Zapp Stroller Giveaway

Go to Chulamama's blog to win this Zapp Stroller!
 

Stripes & Florals

what a stinkin' cool kids bed and bedroom...the stripes, the colors, the rugs sewn together, and seriously...a ferris wheel? blogged about here.


i must get a photo of the darling bed that Gramma Debby made for you, tegegne. she made you a bed out of an old gray wood slat door with a kids mattress sitting softly on top. it's just as cute as the bed in the photo above. too bad it's staying at her house! 


over thanksgiving weekend Gramma Debby and I got to plan some for your little sisters room. i was thinking of vintage florals, and she gathered a great selection of old tablecloths, and floral fabric that we are going to use in Hensley's room. my dilemma is that you two will most likely share a room (this is in our potentially new house that we don't own or can't even think about buying until we get our house sold). i'm not sure how your look and hers will come together, but i do eagerly anticipate getting to put it together soon.

Thankful

I am thankful for you and you. 

I could say a lot more about why I'm thankful for you two, but I'm feeling like keeping it simple.


Thanks for the extra kiss on the cheek as I said goodnight to you, Tegegne. You are my sweet little guy. 


Michael, thanks for going back downstairs to get me water when we were already warm in bed. And thanks for the extra long hug earlier today after we witnessed that really sad thing on our drive home from the country.


I love you, boys.

"Slipp-lers"

our floors get cold, so Tegegne gets his slipp-lers for himself and every one else at home...

Someday - Country Life

We've discussed moving to the woods someday, where peace and quite are always at your front door. For a while I think we'll stay urban dwellers. When we do move to the country I think this Scrap House is something I'll keep in my living-in-the-woods inspiration folder.

Bold Colors, Vibrant Child

Oh little Tegegne, you are so full of life. As I sit here and feel your sister move like crazy (it's so bizarre), I only imagine how much you moved in your birth mom's tummy. You are on the move constantly out of the womb and I can just picture your birth mom laughing and having your aunt feel her tummy as you moved constantly.

Right now I am loving these moments:
- Dropping you off at school and hearing you yell to Griffin, Adam, Truth, Finley (etc) as you greet them in the classroom. The other day you handed Adam (your bff) your coat as you walked in the room and he took it and hung it in your locker. It was so cute.
- If anything is broken you say, "Ababayeh will fix it, Mommy." Things like your bib (a plastic one with the scoop to catch food), our door knob, the printer.
- My greeting when I walk in the door from work M through W is awesome. You are so happy to see me. I love it.
- I love your assistance in rubbing cocoa butter on my growing belly and your acknowledgement that your sister is in there.
- Even though I got sad at first I'm over it and I love it when you insist that Ababayeh will do it. You prefer that he does most things for you these days. He's your partner and you thrive with him.
- It's nice that I can have fun dressing you, like in the photos above. Your boots are still too big, and your legs are extra skinny in those jeans. You are so cute. It makes me laugh when women comment on your cuteness, then confirm that you are indeed a boy. It actually happened today. I'm glad you don't catch on to what they are asking!


P.S. Aren't the colors of fall so lovely on our street in the photos above?
And here is you and your pal Koen holding hands on the way home from church play group.

Growing Belly, Growing Baby

13 weeks

17 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks yesterday, Nov 17 (pretty great toddler face right there!)

28 weeks and growing

The Hymn

photo.

As the bridegroom to his chosen.

As the king unto  his realm,

As the keep unto his castle,

As the pilot to the helm,

So, Lord, are you to me.

As the fountain in the garden,

As the candle in the dark,

As the treasure in the coffer,

As the manna in the ark,

So, Lord, are you to me.

As the music at the banquet,

As the stamp unto the seal,

As the medicine to the fainting,

As the winecup to the meal,

So, Lord, are you to me.

As the ruby in the setting,

As the honey in the comb,

As the light within the lantern,

As the father in the home,

So, Lord, are you to me.

As the sunshine in the heavens,

As the image in the glass, 

As the fruit unto the fig tree,

As the dew upon the grass,

So, Lord, are you to me. 

-John Tauler

Zara Baby

Doesn't Zara make super cute kids clothing? For you, Tegegne...and your little sister. 

Hensley Ruth

The Cullys

Kansas City really is a great spot to catch friends passing through. On this occasion the Cully's spent the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, then caught up with us on Sunday after church. It was so good to catch up with them on McCoy's Patio in Westport, of course.  We finally got to meet their new son, Jude, who is quite sweet. After lunch they headed back home to Fayetteville, AR.

Micah, Taryn, Kate, Ross

Sweet Baby Jude

Norah and Taryn

(and a photo of my boys at Sol Cantina enjoying their fish tacos a different day)

And look at the Cully's recent family photos soon after Jude was born...aren't they adorable?

Fall Food...Yum

What a delightful afternoon in the kitchen with my apron on! I'm not as often in the mood to cook being pregnant and all, but today I took full advantage of my ambition. 


Been making homemade applesauce like it's going out of style. I noticed that some recipes for applesauce and and apple butter are nearly the same, so we eat ours on cornbread, or just by itself. Always warm though. I use local orchard apples, mostly Jonathan. The most recent batch came from my dad's cousins orchard. Basically peel, slice, cook apples w/ 1/2 cup water, simmer, mash w/ pastry blender or slotted spoon, add a bit of cinnamon and sugar and done. It's so good.


I also cooked Chili-Brown Sugar Delicata Squash w Pears. Recipe from Dec Eating Well magazine. 


And I'm making a version of pumpkin soup from real pumpkin (That link is the tutorial I used to cook the pumpkin...I steamed it.)  Can't decide which recipe to use, so I may make a version of these two. Coconut-pumpkin Soup and Caribbean Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup. 


On my search I got quite excited about all of these pumpkin recipes from Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Recipes. 


Tis the season for yummy food and holiday feasts! 


P.S. Tegegne, you so kindly let me cook (after having a pretty good fit about me not playing) and you played with your teddy bear like it was your sister. You said, "Mommyeh, I protect her in the box...sshhhh, she's sleeping...I sleep with her." 

Jumping in Leaves

You had so much fun rough housing with your dad in these leaves. You enjoyed getting covered in leaves much more than you liked my effort to remove the leaves from your little fro. A lot of good conditioner, a warm bath, and gentle combing got all of the little pieces out.  

Speaking of your hair, some days I do better than others at taming the frizz & bed head. After I got all of the leaves out, I left the conditioner in your hair. And all day your hair looked especially good.  You probably didn't notice, but ironically at dinner tonight you started singing, "I Love My Hair!" ...a really great song regarding textured hair, with many possibilities, from Sesame Street. Side note: a hair styling friend suggested we rarely shampoo, but always condition your hair. We also use a leave-in conditioner. She trimmed your hair the other day, ringlet by ringlet. I've trimmed it some since she showed me how. 

Halloween Humor

Look at this guy, would-chya?
Your dad definitely gave me some good laughs last Friday night in his sweet band get-up. My workplace had the best Halloween party in the basement of a catholic church in Strawberry Hill. The place included a bar and old-school bowling alley. Let me tell ya, this Central High School trumpet player can throw down some pins. 


(In case you're wondering, I coordinated nicely as a big bellied bull frog.)
(St. John's is a great spot to have a party, btw.)

Little Moo Cow

Tegegne, you were a great moo cow for Halloween. Your best line was "I make choc-o-late milk." We had tons of fun going door to door in our neighborhood and hearing you say trick or treat. You loved every bit of it. 

And here you are with a few of your pals from play group.