Winter Wonderland

On Saturday we loaded up my car with bags full of snow suits, gloves, boots and long johns and set out for a day of fun with cousins and snow. The kids had a blast hanging onto the bright orange sled as Aunt Lisa whipped them through the fields behind their 4-wheeler. The cousins made countless snow angels and braved the cold for much longer than I would have.

As an added bonus to our winter fun, Grandma and Papa created an ice rink out in the field beside thier house. We all helped prep the ice while Savannah and Taya tried out thier new skates. Max let us know he is not a fan of snow and cold and that he really, really does not like his snow boots. The best part of the day for him was hitching a ride on dad's shoulders so he didn't have to walk in the white stuff.

We had such a great day filled with family, fun and homemade soup and bread.

We weren't even out of Eburg before this was the view from the back seat.

So thankful....

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the idea of getting together with family and eating wonderful food and just being grateful for having each other. This year we started our day with a sweet little breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa and then we headed to Eburg for dinner with Grandma and Papa.

We were in charge of the dinner rolls this year, so daddy and his boys did some baking.

The whole house smelled amazing while the rolls were baking.

The boys and I also had a lot of fun making fall cookies to share with the cousins. We got our inspiration from this Nick Jr recipe. We made a few hands, but eventually it was easier to cut out circles and we made some turkeys that way too.

I had to share these pictures. I wanted to take a couple of pictures of the boys all spiffed up for Turkey Day so I stepped into Chase's room and found Max playing. I pointed the camera without saying anything and Max gave me these cheezy auto-smiles. Now each time he sees my camera he gives me his best cheeze : )

Freezing!

Today, we broke out our snow boots in a big way. It started snowing and just hasn't stopped. The boys began the day being pulled behind Grandpa's gator on the sled and they loved it. Chase was literally yelling, "YAHOOOOOO" as dad pulled him around the field. It was pretty cute. Tomorrow is supposed to bring some down right cold weather, so hopefully we can snow suit up and get out there to play for a little while at least. What good is a major snow storm if you can't get out and play, right!?!

In celebration of the first major snow storm of the year, I thought I would post a recipe for some very yummy comfort food. This recipe was given to me by my high school buddy and college roommate. She had me over for lunch one day not long after Chase was born and she made this soup. She gave me the recipe and I made it for my mom. She loved it too and she has made it for many of her friends, including some relatives in Texas and they all now have the recipe too. I just wonder how many folks are making this yummy soup all from the lunch I shared with one of my great friends : )

Mexican Soup

1 cup chopped chicken

1 cup salsa

1 cup frozen corn

1 1/3 cup water

1 can chicken & rice soup

1 can pinto beans drained & rinsed

1 can black beans drained & rinsed

1 teaspoon cumin

Mix everything up and bring it to simmer. That is it. Yummo!

You can also serve it with cheddar cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

In other news, Chase was having trouble falling asleep tonight, so daddy went in to lay with him for a few minutes. It has been at least an hour and they are both quietly snoozing away. So sweet.

Too funny and not so much.....

Too funny.....

The other night Chase needed to go outside after dark to get one of his toys or something like that. He opened the door and peaked outside very cautiously and I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I wondered over and asked him why he wasn't going out and he said, "Mama, do you think there are any stunks out there? I know stunks like the night time and I don't want to get all smelly from the stunks." It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about and then I started cracking up. I assured him I would be on skunk look out while he was on his mission.

Not so much.....

Max was busy helping in the kitchen again the other day and before I knew it he had pulled out the Costco sized bottle of soy sauce, popped open the top and then dropped it to glug, glug, glug all over the kitchen floor and our cream colored carpet. Ewwwwwww, is all I have to say about that. That and I was looking for a good excuse to have the carpets cleaned again : )

Our big four year old boy....

As a big brother, we couldn't ask any more from Chase. He watches over Max protectivly, maybe even a little over protectively sometimes and he is happy to share anything he has with his little brother. There are moments of frusteration, but they quickly pass and Chase again talks sweetly to his baby who he likes to call Boo Boo, just like mom and dad. Max adores his big brother and the only obvious issue that he has with Chase is that his big brother gives him too many loves : )

I enjoy Chase so much when he works on projects with me. My flower garden was winding down for the year, so I wanted to pick the last of the flowers before they froze and make a nice arrangement for the house. Chase got right in and helped me pick out the flowers that were still in good shape and he helped me pick off the leaves and he even did a really nice job of adding them to the vase. We grew some spearmint this year and one of Chase's favorite things to do is take a spearmint leaf and roll it between his fingers to release the scents. He is so funny because you have to do it the right way or it doesn't smell as good according to Chase.

Last night we had an incredible wind storm that did quite a number on our recycling and trash cans. We all went out to work on the clean up project, but Max decided he wanted to head back into the house so he and I came inside. A little while later Chase came in to use the bathroom. He stopped in the bedroom to say Hi to Max and me as we were cuddled up watching a cartoon together. Before he left to go back outside Chase said, "Mama, you guys look so cozy and I would love to climb up there with you, but Daddy needs my help so I am going to head back outside." It was a little thing, nothing major, but it made me proud of him and it hit me like a ton of bricks that my little boy is growing up.

Before meals at daycare, Chase and his class say a simple prayer to show thanks for the food they are receiving. It goes: "Hands together (a big crocdile snap like motion above your head), bring them down, bow your head and say " Thank you Lord for this food, Amen"" It is such a simple act, but so sweet and I love that Chase has brought this home and shared it with us.

Adventures with Max

Max has been doing so many things lately that crack me up and leave me in awe, that I had to start a list of things that I wanted to be sure to blog about. Here are a few of the crazy fun adventures with Max lately.

Bare with me here, I know this picture is really blurry, but if you click on it, you will hear Max singing his new favorite song. I am not sure where Chase heard this song, but he started singing Who Let the Dogs Out!? the other day and I started singing with him. Well it didn't take Max long to get in on the action and if you click on the picture above you will hear his part. I know it is not the best film making and I get a little loud in part of it, but I thought it was pretty cute.

So next on my list is that I seriously think Max may have the cleanest teeth of any 1 year old in the area. The guy wants to brush 6 or 7 times a day and who can say no to that? I am not sure how the interest in brushing grew to this level, but it started with Max brushing at least once a day wtih his little baby toothpaste and lime green baby toothbrush. Then the other day I was walking past the bathroom and there was Max up on the stool, with the toothbrush drawer open, brushing his teeth with his very own toothbrush. There are about six or seven toothbrushes in that drawer so the fact that he recognized his and was doing his thing cracked me up. Long story short, I think that taste of independence is what brought on the multiple brushings and as long as I let him put his toothbrush away on his own and he is happy to end the brushing session in a reasonable amount of time : )

Max likes to be a helper and is very interested in what goes on in the kitchen. I was doing the dishes the other morning and as usual Max was going through the dirty silverware and pulling them out for examination. Chase came into the kitchen and was telling me a story and while paying attention to Chase I heard Max behind me clanking around. The clanking didn't last long and by the time I was done listening to Chase I had forgot about Max making the noises behind me. Later that day I went to get a spoon out of the silverware drawer and was surprised to discover that the clanking noise from earlier that morning was Max helping mama put the silverware away. It didn't matter that they were pretty dirty and that he can't even see above the bottom of the drawer. My guy pays attention! And he knew exactly where mama puts the silverware.

Pumpkin carving with my Pumpkin

We had the best intentions in the world and put in a good effort, but our pumpkins were a little sad this year, with the exception of Ole Blue. Chase picked out the Blue's Clues template and he and I worked on it all evening. It turned out pretty darn cute! Chase also helped his dad work on a traditional pumpkin face pumpkin and he did most of the cutting himself.

PlayDoh

I think it is funny how you get something ingrained in your brain from your experiences as a kid. I know for me PlayDoh has always been a taboo toy. When I was little I had some and wasn't as careful as I should have been and got it in the carpet and everywhere else I am sure. My mom was not too pleased with me and my PlayDoh went out the door, never to come back. So fast forward about 25 years and my little guy receives PlayDoh as a present from one of his parties. GASP! Well it turns out PlayDoh is so much fun and I totally love how it keeps Chase's attention and fuels his creativity. It is one of those things I can pull out when things need to settle down a bit and he is more than happy to squish PlayDoh through silly shaped tubes and roll it out for the best cookies this mama has ever tasted.
P.S. Chase asked if he could take his PlayDoh to Grandma Sandy's house since he was going over there to play for the day. I told him he could and I loved the look on Grandma's face when Chase pulled out his PlayDoh to show her all the stuff it could do : )

Pumpkin Patch Fun

This year our trip to the pumpkin patch involved a field trip with Chase's pre-school class. Chase invited me, Max and Grandma Sandy to go along and we had a lot of fun playing with Chase's buddies, chasing a little goat with a mind of his own and picking out pumpkins. The kids got to pick an apple from the tree for a snack and I have to say that was the tastiest apple I have had in a long time.