4 Years

I was playing around on facebook and I saw that these younger pictures of Steve and me were taken at about the same time 4 years ago when we didn't even know each other. I was surprised to see that Steve actually does look a little bit older than he did, but I don't feel like I look all that different. Maybe it's because I'm the one looking at my own picture.

September and October 2011 (How's that for a title?)

Mid-September, Steve and I tried our hand(s) at earring-selling. There was an expo that we were planning to sell at, so we booked the table, came with a fun set-up, and.....sat and sat and sat. Apparently this lady was not terrific at advertising, so a whopping 20 people came through during the 4 hours that we sat there. Deciding that it wasn't worth waiting around for further customers, we packed up and went home early. However, one good thing that came from the expo was the cute beanie/pink flower that we bought from one of the vendors! :D

The next day, Steve wore a pink tie to match Kelsey and I wore a blue dress to match Josh. I'm not sure either of us did this on purpose, but it was fun to take pictures!

Because of the cooler weather, our new activity has been to build forts. Josh LOVES to make forts and he pulls on my arm until I get all the way inside. It's cute.

He is also my very good helper! If I ask him to get a toy for Kelsey, he almost always sacrifices the toy he's playing with to make her happy. It melts my heart to see.

Kels has been SO full of smiles lately! We love this stage! On the flip side, drool drives me nuts, so I'm working on becoming used to it.

Ah the cool weather sets in. I forgot how much more work it takes to get my kiddos out the door with warm sock, shoes, and jackets.

Joshua's recent obsession is the Bumbo. He can't stand seeing Kelsey in it without getting a turn.

A few weeks ago, we watched Lindsy Hartsock's kids while she went to the dentist. Because of her, I want twins. These kids are all so nice whenever we play with them and I just adore them! Joshua talks about Carter (their 3-year-old) ALL the time and we have been so grateful for their friendship!

We read a lot of books. I think it's Josh's way of getting out of going to bed.

This is the story of my mommyhood right now. Kelsey has only figured out how to roll towards her left side, so she frequently gets stuck: sometimes mid-roll.

She's shaping up to be as good a sleeper as Josh--he used to sleep with his hands behind his head too and we thought it was adorable!

A couple of weekends ago, Steve, Josh, Kelsey and I all drove down to Ohio for a short break. Steve had taken that Friday off, so after I taught my piano lessons on Thursday night (I have 8 students just on Thursdays!) we drove to Ohio, arriving at about 4am. We got to sleep in time to hear Eric and Mindy get up for seminary, shortly followed by Janece and then Anna getting ready for school.

One of things that I was most excited about when we moved to Chicago was getting to be a bigger part of my youngest siblings' lives. I feel like I know my older siblings and Scott pretty well, but I don't know the 4 youngest. Well we got to fulfill part of that happiness that weekend. We found out that there was a WNHS football game on Friday night and that Eric (percussion) and Mindy (keyboard) were going to be performing with the band! We agreed to go (thanks to Janece and Anna for watching our kids!) and watch the game, but we were really only excited to see the band! Despite badly losing (our Homecoming game no less!) the band was SO fun to watch! Mindy is a talented pianist and we could actually hear her part! Eric had gotten us excited for his part and towards the end of the routine, he sets his large bass drum down on the field and lines up with 3 (4?) other percussionists and they all start rocking out on a drum routine that was ridiculously entertaining! He REALLY looked like he was having fun and now I wish that we had gotten it on film! We are so proud of Eric and Mindy!

The next day was the New Albany's service day, so while everyone else was running around being good people, Steve and I made the drive out to Johnstown to see Janece run in her cross country meet. The drive was GORGEOUS!! So many fall colors and the weather during the whole weekend was so perfect! When we got there, Janece warned us that she wasn't nearly as good as Karen :) , but we sure enjoyed finding all the right spots to cheer her on! Josh even got into it a little when we told her that we were watching Aunt Janece. She used those long legs of hers at the end to pass up 2 girls! I thought she was terrific!

We feel blessed to live so close to so much family!

Well, the Halloween season has jumped up and we're loving the beautiful fall colors and the crunchy leaves! On Saturday, Steve ran the "Pumpkins in the Park" 5K downtown. It was kind of a long story: we paid for the race, soon after I was asked to interpret in sign on Sunday (Stake Conference) which made it so Steve had to switch organ-playing days from Sunday to Saturday. Instead of missing his race, I sent him downtown and went to play the organ for him for the adult-session of Stake Conference. Sadly, I missed the race, but he said he was very proud of himself!

Yesterday, we had a party over at Sean and Livia Nufer's home. She has a bunch of pictures that I will probably add to this later, but the cutest part of the night was having little Lily chase Josh around and say "Josh! Come on!" We enjoy their company and are happy that they live nearby as well!
I am terribly happy about how his costume turned out. We had no idea what he was going to be until Saturday when we pulled this all together. He keeps saying "Mickey Mouse Huh-House!" (the last word is 'clubhouse')

Kelsey was our little froggy. When she wasn't eating, we had a cute little bow attached to the top of the costume so that anyone seeing her would know she was a girl.

Our 6-month old!

It recently came to my attention that I don't deal that well with change. I have a hard time seeing that my SECOND child is now 6-months-old! Of course, I wouldn't want to have it any other way, but I want this tiny girl to always fit in my arms and snuggle close to me. We sure love this sweet daughter of ours and are so grateful that Heavenly Father trusted her to our care. We love you Kelsey!

Monson Parents Come to Visit!!

This weekend, Mom and Dad Monson came to visit! They arrived Saturday afternoon and it's been just great! During the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, mom and dad helped to entertain our sweet babies. Here are some of the pictures they took.

Kisses

Mom helped Joshua build some fun things

That evening, we introduced them to a wonderful restaurant called Baker's Square. We had some very good food and tasty pie. Afterwards, mom and I headed home to care for the kids while dad and Steve went to the Priesthood session.

After the Sunday morning session (Steve's favorite talk was by the Young Women's General President on daddies and daughters), we headed downtown to walk around and see a few things. When we got to the Buckingham Fountain, there was a man out there blowing bubbles for the entertainment of kids (and tips, of course...) There were about 8 kids out there chasing these giant bubbles around the courtyard.

Josh was in HEAVEN

Our biggest attraction of the day was The Bean. You ask any Chicagoan where "The Bean" is, and they can all point to where it is. Well....now we can too.

(I think there is a bride and groom in the background behind mom and dad.)

On Michigan Ave, Marilyn Monroe stands in her classic pose. Mom HATES her because apparently she was teased as a child for having the same name: so dad got a picture.

Appreciating the view of the catwalk

On Monday: dad, mom and the kids and I went to enjoy the Field Museum. It boasts the largest complete T-Rex. Her name is Sue--Josh is holding her tooth.

After Steve got back from work, my Mandie friend kindly watched our kids while we went out for Lou Malnati's pizza: the ultimate Chicago deep-dish pizza experience! It was SO tasty and great to have a night out with our parents!

On Tuesday morning, mom and dad packed up and then picked Josh, Kelsey and me up so that we could walk and see the historic Frank Lloyd Wright houses that are just a few blocks away from us. There are some massive houses nearby!
Following the long walk, we picked Steve up from work (and he surprised me by not having to go back to work that day!!!) and went out to Panera Bread for lunch.
In the last few hours we had with them, we enjoyed a free day at the Brookfield Zoo to see some large cats, monkeys and bears.

Mom and dad--we sure loved having you here! It was really a delightful visit!