Sunday, November 27, 2011

Family Update

Well, now that we're all settling into a better routine with a new member of the family, hopefully some time will be available to keep up with the blog on a more regular basis. Of course, you shouldn't hold your breath...

Here's a quick overview of everyone in our household:

Since the weather's been so nice (no permanent snow yet), Jason's had lots of time to get the house ready for winter. All the leaves are out of the yard, the lawnmower and the snowblower have changed positions in the garage, and the downstairs windows have a little extra insulation around them. Today, he even got the garage cleaned up so that when it does become time to crank the snowblower, he's got plenty of room to maneuver it out into the driveway. Hopefully, it's a few more weeks (months?) until we get to that point, but at least things are already set to go. Jason also watched some football this weekend - real football (SEC) - so he enjoyed that.

Kelli has spent lots of time putting up Christmas decorations. Because we're cheap, our budget for new decorations is zero. However, that doesn't mean we don't have some snazzy new stuff this year. Back during Fargo's cleanup week (last May), we found a lot of garland, lights, and wreaths that someone had put on the curb as trash. After sorting through it, Kelli discovered it was actually in good shape. Really good shape. (Still haven't figured out why it was being tossed, other than the owner just got tired of it.) The result is that now we've got "new" garland around our door (with lights!), a couple of new wreaths (with bows and balls) on the door and fence, and a small lighted tree (tasteful - not tacky) on the front porch. Cheap? Yes. But seriously - it really looks nice.

Wyatt enjoyed his time off school for Thanksgiving. With the nice weather, he and Jason spent quite a bit of time playing football in the yard. Well, it probably wasn't actually football that was being played - at least not in the sense that anyone else would understand the rules - but it was played with a football, so maybe that counts. Wyatt's at the age where it's fun to make up new rules or change the rules as the game progresses to increase his odds of winning. If you're a Calvin and Hobbes fan, you could think of it as Calvin Ball. Regardless, it was good exercise for father and son, and a good bonding experience. And the nice weather made it all the more enjoyable.

Callie asks each day (several times) if it's Christmas. Nope, it isn't Christmas. We've still got a month or so. How about now? Is it Christmas now? Nope. Hasn't changed from ten minutes ago. Is tomorrow Christmas? Nope. It's in a month. Is Christmas next week? No. A month. When is Christmas? December. Is it December? No. Not yet. When will it be December? In a few days. Then will it be Christmas? Not until the end of December. Will it be Christmas tonight? You get the picture...

Sadie has greatly improved her climbing skills, though her parents do not necessarily approve. Just the other day, when Jason was alone with all four children while Kelli ran some errands, he walked into the kitchen to find Sadie sitting cross legged in the middle of the kitchen table (stark naked, no less), helping herself to a beverage left from supper. Just because food appears to be out of her reach on the counter doesn't mean that it's actually in a space she cannot get to. She's quite resourceful, and if food's involved, can climb to great lengths to get it. We discovered she's able to access the apple bowl. We also discovered she prefers to take only a bite or two from one apple before moving on to the next.

Watson has begun to smile. They're still pretty few and far between, but at least we're beginning to see some. He really is adjusting well, and he's usually very content. He gets a little testy if he asks for food and doesn't get it in approximately half a second, but other than that, he's pretty mild mannered. It's fun to watch him be a bit more interactive now as he gets older. He's still tiny, of course, but that makes for some great snuggle time. We sure do love that little guy!

So that's the world of the Medders family.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A Quick Update

It has been a while since our last update, but life is very busy as we try to find our new normal with four kids.

Here are some pictures from what has happened in the last month.

Jason and Callie celebrated birthdays. We had a combined party on Halloween.
This little girl has come a long way in four years. She had a really great time opening presents and being sung to.
Before the birthday celebrations, we took the kids trick or treating. Sadie thought it was great fun. She couldn't eat the candy fast enough. I love this picture of Sadie and Grandpops.
Wyatt adores his baby brother. He was very excited that Watson received an outfit that matched one of his shirts. When Wyatt wears his shirt, he always asks me to dress Watson in his outfit so they will look alike. Oh, and Wyatt lost his first tooth!
Watson was being serious before bedtime.
We went on our yearly hunting trip - with all four kids and two grandparents in tow. We had a great time. I was able to shoot this beautiful buck.
Miss Sadie loves the outdoors. We have had some wonderful fall days where the kids can still play outside. I love that it was mid-November before we had our first snowfall.

So there is a super-speedy overview of the last few weeks. I want to have time to post more about each of the kids but I just need to figure out a time to do that. We are all doing well though and Watson seems to be settling right in as a "Medders."