Thanksgiving

We had a very enjoyable traditional Thanksgiving lunch with the Schmuckers.  Great-grandma Elsie was able to join us despite a little fall the day prior and Nicole and Dallas were able to join us with their sweet baby boy just out of the hospital!  We have so much to be thankful for.

Adam, Soren, and Hanna waiting patiently for lunch to be ready

Evan now has a little cousin to pick on:)

Meet Sander Odin Apold

Great-grandma Elsie and Adam share a birthday - she will be 90 in February!

Great-grandma Elsie enjoys the kids so much.

Getting every last crumb of his pumpkin pie

Artists at work

Giving Thanks

We celebrated at Adam's preschool with a Thanksgiving snack.  The kids all had a nice prayer memorized and Adam showed off the pilgrim hat he made that morning. Adam picked out a sweater for me to wear that day and asked me to wear my earrings.  He hasn't ever shown an interest in what I wear, but I figured he wasn't asking too much.  It must have been important to him because even his teacher commented about it.  Grandma and Grandpa joined us before leaving for their travels and Adam gave them a nice tour of his school.  When Adam's teacher asked Adam what he was thankful for, he replied "my mommy".  I thought that was pretty sweet:)

Worker Guy

I have brought Adam to the office a couple times.  Grandpa usually puts him to work while I get a few things done.  Here is he driving the forklift.

Poison Control

We took this picture of Adam AFTER we had contacted Poison Control, had rinsed his mouth out and were kind of giggling over what he had done.  When I first discovered it, he tongue was the brightest shade of blue.  He had taken a gel pen out of the drawer and colored his tongue.  I guess we never specifically told him not to do that?!  It was our first (and hopefully last) call to them.

Evan - 14 months

Here's what Evan is up to at 14 months.  He can be quite the stinker, but he sure is cute!

• Evan communicates primarily by pointing and grunting/whining.  He has, hower, started nodding yes and no (no more than yes) and saying "this" and "that" while pointing.
• He is really starting to show that he understands us by following instructions, such as "Go pick out a book" or "Get your shoes".  When we tell him to say "Night, night", he gives hugs and kisses to each of us including Chase.  It's my favorite.
• He loves to help me around the house with things such as cooking, sweeping, emptying the dishwasher, and especially feeding the dog. And he loves to throw things in the garbage regardless of whether or not we want it there.
• Evan and Adam are both silly, but it multiplies when they are together!
• He goes crazy at the sight of his pacifier.  I'm already dreading the day we will have to take it away. I keep trying to get him to attach to something else.
• He is such a good eater and he is using the fork/spoon all by himself, which makes mealtime much easier. He has also developed a real fondness for yogurt covered raisins!
• He is a champ at sliding down the stairs on his tummy now.
• Evan is starting to throw mini tantrums when we tell him "no" or take things away from him. He can really assert himself with Adam too. And so begin the many years of fighting amongst siblings.

A few pictures...

So Long for Now

Thanks Jenn and Bubba for being such gracious hosts to our family.  We had so much fun!

Cruising with the top down

Pool time

Adam swimming with Daddy

Jump!

Evan wasn't interested in getting wet on this particular day

Lots of laughs in the pool

After a round of Pirate mini golf - Evan had a GRIP on that club