A season of growth and thanks

It's almost Turkey Time and we are all looking forward to some time spent with family and friends celebrating and sharing the joys of the season. 

 

I'm not sure how we already got to mid-November.  It seems like it was just July - where does the time go?! 

 

On August 7th, we measured Thatcher (2 1/2 years old) and as we were playing downstairs just the other day I had him stand up to his growth chart again - he's shot up over an inch in the past three months!  And little Odin is not so little anymore.  He measured in at 26 3/4 inches (96%) and 14 lbs 14.8 oz (54 %) at his 4 month check up this week.

 

 

The past few weeks have been filled with fun times - camping, trick or treating, hunting, and, of course, just playing! 

 

Thomas the Train made his way through Starbuck and Glenwood, filling his basket with goodies,  and even made the Starbuck Times last week!

 

 

We were also fortunate to have some friends come visit us a few weeks ago and we'll thank Lisa for capturing some great photos of us, especially the boys, while she was here.

 
Family photos are nearly impossible with two dogs, two kids, and two parents trying to get everyone looking but we did manage to get some funny, candid, photos.  And even a couple of OK ones too.
 

 
All we can really say is that we are so blessed!  It's hard to be mad or sad when our days are filled with so many happy, smiling faces and giggles that make your heart melt.  It makes it easy to forget the occassional teary, whiny moments and make us thankful for everything we have.

 

Blessings to all of you this holiday season!

 

Now go enjoy your Turkey!

Adventures in Pictures

Here is a photo journey of our last three months.

 

Waiting for baby Phoenix to arrive (10 hours to go!)

Odin Axel Sherlin
7.5.2012

7lbs 1 oz

19 1/2 inches

The eldest boys playing at the park.

Fueling up the mower - it's never to early to start learning.

Odin on his baptism.

Potty trained! New John Deere truck picked out!

A trip to Great Grandpa's Farm

Feeding the birds at Noonan Park.

Brothers hanging out together.

 

Odin meeting his new friends (William, Lily, and Hannah) - babies of Mommy's college friends all born within 2 months of each other.

Playing at the spash park in Morris.

Who's taller?  Thatcher can make towers taller than he is!

Mommy and Odin

Brother's getting ready for their first day of daycare together.

Camping at Lake Bemidji State Park - so much fun!

All the Sherlin boys playing together - our everyday normal :)

I'm eleven weeks old and I can roll from my belly to my back!
(And I've got some great expressions too...)

Jeans!

Thatcher and Odin

Bath time... Thatcher is a good helper!

Odin has found his fingers... like Brother, like Mommy.

 

Our life is so full and so fun.  We love every minute of it!

Summer Fun

Since our last post, we have filled our days with fun at Trophy Lake.  We purchased a new kayak to take out on the lake.  Josh and Thatcher took the first ride together.  Thatcher lays back in Josh's lap like a little worm and enjoys the ride.

Cousin Brynn came to visit (with her parents, Jessie and Evan) the weekend Grandma and Papa Staples moved to their new house.  Thatcher loved spending time with all the company.  He also got to play with his other Staples cousins, Lucy and Ellie, the week before when they were in town.  He sure does love having playmates around!

We spent Father's Day in Glenwood (not much traveling once we got to the middle of June in case of an early arrival of Baby Phoenix).  Josh golfed with his dad in the morning, we got blasted with rain at church in the park and headed home to have a pizza party with Grandma and Grandpa Sherlin.  Thatcher surprised daddy with a new spotting scope and he gave us his best "cheese" face for the picture.

The past two weekends while we stuck around home (again, just in case we had an early arrival), we enjoyed hours and hours playing outside.  Thatcher just LOVES the water.  He goes swimming in whatever attire he has on, lays down and puts his face in, and splashes like crazy.  He found a love in jumping in the water and getting thrown around by anyone willing to toss him up.

And if swimming at the lake doesn't satisfy his outdoor pleasure, we head back to the sandbox where we make castles, scoop, fill buckets with water, you name it...  there is always something to do in the sandbox and it keeps us all busy.

I don't have any pictures to show but Deacon and Indy have been thoroughly enjoying the warm swimming weather as well.  Deacon "fishes"  while Indy plays fetch.  Both of them love having the lake so close (and it sure makes it nice for us too!).

We are anxiously waiting the arrival of our new bundle of joy and hope to have news to post soon.  Until then, we'll continue to enjoy the lake, the sandbox, the dogs, and even some fresh garden produce.  Hopefully all of you are enjoying your summer too!

Spring Update

The past month has been full of fun nights and weekends and even some project time (if you can imagine!).

Our basement is almost entirely finished, less some trim and doors and decorations, I suppose.  We will eventually get everything finished but we are certainly enjoying having a big play space and “carpet” and the “ABC’s Room”.  Here are some updated photos of our progress:

 

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter with Thatcher and the Sherlin clan.  Thatcher loved looking for eggs and having treats!  He liked the jelly beans but continued to call them “m’s” all week – I guess that’s what we get for usually only having M&M’s as our household treat.

Other highlights of our few weeks have included a pizza party for Mommy’s birthday, the return of Grandma and Grandpa Sherlin from Arizona, a trip to Anderson’s Nursery to see the animals near Easter, playing outside in the sandbox, throwing rocks in the lake, going for walks, and getting all of our projects done.  We have also enjoyed a lot of time with friends and family and have even been able to enjoy a couple of fires in the pit already!

We hope for more nice weather and look forward to getting the garden planted and a few more “to-do’s” done in the coming weeks.  And or course our biggest adventure is also getting closer.  Baby Phoenix is scheduled to arrive in just two more months (if not before).  

Busy Weeks

Time sure does fly by!

On February 7th, Thatcher turned 2 years old! We celebrated with on Saturday following his birthday with family at our home. Thatcher enjoyed his train cake (made by Mommy, decorated by Daddy). He ate the candy off the engine and called it good for the day; however, he did enjoy the rest of the cake throughout the week. Thatcher enjoyed opening his presents and loves all of his new things. He has officially learned how to sing “Happy Birthday to Thatcher” and sings his version for everyone’s birth since then.

At the end of February, we were able to get away for a fun, family weekend at Thumper Pond. We met the Sherlin side of the family and celebrated all the birthday’s that had passed. The water park was a big hit. Thatcher really enjoyed playing with his cousins and we loved being able to see everyone and visit for awhile.


Back at home the mudding, taping, texturing, and priming were completed in the basement. And we have since painted all of the walls. Next up is tiling the bathroom and entry floors (which we have planned for this coming weekend). It’s sure is crazy how the basement has changed in the recent weeks; it wasn’t that long ago when it was only framed in. We sure do look forward to getting back to our play space!

Last weekend our niece, and God-daughter, Brynn, was baptized. She was perfect and the ceremony and party following were wonderful. We are so thankful to have her in our lives!


We love the mild winter and “almost” spring weather we have been experiencing. Deacon and Indy have been spending a lot of time exploring the area and playing with the other dogs in the neighborhood. Deacon turned 5 (or 35) the end of January but doesn’t show his age yet; he is still quick as can be. Indy will be 4 in May and still has a lot of puppy in her but she has begun to mellow out a little for us. We all enjoy their company and look forward to a fun summer of fetch and walks with them.

On February 22nd, we found out that Baby Phoenix is a boy. We are delighted! What could be more fun than two boys in the house?! And the bonus is that we already have everything “boy” so hopefully it will be an easy second run. Baby Phoenix is much stronger now and loves to move around; his jabs are almost strong enough for us to feel on the outside now. I just love having him move around, it reassures me that we have a strong, active little one on his way into the world. It won't be long until my "boys" picture goes from the smiley TWO (below) to THREE!


Until next time, take care and God Bless!