Video message from Santa

Koen was thrilled to find out that Santa sent him a "bery pecial" (very special) video this year. He was very excited to be on the nice list and is sure that he'll get "wots and wots" of presents this year :) He was a bit confused about the picture of him at swimming lessons and wanted to know where Santa was hiding when he took the picture. After much deliberation he decided that he must have been on the diving board... If you want to watch the video - copy and paste the link below into a browser:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/g7u_MAHk2Ji96w2iCUr72Aw

Fall/Winter 2011

October: Koen was Mader for Halloween and Sage was an adorable little flower. Koen really got into the spirit of things this year and chased Cooper Willoughby all over the neighborhood in search of KitKats, M and M's and suckers. He doesn't really like any other candy so Kenn and I helped him finish off the rest :)

Sage began crawling this month (at 8 months) and got her first tooth! She's still not sleeping through the night thanks to constant fluid behind her eardrums or an ear infection :( Otherwise she's doing well and is happy to be on the move so she can (try to) keep up with Koen. She has been signing "more" for awhile but recently said her first word "bah, bah" (bye bye). Is it a bad sign that her first word is "bye bye"? ;)


November: We made our annual visit to the Festival of Trees with my mom, aunt, grandma, Cousin Molly, Jill and Luke. Koen was excited to see Santa but wouldn't you know it, he was taking a lunch break the whole time we were there! We tried to see Santa again at the mall later that week but he was gone to dinner. Koen's beginning to think all Santa does is eat! :) Koen also started a 6 week indoor soccer class which is a hoot! Koen's not very coordinated and he was a bit hesitant to join in at first but he ended up really enjoying it and we'll do it again in January.

Sage got her second tooth this month and within a week fell on the tile knocking it loose. It bled all over the place and we had to push it back into place but a dentist friend assured us that it happens all the time. It may turn grey and ruin her pretty looks till her permanent tooth comes in but it's apparently no big deal (phew!).


December: Koen had his first trip to the dentist and was cavity free! He loved the whole experience and keeps asking when we get to go back. He's also really excited for Christmas and asks every day when Santa is coming. He's full of questions about the logistics of Santa - is there enough room in the sleigh for all his toys, what do the flying reindeer eat, will Santa need to stop for a snack/nap before he makes it to our house, etc. His questions certainly keep us on our toes because he's got a great memory so I have to keep my story straight or he'll call me on it!

Sage finally had tubes put in and we're hoping for an improvement in her sleeping habits. Right now she goes down at 730, is up again at 230 and then again at 630 before waking for good at 8. As soon as she's fully healed from surgery we're going to work on phasing out the 230 waking. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm not great at letting her cry, but I'm worse at living without sleep so I'll be strong ;) Sage is now walking along furniture and will take a few steps if you're holding her hand. She's eating table food now and enjoys being a part of the family at meal times. She recently added the signs "all done" and "please" to her vocabulary and randomly says "mama" and "dada" but we're not sure if they're intentional or just babbling. Sage is very vocal and active and her feisty personality is still going strong. Her new thing is to yell, glare at you and then try to bite if she's upset! Her two little teeth don't hurt and the fierce look on her face is actually comical but I don't really want a biter. Hopefully it's just a phase....




























Fall Fun

Koen's really into tractors now so last weekend we took a trip to my aunt and uncle's farm to watch the potato harvest. He was too scared to ride in the harvester but he had a great time digging potatoes out of the field and picking some from the cellar to take home. Then we went to Linder Farms this morning to take a tractor ride to the "big punkin patch". It's been quite an exciting week for Koen!

Koen was scared to death of the big harvester and was only willing to sit in it for a second if Kenn held him. Maybe next year...

Searching for the biggest potatoes in the field


This little tractor was more up Koen's alley!
Doug helping Koen pick the perfect potatoes to take home


Too busy looking for pumpkins to look at the camera

Sage is trying hard to crawl and is dying to be able to move so she can get into all of Koen's stuff. I have a feeling we're going to have our hands full with her! She's much more assertive and active then Koen was at 8 months :)

Summer 2011


This summer has been crazy! We sold out house in July, packed all our worldly goods into Storage Cubbies, and packed ourselves off to my dads while we house hunted. We finally found the perfect place for our little foursome in the Tuscany neighborhood in late August. We moved all our stuff in on a Friday and then I started back to work at school on Monday! It has been a busy few weeks but we're finally settled in and back to "normal".

If you are thinking - wait, didn't they just move? Yep, we sure did - two years ago exactly. We moved from "suburbia-land" (Kenn's words) to the charming North End. And the North End truly is very charming, but our tiny, aging house on a busy street was anything but. We initially thought we could put up with an older, smaller home and a very busy street for the ambiance and experiences of the North End but two kids, too much stuff and too many projects later we threw in the towel. So, we're back in the burbs but only a short car ride away from a visit the North End :)

At 7 months Sage is still a tiny thing but is very active and social. She's rolling everywhere and almost sitting independently. She loves to blow raspberries and stick her tongue out for a laugh. Koen just turned three - yikes, where has the time gone?! He is especially enjoying our new house because of his "very own big toy room" (aka bonus room) and the neighborhood pools.


Koen had his tonsils and adnoids taken out Friday due to sleep apnea and we've had a rough few days but he's on the mend now... Watching your kid hurt really hurts :( The upside is knowing that he'll sleep better without them and will have more energy! The downside is hearing that he may give up naps now that he'll be sleeping better at night - I sure do enjoy those 2 hours of quiet time with Sage ;)


Naptime fun with dad

Sage and cousin Luke (9 months)

Koen and Marnie Smith
Feeding the farm animals at the zoo

Sage loves to eat!


Jerri Woodworth, Lukas Watterson and Koen
Jerri Woodworth and the cousins Koen, Sage, Sean, Luke and Megan
Sweeping the bugs off Papa's patio

Swimming with Megan and Sean Woodworth



Christmas jammies in July