Days With the Duerksens

I'm done with winter -- I go through this every year! True, we've only had 1 actual snow, with another on the way. It's actually been a lot more tolerable than last winter. But, there have been 3 snow days now -- THREE! I'm going to be completely honest -- having all 3 kids at home when 2 of them are supposed to be in school is a bit much! I told Chelan the other day that he has no idea how much I look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays (pre-school days). Guess when all 3 of our snow days have happened? Maybe I would be having a bit more patience with winter if last weekend hadn't been in the 70's -- THE 70's!! I was riding my bike in pants and a t-shirt. It was such a tease. In the midst of these winter blues, however, I have come up with a few things I'm thankful for (I had to). . . 1. That I don't live on the east coast this winter! 2. That we do have the beauty of spring to look forward to in just a couple of months. 3. That I have 3 b...

I'm sitting up all by myself!! (She'll be 6 months old next Wed.) Look, Mom! I can fit all of my toes into my mouth!

These pictures show Cambry and Delaney wearing a dress that their Grandma Duerksen wore as a baby. It's a beautiful dress -- a dusty blue color, crocheted so delicately! It's so neat to see this same dress on my two girls! I only wish there was a picture of Grandma wearing it. If ever you needed a picture to show how Cambry and Delaney look nothing alike -- these pictures are it!! Delaney -- 5 1/2 months old Cambry in November 2006 -- 5 1/2 months old

On New Year's Day, Chelan's mom's side of the family got together to celebrate what would have been their mother's 90th birthday -- Sylvia (Schmidt) Goertz. Chelan's Aunt Ilona spent the last year or so putting together a book about their mom and dad's lives. Chelan's mom wrote a poem to commemorate the event, and his cousin, Jake, wrote a song about their grandma. It was a fun day learning a little more about Chelan's family! The book was very interesting to read through and it was so interesting to hear how Chelan's grandparents and my grandparents were good friends. My dad remembers playing with Chelan's uncles when they would go visiting! As I've thought about our family's connections, I have to think that Sylvia and Jean (my grandma) would be tickled pink that Chelan and I ended up together. I can just hear my grandma's laugh now! My grandparents -- Ed and Jean Schmidt. I grew up down the driveway from them! This pictur...

So, winter is not my favorite time of year. I'm not a fan of cold, or bundling up, or the mess that comes when the snow melts. However, I have found some activities to keep us busy during this "not-so-favorite" time of the year . . . Cambry and I made play-dough using Kool-Aid (mostly because I was out of alum, and this recipe doesn't call for it). She's had fun with it, and it smells good, too! Thanks to Family Fun Magazine, Caiden worked on setting up his own mini golf course in the house today. Most of the fun was in making and setting up the course! The holes are made out of paper or plastic plates I got Caiden set up making "bricks" for a snow fort this afternoon. We had a lot of fun together! We got 3 layers made before our hands were too cold to work anymore! I have to remember to get better snow gloves for all of us!

If you were to walk in our house on any given day, the chances of you seeing rocks in random places would be very good! Whenever Cambry goes outside, she always finds new rocks to bring in. They all look the same to me -- plain, grayish-white rocks. I'm not sure how she tells a good one from a bad one. Last week, it snowed. Guess what our new treasures are . . .

The other day, Cambry asked if she could feed Delaney. I decided to let her try, and she actually does a very good job! What a little helper!

5 months - already! I can't believe how much Delaney has changed in 5 months. She's gone from sleeping all the time - to crying all the time - back to sleeping a lot (including 12-hour nights)! We love to go get her from her crib in the morning and after naps -- she gives us the biggest smiles! Speaking of sleeping -- she's gone from sleeping in her car seat in the living room to only sleeping in her crib (with her face smashed into the bumper pad). It used to worry me, but now I'm pretty used to it! It's how she falls asleep - and usually fairly happily! She's gone from nursing every 3 hours to nursing only 4 times a day. She's eating squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, pears, and bananas! I'm not sure how we're going to save her clothes. She still spits up terribly, and with food in the mix, it's not pretty! We love this little girl and look forward to the many more ways she will change in the coming months!

Yesterday not only marked the first snow of the season, but also Delaney's first snow! Don't worry -- she was only out there for a few seconds (she's not bundled up -- sorry Grandmas)! When Caiden got home, he immediately went out and started shoveling our front walk and slab -- the guy is amazing, for some reason he loves this job! Cambry had fun making snow angels and following paths! It's a good thing we played yesterday because it's only 9 degrees today!

This might be one of my favorite pictures from Christmas. "Mary" looks like she's had quite a night, doesn't she?

Cambry got 2 pink tubs of Legos this Christmas, and she has had fun building. This is a picture of her first "truck" made all by herself! It's been fun to watch her and Caiden building things together. He builds his farm equipment and she simply "creates!"

I can't resist pictures of our kids sleeping with Dad! This may sum up what our week of Christmas was like!

Forgive me -- you'll have to read the post below first! One evening, we had waffles for supper at our house. Afterwards, we played games. Tumbling Monkeys was a fun one! Finn and Grandpa playing with a tractor Delaney enjoyed opening one of her gifts. I think she was actually trying to eat the bow! Candace's first meeting with Delaney. At almost 5 months old, Delaney met her CA cousins, aunt, and uncle for the first time! Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed opening gifts from Cale and Mace!

We had a great time when Chelan's brother and family came out for a visit this past week! We were quite busy with gatherings, but good memories were made for sure! Finn and Chayce are growing like weeds. It's amazing how big they are each time we see them (about every 6 months if we're lucky)! The kids enjoyed projects like building and painting birdhouses (gifts from Grandma and Grandpa), putting on the Christmas play, checking out the new tractor and cows on the farm, going on a hike by the creek, and playing numerous games of Minataurus (a new Lego game). We all enjoyed laughing, reconnecting, and eating plenty of food -- I wonder how many pounds I put on! Aside from keeping Finn away from the stairs, an almost-broken nose (Caiden's), Matt hunkered down in a ditch to avoide skeet-shooters (a hilarious story), and Treg coming down with the flu the night before they left, we had a fantastic time! Cale, Caiden, and Finn are working with the Minataurus game Finn g...