Visit from Oma...

Well, another wonderful visit from Oma is over (and I don't have any pictures to prove it)... she is on her way home and we are left with an empty quiet house. After we dropped her off with Auntie Alicia for the ride home we had to treat ourselves to treats (caramel latte for me, warm soy milk for Reese with chocolate and caramel). As we pulled up to our house Reese said, "Why isn't Oma here?". We are all kind of quiet and sad, but looking forward to our next visit from Oma!

Sleep update: Last night Reese was put back in his room to sleep with his brother... It went well. Carsten cried for about 2 minutes and Reese cried for 3 seconds before I had a talk with him that it would soon be over and I wouldn't let it go on too long. Carsten woke up at 3:00am, and then I took him to our bed so he wouldn't wake Reese, but we are on a roll... Carsten is doing really well at night. He doesn't cry for more than a couple of minutes. Naps are a different story, so for now we've decided to leave him in our bed for naps and just conquer the nights.

End of Summer...

Carsten is doing much better with his clavicle... He really only complains when he falls and at night when he rolls on that side. It has not slowed him down at all and he continues to get himself in predicaments--I don't know if that will ever end.
He also has 12 teeth just for the record with two more working at coming in on the top...

Unc received a gift certificate to a fondue restaurant and he offered to take me with him! Last night we left the little ones with Opa and Oma and went to fondue... It was great. We started with a cheese fondue, then salad, next was the meat fondue, and of course a chocolate fondue to finish it off. We chose the S'mores chocolate fondue for dessert--chocolate, marshmallow creme, and graham cracker crumbs... delicious! It was a fun evening--fondue takes about 3 hours, so we were gone awhile...


After convention the boys and I rode home with my parents in the motorhome to their house... A good friend is going to be coming west and I'll get to see her later this week!

At Oma's there was a surprise hand-me-down from these kind kids... He loves it!!! A peddle tractor his size. He peddles it up and down the driveway--last night until he was beet red in the face!

Oma and Opa's neighbors offered their pool to us, so we might be heading over there later this morning...

Last week we spent 4 days at our church convention. My Uncle and Aunt were there (my dad's older sister)--great to see them. It was a wonderful 4 days!

Bliss...

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about how a new pair of shoes makes my day... I need to say that I have now found something much better, bliss--a visit from Oma. Having Oma here means a few things--I haven't unloaded the dishwasher once in the past three weeks (my least favorite house keeping duty), I get 3 hours a day of freedom as she naps with them. I haven't given one bath, I rarely change a diaper or get someone dressed other than myself. She even let Jim and I go to the midnight release of Harry Potter last night! Oma is going home tomorrow, Sunday, and I'm going to go through withdrawals, depression, sadness, and having to deal with grandchildren that miss their Oma...

It's been awhile...

So, to all our wonderful viewers--we are back! Sorry that we've been missing, but it seems this time of year is busy for all. With the weather getting nice there is so much to do. First, I am giving these g diapers a whirl. Carsten is currently wearing his first pair, so I'll have to let you know how it goes. Pretty cute. On this same note, Reese is officially potty trained in my book. We are working on nighttime and he definitely wants to not wear a diaper at night, but he is not waking up dry, so...

The kids and I went to my parents for week and Reese did not want to leave. When we were about an hour from home on Saturday, he said, "I want to go to Opa and Oma's"...
He spent a good deal of his time outdoors helping with watering, walking down the driveway to get the mail, put out the trash, etc. Fun times.

Reese and Unc riding in the trailer to the riding lawn mower.

Reese loved getting to ride in the trailer with Unc. Unc's friend, Sam, and his son, Paul, came over to play. Reese now has a new friend, Paulie.

Opa and Carsten playing house...

Opa and Oma's...

Reese on the *farm*... He got to help Oma and Unc with the burn pile--cutting up wood and separating the brush.

At one point Reese was sitting on the riding lawn mower by himself and we asked him if he wanted Oma or Unc to drive with him and he said, "It's okay if I drive by myself." We had to inform him that his foot would not reach the brake. He said he could do it and that he would just... and he pretended to drive and made the appropriate noises and motions...

Later, he asked Unc if Unc was the farmer... It is beautiful here and he would stay outside all day if we allowed him!


Everyone always asks for Mommy pictures, so here you go... Carsten catching a ride while we watched Reese working *in the country*.