Sibling love!

Olivia is such a great big sister! She loves to poor affection onto Soren and sometimes he is receptive, while other times shows a reaction more like the following picture sequence demonstrates.

Sweet as....Maple Syrup!

On Sunday after church, we met my parents at a Maple Syrup farm about half way between our homes. This farm puts out about 1500 taps on various maple trees throughout their farm and then boil it down to make a very delicious syrup. It takes about 40 gallons of tree sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, very labor intensive. Since it had been rainy and cold, we bundled up and wore our boots, which was a good thing because it was very muddy back in the woods. They served pancakes outside in a pavilion as well as offer horse drawn rides through the woods, pony rides for the kids, and a tour of their small processing facility, which is about the size of a milk room like you would see on a family farm. While we were eating, Olivia turned to me and said, I want to ride on a pony. Now, for any of you that have been around Olivia and animals can really appreciate how huge this was. She has not been a fan of animals, no traumatic incident, just paralyzed with fear from her imagination. This said, she has also always had a soft spot for horses. She would actually pet a horse from time to time, but it would be a very quick swipe of the hand and that's it. So, for her to suggest riding a horse, was HUGE! There wasn't a lot of kids around, so they let her actually take three rides, a larger pony named Pearl, a smaller pony, and a donkey named Biscuit. She did fabulous! She would even stand on the ground (vs. in my arms and clinging to my shirt) to pet the horses. I plan to hang some of these photos on her bulletin board in her room for her to remember how brave she was. We also now thank God for making horses during night time prayers, Olivia is thankful, but I think Mommy and Daddy are even more grateful for the hope that this fear of animals shall too pass.

On the horse drawn wagon

Olivia's New Hair-do!

Olivia has been asking for quite some time now to get her hair cut like Dora. Her hair needed a good trimming anyway, so we decided to cut off about five inches and go for a nice summery bob cut. She loves it! Speaking of Olivia's hair, something peculiar is happening. She is starting to get bald spots, the largest is about the size of a dime on top of her head. Her pediatrician said that that is normally caused by a ringworm type fungus, but there isn't any scaling present, so it doesn't completely match the description of that. She decided to put her on the treatment just to make sure, which is a six week course of this anti-fungal medicine. I made an appointment with a dermatologist for a second opinion and to explore the possibility of it being alopecia. I am however, encouraged by what appears to be some new hair sprouts from that area. Is there anyone else out there that has any experience of this? Especially family members, as alopecia is hereditary. As you can see in this photo, she is wearing a lot of head bands these days out in public to cover these spots. She is also very excited to be wearing her bibs in this photo. I found them in a clearance bin a long time ago. They were so big on her then but not anymore!

Grandpa turns 60!

To celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday we had a fun-filled family weekend. My brother and his family, as well as my aunt from the Twin Cities all met at my parents' house. We decorated the living room with lots of balloons and streamers using both John Deere green and yellow for Dad's birthday, as well as Hawkeye colors of gold and black for Andrew, whose birthday is the following day. The balloons were a highlight as the kids played with them throughout the day and then the popping fun started. The kids laughed so hard watching Grandma and Grandpa sit on the balloons! I don't have a lot of photos from the event because I was trying to console a mighty fussy Soren. We had just finished a round of antibiotics for an ear infection, so I thought perhaps teeth? But when tylenol didn't help, we headed home early and went straight to the doctor's office and had both kids examined and sure enough, both kids' ear infections were back. So, we were given a stronger antibiotic this time, which eventually healed both the kids.

Shaving, already?

One thing we have learned since becoming parents is that bathroom time becomes family bonding time. While I get ready each day, I often get fashion advice from Olivia and many questions like, "Wat you do-ing?" from Soren. They love watching Daddy shave and sometimes they even get to participate...with the guard on, of course!

Nap Time turns into Reading Time

Well, it looks like these days of Olivia actually napping (she was sick in this photo) are just about over. She only naps after we have had some busy days or weekends. So, I have decided to take advantage of this time to do some activities with just her. We either get out a puzzle or game that is difficult to do when Soren is awake because he is a bit on the destructive side of things right now. Sometimes we do crafts or sit and talk over a cup of tea.

But then one blustery day, I had made an unusually stop at Yonkers (which is right next to Old Navy) to check on some sale items. As we walked to the car I had Soren all bundled up in my arms and I was kind of pulling Olivia by the arm because she wasn't walking very fast and it was VERY cold. I noticed that she was studying...not just looking...but studying and her lips were moving a little. As I was getting the kids buckled into the van, she asked, "Does that word say 'old'? I asked her why she thought that and she proceeded with "Well, doesn't o say /o/, and l say /l/ and d say /d/?" Why, yes it does! At this point our nap time activities became known as "school time." She loves getting out all the letters and games and reading books. We only do this more academic focus for about 15-20 minutes. I try to stay very mindful that she isn't quite four and I follow her cue about what she wants to do when Soren is sleeping. We end up doing reading activities about 3 days out of the week. Since Erik is traveling during the week for work, she is always so excited to show Daddy what she learned each week. So, here is our budding reader...

Children's Museum

This weekend we took the kids to the local children's museum. I can't believe that we have lived here for over a year and this is our first time there. The kids loved it! When they first got in there they were so excited they just ran from one thing to the next, so many things to touch and explore. We were able to slow them down and spend some time at each station. The highlight was the tractor simulator and milking the cows. It was a great family outing!

Spring has arrived!

We have had some amazingly warm temperatures this week, so we are all chomping at the bit for spring to get here and stay. We celebrated this warm day with some great play time at the park, as well as a little picnic. Why is it that peanut butter and jelly tastes so much better outside?