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Silas sings Jingle Bells with Grandpa.



This was Joel's intro to sledding, in Grandpa's backyard, where Uncles Jason and Justin sculpted out a nice toboggan run.

Some quickie quotes from Joel

OK, I know I have tons of blog stuff to catch up on, (preschool Christmas program, JIMIL reunion, Christmas in Iowa, etc) but for now I just have a few quick Joel quotes to share with you.

First one is my favorite: "When I wash my hands, it feels like I have to go to the bathroom. That doesn't make any sense!" That's just the way it is, kid, no one knows why.

After the boys slept over at Grandma's, (Mommy and Daddy got to go to a grownup party - whoop!) not realizing Aunties and Uncles were sleeping over there too, Aunt Roxanne emerged from the basement in the morning and Joel said with shock, "Hey, where'd you come from?"

Jorie found a game that Joel wanted to play, but it required marbles, which we don't have. Jorie explained to Joel the plans for the morning, "Daddy has to work and I'm going to bring you over to Grandma's house to play." Joel replied with exasperation, "But who will go to the marble store?!"

Thanksgiving in Iowa

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. Grandpa John and Uncle Tim came out to visit us at our new house, their first visit since the initial moving day. We all joined Jorie's parents for Thanksgiving dinner at their house just down the block. Jorie's Grandma and Grandpa Engstrom were able to come out from Milwaukee and join us too, so it was a nice full table for Thanksgiving at the Engstrom house.


It couldn't have worked out better with the kids. We went over to Jim and Rhoda's around 1 and after playing for a little bit there, Joel and Silas were both ready to take a nap, just in time for us to have dinner. Now, I'm sure some of you (maybe those without kids or those who have forgotten how crazy toddlers can be at the dinner table) are thinking, "Oh, that's too bad, Joel and Silas didn't get to enjoy the Thanksgiving meal?" Let me tell you, this worked out best for everyone involved. Joel wouldn't touch any of that food, as he can be a picky eater, and Silas would have made a HUGE mess, and probably not eaten much either. They were much happier eating their normal lunches, taking their naps, and then later they got to join in and enjoy the Thansgiving desserts. Joel loved Grandma Rhoda's pumpkin ice cream pie (ok, I loved it too - YUM).


So we had a nice time of fellowship and food at Jim and Rhoda's and then my dad, Tim, and our fam came back to our house where we hung out and played some Wii games for a while, and then later watched Evan Almighty after Joel and Silas were in bed. I wasn't expecting much from Evan Almighty, but even though it was pretty cornball, it was definitely entertaining, and had many laugh-out-loud moments.

Grandpa John and Tim headed back home on Friday, and we spent the rest of the weekend decorating and shopping for Christmas. Joel and Silas loved decorating the tree and playing in the huge Christmas tree box. It was a hilarious sight after we were done decorating the tree, that 80% of our ornaments were on the bottom 2 feet of branches. They were busy boys for sure!

Cold season sets in

And I am hoping we are through the worst of it. The kids have both been sick with bad coughs and colds for about a week. Seems like when our kids get sick, they get SICK, no messing around. Fevers of 102+ degrees, coughing fits so bad it makes them spit up, bucketfuls of snot and chest congestion, you name it, they've got it. Poor little guys. And of course for Silas, this means extreme fussiness at his age, but Joel has been a real trooper. He just keeps asking in this sad voice, "When will my cold be gone?" (or sometimes, "When will my boogers be gone?") and it just breaks your heart because he's been a rock throughout this whole thing. His little face is chapped and dry from the constant mucus/nose-blowing but he never complains or cries about feeling lousy.

Silas, on the other hand, has regressed to more baby-ish behavior, which is understandable for his age and dealing with feeling very sick, difficulty breathing comfortably, coughing, etc. Last night was a major victory because he actually stayed in his crib all night. For most of this illness, it has been impossible to put him down at all during sleep times. This means that when Silas goes to bed, Jorie sleeps with him. At nap times, too, one of us has to sleep with him (usually Jorie, but I took care of him Sunday). I don't mean to complain about parenthood, I know this is part of having small kids, I just want to communicate what our daily life has been like lately. That is the point of a blog, right? :-)

So it's been a bit rough, but I think they're through the worst of it at this point. We've been doing plenty of Nebulizer treatments (it's a breathing mist-machine thing that lets you breathe in medicine to open your lungs) and going through lots and lots of Kleenex. (the tissue plus lotion stuff is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century, I am convinced) Jorie is taking them to the doctor's today to make sure they aren't developing sinus infections, which has happened before when they are stuffed up for an extended period of time.

Jorie's had the cough/cold as well, so please keep us in your prayers, that this indeed is the end of it. Somehow I have been spared from this bug - I think I have some sort of freaky immune system. I do get sick at times, but the bugs that everyone seems to catch have no effect on me.

Some cute quotes from Joel to end a dreary post on a lighter note:

While refusing to stay in his bed at nap time: "Why aren't you guys going down for your naps?" "You really need a nap, daddy."

With a "no-fair" tone, "Daddy, why are YOU the only one who doesn't have a cold?"

While playing Wii Golf with Joel (he loves hitting the ball all over the place, especially in the water, but doesn't care so much about getting it in the hole), I said, "The wind is at our backs, that's good." I was more just talking to myself, I didn't expect Joel to comprehend that. But Joel responded, "The wind will help push the ball over the water." I was floored that a 3-year old would grasp that concept.

Trick or Treat!

We took the kids trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood last week and had a great time. It was cool out, but comfortable enough to not need coats, which was great. We enjoyed getting to meet some more people in our neighborhood and the kids loved getting all the candy, of course. Joel didn't really understand the idea of moderation. When offered the candy dish, he would continually grab pieces of candy and drop them in his bucket until the dish was pulled away. And if the person held onto the dish and only offered one piece of candy, Joel would reach up for more. Quite embarassing, but hilarious at the same time. We tried to explain to him to take only what is offered, but of course ideas of proper decorum are easily ignored by a 3-year old.

Joel came up with his costume idea. We started asking him a few weeks before Halloween what he wanted to be and he would always reply, "Bananas." We weren't sure exactly how to make a banana costume, but Jorie got a great suggestion from a friend, Ashley, and with Rhoda's help we were able to create this simple yet effective banana costume. Silas was a bear, but since Joel was dressed as a banana, several people made the mistake of thinking Silas was a monkey. That would have definitely made for a more creative costume combo, so we didn't correct them. Here are some pics!

Joel's 911 calls

We have been practicing calling 911 in case of an emergency with Joel. Rhoda suggested this idea, since they do this with her first graders. He is very good at dialing 911 (on a disconnected phone, of course) telling them what is wrong and giving his name and address. Last night, Jorie and Joel practiced a call where he told them Mommy was hurt. Then Joel wanted to practice calling for Daddy and Silas too. His second call went like this:

Jorie: "911 Emergency, how may I assist you?"

Joel: "No, Mommy, you have to wait until I finish dialing."

Jorie: "Oh, sorry. OK." (waits) "911 Emergency, how may I assist you?"

Joel: "This time it's Daddy."

Jorie: "What happened to your daddy?"

Joel: "Daddy fell down the stairs and it was very bumpy."

Jorie: "Can you give me your address so we can send help?"

Joel: (provides address)

After this, Joel insisted on having Jorie making a 911 call as if Joel was hurt. So he lied down on the floor and didn't move a muscle. Jorie shook his arm and said, "Joel? Joel? Are you OK?" (all acting) and Joel continued to lie there, perfectly still. Only after Jorie completed the call to 911 did Joel come back to life. What a little ham!

Weekend with Engstrom fam

Once again, I apologize for the lack of new posts on the blog, I've been seriously slacking. So here's some pictures from a few weekends ago when Jorie's sister, Annie, and her brother, Jason, along with his wife Roxanne and daughter Annikah (thus the nickname JayRoxikah) were in town.

We had lots of fun hanging out, enjoying great home-cooked meals from Rhoda, eating pizza at our house, watching football, and we spent Sunday morning in the Amana Colonies, the quaint little German village near Cedar Rapids. We had a scrumptious breakfast, with amazing quantities of eggs, pancakes, fruit, hashbrows, bacon and sausage. All very greasy and all very yummy. I had to wolf it all down quickly, since the boys were not going to tolerate sitting down in one place in a restaurant for more than 15 minutes, but it was still some mmmm-good eatin'. Maybe someday we'll be able to enjoy restaurants with the boys, but that day is not yet here.

After breakfast, we sampled some locally brewed root beers and then just walked around enjoying the beautiful morning and the little shops. (well, that was more for the ladies of course - they shop, we watch the kids, I guess those are the rules, but we have more fun with the kids anyway!)

Joel and Mark playing on the swing

Hugging cousins are way too cute!

Annie is very loved by her niece and nephews

The whole gang (minus Justin, gotta photoshop him in here somehow)

There we go :-)

Our little gang

Jorie and her Dill boys

The Engstrom sibs

Silas James and Grandpa James

The boys loved playing in all the leaves