Hello, big new tractor!

Three generations of Harder/Schrock boys had been waiting for this day all winter: when would they finally get to drive home the big, shiny, new(ish) tractor? Friday was finally the big day, Ramont the lucky driver. Jonathan came over for a full inspection Saturday (I think it passed - at least all the photos we have of him grinning ear to ear seem to suggest so).

Anna rolls her eyes - she's had enough (as with Ramont, above), so Oma takes her back to the house.

Thanks to the warmer, wetter weather, we put away the moon boots (for now) and got out the rubber boots. So much fun, and so stylin'.

Happy Easter!

[Another stellar photoshoot from the Harder Schrock household.]

[Anna's dress was a gift from her "Aunt" Anna in Bolivia.]

Pruning, or The First Glorious Day Above 50 Degrees

One of the many, many great things about the yard we're renting is that it has several fruit trees/vines/bushes - apples, plums, grapes, raspberries, and strawberries. Yesterday we got a few tips from our landlords on pruning the apple trees, and today Ramont came home early to do the job.

The day was beautiful, about 52 degrees and sunny - downright summerish for this cold year. We were like a little bear family coming out of hibernation...Jonathan sprinting back and forth and mowing lawn with his plastic mower (also got it stuck in a snow drift, so "summerish" is a bit euphemistic), Anna finally deciding she can walk on wet grass and then realizing it's downright fun to splash around in mud puddles, me trying to walk off a bit of winter padding, and Ramont working away industriously.

Half-finished with this tree's haircut.

Lots of expert help.

Pushing against a strong south wind (note the ear flaps), on the way to some more mud puddles. This is the first we've seen of the driveway since November!

These photos are unrelated, but I can't resist showing off our little menono in his little Old Colony overalls from Bolivia.

(Somehow the mouth stopped moving for the photo; hands, not so much.)

New wheels

Remember this?


(July 2012, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)

Now this...

Ramont made Anna her own set of wheels! She looves them, and has gotten quite good at zipping around.

Of course Jonathan loves the new trike as much as (more than?) the rightful owner, so we've got lots of negotiations going on in the basement these days.

Examining a bug on the kitchen floor.

Playing on the kitchen floor. We always thought it amusing that Jonathan plays like this, and now Anna does it too....do all kids do this, or is it something about our floor?

Jonathan at three

Jonathan turned three on Saturday (9 March)! This is a big age for him: he got to have and eat a combine cake, got to start Sunday School the next day, and (re)began wearing briefs full-time. He learned that when you put the nooky (as in, sucking finger) together with the thumb, you can show people how old you are.

Jonathan is such a vibrant little boy when in his comfort zones - eyes wide open and bright, mind constantly whirring, and mouth full of observation and analysis. And questions..."but why?" [response]..."but why?" [repeat 19 times]. He's an amazing self-entertainer; right now he's in the living room building towers with old boxes and fully amusing Anna in the process (the point to take home here is not that I'm a negligent mother, but rather that our baby geniuses are "self-learners" :). He's definitely capable of throwing a good tantrum once in a while, but his default disposition tends towards chipper and chatty.

We had a family birthday party for him and my dad (born on the 13th) on Sunday with my folks, grandparents, and Uncle Charles. There were some gifts, like this tractor and hay baler that have not left his sight in the three days following:






some food (and combine cake), visiting, reading, and general happiness. I'm grateful that our kids are growing up so close to their grandparents and great grandparents (if, sadly, only on one side).

Four generations: Leo Harder, Gordon Harder, Elisabeth Harder Schrock, and Jonathan Harder Schrock.

Anna was a happy fan of Jonathan in all the festivities. Here they are decked out in their MCC Bolivia shirts, ready for the mini auction and verenike meal that our town held on the 9th as a fundraiser for MCC.

["Can you believe it, Anna? I'm three! Me!]

The day after Jonathan's birthday, his great grandmother, Esther Schrock, turned NINETY-three. Happy birthday, Grandma Schrock!

Hum drum

Winter is starting to feel a bit long. Not that it's been bad (after four years of unrelenting heat, definitely not!), but just a little, well, ho hum. A sure sign of that is our February photo album: eight photos taken the entire month. Our days all look pretty much the same, with the exception of Sunday (which look like all the other Sundays). Ramont's been helping an uncle lay a hardwood floor in his house, and I've been doing some farm accounting about two mornings a week. Ramont's also been attending some type of farm meeting (lunch included!) pretty much every week, and I volunteer at the MCC thrift store once in awhile. We see my folks a few times a week either at our place or theirs. Now and then we have folks over for a meal, which helps inject some new ideas into the system.  Here we are waiting for some lunch guests (Jonathan is driving truck, obviously).

Ramont built wood frames for two twin beds for our guestroom. We had the mattresses anyway, and thought it would be great to either push them together for one enormous bed or separate them for two single guests. Jonathan naturally was a big helper in all of this.

We'd been looking for a love seat for our living room, and through the local radio station's "swap line" found this cajun red one. It's quite nice, except for the lingering smoke smell. Ramont's beautiful cherry coffee table has become not only a launching pad for jumps onto the cajun red love seat, but also as a conducting platform. The kids turn on a choral CD, then stand there and direct away. I caught a great video of Jonathan directing away fiercely on an energetic song, then slowing down on the next (slow, reflective) song, until he sighed "I'm too sad," and got down and slinked away.

We're very schedule-oriented people, so our day always looks more or less like this:
6am: Begin morning yerba-mate session

7am: Breakfast

8am: Ramont (or I) leaves for work; we play, wash and/or fold diapers, etc

9am: Kids have "quiet" time for an hour, during which they read books and/or play in their room (Anna often growls loudly, so "quiet" is rather euphemistic); I make phone calls, do paperwork and other stuff that requires good attention (but also includes internet surfing and drinking coffee)

10am: Morning snack, followed by good play time, lunch prep, etc

12am: Lunch

1pm: Naps - Jonathan now plays in his room for 1-1.5 hours until falling asleep until 4pm; Anna sleeps an hour max; after that she eats 1/2 gallon of plain yogurt and plays with solo mama for hours

4pm: Snack time with both kids, followed by good play time

6pm: Supper of bread & cheese, followed by nuaksheeta running around

6:30: Bath, reading, and singing

7:15-7:30: All is blissfully quiet.

Kansas cutie pies

About two weeks ago we finally made the trek south to Kansas to see my brother David and Rachel's 6-week old babies. Suffice it to say that Annalise and Andrew are the world's cutest little twinkies. And they are so little. As in, it was a bit nerve-racking to hold something so little and so helpless....I forgot how to do it! Our own kiddies seem so gargantuan in comparison (and so independent!). Jonathan was pretty well smitten with the babies. Anna, not so much. She was interested, but more in a passing curiosity-kind of way.

Here I am, forgetting how to do it. Not to worry - Jonathan was full of advice.

My mom had gone down the week earlier to lend a hand, and then came back home with us. Here she is drinking terere with mama Rachel and Annalise.

Learning the hand motions to "Evo, Evo..."

Not sure what's going on, but Oma looks a bit skeptical.

 Rachel with Annalise.

The weather in Kansas was absolutely beautiful while we were there, even up into the 70s. This meant we got to play outside and even drink the cold version of yerba mate (terere).

The kids were so giddy about being outside and free to run around that it seemed like they were recently uncaged animals.

And since we've been home, there has been lots of "Andrew and Annalise" play. Here Anna (strangle)holds Andrew and Jonathan has Annalise. For days afterwards Anna would walk around holding a baby and patting its bum like everyone does with the twins.