Thanksgiving Day!

Grandma's birthday pic with the grandkids and great-grandkids!

Our family picture with Grandma Ditchen.

The table--I don't know why I didn't take the picture before we ate!

Shauna, Angela, me and Rachel (the wives!)

Angela and her friend Hank let me jump in a picture with them--

The cousins--

Mason was out cold...he needed the nap.

Grammy and Mya

Mason and Mya's photo op with Ethan Scott Ditchen--the newest member of the family!

This year we had Thanksgiving/ Grandma Ditchen's 85th birthday party all in the same day! We had Thanksgiving in the church basement, fortunately for us we didn't have to travel very far. It was a wonderful time of eating, hanging out and taking pictures! I love watching all the cousins (and 2nd cousins) running around and enjoying themselves. It was a really fun afternoon. Later that night, we went and saw the movie 4 Christmases...It was so fun to hang out!

Thanksgiving!

How amazing it is to realize that you have reason to thank the Lord for the blessings in your life! I am thankful to the Lord for so many things. I am thankful for the amazing friends and family I have. A wonderful husband and fantastic friends that are a constant reminder of faithfulness. I am also incredibly grateful for our wonderful children and their unique, individual strengths and personalities. I love watching God grow and mature them as well as dreaming about all that may be in store for them. I pray that I would never focus on what I am desiring at the moment but rather on the true blessings of life, the love of family and friends!

Banana milkshakes all around!

Daddy and Logan love to make banana milkshakes and as you could probably imagine, Mason is not about to miss out on a thing!

Busy, Busy Little Mason

Today Mason was just kind of trouble. He only army crawls...but he is really fast. If I am making bottles or starting a load of laundry, I turn around and Mason is gone. This morning, Mason found his way into a basket and was trying to eat hairspray. This afternoon, Mason fell out of his crib. And this evening, he managed to chew up Logan's artwork leaving ink all over his face! I need eyes in the back of my head for this kid!

Bennett Bluegrass Band!

Tonight before bed all the kiddos (and mom and dad) were playing Logan's kindermusik instruments. We would make a pretty good bluegrass band if I do say so myself. Mason played the morroccas, Logan played the harmonica, and Mya played a little bit of everything! What a crack up!

PS: Ryan plays a mean train whistle!

Fall Yard Work...

This afternoon Ryan raked leaves and Logan 'helped'. He drove his Tonka through the leaves and drove his tractor through the piles. It was a crack up. They even took a little snack break on the rock--ham and cheese. What a fun day for daddy and Logan!

It takes a village...

Growing up I occasionally heard the saying "It takes a village to raise a child", but it had no meaning to me. Since I have had children, however I totally get it. This morning Papa took Logan to Kindermusik (how precious is that?), and Nana watched Mason and Mya so I could go to MOPS. I am so grateful that our kiddos have so many wonderful people in their lives to love on them. A kid can never be too loved!

I finally finished our Christmas card and I am headed to the Paper Zone to get envelopes. I want to have them in the mail by Dec. 1st!

Logan and Zezra...

The boys were running laps in the hallway and then diving under the computer.
All pooped and taking a rest...

I always feel compelled to document the disasters.

Today Logan had his friend Ezra over (his mommy came too...she is my buddy). Logan calls him Zezra....he has a funny, nickname for everyone. Ezra's mom Enez is called Don Don (with long o sounds) by Logan and Enzo by me. It is sort of a joke around here that we nickname those we love. EVERYONE we know has a nickname. The boys ran and ran and played and played. I love it when Logan can get his wiggles out!

Funniest Guy Around!

Ryan contemplating whether or not he should try to hang from the rim.

Ryan posing with the Blazer's 'biggest fan'...

Ryan finishing off a cup of Gatorade from one of the players!

Ryan posing with a security gaurd

Ryan posing with an usher who has a rat tail!

Sometimes, for a mere moment, I forget that I am married to one of the funniest guys I know. Ryan and his buddy Josh were going to a Blazer's game and of course I requested that he take a few pictures for the blog. He was originally quite reluctant to cooperate as he didn't want to have the camera in his pocket all night. Finally, with some persistance, he agreed to comply....these are the pictures he came back with!!! I love being married to someone with a good sense of humor....these are totally "ryan pictures".

Speech Therapy 101

So everyone is curious what they could possibly do at speech therapy for a 10 month old baby. They aren't supposed to talk anyway right? Well, at this point Mya is doing a lot of growling and making just consonant sounds. Truth be told, she should be well on her way to making consonent vowel sounds like (da or bu). Her speech issues coupled with her gross motor issues are concerning so the doctors decided to address her needs now since speech and physical therapy are non-invasive procedures. This brings me to what she did today.

Her therapist, Taylor could have totally been on Imagination Movers (a silly kid show on the Disney channel). She is extremely animated, wears bright lipstick to help Mya focus on her mouth, speaks very clearly and S-L-O-W-L-Y, sings silly songs, repeats everything, mimics Mya in hopes Mya will begin mimmicing her in return, and is teaching Mya sign language. She is working with Mya and ultimately training me. As she put it, "50 minutes per week isn't going to turn the ship around." We will be working with Mya at home. She gave me some reading material, sent us home with a sign language DVD to watch together and practice, and sent home picture cue cards that accompany songs like "the wheels on the bus" so Mya can begin to put words with pictures. That is kind of a snippet of what we did today.

Taylor, the therapist, is excellent at what she does--but naturally the nature of speech therapy for infants requires some silliness and goofy actvities. I have to be honest, it was kind of a hoot!

9 month baby check-ups!

Mason and Mya had their 9 month well-baby checks. The stats are in:

Mya weighing in at 19 lbs. 10 oz. 27 1/2 inches long!
Mason weighing in 18 lbs. 4 oz. 27 1/2 inches long!

I had to post this because Mya looks so stinkin' much bigger than Mason! People kept guessing that she was 4 or 5 lbs. more than Mason....I guess this goes to show that looks can be deceiving!

Tantalizing Tuesday!

Today was full of blessings, but was still exhausting. I woke up early this morning to get ready for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). Logan and I headed out and he had another successful week in his BSF class. After class, we went out to lunch with Becca and Melia before making a quick trip to 'Toys R Us'. Immediately following, I dropped Logan at Nana Judes (forgetting my cell phone) and picked up Mya to take her to Portland for Day #1 of speech therapy. It went well (as far as speech therapy for a 10 month old goes) and we headed straight home to get ready for our dinner guests. After getting locked out of the house with all the kids in the van and going to pick up pizza, our friends Andy and Liz came over. We hung out for several hours, talked babies, and were ultimately enterained by the one-and-only Gogan. What ever did we do before we had kids to entertain us? What a day!

Physical Therapy!

On Monday, we had the esteemed priveledge of taking ALL three kiddos to Portland for Mya's physical therapy appointment. It was a little hectic, but fun nonetheless. Mason wanted to get in on the toy action, and Logan wanted to check out all the goodies in the therapy room.

Mya's progress: Jocelyn, her therapist, was really pleased with Mya's progress. Mya is pulling her legs up (a little) like she really wants to crawl. She is rolling all over and pivoting her body around to reach toys. Jocelyn sounded really encouraged by how well Mya is doing. She will see another pediatric development specialist mid-December.

Be praying that God will grant the doctors wisdom to see Mya's needs clearly; that they will have insight into what may be going on in her tiny little body and mind. Also pray that Mya would continue to have a spirit of determination!

Who isn't up for a pedicure?

Girl's night out...Paige's slumber party!in process...

The final product-- lucky for me this was free!

Saturday night Ryan and I got to go out to dinner with our beloved friends Josh and Becca. We had an awesome time....they are always great company. After we got home I went over to Jessica's house for Paige's slumber party. We had a great time and the girls (okay mostly Faith, age 5) gave me a pedicure. Truth be told, I did really need one but this pedicure was of a completely different caliber. I am still scraping bright pink nail polish out of my cuticles. Jessica and I stayed up until about 2:30 watching PS I Love You....it was a fun girls night! I can't wait until next year...!

Haircut #4!

Friday after Kindermusik, Logan and I stopped to get him a haircut. It is his fourth one ever and he does such a good job (if I do say so myself). He is so patient....and his hair looks great. It gets a little 'bushy' looking when it's long because he has some natural curl. He doesn't mind going because he gets a balloon when he's done--and he even gets to pick the color!

Triple M threat: Marissa, Mya & Mason!

Today Annie brought Marissa over to play with Mya and Mason (the triple M threat). Annie and I were pregnant together and our kiddos are about six weeks apart. It is too fun! The three of them swap binkies like you wouldn't believe....we try to stop them, but it is a lost cause. Marissa is crawling and pulling herself up, but Mason can hold his own with a mean army crawl. Mya is getting to be quite the roller, but she is still slightly outskilled. It is such a hoot watching the three of them play together! Not only did the Lord give Ryan and I good friends--our kiddos have their own little buddies... Yeah for the Triple M's!

To Washougal...

Yesterday, Wednesday, the kids and I headed to Washougal to see my friend Kim, and her daughter Taylor. Kim and I had lunch, drank coffee and caught up (it's been a week!) and the kids ran around the house and played. The drive was really long and rainy but worth the drive! What a blessing to have good girlfriends (and a DVD player in the car) --Praise the Lord!

Pasketti!

Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner, so lovingly referred to as pasketti by Logan. Logan doesn't like sauce (just plain noodles), and he likes to eat the noodles with his fingers. He thinks twirling the noodles on the fork is pretty tough to do. Allowing him to eat pasketti this way goes against my orderly teacher insticts, however I try to relax and let him eat noodles his own silly way!

Inside Play

Mason on the "magic school bus"

Logan loves the race track!

The last few days have been relatively quiet (I say relatively because we have three kids in a not so big house....so it is never really quiet). As the rain is picking up, we have been enjoying the 'inside things': watching movies, driving trucks, and reading lots of books. As the weather has worsened and it is getting darker earlier, we see more and more of Ryan. The kids and I are grateful for that!

BSF Update!

Attention all followers: Logan is happily attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) finally! We have withstood many tears and even some puke...but our day has finally come. The Lord answered our prayers and Logan joyfully attended class today!

Family Christmas Pictures

We took our family Christmas pictures this Sunday afternoon. I have to get to work on our Christmas card (I shoot to have them out by Dec. 1st). Needless to say, the 2 boys in turtlenecks and sweaters and Mya in a dress, tights, and headband did not feel like performing for the camera. All in all we got some cute pictures...but it was like pulling teeth. I won't post the pictures (don't want to spoil the Christmas card). Craziness? Yes, but fun all the same.

Gilbert House and the Carousel!

Logan eating lunch on the outdoor play structure--

Mason and Mya found a room for people just their size!

Logan in the theater room--he got to see himself on tv!

Mason will never turn down a french fry!

Ryan made a HUGE bubble!

Mya popped a bubble on grammy!


Logan tried to make a bubble all the way around himself--but he popped it with his bum!

Mason and I posed for a picture in some dinosaur thing--who knows????

A ride on the school bus-- woo-hoo!

Mason and Mya were all done-- they needed to eat and go to sleep....

Logan got his ride on the carousel!

This afternoon my mom and I packed up Logan, Mason and Mya and took them to the Gilbert House to eat lunch and check out all the activities. Fortunately, Ryan was able to come meet us and even stay most of the time. The kids loved all the exhibits. Mason and Mya seemed to like the bubble room best and Logan loved the large outdoor play structure. He also enjoyed 'grocery shopping', where he got to scan and bag his groceries. There are always so many fun things at the Gilbert House...and the weather was beautful, so we even got to eat outside.

After we left the Gilbert House I couldn't help but go by the carousel. By this point Mason and Mya were out cold in their car seats, but Logan was ready for the second adventure of the day. He got to ride three times. Twice with me and once with grammy (we took turns staying with sleeping babies in the car). What an exciting day; I love to take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather.