What Megan does when the "pincer grasp" doesn't work

From the mouth of a four-year old

Today as I was preparing dinner, Ty was trying to tell me a story. I can't remember what I said back to him to try to communicate that I was a little bit busy, but as I stopped for a minute to actually look him in the eye, I was greeted by the following words, complete with an appropriate arm motion:

"Just calm down Mommy. Just calm down."

Giving thanks

We are so blessed. Two wonderful kids. A happy, healthy marriage. Families that we enjoy spending time with and miss when we're not with them. Jobs that we like. I really have nothing to complain about.

Recently however, I've noticed that Ty has been complaining more frequently. And as I thought about why he's doing it, I realized that he was learning it from me. No matter how blessed I've been, my complaining has gotten worse over the past couple of years. And as I hear myself tell him that instead of complaining about what he doesn't have he should focus on the good things he does have, I realized that I needed to listen to that advice myself.

So, in this season of giving thanks, we started a new tradition. Inspired by a blog post I found while searching for ideas for decorating kids' rooms, we created a "Giving Thanks" calendar. For the last two weeks at dinnertime, we each said what we were most thankful for that day. Tonight, we read them all at our Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a sample:

• Halloween candy (Tyler)
  
• Hiking in the woods (Me and Tyler)
  
• Playing Pirate ship on the playset (Ty)
  
• A hunting trip (Jeff)


• Megan's hugs (Me)


• Having Daddy home (Me...he's been travelling a lot lately)
  
• Tyler's smile (me)

We hope to continue the tradition throughout the year. Maybe with enough time, Tyler and I can both turn our complaining habit around.

PS: If you want to see more pictures of two of the biggest blessings in our lives enjoying the season, click on the picture above.

Tyler's heaven

Warning: If you haven't seen Disney's "Up," there's a small spoiler in the next paragraph.

Tonight Tyler and I had a movie night and watched "Up". I had prescreened the movie last night to ensure that there weren't any scary scenes that might keep him up all night. However, I failed to think about the impact that Ellie's death would have on him.

So, when I asked if he liked the movie, the 45-minute conversation that ensued was a bit of a surprise to me. I won't go into all of the details, other than to say that it was incredibly sweet, bounced all over the place, and ended with him asking me to show him my Bible. I do, however, think that this short excerpt might bring a smile to your face:

Tyler: "I don't want Nana and Papa to be in heaven. I don't think they can eat or drink there."
Me (frantically trying to find the right words): "No, in heaven, you can do whatever makes you most happy."
Tyler: "I like to eat alot of foods and talk to people. That's what I'd want to do."

Our little climber and her biggest fan

Megan had never even tried to climb one stair until last night when this happened...

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween week, including another trip to a pumpkin patch, a neighborhood party, a school party, the annual pumpkin carving, and of course trick-or-treating. Thanks to the Shripka's for helping to show how much of a monkey Megan really is. For pictures of the week and some extras displaying the beautiful fall colors, click on the photo of our happy girl below.

Trip to the pumpkin patch

Yesterday, Tyler, Megan, and I got into the Fall spirit and visited a local pumpkin patch. Well, it was really more of a GIANT playground than a pumpkin patch, but we did get to pick out two small pumpkins for free (i.e., included with our admission).

There was so much to do! There were rope swings, a hayride with every character you could imagine, a corn maze, about 15 large slides, free apples and apple cider, and more. The best part of my day was after we all went down the big slide together and Ty turned to me and said, "I want to go by myself!". He then walked up all of the stairs and slid down as Megan and I waited at the bottom of the hill.

And yes, Megan and I were there...she just doesn't make it into many pictures when she's in front of me in the carrier. Here's one picture that she did make it into...I'm not quite sure what Ty was planning to do with her shoe, but she didn't seem to mind. For more pictures, click on the photo.