Fall Fun

The other day I took the boys to the park so they could play in the leaves and I could take pictures. The weather was perfect for a fall day. Here are a couple of my favorite shots of my little munchkins.

Goulke Sunday

Each year my dad extended side of the family get together to make Goulke. We have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Goulke originates from Czechoslovakia where my great grandmother is from. It is a pastry of sorts but often feels like a "rock" in your stomach. The dough is prepared beforehand and as a family we "stuff" them before we cook them. We stuff them with many different things including poppyseed, prunes, raspberry puree and even chocolate. They are then boiled, rolled in butter then sprinkled with poppy seeds. I know it sounds crazy and it is, but it is tradition.

As part of the day we eat a good meal, play a little football, watch the Lions lose and take a family picture. Here are a few of the pictures from this years event.

To see the rest of the pictures click here then look for the folder with Glouke Sunday pictures.

New Friends

So we gained a few extras along with our house, kittens. For the first couple of days that we were there we would spot our curious visitors for a few moments before they would run under the fence. Being the animal lover, I gave them food and wouldn't you know now they love us!

Turns out the boys love them and have taken on the role of feeding them each time we visit. Samuel loves collecting their dishes, filling them with food, delivering them to the cats then watching them while they eat. Liam also adores them and loves cuddling with them. He will also chase them and peek at them through the fence. Mike might not admit it but he likes them too. He looks for them and has even been caught cuddling .

So here they are...This is Spook. He got his name for both his color and his temperment. He is a bit skiddish and is just letting us get close enough to touch him. We generally have to bribe him with food but he is starting to warm up to us.

This is Doodle. She is by far the friendliest. She started off a bit skiddish but now lets us pick her up and even lets both boys pet her. She usually appears within minutes of us getting there and hangs out int he field while we are working. Yesterday I left the back of the van open while I was unloading and guess who jumped in! Guess we will have to watch her!

So this is our latest addition. As we were leaving yesterday we spotted a second black cat about the same size as Spook. We have also seen another calico from a distance. I guess they are telling their friends about us. Maybe someday I can be the crazy cat lady! We shall see...

Mornings

Mornings around here are pretty relaxed. Since the boys are both early risers we have plenty of time before the rest of the world is awake. We usually lounge around in our pj's, eat breakfast, watch Noggin and just spend some time waking up. Some days the process has to be hustled so we can get Samuel off to school other days we can take our sweet time. These are a few pictures from our relaxed Monday morning.

Sleepy

Well I guess we are working Liam too hard. Since we have been working many nights at the house, we usually don't eat dinner until later in the evening. By the time we eat the boys have generally already eaten and getting ready for bed. To keep Liam contained so we can all sit and eat without chasing him we will put him in his seat and put on Noggin. The other night he was rather quiet and when we looked over this is how we found him. He had given up and decided to fall asleep right in his chair. After a few minutes of cuddle time with Nana it was off to bed for him. So cute...

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Hello Seattle

Fast Update

Wow it has been awhile since I have gotten a post up. I thought I would just quickly fill everyone in on our last few weeks here.

We have been busy, busy, busy. Mike working full time and at his internship two nights, Samuel in preschool two mornings a week, Liam and I at the gym , doing the errands and keeping up with everyone. Here are a couple of highlights from the past few weeks.

For two of the past weekends we celebrated Mike's dad's 60th birthday. The entire family went up to Lansing the weekend of his birthday to have dinner together. The family has exploded with kids lately and the dinner tally was 13 (6 of them being kids 5 and under). We had a great time and did a fantastic job distracting Steve from the fact that the following weekend was the surprise party. So the following weekend we headed up for the big surprise. It was a ton of fun. We pulled it off without him ever having a clue. Mike and I also got to spend a night together without kids. We realized that both of us have spent nights away from the boys but we hadn't been away together. I think it is a habit we will have to partake in more regularly.

Last Friday, Mike had to undergo a little "procedure" called a colonoscopy. Going into the surgery we were all a bit nervous about what they would find but everything turned out fine. He colon is perfect and he should be in the clear for awhile. It was great to interact with him after surgery. He was a bit loopy from the meds and entertained me well. We are just so thankful that everything is good and he is healthy!

A few weekends ago the town had an Apple Fest. There were arts and crafts type booths set up throughout town, games for kids, lots of apples and cider and fair type food. We spent a few hours walking around and enjoying some family time. Here are a few pictures of the boys playing at a nearby park.

Overall things are going very well. The house is coming along and we hope to be moving in the first of November. I will update the house blog soon with some new pictures of the place. I will try to be a bit more regular with keeping everyone updated!

Bikes

We have had a couple of really nice days following the massive rain storms. We have made the best of them by playing outside each afternoon. Both boys love being outside and getting into everything. Here they are enjoying yesterdays sun. Liam loves this car. He will open the door, climb in, sit down, pretend to drive, get out, close the door and push it to wherever he wants to go. He will then repeat the process over and over.

Samuel has two new bikes at Nana and Papa's. Here is in on one of them. This one is a bit harder for him and something he can grow into. He loves the tricycle he has and will ride it to the end of the road and back over and over. He also is willing to wear his helmet but most times by the time he makes his way back it is falling off. Guess we better figure out how to get it a bit tighter.

Trash

Liam has been quite the handful lately. He is into everything! If he isn't trying to get downstairs to get to the cordless phone or the computer mouse, he is in the laundry room getting into the dog's water. Walking has slowed his pace a bit but since he is pretty steady on his feet now he is getting faster everyday.

A few mornings ago I was attempting to get Samuel dressed for preschool while Liam was playing with cars in the living room. Not a minute later as I am getting Samuel's shoes on I round the corner to find Liam picking through the trash. Apparently there was a really cool lid and straw in there that he wanted to play with. He was so proud of himself I could hardly punish him! What next...?

Fun in the Rain

This past week we got hit with a big rain storm. Samuel wanted to go out and play so we let him. Since Liam was sleeping in the bedroom we didn't go in to get his swimsuit, instead he went in his undies. He thought it was great!

The water came up to mid calf on him. It was really pretty warm since the day had been hot and the asphalt served as a heater. It was also coming down pretty hard as he was playing. We let him run around and jump in the water for awhile before having to come back inside and get dressed.

Cousins

This past weekend, Samuel and Liam got to spend some time with their cousins. On Saturday, Addision came down to Coldwater to spend the day with us. Samuel and Addison were so excited to see each other. That lasted for about 20 minutes before they both started arguing and fighting with one another. By the end of the day they were getting along like siblings! I think if one would have said the grass was green the other would have argued that it was purple!

Despite some crankiness we had a great day. We spent time playing out around the pool, getting ice cream and playing at a local park. It wasn't long after Addison left that Samuel was asking about here and when she could come and play again!

On Monday we made it up to Lansing to catch up with all of Mike's step-siblings. We had a dinner at his dad's and let the kids run wild. There were six of the eight grandkids there ranging in age from 4 days to 5 years old. We played soccer, hide and seek, and tag. It was a small glimpse at what Christmas for the next 18 years may be like.

Here is the newest addition to the family.
Kasey Aaron Ellis

Congrats to Scott, Erin and big brother Evan!

First Day of Preschool

Well, today was the day that Samuel has been waiting for, the first day of preschool! We have been preparing him for today for the past three months. Talking all about preschool, visiting his school and his teacher, talking about sharing and telling "preschool stories." Although I thought he was pretty prepared I didn't know what to expect.

This morning he woke up at 7 and came running up the stairs talking about preschool. He was eager to eat breakfast and got dressed without a fuss. He even wore a button up shirt without complaining. After a couple dozen pictures we loaded up and headed out. He talked nonstop in the car, explaining to me how he was going to say hi to Miss Lisa, how he was going to eat a snack and how he was going to share with his friends. He was ready!

We got to the school about 5 minutes early. As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted by the pastor of the church. Samuel instantly hid behind my leg and refused to talk. He wished a good day to Samuel and we headed to his classroom. He eagerly hung up his backpack and headed into the room. He hesitated for about a second then saw the dress up area. He walked over, grabbed the police helmet, put it on his head and headed over to say hi to Miss Lisa. Since he appeared to be doing great I said my goodbye and headed out.

Once I hit the car I had the realization that I just dropped by baby off for his first day of preschool. I felt a twinge of sadness but was more overjoyed and excited for him. I then realized that I had only one kid for the next two and a half hours!

When we went to pick up Samuel he was sitting (yes sitting) with his class. He yelled "Mommy!" then ran over to give me a big hug. He told me all about his new friends, his new playground, what he had for snack and that he wanted to go back again.
I don't think I could have asked for a better first day for him.