Oct. 5th- 21st, 2012

 Hi Everyone!

Things have been fairly normal the past two weeks. The weather is cool some days and perfect other days. Blake and Seth are enjoying putting on their hats to go outside. I hope that keeps up, because last year I couldn't keep their hats on for anything.

 Can't go through Fall without visiting a pumpkin patch at least once.

They had a really cool old-fashioned corn grinder that took all the kernels off the cobs. I know there was a certain name for it, but it's escaping my memory at the moment. It was amazing how efficient it was!

Seth protecting his baby. :) The other day there was a spider on the floor and Seth stood next to me and said, "I will protect you, Mommy". 
 

 You can see why I get asked if they are twins every time I go the grocery store. Seth is really catching up! 

Ready for a precious picture? We had a special outing to the Dr.'s office on Friday where all of us got to see our baby on ultrasound. The boys sat on Micah's lap and watched the computer screen with amazement. This is 4D picture of the baby's face at 20 weeks old, can you see it? Looks like there is a slight smile on it's face. :) We stuck with our plan to wait to find out the baby's gender and we can hardly wait for the big day. Half way there already!

Micah turned 28 yesterday! It was great that it landed on a Saturday so we could be together the whole day. We took a day trip out of town and had a blast! (I'll post picture of outing with the next post)

A few funnies....

While on a walk Micah and Blake were talking about dogs. Micah was educating Blake about which dogs were "manly dogs" and which ones were "girly dogs". Poodles were deemed "girly" for example. Blake thought for a minute and then said, "Dogs with flat hair are boy dogs and dogs with poofy hair are girl dogs."  :

Blake said of his dinner the other night, "Theses carrots are good, even for rabbits!". 

 In other news...

Seth and I spent many hours over the course of this week in the bathroom in Potty Training Land. He has done so well and I'm really proud of him. He likes his Thomas the Train underwear and so far, the animal crackers have been incentive enough to keep Thomas dry. :) This means we should be diaper-free for five whole months! Yay!

Love to you all!

Kari, Micah, Blake and Seth

Sept. 14th- Oct. 4th, 2012

Hi All!

I decided to take the week off from posting an update last week since it was my birthday. So it's been three weeks since my last update, and it feels like we have had a lot going on.

First off, our little trip to Myrtle Beach with Cindy and Susanna was so nice! We were there for three nights and enjoyed every bit of it. The boys had a blast in the sand and even more so in the pool and kiddie pool. We got to spend some time with Kate too.

Speaking of Kate, she and Noah found out they are having a boy! Blake and Seth will have at least one boy cousin to play with over the years. :) 

 Seth "out cold" after spending all his energy on the beach. He still likes me to tuck him in tightly. He asks me by saying "Will you tuck me in like a baby?" I guess he has fond memories of being swaddled when he was a baby. He is very much enjoying his role as baby-of-the-family right now. He's going to have a few adjustments to make come March 9th. :)

Dad and the Bros came over one evening to celebrate my birthday. My favorite group of guys. Except for Micah, of course! He's my favoritest.

 Well, the countertop we've been waiting for finally came! After much shopping around and some haggling here and there we got a SUPER deal on the granite. It pays to shop! That's the last big piece of the kitchen remodel and as you can see the final product looks so good. I told Micah and I'm very much enjoying the updated kitchen as it is the room I spend the most time in on an average day.
 

 We had the privilege of attending Nate Olson's wedding in Virginia. It was absolutely beautiful. The boys did pretty well during the ceremony and were thrilled about the bubbles they got to blow over the newly wedded couple as they exited the church.

 Blake looking contemplative in his little outfit.

 The Bros.

 While Kate was visiting we had to get at least one "belly picture". Kate is just too cute as a pregnant lady. No, really, she is way too cute. She is now at 22 weeks and I'll be 18 weeks this Friday. It's flying by!

 The boys like to eat the leftover dough out of the mixer when I make bread. I remember fighting over who got to clean out the bowl when I was a kid. This picture represents one of the very few times Blake's fingers have entered Seth's mouth without being bitten.

 Like I said, we've been busy around here. Last weekend we  drove to Rock Hill, SC for two nights for a reunion of sorts with some of the staff Micah and I worked with at Verity. They are such great people and the kind of friends you can pick right back up with after years of not seeing each other. Last time we all got together was three years ago before any of us kids, now there are six kids between us. Blake had a blast with the other three year old boy, as you can see. There was lots of silliness and "boy-noises" that weekend.

Well, I have a few "golden" Blake and Seth-ism for you this time....

We've been talking a lot about the new baby coming and the boys have been asking questions about it here and there. On the way to the park Seth asked, "Is the baby going to come out and play with me at the park?"
 
I had a close encounter with what could have been my most embarrassing moment ever. At the park, we were playing near a lady who was pleasantly plump and all in the belly. Blake came up to within a few feet of her and me and pointed to her and said, "Look Mommy! She has a baby too!" The lady heard him and paused her conversation with her friend to look at him. I had about half a second to figure out how to salvage the moment. Thank the LORD there happen to be a lady holding a baby in the distance directly behind her! In a split second I pulled Blake over to me so that he his line of sight was aligned to the lady holding the baby and I pointed at her said, "Well, look at that, she sure does!"  Thankfully, I think the lady bought it and she went back to talking to her friend. Whew! That was a close one. I guess we will need to have a talk about when not to point out that someone else "has a baby".  :)

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there's more, but I'll save them for next time.

Have a good weekend!

Love,

Kari, Micah, Blake, and Seth

August 31st - September 13th, 2012

Hi All!

Blake and Seth thought it was fun to roll around in the grass the other day. The weather has be beautiful this week and when I got Seth's sweater out he asked, "What's that?". I guess it's been a while since he's seen a sweater. The mornings and evenings have been cool and the humidity is low, which makes for great outdoor playing weather.

 Ouchies are a big deal around here. We always tell Mommy when they happen and give regular updates on how they are doing. Seth loves to put his "Frosty Bear" ice pack on his ouchies when they are especially bad. Makes for a good distraction at least.

 We all know Seth is trying to decide whether or not to stomp on Blake's face at this point. :)

 I like this one of Seth. :) 

 Blake doing a lion impersonation. 

 Taking a break. 

Back to their favorite past-time. 

We got to spend a Saturday with the Olson kids/siblings in Farmville, VA. It's a quaint little town that's sort-of a halfway point for us to meet. It was so hot and humid that day, but we still packed a lot into our time together: lunch, hanging out at the park, miniature golf, ice cream, and then back to the park for a 2 mile walk (to work off the ice cream). :) We had a really good time together and of course the boys had a blast getting to see Tim, Lindsey, Jona, Ben, Sue, Joe, and Zach again.

 All geared up!

 Blake and Seth with Zach, Jonathan and Lindsey. 

 Seth takes his golfing very seriously. 

 The whole gang! (minus a few that couldn't make it that day) :(

So, I'm not sure how this started, but any time Seth sees me folding laundry he grabs Daddy's socks and asks me, "Mommy, can you put these on me so I can run?" Apparently, simply wearing Daddy's socks makes him run faster through the house. I probably shouldn't encouraging running through the kitchen in sock, but...

Hope you all are doing well! 

Love, 

Kari, Micah, Blake, & Seth

August 17-30th, 2012

Hi All!

Hope you all are enjoying some of the last days of summer! 

The BIG news around here is...we are expecting! Baby #3 is due to arrive around March 9th and we couldn't be more excited. Blake and Seth still don't quite understand what's going on, but they do know there's a baby in mommy's belly. I told Blake I wasn't feeling good the other day because there was a baby in my belly and he said, "Mommy, you need to spit it out!". :)  

Micah and I have decided not to find out the gender of the baby, which will make it a fun surprise for all of us on the big day. We are very much looking forward to having a new baby around and I think the boys are going to love having a little brother or sister to play with and help take care of. I will be 13 weeks along this Saturday and doing great, other than a little morning sickness which hopefully I will say goodbye to very soon. :)

 

We had fun celebrating Will's birthday. We had a water balloon launcher and the guys had a contest to see which team of three was the best shot.Then we gave Will a good soaking in honor of his birthday.

Seth has already been practicing being an older brother. He and his "little brother" doll are practically inseparable these days. Seth carries him around the house and wraps him in blankets. Most mornings his doll joins us for breakfast by sitting in the center of the table and "watching Seth eat". I tell Seth to show the baby how how fast he can finish his breakfast. Doesn't always work. :) 

The boys' favorite thing is still their books. Blake can sit for a longer time than Seth, but they both really enjoy our morning reading time and Daddy's reading before bed. We usually come home from the library every two weeks with somewhere between 20 and 25 books. By the end of the two weeks each book has been read numerous times and mommy is ready for something else to read. :)

 Seth has trouble keeping his shoes on while outside. :)

 Blake now pulls out his "camera smile" when I go to take a picture of them. 

Seth likes to say, "Bye Mommy! I'm going to Hobby Lobby. See ya!" as he gets into his car. 

A company is coming tomorrow to make a template for our kitchen island counter-top. We are so excited to get the last big piece of the kitchen finished within the next few weeks. We are planning to begin hosting a weekly Bible study on Wednesday nights in a few weeks, so I'm hoping it will be done before then.

A few funnies from Blake and Seth...

Seth finally agreed to sit on the toilet the other day and miraculously, he went potty! I told Blake we needed to tell Daddy about it later. So, when Micah came home, Blake said "Daddy! Seth went twinkle on the toilet today!". Tinkle or twinkle, same thing, right?

The boy's favorite song to sing is "Your grace is enough, Your grace is enough for me...". Well, as arguments are springing up over just about everything lately, Seth started singing "Your grace is enough for me...(pause) NOT YOU Blake!!!" Sounds like we'll have to work on our Christian theology very soon... :)

In case you haven't heard, Kate is also expecting next year. She's due the first week in February and already looks so cute as a pregnant lady. :) Now to get Joy and James on board...

Love to you all, 

Kari, Micah, Blake and Seth