is crawling like a champ just a few days later. This video is not great...some little two year old wanted to be in the video. Oh and I forgot to take the lens cap off at first. So the first 20 seconds is really the only crawling part.

Where's Sawyer?

2012-02-11T00:00:00.002-08:00

When Sawyer is being silly or knows he is in trouble he tries to hide.

These are his tried and true methods

Covering his eyes with his hands

or shutting his eyes very tight

He thinks he is invisible :)

In Recent News

2012-02-09T00:00:00.001-08:00

Sawyer was sick for 3 days last week...high temp, very lethargic, congested, super clingy...some sort of virus. While I hate for my little guy to be sick I secretly love all the snuggles. He got 2 full days of snuggles and movie watching.

Nora crawled up 1 stair several times at the Super Bowl Party we went too. What?! At this rate she'll be cruising at 7 months and walking at 8 months. I am not ready for this!

Oh yeah, we went to a Super Bowl party. Only the 2nd NFL game we've watched all season. Most people think since Kyle is a football coach we constantly watch football. That is not the case...he lives and breaths football for 12 hours+ a day so when he comes home watching football is not a hobby...plus we don't have cable.

I was not a fan of the Super Bowl half time show. Madonna didn't even look like she was singing.

I've watched a 1993 Sesame Street VHS so many times I can sing the songs by heart. C is for cookie, that's good enough for me...

I've been in a bit of a sewing rut. Right now I'm just trying to use up the fabric I have. Hoping to find some inspiration in my stash. One project I'm excited to attempt is a skirt for Nora. I'm loving the Lisette line of fabrics at JoAnn's.

Nora had her first taste of food...by accident. Nora was sitting in her high chair while we ate dinner. Sawyer was done so Kyle took the tray off his high chair and set it on the table. Kyle cleaned up Sawyer. Kyle resumed eating and we were talking then simultaneously we heard a loud sucking noise to our right. We looked over and much to our astonishment Nora had snagged a slice of orange off Sawyer's tray and was happily eating it up. Had she been my 1st child I would have been appalled...we just laughed and took it away. While it wasn't what I intended to be her first food I can confidently say she LIKED it. My only regret is I didn't get a picture of it.

One of my goals for the year is to learn how to use my camera on manual...but I'm still really intimidated...I just need to do it...who cares if I don't know what I'm doing...what's the worst case scenario? the pictures are horrible and I have to delete them...who cares...just giving myself a little pep talk. I will start this process this month...hopefully.

I'm currently procrastinating on lots of things like compiling our income tax information, cleaning the house, etc.

I have been successful at one thing recently...going to the gym. While I don't like the process of getting back in shape. I sure do like the feeling of being in shape so I'm plugging away.

Family Book {Gift Idea}

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sawyer is really starting to remember people and he is always inquisitive about people's identity. As in we'll be walking through a store and he will point and ask "that?" So, in an effort to help him remember family members faces and names I made him a family picture book for Christmas.

It has all the immediate family members including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I also left a few blank pages at the end of the book to add pictures of new family members that come along. In fact since I had the book printed in November I have 2 new family members to add (cousin Morgan and Aunt Jessica).

I created it using Mixbook.com.

Sawyer loves it! We read through it at least once a day.

Lollipop

2012-02-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sawyer recently got a haircut. His first electric clippers cut. We demonstrated on Daddy first. Sawyer sat very still until Mom got the scissors out to line it up and cut around his ears. But no tears were shed and for his efforts he received a lollipop.

He thoroughly enjoyed it for days.

6 months

2012-02-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Half Birthday!

At her 6th month well child visit Nora was:

Height: 25 inches (50%)

Weight: 14 lbs. 2 oz. (25%)

Head Circumference: 15.75 inches

When we were at the doctor's office he checked Sawyer's weight at 6 months and it was 14 lbs exactly. So both Nora and Sawyer seem to be trending the same on their stats, but they have different percentages because the charts are different for boys vs. girls.

During our photo shoot this was the look I got most of the time...she is constantly chewing on something

Nora is:

a sitter (see evidence below :)

a flipper (rolls over)

a spitter (drooler)

a spitter upper, at least 2 times after every feeding, thankfully she smiles through it

a crawler (I'll try to get a video up sometime)

able to go from crawling to sitting up and vice versa (in fact that's how she learned to sit up)

ticklish everywhere especially the neck, under the arms, and her feet

content, she will crawl around and play with different toys for nearly an hour

a wonderful sleeper, she sleeps from 10 pm - 8:00 am, naps from 9:30 - 11:00 am, and naps again from 1 - 4 pm, we are trying to cut out her 7 pm cat nap to see if she will start going to sleep earlier

a tummy sleeper

a smiler, when Kyle and I are having a serious conversation she will undoubtedly be giving me a huge grin and the serious conversation comes to an abrupt end because we can't help but give her attention when she is so darn cute

a grabber, she tries to reach for everything

toothless, the 2 bottom buds are still there but have not yet popped through

a joy!

Nora currently wears size 6 months and she is well on her way to the 6-9 month clothes. She is still in size 2 diapers, but after we finish this box we'll move her to a size 3 (Sawyer stills wears a size 3 :)

Nora still hasn't eaten any food, but this month we'll give food a try. Sawyer started with avocado's and Nora will probably follow suit.

And we'll end with a mommy guilt confession...Nora sustained her first injury this week...she fell off the bed and hit her head. Sawyer and Nora share a bedroom and at night it works perfectly, but at nap time one of them inevitably wakes the other up so we have separated them. Nora always sleeps on our bed with lots of pillows as barriers (the pack'n'play just wasn't comfortable enough). But now that she has started crawling she decided to climb over the pillows which led to her falling off the bed and hitting her head. I heard a loud thud and thought it was Sawyer getting out of bed and then I heard a scream and ran upstairs in a panic. Thankfully her only injury was a bruise above her eye...but Mommy was very traumatized. Needless to say the pack'n'play is now her naptime location and she will just have to get used to the less comfortable sleeping arrangement. Since that incident she has hit her head on at least 3 other things...I forgot how dangerous crawling was...I guess I need to baby proof :)

Bubbles

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sawyer recently had his 1st bubble bath. I think he was a huge fan especially when we turned on the jets and the bubbles quadrupled almost enveloping him in foamy goodness.

Cuter than a Cupcake

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Wreath

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

The burlap wreath has once again been reinvented...this time for Valentine's Day.

I took apart the argyle and strung these Target heart shaped Christmas ornaments across the wreath for a bunting effect. The ornaments were 3 for 10 cents at the Target Christmas clearance. So the total cost for the wreath was 20 cents!

And here it is as a fall wreath and a spring wreath.

I love versatile decorating objects!

And just for fun here's the Valentine inspired mantle. I have never decorated for V-day (not really sure this would be considered decorating for the holiday) but I had fun putting a few touches of hearts in the house.

I strung a few of the heart shaped ornaments in an empty frame. I also repurposed the wooden red ball garland we use at Christmas. Then I hung a strand of book paper hearts to complete the look. It was inspired by some friends at craft night and literally took 5 minutes to make!

I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red.

Playtime brought to you by Sawyer

2012-01-26T00:00:00.001-08:00

I think I've mentioned this before, but Sawyer is the best big brother. Anytime Nora is crying and I'm preoccupied I can ask him to go entertain her and he responds immediately. This day he wanted to show her how this toy worked. Sidenote: I promise my children do not always wear pj's, they just always happen to be in pj's when I pull out the camera...

Hi Nora, look at this toy

you wind it up

then watch it walk

now I want to hold your hand

close up so in later years I can prove they once adored each other :)

2 years

2012-01-24T00:00:00.001-08:00

Our little guy went for his 2 year well child visit and here are his stats:

Height: 32.75 inches (10%)

Weight: 23.6 lbs. (5%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (10%)

You really pick up on non verbal expressions. When something is shocking or exciting you say "Ah" and gasp with a wide open mouth. When I ask you a question and you are unsure of the answer you say an extended "um"

You LOVE to learn. You would read books all day if I had the energy to read to you all day. As we read you stop me, point to an object, and ask "that?" You want to know what everything on the page is even the letters in the words.

You can say your alphabet very clearly by repeating what we say. You can sing it all by yourself. You can also identify several letters including: A, B, C, D, E, H, I, K, M, N, O, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. I really don't know where you picked up the letter identification. We've never really taught you to recognize the letters but several times a day you will surprise me by saying something like "H, H, H, H" and then I look and the box I have or the toy you have has an "H" on it. When daddy wears a Malone shirt (which is everyday :) you tell him each letter on his shirt.

I love how your mind works! I love to see things from your perspective. The other day we were at Sonic and you kept yelling "D, D, D" and I looked around and sure enough they had circle fluorescent light decorations that were split and looked like a capital D. When we're in stores you observes things I usually walk right by without a second glance. But you help me slow down and enjoy the little things through your eyes!

You adore Elmo and Big Bird, which you call "AD," is a close second. Actually he loves the whole Sesame Street gang in fact we always have to pray for them at night. You also received a Yo Gabba Gabba video for Christmas and you seem intrigued by it as well.

Other activities you like to do include puzzles, coloring, "playing" the piano, playing with your finger puppets, playing with Nora, and "helping" Mommy

You still wear a size 3 diaper during the day and a size 4 at night.

You primarily wear a size 24 month or 2T though in pants you can still fit in 18 months.

Since summer you have been wearing a size 5 shoe...then you got new shoes for Christmas and I'm ashamed to admit you are now a size 7...poor thing has been wearing shoes that are way too tight.

Your daily routine goes like this:

7:00 am wake up

7:30 eat breakfast, watch Willa's Wild Life, snuggle with momma

8:00 play

9:30 Nora takes a nap, so this is when we do learning activities or coloring or hang out with daddy while momma works out

11:00 play

11:30 eat lunch

12:00 play with daddy during lunch break

1:00 nap

4:00 play, you wake up Nora (one of my favorite times of day), watch a video

5:30 eat supper

6:00 family time

8:00 get ready for bed (bath, brush teeth, books, prayers)

8:30 lights out

And just like any little boy you love to run around especially if you're naked.

Momma's not quite ready but you are showing some signs of getting ready for potty training. You tell us when you are poopy. Sometimes you say "poopy" before you go. You sometimes will tell us when you are wet. One day your pants got wet with some drool and you did not like it. You kept insisting your pants were wet and needed changed. You are staying dryer at night. We will have to work on limiting drinks before sleep times. I think all of this bodes well for future potty training efforts. But unless you push the issue we'll probably wait a few more months.

You have your moments of disobedience every day, sometimes it's a struggle to get you to eat, you're not always fond of sharing, but we'll take all of that because you have a zest for life, you love to explore and climb and jump, you are usually very sweet, you are a loyal little fellow who LOVES his close friends, and you're such a joy! We can't wait to see what God has in store for you in the next year!

Winter Walk

2012-01-22T00:00:00.001-08:00

A few days this winter we've enjoyed sunshine and mild temperatures. So to take advantage of the nice weather we bundled up and went outside for a walk.

Oh how glorious it is to get outside!

Just Wanna Jump Jump

2012-01-20T00:00:00.001-08:00

Sawyer

LOVES to

Jump

We've got a jumper. He jumps all over the house. The ironic thing is he is also a climber. In the world of child safety climbers and jumpers do not go well together. So he must be monitored closely as he will climb on top of and jump off of almost anything.

Gifts of the Adult Variety

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-08:00

I know Christmas is long gone, but I wanted to post some gift ideas I made for friends and neighbors. These would make great small gifts all year round for birthdays, house warming, or as a thank you.

Ruffled Dish Towel

Tutorial via Sweetwater

Another way to spice up a dish towel

Honey Butter: recipe via Our Best Bites

I made a loaf of bread to go with the butter and gave it to our neighbors. Something less traditional than a plate of cookies.

No, not yet

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

In all of the recent birthday fanfare for Sawyer we haven't mentioned our little girl much. Well she's been moving right along (literally). My sweet little baby has decided at the wee age of 5 months that she would like to be mobile.

She is up on all fours

rocking back and forth

moving her legs, but she hasn't quite figured out the arm thing yet

As she tries with all her might to move she gets up on her toes as if to do a push-up or a bear crawl.

Kyle and I had a talk with her and told her she is not allowed to be mobile yet, but then she falls down and gives us this smile and we let her continue practicing.

She's days away from a life changing event. Which means we're days away from a life changing event...We're excited for her to be able to explore her world. I'm not excited for the additional cleaning and making sure all small toys are out of reach.

Elmo Loves Sawyer {Party Details}

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

To say my son is obessessed with Elmo would be an understatement. I've heard him wake up in the middle of the night crying out for Elmo. When he wakes in the morning the 1st thing he wants is Elmo. He gets very excited when he discovers an Elmo book. I could go on and on. So when his 2nd birthday rolled around I had no option...I had to throw an Elmo themed party. I wanted to do something low key that focused on Sawyer getting to play with his friends so we held a play date on a Friday morning and then invited family to come for lunch during the play date.

Here are the party elements:

An Elmo shirt

A new tradition: the birthday banner, it's reversible boy on 1 side girl on the other

The mantle using stuff from around the house and a dollar tree elmo balloon

Food table

Elmo cupcakes

Chocolate chip cookies in honor of Cookie Monster

Goldfish in honor of Elmo's best friend Dorothy

And our very own Dorothy...I think the real goldfish was the major attraction at the party and Sawyer is quite smitten...I think we have our 1st pet

Utensils rolled and tied with an Elmo printable

Party games: Oscar's trash toss and Big Bird's balloon game

Despite my initial qualms about a theme party I really had fun planning this event. I got several ideas from Pinterest so here is a source list or you can visit my pinterest page and view the 2nd birthday party board.

Sources
Printables: created by me
Elmo balloons: Dollar Tree
Pennant Banner: template, sewn by me
Elmo shirt: template created and sewn by me, idea via Children's Place (no longer in stock)
Elmo cupcakes: This Momma Loves
Oscar's trash toss: Annie's Eats

2nd Birthday Day

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Sawyer's birthday...this is what we awoke too. One of our first snows of the season had to fall on his birthday...but we didn't let that get us down. Here's the day in pictures:

Sawyer awoke at 5:30 am which also included waking Nora up so he got to start the day early. Unfortunately daddy was already at work so the celebration had to wait.

He got to take a bath

Test out the party games

Play with his party balloons

Then we attempted some pictures of Nora and Sawyer

Pictures of this little one are becoming more difficult as she is starting to move...thus the blurriness

When daddy got home we opened gifts

super excited for a new Elmo book

Some of the party excitement:

Blowing out the candles...he ate the nose then he was done.

While Sawyer didn't enjoy the cupcake some kids devoured it :)

Sawyer had a blast playing with his friends. He crashed at naptime. Daddy was gone through the night plus the roads were bad outside so the rest of the day was very low key. Sawyer got to enjoy watching two videos because that's what he wanted to do. Then for dinner per his request for cheese (this is what he always requests when I ask what he wants to eat) we dined on mac'n'cheese.

All in all I think it was a pretty successful 2nd birthday. More details on the party to follow.

Happy Birthday

2012-01-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today I awoke with a backache little did I know that around lunch time we would be meeting our baby boy. And that morning I never would have imagined how much love and joy he would bring to our life.

He's gone from a tiny little babe to a silly, mischievous, ornery, sensitive, protective, small, smart little boy.

Sawyer's 1st Birthday

We thank God everyday for his little life and can't wait to see how his personality continues to develop!

We love you Sawyer!

I will do a more thorough update post after his well child visit in a few weeks. Today we're just celebrating (more to come on that too :)

The New Year & Beyond

2012-01-12T00:00:00.001-08:00

This post will wrap up our time in CO...the day after returning from KS we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. This was the 1st anniversary in a long time that we weren't traveling. Plus we had free babysitting so we took advantage.

Kyle and I started the day with a brunch date at the famous King Chef's Diner in Colorado Springs. The food was delicious. And we spent our time talking about goals for 2012. We relaxed in the afternoon. Then that evening we went to dinner at a local brewery with my two sisters and BIL. It was a fun evening and we enjoyed the company. We went home pretty early to get the kids to bed...pretty sure we were sleep around 10 pm...pretty lame for New Year's Eve but when you have 2 little ones who don't always sleep through the night you must take advantage of all sleep opportunities. There will be other years we can party it up until midnight :)

Our final days in CO were spent relaxing, playing with the kids, watching tons of football, and trying to get all the kids new toys packed in 1 bag.

The plane ride home did not go as smoothly as the 1st trip. There were long lines, slow food service, a lost cell phone, and a toddler that needed a nap. But thankfully we made it home safe!

Here's a smattering of pictures from the end of our trip.

Celebrating our 6th anniversary

Nora ringing in the new year

Sawyer did a lot of this which resulted in a lot of time outs

Grandma reading to S and N

Sawyer and Nora with Grandpa and Grandma

Visiting the Fire Station

2012-01-10T00:00:00.001-08:00

Sawyer's Uncle Wes is a fireman and while we were in CO he invited Sawyer to the fire house. It was a fun adventure for both the children and adults.

We toured the station, rode in the fire trucks, pushed some buttons, and even got to watch the fire men in action as they got a emergency call for an accident.

Thanks Uncle Wes, Aunt Christina, and Noah for giving us a fun filled afternoon!

A future fireman?

Nora even got in on the action

Sawyer getting to press buttons

On the ladder truck

Noah & Sawyer

Kansas Christmas

2012-01-08T00:00:00.001-08:00

In the middle of our CO trip we took a road trip to visit family in Kansas.

It was Nora's 1st roadtrip...our drive to KS left a lot to be desired. Miss Nora likes to be talked too so she does not like to be isolated for long durations. Halfway through the trip I moved to the backseat and chatted with her. She was fine for the rest of the driving time. Sawyer did surprisingly well during both trips. He entertained himself well and took naps at the appropriate times. We didn't even have to use a video.

Our first two days in KS we stayed with my Dad. We did a lot of relaxing, opened some more gifts, visited with family, and ate too much food. Sawyer got acquainted with their kitty, pigs, and cows. Grandpa also treated Sawyer to his first sugary drink (Bug Juice). It was gone before we could warn him. About an hour after ingesting Sawyer was running circles around the house, diving to the ground, and licking the carpet...I think we'll stick to the 100% watered down juice :)

Our final day in KS we visited with Tache and Papa, my good friend Joy, Grandma and Grandpa Schenk, and Kyle's aunt Marlene and cousin Breckyn. It was a fun day to see everyone and introduce Nora to more family. I got to eat at my all time favorite restaurant, Guiterrez. We packed a lot into a little time.

That night we went to bed expecting to get a good nights sleep and head back to CO first thing in the morning...well Sawyer had different plans. He came into our room at midnight, we let him climb into our bed, he continued to wiggle for the next 2 hours, Kyle and Sawyer went back to his room around 2. At 3:30 Kyle comes flying back into our room and announces Sawyer is throwing up. Indeed he had thrown up all over himself, the sheets, the quilts, the floor, etc. We proceeded to clean up Sawyer and get him in new clothes, rinse off the affected items, get them in the wash, and assess Sawyer's issues. After cleaning him up he quickly fell back to sleep, which allowed the parents to finally get some shut eye around 4:30 am. Thankfully he did not have a fever and he never threw up again. I think something from supper did not sit well in his stomach. Ugh, that was our first sick-in-the-middle-of-the-night experience. Hopefully we do not have to experience it again in the near future.

Grandma making Nora laugh

Grandpa making Sawyer laugh

Being Santa

Gasping at his new gift

Nora perfecting the art of unwrapping

Nora playing with her new laptop

Grandpa trying to get the big wheels to jump over Sawyer

Daddy & Nora

Sawyer being silly trying to hide Nora's paci

Cousin Brittani entertaining Nora

Grandma holding Sawyer before bed

Sawyer modeling the high chair Grandpa refurbished

Nora and Grandpa

the morning after getting sick...sporting mom's shirt as pj's

Grandpa and Grandma with Nora and Sawyer

5 months

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Unofficially (as in mom and dad measurements) Nora is
25 inches
13 lbs.

Appetite: During the day you eat every 4 hours. If we're busy sometimes you will go 5 or 6 hours until mom has to remind you it's time to eat. You still exclusively drink milk. I will wait until 6 months to give you oatmeal unless you show signs of wanting more food. You always sit and watch us eat. You stare longingly as the food goes into our mouths. I think you will like the day you get to try some :)

Sleep: You sleep through the night consistently. We usually put you to bed around 9 pm and you wake up at 7 am. You also take a 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap in the morning and a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.

Development: you roll all over. When I lay you down you've rolled off the blanket by the time I walk across the room. You also scoot very quickly. I say quickly because I've never actually caught you in the act. I lay you down and the next time I look you've scooted across 1/2 the room on your tummy. You're also starting to master the art of sitting. You can sit independently for about 30 second intervals and your balance is getting better everyday. The activity gym is a out and you have moved on to bigger and better toys like the exersaucer. When you sit on our lap you love to rock back and forth and even do a little jumping motion to go from standing to sitting. You are most definitely a mover and a shaker. I predict you will sit and crawl before your brother (6 months and 7 months respectively). But because you're such a content baby I don't think you will walk as early as your brother (9 1/2 months), but we'll have to see.

Teething: your bottom two teeth are slowly making their debut. We can see and feel both of them, but they have not yet broken through the gums. I hope that explains your excessive drooling...if not we may have a problem :)

Okay so after I wrote the last 2 paragraphs I looked back at Sawyer's 5 month post and he was also sitting independently for short intervals, scooting everywhere, and had 2 teeth about to pop through. So much for my predications. It looks like Nora's development is tracking right along with her brothers.

Appearance: Still cute as a button :) While in CO we looked at my old baby books and I can confirm that Nora does not really resemble me as a baby. As she continues to develop it will be interesting to see who she favors. She is also still battling a little cradle cap. Pretty certain it's not going to go away any time soon as we enter the dry winter months.

You were held a LOT over the past month as we visited several family members. This confirmed you love to be held and talked to. Anyone who would pick you up or talk to you was rewarded with a huge smile.

During our trip daddy and I commented that we hadn't heard you cry in over a week. That's a testament to grandparent attention and your easy going personality.

However we did find one thing you don't like...you took your 1st roadtrip and you are not a fan of long rides. However if someone is talking to you you will tolerate it.

Electric Safari

2012-01-04T00:00:00.001-08:00

While in Colorado we visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for their electric safari. We had a wonderful time looking at the animals, getting some much needed outdoor time, and enjoying the lights.

I think the highlight of the night was the giraffe exhibit. The zoo houses numerous giraffes and you can get up close and personal. One giraffe got a little too personal as he licked Randy's cheek very forcefully :)

This is what Sawyer thought about the close proximity of the giraffes...Hold me daddy!

Sawyer and Noah tigers

Running out some of that energy

Christmas Day

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas day we were awakened at 4:00 am by a little boy opening our door and excitedly yelling "Hi momma!" I quickly picked him up and put him in bed with us. He may have been excited for the day, but we were not ready to start it yet :) Once we woke up at a respectable time we watched some movies, ate breakfast, and then opened gifts. It was a bit of mayhem and the kids were very spoiled, but Sawyer had a wonderful time. In fact we could hardly get him to open his pile of gifts because he wanted to play with each new thing.

After the gift opening the kids went down for a nap while the adults ate a feast for lunch. Then the whole family took a walk. Sawyer was very excited to get outside and run around in the sun and snow. He even threw his first snowballs.

And to round out the afternoon we had a poker tournament.

And now some pictures of the day. FYI: Nora scratched her eye that morning, so don't think she is constantly crying or has pink eye in these pictures.

Getting ready for our traditional walk in our pj's

Looks like Nora enjoyed her 1st Christmas!

Twas the days before Christmas

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

We flew into Colorado bright and early on the 21st. We woke the kids up at 4:15 am and easily made it through the airport for our 6 o'clock flight. When we checked in we learned we could not sit together as a family because you can not have 2 lap children in the same row. But in the end I think this turned out to be a huge blessing. Nora sat on my lap. She slept for 2/3 of the flight and the other hour she sat and "talked" to me. Sawyer stayed with Kyle and played with the remote buttons and watched videos. There were no tears or meltdowns (at least while we were on the plane :) I think it helped that we didn't sit together because then Sawyer wasn't tempted to climb all over us. We were very thankful for a smooth flight!

Nora chilling oon her 1st flight

We arrived in CO at 7:00 am and still had a full day ahead of us though we had been awake for 6 hours. Needless to say we all took good naps that afternoon.

Sawyer having fun hiding on our ride from the airport to the grandparent's house

Thursday and Friday was spent Christmas shopping, baking, and visiting with family. And the kids got showered with lots of grandparent attention.

Grandpa reading to Sawyer and Noah

Tache readinto to Sawyer and Noah

Nora sporting a Christmas outfit

The cousins shouting from the banister

On Christmas Eve I wrapped all the gifts. That evening we went to the Christmas Eve service at my parent's church then the whole family gathered at their house for a delicious soup supper. To conclude the evening we opened our annual pair of pajamas.

Nora in her Christmas dress

S and N all ready for the Christmas Eve service

our little family

G-pa w/ Nora

Tache and Nora

Grandma and Nora

Papa and Nora...everyone had to get a picture w/ our cutie

Noah and Sawyer in their matching pajamas on Christmas Eve

Nora in her Christmas pajamas ...angel wings for our little angel

Kids Crafts {Christmas Gift Edition}

2011-12-29T00:00:00.001-08:00

The cousins on my side of the family received:

Marshmallow shooter via Thrifty and Thriving

Nora and my new niece received some felt flower headbands

A fort kit with free printables via AR Mommy

The fort kit includes a twin flat sheet with ties, a rope, clothespins, suction cups, and a flashlight

Monogrammed bib for my new niece

Ladybug taggie for my new niece. I used the template from Everyday Celebrations, but I did not follow those instructions as I machine sewed it all

Travel bag with a crayon roll, coloring book, no mess paint activity, and mini play doh

Hands Full

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, Sawyer has his hands very full!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We are spending the day celebrating the birth of our savior with our family.

These are two of our greatest gifts!

Christmas Celebration #1

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday when the whole Schenk clan was in town we celebrated our first Christmas of 2011. I think the pictures will speak for themselves.

He finally grasps the concept of opening gifts

A new book

But this is his true joy...Elmo

I think he's in love

Is he really mine?

Grandpa reading Nora a book

Nora opening her 1st gift

Oh, her very own slap chop!

Or maybe a cute new shirt :)

Cousins

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Nora 4 months, Sawyer 23 months, Gracie 3 years, Nolan 1 month

This ones for Grandma! The Schenk cousins in their Christmas attire from MeMa. It's a pretty cute bunch. I'm amazed we got almost all of them looking at the camera. This is the only one with no one crying. I think Gracie is trying to channel some sanity for the whole event.

Following this picture the 2 oldest were allowed to run amok while the 2 youngest took a nap.

SNL {Sawyer & Nora's Life}

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

At this point they adore each other. Sawyer is VERY attentive to Nora's every need. Nora follows Sawyer's every move. When Sawyer talks to Nora he expresses such joy and Nora always rewards him with a smile.

I know there will be many sibling conflicts in the years to come, but right now we're enjoying the way they adore each other.

Tummy Time

2011-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

When I set Nora down you can bet she will roll to her tummy within 5 seconds. She loves to be on her tummy. She is quite good at raising up on her arms and she has even gotten her legs up under her a few times. I was seriously hoping for a non-wiggly child who takes moving slowly...I don't think miss Nora is cooperating :) And as you can tell from the pictures above Sawyer loves to "entertain" his sister. And even though he holds her down she tolerates it because she adores his every move...oh if only it would stay this way.

Kid's Crafts {Christmas Gift Edition}

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

For the kidlets of the family I created homemade gifts. For Gracie I continued the tradition of creating felt foods. Mr. Nolan received a customized birth announcement. The results are below. The kids on the other side of the family have not yet received their gifts so I'll document them in another post.

Sandwich and Chips

Donuts

Build your own pizza

Customized birth announcement and painted frame

Random Update

2011-12-13T00:00:00.001-08:00

I've been doing a lot of fluff posts because we've been really busy this holiday season, but there are a couple of random things (and pictures) I want to record so here goes:

my sweet baby girl

Sawyer gets excited, claps, and yells "yeah" when he is proud of himself. Lately he has been randomly asking me and Kyle to cheer for him for no apparent reason.
Nora LOVES it when I sing. No one else shares her enthusiasm for my vocal talent. When Kyle sings to her she is stone faced. When I sing her eyes brighten and she gets the biggest smile.
We went to look at Christmas lights on Sunday. Sawyer enjoyed the lights, but the big news of the night...we turned his car seat forward so he could see the lights. He was a big fan, but once we got home we immediately turned it back...sorry bud you're still too little.
I spent all day Saturday sewing Christmas gifts. I didn't get enough done.
On Friday our church held a Parent's Night Out event. Kyle and I took advantage of the free babysitting by going out to eat then looking for my birthday present.
Yes, my birthday was over a month ago, but I have yet to find the item Kyle wanted to give me. His gift was a zip-up hoodie. My zip-up hoodies are everyday attire while I'm nursing and my current hoodies have multiple holes so my dear husband decided to remedy this issue with a new hoodie for my birthday. However, after two shopping attempts I have come away empty handed.
This leads me to my next issue...the after baby body. I'm trying to stay positive because following Sawyer's birth it took 5 or 6 months to get my body back to normal but I'm losing patience. I haven't bought new, fashionable clothes since before I became pregnant with Sawyer which was February 2009 (nearly 3 years ago!) so I feel a little dowdy and old. But I'm waiting until those last 10 pounds are gone then I'm going to buy some skinny jeans (probably the last person on the planet who doesn't own a pair) and a new pair of boots.
I've been going to the gym regularly. I enjoy running but my knees have been hurting...another reason I am feeling old. I'm going to start some cross training to give my knees a break.
Nora easily goes 4 hours between feedings. I'm so thankful.
I swore I would never do a theme birthday party for my children. But that is already going down the drain for Sawyer's 2nd birthday...can you guess what the theme will be?

Oh my!

As the new year approaches I need to find some way to contribute to the family income. Jobs that fit into our family routine are few and far between. I've always told myself I would never open an Etsy store because I only wanted to do my crafts as a hobby, but out of sheer necessity I'm contemplating opening a shop. The question is what should I make? If I do it I want it to be professional and have a strong identity. I can produce lots of different things, but I want to do something unique (which is a difficult task) and specific (I don't want to produce 50 different products). I'm still thinking...I may need to do some market research...
Sawyer can say all of the alphabet letters by repeating what we say. He can sing the song by himself to letter G. And he is starting the process of letter recognition, he's got A, B, H, and I down.
It's official Nora does not have brown eyes. She had very dark eyes at birth with no hint of blue, but as the days go by they continue to lighten. Right now they are a light gray. I would be very surprised if they turn blue. I think they are going to be hazel.
In our life group at church we've been studying Joshua. The last few weeks we've been reviewing all the lands that were captured and the division of the land. It's been interesting to see how these chapters that I often disregard and find difficult to read because it does not seem to apply to my life really does have lessons for my life. I could go on and on about our life group and the things we're learning, but one of my favorite parts is we begin our time in a large group and have learning time with the whole congregation. Then we split into small groups and have a time of application, fellowship, and praying. We're in the young married's group (though we're a little older than most of the couples). I've really enjoyed building friendships in this group.
We have 3 Christmas parties in the next week, I'm hosting a Bible study, and helping serve at a wedding. I'm looking forward to a fun week!

my boys snuggling before nap...well one of them is already taking a nap

A Gifted Evening

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Recently our church hosted a women's event called "A Gifted Evening." During the event we had a time of fellowship, testimony sharing, eating, and gift stations. I was asked to lead the ornament station. You'll see more of that below. Over 90 women attended the event and we all had a blast! The event planners went all out with beautiful decorations and delicious food.

I didn't have a lot of time to take pictures as I was knee deep in glitter and mod podge but here is what I did capture:

some decorations

the food table

Ornament craft via Flea Market Style

Mod podge torn strips of book paper to an ornament then cover in glitter

An example of the finished product

Crafters in action

Daddy's Little Girl

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Decor

2011-12-07T00:00:00.001-08:00

Bay window with mini ornaments and greenery

my staple Christmas decorations include greenery, lights, and red beads

Full view of the mantle

We are still a tree-less family so this is my feeble attempt at creating some Christmas spirit. Our decorations are pretty much confined to the mantle and bay window. I do have a wreath on the front door and our mini Christmas tree is the dining room table centerpiece. It's simple, but it does add some holiday cheer especially when the lights come on.

4 months

2011-12-05T00:00:00.001-08:00

At 4 months Miss Nora's stats are--

Height: 24 1/4 inches (slightly above 50%)

Weight: 12 lbs. 12 oz. (slightly below 50%)

Head Circumference: 15 1/2 inches (25%)

Nora continues to be our average child. I know that sounds kind of bad, but we are truly thankful she is growing normally and has no weight or growth concerns.

Highlights from the past month:

Continues to be a roller. She has now started rolling from her back to her stomach.
During the day she eats every 3 to 4 hours. As long as she is on schedule she sleeps through the night. However, if we're busy during the day and she misses a feeding or a nap she will wake up in the middle of the night to compensate...thankfully she always goes right back to sleep.
She is starting to be ticklish. She laughs when she is tickled or kissed on the forehead or neck.
She watches Sawyer's every move and puts up quite well with his antics.
Her favorite activities include the activity gym, super seat, and bumbo.
She grasps toys quite well and has started bringing them to her mouth.
She drools A LOT.
Her unhappy period is usually from 8 to 9 pm when she is getting tired and I'm busy putting Sawyer to bed.
She continues to love being on her stomach.
She scoots from one end of the crib to the other every night.
She experienced her 1st Thanksgiving and Christmas this month.
She got to meet her newest cousin Nolan.
Her blocked tear duct resolved itself. Yeah for no more eye gunk!

Rolling over

Pretty in pink

Bright eyed

Christmas Tree Festival

2011-12-03T00:00:00.001-08:00

During the Thanksgiving holiday the whole family ventured to Akron to visit the Christmas Tree Festival. This was our 2nd annual trip. We use this opportunity to greet Santa each Christmas season. I didn't get any pictures of the beautiful trees because I was chasing after a certain someone, but my favorite one was kind of different and not everyone's cup of tea. It was a light bright tree....you remember those right? They basically constructed a six foot pyramid and had round bulb lights in various colors. It was very modern and unique. It was not the prettiest tree, but it was definitely the most creative. There were some amazing trees and all the proceeds from the tree sales go to the Akron Children's Hospital.

Below are the pictures I captured that evening:

Sawyer climbing

Nora waiting for the fun to begin

Sawyer w/ Santa

Sawyer and Gracie w/ Santa

MeMa and Papa w/ Sawyer

Papa giving rides

Mommy and Nora

Aunt Audi showing the trees to Sawyer

MeMa making Nora laugh

Sawyer giving dad a hug

Thanksgiving Tablescape

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

I know Thanksgiving is over and I need to move on to Christmas, but I wanted to show you my 1st attempt at a Thanksgiving table set up. I LOVE to set tables in fact I asked Kyle if I could set the table 2 weeks before Thanksgiving...he said "no." If we didn't use the table 3 times a day I totally would have set it weeks ahead of time.

I printed off a "give thanks" banner that I hung from the light. I used candlesticks and pumpkins we already had. Then for the runners I used brown burlap and a fabric remnant w/ fall leaves. I loved the punch of fall color the fabric added to the table.

And the table cloth is a garage sale find. It's a vintage white linen table cloth with beautiful tan flowers embroidered along the scalloped edge.

And my SIL Candace printed the adorable place cards that complemented the color scheme.

Except for the table runner fabric all the items I found I around the house. We even used our fine china for the 1st time ever (it has sat nicely packed in a box for almost 6 years)! Only the girls got to use it I didn't trust the rough boys :)

Learn Your Rules

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sawyer singing his current favorite little diddy.

Untitled from Kristen Schenk on Vimeo.

This video depicts a lot of talking...the song starts at about the 30 second mark

The original version courtesy of Dwight Schrute:

Never thought my 1 year old's favorite song would be from The Office. No worries he has never seen The Office, but his parents enjoy the series and his father's goals is to get his son to sing and say all kinds of odd things :)

Thanksgiving Happenings

2011-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with lots of food, fun, and family. Kyle made a delicious turkey and we had lots of super side dishes. The whole Schenk family was in town and we spent the weekend eating, shopping, eating, chatting, playing cards, eating, and getting in the Christmas mood. We also kicked off the holiday season early and had our 1st Christmas celebration (more on that later). Below is a smattering of our thanksgiving happenings.

Schenk family

Sawyer enjoying the feast

Gracie chowing down

Gracie & Troy trying to break the very stubborn wishbone

Reading a book

Nora playing with MeMa

Nora slept through the meal and spent most of the day drooling

Yet another attempt at a family picture

Nora smiling while rolling over

My Current Dilemna

2011-11-25T00:00:00.001-08:00

How to get both kids to look at the camera and smile simultaneously.

Both looking, but only 1 smile

1 smile, 1 looking

I don't think it will ever happen :(

Thanksgiving Thankfulness {new traditions}

2011-11-23T00:00:00.001-08:00

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving for the 1st time. It could be very interesting... But as I have been preparing the house and the food for the event my mind has been focusing on starting a new tradition. What can we do to remember all or our blessings past, present, and future?

I saw an idea online that included a journal and each person writes what they are thankful for and you include a family picture from the day. I love the idea of that, but I'm not sure it's a tradition that would last because it involves people taking the time to write and you have to remember to get a picture and post it in the book.

In years past we've gone around the table and verbally expressed what we are thankful for, but I'm not sure that will work with the Schenk clan...they are very eager to eat and I really want to eat the food when it's hot.

So, after some discussion with friends I have determined we are going to get a tablecloth and everyone will write 1 thing they are thankful for in 2011. Every year we can add thankful thoughts to the tablecloth. And we can look back at previous years to remember God's past blessings. And as an added bonus I think it will be fun to watch the kids write their thankful comments as they continue to grow.

I'm excited about this new "tradition" hopefully it sticks :) Anyone else have Thanksgiving traditions for their family?

Nora's Dedication

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

On the (very early) morning of December 21, 2010 I discovered (quite surprisingly) that the Lord was blessing us with another child. As I excitedly and anxiously informed Kyle of the news I was immediately struck by God's perfect timing. We were not expecting this news, but I believe because we didn't plan this baby it made me quickly turn to the Lord. I remember that morning wondering how this was going to work logistically and then I prayed and I was reminded that this child belonged to God. In that moment I dedicated the little life inside me to the Lord. And throughout the pregnancy God blessed us with a love for this little one and a peace about expanding our family.

Fast forward 11 months and that little girl is now a part of this big 'ol world. She brings us great joy and we are so thankful that God chose us to be her parents. Tonight in front of our family and friends we publicly dedicated Nora to the Lord. Quite fittingly this was the Thanksgiving service.

We take this responsibility very seriously and could use all the prayer and support we can get as we strive to raise Nora in the knowledge, grace, and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Below are some verses we would like to pray for Miss Eleanora as she grows.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men...Ephesians 6:7 (servant heart)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

And not to be forgotten this little guy made his 1st appearance in a church service since his own dedication (before he could walk or talk :) Let's just say we need to work on whispering.

Introducing the newest family member

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

my brand new nephew!

Baby N

Sawyer & Gracie @ the hospital...more interested in the snacks than the baby

Uncle Troy w/ his two littles

Aunt Kristen & Uncle Kyle w/ our new nephew...trying to keep Sawyer from poking his eye out

We got to play w/ cousin Gracie while mommy & daddy were @ the hospital...this made one little guy very happy

Cousin G lovin' on Nora

So excited for the cousins to be so close in age. Now Nora has 2 protectors and Sawyer has another boy to play with though I'm sure Gracie will have both of them in tutus and going to tea parties :)

22 Months {Sawyer Update}

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't done an update on our 1st born child in a while. He is constantly changing so I want to capture who he is right now. Our days with Sawyer are filled with movement, talking, laughter, discipline, and smiles.

His typical response to questions, "I don't know."

His favorite words are "no" and "that?" Everything he sees in a book or on tv he points to and says "that?"

His vocabulary is growing rapidly. He repeats every word you say.

He is OBSESSED with Elmo.

He only sits still when you read him a book. He LOVES to read books. His current favorites are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Dr. Suess' ABC book.

He is an expert fake cryer, especially when he is in time-out.

He is going through another hitting stage.

One of his favorite games is to line up against the wall and say "ready, set, go" then take off running across the room until he reaches the other wall.

He also enjoys doing somersaults, jumping, climbing, and galloping.

He is super protective of his sister. If anyone besides mom or dad gets near Nora he will get really close to her and try to make them go away or he will start crying and come find me.

He seems to have inherited my bad habit of biting his nails (even his toenails, just kidding, kind of...see the picture below).

For about a month he was not eating well. He was very picky, would only eat a few bites, and was not gaining weight. Then a few weeks ago his appetite increased ten fold and now he is eating everything in site all day long. Hopefully this results in some weight gain.

He calls Nora, Ra-Ra.

If there is a remote control, dvd player, phone, or light switch in the room he will immediately claim possession of the object.

If anything comes out of Nora's mouth (spit-up, drool, etc). He yells uh-oh and frantically runs for the nearest burp cloth then proceeds to wipe it off her mouth and whatever else it landed on (couch, shirt, etc). It's so cute the way he takes care of his sister.

The secret to getting him to sit at football games is to feed him a lollipop or a box of Nerds (he eats one Nerd at a time :)

Sadly he is scared of dogs and cats (not really surprising given his mother's lack of affection for the animal kingdom). He loves dogs from afar, but if they get too close he runs. Slowly he has gotten used to a few dogs and will tolerate them up close. Cats however are a different story. He had never been around a cat until a few weeks ago when our babysitter took him over to a friends house to play. A cat snuck up on him, he got scared and started crying. He got so worked up and cried so hard he threw up (um this has never happened, so you know he was traumatized). Poor little guy we're going to have to find a way to bring some feline friends into his life (but don't suggest buying a cat because that will NEVER happen).

He does wonderfully sleeping in his big boy bed. In the first week he fell out of bed once and got out of bed a couple of times, but since the novelty wore off he doesn't even attempt to get out of bed. He will just sit there talking to himself or playing with his pillow pet until we come get him. Going to get him out of bed is one of mommy and daddy's favorite times. I walk in and he immediately yells "Hi Momma!" and scrambles out of the bed to give me a hug. And he always eagerly gives kisses at this time.

He is a social little guy. When we're out and about he will say "hi" to everyone who passes. If they do not respond to him he will continue to say hi and increase the volume until they acknowledge him. It is sometimes embarrassing for mommy, but I refuse to stop him from being friendly. And people really should say "hi" back because he is just so darned cute.

He and daddy have staring contests. First one to laugh loses. Sawyer is the overwhelming champion.

He sits in time-out a lot.

Daddy sings and makes Nora dance. Sawyer thinks this is hilarious. Nora is not so amused.

Sawyer has started joining in for his nightly prayers. He always wants to pray for mommy, daddy, and Gracie and then we pray for other family members he can think of. It makes our hearts happy to hear him thank God for Jesus and his family.

New Foods {Black Beans & Rice}

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to get Sawyer to gain weight I have tried out a few new dishes. A few requirements for the dish:

1) Hearty meal that is still kid friendly
2) Healthy w/ plenty of good fats
3) Something that the parents will also enjoy
4) Consist of ingredients that I already have on hand...I am not dragging the kids to the grocery store for 1 item

Another thing you should know Sawyer LOVES beans. He would eat beans at every meal if I served them. If he isn't eating well for a few meals I always know I can give him beans and he will eat the entire meal. So when I ran across this recipe on Pinterest it seemed to fit all my criteria: it had beans so I knew Sawyer would like it, it was healthy, and I had most of the ingredients.

It may not be the prettiest dish, but I am happy to report it was delicious. I always thought rice and beans sounded sort of bland, but this was a very flavorful dish. It also got a thumbs up from the husband.

Another great thing is this dish makes a lot of food and we probably got 6 meals out of it.

Because I did not have all the ingredients for the inspiration recipe I changed it up a bit. Here's my take on rice and beans.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can rotel
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4-5 cups hot, cooked white or brown rice

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, beans, rotel, chicken broth, oregano and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.

Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe via Pinterest

Game #11

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

For the final game of the season the Pioneers faced my alma mater the Taylor Trojans. It was a pretty evenly matched game but in the end MU came up short with a final score of 13-27.

There was little time for lamenting as we hosted a dinner and bonfire for our church's Young Married's group immediately following the game. We had a great time chatting, eating, and sitting around the fire making s'mores.

Looking back on this season I can't believe it's over. This season has flown by. Typically once we hit November I am yearning for the season to end, but I never experienced that feeling this year. It may have something to do with being preoccupied with a newborn :)

Below are some images captured during the final game. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our party...we were too busy eating :)

Sawyer climbing into the carseat to play w/ Nora

Nora adores Sawyer can you tell?

One of my favorite moments...Sawyer running to daddy after the game, he has so much joy to see his daddy, even after a hard loss it will bring a smile to your face

Our attempt at a family picture

Now it's time to move on to Thanksgiving!

Time to get back on the horse {kids crafts}

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

8 weeks after Nora was born I felt the urge to sew again. I had a few baby showers looming so I created a few new projects for these special ladies and their little babes. Here are the results:

Stuffed Owl (Tutorial)

Dinosaur Taggie: created this by printing a dinosaur outline and transferring it onto the fabric

Vest Onesie (tutorial)

Matching baby boy shoes (tutorial)

Introducing

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay well maybe she has been around for a while, but here's a peek at her formal introduction to the world.

I couldn't get the back to transfer so below are the pictures and text that are on the back of the card.

2011 has been a busy year for the Schenk clan. We began the year by discovering we were going to add a new member to the family! We took a vacation with Kristen's family to Lake Powell in Utah. We stayed on a house boat and enjoyed the warm weather and family time. This summer Kyle and Sawyer took a road trip to Kansas to visit the farm and family. In August we welcomed the arrival of Nora & the start of football season. Kyle stays busy with football, house renovations, and wrestling Sawyer. Kristen stays busy watching the kids and working on creative endeavors. Sawyer is an active little guy who loves to run, jump, climb, discover rocks, and kiss his sister. Nora is a precious baby who eats and sleeps like a champ. We are thankful for the numerous blessings the Lord has bestowed on our family and we look forward to what He has in store for 2012!

Photos of Nora taken by Liz Hehman Photography

Game #10 & Weekend Update

2011-11-07T00:00:00.001-08:00

This week the Malone Pioneers took on the Quincy Falcons. It was a pretty exciting game with several lead changes and big plays. The game was tied 35-35 in the final minutes, when Quincy kicked a field goal to win 35-38.

We started the weekend on Friday night as we got dressed in our spirit gear and went to football night at Chick-fil-a. Sawyer had lots of fun getting his football autographed by the football players and then playing with friends on the indoor playground.

On Saturday we went to the game then went to cousin Gracie's to celebrate her 3rd birthday! Sunday we went to church, cleaned the house, and even got in some relaxation time. All in all we had a fun, beautiful fall weekend. Below are some pictures of the action.

Daddy & Daughter

Mommy w/ the kiddos

Sawyer getting his football autographed

Nora excited to go to the game

Cousin Gracie entertaining Nora

3 months

2011-11-05T00:00:00.001-07:00

Nora did not have a doctor's appointment this month so these stats are unofficial:

Height 23.5 inches (50th percentile)
Weight 11.5 lbs (25th percentile)

As Nora hits the 3 month mark her personality is really starting to shine through. She instantly smiles if you talk to her. She is also a very active talker. If you talk to her you will most definitely get a response. She loves to laugh especially at her mommy. During the last month she rolled over for the 1st time from her back to her tummy. She is a wonderful sleeper taking a good morning and afternoon nap (usually 1 hour and 3 hours respectively) then going to bed around 10 pm and sleeping until 7 am (9 hours). She is not the biggest fan of the bumbo, but she will tolerate it for awhile. She loves the activity mat and grabbing all the rings and rattles it has. She is still in size 1 diapers, though she will be out of those very soon. She is quickly outgrowing her 0-3 month clothes. We have put her in a few 3-6 month outfits and they fit, but mommy can't bear to put away the 0-3 month clothes until she is actually 3 months...she is growing too fast. She takes a bottle well. She sleeps best on her tummy. She is still a spitter-upper or as I like to call her an overflower. She has also started drooling and blowing raspberries.

She is a pure joy!

Sprinkled

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of hosting a sprinkle for my sister-in-law and soon-to-be-here nephew. It was a fun night of girl time, sweet treats, and gifts for the baby boy. The theme of the event was preppy little man.

the preppy boy themed mantle

the dessert table with whoopie pies and donuts

garland

whoopie pies w/ sprinkles

Drink station w/ mock appletini's & sugar rimmed glasses

refreshing cucumber water

some of the guest and the mom-to-be

Pumpkin Babies

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

The kids got to join in on all the sugar-filled fun this Halloween (well at least Sawyer did).

Can you guess what they were?

Our little dalmation

blowing the whistle

scratching his head

walking off the field

tipping his hat to the players

the coach {mini kyle}

On Sunday we put the kids in their costumes and went to the college where we met cousin Gracie and her parents. One of the dorms goes all out and decorates each hall. We visited Mario Land, Curious George, Candyland, Finding Nemo, and many more. Our favorite was the Wizard of Oz Hall! Sawyer was not so sure about all the funny people in costumes...he was pretty much attached to our legs at first. But he quickly caught on that those "scary" people were handing out candy. He pushed his fears aside and "snacks" took priority. Most of the time he was just running through the halls collecting candy. He could care less about the elaborate decorations. Nora took on her role of being a puppy dog by sleeping through the whole event. After we left Malone we went to Uncle Cliff's house to collect more candy. Sadly I forgot to put my battery back in my camera so I didn't get any pictures of the trick-or-treating extravaganza (though my SIL was gracious enough to take some pics so I might post some later).

Game #9

2011-10-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Malone Pioneers took on Notre Dame...no not that Notre Dame. This is a division 2 school in Cleveland, OH. And the Pioneers were victorious with a final score of 31-23. It was a great team effort and a nice outcome after 3 tough weeks.

Unfortunately the kids and I did not attend the game. There were several reasons:

1) The game did not start until 7 pm and ended @ 10...way past little man's bedtime

2) It's cold outside

3) I have been out of town all week

4) The game was a couple of hours away

While we missed watching the team and seeing Daddy we had a fun day at home. Sawyer played, took a bath, and got a haircut. Nora slept, played on the activity mat, and smiled at momma. I played with the kids, made a dessert, started some Christmas crafts, and finished up Nora's birth announcements (finally).

It was a wonderfully sunny, quiet catch-up day.

In other news...I worked several days this week which meant lots of traveling and even a night away from home. It was my first night away from Nora. I'm not sure I was ready for that milestone yet, but I guess it had to happen sometime. Everything went great. Kyle did an excellent job with the added responsibilities of handling two kids and a more than full-time job. I am thankful for the work, but also glad it is starting to wind down.

A pictorial review of our Saturday:

Sawyer hamming it up w/ his cheesy smile

Sibling love...don't they look alike?

Sawyer wearing his "hat"

Nora playing w/ mommy

A real life view of the play room...this is what it normally looks like blocks strewn about, toys everywhere, Sesame Street on the tv, Sawyer jumping around, Nora playing with her toys

Miss Nora's new feat for the day: blowing raspberries and drooling

Can't Resist

2011-10-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

the cuteness

Fall Food

2011-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's the change in weather or the fact I have left the just-had-a-baby-therefore-cannot-perform-daily-chores coma, but I have been doing some cooking in recent weeks. And the theme of my cooking has been soups. I've made regular chili, but I've also made a few variations of chili and I thought I would share the recipes for all to enjoy.

Both of these soups received 2 thumbs up from my husband. And a word of warning the Chicken Taco Soup is pretty spicy.

Chicken Taco Soup (via Allrecipes)

Soup Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz) can chicken broth (or beer)
2 (10 oz) rotel, undrained
1 package taco seasoning (or make your own see recipe below)
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (can be frozen)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Taco Seasoning Ingredients (recommended):
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and rotel in a crockpot. Add taco seasoning, stir to blend. Lay chicken on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Cook on low for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup and shred. Stir the shredded chicken into the soup and continue cooking for 2 hours.
Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, and crushed chips.

White Bean Chicken Chili (via Jodi Lambert)

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
1.5 tsp. garlic powder
2 (15.5 oz) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilis
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Saute chicken, onion, and garlic
Add beans, chilis, broth, and seasonings to cooked chicken
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes
Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and whipping cream.
Serve and enjoy the deliciousness.

And true to my nature what's a meal without dessert? This is a simple dessert that was wonderfully moist and lemony.

Lemon Burst Cookies (Tidy Mom via Pinterest)

Ingredients:
1 box lemon cake mix
1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip
1 egg
1/3 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl beat cool whip, egg, and cake mix until well blended. Dough will be thick and sticky.
Drop by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat.
Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

The Weekend {Game #8}

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend the team traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the #12 St. Francis Cougars (they started the season #2, but lost to the #1 and #2 teams) so no one thought it was going to be an easy task and St. Francis did not disappoint as they beat the Pioneers 47-10.

I stayed home with the kiddos which can sometimes be challenging after staying home with them all week, but this weekend it was a welcome relief. Most of October is very busy for us as both Kyle and I work 14-16 hour days several days of the week. I have not gone back to work, but I do have a contract job that is very busy from mid-September through mid-November. So, this weekend was a nice break and I got to spend lots of quality time with Nora and Sawyer.

On Friday when I got home from work after getting up at 3:00 am I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep, but that wasn't exactly an option with hungry kids who wanted some mommy attention. So I decided to just relax and be thankful for my time with them. Here are some things I was thankful for this weekend:

Sawyer said thank you w/out being prompted for the 1st time on Saturday

Being able to stay home with my kids (most of the time)

Nora laughing

Nora waiting patiently

Friends

Fall parties

Technology (live video feed online so I could watch the game)

Ice cream

Children who take good naps

Smell of clean clothes

a husband who helps clean

Daddy Time

2011-10-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

This time of year we don't get much daddy time. But on Sunday afternoons you can bet the kiddos will be soaking up daddy's attention. I love the way he loves them!

Fall Crafts

2011-10-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have slowly started to get my crafting mojo back...I started with the fall wreath I shared a few weeks ago. My next project was a fall banner for the mantle. It was simple, but a little time consuming. Luckily it was a project you could put down and pick up again later.

I was inspired by this idea from Parents Magazine found via Pinterest. While I liked the idea of using real leaves I didn't want to wait for the leaves to change colors and fall off the tree. Also I wanted it to last for future years, so I decided to make felt leaves. I used the tutorial for felt leaves from MADE.

First I googled "fall leaf outline" and then I traced the images directly from the screen to a piece of cardstock.

I traced the images onto my pieces of felt in fall colors. Then I cut out the leaves.

Next I added the veins in the leaves using brown thread and my sewing machine. I just free handed the lines. This was the most time consuming part of the project, but it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact you don't even have to add the veins if you don't want too.

Then I cut off the threads. And finally I cut small holes in the leaves and strung twine through the holes to create a leaf banner. Here is the finished product hanging on our mantel.

Smiles Abound

2011-10-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think

I will ever get tired

of seeing her smile :)

Game #7

2011-10-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today Malone took on their cross-town rival Walsh University. The teams seemed pretty evenly matched and Malone scored first. But then things started going down hill and the final score was 35-10 in favor of Walsh.

It was a night game so there was a chill in the air and the children did not appreciate the disruption in their schedule. There was lots of snacking to appease the toddler and lots of holding to keep the little one quite. It was windy and chilly so we broke out the coats and hats.

Sawyer met a new friend. This stranger made the mistake of leaving her phone on the bleachers and Sawyer pounced. Next thing I know she is playing Elmo on her phone, has Sawyer in her lap, and a blanket to keep him warm...I warned her she better hide her phone from Sawyer, but obviously she didn't listen...hope she didn't want to watch the game :)

Nora trying to stay warm.

Surprise, surprise, Sawyer being mischievous and cute...two of the things he is best at :)

Zoo Field Trip

2011-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful weekend in Ohio with temps in the high 70's, sun, and the leaves changing all sorts of vibrant colors. So, to enjoy the natural beauty (and in an attempt to wear a child out) we went to the zoo with some friends.

Sawyer had not been to the zoo since February. He was barely a year old and due to the cold weather there were very few animals to view. This time he LOVED it. One of the first exhibits is a waterfall with ducks in the creek and he was so enamored. He just smiled and stared taking it all in. I knew right away this was going to be a hit. He ran through the whole zoo (never wanting to ride in the stroller) and took it all in. He had a great time! Nora's 1st trip to the zoo was pretty uneventful as she slept the entire time :)

S watching the penguins

B & S driving a truck

Looking at the lemurs

B & P on the carousel

Nora's 1st zoo experience

Pajama Day {Sibling Affection}

2011-10-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

On a recent cold, rainy day I declared it pajama day. We lounged around the house all day. This was a site that made my heart happy.

Nora was sitting in the boppy and Sawyer wanted to be a close to his sister as possible so he wiggled his way onto the pillow. Lots of hugs, kisses, and hand holding ensued.

Game #6

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Game #6 was against the #1 ranked St. Xavier University. The first quarter went very well and you could see the team was playing with great intensity, but everything began to unravel in the second quarter. The 3rd and 4th quarters were a bit more evenly matched but the final score was 10-53.

Despite the score it was another beautiful October day with perfect weather for an evening game. Here are some pictures of the event.

Nora smiling away

Sawyer enjoying Jess' necklace more than the game

Daddy & Daughter

Sawyer with a shiner...hard to see in this picture but he had a pretty good black eye complete with a scab and swelling...he hit his head during our trip to the zoo (before the game)

2 Months

2011-10-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Miss Nora is now 2 months old!

At her 2 month well-child visit she weighed 10 lbs. 8 oz. (50%) and measured 22 1/4 inches (50%).

During her 2nd month she:

gained a new skill...sticking out her tongue (courtesy of Daddy's training)
is starting to smile more and more. She mainly smiles after she finishes eating or if you talk to her
sustained her first injury...a bite on her forhead courtesy of her older brother
started sleeping through the night...it's been over a week, but mommy doesn't want to get her hopes up
eats every 3 hours (except at night)
attended several football games and was an angel at all of them
turned into a spitter upper...this is a new thing for us and it's taking a while to get used too, but I have learned to ALWAYS carry a burp cloth. According to the pediatrician she has a mild case of reflux but nothing severe. She is not upset by it and does not require medication. When she spits up over an hour after eating this is definetly reflux. However, according to Dr. Mom she also spits up because she eats too much. Right after feedings milk (that has not been digested) just pours out of her mouth. So I think she is taking in more than her stomach can handle thus the outpouring of milk. The combination of the two conditions results in numerous outfit changes during the day.
loves to be held
loves to take a bath
started "talking"

Cheese

2011-10-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Sawyer's heard "say cheese" so much that now he just says cheese and smiles without even looking at the camera. He's such a ham :)

And just another Sawyer look for fun because who doesn't want to see more of his cute face?

Sleeping Beauty

2011-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Game #5

2011-10-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend Malone traveled to Michigan to play Concordia University. The Pioneers won by a score of 27-0. It was a good team effort as you can tell by the score. I think the defensive coordinator is always happy with a shutout :)

The kids and I did not travel. We spent most of our time indoors as it was cold and rainy outside. We did go grocery shopping and had a fun night with some of the other coaches wives and kids. I also got some crafts done for a couple of upcoming baby showers.

Since I have no game day pictures here are a few from the past week.

Daddy giving Nora a workout...Daddy thinks a tight grip at 8 weeks is very important :)

Love this outfit...can you tell her eyes are getting darker by the day?

Nora laughing...can you tell she's turning into a chunky monkey?

Lest you think Nora has become the favorite child...she's just easier to take a picture of right now.

Quick Health Update

2011-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

I recently had my 6 week post partum endocrinologist appointment to establish a baseline for my thryoid levels (I was initially tested when I was pregnant and that can skew the numbers). My last appointment when I was 9 months pregnant showed my TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 levels had all returned to normal levels. At this appointment my TSH went below the normal range (.2) and my Free T4 and Free T3 levels remained in the normal range (1.07 and 2.8 respectively). Because my antibodies were high and my TSH is a bit low it indicates some form of hyperthyroidism. The doctor is leaning towards Graves Disease because of my antibody levels being elevated (188, 139 is the high end of normal).

The good news is at this point because my levels are not "too bad" and I'm not demonstrating any symptoms there is no need for medication. Please pray this continues because if symptoms of Graves Disease do appear and I need to start medication I would have to stop nursing Nora as the drugs are not safe for her.

I will continue to be monitored every 3 months.

The other night...

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sawyer and I threw caution (and nutrition) to the wind and

ate ice cream for supper.

The sweet time spent together was well worth the sugar high and lack of nutrition.

Just a reminder to myself to have fun with the kids even as we endure the terrible two's and all it's temper tantrums.

Doesn't it look like he's in a sugar induced coma?

Fall Wreath

2011-09-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Remember this wreath of yore? It adorned our front door all summer and now that it's fall I decided we needed a new look.

Please ignore the door that needs re-painted

I made the burlap wreath this spring with the intention of reusing it every time I felt the urge to change our door decor. Instead of buying a new wreath all the time I could repurpose the burlap wreath, so that is exactly what I did. I removed the fabric flowers (they were only pinned in) and then created an argyle pattern using felt in an autumn palette.

I like the end result. It's very simple and I could always add some felt leaves or felt flowers to embellish it, but right now I'm enjoying the simplicity. It was also very simple to make. The whole project could easily be completed in 30 minutes (alas I never had 30 minutes of uninterrupted time so I worked on it over several days).

Here's my inspiration and a tutorial found via pinterest. I used a burlap wreath instead of yarn and I used brown embroidery floss instead of yarn for the criss-cross pattern because that's what I had at home.

Game #4

2011-09-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the Malone Pioneers lost to the #3 Marion University Knights by a score of 0-56. We'll just leave it at that.

On the bright side we enjoyed the beautiful fall afternoon outside and one little boy finally developed the courage to make contact with the friendly moose mascot. I think the peer pressure of the older boys playing with the moose helped spur Sawyer on.

Sibling affection before the game

Sawyer being encouraged to visit the moose

Sawyer giving the moose a hug

Our family of 4

Comparison

2011-09-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

When a new baby is born the #1 question you get asked is "who does he/she look like?"

Do you think Sawyer and Nora look alike?

Sawyer is on the left and Nora is on the right in each picture.

From the moment they laid Nora on my chest I knew she resembled Sawyer at birth, but as the weeks go on I find the resemblance uncanny. In fact the only part of their face that I think is different is their chin. Sawyer has a dimpled chin and Nora does not. They also have different hands and feet, but I'm not sure you can tell that from the pictures. Basically I think they look like twins in their facial features.

Stats

2011-09-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

These aren't football stats, but Sawyer stats. When he turned 20 months (last week) we went to the see the nurse and have him measured and weighed and we were a bit shocked by the results. Since the arrival of his sister I feel like my baby boy has turned into a full fledged little boy. He has grown so much that most of his summer clothes no longer fit and he is even getting a little bit of a tummy. For so long he has been so little (like 3rd - 10th percentile in height and weight). He never had little baby chunkiness, but he was starting to put some meat on his bones...so I thought. Turns out he measured in at 32.5 inches (50th percentile) and weighed 21 lbs. 14 oz. (below the 5th percentile). At his 18 month appointment he weighed 22 lbs. so in 2 months he has gained no weight! However, he has hit a major growth spurt which is kind of a double-edged sword. It's great that he is growing and getting taller, but his weight is not following suit. Thus he is now classified as underweight. In the past he has always been small, but his height and weight were very proportionate so the doctor was not concerned. And in all actuality the doctor is not too concerned as Sawyer did gain an appropriate amount of weight in the past 6 months (i.e. he is not losing weight) his weight just has not caught up with his growth.

So, where does that leave us?

We could make him stop being so active...yeah right
Force him to eat more (trust me he already eats plenty)...not going to happen he has a very strong will and when he says "all done" you better believe not another morsel is passing through those lips
Feed him calorie packed foods: bananas, beans, peanut butter, cheese, etc...um this is already what he eats everyday, the boy loves him some beans
Our other option is to supplement his food with dry milk to increase the calories without increasing the volume. We're going to give this one a try and see what happens.

On the bright side he is growing (maybe his little sister won't be taller than him :) Now we just have to watch his weight closely. He will be weighed again in November to see if our efforts have helped him pack on the pounds (oh how I wish I could give him a little bit of this baby weight :)

Final Visitors

2011-09-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we welcomed our final visitors who traveled from a great distance to meet miss nora. Sawyer and Nora's great-grandparents (papa & tache) drove all the way from Kansas to visit. They played with Sawyer, held Nora, watched Seseame Street more times than they could count, went to the farmers market, and took on the challenge of watching the kids for an entire day so mommy could go to work. They were a big help and did a wonderful job of spoiling the kids :)

We also went to get the kids picture taken together, but it did not go well. In fact I'm still too traumatized to discuss it. Let's just say after an hour and lots of tears from both children we left with no pictures. So much for a sibling picture on the birth announcement.

Here are some pictures to document Papa & Tache's time in Ohio.

Papa & Sawyer playing with his new pillow pet for his big boy bed

Tache & Nora w/ her 1st doll

Game #3

2011-09-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect fall football afternoon on Saturday when the Malone Pioneers took on the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees. Much like the first 2 games it was exciting too the very end. However, this week the Pioneers were not the victors. The final score was 22-24. Malone was behind most of the game. In the final 7 minutes the MU defense tackled the quarterback in the inzone for a safety putting the Pioneers up 22-21. Then with 5 seconds left in the game St. Ambrose kicked a field goal for the win.

It was a game filled with high highs and low lows making it a difficult loss.

But kids can always brighten the mood. A few pictures of the kiddos to turn that frown upside down:

Oh, oh lets touch the sleeping baby

Cute Cousins

A lesson in getting 3 toddlers to sit: lollipops

Nora chilling

Sawyer enjoying a snack on the field after the game

Thank You's

2011-09-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

As I was perusing Pinterest (my newest obsession) one evening I ran across a couple of small gifts that I thought would be perfect thank you's for the helpful hospital workers and our wonderful visitors.

I made the flower pins for the nurses and a few special people who were very helpful during our transition. For Sawyer's birth I made the nurses cake balls and that was such a hassle to transport and they weren't that cute. So, this time I decided to make something cute and useful. These pins can be used on a shirt, coat, purse, attached to a head band, etc.

Felt flower pin tutorial: tatertots & jello

Thank you gift tag printable: eighteen25

I followed the felt flower tutorial, but I made my own template as I wanted something a bit smaller.

And here's another variation of a fabric flower using this tutorial from Matsutake

For our visitors I created a thank you tag (using picnik) and wrapped several pieces of red vines. The inspiration for this came from this 4th of July project by Room to Inspire

Strawberry...

2011-09-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

Cutest strawberry I've ever seen

(she wasn't too happy to be wearing a hat...but she's still cute :)

1 Year Later...Family Room {basement}

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

As you will soon see in the reveal section. This a multi-functional room. Some of it's functions include play room, office, craft room, library, and tv watching room. The family room is the place where I spend 90% of my day with the kids. If we're not eating or sleeping we are most likely in this room. So, while it serves many purposes and I love it's functionality sometimes I get annoyed with the amount of clutter. However, I am very thankful that the room is large enough to accommodate all it's functions. Plus it's nice that I can do office work or some craft projects while the kids play.

So, without further ado here's what the room looked like when we bought the house:

This was actually the 1st room we tackled...the orange paneling and red carpet quickly went bye bye.
Also we removed the ceiling fans as they were a bit of a safety hazard for anyone over 6 feet tall.

The After:

View from the stairs

Clothesline to hang all the kids artwork or a felt alphabet (w/ the "b" missing :)

View of the office, bookcase, craft table, and craft storage...it's a lot in a small alcove, but it's very functional

View of the full wall...the white wall space is not decorated because it has been designated as the backstop for throwing/kicking balls.

View of the couch area and toy box...someday we'll also have a kids table on the left for their craft projects.

Entertainment center

Kids activity area with books and craft storage...under this is where the kids activity table will reside

Most of the wall decor in this space is kid focused, but I tried to incorporate some adult sophistication (blackboard globe, vintage car toy, vintage apple print). And someday we'll put art over the couch that will be more adult appealing. So, as most of our rooms it is still a work in progress, but I love it's functionality!

Game #2

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

This week the team traveled to Illinois to battle McKendree. The score was 30-27. And yet again Malone came away with a win in very dramatic fashion. I'm sure my recount will not do it justice, but here's a quick rundown of the final minutes of the game. The Pioneers led the whole game until the final 2 minutes when McKendree scored a touchdown to tie the game at 27-27. At this point I was driving and listening on the radio with screaming kids in the background and talking on the phone to another coaches wife that couldn't listen to the radio so I didn't hear everything...but the offense took the field around their 40 yard line. The team got a few first downs, but they were not in field goal range. So, with 5 seconds left on the game clock they threw a hail mary pass that was incomplete and we all figured it was headed to overtime for the second week in a row. However, the refs threw a flag for a personal foul against McKendree. So, while the game clock was over we had the opportunity for one more play. The field goal group came onto the field and missed the field goal attempt, however there was yet another flag...roughing the kicker. So the Pioneers once again moved forward and attempted another field goal (I wanna say it was on the 23 yard line at this point) which was good! The game ended 2 plays after the clock ran out and MU came out victorious. I was stressed and I wasn't even at the game. I can't imagine how the coaches and players were feeling.

The Schenk clan did not make the trip. Instead I took on a different challenge...watching 2 kids for 2 days all by myself for the first time. I started out with lofty ambitions. I decided to take both kids on a full fledged grocery excursion. Both children did great at the 1st store, however by the time we reached the 2nd store both kids were screaming and it continued through the 2nd store, on the drive home, until we reached the house and the baby was fed and Sawyer got to watch Elmo. I realize I made 2 fatal errors that resulted in the demise of my shopping trip. 1) I attempted 2 stores. Sawyer is patient with 1, but 2 usually results in lots of tears and frustration. 2) I forgot the pacifier. So, I was that mom with the screaming child that cannot be consoled because all he wants is to be out of the cart/store. And all the screaming woke the baby up and it was impossible to hold her, push the cart, and corral Sawyer. But on the bright side we survived and we have some food to eat :)

Luckily the rest of the weekend we had some fun plans to help me keep my sanity and distract us from missing daddy. On Friday night the coaches wives got together. The kids played while the girls ate and gabbed. It was a much needed reprieve for me and Sawyer. Saturday we got around bright and early and went to the Farmer's Market. I love perusing the fresh produce and Sawyer loves to talk to strangers and pet the goat. Saturday afternoon while the kids napped I listened to the game online while working on crafts. That night we attended a Gotcha Party for some of our friends who recently adopted a sweet little girl who happens to be the same age as Sawyer. Sawyer had fun in the bouncy house and I had fun interacting with adults.

Daddy arrived home in the wee hours of Sunday morning and we were all happy to be reunited :)

I apologize for a post without pictures but I haven't quite mastered handling 2 kids and getting pictures to capture the moment :) I really need 1 more arm.

1 month

2011-09-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

Miss Eleanora recently turned 1 month old. Her 1 month appointment was not scheduled until September 8th (@ 5 weeks). So the numbers are a little skewed, but here are her 1month stats.

Height: 21 inches (50%)
Weight: 9 lbs. 1 oz. (50%)
Head Circumference: 14.25 inches (10%)

She is officially out of newborn size clothes and has now moved on to 0-3 months.

Over the last few weeks she has developed a little reflux which causes some spit-up episodes and a cough. Thankfully the amount of spit-up has tapered as we learn to control her eating.

Now that she can easily lift her head and move it from side to side she always sleeps on her tummy. In fact even when she is awake she prefers to be on her tummy and not her back.

She loves to be talked too. And she's a tough one as her brother has thrown a full-sized football at her head twice and he has sat on her head and each time she hasn't even made a peep.

She is also the recipient of lots of Sawyer kisses. I think she will be well protected as her brother does not like anyone besides mom and dad to hold Nora. He starts crying and runs to me to make sure I know what's going on.

She is typically a wonderful sleeper going to bed around 10 or 11 pm and sleeping until 5:00 am. She will eat and then go back down for 3-4 more hours.

She has naturally developed a bit of a routine eating every three hours during the day. However at night she does like to cluster feed.

Here's a typical day:
8:00 am wakes and eats
9:00 - 11:00 naps
11:00 am eats
12:00 pm plays and watches us eat
1:00 pm naps
2:00 pm eats
3:00 - 5:00 pm naps
5:00 pm eats
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm plays
7:00 pm eats
9:00 pm eats
10:00 pm eats

And a sampling from the past week:

Can you tell she does not like to awakened

Baby Shoes

2011-09-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

One of the new crafts I wanted to make before Eleanora was born was a pair of baby shoes. I found a seemingly easy tutorial at Fleeting Thing so I gave it a shot. I think they turned out cute, but they are certainly not perfect and wouldn't be gift worthy. I'll have to keep perfecting my shoe sewing skills.

Next time I think I will use a different ruffle technique as it took a long time to turn those tubes right side out. This is a great project for scraps of fabric as it doesn't take much yardage.

Despite their imperfections I think they will look adorable on Nora with a pair of jeans and a Malone onesie for football games.

How can I...

2011-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

bottle up this energy for myself?

Spinning from Kristen Schenk on Vimeo.