Sick little boy

Poor little Niels has a head cold...nothing serious but he is a constant snot factory and has been far more snuggly than usual. The other day I was trying to keep him awake for 2 hours before putting him down for a nap so that he would hopefully nap longer. Instead, Hattie came running to me saying that Niels had fallen asleep on the office floor. Poor little guy...and this from the boy who refuses to sleep anywhere but in his crib.

He also managed to fall asleep in Paul's arms at church (which he hasn't done in probably 8 months) and on his chest the other night. Although it's sweet he is giving such great snuggles, I hope he feels better soon!

On another Niels related note, I finally made a baby bumper for him. Yes, his birthday is next month. But he was in the pack and play for the first 4 months in Lubbock, then we were moving/travelling for 2 months, then when we finally got to Wisconsin in July and he was 6 months old, making a boy baby bumper was the last thing on my list of things to do. I would have just bought one, but my sister in law Julia showed me this easy tutorial and I figured it was easy enough and that I would like it more in the end. So the girly, flowery, pink bumper is now in storage. Next on my list: buy a brown sheet so that the pink polka dot one can join the bumper in storage.

One question...should I paint his room now? If so, what color??

Recap: November

Somehow, with all of December's busyness, November was forgotten. Here are some highlights:

Niels has mastered the art of his baby walker (which we got for free at a rummage). He cruises all around the house and loves his freedom - and chasing his sisters. After his first tumble down the stairs (!) we quickly installed a gate and he is now relatively safe...unless one of his sisters forgets to lock the gate. 

One of autumn's greatest pleasures...jumping in leaves. Especially since we can't throw them in the garbage bin here, the only purpose of raking them is to jump in them.

Thanksgiving with the Elder Beech, Elder Harmon, and Paul's parents and brother. It was wonderful just being at home and not travelling.

The kids opened Christmas presents from Paul's sister Erika right after Thanksgiving...Christmas pajamas and a bunch of Christmas book! A great way to start off the season.

 And Erika included some $1 post-Halloween costumes...dress-up is always a favorite at our house.

And my chubby little Niels. He is growing so fast. He is crawling everywhere and wants to grab everything. He knows exactly how to turn on the iPad and I think he truly understands the sign for "all done" at dinner time. I can't believe his birthday is next month already!

Quilting, again

2012 marked the sixth year that I made a quilt for one of my siblings for Christmas. And it's also the last year. I need a break. Although I love making them every year, it gets hard and harder to give them away! I am ready to make one for my family now...it has been too many years!

Hattie's Christmas Letter

Our house

Now that we are mostly moved in (the unfinished basement is still a pile of bins and boxes that need to be organized), I finally got around to taking some pictures...

Pro: three car garage! And yes, that is a weather vane with a rooster on top!

Pro: large entry way

Pro: lots of counter space

Con: no pantry, and it is located right off of the entry with windows looking out the front of the house. Not horrible - a little odd is all.

View from entry into family room/dining room

Pro: awesome laminate floors

Cons: dining room light fixture is weak sauce...only one light bulb so I can barely see to eat my food

Pro: high ceilings

View looking back to the entry way

When you go up the stairs you find three bedrooms and two bathrooms:

We need to either repaint or get a new bed spread cuz red and pink isn't working so well

Girls room...it took a while narrowing down paint colors, but we finally painted it about two weeks ago, followed  by building bunk beds. 

Niels room...I don't plan to repaint...I like the green.

 Main bathroom...there is a small master bathroom too...not worth photographing.

And then we go downstairs to laundry, playroom, and office.

View as you come down the stairs

 Pro: GIGANTIC laundry room. I love it! Once we get the extra dryer out of there I'll have enough room for my sewing machine AND ironing board to be out all the time.

Pro: large playroom...this will someday be turned into a bed room when more kiddos arrive. 

Pro: an office/spare room. It's great to have a real place to send guest when they come visit, as well as enough space for all Paul's medical books.

Pro: fenced yard. Most of the yards here in Milwaukee don't seem to be fenced in. Not that I necessarily want to limit my kids' freedom, but I do like that I'll be able to send little ones outside without the fear of them wandering into the neighbor's pool or the main street.

It is starting to feel like home. We are grateful to have enough space for our growing family and that we feel comfortable here. If anyone is visiting the Chicago area, we are only an hour away and would love to have visitors!

Other October Fun

Fun at the pumpkin patch...

 And we saw this pyramid driving around Oak Creek...pretty serious Halloween spirit!

Day trip to South Bend

Being only 3 hours from South Bend, how could we pass up the BYU vs Notre Dame game, especially since two of my sisters, three brother-in-laws, and my parents would be there? I guess that's what you get when two brother-in-laws received their graduate degrees from ND.

Outside the administration building. We arrived hours before game time and wandered around campus to kill some time. It was a perfect fall day. Even with the game loss, Paul and I enjoyed having an entire day without children.

 Yes...both of our hair is getting long!

And surprise! Paul's brother Michael was there too! So we smashed 2 mini-family reunions in on the same day.