First Snow

On the morning that my parents left to drive back to Virginia, we had our first snow of the winter. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough snow to delay their trip. Isaac slept in, but Zane, Miranda and I bundled up in our snow clothes to wave good-bye and then play for a while. After making a snowman, we went inside for a cup of hot chocolate and a board game!

Bribe

I have to admit that one of the strangest but funniest things about being a parent is seeing my own parents do things with Miranda and Isaac that they would have NEVER done when I was little! For example, when she visits, my mom gives Miranda coffee with ice cream in it for breakfast. I grew up on "good-for-you" cereal that tasted like cardboard (poor me). Honestly, it doesn't bother me because I think it's a privilege that makes grandparents special.

Well, the last night of my parents' visit, it was time for Miranda to go to bed, but I first wanted to get a picture of Nana, Granddaddy, Miranda and Isaac all together. For whatever reason, probably because she was overtired, Miranda pitched a fit at this idea. She did not want to sit in Nana's lap. She did not want to sit in Granddaddy's lap. She did not want to smile for a picture. After several minutes of trying to get her to cooperate, my mom said to Miranda, "if I give you some change from my purse, would you sit on my lap and take a picture?" Miranda's mood changed on a dime (pun intended). Miranda immediately climbed on the sofa and into Nana's lap. She smiled and laughed for the camera. We got several nice pictures of all four of them together, and it only cost about 60 cents.

Dewey's and Wild Lights

Wow! I don't know where to begin about our Christmas this year. We have so much to tell! It might take me a while to post everything so I'm going to blog a little at a time.

My parents spent Christmas weekend with us, and we had a fabulous time. On Friday night, we hit the town...well, as much as you can when you have a two-and-a-half year-old and a three-month-old. Even though we ate dinner at 4:30 and were home by 8pm, we still had a fun night out. First stop was Dewey's pizza (our very favorite!)Granddaddy took Miranda to watch the baker's make our pizza. She was enthralled.

After our yummy meal, we headed to the zoo! Every December, the zoo decorates for Christmas and is open at night. They call it Wild Lights. We went last year and loved it so much that seeing the Wild Lights has become a Christmas tradition. The zoo is so beautiful all lit up. Even Isaac had a good time looking at all the lights. I carried him in our baby bjorn carrier. At first he was face-to-face with me. But after a few minutes at the zoo, he was pushing against me and turning around to see the lights. I switched him so he faced outward. His eyes were so big the whole time we walked around. As you can see from the pictures, Miranda had a great time too.

Just for fun, this picture is from our visit last year in front of the same tree :)

Fancy

Miranda went to a Fancy Nancy themed birthday party this past Saturday. For those of you who do not know who Fancy Nancy is, you can learn more about her here. If you have little girls in your life, you probably already know about Fancy Nancy and how to prepare for a Fancy Nancy birthday party. But just in case you don't know, here's how it works. Miranda wore her fanciest dress with her fanciest shoes. She got to wear mommy's make-up (not really...we pretended but shhhh, don't tell Miranda) and jewelry. We took fancy pictures of Miranda in her fancy clothes. Then, Miranda took a purse (with a cookie monster book in it)with her to the party. At the party, she wore a crown and all the girls participated in a fashion walk. The best part of such a fancy party? Miranda took a 2 hour fancy nap after!!!!

Happy Faces

Isaac

Our good friend Katrina took pictures of Isaac for us when he was just two days old. She did a wonderful job, and I wanted to share our favorites. If you live in the St. Louis area, we highly recommend her work!

Also, we took Isaac in for his two month check up this morning. He is 13 pounds 7 ounces and 25 inches long. When the nurse put Isaac's length into the computer, it told her that 25 inches is "longer than the acceptable range" for a two month old baby. Ha! She actually had to override the message to get his growth percentages.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This blog isn't for airing our dirty laundry, so I won't go into any details. But it's enough to say this year has been hard for us. Even with everything that has happened, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for so many wonderful blessings. Isaac came into this world with several unexpected complications that could have been disastrous, but God protected him and me. We are so thankful for him. Miranda continues to grow, learn and light up our life in ways we could have never imaged. We are so thankful for her. Next month, Zane and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. Throughout these hard times, we have grown closer together when stress and worry could have easily put a wedge between us. We are so thankful for each other. This year brought big challenges to our lives, but it also brought big gifts. God is the giver of all good gifts, and so we ultimately thank him for his provision, protection and love.

Also, here's our most recent family picture. It was the best we could do :)

Hide-And-Seek

Miranda loves, loves, loves to play hide-and-seek. Here's how a typical game goes. First, she counts to ten, with her eyes closed...one, three, four eight, nine ten...or something like that.

Then, she starts to look for Daddy. Daddy is the best hide-and-seek player ever. Is he in the closet? No!

Is he in her bed? No!

Oh there he is, behind the sofa!

She found him!

It's Miranda's turn to hide. Where could she be?

Now, that's a good hiding spot.

Zoo Again!

We made another trip to the zoo this Saturday because Miranda, Isaac and I have just been dying to get out of the house. It's definitely been harder to do that these days. We had a great time, and it was probably our best zoo trip yet. Last time we went to the zoo, the elephant and hippopotamus scared Miranda, but yesterday, she went right up to see them. However, the butterflies terrified her! Isaac wasn't scared at all. In fact, he wore his new frog hat for the occasion.

Funny Book, part 2

Miranda just came out of her room from her nap time (during which she did not sleep), and told me "I was reading my facebooks."

Funny Book

My brother and sister-in-law keep a "funny book" where they write down funny things that their kids say. Zane and I need to start one, because Miranda has given us some gems this week.

One morning, through her monitor, we heard Miranda sneeze and then tell herself, "I sorry...I forgive you."

We were at the grocery store this week when Miranda LOUDLY proclaimed, "Mommy, when I grow up, I will go to school and be a weatherman!" She has been watching a video from the library about a kid who goes to school and learns how to be a weatherman. The name of the show is "Sid the Science Kid," and she also told me, "Mommy, I am a tientist (scientist). I can sleep like a tientist."

Several times throughout the past few days Miranda has told me, "You be Snow White. I will be Cinderella." Then she usually follows up by adding, "You wear the big crown, and I will wear the little crown." Unfortunately, for me we only have a little crown. Although, being Snow White is better than when she asked me, "Mommy, will you be the prince?" I obliged.

This is an old one, but about a week after we brought Isaac home from the hospital, Miranda observed "babies cry a lot." Yep, they sure do.

Working Saturday

We had a really nice day today and even got a lot done in the process. In the morning, we worked outside. I raked leaves. Zane cleaned out our gutters. Miranda entertained us with song and dance. Isaac slept through it all, slacker.

On a completely unrelated note, Isaac has been smiling a lot more the past few days. The only problem is that this little stinker only smiles for Zane. Yep, this is him not smiling for me.

Five Weeks

Today marks five weeks since Isaac's birth. We've learned a lot about this little man in the past five weeks. He loves his pacifiers (and so do we!). He also likes tummy time.

He gives us smiles every now and then. Usually, he smiles for us right after he has eaten. Isaac definitely belongs to us because he loves to eat.

Isaac sleeps well too. He goes at least four hours in between feedings at night and sometimes longer!

He's also a big boy. For the past week or so, Isaac has been wearing 6 month clothing. I've already washed and put away his 3 month clothes. We just love our little moose.

Lately

Here's a quick peek at what we've been up to lately...

We've been wearing jammies with frogs on them.

ZsaZsa and Grandpa Joe visited, and we had a great time with them.

We sneak naps (and cuddles) whenever we can.

And we've been to the park several times to enjoy our gorgeous fall weather.

We've even had an adult conversation or two.

Miranda rode a purple dinosaur...

And the carousel.

Zane and Miranda carved a pumpkin and then made a scarecrow.

Miranda and Isaac went trick-or-treating. Miranda raked in the candy, and we met a lot of our neighbors.

Yesterday, Miranda told me, "Mommy, you are Beth. Daddy is Zane. I am Miranda Joy Hart, and Isaac is sweetheart." That brings the grand total of sweethearts in our family up to two. Life is very full for now, and we are so thankful for every minute with our little kiddos!