Happy Halloween!

Well, we decided on the cow for John Michael. I was all gung ho about making the Eat Mor Chikin sign but in the end I just didn't get around to it :( They both looked adorable though!

All of our little pumpkins. :)




What's trick or treat?




Moo. I mean boo. I mean... milk. yah, milk.




The antennaes didn't last.




brudder & sissy







Go Go Gadget Wings!




Some might say this is what God thinks of Halloween. :)




enjoying the fruits of her labor.




Family Pictures



Both of our parents were able to see the kids all dressed up. My parents drove down from Racine to go trick or treating with us and Johnny's parents came over when the trick or treaters were done coming for the night. It was a cold night but not rainy like last year so we were happy! Adeline enjoyed herself and got a sugar rush very quickly and we were all laughing at her while she talked like a crazy girl while walking down the street.

We missed our good friends Connor & Abigail but trust they had a great time in their neck of the woods!

Hope everyone had a fun October 31... no matter how you spent it!

Wedding Pictures and family news

First, the family news! MY PARENTS ARE MOVING BACK ON SUNDAY!!! It was a great surprise to find out that my dad's company is moving them back about a year early. I think its bittersweet for my parents. They had hoped to travel quite a bit more in Europe but they're also glad to be closer to family. We have compassion on the cancelled traveling plans but we're thrilled they'll be back so soon!

My sister, Tara, who is training for a 1/2 marathon (yah, my other relatives DO exercise, just not me!) just completed a 15K race this past weekend! I'm so proud of her... especially knowing that I could never do it. :)

My brother, Jason, is in Iraq and has been there for several weeks. He says that he is one of the safest camps there and not to worry but that's clearly impossible! I'm trying to write him and keep him updated on what's going on here but if any of you would like to drop him a line of encouragement please let me know and I'll send you his address. I know that he's lonely out there and would love hearing from anyone!

John Michael is still growing like crazy. He's in a stage right now where he loves to suck his fingers instead of his pacifier. I'm trying desperately to get him to like Wrigley (his bear) but its hit or miss with him. Its hard to believe he could grow any faster but I think he's going through a growth spurt. He's wanting to eat every two hours!

Adeline is becoming quite the stinker. She insists on getting her own way every moment of the day. She's also complaining of owies in her mouth so disciplining has been hard for me. I know I need to be consistent but its also challenging to know when she's just overtired and overstimulated... and how much does she understand? How do I explain to a 19 month old that her behavior is self-centered and controlling? I think that is one of the main reasons disciplining has been hard... I don't know how to explain to her why I'm spanking her and I don't want to spank her without an explanation... tips anyone?

Adeline has also been really spoiled lately when it comes to food. Because life has been so hectic lately (and hasn't slowed down yet, we leave for Michigan tomorrow!!) she has been eating a lot of convenience foods. I'm really struggling to get her to eat anything healthy besides yogurt, which I'm sure she loves because of all the sugar. My sister and I just came up with a list of healthy snacks to try so hopefully we'll get her back on schedule soon enough... just as long as she remembers who is the boss!!

Well, like I said, I don't have many wedding pictures. Being that the entire family (with the exception of John Michael) was in the wedding I just didn't have time to be the shutterbug I normally am. I also haven't gotten Shannon's pictures yet but hopefully soon. Here is what I do have! Enjoy :)

The Rehearsal Dinner:

Me & my man :)



Me & My "Other" man!



Twins (notice the matching bracelets, black and white stripes and black sweaters - and imagine me 20 pounds lighter!!!)



The Family Wedding Party


The Michelle Hamstras! (almost anyway!)



Samantha & I



and finally, the beautiful bride!

smile!

John Michael will be three months old on Friday! Its hard to believe its gone by so fast. This past few weeks we have enjoyed the transition from sweet newborn to smiling baby boy! He's still HUGE!! He's wearing 6 month clothes now because he's so long. He's definitely not as chunky as Adeline was but we know its because he's so long. His cheeks and belly are filling out though as you can see below! He was enjoyed by all the bridesmaid's at Beth & DD's wedding and got passed around quite a bit. We're regularly amazed at how different he looks from Adeline. We have a Worthington baby after all!

We love you John Michael!

Disney

Well, my blogging has definitely taken the back burner over the past couple of weeks! DD & Beth got married on Saturday and had an incredibly beautiful wedding. Surprisingly, I didn't take many pictures but I'm hoping to get some from Shannon this week!

Happy Birthday Shannon! I know you're not on here often but I hope you had as good of a birthday as possible - especially considering the circumstances.

We buried our dear Uncle Deed this morning. Johnny had the opportunity to share at the church services and paint a picture of what kind of man Uncle Deed was - faithful, kind, and most importantly, passionate about holiness and the glory of the Lord. It was pretty amazing to see all of the people at the wake and funeral who knew and loved him. He'll be greatly missed... until we see him again.


As promised, here are some pictures of our day at Disney.

Trying on some Mickey ears:

Adeline did not want to wear the ears. This was in between her defiant screaming... :)


Clearly, John Michael didn't seem to care.


Addy & Ajai were both mesmerized by the parade and shows:




Most of you who know us well also know that I am a bit stricter about Adeline's diet than Johnny... but I had to agree with him that Adeline was entitled to a s something sweet for her first trip to Disney! She absolutely DEVOURED this sucker!




Ajai had no idea how lucky he was! He got asked to participate in TWO parades/shoes! Here he is helping to put on a Woody production:

Addy did get to go on a few rides - namely, The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Carribean and Its a Small World. I tried to get some video or pictures of her but she was totally enamored so this is the best I could get!




and finally, a trip to Disney wouldn't be complete without Meeting Mickey: (she wouldn't go by herself...)



I'm afraid that on our trip I lost my small, portable camera and the charger to my nice camera. I'm really hoping that they are just packed away somewhere and I'm going to come across them any day now... but it has been a week and a half so its looking less and less likely!

Hopefully I'll have wedding pictures up soon!

busy times and family memories

Sometimes it seems like everyone is always busy! But, this week is definitely one of those weeks that stands out from the rest for me. We have a lot on our plates right now but one exciting thing is that Beth & DD are getting married in less than three days!! We're so excited for them. Adeline is going to be one of the flower girls and I'm sure she'll do a great job because there are few people she loves more than Auntie Beth & Uncle DD. If you would, pray that the Lord would give them a sunny, rain free day. They chose their photographer because of his skill in taking pictures downtown so the wedding party is all geared up to spend the day downtown taking pictures the day of the wedding!

Although vacation already seems like a thing of the distant past I know my family would love to see the pictures still! So, here goes:

As you can see I didn't pack enough stuff:



do I look relaxed yet?



Addy had a rough time the last leg of the trip but that made sleeping in the pack & play a dream. She literally passed out as soon as she hit the very hard mattress.

As it turns out we have a little fish on our hands. My mom tells me that I wasn't overly fond of the swimming pool but as it turns out she not only doesn't look like me she also doesn't share my childhood phobias.

splashing daddy



playing with mommy



swimming with auntie shannon




Now this is the life!



She even got into watersports! Here she is playing volleyball:



and going down the slide with Daddy



and with Ajai!



Our little man even got into the water a few times.

Uh... what are we doing?



swimming/sleeping with daddy.




Addy just adored Ajai on the trip and even learned how to say his name! I think that spending time with him helped her verbal skills. She came home saying "Ajai" and "Uh-Oh" pretty clearly. As it turns out they both learned how to be impersonators.

Here's Ajai impersonating Adeline:



And Adeline impersonating....

Elvis!



But the trip was good for them. They ended up becoming little buddies thanks to Ajai's kindness.




And they both loved watching the Elmo movie we brought along:



John Michael didn't seem to mind the hot weather at all. He was either busy smiling and cooing...




Or snoozing and snoring....




Johnny & I had a great time while we were there and so did the kiddos. Adapting back to life after a vacation has been interesting though! No more sugar cereals to snack on and a bit stricter nap times. Not that she got spoiled or anything...

See? Here she is enjoying some healthy snacks! (those are made with real cheese, by the way)



Well, I'll do Disney pictures in another post - this one is plenty long! Meanwhile I'll close with a few more pictures of the fam.

our little adsters



the hamstra clan



looking for daddy "Where'd he go?"





totally intimated by the shuttle bus we had to take...


this picture is old but I think he's so cute in it!


sweet adeline.




til next time!