3 Months

Kinnick was 3 months old on Thursday! It really feels like time is flying by... I know that it will just keep getting better, but I really want to keep him my little baby--I'm not ready for "real food" or crawling anytime too soon!

Sadie had to get on the photo shoot also, I was trying to take pics of Kinnick and she ran over by him and said "Cheeseburger." I must say I'm a sucker for that cute little grin...

Adventures in Kindergarten

I love having a job that I can sometimes share with Sadie (and eventually Kinnick!) I also love having a babysitter who is so willing to provide my children with extra opportunities! (I always let her know about Pre-K activities our district has and she usually packs up all the kids to go!) Last week, my K class went to the farm fair at Streator High School. This event is open to the public so I told Jennifer when we would be there. She borrowed our baby carrier to wear Kinnick and brought Sadie and the other 1 1/2 year old she had at the time. Sadie LOVED it! She wanted to pet all of the animals and also enjoyed holding a baby chick and a baby kitty.

Checking out the pig! (The little boy next to her also goes to her sitter's and he happened to be there at the same time with his pre-school class!)

Holding a little chick...

This picture is from our Valentine's party two weeks ago. Jennifer is a room mom so she brings Sadie with her and Sadie gets to come to my party. She loved eating pizza with my class and also enjoyed some valentine candy. My students also love when she comes--they all want her to sit at their table!

Sadie at Mom's Valentine party!

Happy Valentine's Day

We spent Valentine's Weekend at Andy & Lindsey's house and we had a great time!

Here's Sadie opening her Valentine present. She loved the little purse and filled up with her books for the rest of the weekend. (She was also a big fan of the candy--including tictacs, introduced to her by Aunt NeeNee & Jaren.)

Here's Sadie wearing Aunt Lindsey's pink shoes...

Lindsey and I made pink heart sharped pancakes and pink scrambled eggs for breakfast!

Here's Sadie with her first very own Starbucks drink--hot chocolate! (Which was actually almost cold--I guess that's okay for a kid's drink...) She kept calling it hot chocolate milk. She also kept pointing at the Starbucks logo asking "What's that?" I think she'll remember!

On Valentine Day we went to a surprise party for Marc's Grandma Gorsch. It was put together by her neighbors for her 96th birthday. It was at a little IA country restaurant. We actually got to meet some distant relatives that we haven't got to meet before... We spent over two hours there and it was perfect b/c we had a big back room all to ourselves so Sadie could have some space to run. She did really well considering the late night Friday and the amount of time we spent there. Her favorite thing was playing Hide-and-Seek with Uncle Andy. She always got to be the counter and she would get the hugest smile on her face whenever she would find him! This turned out to be the perfect way to spend our Valentine afternoon!

Here's Great-Grandma DePauw holding Kinnick for the first time!

Here's the birthday girl herself! Great-Grandma Gorsch with Sadie. (I don't know who's more mischievous!)

Grandma Gorsch with Kinnick. For Valentine's she got the kids some books and recorded herself reading them on a C.D.--the kids have enjoyed them!

Mommy's Valentine! (My other Valentine wouldn't pose for a picture!)

Could he be any more adorable? I don't think so, but I guess I'm partial...

Sadie enjoyed this sucker four times before it went in the trashcan!

We had planned to make a big Valentine dinner but after our big lunch and a shopping trip we didn't feel up to it. Lindsey and I went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" while the boys so kindly kept the kids! (Andy even had them both by himself while Marc went for pizza!)

We had our "Valentine" dinner on Sunday--we made fettuccine alfredo and roasted broccoli and picked up bread sticks and salad dressing from Olive Garden--it was perfect. (Sade even took two naps on Sunday before we left for home!) I had such a great weekend--I wouldn't change anything about it!

Thanks Cousin Emmy!

This outfit arrived in the mail a week ago. Sadie was immediately in love with the pink hawkeye outfit. She loves hawkeye clothing as well as Nike clothing (it's like Dad's) and this outfit had both! She loved pointing out both symbols to anyone and everyone! She wore it on Monday and proudly let everyone know that this was "Emmy's Hawkeye"! Sometimes it amazes us how similar these two little girls are!

Vanilla Yogurt Ambrosia

Another recipe! This is a super easy fruit salad that is very yummy!

• 1 can pinapple chunks (20 oz.)
• 1 can mandarian oranges
• 1 1/2 c. green grapes (cut in half)
• 1 c. mini marshamallows
• 1/2 c. coconut flakes
• 6 oz. vanilla yogurt (I use fat-free)
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans

I usually double this recipe if I'm taking it to a larger gathering and I've never had leftovers! Don't mix this too far before serving time b/c the yogurt tends to get watery when left in the fridge for over a day.

What's New?

Kinnick Update:
Kinnick will be 3 months old next week... I can't believe how big he's getting! He weighed just over 10 lbs. at his 2 mo. check-up. He's already outgrowing some of his 0-3 clothes.

• He is so smiley! He loves to coo and smile--it makes me so happy!
• He LOVES his mobile--he get to look at it every morning while Sadie is getting dressed.
• He rarely cries--usually just when he is hungry. His baby sitter says he's the best baby she's ever had!
• He's had a harder time learning to go to sleep by himself than Sadie did. He's getting better. He usually sleeps from about 8:00--4:00 then goes back to sleep until 6:30... not too bad.
• He is very squirmy in the bathtub--we use a bucket bath and he pushes himself up and down the entire time.
• He is not a huge fan of the sling (Sadie just loved it!) I think he will like it more when he can hold his head better and look around...
• He's very close to laughing (I can't wait for that sound!)
• He rolls from side-to-side and pushes up his head while laying on his tummy.

Here's Kinnick trying out his new Bumbo seat:

Sadie Update:

"Little Miss Independent"--that pretty much describes Sadie right now... She likes to push us to the limit with everything we say! She's smart enough to go just to the point where she's not directly disobeying us--Example: 2 days ago I told her to stop touching Kinnick b/c she was being too rough. She put her hands behind her back and scooted close enough to touch him w/ her knees. (She got a time-out for this one even though she didn't think she was "touching" him!)

These are some of her recent accomplishments:

• She now enjoys signing (after months of trying to get her to sing along with us!) Her first song was "Jesus Loves Me" one night at the dinner table. (My dad always used to tell us "No signing at the table--but this was just too cute!) Other songs she enjoys are: ABC's, & Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
• I think she has gymnastics in her future--she enjoys doing somersaults and the splits. She loves to balance on things (the riskier--the more fun she has!) Another funny trick of hers is to jump up, pull her feet up and land on her bottom. She has been doing this on the trampoline and bed since this summer, but she recently perfected it on the hard wood floor--it's very funny!
• She LOVES to count. She generally counts 1-9 and then continues to repeat 6-9 until someone helps her say 10!
• She can identify most shapes & colors, but we're still working on naming them.
• She still loves to read. A few of her current favorites are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and Kinnick's Hawkeye counting book. (This book has a picture of the legendary Nile Kinnick who she now proudly points out every time we read it!)

Here's Sadie showing her stubborn side--she is not too fond of getting her picture taken:

Sadie wants to do EVERYTHING that Kinnick does. I'm excited to watch them grow up together--I'm sure they will have lots of fun!

Checking out Kinnick's new toy (Sadie's old toy)...

Looking at Kinnick's mobile...

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I haven't posted any recipes for a long time and I have several I want to share... We had this soup this week and we LOVE it! I usually make a double batch and freeze half or share w/ neighbors.

2 c. broccoli (chopped)
2 c. cauliflower (chopped)
2 c. carrot (chopped)
2 1/2 c. water
2 t. chicken bouillon
3 T. margarine
3 T. flour
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
2 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheese

Boil veggies in water w/ chicken bouillon. Reduce heat & simmer for 12-15 minutes. In another pan melt margarine, add flour, salt, & pepper. Gradually whisk in milk. Boil--cook & stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour cheese mixture into veggie mixture and blend.

Skating Party

I was anxiously anticipating last Saturday to take Sadie skating for the 1st time! Sadie's babysitter's daughter, Kyra was having her 9th b-day party at the skating rink and wanted Sadie to come. We were excited to give it a try (and honestly I was really looking forward to going skating myself!)

Sadie enjoying some pizza and a very special treat--soda!

Sadie liked sitting at the table eating her cupcake while wearing her skates (she didn't want to take them off!)

This is the 3rd pair of skates... Her first pair was huge (I think the guy gave us kid-sized instead of Toddler sized), the 2nd pair fit but she could hardly stand up in them b/c the wheels weren't tight at all, the 3rd pair worked the best--she made it almost 1 lap around the rink before calling it quits... She sat with Jennifer while Marc and I skated for awhile.

Can you tell she's a "Daddy's Girl"?

All in all, it was a fun day... I got to skate with one of my current students (who couldn't wait to tell everyone at school on Monday!) and several past students, Sadie had fun even though she wasn't a huge fan of trying to skate, and Marc and I enjoyed some time together :) I'm looking forward to trying again when Sadie is older! (Kinnick was also at the party--he slept through the entire thing snug in his carseat!)

Jaren's 2nd Birthday Party

I'm sure Sadie is ready for her 2nd birthday party b/c every party we go to she wants to be opening the presents!

Here are some pics from Jaren's birthday a few weekends ago: