Sibling Love

I hope and pray they enjoy one another like this always...

Hubba Bubba

Our boy is 8 months old! Yes, the last time I updated on him, he was a mere 3 months old. Where has the time gone?! Well, I can tell you he hasn't wasted it sleeping. ; )

"Little Man" is definitely not so little anymore and has taken on quite a few names to prove it. Silas' alias' include: Bubba, Bubs, Tank, Chubs, Snugglebuns, Little Stinker (Nora is, of course, Big Stinker) and I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. I know I'm his mom and he's my little boy, but can I just say, in all fairness, this kid is ADORABLE. I'm realizing discipline with him is going to be tough. Not only because he is showing us he is strong-willed, but he also knows just how to cock his head and shoot me a grin that melts my heart.

He got his first two teeth within 2 days at 7 months, started doing "the worm" at 7 1/2 months and just this week (at 8 months) began full-fledged crawling! In comparison, Nora didn't get her first tooth or start crawling until she was almost 1. This kiddo is not going to let us sit back and relax.

He also loves to feed himself. While Nora would sit patiently in her high-chair and pleasantly let me feed her, if I don't strap his arms down, Silas will rip the spoon from my hands as in "Mommy, you are too slow!". And, boy that kid is strong! So, I've been introducing finger foods earlier than I ever did with Nora.

If there were one word to describe Silas, it would undoubtedly be Jolly. He loves to laugh, super smiley, seemingly making jokes with his eyes...although he is more of a giggler than a full belly-laugher. Silas is social like his sister and is always looking to make eye contact in order to turn on his charms. He is almost never grumpy and will play happily by himself for small stretches as long as he has plenty of space to move. Already quite the adventurer, I do have to be careful to keep my eyes on him as he will quickly worm his away around the house. His crawl is still pretty cautious, but I'm sure he will have that down before long.

When he does get upset about something, he certainly lets us know. There's no whimpering or whining from Silas...it's full out wails, some turning into those silent screams where you're willing your child to take a breath. Oh well, thankfully we don't get those that often, but wondering what we have in store for us!

Such a mama's boy. One of my favorite parts of the day is our snuggle time before bed. He quietly hums to himself as he nurses and I rock him to sleep. While he is a great napper during the day, he is still a bit of a mystery at night....falling asleep easily, but still waking up 2 or 3 times, complicated by the fact that he shares a room with his sister.

Juggling two kids has proven more challenging than we could have ever imagined, but love, love, love our little boy and how much he has brought to our family and our lives.

Snow Day(s)!

Omaha finally received its first major snowfall this past week...9 inches overall. So, Thang got to stay home for a couple of days with school cancelled. YAY! I get just about as excited for snow days with Thang as I did as a school girl. We stayed busy! While Silas and I stayed cozied up inside...

Thang and Nora enjoyed the snow...

Making snow angels...I just love the look of delight on her face.

And then warmed up inside by baking some yummy soft pretzels with Mommy...

Like a warm hug on a cold day! Here's the recipe we used to make these tasty treats.

Heavenly Homemaker's Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. salt
8 cups whole wheat flour (more if necessary)
butter
salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir together. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan.

Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat to 120 degrees (use your candy thermometer for this).

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.

Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.

Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Pull it out of the bowl and knead it a few times to get the air out. Pull a ball of dough, about the size of your fist.

Roll it into a long snake. Twist into pretzel shape (see Laura's pics for the how-to).

After you shape each pretzel, put them on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan. Right when you take the pretzels out of the oven, slather them with butter, then sprinkle salt over them. We also did brown sugar and cinnamon.

These were so tasty, we scarfed them down before getting a good pic of the finished product! These also freeze well (a good strategy to keep yourself from scarfing them all down!).

Aaaaand, because what's a blog without some gratuitous cute baby pics...

What a sweet face for someone who just poo'd all over me!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

We headed to Pooley's Pumpkin Patch a couple weeks back with our church small group and had a fantastic time. Is it just me or has this been the most amazing fall ever for those of us in the midwest?! It was sunny and 75 degrees that day. And, today it's sunny and 65! A year ago we'd already had our first blizzard!

So, here are a few pics of our fun, sunny Autumn day...

Working on petting gently...definitely a skill needed before Little Man arrives!

Ha! Looks like she's concentrating really hard on driving that tractor...we soon realized by the stinkiness coming from her diaper, she was concentrating on "other" things. Yeah, time to get on that potty training!

This one's just my size!

Apple Pickin'

It was a dark and dreary day...but we braved the apple orchard anyway!

If you grew up or have lived in Eastern Nebraska, you know that a proper autumn is not complete without a trip to Nebraska City to pick up a couple pecks of apples, apple butter, apple cider, apple fritters...I was so excited to finally take Nora to do some apple picking. I love making memories as a family!

2 Year Pics

We were so fortunate to have my amazing friend Liz take Nora's 2 year photos. Liz and her two adorable kiddos are a part of the mom's group I've been involved with since Nora was an infant. If you are in the Omaha area and looking for a fantastic photographer for your kids or family (or you just want to see some uber-cute kid pics!), check out Rule of Thirds Photography. Thanks, Liz!

With her favorite toy.

Taking a sniff.

1,2,3...WEEEEEE!

A precious moment caught between Nora and Baba - my favorite!

Nora started out swinging on my lap, but quickly asked for her own big girl swing...

sniff, sniff, she really is growing up!

Celebrating Nora

Besides today being our nation's Independence Day, 2 years ago today we also brought our baby girl home from the hospital for the first time. Try getting a newborn to sleep anyway, let alone loud explosions outside your window all night!

Nora, snoozing after the hard work of being born

Yes, our baby turned 2 on Friday! And we've been celebrating like crazy. In Omaha...

Excited about her new sand and water table!

Nora being coy

Having fun splashing with her cousin, Teagan

Guess she didn't want to get her hands dirty!

And, fun with Thang's family in Pennsylvania...

Trip to the Children's Museum with her cousins.

Nora, you have been such a gift to us...we could not have asked for a more sweet and gentle spirit. We pray that you will continue to grow into a joyful, compassionate woman who seeks hard after the things of God. Your favorite phrase right now is "Come on , Mommy!", "Come on, Baba", "Come on, (fill in the blank)" as you love people and enjoy fun together. We know you will be such an amazing big sister and look forward to the day when we hear you say "Come on" and see your little bro or sis following behind you.

Happy Birthday, Nora!!!

...and Happy 4th of July!!!...

Cat's out of the bag

...or else somebody's puttin' on some weight...

Already in maternity pants and lovin' it!

Yes, we're expecting Li'l Tran #2 - due date December 24th, 2010! Talk about an amazing Christmas gift! This is also my very good excuse for not posting here for quite awhile. The nausea and exhaustion hit right at 6 weeks and we are now on week 14 and it's still going strong. With Nora the bad symptoms stopped around 16 weeks, so I am praying I only have a couple more weeks of this (or less, I sure wouldn't mind). This first trimester seems to be even harder than it was with Nora, and I was working full time while pregnant with her. I have no idea how I did it?! But, Thang seems to think I've just forgotten how bad it was.

God is continually reminding me that I am amazingly blessed to have this baby growing inside me and I need to stop whining. And, I have an awesome husband who has literally picked up all the slack over the past couple of months - after working all day he makes dinner (or just as often goes and picks it up), gives Nora her baths and puts her to bed almost every night, cleans up the kitchen (a room I almost can't stand to enter these days), and has done some major grocery shopping (which, bless his heart, takes him about twice as long as it takes me since I've gotten it down to a science). Thang is such a gift and I literally don't know how I would survive without him!

Nora knows there's a baby inside Mommy's tummy and will point to it when asked...but she also seems to think there's one in her tummy too. Hope she's not too disappointed in about 6 months!

Nora slurping up a noodle like a pro!

We are so excited to meet this little person. Thang is convinced it's a boy, I am sure it's another girl. We'll find out in about 6 weeks who's right! Either way, they will be, and are, so loved!!!