Our little Michigander

I tease Greg because while I most certainly have the heavier Michigan "twang", he has been known to frequently answer, "You betcha!" (the common form of "No problem!" up here)
Well, today, here's what I overheard in the kitchen:
Greg: "Hey buddy (Micah), will you bring your plate in here to me?"
Micah: "You betcha!"

Here's another little conversation I had with him just a day or two ago:
Mommy: "Wow, Micah! You're making me play-doh carrot soup!"
Micah: "Yep. It has carrots and broccoli in it and I always put broccoli in my carrot soup." (Thinking to myself: 'Broccoli? You hate broccoli! And isn't this the first time you've ever made play-doh carrot soup?')
Mommy: "Oh, I can't wait to eat it! Are you going to eat some, too?"
Micah: "No. I'm the one who cooks it and you are the woman who eats it."

From deep within the cave...

Happy girl :)

This is Savannah's designated spot...right next to her favorite person on earth while he takes
F-O-R-E-V-E-R to finish eating. She just stands there and watches him...too cute.

The title of this post is referring to the colder-than-necessary weather we are experiencing up here. Seriously, can we say, "Mongolia"? I'm having very real flashbacks. We've been little hermits in our 68 degree winter cave while the winds howl outside. Other than that, not much new to report around here...Savannah is movin' and groovin'. I think she's teething because she's been a bit high maintenance (in my opinion.) It was a lot easier when she just sat there but didn't crawl or pull up on things :) The big talk around the house these days is signing up Micah for preschool next year...ah! That one definitely hit me blind sighted. Had NO idea I need to enroll in January and February for the '09-'10 school year. Anyway...took him to a little preschool open house the other night and his exact words were, "Mom, I love this school." That's just because it had a big sand table complete with dump trucks and bulldozers. We'll see where the Lord leads. The little guy is growin' up on us :)

Savannah Smiles

Here's a cute video of Savannah laughing at Greg wearing a Santa hat :)

November and December 2008

Micah's Christmas loot.

The tenth reindeer ready for Santa's sleigh

After Christmas Eve service

Brrrr...two snow bunnies going on a sled ride outside our house the week before Christmas

Meemaw and Savannah at Children's Museum in GR

Great Meemaw with kids in Dallas

Mimi and Savannah saying goodbye at DFW

Micah on the lookout

Daddy and Savannah on my Dad's deck in Gig Harbor

In November and early December we were able to spend some wonderful quality time with our families. We flew out to WA to see Ha and Gamma, then to Dallas to see Mimi, Papa and Great Meemaw. Then, a few days after we got back to GR, Greg's Mom, brother Steve and niece Melanie came up for a chilly, but very fun visit. Christmas, then, was just the four of us...as quiet as "quiet" can be around here, and very relaxed and meaningful. We loved it. Here are some fun pics of the kids. I'll also post a bunch on snapfish.com for those of you who would like to peruse the whole bundle. As far a pics from my dad's in Washington...I will shamelessly direct you to the much superior blog of Jonathan and Chrissy at http://www.jonathanandchrissy.blogspot.com/. He's got a link to some really great photos of our trip on there you won't want to miss.

Finally, here are a couple Micahisms for you.

"Mom, you like making cookies with me? Yeah, me too. I like eating cookies."

"Dad, can I watch my 'ratoons'?" (ratoons = cartoons)

"Hey, Mom, I think this is a good idea, 'dontcha fink'?" (dontcha fink = don't you think)

"Hey honey" (in referring to Savannah)

"Dre" (we have no idea where this is from, but for months now, this is how he answers for "I don't know.")

Mommyism:
"Micah, let's not put wrapping paper in the garlic press."

And...a recent conversation:

Micah: "Poo poo!"
Mommy: "Micah, did you say 'poo poo'? You need to go sit in time out."
Micah: "But, Mom, 'poo poo' is how you say 'Ethan' in Spanish!" (Ethan is our neighbor)

Mommy (trying not to laugh): "No, Micah, 'poo poo' is not how we say 'Ethan' in Spanish.
Micah: "Yes it is."

Mommy: "No, honey, it's not."
Micah: "Then how do you say 'Ethan' in Spanish?"

Mommy: "I don't know...maybe 'Etano'???

Micah: "oh."