see how they grow...

Monday, November 15, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Announcing... another new nephew & cousin! Matt & Natalie welcomed Aloysius Elroy Berning into their family on November 4th. And Willa is a big sister now :). Aloysius is named after 2 of his great-grandpas.

Great Grandpa Aloysius' wife, Emma, now gets to meet her 106th great-grandchild, named after her late husband. Great Grandpa Berning was a very successful farmer & businessman. He loved to tell jokes & play euchre. Matt & Tim enjoyed going fishing with their Grandpa & respected his strong faith. He was very well known in the area because of his genuine personality.

Brielle holding Aloysius:

The 3 latest "additions" to the family:

Tessa (10 weeks old), Truman (6 weeks old), and Aloysius (3 days old)

Another group of cousins who will grow up together- so fun:)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

"We Are Trick or Treating"

On Trick-or-Treat night, John was a bear. He walked most of the hour in his bear slippers (no real shoes), and his costume kept him nice and toasty :). He gave a pretty cute "roarrrr" when asked. We tried to tell him to say "Trick-or-Treat"... but he usually said "Happy Halloween" or "We are trick-or-treating" when the door was answered. He was carrying his bag on his own, but later that turned into dragging, as it filled up with candy. The bag had a hole in the bottom by the end of the night.

Brielle wanted to be Princess Belle on Halloween Night. Even though she was Goldilocks for our party, it's hard for any other characters to compete with the Princesses!

We did about 1 hour of trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. It was dark by then, and their noses & fingers were getting cold. The kids didn't mind heading home at all. They had just as much fun handing out candy for an hour. They were pretty excited to hear our doorbell ring as much as it did.

An Afternoon with Daddy

With the cross country season over, Tim is home a little earlier with the kids and they get to enjoy the afternoon together. On this particular day, Tim got their chairs out, gave them each a bowl of grapes, and they supervised the new construction site across the street. They were very interested in seeing the excavator & the dump truck at work.

Then John & Brielle played on the new swingset. They like to run as fast as they can toward the swings and then swing on their bellies.

One of my latest *favorite* photos of our Johnny Boy :)

Another great time at Hefel's Farm

A couple weeks ago, the Hefels invited us down for a fun family day that included feeding goats and carving pumpkins.

Introducing... our Halloween Costumes

Goldilocks & The Three Bears

Gilligan's Island

Ginger, Skipper, Mary Ann, Gilligan, & The Professor

The Nativity Scene

Joseph, Mary, Jesus, an angel, a donkey, a sheep & a king

The "O-B-E-R-F-O-E-L-L" family

Now that there are 9 of them, they can spell out their last name :)

Eggs, Toast, & Bacon

Candy Corn Witch

Hawkeye Fans

Country Western Hosts

We have hosted a family Halloween party for the last 6 years or so. It's fun to see what costumes people put together each year because it's usually a surprise. Even though we do a little planning ahead for games, Tim always comes up with some spontaneous entertainment for the kids-- and that is usually the best part of the night, according to the kids. He took the kids on a spooky tour around the house & backyard, making up some stories as he went. The kids were surprised (they let out some screams) when they found Uncle Matt & Uncle Terry hiding in different places around the house.

This year's other highlight went a little something like this... Tim had each kid draw a picture on paper of their favorite thing about Halloween. All the kids sat down to listen to the next part of the activity. Grandma B played a melody on the guitar while Tim, Stacy, Jolene, & Matt each sang a couple improv verses about the drawings. There was a lot of laughter! They are quite the musically-talented bunch :)

Halloween outfits

Brielle & John had fun wearing their Halloween outfits, courtesy of Grandma Carol. Brielle loved her sparkly pumpkin shirt, sparkly skirt, & zebra leggings. John liked to say, "SEE MY MONSTER?!!" Here's Brielle twirling to show her outfit :)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Grandmas are the best :)

Last Friday, Grandma Carol came over to play with the kids for a few hours. I came home from errands to find them ALL playing on the top level in the new playset :). They were having a great time.

We then got the kids ready to go meet friends at Happy Joe's and to go to a Halloween Parade. She helped me load Brielle & John in the car and I was ready to pull out of the garage, when I saw her waiting to close the garage door behind us. I asked if she was leaving at the same time as me because, if so, I should be the one closing the garage after she leaves. She told me to go on ahead. I left and she stayed. I had a feeling she was up to something :).

Later that night when we got home from the parade, we found this staring at us from our front window! AHHHH!

When we showed the kids, they were really quiet & not sure what to think. I asked Brielle if she liked the new Halloween decoration and she said slowly said, "...no...". I asked why not and she said, "Because his face is missing above his nose." haha! However, they have grown to like him, and Tim has named this creature "Mr. Green." It really is eerie how this face glows as the light passes through.

The surprises weren't over yet. Both kids' rooms, which earlier looked like a storm had blown through, were perfectly clean. I took some pictures of Brielle's room because it was so cute how Grandma Carol arranged everything.

This bed usually gets made only once per week... or when guests are coming over.

Brielle's "Ariel sisters" had their own special place on her bed...

One of her baby dolls was nicely tucked in to her stroller...

Toys & books were all lined up...

And everything was in its place. Thanks, Grandma!

And, by the way, Happy Birthday! We love you!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Our little helpers

Last Sunday, Tim & I decided to start a project together: a backyard playset for the kids. John & Brielle went to Grandma Carol's & Grandpa Ted's house for the afternoon (thank you!), and we had 5 solid hours to devote to the assembly. We worked very well together: I was in charge of reading the directions (of course, since I like to follow all the rules & details) and Tim did all the cutting, drilling, hammering, etc (thanks to Terry for the chop saw & drill). By sunset we had most of the framework done for the tower & the swingset.

Once the work week started, however, we only had about 1 hour each night that we could work before it got too dark. On these nights, we had 2 more helpers :). And THEY wanted to be sure to be helping with every step that they could!

Brielle & John decided to pick up this piece of wood on their own, carry it to the playset, and lay it somewhere where they thought it should go.

Look below to see where they put that long board: leaning on the left side...

John wanted to have a "tool" in his hand at all times. For awhile it was the tape measure he wouldn't put down. And we only have ONE tape measure. (Tim said he will probably need to put "tape measure" on his Christmas list this year, so he & John can each have their own.)

John was also using the hammer every chance he had.

Brielle decided to arrange the extra pieces of wood in this fashion:

Of course, as any 2 & 3 year-olds would be, John & Brielle were so proud that they were able to help out. As the week went on, we added 2 swings, rings, a slide, a ladder, a climbing wall, a telescope, a steering wheel, a fence for the upper level, and closed the lower level in so that it is more like a house. And thanks to this nice October weather, John & Brielle have been able to enjoy it before it gets too cold.

Decoration Modification

Brielle & her cousin Josie thought thought that our Halloween decorations outside needed a little accessorizing. They said this particular one --on the right-- was a girl, and they needed to fix up her hair. :)