March Update

Quick!  Post something before March is over! 
So I'm a little behind on all this family blog updating business.  Not that there hasn't been anything going on, but I just haven't been really in the mood to sit down and write... tonight's not an exception but I've got to write and post pictures before it becomes disrespectfully late to post pictures of the snow.
Shall I go kid by kid?  Peter's done his second term of Kindergarten now, and doing very well.  His report card came back and looks great, and he's enjoying his day at school.  It's fun to sit with him as he reads us stories, and with some encouragement he can do some writing and sounding things out on his own.  I wish I remember what it was like to learn how to read - it's such a new world opening up for him.  He enjoys finding the songs in the psalter hymnal in church on Sundays, but not quite at the point that he can sing along with an unfamiliar song.
Aaron is a few short weeks away from turning four, and excited about his upcoming birthday.  He is very interested in learning his letters and numbers, and we've been working through a PreK book together on the days that Peter is in school.  The highlight of his week is going to Story Hour (that's "School" for him) on Wednesday mornings and the occasional trip to Timportance (Tim Horton's).  He is a perceptive, inquisitive, and sensitive little boy, and we enjoy the questions and comments that he brings on a daily basis.  The other day during devotions, he was telling us all about a book of the body that Opa and Oma have.  "The ribs are very close to the heart.  You can open up the ribs, and under the ribs is the heart, and inside the heart is the land where Jesus lives!"  He was also telling Daddy all about the new book Mommy brought home about the Wumps, and it brought him to tears to tell him about how the Wump World was destroyed by the machines and there were no more meadows or grass or trees and the poor wumps were so sad... is it wrong to see your child's eyes brimming with tears and find joy in that?  I love his sensitivity and warm heart.
Nate is talking and talking and talking.  It's impossible to know how much of this has to do with the surgery he had mid-February and how much would have happened anyways, but we are enjoying his developing communication skills.  He can talk in (toddler) sentences, tell stories, make requests politely, and get most of his ideas across.  The surgery went well and we are glad to have it behind us.  He did remarkably well, bouncing back quite quickly and soon back to his cheerful, energetic self.  We were a little disappointed to hear at his one month follow-up appointment that the tube in his left ear is plugged, and after a week of ear drops we're hoping it has cleared up otherwise that tube will have to be replaced.  He has a second hearing test coming up in the beginning of April which should be quite revealing.
Mike is doing well - busy of course with school, but thankfully things have slowed down a little for him lately.  He was extremely busy organizing the Science Fair - it was a ton of work but it definitely paid off in the end.  The mentoring and judging and final presentations of the projects went very well, and it seems that a lot of people appreciated the whole thing.  Report cards were due right on the heels of the fair, but once those were finished it was nice for him to be able to breath again.
Here at home for me, it's day by day.  The baby is growing and kicking and seems to be doing well, though I haven't had nearly as many midwife appointments this pregnancy as I did with the other kids.  I imagine the little one has all the iron it needs, as it seems to have usurped all my hemoglobin stores, leaving me quite exhausted and light-headed most of the time.  Gives me an excuse to buy steak, I suppose!  I've been significantly more sore this pregnancy, making simple trips to the grocery store, long car rides, or even going up and down the stairs to do laundry a bit more difficult.  I've been very thankful for help from Mike and the kids!  I'm looking forward to getting the next three months behind me and meeting this newest little blessing of ours.
On for some pictures.  I have been extremely delinquent the last two months in picture-taking... I took TWO pictures in the month of March and one of those was a close-up of a puzzle piece.  Not exactly entertaining stuff, but when the camera is on the opposite side of the house, by the time I get there and retrieve it, the fun is usually done, haha.  I have a whole bunch of pictures that Mom VD took in early February when they visited after our one big snowstorm of the year, so some of those will get uploaded.  Enjoy!

I have fights from my kids over who gets to help me dry the dishes... if only I had a bigger kitchen!  There is just not enough room in there for three chairs.  Someday, their fights over who dries the dishes will take on a more negative tone, so I will enjoy their enthusiasm while it lasts!!

Nate switched over to a big-boy bed in February.  It took a few nights for him to get used to it, but he loves it now.  It's so nice to be able to crawl in and snuggle with him! 

 Rub A Dub Dub! 

 What better place to read books than in the middle of Mom's clean laundry?

 I ordered a new pair of Old Navy uniform pants online for Peter in January - couldn't believe the difference between four months old and new.  Same size, just one pair has had a lot of washing since September.

Finally we got some snow and a snow day!  We got a pretty good dumping of snow and had some fun with it before it warmed up to ten degrees two days later. 

 The deck chair got a little swamped, and there's a Tonka dump truck buried on the deck somewhere 

 Mike enjoyed borrowing the neighbour's snowblower to clear out a few driveways. 

 The boys enjoyed the snow mound by the driveway

 Grandma helped the boys build a couple of snowmen

 Aaron and his snowman

 Enjoying the fresh snow

 Reading a book with Grandpa

 We headed over to a nearby park for some tobogganning

 It seems he liked his first try at sledding!

 Even Grandpa made it down the hill, how fun!

 Daddy had lots of fun with the kids too!

 Happy guys!

 He looks so big in this picture!

 This picture is hilarious, makes me laugh every time!

Nate in the hospital before surgery, looking cheery in his scrubs

 Poor little guy after he returned from the operation.  He was pretty sad!

 Very sleepy for the first number of hours

 Cuddling with Daddy

 Before he was able to go home, he had to be able to take a walk on his own without throwing up

 Recovering at home - lots of movies and cuddles!

And the March picture of a puzzle piece, just for randomness' sake.  Any guesses on what it might be a picture of?  It kept making me laugh, and I couldn't figure out where it belonged until the puzzle was close to done.