Handsome Boy

Nathan has quite the fetish lately with wearing button down shirts. He calls them his "work" shirts. When he came over this past weekend, he wanted his blue tie...but we don't have (and never did) a blue tie for him. Luckily, Dad has plenty of ties and Nate was just as content wearing one of his.

What a handsome boy!

He really liked checking himself out in the mirror...
He's too funny!

Talent Show

We had an impromptu talent show this afternoon. It was neat to watch the kids work together to organize it and come up with talents to share.

Emma and Abby doubled as announcers and contestants...

Abby was first up and she impressed us with her gymnastic abilities...

Emma was next and she wowed us with her magic tricks...

Nate was up next and let me tell you...this boy can dance!

Jake and I even participated (not our idea!). Jake decided to be a dare devil and attempted a headstand. I'm happy to report he was successful and there were no injuries!

And then there was me. I really don't have too many talents but Emma was quick to remind me that I can give Daddy a piggy back. So here is my "talent"...

That's all! Hope you enjoyed our talent show...we did!

Auntie Anne

Our project for the weekend was making pretzels! Everyone's favorite pretzel place, Auntie Anne's, makes these great at home kits. You just mix, twist and bake. Actually, it's a little more complicated than that, but easy enough for kids to join in on the process.

The kids enjoyed helping rolling out and twisting the dough.

The finished product...

Notice that one is missing from this batch? These cinnamon sugar pretzels were so yummy, someone (uhumm...Jacob) couldn't wait to try one! He claims he needed to "test" them to make sure they came out okay :) They came out great and were a huge hit. This was our Saturday night snack and Sunday morning appetizer before breakfast was ready :) It was simple, fun and tasty...my kind of project!

A Breath of Fresh Air

It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day today, so we took advantage of the fresh winter air to get outdoors and have some fun. I love having a little playground right next door. I also love having a leasing office right across the street for when you accidentally lock yourself out of the house as you are leaving for the playground. Not that anything like that happened :) I also love that Jake is very patient with me...very patient :)

The kids had a blast running, swinging, jumping, screaming, playing with other kids...doing all the things that kids do best. It was great to be outside and let them go wild and not have to worry about the noise level and neighbors. Oh, I can't wait for springtime to come so that we can be outdoors more often!!

Nate is getting more daring! Last summer he wouldn't do this unless someone held him. Today he just followed his sisters and didn't even ask for help. He's getting to be so grown up and brave!
Taking a break...

Enjoying the ride...

Loving that smile...

Pretty in purple...

Isn't mulch just so much fun?

A winter outdoor adventure wouldn't be complete without some hot chocolate afterwards!

Smiles

I had a really neat experience this week at my job. I got to see a smile! You would think that because I work with teeth and mouths for a good portion of my week I would see more smiles than I do. However, the reality is, most of our patients are not exactly happy to be in our office or sitting in our chair or have our hands working in their mouths for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Why? Because they know whatever we do to their braces in our office is going to hurt their poor mouths for the next few days. So smiles (and I mean real smiles not just, "I'm being polite so I am going to smile but really I hate you because my mouth is throbbing!") are few and far between. But on Monday afternoon I had a new experience. I had a girl in my schedule for the removal of her braces. This was my first time assisting in a removal. Usually I am the one putting on braces, not taking them off. I was excited about this procedure because it was a new experience for me. But my excitement was nothing in comparison to the patients! When I entered the reception area and called her name, she literally jumped up out of her seat with the biggest smile on her face! She was nine years old and reminded me so much of Emma. She was sincerely happy to see me and happy to be at her appointment. I had the pleasure of removing all the brackets from her teeth. Her face, when she looked in the mirror at her brace less smile, was priceless! It was so much fun to be part of this special day for her. It was refreshing for me to have this experience. In my previous career as a hairdresser, I had the opportunity to experience smiles like this everyday. Most people who make an appointment to get their hair done want to be there, are enjoying themselves while they are with you, and leave feeling happy and beautiful. I miss being able to give people this feeling. Taking part in this appointment on Monday reminded me that I am still working to help people feel happy and beautiful...it's just a much longer process and sometimes hurts along the way. But in the end it is worth it. A beautiful smile lasts forever.

I also had a great experience at the daycare this week. I started working as an assistant daycare teacher in October. I only work there twice a week and when I am there I am never in the same class. I get shuffled around between the four classrooms depending on where they need extra help. Recently, I have been spending a lot of time in the Pre-K 1 room which is for kids ages

2 1/2- 3 1/2. Finally, I have been able to get to know the kids a little more and they have also gotten to know me. It's been fun and each day I work there, I hope I get placed in that room. They melted my heart last Friday when I received Valentines from each of them :) But, on Wednesday, they really made me smile. As I walked into the classroom I was greeted by shrieks of familiar voices saying, "Yay!! Miss Nikki is here!!" Soon after, their arms wrapped around my legs and waist. What a great way to start they day!

All of this to say that I am loving having not one, but two jobs that I play a small part in helping people smile. And that makes me smile :)

Two weeks is too long

Our house is too quiet.

Our rooms are too clean.

Our days are too predictable.

WE MISS EMMA, ABBY & NATE!!!

I know some of you probably think I am crazy to be complaining about a house that is too clean and quiet and days that are simple and predictable. You will probably think that I am even more crazy to complain about the fact I was able to sleep this past weekend until after 9:00 am both Saturday and Sunday.

Both Jake and I have been missing the kids terribly.

Don't get us wrong. We are so grateful to be living in the same state as them and thankful that we see them more often than we used to. Though this set up is far better than it used to be, it still is far from ideal.

The joy, laughter, chaos, messes, early mornings, and long days that they bring with them to our house every other weekend is treasured time that we have together. We love that Nate is a human alarm clock waking us up at 7:00am on weekend mornings (the sound of his feet walking into our room is music to our ears!). We love how every toy that Abby plays with is teeny tiny and she hides them all throughout the house (I am constantly finding tiny cats, dogs and dolls hidden in the strangest places for a week after they leave...each time I find one I see Abby's smiling face!). When it is TV time, we love how Emma tries to persuade us all into watching Hannah Montana every time, over and over again (this is, what seems to be, her favorite show at the moment and I have seen it so many times I think I am slowly becoming a fan too!). Our days with them are at times exhausting, sometimes stressful, always fun, and never enough.

Hope you all don't mind my whining. I never have much to blog about in between visits with the kids, so I thought I would share what we experience when they are not with us. Though it is great to have time together for just Jake and I, life is more complete when they are here with us.

Emma, Abby & Nate,

We miss you and love you and can't wait to see you this weekend!

Pool Party!!

We started partying last night for Emma's birthday, and the festivities continued today! It is February, it's fairly cold out, there is snow on the ground (at least at our house there is) but today the five of us got to spend our day on our own little warm oasis in our bathing suits, surrounded by palm trees and water. How did we managed that? We spent the afternoon at the Willow Valley Resort here in Lancaster swimming in their kid friendly pool! What a great day and a great way to celebrate a birthday!

Palm trees, sprinklers, fountains, water slides...what more could you ask for?!

Here's the birthday girl! Officially eight :)

I think the bull frog water slide was every one's favorite...

Loving the water...

This is becoming a signature look for Abby...

Nate had a blast playing in water fountains...

Emma was the only one tall enough to go down the big water slide. This is her making a big splash!

We spent our time at the pool with our friends Julian, Cole, Ray and Sarah. After splashing around for a few hours, we headed over to our friends house for a Hannah Montana themed party complete with pizza, cupcakes and presents.

You can't see him in this picture, but Emma is keeping a close eye on Nathan. Last night he attempted to blow out all her candles before she had a chance. Tonight, she wanted to make sure she had the honor of blowing out her candle!

Emma got lots of presents via US Mail from family in MA. Thanks Nana & Grandpa, Grammy, Renee, Chris & Connor!

When it was all said and done, Emma had a total of $75 in gift cards! Not too shabby for an eight year old!

Here she is in her new pair of glasses from Daddy, Abby, Nate and myself. For those of you who know Emma, she has been wanting glasses for quite some time now. Whenever she goes to work with Jake she tries to convince him that she is in need of glasses to improve her vision. And every visit to the store Claire's she has tried on these glasses. So, she finally got and was quite pleased:)

She also got a Hannah Montana game for her DS...

And a pretty pink shirt...

What a day! One more special treat for this grown-up eight year old....getting to stay up late without her little brother and sister and watching whatever she wanted. Can you guess what she chose to watch? Hannah Montana. And not just once, twice...the same episode. Oh, how I love this girl!

Happy 8th Birthday Emma Ruth!

A Special Gift

Tonight we had a small birthday gathering at our house to celebrate Emma. Emma will turn eight years old tomorrow, but we started the celebrating a day earlier because Mom and Dad had a special gift to give their girl.We had cake and candles and sang "Happy Birthday"...

The birthday girl made a wish (with some not so much appreciated help from her little brother!)...
We shared lots of laughs and smiles...

And opened one very special gift from Mom and Dad. Can you guess what it was?? Emma couldn't!

A Nintendo DS!!!!

Emma has been asking for a DS for quite some time now. This small hand-held game isn't cheap, but this big beautiful smile is absolutely priceless :)

And Grandmom sent along a birthday gift for Emma too. Her first game for her new DS!

Thanks Grandmom!

This is what was written inside Emma's card:

Emma,

We can't believe that you are already 8 years old! You have grown so quick but you will always be our little girl. This gift is from Dad & Mom because we love you so much. You are our gift and a gift to all who know you. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Dad and Mom