The Beginning of Advent

Samantha: 54 Months, Week 3

Aedan: 19 Months, Week 1

This was a tough, tiring week for us. It seems like life has been crazy lately with Ben getting to the end of the semester and being swamped with work. Then, with Christmas coming up we are starting to do some preparations for that like ordering Christmas cards to mail out, forming Christmas present lists for family members, and beginning to think about what we want to get for family members as well. It seems like December snuck up on me, and most days it seems like there aren't enough hours in one day to get everything accomplished that I would like.

However, we also entered the Advent season this past week, the month before Christmas where we take time to ponder the coming of Christ as a tiny baby, God in human form, who came to earth on a rescue mission to save the children He loves. I am doing an Advent study with the women's Bible study at church, and it has really helped me get back into the Word on a daily basis and to stop and think about what we are really celebrating this time of year. We also decided to do an Advent devotional with Samantha. Last year we followed a reading plan through The Jesus Storybook Bible, which was great, but I wanted to find something a little different this year. I saw someone post about a free app from a church down in Texas that had a family devotional, so I downloaded the app, and it has a short story from the Bible retold in more kid-friendly language, and the end of each story is tied into Jesus and how He came to rescue us from our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. Each devotional also comes with some reflection and application questions. Samantha has really been enjoying this every night in place of doing our usual Bible reading from her children's Bible and will often ask about it during the day to be sure we are doing it that night. In addition to the Advent devotional, I found a nativity set that you could print out for your child to color. So each morning Samantha gets a different character to color and add to the refrigerator with a magnet. By the time we get to Christmas she will get baby Jesus, and the scene will be complete. Especially since we don't do Santa Claus, it's fun to have a Christmastime tradition that focuses on Jesus' birth rather than on a man in a red suit bringing you the exact present you asked for.

The other thing that happened this week is the lady who normally watches Aedan for me on Mondays, and I watch her son on Wednesdays, began to have some family problems that she had to address and decided that we better not swap anymore. I didn't realize how much I relied on that one morning a week to myself to get things done without kids underfoot, or even to have time to relax. I enjoy spending time with Aedan, of course, but it's difficult when he is into everything right now and really wants all your attention all the time.

Tuesday was a rough day, especially at nap time. Samantha was an emotional basket case that day. Even though I warned her several times about taking a nap, since she didn't nap the day before and was super crabby that night, she still cried and screamed and refused to go potty, which then woke up Aedan. I was so upset that I just sent her to bed without reading to her or singing to her. It was so frustrating because neither one of them was sleeping even though they were both exhausted. Eventually they both fell asleep, but it was just an exhausting process.

At small group that evening, we still didn't have a babysitter lined up, and Ben had a phone interview with Fort Lewis in Colorado that he had to be on campus for, so the moms ended up hanging out in the room with the kids while they played with their toys while the dads stayed in the elementary room to talk. We didn't discuss the sermon at all, but it was fun to connect as moms, to discuss our time with family at Thanksgiving, and even to find the common bond of feeling like our kids are always being compared to their cousins.

On Wednesdays I try to get things done around the house like laundry, changing sheets, and general tidying up. It's easier to get done with just Aedan around while Samantha is at preschool. That doesn't mean that I'm working the whole time though. Aedan and I had plenty of time to play together, wrestle, and of course, jump up and down on his mattress after taking it out of his crib to change his sheets. He loves to stand a ways back and then run at me, toppling me over backwards. It certainly is fun having a little boy!

That afternoon both kids napped well. In fact, Aedan napped so well that Samantha and I had extra time to play while he was still sleeping. She wanted to play tea party, so we laid out a blanket on the floor, she brought up her tea set and food from downstairs, and we served Samantha's animals and dolls. I had dinner all ready in the crock pot, so I didn't have to stop to make dinner, which was great. I loved this extended time to play with my little girl, in whatever way her creative heart desired. It was a great day with one-on-one time with both Samantha and Aedan.

Thursday morning I had plans to take the kids to get hair cuts. We went to the Great Clips in Hamilton because I was so happy with how Misty cut Aedan's hair last time. His hair was getting pretty long and needed a cut, and I figured I'd get Samantha's hair cut while we were there, too. Her hair is so thick and curly that it gets tangled so easily. Every morning we had tears and screaming when it was time to get her hair combed and put up. Even though I love her curls, I knew it would be much easier if she had shorter hair. Aedan did a great job sitting in the the chair with a booster seat. He wiggled a little bit more than last time, trying to get away from the scissors and giving Misty weird looks, but she did a great job again. I discovered that she worked at a salon solely for kids for three years previously, so that is why she is so good at cutting a wiggly toddler's hair and still making it look even. I was thinking about getting Samantha's hair cut about shoulder length, kind like we did back when we first got her hair cut a year and a couple months ago. However, the stylist said she was going to show me how short it would be at that length first, but then just started cutting. At that point it was already too late. She cut her hair a little shorter than I would have liked, but it still turned out really cute. The stylist even used a round brush to blow dry it so that it curled under. If you look in the picture above, you can see what it looked like before, and here is what it looked like afterwards. Samantha really loved it and beamed from ear to ear when she saw herself in the mirror. She was super excited that she could now wear it down or in a headband more often without it being crazy and hanging in her face. She also likes that it doesn't get as tangled, so that's another positive. I do miss the curls, so we will see if they grow back as her hair grows out again. :)

After getting hair cuts, we stopped at Walmart to get presents for our little girl for the Christmas Giving Tree at church. I wanted Samantha to help pick out special presents for her, as the little girl is only two years older than her. Samantha helped me pick out two outfits and an art kit where the girl could paint horses and use glitter to decorate them. It was funny to see Samantha become slightly envious of buying things that she would like for someone else. I think it was a good lesson for her to see that we need to reach out and help people that are in need around us, and that this is one small way to show the love of Jesus to someone at Christmastime. We even decided that Samantha would make a card for the little girl with a picture of baby Jesus on it, as a small way to share the gospel with this little girl.

On the way home Samantha was drawing with her magna-doodle while Aedan looked at books. It is so cute how he will mimic us even in reading. He will look at the book and string a long line of syllables together like he is trying to read. I have tried to capture this on camera before, but he always stops when I get out my phone. I figured since he was in his car seat I could record it without him noticing. You can hear him just reading and laughing away. I love that we have two kids that seem to love looking at and reading books.

I tried to get a picture of Aedan's hair cut at Great Clips, but he didn't want to stand still, so once we got home I was able to show him himself by flipping the camera around on my phone and then I got a good picture of him and his handsome look.

Samantha wanted me to take a picture of her as well, so I got these great pictures of the kids and sent them to Daddy so he could see them. He agreed that we make pretty adorable kids. :)

Aedan has been having a hard time lately with his bottom molars coming in, and as a result, Thursday night was rough for him. He was up three times during the night, crying, needing Mommy and Daddy to hold him and rock him for awhile each time. Ben and I were super tired come Friday morning, but luckily, he slept in until past 10:00, which is totally unlike him. I planned on going grocery shopping that morning, but I no longer had time to get there and back before needing to meet Ben at 11:50 so that I could go to Zumba. It was nice just having a relaxing morning playing at home with Aedan, and hopefully these silly two year molars come through soon so he can get back to his normal self again.

With finals coming up next week, Ben was busy with many students coming to his office with questions. As a result, he didn't even get to leave campus until 5:15 on Friday evening whereas he normally comes home a little earlier. Also, since I didn't have a chance to go shopping earlier, he was going to go after working on campus, but then he got out too late, only stopping for a few quick ingredients so that we could make pizza at home.

After eating a quick dinner we went out for a family Christmas activity. It was called Brilliant Bebb and is a pioneer village that is decorated with lights and trees for Christmas. I heard about it from a few different people in Oxford, so we figured we'd check it out. We bundled up in our winter coats, hats, and mittens, as it was somewhat chilly outside. The first cabin we came to had pioneer crafts, and Samantha was really excited to be able to use a nail and wooden hammer to make a star ornament out of tin. She pounded the nail all around, following the outline of the star. The cabin was pretty crowded, so Ben just walked around outside with Aedan. They also had a station where you could make reindeer food to sprinkle on your lawn on Christmas Eve.

From there we walked on to the other cabins where there was a workshop and lots of other cabins selling handmade items. Samantha got to taste an apple cobbler made over an open hearth fireplace.

Another fun cabin was the old school house where there was an old time band playing music. We sat on a bench in there for awhile listening to the music and dancing.

Samantha wanted to get her picture taken with Aedan in the sleigh, and even though it's dark, it was cute to see them cuddle into each other for the picture.

The next cabin had Father Christmas inside, and even though we don't do Santa and have never had Samantha's picture taken with Santa, she wanted her picture taken with this guy. (But really? You couldn't find a better Father Christmas impersonator? This guy's face looked much too young to be an old man with long white hair and a long white beard.) I think Samantha just wanted her picture taken because that's what everyone else was doing. She didn't really know what to think of him.

After that it was getting close to 8:00, Aedan was getting tired of having to keep his mittens on because he couldn't grab on to anything and kept asking me to take them off, even though I couldn't because it was too cold outside to go without them. Samantha was also getting tired so we went on our way back home to get the kids (and ourselves) in bed. The pioneer village was fun, and Samantha especially enjoyed the craft time, but I don't think it was worth $10 to go to it. I think we will skip it if we are here next winter.

The rest of the weekend we did a lot of relaxing at home. Samantha helped Ben make cookie dough, cut out Christmas shapes, bake them, and then we decorated them all together. Ben planned a review session on Sunday night for his students and told them he probably would have Christmas cookies to share. Samantha loves helping us in the kitchen and had a great time cutting out the shapes with Daddy.

After lunch on Sunday, since we went to the 9:00 service and had extra time at home, we lined up all the cookies and Samantha helped us decorate them after Daddy iced them. She started with the snowmen and got a little carried away with the cinnamon pieces for eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons. She is very detail oriented and probably would have spent an hour decorating all those cookies just so.

It's hard for us to do things like this without including Aedan, so after awhile of him clawing at our legs for us to pick him up, or reaching up to pull cookies off the table, I decided to just put him in his high chair so he could see what we were doing without actually being able to reach any of the cookies. I gave him a couple sprinkle containers to shake around and that mostly kept him happy.

Here's our little decorator at work. She had me take over shaking every once in awhile because her arm was getting tired.

But don't they look great? She was very proud of them and couldn't wait to eat one. She thought they were delicious, but Aedan wasn't so sure. He just wanted to lick the icing off the cookie instead. We are so glad that Samantha is so willing to help us out in the kitchen with cooking and baking. I forget if I've written about his yet, but Daddy has been teaching her some basic cooking skills. For example, she knows how to crack an egg into a pan for eggs over easy without getting any egg shells in the pan and with very rarely breaking the yoke. Also, she knows how to use a spatula to flip a pancake. Pretty impressive for a four and a half year old! I think I was an adult before I learned those things. :)

The last week before the end of a semester is always busy, and even though we've experienced these before, it's like we forget in between. Ben had a lot to get done before Sunday night, so he spent most of Sunday working. We are very blessed by having Ben not work very often when the kids are awake. He likes to be present with the kids when he's home, so it was weird for them to see him sitting with his computer. In an attempt to let Daddy get work done without Aedan trying to touch his computer, I gave Aedan his own computer to play with, and shortly thereafter, Samantha joined with her own computer as well. It was too cute, and I had to take a picture.

Sunday night as Ben and I were talking in bed, I mentioned how some moms were going to the Cincinnati Museum Center the next day, but I wouldn't be able to go since I had to pick up Samantha from preschool. Well, out of the blue, Ben offered to pick Samantha up from preschool and bring her back to his office for lunch and watching a show. It was very last minute, but I was excited about being able to go on a date with my little boy.

After getting our lunch made and dropping Samantha off at preschool, Aedan and I were on our way to Cincinnati. I have taken him places around Oxford by himself, but we have never gone all the way to Cincinnati for a day trip just the two of us. There were a few other moms and their kids meeting up there as well, so it was going to be a fun day.

Our first stop at the museum was the ball area. Aedan always wants to go to this area first, but it's not Samantha's favorite, so we never spend much time there before moving on to a place that she likes better, usually the forest area. For awhile Aedan wanted me to lift him up so that he could throw the balls into the basketball hoop. Then, I showed him this tube that sucked the balls up like a vacuum. He found that pretty fascinating and spent a long time pushing one ball after the other into the tube.

The moms tried to keep the kids together so we moved from one area to the next at the same time. We enjoyed the water area for awhile, and Aedan got the sleeves of his shirt all wet. Then, Aedan wandered over to the forest, climbing on the spider web, and finding the stairs to climb all the way up to the top. We even went down the slide together. I think he really enjoyed being able to go places at his own pace. He also had my complete attention which he really loved. It was so fun being able to do this with him.

A funny thing happened before we stopped to eat lunch that day. The kids were all playing in the pretend grocery store, and Aedan was enjoying pushing the shopping cart around. Well, he started trying to push the cart outside of the store area. I stopped him and told him to stay in the grocery store area, but he didn't like that and started crying and screaming, throwing a little fit. I wasn't sure if I should attempt a time out in the middle of the museum, but figured it was worth a shot. I picked him up and put him over in the corner for a time out. He cried as he sat there and a few of the other kids came up to sit next to him as a way to comfort him. After a minute, I went over to talk to him, explaining how he had to keep the shopping cart in the grocery store area, and that he couldn't scream and cry just because he didn't get his way. And you know what? After that, he didn't try pushing the cart away again. If he started to get too far, I would just tell him to turn around, and he would listen right away without throwing a fit. It's amazing to me that having a time out like that can totally change his attitude, helping him to know that I am serious when I tell him something and that he needs to obey in order to keep playing. Even at 19 Months, Aedan understands right from wrong and can correct behavior when we follow through with our expectations.

A few moms and their kids had to leave around lunch time to get back to Oxford, but another mom Kim and her son were able to stay longer. We had lunch together before going up to Tower A to see the train cars moving along the tracks below. We didn't know this area existed, so it was a fun place to discover. There were a couple train tables with lots of trains, and Aedan even got an Amtrak train conductor hat.

Our next stop was the giant sand pit and would be our last place to play before it was time to leave. Aedan had fun walking around in the sand, carrying this green foam piece, and scooping up the sand and pouring it into buckets. At one point he climbed out of the sand pit and walked down the ramp to the toy area. However, he stepped of the side where there was a step down that he didn't notice. He tripped and fell. I watched all of this happen and waited to see if he really got hurt at all. He didn't cry when he first fell, so I knew he was fine. However, then he looked up and saw another older lady looking at him in a very concerned way so then he began to cry. Of course I went over to make sure he was okay and console him, but it's just so interesting to see how kids react based on the reactions of the adults around them.

It was already after 1:00 in the afternoon, and I knew it was time for us to go so that we could pick Samantha up from Daddy's office on campus and get the kids home for nap time. Aedan and I had a really fun day at the museum together, and I am looking forward to next week when our whole family is going to go together.

Samantha thought it was pretty special getting to eat lunch with Daddy in office, and then watch some shows on the iPad. She thought it was interesting when some students came into the office to ask Daddy questions since there aren't normally students around on Fridays when they come for lunch. Here's a picture of her enjoying a Christmas cookie while she watches her show.

Aedan fell asleep right away in the car after playing at the museum all day. By the time we picked up Samantha and he then woke up, he had already gotten almost an hour nap in. Because of that, I could not get him to go back to sleep once we got back home. He think he's getting past that phase where he can go back to sleep to continue a longer nap at home. Samantha fell asleep pretty quickly, as she was very tired. I was able to leave Aedan in his bed while I did my Bible study, and then when he got too noisy I just got him up, figuring we could just put him to bed earlier.

Since it was finals week, Daddy got home from campus a little earlier than normal for a Monday night. We had a relaxed evening together eating dinner, giving the kids baths, and then just enjoying time playing in Aedan's room. For some reason Aedan really wanted me to put slippers on his feet, so after his bath he just walked around his room in his diaper and slippers. I wanted to take a picture of it because it was such a funny sight, but also to show you how tall Aedan is getting. Do you see how high he can reach now? Now he can reach the top of shelves and counter tops which means we have to be careful how close to the edge we place things like plates or pans on the stove. He's such a big boy, growing taller and smarter every day.

Samantha was sad that she didn't have any slippers like Aedan, so she decided to get her sparkly boots and put those on over her footie pajamas. Then there was lots of dancing and jumping happening. I don't know who says baths help relax kids before bed, as they always seem to rev our kids up. It's fun to watch them play together and have this time as a family laughing and having fun.

To close, I want to share a sweet moment from this past week. I don't remember what day it was, but one day at nap time I got precious cuddle time with both Aedan and Samantha. Aedan normally falls asleep with me every day at nap time. I sit in the glider and rock him while cradling him in my arms. He likes to keep his hands up by his mouth so he can keep track of his pacifier, rubbing his fingers softly across the back of it. Well, on this day, he reached down to hold my hand, falling asleep with his sweet little hand wrapped around my thumb. I loved it and stayed rocking him for longer than normal so that I could soak up as much of this moment as possible. Then, with Samantha, she wanted me to lay in bed with her while she settled down for her nap. Whenever she asks me to lay with her, I always take her up on her offer as I know she won't want me to snuggle with her for much longer. I sang her songs and prayed with her, laying face to face with her in her bed. Then, she even reached out and held my hand for awhile as she snuggled into her covers. She almost fell asleep laying in bed with me like that. It was the best nap time I've had in a long time with precious, cuddly moments with my kids that I don't get as often anymore. Moms don't get monetary payments, but these moments are like payment, making up for all the difficult times.

(Blog about December 1-7, 2015)

Thanksgiving in Upland

Samantha: 54 Months, Week 2

Aedan: 18 Months, Week 5 (Week 83)

This past week was one full of fun family time, as we spend most of it in Upland with all of Ben's family. I thought about possibly taking the kids out to Tot Gym or Story Time at the library on Tuesday, but Samantha was still battling a cold and cough, and I figured we just needed a day at home to rest and play, and also so I could get started on laundry so we could get all packed up that evening. Instead, we invited Stephanie and Isaac over to play. They arrived a little after 9:30 and stayed until almost 12:00. It was fun having them over, even though both Samantha and Aedan were tired and not the best at sharing at times. Stephanie and I had some good chances to talk in between chasing kids around, so that was fun. At one point all three kids had a push toy and they were racing back and forth from our kitchen into the living room as fast as they could, getting lots of good energy out. If only we had a circular set-up like in our last apartment, then they could just do laps!

Ben had another interview that Tuesday morning at the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. It's the only non-academic job that Ben applied for, and really, the only other place he would consider leaving academia for because of it's reputation as a strong research group. Ben has actually applied for jobs there before and never heard anything, so it was interesting that they contacted him this time. It was a phone interview with a human resources representative, and the next step would be a Skype interview with the team of people he would be working with, then a fly out. Ben said that he would enjoy working there, but it would be weird to be in a non-academic 9 to 5 type job with less flexibility than you get as a professor. There are several things that appeal to Ben in working for Pew because he likes to explain complex issues, which he would be able to do working there as well. He is not interested in the publish or perish mentality of many top tier universities where you don't really have the freedom to ask big questions because publishing papers is too time consuming. Living in Washington, D.C. would not be our favorite either as Pew is located a few blocks away from the White House. Cost of living is high, and it could be difficult finding a decent place to live that is in a nice area with good schools and is not too expensive. It would also be a change adjusting to a "regular" job where he has set hours and certain amounts of vacation a year. Now don't get me wrong, Ben puts in more hours than most "regular" jobs in one week; the big difference is that it would just be less flexible, and I would definitely miss the more relaxed time that comes at the end of a semester and over the summer. So, we will see, who knows what will happen. Pew has a different way of hiring than universities do. Instead of having a pool of people and doing phone interviews with everyone, then narrowing it down from there, they just do one person at a time, working through the hiring process until they decide the person is not a good fit or hiring them. They have no set timeline like an academic calendar imposes.

Tuesday night was spent getting packed for Upland. Samantha was super excited about seeing all the family, and it had been awhile since we'd visited Upland as well. It's always a little hectic getting out of the house in the morning with last minute things to pack and kids to get dressed and fed, especially when they are anxious to get on the road just as much as we are. We left a little after 9:00, dropping Roscoe off at the kennel, and went on our way. Aedan must have been really tired that morning as he was quiet almost the entire drive, which is very unlike him. Samantha, on the other hand, asked if we were close to the pink barns yet after only driving 40 minutes. She loves Upland, Grandpa, and Grandma, so the drive to get there just seems like forever sometimes.

We got there in enough time to play before lunch time. In fact, they got snow over the weekend and some of it was still on the ground, so both kids took the chance to walk around in it and touch it before it melted away that afternoon. It's so funny when we go to Upland because Samantha and Aedan just disappear. They go off and play with the toys and with Grandpa and Grandma, not giving much of a care to Ben and me, which is fine by us. We love that they are so excited to be there for a visit.

After eating lunch we got the kids down for their naps before Ben and I left for a date together. Grandpa and Grandma agreed to watch our kids for us and give them dinner while Ben and I ate a late lunch at Mi Pueblo and then went to see Mockingjay: Part Two. We have seen most of The Hunger Games in the theater, and I was really excited about seeing this last one of the series. It's nice to get away on a date, knowing that our kids are being well taken care of.

When we got back to Upland, Aunt Jeni and Alaina had already arrived, and everyone was downstairs playing. The kids were excited to see us, but Samantha was acting pretty emotional. She said that she took a nap that afternoon, but when we left she was still making noise, so who knows if she actually went to sleep. Once we got all the beds and rooms situated, it was time for bed. Aedan slept in Tim's old room since his pack and play fits in there really well, and Samantha slept on an air mattress in Jeni's old room where we would join her later on. Samantha does a lot better if she just sleeps with us, and it works better if we're not in the downstairs bedroom where she can hear everyone talking in the family room and where lights and noise from the bathroom wake her up in the morning. Samantha (and everyone else) is much happier when she is well-rested, so we were trying to maximize the chance of that happening.

Samantha did pretty well sleeping that night, making it past 7:00 a.m., which is really all we could ask for. Both girls were raring to go, and played a game where they chained up Grandpa because he was a bad guy. Alaina likes to pretend that she is the Incredible Hulk, hence the mean face in this picture. Samantha isn't so sure how to play this game because she doesn't know much about super heroes and their powers, but that's okay, she found ways to contribute as well. Grandpa is wonderful how he plays right along with the girls, being much sillier than the parents are at times. They have a blast with him. :)

Later on that morning, once everyone had eaten breakfast, showered, and got dressed, Grandma suggested that the girls help her make a special turkey treat. Every holiday we are here, Grandma plans some kind of special treat for the girls to make, and then, of course, to enjoy eating! This turkey was made out of two varieties of cookies, candy corn for the head and feet, a chocolate covered cherry for the body, and of course lots of chocolate frosting to act as glue. (You notice Samantha's wearing her turkey shirt? She was so excited to be able to wear it on Thanksgiving.)

After enjoying our turkey snack, we decided it was time to get out of the house for awhile and let the girls burn some energy. It actually was a pretty nice day, and the girls had fun batting, riding the Big Wheel, building a campfire with sticks and leaves, and doing lots of pretending with sticks and walking around. It's interesting to watch Samantha and Alaina play together because Alaina seems to be much more assertive and Samantha will just tag along with whatever make-believe game she is playing. When Samantha is playing with us or Aedan, she is definitely the boss and tells us how to play her game. It's great to see their imaginations develop and to see lots of pretending and role-playing going on, although I have to admit that sometimes it makes it difficult for us adults (who lack as active of imaginations) to keep up with the game.

We had our Thanksgiving meal for lunch that day since Andrew and Jeni had to go back to Warsaw that evening for work the next day. The food was delicious. We had turkey, yummy stuffing with cranberries, a pear-feta-pomegranate salad, homemade bread, and pecan pie or pumpkin angel food cake for dessert.

Then, it was nap time for all the tired kids. Ben put Samantha down to ensure that she took a nap since she was so tired and emotional that whole morning. I think he even fell asleep with her for awhile. She took a pretty good nap, and then we just had a fun night of playing inside. Samantha was in an introverted mood and wanted to do a lot more quiet activities on her own, like building a tower out of Jenga blocks. I asked her if she wanted me to teach her how to play the game, but she wasn't in the mood for that. Maybe another time.

We also busted out the play-doh kit. Once Samantha figured out how to make different shapes with the tools, she played with this for a long time. Of course Aedan wanted to play with it too, since he wants to do everything that Samantha does. At first I wasn't going to let him because last time we did play-doh at home he tried to eat it. This time, however, he did not even attempt to put it in his mouth. Instead, he enjoyed squishing it in his hand, and then putting it back and forth into two different containers. Both kids needed some quiet downtime before bed, and this was the perfect idea. I'm so glad that Daddy took some pictures of us together because we don't have too many of me interacting with the kids. Usually I am the one in charge of picture taking, so then it looks like I am always the one in the background.

For some reason Samantha had a lot of trouble going to sleep that night. We had to go up to her room a couple times to get her to calm down. We were throwing around the idea of taking a trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum on Friday so that Alaina, Grandpa, and Grandma could go as well, but when Samantha was up until 10:00 that night, we knew it would be a bad idea to go anywhere the next day. It ended up being good that we decided to stay in Upland anyways because Aedan ended up sleeping in for quite a long time.

The girls were playing really well together Friday morning, mostly sticking to themselves, so we didn't want to interrupt their own imaginative games. However, we figured Aedan would really enjoy being able to go to the Taylor gym to run around and throw balls. He has never experienced the Taylor gym, and it's always a fun tradition we do when here celebrating various holidays when the students are gone. So before lunch time we went over to the gym to spend some time there. Here are some fun videos and pictures of our time that morning. Aedan loved seeing the large basketball hoops and so badly wanted to dunk his basketball like he does in his Little Tikes basketball hoop at home. However, even Daddy couldn't lift him up high enough to actually make a basket. Aedan didn't care though and would throw the ball with all his might.

Samantha was still very tired and suffering from staying up so late the night before, so at the gym she didn't really want to play with anyone but preferred to kick the ball around by herself. After awhile we moved on to the aerobics room where the girls like to dance in front of the large mirrors.

Aedan even got in on the dancing with the girls. He loves to copy them, and he loves to spin around while holding his right arm out to help him spin. I just love him so much. He really does loves to dance, and I think he dances more than Samantha did at his age. I don't know if that's his personality or him mimicking an older sister that likes to dance. Either way, I will encourage it because it's cute. Plus, he throws balls just as much as he dances. :)

Even though the kids were all doing pretty well, it was approaching lunchtime, and they were fading fast. All the kids were tired and ready for naps, especially the girls. Samantha threw a fit when it was time to leave because she wanted to ride in Grandpa and Grandma's car even though she had a turn riding in it on the way to the gym. She didn't want to share with Alaina, and since she was tired, she totally overreacted to the situation. We knew she just needed to get back and get to sleep because she can't think clearly and act rationally when she's tired. In fact, Alaina was so tired that she didn't even want to eat lunch, she just went right to sleep. It was an early nap time for all our tired kids.

That evening we had tons of fun together after everyone got some good rest. Daddy got crazy with Samantha and Alaina, playing a game where he had powers whenever he had the large exercise ball. The girls would try any way possible to steal and hide the ball, leaving Ben powerless. They were all having such a good time, getting very wild about it, getting lots of good energy out, and in fact, running around so much that they were getting pretty hot and sweaty. These videos capture just a bit of the action, and they are so great. Ben plays along so well with the girls, building great memories with them. It was great to see Samantha tackling Ben and coming at him pretty aggressively. Usually she is more hesitant to be really physical like this, but she was having a great time rough housing with her daddy.

i

Aedan loves the toys in Upland, especially the ones that make music and move. He was constantly playing with Larry Boy and the Menards bear. I tried to get a video of Aedan dancing and even making noise like he was trying to sing along with the bear, but instead I got this funny video where he kept trying to get the bear to stand off, but then it just kept falling over.

We had thrown around the idea of going to the lighting of the tree in downtown Indianapolis, since Ben's friend Tim invited us, but then we decided it would just be too much for our kids, especially since it was going to be raining all night. So instead we gave our kids an early bath, got them in their pajamas, and watched the event on TV. They had many acts of singing and dancing before the actual lighting. It held the kids' attention for a little while, and the kids got some good snuggle time with Grandpa and Grandma, as well as each other.

Alaina thought it was so cool that Aedan wanted to sit on her lap. We told her that he really likes her. Samantha got sad though because he didn't sit on her lap. We just tried to explain that Alaina was a new person, and he gets to sit with his big sister all the time. That seemed to make her feel better.

They got bored of sitting and waiting for the lights after awhile and decided it would be more fun to get up and dance to the music. Aedan loved clapping along to the music. Samantha and Alaina also danced together, and at the end of the second video you can see Samantha's weird dance moves with Aunt Jeni. I'm not quite sure what she was trying to do. I think she was getting a little tired at that point.

Both kids had a good night's sleep on Friday, and we were planning on leaving sometime on Saturday anyways, so we decided to make a day trip to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis before heading back to Oxford. We hadn't been there in a long time, and we were excited to let Aedan experience it more since the last time we were here he was just learning to walk.

Here are some pictures and videos from our day. They had their holiday decorations up, and Samantha wanted her picture taken as a gingerbread person.

On our way up to the Playscape area, we stopped to get pictures taken in the race car. Samantha was more than happy to have her little brother join her in the car.

Once we got into the Playscape area, Ben and I had to split up, one of us with Samantha and one of us with Aedan because they each wanted to play in different places. Aedan went straight for the water while Samantha went for the climbing structure. It's fun to think about hard this was for when she first attempted it back a couple years ago, and now it is just so easy for her. She just loves to climb.

We spent quite a bit of time playing in the music room because Aedan loves music and really enjoyed banging on the drums and using mallets to play the xylophones.

After that Samantha wanted to play with the sand, but Aedan wasn't quite tall enough to be able to reach over the side and access the sand, so instead I took him into the baby and toddler area so that he could discover things in there. He liked playing with the light switches, sliding down the little metal slide, and pushing buttons that made leaves and flowers swirl around.

It was then about lunchtime so we went to the food court to eat lunch before continuing with more time at the museum. The line for the Yule Slide wasn't too long, so we decided to take a ride down the slide. Aedan, of course, didn't like waiting in line, and Samantha was getting sleepy, but the line moved quickly. I raced Samantha down, and then Daddy rode down with Aedan. It's always fun to ride down the slide.

Then we went to the Christmas area, but it was super crowded and somewhat overwhelming for both the kids and us. Aedan's favorite part was the pretend fishing poles. He didn't want to hold it the correct way with the rope and hook dangling into the hole, but instead just had fun putting his stick into the hole and grabbing fish out with his hands. We tried to keep the kids together playing in the same area so that way we could all stay together, so I got Samantha involved by catching fish and then measuring them on the chart to see how long they were.

It was already well into nap time, and both kids were starting to lose it. Samantha was crying over every little thing and Aedan was crying every time he didn't get his way. Ben and I debated whether or not it was just time to leave, but we got them both calmed down and decided to leave the crowded area for a place that was more calm, that seemed to help.

We took a ride on the carousel, getting there just ahead of a big rush. Aedan was just captivated by the lights and sounds of the music, as well as the museum employee dancing her animal puppet around. After awhile Samantha reached out to hold Aedan's hand, and they stayed that way for the rest of the ride. I love our kids. Most of the time, they are just so sweet together, and Samantha really is so kind to Aedan, trying to look out for him and include him whenever she can.

We decided we would go to one more area before heading home to Oxford, and Samantha wanted to go to the bottom floor to build sculptures with the plastic pieces, like the glass sculpture that resides in the middle of the ramp that goes around the museum. However, on our way downstairs on the elevator, there was a boy riding by himself, he was lower elementary age and looked like he had some kind of a mental disability. Ben and I waited to see if he met up with someone when he got off the elevator, but he just looked around in a confused way. We wanted to make sure he got back to his family, so Ben took him up to the concierge desk so they could help him find his family. The person working at the desk said they knew who he belonged to, and his family had been looking for him for quite awhile. We were glad we could help out, and it made me think about how something like that would be my worst nightmare. Most people at the museum are with their families and are not looking to harm or kidnap little kids, but you never know. The place was so busy, and many people wouldn't even notice if a kid was wandering around without parents. I could never live with myself if I lost either Samantha or Aedan, or if something ever happened to them.

Anyways, both kids had fun making art with their plastic sculpture pieces, and we spent quite a bit of time here. Samantha's goal was to fill every hole with a piece, whereas Aedan would take pieces out just to put them back in again. Eventually Samantha decided to build her sculpture somewhere else so that Aedan would stop taking her pieces out.

While Aedan kept playing, Samantha and Daddy rode around on the spinning benches where you could look at the glass sculpture from underneath, talking about the various pieces they could spot.

We then made our way over the trains where the kids played with the train tracks for awhile before watching the engine light up and make noise and then riding on the pretend train.

After a diaper change for Aedan, we decided our last stop would be the dinosaurs where the kids spent some time digging for dinosaur bones.

It was already close to 3:00, the kids were tired, and we wanted to get back to Oxford before dinner time, so we got some coffee for Ben and me, as well as a little snack for Samantha while Aedan ate his fruit/veggie pouch before we headed out. Aedan fell asleep right away in the car, sleeping pretty much the whole way back home. Samantha took a little while to fall asleep, slept about 45 minutes, and then watched a Thomas video the rest of the way home while Aedan slept. It was a nice, quiet, peaceful ride back home.

After picking Roscoe up from the kennel, we got back home, unloaded the car, and scrounged up what we could for dinner. Even though Aedan slept on the way back, he usually sleeps longer than that and was still pretty sleepy. Because of that, he was pretty fussy that evening as we tried to make dinner and get things put away. Then, we got all our bags unpacked, things put away, laundry started, and the kids in bed before 8:00. It was a good few days away seeing family and celebrating Thanksgiving, but we were glad to be back home and in our own beds again.

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed at home, going to church on Sunday and spending the day playing at home. Then, kind of in a spur of the moment decision, we decided to run a couple errands that evening. We had been thinking about getting a new TV to replace the large, heavy TV that my dad got for us when we got married almost ten years ago. However, we haven't been able to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a TV when ours worked fine. Plus, we figured we might want to use our old TV in the future if we have a basement or something like that to put an extra TV for the kids to use. Just recently, when we mentioned getting a new TV to Ben's parents, they mentioned how they never got anything for Ben as a present for finishing his Ph.D. They then offered to give us money towards a new TV if we found one that we liked. Ben found a good sale at Best Buy on the kind of TV we would like, but the deal ended on Monday and we wouldn't have time to go out and look on Monday night, so we decided to take a family trip to look at TVs that evening. We ended up buying one that night and were excited to get it hooked up. Regardless of the better picture and bigger screen, which is certainly nice, I was most excited about having a Smart TV where we could have Pandora and Netflix on our TV. I figured if his parents were offering to pay for it as a gift, it would be fun to actually have a present that we were apprehensive about buying for ourselves, rather than just putting the money into our bank account. I know Ben is really going to enjoy watching football on a bigger and better screen, and we are thankful to Ben's parents for purchasing this generous gift for us.

(Blog about November 24-30, 2015)