Just a few signs

We've noticed a few things of late that remind us that Jeremiah isn't such a little guy.

The first, and most noticable, was his retreival of a glass in order to pour himself some milk. He then added the chocolate syrup to make himself some yummy chocolate milk! Daddy and I watched intently and daddy reminded to let him be.

He's also been getting his own clothes out of the drawers and closet when needed. His choices are sometimes a little obscure but don't harm anyone. Soccer socks for general wear are no big deal.

On Friday night, Daddy taught him how to use a knife and fork by himself. The next morning I was strictly instructed to leave his pancake intact so that he could cut it himself. It's a little thing, but it's a BIG DEAL!

And we have to give him props for the times when he is a pleasant big brother, helping Andrew with various tasks!

a GREAT good-bye

We were saddened by the passing of Jeremiah and Andrew's great-grandmother Zimmerman on Saturday, February 11. Great-grandma was 95 years old and we were so blessed for the boys to have had her in their lives, even if just for a few years.

We traveled north to be with Daddy's family for the services. The boys behaved very well at the services and lightened the mood a bit, when needed. Leave it to one of them to say something silly! Andrew had a special comment for uncle Matt while he was picking out a tie. "Looks good, buddy!"And, although we were brought together for a sad occassional, it is special to see them interact with their grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Jeremiah has taken a special liking to Caitlin and even made her a few valentine's cards. He also spent much of one of the days deep in to paper, scissors and glue to create a board game of some sort. Jeremiah also made a special drawing for great-grandmother that we placed with her.

Andrew's week with G&G Schnitzler

Our weekend up north concluded with us leaving Andrew behind for a stay with Grandma and Grandpa Schnitzler. Their first day of activities involved a trip to Menards, where apparently Andrew found showers, tubs, and much more of interest! It didn't hurt that he got to have Wendy's for lunch, and play games at Happy Joe's when they went for dinner.

Grandma put in quite a bit of play time with Andrew throughout the week. Grandpa was also included in a few games of Hide and Seek, or mostly wait for Andrew to jump out of a hiding spot. They took him to a basketball game, where he reportedly mooched popcorn off of multiple people. His near escape out the front door in his jammies was entertaining to onlookers.

Andrew convinced Grandma and Grandpa to let him stay up until they went to bed. (We're still trying to reverse the effects of this little spoiling!)

They had an extra adventure in the middle of the night on Tuesday evening. G&G's carbon monoxide detector went off. Andrew slept through moving to the car, the fire department being called, a drive across town and then waking up at Aunt Karen's house. He played with numerous different things at her house while they waited for clearance that they could return to G&G's.

Mommy made her way back to G&G's house in a snowstorm on Friday. Andrew was excited to go to a party on Saturday. Mommy's godparents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Andrew played with several other kids in attendance, interacted with several extended family members (he thought uncle Warren was kind of funny!) and even gave hugs to Mommy's godparents. It was very special for Andrew and Mommy to be at this celebration!

Jeremiah and Daddy played games and had some special time together. Andrew and Mommy returned on Saturday evening and we enjoyed all being back together for the rest of the weekend!

A trip north

We went north for a long weekend over Martin Luther King weekend.

Daddy and the boys made a few stops at various sporting events for cousins Devin and Morgan. Jeremiah knew all about cheering for the River Ridge Wildcats after attending two different basketball games. Andrew enjoyed the variety of snacks that he could convince peopel to feed him! Mommy was busy shopping for pretty dresses with Aunt Caitlin and her bridesmaids.

On Sunday, the boys attracted some attention at G&G's church and then we headed back to Lena for some Winterfest fun. We took a horse-drawn sleigh ride. Andrew was NOT thrilled with the horses! Jeremiah sat right up front with the driver, learning the horses names, chatting about how people used to get around with horses and more! After riding with the horses, it was time to do a bit of sledding of our own. Aunt Carrie, Daddy, Mommy, Jeremiah, and even Grandma were in on the fun. Again, Andrew was not thrilled, but we made him do it anyways! Jeremiah was having a blast racing everyone! Somewhere someone has pictures of this!

We capped off our day with a visit to Great-Grandma at the nursing home. Jeremiah delivered a picture he painted and Andrew was his general entertaining self. They both enjoyed checking out the birds in the nursing home, too.