Snow Day!

The boys were so excited when they woke up this morning and saw the blanket of white outside. It took Calvin about 5 seconds to ask if he could go outside and play. Soooooooo, we got out all of the snow clothes and got bundled up!

Oliver trying out the sled. He's not so sure about the snow boots. (I don't know how well they fit him; he didn't seem all that comfortable walking in them.)

Calvin LOVED his snow boots and ran all over the yard, kicking up snow everywhere he went.

I tried to take them both for a ride on the sled, but Oliver was a bit possessive and didn't like the idea of Calvin joining him (it is a SMALL sled, after all).

It was such a beautiful snow, the flakes were enormous! We had fun catching them on our tongues.

It was also a good snow for making snow balls, but Calvin didn't really care for the way his gloves looked AFTER making them. . .

My attempt at getting a picture of them before we headed back inside. As you can tell, Oliver is really enjoying himself! I think the combination of the uncomfortable boots and bulky coat were enough to do him in.

Calvin trying to get his bibbers off. . . He looked so cute, like he was ready to hit the slopes!

I love it when it snows, especially when we have nowhere to be!

Russ' REAL Valentine's Day Gift

I know I mentioned in the last post that I got Russ the Fireproof movie for Valentine's Day. This is true, but he also got something much bigger that came as a huge surprise (for both of us, actually). What was the this surprise gift, you ask??

. . . . . .

Another baby!! I had been feeling crummy for a couple of weeks, but thought I had the stomach bug that had been going around. Then there were a couple of nights that I fell asleep at 7:00 and didn't wake up until morning. The final straw that convinced me to buy the test was the craving for scrambled eggs. This was always what I crave in the first trimester of my pregnancies. Once I'd consumed a couple dozen eggs, I felt pretty convinced that something was going on.

He stared at the pregnancy test for a long time and insisted it was wrong because he just couldn't quite believe it. I know it has the "key" printed right on it, but I still had to explain to him how to read the test. . .

For those of you who don't know my history (and this may be too much information for some--you can skip this paragraph if you like), I had to take fertility medications to get pregnant with my boys. I have no cycle on my own and have been told that I don't ovulate. So since I hadn't had a period since before my pregnancy with Oliver, Russ was having a hard time believing we did it on our own. Although we certainly can't take all of the credit. . . When people would ask me when we were going to try for number 3 (i.e. go back on Clomid), I would say this summer so that I could have a spring baby next, UNLESS God had other plans for us. Well, guess what? He knows the plans He has for us, that's for sure! And those plans are greater than anything we could ever imagine. So we truly consider this a "miracle baby" (although ALL babies are certainly miracles).

The boys helped us announce to the family yesterday. We borrowed a couple of Tyler's shirts, and put one on Calvin, which no one questioned, of course. . .

. . . But we also put one on Oliver. Some were a little quicker on the uptake than others with Oliver's shirt, but ultimately they all got the point.

So when will our next addition join us? If you can figure it out, please let me know! We went to the doctor yesterday thinking we were probably 5-6 weeks along and she said my uterus felt more like 11-12 weeks, which I didn't believe for a second. Then she got the doppler to listen for the heartbeat, and there it was--169 beats per minute! It never gets old listening to your baby's heartbeat and it never ceases to amaze me when that sound comes out of a belly showing no signs of having a baby in it! So she called my due date September 15, but scheduled me for a sonogram which we did yesterday afternoon. The sonographer took all of the measurements and put me at 8 weeks 2 days (due date October 3). So . . . I guess I'll find out at my next appointment what we're really going to call the due date (as if it really matters, the baby will come when the baby is ready as we all know!). I'm just saying late September for now.

And here's the first sneak peak of our little miracle! (The head is at the left and the foot buds are at the right. The yolk sac is the circle at the far right.)

I have to say I'm still a little bit in shock, but absolutely thrilled. And Russ can't stop talking about it. I love listening to him and Calvin pray for the baby in mommy's tummy before they go to bed--it's just precious. I'll keep you posted as I find out anything new. In the meantime, please add our new baby to your prayer lists!

Love Is In The Air

Russ & I (and Calvin & Oliver) had a wonderful time celebrating Valentine's Day yesterday. After he got off work, we took off to the grocery store to get supplies for our dinner, then came home and watched the Jayhawks pull through in Manhattan (Rock Chalk!). Then we started on dinner. Right after we were married, we tried to go out on Valentine's Day, only to discover that this is a TERRIBLE idea (after trying what seemed like a thousand restaurants, we ended up eating at Arby's). Ever since then, we stay in and make dinner, and it's much more fun and relaxing anyway.

So here we are, ready to start our Valentine's Day "date"--dinner and a movie.

My favorite spinach salad, with grape tomatoes, toasted almonds, feta cheese, and cranberries--yummy!
And our main course: seared rosemary beef tenderloin with roasted potatoes, baked asparagus with tomatoes, and multigrain bread. Talk about a gourmet dinner!

What a romantic candle-lit table for four!

After we had stuffed ourselves overfull, we headed downstairs for our movie. I got Russ the Fireproof movie for his Valentine's gift. What a great movie!

The funniest part was that this is a pretty serious, adult movie, but Calvin LOVED it! In fact, as soon as it was over, he started asking if we could watch it again. I'm pretty sure this was simply because it had all of the "fireman" themes. There were enough scenes at the firehouse or with fire trucks that he was certainly interested. It really was a good movie, though, with a GREAT message. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to loan it out!

Chuck E. Cheez-It

For Valentine's Day, Mama Cheryl treated the kids to a day at Chuck E. Cheese's (or as Calvin calls it "Chuck E. Cheez-It"). Here, the kids take their turns in front of the blue screen so they can be on TV!

I don't think they fully understand "stage presence" just yet.
Then Jackson & Calvin go to say "Hi" to Chuck E.

I'm not sure how impressed Calvin was, but at least he wasn't scared of the big mouse like he was last time we were there.

Oliver may have been a bit overdue for his nap (or at least that's the excuse I'm offering), as he was NOT interested in doing much of anything.

How pathetic is that face?!? This is supposed to be fun, Oliver! Have fun already, boy!
Calvin thought he could ride anything in the place, and I think he tried.

His favorite, by far, was the horse racing ride. I think he rode it 6 times. He was so intent on what he was doing that he wouldn't even look at me to take the picture. We may have a future jockey on our hands (if he stops growing now.)

With all of Calvin's tokens, I think he ended up with 11 tickets total (and that was with a few donations from Sydney & Jackson). He was thrilled, though, because that meant he had enough for a tootsie-pop. Oh, the little things!

Top O' the Muffin to You

To my dismay this morning, I discovered that I have a "muffin-elitist" on my hands. Calvin just kept asking for more muffins, and I couldn't believe that he was eating them that fast. So I followed him into the living room, where I saw his plate of half-eaten muffins. Yes, Calvin has decided that the muffin tops are really the only part worth eating! This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine wants to open the muffin shop and only sell the tops. She tries to donate the bottoms to a soup kitchen, and they are disgusted, saying, "We don't want your muffin bottoms!" So in this situation, Oliver is the "soup kitchen" but he is more than happy to eat Calvin's discards.

In this picture, Calvin is making sure that Oliver doesn't get any of the "whole" muffins. . .

Here's the evidence that he is indeed the culprit. . .
Just about have the top eaten. . .

Not so fast, Oliver! You stick to the bottoms!

Calvin's finished plate.

Next thing you know, we're going to have to feed him caviar and truffles. What a sophisticated palate he has!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Ruth!

We celebrated my Grandma Ruth's birthday last night with all of the Deterding's. Aunt Cheryl offered to host at her house on Lake Lotawana, and it was a perfect evening! As soon as we got there, the kids wanted to go see the lake, so off we went.
There probably ended up being about 20 of us taking over the road as we walked to the water.

The kids were so excited! Not often do you get to hang out at the lake in February!

Russ, Calvin, Sydney, & Jackson checking out the view.

Tyler wanting to get a closer look, too.

Jackson & Sydney are so good at keeping Oliver entertained! The swing game is always a hit.

Next we walked to Cheryl & Rick's dock, where immediately all of the kids wanted to walk up to the top deck, of course.

This picture is a little deceiving because Russ & Calvin are on the top deck, probably 10 feet above of the water. Even with the beautiful weather we've had the past few days, the water still had plenty of ice in it.

When we got back to the house, it was time for a yummy dinner of lasagna & stuffed shells.

Because of the gorgeous weather, many of us were able to eat and socialize outside--who'd have thought, in February??

Aunt Cheryl, Daniel, and Miss Brynn hanging out after dinner.

Grandma Ruth, the Birthday girl, hanging out watching Missouri basketball with the guys!

I'm so glad we're able to get together with our "big" family on special occasions like this!

Old Friend with New Baby

I had a great time attending a baby shower this weekend for my friend Amy, who I've known since preschool, but haven't been able to see much since she moved to Oklahoma 6 years ago.
It was a darling shower, with a "movie star" theme--all sorts of bling for an upcoming star!

Of course, I was thrilled to see Amy, but I was also so excited to meet her baby girl! Nessa was born December 21, and is absolutely precious!

I got my moment of fame with the guest of honor in the director's chair!
And there's the beautiful mommy with her new little miracle!

Congratulations, Amy! It was great to see you and Nessa!