a trip to Iowa, quiet days, and a stinker

These weeks have been quiet and rather boring. (sigh, I know people think I'm crazy)  This weather hasn't been helping. One day its sunny and warm enough for a walk and the next it's frigid and snowing. 

 We've been keeping busy on the weekends, though. 

The weekend of the 12th, 13th, and 14th, Jake and Rachel had a few showers out in Burlington/Mediapolis.  Since we've never been to visit Jake (whoops) we decided to make a weekend of it with my parents and Bob and Jenny.  

We drove out Friday evening and stayed with Brooke and Corey and their three girls. It was great catching up with them and seeing their new house.   Gideon was wound up. He would not settle down and we had a very late night. Brooke of course provided a wonderful breakfast Saturday morning before we headed out.

Nathan went over the Reilly and Katie's to play games and I went to the shower.

my only picture.

After the shower, Nathan and I went out to lunch at McDonald's. Fancy, I know. Gideon loved it though!

\

yum. french fries.

We took Bob back to Reilly and Katie's. The guys played games and Katie and I relaxed and watched the kids. 

Saturday evening, we met up with all families involved at Rachel's parent's house.  We had a great evening.  Greg and Dianna (Rachel's sister) were there, which added to the fun.  Rachel's dad entertained us by confusing Gideon with his animal sounds. Poor boy was running all over trying to find the dog.

We went back to Reilly and Katie's again to spend the night.  
Man. It was good to spend time with friends.  :)

Sunday we went to Burlington with Jake.  Gideon was a monster. He screamed the majority of the time. He was over tired and wanted to nurse non stop...and I am so sick of nursing. bleh. 

He did good on the drive home.

reading a book.

The following week was quiet.  Quiet and I don't really get along. Gideon doesn't like it either.  I guess we are too much alike. He gets bored and cranky, I get sick of reading the same book 100 times, and since he's bored and cranky, there is no chance I can get anything done. And then it becomes a cycle. 
Anyway, I guess I like business, craziness, and variety. sue me. :P

Stinker Gideon example #1:

shoes. onesie (no pants). at the top of the steps!!!

with a diaper... who knows

Nathan's family gave us a very interesting gift for Christmas. And, by interesting I mean good! :)

homemade pita bread, home raised lamb, and homemade feta cheese

So, we made gyros. The feta had to age, which is why we waited until now. 

Yum. It was fantastic.

I finally bought Gideon his own plates and bowls. He is very pleased.

He is finally enjoying the snow. It took a while for him to figure out how to walk in his boots. The bottoms get slippery when packed with snow. 

:)

Gideon had his 15 month appointment. He's a little taller but he hasn't gained an ounce since he started crawling. The nurse acted concerned, but since he's been moving non-stop ever since, I think I know where it's all going.  

And then to top off the quietness, Gideon and I both got sick.  So, yah.  We spent a day on the couch. 

Tea and train videos

On the 19th, Nathan had his coworkers and significant others over for a game night.   One of Nathan's coworkers has a little boy only a few months younger than Gideon. They had a blast.

hehe

Saturday,  we cleaned up the house.  That evening Cristina came over and I took her to the farm. The girlies were there too.  My poor mother. hehe. It was a bit chaotic with 4 wound up children.  Cristina helped entertain them. And, uncle Jakey took his turn too.

Gideon loved Jake's bunk bed.

 Gideon is a stinker. And he convinced me that he needed a bath. "Ba! Ba!"  Cadence was just as adamant. So...

hehehe. they had fun. It kept them in one place.

 Sunday, We had Larissa and Tristan and Aaron and Kendra over for Supper. Sadly, Austin and Jessica couldn't come at the last minute :(.   Larissa and Tristan came for church and came over in the afternoon.  Aaron and Kendra brought their kids...hehe which Gideon loved and hated. ;) I'm maybe a cruel parent but I think it's so good for him to be pushed around a bit. They mostly had fun though. And I think all of us adults had a great night.

all ready for bed. reading to himself. :)

That following Wednesday, the 24th, Gideon and I went to the pool with Kendra and her kids. It's such a cool pool.

playing in the fountains

Gideon enjoyed talking to the older ladies doing aerobics. 

waterfall:)

Stinker Gideon example #2:

He likes my tea. He likes cow videos. He takes it very seriously.

Stinker Gideon example #3:

Gideon loves pizza. Loves it.  He can say "Peaza!" and shouts it randomly.  He has play pizzas that he loves. The other evening I was making a pizza. I shouldn't have but I showed it to him. He wanted it SO bad.  When I put it in the oven, he lost it.

30 minutes of this. 

Why don't oven doors have locks???? I had to put a chair in front of it. 

finally. Pizza.

 Last fall, our neighbors gave Gideon a little tricycle.  We finally had a nice afternoon one day. 

He loves it.

Stinker Gideon example #4:
He has discovered how to get the mop.

If I wasn't scared of what he would do with a bucket of water, I would have a very clean floor. hehehe

And, then one day I got really motivated and I made bread. It is so good. :) and it smells so good.

I'm trying to be more intentional with getting out of the house, inviting people over, and the such.  My problem is I usually think how good it would have been to have done something, only after the fact.  Slow progress, but Gideon and I are both happier when I follow through. 

Except that we are in the middle of attempted weaning, which Gideon does not enjoy. hehe. We've actually made great progress. Which is wonderful.

We did book flights to Florida for this coming spring. yay!  In these nasty grey days I at least have that to look forward to. :)

In Christ

~Michelle

Christmases and a New Year

Oh dear. Once again it has been too long. 

So, where to begin...

The first of our Christmases was the great Wyss Christmas.  The evening before, as family was arriving,  those of us from the area gathered at the Leman's.  My parents generation went out to eat with Grandpa and Grandma, so us "kids" got the place to ourselves. 

Justus and Gideon(in only a diaper)

games. of course.

Saturday, the family descended on Goodfield fellowship hall. A change, but a good one.  It was nice enough out that the kids could play on the play ground.  The room was big enough for all of us but nice a cozy with a fire place. 

Gideon enjoyed the playground.

Jake and Rachel were the center of attention

grandma and her kids :)

Gideon enjoyed opening presents

Mid-afternoon, Nathan and I left and headed to Christmas #2, the Martins.   We made it in time for supper and stayed to play games. 

On our way home, I was informed that some of the Wyss cousins were going hot tubbing. Nathan, as awesome as he is, offered to stay home with Gideon so that I could go.  :) 

So, Kacie, Kandace, Carli, Kayla, Tate and I got to use Clayton's hot tub.  It was nice and we had fun and I stayed out later then I have in a long time. :)

Kacie stayed with us, which was nice.  We are both in transitional stages in life and it was great to talk (I'll be honest, being a stay at home mom does not come naturally to me and it's been really hard getting used to it).

Most of the family stayed around for Sunday as well. So, we got to have a full weekend.  A bit crazy, but full.

I've said it many times before, but Gideon enjoys being free.  Sometimes a diaper is as good as it gets.

diaper and shoes...strange child

He is forever creating messes. sigh. pictures are sometimes the only way I stay sane. hehe.

oh yay.

Nathan had to use his vacation days by the end of the year so he took a half day and we did a mini stay-cation of sorts. 

We took Gideon to the Peoria Play house museum.

Cow!!!!!!

He LOVED the water table. He was absolutely soaked.

They have an amazing ball area that he thoroughly enjoyed.

Balls!

There was a train area, kitchen, farm, trucks, and so so much more. He loved it. He did not want to leave.

The 23rd was Christmas #3, the small Martin Christmas.  Gideon was in a decent mood for the first half. But, he didn't really take a nap and was an abslute mess the rest of the evening. 

Isaiah and Gideon playing with Uncle Jim

Gideon doesn't like being bundled. 

hehe

Merry Christmas from us! Our Christmas card this year:

It snowed a bunch. Which was very exciting.  Gideon got to go in the snow for the first time. Sadly, he doesn't like it too much. 

but he's cute :)

so pretty.

Christmas eve, my parents had those without plans over for chili and oyster stew (ew).  I made cheese cake for dessert.  I've made "cheater" cheesecake before, but decided it was time to try something better.  It was a lot more work. But oh. my. was it good.  

yum.

Gideon and Jack :)

the crew at the farm

Jake spent the evening entertaining the boys or texting a certain someone hehehe. :)

Per our tradition, we spent the night in front of the tree.  :) Gideon thought it was so much fun. 

pjs and books. All ready for bed. 

yes that is a snow boot in front. Silly boy.

We tried to get a picture in front of the tree Christmas morning... he wasn't very cooperative.

point those toes!

:)

We didn't have any plans Christmas day. So we did our own little Christmas. 

We opened presents, relaxed, made snow ice cream, and had a semi fancy meal.

it was actually pretty good.

:) candles makes everything more festive

playing with one of his gifts.

Tuesday, Nathan went back to work and I got things together at home.

Wednesday, we spent the day at Christmas #4, the Brakers. 

Christmas dinner was a duck and a goose, both raised by the Brakers. :)

We tried to take a cousin picture:

hehe

the best one...

 The next day we had Christmas #5, the small Wyss. 

We went over early afternoon to hang out. 

Grandpa took Gideon to see the cows.

he got to play the piano with Grandma.

And then things went down hill. Gideon was so cranky.  He finally took a short nap halfway through supper. But, woke up even more of a crank.  He pretty much screamed all through presents. He and Cadence do not share grandma or her phone, which added to the chaos.  And, at one point he had blood dripping from his mouth and we could figure out where it was coming from or how it happened. sigh. 

I was pretty emotionally drained a cranky. 

note the cute couple in the background ;)

a box turned in to a sliding board. 

Emmy got a unicorn ice cream maker

a rare moment of relatively calm play

and that was that.

Our 6th Christmas was canceled.  It was kind of sad to end Christmas on a cranky and sour note. But, the next morning Gideon and I unpacked our presents from the basket. He was in a good mood and was actually excited about each one.  He didn't know what to do or play with first :) It was a bit of redemption. 

 I tried again to get Gideon to play in the snow.  He wasn't having it. 

nope.

It got cold. 

hot coco in front of the tree.

We gave Gideon another hair cut.  It required a lot of prep to keep him still.

cow videos do the trick.

New Years Eve, Nathan and I went over to Bob and Jenny's after church to play games.  Church was canceled in the evening due to cold and weather. So,  we went home and went to bed. Pathetic, I know. 

hehe these two

he wanted to run.

And, so we enter the new year.  2018. Craziness.


We had a quiet week for the most part. We recuperated and regrouped. 

And we took the tree down. :( sad day.  Gideon misses it. 

 On the 5th, I had my high school friends and their spouses over for supper.  It's been too long.  Sadly they all couldn't make it, but we had a blast anyway.  :)

Gideon helped me get ready earlier in the day by cleaning out my cupboards. 

Katy, me, Katie, and Emily.

Haley and Joy couldn't come :(

 Gideon thoroughly enjoyed having kids there. Though he wasn't so sure about the competition for some of his toys. 

Gideon fell in love with little Seattle. :)

 If we say "baby" Gideon now looks to the door. He misses his little friend. 

Sunday, the freezing cold weather finally broke.  So, I invited myself to Ron and Kary's to ice skate. The ice was perfect. I love ice skating. 

 Lori brought her kids and Kayla joined us too. 

good times.

Gideon. Oh, Gideon. This child is something.  When he does something wrong, he says "No, no!" with a big smile on his face. And, beware, lest you giggle. He will think it's hilarious and continue doing his misdeed with even more glee. And, yet the "no, no!" will get louder. sigh. 

uh oh.

he strikes again.

Good thing he's so cute. :)

Whew.  It all felt like a blur.  I did get in to the Christmas spirit more than I usually do. Which was good. I felt like, despite Gideon's crankiness, I was able to enjoy the family time and ponder the meaning of Christmas.  

God is good. What an amazing plan of salvation He put in to motion.  What an amazing gift He has given.  I love that Christmas comes so close to the New Year.  There's no better way to start fresh. 

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." ~ John 1:29

In Christ
~Michelle