Five reasons why we love Magnus...

Magnus turned "1" a few weeks ago. We didn't have a party but did celebrate by getting him a new bed as well as a bunch of new toys. He loves them and has demolished a few already. I'm a little late but thought I'd blog on what we love about Magnus as a celebration of his first year of life.

1. Magnus LOVES Braden and Olivia. He looks for them right away in the morning and can't wait until they are up from naps. He plays with them constantly!

2. Magnus is very, very tolerant. Braden and Olivia chase him around the house, put necklaces on him, play steam roller with him and I'm sure other things I am not even aware of. :) He give them kisses and almost says thank you ... he'll take any attention he can get!

3. Magnus is a good listener... most of the time. He sits on the kitchen carpet while we eat, comes when we call him, goes into his kennel whenever we ask, and is getting really good at waiting when we open the door to go outside. Now if we could only get him to stop jumping!

4. Magnus is always happy!! If I didn't know better I'd think he took happy pills every day. He is never crabby, always wants to give kisses and snuggles and loves every person and other animal he meets.

5. Magnus is smart and polite! When Magnus has to go outside to go to the bathroom he sits by the backdoor and waits quietly for us to see him. If we don't see him quickly enough he will give a quiet bark to let us know he's there. It's really sweet. He also gives a little bark to come back inside. If we don't hear him (we're often in the kitchen), he comes and jumps up by the window so we see him! He's such a good boy!

Happy Birthday Magnus!!

Picnic Anyone?

My grandma gave Olivia a picnic set for her 1st birthday and I put it away since she was too young to really play with it. We got it out this week and had the most wonderful picnic in the living room. I'm sure it's the first of many! Joining us were two dolls and of course, Magnus.

Bundled Up

WOW was it cold this week. Steve happened to be out of town Thurs and Fri so I had to take Braden to school in the morning. I started the car and let it warm up but it was still chilly so decided to pull out the snowsuit that my aunt Nancy gave Norah. She looked sooo cute all bundled up and stayed quite warm. Thanks Nanc!!

Look Alike?

Norah


Olivia


Braden

Do they look alike? I continue to try to decide who Norah looks more like - Braden or Olivia. These pictures are from all three in the same bouncy :) around 8 weeks of age. I can see some similarities from both but it's still hard to tell at this age what they'll look like when they're older. Only time will tell!!

To really listen...

I've been thinking a lot lately about whether Braden and Olivia would come to me if they had a problem and feel safe. Not that they hurt their finger or that they couldn't get the TV on the right station but really confide in me about feeling inadequate at school, struggling with a particular friendship, forgetting to study for a test or something that might come up in later years. I'm afraid the answer would be no. I am afraid that they would feel judged or that they had to meet my expectations which I know at times are set too high. It's something I think I still have time to change and I really want to work on.

I get emails about how to be a better mom and family and today's really struck me. It was on listening...

Would my children call me a good listener?

A good listener? Hardly. But maybe a good lecturer. So what does it mean to be a good listener? Well, I'll give you a couple of hints... it's more than the absence of talking... and it doesn't involve multitasking when your child is speaking to you. Listening is the active process of hearing what our child is saying, looking at their eyes and body language for clues, processing it all to determine what's really going on on the inside, and then asking follow-up questions. When we really listen, our child will feel, at least for that moment, like they're the most important person in the world.

It's a good place to start and really made me think. :)

The Domes

Braden had off of school on Monday so we headed to the Domes with the Olsons. The annual train exhibit was packed but we enjoyed the beautiful flowers, the moist, warm air and just being with our good friends. :)

All Smiles!

Norah continues to bless us with her easy going nature. She is smiling daily and is starting to coo. Her favorite thing to do is watch Braden and Olivia. Braden is absolutely smitten with her and looks and talks with her a lot during the day. I'm so blessed.

Gymnastics

We started the kids on gymnastics through the rec. Braden has taken them in the past but this was Olivia's first class. She is shy - which surprised me - but is loving it. :) Her favorite part is the trampoline. This picture was before we left for our first class. She has now started wearing leotards which melts my heart. I'll have to take a picture of that soon. Braden's learning how to do some pretty cool jumps as well as how to do an open leg summersault.

Another Reader

Olivia enjoys reading to Norah. She's a great listener.:)

Daddy's Princess

Olivia informed me the other day that she was NOT my "sweetie" but was "daddy's princess." Hmmm I wonder what the teenage years have in store for us?

A Perfect Ending...

...to a wonderful day! A sleeping baby, a son playing with his race cars, a daughter with a huge smile, a bottle of wine waiting to be poured, a clean countertop, a fire in the fire place and laundry all done and ready to be put away! Now it's time to sit and relax. :)

Braden and Mommy's Playdate

This week Braden and I were able to steal some time together while both Norah and Olivia slept. That is a rarity so it was special. We played with his favorite present from Santa, a castle! We use his playmobile knights and dragons to stage quite the battle. I don't understand why boys are so focused on battle and good guys vs. bad guys. That's not in my realm of imaginary play so it's a stretch for me. I loved the one on one time with him though. He kept telling me he loved me and giving me hugs. :)

SMEGS

In college I met this girl... she was an education major... had this beautiful, long, blonde hair and an air of confidence about her. We began to chat in an art class and really hit it off when we did a project together for a psychology class. This girl is of course Meg.

We spent the rest of college drinking wine, coffee, beer, and of course... tequila. :) We have always enjoyed our beverages together and so started to call each other "beverage buddies." Meg and I have shared so much throughout the 10+ years we've known each other. I can't imagine my life without her - the pictures above are from when I was prego with Braden - she had just had Vincent and the second is from her visit this last weekend. Do we look a little more tired and worn down in the second... both three kids later? hehe

She came this weekend to help out and that is exactly what she did. I was slightly stressed about being a good hostess but she assured me before arriving that her goal was to blend into our normal routine and help. She held Norah, played with the kids, did some cleaning, baked to stock up our freezer and gave me the dose of girl time I've been craving but not up to going out to get yet.

I love you Meg - I adore our friendship and am so thankful for it. I always leave our time together rejuvenated, calm and smiling. :)

Toothpick Trick!

Yesterday I told Braden and Olivia I would surprise them with a fun lunch. I diced cheese, pears, banana bread and rolled up thin slices of ham. All of it went onto little toothpicks! You'd never believe it was an easy, simple lunch because my kids devoured it and asked for more!

The request today.... drum roll please... a toothpick lunch of course. Our cupboards are getting bare (it's the end of the week) so today's diced lunch contained hot dogs, cheese, apples and banana bread. Once again - clean plates and requests for seconds!

I'll have to be creative and find more ideas of fun things to dice. :)

Sarah and her girls!

And finally... Christmas with Darrell and Judy

We celebrated Christmas with Darrell and Judy for a few days the following week. We all went to see, "The Princess and the Frog," at the theater. Norah was an angel and slept the entire time, Braden loved it as was suspected and Olivia did well. She is not very into TV so sitting through a whole movie is not her idea of fun. She did very well though. It was a GREAT holiday this year!

Thank you everyone for everything!!

Christmas - A second and third round!!

We had our second Christmas with Marc on the 26th and our third Christmas with Sam, Em and my parents on the 27th. Braden and Olivia are going to think Christmas lasts forever! We have so many new toys to play with that we'll be busy during these cold winter months

Sam started a tradition of reading a holiday story to the kids! It's a sweet story about giving to others - thanks Sam!!

Christmas

The day had finally arrived. Steve and I woke up with Norah before the kids are were surprised at how late they were sleeping. It wasn't long before they came scampering into our room ready to head downstairs. We had a blast opening stockings and presents. First by ourselves and then with my parents who arrived mid-day. We had a fabulous Christmas - thanks mom and pa for joining us!!

Waiting for Santa...

Braden couldn't wait to go to bed on Christmas Eve... He ran upstairs several times during the early evening saying he was going to sleep so Santa could come! What a magical time of year.

A Gingerbread Adventure

Christmas Eve we decorated a Gingerbread House. It was a family affair and I am proud to say that MOST of the candy and frosting did end up on the house instead of in our mouths. :)

A Mommy in Training

I caught Olivia the other day with her shirt off - nursing her baby - talking avidly on her cell phone! Like mommy like daughter?

Jen's Photography

My friend Jen has a great camera and is becoming quite the photographer. She took a bunch of pictures for us a a birth present - three of which you'll see on our Holiday card which is mailing out later this week. I've posted a few favorites here that aren't on the card.

Seeing Santa

Steve's work had a Family Holiday party. I chose not to take Norah due to germs but Braden, Olivia and Steve had fun telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas!!

Catching Up

So as you can see - I've been delinquent in blogging! It's not a bad thing - my time has been spent snugging any one of the three cuties in my life, napping, reading books, playing games and well to be honest - nursing!! :) I haven't had time to read, to blog, to catch up on email, run errands, to take baths or other things that I typically enjoy doing for myself but I know that time will come again before I know it.

It's amazing how I've been able to enjoy Norah despite the sleep deprivation, the lack of productivity around the house, and disappearance of free time. These were things that majorly overwhelmed me when I had Braden, were frustrating when I had Olivia and now just seem part of the ride. I know how fast they grow which I continuously remind myself of and how I'll miss this cute bundle someday. I know I'll look back and be glad that I didn't wish it all away.

Norah is a great baby. She loves to nurse, loves to cuddle and nuzzle her head in your neck and sleeps a lot. She is generally calmed quickly and is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. She loves to look at her mobile on the changing table and can track your movement if you are looking at her.

Braden and Olivia continue to do very well. Olivia has attached herself to daddy more which is great for their relationship but makes me a little sad. I am just not as available as I used to be so she's turned to Steve. We still have our time in the mornings while Braden is at school which is special.

Braden loves school and is glad to be back this week. He is missing his buddy Evan who he is usually with each day in the afternoons but since having Norah things have changed. In February it'll be back to normal but for now Kristin has found alternate care to give me a break - bless her heart.

I'll blog some pictures from the past three weeks with small captions!! All three kids are napping so I may get a few done - we shall see. :)