Josie's Going to Be A BIG Sister!

Big news in our house again! We are expecting our third Little! It is a  long time coming! This has been the longest we had to wait to get a positive result! After trying since September we decided it would be in Gods perfect timing and will if we were to have another. Finally we got our answer! We will be expecting arrival around Christmas time. {Like I said, Gods perfect timing, not ours}

Wyatt was funny when we told him. We asked him how he became a Big Brother. He said it was when Josie came along. So we asked him then how would Josie become a Big Sister and he answered, "When she gets bigger."

We were going to wait to share our news until Josie's birthday party, but keeping something like that for a whole month is torture!!! I couldn't do it. In fact I told Josie on Saturday. Of course that was a safe bet. So yesterday we took this picture and after we got to my mom and dads after church I covertly put it on the desk top of their computer and waited for them to find it.

Wyatt was sworn under secrecy. And believe it or not he did a fantastic job not telling anyone during SS and church. Although I wasn't clear enough and he told my mom that he "had something to tell her, but my mom said I had to wait until later..."

Nick on the other hand had a hard time keeping it secret until the family knew! But our surprise remained in tact despite it all.

Wyatt has been fun. He is so excited. This morning when he woke up he asked, "How is the baby this morning?" He can't keep from touching my belly, talking to the baby, and has been asking ALL sorts of questions. This time around should be very interesting!

After telling him yesterday he says, " Mom, I thought you were getting fat, but I thought it was either because you were eating too much food, or you had a baby in your belly. And you have a baby in your belly! I was right!"

I am only about a month along and will be waiting to go to the doctor for a bit. I have always had great healthy pregnancy so I don't need to go to be told what I already know. I hate going to the doctors... Anyways, hoping and praying we will have another smooth pregnancy and all goes well!

Rare Moments of Closeness

Sharing is caring! I caught both of them sharing yesterday. Twice. They shared a chair and a blanket! Yes, they were watching TV both times, but that is irrelevant. 

I brought up a rocking chair from downstairs. After cleaning it up and painting the cushion it was instantly a novelty. A few times I found myself in it as well, but with both kids on my lap rocking! It seems to be harder to hold both at one time! They do love rocking.

Six Years Old!

Saturday we celebrated Wyatt's sixth birthday although it was really Sunday. During last years birthday planning Wyatt decided he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party and I was doing the wait and see routine since it was a whole year away. A lot can change in a year. But not that.

We had it at the clubhouse again since we don't have a lot of space. We had about 9 kids and two little ones, plus moms and dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Wyatt had been literally counting down the days for months.

Since we were doing a TMNT party we had to have pizza. So we had made up some homemade, and some Hot and Ready's due to my failure to figure out how much dough was needed. I hadn't thawed enough, so I had Nick run into town a 45 minute round trip for three Hot and Ready's to supplement. Turned out we only really needed one more, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. A huge thank you to my mom who made the pizza's for me as I erred on prep time as well.

I had planned on going to the Mom 2 Mom Sale that morning and I am so glad I sacrificed some good deals, otherwise I would have been in big trouble time wise! I got up at 7 AM sharp and started my morning making cupcakes and taking the dough out of the freezer. It was go, go, go the rest of the day.

I got down to the clubhouse to decorate just after 10 AM with the party starting at noon. Yikes! After unloading the van I got busy. I was so relieved at 20 minutes to 11 AM my mom, dad, and adopted sister walked through the doors! What a glorious sight!

Dad and Josephine worked on blowing up balloons for me which we scattered through out the dining room. Dad ran up to the house to bring the ball bat that I had forgot for the pinata. My brother and dad helped tie up and hang the pinata's. THANK YOU!!!





























It wasn't long and the party was underway! We started off with eating lunch, then I had the kids make slime. Super easy, and a ton of fun! The kids decorated containers I found at Dollar Tree with TMNT stickers then mixed up equal parts liquid starch and Elmers glue. A big thank you to Rebekah and Teresa for helping with that as well!

After making slime we did the pinata's. Nick and I made four, one of each of the Turtles. We hung them up and put a little candy in each, but most of it in one random one. I have to say the kids loved it. It was so much fun watching them.

After the pinata's were broke and candy gotten we did cake and ice cream followed by gifts. Oh, did I mention Michelangelo is his favorite? It was a whirlwind of a party, and although it was a lot of work it was so much fun! I can't believe my baby is six! Neither can Wyatt. A few days later he said, "I still feel five..." After all the hype counting down the days for this momentous occasion, I think he was expecting to feel different too.

Happy Birthday Wyatt!! Mama, Daddy, and Josie love you SO much!!!

Hibernating While Trying to Keep the Peace

Not much going on here on the home front. It has been super cold this winter and barely have been able to get outside to play. We have tons of snow and can't even enjoy it. So, we've been hibernating. This kids and I literally only leave the house twice a week; Friday nights we go to Bible study and then we have church on Sundays, that's it. We do our grocery shopping on Fridays before our small group meets to save a trip into town. We live only twenty minutes from town, but it is starting to feel longer and longer.

Since we can't go outside we try to stay busy inside, but I have to admit it hasn't been easy. We have been getting on each others nerves; the long winter is having its affect. Josie found her boots for next year in the closet and has been wearing them constantly in the house. This is how she plays these days. 

Wyatt lost yet another tooth! I noticed Saturday it was barely hanging in there, but he refused to let me wiggle or tug at it. He wanted it to come out all on its own. And it did! We had a dentist appointment yesterday and he got a good report. He enjoyed telling the hygienist all about losing it.

Wyatt got a hold of my camera and took a few "selfies." This is one of them. "Arrrrr you looking at my missing teeth?"

Wyatt and Josie don't typically play well together. Sharing is always an issue. But I have been able to catch a few moments when there was peace between them. 

The new "thing" has been playing in the beanbag. We have all their stuffed animals inside to help conserve space in our small house, and it seems to be a lot of fun to climb inside. Wyatt keeps asking Nick and I to get in with them... Not going to happen!  {Notice Josie's foot?}

Spring is only a couple weeks away, and we are waiting patiently, sort of, in anticipation. We want to get outside! We are almost there, we'll keep hanging in there.

A Big First!

On our way to celebrate our nephews birthday we stopped off an hour into our trip for a quick bite to eat. We hadn't ate for long when Wyatt said his tooth was loose. When he showed us, we were stunned on how loose it actually was. He had said he didn't notice it was loose before and he hadn't bit anything wrong. He had a brief moment of excitement which quickly dissipated. Panic flashed over his face and as quickly as that came, fear washed over him. He started crying big tears as he tried to leave the restaurant, "I am leaving! I have to go!"

Of course we weren't near finished, but Nick left and went to the car with him to help him calm down. I stayed with Josie and just before we finished Daddy and Wyatt came back in with big smiles! While in the car Wyatt bawled and while his mouth was open from crying Nick was able to wiggle the tooth and ended up being able to pull it out easily. The crying stopped and all was well once again. {Apparently, I am told, that my first tooth loss experience was rather similar...}

Despite the drama surrounding this momentous occasion, we were so excited for Wyatt reaching yet another milestone in his growing-up. {And so were the older couple sitting at the table next to us at Wendy's!}

I will probably save this tooth since it is his first, but I'm not sure if we'll save them all. My mom saved all of mine and gave them to me later, but really, what am I supposed to do with them? 

We don't do the tooth-fairy, so we let him pick out a toy from the dollar store to mark the special occasion. He picked a Tonka die cast tanker truck to add to his Hot Wheel collection.

I have to say his loosing his tooth has done wonders for his attitude too. Since he is "growing up" we have taken the opportunity to make this a huge deal. "Growing up" means acting like a big boy should act. His behavior has seen a noticeable change for the better!

I still can't believe we are at the tooth losing stage already! Buckle up! Here we go! 

Big Day For Changes

Well, today is a big day for changes. While in the kids room tiding up a bit, Josie wanted in her crib. So I picked her up and put her in. She was having fun so I went into the bathroom to get stuff to put her hair up, when I came back in I found her straddling the crib rail. I wasn't completely surprised, but was wondering how easy it was for her and if I should be concerned. So, I waited to see if she'd do it again. It wasn't long and she did, with ease. So off came the front rail. 

Josie's face was priceless when she came into their room and saw how her bed changed. Of course Wyatt was excited if not more than she was.

Both of the kids love to talk on the phone. Wyatt is to the point now he'll just call up Nana and Papa all on his own. Josie will use anything she finds as a phone and walk around talking on it. The following photos mark a pretend conversation with I'm not sure who. I thought his expressions were funny.

Nap time went better than I expected. Josie got out of bed only a few times and now all is quiet. Bed time may be different. I guess we'll have to see.

She is getting to be such a big little girl! January 7th she surprised us with going in the potty for the first time! Repeatedly! The next day she did great as well. Then the novelty sort of wore off. So, we are taking a break and will try again in a week or two. She'll do it when she's ready.

Progress Continues on the Homeschool Front

We are about 60 days into our lessons so far. We were going to continue through Christmas, but as good as our intentions were, we had too much going on to be consistent, so we ended up with a break.

It is starting to get pretty exciting! Wyatt is now learning to read! I wish I could relay the feeling of satisfaction that I have to you better because there is nothing else like it! To be the one to teach him how to read is just awesome!

We still have days that aren't as productive. Days when his heart isn't into it. Those kind of days are hit and miss anymore. Not as frequent as they used to be. I think it has been getting better because he is finally seeing results. He is realizing that what we have been working on is paying off with something better.

These are his cursive Y,y's we just started working on. I decided we would still do the cursive lessons, but we're not going to spend a lot of time on it. They can be frustrating, and he is a boy, so I'm not going to push it. He does do a great job when he's into it. 

He is reading sentences like this one below. We have only worked on short vowels and have had sight words "the" and "a" so far. He loves the word "the" because in our lesson it is called a rule breaker. For a boy, that is just so cool.

I even learned something new today. K goes with i and e, c goes with the other three, a o u. Hmmm... Don't think I ever knew that! 

I can't wait to see what the end of the year brings. It is so rewarding to be a part of this process. I would do it again in a heart beat!

Sposato Family Christmas

This years Christmas started off super busy. During the month of December we had several outreach opportunities at church which where so much fun! We had the ladies annual Christmas Tea which was called the Cozy Cottage Christmas Tea. I shared my testimony and helped with the decorating. I hadn't had that much fun in a long time. Much needed adult time for me!

We then went caroling around Comins the Wednesday before Christmas. That too was super fun. Wyatt pulled the wagon full of "goodies" that we gave to each house. Surprisingly he lasted the whole way with no complaints! Then we had the DHS gift pick up the next day where I helped prepare/prep the food we served. Both days were busy and exhausting, but I enjoyed it immensely!

The morning of Christmas Eve Wyatt woke up first and went out to plug the lights in on the tree. We heard him inhale sharply followed by squeals of joy. He had noticed two small packages under the tree. He danced around singing, "I love Christmas, I love Christmas! It's Jesus' birthday, it's Jesus' birthday! I love giving, giving, giving!" He was thrilled over two little presents under the tree. It made me think. Children don't need a ton of gifts to be happy. His first guess of what it was? A blanket. He would have been happy with a blanket! Sure puts things in perspective. 

We went to Christmas Eve service that night in Comins. It didn't take too long and we were all at the back of the church enjoying what we could between shushing the kids. We had company which made it less painful. I wish I could say I really enjoyed myself, but honestly I am not sure I actually heard much of the messages in between singing carols. Someday our children will be older and capable of sitting still and quietly... Hopefully.

We  came home after service and had the kids open their small gifts {jammies} before they went to bed. Unfortunately it did not go how I envisioned it. Wyatt of course was stoked. Josie screamed from the time she was awakened getting out of her car seat, through me opening her gift of jammies and putting them on, until I laid her down in her crib. Yeah, that went well!

Nick and I then finished re-picking up the house, since everything I did the day before so I wouldn't have to Christmas Eve was undid. Then, we put the gifts under the tree and went to bed.

We were waken just a little after 7am to Wyatt and Josie up and ready to go. Christmas Day had officially begun!

We had gotten Josie a shopping cart, but couldn't wrap it. So, of course that was the first thing she saw. She started pushing it all around the house and was loving it. She was loving it so much, she didn't want to stop to open anything else. When we tried giving her a present to open she would push it away. She didn't want to stop pushing her cart! Finally little by little she started coming around to the idea of opening presents. She really wasn't that into it.

Wyatt got a nice plush Batman robe! 

 Josie liked her new slippers. Hopefully the dog will leave these ones alone...

After we were done opening gifts, I made breakfast. Cinnamon Bun Pancakes! Yum! They were so delicious!

After breakfast we started to call family that we wouldn't be seeing. Then my family came to celebrate the rest of the day about 10:30 am. We had a great time. Wyatt and Josephine played all sorts of games. We had lasagna  for a late lunch. And of course we had to play a game of Monopoly,which Wayland won. Again.

By the end of the day Josie finally got the whole gift opening process. {Yes, we still have a pumpkin...}

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What a fun day celebrating Jesus' birthday! It was really great!

Love and hugs!

Merry Christmas Friends!

May the Lord's light brighten your day, 

and may His love fill your heart with joy!

Merry Christmas!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

Today was a busy day. I wasn't anticipating it being that way, but one thing led to another and here we are. Started off picking up the house, then decided to do school during Josie's first nap instead in the afternoon. It went really well. In fact I was blown away! When he puts his mind to it and does his best, he amazes me. We learned to write the letter "R" today. And below is his cursive capital and little "r". 

Nick and Wyatt made pipe cleaner creations the day before. Let me introduce to you, Prince Wyatt!

We were watching Rudolf earlier and Wyatt put together his chairs, added his bed pillow, and they both sat next to each other watching the show. It was a brief moment of brother sister love. A few minutes later Wyatt decided he didn't like Josie sitting on his blanket and well, she ended up on the floor...

I had this crazy idea that we would put up our Christmas Tree. We opted for the big one this year. Wyatt was a super helper with decorating. Josie sure got excited when she found the stockings. She drug them around the house on her tippie toes squealing with excitement. Oh, and yeah, we do fake here.

We have some training to do. Josie wanted to pull the bead strands and pull off some of the ornaments.

Love, love, LOVE this time of year!