Tate

I sure do love my Tater Mater. He is taking on more of an individual personality. Mostly before he would just do what Hunter did...and although he still does much of that...he is really coming into his own. And I love it! He's so cute and easy going. He's become a GREAT helper for me. This morning he came and grabbed Callie's diaper out of my hand even as I was wrapping it up and took it right to the trash. He's been bringing her toys and kneeling in front of her and talking to her.



He really loves books. At both gma and gpa's house he loves to grab a pile of books and have them read to him. At home he likes to sit next to me and look at books while I read them to the kids. One of my most favorite things is to come upon him with a pile of books just looking at them quietly. He likes animal books the best.


His vocabulary has REALLY taken off lately. He is putting three or four word sentences together and it is so fun to hear him say things unexpectedly. Some of my favorite things to hear:
-Thank you momma!
-Mommy turn.
-That way!
-You're welcome.

I LOVE the way he says "Hunter", "Yes", "House", and "Mouse".


He likes lining things up right now. He'll take all the pillows and blankets and line them up all over the room(this annoys me sometimes, but it is still cute) He lines up all the animals at ECFE. I remember Hunter going through this phase.

He's definitely more quiet than Hunter. I believe in the birth order theory of personalities. Hunter is very much like me, and Tate is very much like how my sister was. I think Tate will be a very good big brother for Callie.


I LOVE LOVE LOVE his silly smile. It can brighten my day faster than anything! I love taking pictures of him b/c of his smile.

I sure do love my Taters and can't wait to learn even more about his personality.

Not a safe place to fall asleep...

Here is what I discovered when I came in from cleaning out the garage. Hunter usually sits at the top of the steps till I come and get him when he doesn't take a nap. (Usually I can hear him and I tell him its ok to come up). So, I carried him downstairs where he is now sleeping. Now if only I could get Miss Crabby to go down for a nap.....(we have another tooth sighting)

Callie is SEVEN months!

Callie is now in her seventh month of life. This seems much older than six months to me. I feel we are on the closer to one side of things now. This makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I will(just occasionally) miss the baby stage. It is a lot of work, but they are so sweet right now. No talking back, lying, etc... She is overflowing with personality! What a nut she is. Brent and I have had several discussions lately about how she is our wild child for sure. It surprises me b/c I think the other two are pretty wild, but Callie is going to pass them we think. She's still teething full force, but hasn't popped one this month, she still has her six teeth. She usually has her whole fist in her mouth. She's bitten herself a couple times, and she is not fond of that.

Some things we've discovered about her this month:

-She really likes peas. I really wish I could figure out how to upload or transfer the video I have of her eating peas to this blog, b/c it is SO FUNNY! Brent was feeding her peas last week and she was squealing with delight the whole time. She's kind of a spaz the whole time she's eating her veggies, but she calms down when she gets her fruit, I think she likes the sweets(hmmm, wonder where she got that). She is now in the highchair, since we have a bigger table now.

-She's starting to pull herself up on things. This morning I caught her on her knees holding onto Hunter's folding chair.

-She's starting to do an actual crawl. Before it was more of an inchworm type of crawl, but she's starting to do it the normal way.

-She's really enjoying the Johny Jump Up. She can jump so high in it that she leaves the ground. We have her in it some supper times, and are always entertained by her jumping.

-She's really finding her voice. I'm often not sure if she's in pain or just happy. She loves to squeal. The boys didn't do as much of this as she is, maybe its a girl thing.

I've been thinking a lot the last few days about what she adds to our family, and I'm so glad she's a part of it!

Tagged

I was tagged by Kristi.

Attached or Single? (very)Attached to Brent. Married for 6 years(and together for 6 1/2) in a couple weeks!

Best Friend? Brent

Cake or Pie? both. I love cheesecake.

Day of Choice? Saturdays.

Essential Item? hmmm, this one is tough b/c I think of a lot of things as "essential". I wouldn't do very well on a deserted island. Probably music.

Flavor of Ice Cream? Peanut Butter fever

Gummy Bears or Worms? worms

Hometown? Oskaloosa, IA (did I mention I'm heading there this week?!?!?)

Indulgences? chocolate, flavored coffee creamer, Love Spell lotion, taking a shower on days when Brent is home(they are a lot longer then)

January or July? July no question

Kids? Hunter 4, Tate 2, Callie 7 months

Last Movie I saw in a Theater? I took the kids to Wall-e last week

Middle Name? Elizabeth

Number of Siblings? one younger sister, Laci

Oranges or Apples? Apples

Phobia or Fear? I'm afraid of being widowed. I need my husband.

Quote? Hmmm, I'm not much of a quote person. I do have scripture cards taped up all over the insides of my cupboards though.

Reason to Smile? my kids laughing and Brent's van pulling in the driveway

Season? I like spring, summer and fall. I will not talk about the other one.

Tag five more: You're it girls!(If you want) Laci, Nette, Fawnda, Erin and Nikki Loukota.

Unknown Fact About Me? I was working in a bank when it got robbed and I got to ride around with the FBI for a day to identify his vehicle. It was crazy.

Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I love steak.

Worst Habit? If I say what it is, you'll notice it and it will annoy you.

Xrays or Ultrasounds? It's not a good thing if I'm having either one!- Amen Kristi, Amen.

Your favorite Food? chocolate

Zodiac? Leo, but who really cares?

One of three..

This is one of three posts I'd like to do today. I need to do Callie's 7 month post, I was tagged by Kristi and I want to post some fall pictures. I am, however, short on time. My good friend is in labor right now and I have her daughter along with my kids, so it might not all get posted today.

I do love fall. Yesterday Brent and I had the privilege of going on a date and we drove up to Walker and played tennis, shared a dish of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, walked the beach and parked in the trees and watched an episode of Lost on our portable DVD player(complete with surround sound). It was very fun and relaxing, just what we needed after these last few weeks of busyness. We enjoyed the evening with Brent's parents also.

We got a new table, one that has been in the Norman family for a long while. I am very happy about this, b/c now we can all fit around it for meals.


We received a letter from our grant people saying not to expect the remodel to start until spring of '09. This was very disappointing, to say the least. I know it'll get done eventually, but I wanted it to be before winter. I feel like we're wasting our money with how drafty it is. We could be so much more efficient. We did have a lead inspector come Saturday morning, so that is one more step out of the way.

Here are some pictures I took of the kids. We were raking up piles of leaves, putting them in a bucket and throwing them up in the air at each other.







We had a GREAT surprise on Saturday afternoon. A couple from church called and asked if I wanted to go to Oskaloosa this coming weekend!!! They are going there for a reunion and had some extra room, so the kids and I will be leaving Thursday morning for Iowa and leaving Iowa Sunday about 12. I am SO thrilled about this. I had written off another trip to Iowa until Christmas b/c of our van troubles and the expense of gas.

Saturday Morning pictures...

Out of the mouth of Hunter...

"Mom, milk comes from cows, right? So what animal does juice come from??