January Visitors

As I mentioned before, Grandma and Grandpa Brandt came for a visit in January. They were here a week, and then my Mom stayed two more weeks to help us out.

Grandma holding Piper.

Grandpa taking a little snooze along with Piper (I tried to sneak up on him, but he still heard me coming.)

Grandma got to read LOTS of books while she was here. Lila likes to read different books, but Wyatt is at the age where he wants to read the same one over and over. His current favorite is a Mickey Mouse book he received at Christmas.

One night, Ben took Lila to AWANA, so Wyatt got Grandpa and Grandma all to himself. He really enjoys doing puzzles. He also really likes dumping all the pieces on the floor! But, if he is in the mood to put it together, he sticks with it and does a great job.

On our anniversary, we left the kids at home and went out to dinner (we took Piper along with us). At home, Grandpa made breakfast for dinner, and the kids enjoyed helping him make the eggs!

We were also excited to have my good college friend, Amanda, visit us for a weekend. She stayed with Janina, but we went down and hung out with them one afternoon.

The kids were coloring, and Wyatt kept asking "Panda" to color with him (it was too cute.) By the time she left, he had figured out her name was "Manda" :)

One night we decided to make pizza for supper - and Lila and Wyatt got to help! Here Lila is helping Grandma make the dough (yes, that's right... it was ALL from scratch! Yum!) She also helped make the sauce.

Wyatt helped me grease the pans and then he helped put on the toppings. Here he is saying "No, Mommy, don't take my picture!" Too late!

Snow Days

A few weeks ago it snowed in Texas. Right now, we have ice on the ground. Not nearly so exciting or fun as snow! In fact, after playing outside for awhile, I'm not sure who had more fun: Lila or Kelsey, our dog.

See, Kelsey likes to catch snowballs. She will jump up and try to catch them mid-air. It is fun to watch.

Wyatt thought it looked like a fun thing to do, so Ben helped him make a snowball to toss.

He quickly got the hang of it and started making his own snowballs to throw. I circled his snowball, so you could see what Kelsey is about to attack.

Here's a picture of how we Texans dress for snow. We put plastic bags around our feet before we put our shoes on... it's called makeshift snow boots!

Lila was having fun too.

Seriously, Kelsey was in dog heaven. I don't think the kids have ever played with her this much (the only other thing she likes to try to catch as much is a balloon.)

Lila thought it was fun to throw her snowballs at the fence.

She also thought it was fun to go really fast down the slide!

The next day my parents arrived, so everyone (minus Grandma and Piper) trooped back outside to play some more. This time they built a snowman.

Our snowman was a fireman with good oral hygiene!

I confess I didn't last very long outside. Trying to take pictures gives you cold hands! But, before I went in, I handed the camera over to Ben and took a picture with the kids. (You don't realize how pale you are until you stand right next to a bright red coat!!)

Gotcha! They didn't want to stop playing to take a picture, but I snuck one in anyway!

One Month

Well, here it is... February already. The past few weeks haven't given me much time to blog, although I do have pictures I want to post. Hopefully I will get some more up soon. My parents came for a visit, and then my Mom stayed a couple weeks to help me. During that time I developed mastitis, which I had once when I weaned Wyatt, but this time it was worse. I am very thankful my Mom was here during that time because there was NO WAY I could have taken care of the children. (Note to all nursing moms out there: if you ever get flu-like symptoms, save yourself some pain & recovery time and just assume it is mastitis! It probably is!) Once the antibiotics kicked in, I started feeling so much better.

This week is my first week of going it alone with three kids. And guess what? We got hit with a winter ice storm that has cancelled school for three days -- so I haven't had to go anywhere. It's been nice. Ben even worked from home today. Anyway, I thought I'd start my backlog of pictures with some of Piper at one month old.

They don't ask to hold her nearly as often anymore, but of course, they both wanted to hold her at the same time. That's ok... makes a good photo opportunity!

Here Piper is with the turtle again. Right now it's as big as her head... someday it will fit in her hand.

 One month.

Her eyes are looking more and more blue (not sure if you can tell in this pic?). Who knows what her hair color will end up being since both Lila and Wyatt had dark hair when they were born.

It didn't take long before my happy baby turned into an upset one (about 30 seconds after I put her on her tummy in fact!)

Big brother Wyatt came right over to comfort and "shhh" her... so sweet! I hope he is that considerate of her when he's 15 and she's 13 :)

Ten Years, One Great Marriage

10 years ago on a wintry day in Ames, Iowa, Ben and I were married. We were young and just out of college, and we had lots of friends and family in attendance. It started snowing during the reception, so when we were ready to leave, all of the "attention" our friends had given Ben's truck was hidden by a couple inches of soft, powdery snow. After a fun week at Disneyworld, we came back, packed up our few belongings and moved to Texas.

In 2002, we moved from an apartment into our house, where we have lived for the past 9 years. (That would be the longest time I have lived in any house by the way.)

For the past ten years, I have written 8 Christmas letters. I skipped 2002 and 2005, thinking I wouldn't do one every year but then I changed my mind. I keep a binder with all our Christmas letters (except for my very first letter - I didn't keep a copy!). It is fun to look back through the years.

We are lucky that Ben hasn't had to travel for work all that often, usually just a couple trips to Germany. On average, his trips last 7 days. Fortunately for us, we can stay in communication through email and an occasional phone call.

Over the years we've had 6 repairs and remodels done in our home (well, 6 that I can think of anyway). Some changes were our choosing - like putting down laminate flooring, buying a front loading washer/dryer and remodeling the 2nd bathroom. Some changes were forced upon us... our microwave going out and having to replace our microwave/oven unit... our water heater rusting out and spraying water all over our laminate flooring... and having our roof reshingled after a hailstorm. 

Since we've been married, we've owned 5 vehicles. We came down to Texas in an old, red pick-up that Ben drove during college. We bought a Dodge Neon which turned out to be not the best car! Ben's truck was rear-ended (and totaled) so we replaced it with a somewhat newer pick-up. We finally got rid of the Neon and bought a Honda Pilot. And when we made the plunge and bought a mini-van, Ben gave up his truck and took over the Pilot. Hopefully we'll have these two vehicles for a little longer, despite having to replace a cracked windshield on both (and my own recent rear-ending of the Pilot).

We've repainted 4 rooms in our house. Well, technically we've repainted one room twice (so a total of five paintings) thanks to my sweet husband who was willing to paint over the green that didn't *quite* match :)

We have three beautiful children: Lila, our craft-loving, my-favorite-color-is-blue girl; Wyatt, our all-energy, repeats everything, puzzle-solving boy; and Piper, our if-I'm-awake-I-must-be-bounced baby (wait, I think that was all of our babies). It is fun to watch their personalities emerge and develop... to see in what ways they take after their Dad and Mom :)

Shortly after we moved into our house, we adopted 2 stray pups and named them Maggie and Kelsey. Some days I really wonder what possessed us to keep that 2nd pup, but they have been good dogs (usually) and tolerated the human additions to our household.

All in all, we've had 1 great decade together.

Happy Anniversary to Us.

Because he loves us

This week Ben went back to work after being home for three weeks. During that time I was reminded what a great husband I have. He cooked, went to the grocery store, put the kids to bed, did laundry... basically ran the house while I recovered and took care of Piper. And he did it all with a great attitude, I might add. Lila has a book called "Because Your Daddy Loves You" that talks about all the things a Dad could say or do, but instead does something else because he loves his daughter. My children are lucky to have just such a father. 

For instance, when it's cold outside and the kids want to go the park, Ben could say, "go play in your room."

But he doesn't.

 Instead, he hooks up the bike trailer and bundles up the kids and takes them to the park. And he doesn't even get upset that they're only there for 15 minutes because Lila announces she has to go to the bathroom.

And when the kids are feeling giggly at the dinner table, Ben could say, "stop making silly faces and be quiet!"

But he doesn't.

Instead, he moves his eyes in such a way that Wyatt says "do that again!" before bursting into laughter.

And when he wants to go for a run in the afternoon, Ben could tell me "I'll be back in 30 minutes. You can handle things while I'm gone, right?"

 But he doesn't.

Instead he searches Craigslist for a deal on a double jogging stroller so he can take Lila and Wyatt with him. AND he runs them to the grocery store while he's out to get a few things we need.

After a long day when the kids want to play with him, Ben could say, "I'm tired. Why don't you go play with your toys?"

But he doesn't.

Instead he lays down on the ground and turns into the best toy ever!

And after taking care of Lila and Wyatt all day, Ben could say, "You can take care of the baby."

But he doesn't.

Instead he takes a turn holding Piper when she's fussy - and it's 2 a.m. - so that I can get some sleep.

Because he loves us.

So thank you to my wonderful husband for taking such good care of your family. We love and appreciate you more than you know.

Taking Pictures

Last year I got a DSLR camera which I have absolutely loved. This year I took a class to learn more about shooting in manual mode. I knew that with my third baby I wanted - and could - take better pictures. She may have less written in her baby book, but her pictures will look better! :) So to that end, I've enjoyed "posing" her and taking pictures in the past couple weeks.

This is Lila's little doll bed. (Like I said, babies are only this little once!)

 After taking some pictures of Piper, Wyatt thought he should have a turn. I had to tickle him to get a smile.

 Trying to get a shot of the three of them together.

 Wyatt and Piper.

Funny thing about this shirt: I got him some Thomas pj's a while ago which he has now outgrown (notice his belly in the picture above). I've managed to get the pants put away, but I haven't been as successful with the shirt. I've tried several times to wash it, but before I can get it put away, he has pulled it out of the laundry basket and put it on! I'm happy to report that I FINALLY got it put away -- and I got him some new Thomas pj's that fit :)

Lila and Piper

Big Sister Lila

This was taken shortly after Wyatt was born.

Big Sister Lila

Two years later with little sister Piper.

And then I gave the camera to Ben to take a picture of me with Piper (since it was a day I'd actually showered, ha!)