Halloween & milestones

Since the last post, Noah has reached two milestones and Halloween has come and gone.

Halloween - the kids were Minnie and Mickey Mouse this year.  They were really cute and had a lot of fun.  We took them trick-or-treating at downtown businesses on Wednesday, to Grandma Rainbow's Childcare party on Thursday, and trick-or-treating for 1.5 hours (despite cold) in our neighborhood on Friday.  Things, like Halloween, certainly get easier and more fun as kids age.

In the last two months, Noah started wearing underwear and is now sleeping in a toddler bed.  It took him about 2 weeks to be fully potty trained.  And we learned, the hard way, that he won't use public restrooms, so we keep a potty chair in our car for now.  His transition from crib to bed could not have gone more smoothly.  He has been sleeping in it for two weeks now and continues to follow his routines from the crib, which we appreciate.  He stays in bed in the morning until we get him.  He sleeps through the night (dry most of the time) and still takes long naps.  He doesn't get up to come see us during the night.  He slept on a mattress at GG Rainbow's last night, and slept all night without waking too.  Obviously, this milestone could not have been an easier transition.  And, he LOVES his "new bed"! 

Below are tidbits of the kids lately, including Halloween.  It starts with me interviewing Joy after trick-or-treating on Halloween.  Then, it shows Noah making Daddy feel better.  And it ends with some clips of the kids enjoying books together.  I love that they both enjoy books so much and cherish the moments when Joy reads to Noah.  They melt my heart!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Joy is 5 years old!

We have a 5 year old in our house, which is hard to believe.  This was a milestone I once thought was far away but it happened in a blink.  Joy was very blessed to have beautiful weather for her princess party at a park.  Most of her little friends and family made it, which made her day!  Here is a short video of her party that ends with Noah and cousin, Rylee, playing together.


The whole Rainbow family made it to Joys party too!

This last video was taken of Joy at her school Family Fun Night.  Her class sang a couple patriotic songs and then we browsed through a book fair.  It was a fun night!

No Training Wheels!

Since I'm not the best writer, I like to show you through videos what has been happening with our family.  This post will be no different.  :)
Joy recently hit a milestone.  It actually brought back memories of her first steps as we backed off from spotting her on the bike and let her ride free.  You will witness our progression of 'letting go' as the video plays through.  We are so proud!



The kids also enjoyed playing in some needed rain a few weeks ago.  I love how they interact and play together these days, most of the time.  :)  Here they are...




Lastly, the kids and I spent a week with the Krafve family.  We had to leave dad home because of his demanding summer work schedule.  We started the week by staying overnight at Rylee's house.  Then we went to the Krafve farm after that.  We ventured out to see cousin Logan one day and to Como Zoo another day.  Below is a video of the kids on the 4 wheelers with their grandparents.  The kids didn't let one day go by without a ride.  :)

Summer Church Programs

Joy has lived through two weeks of summer church related programs, much to her dismay.  She attended Vacation Bible School at Mt Olive Lutheran Church, where her Rainbow grandparents are members.  The week started out rough, but she ended on a high note and asks almost daily to go back.  She also just completed a week of Bible Soccer Camp at her school.  It also started rough, but ended great and she can't wait to attend next summer.  I describe it as rough because she is still having a lot of anxiety when Danny or I are not right by her side.  Thankfully, it was short lived this week.  Having friends from her PreK class at school helped this week go more smoothly.  And I have to say, seeing her run around on the soccer field was absolutely adorable.  She was smiling from ear to ear, even if she didn't get to kick the ball.  Below is a video of Joy, and Noah, singing and dancing to the songs from VBS at Mt Olive.



We also discovered Noah is pretty good at putting.  Between watching his dad and watching golf on TV, he has putting figured out.  He lines up, pulls back, and hits without moving his feet.  The last step about his feet especially impressed his dad.  Apparantly, one of the most challenging things for kids under age 4 to grasp, is keeping their feet still while putting.  Noah is a Golf Pro in the making!  Video evidence is below.

PreK Summer Sendoff and more

So, Joy was done with PreK on May 21.  Our summer kicked into gear almost instantly with visiting family more, summer school for Joy, VBS, and a camping trip for Joy with the Rainbow grandparents.  Below is her 'PreK Summer Send-off' performance with her class. 
Danny and I are a bit perplexed by some separation anxiety that is rearing a very ugly head in Joy over the last 1.5 weeks.  It was triggered by VBS at a church where she doesn't know anyone.  And now she won't go to her summer school without lots of tears or go to bed without serious screaming.  Some research online shows that it is not uncommon for separation anxiety to return in a 5 year old, but I have never seen or heard of it before.  So, please pray for sweet little Joy.  She is really struggling when she has to leave our side lately.  You would never guess it by the confident little girl you will see in the video below.



Noah is making great strides with his language.  He is finally stringing a few words together, saying please, thank you, and I love you, which is ear candy to us as parents.  He also really enjoys playing with his sister, most of the time, when she feels like sharing and giving in to his screaming demands.  Screaming seems to be a theme in our house lately.  Noah is 2, enough said.  Below is a video of him tackling Joy, nicely.  :)



This last video is a few cute or silly things I caught the kids doing as we live our daily lives.  You will see:
1.  Mr. Speedy and Daring Noah
2.  The kids performing to the opening song of Frozen when the men are chopping ice
3.  Joy after she had just learned how to pump on the swing
4.  Singing together
5.  a race (I was testing out the Fedora on Noah, hence the tag.  I took it back because, surprise, it was too small)
6.  Fun in the rain
7.  Noah's improved Tball skills
8.  The kids excited about golfing, REALLY excited.  :)



Side Note, these videos are originally taken in widescreen format, but in order to fit them in this blog window, I have to shrink them to standard size.  So, if things seem off-center, it's because it was altered from the original video.

Joy's Dance Recital

Our little sunshine, Joy, danced to Mr. Sun at her dance recital last weekend.  She was completely confident and genuinely happy to be on that stage.  She was still beaming this morning from all the love and support she received.  Here is video from her dress rehearsal last Wednesday night.  Enjoy! 

Caps for Sale

Eastside Lutheran School, K-3 grade students, performed a musical titled, "Hats".  They were really good.  I was very entertained.  Joy's PreK class performed their own musical version of 'Caps for Sale' during intermission.  Joy played a monkey.  She, and her classmates, were adorable.  You are welcome to view Joy's performance in the video below.

Noah is 2!

Noah turned 2 years old on Friday, March 28.  We celebrated over the weekend at our home with family.  Everyone was able to make to make with the exception of Aunt Sarah and Uncle John, who were missed.  We had an amazing time together and Noah was showered with love, and a few gifts too.  I pieced together a short video of some fun moments we've enjoyed with the kids lately, and it ends with footage from Noah's party.  Make sure you watch him close while we sing Happy Birthday to him - you won't want to miss it.  :)

Cute moments and prayer requests

Noah is at a very fun age.  He has many cute moments that bring us so much joy.  He got ear tubes about a month ago and was an AWESOME patient!  He did not shed a single tear at the hospital.  He was so brave and trusting of all of us caring for him.  Other than that, this guy has stole my heart!

Joy has been fun in a different way with all the knowledge she is gaining in school and life in general.  She is a sponge and loves soaking in new information.  Joy had the privilege of attending a Daddy-Daughter Valentines Ball.  She had the time of her life!  It brings me so much joy when she is overflowing with happiness, like she was when she returned home from this event.  And a final Joy note is that she is very interested in princesses lately, which I can understand, but am not exactly excited about.  Hopefully, God can help me teach her that He is 1st and most important in her life, not a prince/man.  And, hopefully she will grow to believe her and everyone's beauty lies within our soul and not our outward appearance.  Though Disney movies are entertaining, they are far from reality.

Reality...  is hard lately.  Please pray for our dear friend, Anna, who is only 6 and fighting for her life against brain cancer.  Pray that the radiation, which had to be started earlier than planned because the cancer has been very aggressive, kills this evil disease living within this sweet little girl.
In addition, please pray for Nora, a college roommate's 2 yr old daughter, who also has battled brain cancer and was undergoing her post radiation, antibody treatments.  She was not handling the treatments well to start with and then ended up with fluid in her lungs and clinging to life.  She has slowly recovered from that setback and is recovering.
Thirdly, pray for our friend, Bill (mid 40s), who had heart surgery that ended with complications that sent him to the ICU for a few weeks.  Thankfully, he has been transferred out of ICU but is not well enough to go home to his two daughters, Abby and Sarah, and wife, Katherine yet.
Fourth, please pray for our East Madison church.  We, the church body as a whole, are struggling with all that is involved with being a new and small church.  And, there are lots of DIFFERENT ideas on how to resolve these problems.   
And, finally, our family could use prayer as we say goodbye to our 10 yr old cat, Angel.  She is going to kitty heaven today because her health needs have started to exceed our budget.  I've been dreading this day since I received the news she was diabetic 2 years ago.  Please pray for Danny because he has lovingly taken on the difficult task of taking her to the vet.

On a brighter note, below is a video of some of the cute moments we have enjoyed with our kids over the last 2 months...