Celebrate the Gredlers [Thursday & Friday]

The very anticipated adoption of Mia, Gia, and Jace has finally come!! Actually, it was final January 9..but the celebration was the 18th. These three children have been living with Carissa and Tim for just over two years, and we love having three more cousins officially added to the family.

Early Thursday morning (like 3:30 am...EARLY), we got up and around, picked up Dad and headed to the airport. Ben couldn't take off work...so the boys, Grandpa, and I headed to PA to join Grandma at Tim and Carissa's house. We had our hands full, literally, but it went really well.

The flights both went smooth, and the three little travelers handled it wonderfully!

We got in around 1 pm, greeted with a sign made and held by Jace and everything! Carissa took us out to a restaurant that they had eaten at following the adoption hearing. It was tasty.

We arrived at their home and the boys didn't waste any time getting busy playing. Christian and Jace are just 3 months apart in age.

The girls came home from school...they were quite excited to have us there as well.

Mom worked on cutting out fabric to make bunting for the adoption party, and made cinnamon rolls.

After supper, we went to Inside Scoop...and had a very special treat. 

The Volcano = 14 different flavors of icecream and 8 different toppings....a whole lotta goodness!

Everyone had reached their limit on what they could handle...

this little man was still going. (Granted he took tiny bits, and if he didn't like something he'd shake his head no..and move on to nibble at another section.) He left the store with just a onesie wrapped in a blanket due to the amount of icecream ALL over his clothes :)

Bedtime snuggles with Grandpa.

Friday morning we ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast. 

Carissa gave Noah a new look..

Mom, Carissa, and I (and Jonah) went to get a few things from Michaels...

and I picked up an antibiotic for Noah (poor guy coughed and coughed during the night..the same crud Christian has had and needed antibiotics for). Carissa picked up Mia and Gia and they went to get beta fish for the party....they are so pretty.

During the afternoon, I worked on making the bunting. 

Carissa made the gingerbread houses (they were used in decorating the cake).

Tim, Christian, Jace, and Mia worked on squeezing lemons to make lemonade for the party.

Jace, Gia, and Christian in their outfits.

They all certainly had lots of playing to do...oh how they can play!

That evening for supper we went to a place in Bethlehem. It was good food...and it was probably a blessing it was so loud in there..a certain 2 year old was not pleased by the time we got our food. We had a quick time for gifts (some for Tim's birthday coming up on the 26th, and a couple gifts to celebrate the adoption) when we got back to their house. Grandpa told a bedtime story...and off to bed they went.

Winter days

These days, we spend quite a bit of time indoors.

Here's a glimpse of what our days look like...

Christian loves to write notes...

he asked how to write "I love you Noah" and then needed some tape. 

He attached it to his high chair. He asked how to spell Jonah's name..and it said the same I love you Jonah, and then he taped it to his crib. I received one..Mommy with a heart by it, and it was taped to the oven :) Ben's said I love you Daddy, taped to his chair at the countertop. Sometimes, he can be quite the little sweetheart.

We've done some rearranging, and the same toys we've had for quite some time have been suddenly much more exciting.

These blocks have been Christian's new favorite thing to build with downstairs.

Noah is still very intrigued with Jonah...lots of "Heeeyyyy Jonah. Hiiiiiiiiii."

And Jonah..well, he just takes it..he's a good little baby.

A sneezing lion...

we've had bouts of respiratory junk, but nothing too terrible...hopefully it stays that way!

We've had enough snow to play in for a little anyway.

Christian has referred MANY times how he is ready for summer so he can wear shorts and short sleeved shirts. However, he sure does like to play out in the snow when he gets a chance! 

Both Christian and Noah have been coloring ALOT. It amazes me how much Christian has changed in this...last year, I had to try to convince him it would be fun to color. And Noah, enjoys "painting" (markers) the best.

I love when they have the moments when they play like this.

Whew

I just successfully updated all the Christmas activities....they are back posted to be in December if you care to check them out!!

Conversations [the boys]

Christian:
He had taken a nap, and Noah had not (a very odd day)...so at night time Christian wasn't tired, but went to bed at the same time Noah did all the same. Thirty minutes later, little feet are at the top of the basement stairs (we almost always spend our late evenings in the basement). So Ben, takes him to the bathroom..then he asks if he can lay next to Noah so he's not so lonely. Noah was sound asleep all the way at the side of his bed. Ben says he can, but he can't mess with him to wake him up. As Christian is climbing in to bed, he notices how Noah is laying, "Oh, well that's a nice boy...he made room just for me." He stayed laying with him for another 20 minutes or so, before again coming to the top of the stairs. He wanted Ben to lift him up to bed, so he wouldn't wake up Noah by going up the stairs.

At Christmas, we don't have Santa come to our house. We just don't. But he does go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. And we've talked about him, how he is a nice man, how there are several different Santa's that he may see during Christmas time. I think he knows he's not really "real", but he just can't quite make sense of it. His reaction to Santa (Grandpa) on Christmas was priceless. He was smiling SO big, and then when he got a remote control car (OH MY!!). He thanked and hugged Santa. And afterwards came to me and said very seriously, "I guess I WAS good. I didn't get coal after all." (Between listening to songs and story books about Santa, he figured it out that you get coal if you're not good....which he had also told me prior to Christmas on a particularly naughty day, that it would be alright if he got coal..because you can put coal in fire, and "I like fires.") Later on Christmas Day, he came up to me and said, "You know, Grandpa really is Santa." I asked why he thought that.."because his eyes. Grandpa has really blue eyes, and so did Santa. But it's okay, I know he's not really real, but he's just kinda real."

Noah:
This little boy is making sense of everything lately...and is now verbalizes his information! Last night was my favorite new phrase..."I ruve you, Mama." (I love you Mama.) I've asked before if he can say "I love you" and he just gives his ornery, I'm-only-going-to-say-what-I-want-when-I-want face.

We hear, "Heeyyyy Joo-nah." about a million times every day. He LOVES his baby brother, and will get up in his face to say this. Also, "Jonah sad." "Jonah eat-ing." "Jonah seep-ing (sleeping). Hug Jonah."

He's tricked us lately at bedtime. He will act SO ready for bed, ask for his "mi-lck", get his "bank-ies" on arranged just so. And then 20 minutes later, the door to the bedroom bangs wide open, and his little pitter-patter feet come scurrying to the top of the stairs. "Hmmm? Hmmm?" He makes this kind of noise in his little ornery way, with a big ol' smile on his face. When we go take him back to bed, "Nooo." (but you just have to know how he says it..I've never heard it sound so cute or funny..and its not REALLY cute OR funny) So sometimes I'll rock him, or Ben will lay with him. He is an all out mess with his words he will start saying or fidgeting with our ears, eyes, hands ANYTHING. It is funny for the first five minutes..then its not. The other night when I was rocking him and he was SO loud, I said, "Noah, you have to be quiet. You need to whisper." In a very loud whisper he said, "whisss-per" about 5 times. So then I said, "Just rest your eyes and your mouth. No more talking." So he covered his eyes with his hands. Oh mercy. And lastly, Ben laid with him one night, and he was doing all of the classic stuff. And then he took Ben's hand, "Daddy hand. Hold hands." So they held hands. (Melt my heart.)

"Smooch." I request one from him prior to bed..and he will insist on giving Jonah one first, then me, then Ben, then Christian (if he lets him).

The other night I was looking on my phone for something. He came up to me, tried taking my phone, and said, "Put phone down. Come Mama." It worked...I followed his instructions.

Frequent phrases used by Noah:
"Oh, no. Fall dooooown"
"Dtri-shen did it" "No Dtri-shen NOOOO" "Dop-it Dtri-shen" (Christian did it. No Christian no. Stop it Christian."
"Mine" (he's mastered this..and uses it often to claim HIS stuff. It is frequently said "mines.")
"Ca-er" (color..and he's actual pretty good at coloring)
"Frosty" (He requests Frosty the Snowman to be draw on a piece of paper so he can color him, nearly everytime he gets a piece of paper. And he always gives a gitty laugh when you oblige.)
"Juice in it." (Smarty pants watches when you get him a drink. I will always fill it at least halfway with water...and then he follows it with this phrase.)
"Bam it" (When he is hammering, or banging on something. It usually sounds more like a swear word)
"Gramma's houuu-se" (requested every single time we get in the car to drive somewhere
"Mitch's houuu-se" (the other request when its obvious to him that we are not going to Grandma's house)
"Ahh Mitch" (a random phrase, I'm assuming that means "Where is Mitch?" or "hey I'm thinking about Mitch"...either way, he says it OFTEN)
"Build Legos." (both he and Christian can play with Legos for a long time)
"Nakie Time." (Prior to bath time, he and Christian run around without their clothes on yelling this with huge smiles on their face. And then Noah will pat his little bootie and say, "buns".)
"Tank-u" (Thank you. This is quite possibly the cutest phrase he says...it is so sweet. And especially when he follows it with whom he's speaking to.)

Jonah:
He has discovered his voice..and his sweet little noises are just that. So sweet.


That's it in a nut shell. These boys are not quiet.
They have their moments....but I love them all.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve...

we were instructed to dress up for the party.

We dressed up and put our party faces on!!!

Carissa made homemade tacos...and we had ourselves an all out FIESTA!

The kitchen was alive! Ole!

We had authentic music, dancing, and sombreros to ensure a proper good time.

Ben playing Sorry with the boys in his fancy attire.

Christian and Mia saw us getting dressed up..so they did too.

Yes, Christian is wearing high heals..and a necklace :)

Jonah had no idea what all the commotion was about...

Kade and Noah creating their own fun

Enjoying dessert in our fancy clothes..pumpkin pie or cherry pie.

The kids made gingerbread houses.

Some of us played round table

 And the girls dressed up and performed a show with singing and dancing for us.

It was a New Year's Eve party to remember :) Can't say I've ever experienced one quite like it!

Goodbye 2014....hello, NEW YEAR!

Siblings Night Out

Monday, the boys and I went over to Mom and Dad's in the afternoon. 

We were just hanging out, and played a little Blokus. 

The two "C"'s in green :)

That evening, Mom and Dad watched all 9 grandkids, so the 'big' kids could go out. We just went to Moundridge...and then to Mitch's house afterwards to play! We got to play :) I stopped to get Jonah prior to going to Mitch's..so he got in on the good times. (He actually slept on Alyssa nearly the entire time.)

Silly Aunt Alyssa wearing a coonskin hat :)

Shuffleboard, pool, and a movie...

(I may have not been the best shuffleboard partner to have that night...I successfully knocked off all of my color, but left the opponents standing...on multiple turns. Not ideal to win the game.)

This was what bedtime at Grandpa and Grandma's looked like...

and in the morning, Carissa had them all doing "school".

It was good to get together...and not have bedtimes to tend to.

Sunday Surprise

We got home from the Hershberger Christmas gathering late afternoon. 

Christian and I went over to Mom and Dad's while Ben and the other two stayed home and took naps.

We were told in preparing for the events surrounding Christmas to keep Sunday evening open for a surprise. Well, to Christian the surprise was blasting off rockets (they had put them together while we were off having Christmas). He was SUPER excited to watch them take off. It was a perfect day for it, it was so still out, hardly ANY wind! That very rarely happens.

"Yessssss!!"

Grandpa showing Maddox how to make it launch.

Blast OFF!

Christian and Jace..

two very happy 5 year olds.

The actual surprise was not launching rockets...

but rather a trip to Wichita in a big bus altogether to look at Christmas lights!!!

Our good friend, Ivan, was our bus driver :)

We had a very good time.

These people had a few lights!

Before heading home, we stopped at Coldstone Creamery for dessert.

What a treat!

 It was a very fun outing all together...

thank you Mom and Dad.