Brotherly Love

Kisses...
and hugs...
What a cute pair!

The Falls

I love the Falls in my hometown. I think I have a hundred pictures of the same thing because I want to take pictures of them every time I go there. The park surrounding the Falls is beautiful and historic as well. If you ever go to Sioux Falls, make sure you stop there!

Our time in Sioux Falls

I wasn't kidding when I said we were making a lot of chicken chili :)

Grandpa and Jeremiah check out the Falls
Grandma and Grandpa love having their boys here!

In honor of the chicken chili, a new poll...

Soup definitely becomes more popular this time of year, so let me know what kind you like! And you can always write in your own or share a recipe :)

Milestones

The boys and I are at my parents' house for the week while Stephen has a very busy week studying - BIG test on Saturday!

We had a couple of fun milestones with the boys yesterday. Joshua has been smiling quite a bit but yesterday he let out a laugh for the first time. Call me crazy, but I got a little teary-eyed - it was just so precious!

The other milestone was fun but a little scary - Jeremiah opened a door by himself! YIKES! I kind of feel like a parent whose child has just gotten his driver's license - watch out! He was very proud of himself. I am very thankful that he has had lots of practice going up and down the stairs already so I know that if he opens the basement door, he's probably not going to fall down them. I did say probably (knock on wood).

My mom and I are going to be doing some bulk cooking this week - her AWESOME Chicken Chili. This is not your ordinary chicken chili. The process is not for the impatient but it is totally worth it! I think we'll be making enough to feed the entire crowd for the Husker game Saturday, but we'll be eating this chili while we watch the game from home.

"I help Mommy cook!"

Jeremiah loves to help me anytime it looks like I am going to bake or cook. It is almost impossible to stop him from pulling a chair over to the stove and climbing up to see what I am doing. He likes to dump things in the bowl, like sugar or flour.

Today we made the easiest Peanut Butter Cookies ever from Parents magazine. He got to press a fork in the dough to make criss-cross marks.

It is a fun thing for us to do together and he loves to tell Daddy about it when he gets home! Surprisingly, he only has one burn mark to show from his cooking adventures :)

Would you rather...

So, with the help of my sister, I decided to go a different route with the poll this week and ask a deep question. Of course, the fun in "Would you rather" questions is that you have to tell why, so when you vote, please add your "why" to this post.

Thanks for the idea, Megan!

BTW, Joshua slept from 7:30 pm to 3:30 am last night - it was awesome!

One test down...

Stephen had his first test of medical school last week (on a Saturday - yuck!) and it turned out very well! Only how many more to go now?! Anatomy takes up most of his time right now and I think he will be pretty happy when those ten weeks are up! He has a great study partner and is home for dinner every night! Commuting isn't too bad yet - just praying the weather stays nice well into the winter. I guess you never know in Nebraska!

On another note, it was a pretty good football weekend all around. I'm probably trying to follow too many teams but here's how "my" teams did...

Huskers - W!
Packers - W!
Colts - W! (even better because they beat the Vikings!)
Brett Favre (aka the Jets) - L :(

The 411 by Jeremiah

I know you are all dying to know what I've been up to so here you go!

I love to play with my tiger that blows bubbles...

and pose for pictures - CHEESE!

My friend Zeke comes over to play with me...

I am a jumping machine...

and, at the end of a hard day, there is nothing better than crashing in the rocker and watching the Wiggles or Veggie Tales!

Mommy and Daddy say I am a really good singer and I do it ALL the time.

I love to show Joshua everything I'm doing and give him lots of hugs. I don't know what he told you, but I only call him "Chubbers" because I love him!

What's New with Me by Joshua

I will be 3 months old at the end of this month and I have been very busy!

I love to smile...

I've been cheering on the Huskers...

and the Packers...

and I discovered my hand!

My big brother loves me a lot and gives me lots of hugs. He also calls me "Chubbers." I don't know if I like that but I suppose it's true!

Recipe Junkie

I think that title is appropriate for me right now! I love to go to the library and check out cookbook after cookbook and copy down all the recipes that sound good. I think I picked up 6 or 7 last time - cookbooks, not recipes!

I LOVE to cook and being home gives me a lot more time to try new things out. I'm trying to find healthier recipes and thinking about doing some freezer cooking to stock up on meals. So here's what I want to know:

Do you have a favorite healthy meal recipe?
Have you ever tried freezer cooking? Any recipes you want to share from those experiences? What is your family's favorite meal overall?

Thanks for sharing your ideas! I'll let you know when I find something good!

BTW, I don't eat cheese but the rest of my family does and I will make things for them with cheese in them - it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make :)

Sports Poll

I apologize if I left your favorite sport off the list! That's why I added the "other" category. Please leave a comment here when you vote if you feel any need to clarify :) I don't know if I can vote for just one!

Farmers' Markets

The boys and I have a new favorite thing to do - exploring the farmers' market. We have gone to three different ones now and it is a great thing to do with kids! I love the prices on fresh fruits and vegetables, Jeremiah and I both love the samples, and we always find fun little things they are doing for kids - music, balloons, etc. It is a fun way to get outside on a Saturday morning. Too bad they will be done in a month...

Jeremiah shows off his balloon animal with Grandma "Mo"

Go Huskers!

This weekend was Joshua's first "Game Day." No, we didn't go to the game. No, we didn't watch it on TV. But we did listen to it on the radio and the boys were all decked out to support the team. Jeremiah likes to say "Go Huckers" (we're working on the correct pronunciation) and throw his arms in the air when we get a touchdown. Joshua just sits there and looks cute :)

Polls

I think polls are kind of fun so I'll try to put a new one up every Tuesday! Check it out and share your opinion!

My favorite season is fall - what's not to love? Football, jeans and sweatshirts, football, cooler weather - did I mention football?

Jeremiah at 2 years old

These were taken by our friend Ciana at Antelope Park around Jeremiah's second birthday. She takes amazing pictures and Jeremiah loves to pose for her! There were tons of good ones to choose from, but I think these capture his personality perfectly.

Pray for the Gulf Coast

We've been closely watching the hurricane impact on the Gulf Coast with family (Stephen's sister and her family) and close friends that live down there. Just wanted to remind everyone to be praying for the people impacted be Hurricane Gustav and those to come. Three years seems like a long time ago but not long enough to go through all of this again.