Zoo in Beautiful January

*From: January 27th*

Towards the end of January my mom, Aiden (my nephew), Marissa, Spencer, and I headed to the zoo for a beautiful day. It was a little chilly, but so nice. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed all the animals. I just love watching my mom with her grandchildren. Here are some pictures:

Grandma watching the polar bears with Marissa and Aiden

.

Aiden and Marissa chillin in the boat.

My sweet Marissa girl.

Long day...Aiden and Marissa were tired.

Cousin Photos

Here are a couple pictures that we took for my mom's Christmas letters. It is incredibly hard to get 4 children 3 and under to smile (let alone look) at the camera.

Marissa and Spencer with Gracie and Aiden.

Aiden with the girls :0).

The GREAT Update

What We've Been Up To At Home

Well, since it has been such a long time since I have updated my blog, here is a short overview of the normal, everyday things we have been up to. Hope you enjoy!

Just doing some laundry.

Saturday mornings with Daddy = breakfast in bed...thanks Daddy!!

Dressing Our Boy in Pink
Now, laundry hasn't been my favorite thing to do...and especially not now with ALL the kids clothes that are added to the mix. Well, one night I realized I didn't have any more PJ's for Spencer and rather than trying to do a load "quick" (it's never quick), I just dug out a pair of Marissa's old PJ's. Dan got a little mad at me when he saw I was taking a picture of my little boy in a blue bed and pink PJ's. I thought it was pretty funny.

(No caption needed.)

"It's Potty Time For Me"

That is Marissa's favorite quote from a "potty book" that she has. Back in June-ish, I began our journey into the "potty world" by introducing Marissa to her very own potty. It took her a little while to decide to sit on it herself, but I think we are just starting to reap the rewards from our months of talking potty (and many more to come I am sure). She has been telling us AFTER she goes pee or poo in her diaper and wants to sit on the toilet. Not to mention she has gone poo 2x's (one was on the floor more than the potty...but a good try indeed) and pee 2x's on the potty. We haven't really gotten serious about potty training because she is only 20 months and we have the holiday's to get through (I am sure it would be embarrassing having accidents because she doesn't want to miss opening presents), so I will officially start training my daughter in January. I think she will be even more ready then and for now we will continue to go through the process of changing her diaper and then sitting on the toilet for at least 10 minutes after she has already gone (not to mention reading numerous books and watching Bear and Dolly go potty too)...oh too fun.

Just one of the many times a day we sit on the potty...it would sure be nice to have her actually go on it while she's sitting.

Smiling Baby Boy
It is sooo fun to re-live the baby moments we enjoyed with Marissa. I find myself cherishing those small things so much more this time, realizing that in only a few short months they will be gone and I won't be able to sit and cuddle and smile at my little boy. Here are some pictures to enjoy...how can you not smile looking at these, ahhhh baby laughs?

First documented smile.

Cutest little boy smile around.

It's a Bird. It's a Plane. NO, It's Children.

In celebration of my mom's birthday the Schmidgall family went to Roadhouse. While there is just not enough time to chat and catch up with family in the resturant we found ourselves chatting outside for a bit, while our children were getting antsy. So the men had a solution to the problem...throw them. We got some cute pictures of Marissa and Aiden being thrown in the air by their fathers. One is a little more risky as you can tell by the picture :).

Dan and Marissa with Lucas and Aiden.

A Quick Trip for Rogue Food

The story of my life...a "quick" trip turned leisure stroll. Luckily for Marissa it was around a pet store. Dan loves taking Marissa to see all the animals. They have such a great time talking about the animals, the sounds they make, and what they do.

Checking out the reptiles.

My Husbands Secret Ambition

Dan has talked on occasion about wanting to get turn-tables and how he would love to do some DJ-ing someday...even if it is just in his garage. I have always thought it was a far off dream...until the DJ Hero game came out. We "happened" upon it on a visit to Best Buy for some computer stuff and he hasn't forgot about it since. We went Saturday and bought the package and he has been playing it...and loving it ever since. I guess he is living his dream. Marissa loves dancing to the music...oh dear what a little "daddy's girl".

Dan testing out DJ Hero. Marissa on the drums.

Don't Forget Bear

Marissa has recently taken an interest in her stuffed animals and dolls. She likes to treat them like babies, feeding, burping, and putting them in the stroller (hmmm, I wonder why). It is so cute to see her nurture and care for them...I know they are only stuffed animals, but it is so precious to see that loving heart.

Marissa eating snack with her dolls.

Cousins and Costumes

Bauman Farms

This year we made it to Bauman Farms a little later in the season that usual. We packed up and headed to the crazy farm a week before Halloween and met my sister, Toran (sister-in-law), Aiden (nephew), and Gracie (neice) for the afternoon. We all had a great time and enjoyed the animals, bouncing "pillow", swings, pedal carts, apple cider slushies, and lunch.

Fun family picture. It is quite a bit harder to get a picture these days.

Stopping to smell the flowers...I promise this isn't staged (Dan has taught her to smell...not touch flowers).

Aiden and Marissa getting ready to experience some fall fun.

Standing on pumpkins.

Looking at the animals.

Dan and Marissa having fun bouncing on the pillow.

Halloween-Butterfly and Pea in a Pod

Again this year, we didn't manage to do much on Halloween. I had Dan grab some candy from Wal-mart in the afternoon (check out picture below to see how that went) and then we geared up to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters that might come by our house. Unfortuantely, we had very few of them (I guess our street looks pretty dark). After feeding the kids and dressing them, we decided to head to downtown Silverton. Marissa had fun dancing in the streets with the group of "Thriller" dancers and we chatted with some Silverton friends. After realizing how late it became, we ran over to my parents to show off costumes then headed to bed. It was a pretty uneventful night.

My two kids :).

Marissa is a butterfly (she was a caterpillar last year).

My pea in a pod.

My dancing girl. Never misses an opportunity to dance...even with the best of them.

Dan stocked us up on candy. I had to give most of it away after Halloween or I would have eaten it (don't worry it went to a worthy cause...high school kids :).

Phone Picture Update

Camera Phone Catch Up

Every time I forget our camera, it seems that my phone is the "back-up". However, I always forget to download the pictures onto my computer. Recently I did and here are the fun memories that I found.

On Mother's Day weekend, in Redmond, at Black Bear Dinner. Marissa loved the big bear.

Memorial Day weekend, after Gracie was dedicated at church, we went to Lucas and Toran's for dinner. First stop was Safeway for some last minute dinner items. Aiden and Marissa had a great time together in the "cart".

Marissa waiting patiently at Diagnostic Imaging to see a 3-D image of Spencer. Unfortunately Spencer didn't take his hands away from his face the entire time. We did however get a 3D picture proving that it was a boy.

After a long Saturday of Dan and Marissa working in the yard, Dan decided we needed to take a walk down to the park. Needless to say it ended up with Marissa and Dan "creek walking". Yes Dan went in with his clothes on...what a goof.

Since Dan had July 3rd off (we didn't even get more than 2 or 3 company phone calls on his "day off"), we decided to go up to Babies R' Us to get Spencer's Crib. We had Holly (a great high school gal) babysit Marissa and had the afternoon to ourself. It quickly turned into "grabbing pavers an hour out of the way" for the backyard and then going to Babies R' Us. We didn't have much spare time, but were able to stop at Fudruckers. It was Dan's first experience there and boy did he get more than he could handle.

Dan only ate 1/4 of the actual burger. He didn't expect it to be that big...I even warned him.

So Much Fun

...and There Was Another

On Sunday morning we welcomed a new cousin into the Ivan Schmidgall family. Toran, Lucas, and Aiden now have a little baby girl to love. Her name is Gracie Joy-Favber Schmidgall. Marissa and Gracie have more than just gender in common...their middle names are the same. Dan, Annie, and Marissa were able to visit them on Sunday after church before Dan drove back to Spokane. She is a beautiful little girl with a head full of hair (Marissa was very jealous). Toran and Annie are already talking about how much fun they are going to have since they are only 8 months apart. Christmas this year with the immediate family grew by two in just a year.

Oh, I Like Her

Monday is cleaning day around the Schacher household. Marissa and Annie spent most of the day cleaning the house. Late afternoon, Annie went to a ladies house that does Creative Memories and heard all about digital scrapbooking. She was so excited and started right away when she got home (and of course after she played with, fed, and put Marissa to bed). The consultant is such a great gal and both Annie and Marissa left enjoying their time.

As soon as they got home (after taking dinner to the YL leaders, looking for a new saftey gate, and not finding one) they were greeted by Aunt Michelle. The girls had their weekly dinner...humus and pretzels and watched The Hills. In between Annie convinced Aunt Michelle to help her put Marissa's new walker together. Needless to say with three girls (Annie, Marissa, and Michelle) it took quite a bit of time. Marissa mentioned after Aunt Michelle left just how much she appreciated her efforts and how much she likes her Aunt Michelle.

Aunt Michelle putting together Marissa's walker.

Aunt Michelle finally figured it out...I don't think Annie would have been able to do it alone.

Run, Run, Run.

Tuesday morning Marissa was able to spend some time with her good friend Grace while Annie went to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). Annie is learning so much about God's leading and as a couple Dan and Annie have been able to apply all the insights to their lives at this point. They feel so blessed and are content knowing that God has them where they are right now to continue to teach and prepare them for their next mission in life. They daily talk about all the Lord is teaching them and where He might be leading.

After BSF, Annie and Marissa were able to run a TON of errands. They returned many borrowed items to people, got some of the house screens re-screened, got a new saftey gate for the top of the stairs (Dan broke the old one this weekend :), and were even able to make it to the hospital to see Gracie and Toran. Marissa enjoyed dinner at the hospital (ok, maybe she didn't do so well with Annie feeding her there). It was a fun, productive, busy day. Needless to say Marissa was very tired at the end of the day.

Yea For Fun Cameras and Cute Hats!

Marrissa and Annie had a great time on Wednesday morning just trying on new hats (from Forever Little and Bella Jade) and taking fun pictures. What a wonderful morning with mother and daughter.
Wednesday evening Annie made chicken stir-fry and had the Senior girls to her house. It was a smaller group since there were a few that were sick and some just started basketball practice. Annie and Marissa can't wait to go to girls basketball games to watch Sasha and Tessa this year.

Up For An Adventure

Marissa and Annie needed to get out of the house after spending most of the day in on Wednesday, watching the rain and wind (poor Dan who has to work in that rain and wind). So, after contemplating various ideas they realize they couldn't do anything too big...because Marissa had a follow up doctors appointment. Annie was going to cancel it but had a hunch that it might be good idea to go. Well, come to find out Marissa had another ear infection in her left ear. After sitting at the doctors office for an hour and a half, then waiting for her new prescription for a half hour...Marissa was VERY tired. Once Marissa woke up from her nap the two of them needed to get out of the house. So they called their friends, Logan, Mason, Mya, and Tara. Marissa, Mason, and Maya (Triple M Threat) had a great time together. Marissa loved trying all the pacifiers that were around and playing with all the "new" toys. Tara and Annie got to catch up and chase the kids.

Story-time And Lunch

Last Friday, Annie and Marissa went to story time at the Silverton Library and had a great time. So they decided to take a trip there again this week. Marissa had a few friends there this week that were closer to her age and not running around. Afterward, Annie and Marissa went to lunch with an old friend, Summer. They had a great time talking and took their converstation to Annie's home so that Marissa could take a little nap (alright...she slept almost 4 hours...starting to feel better from the antibiotics). Summer and Annie caugth up and enjoyed each others company.

Dan was able to come home before midnight, but not in time for the 3 of them to make it to a wedding (thanks to accidents on the freeway). The family was able to go and visit their best friends Ryan and Tara and spent the evening chatting and eating Pad Thai...just like old times.