Christmas, part 1: Minnesota

We had a full, rich Christmas season this year. It started by hauling out this winner from our local MCC thrift store, and putting a few choice gifts under it on Christmas eve.

Prior to that, I had gone on a bit of a Christmas baking blitz (first time at this level), so that we could bring some neighbors and friends treat plates. It was a good way to meet some of our neighbors (over a YEAR after moving here!) and just spread a bit of yumminess.

Also, it was super handy to make up a plate for dessert whenever we had company.

Back to Christmas eve...we first went to an evening church service in town - in the pickup since it was snowing so heavily. Afterwards we went to my folks' to eat some delish snacks and, of course....

...to open gifts!

This was the first Christmas in which both kids realized that gifts are a huge part of the whole deal. Of course they were very excited by some new playthings....

...like Opa's new all-purpose wrench,

...and Anna's new art easel (she is crazy into drawing with pens and markers, so this is the perfect gift).

Here Anna waits patiently (?) on Christmas morning while the rest of us sleep blissfully until about 5:30am.

And then we opened some more gifts. We gave the kids each a dump truck and a small bowl with a tiny bag of gummies, a candy cane, and a gift (crayons for Anna, a mini tractor trailer for Jonathan). I got a sweet french press from myself and Ramont got a screwdriver set from himself. Quite a haul!

The truth of it is, though, that our kids went right back to their usual playthings: the back of the couch as their semi trucks with air brakes, shepherd and sheep in the "pen" of chairs/pillows, and putting stickers on a piece of paper. Christmas gifts drive me crazy (maybe a later post).

We went to church in the morning for a hymn sing, and then to my grandparents' house for dinner (and more gifts). Grandpa is 90 and Grandma is 85, so this was no small feat!

Here are Grandpa and Grandma with their five children, including my dad (center, back).

After some long naps we went to the annual Harder reunion for supper, which always has good food and conversation.

Then we tucked Jonathan and Anna into bed and packed like mad for an hour for our Christmas, part 2: Virginia. Photos will follow.

Merry Christmas!

From the Harder Schrocks

Ramont, Elisabeth
Jonathan (3) and Anna (2)

Travels south

Last weekend we piled in my folks' van together with them and headed south to Hutchinson, Kansas for an early Christmas celebration. We had a great time visiting, playing with all their cool toys, eating, and so on. Our kids are so lucky to have cousins close to their own age, even if they're a day's drive away.

For the most part they got along great - mainly because Andrew and Annalise are so relaxed and willing to share toys. I especially enjoyed watching Anna realize that there are kids younger than her and actively want to interact with them (in a big sister kind of way).

At one year old, the twins are SO much more lively and interactive than last time we saw them (in June). Here David feeds them supper.

The twins' birthday and Christmas gifts were swiftly requisitioned by their older cousins.

We tried to take some photos.

Not a simple task with four wriggly bodies.

Obviously some turned out better than others.

Ho hum.

Oma and Opa with four of their eight grandchildren. The other four are, of course, in Bolivia.

We left temps in the -0Fs, and enjoyed a balmy 60F degree Sunday afternoon.

So we went to the park.

Happy first birthday, Andrew and Annalise!

And that was Kansas in December. Now we're just twiddling our thumbs waiting for Christmas to finally come. And wishing Anna would sleep past 3 or 4am (we're all exhausted, half sick, and cranky. Well, I'm cranky).

Snow daze

We've been in a bit of a snow daze the last week(s)...days and days of sub-zero temps during the day (yesterday got up to 0F in the middle of the sunny day!), snow, ice, and brilliant sunshine. All this together means we've been spending lots - most - of our home time indoors. It doesn't make for very exciting blogging, but I thought I could at least toss up a few photos of our inside life.

Above is the latest all-purpose nook: vehicle cab, hiding place, kitchen container store, all-around great place to play naked in.

Wild and crazy play dates. Here you see three camper bed sleepers, and one random blur of activity under the piano.

 Jonathan's dream come true: his very own crane with levers and on tracks.

And here you see Anna sneaking in a turn while Jonathan was busy in the other room. This peaceful scene didn't last long.

And sometimes we do go outside. This morning was considerably warmer (10F above). Anna had gone off to chat with Susie and her calf, and evidently got a bit stuck in the snow. Since I was inside, Jonathan went and got her on the rescue sled. It was quite sweet.

And tomorrow we're off to Kansas!

Our baby turns two

Anna turned two years old on the 22nd of October. Wow, has she (and we) ever come a long way from when she was born in hot, hot Santa Cruz. Those first two months of her life were pretty rough, as we struggled with thrush, feeding, sleeping, and generally how to do life with two little ones. That makes it sound so negative, but the reason I remember it is to point out how very, very grateful we are to have her and to be at such a happier point in life!

Here she is on her second birthday and a year ago on her first. She doesn't speak much yet, but she can say "two!" when asked how old she is. Demonstrating it with fingers is...not quite so convincing yet.

This lucky girl got to have a birthday party with both sets of grandparents for the second year in a row!

Here she eats super efficiently with new toy dishes and cutlery.

And the highlight: blowing out those two candles!

Anna is quite the spunky, opinionated and creative two year old. A few vitals include:

Height/weight: she'll probably be about 5'4" when she's fully grown, probably weigh about 60 pounds at that point. But they will be enough to propel her full-force through life.

Eating: still lots of cheese and yogurt, as well as craisins, grapes, chili, ice cream, dry noodles, corn, granola bars, and ice cream.

Sleeping: this really goes in cycles. About a month ago she was doing great - easy to fall asleep, solid nap after lunch for about 2-2.5 hours, and a night from about 7.30pm-6.00am. Then Daylight Savings Time - that foe of little toddlers - hit, and we've been struggling ever since. The latest, latest she'll sleep is until 5.30am, but 4.30 is much more common. From then on it's a steady chorus of "mommy, mommy, mommy, daddy, daddy, daaaaddy." Her afternoon nap is now maybe 1-1.5 hours long, and putting her to sleep is much harder; and then there are the frequent night wakings. The compounding factor is that she's been more or less sickly for the last two weeks. Ugh.

What is nice is what a chipper force she is from the moment she wakes up, particularly in the mornings. She attacks life in those early hours, and when I have enough mate in my stomach, I can begin to appreciate how really well and creatively she plays, even in Jonathan's absence.

Talking: I'm pretty sure Anna is not up to 50 words yet. She is, however, pretty creative about using the 20 or so (of both languages) that she does know - though it takes some patience to try to understand her. It's pretty clear to us that she's not "slow," but rather stubborn about what she will and will not do - including speak in our words!

Drawing: Anna is way more into drawing with pens and markers than J. ever was. Any paper gets covered with her doodles, and alas, also doll faces, coffee table, and one little patch of wall (hidden behind the curtain, luckily).

[One year ago]

The fate of any not-first child is to be compared to, or at least evaluated in light of, their sibling(s). It really is hard to imagine what Anna would be like without the (strong) influence of her older brother. He decides what they will do and how, directs the imaginary play, and generally dictates her life. [I grew up the same way, thank you Willmar]. Sure they fight and intentionally irk each other, but we're very happy with how well they get on together and look out for each other.

Anna has been going to "school" (ECFE) with Jonathan every Monday morning, and she loves it! It's mainly doing creative projects and playing (with a gazillion toys) with the moms and other kids, and then some only-kid time when the moms meet apart. At first she was pretty hesitant for me to leave (per her usual), but now it's no problem at all. She claps her hands when we talk at home about going to ECFE.

We're working on potty training. So far she does pretty well - as long as I put her on the toilet. Problem is she has to pee every 10 minutes or so, and we tend to forget to go. So lots of accidents, but no real pressure either.

Physically Anna seems to resemble Grandma Schrock (and her cousin Sophie) more than anyone else. She's extremely agile and coordinated - loves trikes, jumping off the couch, (almost) doing somersaults, dancing to music, running across the yard, gathering eggs, saying good-bye to Susie and Sally and to every human, too.

One of the things we say most often about this little girl is "Anna is such a character." Hard to put her into words. But we are so very thankful to have her.