Isaiah crawls!

Sleeping Beauties

Eric and Isaiah love taking naps together. Eric and I take turns feeding Isaiah becuase whoever isn't feeding gets to either chase, wrestle with, feed or bathe the others.

Where do Babies come from?

Yup, Elijah asked that famous question for the first time today. We were playing with Isaiah and he said, "Mommy, did we get Isaiah at the pet store?" I said, no. and he asked, so where did we get him. I said, "Remember when Mommy's belly got really big and we told you your baby brother was in there. Then Mommy went to the hospital and the doctor helped Isaiah come out." I was crossing my fingers at this point hoping that he wouldn't require any more details just yet. He looked at me for a minute and said "Isaiah just jumped out," motioning from his own belly as though something was bursting from his belly button. I said, "kind of like that." He looked at me again with a look that said, "that's just too freaky and weird to talk about any more," and promptly changed the subject.
A little later, out of the blue he said, "Is a baby going to jump out of Aunt Jess?" She is about to have a baby and he saw her last night. Amazing the things he picks up when we're not even paying attention.
His brain is working all of the time.

First Fieldtrip

OK, our little boy is growing up. We celebrated our first class fieldtrip this fall-the pumpkin patch.

See the little girl on the far right in the orange jacket? Her name is Daisy, and apparently she's the most popular girl in class. As parents were arriving at the pumpkin patch, someone metioned wanting to meet Daisy becuase her son was always talking about her. Then, one by one, each parent of a boy spoke up (including myself) with comments like, "you know, Gabe talks about Daisy too. And she's the only girl he talks about." Later we all met Daisy, and it became obvious why the boys like her. She made her way from one little boy to the next, saying hello to them, holding their hands as we walked from place to place and giving some of them "hello" or "goodbye" hugs. She seemed to make every kid feel like he was her best friend. Most 3 year old girls still think boys are germ infested, barbarian beasts to be feared or ignored. Not Daisy.

Elijah the photographer

Eli took this picture one Sunday while Eric and I were making lunch. Notice the perspective. I forget how big everyone and everything must look to him.

Tree decorating

Elijah's favorite "toys" are common everyday objects that he uses in new and creative ways. His bag of "costumes" helps him transform into superheros, airplanes, rescue heros, and whatever else he can think of. To illustrate, notice that Elijah is pointing to something on the Christmas tree? This is his very own ornament that he created and attached to the tree himself. Want to know what it is?



Its a beater that he took out of a drawer in the kitchen. First the beater was the front of an airplane, then it was a drumstick as he discovered that the bongo drum made a really cool noise if you hit it with a beater instead of your hand, then it was a "shooter", and finally it came to rest on our Christmas tree as an ornament. He attached a piece of string to the top of it with LEGO blocks, carefully hung it and then came and got me to show me. Who knew a beater had so many uses?

Where do they learn this stuff?

Elijah has had some problems at school lately. He thrives on routine and any disruption in routine causes a disruption in his behavior. Well, our lives have been nothing but disruption this month. He missed school for two week when we went to Canada, then we had the stomach flu, then he got the stomach flu, and Eric was gone to FLAME classes in Michigan for a week, so Miss Pam has remarked at his change in behavior and we've been doing our best to give him consequences here at home for his school stuff. Anyway, last week he brought home a review paper on opposites. He had to draw lines between the opposite objects (hot & cold, big & small etc.) and all of the lines were drawn correctly. I was holding him on my lap praising him for doing such good work, trying to encourage his good behavior to help curb the negative yada, yada, and he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I didn't do that." Huh? Who did? "Ellie was sitting beside me and she did it for me because I didn't want to." Great, and he's only 3 years old. Is this a sign of things to come? I wish I had pictures to post, but the camera is still broken. Maybe we'll get each other a new one for Christmas. Anyone have any suggestions on a good digital or what to do with a 3 year old cheater? :)

Some days I wonder where the time goes...

Vacation

We're back from two weeks in New Brunswick with my family and although we enjoyed the time away, we're glad to be home. We drove the 24 hours to NB with all three kids in one little van, straight through on the way there. We stopped over night in Utica, NY on the way home. Overall, the kids did great! Who wouldn't get a little stir crazy after that many hours in the van. We took out one of the middle row seats so there was some floor space for diaper changes and for either Eric or I to sleep while the other drove. Elijah and Isaiah were in the back row, Micah in the middle and usually either Eric or I sandwiched between the two in the back, feeding Isaiah a bottle while he was still in his seat or coloring and playing with Elijah. Portable DVD player, a wonderful thing! Not sure how the pioneers on the Oregon trail did without it. We watched a DVD of Looney Toons cartoons for about 6 hours straight one afternoon, so I've had enough Donald Duck for the rest of my life. I'd have some great pictures to post too, but I dropped our camera and it is no longer functional. So you'll just have to imagine what we looked like after 24 hours in the van.

Its always nice to visit another church. Go Woodstock Wesleyan!

My mom was also gracious enough to stay with the boys several times so that Eric and I could spend some time together. That was WONDERFUL but also made us aware of an awful truth. If you're not into the bar scene, there's not much to do in Woodstock or any other small town. Those of you from small towns can probably relate. You can't even go hang out at the mall- it doesn't exist. And Tim Hortons attracts a certain crowd- we'll call them MATURE. No wonder the church has a void when it comes to 20s and 30s without kids. Help me out all you 20s and 30s. Where do you go? What do you do for a spontaneous, unplanned night out? Any suggestions? Maybe we're just not creative enough.

Eating habits

OK, so Micah has this fairly odd eating habit, although with toddlers, is anything really normal? For instance today for lunch I gave him his plate or cheese quesadilla pieces, lunch meat slices and grapes. As usual, he picked up a bite of quesadilla, put it in his mouth, chewed twice, took it back out of his mouth and placed it to the right of his plate. Then he picked up a grape, chewed it twice, took it back out of his mouth and place it to the right of his plate. Next, he picked up a piece of lunch meat, chewed it twice, and, you guessed it, took it back out of his mouth and placed it to the right of his plate. Then, he takes a drink and eats normally for the rest of the meal, saving the partially chewed morsels for last. Interesting. Why do all of my Micah stories have to do with food? Those who know him best would know why. Let's just say the boy likes his snacks!

The WHOLE family

We are so blessed to have Josh and Jess living close by. The boys will grow up playing with their cousins just like I did. Olivia is 10 months younger than Elijah. Garrett is 1 month younger than Micah, and Jess is going to have another baby in December who will be 8 months younger than Isaiah. This is everyone on the couch with Jess trying to keep Garrett from picking his nose. :)

Elijah loves to dress up in costumes right now. Linda got a bag full of old Halloween costumes for the boys at a yard sale I think, and they have been a source of continuous entertainment for him.

Little eyes are watching

Today while Elijah was at preschool, I let Micah eat his lunch at the coffee table while he watched Sesamee Street. He normally sits at the table with Elijah. We are always reminding Elijah to take his plate to the kitchen when he is finished, and lately he has really been doing well about doing it without being reminded. Today, I sat on the couch and watched in awe as our 18 month old shoved the last bit of hotdog into his mouth, promptly picked up his bowl, smiled at me with cheeks full of food, waddled to the kitchen, and reaching as high as he could left his bowl on the counter. He turned around and waddled back toward me, smiling broadly, obviously pleased with himself for being so big.

This is a recent picture of Isaiah. He is growing so quickly. What a happy guy!

BMV

WORDS OF WISDOM- Don't ever try to take 3 children under 4 to the BMV at the same time, even when it doesn't look busy. Their computer system will crash in the middle of the transaction, your 18 month old will try to run out the door twice, your 5 month old will cry unless you are rocking his seat constantly, and you'll be asking your 3 1/2 year old to do things like "go get your brother out of that lady's purse" when he can barely keep himself under control. Yes, I am speaking from experience. Only one minor injury. Micah slipped off a chair and hit his upper lip on the edge of the counter. He has a small bruise, but no blood and no broken teeth or bones, so I think we're OK. Family picture day tomorrow. Another adventure. Wish us luck. You'll probably see the results in your Christmas cards and Micah will have his wound in the picture, but I've already rescheduled twice becuase of various bumps and bruises, so we're just going to have to accept it as a part of our lives right now.

Erin

Bed time

Putting Elijah to bed is always an adventure. He has to have a story, prayer time, lights out, a minute to snuggle and then we're allowed to leave his room. Last night he asked me an interesting question. After we prayed, he was getting comfy, turning his pillow over and over like a dog making its bed, and he stopped and announced, "Mommy, we need a pillow for Jesus." I told Him that Jesus could have my pillow since I would be getting up soon. That seemed to satisfy him.
Erin

Micah

Micah is 18 months here. He is still our little teddy bear. He sleeps about 15 hours a day (more than Isaiah most days) and he loves to be cuddled. He is just starting to talk and can say "Eye-aye-ah" for Isaiah and "Eye-ah" for Elijah. He says "Neh" and "No" and "a un da" traslation- I want that.

Isaiah

Isaiah is alert and very active. Here he is in the swing, playing and watching his bros. He is about 4 months old here.

First Day of School

Elijah had his first day of preschool this year. He only goes two days a week from 9-11am, but it was a big change for him. The first day was a little rough, but now he looks forward to it and tells us all about his day when we pick him up. He must have a guilty conscience though. If he has gotten in trouble at all, that's the first thing he tells us. Yesterday he said, "Mommy, I got in trouble because I was screaming." I asked why he was screaming, and he said, "I wanted puzzle time and the teacher said it wasn't puzzle time, it was marker time." He also talks about a little girl named Daisy; she is his friend, but Zachary Graber is his best friend.

Family Picture

Left to right: Micah 18 months, Isaiah 4 months, Elijah 3 1/2 This was taken in early September.

Blogger Tutorial

For those of you new to the world of blog, here is a quick run down. We will (hopefully) post things that are going on with the boys and in our lives along with pictures sometimes (if I can figure out how to do that exactly) on this blog site. You can check the site as often as you like. If you register with Blogspot (quick and painless) you can respond to our posts and leave comments. The address for our blogspot is www.fivecrispsandadog.blogspot.com if you want to add that link to your favorites or address book or something. If you have questions, let me know.
Toodles,
Erin

Welcome

Well no idea yet really what this will be, but hopefully a forum for us to connect with old friends and family (not that you all are old, just that we've known you for a long time) and maybe make some new ones.
Toodles,
Erin