I have so many little matters to tell you of, that I cannot wait any longer before I begin to put them down.
We’re such beach bums now that the merest hint of snow has the kids in their snow pants and boots, ready to go outside! On Christmas Eve, there was enough dusted that Grandpa was able to make a couple of snowballs for the kids. It melted by the next day, so no White Christmas, but the kids still enjoyed their “snowball fight.”
Dec 26th, 2011 by ECM
We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Dec 24th, 2011 by ECM
Yesterday we drove over to Lansing to visit my mom’s family. No one had met Susanna yet!
I have a picture of Grandpa and me in this pose when I was about Susie’s age.
Lizzie playing with play-doh with Great-Aunt Terri!
Susie putting on a little smile show for Rick and Becky
Lizzie showing Great-Grandpa her new silly putty
Fortunately, both aunties had thoughtfully given the kids some great art supplies and mega bloks for Christmas, so Tommy and Elizabeth were pretty happy all afternoon. It’s a good thing, because I forgot to take their picture with Grandpa until the end! See-still smiling!
Me and my Grandpa.
Merry Christmas!
Dec 23rd, 2011 by ECM
When Derek got sick, it was up to the non-Italians in the family to make the traditional Tata/Muller Christmas Ravioli!
Susie and Nona supervised.
Stay Tuned for pictures of the finished product…
Dec 22nd, 2011 by ECM
After several attempts at new Christmas recipes over the years, I’ve really come to appreciate my family’s old favorites. So this summer, I raided my mom’s recipe box and came away with several yummy things to try, including our traditional poppy seed bread!
Mix together and beat one or two minutes with electric mixer:
3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 T. poppy seed
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp almond extract
1-1/2 tsp butter extract
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Pour batter into loaf pans and bake for an hour or until toothpick comes clean.
(There is a glaze recipe that goes with it, but we’ve never made it. I think poppy seed bread is yummy enough on it’s own, and you don’t need any more calories, do you?!)
The kids are fans.
Dec 21st, 2011 by ECM
It’s the end of the semester, so I thought I’d check in with my new academic year’s resolutions.
1. I had big plans to type up all of my college notes, and I did well for a while while they were out on my desk, but then I tidied them away again sometime this fall and forgot about them until now. Maybe more progress next semester!
2. We’ve definitely had a lot more fresh fruits and veggies this fall, thanks to Sprouts. I don’t really shop at normal grocery stores much, so we haven’t had frozen peas more than once or twice since we moved. Yay for fresh food!
3. Hmm, haven’t felt that inspired to work on my book, but since this was mainly Derek’s resolution for me, I’m not feeling bad about this one.
4. I’m very pleased to say that I took the fall getting back into shape enough that I can walk without panting (I was pathetically out of shape from another injury-filled pregnancy) and started the Couch Potato to 5K a couple weeks ago. And I just signed up for my very first 5K–on March 24!
5. I haven’t “earned” my photography class yet, but if I’m really good over Christmas break and stick to my C25K training plan, I have high hopes of getting to take a class at some point in the spring.
Dec 20th, 2011 by ECM
She can crawl all over the house, climb the one stop up to the kitchen, and find the tiniest things on the floor to put in her mouth. She’s eating a solid three meals a day as well as nursing 5-6 times. She’s still pretty small. I moved her up to 6-9 month tops mostly because I’m really tired of the 3-6 month ones. She may be cutting another tooth.
The most recent additions to her diet were apples, turkey, tomato, onions, and chicken. I found a super good deal on clearance jars of babyfood the other week, and since our blender is on the fritz, Susanna is eating a lot more storebought stuff than her siblings did. She’s not too keen on meat yet, but I’m trying to convince her there’s more to food than pureed peas.
She is having some crazy naps these days–if she has two super short ones, I’m trying to force in a third one before dinner. She’s not really a fan. But at least she has a cheerful disposition when well-rested and healthy…
Dec 19th, 2011 by ECM
Once again we’re not going to get to have Christmas at home (we’re heading to Detroit tomorrow, and yes, we’re counting down the hours and minutes until we see Grandma and Grandpa!), so we did our family Christmas on Saturday morning. My parents and Cammy were with us via googlechat, as the kids opened Willett side presents at the same time.
anticipation…
I love that they get so excited about the orange at the bottom of the stocking every single year!
New matching pajamas for Christmas morning at Grandma’s!
Cammy and Peter sent some yummy homemade granola that we all enjoyed for breakfast. And as you can see, Susie’s favorite spot is under the table while her siblings are eating.
Dec 17th, 2011 by ECM
This week at Community Bible Study, they had all the kids come up and give a little Christmas performance. It was Tommy and Elizabeth’s first time on stage, so I prepped them for weeks in advance. I made Derek come in and film so that I could take pictures (we’ll try to get that uploaded soon…). Tommy was pretty unsure as he came on stage until he saw me front and center. When I saw the big smile on his face, I knew he wasn’t going to go all shy. Unfortunately, that’s about all we saw of him, because they shuffled a little girl with an antler headband in front of him. Elizabeth came in sucking her thumb, but once she got up front with her little friend Ben (in the green), she relaxed and did a great job! They were so cute I just wanted to burst!
Jingle Bells
…”Sleep in heavenly peace”…
Dec 16th, 2011 by ECM
It took us multiple attempts, but this week we finally had Sarah and James over to decorate Christmas cookies with us! The DenHartogs are definitely our kind of people, and we’ve enjoyed getting together whenever all the kids are well enough. James is just a few months younger than Elizabeth, but he keeps up with my big kids really well. Yay for new friends and old Christmas traditions…
