Frigid Temperatures

Well...as I sit and type this, I am listening to the wind howl outside the window. It has been snowing all day and is supposed to continue through tomorrow. Currently the wind chill puts us at 30 below. BURRRR!!! We are trying to stay warm with our sweaters and snuggled up in blankets. On both our front and back doors, ice has formed on the inside along the bottom. Inside our home it really isn't cold, unless of course you are sitting by a door. The weather has created some havoc this week with school being canceled on Friday, even for David. Luckily he didn't have any finals to give that day, so he won't have to arrange make up times. Church has also been canceled for tomorrow because of the weather. We're used to the amount of snow we are getting, but definitely not the wind chill. Just typing about it makes me want a cup of hot cocoa.

PDC

At our house when the kids do something we think is pretty darn cute we say PDC and Scott knows what that is. Sometimes he will even say that Sopie is being PDC.

Last night Scott said the prayer for Family Home Evening. It was too cute not to share. "Heavenly Father, thank you for us making the poky tree [our Christmas tree] and the soft tree [the one we made from paper]. And thank you for mommy and daddy being good and doing what I say. And name of Jesus Christ amen."

Another PDC moment came at bed time when he said he was scared of the dark. I sang "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music and David and I told him some of our favorite things to remember that make us feel happy and not scared. Then while holding up one finger at a time Scott said, "My favorite things are flowers, dinner, Christmas trees, dressed up in imagination, and most of all water, swimming, and finding nice animals."

3 Years Old

Scott turned 3 in November. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. Everyday he seems more grown up and able to out-smart us. It has been fun to watch him move into this new stage of development. Aside from his attempts at being sneaky, one of the most noticeable changes has been his conversations.

A few of my favorite phrases have been:
"Daddy! You are the biggest man I've ever, ever seen!"
"It looks like a mouse or rat scurrying around." (Said after we saw something run in front of the car as we were backing out. I think it looked like a opossum."
"Sophie looks very concerned."
"I will go to the potty by myself. See, I did it. I can go potty by myself. I can go to primary now."

Here are some pictures from his fun birthday celebration!


Hugs for Sophie after he opened the Etcha-Sketch from her.

Scott was so excited when UPS delivered a package just for him. Thanks to family and friends near and far who made his day special!


Hungry Hippos was a huge hit! We had given it to him before breakfast and so therefore, we played it during breakfast. It was also a big hit with our friends he invited to share cake and icecream with us.

Scott wanted a fish cake. He and David decorated it with lots of different colors. It was definitely loaded with sugar. Scott loved licking the dasher of his homeade chocolate icecream. It's a tradition in my family that we've carried into ours.

The kids chased eachother with balloons and basically had a balloon fight...bopping eachother. Scott loved every minute of it! He calls our friends his Minnesota cousins. Sophie enjoyed watching the action too.

Family Tummy Time

Here's to my boys! They were trying to motivate Sophia in keeping her head up during tummy time. Pretty cute if you ask me. Scott loves to "show" Shopie how to do things. And check out that beautiful face. Need I say more.

"Crunching"

Whenever it snows Scott asks to "crunch in the snow." He loves to play in it which is good because we'll have a lot of it. :) The majority of his time outside was spent in chasing me with snow in his hands and yelling "SNOWBALL FIGHT!"


Here he is with the snowman we built. Okay...so I did most of the rolling, but he found the rocks for eyes, put the snow ears on, and decided he wanted a carrot nose. After all that cold we enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate together. One of Scott (and David's) favorites. We'll have to play in the snow again when Daddy isn't at work and can join us.

Flashback

Alright...here are some long awaited photos! It is hard for me to believe that we have been in Minnesota all together as a family now for 1 1/2 months. It truly has flown by. The kids are doing wonderful and loving our adventures. Scott frequently asks me now when we are driving, "Are you lost mamma?" It has happened quite a bit. However, not as much recently as it did at first. I am learning to navigate my way without the mountians to guide me. Minnesota definitely has it beauties, despite its lack of mountains. The sunsets are beautiful and the fog mystic. David loves teaching and we have met so many sweet people and made some wonderful friends. Enjoy the moments and the ones that come!

Who's side are you on?

Can you guess who dressed Sophia and who dressed Scott. After I dressed Sophie in Aggie gear, I think David thought the competition was on. The next morning he dressed Scott. :)

Halloween Fun

The lead into all the candy and excitement...




Searching for pumpkins at Farmer John's pumpkin patch the Monday before Halloween. Farmer John is so nice and his farm was a pumpkin wonderland for Scott. He loved it!





Scott loved Halloween. He would have kept going for more candy if I would have. We just walked up our street and back down on the other side. It was a fun way to get to know some neighbors. Scott was called everything from a witch, warlock, and wizard. He always made sure to tell people he was a witch. He had fun counting and sorting his loot when we got home. His favorite candy were the suckers. Sophia found something to suck too that night. Daddy's thumb!

If one says no, maybe the other will say yes

Scott's age is beginning to show! Today Scotty was wrapping the bathroom blinds cord around the towel rack and asked me if that was okay. I told him it was okay to use the cord as long as we were careful with it (did not wrap it around our bodies and pulled slowly to open the blinds). He then proceeded to tell me the following: "Yesterday my my daddy told me not to wrap it and I told him I would ask my mom tomorrow and she would say it is okay." I knew he didn't tell David he would ask me...but oh boy he sure is clever to think it through like that. I can't believe he is old enough to try the 'what doesn't work with one parent, I'll try with the other' trick. David and I are going to have to be quick if we're going to keep up with him. He is growing up way to fast!

Is that a good idea?

Today at nap time we went about our usual routine of a story and song. Scott then said he wanted to read some stories to himself, proceeded to make a stack of about 8 books, and said "Is that a good idea?" I helped him get under his covers and settled with his books and then I left the room. About 30 minutes later, while I was on the telephone, he began hollering that he had to go to the bathroom. After taking care of that and getting him back in bed he yelled out that he didn't think he could sleep today. I suggested to him that he sing a song, read a story, or snuggle with his animals. He said that wouldn't work. I told him to think of idea and when I was finished on the phone I would come help him. When I went in to him, he was wide awake and I asked what he thought of to help him fall asleep. He said, "I think I should play with toys. That would help me sleep. Is that a good idea?" :)

Scott loves you!

Scott just woke up from a nap and saw me working on our blog page. He sat down on my lap and asked what I was doing. I told him I am trying to get pictures loaded onto the computer so I can post them on our blog for friends and family to see. I asked if he wanted to type a message for our family and friends and he said "yes." Then I asked what he wanted to type and he said, "I LOVE YOU!" So to all of our family and friends, know that Scotty loves you!

I Spy...

After dinner tonight David, Scott, and I decided to play games together while Sophie played in her bouncer. We played Hide the Penny (with a quarter), Jump the River, and I Spy. We were having fun playing and snitching cookie pieces from the kitchen on occasion. Just before we ended, David said "I spy with my little eye, something that starts with an H and ends with a Y. And it's two words long." I shouted out "It's a HAPPY FAMILY!" David said, "Yep!" and Scott responded with, "Where?" Of course David and I began laughing immediately and Scott joined in as we all let out great bursts of laughter.

Carving Pumpkins

We spent the Monday before Halloween with some friends carving pumpkins. Scott spent the whole time working on the nose of his pumpkin while telling me how to make the eyes, mouth, and ears. He then told me we needed to add eyebrows.