First Snow

Tippin' back a nice sippy cup of hot chocolate (i.e. milk with a few teaspoons of Mom's hot chocolate) after a long play in the snow!

Robert and Hannah

Robert: This blasted hat is too big, mom!

Mom: Sorry son. It is hand-me-down winter gear. Who buys new when you're only here for a few more months?!

Robert's first attempt at a snow angel!

Robert and Hannah, and Duncan crawling around in the snow to amuse Robert. What a great kid!

Well, after about 30 minutes, I finally got Robert and myself all dressed in our winter gear and we headed outside to play in the 8+ inches (and still coming down) snow. He loved every minute of it, especially sledding. The temp. was about 30 degrees, so it was warm enough to stay out for a while. Tomorrow the high is only 9 degrees, so we had to get out today. I am pooped, but I wanted to post the pictures ASAP. I'm going to take a nap. I'll fill you in on the details later.

Classic Christmas Photo

Who doesn't have a crying baby on Santa's lap picture? It's a rite of passage as far as I'm concerned. And, Robert has passed! He loved looking at Santa, he loved the balloon he got afterwards, but he did not love sitting with Santa. If you notice Santa's face, I don't think Santa loved it either! Hopefully Santa will extend grace to Robert when it's time to deliver presents. It's Christmas, after all!

Fall Festival 2009--Belated Review

I am such a slacker! I never posted anything about the Fall Festival this year! Robert had so much fun; I can't believe I never wrote about it. Aunt Julie got him another dog costume this year, though it was a totally different breed this time! He loves dogs just as much as she does, so it was the perfect costume for him. However, when we tried to put it on him a few weeks before the big day, he was not having it. He was content to drag it around like a stuffed dog, but he was not wearing it. Well, something happened between then and the big day, and when it was time, he was all for it! He loved trick-or-treating around campus. I only had to show him how to do it once before he was walking up to the doors and sticking out his pumpkin bucket for a treat. He loved carrying them in his bucket more than he cared about what kind of a treat they were. I was glad because I was not looking forward to prying the candy bars out of his hands! He liked the festival in the gym mainly because he got to walk around showing off his dog costume. He never once asked to take it off, and it was warm in the gym! We ended the night with a hay ride, which was cold but seemed enjoyable to him all the same. He conked out that night very easily! Thank you Aunt Julie for the cuter than ever costume, and thank you Nashotah community for putting on such a fun event!

I put a link to all of the Fall Festival pictures under Picture Albums over to the left.

Thanksgiving Then and Now

This was Thanksgiving last year.



Aidan, Robert, Adeline, Emmaline, and Margaret (Nashotah babies all born in July 08)

This was Thanksgiving this year.


Adeline, Robert, Emmaline, Aidan, and Margaret

Robert is sitting with Duncan while they played Guitar Band in the refectory basement after supper. When he wasn't with Duncan, he was dancing, playing with his buddies, and getting into trouble. Thanks to Hannah, Rob and I got to relax a bit. Rob joined in with Guitar Band (he sang Pinball Wizard!) and I checked out the black Friday ads with the ladies. It was such a fun day!
Robert and Aidan playing for a few minutes in the Pack and Play. Chanan was so smart to bring it because it allowed the toddlers (and their parents) a few minutes of down time off and on. I didn't get a picture, but sometimes they would stand up and dance a little to the Guitar Band music. It was too cute--like they were the band groupies!

Home Again

Robert and I just got back from a fun-filled trip to Atlanta to visit my family. Though we are nursing colds upon our return, we managed to have a healthy, happy two-week visit in the sunny South. We spent many warm afternoons at the park with cousins Ty and Jordan, played with MaBop's and PaBop's growing toy collection, and I worked on my bread baking skills under the experienced tutelage of my mother. We took tons of pictures of Robert, not enough of Robert and his cousins, and none of my bread endeavors! Oh well. I guess cute Robert will have to suffice. Here are a few, and don't forget to check the recent picture album over to the left.

Enjoying a little shopping with the girls.
Never too old for a sink bath, though maybe getting too big?
Taking the wagon for a walk.
New best friends, MaBop and Robert!
Great Grammy Rosemary came to visit for a few days!

Fall in Wisconsin

Sorry, I've just realized how long it's been between posts--almost a whole month! Believe it or not, life is not much different than it was a few months ago. Robert is doing great. Separation anxiety has run its course, and he's now much more independent.
Last weekend we went to the Elegant Farmer (http://www.elegantfarmer.com/) to pick a pumpkin. It was a crisp, cold morning. We took a hay ride up to the "pumpkin patch." I put that in quotations because after we got up there and saw them hauling pumpkins off a truck and dispersing them throughout a field, we realized that it was more like pumpkin "seeking" rather than "picking." We laughed, both realizing how muddy a real pumpkin patch would be, and promptly headed straight for the pumpkin truck to make sure we didn't have to "seek" too hard in the cold! Robert had a ball. He loved walking through the field getting all dirty and didn't seem too cold at all. He also loved the hay ride. He laid down in the hay on his belly and pretended to swim in it. That was funny!

Enjoy the pictures!

14 Months

It's getting chilly, the leaves are beginning to change, and it's unmistakably Fall in Wisconsin. I'm in heaven. Fall is my favorite season, especially when it IS a season, complete with cool weather and orangish red leaves. Robert and I have been playing a lot these days. He's already got a great imagination. We built a "cave" fort out of couch pillows and a blanket. Then we played Noah's Ark with his new (barn sale for $1) Little People set. He knows how to make the animals walk along and even feeds them from the little food barrels that came with the Ark. He repeats everything I do, so I pretty much act out a scene, making the animals talk and eat, and then he does it. It's so fun! Sometimes he pretends to eat out of the food barrels, too, and sometimes he pretends to eat the animals. Hmmm....I haven't found out how to work that into the story of Noah's Ark. Everyone keeps asking me if Robert is talking, yet. He's trying words all the time, but nothing really consistent besides Dada. He's got that down and uses the sign, too. He loves his Dada! He's also tried bubble, PaBop, dog, shoes, water, milk, Elmo, and unfortunately poop (he gets that from us telling the dogs to hurry up and "poop" when we take them out :). I'm sure he's tried other words, too, but these are the ones that come to mind. He's still signing, and we will continue to add more signs to try to help him communicate. He makes an annoying grunt and points when he wants to say something for which he doesn't have a word or a sign. It's awful, especially during dinner!

He's getting clingy lately, a bit like seperation anxiety, and has even been getting up again at night. He cries when Daddy leaves and when I drop him off at Kids Corner when I work out at the Y. He gets over it pretty quickly, but it's really sad. I've read about it, and though he's a little old for seperation anxiety, it really seems like that's what it is. I've just been trying to nurse him whenever he ask for it and to give him lots of extra cuddles and attention to reassure him of my love and support. And of course, prayer. We'd certainly appreciate your prayers, too!